How a Side Hustle Can Fund Your Wanderlust

Side hustles are becoming more and more popular. You probably have a few friends with side hustles and, if you don’t, you may be hanging out with the wrong people. Check any millennial-driven, career development outlet, and you’re sure to find gaggles of writers crooning over how side hustles are the way of the future, and they’re making everyone rich.

While they’re not a fast pass to riches, a side hustle can come in handy in paying for things you normally couldn’t afford, and it can definitely help fund your wanderlust.

So what’s a side hustle? Generally, it’s any kind of side income you’re making after hours. It has little to do with your day job, if anything, and you’re usually working for yourself or as some kind of freelancer. It’s not a part-time job by any means.

That’s one of the good things about side hustles — since it’s often freelance and contract work, it doesn’t tie you down to a schedule, and you can do as much or as little as you like to meet your goals.

There’s a wealth of side hustle opportunities out there, depending on your skill set. Maybe you’re a decent writer. Maybe you know a foreign language well enough to do a little translation on the side. Maybe you know one thing really, really well, and can teach it to others. Maybe you’re an artist. Whatever it is you’re good at and love, someone out there will pay you for it.

So, where to start? Getting yourself set up with a side hustle is easy, and as you do it more, you’ll find your skills are in higher demand. One great place to start is Upwork. This site is filled with vendors looking for affordable freelancers who can often do relatively easy work — such as writing a Wikipedia page, editing photos or even travel blogging.

As you start bringing in income, just remember — if you’re making enough to travel, you’re probably making enough to be taxed, too. Side hustles are taxed pretty steeply, often around 40 percent, so you’ll want to set your prices accordingly, and put away a portion of your payments until tax time.

The rest, however, can be tempting to spend, particularly if you’re saving up for a trip that seems far off in the future. Don’t break into the piggy bank, though. Keep your goals in mind (sometimes having them written and tacked where you can see them everyday can help) and you’ll find that soon enough, you’re jetting off on your dream vacation … and you didn’t have to spend a dime of your regular income.