Latest news with #sidehustle
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
60 Financial Goals To Achieve Before You Turn 60
Setting financial goals can help you establish good money habits. While short-term goals can get you started, long-term goals lead to wealth. For You: Trending Now: Having a good grasp of your finances gets more important as you get older and move closer to retirement. Even if you plan to work forever, it's possible that you may no longer be able to work due to a physical or medical condition. That's why it is good to stockpile money and make smart decisions now instead of playing catch-up a few years later. These are some of the financial goals you should achieve before you turn 60. 1. Have no credit card debt 2. Pay off your mortgage 3. Make sure you never spend more than you earn each month 4. Pay off any personal loans and auto loans 5. Put yourself in a position where you no longer need to take out debt Check Out: 6. Your net worth should be at least 25 times your annual salary 7. Invest at least 10% of your paycheck and gradually increase this number 8. Invest in a diversified portfolio that includes stocks in various sectors. A few ETFs are sufficient. 9. Invest enough money in your children's 529 to cover college tuition. You can start with $100 per month. 10. Have one investment that you have held for at least one decade to avoid emotional investing. 11. Invest in career skills that allow you to double your income over time 12. Start a small business or a side hustle and commit to it for at least one year 13. Learn negotiating skills and ask for a raise at least three times before you turn 60 14. Continue applying for new jobs so you can job hop if needed and create more leverage in negotiations 15. Create a retirement plan so you know when to retire or switch to part-time work 16. Have an emergency fund that can cover at least one year of living expenses 17. Diversify your investments across multiple sectors 18. Gradually move some capital out of high-risk assets and put them into stable, low-risk assets 19. Invest in assets that generate cash flow 20. Don't log into your stock portfolio for one week and monitor how you feel about your investments 21. Renovate your home 22. Update your appliances 23. Allocate money for home maintenance projects in a separate savings account 24. Update major parts of the home, like the roof and HVAC system, before retiring 25. Consider a good home warranty 26. Ensure you use auto payments to avoid any late payments 27. Pay off all of your debt to boost your credit utilization ratio 28. Avoid taking out new debt when you get older 29. Keep your old accounts open 30. Create a budget that keeps you on track 31. Commit to staying disciplined for your financial success for many years 32. Track your expenses every month 33. Stop impulsive spending by deciding how you will spend your money 34. Avoid negative self-talk when it comes to finances and life in general 35. Establish why you want to outperform others and make more money and, if needed, periodically adjust this purpose as your life changes 36. Max out the contributions to your 401(k) and IRA plans, including catch-up contributions 37. Strategize how you will withdraw funds from your retirement accounts to minimize the tax impact 38. Create an IRA in addition to your employer's 401(k) plan 39. Create a solo 401(k) if you are a business owner who doesn't have employees 40. Review your portfolio each year to ensure it aligns with your risk tolerance and long-term goals 41. Determine which expense categories matter the most to you 42. Ruthlessly cut out expenses that do not align with spending categories that do not increase the happiness of you or your loved ones 43. Live below your means 44. Spend what is left over after investing and saving instead of saving what's left over after you spend money 45. Don't feel guilty about buying something that has a meaningful, long-term positive impact on your life 46. Create a will 47. Speak with a professional about estate planning 48. Establish trusts to avoid probate 49. Determine your power of attorney 50. Choose your beneficiaries 51. Put your extra money in a high-yield savings account that has a 3.00% APY or higher 52. Comparing banking apps to determine which one builds your wealth the most 53. Review your bank's resources and make sure you are maximizing them 54. Set up automations like AutoPay and auto-invest 55. Streamline your finances so you can easily access your investments, bank accounts and other financial products 56. Review your policies to ensure you have enough coverage 57. Check your policies to see which ones still make sense for your financial profile 58. Get good health insurance 59. Determine which assets you want to protect the most 60. Protect your loved ones with a good insurance policy More From GOBankingRates 3 Luxury SUVs That Will Have Massive Price Drops in Summer 2025 10 Cars That Outlast the Average Vehicle Are You Rich or Middle Class? 8 Ways To Tell That Go Beyond Your Paycheck This article originally appeared on 60 Financial Goals To Achieve Before You Turn 60
The Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Do you have a side hustle? Act NOW or risk huge fine after HMRC warning
HMRC has issued an urgent warning to anyone with a side hustle to act now or risk being hit with a big fine. Those earning money from an extra income stream, including online selling, have to submit tax returns through self-assessment. 1 Anyone earning more than £1,000 a year has to submit one - and the deadline to do it online for the 2024/25 tax year is January 31, 2026. If you've not registered for self-assessment before, you must register by October 5. Fail to do either of these things and you could end up facing a hefty fine from HMRC. Filing your self-assessment tax return after January 31 and just one day late will see you fined £100. You also face further fines of £10 a day after three months, up to a maximum of £900. Of course, the January 31 deadline to file your tax return is months away, but filing early can give a chance to budget for any taxed owed. You may be able to set up a Budget Payment Plan to help spread the cost of taxed owed too. National Insurance owed. Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC's director general for customer services, said: "Whether you are selling handmade crafts online, creating digital content, or renting out property, understanding your tax obligations is essential. "If you earn more than £1,000 from these activities, you may need to complete a self assessment tax return. What Does My Tax Code Mean? A Simple Guide to Your HMRC Letter "Filing early puts you in control – you will know exactly what you owe, can plan your payments, and avoid the stress of the January rush. "You don't need to pay immediately when you file – you have until January 31 to settle your tax bill." How to register for self-assessment and file a tax return If you're submitting a tax return for the first time, you'll need to register for self-assessment by October 5. You are taken through the process step by step via the Government website which is on You start by hitting the "Start Now" button at the bottom of the page. After you've registered, you'll be sent a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number in a letter, with instructions on how to set up your Government Gateway account. Once this is done, you'll be sent another letter containing an activation code. You use this to complete the set-up of your account and need to do this as soon as possible as the code will expire. HMRC says this entire process can take up to 20 working days. Once you've registered, filing a tax return online can be done via Make sure you've got your UTR number to hand. You don't have to complete your tax return in one go and can save your entry then go back to it later if you need to. Why do you have to submit a tax return on your side hustle earnings? In some cases, tax is deducted automatically from your wages or pension through PAYE. However, other forms of income, such as those from a side hustle worth over £1,000 are collected through self-assessment. This is where the person who owes the tax has to submit a tax return themselves. You also have to file a self-assessment tax return if you receive any other income from property, capital gains, or dividends. Do I need to pay tax on my side hustle? When you're employed the company you work for takes the tax from your earnings and pays HMRC so you don't have to. But anyone earning extra cash, for example from selling things online or dog walking, may have to do it themselves. Stephen Moor, head of employment at law firm Ashfords, said: "Caution should be taken if you're earning an additional income, as this is likely to be taxable. "The side hustle could be treated as taxable trading income, which can include providing services or selling products." You can make a gross income of up to £1,000 a year tax-free via the trading allowance, but over this and you'll usually need to pay tax. Stephen added: "The applicable tax bands and the amount of tax you need to pay will depend on your income."
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Dollars and Debts With Denny: The art of the side hustle
Let's face it: The single-job mindset is not paying the bills for most people. The evidence is everywhere. Credit cards are maxed out — sometimes just to keep the lights on. Emergency savings are low, if they exist at all. Many Americans would need to get an emergency loan to cover an unexpected expense. Enter the new action hero: the side hustler. The side hustler beats through income challenges like a nunchaku expert in a room full of black belts. Just as Bruce Lee changed the face of martial arts action movies, side hustles are transforming the American workforce. Side hustle insights More than one in three (36%) adults in the U.S. earn extra money through a side hustle. More than half of side hustlers (52%) have been making money on the side for two years or less. Nearly one-third (32%) of side hustlers believe they will always need the extra income stream to make ends meet. Source: Bankrate's 2024 Side Hustle Survey When we teach our children and students about budgeting and general financial wellness, we should also begin a conversation about income diversification. Sure, going to college and stepping into a career is great, but it's not the right path for everyone, and it may not always be sufficient to make ends meet, let alone pay down debt or get ahead. Let's say you did the thing that our society expects: You went to college, got a degree and are working in your field. You're paying down your student debt, albeit not as quickly as you'd hope. But then an economic downturn hits, and you're laid off. In a tough job market, how will you make ends meet? If you'd been building a side hustle mentality since college (or better yet, high school), you might have more savings to fall back on and a secondary income stream to keep you afloat while you hunt for a new job. With a little income diversification, you're more prepared to weather life's storms. Side hustle bonus If you find a side hustle that aligns with your primary job, you can grow your skill set and beef up your resume while padding your budget. For example, you might be a teacher who tutors kids in the evenings, or a sales executive who moonlights as a freelance writer to grow their network. Not only will these side hustles improve your financial resiliency, but they may also end up benefiting your primary career. More than 1 in 3 workers (34 percent) are living paycheck to paycheck, according to Bankrate's 2024 Living Paycheck to Paycheck Survey. If you get paid on a biweekly schedule, things may get a bit tight before each payday. Rather than relying on credit cards to solve your cash flow problems, a side hustle can give you the income boost you need to avoid new debt. Many side hustles are paid daily. With Uber, Instacart or DoorDash, for instance, you have the option to cash out when you end your side hustle shift (though this option may incur a small fee). I've met Uber drivers in Nashville who earn between $300 and $400 on an average weekend night, braving the Broadway downtown craziness. If you have an unexpected expense, you can go out in the morning and come home in the afternoon with cash in hand to cover the cost. This way, you can eliminate the credit intermediary and avoid spreading the cost of that emergency over several months. Like mortgage interest, your income is typically paid in arrears. You work for two weeks, and your employer catches up with you by giving you a paycheck. With a daily-pay side hustle, you can access your income as you earn it, smoothing over many cash flow bumps. I'm a number-crunching guy. Seeing the numbers in black and white can make it easier to determine next steps or choose between two options. During my mortgage days, I created detailed breakdowns for my clients, outlining break-even points after refinancing and providing overviews of the amount of money they'd save. Let's say you're fresh out of college, working your first real job in corporate America, making $50,000 annually. You're able to save $200 a month after covering expenses and making your student loan payment, but you aren't saving for retirement or making meaningful strides on your student debt. Related: 9 ways to invest $1,000 to grow your wealth Now, imagine that you get a part-time job with the sole purpose of growing your savings. By working eight-hour shifts on each weekend day, you earn an additional $1,200 per month, after taxes. If you put the side hustle income directly into savings, here's a look at how your money could grow over time: Month Primary job savings Primary job savings + side hustle savings 1 $200 $1,400 6 $1,200 $8,400 12 $2,400 $16,800 After one year of working a second job, you'll have socked away nearly $17,000. That money could be used to build an emergency fund, pay down your student loan debt early or start saving for a house. Imagine how much you could save if you maintained this schedule for a few years! The benefit of starting early They say that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now. The same is true for your side hustle — the sooner you get started, the sooner your savings will grow or your new business will find its customer base. Keep reading: Turning that side hustle into a business You'll encounter naysayers and experience self-doubt when you venture out into the side-hustle world. The Industrial Revolution hardwired the one-job, one-career mentality in the workforce, and despite a few hundred years of progress, that mindset has become deeply ingrained in most people's minds. If you want to start a business or pick up a side hustle, consider the following: Don't let doubts stop you before you start. The one-job, one-career frame of mind has been around for a few hundred years, so you may find it hard to embrace doing more than one thing. Check yourself for self-doubting language about not having time or knowing where to start. Start small. A few hours of driving for Uber, working a tutoring job or offering freelance writing services to local businesses can get you started without a big commitment. Be consistent. It may take some time to get into a groove, especially if you've been in the one-job workplace for a while. To be successful, you'll have to show up and do the work just like you do at your primary job. Carve out time for fun. Burnout is a real threat when you go from 40 hours a week to 60 (or more) with a side hustle. Make sure to take time to have fun — go to a movie, hang out with friends, barbecue with the family — anything to remember why you're trading extra time for money. One argument against the multi-income mindset is that you'll burn both ends of the candle. And to a certain degree, you are trading time for money. But if you don't have the money to invest in real estate or fund a startup business, a side hustle can be a great stopgap. Adopting a side-hustle attitude when you're young could put you on the fast track to retirement savings and other financial goals. This is especially true since your expenses as a young 'un are usually much cheaper than they can be later in life, when you have a house, cars, kids, dogs and a lot more financial responsibility. If you're frugal with your side income, you could build a nest egg, make a down payment on a house or set yourself up to retire early. After originating loans for 25 years, I can say this much with absolute confidence: Earning money improves your financial health than borrowing ever could. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Even Jeff Bezos Has Side Gigs: 3 Tips To Diversify Like a Billionaire
Make no mistake: Jeff Bezos does not ever need to work again if he so chooses. But he didn't get to be one of the richest men on the planet without a few different jobs, specifically side jobs outside the company he's most associated with: Amazon. For You: Trending Now: 'Jeff Bezos has poured billions into ventures like Blue Origin and The Washington Post, but the real story is how he builds long-term value through focused, forward-looking bets,' explained Neevai Esinli, founder and CEO, Esinli Capital. 'Bezos's approach is about being bold, patient and selective. That mindset isn't limited to billionaires — it's available to anyone with a plan. Here are three tips to diversifying like a billionaire in the fashion Bezos's side gigs. This means investing early and often, according to Mory Traore, founder of Bank Statement Conversion, so you don't have to rely solely on one income from one job to grow your wealth. 'Just as Bezos used Amazon to fund other ventures, your 9-to-5 can be your springboard. Put some of your income into index funds, ETFs or dividend-paying stocks. Even modest investments compound over time,' Traore explained, noting that a person investing $200 per month at the stock market's average 8% yearly return will have over $117,000 in 20 years. Check Out: This involves actively setting up, investing in or partnering with a side hustle or start up before it gets huge. 'You might not be in a position to fund the next Uber, but you can use platforms like Republic, StartEngine or even local business co-ops to put smaller sums into early-stage businesses,' Traore said. 'You can also build a side hustle around your specialty-freelancing, e-commerce, digital products or consulting.' For Traore, the idea is to build assets, not just trade time for money, which is straight out of the Bezos' playbook for diversifying wealth. Traore pointed out that Bezos invests in future-focused industries: space, tech and media and offered that anyone can do the same on a budget with investments in ETFs, renewable energy or biotech funds. 'The Bezos lesson here isn't one of size-it's one of strategy,' Traore explained. 'Use your main source of income to invest in or develop other sources of income. Make small, consistent bets on your future. Make considered risks.' Traore summed up that you don't need billions to build wealth. Instead, what's actually required is discipline, patience and a mind that's always thinking one step ahead, just like Bezos' has done throughout his career. More From GOBankingRates 3 Luxury SUVs That Will Have Massive Price Drops in Summer 2025 Mark Cuban Tells Americans To Stock Up on Consumables as Trump's Tariffs Hit -- Here's What To Buy 7 Things You'll Be Happy You Downsized in Retirement This article originally appeared on Even Jeff Bezos Has Side Gigs: 3 Tips To Diversify Like a Billionaire Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Entrepreneur
5 days ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Brothers' Side Hustle Made Over $175 Million: 'No Investors'
It's the era of the side hustle, and if you've ever considered starting one to earn some extra cash outside of your 9-5, you're in good company. These days, more than one-third of U.S. adults have side hustles, and their supplemental gigs make an average of $891 a month, according to recent research from Bankrate. Of course, the most successful side-hustlers see much higher earnings, especially when they start a business that brings in nearly as much as — or significantly more than — their full-time sources of income. Los Angeles, California-based brothers Gurmer and Dashmeet (Robby) Chopra launched their side hustle with $5,000 in 2014 and turned it into a successful brand worn by Arnold Schwarzenegger, YG and others, and have collaborated with UFC, Gold's Gym and Yu-Gi-Oh!. Learn more about their journey, here. Looking for a profitable side hustle but not sure where to start? Money Makers is a free newsletter providing helpful tips, ideas and action items to build your own lucrative venture — delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up here. Image Credit: Courtesy of YoungLA. Gurmer Chopra and Robby Chopra. What was your day job or primary occupation when you started your side hustle? At the time, I was a college student and working part-time at Ernst & Young. My brother Robby was working for a company called DEX. Robby and I were both hustling, working on other small ecommerce side projects, selling on Amazon and eBay. We weren't in the fashion industry at all; we were just two guys who got into the fitness space and wanted to create something better but affordable for that industry. Related: 'We Were Too Stupid to Fail': Their 'Scrappy' Side Hustle Turned Full-Time Business Has Seen More Than $150 Million in Revenue When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it? We officially launched YoungLA in 2014, but it really started a little earlier when we saw a gap in gymwear that fit well, looked good and didn't break the bank. We were inspired by our own frustration with overpriced or underwhelming fitness gear. So we made our own shorts with just one product, and it snowballed from there. What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground? We designed one pair of bodybuilding shorts, listed them on Amazon and eBay and used the profit from the first batch to fund the next. No investors, no loans, just reinvesting everything. We fulfilled every order ourselves from our parents' garage, handled customer service and learned the business side on the fly. If you could go back in your business journey and change one process or approach to save you time, energy or just a headache, what would it be, and how do you wish you'd done it differently? I would've built out better systems earlier. For fulfillment, inventory tracking and marketing automation. We were doing everything manually for way too long, and it cost us time, energy and sometimes even sales. Delegating sooner would've scaled us faster. Related: She Quit Her Job at Trader Joe's After Starting a Side Hustle With $800 — Then She and Her Brother Grew the Business to $20 Million When it comes to this specific business, what is something you've found particularly challenging and/or surprising that people who get into this type of work should be prepared for, but likely aren't? Forecasting demand is way harder than people think. You can go viral overnight and suddenly not have enough inventory, or drop something you thought would kill and get crickets. The fashion and fitness worlds move fast. Staying ahead means always adapting, but also not moving too quickly, where you're stuck with something that is off-trend or doesn't even make sense to launch anymore. Can you recall a specific instance when something went very wrong? How did you fix it? In the early days, we botched a shipment from overseas. Wrong color, wrong sizes, and we had already started marketing the drop. We couldn't launch it all; it wasn't something we could sell to our customers. We ate the cost, apologized to customers and expedited a new batch. That taught us the importance of quality control and having backup suppliers, but more importantly, the right supplier that meets our standards. How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue? How much did the side hustle earn? It took about 12-18 months before we saw consistent monthly sales. We were reinvesting everything, so profit wasn't the focus, just growth. But once we started seeing five-figure months, we knew this wasn't just a side hustle anymore. What does growth and revenue look like now? As of 2023, we crossed $100 million in annual revenue, with over one million customers worldwide. We've grown into a full-blown brand! Sponsoring athletes, collaborating with influencers and expanding our women's line, gym gear and accessories. How much time do you spend working on your business on a daily, weekly or monthly basis? It's full-time and then some. I'm in the office daily in meetings with our creative team, supply chain, marketing and athlete relations. My brother and I stay hands-on, especially with new drops. We live and breathe YoungLA. Sundays are the only semi-off day, but even then, we're thinking about what's next. Related: This 34-Year-Old Was 'Wildly Un-Passionate' About His Day Job, So He Started a 9-Figure Side Hustle: 'Be an Animal' What do you enjoy most about running this business? The community we've built. Seeing people rep YoungLA in the gym, on social media or in everyday life is the most rewarding feeling. It's not just clothes — it's a lifestyle people connect with in and outside of the gym. You have to genuinely be passionate about what you are working on. I take pride in the clothes we make because I know I put in the work to make the best possible clothing. You don't need to wait to be perfect, but adjust as you go, especially in the early stages of the brand.
