Author Topic: Looking for a side hustle with no hustle  (Read 5923 times)

TheEngineer

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Looking for a side hustle with no hustle
« on: January 20, 2016, 01:50:29 PM »
Long time lurker, first time poster.

TL;DR
I found a tax loop-hole that I really want to squeeze through, but I need to be a small business owner to do so.
I need a side hustle, which will:
  • Generate about $200 / mo in revenue (qualify as a business, you must)
  • Require the lowest possible amount of actual work (I work full time + kid, I'm set)
Note: I only need revenues, not profits.
Thanks!

*EDIT*
I searched the forum and read that 10-page thread on side gigs, although I'll admit I didn't read all of it.

/ TL;DR

Okay,

Background:
I'm in my early thirties, married + toddler, both me and DW work full time.
Saving rate is around 60%, and we are about 7 years from FI.
All is well except taxes are high around here. Specifically dividends and stock market gains are taxed at 25%.
I entertained the thought of moving to Canada, or maybe even the US, but nah... ;-)
So anyways, a friend told me that small business owners get a nice tax break: they can pour as much money as they want into an IRA account, it becomes liquid after 6 years, and taxes are charged upon withdrawal of funds. So you can delay the tax bill and save a lot of $$, which keeps on generating some more $ in the mean time.
After coughing up almost $15,000 on capital gain taxes in 2015 (it's been a good year, yeah), I think I should explore this option and save those <various colors around here> employees.

I bike to work, I pack my lunch, and  I end up watching my money being sucked away by the gubmint. Not cool.
I tried going to the IRS and registering as a consulting engineer with zero revenue. They said I have to have some revenues in order to register. So I turn to you, fellow mustachinas, for help. Figuring this one out can shave up to 2 years off my FIRE date.

I'm looking for a side income of $200 / mo with no actual effort or profit.
So far i have:
  • Blogging. Seems like a lot of work though.
  • Buying stuff on ebay (I'm thinking cheap smartphones) and flipping on the local craigslist at cost or even at a small loss.

Thanks,
TheEngineer

p.s. - I'm amazed this nick was available...
« Last Edit: January 20, 2016, 01:56:03 PM by TheEngineer »

Matumba

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Re: Looking for a side hustle with no hustle
« Reply #1 on: January 20, 2016, 02:00:00 PM »
Can you just get your parents or siblings to pay you for some services,  such as life coaching or loan mowing?

slappy

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Re: Looking for a side hustle with no hustle
« Reply #2 on: January 20, 2016, 02:00:37 PM »
Vending machines?

JAYSLOL

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Re: Looking for a side hustle with no hustle
« Reply #3 on: January 20, 2016, 02:16:56 PM »
If you aren't interested in profit, only revenue, just buy ONE used $200 item off Craigslist each month and then resell it for $200.  Problem solved :)

sisto

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Re: Looking for a side hustle with no hustle
« Reply #4 on: January 20, 2016, 02:24:11 PM »
I'm interested in learning how to make this work. Could I start a business now and back date to some services I did last year? I'd love to find a way to funnel more $ into retirement and pay less taxes. I like the idea of life coach that someone mentioned. I actually provide this kind of service to friends all the time and have considered it as a part time gig in FIRE so I'd love to use it sooner to pad the retirement account and pay less taxes.

TheEngineer

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Re: Looking for a side hustle with no hustle
« Reply #5 on: January 20, 2016, 02:43:30 PM »
Thanks for the ideas.

@Matumba: I jokingly thought of charging DW for my dishwashing and cooking, but charging a sibling for something and giving them the money back as gift will work. No effort required, only draw back I see is the tax rate on these "revenues" will be about 50%, so I'll be paying $1,000 /yr to save $15,000 /yr. still not a bad deal.

@slappy: I was sure these things were monopolized by a single company, but apparently there are independent operators and some machines on craigslist. I'll look into it!

@JAYSLOL: You're probably right. I was just thinking about the phone i just bought for DW, But why bother? Although I'll never get receipts for the stuff i buy used, so I won't be able to deduct it as expanses. Same net result as being paid by a relative...

@sisto: Be advised, this particular shenanigan is only applicable in Israel :-)
As for backdating revenues - I have no idea. I think around here you're required to date revenues by the sale date (not payment date).

CindyBS

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Re: Looking for a side hustle with no hustle
« Reply #6 on: January 20, 2016, 02:49:33 PM »
If you like kids - do you have a niece/nephew/friends' child that you can babysit?  Seems like 3X babysitting/month with you charging a premium rate would be enough. 

They may prefer you over a teenager anyway.  Win-win. 

arebelspy

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Re: Looking for a side hustle with no hustle
« Reply #7 on: January 21, 2016, 08:01:14 AM »
  • Buying stuff on ebay (I'm thinking cheap smartphones) and flipping on the local craigslist at cost or even at a small loss.

If you aren't interested in profit, only revenue, just buy ONE used $200 item off Craigslist each month and then resell it for $200.  Problem solved :)

This.  Total time: 30 minutes/month, or less.  5 minutes of clicking on the buy side, 5 minutes on the sell side, 20 minutes to go to the post office to ship.  Buy on eBay, sell on Amazon, or vice-versa.  All done from home, with less than a half hour/mo.  Won't make much, or any, money, necessarily, but will break even with a few hundred in revenue, which sounds like what you're looking for.  Is it worth 30 min/mo to get those tax benefits, basically?

Typical side-gigs shoot to make money, and thus require more work.  You have significant flexibility if you don't care about making money, just want to reduce the work.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

sisto

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Re: Looking for a side hustle with no hustle
« Reply #8 on: January 21, 2016, 09:37:13 AM »
That's a bummer that it's only in Israel. :( I was all excited that I might be able to offset some of my taxes.

jeromedawg

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Re: Looking for a side hustle with no hustle
« Reply #9 on: January 21, 2016, 09:51:57 AM »
Related question: does it strictly need to be *at least* $200 per month every month? Or could you buy and sell something for $400~ in one month to account for two?

Playing with Fire UK

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Re: Looking for a side hustle with no hustle
« Reply #10 on: January 22, 2016, 03:54:50 AM »
Thanks for the ideas.

As for backdating revenues - I have no idea. I think around here you're required to date revenues by the sale date (not payment date).

If you have provided services (to obliging friends or family) in past tax years, but had a payment plan that they wouldn't pay you until this year (or that they paid you in cash at the time and you gave them a hand written receipt when you remembered in 2016), would this trigger the revenue/accrual in previous tax years? 

[Obviously if this would be illegal and you could get caught then don't do it]

TheEngineer

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Re: Looking for a side hustle with no hustle
« Reply #11 on: January 22, 2016, 08:26:51 AM »
So I think I'm going with buying a new fancy and expansive gadget (tv or something) from a shop and re-selling it at cost or small loss on craigslist two or three times a year.The revenue is calculated yearly, so it works. I get receipts when buying, so I can deduct the expanse and thus pay only VAT and not income tax. And it seems like the least amount of effort.
Bonus: if I manage to buy on clearance / sale, I may even turn a little profit.
Just what I needed for brainstorming, thank you all!

GrowingTheGreen

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Re: Looking for a side hustle with no hustle
« Reply #12 on: January 22, 2016, 08:42:30 AM »
Blogging won't get you $200 a month in the near future. As someone who's trying to reach this level, I can assure you it will take an insane amount of work. I'm writing a 1,300 word article per week, trying to promote my site, making a logo, and trying to put together something to sell. All in all, probably 10 hours a week. To date, I've made... Zero! I know I'll get there eventually, but it won't happen overnight. If you only want a business for a tax write off, blogging ain't the way to get $200/mo in revenue :)

You could easily reach $200/month by buying/selling an item for $200+ on eBay. One item. Once a month. Just try to break even.

ejh

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Re: Looking for a side hustle with no hustle
« Reply #13 on: March 04, 2017, 03:55:05 PM »
Hello TheEngineer.
I'm interested how this works (I'm from Israel).
As I understand, a small business owner can fund an IRA with up to 7% of income/revenue.
If you break even buying/selling, how do you plan to fund the IRA?
Also, if you are already employed and have an 'study fund' from work, can you open another one as an small business owner?
On another note, I think the IRA fund is completely exempt of tax (both income and capital gains), not just deferred until withdrawal.