Author Topic: Cast your vote: Is this side job worth it?  (Read 2354 times)

kayteemacbee

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Cast your vote: Is this side job worth it?
« on: November 19, 2019, 01:38:10 PM »
Quick and dirty facts:
Side job is alcohol promo model at bars/clubs. 10-99 contract. I choose when and where to work, have complete control over proximity to my house. I tend to venture outside of my city to get more frequent work. A typical week is 8-12 hours @ $25 per hour, and although miles driven varies a lot, I will at minimum drive 20 miles in a given week.

Pros:
* I enjoy the social outlet as someone who works from home 100% of the time for my 9-5
* Incredibly simple (and admittedly, fun) way to make $25 per hour
* I'm valued at the company and like my co-workers
* Tons of flexibility - I can work, or not work, whenever I like
* Cash flow - my 9-5 job underpays me quite a bit (48k this year net) and this side job helps me not to struggle to make ends meet
* It's my "safety net" in the back of my mind I guess?
* Co workers can be a little flakey, as most of them are 21-22, which leaves lots of openings for last minute work
* Paid weekly

Cons:
* Requires use of my vehicle (I get about 32 miles per gallon avg in my car, gas is around $3 per gallon locally, and the miles vary quite a bit as mentioned). *I wanted to note my vehicle is newish (2017) and it's a dealership "lemon" story, which has been commented on here before. I'm not able to sell it now, and do not plan on it for the forseeable future.
* Requires miscellaneous purchases that would otherwise be frivolous - for example, occasional new shoes or clothes for events. I write these off on my taxes but they certainly exist.
* Back to co workers being a little flakey- sometimes this means extra work for me, like unplanned errands to cover shifts or grab supplies
* Can get annoying if bar patrons are excessively drunk/shitty, but people are people

Overall I just like it and enjoy extra cash coming in, but I doubt I make an actual profit from it. Prepping for my taxes this year has been an eye opener - do you think it's worth it to keep a side job around just for the safety/cushion/enjoyment? I'm stable in my full time job and work with my family, but I do really dislike the work itself, so I tend to go through "should I leave and use my degree?" loops, and therefore like this side job as a way to keep myself stable if I ever left the full time gig.

Thanks for your input!

BikeFanatic

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Re: Cast your vote: Is this side job worth it?
« Reply #1 on: November 19, 2019, 02:34:12 PM »
Is it worth your time? That is the question. 25 $ per hour is not bad for a side job.

trollwithamustache

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Re: Cast your vote: Is this side job worth it?
« Reply #2 on: November 19, 2019, 03:55:08 PM »
If this is a 1099 that means you have yourself a business.

So, make sure you are properly accounting for all of the costs to run your business..  maybe part of your cell phone/internet/computer costs? Make sure you are tracking all of your business mileage.   Sometimes a more valuable small business ends up not making a lot of profit on the Schedule C.

robartsd

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Re: Cast your vote: Is this side job worth it?
« Reply #3 on: November 19, 2019, 04:01:08 PM »
You have to adjust for FICA taxes if you earn more than $400 in a year, so $25/hr independent contractor (1099) is about the same as $23/hr employee (W-2) with no benefits.

Hirondelle

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Re: Cast your vote: Is this side job worth it?
« Reply #4 on: November 20, 2019, 03:08:33 AM »
I'm stable in my full time job and work with my family, but I do really dislike the work itself, so I tend to go through "should I leave and use my degree?" loops, and therefore like this side job as a way to keep myself stable if I ever left the full time gig.


This sounds like your side job isn't the problem, your full time job is. Why don't you look for a better fulltime job that doesn't underpay you and may use your degree? Get yourself in a better position for those vital 40h/week of your life and then reevaluate if the side job is still worth it.

marty998

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Re: Cast your vote: Is this side job worth it?
« Reply #5 on: November 20, 2019, 03:50:30 AM »
I'm stable in my full time job and work with my family, but I do really dislike the work itself, so I tend to go through "should I leave and use my degree?" loops, and therefore like this side job as a way to keep myself stable if I ever left the full time gig.


This sounds like your side job isn't the problem, your full time job is. Why don't you look for a better fulltime job that doesn't underpay you and may use your degree? Get yourself in a better position for those vital 40h/week of your life and then reevaluate if the side job is still worth it.

Agree, get paid properly in your main job, and that will make a difference.

The deadweight time loss by having get ready and commute for short shifts can be debilitating.

When I was at Uni I was tutoring high school kids for $25/hour. However, 15-20 minutes each way commuting to each student meant the actual effective rate of pay was much lower for the time commitment involved.

Metalcat

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Re: Cast your vote: Is this side job worth it?
« Reply #6 on: November 20, 2019, 04:59:56 AM »
I agree with focusing on improving your main career instead of a side hustle, which you probably won't want to be doing indefinitely.

I'm only in my 30s and feel way too old to ever go back to that kind of promoting work.

If it's helping keep you in a full time jobs that you don't like where you feel under paid, it's not helping you, it's holding you back, and by the time you feel too old for the bar job, you will have missed out on a lot of great career-building years.

So, unless you want to actually convert your side hustle into a full business, like running your own promotions company, then I wouldn't focus much more of your energy on it and instead focus on engineering a better career.

mistymoney

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Re: Cast your vote: Is this side job worth it?
« Reply #7 on: November 20, 2019, 06:53:34 AM »
if you aren't really netting much money after expenses, it really isn't that much of a cushion or help in the face of unemployment.

Here4theGB

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Re: Cast your vote: Is this side job worth it?
« Reply #8 on: November 20, 2019, 08:08:35 AM »
If you're going to work a 2nd job around/in booze/bars, learn to mix drinks and bartend.  I worked plenty of 2nd jobs when I wasn't making much early on.  It's a beating to work a F/T job + P/T job so if you're going to do it, make as much possible and that means working for tips.  Hourly rate 2nd jobs are rarely worth it if you do all of the math, accounting for all things.

And don't take it the wrong way, but if you're doing this gig already, you're obviously easy on the eyes.  Hot bartenders make a lot of dough.

kayteemacbee

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Re: Cast your vote: Is this side job worth it?
« Reply #9 on: November 20, 2019, 08:59:04 AM »
If you're going to work a 2nd job around/in booze/bars, learn to mix drinks and bartend.  I worked plenty of 2nd jobs when I wasn't making much early on.  It's a beating to work a F/T job + P/T job so if you're going to do it, make as much possible and that means working for tips.  Hourly rate 2nd jobs are rarely worth it if you do all of the math, accounting for all things.

And don't take it the wrong way, but if you're doing this gig already, you're obviously easy on the eyes.  Hot bartenders make a lot of dough.

This is a really thoughtful way to go about it. We can't take tips as promo girls (which makes no sense, but alas, liquor boards...), so might as well use a similar skill to cash in!

kayteemacbee

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Re: Cast your vote: Is this side job worth it?
« Reply #10 on: November 20, 2019, 09:00:14 AM »
if you aren't really netting much money after expenses, it really isn't that much of a cushion or help in the face of unemployment.
This is true. I've been let go unexpectedly in the past and it tends to warp my perspective a little.

kayteemacbee

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Re: Cast your vote: Is this side job worth it?
« Reply #11 on: November 20, 2019, 09:02:57 AM »
I'm only in my 30s and feel way too old to ever go back to that kind of promoting work.

If it's helping keep you in a full time jobs that you don't like where you feel under paid, it's not helping you, it's holding you back, and by the time you feel too old for the bar job, you will have missed out on a lot of great career-building years.

So, unless you want to actually convert your side hustle into a full business, like running your own promotions company, then I wouldn't focus much more of your energy on it and instead focus on engineering a better career.
YES. This is the piece of the puzzle I wasn't seeing clearly, meaning opportunity cost. I am 31 and certainly feel like the "elder" promo girl of the bunch, lol. A lot of us talk about how we planned to quit and get stuck coming back to easy money, but this is a solid counter point.

kayteemacbee

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Re: Cast your vote: Is this side job worth it?
« Reply #12 on: November 20, 2019, 09:05:29 AM »
I'm stable in my full time job and work with my family, but I do really dislike the work itself, so I tend to go through "should I leave and use my degree?" loops, and therefore like this side job as a way to keep myself stable if I ever left the full time gig.


This sounds like your side job isn't the problem, your full time job is. Why don't you look for a better fulltime job that doesn't underpay you and may use your degree? Get yourself in a better position for those vital 40h/week of your life and then reevaluate if the side job is still worth it.

Agree, get paid properly in your main job, and that will make a difference.

The deadweight time loss by having get ready and commute for short shifts can be debilitating.

When I was at Uni I was tutoring high school kids for $25/hour. However, 15-20 minutes each way commuting to each student meant the actual effective rate of pay was much lower for the time commitment involved.

I agree with you, commuting really is the killer here. Although I can't sell my car at the moment, I can avoid putting extra miles on it so it retains more value in the long run.

trollwithamustache

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Re: Cast your vote: Is this side job worth it?
« Reply #13 on: November 20, 2019, 09:05:45 AM »
if you aren't really netting much money after expenses, it really isn't that much of a cushion or help in the face of unemployment.

It really depends how OP values the expenses. Uber gets a lot of crap for not net-paying their drivers very much, but really what driving for Uber does is make is easy to pay for a clown car. So, OK, we here at this forum officially don't approve of that, but Americans in general love their new cars. The more OP values getting the things she can expense, the more worth it the side gig is. Of course being careful not to cross over to what the IRS would call Hobby territory.

Although those who have recommended bar tending are probably right!

kayteemacbee

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Re: Cast your vote: Is this side job worth it?
« Reply #14 on: November 20, 2019, 09:15:24 AM »
You have to adjust for FICA taxes if you earn more than $400 in a year, so $25/hr independent contractor (1099) is about the same as $23/hr employee (W-2) with no benefits.
Amusingly, $23 is still more per hour than my 9-5 pays. But, the issue is more clear to me now - the "decent paying" side job enables me to have a day job that sucks and not feel compelled to do much about it.

kayteemacbee

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Re: Cast your vote: Is this side job worth it?
« Reply #15 on: November 20, 2019, 09:17:23 AM »
If this is a 1099 that means you have yourself a business.

So, make sure you are properly accounting for all of the costs to run your business..  maybe part of your cell phone/internet/computer costs? Make sure you are tracking all of your business mileage.   Sometimes a more valuable small business ends up not making a lot of profit on the Schedule C.
I've been tracking mileage and obvious work-only expenses, but for some reason it didn't occur to me to deduct cell phone/computer expenses. I'll do so for this year!

robartsd

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Re: Cast your vote: Is this side job worth it?
« Reply #16 on: November 20, 2019, 10:33:44 AM »
If this is a 1099 that means you have yourself a business.

So, make sure you are properly accounting for all of the costs to run your business..  maybe part of your cell phone/internet/computer costs? Make sure you are tracking all of your business mileage.   Sometimes a more valuable small business ends up not making a lot of profit on the Schedule C.
I've been tracking mileage and obvious work-only expenses, but for some reason it didn't occur to me to deduct cell phone/computer expenses. I'll do so for this year!
You'll need to keep records of usage to show what portion of usage was for the business. Only costs related to business usage can be listed as an expense.

trollwithamustache

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Re: Cast your vote: Is this side job worth it?
« Reply #17 on: November 20, 2019, 12:18:22 PM »
If this is a 1099 that means you have yourself a business.

So, make sure you are properly accounting for all of the costs to run your business..  maybe part of your cell phone/internet/computer costs? Make sure you are tracking all of your business mileage.   Sometimes a more valuable small business ends up not making a lot of profit on the Schedule C.
I've been tracking mileage and obvious work-only expenses, but for some reason it didn't occur to me to deduct cell phone/computer expenses. I'll do so for this year!
You'll need to keep records of usage to show what portion of usage was for the business. Only costs related to business usage can be listed as an expense.

She probably uses her cell phone internet connection and computer to communicate with the company and book work. These activities may even be taking place in a home office space!  (probably a small space given the scope, but nonetheless...(

robartsd

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Re: Cast your vote: Is this side job worth it?
« Reply #18 on: November 20, 2019, 12:49:09 PM »
She probably uses her cell phone internet connection and computer to communicate with the company and book work. These activities may even be taking place in a home office space!  (probably a small space given the scope, but nonetheless...(
Simply using them occasionally for business does not qualify them to be fully counted as a business expenses. If you can show they are primarily for business, occasional personal use might be overlooked. If they are primarily for personal use, but occasionally have a business use then tracking the usage will be needed to support how much of the expense is deductible.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!