Poll

For those who have been post-FIRE for a while, did you ended up earning significant money from hobbies, new for-fun careers, or paying side-gigs?

No.
7 (26.9%)
Yes, but expected it before FIREing.
7 (26.9%)
Yes, and didn't expect it before FIREing.
6 (23.1%)
Not yet, but it's looking more likely than when I FIREd.
6 (23.1%)

Total Members Voted: 26

Author Topic: Post-FIRE folks: How many of you ended up earning from paying hobbies?  (Read 6984 times)

dougules

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For all the folks that have been in FIRE for a while now, how many of you ended up earning money from new for-fun careers, side-gigs, or hobbies than ended up making money?  Was it significant money or just a few dollars?  I'm curious to know how likely it is that us folks still on our way to FIRE will end up earning money after we've been out for a while. 

Please feel free to share the details of how you ended up in a new paying gig, especially if it's something you didn't expect when you walked out the door on your pre-FIRE career. 

Cassie

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Re: Post-FIRE folks: How many of you ended up earning from paying hobbies?
« Reply #1 on: November 17, 2016, 05:03:47 PM »
About 7 months in I was asked to teach an online university class. It pays well and I love it. I never expected that to happen. 4 years later you could not pry it out of my cold, dead hands:))

Evgenia

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Re: Post-FIRE folks: How many of you ended up earning from paying hobbies?
« Reply #2 on: November 17, 2016, 05:12:01 PM »
I wouldn't really call them gigs so much as happy, paying accidents. Without including too many identifying details, I'll have made over $500 this year teaching a few hours worth of workshops on one of my craft hobbies. My pre-FIRE agricultural labor side gig is part of what made the huge, intimidating FIRE leap feel possible and less frightening: when I realized I was, on a very part-time basis (a few hours per day, only on weekend days), making enough to cover all of our food and utility bills, I thought "Wait a minute..." :-)

I'll have made about $1,000 this year from freelance writing. And, I ended up writing a federal grant for an organization with which I've volunteered (it's an organization related to one of my hobby crafts), and they won the grant, so now I'm getting paid a VERY good hourly rate through June for stuff I was doing for free.

snogirl

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Re: Post-FIRE folks: How many of you ended up earning from paying hobbies?
« Reply #3 on: November 17, 2016, 07:46:33 PM »
My hobby is photography & snowmobiling. I picked up a side gig for a snowmobile tour company in Canada taking customer photos. In return, I get free room & board at 5 star lodging with gourmet food & plus cash tips from his clients. It's awesome because I love to ride & travel. This year I'm legit as a business so I get to write off a portion of my equipment, gear, etc. It is really a dream come true.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk
« Last Edit: November 18, 2016, 08:21:40 PM by snogirl »

arebelspy

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Re: Post-FIRE folks: How many of you ended up earning from paying hobbies?
« Reply #4 on: November 18, 2016, 09:14:30 PM »
I expected to earn $0, and somehow we've earned 17k so far this year, and will likely end the year around 20k (obviously not counting rental income that is the basis of our FIRE--that was all expected, and planned for, and covers our spending, plus set asides for reserves for future vacancies/repairs/capital expenses, plus a surplus for reinvestment in case of inflation slide risk).

Guesstimating we'll may earn double that (40k-ish) next year, maybe a bit more. 

Whoops.  We worked way too long.

I never believed the "you'll make money in FIRE" thing.  I never wanted to make money in FIRE.  I definitely didn't want to work.

Well, I got that last wish.  But somehow the money comes in anyways.
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.

Kriegsspiel

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Re: Post-FIRE folks: How many of you ended up earning from paying hobbies?
« Reply #5 on: November 18, 2016, 09:19:09 PM »
I expected to earn $0, and somehow we've earned 17k so far this year, and will likely end the year around 20k (obviously not counting rental income that is the basis of our FIRE--that was all expected, and planned for, and covers our spending, plus set asides for reserves for future vacancies/repairs/capital expenses, plus a surplus for reinvestment in case of inflation slide risk).

Guesstimating we'll may earn double that (40k-ish) next year, maybe a bit more. 

Whoops.  We worked way too long.

I never believed the "you'll make money in FIRE" thing.  I never wanted to make money in FIRE.  I definitely didn't want to work.

Well, I got that last wish.  But somehow the money comes in anyways.

Dafuq is that coming from?

pbkmaine

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Re: Post-FIRE folks: How many of you ended up earning from paying hobbies?
« Reply #6 on: November 18, 2016, 09:42:56 PM »
I have the same question, though I could not possibly state it as eloquently as Kriegsspiel.

arebelspy

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Re: Post-FIRE folks: How many of you ended up earning from paying hobbies?
« Reply #7 on: November 18, 2016, 11:05:14 PM »
About 2/3 from tradeline sales.

The majority of the rest from Ali's hobby writing and credit card hacking.  A few percent from little misc. stuff.

Got a 5k inheritance this year from Ali's grandmother that I just remembered, and isn't counted in the above numbers, but income (albeit one time, and not counted on at all) nonetheless.
« Last Edit: November 19, 2016, 02:21:41 AM by arebelspy »
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.

Metric Mouse

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Re: Post-FIRE folks: How many of you ended up earning from paying hobbies?
« Reply #8 on: November 19, 2016, 08:49:55 AM »
Normally I earn just a few dollars here and there on side-stuff. More than that can feel like work. Since I have more money then I'll ever need, it's really hard to want to do anything that people will pay you for. I mean, it's literally free money sitting there, and I don't stop to pick it up.  Even at that level of motivation, money still comes rolling in occasionally.  So anyone who is on the edge of 'maybe I should FIRE' should pull the damn plug. No need to work more years than you have to.

deborah

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Re: Post-FIRE folks: How many of you ended up earning from paying hobbies?
« Reply #9 on: November 20, 2016, 03:37:00 AM »
I had a sideline when I retired. I continued it for a couple of years, but I value my freedom more.

choppingwood

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Re: Post-FIRE folks: How many of you ended up earning from paying hobbies?
« Reply #10 on: November 20, 2016, 08:11:49 PM »
I have had a couple of paid side gigs overs the last year, which are both things I would do for free. I work a few hours a week in the local library, which means I get to see new books and movies coming in and going out from 140 libraries across the province and I get to know all kinds of people in the area who are interested in said books and movies.

I have also been helping Japanese people learning English with their written English online, which is sort of like Japan coming to my living room to visit. Great people and an interesting window into Japanese culture. In the past I tutored ESL on a volunteer basis.

I am giving the second one up, and will do a few more hours a week on the first one, which will also free me up to do a volunteer gig that I've been wanting to do.

All the commitments are very flexible, and I have summers off from the library. I live by myself, so I like that there are some regular connections with people and that I meet new people all the time. It adds a few grand to the income.

Cassie

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Re: Post-FIRE folks: How many of you ended up earning from paying hobbies?
« Reply #11 on: November 21, 2016, 07:09:16 AM »
I have given upmost of my consulting work because I got sick of it and really only do it as a favor for a person that I really like.  That is the nice thing about not having to work.

deborah

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Re: Post-FIRE folks: How many of you ended up earning from paying hobbies?
« Reply #12 on: November 21, 2016, 03:57:50 PM »
Oh, I forgot. Occasionally I get neighbours coming with clothes to alter. And family. Not often. And I help in a market stall occasionally (related). But none of this is mandatory, or happens often enough to cause me to stop my retirement pleasures.

dougules

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Re: Post-FIRE folks: How many of you ended up earning from paying hobbies?
« Reply #13 on: November 24, 2016, 11:26:26 AM »
Thanks y'all.  Interesting stories

I answered no. I haven't done anything to earn any money since FIREing and don't ever plan on it. I love my free time, hate to be tied down by any obligations other than fun ones of my choosing, and none of my hobbies are income producing unless I was a coach or instructor. Funny thing is that I still set my alarm for 5:30 every morning so I can get going early and play. I'm VERY serious and disciplined about my play ;-).

Oh, I forgot. Occasionally I get neighbours coming with clothes to alter. And family. Not often. And I help in a market stall occasionally (related). But none of this is mandatory, or happens often enough to cause me to stop my retirement pleasures.

I really hate to be tied down, too, but it sounds like a lot of folks are earning money doing what they would be doing anyway. 

Cassie

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Re: Post-FIRE folks: How many of you ended up earning from paying hobbies?
« Reply #14 on: November 24, 2016, 12:02:06 PM »
I can teach anywhere I have internet so I have done it on a cruise and in Europe.

C40

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Re: Post-FIRE folks: How many of you ended up earning from paying hobbies?
« Reply #15 on: December 09, 2016, 08:17:16 PM »
I had a income producing hobby while still working. I was earning only about 10-30% of my spending, which was only a very small fraction of my "work" income. But I was confident it was scalable and had many other ideas for hobby income. Starting off one hobby income stream before quitting helped me understand how possible it actually is, and gave me some more confidence when deciding when to quit.

smoghat

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Re: Post-FIRE folks: How many of you ended up earning from paying hobbies?
« Reply #16 on: December 27, 2016, 08:34:18 PM »
Not just earning, but taking a loss in it on the taxes. That said, I have had years of substantial income on my side work, so taking years of substantial losses is perfectly fair.… 

gerardc

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Re: Post-FIRE folks: How many of you ended up earning from paying hobbies?
« Reply #17 on: December 27, 2016, 10:07:34 PM »
I'd be very curious to see this data sliced by age. I suspect the younger you are, the most towards "yes" you'll be.

deborah

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Re: Post-FIRE folks: How many of you ended up earning from paying hobbies?
« Reply #18 on: December 27, 2016, 10:56:41 PM »
I'd be very curious to see this data sliced by age. I suspect the younger you are, the most towards "yes" you'll be.
Not necessarily. Younger people haven't had as much time to become good in a hobby, and to become dedicated to it. They also tend to have a lot more to do with their time - like looking after young children.

PawPrint53

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Re: Post-FIRE folks: How many of you ended up earning from paying hobbies?
« Reply #19 on: December 28, 2016, 04:06:47 PM »
My sister retired at 55 and started taking various classes (e.g., fused glass) to see what kinds of fun things she'd like to pursue in retirement. She was interested in photography so started taking point and shoot photos, then got an SLR and now she sells $15K of photographs a year and has won a lot of photography competitions. She lives on the coast and is part of an artist cooperative. She didn't go into it thinking she'd sell a bunch of photographs, but it just ended up that way. The extra money pays for some pretty fancy lenses and equipment, and she gets to deduct travel expenses.

soccerluvof4

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Re: Post-FIRE folks: How many of you ended up earning from paying hobbies?
« Reply #20 on: December 29, 2016, 06:43:46 AM »
I clicked on No only because yes I have done some selling on CL but haven't purchased things to sell. I am looking at ideas to find away to make an extra 500$ a month doing as little as possible. Since fire'd I don't have a lot of constant time to do something with any type of schedule though I do have a lot of extra time. Was thinking maybe dabbling in real-estate sales.

Metric Mouse

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Re: Post-FIRE folks: How many of you ended up earning from paying hobbies?
« Reply #21 on: December 31, 2016, 07:05:48 AM »
I clicked on No only because yes I have done some selling on CL but haven't purchased things to sell. I am looking at ideas to find away to make an extra 500$ a month doing as little as possible. Since fire'd I don't have a lot of constant time to do something with any type of schedule though I do have a lot of extra time. Was thinking maybe dabbling in real-estate sales.

I've got a buddy who does real-estate. Makes fantastic money on the side, for what appears to be relatively little effort or time (once licensed of course)