Listen: Figuring Out Your Ideal Side Hustle

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Welcome to Play That Back, where we spotlight conversations from our main show that are worth a second look. So, follow me for a second. Maybe you're trying to make the most of your budget, or you just want a little extra breathing room in your wallet. So how are you going to get there?

For a lot of us, the first thought that pops up is a side hustle.

More money in, problem solved. At least in theory.

The truth is, though, side hustles can be tricky. There's the time commitment, the learning curves—the list goes on. I think all of that is what made our conversation with Tiffany Aliche, aka The Budgetnista, super interesting.

She breaks down what a side hustle actually should be, what to avoid, and how to lean into the skills that you already have instead of creating more work for yourself. It's smart, it's encouraging, and honestly, Tiffany's stories alone are worth a listen. So enough from me. Let's play that back.

Hey there.

It is Cherry Dale, and I'm so excited to introduce our guest today, The Budgetnista herself, Tiffany Aliche.

Thank you for having me, Cherry. I'm excited to be here.

You know, when it comes to a certain point where you feel like you're drowning, or you know that you need to do more to help yourself financially, there's two choices. Right? You either make more money, or you spend less money. If you're thinking about making more money, side hustles come to many people's mind, especially now because there's so many different things that you can do outside of a nine-to-five job to make that extra income.

From your experience, how would you describe a side hustle, passive income, and as people are exploring that, what are some things that they should be keeping in mind with that income?

So a side hustle is not meant to replace your job. Right? And it's also not meant to be like a business. Right?

So just know that, like, when you're thinking about a side hustle, it is meant to be as light as a lift as possible with the best financial return. You know, it's different. If you're like, “Tiffany, I want to start a business. Great.”

That's separate from this.

That's different. Yes.

Yes. This is “I just need to make some extra money.” So as a result of that, because sometimes people give small business energy to side hustle and then they're exhausted. I'm like, “No no no no.”

This is not, you know, we're not going to college for side hustles. Right. This is just, you know.

Something to earn a little bit extra, maybe, in a season in your life that you need. Yes. Yes.

So two things I like to think about when I was doing, creating side hustles for myself: I said, “Side hustle rule number one: Is it something that I currently have experience in?” Because I don't want to learn a new skill. Right.

You know, like, so that's why I used to babysit and tutor because I'm like, “I'm with babies all day long anyway. No new skill. I could do this with my eyes closed.” And so is it something that you either currently doing at your job, you've done before, you have experience in, so you don't have to learn a new skill.

Maybe hone that skill, but not a brand skill. And then number two, one of my rules: Is it something that I have a certification or education in that will allow me to say, “This is why you actually have to pay me more?” Because I realized that, when I was tutoring, so I'd be looking for tutoring jobs, and they were like, oh, you know, non-teacher, you know, twenty bucks an hour. Teacher, thirty bucks.

I'm like, oh, because I have my teaching certificate. Okay.

Right.

And so I was like, so it doesn't always work out that way, but it's something that I would be looking for. So I if I'm going to be here anyway, why not make an extra ten, fifteen dollars an hour? So I'll give you an example of side hustle that a friend of mine is doing right now. He's doing great.

So ever since I've known him, he's been very well dressed. I mean, everybody knows, oh my gosh, like, he always dresses so great. And he was like, “I need to make a little extra money on the side. You know, my, I'm saving up for my daughter's college fund.”

And so he started thrifting because he has such a good eye because people would stop him in the street and say, “Oh I love it, where'd you get this?” He was already a thrifter for himself, so something he didn't have to learn, already very stylish, and then he found places where he lives that, where they were like, “Oh we have, like, you know, whatever outdoor marketplace or whatever, and you can have a table.” And so sometimes he makes upwards of fifteen hundred to three thousand dollars a weekend because he buys something for three or four dollars that looks really cute and then sells it for more.

So he didn't have to learn a new skill set. He was already stylish and he was already thrifting. And so that was one of the things that, you know, he was able to do. Like I said, for me, it was tutoring and babysitting.

I know folks who, like, do handyman things, like, on the side because they're like, you know, “I grew up helping my dad, you know, build houses, and so I'm actually pretty handy, and I could fix things.”

So you’d just be surprised, like, asking yourself, like, “What skill set do I already have, and, ideally, do I have some sort of certificate or degree in it so I can actually demand more?”

Very good. So what are some common mistakes or oversights to be on the lookout for when you have a side hustle or passive income?

Scams. Oh my goodness. I was like I think I was, like, a scam magnet when I was in my twenties. I remember, and I don't know if the credit union had this issue, but do you remember when people were giving fake, oh, what were they called?

Not checks. Money order? Money market? No. But, basically, like, a check that's like—that's more like, I guess it's a cashier's check.

I don't know. But so anyway, I used to look for tutoring jobs on Craigslist, which probably was not a good idea. So I remember that this is before that this scam was like well known. And I found a job, and it sounded great.

The guy's name was, like, John or something. He's like, “I have my daughter, you know, would really love, I live in a different country, but she lives in America. Would really love for you to tutor her.” I said, “Okay.”

Great.

He said, “I'm going to send you the money up front.”

Oh, yes. I know.

Okay.

Remember it's like this is a big [inaudible] and then it’s not.

Yeah.

Yeah. And I was like, “Okay. That seems odd, but I'm twenty-two, so I don't know.” You know?

So he sent me the thing up front. And I remember, at the time, it was so new, that scam, I actually brought it to the bank. And the banker said, “Actually, this is—" Because I don't know how they were doing it, but it actually looked legitimate temporarily. Yes.

Yeah. And so John was like, “Okay.”

Cash that, whatever, money check, whatever it was. I can't remember what it was called. And then I actually gave you too much. Can you return?

So let's just say the job was five hundred dollars. He gave me a thousand-dollar check and had wanted me to return five hundred dollars to him. And I just remember thinking, you know, Spidey senses go up. And I said, “That seems weird.

Why didn't you just give me a five-hundred-dollar check?” You know? And I just remember being like, so I didn't deposit it because I just was like, “That just seems weird.” I told him, I said, “Honestly, just send me a five-hundred-dollar check.

I don't feel comfortable, like, cashing it and then sending it back.” You know? Yeah. And he was just like, “Do you wanna jump on a call?

You know, I can convince you.” So he told me his name was John, and he lived in Taiwan, which is funny because John's from Taiwan. And I said, “Okay.” So I remember, like, he called and I said, “Hello?”

And right away, I recognized his accent.

Because I'm Nigerian.

And at first, I thought it was one of my uncles calling me. I was like, “Hey, Uncle Tony. And he's like, “No. No. This is John.” I'm like, “John?” And he said, “Yeah.” John from Taiwan. I was like, I mean, literally, my head was like, I don't—no, this is my uncle Tony, because I know this accent. And I was like, “Well, you know, you sound—are you from Nigeria?” And he said, and I think he realized that. I said, “Well, I'm Nigerian, and I'm pretty sure you're—now I'm not saying you don't live in Taiwan, but that's not what you said.”

I think he realized that, uh-oh. Yeah. Like, “I've been I've been found out quickly.”

And then after that, obviously, I realized these kind of, like, scams were afoot. And then it was, like, months and months later that I saw a sign then, probably six months later at the bank that says, if you have a money order I think that's what it was. It was a money order.

Okay.

“If you have a money order from someone you don't know,” because I guess the bank caught on that people were doing this. Yeah. You know, to be very careful, and I thought, “Wow, that's terrible.” So that's what I would caution against it.

You're going to be side hustling. One, not to overwork yourself and overwhelm yourself. Two, look out for scams. You know, people paying in ways that seem weird.

Yes. You know, so if it doesn't seem like it makes sense, it probably doesn't.

It should be very direct and easy, and also, two, like, the side hustle shouldn't ideally overwhelm you. You know? There are things, like, I know people who rent out their garage, you know, or they live next to a, maybe, like, a train station, and they rent out their driveway for parking. So it doesn't have to be this big, elaborate thing. It could just be easy-breezy.

Right. Oh, such good advice. Thank you, Tiffany.

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