Posted: 11/18/2025 10:45:28 AM EDT
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Most of us tend to have a "two is one, one is none" approach to prep equipment. I'm going to suggest this approach may be relevant with regards to income. I'm going to sing the praises of the side hustle. We've seen it a lot: good job, but it's sole source of income. Something happens: plant closes, temp layoff, government shut down, whatever, and all of a sudden the good income went "POOF!, Gone!". Ideally there is an Emergency Fund. Excellent prep. However, a side hustle can pick up a LOT of the slack, taking a Emergency Fund and stretching it out. I've been seeing another benefit to a Side Hustle: while I am very responsible and fiscally sound with regular income, the side hustle is "extra". Possible uses are: 1) Back up job. When unemployment, it's often easier to scale a side gig up than it is to find a new job. I've done this a few times over last two decades. 2) Debt Reduction. Girl Friend, now wife, had $100,000 +/- in debt. The side hustle completely paid that down in a period of two years 3) Preps/ Emergency funds: extra $, or a portion , can be used to further prep . I'm buying another generator with some extra money 4) Quality of Life: those of us who are very "controlled" in our spending can sometimes begin to feel slightly too responsible. Raiding the budget for "fun" doesn't work well. However, if it's extra income over the budget, we find we can indulge in some extras without guilt,and while still being "responsible". Example: we just booked a rather expensive hotel for a few nights, in a very prime location, for a mid winter getaway... 5) Retirement Bridge. I just retired in Sept. No more employment income. But I'm 57. Too early for Social Security. The side hustle seriously supplements income, acting as a bridge to Social Security and reduces amounts withdrawn from investments, increasing security. I coach motorcycle classes. This gig has been a serious economic contributor for 20+ years. And in periods of unemployment, it got scaled up. If you have some special training or certification, it can often be monetized. Home handyman: gentlemen, the epidemic of "I'm a professional, independent, divorced 40+ woman" has created a huge opportunity: minor house jobs. Anything from painting, to hanging blinds, repairing the kitchen drawer slide, replacing the cartridge in the shower faucet, or the flapper on the toilet. Serious cash money available here, all for simple two hour- two day jobs. Once you've done a job or two, Be done it well, the ladies network fires up " omg, I got a guy. He painted my porch,and it looks great!... " And the phone starts ringing... Mobile Equipment Maintenance: oil changes, winterization, basic maintenance on ATVs, lawn mowers, generators, out board motors, etc. Door Dash. No personal experience. Retired buddy loves this gig. He signs on or off as time allows. Apparently, he does well.... Ideally, a fantastic side job ISNT part time retail at Home Depot. The usual schedule requirements often take away too much life. It's too intrusive. Excellent side Hustles are "self employed": you work when it suits you. And they are often cash businesses. Two is one, one is none . This might apply to income. Food for thought. |
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All good info. I have made a nice chunk of side money doing remodeling and HVAC work this year. Paid for a luxury trip to the Caribbean for the wife and I for next year. Lots of cash money to be made too. Reliable home handyman work is in VERY high demand. TONS of money to be made there. The combo of people who cannot do anything with their hands and single women means LOTS of money in small easy home repair jobs. |
"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
| I retired at 51 with 25 years of state service. I work four days a week in a grocery store, most of that money goes to assets and preps. My side hustle is scrap metal. Most of that is scrap brass, turned in 114 lbs this morning after separating what I wanted and what will sell online. Brass money pays for my reloading components. That's three ( really five)sources of income, the wife has three and we are debt free including home/property. |
| I have done home improvement as a side gig for when I get bored or want to fund gun purchases. It does pay well, but sometimes can occupy more time than I want to invest. I had to jack up a sagging house for a family member. It took a few months as to not risk damaging the house during the lifting. Then I had to rebuild the trust that ran under the house and add extra supports. I am getting a bit old to lift houses. I would rather paint/drywall. |
Well, I was drunk the day my mom got out of prison....
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Always got a side hustle even though I got a decent pay 40hr+/week job, and do have jic funds in addition to savings & investments I can tap into if I'm down a long while until I recover and go back to work. When it's close to home/good pay do a bit of fill in short/part time armed security. Same as close to home brush hogging/dirt work with my tractor. And not so much anymore since I'm old & body is bit busted up build basic sheds or small pole barns, but times get tough can still do some carpentry. Live a bit off a main road to a lake/state park, the campers always need firewood of any kind for their campfires, since the limbing crews for electric companies leave all the wood they cut up laying in the ditches & along fence lines and property owners don't want it, its easy to just go along for multiple truck & trailer loads, real easy when you catch the limbing crews cutting and take them a sack of bologna sandwiches or 30pack of natty and they'll load the truck & trailer as cut. |
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Originally Posted By R_S: No doubt having a side hustle is good insurance. I do wish teaching firearms paid as much as engineering... but its better than nothing. Definitely. And let's face it, it's a lot of fun and you get to hang out and help like minded folks. |
www.jrhenterprises.com
Over 30 Years in business- Thank you for your business!
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Over 30 Years in business- Thank you for your business!
Quickest ways to contact us-
912.375.1480
[email protected]
I’m retired, collecting a pension and still working, for a school district. My side hustle doesn’t make much, I help out supervising the weight room during community hours. I was working out anyways, so now I get paid to.  That, plus working part time during summer school allows me to travel a bit, when I have time. |
"anarcho-tyranny"—They refuse to control real criminals so They control the innocent.
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Even being able to do your own R&R (properly) on vehicles and home is a huge money saver. A friend of mine does the handyman thing, it turned into a sizeable business with a shop and employees with nothing but word of mouth. He is a grade A handyman. My understanding is that the golden days of delivery/driving apps are in the past. People with legit licenses or good stolen/fake ones pimp out those accounts to people who are legally prohibited from driving. This has driven down the profit to the driver to the point that the more you do it, the more money you lose. |
| My wife and I both do Doordash and Instacart whenever we can, we originally used it to build an emergency fund but we quickly hit that goal and now split it up in a specific account. 25% goes into our 18 month old Daughter’s savings account, 25% goes towards groceries including long term storage foods, 25% goes to God (church, giving friends, family and strangers gift cards typically), 25% goes to our savings. I also do firearms and tactics instruction on the side about twice a month and that money goes to our savings as well. Metals are important and we do invest in them, but typically we have need for cash so we focus on that primarily while preparing for other stuff. |
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Originally Posted By Lowdown3: Definitely. And let's face it, it's a lot of fun and you get to hang out and help like minded folks. Originally Posted By Lowdown3: Originally Posted By R_S: No doubt having a side hustle is good insurance. I do wish teaching firearms paid as much as engineering... but its better than nothing. Definitely. And let's face it, it's a lot of fun and you get to hang out and help like minded folks. For sure! |
per aspera ad astra
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I always thought that I was going to do the FFL thing as a retirement gig When I didnt renew the FFL after 30 years because of all the new laws, I didn't have a backup plan for new income It turns out that I'm busy now that I'm retired. I'm not bored. I pick and choose what I want to tie up my time with I juggled three jobs most of my working life so that I don't have to work until I'm 80 |
*post contains personal opinion only and should not be considered information released in an official capacity*
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Picked up a little bandsaw mill right before covid, and turns out my timing was impeccable for once. Sawmills went totally nuts after everyone had time and stimulus checks. Was able to sell it for significantly more than I gave and invest in a really nice one. I have always called it my hobby, but it is very handy to have all the wood you want, and I can punch out small orders as I am able. Also, most of the scrap can be cut down and sold for campfire wood. What they are asking at the 7/11 for 6 sticks of wood is rediculous. Plus it is really good exercise. Doc |
I scrounge brass at my range and sell it to the scrapyard as a small-ish side gig. Buuuut, upon talking to my tax guy about how to report the $ on my taxes ($4000-ish for the current tax year), it turns out that I am considered "a business" and so have to pay self-employment tax. Which jacks my tax rate up to 41%! So said side gig became a lot less attractive by the time I pay extra taxes and gas, etc. I have ZERO deductions I can take... bringing my hourly rate free and clear to a generous $5 an hour.  Plus I get to deal with estimated quarterly payments to the IRS and state, oh joy. Hard to do when the amount of brass I get is seasonal, hence most in spring and summer, least in fall and winter.Dunno why I bother, other than its easy work and I do it when I feel like it, no boss, etc. Better than no money coming in I guess (I'm a stay at home dad, basically retired). Something better would be nice, other than some lousy retail part time job. |
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Originally Posted By billclo: I scrounge brass at my range and sell it to the scrapyard as a small-ish side gig. Buuuut, upon talking to my tax guy about how to report the $ on my taxes ($4000-ish for the current tax year), it turns out that I am considered "a business" and so have to pay self-employment tax. Which jacks my tax rate up to 41%! So said side gig became a lot less attractive by the time I pay extra taxes and gas, etc. I have ZERO deductions I can take... bringing my hourly rate free and clear to a generous $5 an hour. Plus I get to deal with estimated quarterly payments to the IRS and state, oh joy. Hard to do when the amount of brass I get is seasonal, hence most in spring and summer, least in fall and winter.Dunno why I bother, other than its easy work and I do it when I feel like it, no boss, etc. Better than no money coming in I guess (I'm a stay at home dad, basically retired). Something better would be nice, other than some lousy retail part time job. The scrapyard gives you cash for the brass? And you are reporting that as income? 
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Ludwig Boltzmann, who spent much of his life studying statistical mechanics, died in 1906, by his own hand, Paul Bhranfest, carrying on the work, died similarly in 1933, Now it is our turn to study statistical mechanics...
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There is so much money to be made right now by people who can (and are willing) to work with their hands. Many (most?) people can’t fix the simplest of things. So, they will pay money to those who can. Probably one of the most lucrative businesses out there at the moment is home handyman type work. Easy work and pays well. And, most is in cash. For a side hustle, it’s one of the best ones. |
"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
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Originally Posted By WWolfe: The scrapyard gives you cash for the brass? And you are reporting that as income? Originally Posted By WWolfe: Originally Posted By billclo: I scrounge brass at my range and sell it to the scrapyard as a small-ish side gig. Buuuut, upon talking to my tax guy about how to report the $ on my taxes ($4000-ish for the current tax year), it turns out that I am considered "a business" and so have to pay self-employment tax. Which jacks my tax rate up to 41%! So said side gig became a lot less attractive by the time I pay extra taxes and gas, etc. I have ZERO deductions I can take... bringing my hourly rate free and clear to a generous $5 an hour. Plus I get to deal with estimated quarterly payments to the IRS and state, oh joy. Hard to do when the amount of brass I get is seasonal, hence most in spring and summer, least in fall and winter.Dunno why I bother, other than its easy work and I do it when I feel like it, no boss, etc. Better than no money coming in I guess (I'm a stay at home dad, basically retired). Something better would be nice, other than some lousy retail part time job. The scrapyard gives you cash for the brass? And you are reporting that as income? No, they don't pay cash anymore due to the metal thieves. Its all via check, which leaves a paper trail. It surely would suck if said scrapyard gets audited and they cross-referenced the checks with who got the money and looked at their tax returns... And since the IRS is rumored to be using AIs to help correlate data... it would become obvious that people weren't reporting said income, you know, tax evasion. I don't want to have the IRS crawling up my ass, or worse get to go to pound me in the ass Federal prison you know. |
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Originally Posted By billclo: I scrounge brass at my range and sell it to the scrapyard as a small-ish side gig. Buuuut, upon talking to my tax guy about how to report the $ on my taxes ($4000-ish for the current tax year), it turns out that I am considered "a business" and so have to pay self-employment tax. Which jacks my tax rate up to 41%! So said side gig became a lot less attractive by the time I pay extra taxes and gas, etc. I have ZERO deductions I can take... You can't deduct vehicle mileage? |
Heller II - Challenging DC's bans on semi-automatic rifles, large-capacity ammunition feeding devices, and its onerous and expensive handgun registration process. http://www.HellerFoundation.org/
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I found an unserved niche that I believe I will serve with print on demand services. I plan on having everything ready to go in Q4 2026... I don't want to rush it out the door now, and I don't want to complicate my 2025 taxes over one month of an online store. I've gone completely through the whole business strategy and plan using ChatGPT to deep dive into all the alternatives for each step etc. Since you don't have to keep any stock on hand (orders are printed and filled by the fulfillment company at each order submission), the expected possible annual loss is about $23 in listing fees at the worst case scenario. Expected time for this venture will be a couple hours per week, max. Possible profit up to a couple thousand a month, who knows. My son is VERY good at getting engagement with random videos etc on TikTok, Instagram, etc so I'll be taking some tips off of him for that. Very very low risk, and minimal time. I make a comfortable living, no debt... I do NOT want to be trading my time for money. It's not worth it to me. |
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Originally Posted By Bubbles: You can't deduct vehicle mileage? Originally Posted By Bubbles: Originally Posted By billclo: I scrounge brass at my range and sell it to the scrapyard as a small-ish side gig. Buuuut, upon talking to my tax guy about how to report the $ on my taxes ($4000-ish for the current tax year), it turns out that I am considered "a business" and so have to pay self-employment tax. Which jacks my tax rate up to 41%! So said side gig became a lot less attractive by the time I pay extra taxes and gas, etc. I have ZERO deductions I can take... You can't deduct vehicle mileage? No. My going back and forth to the range to collect the brass would be considered "commuting", not deductable. The IRS would disallow it and penalize me. |
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Originally Posted By billclo: No. My going back and forth to the range to collect the brass would be considered "commuting", not deductable. The IRS would disallow it and penalize me. |
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Originally Posted By -Obsessed-: I don't know if any side hustle that could even remotely come close to bridging the gap of my salary. In fact I fell into a side hustle and walked away from it as my time is more valuable right now. |
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Originally Posted By Bubbatheredneck: You sort and sell the brass from your home. That is the place of business. Not the range. Going to the range is not commuting. Get a PO Box. Start selling a little bit online even if it's a loss leader. Driving to, and from the PO Box is deductible mileage as well. Selling brass online is a non-starter. Several years ago, I sorted and tumbled about 25k pcs of range brass, no further processing. It took a LOT of time, and guess what? Nobody would pay even scrap value for it. Reloaders are the cheapest bastards on the planet. They wanted to pay less than scrap value and for me to eat shipping. No way would I sell online again. Absolute waste of time. Being able to deduct a 4-mile roundtrip @ $.70/mile isn't going to offset that. |
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I retired early at 48 over a year ago and moved to our bug out location. My wife still works remotely I would have worked remotely as I was working hybrid but they did not want anyone fully remote anymore. I have a YouTube channel and sell military surplus (I'm in a small mountain town) I think I made in a year what I used to make in a week  I'ts rough as Im not a very good YouTuber and I can only sell so much surplus to local preppers and tourist hikers / hunters. I am trying to fill or create a need. The surplus was creating a need and most people have cash and no place to spend it. BUT I can only sell at local events that are not frequent as I don't have or know if I want to spend for a store front. brainstorming about this keeps me up at night...thanks goodness we have zero debt or I'd be a mess |
have gun will travel
Well you seen much combat? ......... I've seen a little on TV.
We are jolly green giants, walking the Earth with guns.
Lifetime NRA member SADLY
now GOA and ASA member!!!!!
Well you seen much combat? ......... I've seen a little on TV.
We are jolly green giants, walking the Earth with guns.
Lifetime NRA member SADLY
now GOA and ASA member!!!!!
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For whatever it’s worth….if you make anything less than $10k cash in your side hustle, the feds don’t care. It’s not worth their time. Thats part of the reason there were so many bullshit PPP loans under $10k. The IRS is going after the fraudulent claims on the PPP debacle that are in the hundreds of thousands or millions. They have written off the small fraudulent ones as not worth their time. Do with that info what you will. |
"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
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Originally Posted By billclo: Being able to deduct a 4-mile roundtrip @ $.70/mile isn't going to offset that. You know, maybe expand slightly....Find a range 50ish miles away to add to your client base. A nice one, one you enjoy shooting at....Pickup once a week or so, that's 100 miles a week 50 weeks a year...5000 x .70 = $3,500.00 deduction. The trip to the scrapyard is also deductible, so is the trip to the bank to deposit the check...ANYTHING you use your personal vehicle for to further this business is a deductible mile. All you have to do is keep a logsheet and be comfortable defending it. Take the new range owner/manager(client) out to lunch to woo them and allow you to grab the brass. Talk some business, Document it: Who was there/What was discussed. Half the meal is deductible. A good CPA should have all of this committed to memory. |
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Originally Posted By billclo: I scrounge brass at my range and sell it to the scrapyard as a small-ish side gig. Buuuut, upon talking to my tax guy about how to report the $ on my taxes ($4000-ish for the current tax year), it turns out that I am considered "a business" and so have to pay self-employment tax. Which jacks my tax rate up to 41%! So said side gig became a lot less attractive by the time I pay extra taxes and gas, etc. I have ZERO deductions I can take... bringing my hourly rate free and clear to a generous $5 an hour. Plus I get to deal with estimated quarterly payments to the IRS and state, oh joy. Hard to do when the amount of brass I get is seasonal, hence most in spring and summer, least in fall and winter.Dunno why I bother, other than its easy work and I do it when I feel like it, no boss, etc. Better than no money coming in I guess (I'm a stay at home dad, basically retired). Something better would be nice, other than some lousy retail part time job. Find another end buyer of the brass Sell some of it to club members who reload, for instance |
*post contains personal opinion only and should not be considered information released in an official capacity*
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| My side hustle was teaching part-time at a local university. I did this for 13 years. It was a great traveling and shooting fund. When I got kicked to the curb by corporate America in 2019, the University offered me a full-time position. Teaching is a wonderful job, and I have life balance back. My corporate job was so toxic that I wish I walked away sooner. |