What about making some extra cash from side hustles for everyone? If you are on or interested in FI/FIRE, passive income, or just extra cash flow I’m sure the question has popped up in your mind. This article is for you where I will talk about side hustles for everyone that you can utilize. Also, these side hustles can be great for any FI/FIRE path you may be on. But first, let’s discuss Lean FIRE, FIRE, Barista, and Coast FIRE.
Side hustles can be a powerful tool to help accelerate your FIRE path. This is why I would like to briefly go over a few.
Barista and Coast FIRE is arguably the more enjoyable path. I feel these two FIRE options are still fairly new and there tends to be confusion about what they are. Let me break down what MFJ thinks these two paths mean. Also, check out my Barista and Coast FIRE Facebook group. It’s a great community where we all share our experiences and help each other out through the journey.
Barista FIRE
Barista FIRE is where you are drawing down from your investment portfolio at whatever safe withdrawal rate you decide on. At the same time, you decide to get a part-time gig for health care and or a little extra income to smooth out the ride.
Smoothing out the ride will be unique to each person’s or family’s situation. It could be they simply want a little extra cash flow to have more fun. Or it could be the big healthcare obstacle that is hard to tackle here in America. Some people will simply work that part-time gig just for healthcare coverage.
For us Americans, healthcare can get insanely expensive fairly quickly. Especially if you already have an underlying issue.
Let me clear the air the part-time gig does not have to be a “barista”. It can be any part-time gig you want.
Coast FIRE
Coast FIRE is when you hit an amount in your investments where if you don’t contribute any more money you will hit FIRE at your intended age.
At this point, you get to downshift. Time to transition to finding work you enjoy. Now you just have to cover your living expenses. This situation is also going to be unique to each person’s or family’s expenses. Some people might only need to work part-time to cover those and others would work full-time.
You might even decide to work full-time because you found the career you love and it doesn’t even feel like work. I love Coast FIRE for this exact reason. It gives you so many options and flexibility over your life.
Lean FIRE
Lean FIRE is when being Financially Independent and Retired Early on a Lean budget. Now there is a big difference in how I just labeled it. I did not give a number instead I gave an outlined variable that will depend on each person’s unique situation. To me, this is the best way to explain LEAN FIRE, especially to new people in the community. This way we can accurately show others that LEAN FIRE looks very different depending on your lifestyle and wants.
To me, LEAN FIRE looks like around $20,000 give or take. It allows me to cover all my “needs” like housing, transportation, healthcare, activities, and food. But it does not leave me much of a safe buffer nor a chance to increase my lifestyle without having to go back to work. It also might not allow me to get the nicest housing, or transportation out there. I might have to settle with say a used Honda Civic vs a New Honda Accord.
This is where a small side hustle can make all the difference.
FIRE
FIRE is when you are Financially Independent and Retired Early on a Normal budget. This outline again is unique to everyone and what they feel would be their normal lifestyle. Mind you this could also depend on where you live, HCOL vs LCOL. Yet FIRE would also allow the person to move and relocate if desired.
I love using M1 Finance as part of my FIRE strategy. Their pie approach to investing makes it easy for anyone to invest.
The way I look at FIRE is around $30,000 – $40,000 of passive income a year. This would allow me to cover more than my needs. I can cover an upgraded lifestyle from what I currently am living here in San Diego. This would also give me a nice buffer in case I needed one. This will easily cover upgraded housing, transportation, food, and activities. This would say get me the new Subaru, or Ford Truck vs the used way older model. It would allow me to go out to eat way more than we already do plus get the lushes housing without any concerns.
Ultimately I think the goal and beautiful side of these paths is they give you the power to downshift and find a low-stress job.
Side Hustles For Everyone
FIRE side hustles for everyone! Here are the juicy side hustles you have been waiting for. Now, mind you these are just some of the side hustles that come to mind. If you have others please share them and I can add them to this list to make it better for the community and everyone to use.
Ok so if you want medical and a 401K here are some great side hustles to consider. These all get fairly good reviews as low-stress jobs. I also have heard they all pay fairly well for the type of work that you do. These can all be done either part-time or full-time depending on what your goals and needs are.
These also provide healthcare for part-time employees. This is a huge financial hack for the community. You can simply work part-time and still have healthcare coverage! As I mentioned earlier healthcare can get expensive here in America pretty quickly. This is an option that could help a lot of folks in the FIRE community. It’s a low-stress side hustle with benefits.
- Chipoltle
- Costco
- Amazon
- Ups
Side Hustles For Cash
Looking for just some extra cash? I got you, here are a few low-stress ideas you can do from almost anywhere. What I love about this is that anyone in the FIRE community can utilize these. Barista FIRE, Coast FIRE, FIRE, FI, Lean FIRE, Slow FI, Fat FIRE, Starting out FIRE, and, YOLO FIRE.
By knowing how much you need a month you can pick the place you rather work at. You can also know how many hours you need to work. Are you looking for full-time or part-time, these little details matter in the planning process.
- Uber
- Ubereats
- Door Dash
Another option is only to work seasonally like Xmas or summer. There are tons of good options for doing this! Many places will have specific options relative to your location or home base. There are tons of options and flexibility if you think unconventionally.
More FIRE Side Gigs
Want more low-stress options or just more side gigs in general? Here is another list of low-stress jobs that came to mind. All of these are jobs that I feel I could do part-time or some of them full-time for extra income.
What might be right or ok for me might not be for you. That is ok and is normal. We all have different likes, dislikes, and preferences.
- Freelance Work
- Odd Jobs
- Dog Walker
- Dog Groomer
- Pet Shops
- House Sitting
- Pet Sitting
- Tour Guides
- Bar Crawl Tour
- Theater Guest Sitter
- Substitute Teacher
- Military Reserves
- Bartender Part-Time
- Lowes
- Home Depot
- English Teacher In Another Country
- Sams Club
- Seasonal Park Ranger
- Yoga Instructor
- Climbing Instructor
- Canyoneering Instructor
- Tax Preparer
- T-Shirt Shop
- Organizer Coach
- Standardized Patient
- Fitness Instructor
- Finance Coach
- Photographer
- Hairstylist
- Donating Plasma
Do you have any FIRE side hustles that you would like to add to the list? Please let me know so I can add them and keep this list growing.
Interestingly enough is how I came up with these lists. I decided to think about things I like or would not mind doing. These lists are what naturally flowed afterward. I would add that some of these low-stress jobs have better benefits than others on the list. Some also might not be low-stress to you. That is ok that just means that the side gig job is not for you.
I believe Personal Capital is for everyone! I love using it to track my wealth as it grows every month.
Final Thoughts
I love Barista and Coast FIRE as paths to financial freedom. They are the more enjoyable path. I think any FIRE or FI path is great. They all lead to more options, choices, flexibility, and ultimately freedom. Pick the path that fits best for you and or your family.
There are many low-stress jobs you can downshift and take to reach the same destination. You don’t have to grind it out anymore. Barista and Coast FIRE low-stress jobs give you that flexibility. Keep your options open as this might be a better more enjoyable option to take.
This list of low-stress gigs is not the end all be all. I would love for others to add and build on this list. As it only helps the community with more options and ideas.
A few of these low-stress jobs even offer healthcare for part-time work. That is a huge win for many Americans.
There are even a few cash-side gigs for those just looking to add to their income streams. I like these gigs because they are flexible and you do them as much or as little as you want. It’s on your terms and that is priceless to me.
I hope everyone enjoyed these Barista and Coast FIRE low-stress jobs and they gave you some more ideas for your journey.
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