I went freelance, had a great first year, and then received a tax bill for $6,200 that I had not budgeted for. Here is the complete breakdown of how self-employment taxes work, what I did wrong, and the system I now use to never be surprised again.
I made $11,300 freelancing on the side and spent almost all of it. Then April came, the IRS wanted $1,900, and I learned what self-employment tax truly is.
I spent six months researching Amazon FBA before deciding it wasn't for me. Here's what the YouTube gurus don't tell you, the real economics in the current market, and why most people who try this end up losing money.
Most side hustle articles tell you about the one that worked. I want to show you all four I tried — including the three that didn't — with the real numbers and the time invested in each. The patterns are more useful than any single success story.
Nobody on TikTok talks about virtual bookkeeping. There are no influencers selling courses about it. It is also one of the most reliably profitable side hustles I know of for people willing to learn one specific software and one specific industry's basics.
Every article about freelance writing tells you about people making $200,000 a year. Most actual freelance writers do not. Here is what my second-income freelance writing year actually looked like, with all the numbers.
Before the Etsy shop that worked, there were three side hustles that did not. I lost a year of evenings and roughly $2,200 in startup costs. Here is what I wish someone had told me at the start.
I cannot draw. I have no graphic design background. I made $14,000 last year selling digital printables on Etsy in my spare evenings. Here is exactly how, with the honest version of what nobody mentions.
Not dropshipping. Not crypto. Not MLM. Real side hustles I actually did last month that brought in $1,500 on top of my day job — with honest numbers and zero hype.
