About this video

• Video Title: The Truth About "Side Hustles"
• Channel: Money Talks
• Speakers: None explicitly named
• Duration: 00:09:55

Overview

This video debunks the common narrative surrounding side hustles, arguing that they often require more time, knowledge, and effort than influencers suggest. The speaker shares personal experiences with various side hustles, highlighting their minimal financial returns and the significant time investment involved. The video contrasts these with more traditional income-generating strategies like excelling in a 9-to-5 job or specific, less-discussed methods like credit card and bank account churning.

Key takeaways

• Misleading Online Narratives: Many online sources oversimplify side hustles, omitting the extensive time and knowledge required for success, leading to unrealistic expectations.
• Personal Experience with Side Hustles: The speaker details trying various side hustles (mystery shopping, surveys, blogging, eBay reselling, social media marketing, Twitter account growth) over 10 years, yielding very little income ($0 to $1,500 total in most cases).
• Effort vs. Reward Discrepancy: Building a successful side hustle requires significant, often unacknowledged, hours of learning and effort, which may not translate into substantial income. For example, a 40,000-follower Twitter account yielded only $1,500 over four years.
• Alternative Income Strategies: The video suggests focusing on excelling in a primary job with potential for raises and promotions, or exploring less-hyped methods like credit card and bank account churning, which can offer quicker returns.
• Value Creation is Difficult: True value in a side hustle is determined by the customer, not the creator, making it challenging to consistently generate income, even with high-quality content or products.

The speaker tried the following side hustles with these financial outcomes:

• Mystery Shopping: $0
• Taking Surveys: $0
• Blogging: $100 (over an unspecified period, implied to be within the last 10 years)
• eBay Reselling: $200 (over an unspecified period, implied to be within the last 10 years)
• Social Media Marketing: $1,500 (over 10 years, before taxes)
• Twitter Account Growth (40,000 followers): $1,500 (over four years)

The two specific "turning" side hustles the speaker recommends are:

1. Credit Card Turning: This involves signing up for credit cards, spending money on expenses that would be incurred anyway, and collecting sign-up bonuses. The speaker made between $2,000 to $3,000 from this, not including cashback.
2. Bank Account Turning: This involves signing up for bank accounts, earning the sign-up bonuses, and then closing the account. The speaker suggests this can potentially yield up to $10,000 per year, and potentially $20,000 per year if done with a significant other.

The speaker mentions two side hustles that can bring in income within the first month and make sense for an employee with a day job:

1. Credit Card Turning: This involves strategically using credit card sign-up bonuses for expenses you would incur anyway. The speaker personally earned $2,000-$3,000 from this, excluding cashback.
2. Bank Account Turning: This involves signing up for bank accounts to receive sign-up bonuses and then closing the account. This method could potentially earn individuals up to $10,000-$20,000 per year.

Additionally, the speaker mentions investing in simple, low-cost index funds and holding the investment long-term as a way to build wealth, though this is more of an investment strategy than a typical "side hustle."

The speaker also states that they will make a future video recommending side hustles that "actually brings in income" and recommends.