This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
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Hey, what's up? Let's get real today. Today's topic can be expressed in a single sentence. Should I use an emergency savings fund for my side hustle? It's really excited to get this question because I was like, wow, anybody who hears that question already has an opinion about it.
And they probably have a strong opinion. You know, should you use your savings fund for your side hustle? So in this ongoing dialogue, what we're doing with these question and answers, you know, throughout the week, I try to provide my answer as well as perhaps pose any further questions or some insight that might be helpful. So it's not just about answering one question for one listener, but try to look at issues that lots of people who are trying to create additional sources of income might be experiencing or might experience at some point. So that's what we're gonna talk about, this controversial topic.
Should I use my emergency savings fund for my side hustle? Before I do that, I wanna give a quick shout out for a new book that just came out. It's called "Po for Your Problems, "Uncommon Advice from History's "Least Likely Self-Help Guru." And the Po in the title, PoE, is Edgar Allan Poe. So it's like a Stephen King novel combined with the seven habits of highly effective people. And if that sounds interesting to you, which it was to me, you should check it out.
It is the best self-development book I've read in 2021. Very funny and also really interesting. I didn't actually know the author before her publisher sent me an advanced copy of the book, but then I went and read the whole thing. So create book, PoE for Your Problems. And in this episode, emergency savings fund for my side hustle.
Stay tuned. [Music]
Hi Chris, this is Jess from Arcadia. And I recently found your show through Spotify. A few years ago, I began to take my finances more seriously and work on a plan to get out of debt, which led me to you and the goal of increasing my income rather than just trying to cut expenses and save more. So I have a dilemma.
A business project I'd like to invest in will require some real capital. It's not a $100 startup. I have an emergency savings funds that I could tap, but this isn't really an emergency. I've thought a lot about it and I don't think it's a gamble. I think it's a true investment in an idea that I believe in.
But I'm also pretty sure most financial advisors would say, don't touch your emergency fund. What do you say? [Music]
Wow, Jess, what an interesting question. Thank you for sharing that with me and our listeners and congratulations as well on taking your finances more seriously, working on your plan to get out of debt and so on. I'm really curious what our listeners would say.
I feel like they'd be quite divided. And for me, I thought about this a lot. I was like, okay, first of all, this is a personal decision. I don't wanna be responsible for someone wiping out their savings account. But I also know that our listeners are smarter than that.
Like if you have listened for a while, if you are disciplined like Jess and you have made some changes to your habits and all that, you know very well that Side Hustle School, the $100 startup, the model that I teach, it's all about using resources well and starting money making projects without spending a lot of money for the most part. And I also think sometimes in life, it's appropriate to take risks. There's this saying about how it takes money to make money. I hate that saying, it's completely untrue because we have hundreds of examples of $100 startups or $0 startups in our archives, in books I've written and not just me, but there's so many examples out there just in society in general. But the amount of capital required also varies a lot depending on the project.
So it really depends on what you are doing and there are cases in which it's going to require some investment. So just as I wouldn't tell everyone to liquidate their savings, I also wouldn't say to somebody who is really committed to an idea that they should defer their dream. There are times when it's like, this is my dream. I am willing to take some risk and invest in it. So this is why there's a healthy balance or attention there.
In the end, even though this show is about money, like I wanna help people increase their income, diversify their income, et cetera, ultimately it is about self-confidence and security. And so, really money is just a tool for living your life. Money is a means to an end. So what is the best way for you to live your life? That's what I think it comes down to.
So Jess and anybody else out there, do that. Figure out the best way to live your life. And if you believe in this project and you're willing to take some risk for it, then I would say don't listen to anybody who tells you otherwise. And if you are hesitant or unsure, well, maybe you should hold off, but I don't think you should hold off just because somebody else says you should, or you feel like, oh, if I do this, there's gonna be some judgment or something. So if you listen to Jess's question and you just kind of hear her voice and the tone and some of her backstory, all of that to me suggests that she's in a good place to make this kind of decision.
That's what I think about that. Listeners, let me know what you think, or if you have a question, a situation like this or something different, sidehustleschool.com/questions. We will continue to feature them throughout the year with this ongoing dialogue, along with case studies, tips, and actionable stories. Thank you so much for tuning in today. My name is Chris Guillebeau.
This is Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
