#81 How I Earned $0 And Still Get A Raise
Ever worked hard for hours only to make a grand total of $0, right before your day job hands you an 8% raise?
Grab your coffee because we're diving into zero-dollar side hustle realities, digital cash wisdom, and why a multi-million-dollar space rock proves that scarcity is the ultimate money driver!
Congratulated For Earning Zero Dollars
Someone actually congratulated me for earning $0! Yes, you read that right. ZERO dollars. I honestly didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Imagine putting in the time and effort, only to walk away with absolutely nothing to show for it.
But after I got home, had a shower and rested for a bit, I started looking at things differently. Actually, you know what? I did deserve that congratulations. I showed up. I gave it my best shot. Things didn't go my way, but I didn't bail on my livestreaming co-host either. Surely that counts for something?
So yes, I'm giving myself a pat on the back. No money earned, but at least my integrity is still intact. Unfortunately, integrity doesn't pay the electricity bill.
The good thing? I have other income streams! That's the beauty of having several little income streams bubbling away. When one decides to take a holiday, hopefully the others are still reporting for duty.
For instance, I earned US$35 this week just for sharing my opinions in a survey. Imagine that! Someone actually paid me for my two cents' worth. If only everyone did that. I also sold two put options this month.
So while my livestreaming adventure brought home a grand total of $0, the other hustles were doing their bit. And that's exactly why I don't want to depend on just one source of side income. I don't want to be at the mercy of any single hustle, especially one that might decide to ghost me financially.
Who knows? If I keep at this long enough, perhaps one day these little income streams will add up to something substantial enough for me to leave my full-time job. That's the dream, isn't it? To make working a choice rather than a necessity.
Mind you, I still enjoy being an educator. I like the work itself, although there are days when the workload makes me wonder whether I've accidentally signed up for three jobs instead of one. I don't necessarily want to stop working. I just want the freedom to decide whether I feel like working. There's a difference!
My favourite kind of side hustle? The low-maintenance ones. I've come to realise that I prefer side hustles that don't demand too much of my time. After all, what's the point of earning extra money if I have to sacrifice every waking hour to get it?
So far, investing and trading suit me best. I can place a trade with a few clicks and get on with my day. Of course, those few clicks are the easy part. Knowing what to trade is another story altogether.
And frankly, I don't fancy spending hours digging through charts, financial reports and market commentary. So I do what I call outsourcing the research. Well, sort of. I learn from people who have already put in the hours studying the markets.
One of them is Pete, my online trading "teacher". I tune in to his sessions, listen to what he shares, and then decide for myself which trades, if any, make sense for my portfolio. It's not a case of blindly copying his trades. My money, my decisions, my consequences. Nobody else is going to foot the bill if a trade goes south!
And then my day job threw me a curveball...
I got a pay raise this month. A whopping 8%! And with that, I've officially crossed into five-figure monthly salary territory. I should be jumping for joy, right?
Well, I am happy, of course. I'm certainly not going to march into my boss's office and demand that they take the money back. But here's the funny thing. The more I earn from my day job, the harder it becomes to walk away from it. Talk about a first-world problem!
On one hand, I'm busy building side hustles so that I can eventually have the freedom to leave my job and go off to do some YOLO stuff. On the other hand, my day job keeps making itself more attractive by throwing more money at me.
It's almost as if my salary is saying, "Where do you think you're going? Come back here!" And I have to admit, it's doing a pretty good job of convincing me to stay.
So for now, I'll continue teaching, collecting my salary and building my other income streams. Some will earn me money. Some will earn me absolutely nothing. And some might just earn me another congratulatory message for making $0. But I'll keep going.
Because ultimately, I'm not trying to escape a job I hate. I'm trying to build enough financial freedom that I can stay in a job I enjoy without feeling that I have to.
And if I eventually reach that point and still choose to teach? Well, that would be a pretty nice problem to have. Although I wouldn't mind taking a few months off to do absolutely nothing first. Preferably somewhere with a nice beach view and no emails marked "URGENT".
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📚 THE SECRET SYMBOLS OF THE DOLLAR BILL
A thrilling ride through the hidden artwork and cryptic messages stamped on everyday cash—because who doesn’t love discovering secret codes in their wallet?
🎯 The Big Idea: The book explores the arcane symbolism, historical roots, and hidden visual meanings embedded within the design of the US dollar bill.
💡 Why It Matters: It’s a hilarious reminder that the paper money we pass around every day is secretly a tiny history museum wrapped in fascinating folklore.
🚀 Action Step: Pull a dollar bill out of your wallet and inspect the tiny details so you can sound like a total mastermind at your next dinner party.
🔥 Hot Take: It’s like a mystery novel, except the grand treasure at the end is just funding your lunch.
The Multi-Million-Dollar Space Rock
Did you know the largest Mars meteorite on Earth recently sold at auction for a staggering $5.3 million? Talk about cosmic real estate outperforming earthly property markets!
This multi-million-dollar space rock proves that extreme scarcity and public fascination can instantly turn a random lump of debris into an ultra-high-value asset overnight.
Building side hustles while holding down a full-time job is a bit like juggling glowing fire sticks while riding a unicycle uphill—some days you walk away empty-handed with $0, and other days your boss hands you an 8% raise just to test your resolve!
Embrace the journey, protect your peace, and keep building those income streams so that working stays a choice, never a chain.
P.S. Some links in here are affiliate links for tools and wealth-building products I personally use and love. If you snag something through one of them, you'd score a sweet deal and I'd get a perk—at no extra cost to you. Thanks for helping to keep the potpourri fresh!🍃