Читать книгу Side Hustles For Dummies - Alan R. Simon - Страница 35

Is real estate an investment or a side hustle? Answer: Either or both!

What about cryptocurrency: An investment or a side hustle? Another answer: Once again, either or both!

Sometimes you’ll find a very fine line between investments and side hustles. Take real estate, for example. If you invest in a property that you plan to rent out, either for someone to live there or for a constantly revolving parade of guests courtesy of Airbnb or Vrbo, then:

 You are definitely investing in real estate.

 You are also doing a side hustle that will involve time and effort but will also earn you money.

Suppose, though, that you plop some of your investment money into a real-estate investment trust (REIT; basically, using your money and other investors’ money to buy real-estate assets) that will become part of your portfolio. You certainly want to keep an eye on the value of that REIT investment, but — and here’s the important part — unlike a house or condo that you buy and then rent out, an investment in a REIT is mostly “passive.” Until you decide to cash in that REIT, it’s just another asset in your portfolio rather than an investment that you actively do something with.

Or suppose that you buy a second vacation home up in the mountains or near a beach, but you have enough money that you don’t need to rent out that vacation home or otherwise try to monetize that real-estate asset while you own it. You may sell the vacation home at some point down the road, or maybe you’ll keep it in the family and pass it down to your children or grandchildren. But along the way, only you, your family, and your friends will visit and stay there. In this case, a vacation home is definitely a real-estate investment, but it doesn’t really fill the bill as a side hustle.

What about cryptocurrency? Suppose you really like the investment potential of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies, and you decide to allocate around 5 percent of your investment portfolio to crypto. Investment? Sure! Side hustle? Nope!

Now suppose you also start recording and uploading videos in which you offer your thoughts about the cryptocurrency market, the underlying blockchain technology, the world of decentralized finance (DEFI) that includes blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, and similar topics. Initially you intend to make money from ads placed with your videos; if your videos get popular enough, you may start a small cryptocurrency advisory service on the side.

Now ask the questions again in light of your expanded approach to cryptocurrency.

Investment? Still a resounding “yes.” Side hustle? Well, because of your videos and ideas for making money above and beyond trading Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the answer is also “yes.”

Wait a minute: Doesn’t it sound more like Jack is taking on a part-time job than starting a side hustle? Well, just like real estate (see the nearby sidebar), there’s a big gray area when it comes to part-time jobs and side hustles.

In Jack’s case, you could argue that his teaching gig fits the description of a side hustle:

 He’ll make some money from his efforts.

 He needs to balance the time he spends on his teaching gig with the time requirements for his full-time job, being careful to avoid any conflicts.

 He can adjust his teaching load to more or fewer classes as his time and energy level permit (with enough advance notice to the community college, of course).

The one main difference between the software development–oriented side hustles that Brian and Keith are doing and Jack’s teaching is that Jack probably doesn’t need to set up any sort of “side-hustle company” for his college teaching. Most likely, the college will pay him as a part-time employee on a W-2 basis; in the United States, that means Jack is a part-time employee rather than a 1099 independent contractor. (See Chapter 7 for all the details about how to form the legal structure for your side hustle.)

But other than this W2-versus-1099 distinction, Jack’s teaching features all the characteristics of a side hustle.