Work Smarter, Not Harder: How to Pay Your Bills with Less Effort

It sounds crazy to say but I remember both my parents saying that if they I had to have kids again, they probably wouldn’t and would keep all their money for themselves. I was like DAMN, when they said it but I do know where they were coming from, especially now as a mom. 

I’m not gonna lie, I always expected to be a mom. I just didn’t envision my life any other way. Growing up in a two-person household was exactly how I envisioned my daughter to grow up as well. But unfortunately that is not the way it will play out for her and that’s ok. I do believe everything happens for a reason and God has other plans. But with that said, it still means that adjustments have to be made. 

One major adjustment I had to make as a divorcee was to understand what it meant to be a SINGLE MOM. Thank God her father is in her life, but I’m still single and that means everything falls on ME. That garbage that needs to go out twice a week, I gotta do it. That leak under the sink, ME. But what’s worse is if I can’t do it myself, I gotta pay someone else to do it. 

Now I’ve always been a hustler but hustling with a 3 year old is something totally different. Your time is not your time anymore. Sometimes I can feel like I have all the energy in the world but the minute I pull up to that daycare, I’m instantly exhausted. Truthfully it can be draining to be a parent, let alone single parent. 

Although I can totally understand where my parents were coming from, I wouldn’t change having my daughter. She brings me life. But I could never raise her working the schedule that my parents worked. Working 40 plus hours a week for 40 plus years at a job I barely liked plus doing all the things that a child requires would never work for me. I really don’t know how my parents, did it. My mom would have an 1.5 commute to work each way and would still have a home cooked meal on the table EVERY night but the weekends. HOW? 

My parents prepared me for the life I have now. They were not entrepreneurs but they knew how to save money. One the biggest things they taught me was to invest in real estate. Although real estate is not as passive as people like to think, it is still income that I receive without having to be present. I bought my first house at 24, lived in it for 3 years, then rented it out for another 10 years. That first house led me to many more houses. 

If you’ve ever thought about owning real estate, take a look at my checklist HERE to see how you can begin. Being landlord like myself is not for everyone but owning real is a must in the long-term plan of working smarter not harder. 

I continue to look for hustles that will allow me to spend the time I want and need to with my daughter. I love being able to go to Mommy and Me functions that her school has in the middle of the day or pick her up from school if she’s sick. My mom was never able to do any of these things with me because of her job. After she died one of her old job buddies told me that’s why it was so important to her to take care of me as an adult. My mom was known to fly out to wherever I was living to make sure I was ok if she thought for a moment I was sick. I didn’t know until that moment how much that meant to her. 

Anyway if you’re like me and just want to do all you can for you babies while still being able to pay your bills, check out my “ Top Six Figure Side Hustles,” a guide to building the wealth you desire and deserve. There are ton of side hustles in there that may work for you. Remember the goal is to work smarter not harder!

What side hustles have you tried! Let’s help each out! Comment below!