Staying At Home, But Also Hustling

Take me, for instance. I was married to a really nice, devoted guy who made a handsome income. We had a baby, bought life insurance, set up automatic contributions to our retirement accounts and emergency savings, and even started a college fund. He had disability insurance, but that never came into play after he fell off a cliff and nearly died of a brain injury — of which the lingering and devastating symptoms played a big role in dissolving our marriage.

Who could have planned for that?

Emma Johnson, a single mother, has a recent blog post arguing why we can’t be (solely) stay-at-home moms (or dads), because we take on risk by depending on a single source of income. What if your spouse falls off a cliff, or divorces you, or becomes unemployed? This isn’t about hiring a babysitter and heading to the office — it’s more about the importance of having a side gig. Having a side hustle (maybe not literally, but hey) is how a lot of people pay off debt, or save for something big like a house or wedding or trip around the world, and is something I have and completely endorse. [Thanks to Caroline for the tip. Photo: stevendepaolo]

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