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birb_cromble  2d ago (text post)   314 thread views

Weekly Finance Thread - 2026-07-18

A weekly thread to discuss financial matters - from personal all the way up to global.

Ground Rules

  • Remember that we're all just Internet randos. Don't bet your life savings on a hot tip from this thread.
  • Keep culture war in the culture war thread. Yes, global events may impact our personal finances, but that does not mean we have to incessantly harp on culture war aspects here. If you are going to discuss it, please stick to the practical impacts of it on an individual level.
  • Be kind. Remember that everyone here comes from different circumstances. We all have different resources available and different risk tolerances.
  • Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Better is better. Celebrate people when they take a step up and work to move their finances in the right direction. Don't flame out because they haven't followed what you consider the optimal path. Everybody has to start somewhere.
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Do any of you have any side jobs or gigs that you do? Do they earn any positive income?

I play in a band, and just for giggles I did the math on today's take. I think that after travel costs, I probably made about $3 an hour. It's still a fun hobby that basically funds itself, but I won't be quitting my day job anytime soon.

I used to resell things on ebay. Product acquisition was mostly automated through bots, so packing and shipping out orders was the most time consuming thing, perhaps ~8 hours/week. Profits would vary a lot, but average would be around $2.5k per month. Pretty easy and brainless stuff, but often times inventory would sit for a few weeks/months taking up a lot of space, so it got annoying.

My Substack buys me a few cups of coffee every month.

I sold a few digital and vinyl copies of my last album (not enough to break even on the recording costs, although fortunately the label paid for the vinyl pressing).

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