When you look at personal finance writers, you are usually going to find people who fall into one of two categories. 1) Those who emphasize increasing income with side hustles or asking for raises. 2) Those who emphasize reducing expenses by eating at home and foregoing the daily latte. It’s not true of every blog and podcast out there, but if you look at the majority of them, you’ll find they lean one way or the other.
People are the same way. Often, we either feel more comfortable reining in what we spend or ‘dream big’ and look for the side hustle or career breakthrough that will shoot our income through the roof and let us leave money worries behind forever.
Team Spend Less
Folks on team ‘spend less’ cite millionaire sports heroes who have declared bankruptcy and the fact that most lotto winners who cashed in to the tune of millions are broke again within just a few years. (True. You can look it up.) Obviously, they point out, all the money in the world won’t fix your problems if you can’t control your spending. So there!
Team Dream Big
On the other hand, team ‘dream big’ points out, you can only reduce your expenses so much, but your income can increase infinitely. Plus, while you’re trying to save $0.07 per serving by soaking your own dried beans instead of splurging on that outrageously overpriced can of beans, your life gets smaller and smaller. That’s no way to live. Mic drop.
Yup. And Yup.
Like most things in life, both are right and both are also a bit wrong. (Imagine that! Nuance. A life lesson that can’t be contained in a 10 second sound byte. Hm, who’da thunk?)
So here’s the short version. No, you can’t save enough to put yourself on sound financial footing if you make $15K a year and have 5 kids. It’s just not gonna happen. But if you ignore the saving side entirely, no amount of money will ever be enough. Just like your income can always increase, so can you always manage to find more things to spend your money on.
The trick – and this is the part that no one can do for you , you’ve got to do it for yourself – is to find that balance, an then stretch yourself just a bit beyond your comfort zone in the area that makes you uncomfortable.
Out of the comfort Zone
I’m naturally a minimalist. I don’t like wasting things and I am NOT a stylish person. So I just don’t spend a lot of money. Interestingly, I sometimes push myself to spend more. I don’t want my life to become small and stunted because I’m trying to save a few pennies. So I try to think about what really matters to me and spend on that. For me, that’s travel. So I make a point to travel, but I also figure out what does and doesn’t matter to me about travel. Fancy restaurants? Not so much. I hit the grocery stores and have myself a picnic on the grass. But yeah, I’ll spend a bit more on a larger AirBNB so my three kids don’t drive me crazy in a tiny studio. (Trust me, it works out better for all of us that way.)
On the other hand, I LOVE side hustles. I have owned rental real estate, worked on the side as a real estate agent, run a blog, taught private language classes, and created an online class. My advice here is to find something you enjoy doing anyway, and then maximize your income from it. Do you love dogs? How about doing dog walks in the summer or even pet sitting for owners who are out of town? Maybe you are into reading. How about doing indexing on the side? And if you are open for some teaching after you step out of your classroom, you can make awesome money teaching private group classes. (Click the links if you want to know more details.)
Like anything in personal finance, it comes down not just to knowing the facts and the numbers, but to knowing yourself. So if you are a spender, try one little way to cut expenses. No one is asking you to go all out. Or if your know deep down that you really need to increase your income, start trying on side hustles to find one you enjoy so much you’d do it for free. Because neither team ‘spend less’ nor team ‘dream big’ can win this game alone.
So you want out of teaching? Scratch that. You feel like your life will end if you have to teach for the rest of your career, but you see no way out financially. Maybe you have a spouse who works or another source of income, but you continue to teach because of a budget gap of $500. Or maybe $1000. What if you could earn extra money, pay off some bills, and between those two things close that gap? “But I don’t want to drive for Lyft or Uber,” you say. “And I do NOT want to open an in-home child care center or trade teaching for another rat race. I just want to retire, or stay home with my kids, or not have to teach.” You get the picture.
So get creative. Here are some ideas to get your income-creating ideas flowing. Not all of them will work for everyone, of course. However, there might be a gem in here to get you started. Or a gem that gives you exactly the idea you need to put your own unique talents to use and start your journey to freedom.
Extra space? Rent a room to a student
Have a spare bedroom or two? Enjoy meeting new people and learning about foreign cultures? Everyone has heard about AirBNB, and that’s one option. But there are others that no one seems to know about. For example, you could look into home stays for English Language Learners. Schools such as ELS language school, American Language Academy, and others have locations in over 40 US cities. Many of their students prefer staying with an English speaking person or family to further practice their developing skills. With only 1 spare bedroom, you could earn between $400-$600 per month. Also, don’t assume that there isn’t an English school near you just because you’ve never heard of it. My husband works only 10 minutes from an English school, and I lived here for 5 years before I knew that.
Use skills you already have to offer group classes
Use your special expertise and teaching skills to start a small educational or entertainment business – one that can grow. This is my personal favorite because it can be so many different things. I’m a foreign language teacher, so I offer enrichment Spanish classes at preschools. In a good location, I can bring in $400/month with minimal overhead and only about 8 hours of work. You could also offer group tutoring, ceramics painting, knitting or crocheting lessons, or computer instruction in your own home. Good with cars? Teach a basic car care class for women. Coach folks who want to improve their public speaking. If you use your imagination, the sky is the limit on this one. Just remember to begin with the end in mind. If you want to make money (and that is at least part of the goal, right?), you’ve got to structure it so you can earn some bucks. In other words, no one-on-one tutoring unless you are charging over $60/hr.
Love pets? Try pet sitting, dog walking, or doggie drop-ins. I never knew that there were people who would watch your pet in their own home until I was desperately searching for a kennel at the last minute. And as a pet owner, I’d much rather have my dog stay with a reliable person than shut in a dog run at a kennel. Sumiko, who has been hosting with rover.com since May of 2015, says, “The best part of hosting is getting to sample every breed imaginable as your pet, the companionship/playtime, and income. We’ve had some challenges with high energy dogs such as muddying the yard when it’s rained a while, dogs hopping baby gates in the house…but it’s not constant and you can restrict breeds, size…” Since the normal charge is over $20/night per pet, people who commit to building their clientele, can make over $1000/month once they are established.
Visiting the elderly
Not a fan of pets, but love people? Many people are looking for someone to stop in and check on an elderly relative or help them prepare a simple meal. Here, word of mouth is king, so talk to some folks you know at different houses of worship. They often know some people who need a helping hand, but not really nursing assistance yet – and they are more likely to trust you if you have a mutual friend. Alternately, you could contact senior centers or support groups for caregivers. The bonus here is that if you don’t want to pay for childcare, but your kids are reasonably well behaved, many older people see having children around as a bonus, not a drawback. Just be sure to spell out exactly what the expectations are and what you are comfortable doing beforehand. Light housekeeping? Help preparing meals? Or just a friendly person to chat with? Don’t be pressured into doing more than you are capable of. If you won’t give medications, state that up front and stick to your guns.
Search Engine Evaluation and other tasks
Work in search engine evaluation. Search engines use algorithms to rank the results they bring up. However, they also need actual humans to check those rankings. Leapforce, Appen, and other companies use people who can work from home to do just that. While it’s not a job with room for advancement, it is something that could be worked into an income of over $1000 per month. Some companies require that you pass a test, which by all accounts is challenging, but not impossible, if you have carefully studied the test materials. Another caution is that like any job that requires you to use your brain, there is a learning curve, and you will need to give yourself time to get to higher levels of earning.
(Insert YOUR idea here)
No, that wasn’t just a place-holder that I forgot to delete. It’s a reminder that your ability to think of side hustles or earn extra income is limited only by your imagination. So have we got you thinking that it might actually be possible for you to make the leap out of education? There is a lot to think about, and a lot of ways it can go wrong. If you want to make the switch out of teaching, but you are terrified to make the leap, click here for our free guide to the 4 biggest mistakes people make when leaving the classroom, and how to avoid each one.
We’ve all read those articles about “50 Ways to make money in your spare time.” We get all excited, but when we read the article and then figure how much we’d make per hour, it works out to about $1.50 if we’re LUCKY! I don’t know about you, but I don’t have the time for that! If I’m going to get a job on the side, it had better be worth my time. That’s what I call a high-dollar side hustle. So here are four jobs on the side for teachers that can earn you $20/hour or more.
Side Hustle #1: Pet Sitting (or walking during the summer months)
This is a high-dollar side hustle that will make animal lovers smile. Rover.com matches animal lovers with people who want pet care while on vacation. The pets come to your house and you care for them. Some providers snap pictures to send to owners and do other cute things, but mainly it’s about providing safety and care without the pet having to experience the stress of a kennel. The going rate usually runs between $20-25 per day per pet, and some care givers also offer pet sitting, drop-ins, or house sitting.
Rover is ideal for someone who can really demonstrate they have experience and a knowledge of dogs, but they only accept about 20% of people who apply to work through them. However, you can also let your friends and neighbors know this is something you’d be willing to do. Just know your limits and make sure you can adequately care for any pets you are entrusted with.
Since rover.com provides the insurance, you don’t need to worry about it. Yes, they do take a cut, but the insurance plus the fact that they help with getting your name out there makes it not such a bad deal.
Side Hustle #2: Teaching English online
Teaching English remotely to students in China and other countries has become a huge business, and it can be a flexible and portable job on the side for teachers. One of the best things about this plan is that it allows several options, based on what you’re looking for.
If you’re interested in freelancing, you can sign up through verbalplanet.com. It costs nothing, but you have to build your own clientele base and create your own lessons. VIPKID, on the other hand, is a little more corporate. They provide lesson plans (which you are expected to use). One of my close friends has been doing VIPKID for over a year, and it really works for her. Read more about her experience here. If this interests you, this is one of the most up-to-date articles I’ve found on the different options available.
Side Hustle #3: Offering premium classes in person
Offering group classes can allow you to earn a great per-hour rate (think over $80 per contact hour!). Now that’s a high-dollar side hustle that beats the pants off of filling out surveys online! I am a language teacher. Instead of offering one-on-one tutoring, I teach group classes in preschools and just-for-fun classes at a local winery.
Maybe you are a dancer, a black-belt in karate, or have a knack for making science irresistible for kids. All of these are currently successful businesses in the preschool enrichment world. But you don’t have to build a huge business. If you can get 1-2 locations with lot of interest, it can add $800 or more to your monthly income.
Or if you’re not into the preschool scene, wineries and micro-breweries might partner with you to lure clients in at off-peak times.
If you’d like to offer a group class, think about what skills you have and who might be interested in them. Be creative. Do you knit? Are you an artist? The winery where I offered classes also partnered with a henna artist, a tarot card reader, a message therapist, and a yoga instructor to use their back room when it wasn’t booked. So this is limited only by your creativity and ability to market your skill as fun and useful. If you want to learn more about starting a successful preschool group class, check out my article on three make or break steps.
What you are looking for here is a skill that 1) you know well enough to teach 2) you enjoy doing and 3) people are willing to pay for. Often, after you’ve built a class up, you can earn $60-$100 per contact hour. Not too shabby!
Side Hustle #4: Offering autism-specific services
This one is for you, special ed teachers. You know you are amazing in the classroom every day, but how about using your gift to not only make money for yourself, but also allow a special-needs parent to get a service with peace of mind and zero stress? Do you have a knowledge of autism or other special needs? Have you ever thought about how stressful it must be for the parent of with special needs to get good-quality family photos done? Or find a babysitter they feel confident leaving their child with? From what I hear, it can be a nightmare.
Let’s look at photography as an example. Most photographers don’t understand how to work with these special kids, and so a lot of parents don’t even try to get professional quality pictures. So instead of marketing yourself as just another photographer (or whatever your service is), do some thinking about how your service could be made more attractive to parents of kids with special needs. Then use your expertise to market yourself as a provider of services for this special demographic. This high-dollar side hustle will also let you help others in a big way.
What other services do you think create stress for parents of special-needs children? I’ll bet you can think of a few, and some of them might even be something that you love doing.
Work it
There you go. Four possible high-dollar side hustles than can earn you $20 or more. Will they all work for everyone? Heck, no! But you don’t need five or ten different ways to make money. You need 1-2 ways that fit your personality and work for you.
The other thing I hope you gain from reading these ideas is the belief that where there’s a will, there’s a way. Once you start thinking about business ideas and how you can turn your own skills and interests into a viable income, you’ll eventually hit on an idea that is perfect for you. It might not be the first idea you try, or even the second or third. But action is the important thing here. Try something. Do something. See what works and what doesn’t. Then adjust if you need to.
Any major life change can bring up self-doubt and fears, but leaving teaching can be especially challenging, especially if it’s the only career, you have ever known, perhaps the only one you ever dreamed of.
Uncertainty can be overwhelming at times. What if I miss teaching? What if I hate my new position? What if no one will hire me? What about insurance? Will my kids be sad that I can’t spend the whole summer with them anymore?
Our Big worry: What if I regret it?
That last question is, I think, at the heart of all the others. What if I take this huge, scary step, and then realize that I liked my life better the way it was before? In all honesty, I think it is sometimes the feeling of regret that we worry about more than anything else. What if I realize I made a mistake? What if I feel stupid?
It’s an understandable fear, isn’t it? We have a ton of proverbs and aphorisms that tell us to stay where we are. “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.” Out of the frying pan, into the fire.” “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”
But never taking a chance is also a path to a ho-hum (or worse) life. And that’s not what you want, nor what I want for you.
If you are thinking about leaving teaching (or have already decided you need to), but are still plagued by these worries, I want to share a couple of guidelines with you that helped me stop worrying, and even better, kept me from regretting any well-informed decision I have made.
#1 I will make the best decision I can with the information I have now, and I will not expect myself to know the future.
Let me tell you a little story. As you know, we moved to Norway in 2019, and our kids were a huge reason why. We love the fact that our kids have more freedom, more safety, and less pressure in school (no standardized tests!) than we could have dreamed of in the US. We love the fact that as long as they live here, they will never, ever go bankrupt trying to pay for a medical procedure or have to choose between paying the rent and buying necessary medication. We love the fact that even if they don’t go to college, they can earn a living wage and have a good life. So it’s fair to say that we are pretty happy with the choice we made.
For the record, we didn’t rush into the decision, either. We spent over 2 years planning, researching, talking, and preparing. At one point, I could probably tell you more about apartment availability and food prices in Oslo than anyone who hadn’t lived there!
But you can’t research the future. So when Putin invaded Ukraine, and I was running around looking for iodine tablets for the kids in case – well, you know – I could have had an absolutely huge meltdown/guilt trip/beat up on myself extravaganza.
I’m going to be honest, decisions don’t get a lot more serious than that. Did I move to Norway trying to give my kids a better life, only to put them in proximity to a nuclear disaster? I don’t know. No one does. No one knows what will happen in the next year or two or ten.
You don’t know the problems that would have come from the decision you don’t take
But I also don’t know what would have happened if we had stayed in the US. Would one of the kids been injured or killed in a car wreck? (Traffic fatalities are exceedingly rare in Norway.) Would my daughter have had to learn not to make eye contact with men because they might catcall her? Would my child with test anxiety have spent their school years in a state of “quiet desperation” trying to pass state tests and compete for a place at a top university?
I don’t know. I don’t know how any of this will turn out. But I do know one thing: my partner and I made the best decision I could with the information I had at that time. And it was a LOT of information.
Knowing that, I’m going to be gentle with my present and former self. I’m not going to let myself – or anyone else – make me regret making the best decision I could with the information I had.
Even if the day should come when we do, indeed, need to leave Norway for safety or other reasons, I will always honor myself and the decision I made.
What does that do?
What that does is actually massive. It frees you from guilt and regret. As long as you have done your research and acted on it reasonably (Please note: we would NOT have moved to Ukraine in the middle of a war. That would not have been prudent!), you don’t have to feel bad. You shouldn’t feel bad.
Honor yourself and the decision you made with the information you had, knowing you made the best decision you could at the time.
#2 I will pursue this course of action until it no longer makes sense to do so.
This part came from one of my absolute favorite business coaches, Bevin Ferrand. If you have never heard of her, I highly recommend her “Take the Damn Chance” FB group. So good!
But here is the genius in guideline #2. You don’t HAVE to continue just because you have started. Now, granted, there are points at which it is a LOT easier to put on the breaks than others, and I highly recommend listening to your gut here. (I know a woman who cried herself to sleep the night before she got married. She knew it wasn’t going to work out, but she couldn’t back out because everything was arranged and paid for. Please. Don’t. Do. That.)
Let’s say you turn in your letter of resignation. You search for jobs outside of education – no luck. You have already crunched the numbers and know exactly how much you need to make each month. You can make that working part-time at Starbucks, so you start there. But you don’t love it. You miss teaching. There is no law that says you can’t apply for teaching jobs again, possibly at your former school, and possibly at a different district.
This is coming from a teacher who not once, but twice returned to a former school. So I know that of which I speak! But that’s another story.
So let’s say you leave teaching and you miss it horribly. There is nothing that says you can’t go back. True, it can be more difficult as you earn more. Schools don’t like to hire expensive teachers. But there is also a “teacher shortage” of epic proportions, so use it to your advantage.
The bottom line is, almost no decision is truly final. In most cases, you can pivot more easily than you think, especially if you can be flexible. And goodness knows, if the past two years have taught us anything, it’s to be flexible.
There you have it folks, two ideas that will help you manage your transition trepidation.
As I write this, my heart is so heavy. The news of the Texas tragedy is fresh, and I feel broken for the many teachers who have decided that they have to leave the toxic environment that is education in the US in 2022.
I hope this isn’t you. I hope you feel loved and valued and enlivened by your job.
But for those whose future is outside the classroom, let’s talk plans.
For the record, before we moved to Norway in 2019, we spent 2+ years planning, researching, and saving. And while we didn’t foresee every hiccup, we did a darn good job and landed quite firmly on our feet.
Part 1 – Mindsets
Before we start on the tactics, remember that mindset matter tremendously in how well you will manage the transition.
Let yourself feel the feels.
I don’t know about you, but for me teaching brings me alive. It is all I really wanted to do for a career.
I think of my grandma who talked about her 5th grade classroom more and more as she aged. It was clearly her “happy place.” She remembered students’ names and the funny things they said. She told me more times than I can count how she could get a pound of bologna, a loaf of bread, and half a gallon of milk for some small amount, and she would feed all the the kids in her classroom who didn’t bring a lunch. This was during the Great Depression, and to her dying day, she declared with pride, “No kid ever went hungry in MY classroom!”
Now, if teaching is simply a job to you, there is NO SHAME in that. But if, like grandma, it is something you treasure, you will grieve. In leaving teaching, you are losing something you love, something that makes you who you are.
Give yourself permission to be angry, sad, disgusted, whatever. Please try not to judge whatever emotions you feel, because they are real. Yes, of course, at some point we have to move on, but we also have to acknowledge the loss.
Define yourself by “I am the type of person who…” instead of a job description.
Recently, I finished Atomic Habits by James Clear, and one of the huge take-aways was that people who define themselves as “the type of person who” are often able to transition more easily than people who identify themselves with a job title.
Think about what makes you a great teacher, and start identifying yourself with those characteristics, instead of merely as a “teacher.” For example, I am the type of person who cares about vulnerable people, who stands up for justice, and who sees the good in others. All of those characteristics come out when I am teaching, but they also come out through this blog. It’s not a mistake that I spend so much time uplifting teachers, cheering them on, and encouraging them to set healthy boundaries.
So, yes you may be a teacher, but what characteristics make you a great one?
Bonus points: Giving some serious thought to what characteristics are important to you can also help you home in on careers that you’ll love.
OK, now that we’ve talked a bit about some important mindsets, let get to action steps.
Part 2 – Action steps
Read your contract.
Before you do anything else, please read your contract. Contracts contain so many pieces of vital information, and yet very few of us actually read them. Specific points to look for include
*procedures and consequences for resigning mid-year
*required work hours
*whether sick days are paid out or just lost
*unpaid leave options (in case you’d like to take a year’s leave instead of actually resigning)
*required activities out of school.
Even if you are not planning to leave immediately, knowing what is in your contract can save you time and heartache. One teacher I know of had been tutoring after school for an hour a week, as had her co-workers, for years. They didn’t like it, but their principal told them it was in the contract. When one of them actually read the contract, surprise, it was NOT in there anywhere, and they had been taken advantage of all that time.
You’ll also want to be very aware of whether there are consequences to quitting mid-year. In some places, you simply have to give 30 days’ notice. In others, your corporation can hold your license or even fine you thousands of dollars. NOT something you want to find out after you’ve accepted another job in October.
Consider your leave teaching timeline and next steps.
Before you make any plans, it’s important to know your ideal timeline. It doesn’t have to be exact, but you do need to know whether you are measuring your time in the classroom in weeks, months, or years.
Now simply knowing your ideal timeline doesn’t mean you will be able to leave on that timeline, but it can help you to make solid decisions that will get you closer to that goal.
Knowing whether you plan to start another career, start a business, or retire can be a major influence on your timeline, as well. Job searches often take longer than we estimate. One estimate says that for every $10K in salary, you should allow a month of job searching. And after starting 4 businesses, I can attest that it almost always takes longer than you think to begin earning significant income. I’m all about entrepreneurship, but it’s probably not going to replace your teaching salary for the first couple of years.
Face your finances.
Money is a source of stress for a lot of people, and that makes it harder to delve into. But this step is absolutely essential, no matter what route you plan to take after teaching. If you plan to retire, start a business, or stay home with young kids, you obviously need to make sure you have a solid plan in place. But even if you plan to switch careers, it’s a good idea to know how much you HAVE to earn, in addition to how much you WANT to earn.
In my weekly newsletter, I recently shared a job posting for an Education Specialist at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. It didn’t list a salary, but with an amazing job like that, I’ll bet it wasn’t too impressive. What if that was your dream job, but it meant a pay cut? You’ll want to know whether it is an option or whether a pay cut is out of the question.
What I mean by facing your finances is knowing how much it takes to pay for essentials each month, as well as how much you usually spend. What’s more, if you are eager to get out of teaching, stronger finances translate into better options. If you have significant savings or lower fixed expenses, you can take a few more risks and maybe even consider leaving before you have a job lined up if your mental health is suffering.
Our Money Master spreadsheet can help you try out various scenarios. By plugging in the numbers, you can see how extra income, lower expenses or more savings will impact your “leave by” date.
Find a support system and resources.
Major life changes take an emotional toll, and there are going to be days you need a group of people who “get it.” There are a ton of FB groups for teachers who want to leave teaching. Of course, my favorite is the Classroom to Home Leave Teaching group. But they all have their own style and personality, and you should choose one that feels right to you.
Podcasts, blogs, and other social media can also be great resources when you’re feeling discouraged. Have a list of favorites that will help pull you out of a funk, because you’ll have some rough days.
Improve your work/live balance by setting boundaries.
I hate to say this, but it needs to be said. A lot of teachers are in completely toxic and emotionally abusive environments. What they do will never be enough. And just like any other toxic relationships, you have to protect yourself.
If you’ve already read your contract, you’ll know what is actually required. It will take some practice but begin saying “no” to extra duties and committees. You’ll need the time to do a decent job search or devote to building your business income.
Also, stop striving for the optimal lesson and go for the streamlined lesson. I know I’m going to get pushback on this, but please hear me out. When you are the only one who cares about the extra hours you spend and NO amount of extra work will ever finish everything, it is time to prioritize yourself. Angela Watson is the master here, and you’ll want to check out her blog for specific tips on cutting the hours you spend on schoolwork while still running an effective classroom.
Here are some quick suggestions, though.
Take fewer grades.
Give more multiple-choice tests.
Have kids trade and grade.
Give them time to read in class.
And focus on building routines that will make your life easier.
For the love of Pete, use some class time to do paperwork, even if it means letting the kids watch an educational video for a while.
Most importantly, get out the duct tape and use it to shut up that little voice in your head that says you should be doing more, or better, or different. You are enough. Your teaching is enough. And you deserve to have free time.
Those are my top tips for crafting an exit plan, but I know there are lots of other things I could have mentioned. Next week, we’ll take a closer look at the details of building a plan. What are your favorite tips for managing a major life transition?
