Income Streams – Here’s What I Found Out From Having 20 Of Them

I remember back in 2020 when I first discovered the personal finance community and this crazy world of online side hustles hearing about how the average millionaire has 7 income streams and thinking “wow! I want that”. Then I started testing out online (and the odd offline one) side hustles and somehow ended racking up 20 different income streams and I’m far from being a millionaire. And I have learnt a fair few things alone the way.

Want to see a full breakdown of all 20 sources and exactly how much they brought in in 2023 – read this article.

For now, let’s get into the what I’ve learnt from having a hugely diversified income…

Tracking is essential

Having income coming in from a tonne of different sources and on different days can quickly get very messy. Tracking your earnings and payments is essential! You need to know immediately if you’ve already been paid for that project you did last month. Or if you need to chase the payment. Diversifying your income should lead to a higher income not missed payments.

Have a dedicated bank account

Make the tracking part easy for yourself by having one dedicated income account. This way you can easily see what income has been paid. Best thing you do is keep this as a central income account rather than your main current account (eg. the account your spend money from). This way you won’t accidentally spend the money before you’ve had time to budget it. Oh and turn notifications on for the account so you’ll get notified the minute a payment drops.

Be organised

Being organised is the key to managing multiple sources of income. I have a notion page dedicated to each income stream eg. surveys, market research, online tasks etc etc. Then one master page where I keep track of my current income goals and the projects I have ongoing at that moment.

In addition to my borderline obsession notion trackings, I have also put routines into place that make dealing with multiple streams of income seem like a walk in the park. Like, every time I get an email about a market research project, I immediately reply if I fit the bill or flag the email if I’m busy so I don’t forget about it later. This way I am upping my chances of being picked for a study by applying to tonnes of research projects each day (I probably get emailed around 20 a day) without it feeling like a chore.

Value your time

Let’s be honest, not all side hustles were created equally. After trying one you should make the decision about whether it is a valuable use of your time. Don’t be afraid to ditch and move on to better things. Or put more effort into existing streams that are working well for you. A biggest example of this lesson is surveys. I love surveys as a way to make extra money but there are some sites I’ve tried and then ditched almost immediately. My favourite survey site, Prolific, is one I will always recommend and find tonnes of value is prioritising it as a side hustle. But unless I’ve ran out of other money making tasks I won’t go looking for surveys on other sites. My time is much more valuable being spent on freelance tasks for instance.

Have an income system in place

Managing multiple income sources has become soooo much easier since I introduced my percentage-based income system. I used to budget each payment as and when it hit my bank account. And let me tell you decision fatigue gets old real quick. Now it takes literal seconds to sort my income out and I barely have to think about it.

So that’s it, the five main things I’ve learnt from having 20 income streams in 2023. Is diversifying your income something you are focusing on in 2024?