Totally agree about the mortgage thing—banks looove seeing that steady paycheck when you're refinancing. Learned that the hard way, haha. Side hustle first is smart; dipping a toe in beats cannonballing into uncertainty...especially with bills waiting every month.
"Side hustle first is smart; dipping a toe in beats cannonballing into uncertainty...especially with bills waiting every month."
Haha, totally feel you on this. Reminds me of when I jumped headfirst into property development—thought I was ready, but the bank had other ideas. Turns out they weren't as excited about my "visionary plans" as I was. 😂 Keeping the stable gig while building up your dream hustle on the side definitely eases the anxiety. Less glamorous, sure, but sleeping soundly at night beats staring at the ceiling wondering if ramen noodles count as a balanced diet...
Haha, ramen noodles...been there too many times. I tried the "jump first, think later" approach once with flipping houses—let's just say HGTV made it look way easier than reality did. Keeping my day job while slowly building up my side hustle definitely saved me from financial disaster. Still, I sometimes wonder if having that safety net makes me less driven or slows down progress. Like, would I hustle harder if I knew there was no fallback? Or would the stress just crush creativity and motivation altogether? Curious if anyone else feels like having a stable gig might actually hold you back from fully committing to your dream...
I've wrestled with this exact question a lot myself. A few years back, I was in a similar spot—had my stable 9-to-5 and was slowly building up my real estate investments on the side. For me, having that steady paycheck really helped me avoid panic decisions. Like, I could afford to wait for the right deal instead of jumping at whatever came along because bills were due.
But I get what you're saying about the safety net possibly holding you back. There were definitely times when I wondered if I'd be more aggressive or driven if I didn't have that cushion. Maybe I'd hustle harder, network more, or take bigger risks...but honestly, looking back, I'm not convinced that would've been better.
I know some folks who went all-in immediately and succeeded—but I've also seen plenty who crashed and burned because the stress just ate away at their decision-making. Stress can be motivating to a point, but too much of it usually clouds judgment rather than sharpening it.
For me personally, keeping my day job until my real estate income matched or exceeded it felt like the smarter move. It gave me clarity and confidence to make better choices. Sure, maybe it slowed me down a bit—but slow progress is still progress, and it's sustainable. Plus, knowing I wasn't one bad deal away from bankruptcy let me sleep at night.
I guess there's no universal answer here—depends a lot on your personality and risk tolerance. But from what I've experienced, a stable gig doesn't necessarily hold you back; sometimes it just gives you the breathing room to build something solid without losing your sanity in the process.
"Stress can be motivating to a point, but too much of it usually clouds judgment rather than sharpening it."
This is spot-on. A few years ago, I was debating leaving my steady office job to go full-time into mortgage brokering. I had a decent client base building up, but the thought of giving up that consistent paycheck terrified me. What really helped was setting clear milestones—like having a certain number of regular clients and a comfortable savings buffer before pulling the plug.
Honestly, knowing I had that stability allowed me to make smarter choices. I could focus on building genuine relationships instead of desperately chasing every lead just to keep the lights on. Sure, sometimes I'd wonder if I'd hit goals faster if I jumped sooner...but looking back, I'm glad I waited until the financial pressure wouldn't overwhelm me.
There's no single right answer, obviously...but taking calculated steps and giving yourself room to breathe usually beats diving headfirst into uncertainty. At least that's how it worked out for me.
