I agree. My side hustle is putting in green slips. Sometimes they call me. Most of the time they don't. I spend more time on the lake fishing than most professional fishermen.

As you know, the flip side is specialization and productive efficiency. I make more money for my time making myself available to fly airplanes than any other way.

I live well below my means, so if I lose my medical, get furloughed, or the company goes under, I'll be just fine.

I invest over half of my income in total stock market index funds. I prefer the liquidity over brick and mortar real estate investments.

This. One of the biggest head scratches in this profession is HTF can so many educated professionals making well into 6 figures (including many at over a quarter mil a year and up) still be living to the upper end of their income and pretty close to paycheck to paycheck?

You can still get most of the toys and the "captain's house" and all that, just not as soon as you can possibly get into them. Not only is that personally irresponsible, it also weakens us collectively when a majority become slaves to their "monthly nut" to such an extent that management gets a huge advantage over labor.

The best defense against not having to walk away is the ability to be able to walk way. Peace through strength, etc. Take that away and you put a thumb on the other side of the scale at the very least.

Word on the street is that the next revision of the FOM will prohibit any side hustle work on any calendar day you have an obligation to Delta. You won't be able to do anything while on short call, long call, short layover, long layover, vacation day, 30-hour rest... and not even after release or before sign-in.

Exactly... this makes complete and total sense (except for the index fund part).

Having one's excess income moved to an "aggressive growth" set of properly diversified minimally managed mutual funds is the safest way to accrue wealth over the long term because you own thousands of different businesses in different market sectors and locations.

Index funds tend to be actively managed and are not quite as diverse as one might think.

Having all of one's money tied up in real estate is actually pretty high risk, as is tying up all of one's money in a single business or two.

So after the property management, taxes, and insurance you generate $800 profit, all of which goes back in to paying down the mortgage?

None of my customers has ever gone away "unsatisfied...":D

Yeah, I always under-promise and over-deliver. I don't see an end to this income stream...unless my crashpad lord ups my rent.

I’m a televangelist on my days off. Great tax shelter. And the toupee is tax deductible :D

Wouldn't that be like trying to catch air with a net?

I’ve been trying to convince people that gold will go to $50K an ounce in 5 years. :D