Should You Get a Side Hustle in 2022?

A lot of people are getting side gigs these days. Should you jump on that bandwagon?

These days, a lot of people are getting second jobs, or side hustles, on top of their main jobs. Doing so could work wonders for your finances. That extra income could make it possible to pad your savings and meet different financial goals. But should you get a side hustle in the new year? Here are some pros and cons to be aware of.

Pro No. 1: Extra money

Boosting your income could do a lot of great things for your lifestyle. It could help you pay off debt, keep up with your essential bills more easily, and carve out extra money for things like leisure and travel. It could also make up for a lackluster raise at your main job (or, worse yet, no raise at all).

Pro No. 2: A chance to grow your skills

The skills you develop in the course of your side hustle could set you up to be more successful at your main job. And that could lead to a promotion and, of course, more money. In doing a side hustle, you could become a pro at things like time management and organization -- skills that make you better in almost any work environment.

Pro No. 3: The opportunity to escape a bad job

If your main job is making you miserable, a side hustle could be your exit route. You may not be able to afford to give up your job to focus on searching for another one. But if you're able to earn enough money from your side hustle to stay afloat for a few months while you look for work, that second gig could make it possible to find a full-time role that better suits you and makes you happy.

Con No. 1: Less free time

When you work full-time, your free hours are already limited during the week. Taking on a side hustle could make it so you have even less time to enjoy hobbies, see friends, or keep up with other obligations.

Con No. 2: Your performance at your main job could suffer

If your side hustle is one that requires you to get back to clients during the workday or hop onto calls and meetings, it could end up putting your main job at risk. Even if you don't need to tend to side hustle matters during the day, if that second gig keeps you up late and you're perpetually showing up to your main job exhausted, it could impact your performance.

Con No. 3: You may need to spend money to make money

Some side hustles don't require any sort of financial outlay on your part, but others do. And if you're opting for one that falls into the latter category, there may be some risk involved -- namely, that you don't manage to recoup your investment. Say you're trying to sell homemade jewelry as your side gig. If you have to spend $300 to buy supplies and set up a website, it could take many weeks to make that money back. And there's a chance you may not make it back in full.

Weighing your options

Clearly, there are benefits and drawbacks to getting a side hustle. If you're on the fence, you may want to ask yourself what you might do with that extra money. If you don't really need it, then you may decide not to push yourself to take on more work when you already spend plenty of time plugging away at your main job. But if your finances could use a lift, then that alone is reason enough to consider a gig on the side.

Remember, too, that a side hustle can be something you do on a temporary basis. If you have $1,000 in credit card debt you're trying to pay off, you may decide to work a side gig until that balance is whittled down to $0.

Finally, if you start a side hustle in 2022, you can always stop doing it if it just doesn't work for your schedule. But you may never know if a side hustle is right for you until you give it a try.