Jan 20, 2026
Side-hustle culture may seem enticing — you can be your own boss and set your own hours — but the reality can be quite different.
Bree, a stay-at-home mom from Philadelphia, has a toddler and a baby on the way. But her husband wants to quit his salaried job to drive for Uber full-time, thinking it’s an easier way to make more money.
Advertisement
Her husband is currently an assistant manager with a trucking company — a high-stress job that involves managing drivers and mechanics. Right now he makes $1,800 a week. “His friend at work told him that on Uber they can make $2,000 and more a week. So that’s why he’s thinking about it,” Bree told The Ramsey Show (1) .
To do so, they’d need to replace their 20-year-old Lexus (which has engine problems), so her husband wants to finance a new car — something like a Toyota sedan — under his wife’s better credit to fund his new “business.”
“He’s going to drive that car into the ground and the depreciation is going to hit it so hard that you guys are going to be underwater on this car within the first week,” said co-host George Kamel. Here’s why the Ramsey co-hosts warned Bree’s husband not to quit his day job.
A growing side-hustle culture
Gig, contract, freelance and temporary workers make up about 36% of the U.S. workforce, according to McKinsey & Company’s American Opportunity Survey, based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2022 (2).
And the platform economy — which includes tech players like Uber, DoorDash and Instacart — is growing fast. The U.S. gig market is projected to reach $674 billion in 2026, growing to $2,522.4 billion by 2034 (3).
In some cases, though, gig work isn’t a choice. For Americans who can’t keep up with the rising cost of living (or who’ve been laid off), gig work could offer a lifeline. For others, side-hustle culture has additional appeal, beyond being your own boss: The more you work, the more money you can make.
Still, there are drawbacks many don’t consider. A Goldman Sachs analysis using data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s Survey of Information Work Participation (SIWP) found that gig workers earn less per hour than they would in a traditional job (4).
Advertisement
“Relative to earnings from their current or most recent traditional job, employed gig workers earn about two-thirds as much per hour doing gig work,” the report notes.
Not only are many gig workers earning less, they may not even be earning minimum wage. A study from the Economic Policy Institute found about one in seven workers (14%) earned less than the federal minimum wage on an hourly basis.
Despite this, some Americans are walking away from stable jobs for the allure of flexible, high-paying gig economy work. And while it’s possible to make a good living — particularly if you’re a knowledge worker (5) — many don’t anticipate the hidden costs of gig work.
For Bree and her husband, for example, there’s the hidden cost of car depreciation. Rideshare drivers can quickly put thousands of miles on their car, which can shorten both its lifespan and resale value. This also leads to faster wear and tear, requiring more maintenance and potentially costly out-of-pocket repairs (6).
Then there’s the cost of gas, cleaning and insurance (personal auto insurance doesn’t cover commercial use, so you’d need a more expensive policy or rideshare endorsement).
Self-employed workers are also responsible for paying both the employer and employee portions of Social Security, Medicare and federal and state income taxes. Plus, there’s no paid sick leave, no paid vacation days and no 401(k) matching. Inconsistent, unstable income can also lead to financial precarity.
Advertisement
“Gig workers often need to work during peak demand times to make a reasonable income, which leads to long, weird hours. And monthly earnings among gig workers could vary by as much as 20% from month to month,” writes Virginia Hoga in Forbes (7).
That volatility, she writes, can make it difficult to “budget effectively, save for the future, or even secure loans and other financial products — all of which add to the total cost.”
Must Read
- Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake — are you doing the same?
- Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how
- Robert Kiyosaki says this 1 asset will surge 400% in a year and begs investors not to miss this ‘explosion’
Join 250,000+ readers and get Moneywise’s best stories and exclusive interviews first — clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now.
Crunching the numbers
Gig-work income can seem attractive, but after crunching the numbers, it often delivers far less once expenses and risks are factored in.
The Ramsey co-hosts strongly urge Bree and her husband not to go this route — especially if they’re planning to add to their debt by buying a new car (they’re already $40,000 in the hole) (1).
“If he doesn’t enjoy his job currently, that’s fine. I’m all for him looking for different jobs that he enjoys more,” said co-host Jade Warshaw. But they shouldn’t go into debt for it, she said and they should wait until the baby is born so they “have some solidity going through that.”
In the U.S., the average annual cost of raising a child under the age of five reached $27,743 in 2025. These costs — which rose 4.5% between 2024 and 2025 — include everything from housing and transportation to food, healthcare and childcare (7).
Advertisement
So now is “definitely not the time” to put their income in flux, said Kamel. Not to mention make Bree’s husband less available to be on-hand to support his newborn, wife and child through the transition of welcoming a new child.
If you’re considering full-time gig work, start by creating a budget (if you don’t already have one), building an emergency fund with at least three to six months of income and, ideally, testing it out in your spare time before quitting a stable job and fully committing without a way to reverse.
For example, you’ll want to stress-test your gig-work income before financing a car specifically for Uber or Lyft. But in Bree’s case, her husband can’t give Uber a trial run, since their 20-year-old Lexus has engine problems.
“You need a different car. But what you don’t need is another $25,000 loan on top of your $40,000 in debt,” said Kamel. Instead, he recommends they save up to buy a more reliable car and then clean up their $40,000 debt.
“He’s not going to be switching jobs,” said Kamel. “He’s going to be working extra.”
Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
@TheRamseyShow (1); McKinsey & Company (2); Business Research Insights (3); Goldman Sachs Research (4); Economic Policy Institute (5); Zip Recruiter (4); Forbes (5); smartasset (6)
You May Also Like
- Turning 50 with $0 saved for retirement? Most people don’t realize they’re actually just entering their prime earning decade. Here are 6 ways to catch up fast
- Inside a $1B real estate fund offering access to thousands of income-producing rental properties — with flexible minimums starting at $10
- Vanguard’s outlook on U.S. stocks is raising alarm bells for retirees. Here’s why and how to protect yourself
- Here are 5 easy ways to own multiple properties like Bezos and Beyoncé. You can start with $10 (and no, you don’t have to manage a single thing)
Vawn Himmelsbach is a veteran journalist who has been covering tech, business, finance and travel for the past three decades. Her work has been featured in publications such as The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, National Post, Metro News, Canadian Geographic, Zoomer, CAA Magazine, Travelweek, Explore Magazine, Flare and Consumer Reports, to name a few.
