Spinning Too Many Plates
I am slightly late with this end-of-month review.
Partly because I’m in the final throes of my apprenticeship degree and, if I’m honest, I am utterly fatigued by it at this point. But also because I’ve realised something important while trying to document this side hustle experiment honestly: I am spread too thin.
The whole point of this year was to test different income streams and see what realistically works alongside full-time work and life commitments. In that sense, this project has actually succeeded. But trying to juggle too many things at once has meant none of them are getting the attention they probably need. And I am probably a bit overwhelmed.
The positives; traffic to this blog is slowly growing. Income is consistently coming in. Every now and again there’s even a random little “boost” day that reminds me why I started all this in the first place.
At the same time, I do worry that I’m documenting a string of half-successes while accidentally repeating myself. Social media has also dropped off again, which usually tells me my systems are beginning to fail. I think the year’s roadmap probably needs reviewing in line with my actual capacity. That doesn’t mean abandoning the ideas, just approaching them in a more controlled and sustainable way that doesn’t edge towards burnout.
The April Numbers
Despite all that, April was actually a nice steady month.
Spending was slightly reduced, which resulted in £28.26 cashback. Interest came to £24.47, while dividends brought in £16.50.
Then we arrive at the “big two”.
Matched betting returned £285, which is slightly up on previous months, although I’ve now been restricted by one of my more useful bookmakers. A reminder perhaps that diminishing returns are slowly creeping in.
Reselling — which is essentially just Pokémon cards at this point — also brought in £285. I also completed a few surveys for a cheeky extra tenner.
That brings April’s total side hustle income to:
£573.83
Or roughly £19.12 per day on average.
The Side Hustle pie on Trading 212 currently sits at £650.70, representing 11.8% growth since September, or £40.51 unrealised gain.
Honestly, that feels fairly similar to how last year ended. Quietly consistent.
The Bigger Realisation
But the bigger thing I’ve been reflecting on recently is focus.
As someone who monitors performance professionally, I know failure rarely arrives dramatically. Usually the mission drifts too far from its original objectives. Basic systems stop happening consistently. Things get assumed rather than checked. Consistency slowly turns into spontaneity.
And I think I’m drifting into that space a little.
The reality is that £500-ish a month is lower than I’d ideally like — but it has also been surprisingly consistent, and I don’t want to dismiss that.
What’s Actually Working
I also need to pay closer attention to what genuinely works for me.
Right now, that’s reselling, specifically Pokémon cards.
Ironically, that’s what brought me back to surveys in the first place. I wanted to earn £10 specifically to buy a card I thought would grade well. Suddenly surveys had a purpose again: four surveys equals one Pikachu.
(Yes, Pokémon experts, I know Pikachu costs more than four surveys. Work with me here.)
This side hustle is also beginning to bump into UK tax considerations, particularly around the line between reselling and trading for profit. I’m still comfortably within the £1,000 allowance and I track everything carefully, but it’s probably something worth writing about properly soon.
Especially because I’m writing this from the future slightly — mid-May — and I’ve just had my first graded cards returned with some genuinely exciting results.
More on that soon.
For now, I think the next step is simplifying things, rebuilding consistency, and focusing on the parts that genuinely bring energy rather than drain it.
And genuinely, thank you to everyone following along so far.
We’ll crack this nut eventually.
Small wins compound!
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