The Side Hustle Snowball
Erase your expenses smallest to largest and celebrate every win.
- Difficulty
- Starter
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 85%
The Side Hustle Snowball reframes side-hustle income around erasing individual expenses instead of replacing an entire salary. Modeled on the debt snowball, you itemize your monthly expenses from smallest to largest — cell phone bill, gym membership, car insurance — and aim your new income at wiping out the smallest one first. Everyone dreams of the side hustle that covers the mortgage, but paying off a small recurring bill is a concrete, celebratable win. Those small wins create the momentum that keeps people in the game long enough to scale.
Origin
This is a recurring framework Nick and his Side Hustle Nation community use to reframe success for beginners who otherwise measure themselves only against the impossible-feeling goal of full income replacement.
Core principles
- 01You don't need to replace your whole income to win.
- 02Itemize expenses from smallest to largest, like the debt snowball.
- 03Erasing a small recurring expense is a real, motivating win.
- 04Small wins build the momentum to keep going.
How to run it
- 1
Itemize your expenses smallest to largest
Write out every monthly expense and order them from the smallest recurring bill to the largest, like the mortgage or rent.
- 2
Target the smallest expense first
Point your side-hustle income at covering the smallest expense — a cell phone bill, gym membership, or car insurance payment.
Pro tip A small target is reachable in the first weeks, which is exactly what sustains motivation.
- 3
Celebrate the erased expense
Acknowledge the win of having new income fully cover a real bill, rather than dismissing it as too small.
Watch out Don't discount small wins — undervaluing them is why most people quit before momentum builds.
- 4
Roll up to the next expense
Once one expense is covered, aim the growing income at the next-largest expense and repeat.
In the wild
Instead of chasing a side hustle big enough to erase the mortgage, Nick suggests starting by covering something small like the car insurance, cell phone bill, or gym membership with new income.
→ The beginner banks a real, motivating win early and builds momentum toward larger goals.
Common mistakes
Measuring only against full income replacement
Holding out for the side hustle that erases the mortgage makes early progress feel like failure and kills motivation.
Is it for you?
Best for
New side hustlers who need early, tangible wins to stay motivated.
Not ideal for
People who need to replace a full income immediately and can't wait for incremental progress.
From the transcript
“The side hustle snowball is a framework that we talk about where it's like you've itemized out your expenses from smallest to largest... could you…”
“Celebrating those small wins... erasing those expenses with new income.”
From the episode
Nick Loper: Side Hustle Secrets Every Aspiring Entrepreneur Needs to Know
Nick Loper