What My Side Hustle Paid Me

From mowing to finding the FI community.

2 min read

A red lawn mower sitting on top of a lush green field

Between parenting, teaching, coaching, traveling, & kid’s activities… I like mowing. I’ve mowed an additional 4-10 lawns around our small town every spring, summer, and fall for the last 15 years as an educator (now my son mows a few on the side). It's simple, mindless, & active. Unlike teaching, you easily see your progress and you don’t bring your work home with you. Plus, most of the time, I got paid.

It wasn’t overly profitable. I didn’t charge enough & I wasn’t looking to grow or spend too much time on it. I just needed something to stay busy so we didn’t spend money elsewhere… & I could justify buying new “equipment”.

It also wasn’t nothing, often several hundred “extra” dollars a week. We invested some of that money, but more importantly, it's where my obsession with personal finance grew.

As a teacher, I was constantly absorbing new information for use in the classroom. The internet gave me access to the collective knowledge of mankind. Online science materials & content creators are amazing at explaining difficult concepts & they made me a better science teacher. I could go on forever… but very few people would be interested.

I wear headphones… a lot. At some point, I discovered podcasts where I could binge my current obsessions. Science, news, sports, history… those topics can be exhausted. At some point, I stumbled across my first personal finance podcast & I couldn’t get enough. Well, first podcasts, then YouTube, then audiobooks, then actual books (& I’m not even a reader). Finance is math, science, history... & money all in one. So many things to plan, implement, test, analyze, & repeat. From debt elimination, budgeting strategies, investment vehicles, automation, prioritization of investments, FIRE, taxes, even credit card & travel hacking… & so much more. Plus, there’s the whole psychology of money. It’s endless, & everyone has to deal with money in one way or another. Crazy how little I knew at first (& I still have much to learn). Additionally, the laws, rules, limits, ages, & regulations are always changing & I enjoy finding ways to modify our plans to take advantage of the changes.

Somewhere along the way I thought… could I turn this nerdy obsession into a business? Could that business eventually lead to the personal & time freedom I’ve been looking for? So I reached out to others in the finance community, particularly educators turned fee & advice only advisors, & I started asking questions… & eventually, I started setting goals & planning.

The whole story is long. But it leads me to this end. I have the financial freedom to pursue what started out as a dream, then a plan, & now actions.

I consider myself an ordinary, everyday guy. I started learning & implementing a few simple financial rules & strategies. I started seeing flaws & mistakes in our investments & the financial advising industry. Over time, I even got my wife on board & we started making plans for our financial goals & future. With time, lots of mistakes & planning we started seeing a significant return on our investments… our everyday ROI.

Now I have the opportunity to help others find their ROI. Low cost, high value, no hidden fees, commissions, or AUM. I offer empowerment, implementation, & hopefully a chance at financial freedom.

Let’s start finding Your Everyday ROI.

Your Everyday ROI

Find your daily return on investment.

Email

BrianJones@youreverydayroi.com

Your Everyday ROI LLC is a registered investment advisor LLC with the state of Nebraska. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. The presence of this website on the Internet shall not be directly or indirectly interpreted as a solicitation of investment advisory services to persons of another jurisdiction unless otherwise permitted by statute. Follow-up or individualized responses to consumers in a particular state by Your Everyday ROI in the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation shall not be made without our first complying with jurisdiction requirements or pursuant an applicable state exemption.

All written content on this site is for information purposes only. Opinions expressed herein are solely those of Your Everyday ROI, unless otherwise specifically cited. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources and no representations are made by our firm as to other parties’ informational accuracy or completeness. All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation.

Please see important Disclosures and Privacy Policy. We take protecting your data and privacy very seriously. As of January 1, 2026, the Nebraska Data Privacy Act (NDPA) suggests the following link as an extra measure to safeguard your data: Do not sell my personal information.