Here’s what you missed last week:

In 2025, you need more than one income

8 years ago, I was walking dogs at 6 AM, standing outside events as a brand ambassador on weekends, and yes—selling my blood plasma for $50 a pop.

Not because I loved any of those things. But because I was staring down $100,000 in debt, and realized I needed to change my life.

I work 40 hours a week. But there are 168 hours in a week.

If I sleep for 56 hours, that still leaves me with 72 hours to do something with.

So I asked myself: what if I used those hours to better my financial situation?

As a result, I paid off all my debt in 2 years.

I didn’t stop there.

I continued with that mindset shift and started building multiple income streams with my wife, Katey.

As a result, if I lost my job tomorrow, our other income sources would completely cover our bills. We live financially stress-free.

Here's how we did it—and more importantly, how you can too.

The 7 Streams of Income

1. My Base Salary – This is what we live off of. It covers all of our bills and is a helpful barometer to make sure we’re living within our means.

2. My Commission – I keep this separate from my base intentionally. It fluctuates, so we don't depend on it for bills.

3. My Ad Revenue from Videos – I don’t sell anything to my community. I’ve intentionally kept all the resources I’ve made free. I do charge brands to use my content as ads. Like my wife, we only partner with brands we full heartedly believe in. For me, they’ll use my content as ads across multiple social media platforms and that brings in monthly revenue. I also get paid for views on Tiktok (Creator reward program.)

4. Katey's Ad Revenue from Videos – My wife was a writer back when blogs were huge. And since has pivoted to video to keep up with the times. You may have even found my page because of her

5. Katey's Freelancing – Not only has she helped me with the videos I make, but about a dozen health professionals in Austin use her talents to create their own short-form videos.

6. Our Rental Property – Generates passive income every month. We just rent out the first home we ever bought.

7. Dividend Income – From our HYSA and stock investments. This took a long time to build up, but I’m proud to say we’re generating over $1/mo from this now.

Notice something?

Only #1 pays our bills. Everything else is either reinvested into our future or used for things that matter—like paying down our mortgage faster, flying my mom down to visit us, or taking a trip without guilt.

Why I Separate My Base Salary and Commission

This is crucial. My base salary is predictable. My commission? It can swing wildly month to month.

We built our entire life—rent, groceries, bills—around what we know is coming in.

The commission and everything else? That's gravy. That's opportunity. That's freedom. And we have used that money to max out retirement accounts, buy homes, and renovate our current home. All of it gets reinvested.

It Started as Survival and Turned into Passion

Those early days of walking dogs and selling plasma? That was pure survival mode. I needed to throw every dollar at debt.

But here's what I learned: once the debt was gone, I didn't stop. I was used to working a lot anyways.

If you really want to build your castle, your moat. Meaning if you really want to build enough stability that nobody can control your decisions….

Then you have to realize that taking all your free time and using it to consume (spend money) is going to hold you back.

Once I was out of debt, I decided that instead of side hustles I hated, I wanted to work on things I was passionate about. I even started a coffee alternative company at one point (it didn't work out, but I learned a ton).

The key was this: I kept using those extra hours each week, but now I was building something I cared about.

And here's the crazy part—if you work on something you're passionate about for just 5 hours a week, you'll be shocked at what you can build in 2-5 years.

And I get a lot of you have kids.

It’s hard to work for someone else when you have kids. But when it’s yours…

Bring them with you! Bring them in on the journey. Don’t make it their existence. But if you want kids who know how to make their own money, show them.

Katey and I used to work at Farmer’s Markets when we were doing our coffee alternative. You’d be surprised how many of the booths had their kids there with them.

And those kids were great at sales, communicating with people, they knew their stuff! It was really impressive.

My Challenge To You: Build Your Second Stream

Here's what I want you to think about:

If you're in debt: Get a side hustle that pays now. Walking dogs, freelancing, tutoring, whatever gets cash flowing. Your job is to kill that debt as fast as possible. 26 Side Gigs That Don't Suck

If you're debt-free: Start doing something you're passionate about. Even if it's just 5 hours a week. Even if it doesn't make money right away. Build skills. Build an audience. Build something that could become income stream #2, #3, or #7.

The goal isn't to work yourself to death. The goal is to use the time you already have more intentionally.

This isn't about being rich. It's about:

• Security: Losing one stream doesn't destroy you

• Freedom: You can take risks because you're not dependent on one paycheck

• Options: You can pay down debt faster, travel without guilt, help family, or reinvest in your future

• Peace of mind: Financial stress evaporates when you know you're covered

Katey and I aren't special. We just decided that 40 hours at work shouldn't define our entire financial life.

You have more hours in your week than you think. What are you going to do with them?

That’s it for this week.

Thanks for tuning in! As always, if you need anything, let me know.

Dan