On a weeknight in Salt Lake City, a recent BYU grad comes home from her day job. An hour later, she opens Facebook Marketplace to look for collectibles she can flip on eBay for a profit. Later, she responds to an email — someone wants to rent her ice cream machine for a birthday party — and shares pricing and logistics with a potential client.
Hallie Baumgartner has program coordinator experience from the BYU School of Education and a bachelor’s in mass communications with a minor in business, but she’s been searching for full-time work since June 2024. And until the job market opens up, she and her husband make ends meet with short-term gigs and side hustles.
“I’ve always been a fan of side hustles, and so has my husband,” Baumgartner says. “Even before we got married, we were both doing them, and now it’s something we really enjoy doing together.”
In between searching for a “real job” and working at Lululemon, she stacks income wherever opportunity appears. And she isn’t alone. A significant portion of Gen Z and millennials are embracing a side hustle or two, not just for extra money, but because it’s necessary.
Younger generations are coming of age during precarious economic conditions, turning to a patchwork of side gigs to deliver what a single paycheck sometimes can’t — dependability.
But why? And how? The answer might be found in a strategy aptly titled “income stacking.”
What is income stacking?
Contrary to gig economy stereotypes, income stacking isn’t limited to ride-sharing or delivery apps. Income stacks combine several small, flexible streams, from day jobs to freelancing, house sitting to dog walking, or — for those with the resources — passive income from stock dividends or rental properties.
“It’s about diversifying risk and building long-term stability,” says Adan Velasquez, a Gen Z Utahn. “My primary income comes from my full-time job, but a little over a year ago, my fiancee and I launched a freelance LLC too.”
Meanwhile, side hustlers are building skills they may find valuable in future traditional jobs. Most flippers won’t scale their way to an eBay empire, but thrift store arbitrage is a lesson in customer communication, pricing strategy, logistics, cash-flow management and marketing — talents any savvy business would appreciate in a workforce.
Velasquez’s approach isn’t the only one, either.
“Between my wife and I, we have seven or eight sources of income, depending on what you count,” says Brent Crosby, entrepreneur and investor. “Real estate is our biggest stack, but my awesome wife also runs a successful tutoring business, sells educational products online, and I even have a newsletter that brings in some income as well.”
Wealth building reimagined
Every generation builds wealth within the conditions, constraints and opportunities it inherits. Baby boomers enjoyed an unusually favorable economy, and while success was not guaranteed, they generally found their footing faster than their children and grandchildren.
No generation is without its struggles, though. Baby boomers contended with stagflation in the early 80s, while Gen X came of age during the dot-com bubble and collapse. Millennials joined the workforce in the aftermath of the Great Recession. With every painful transition and crisis, the economic consequences accumulate, leaving tighter and tighter wealth-building conditions for the next generation.
Rather than hoping for the perfect job to deliver stability, young professionals are assembling the resources they need for themselves. It’s less a rejection of traditional working arrangements than an adaptation to an environment where the traditional path isn’t as readily achievable.
Signs of struggle
Gen Z has reached young adulthood, entering a job market marred by a pandemic, inflation, rising housing prices and a cost-of-living crisis. As a result, they have a higher debt burden and lower purchasing power than millennials a decade before them.
The milestones of life — marriage, having kids, buying homes — are being pushed out well beyond when previous generations crossed the same thresholds. Mental health diagnoses are trending up, and savings are tight; surveys show about 60-61% of those between ages 18 and 34 have $1,000 or less in savings.
Millennials faced a similar reckoning after the 2008 financial crisis, but Gen Z is encountering financial challenges sooner than millennials did, impacting their ability to build savings before reaching job seniority. Income stacking and side hustles are their hedge against instability.
The enduring appeal of entrepreneurship
Small business is in America’s DNA. Although Gen Z is, to an extent, being forced into the fray, the dream of freedom and self-determination afforded to business owners continues to resonate.
“Having these side hustles has made me realize I have a passion for entrepreneurship,” Baumgartner shares. “I’m not sure how to scale what I have, or make it my career, but maybe one day.”
Starting a business takes capital, risk tolerance and time — resources many young workers don’t have. In contrast, side hustles allow experimentation without the stakes traditional businesses demand. Flipping a jacket online could net you $100, but if it doesn’t sell, your financial stability isn’t in jeopardy.
Perhaps most importantly, income stacking can deliver a sense of agency. The job market may be tough, but small-stakes entrepreneurial endeavors give the younger generation a way forward. Incrementally, imperfectly, but on their own terms.
