I’ve done a lot of freelance work in my life, and most of it has turned out fine.

There have, however, been some bad clients – from the flaky, to the inept, to the downright scammy.

When I was in college, I did some video production work for a guy and didn’t get paid for weeks after what I’d been promised.

When I confronted him about this, he told me not to “bite the hand that feeds me,” which I thought was very funny, because, dude, you’re not feeding me.

The point is, just because you’re being offered work doesn’t mean it’s worth it, as I think is illustrated in this story:

AITA for not supporting my wife’s side hustle

My wife has a part time job and a few side hustles, one of which is photography/social media for a singer.

She gets $50 per show worked, but all shows up until this point have been within 20 miles and on a weekend.

But then there was a bump in work without a bump in pay.

This week, the singer has booked a mid-week gig at a venue that’s 400 miles away.

So my wife would drive herself, pay for half the gas (one other band member wanted to ride with her), and miss 2 days of her part time job for only $50.

Essentially we would be losing income and paying out of pocket for her to work.

Apples and oranges?

She states that we never discuss loss of income, gas cost, and vehicle wear & tear when we go on a family trip or vacation, but I said those are planned recreation and we’re not going there to work so they are different.

She’s also afraid if she doesn’t cover this show, he won’t work with her in the future and this work is something she enjoys doing.

Let’s see what the comments make of this:

The word “hobby” started to come up a lot.

Like, a LOT.

It’s a matter of net loss/gain.

If she’s doing this because she loves it, then making little to no money at it, or even losing a little, is, I think, fine.

If she’s doing it because she thinks it’s a gig she needs to keep, then she should move on to greener pastures, because this is not a sustainable job.

If you liked that post, check this one about a guy who got revenge on his condo by making his own Christmas light rules.