The $27,000 side hustle that accidentally changed my life

Sandy Bell swapped the NYC rat race for Copenhagen hygge at age 30.

Now a dual American-Danish citizen with 15+ years in marketing and communications strategy, she's moved from a traditional corporate track to a portfolio career.

When she's not acting as a strategic advisor, you'll find her painting other worldly scenes managing properties, hosting Airbnb guests, and spending time with her husband and 8-year-old son.

Like many financially ambitious people, I've always had a nagging feeling that a traditional salary wouldn't build the future I envisioned.

The path to financial security seemed to require something more, like a side hustle or an investment strategy (or both) – and I’ve been determined to figure it out.

My financial journey has been less than conventional.

It involves investing in real estate, but also a willingness to vacate my home dozens of time a year so strangers can live there.

Unexpectedly, it’s also involved a complete reimagination of what a career can look like. But it took me a while to get there.

Late to the Real Estate Game

I've long believed real estate is one of the most reliable paths to building wealth.

The problem?

I didn't make my first property purchase until age 33.

Before that, I was bleeding money on rent in two notoriously expensive cities (New York and Copenhagen) and building precisely zero equity.

When my husband and I finally pooled our resources to buy our first home in Copenhagen for $460,000, it felt both exciting and overwhelming.

The apartment we chose was not our dream home. The kitchen cabinets were 100 years old (literally), the bathroom and electricity needed updating, and the floor plan wasn’t ideal. It was also located on a street my husband swore he’d never live on.

But I saw the potential and pleaded my case until he was convinced.

We stretched financially to have the apartment renovated and sold it just 3 years later at a 30% profit.

Not bad for first-timers.

I quickly identified our next investment target.

It was a big, bright, beautifully renovated apartment in central Copenhagen, but the $1.1 million price tag seemed beyond our reach.

I called my husband at work as soon as I saw the listing.

“Call the bank!” I yelped excitedly.

He said he had meetings all day and would call the bank tomorrow.

I insisted, “Please understand. I found THE ONE. Call the bank!!!”

After frantic calls to multiple banks and a brief bidding war, we signed the purchase agreement just four days after the listing appeared.

We didn’t realize it at the time, but this dream apartment would become the foundation of our earning journey.

A Cabin by the Sea

After living in our dream apartment for two years, our salaries had increased – and I wondered if we were reaching our full investment potential.

I wanted us leveraged to the max.

I wanted the bank to say, "Sorry Sandy, we can't possibly loan you more money."

With that goal in mind, we talked to the bank about our options and decided to buy a cabin, just an hour outside Copenhagen.

It needed renovating and was at the top of our modest budget of $230,000 – which was perfect!

We saw an opportunity to invest, add value over time, and enjoy weekend getaways near the beach.

Itchy For A Side Hustle

Like many people with an entrepreneurial spirit, I'd spent years trying to cook up aside hustle that would create income without consuming my life. Nothing seemed to offer the right balance of effort and reward, though.

In 2022, after hearing about yet another acquaintance renting their apartment out while vacationing, I decided it was time to seriously consider doing the same.

We had a great apartment in a city frequented by tourists. We had a cabin an hour away where we could escape. It was the perfect setup.

"What if we rent our place on Airbnb when we're on vacation or at the cabin?" I suggested to my husband one evening.

He made a face. "You want strangers sleeping in our bed?" he asked.

‍“What if they break our things? What if they spill wine on the sofa? What if they scratch up our nice wood floors with their suitcase wheels?”

I reminded him of all the Airbnbs we’d stayed in over the years – the homes were lovely and we treated them with respect. Surely people wouldn’t rent their nice homes if there were having terrible experiences with guests?

I wanted to find out if all the ‘what ifs’ might be worth the extra income we could earn.

A $1,500 Insurance Policy Against the Ick-factor

I wasn’t about to dive in without preparation.

I spent $1,500 creating a parallel universe of pillows, duvets, sheets, blankets and towels that would only touch rental guests.

This psychological barrier made the whole enterprise feel much more palatable. It wasn't really our bed if the linen was different, right?

Copenhagen limits Airbnb rentals to 70 nights per year for primary residences.

I saw this as a perfect framework – 70 nights meant we could maintain our normal lives while still generating meaningful income. It meant targeting weekends and holidays when rates would be highest.

Our first booking brought equal parts excitement and anxiety.

Would they respect our space? Would they have a wild party and annoy our neighbors? Would they do unspeakable things on all our soft surfaces?

Much Better Than Expected – Also Financially

As it turned out, our guests were a dream. They left the place spotless and even watered our plants.

This first positive experience gave us the confidence to continue – and now we’ve been at it for 3 years.

We have a 5-star rating, our place is always in demand, and the guests have treated our home with complete respect.

Our first year as hosts brought in $19,000 after taxes. We made strategic price increases in the second year and earned $27,000 after taxes.

Were we rolling in riches?

Not quite, but the extra income was equivalent to a significant raise at work.

As our bank account ticked up, this side hustle became a crucial component of our financial strategy.

That $27,000/year was accelerating our financial timeline in a very real way.

I also came to appreciate that while hosting is certainly work (the cleaning, the communication with guests, the logistics of arrivals and departures), it isn't mentally draining.

After years in a corporate environment where my brain would feel fried by Thursday afternoon (or sometimes Monday morning, let’s be real), there was something refreshingly straightforward about doing laundry and wiping countertops.

The Real Estate Ladder: Climbing Higher

Without primary residence now partially paying for itself from Airbnb deposits, the next logical next step was... more real estate.

"What about an investment property?" I suggested during one of our financial check-ins. "Something small. We could rent it out to a long-term tenant."

The math seemed challenging. Investment properties in Denmark typically require a30% down payment, which was cash we didn't have sitting around.

But a conversation with our bank revealed something exciting: we could leverage the equity in our existing properties to fund a new purchase.

We found a cute little apartment in a great neighborhood, ran the numbers obsessively, and took the plunge for $575,000.

Just like that, our two-property portfolio became three.

When losing money is actually making money

Reality check: our investment apartment consistently loses money. Even with a tenant paying fair market rent, we're out about $9,000 annually when all expenses are tallied.

So why do it? Because real estate investing is playing the long game.

The property is gradually appreciating.

The mortgage is slowly being paid down.

Based on historical trends, we should be able to sell the apartment for double the purchase price in 12-15 years.

Even accounting for the annual losses and transaction costs, the profit would be substantial. It's not immediate gratification, but a deliberate investment in our future economic stability.

A Mid-Career Pivot

Everything kept humming along nicely until the summer of 2023. I had reached a crossroads in my professional life. My career was exciting and demanding, but I found myself craving time to explore other interests.

This is where our Airbnb income proved invaluable in ways I hadn't anticipated.

With $27,000 coming in reliably from hosting, I made the decision to leave my permanent employment and transition to consulting – but only two days per week.

It was a deliberate under-commitment, designed to maintain our standard of living while creating breathing room in my schedule.

"What will you do with all that free time?" people asked, some with genuine curiosity, others with envy, others with skepticism.

"I don't know yet," I answered honestly. "I want to find out what I'll naturally gravitate toward when work isn't consuming most of my energy."

I got my answer six months later.

One day, entirely out of nowhere, I realized I wanted to paint – which was something I’d never done before.

I picked up a brush on a whim and discovered an unexpected passion.

What started as casual experimentation quickly outgrew our dining room table, leading me to rent a studio space.

Now I paint 20 hours weekly, using my brain in completely different ways than my corporate career ever demanded.

Would this creative exploration have been possible without our investments in real estate and Airbnb?

Technically yes, but practically no.

The financial cushion from our rental incomes created the safety net that made this mid-career pivot possible.

Managing Risk in a Leveraged World

One topic my husband and I discuss regularly is risk. Have we overextended ourselves?

What happens if my consulting work dries up?

What if he loses his job?

What if the real estate market crashes?

These aren't comfortable conversations, but they're necessary.

Being leveraged across three properties creates opportunity, but also vulnerability.

Two things give us peace of mind:

1.     We maintain an emergency fund, which is enough to cover 6-12 months of expenses without any income.

2.     We recognize that in a worst-case scenario, we have options. We could sell one (or two, or all) of our properties. We could Airbnb the cabin. Or I could consult more, or get a full-time job again.

 We're also selective about how we spend.

While my husband occasionally dreams of owning a luxury car, I have little interest in spending any more than necessary on depreciating assets.

So... we drive a very basic used car from 2015.

She’s not glamorous, but she gets us from A to B.

A Balanced Partnership

My husband and I have developed a complementary approach to managing our investments.

I'm the property scout, constantly monitoring the market and identifying potential opportunities. I genuinely enjoy this process, so it feels more like a hobby than a chore.

I also run the Airbnb business because I enjoy being a great host. It makes me unreasonably happy to know people from all over the world are thrilled with their temporary home in Copenhagen.

Meanwhile, my husband handles the financial calculations: amortization schedules, equity positions, tax implications, etc.

This division of labor plays to our strengths, and spares me from numerical gymnastics that make my brainshort-circuit.

I'm financially literate, but concepts like variable interest rates or compounded interest?

No amount of explanation or diagrams has ever made these concepts click for me. Fortunately, in our partnership, this doesn't matter.

I find the opportunities and delight the guests, he runs the numbers and has complicated discussions with the bank, and together, we make decisions that have gradually built our humble estate.

The Portfolio Career

Perhaps the most unexpected benefit in all this has been the freedom to create what career counselors call a ‘portfolio career’.

I'm simultaneously a consultant, an artist, a host, and a landlord.

Each role occupies a different mental space and draws on different skills, creating a professional identity that feels diverse and challenging-in-a-good-way.

Is it always perfect? Of course not.

There are days I'd rather be painting than ironing pillowcases.

There are weekends I'm tired of driving back and forth between our apartment and cabin.

But these moments of friction are far outweighed by the flexibility this lifestyle provides.

The Future Is...

...evolving. I don't have a crystal ball or a master plan, but I feel grateful for the serendipitous journey investing and hosting has created.

In 8 short years we went from renting someone else's property to owning three of our own, creating multiple income streams, and uncovering an artistic passion.

As a concrete nextstep, I plan to paint more and begin selling my work.

I’m curious about art as a revenue stream, and it feels natural to lean into the most unexpected outcome of all: The greatest returns haven’t been measured in currency, but in the space created to discover who I am outside the confines of a traditional career.

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