It’s time for another side hustle report. For new readers, every month, I like to document what I earned from side hustling using sharing economy websites. I hope that these reports can help show you the type of money you can make using some of the skills and assets you already own. Use the money you earn from side hustling to pay off debt, super charge your savings, or buy yourself something you want.
The key to these side hustles are basically three-fold: (1) I find them fun to do, (2) these side hustles generally incorporate tasks that I’m already doing; and (3) I find that I derive a benefit from them beyond just making money.
For example, I already own a dog, so taking care of a second dog for a few days doesn’t add much additional work to my plate. I basically can make extra money doing the regular dog care tasks I’m already doing. The same goes for making food deliveries on my bike. I enjoy biking around town and exercising. The fact that I can get paid to keep myself in shape is a bonus.
Here’s the best part about these side hustles. If I find out it’s not for me, I can just stop doing it. Using these sharing economy websites is a low-risk way to have your own little business.
When it comes to side hustling, I have four main sources of income:
- Renting out a spare guest room on Airbnb
- Dogsitting using DogVacay or Rover
- Making deliveries using Postmates
- Selling trash finds using Craigslist or OfferUp
Side Hustle Income for August 2016
I calculate side hustle income based on the payout date. Accordingly, if I perform a side hustle in July, but get paid for it in August, I count August as the date the income was earned.
For August, my side hustle income was as follows:
- Airbnb: $1,266
- DogVacay/Rover: $357.50
- Postmates: $152.52
- Selling Trash Finds: $99
- Selling Our Old Furniture: $350
Total Side Hustle Income for August 2016 = $2,225.02
Not too shabby of a month! Again, Airbnb continues to be the big driver of our side hustle income. When we first listed up our place on Airbnb, we didn’t expect there to be much demand for our neighborhood. We live in a college neighborhood, however, and completely underestimated the effect of living near one of the largest universities in the country. It’s kept our Airbnb traffic pretty steady.
The fact that we are only renting out a room in our house gives us the added benefit of keeping out the riff-raff. We’re not getting party animals. Instead, almost everyone staying with us is coming into town for business reasons. Attending conferences, going to classes, coming for interviews – that kind of thing. These are usually the best type of guests because they really only need a place where they can sleep and shower.
Anyway, here’s a more detailed explanation of how this month’s side hustle money was earned.
Airbnb
As we’ve continued our Airbnb experiment, we’ve learned that each month brings with it a different type of guest. Since we’re near a large university, almost all of our guests are in town because they’re doing something related to the campus (e.g. going to interviews, attending a conference, etc). In April and May of this year, most of our guests were coming into town for conferences held on campus. In the summer, we had our summer intern staying with us.
August was moving season, which meant almost every guest we had this month was coming into town because they were finished with classes and were moving out, or were getting ready to begin classes and needed a place to stay before moving into their new place. Our guests tend to skew on the young side, but this month, we also had a number of older guests staying with us who were in town to help their kids move.
The one thing we’re going to have to do next year is figure out the air conditioning situation in our house. We live in an old house, so we don’t have central air conditioning. The only A/C we do have is a window unit that we have in our own bedroom for really hot days. Ms. FP and I try to avoid using air conditioning as much as we can. We think people are a bit too reliant on A/C. But two of our older guests complained that it was a bit too warm for them in our house and recommended that we get an air conditioner for the guest room. The hot days are basically gone now for our area, so we’ll have a year to think about it.
DogVacay and Rover
This number is a little higher then normal because we had a stay that started in July cross over into August (so the payout occurred in August, rather than July). The pups we had this month were all great. And as usual, they didn’t really change our day-to-day life. We’re already taking care of our own dog, so it really isn’t difficult for us to watch a second dog from time to time.
The interesting thing this month was that we hosted a pup who belongs to a colleague from my previous big law firm job. He needed a sitter for his dog and happened to stumble upon my profile. Is it weird for me to take money from a sort-of-friend/former work colleague? Ms. FP said it wasn’t, and I guess it wasn’t too weird for him either, as he’s asking us to watch his pup again.
Postmates
I was doing bike messenger deliveries in my spare time through a service called Caviar, but it recently shut down in my city. That means all of my bike messenger deliveries now have to come through Postmates.
I didn’t do a ton of deliveries in August because I was tied up with other things, so I’m actually pretty surprised that this number turned out as high as it did. No real secret as to how I made this money. I typically just set aside a few hours in the morning on weekends – while Ms. FP is still sleeping – to make some deliveries and get some exercise. Why pay for the gym if I can get paid to exercise?
Trash
It was college moving season in August, so that means Ms. FP and I grabbed a ton of trash to sell! We definitely have enough trash to last us through the end of the year. As a benefit, we feel like we’re helping to do our part to prevent waste, since all of the perfectly good furniture we grabbed isn’t ending up in a landfill.
We pick up our trash finds using our Prius, which I think is one of the best cars you can get. It’s fuel efficient, has amazing storage for a regular car, and isn’t too flashy, but at the same time, isn’t a junker car either. Next year, we might consider getting a bike trailer, because we’d much rather be able to bike around our neighborhood and load up stuff on our bike.
The great thing about the trash we found was that most of it was brand name. Tons of Ikea stuff! I didn’t list up all of our trash finds yet just because of time constraints, but I’d estimate I have at least $500 worth of furniture sitting in my garage. The plan is to sell it off slowly throughout the remainder of the year.
Old Furniture
We’ve had a desk and a dresser that have been sitting in our garage for years. Ms. FP’s mom moved out of their family home about 5 years ago, and a dresser and desk got stored in our garage. The plan was to sell them 5 years ago, but just due to complacency and laziness, it never happened. I finally got off my butt and listed this stuff up in August and they sold after a few weeks. Each piece of furniture sold for $175.
And that concludes the August Side Hustle Report. I hope this side hustle report shows you that there are many ways to bring in a little extra income each month. Even a little bit each month adds up over the course of a year. Thanks for reading!
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More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:
- Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
- Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
- Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
- Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
- Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
- KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
- Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
- Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
- Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
- Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Webull (20 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 20 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
- Moomoo (15 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 2 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- Upgrade ($200) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $200 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $200 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- Ally Bank ($100) – Of all the banks out there, Ally is, without a doubt, my favorite. At the moment, Ally is offering $100 to customers who open an eligible Ally account and meet the requirements. Here are the step-by-step directions to earn your Ally Bank referral bonus.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($175) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- US Bank Business ($800) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
- GO2Bank ($50) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $50 referral bonus.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
- 5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $800 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
- Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
Woah that Ikea cabinet is sweeeeet!
I’ve tried out Rover (it’s alright, the app has been buggy) – how is Dogvacay in comparison? Is there less traffic?
I’ve had WAY more success on DogVacay and prefer the app. The search algorithm also seems to make more logical sense and they don’t punish you as much when you reject a dog. Rover is brutal if you ever reject a request it seems like.
One thing to note is that Rover bought out DogVacay a few months ago and they’re shutting down DogVacay next month and moving everyone over to Rover. So starting next month, there won’t be a choice in the dog sitting space. Everyone will have to use Rover or see if any new competitors come out.
That is awesome! What a great side income, for just an extra bit of work. I also love the 3 criteria for taking on side hustles. Very inspiring!
Thanks Ms. MT! Since these side hustles aren’t super lucrative, it’s really important to do the side hustles where I’m getting something out of it or doing something that I’m already doing. Basically, a good way to kill two birds with one stone.
Wow, that is truly impressive with how much you earned from your side hustles. Particularly your AirBnB. I totally see where you’re coming from with the AC – we don’t have an AC (and sometimes there are a few days in a row of 40C+ – torture!). Maybe you could install an AC and charge more?
Tristan
We’re thinking about installing the A/C. My big concern is having a guest who just leaves the A/C on all day.
Nice side income! You’re really killing it on the Airbnb. We use it all the time, but have not hosted yet. We also feel like our area is not a big destination, but maybe we will have to pull the trigger and give it a whirl one of these days.
I always say give it a try if you’re comfortable hosting people. The beauty is, it doesn’t cost anything other than a bit of your time. If it’s not for you, you can just stop doing it, right?
Whenever I walk around DC I always see perfectly good items being thrown out. Couches, printers, all kinds of stuff. Because I do not live there it is hard for me to sell them but it is mind boggling.
Love the way you use AirBnB and am a big fan of your ac policy. I grew up without central air and I honestly hate being in ac all day it makes me feel confined. Best of luck with your future months!
There’s just so much stuff out there, it’s pretty crazy! I think $1000 a month or so in side hustle income is easily achievable.
Looks like another great month! Pretty impressive income from Airbnb even without the consistent Airbnb’er you had the last couple months. Keep it going!
This Airbnb experiment has been really working out. I’m shocked at the type of demand we get, but I just completely underestimated how much being near a college campus draws in people.
Financial Panther – I love the idea of dumpster diving for furniture and especially baby items.
We recently picked up two gently used double strollers that my neighbor was throwing out. We cleaned them up and then looked to see how much they were worth brand new. One cost $350 and the other cost $500.
Who throws out perfectly good stroller like that?
We checked on craiglist and these strollers are going for 60% of their original price. We are holding on to the for now because we’re afraid if we sell them it will be just our luck to have twins.
It’s nuts what people throw out. I imagine baby stuff gets thrown out because most people figure that parents only want to buy new things for their baby, so why bother trying to sell it.
And good on you for keeping the strollers. I always say, keep the trash that upgrades your life. I recently found an end table some college kid had thrown out. Looked it up and found out it cost $200! Needless to say, I kept that end table for my living room because it upgraded my life.
Awesome side hustle income! And I love your trash finds/flips. I never find anything as good as you do, but I’m sure it helps that you live in a college area. Thanks for sharing!
I’ll admit I sometimes get super lucky finding some of that trash, but even things you wouldn’t expect will sell for something! Trust me, it’s out there. You just gotta develop that “trash eye” like I have.
A funny story about my “trash eye.” There was a huge pile of trash around the corner from my house a few weeks ago. Most of it was total junk. But just walking by, I saw something barely poking out of the trash that looked like something good. Ms. FP said to leave it, as nothing looked worthwhile. But I soldiered on. And in that pile were two really nice bar stools. Great condition! That was my “trash eye” at work.
Later that evening, I saw a bunch of college kids rooting through the trash pile, so I’m glad I grabbed it before they got their hands on it, because they definitely would’ve taken these bar stools.