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Financial Independence, Side Hustling, and Ebikes

December 2024 Side Hustle Report – $1,247.01

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This post may contain affiliate links. Affiliate Disclosure.This post may contain affiliate links. Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

We’re already a few weeks into 2025, but before we go on, we need to close out the 2024 side hustle reports. Every month for the past 8 years, I’ve tracked everything I’ve earned from doing various side hustles with gig economy apps. Here’s a look at what I was able to earn from these apps and side hustles in December 2024.

Side Hustle Income for December 2024

Total Side Hustle Income for December 2024 = $1,247.01

December was an unexpectedly good month, especially since I didn’t feel as if I had worked very hard. The fact I was able to make over $1,000 for the month without even realizing it is pretty remarkable. Even better, my strong December means that I was able to hit my soft goal of earning over $10,000 in side hustle income in 2024. Not bad at all!

Below is a pie chart breaking down my earnings by category:

Most of my earnings for the month came from Rover, with the rest coming from food delivery, secret shops, and then various miscellaneous gigs. I find it interesting that the “other category made up 1/5th of my earnings for the month, which goes to show how these small side hustles can add up.

Let’s take a more detailed look at my earnings in December.

 

Rental Income: $2,400

The rental property continues to do well. As I’ve written before, this was a primary residence that my wife and I turned into a rental property after we moved out. It’s a 4-bedroom house in a college neighborhood and is currently rented by four college students/recent graduates.

The property cash flows very well since the mortgage is only $882 per month and has an interest rate of just 2.75% (I refinanced the mortgage back in 2020 when interest rates went down dramatically). Insurance and property taxes bring the monthly fixed costs to around $1,400 or $1,500, which leaves about $900 to $1,000 in cash flow each month. However, the insurance and property taxes are slightly offset by paying for them with my credit card, which I usually time with a signup bonus for a new credit card. This helps me earn a good percentage back for spending I have to do anyway.

On the expenses front, maintenance expenses for December were light. I paid a company to clean the gutters, bought some ice melt, and bought some new doorknobs for the front door. One important thing is I don’t spend any of the money I earn from the rental property, so all the cash flow on the property stays in a separate bank account and goes back into the property as needed. 

 

Rover Income: $691.70  

December is always a busy month for me on Rover because a lot of people travel during the holidays and need a sitter to watch their dogs. Since I was around this month, it meant my schedule got packed. To make things even crazier, I ended up watching multiple dogs at the same time over the holidays.

Normally, I limit myself to one dog at a time, but with pups I watch regularly, I’ll often make an exception and double up since I’m familiar with the dogs. In this case, I ended up with 3 extra pups during the Christmas holidays. Along with my own dog, it meant I had four dogs in my house at once. And then to make things even crazier, we ended up adopting a cat during the holidays, leading to a Christmas with four dogs, a cat, and two young children.

My dog and cat have been getting along very well.

In any event, watching all those dogs meant some good income for December. One of the stays was a three-week stay that went into January, so those earnings will be reflected in the January income report. 

For the year, I ended up earning around $4,700 from Rover. I’m very happy with those earnings, especially given how passive it feels to earn this income, since watching dogs at my house really doesn’t feel like work.

 

DoorDash/Uber Eats/Grubhub Income: $228 

Here’s a look at what I made with each delivery app in December 2024.

I earned the most from Uber Eats, with DoorDash and Grubhub coming in a distant second. Most of the time, the earnings between DoorDash and Uber Eats are pretty similar, so I’m not sure what happened here. This is a good example of why multi-apping is so important, however. On any given day, you never know which app will work the best for you. In this case, it looks like Uber Eats is what kept this month respectable.

For the year I ended up earning around $3,400 from food delivery apps (and remember, I earn all of this income with minimal costs since I use my ebike to do all my deliveries). Earning $3,400 in a year while biking around and enjoying myself isn’t bad at all, especially when you consider that I don’t do more than an hour of deliveries most days, especially since my schedule is a lot less flexible now that I have two kids. 

 

Trash Finds/Flipping Income: $80

Here are my trash finds/flipping income in December.

  • Trash Finds: $70
  • Flipping: $10

The trash finds I sold in December included a set of planters I found down the street from my house and a table I found last year that we’ve been using for a while in our backyard. The planters sold for $50 and the table sold for $20. I messed up on the planters because they were worth a lot more and I was supposed to list them for more, but I got confused and listed them for too little and by the time I realized it, it was too late.

For the flipping income, I sold a book on eBay. I’ve had this book listed on eBay for years, so I don’t remember how I got the book. The main reason I thought this book had some value was that it was a signed first edition, but in the end, it only sold for $10. If I did buy this book, it would have been for $1 or $1.50, so I ended up making a few bucks of profit on the sale.

 

ProductTube Income: $75

I’ve been lazy with ProductTube this year, but things did pick up in December with this app. Historically, December has usually been a good time for ProductTube because a lot of companies are using up their marketing budgets before the end of the year. This led to some very good paying ProductTube gigs. For example, I had one gig where I got paid $40 to record a 3-minute video in a nearby liquor store. In all, the $75 I made this month probably took less than 10 minutes of work.

 

Google Opinion Rewards/Surveys On The Go/1Q/Facebook Viewpoints Income: $3.21 

Here’s what I made with each short survey app in December:

Google Opinion Rewards has gotten slower for me lately. I’m not exactly sure why, but I suspect there have been some changes in how the app works. 1Q is still fine and only takes me a few seconds to do. The other apps in this category aren’t particularly useful anymore, so I’m not wasting my time on them.

 

Secret Shopping Income: $124 (plus free food) 

The income in this category includes what I was actually paid to do the secret shop. Most of the secret shops only provide a reimbursement, but the secret shops I do on Marketforce pay well enough that it’s usually a sizeable portion of my monthly side hustle earnings.

For the year, I ended up earning $1,400 from secret shops. Along with those earnings, I also received thousands of dollars worth of free food. Food is usually the third largest expense for most households, so secret shopping works out quite well to reduce those food costs.

 

ReceiptPal/Receipt Hog/Fetch/CoinOut/Amazon Shopper Panel Income: $45.10

I cashed out $40 from Receipt Hog. $40 is the max redemption amount with Receipt Hog and it typically takes me about a year to earn enough to cash out for that amount. Considering it only takes me a few seconds to snap a photo of my receipts before I throw them away, this is very good.

Amazon Shopper Panel brought in $5.10. Unfortunately. Amazon Shopper Panel isn’t as good as it once was, but it’s still an easy enough app to use. 

 

And that concludes the December 2024 Side Hustle Report!   

December went well. And my earnings for the month means that I was able to hit my $10,000 goal for the year. In the end, I ended up making $10,411.83 from side hustling and gig economy apps. I’m very happy with that figure, especially as a busy parent with two young children. I think it shows that if I can do this, most people reading this probably can do the same thing. Even any amount of extra income on the side can make a difference.

Thanks for checking out this month’s side hustle report. If you’re looking ideas on things you can do, you can check out my Ultimate List of Gig Economy Apps, where I detail all of the different options out there. If you want to see some of my side hustles in action, you can check out my YouTube Channel (most of it is me biking around doing food delivery).

This post may contain affiliate links. Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

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.

Recommended Bank Account Bonuses

If you’re looking for 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 ($900) – 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.
financial panther

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 $900 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.

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