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Financial Independence, Side Hustling, and Ebikes

February 2016 Side Hustle Report

February 2017 Side Hustle Report – $800.33

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It’s a new month which means that I’ve got another side hustle report for you guys.  Those of you who have been following along with these reports know that each month I document what I made doing various side hustles in the sharing economy.  The great thing is that these side hustles allow me to earn income off of the resources I already own.  These side hustles also don’t take up very much of my time and have minimal to no startup costs.

And the thing that doesn’t get mentioned enough.  Unlike with starting up most businesses, side hustles like these allow me to start making money literally from day one!  There aren’t very many side businesses you can start up where you can make money right away with almost no startup costs and very little risk.

If you need to earn a little bit of extra income, I don’t think it’s ever been easier than it is today.  We’re in the golden age of side hustling.  Imagine what an extra $500 or $1,000 per month could do for you.

When it comes to side hustling, I have four main sources of income:

Side Hustle Income for February 2017

I calculate side hustle income based on the payout date.  Accordingly, if I perform a side hustle in January, but get paid for it in February, I count February as the date the income was earned.

For February, my side hustle income was as follows:

  • Airbnb:  $471
  • DogVacay/Rover: $148.75
  • Postmates/DoorDash/Uber Eats: $151.51
  • Selling Trash Finds: $5
  • Jobspotter: $24.07

Total Side Hustle Income for February 2017 = $800.33

The side hustle income remains steady even though we’re still fighting through the winter months.  The glaring weak spot, as you can probably see, was trash income, which was basically non-existent.  It’s not for lack of inventory.  I actually still have a garage filled with all of our finds from last August.  I just haven’t been motivating myself to get all that stuff listed up, but I do plan to hustle a bit more on the trash front next month.  We need to clear out our garage anyway because it’s starting to get overwhelming.

Here’s a more detailed breakdown of that income:

Airbnb Income: $471

Airbnb continues to remain steady throughout the winter months.  We ended up booking 12 nights for February, which isn’t too bad considering it’s winter time and the demand is pretty low.  We also had family coming into town in the last week of February, which required us to block off those dates.

February 2017 Side Hustle ReportOur guests for the month were primarily folks coming into town for interviews, conferences, or to visit their kids on campus.  My favorite guest was definitely an IT guy who was in town for work.  His company gives him a per diem to pay for hotels, and wisely, he opts to go for more affordable Airbnb accommodations, allowing him to pocket the remaining cash.  It’s a smart move, and something I’d do as well if I were in his position.  I’d totally be friends with this guy in real life if I just met him in the street.

One key thing I do to help keep my occupancy up during slow times and maximize my revenue is to make use of pricing apps.  I use an app called Beyond Pricing which monitors the local demand for hotels and Airbnb’s in my area, then adjusts the price accordingly.  The app has been consistently lowering my rates for the winter in order to help me attract more guests.  It’s similar to the way hotels adjust their prices.

In exchange, Beyond Pricing charges me a 1% fee based on what I booked that month.  So, if I book $1,000 worth of stays for the month, Beyond Pricing charges me $10.  The price is worth it since I’m usually able to either charge someone more during high demand periods or get a booking that I otherwise might not have gotten if I had just stuck with a static price.

If you’re an Airbnb host, I’d highly recommend using Beyond Pricing in order to optimize your pricing.  If you use my link, you get your first month free.

And if you haven’t already, why not try your hand at being an Airbnb host?  I think it’s worth trying out to at least see if it’s something you could do.  It’s a pretty low-risk way to try your hand at being a landlord.

DogVacay and Rover Income: $148.75

Rover continues to do nothing for me in 2017.  For whatever reason, my listing is buried behind a million other listings and it’s basically a neverending cycle.  As I get fewer bookings on Rover, my listing continues to drop more and more.  At this point, either a lot of people aren’t using Rover in my city or I’m basically now invisible on that platform.

Luckily, DogVacay continues to bring me a steady stream of dogsitting clients.  This is exactly why platform stacking is so important.  If one platform starts struggling, you can make up for it on another platform.

My puppy guests for this month included a repeat guest and a new pup.  Both pups were a little bit bigger than what we usually watch and a bit more of a handful than usual.  Here’s our repeat guest, who stayed with us during Super Bowl weekend.  She’s a good pup – just way more energetic than Financial Pup.

February 2017 Side Hustle Report
Financial Pup (on the right) with her new buddy.

The other pup we had was a new pup with some definite anxiety problems.  She was great while we were around.  But, when we left the house she would just scream at us (she stayed in a kennel when we left the house).  Luckily, we didn’t have any guests with us during that time, but I’ll have to note to myself that we cannot watch this pup if we have Airbnb guests staying with us.

While this pup was here, we did have some freakish 50-degree weather in the Twin Cities.  This led us to take a 4-hour walk all around the city.  We got some nice pictures as well.

February 2017 Side Hustle Report
Our guest pup looking out at this crazy sunset.

Ms. FP also managed to snag this crazy good picture of the Minneapolis skyline.  This was done with a regular iPhone 6.  No special camera or anything.

February 2017 Side Hustle Report
Taken on a 60-degree day in February here in Minnesota.

If you love playing with pups in your spare time, then why not try your hand at dogsitting?  Consider signing up to be a sitter on Rover.  Don’t forget to sign up to be a sitter on DogVacay as well.

Postmates/DoorDash/Uber Eats Income: $151.51

This income should really be more like $50, but I managed to snag a referral bonus through Uber Eats.  I don’t think it came from this blog, though.

About a month ago, I posted up a referral link on a pretty large Facebook group for Postmates, explaining that Uber Eats was offering a $100 referral bonus if you did 10 deliveries.  I thought that the bonus was worthwhile given how easy it was to do, so I wrote up a little post for the group explaining how simple it was to do and why people should consider it.  I didn’t just post up my referral link – there was a value add because I did write a pretty lengthy rationale as to why it would be worth the time to use my referral link.

Naturally, the hate came in.  I even offered to split my referral bonus with anyone who wanted to do it.  I think one key difference between people who do well with money and those who don’t is the ability to see when there are opportunities to make money.  Here I am, approaching a group that is already doing deliveries and constantly complaining about not making enough money, and yet, when I explain a way to make more money doing the same thing, I’m basically met with negativity.

Oh well.  After posting my referral link, I guess someone reported me and I was kicked out of the group.  One person did take me up on my offer and I managed to make $100 as a referral bonus.

February 2017 Side Hustle Report
The referral bonus is listed under “Incentives and Other Payments.” As you can see, I didn’t do many Uber Eats deliveries otherwise.

If you’re interested in trying your hand at deliveries, you should sign up for Uber Eats using my referral link.

I’ve been getting a ton of emails from Uber stating that they’re giving a $100 bonus to anyone who signs up with my link and completes 10 deliveries.  Note that your mileage may vary, as I don’t know if they’re offering the same bonus in every city.  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Trash Income: $5

It was a shameful trash income month (has anyone ever heard someone talk about a shameful trash month?).  I have a ton of inventory, but I just haven’t been moving it.  The lone sale for the month was a crappy nightstand that we’ve had listed for a long time now.  I’ve started getting back into listing more of our trash finds, so March should hopefully be a better month.

Related: Making Over $1000 Selling Trash Finds Found In One Dumpster

Jobspotter Income: $24.07

Jobspotter has quickly become one of my go-to apps.  I wrote about my experience with this app in a previous post.

I really never knew how many hiring signs there were out there.  And it’s not like I go around looking for them.  I think one of the benefits of using a bike and your own two feet to get around is that you can actually see these type of things.  If you’re doing everything with a car, you’ll probably never see a hiring sign.

In any event, making 24 bucks doing basically nothing isn’t so bad.  It’s enough to cover an HBO subscription with some change left over.  I don’t know if I can continue to make this level of income with Jobspotter, but I do think 10 bucks a month isn’t crazy.

And that concludes this month’s side hustle report.  February was another slow month, but it’s still pretty interesting that I can make $800 without doing a ton outside of what I already like to do.  An extra $500 or $1,000 per month might not seem like all that much.  But add it all up and that could easily be $10,000 of extra income for the year.  Imagine what you could do with a $10,000 raise.

Be sure to check out my side hustle report page if you’re interested in seeing what I’ve made in other months.  And to make it easier, here are some links to my recent side hustle reports right below!  Enjoy!

January 2017 Side Hustle Report – $806.84

December 2016 Side Hustle Report – $704.43

November 2016 Side Hustle Report – $1,221.67

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.
  • 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.
  • SoFi Invest ($50) – 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 $50 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.

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 ($150) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $150 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 $150 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
  • SoFi Money ($275) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $250 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
  • 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.
  • Fifth Third Bank ($350) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina. If you don’t live in one of those states, you won’t be able to open an account online but you can still open an account in-branch if you happen to be visiting a city that has a branch. This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, especially since there are plenty of data points showing what will trigger the direct deposit requirement. In addition, you can open the Fifth Third Momentum Checking bank account, which comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. Read my guide on this bonus here.
  • GO2Bank ($75) - 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 $75 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.
  • Netspend ($40 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $40 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $40 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.
  • Digital Federal Credit Union ($20) – Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a saving account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000. Check out my in-depth post on how to set this account up.
  • 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 ($30) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $30 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 $250 if you complete a direct deposit.
  • 5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.25% 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.
  • Personal Capital. 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.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Go Finance Yourself! says

    Nice work. Seems like you’re pretty consistently making around $1k per month which is some nice extra cash. The Beyond Pricing app seems well worth the money for your Airbnb listing. Keep hustling!

    Reply

  2. Mrs. Groovy says

    One thing no one can accuse you of is being lazy! My gosh you’re hustling and then some. I like that you’re using multiple platforms and backup platforms. Congrats on earning some serious extra dough!

    Reply

  3. FIRECracker says

    ” I did write a pretty lengthy rationale as to why it would be worth the time to use my referral link.

    Naturally, the hate came in.”

    Yeah, it’s tricky to do self-promotion in forums. Even if it’s valuable and helpful to other people and it’s free. People immediately get their torches and pitchforks out because their brain cells are screaming “scam! This person wants something from me!”

    But I’m glad at least one person took you up on that offer!

    Good job on this month’s side hustle income! Looks like it’s pretty consistent from month to month, so definitely a great inspiration to people who want to make a side income.

    Reply

    • Financial Panther says

      One thing about a group like Postmates is that the level of discourse in there isn’t very high. There aren’t a lot of lawyers doing these type of gigs.

      The interesting thing about these side hustles are that they don’t take a ton of my time. I’m basically monetizing stuff I already have to do anyway (i.e. Cleaning my house, walking my dog, exercising). It’s micropreneurship at its finest.

      Reply

  4. Julie @ Millennial Boss says

    Congrats! You’re killing it and I love that you have diverse income streams. I actually signed up to use Door Dash after reading about it on your blog (as an eater, not a deliverer haha) but it’s been really cool to use. I like knowing that I technically could leave my 9-5 and be scrappy and make ends meet with all of these different services (rover, door dash, airbnb, etc.). I’m very, very tempted.

    Reply

  5. Wealth Psychology says

    I’m always surprised that more people don’t take advantage of AirBnB for earning some extra cash. I know lots of people have extra space! It looks AirBnB and Beyond Pricing are working great for you. -Aaron

    PS: Watch out for duplicate text in your posts (e.g. search for “In exchange, Beyond Pricing”)

    Reply

    • Financial Panther says

      Thanks Aaron for the heads up. I’ve been trying this app out – Grammarly – and it keeps doing a weird double paragraph thing when I edit. I thought I had fixed that problem but I guess not.

      Reply

  6. Lars-Christian says

    Well done, Panther. An extra $800 or so is nothing to scoff at! How are you allocating your extra income? Does it go straight to your retirement fund, or do you allow yourself to live large with the bonus money?

    Reply

    • Financial Panther says

      Good question. The interesting thing is how this side hustle income gets classified. “Active” income (such as dog sitting and deliveries are subject to self-employment taxes, which means I throw as much of that income as I can into a Solo 401k). “Passive” income, such as Airbnb, isn’t subject to self-employment tax, which, unfortunately, means I can’t throw it into any tax-advantaged account since I already max out all of my accounts with my day-job income. For now, the Airbnb income is sitting in savings and is being used as the house emergency fund.

      Reply

  7. Smart Money MD says

    Nice job on the AirBNB! Pretty cool that you are able to continue capitalizing on renting out your extra space. As other readers have mentioned, I’m still hesitant on doing this, mostly for convenience. I sometimes end up having to travel for a weekend at the last minute and having to have plans set out in advance for rentals would make it tough unless I have some help in case something happens.

    Keep it up!

    Reply

    • Financial Panther says

      Thanks! Airbnb definitely isn’t for everyone but it’s a really interesting way to monetize the home that you already live in. Obviously, schedules don’t work well for everyone. One thought is to try it out a few times just to see what it’s like. The great thing is, if you rent out your space for 14 days or less, you get all of that income tax-free! It’s one of the few totally tax free pieces of income out there. And I think almost all of us could deal with a stranger in our house for 14 days over the course of a year.

      Reply

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