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Financial Independence, Side Hustling, and Ebikes

January 2024 Side Hustle Report - Image of a man doing food delivery on a bike while it snows

January 2024 Side Hustle Report – $710.64

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This post may contain affiliate links. Advertiser 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.

Hey everyone. Here’s a look at the side hustle income I made in January 2024.

Side Hustle Income for January 2024

Total Side Hustle Income for January 2024 = $710.64 

January was a slow month for me. This is typically the case when I start the new year. The colder weather makes it more difficult for me to do my gig economy side hustles since I do all my stuff using an ebike or electric scooter.

That being said, we’ve had a mild winter here in Minneapolis, with warm temperatures and almost no snow. There was a stretch in January where we had our first real taste of winter where temperatures dropped into the single digits for most of the week, but then it quickly warmed back up again. In any event, biking has been a lot easier for me this winter, so I’ll enjoy it while I can.

Here’s a pie chart breaking down my earnings for the month by percentage:

Rover made up almost half of my side hustle earnings for the month, with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubub making up much of the rest. Even with those two big players, the other smaller apps I use still made up over 20% of my side hustle earnings for the month, so it was still significant.

Below is a more detailed look at my earnings in each category:

 

Rental Income: $2,400

The lack of snow this winter has been nice for me since I’m the one who handles the snow shoveling at my rental house. Most landlords have their tenants handle yard work and snow shoveling, but I like to handle this stuff for two reasons.

First, it’s not hard for me to do the yard work and shoveling because my kids go to daycare a few blocks from my rental house, so it’s easy for me to swing by there and shovel or cut the grass. Second, it’s a nice way for me to make myself visible to my tenants and keep an eye on the house. Since I rent to college students, I’m worried they’ll mess up my house, so I like them knowing I’m around. 

Expenses for my rental house were a bit weird last month. One of the toilets in the house keeps getting stuck so that the water is constantly running in the tank. I tried to fix it myself but couldn’t do it, so I ended up having to hire a plumber to help me fix the issue. I also pay the water bill at the house, so the running toilet led to a massive $400 water bill in January. My tenants say the toilet seems to be working fine now, so my water bill should hopefully go back to normal next month. If it doesn’t, then I’ve got another issue going on. 

 

Rover Income: $328.65  

Rover was solid in January, which was good because the beginning of the year is often slow. I watched three different dogs in January – two repeat clients and one new one (dog breeds were Toy Poodle, French Bulldog, and Cockapoo). I also did some drop-in visits for some cats.

Things are already starting to look busy for me in 2024, as people are already starting to book stays for the summer. 

 

DoorDash/Uber Eats/Grubhub Income: $225.79 

DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub were a bit slower for me in January. Here’s what I made with each app.

There were a few cold days in January that made me not want to go out, so that can partially explain the slow month. I also haven’t been doing as much food delivery, primarily due to lack of time. These days, I can usually only deliver food during the weekdays at lunch, as my evenings and weekends are usually busy with family obligations.

I’m putting more focus on my YouTube channel, where I’m filming YouTube shorts showing some of the deliveries I complete. It’s been a lot of fun editing these videos and seeing my subscriber count go up. I’m currently working on releasing 1 YouTube Short per day and then trying to do a long-form video every week or so. I’m trying to get to my first 1,000 subscribers by this summer, which I think I can do at my current pace. If you want to support me, please subscribe to my YouTube channel!

 

ProductTube Income: $30 

I swear I need to write a post about ProductTube because this is a very underrated app. I was able to make a quick $30 in January by making short videos while I was in Target or at convenience stores like Walgreens or CVS. ProductTube is quick and easy and in a year, I’ll usually make a few hundred dollars.

 

Google Opinion Rewards/Surveys On The Go/1Q/Facebook Viewpoints Income: $7.67 

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

Google Opinion Rewards was slow for me last month. I’m not sure why that happened. I have been forgetting to answer some of those surveys and you usually only get 24 hours to fill them out, so that’s part of the reason I’m missing out on some Google Opinion Rewards money. 

1Q did its usual thing. I don’t have much to report there. Facebook Viewpoints also made me $5. I don’t remember what the assignment was, but I’m guessing it couldn’t have been that difficult if I completed it. 

 

Secret Shopping Income: $108.50 (plus free food) 

Marketforce was good in January. It’s nice to make some extra money with Marketforce and get free food at the same time.

I also did a lot of other secret shops at higher-end restaurants, but those shops only reimbursed the cost of my meal and I typically don’t earn a payment on top of the reimbursement.

Secret shopping isn’t as popular as it should be because it’s fairly complicated, but I did write a post about how it works that explains it the best I can. Check it out: Restaurant Secret Shopper Jobs – A Strategy To Eat For Free And Hack Your Food Expenses.

 

ReceiptPal/Receipt Hog/Fetch/CoinOut/Amazon Shopper Panel Income: $10

Amazon Shopper Panel brought in $10. If you haven’t gotten in on Amazon Shopper Panel, definitely do it, because this app is too easy. You take pictures of 10 receipts each month and earn $10, which anyone can do.

I do have enough to cash out with most of my other receipt apps, but I keep forgetting to do that. So for now, those aren’t income yet because they’re sitting in each of those respective receipt apps. 

Keep an eye out for a post about how I use these receipt apps because that is a post that’s definitely long overdue.

 

Medium Income: $0.03

Nothing going on here. I still earn a few cents per month from Medium from posts I wrote 2 years ago. Medium isn’t worth it for me because I have this blog, but if I were starting a new blog today and just wanted to churn out posts and write about topics without any search engine optimization, I’d focus on Medium. It’s essentially like the YouTube of blogging. It’s a decent way to potentially earn some income just from writing, but the downside is you don’t own anything, so you’re not building an asset (very different than this blog, which is my business and an asset I own and could theoretically sell).

 

And that concludes the January 2024 Side Hustle Report!   

These side hustle reports are getting pretty simple, as there hasn’t been much change in the gig economy world lately. A few years ago, there were a lot of new things coming out (like dog walking, scooter charging, etc), but things have settled down a lot as the tech companies figure out what works and what doesn’t. 

Again, if you haven’t already, check out my YouTube Channel. I think my YouTube shorts are pretty interesting and show how I do these gig economy things. 

If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

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.

  • SoFi Money ($325) – 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 $300 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.
  • Upgrade ($300) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $300 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 $300 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
  • 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.
  • Fifth Third Bank ($200) – 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 ($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 $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.

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