Hello folks! Â Just wanted to recap my July side hustle report. Â This is an ongoing series that I plan to do each month to document my side hustle earnings through the sharing economy.
As detailed in my first side hustle report from June 2016, I have several side hustles that I perform using sharing economy websites.  These side hustles are great because they are super flexible, yet can still bring in a significant income.  I recommend saving that side hustle money and using it to turbocharge your savings.
I primarily have four sources of side hustle income:
- Renting out a spare guest room using Airbnb
- Dogsitting using DogVacay or Rover
- Making deliveries using Postmates or Caviar
- Selling things I find in the trash using Craigslist or OfferUp
To simplify the math, I calculate side hustle income based on payout date.  So if I perform the side hustle in June but get paid for it in July, I count July as the date the income was earned.
For July, my side hustle income was:
- Airbnb = $1210
- DogVacay and Rover = $63.75
- Postmates and Caviar = $198.77
- Trash Finds = $60
Total Side Hustle Income for July 2016 = $1,532.52
This month was particularly Airbnb heavy.  There’s a couple of reasons for the heavy imbalance this month.  First, I was out of town for the first two weekends of July, so I had to block out those days for potential dog sitting clients.  Since summer is typically busy, blocking out those weekends likely cost me at least $150 or so.  I also had a longer stay through DogVacay that began near the end of July and lasted until August 1st, so that dog sitting income will actually appear on the August side hustle report.
As you can see, one of the great things about doing side gigs using sharing economy websites is the freedom to work on your own time. Â If you aren’t going to be available for some period, all you have to do is simply block out certain days on your calendar. Â It’s work I choose to do if I want to do it. Â And it costs me nothing to set up my side hustle business other than a few hours of time.
A little more background on how I earned this money:
Airbnb
We had our college intern staying with us again for this month.  He paid (or his mom paid) our nightly Airbnb rate, which ended up costing him $1210 per month.  After this experiment, I think Ms. Panther and I will no longer accept long term Airbnb guests like this.  While it does save time in having to clean and flip the room for the next guest, the issue with having a long term guest is that they become a roommate, rather than a traveler.  There’s too much idle time.  I much prefer the short term stay of a traveler.
DogVacay and Rover
We actually watched two dogs this month, but one of our stays didn’t pay out until August, so for purposes of this side hustle report, only our single weekend stay with our favorite guest pup, named Brewksi, appears.  As I noted before, I was out of town for the first two weekends in July, so we didn’t watch any dogs during those first two weekends, which likely cost us a decent sum of money.
Here’s a picture of our dog Charlotte (on the right) with her buddy Brewksi. Â Not a bad way to make a little extra cash.
Postmates and Caviar
I love biking and getting exercise, and have been having a blast biking around town making deliveries. Â It’s an easy way to make some money and get some exercise – basically kill two birds with one stone. Â Unfortunately, Caviar shut down at the beginning of July, so going forward, I have to rely fully on Postmates to satisfy my delivery/biking urges. Â This figure is about what I expect to make considering I don’t do that many deliveries per month.
Trash
We sold a bunch of stuff we found in the street this month.  This included a solid condition Samsonite suitcase we found by a dumpster of an apartment building in our neighborhood, a coffee table our neighbor across the street tossed when he was moving, a TV stand I found on the sidewalk, and a small drawer thing I found by a trash can.  This stuff was essentially $60 in cash I found in the street.
There is gold out there people! Â You just gotta keep your eyes open.
And that concludes the July Side Hustle Report. Â It’s pretty sweet to be able to make some decent money on the side without having to invest significant money into building a business.Until next month…
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes/scooters I've had the chance to do a review for:
- GEN3 Outcross Bike – The GEN3 Outcross is a solid, affordable fat tire ebike that does a good job of doing what I need it to do. It works great for city riding, giving me a smooth ride in all conditions. It’s works really well as a winter ebike since the fat tires give it good traction over snow and ice. Check out my GEN3 Outcross Review.
- Himiway Escape Bike – 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 Bike – 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.
- 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 $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Moomoo (5 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 5 free stocks (usually worth around $75-$100) if you open an account using a referral link and deposit $2,000. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Webull (5 free stocks) – Webull also gives you 5 free stock 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 stocks using Webull.
- 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.
- GO2Bank ($100) - 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 $100 referral 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 ($750) – 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.
- 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.
- Fifth Third Bank ($225) – 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.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($100) – 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $750 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.
- DCU. 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 savings account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000.
- 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.
I also live in a college town and am amazed at what the students throw out during the year! Great job selling all your finds!
For your Airbnb-do you share space with your guests or is it more private? We renovated our walk out basement and made it a completely private guest suite. We also have guests staying with us for an entire month and I can’t believe they were willing to pay the outrageous nightly sum for a whole month.
Thanks Jax! It’s moving season right now and we’ve just been grabbing tons of stuff we see as we’re walking by. I’m working on a post right now about how I made over $1000 in a year selling things I found out of a single dumpster. I think it’ll be an interesting story.
As for Airbnb, we list a guest room in our house. We suffer from the “having a house that’s too big for us” problem, so we decided to throw up a room on Airbnb to have less of that space be wasted. It’s been fun so far. (see Money Wizard’s recent post for more information about this big house problem: http://mymoneywizard.com/millennials-home-prices-today/)
Is the demand for your Airbnb high? I never thought our place would be a high demand spot, but I underestimated how much demand there is to stay near a large college campus. Lots of conferences and things like that going on.
We were also surprised about how high the demand was. We knew graduation weekend would get booked because the hotels around us book 2 years in advance. We started in November 2015 and our second booking was for graduation weekend in May. We already have 2017’s booked, too. Every month we make at least our mortgage and property tax payment. Some months have been more. We get a lot of parents visiting their kids, researchers and alumni that want come back for a visit. And then there are basketball and football weekends. Sometimes we block out dates just to have a breather-what a problem to have! 🙂
I am looking forward to hearing your dumpster story! I used to be much better at reselling finds and want to get back into it.
Add me to the list awaiting the the dumpster story! That’s crazy!