October 2021 Side Hustle Report – $1,432.96

It’s hard to believe that we’re already into November. Time is moving fast this year it feels like. But anyway, with a new month, it means we need to look back at my side hustle and gig economy earnings for October 2021. 

As a quick recap for folks, each month, I document what I earn from side hustling using gig economy and sharing economy apps. I earn income from a variety of sources – this blog, a rental property, and numerous gig economy and sharing economy apps. It’s not a huge amount of money, but it adds up and is enough for me to create a life I want for myself. I hope that these side hustle reports show you what you can do if you’re looking to make a change in your life.

With that said, here’s what I made with each income source last month.

Side Hustle Income for October 2021

• Airbnb/Rental Income: $2,400 (not included in total)
• Rover: $341.70
• DoorDash/Uber Eats/Grubhub: $541.01
• Shipt/Instacart: $0
• Wag: $17
• Bird/Lime: $0
• Selling Trash Finds/Flipping: $240
• WeGoLook: $74
• TaskRabbit: $0
• ProductTube: $50 
• Gigwalk/EasyShift/Field Agent/Merchandiser/Observa/IVueIt/Pickl: $51.60
• Google Opinion Rewards/Surveys On The Go/1Q: $9.75
• Secret Shopping: $79
• ProductLab: $12.75
• ReceiptPal/Receipt Hog/Fetch/Coinout/Amazon Shopper Panel/Tada: $10
• Medium: $6.15
• Freelance Writing: $0

Total Side Hustle Income for October 2021 = $1,432.96 

Life’s been getting pretty busy lately, which I think has impacted my side hustle earnings. One thing to remember about all of the gig economy stuff I do is that it’s all active income. To make money with these activities, I have to be out there working. I think all income is active in some form, but some income is more active than others. And in this case, most of my gig work requires fairly active work.

That said, even with a bit less hustle last month, I was still able to bring in almost $1,500 from 12 different sources. $1,500 might not seem like that much, but combine it with some other sources of income from other activities and you may have enough to support your lifestyle. In this case, when I combine this income with my blog and my rental income, it’s enough for me to not have to go back and get a regular job. 

Let’s take a more detailed look at my side hustle income from last month.

Airbnb/Rental Income Income: $2,400 

We’re no longer doing Airbnb but have made the transition to a traditional rental. Our family has one rental property from a primary residence that we converted into a rental when we moved. It’s in a college neighborhood, so the current tenants are 20-something college kids. The property earns about $1,000 per month after paying the mortgage, taxes, and insurance. Since it’s not far away from me, I self-manage it, which doesn’t take too much time.

I’m fortunate enough to be in a position where I don’t need the rental income, so 100% of it goes back into the property. The nice thing about rental income is that I can use the income to maintain the home and potentially improve it later too. There are 14 years left on the mortgage, so in theory, I can have a nice asset later that someone else helped pay for. 

 

Rover Income: $341.70 

October was a busy month for me on Rover. My new neighborhood has led to an increase in demand, which has been good for my Rover business. It’s a nicer neighborhood, which means the people around me have more disposable income to spend on dog boarding.

I ended up watching three dogs in October, with two new dogs and one repeat dog. The two new dogs were excellent and are ones we hope we can watch again.

I’m on pace to make over $3,000 this year from dogsitting, which is about what I made in prior years (last year was slower because of the pandemic and people not traveling). That’s not a bad way to earn some extra money each year, especially when you consider that it feels pretty passive – unlike my other gig economy apps, Rover isn’t exactly tied to me actively working. I’m still getting paid even when I’m watching a dog and doing something else. 

If you want to learn more about how Rover works, check out this post: Rover Pet Sitting – How To Make Money Dog Sitting With Rover. You can sign up to be a Rover sitter using my Rover referral link.

 

DoorDash/Uber Eats/Grubhub Income: $541.01 

October was a bit slower for me, but that’s mainly because I was busy with some other things this month. Here’s the breakdown of my earnings for October.

• DoorDash: $202.96
• Uber Eats: $175.65
• Grubhub: $162.40  

As usual, I did all of my deliveries using a bike or an electric scooter. I think this is the way most people should be doing deliveries, but I’m still surprised at how few people do it this way. When you’re using a car to do deliveries, you’re simply destroying it. But an ebike or scooter can do the same thing at a fraction of the cost. Most people think of ebikes and scooters as luxury goods, but I think they can be investments if you use them as a car replacement, and not just as a form of recreation. 

I currently have four bikes and one electric scooter, and I alternate between all of these options when I’m doing deliveries. This is my current roster of ebikes and scooters:

• RadCity 4
• Himiway Escape
• Espin Sport
• Varla Eagle One

I find myself using the Varla Eagle One a lot when I’m doing deliveries, mainly because the scooter is more portable. It’s fairly easy for me to bring it in and out of restaurants or into apartment buildings as needed. 

If you’re interested in learning more about these different food delivery apps, feel free to check out the posts I’ve written about each: 

• DoorDash Dasher: What It’s Like Delivering For DoorDash
• Uber Eats Driver: Delivering For Uber Eats
• Grubhub Delivery Driver – What It’s Like Delivering For Grubhub

 

Wag Income: $17

It’s been a while since I did a Wag walk, but I decided to do one that happened to be near me. It was an easy enough walk and I’d do them again if it fits with my schedule.

When I had a regular day job, Wag worked out well because it was something I could do during lunch without breaking a sweat. The main issue I have with Wag is that the income is fairly fixed. Since you’re paid based on the length of the walk, there’s no way to increase your earnings by being more efficient. Contrast that with food delivery, where I’m able to earn more based on my ability to complete orders quickly, strategically pick the right orders, and multi-app. 

For me, Wag isn’t something I do for money as much as I do it for fun and the experience. If you’re interested in learning more about Wag, check out my post: Wag App Review – My Experience As An On-Demand Dog Walker. 

 

Trash/Flipping Income: $240

October was mainly about getting rid of old furniture in our garage. It’s funny that works – it always seems like things fill the space you have. In this case, our garage has been packed for years with stuff that we’ve needed to get rid of. And even when we moved, this stuff came into our new garage. My wife wanted to get our garage under control, so last month, we went and did just that. The nice thing about clearing out our garage was that it brought in some extra income too.

One interesting trash find I had last month was an Ubbi Diaper Pail. Now that I’m a parent, I have a better eye for kids’ stuff and when I saw the diaper pail on the curb, I knew I was going to grab it. I ended up selling the Ubbi Diaper Pail for $25 within a day of listing it on Facebook Marketplace. When you think about it, it’s like I grabbed $25 off the ground.

 

WeGoLook Income: $74 

WeGoLook is an auditing and appraisal app. You’re typically tasked with taking photos of specific things, usually damaged vehicles or accident sites.

The main WeGoLook gigs I do these days are scene inspection and exterior photo shops. Scene inspections require me to take photos of an intersection where there was an accident. And exterior photo shops are ones where I take photos of a building. Both of these gigs are good because they don’t require any interaction with anyone.

I always bike to these gigs, and since I can do them quickly, I often take my son with me. It lets us get a nice bike ride in, typically to someplace we wouldn’t otherwise go to (if you want to learn more about how to bike with your kids, check out my post: The Ultimate Guide To Biking With Kids). 

 

ProductTube Income: $50 

I do a lot of ProductTube gigs in the morning, right after I drop off my son. These gigs involve making a short video and answering questions in the app. Most of them can be completed at Target, which is right next to my son’s daycare. It’s a nice way to earn some money in the morning when things are otherwise slow. The amount I make varies, but I typically make $20 to $50 each month from this app. It’s well worth downloading if you haven’t already.

 

Gigwalk/EasyShift/Field Agent/Merchandiser/Observa/IVueIt/Pickl Income: $51.60  

My picture-taking/auditing apps worked out well this month. Here’s a breakdown of my earnings with each of these apps in October:

• Field Agent: $3.60
• IVueIt: $43
• Pickl: $5

Of all of these picture-taking apps, IVueIt is quickly my favorite, although it seems to be getting more competitive to sign up for available Vues. Most of the assignments are exterior photo gigs, which, similar to WeGoLook, means I can bring my son with me on my bike. A lot of the time, I’ll time these out so we can complete them on our way back home from daycare. 

 

Google Opinion Rewards/Surveys On The Go/1Q Income: $9.75

The short survey apps remained steady last month. Here’s the breakdown of my earnings on each of these apps:

• Google Opinion Rewards: $6.50
• Surveys On The Go: $0
• 1Q: $3.25

I don’t have much to report here other than to say I think all of these apps are worth downloading. Surveys On The Go has been a bit slow for me lately, but it can still be a fairly easy money maker if you’re strategic about it. 

 

Secret Shopping Income: $79 (plus free food) 

Secret shopping was good again for me this month. It’s nice that it’s a source of free food for me too. Here’s what I earned from each of the secret shopping websites last month:

• Marketforce: $49
• Second to None: $30

I don’t usually do secret shopping for the money, but it is nice that you can earn income from it. There’s a lot you need to learn if you want to do secret shopping, which I’ve detailed in other posts. For more info about how you can use secret shopping to eat for free, check out these posts:

• Restaurant Secret Shopper Jobs – A Strategy To Eat For Free And Hack Your Food Expenses
• 6 Best Secret Shopper Apps To Eat For Free In 2021

 

ProductLab Income: $12.75 

I typically earn around $12 per month from ProductLab. This is an easy app to use if you’re a DoorDash or Uber Eats delivery person. Each week, you take a screenshot of your earnings and upload them into the app. I typically earn $3 each week for about 30 seconds of work. It’s not a lot of money by any means, but it is easy money.

 

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

I earned $10 in October from Amazon Shopper Panel. If you’re able to, I recommend you sign up for Amazon Shopper Panel. It’s a consistent $10 per month for me. I can’t imagine that this app can last forever, so take advantage of it while you can. 

My strategy with these receipt apps is simple. Whenever I get a receipt, I snap a photo of it with each of these apps. ReceiptPal, Fetch, CoinOut, and Amazon Shopper work with any receipts. Receipt Hog and Tada only work with receipts from grocery stores and convenience stores. It’s not a ton of money, but it adds up. And it’s a fairly easy way to make money from the receipts I’m already getting. At this point, snapping photos of each of my receipts is second nature to me.

 

Medium Income: $6.15 

I haven’t written anything on Medium in several months, but I still earn some residual income from the posts I already wrote. I’d like to get back onto Medium because I do think there’s some potential there, but it’s a challenge balancing life, this blog, the side hustles, and everything else that comes up. We’ll see whether I get back on Medium at some point. 

 

And that concludes the October 2021 Side Hustle Report.

October was a busy month, so I’m glad to see that I was able to earn some income from these apps. As we hit the winter months, I tend to slow down on these apps, so it’s good to get the money while I can.

If you want to see what I’ve made in previous months, check out my past side hustle reports. And if you’re looking for ideas on how you can earn more money using the gig economy, check out my post, The Ultimate List of Gig Economy Apps. Thanks for reading.