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Financial Independence, Side Hustling, and Ebikes

October 2023 Side Hustle Report - Image of a man walking a dog in the city

October 2023 Side Hustle Report – $968.25 

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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.

October is in the books, so here’s the side hustle report for October 2023. 

Side Hustle Income for October 2023

Total Side Hustle Income for October 2023 = $968.25 

October was a decent side hustle month. I didn’t crack the $1,000 mark, but I got pretty close, which I’m happy about.

Here’s a pie chart breaking down my earnings for last month. It’s a pretty even split between Rover, food delivery, and my other smaller side hustles. I think this demonstrates how important it is to have varied sources of side hustle income. Even small sources of side hustle income can add up.

In the remainder of this post, we’ll go into more detail about my earnings in each category. 

 

Rental Income: $2,400

My new tenants have gotten settled in now and so far, things are working out well. I’ve been doing a lot of repairs on the house, which has kept me busy. This summer, Minneapolis had a big hail storm, so I put in an insurance claim and got approved to replace the roof on the house and detached garage. This was big for me because the roof is one of the big ticket items I was worried about, so getting it replaced for free is huge. Hopefully, I won’t have to worry about the roof for 20+ years now.

The other big-ticket items are the water heater and the boiler. I preemptively replaced the water heater this summer (it was 19 years old, so I decided to just go ahead and take care of it now). The boiler was tuned up this summer and the HVAC guy says it still looks good and can continue to run for much longer with regular maintenance. I’m hoping I can keep it going strong for another decade at least, but we’ll see.

 

Rover Income: $318.75  

My Rover income was strong for October. I had three bookings for the month, all with repeat clients. These are dogs that I love to watch, so it doesn’t feel like work to me. Indeed, the money I earn from watching these dogs almost feels like passive income to me. 

If you want more information about Rover and how it works, check out these posts:

 

DoorDash/Uber Eats/Grubhub Income: $351.94 

Food delivery has picked up a bit, but it’s still nowhere near what I used to make. Most of the reason for my decline in DoorDash and Uber Eats earnings is due to a lack of time – I simply have less time than I used to now that I have a young family and a lot more family responsibilities. If I could, I’d do a lot more food delivery.

Here’s what I made with each delivery app in October 2023.

DoorDash and Uber Eats were my primary earners for the month, with Grubhub making a few bucks as well. The month was pretty good for doing deliveries by bike, helped by warmer-than-average weather here in the Upper Midwest.

One interesting thing to note is I did a couple of Uber Eats deliveries in Madison, Wisconsin while I was there visiting a friend for the weekend. I needed to film a review video for a fat-tire ebike that I have, the Van Powers Manidae, so instead of just filming a regular review, I decided to film the review while doing deliveries on the bike as well. It was fun getting out in a new city and biking around. This is one of the things I love about DoorDash and Uber Eats. When I travel, I can still do deliveries and earn some money while exploring a different city. 

 

Trash Finds/Flipping Income: $50 

I sold three trash finds in October. One was an Ikea cowhide rug that I found on the curb. It was a nice rug, but it doesn’t fit with my aesthetic. The rug sells new for over $150 and I could have gotten more if I wanted to wait for the right buyer, but my goal was to get it sold fast. I ended up selling it within a day for $20.

The other nice sale I made was a North Face Jacket that I found in a box of free stuff on the curb. I would have kept this jacket for myself, but it didn’t fit me. I ended up selling it on eBay for $20.

Finally, I sold a fireplace cover for $10. The fireplace cover was in my house when we moved in, but we replaced our fireplace with a gas insert, so the fireplace cover had been collecting dust in a corner. It’s nice to declutter when I can and getting some money while decluttering is always a nice bonus. 

 

ProductTube Income: $60 

ProductTube did well in October. The gigs on ProductTube require me to film short videos while I’m at Target or similar convenience stores. These gigs take minutes to complete and usually pay well. Even better, I can usually complete them at the Target right next to my children’s daycare, allowing me to start the day with some money in my pocket.

 

IVueIt/ProxyPics Income: $20 

I made $20 from IVueIt completing a “dark store” Vue. This is where I take photos of a closed-down coffee shop. I used to complete these dark store gigs every month, but I haven’t been as good lately at checking the app, so other people have been grabbing these Vues before I get them.

Most IVueIt gigs are easy to complete, so I usually grab them when they are nearby. The Vue I completed was at a downtown location and I was able to complete it while going home one day after dropping my kids off at daycare. 

 

Google Opinion Rewards/Surveys On The Go/1Q/Facebook Viewpoints Income: $15.17 

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

Google Opinion Rewards is always good. It might not seem like much money, but over a year, I can usually make $100 or more just from that app. 1Q is also a good app that I recommend to everyone. I don’t really use Surveys On The Go much anymore because the surveys always take too long. Facebook Viewpoints is fine, but they don’t have that many tasks available most of the time.  

 

Secret Shopping Income: $123 (plus free food) 

Secret shopping remains strong. My income comes from Marketforce, which is the best-paying secret shopping app. Most of the time, I don’t even care about the free food with Marketforce – I just use it essentially as a decent-paying gig economy app. 

Secret shopping is an excellent way to reduce your food expenses and it allows me to get thousands of dollars worth of free food each year. 

Check out this post for more information about secret shopping and how it works:

 

ProductLab Income: $18.25

ProductLab is a good app that pays me money for sending in screenshots of my weekly earnings on DoorDash and Uber Eats. You need to earn $10 to cash out your earnings, so I usually can cash out every other month. If you deliver for DoorDash or Uber Eats, definitely download this app.

 

ReceiptPal/Receipt Hog/Fetch/CoinOut/Amazon Shopper Panel Income: $11

Amazon Shopper Panel is the best receipt app out there, paying me at least $10 every month just for taking pictures of 10 receipts. This is probably the easiest money you can earn. I continue to accumulate points with my other receipt apps, which I’ll eventually cash out. In a year, I’ll usually end up making a few hundred dollars from my various receipt apps.

 

Medium Income: $0.14

I continue to make a few pennies each month from Medium and as long as I make something from Medium, I’ll include it here. I haven’t posted anything on Medium for over a year. If I were a new blogger and only wanted to write without worry about SEO or Google, I’d probably write on Medium. As an established blogger who understands SEO and is okay with writing stuff for Google, Medium isn’t worth it for me. 

 

And that concludes the October 2023 Side Hustle Report!   

I had a solid month in October, although I didn’t break that $1,000 mark. These days, I’m not that focused on side hustles. I still do all my side hustles because I find them fun, but I’m not able to dedicate as much time to them as I used to. It’s just the stage of life I’m in now (which is why if you’re young and don’t have to worry about family or kids, do the weird stuff now while you can). 

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the side hustle report for this month. If you have any questions, feel free to drop a comment below or send me an email.

 

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.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Leah says

    It’s sad to see Rover talked about so much as an easy side gig, coming from someone who started a legit pet sitting business over a decade ago. There is a lot of liability connected to caring for other peoples’ property, and there are entire facebook groups dedicated to people who’s dogs were hurt or killed while being watched by Rover sitters. Rover doesn’t cover sitters by liability insurance, so if you get sued by a pet owner you’re on the hook unless you buy it for yourself. There are many sitters on Rover who did lose someone’s pet, or trash someone’s house, but they weren’t removed from the platform and the client signed an NDA. Scary stuff.

    Reply

  2. Christine Smith says

    Nice job on the roof being covered! Also that’s great you’ve made a return on Google rewards. I signed up but have not had any request showing up in my feed.

    Reply

  3. Andrea says

    I am also a secret shopper. I make most of my money on:
    IPSOS They have two branches
    Shopmetrics. I mainly do their shipping shops(regular box) I also do eBay, but ship the items through the
    shop. So, I get to keep the eBay shipping charge.
    Sassie. Gas stations( non-reveal), fast casual Asian restaurant, drive thru/ drive in stall burger place

    Second-to-none. I get 99% of my grocery store needs met through them.

    I live in California, so what these companies offer in your area may be different.

    Reply

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