Hi, I’m Kevin and I’m an attorney, writer, gig economy expert, side hustler, and the blogger behind Financial Panther. I paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer. I started this blog to share all I know about personal finance, travel hacking, and making more money by side hustling. Click here to learn more about me.
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Popular Posts
I’m always on the lookout for good high-yield savings accounts and I recently found one that I think is the best option currently out there. It’s 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.
This post lists every single gig economy and side hustle app I’ve used or know about. Most are apps that I’ve personally used myself and continue to use today. Note that this will be an evolving list since new apps come and go all the time. I’ll do my best to keep this post updated on a regular basis with all of the best gig economy apps that I hear about … Read post
The Reverse Latte Factor is an important thought experiment about how impactful small amounts of extra money added up consistently over time can be to your finances. And the beauty of the Reverse Latte Factor is that it doesn’t require you to give up all of the little pleasures in your life … Read post
Bank account bonuses are a great way to earn extra income. I’ve been using this strategy for years, regularly earning between $5,000 and $10,000 per year in bank account bonuses. This post contains what I think are easy bank account bonuses and is an excellent starting point for beginners … Read post
I’m a biking advocate. I’ve been using a bike as my primary mode of transportation for a decade. But even more than being a biking advocate, I’m an ebike advocate. And pound for pound, I think the best investment I’ve ever made is my ebike. For many of you reading this, I’m convinced that an ebike can be the best investment you ever make too … Read post
Over the past two years or so, I’ve earned a little over $30,000 doing a bunch of interesting side hustles. The question I often get is how I find the time to do all of these things. For most people, the ability to earn extra money comes down to time – most people work all … Read post
Recent Posts
Over 10 years ago, I met a girl who changed my life. We ended up going on some dates, got married, and now have 2 children together. But before all that happened, she had a dog she’d adopted just a few months earlier – a 10-month-old Beagle she got from the Humane Society. When I mentioned her on the blog, I called her Financial Pup. Her real name was Charlotte, but we always called her Mer or Murray – a little inside joke … Read post
The Aventure 2 is a good bike that offers a lot of value for the price point. This isn’t the cheapest entry-level fat-tire ebike, but it is at the same price point as other entry-level fat-tire bikes from similar companies. The big selling points for the Aventon Aventure 2 are the torque sensor and the ability to unlock the bike to 28mph. Also, being able to buy and test ride the bike at a local bike shop, as well as … Read post
The other day, I was looking at my Rover account and noticed that I’m coming up on nearly 10 years of watching dogs on Rover. It’s crazy how fast time flies! I started Rover back in June of 2015, just trying out this new app I’d heard about. At the time, I had a four-year-old Beagle and my thinking was if I was already taking care of my dog, maybe I could take care of other people’s dogs too. This was all part of the monetizing … Read post
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 … Read post
Recently, I hit a major milestone on my Urban Arrow electric cargo bike – I crossed the 5,000-mile mark on it! I bought this bike in October 2022 as a car replacement vehicle, primarily to get my kids around. When I got this bike, my second child was just about to be born and I needed a way to transport two kids. We’re a one-car household and my wife needs the car to get to … Read post
M1 Finance is an app that I talk about a decent amount on this blog. It’s good because lately, it’s been offering great signup bonuses for new users. And while I think everyone should take advantage of the signup bonus when there’s a good one (and as I’m writing this right now, they’re offering $250 to new users who sign up with a referral link), it’s also just a good investing app … Read post
People have asked me how mystery shopping works. Unfortunately, it’s a bit complicated because there are so many mystery shopping companies out there and the types of shops in your area will be different than the ones in my area. That being said, some basics should apply to anyone interested in mystery shopping. In this post, I’m going to go over how restaurant mystery shopping works and … Read post
My Reviews
Bank Signup Bonuses (Step-by-Step)
SoFi Money Referral Bonus ($325)
Upgrade $150 Referral Bonus
Chime Bank $100 Referral Bonus
US Bank Business Checking $800 Signup Bonus
Fifth Third Bank ($325)
GO2Bank $75 Referral Bonus
Fairwinds Credit Union Referral Bonus ($175)
Current Bank $50 Referral Bonus
Other Signup Bonuses
M1 Finance $100 Referral Bonus
Webull Referral Bonus (20 stock shares)
Moomoo Referral Bonus (15 stock shares)
SoFi Invest $25 Referral Bonus
Side Hustle Reviews
DoorDash Dasher: What It’s Like Delivering For DoorDash in 2023
Uber Eats Driver: Delivering For Uber Eats In 2023
Grubhub Delivery Driver – What It’s Like Delivering For Grubhub In 2023
Rover Pet Sitting – How To Make Money Dog Sitting With Rover
Wag App Review – My Experience As An On-Demand Dog Walker
Shipt Shopper App: My Grocery Delivery Side Hustle
Making Money With Airbnb In 2023: Why I Rent Out Our Guest Room
Observa App Review – Can You Use Observa To Make Extra Money?
IVueIt Review 2023 – Make Money Taking Photos For Businesses