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Remember That You Have No Job Security With Gig Economy Apps

Last Updated on February 11, 2025February 11, 2025 4 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. Affiliate 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.

The other day, I received an email from Marketforce that confused me. For some reason, all of the secret shops I had scheduled for the month had been canceled by Marketforce. To make matters worse, when I logged into my account, I discovered that I couldn’t view any available secret shops anymore. From the looks of it, Marketforce had terminated me.

As a bit of background, Marketforce is a secret shopping app I’ve used for the past seven or eight years. I’ve used it primarily to get free food, receiving thousands of dollars worth of free food over the years in exchange for purchasing food from certain restaurants and filling out surveys about my experience. While I never intended for it to happen, Marketforce also became a significant source of side hustle income for me over the years, often being my third highest-paying side hustle in most months.

Getting terminated by Marketforce hurts. For the last five years or so, Marketforce has become such an integral part of my life that I’ve been eating at the same restaurants about every week. To lose all of that stings – it’s like I’ve lost part of my identity. Plus, I’m going to have to start buying my own lunch again now.

That being said, getting dropped by Marketforce like this does bring some important things to light that are always worth remembering when it comes to these types of apps.

You Have No Job Security With These Apps

Perhaps the most important thing to remember with any of these apps is that you have absolutely no job security with them. Most of the apps I write about are gig economy apps which means you are an independent contractor and can be terminated from any of these apps for essentially any reason. Most of the time, if something happens, you’re likely going to have no recourse. 

I have no idea what I did that caused Marketforce to terminate me from the app. Perhaps they saw I was doing too many of the same secret shops over and over. Maybe the restaurants recognized me because I was coming in so often and ordering the same things. Maybe I did something else that angered them. Or it’s possible I didn’t do anything at all and they just wanted to clean house and let some new people in. Whatever it is that happened, Marketforce has no obligation to provide me with any additional information and I don’t expect them to give me any follow-up or let me back onto the app.

While there’s little job security with these gig economy apps, it’s probably worth remembering that your regular 9-5 also likely provides you with little job security. So unless you own your income source, you should always consider that your job security, as good as it might be, is never guaranteed. But when it comes to these gig economy apps, it’s perhaps even less guaranteed.

Always Be Prepared

That brings us to the second important thing to remember when it comes to these gig economy apps – you should always be prepared. You can do things well and never have an inkling of any issues. But if you’re an independent contractor, you’re always at risk of being terminated or having your account deactivated at any time. For that matter, you’re always at risk even with a regular job.

This is why it’s so important to have backup plans. Having multiple backup plans is even better.

So what are some of the backup plans I have in place? First, I maintain a large emergency fund. This is a basic strategy that everyone should do and since interest rates as I write this (in 2025) are not bad, it’s really not a bad thing to have a decent amount set aside in cash. Whatever happens with me, I can easily cashflow multiple months (probably years honestly) with the cash I keep on hand.

Second, having multiple income sources is another thing to do. If you’re working in the gig economy, you probably already do this by accident, since you probably aren’t only using one app. But even with a regular job, having multiple income sources is useful. For me, my income sources include this blog, YouTube, all of the gig economy apps I use, and my rental property. With so many income sources, even if I lose one thing, I still have other sources of income that can help me out.

You’re Going To Feel Like You Lost Part of Your Identity

Losing a gig economy app that I used regularly hurts. Even though it’s just a secret shopping app, I was doing it so often and used it so much that it did feel like a part of me. I ate so much free food that losing these secret shops really does feel like I lost a part of myself.

And it’s not just me that’s going to feel this absence. My kids were often getting in on these free lunches and dinners with me. There was a chicken place that I went to all the time because of this app that my kids regularly asked me when we were going there again. Now that I don’t have free meals from this app, the chances that we go there and pay with my own money are essentially zero.

Things that earn you money have a way of becoming a part of you. I spent years working as a lawyer and even though I haven’t practiced law in over five years, it’s still hard to separate myself from that part of my life. These gig economy apps might be silly things to some, but they really did become a part of my life. I’ve fortunately been able to keep myself on most of the apps I use, but losing one like this still stings.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to most types of work, you have to remember that it’s usually only a business transaction. Most of the time, your employer really doesn’t care about you – they pay you for your work and if they need to, they’ll get rid of you too. These gig economy apps obviously don’t care about you.

That’s why it’s so important to understand how tenuous our relationships with our jobs and income sources can be. You never know what the future will hold, so you always need to be ready.

It sucks that I’m not going to get my free food anymore from Marketforce. And there’s also a hundred or more dollars per month of easy money that I’ll miss out on. But this is the way the game is played. And it’s why I have so many sources of income and backup options, just in case something like this happens.

That being said, while I did lose Marketforce, I still have a lot of other secret shopping apps and websites I use, so I’ll still get some free food each month. I just won’t get as much as I used to. (For more info, check out my post: Restaurant Secret Shopper Jobs – A Strategy To Eat For Free And Hack Your Food Expenses)

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.

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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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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 $900 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.

Filed Under: Gig Economy, Money Hacks, Side Hustle

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Eric says

    February 11, 2025 at 4:56 pm

    Scary, we frequent a food place a few times per month with MFS. Hope that doesn’t happen to us. Hopefully you find out what happened.

    Reply
  2. Gigi says

    February 11, 2025 at 3:05 pm

    Aww, Kevin! I’ve followed you for years, and I’m sorry that you were terminated with no warning, for no apparent reason. That said, and as you wrote, you have so many other income streams. It will feel like a part of you has been cut off, but the rest of you will regenerate. You’ve found other ways to earn. And luckily, you have a high-earning spouse, so you’re not in a dangerous situation.

    Your lifestyle reminds me to leave room in my life for side hustles and other income streams. Example: While I’m waiting for work assignments, I’m on two pretty noteworthy survey platforms. Although the money is like drops in the bucket, those drops have allowed me to buy groceries, order necessities from Amazon, and have guilt-free spending money for outings in my community.

    Chin up, and thanks for inspiring all of us through the years. And thanks for making financial education easy to digest and access!

    Reply
  3. Retired Older Guy says

    February 11, 2025 at 2:46 pm

    That’s a real shame but your points are spot on. It seems that the same points can be made for a lot of jobs too. Your only security is in your ability to perform and being prepared for multiple options.

    If you’d still like to work Marketforce, let it rest for 3-6 months and apply new and see what happens! You never know.

    Reply
  4. Jean Rowley says

    February 11, 2025 at 2:30 pm

    Did you reach out to them to find out the reason? I know MS companies have NDAs that prohibit you from naming their clients.

    Reply

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