Is This The Best Side Hustle During The Pandemic?

You may be used to having plenty of money saved up for the holidays so you can buy gifts, travel, go out to eat, and more. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic may have wrecked your plans by cutting into your income.

Does this mean you have to sit on the sidelines during the 2020 holiday season? Not at all, as there are plenty of ways to make quick cash.

One of the best of them, especially with the coronavirus on the scene, is making deliveries.

If you’ve gone into a grocery store lately, you’ve probably seen a lot of people running around in uniforms and shopping carts filled to the brim with food and other items. Who are they? Delivery people for companies like Shipt, Instacart, etc.

What do they do? They take people’s online orders, pick up their stuff, deliver it to their doors, and get paid for their time.

While this job is nothing new, it’s exploded since COVID-19 appeared, as many people prefer to have someone else shop for them while they stay at home. This is excellent news if you’re looking for a side gig that offers some level of independence, plus extra money for your holiday shopping.

The Benefits of Delivery Jobs

You no longer have to work full time with a company like FedEx or UPS to make deliveries. Thanks to delivery apps, you can become an independent contractor. This allows you to choose your schedule. Depending on the app, you can even pick which deliveries you want to fulfill, and which you’d rather reject.

Are there expenses involved with delivery? Yes, such as gas, mileage on your car, etc. But once it’s all said and done, delivery, especially during the holiday season, can give you an excellent per hour wage to pad your holiday budget.

The Best Delivery Apps To Work For

There is no shortage of delivery apps that can help you earn side cash. New ones hit the market quite frequently, but these are some good places to start:

Postmates

This delivery service is popular with customers due to speed. Many deliveries arrive within an hour, which makes Postmates’ demand high.

How much can you earn working for Postmates? Some drivers make as much as $25 per hour, which is pretty good for a side gig with no real experience required.

Uber Eats

Driving strangers around in your car isn’t for everyone. The company that offers such work now has an alternative in Uber Eats.

One benefit of Uber Eats is that you can request multiple payments daily. So, if you need quick cash, you may want to give this delivery service a strong look in the coming months.

DoorDash

DoorDash is well known in the food industry, so working for them could keep you busy and your pockets padded. You’ll mostly be delivering food from restaurants here.

Shipt

Want to earn up to $22 per hour making deliveries? You can do so with Shipt and get paid weekly.

Most Shipt deliveries are groceries, although you may have the occasional order for pet or office supplies to keep you on your toes.

Instacart

There are two ways to make money with Instacart. The most common is being a delivery driver who picks out groceries and delivers them to the customer’s door. The second is to pick out the groceries, and leave them ready for the customer to pick them up at the store.

Instacart offers weekly payouts, plus tips.