Lyft is my hustle

Do you see this stack of money?  it is not even that much.  $2,500.  I easily make this each month

Yet I still get push back from friends and family who perhaps do not understand the beauty and awesomeness of the gig economy.  "Get a real job", they say.  "I just worry about you", they explain.

Listen...  Worrying about me is not going to pay my bills, nor are my friends and family.  Besides that worry does stem from ignorance about the rideshare platforms and fueled concern from the media's fear mongering tactics for ratings.

You will hear about scary encounters with Lyft from Drivers and Passengers alike, but consider that there are millions of people and the amount of cases compared to the actual number of users is small.  In any situation in life there is risk because there will always be shitty human beings.

For me, yes, I had a few awkward experiences but nothing majorly bad.  Every experience was one I was able to de-escalate or completely prevent from becoming a regrettable one.  I also had crazy experiences which I found funny, entertaining, and amusing, and while my skittish friends and family who just worry about me would not be able to handle that, I thrive in those situations... after all, they would say it themselves that I am "crazy" when they really meant fearless and bold.  

Others would try to argue with me that I am not making money because of the wear and tear on my vehicle.  The truth is I would much rather pay my bills than worry about the resale value of my vehicle.  Wear and tear can be written off come tax time, and so can mileage. At the end of the year I don't pay many taxes because of the depreciation of my car and expenses to run by entrepreneurship, which is exactly what the gig economy is.  At the end of the year, I do end up keeping the vast majority of my earnings.

There are drivers who complain and people who are not drivers but assume and complain that rideshare drivers only earn pennies on the dollar but I assure you, you are doing your taxes all wrong!

Yes, we have to worry about our own health care and retirement, but if you have the sense and will power, that is so easy to do.  One of the arguments my family would throw my way was that a real job offers benefits.  I used to work on the benefits side of business and let me tell you, it does come out of your paycheck.  As your own boss it is up to you to give yourself those same benefits.  If you set up a real corporation, you can write off the benefits, however there are tax incentives for signing onto the Healthcare Marketplace thanks to the Affordable Care Act.  There are also insurances for disability, workers compensation, etc, which you can write off as an independent contractor.  At the end of the year it is the same thing as your benefits as a traditional 9-5 job.

But the thing I love most is that I can earn $2500 a month easily, putting in the work and hours of course, but honestly never quite reaching 40 hours a week.  Some months aren't as good and others are better. Over all, I get the flexibility of making my own schedule, the excitement of having a different experience with every passenger, and the stress relief of cruising in a city and county I so very much love. 

But, I love driving around in my car so this is a good fit for me.