Journal logo

A Fun and Easy Side Hustle That Earned me $1000 in a Month

This gig gives you all the control.

By Jason N Published 2 years ago 9 min read
Like
A Fun and Easy Side Hustle That Earned me $1000 in a Month
Photo by why kei on Unsplash

The days of holding just one job seem to be over. With the rising costs of expenses and living, more people have a harder time living off of one income alone. Also, many find themselves under-employed, which makes living on one salary pretty difficult.

When you are working a typical job, you can’t “make more” by simply “working more.” Even if you are an hourly employee, it’s not like you can consistently and reliably ask for more hours and get them all the time. It may be possible for a little bit if you are friendly with the person who schedules hours, but it’s not something you can rely on.

One of the difficult parts about working for someone else is that you aren’t in complete control of your future. If you work at a big company, you need to wait until annual reviews to get a promotion or a raise. If you want to gain new skills and take a class, you can pay for it out of pocket or wait for company approval to reimburse you. In some cases, this is a good thing. It can, however, lead to stagnation if you aren’t careful. (another positive aspect of the side hustle is that greater sense of control, which is a big contributor to your happiness)

I’ve tried multiple side jobs and this one I will mention below has become my favorite. It’s made me a little over $1000 in one month, so I know this is a possibility for you as well if you just put in the effort. I have control over this side gig, I have the freedom to decide when to start and when to stop. This is a luxury that most people do not have at a regular full-time job.

As an Instacart shopper, it’s possible to earn $20 to $30+ per hour. Plus, you get to set your own schedule as I mentioned above, so you can work as much or as little as you like. This is a fun side hustle for me because I get to work alongside my wife from time to time. If you can have a friend or loved one join you I’m sure you will have a blast. There are customer requests that combine since it’s at the same store so the order can be $40+ so having someone tag along will make finishing faster.

Once you’re ready to go and show that you are online to start working for Instacart, the app has a list of “batches” that are available for completion. A batch is a customer order. Tapping on a batch in the Instacart shopper app shows you:

  • What products are in the batch
  • The store you’re going to shop at
  • How far the delivery distance is when you’re dropping off the order
  • Your estimated earnings which factor in Instacart pay and the chance of a tip

If you see a batch you like, you can claim it and hit “start shopping” when you actually arrive at the store and are ready to shop. (A trick you can do is wait until you’re at the first item to then click “start shopping”) This trick saves you a lot of time since Instacart keeps track of how fast you shop.

This also lets the Instacart customer know you’re at the store and are starting to shop for their order. Another common Instacart shopper trick is to text the customer to let them know you’re shopping and that they should message you through Instacart’s app if they have any questions or last-minute changes to their order. Communication is a big part of being a successful Instacart shopper, so keep this in mind.

Is the shopping process easy?

The Instacart shopper app is very easy to use, so even if you’re not used to apps it’ll be effortless. The app actually has a list of every product you need to shop for. Instacart also does a great job of grouping products by sections you’d normally see in a grocery store, so you can use the app to guide you.

As you shop and find products, you mark them within the app as being found. Instacart lets you scan product barcodes or enter the product name manually to confirm you’ve added them to your shopping cart. Scanning an item works instantly. It’s so quick that at times I double-check to make sure it actually did take the scan.

Do that for every product, and you’re getting the hang of being an Instacart shopper. However, if products on your order are out of stock, you have a few options:

  • Substitution Preferences: Customers can leave notes in the Instacart app about certain substitution preferences they have, like swapping out one brand of tomato sauce for another similar brand. If you’re shopping for something and it’s out of stock, check to see if the customer made notes about alternatives. (I suggest that you click to see the replacement right away since at times it takes a little longer than expected to find an item, but the replacement could be seconds away.)
  • Use Common Sense: Successful Instacart shoppers move quickly, so this means using your common sense and quickly finding obvious substitutions if the customer hasn’t noted an alternative.
  • Message The Customer: If you’re ever in doubt about what to substitute, message the customer through the Instacart shopper app and ask for clarification.

In some cases, you can also offer a refund for a product if it was out of stock and no viable alternatives were available. All of this can be done through the app. Personally, I try my best not to offer a refund since that will make the batch total drop. Just try your best to replace the item that is not in the store.

Once you gather every product in your order, you’re ready to checkout. The checking-out process is very simple. Instacart shoppers actually get an Instacart payment card to pay for orders. This is basically a prepaid debit card that’s only used for Instacart orders.

A quick tip that can help you big time, is to order another card once you receive yours in, so you can have two. The reason I did that is just in case if I were to lose one then I have a backup. Since it takes about a week to get your new card in which would put a pause on your side income. At first, I didn't think you can have two cards but, as I played around in the app I noticed that can be an option. (Just go into your account and into “Instacart payment card” then hit “order a new card”)

Another thing you can do for yourself is if you end up accepting a batch that’s in your go-to store you can use your rewards card at checkout to gain points from that Instacart batch. For example, if you have a Stop and Shop card and the customer for that batch does not have one then you can feel free to scan in yours and grab some free go-points to take some money off of your own shopping!

After you check out, load your vehicle with the groceries, and be sure to load grocery bags carefully to avoid spills or crushing things like bread and eggs. Once you load your car, use Instacart’s app to navigate to the drop-off point. You should also let the customer know you are on the way with their order.

Customers can leave drop-off instructions that include leaving groceries at the door for contactless delivery or actually ringing the doorbell. They can also leave notes about things like building door codes or specific doors to drop groceries off at.

Follow your instructions, drop off the batch, and take a photo of the groceries on the doorstep once you’re done. If the customer greets you at the door then there is no need to take a photo. Once you mark the batch as being complete, you’re ready to accept more Instacart batches to keep on earning. If you have someone tagging along that is also a shopper, they can be looking at the app from their phone just to pick another batch that’s close by. That way once you finish yours just keep on going to the next one without waiting.

Instacart allows you to do multiple batches at once. For example, you can pick a batch that has two or three orders in it. The reason this is done is because the customers are close to each other, and they are ordering from the same store. The app will show you how many miles in total it will take you to complete the two or three orders. I personally do the batches that are two orders since I find those easier to manage if I am doing Instacart alone.

You get instant cash with Instacart, and that is one of my favorite perks. The tips do take 24 hours since the customer can adjust their tips within that time frame. Once the tips have gone through, Instacart gives you the option to instantly cash out your earnings, however there is a $0.50 fee that will be taken out of your earnings. Instacart will send you your entire earnings within a couple days, sometimes up to a week after the money was earned.

Note: Instacart customers also rate you and the entire ordering experience after you complete a delivery. This contributes to your Instacart shopper score.

You can have a maximum of 5 stars as an Instacart shopper. This isn’t just some trivial rating system either; highly-rated shoppers get to see batch requests before lower-rated shoppers do. This means that the higher your Instacart rating, the pickier you can be with batches and only accept the high-paying ones that are worth doing.

When you’re a new Instacart shopper, you automatically start with high batch priority to give you a chance to actually complete orders. They also offer test batches, and training courses to better prepare you.

It’s so easy to start a side hustle these days that everyone should consider doing it. With a side hustle like Instacart you gain control, decide if you want to settle for $200 a day or a week. I hope the information I provided is helpful in your search for a side gig. I personally enjoy this side hustle and I highly recommend it.

Thank you for reading!

Written by: J

how to
Like

About the Creator

Jason N

I am a husband, father, and entrepreneur. I write on Medium as well along with my wife (Marie&Jason). Looking to share earning opportunities as well as poetry, and my real life explorations. Also, some beneficial and knowledgeable posts.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.