If you retired and could not make ends meet, you are not alone. For most of us, the employment prospects are not very bright. What you can expect is a job as an assistant at Walmart with a minimum salary. What is the worst part of this job? Stand on your feet for hours in a row for the minimum wage.
There is a relatively new industry that you can do in your free time. Work as many or as few hours as you like. Work when you want and do not work when you do not want it.
It is called the "Trip."
You've probably heard about Uber. This is the most famous of the companies involved in the promotion. The main competitor is Leif. I worked at Lyft for the past 6 months and achieved excellent results. Here is my story.
I was fired last year after being the sales manager for an average furniture store for 9 years. At that time I was 60 years old. My boss promised me that he would never let me go, but, as in most cases, it was an empty promise. As brick and mortar retail declined, his profits also did not allow me to pay.
I thought that I would not have problems with work. I had a stellar resume. Unfortunately, the number of companies willing to hire senior employees is small. Personally, I do not blame them. My first management job was when I was 30. I was not interested in hiring people who were old enough to be my father. The employees I inherited were already at that age, were a pain butt for work.
How did I know Leif?
My transport was a 20 year old pickup truck. As a young man, I spent money on the Corvettes, Porsche and Mercedes. When I got older, I realized that fashionable cars were expensive. A reliable car that is paid makes more sense.
One day he broke down and had to go to the store for the weekend. I rented a car and returned home after I returned. I decided to try Leif. I asked the driver, like many people, how he likes to work in Leif. His answer surprised me.
“I'm not even from California, I live in Florida and take the train to spend the winter with my sister. I call Leif. They give me a job and rent me a car. I can earn up to 1000 dollars a week driving for Leif.
Shortly after this conversation, I lost my job. I decided to try Leif. I applied around 9pm on Saturday evening. I knew that my driving record was stellar and would not be a problem. I have never had a travel ticket in 45 years. The problem is that my 20 year old pickup. Left requires a 4-door car less than 10 years. Here you have everything you need to start.
First, you need a smartphone, such as an iPhone. You apply for a job from your app, which you can download from the app store. It is called "drive drive." After you download the application, you will need to fill in some basic information, such as your name, address, etc. They ask you to provide your employment identifier. You have the choice to use a social security number or employer identification number (EIN). I owned several small businesses and have a limited liability corporation for another business in which I work. Since this will be a business, I used EIN. Now all my income will go through LLC, which receives additional discounts on taxes and protection of liability. More on this later.
Leif will ask you to take a picture of your driver's license with your camera. That is why I recommend using a smartphone. This simplifies the job, because you can take a picture of your driver license right from the app. After a couple of seconds, they will approve you as a driver. If you have a DUI or criminal offense in the past 7 years, you will be rejected.
As soon as you are allowed to drive, they will ask you whether you want to use your own car or hire one. Since I only had a 20-year-old pickup, I asked to rent. They asked me to make a deposit of $ 250 to a credit card, which will be returned when I return the car. I pressed a button and they said they would take your new car on Tuesday.
I live in San Diego. Rent a car through Hertz. They charge $ 208 per week, but this includes all the insurance you need. If you manage 75 jobs per week, they give you a $ 50 discount. If you drive 100 jobs per week, they give you a discount of $ 150. The cost of renting a new car is only $ 58 per week. Since the car is insured, you can use if for personal use when you are not driving behind Leif. Let me tell you that 100 disks a week can be a problem. I average 10-15 per day. At the same time, if you go to 100 jobs a week, you probably earn about 800-1000 dollars a week.
They offered me a Toyota Corolla, Kia Forte or Chevy Cruze. I chose the new Kia Forte. The remaining 2 cars had spots on the seat. I was always interested in learning about Kias. Nice car. He got about 23 miles per gallon. Gas is a big expense in this business. The day after I rented a car, someone took my 20-year-old truck. The police told me not to buy anything new for 30-60 days, as is usually required to recover a stolen car. Looks like I'm going to Leif for a while!
The system is quite easy to use. You will need a dash for your iPhone (oreroid phone). You turn on the app and wait for it to warn you about the trip. After you accept the trip, the screen will change to Google Maps pages and will literally tell you directions. You can see your progress as you walk down the street. The map shows you all the streets, so they are easy to find out where you are going.
After a few weeks, I decided that my truck would not return and bought a used Ford Fusion Hybrid 2010 on Craigslist for about $ 5,000. He gets 38 mpg. This type of car is not preferable to millennia, because it looks like an old man's car. If you are looking for this model on Craigslist or Autotrader, you will probably find one that belongs to older people and is in pristine condition. This is a very comfortable car to drive, and customers make comments about how comfortable and convenient they are for them. Try to get one with a backup camera. After using the backup camera, I will never buy a car that does not have one.
Currently, I drive about 8 hours a day and earn 100-150 dollars a day. It works up to 700-1000 dollars a week. I don't need to drive so much, but I like it. Im single and nothing else to do. Since I was raised with a good work ethic, it’s hard for me to sit at home, doing nothing when I can earn money.
It works better than I could have imagined.
I owned several enterprises, so finding out the costs is pretty straightforward. The IRS allows you to either charge actual expenses, like gasoline, tires, etc., or you can take 54.5 cents per mile. A big write-off for a business is car depreciation. A standard deduction of 54 cents per mile is not only easier, but also gives you more deductions. Record your miles.
The error of most drivers is that they simply write off miles for the actual journey. The IRS allows you to charge all business miles. If you work with someone else in the office or in a store, you cannot write off your vacation to work, but if you work in a business, you can stop driving to UPS or driving to meet customers. Real estate agents write off all the miles they give, showing the homes of people. They also write off all the miles that search for homes to show their customers. With Rideshare, you can redeem all the miles from the moment the app was turned on until the end of your last trip. I record my mileage when I get into the car at home and usually sit on the driveway until I receive a trip request. I record my final mileage when I return home at night. You do not need anything, a pocket laptop works fine.
Some people park, some ride. If you have just completed a trip that took you to a remote area of the city, you may have to go to an area where people are more likely to go. Consult your tax advisor, but all driving must be taxed in order to find rides. Due to the fact that you have written off many miles, it will look as if you are not very profitable. This is good, because it means that you do not have to pay a lot, if you will, in the form of taxes. That's what I mean.
So let's say 200 miles per day and make $ 150 in fares and tips. If you write off 200 miles x545 cents per mile, your tax write-off is $ 109. It gives 41 dollars of profit. At $ 41 / day, you make an ad for only $ 205 per week in profit if you work 5 days a week. This is about $ 900 / month of profit, or about $ 11,000 per year. This is similar to poverty income. If this is your only source of income, you do not have to pay income tax. I am not an accountant, so please do not take this as tax advice. Consult with your tax person before declaring this deduction.
Now let's look at it from a different angle, cash flow.
If you earn 48,000 dollars a year in a regular job, you get about $ 4000 / mo gross. After the taxes are exported, you get about $ 3,000 a month to pay for domestic labor. This estimates your taxes at 25% of your income.
If you make $ 150 per night in Lyft, you take home $ 3000 / mo.
All in all, Ride Share brings me a pretty good cash flow. I work when I want. If I do not want to start working before 1 pm or leave at 8 pm, I can. Nobody tells me what to do or when. I recommend starting with a family car or renting a car through Leif to see how you like it. As soon as you decide to drive on a regular basis, try to find a hybrid car, so your actual expenses are lower. I also recommend you not to go in search of attractions. Once you figure out where the best areas are, move there, park and wait.
Some drivers give water, mint, rubber, etc., to try to get advice. Personally, I do not go to these lengths. I make sure my car is very clean and fresh. I try to talk to passengers if they seem to be in conversation. My car has a Sirius XM satellite radio, so I can easily find the music they might prefer. I average about 10% of tips in general. Not every client suggests, but at the end of the week, if I made $ 750, I probably made $ 75 on the boards.
Drivers come and go, so Ride Share companies are constantly looking for drivers. They pay registration fees of up to $ 750 depending on how many drivers they need. For older people, there is a special code for obtaining the highest registration bonus - RETIRE2020. This ensures you receive the maximum bonus at the time of application. He works in every city, but he works only for Leif.
I highly recommend watching Ride Share if you want to make some extra money. It is easy and fun. It is very safe because you do not carry cash or ask customers for money. All this is done with a credit card through the app. I think that customers behave better because the Ride Share company knows its identity and its credit card numbers.
The worst thing that happened to me is a drunken client who got sick in the car. If this happens to you, make sure you take pictures of the accident. Download them to LYFT from your phone, and LYFT charges the client up to $ 200. You get $ 150 for cleaning your car. I'm not sure that $ 150 is a fair amount to clear someone from vomiting, but it's a lot of money. I spent about $ 20 to buy fresh air and paper towels. After a couple of days, the smell disappeared, and people commented on how good my car smells.
So my review is Lyft. My work at Lyft gives me a cash flow, like a $ 48,000 job, and I can set my own hours and not have a boss who tells me what to do. If I want to take a couple of weeks to go on vacation, I can. I don't even need to ask permission. What could be better than that?
