Earn an Extra $100 While You Shop: 5 Side Gigs You Can Combine With Your Errands

While many side hustle opportunities are available, you may not have the time to explore every options. With limited free time, you may be skeptical about which side hustle is worth your time. The good news is that there are side gigs you can combine with your shopping and other errands to make some money while you’re already out and about. 

What side gigs can be combined with your errands to earn an extra $100?

“I work with recruiters from Rover, and they are currently struggling to hire new dog walkers across the U.S.,” said Nathan Brunner, CEO of Salarship. “Their problem is that they have a low retention rate. Dog walking is a side job that people do for just a few months before moving on to other opportunities.”

Here are the different ways you can make money with pet care:

1. Pet check-ins. Many pet owners pay to have someone check in on their cat or dog to ensure they’re doing alright, to feed or keep them company.
2. Dog walks. You can take a dog with you on a walk as you run errands near your home.
3. Pet boarding. You can have a pet stay with you and join you throughout your day.
4. Pet sitting. You would get paid to stay at someone’s home to watch over their pet. You could also have the free time to run your errands as needed.

Brunner elaborated, “Even though it’s not a full-time job, dog walking is still a great opportunity to earn some extra money before going grocery shopping or going to the post office.”

What you’ll earn depends on the type of services you offer. For example, you could get paid $100 to host a dog for the night or even make $100 from walking two dogs as you run errands.

“Shopping for others is a great opportunity to earn extra money, especially if it’s a task you already do for yourself,” Brunner said. “There are thousands of opportunities on platforms like Instacart, Shipt and Amazon Fresh.”

If you’re already going grocery shopping, you could get paid to pick up shifts for one of these delivery apps. Once you get better at this, you can take on more gigs to increase your income without making any major modifications to your day. Depending on the order size, you can earn $100 within a few days or so.

“If your job involves driving across town or between cities, you can make good money by giving a ride to someone who’s going in the same direction or delivering a package while on your trip,” said Lawrence Ng, founder and CEO of SideHustles.com.

There are numerous rideshare apps, like Lyft or Uber, where you can turn on the app and take shifts in your spare time. If you have an errand to run across town, pick up a rider — or a few — going in the same direction to make a few extra dollars.

“There are several apps that pay you to walk, including Evidation and StepBet,” said Ng. “While Evidation is free, other apps, like StepBet, require you to put up money as a ‘bet’ upfront. If you don’t meet your step goal, you lose your money. But if you do, you’ll win extra cash.”

Some rewards apps allow users to earn points for performing basic tasks, such as logging more steps to collect data. While these won’t always pay you a lot, you can earn rewards for something you plan on doing anyway. The time that it takes to make $100 will depend on how much walking you get in.

Ng explained, “If you’re out on the go running errands… then going by foot can help you reach step count goals and qualify for cash prizes.”

“You can easily be a landlord while you run errands,” said Ryan Barone, co-founder and CEO at RentRedi.

If you have the funds to invest in real estate, this is a side gig that you can pursue while performing other tasks.

“Renting out property is a pretty passive endeavor, although managing the properties and tenants can take time, especially if you’re doing it yourself,” said Barone. “But there are apps you can use to manage properties from your phone, which makes it a great side gig that you can do while running errands.”

What are other ways that you can become a landlord or property manager while you run errands?

• Manage an Airbnb listing. You can offer to manage an Airbnb listing for someone. You could perform your correspondence and other basics, like picking up supplies, while running errands.
• Become a property manager for homeowners. If you don’t have the funds to invest in real estate, you can offer to manage a property for someone. You could do your screening and other tasks while you’re running errands.

Barone concluded, “Using an app can help you manage listings, tenant applications, tenant screening, lease signing, rent collection and even maintenance requests with just a few clicks on your mobile phone.”

“The competition is a bit tougher for grocery shopping than on dog-walking platforms, because you will compete with professional grocery shoppers,” said Brunner. “These people deliver groceries all day and are very efficient.”

Here are a few other things to consider before deciding which side gig to pursue: 

• Your location. The type of side gig you pick up will depend on your location and the demand in your community. 
• Your resources. You’ll have more opportunities available if you have certain resources, like access to funds to invest in real estate or a driver’s license to make deliveries.
• Your personal preferences. If you enjoy spending time with dogs, for example, you could get paid for walks and spend more time with furry friends.

There’s a side gig to fit every lifestyle — it’s just a matter of finding the one you can try out while running errands to help you maximize your time.