April is a doozy when it comes to spending. We have Justin’s birthday, our niece’s birthday, two best friends of mine who have birthdays, and then Justin’s dad’s birthday. AND our anniversary. PHEW!
I gotta tell you, I was feeling very stressed about this month. I KNEW it was going to be a big month. And we also had an opsie when one of the restaurants at the resort we went to for our anniversary didn’t accept our gift card. So we went back to be able to use the gift card. But that was $100 ON our anniversary we weren’t planning to spend! I am not mad at them though — we won that 2-night stay at the same place and that is worth nearly a grand. So…
We went to a very nice place for Justin’s dad’s birthday, and our group of girlfriends went to a free concert for my two friends’ birthdays! We also all pitched in and got one of my friends a photo book, and I had a credit from a return so I only spent about $3 for my other friend’s gift. The free concert was so much fun! 😍
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New delivery driving side hustles
I decided if we wanted to enjoy this month, birthdays and all, I needed to get a side hustle I could do in “retirement.” So I signed up for both Roadie and Veho. I drove for them on my lunch break and on the weekend.
With Roadie, you pick up smaller gigs on a one or multi-delivery basis. The items that need to be delivered may be small, like a prescription, but some of them may be large, like tires or home improvement items.
My first day, I delivered a lab sample to a nearby hospital. That was a challenge, because the entrance where I was instructed to go was undergoing construction! I had to ask like 3 people to get where I needed to be. Even then I wasn’t completely sure. But I scanned a confirmation of where I dropped off the item and went on my way.
For the second delivery, it was from a baking company to a city next to ours. But, when I got there, the customer says, “Oh no, this is supposed to go to my friend in (three cities away) who just had cancer surgery.”
“Oh no!” I said. “I’d still be happy to take it!”
So I spent about 45 minutes on customer service with Roadie trying to get that all squared away. The customer service agent couldn’t seem to understand what we were saying, but I finally got it there, in the rain no less! I was home about 8:30pm that night.
Veho is quite a bit different. You arrive to a warehouse and have a huge batch of packages that fill up your car to deliver in an area you can sign up for near you. I have actually had a lot of fun driving for Veho, both companies really! But it’s quite amazing how Veho routes you from one house to the next. When you get your cart of packages, you need to scan and number them so the boxes can be delivered in a sequence of the most efficient driving route. My first day, I delivered 62 packages!
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I have been delivering small packages, as well as meal kit boxes from companies like Green Chef and Hello Fresh. The biggest challenges are when there is gate with no entry code or an apartment that is difficult to find. But I’ve figured it out with the help of Veho’s support staff.
I’ve been getting super inspired driving to homes with beautiful landscaping. I think in May, making our yard look pretty will be our focus, but we’ll need my side hustles to be able to do it. I can’t wait to reveal the before and after pics! 🌻
Overbudget
As of right now, we’re about $88 overbudget, even after my new side hustles where I earned $371. I also sold two more things on Poshmark! The good news is we’re pretty well-stocked food-wise. So I hope next month won’t be as bad, and I feel so much better knowing I have a side hustle to cover some of our “fun” things trying to stick to a Social Security budget. We’ll carry over whatever deficit we have to next month.
Hope you all have a great week!!! 😊
ALT MONEY CHOICES 