Earning and Saving Money in the Sharing Economy.jpeg

Earning and Saving Money in the Sharing Economy

The sharing economy has re-configured the way we operate and live. Thanks to smart phones, virtually any need can be met instantly with the click of a mobile app.

These sharing apps provide seemingly endless possibilities for consumers to unite and collectively utilize their resources, skills, schedules, and even their cars.

Mobile sharing apps have allowed thousands of people to take the wheel on their life’s finances–quite literally. Never before has it been so easy to leverage your car for supplementary income. Uber was one of the first sharing economy apps to take off, allowing licensed drivers to use their own cars to transport neighbors and users of the app. As apps like Uber and Lyft expand, so has investing in luxury vehicles. Drivers who give lots of rides see the upgrade as a financial investment that could potentially pay for itself. Business Insider reports: “If you have a Monday-to-Friday day job, but it’s not enough to make ends meet, then you could probably earn an extra $400 per week, net of gas, by working 16 hours a week on Friday and Saturday nights,” Salmon wrote on Medium. “That’s $20,800 per year.”

Apps like Getaround provide even greater flexibility. It allows you to rent cars by the hour or the day, for fees lower than rental car companies. Renting out a rarely-used vehicle collecting dust in your garage is another potential avenue for supplementary income.

Have a guest house that rarely gets used, or going out of town and want to supplement a vacation? Home share apps like Airbnb provide great opportunities to cash in on your inviting accommodations or prime location, by offering visitors a place to stay. If you love hosting and meeting new people, it also allows you to offer your guests some insider tips on navigating the city.

Austin is one of the hottest Airbnb markets around. “Festivals like SXSW and Austin City Limits periodically draw massive crowds from across the country” reports Huffington Post. “In fact, a significant number of Airbnb hosts in Austin only rent their rooms and apartments during festivals and rates during festivals can be several times what is normally charged. Some residents collect over $1,000 a night during SXSW, which attracts over 130,000 attendees in a city with just 30,000 hotel rooms (and only 7,000 in the downtown area).”

Discover or offer unique experiences by becoming a Vayable insider. The tour guide platforms lets locals connect with travellers (or new locals), in search of a culturally authentic experience. Some of the services offered on the site include an underground ethnic food journey in Queens, photographing the hidden streets of Paris, and fishing with a Fijian king on your own private island. Guides set the price and parameters for their ‘experience’, meaning you set the bar for what your time and planned activity is worth. Now anyone can show off their skill set and the city they love, while earning an income in the process.

If you can dream it up, it probably exists in the form of a mobile app. Open up the realm of possibilities in your daily life while saving money and bringing in considerable cash flow.

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