Why The Next Stimulus Check Will Not Be ‘Higher Than’ $1,200
The coronavirus pandemic is still wrecking havoc on the American economy. In less than a month more than 22 million Americans filed for unemployment. The US GDP contracted by almost 1/3rd in the second quarter alone. As the pandemic continues to affect our economy and our daily lives, there has been talk about a government stimulus act to keep the economy going. Earlier this year the government provided several different stimulus measurements, including direct payments to Americans. While there is no way to know exactly what might happen, Jim Wang, of WalletHacks.com, has been following the news from Washington and summarizes the most likely outcomes of the proposed stimulus act.
On Wednesday, in an interview with Katie Orth during a trip to Double Eagle Energy in Texas, President Trump said that we might see a stimulus check that’s higher than $1,200! ~Jim Wang of WalletHacks.com
In an earlier Monday Night Finance post, we detailed Jim’s early predictions of the last round of direct payments. At that time, Jim had correctly divined that the stimulus payments would be $1,200 per adult and $500 per child. As always, three different groups need to agree on the size of the stimulus: The House, The Senate, and The President. The House passed the HEROES act several months ago which included a payment of $1,200 per adult. Recently, the Senate has proposed HEALS act, which also includes a payment of $1,200 per adult and $500 per child. However, the President recently suggested that he is in favor of a larger stimulus. For a full analysis of the size of a potential stimulus payment, check out the article.
DoorDash Driver Review 2020: How Much Can You Earn?
The gig economy has created many opportunities for people to become their own employer. Many people are familiar with Uber and Lyft. However, these companies just represent the tip of the iceberg. In this article, Kyle of FinancialWolves.com gives a deep dive into the income potential from meal delivery service DoorDash.
With claims of allowing you to “earn extra money for your goals”, delivery app DoorDash seems like a great side hustle. But how does it fare when it comes down to the dough? This DoorDash driver review aims to find out. ~Financial Wolves
DoorDash is the largest food delivery app with over 35% of the market share. “Dashers” as they are called, pick up food from a restaurant and deliver it to residences. Their compensation is comprised of two sources: the delivery fee, and in some cases, a tip provided by the user. The article does a great job of breaking down how drivers are compensated. When invited, drivers can only see the total amount of “guaranteed” revenue from the transaction, but cannot necessarily see how it is partitioned between the delivery fee and the tip. Since DoorDash is somewhat opaque in how delivery fees are determined, it may be possible that the delivery fee is reduced as the tip is increased- check the article for a full discussion. Using DoorDash, there is not a fixed hourly rate; the article puts the range of income between $1.45 to more than $18 per hour. DoorDash users are technically independent contractors and not employees, so they will need to reserve 15.3% of their income for self-employment tax.
9 Best Freelance Jobs for Frugal People
If DoorDash isn’t your style, perhaps there’s another way into the gig economy. Starting a side hustle can sometimes take a lot of capital investment (say for example, a wedding photographer). If you don’t have a lot of extra money to invest into your money-making venture, then this article is for you. In it, Bob from the Frugal Fellow lists 9 potential sources of income that can be done with little (and in most cases no) money upfront.
For most businesses, you have to invest something to make something. However, the freelancing market is a world of opportunities for frugal people. If you want to make money without spending much upfront, this guide is for you. ~The Frugal Fellow
Writing tops the list of low overhead side hustles. There is a great demand for people who can produce copy on a deadline. And if you’re reading this article, you likely have a computer or smart-device on which you can type and submit articles. Fiverr is a website designed to link businesses with skills and has many writing jobs posted. Similar to writing, proof-reading is another skill that is in high demand and requires almost no overhead. The article has links to marketplaces for people who want to sell their services as audio transcription or video caption specialists. Finally, there are numerous opportunities to sell language skills either through translation or teaching conversational English through various websites.