Hello friends and fellow Hivians. Hope everyone is welcoming the new year that is upon us. For me, some of 2024 just won't let go. I have been trying to combat it by getting busy delivery driving to catch up financially. I have been a bit stressed as late. Not just fiances, but also with another issue I really don't want to get into.
Too many expenses have found their way to me going back to the Christmas break. I even had to borrow money from a friend. The good thing about that is the debt is now paid back. It has been settled because of the delivery driving I did this past week. I will now share some of it with you.
It's January, and temperatures have been in the teens on the Fahrenheit side. I have been wearing sweatshirts and my heavy carhartt jacket. Things could be worse though, just a short distance away from the south they recently got 16 inches of snow. Here we just got a trace amount. If we had got this, I surely would not have been driving.
Monday
I had a hetic day as I had to bring my car into the shop for repair. I didn't start driving until well into the afternoon. I felt pretty good after finishing with almost 6 hours of driving, making almost $200 if I include some cash tips I also received.
Tuesday
It's a coincidence that I worked exactly the same time as Monday. I had to work at my full-time job this day so I was a little tired when it was time to hang it up. This day, I made the most driving as I raked in the most at around $215. It was New Years Eve, so I did a lot of food deliveries and also delivered some booze. The odd thing is that the rest of the week, I didn't get any more cash tips. I had quite a few customers thank me for being out and delivering on what is typically the biggest party night of them all.
Wenesday
I really wasn't expecting to do all that well on New Year's Day. A lot of places were closed for the holiday. I had three pick-ups where I drove to and they were closed. It was a little discouraging, but it was destined to happen. I did a lot of grocery orders, which mostly came from Walmart. I also delivered quite a few pizza orders in the evening. I was happy to do what I did to be honest. Today was also the point where my hourly average started to go down some. After I finished, I stopped by to repay a portion of the money I owed a friend.
Thursday
I had the day off from my full-time job, so i was hopefully I could do pretty well today. I started around 7:15 and by 9:30 I had already made $85. It was looking like I was on my way to making the most so far for the week. That all changed when my son gave me a call.
My son called and said his car stalled when he was driving. Upon arriving, his car would start but would shut off right away. I had to pay a tow truck $120 to drop it off at an auto repair shop. Later in the afternoon, I got notification it would cost $2100 to fix. It needed a new water pump and a timing belt assembly.
When repair is close to the value of an older car, it's time to bid farewell. Plus, I don't have $2100 on hand to take care of it. My next course of action was calling a junk yard to come pick it up. It was sad to see it go despite getting paid for it. According to the driver, it will be repaired by their mechanic and re-sold. So, at least it won't be scrap metal yet.
My son and I looked at some used cars but need to get to the bank to get him set up with a loan. Unfortunately, this won't happen until Wenesday this week. It's a good thing because it will be his start to establish some credit in his name. Of course, I will also co-sign with him. More to come from that at a later time.
I drove for a few hours more than stopped by to pay my friend what I made off my son's car. I told her I would have her paid off by 3 January when I originally was borrowed the money. I don't like to be in debt with people I know, so I go the extra mile to take care of it as quickly as I can.
Friday
I had to work my full-time job this day. I only did a few hours delivery driving. I also got paid this day from my full-time job. After delivering, I stopped by to pay the remaining money to my friend. Now everything else I make goes back to me to pay bills and build up some financial stability.
Saturday
I was fairly busy on Saturday. I met a friend for breakfast and later in the afternoon I attended a small birthday of another friend. Because of these two things, I didn't log to many hours driving.
Even though the holidays are over, there are still some left over lights and displays to see. The last photo was a delivery of some ice cream. That was hard one to let go of. You know when you deliver to someone that frequently orders food. You will see shelves and tables by their entrance doors. I see a lot delivery driving but don't always have the time to document them.
The highlight of the night, a dandy. I delivered some food to a hotel where I was asked if I wanted to join a single person in their room. I politely refused and went on my way. The person identified themselves on the delivery application by the first name, Juicy and it even included a picture of them. Did I take a screen shot of this? Yes, I did, but I won't share it with the masses. If you're curious, I can share with you on dischord.
Sunday
On Sunday, I actually slept in some. I didn't get up until about 8:30, which is extremely late for me. As far as delivery driving goes, it was slow when I started, which was around 10:00. I actually decided to utilize my DoorDash account, which I didn't do at all the other days. I was not getting any orders on my Uber Eats application. Afterward, things picked up and I didn't need both applications.
I did a majority of grocery orders but had some food deliveries. One in particular, was delivering to the headquarters building of Union Pacific Railroads. It's either the largest or 2nd largest rail road company in the United States. I was hoping to go inside because I had never been. I've heard it is pretty amazing in there, but the customer met me outside for the drop-off. It's probably a good thing as it would have taken away from some earnings.
Here are all my in applications earnings for the week in Uber Eats. Now add cash tips and the hour or so I did with DoorDash I made over $1100. I haven't made that much in a week delivery driving in a long time. It really helped me get closer to where I want to be financially. I figure in a couple of weeks, making at least half of that weekly, I will be comfortable. As far as 2024 goes, I haven't been driving as much as I have in previous years. Though it's nice to have flexibility in working whenever you want, it really can put some wear and tear on your vehicle if you do it too much.
This is all I have for this time. Take care, be safe and hope this new year treats us all good. Until next time!