Eggs Are Going Up: How Inflation Hurts Gig Workers

Join RSG Contributor Tyler as he gives his insights on how inflation is hurting gig workers and what to do about it.

I honestly thought that I would never be talking about egg prices again.

I thought that the swifties had truly fixed this one, and we could have our inexpensive breakfast food forever.

Wow was I wrong.

A recent trip to the grocery store not only showed that eggs are again incredibly expensive, but that you can’t get them even if you’re willing to pay.

The shelves are empty.

Eggs are a staple for many households. More importantly, seeing things like eggs increase in price, means that everything is going to go up.

Inflation catches us faster than ever, and it’s killing gig workers’ income.

How? 

And what can we do to make sure you keep up with inflation as a gig worker?

When Basics Get Expensive So Does Everything Else

When something as basic as eggs goes up in price, it increases the price of everything else.

Eggs are used for baking, so bakeries now have to increase their prices to keep up with the cost. Where does that cost go? The customer.

Now that pastry that cost $2 last week now costs $4.

If someone is ordering that through Uber Eats, DoorDash, or GrubHub, then those companies are going to increase that price too, as well as charge a service fee. Now the $4 pastry costs $8.

The shop also has to pay their employees more because they can’t afford to live on their salary, and that leads to the “skilled labor” needing more money to make more than the pastry chef.

It’s never one thing, everything leads to something else costing more.

Customers Can’t Afford “Luxury” Anymore

Another huge factor for gig workers is that when inflation hits, people stop ordering more.

Not only does the food cost more, people tip less because that’s the only way they can save money on delivery. And what’s worse than getting less or no tip is that people just don’t order at all.

People don’t have the money to order, or are saving the money for something else. This means that fewer orders are coming in than usual.

Streets Flood With Part Time Drivers

Finally, with things becoming more expensive, people need to make more money for their basic necessities, such as rent, groceries, car payments, etc.

To make up the difference, people who drove in the past but got a “real job” that paid enough are coming back out to make “extra money” in their off time.

Also, drivers that are part-time now start driving full-time hours so they can make the same or more money.

All these extra drivers alone would mean that you get less requests, but pair that with the fact that fewer people are ordering and tipping means you wait a long time for every request, and even longer for one worth taking.

How To Keep Up With Inflation: 3 Tips

It is not easy for anyone right now.

But gig workers can keep up with and even beat inflation. There are three things to consider and do as a gig worker to beat inflation.

1. There Is No Earning Cap

As a gig worker, you can make as much as you want.

There is no such thing as working “too many hours”. If you want to work 24 hours straight, great, let’s do it.

Want to wait for requests that make you $30 an hour on? Awesome!

There is no cap to how much you make. There are hindrances, but if you’re willing to work, you can continue to make money literally 24 hours a day.

2. Do Not Stay Loyal To One App

You do not work for an app. You are not an Uber, Lyft, GrubHub, etc. employee.

You’re an independent contractor.

That means that though you use those companies to help you make money, you are not required to get that work from only one app.

I have had times where Lyft was my number one app, I cannot tell you the last time I took a request from Lyft. I’ve had days that GrubHub made more money than any other delivery service, followed by a month of no good requests.

DeliverThat used to be my number one app, I would make literal thousands of dollars a month with them. Now if I break a few hundred I’m pretty happy.

You need to be using multiple apps, every time you drive, to make sure you’re making the most possible.

3. Diversify Your Income

Gig work does not mean app work.

I think of things like driving for Lyft and Uber as my “day job”.

It pays the bills, but I also do many other things to help pay my bills.

I write for clients, help with social media, sell sponsorships to events, help creators with their affiliate income, and many other gigs that are not based inside an app.

Maybe you don’t want to do any of that.

Could you be a handyman, and find your own work that way? 

Could you create an Etsy shop, sell things on Amazon, or anything else that can make you income?

What’s even better is if you can find something that you can do while doing Uber and Lyft. For instance, in the past I used Uber to finance an Amazon FBA business, and shopped for items to sell while waiting for requests to come in.

Inflation will always go up, gig workers’ income seems to always go down. The companies do not care if you make $1 or $1,000, so make $1,000 and pay your bills.

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