Ready to launch your business? Get started with the commerce platform made for entrepreneurs. Shopify is specially designed to help you start, run and grow your business with easy customizable themes that let you build your brand, marketing tools that get your products out there, integrated shipping solutions that actually save you time, from startups to scale-ups, online, in-person and on-the-go. Shopify is made for entrepreneurs like you. Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com. We review your 2026 side hustles. Are they worth it or a scam? Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast where you'll learn to save money, embrace simplicity and live a rich life. Here are your hosts, Jen and Jill. Welcome, Frugal Friends. I'm Jen. I'm Jill. Every February, we send out something that we call the Frugal Friends Mega Survey. We ask you, why do you listen to Frugal Friends? What do you love? What do you not love and what do you want more of? This year, we added something new. That was a chance for you to be part of a Frugal Friends episode. We had a couple of questions and this is our first one. We wanted to rate your side hustles on a scale from love it to leave it, whether it's worth it. You asked us too. You wanted to know, I don't know if this is normal or what everybody else is doing. We're here to rate those side hustles. Whether you answered the survey or not, we have got seven side hustles that real people just like you are doing, maybe actually you are doing, and whether it's worth it to stick with it or not. Some of you are making over $20,000 at these side hustles, so we're going to review all of these. Number seven is definitely one that we think everyone should be doing, but most of us are not. So stick around. Let's start off with number one, donating plasma, literally parts, literally your blood and then the plasma of your blood. This is one that several of you are doing actually. So we've got Miranda who says donating plasma earns her $400 to $500 per month. She goes twice per week and it's one to two hours per donation. She says the first week you can make up to $800. The first month. The first month. And then Susan also has been selling plasma on and off for two years and she's been doing about $250 a month donating, but she dreads going in. So we've got like, oh, hello, hello. What is our rating for it? We love it. But with a caveat of this being kind of a short-term solution. So for people who are in need of a little extra cash for, let's say, an emergency, if your emergency fund isn't totally built up or you're making extra efforts this year towards debt payoff, this can be a really great thing to do because you're not only helping yourself financially, but you're helping people who need these things. There's a medical necessity to plasma. There's obviously a barrier to it. Most of us do not like needles, much less just the thought and the experience of blood being pulled from our body just at its core. Most of us don't like it. Give the visual. Yeah, sorry if you're driving and you're like wanting to faint right now. But that's why they pay people to do this. And there is a time commitment to it. There's a time commitment and they don't just accept everyone. So they are actually very strict on who they accept because I tried to do this when we were paying off debt and because I was an acupuncturist and I had had acupuncture like in the last year, I was actually ineligible. So yeah, so they are strict on that. So definitely read the website on all the qualifications before you go in. But we did do some research and CSL plasma and bio life advertised promotional payouts of up to 800 in the first month. And ongoing pay averages are $30 to $70 per donation, depending on weight and the center. And then there are several websites that do confirm $300 to $500 a month is realistic for consistent donors. You would have to be near one of these centers, obviously to go in several times a week. And I would say for me, the short term would be emergency fund. And if you have credit card debt, I think pretty much any other type of debt, you don't really need to do this unless you kind of love donating plasma. Love the idea that don't really care about the needles. So pros, immediate cash, no skills required. You can play on your phone, you can read, catch up on your books, and high ROI per hour compared to other side hustles. So there is definitely a cap, but $30 to $70 per donation is one of the best ROIs you're going to get. Yeah, some of the cons, of course, are the physical toll. Certainly if you are needle adverse, then this just isn't for you. The time commitment of it and the fact that it's not scalable, if you can't build upon the fact that you're donating blood. That's just, that's all you get. Yeah, you got what you got. So we think that it can be a great little sprint for some debt payoff, but not a great long term solution or plan. Yeah. All right, number two, DoorDash. So several of you are doing this as well. Beverly said, I did DoorDash for years, worth it in the short term, but not the long term. Michelle said, I've been trying DoorDash, however, I live in an area where most of the customers are about 20 minutes away, and they don't tip. Honestly, isn't even worth the risk of my vehicle or wasting my gas. Rating. Leave it in most areas. Leave them, girl. Leave them. This is because reports from GridWise say that gross hourly is about 15 to 20 before gas, but after expenses, many drivers will net less than $12 an hour, and the IRS mileage rate shows how fast depreciation on your vehicle really adds up. Yeah. So of course, I'm sure we're going to get people in the comments, which is great comment if you're doing any of these side hustles, and it's working for you. So of course, this is going to be working for some people. Something that I love about it is you're not taking passengers in your car. So I think for the average female, this feels a little safer if you're going to participate in some of these driving type services, and it can weave into your schedule. I do know people who make good money on it, but they are living in a much more metropolitan area. So of course, consider where you're living, how many you could pick up, the timeframes that you're willing to do this in, it could be good for some people, but we're saying on average, it's not great, but it can be immediate income, and it's really easy entry. Like, I think you could sign up and become a door dasher within a day or two. Within a day, yeah. Our friend Kevin Ha, who we interviewed for our e-bike episode all about e-bike transportation, his primary income besides his blog is delivering for door dash and grub hub and all those. He uses his e-bike. So he's got something, I don't know if it's on the sides or the back, but he transports his kids on an e-bike. So he's got room. So if you can do it something in a lower area, a square mileage area, metropolitan area, and do it on an e-bike, then you're not wearing tear your car, you're not paying for gas. So you're not wearing- You're getting exercise. I mean, yeah, you're getting some exercise. That would be a very good way to do door dash. So I love that. And then grub hub just announced that they're eliminating delivery and service fees for restaurant orders over $50. Now, I think this might be interesting for grub hub drivers, because I think a lot of influx of people are going to go to grub hub with $50 plus orders. So you're almost guaranteeing that your orders will be $50 plus on grub hub. So if you are in a grub hub heavy area, this could be something worth noting. But some of the cons aside from vehicle wear, no tips in some markets and income volatility, there is a lot of scamming going on in door dash. So I don't love that. I'm going to link to a video from Pleasant Green where he kind of, he imitated this, how the scam works. He kind of, he recreated it. But people are losing thousands of dollars by somebody calling. And when you place an order on door dash, you get a number for your driver, but it's not your driver's number. So it's like routing you through from door dash to the driver. And they'll get on there and pretend to be door dash and to the driver, it looks like door dash is calling them. And they will like ask for your login, say that, you know, the thing you just got was a scam. And they'll try to, what they're doing is they're getting into your account so that they can put their bank account as your bank account. So your earnings transferred to them. And they just hope you don't realize it for a while. So I'll link to the video on that. But yes, you have to watch out on there. So our verdict, we don't love it. It's kind of an emergency only hustle, or if you are in a really prime area for it. Yeah. Okay. Number three, rover. So we're talking pet sitting, dog walking, all the pet needs. You're jumping in and doing it. One of our listeners, Debra does this and says, I've been doing rover for three and a half years now and it's a great flexible side hustle. I made $21,000 in 2025 and she's debt free. Yeah. In August. Congratulations. Congratulations. I know she also said that in the survey. So congrats on that. So our rating on this, love it. We do think whether you use rover or you form your own side business doing this kind of thing, it can be very lucrative and can weave into your lifestyle. If you are already a person who has pets, if they're friendly, or if you don't have pets and you like, you need your fill of other people's animals, things from being able to watch other people's animals within your own home to just taking them out for a walk when you're already doing it. It can be so, so lucrative and joy giving and help you get out of the house. And also, rover sitters report an average of $15 to $30 per walk and overnight boarding can earn $40 to $75 plus per night depending on what region you're in. It's super flexible. It's one of those things that you can do while you're also working. So like a true side hustle in the fact that you've got your main hustle and this thing just weaves into the rest of your life. Of course, you've got to like animals. You've got to be good with pets. If you have your own pet, they have to be friendly with other pets. Yeah. Yeah. I love this because you, rover is great to get started, but you don't need rover because you can walk around your neighborhood, see who's walking dogs already and just like give them your number and be like, hey, if you ever go out of town and you need somebody to watch your dog for a night, I live right over here. I would love to do that. Or if you're gone all day and you want somebody to take the dog for a walk, like I am, you know, $10, $15, whatever, cheaper than rover. It's so easy to find people with dogs because they actually do leave their house. They're out walking around. So there are a couple cons, insurance liability considerations, and then the platform fees for getting started on rover. I think it's a great way to start, but I would also try to build something on the side. So, and like what you said, if you don't have a dog or a pet because it's just like financially not where you are right now, you have a lot of debt you're trying to pay off, whatever, this is a great way to get that fixed without making that commitment yet until you're in a better financial place. I've also heard of so many of these dog sitting situations lead to house sitting opportunities, which is another great one because again, that's just you sleeping somewhere else, but not really needing to change much else about your life. And depending on where you're house sitting, many of my friends have gotten some really nice setups and it's almost like a little staycation. Yeah. That's just fun. If you're just looking for something a little unique, a little bit disruptive to your typical lifestyle that could offer a variety of benefits. So, verdict is we love it, especially for you animal lovers, consider it. These days, I'm all about quality over quantity, especially in my closet. If it's not well made and versatile, it's not worth it. That's why I love Quints. They make high quality wardrobe staples using premium fabrics like 100% European linen, 100% silk, and organic cotton poplin. Quints works directly with safe ethical factories and cuts out the middleman, so you're not paying for brand markups, just quality clothing. Their 100% European linen is breathable, the cotton poplin is crisp and holds its shape, and everything is built to hold up season after season. That Quints washable silk midi dress has become my go-to. It's perfect for dressing up, dressing down, or layering. It feels luxe and didn't cost what I thought quality silk would. Stop waiting to build the wardrobe you actually want. You don't need more clothes, just better ones. Right now, go to quints.com.frugl for free shipping and 365-day returns. That's a full year to wear it and love it. Now available in Canada too. Don't keep settling for clothes that don't last. Go to quince.com.frugl for free shipping and 365 days return. Quints.com.frugl. Honestly, one of the best things we can do for our wallets and our health is cook more at home. There's just nothing like it. That's easier said than done, which is why we love HelloFresh. It makes it simple to eat at home, even on a busy week night. Plus, they offer over 100 recipe options every week, with portions big enough to actually satisfy everyone. And here's what actually happens. You get options that fit your goals. There are more than 35 high protein recipes each week, plus Mediterranean-inspired dishes. The ingredients are wholesome too, like sustainably sourced seafood and 100% antibiotic and hormone-free chicken. The quality is so noticeable. There's now three times the seafood with no upcharge, and you can get grass-fed steak rib eyes. Plus, seasonal produce like pears, apples, and asparagus. We've used HelloFresh and think everyone should give it a try, especially those who struggle to eat at home more. Go to hellofresh.com.frugl.10fm to get 10 free meals plus a freeze-willing knife, $144.99 value on your third box. Offer valid while supplies last. Free meals applied as discount on first box. New subscribers only varies by plan. Okay, number four is teachers pay teachers. So our listener Kendra says, teachers pay teachers is my side hustle, and I consistently earn $200 a month without lifting a finger. Yeah, our verdict for this one? Love it. Stay with him, girl. This is honestly the best passive option for teachers. And there might be a lot of influencers out there being like, you can make $40,000 on teachers, pay teachers. That's not what we're really looking for right here. We are looking for passive kind of, if you're going to make it anyway, why not monetize it? Like I have a friend, or friend Jess, she makes science curriculum for her classroom, and she, it's her favorite curriculum to make, and she's like, everybody else hates making the science. I was like, why don't you put it on the internet? Has she done it? No. Because she doesn't value her work highly enough to sell it to other people. And so you, who's listening, Learn from Jess. Sell your stuff. Value what is unique about whatever you're teaching. If you're making something unique, then you can put it on teachers, pay teachers, and just like let it go. Use those influencers and those websites, learn how to optimize it, obviously. Take the good pictures, use the right keywords, give it its best shot, but it really truly is something passive. Yeah. So the pros of this is it's a sellable digital product which can become passive like what you're saying. So we're talking the lesson plans that you make, the printables, whatever it is that you're already doing as a teacher, uploading that to teachers, pay teachers and letting people pay you for it. So you're already doing the work. So it's already done for you. It's like this extra lift of putting it onto this platform. So that's all the pros. Of course, some of the cons can be that it's competitive. There are other people on teachers, pay teachers doing this thing. So I think it would really help if you knew what is your niche. Like example, our friend Jess who is making the science curriculum. Like that'd be a great niche for that specific age group. And of course, it requires that upfront creation time. Again, if you're already doing it though, then just get double paid for it. And I mean, I'm looking at some of this stuff on teachers, pay teachers and like, it kind of all looks the same. So if you can make something that looks like a little different, that would be, that would set you apart already from all the same stuff. I know some people say make it look like the same. So because what's already selling well, no, like make it unique. Give it its best shot. Like if you look on teachers, pay teachers and you're like, I don't like any of this. I'm going to make something that I like. There is somebody else looking at teachers, pay teachers thinking the same thing. And they want to see what you've made. So there's like student practice stuff, teacher tools, activities, classroom decor, clip art, printables. There are for all kinds of subjects, for all the subjects. And we had a listener ask on our mega survey saying her husband's a teacher. This is from Johanna. My husband's a teacher. I've been in the nonprofit world for a long time. And the last year we really felt the pinch. Johanna, if your husband can make something like this, even if he doesn't teach elementary or high school, if he could maybe do something similar, this might be a good option to try. So yeah, oh, I love it. Verdict is if you're already making it, monetize it. Figure out how you can get people to pay you more. Teachers, yeah, you're on the set salary. So if there's an opportunity for you to make more with the work you're already doing, let's go. Okay. Number five, eBay and Poshmark reselling just in general. So Rosanna did this and said, I did Poshmark for a while. It can be successful, but requires a lot of engagement. And ultimately I determined my time was more valuable. So I take my items to a local consignment shop instead. Facebook marketplace is a crap shoot. Lots of no shows. I am mixed on how I feel about it. Then Miranda says, I am currently selling on Depop and Poshmark. Currently trying to figure out if it's worth investing all that time and energy. When my sales are so low or shipping costs keep going up. And finally, Kristen says, I started reselling on eBay just to try it to add to my retirement funds. I find it fun sourcing items to sell on the side from my full-time job. I'm just trying to learn what is in high demand and find the correct items to sell and not keep a lot of inventory. Yes. So three perspectives on reselling. And so our rating? In the middle. In the middle. Yeah. We're not love it and we're not leave it. And this is why. So Poshmark and eBay, Poshmark takes about 20% cut. eBay takes 10 to 15. It's highly time intensive and space intensive. Depending on what you're selling. And you don't know what is going to sell. So in that, I think if you can find a niche, you might be successful. And I'll say after our pros and cons what I think that niche could be. But yeah, so it's got a lot of mixed pros and cons too. So pro, it could clear your clutter if you're selling things you already have. Some of our listeners have said that if they want to buy a piece of clothing, then they have to sell a piece of clothing in order to fund that purchase. I think that's a great idea. So it can clear clutter. It can also create clutter. If you are, and this is what my husband Travis has done in the past, you're buying things to resell them and those things don't get sold or you get too busy to even list them. He had a bag of shoes for years. He refused to let me get rid of. I don't even know if I got rid of. I think I did get rid of them because he wanted to post. He bought them specifically to post on eBay to sell and he just hadn't gotten around to it. It can create as much clutter as it clears. Yeah. I think you really would have to love it. I think you'd have to have, especially for that last example of this person, is sourcing items. She finds it fun. Finding it, but that's time intensive. You've got to source the things. You've got to potentially clean them, take good pictures of them, post it, engage with the buyers, ship it. Yeah. Rinse and repeat. That's very time intensive. So for this to become relatively lucrative, it's not just a side hustle, it's a side business at that point. And you've got to really enjoy it. You've got to be the person who like, I love the thrill of the hunt, but I don't want to be buying things for myself anymore. But if I sell it, then that allows me to be in the thrift stores, but beware of justification. Make sure that you're actually doing it. Otherwise, if you're just decluttering, it's a great way to be able to make money on your things. I think the con of that could be if it doesn't sell quickly. So I typically will give myself a two week timeframe. If I'm going to post something, whether it's on Facebook Marketplace or eBay, if it doesn't sell within two weeks, it's gone. I shot my shot, did my best. It didn't sell. I don't want it cluttering up anymore. So I think having boundaries like that could help if you're going to do this as a side hustle. If you're just doing it to declutter, then this is just some of those short bursts. That's why we're in the middle. It's great as just a way to earn extra money on maybe things you might have already gotten rid of. If you're doing it to start a side business, just be prepared. It's a heavy lift. I think it's something you're not sure if you want to donate, but you haven't worn in like a year. Post it. Take pictures, post it, see what happens. It's just going to be sitting there anyway. And if it sells, then you make some money off of it. If this is something that you want to do and scale, my friends at Flea Market Flippers, they specialize in teaching people how to sell on eBay lucratively. What they're doing though, I will tell you, what they're doing is large items. Like I'm thinking large machinery or signs, like old signs from buildings. So they're building their own boxes for shipping and stuff like that. So they make real good money because you can often get these things. People want to get rid of them because they're so big, so they can get them out of steel. And then people who want them really want them and they will pay a premium for them, right? So because they're so rare. So they're connecting people who want to get rid of stuff and holding it until people who really want it and will pay a premium for it are ready to buy it. But then they are storing it and shipping it and sometimes driving lots of miles away to get it. But it is possible. They do make good money selling on eBay. So Flea Market Flippers is a good one to try out, but it's very much, I would say, if you already have things, you come into a collection. Like our friend who came into a collection of hot wheels, cars. And now he's trying to sell them, cool. Yep. I tried flipping furniture at one point and that was partially just hobby. I enjoyed doing it, but it was really hit or miss. And that's something to consider is what are the things that you're going to try and re... I mean, again, it's worth it if you're decluttering, but if you're going to try and turn it into a side hustle, I found it was tough to do some of these bigger items because I was mostly then narrowing it down to the people in my area who would buy versus clothing or accessories is something you can easily ship to people for low cost. Whereas flipping furniture is like, unless you're in a 10 mile radius, then you might not be able to sell it. There's also a new app called What Not and it's where you can do live shopping, kind of like TikTok shop, but it's for like your used, gently used things. So like you can host your own auction with like your lot of clothing and people are there. It's really good for collectors items. That's what most people use it for. But people have had good experiences on What Not and definitely something to check out. They do clothes, like sneakers, tools, video games, retro games, games, consoles. Those are some of the things that like really take off there. All right. Next, number six, freelance graphic design. So a couple of you do this as well. So Katie says, I've got a freelance graphic design contract with one of my old coworkers for a guaranteed $500 a month, but up to 800 and it's dependable and awesome. Also selling stickers on Etsy is not too lucrative for me, but outside of people buying them for Christmas gifts. And then Matilda says, I kind of have a side hustle. I make graphic for t-shirts mainly for family, but I get paid for my material and time. Oh, that's cool. And what's our rating on this one? Love it. Do love this one. This is so great. If you've got the skill for it, the eye for it, it's an opportunity for some of that recurring contracts. There can be stability with this. Like the first example, Katie, having that retainer essentially with somebody who knew her work and is able to continue to provide this service. Side note, I've seen this happen a fair amount when people leave jobs that there was one particular thing that they did that they were really good at, that that job is willing to subcontract for. So you're maybe no longer an employee, but hey, what if we subcontracted you for like 10 hours a week to do this thing or five hours a week or make it project based? Consider that when you leave a job, if there was a part that you love that you were good at that you know the company or the business is going to be lacking in, offer it. I'm leaving. I'm going to go do this other thing, but hey, I'd love to continue to provide this to you for this amount. It doesn't have to happen that way. It's just a side note. I've seen that happen a lot. Or something with friends or again, you just kind of get started online if you maybe got started through Fiverr or something. This can be a great way to form some of those contracts or just start a business selling on Etsy. Teachers pay teachers is kind of like this. You are like graphic designing curriculum. I think it's relatively easy to learn. If you've just got an eye, it's not, if you're interested in getting into it, it could be worthwhile. You do not have to have gone to school to do a side hustle like this. I know if you're a graphic designer, please don't come at me right now. Wait, you're going to be okay that I did this. No, you're not. I'm so sorry. But if you are new to this and you do have an eye for it, you do need to have kind of like a natural eye for things that look good together. It could be that you are designing t-shirt graphics and you are doing those like custom t-shirts for family reunions or bachelorette parties, stuff like that for like people in your area. And you're going to like print full and printify to get those things printed. You don't have to have a printing press in your home to do those things. I designed t-shirts on Amazon for years and made great money. They were just funny sayings on shirts. And I just downloaded my own like commercial use texts that were not the regular texts that everybody, the fonts, sorry, the fonts that everybody had was using. I used unique fonts that were good for commercial use. So sometimes it's that simple. If you're doing something like that, it doesn't necessarily have to be image based. But if you got an eye for like what looks good on a Squarespace website, you could be in that price range where a graphic designer with a degree and a really good pedigree in it is too expensive for the business owner who's just starting out and you could be targeting those business owners who are just starting out. Is it going to be their final website? No, because you're not that good, right? But you're going to be affordable and you're going to be better than what they could do on their own. So you fill a necessary place in the ecosystem of graphic design. You will want to Google it and learn about graphic design. But there are a ton of free courses on graphic design on the web. And with Canva, you pay, if you pay for Canva Pro, you can do almost anything. Trust me. You almost don't have to do any of it, right? Right. Their AI is getting pretty good. But yeah, so I think it's great and you are reliant on clients and finding clients but elite there. I mean, it's great because it does require skill. But for that reason, you can get paid a little bit more. It is scalable. It is flexible. It provides kind of a creative outlet. If that's something that you feel like you're lacking in your life. And the cons being that you are reliant upon clients and customers, that you do need to prove yourself to a certain population before they're going to buy from you. But if you can find that niche, our verdict is this is some of that elite tier side hustling. Yeah. We've all been waiting for it. Number seven, the one we said you should stick around for and this might surprise you. It surprises me a little bit but research surveys. We're talking prolific cloud research, testable minds. So these are different than normal surveys, which we absolutely hate. It's a total leave it. It's the first leave it. It's the biggest red flag. Research surveys on the other hand are actually surveys for like universities and companies for their usage, for their data collecting. A lot of research for from like universities and stuff. Jesse, our listener did this. She found the website Prolific from a group on Facebook. She joined and she said it helped us pay off our credit card faster. Amazing. So yeah, if you're looking for a micro hustle and this is why we think everyone should do it. Because if you're going to be scrolling on social media anyway, get off. Try to make some money. Like you're only the prolific only pays like six to $12 an hour depending on the study. But like if you're going to spend an hour scrolling or an hour making $6, then you're like, oh man, I just I spent an hour and I just bought my latte for tomorrow. What would you rather do? Like spend your time potentially getting sucked into an impulse buy or earning tomorrow's coffee? Right. That is it. Like this isn't going to be the big money. That's why this is one of those things, the micro hustle, like what you just said, that just weaves into and maybe replaces some of that unnecessary downtime. Like we could all benefit from less scrolling, less spending and instead making a little bit of money. So some of the pros are that it is more reliable than some of your generic survey sites. You're involved in some legit academic research. You can even feel good about it. It offers obviously extreme flexibility. You're doing it from your phone. You can do it on your couch while you're even watching a show. You can do it when you're sitting on the toilet. You can do it when you're waiting in the waiting room. Whenever you are sitting and scrolling is when you could be making money instead. Obviously some of the cons, sometimes there's limited availability. You might want to be able to take a survey and they're like, no, a bunch of people already are doing this. Or you're not eligible for it when it comes up. Or it's not scalable. I am a part of and I'm forgetting the actual name of it, but it's like medical surveys that I've signed up for as a result of my LCSW certification. So sometimes these research surveys are looking for people with specific credentials to be able to speak from that perspective and take surveys from that perspective. So I've done a couple of those. Those were mostly cards that I got, but like a visa spending card kind of a thing, which I'll take. I can use it anywhere that I would spend money. I think one of the ones that I did, I got like $25 for taking the survey. So that's even something to look into is what research studies could you participate in specifically as a result of your credentials, education and background. So our verdict on that one, yes, we love it. And it's a productive scroll alternative and can just like boost that grocery budget a little bit every week. Yeah. Just like you want to be able to eat out, do a survey or potentially mystery shop. Mystery shop just missed the list. It would have been number eight. And maybe we can talk about it in another episode though. But something we'll talk about in this episode. We talk about it in every episode. Every episode. Don't skip this one. The bill of the week. That's right. It's time for the best minute of your entire week. Maybe a baby was born and his name is William. Maybe you paid off your mortgage. Maybe your car died and you're happy to not have to pay that bill anymore. Duck bills, buffalo bills, Bill Clinton. This is the bill of the week. Hello friends. I just want to nominate my bill of the week, which is the annual fee to the Washington State Department of Child Support Enforcement for my Child Support Enforcement Order. I have to say this bill is absolutely priceless for the peace of mind that it gives me. I never have to say the word money to my ex ever again in that the state of Washington will, for a very, very reasonable fee, handle all of the collection. I can just focus on being a good co-parent and a good mom. And they go enforce that child support order for me and it more than pays for itself. And the peace of mind it gives me is priceless. Amen, Liz. If you can pay somebody to be that neutral third party and keep that heated discussion of money out, girl, yes, we all need that. And thank you Washington State to never have to say bill to your ex. Never have to say money to your ex. We are here for it, Liz. Where my money, man? I am illiterally infatuated with the creativity of bills that we have gotten over the years. And this is up there. This is top tier. This is truly. And I love that you were thinking that you're submitting a nomination for Bill of the Week. We listened to all of them. We're really late on them. If you submit it, we will play it unless when we are playing it in real time because we don't listen to them before, it is not something we can play. Right, yeah. I suppose there have been a few that we've thrown out because they're like scammy. But you'll never know that. This is amazing. Well done, Liz. We support you in fighting your values and keeping your peace of mind. If you have a bill that you want to share, if it has anything to do with bills you don't mind paying, some of the creative uses and plays on the word bill or your name is bill, frugalfriendspodcast.com slash bill. We love hearing them. We live for this. Can't wait. 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That's 50% off at Monarch.com code Frukel. And now it's time for the lightning round. Are there any side hustles that you're trying to do now just for funsies? Oh, you go first. Okay. So, inspired by doing the outline for this episode, I actually, I'm still on the mystery shopping lists. And I got on more after the mystery shopping episode that we did where we talked about the mystery shopping scammer and like how to really get into mystery shopping. So, that's a good one to check out of our episodes. And they sent me one for a $150 shop to shop for a HELOC, a home equity line of credit. So, I wouldn't actually get a HELOC, but I would go through the process and then I would rate like the people and the process and all. And so, I applied to do that based on this lightning round. And so, I haven't heard back on whether I'm eligible, but I did apply for it. Fun. To maybe make $150 and get a couple coffees. Get three coffees. Awesome. I gotta say, I mean, yeah, mystery shop, that's the thing that prevents me is that like you could put time into applying for one and then not get it, which is fine. Like it's not that much time. Most you don't have to apply for it. Like stuff like this, like there was a auto loan one and a personal loan one and a HELOC one. The HELOC one was the only one that I was eligible for. But if it's just like a, I was looking at other ones for bowling and mini golf and all this. And then I remembered that I have kids and like I can't pay attention to anything except those kids when we go mini golfing. So they're like not right for me or movie theater ones. So I'm thinking that next time maybe that if Travis and I do a date night, I will try to get one of those. Fun. Yeah. Yeah, that's great. I will also say this is only adjacent. Some of the surveys, like I'm not going to seek them out, but if one shows up in my email for like a product or service that I just got and they're offering me like five, 10, $15 in some sort of gift card, like I'm doing it. Not if it's like, you're into a drawing for $100. No, I'm not doing your survey. If it's a drawing. Nope, not entering for drawings. Nope. But I've now got like maybe two or three gift cards just hanging in the wings for me because I reviewed a service or something. Yeah, if I do your survey, I want something guaranteed, which is why when we do giveaways, even if you don't win the $1,000, you still get like four or five digital downloads that will help you for free. Because we get it. Because we get it. Yeah, I'm not going to just give you my information for the hope and dream that I might get something. No, I want something. Do you know what's shocking for my answer is I feel, I'm not totally going to pursue it just because my lifestyle kind of prevents it, but I would not mind cleaning like Airbnb's. For instance, I just cleaned yours while you were away. You did a beautiful job. Thank you. I went and inspected it. And well, I was putting a chair in there. I wasn't like double checking your work, but I mean, as you should. It was immaculate. I loved it. And for me, I always say I love working with my hands. It's I'm constantly on the computer, so it was deeply cathartic. And you get to see like a before and after with cleaning. And I don't want to talk to anybody. I'm just popping in some of your buds, listening to my audio book, just buzzing around. I really do think I would enjoy it if I didn't travel so much. Yeah, I feel the opposite way. My house is in shambles because I hate cleaning. I love cleaning and organizing. Oh, that would be a fun one is to get hired to help people organize or move. Like all the things that a lot of people don't like doing, I really enjoy that. Like we've helped a ton of people move and then helping people organize their things in the new space or just get organized in their closet. An Airbnb cleaner could make so much money. Yeah. And we live in the area for it. So that's like something in my back pocket. But again, I love my flexibility. Yeah. So we'll let us know in the comments what side hustles are working for you in 2026 and which ones you are leaving because they are the worst and you need to break up with them. Help us all out. We're all looking for side hustles. So put that in the comments, even if you're listening audio only hop over to YouTube to check it out. Okay. Thank you guys so much for listening. We loved spending time with you. And thank you also for reading our book. Those of you who have read the book and left a review like this one, we love it. Megan Kaufman said, five stars, good, sensible advice by what you value. Be the radical middle. I liked that thought. Easy to listen to. Short and sweet and to the point. Yeah, Megan. Thanks. Thank you. If you are watching this on YouTube or listening on your phone in any device, please hop over to the subscribe button on YouTube and click it. The more subscribers we have, the more legitimate we look to strangers. And the further we are able to spread this message to more people because we do think hundreds of thousands of people should be getting this kind of motivation every day or at least twice a week if you're all caught up. So please subscribe to the channel. We would be so appreciative and get your copy of Buy What You Love without going broke at BuyWhatYouLoveBook.com. See you next time. Frugal Friends is produced by Eric Siriani. Side hustles. What's the worst side hustle that you've done? Oh my God. Worst side? I can't remember. I blocked it out. I blocked it out in my memory, obviously. I worked at a foster group home. I liked that, but a boy did try to throw a chair at me. Was that a side hustle? I guess. I mean, it was a side job. Okay, yeah. And I did a lot of online search engine evaluation, which was tedious, but it was one of those things where it keeps me off Facebook and I get to earn money. Yeah, I don't know. I'm sure that I have had a side hustle. I hate it, but I've had so many. I can't remember it. Yeah. What about you? Yeah, I know we have done so many. We should someday just like write them all down so we can remember what we've done. I really don't. All of them I liked, but I would say my least lucrative one was when I tried to sell plants on the side of the road. Oh yeah, I've heard this one. Yeah, I just thought that, oh, I could play with plants and then make money and just sit on the side of the road and like. No, I didn't even. I put it on a trailer out by the road and then just like a box for money. And I don't know, I probably made like $25. I spent hours doing it. Yeah. And that, you know what is my toxic trait is that if something isn't immediately gangbusters, I'm done with it. Yeah, I mean. It's not like instantly lucrative. I'm out. Why are you still here? I'm so true. Okay, we have a retraction. Jill's lying because she's doing something very not lucrative. It's not lucrative telling people not to spend money that they don't have. It's lucrative for my lifestyle. There's many ways to be wealthy, Jen. And I am wealthy in flexibility and enjoying my work. I am not wealthy in the salary. Oh, well, you know, yeah, I get to do whatever I want whenever I want. Yeah, mostly because I'm unemployed. Mostly because I'm not working. Yeah. Well, look at us. Do more of that. All right. Here's to retirement.
