Is DoorDash Worth It ?

8 Reasons Why Driving For DoorDash IS Worth it!

When discussing side hustles, I regularly see posts asking “ Is DoorDash worth it ?”, in almost all of the homesteading and frugal living forums and Facebook groups that I belong to. Welp, I tried it, and ready to dish!

For the last 5 months, I’ve been regularly delivering for DoorDash. Starting out as a part-time side hustle, I quickly turned it into a full-time income (BUT READ ON!).

I DO recommend driving for DoorDash and I DO think it is worth it (as a temporary solution), and I’m going to share the pros here.

HOWEVER, I want you to promise me that you will THEN read my 12 Things You Should Know Before Driving For DoorDash + 1 Major Warning. I am an advocate for full disclosure and would never want to lead someone into something without them having the full picture. There are definitely plenty of pros and cons to weigh here!

*Disclaimer- This post may contain Google Ads which I may earn a tiny commision from.

8 Reasons Why Driving For DoorDash IS Worth It!

1 Positive Work Environment

I loved it! (past tense will be explained in my warning section)

I came from an extremely toxic work environment which I quit as a 40^th birthday present to myself and my family. Perhaps the timing of coming from that and into something new had me wearing rose colored glasses, but I found this new side hustle to be SUCH a positive experience.

As a DoorDash driver, no one is micromanaging your every single move. No one is tearing you down with cutting remarks or publicly degrading you in order to make themselves look better. No one is walking all over you and taking advantage of you until there is nothing left to take. There is no manipulation or passive aggression.  Coworkers aren’t venting about how they hate their job because you have NO coworkers….it’s just you, your phone, and your radio tuned into the channel that brings YOU joy.

In this season of my life, this reason alone is worth its weight in gold!

2 Providing A Meaningful Service

I found meaning!

It may sound silly, but I truly did. Sure you’ll have the potheads (said with love) needing late-night munchies, but I delivered to a man with no arms who was beyond thankful that I brought him his dinner and placed it in the exact way he could access it.

I shopped for and delivered to countless exhausted moms who were so grateful, because they couldn’t imagine taking multiple kids shopping for groceries after a long difficult day.

There have been several young parents needing children’s fever reducer, electrolytes, and diapers late at night, and elderly customers who just had surgery and aren’t mobile enough to cook yet. Sure you will have the less desirable customers but by far my experiences have been positive ones.

For each delivery, I prayed blessings over whomever I was driving for. I prayed for healing over those who were sick, and recovery to those who obviously needed help. I also prayed that God would bless my efforts and he did. On average I made $20-$30 an hour, multiple times $40-$50 an hour.  Disclaimer-There WERE also times (granted not a lot) that I made closer to minimum wage during dud shifts)

SEE!! It was oozing positivity!! And I found value in this energy shift more than any hourly rate, which became just an added bonus.

3 Scheduling Flexibility

I was free!

Homeschooling 2 of my 3 children and having a husband with a 2 hr commute through heavy traffic areas makes my work availability very difficult and at times unpredictable. What is ideal for my family isn’t always best for employers who have peak times and specific shift requirements.

Driving for DoorDash, you pick when you can and cannot work. If you could work an hour or 2 here or there or want to devote a full 8+ hours, the choice is yours. If you want to schedule in an hour+ break for an appointment or meeting, you can. There is no need to ask permission, explain your reasoning, or feel guilty for doing so.

This Summer and Fall we went to our land in Vermont almost every single weekend to push hard on our building projects. I knew that I couldn’t start a brand new job saying “Oh by the way, I need every weekend off, and sometimes I may need the Friday before or Monday after off as well, but I’ll let you know last minute depending on our building progress.”. Of course that wouldn’t fly and I am far more professional than that. But this reason quickly answered my question “ Is DoorDash worth it ?” !

No more missed football games, dance performances, birthday parties, and family functions. No more unexpected calls into work. No more putting a work schedule far beyond the family’s needs.

Take a week off then double up efforts the following to not skip a beat financially!

 4 Emergency Bailout

Have you ever had an unexpected bill or expense pop up? One that freezes you in your tracks and makes your heart skip a beat? How am I going to pay that?

As I type this, my blood pressure is up. If I had a brown paper bag, I would be breathing through it at this moment. My morning started with a call to the vet and having to apply for CareCredit of an unknown amount until our appointment. I’m worried about our dog, Forest, and also worried about how much this unexpected appointment is going to cost.

This side hustle allows you to schedule yourself more hours if you need to, even if you aren’t regularly driving for DoorDash. Set a reasonable amount goal for your shift and don’t stop driving until you reach it.

This has been a HUGE blessing (and Dear God! I wish I had the availability of it right now!! Again don’t miss my warning in 12 Things You Should Know Before Driving For DoorDash + 1 Major Warning!

5 Safety Checks and Features

Safety is most definitely a concern for any delivery driver, and its one more thing that would normally add to my axiety. However, DoorDash has a few different things that could really help put a driver’s mind at ease. 

~ When driving for DoorDash, you could opt out of accepting cash orders. I wouldn’t carry cash on me either.

~ DoorDash is all GPS based and they are tracking your movement, so someone out there knows where you are at if something should happen.

~ There is a way that you could automatically share your location with a friend or spouse whenever you dash. When I start a shift, my husband gets an automatic text msg, and if he wants to he could track all the places I’m going as well. This makes me feel so much more comfortable!

~ There is a Safety Alert button that you could push if you don’t feel safe.

~ Doordash does Safety Checkins if you are in a location for too long.

And

~ You could be on the phone with someone (a friend or family member) as you are walking up to a house if you feel uncomfortable. I have done this twice when I wasn’t sure if things were sketchy or not. I called my friend and had her on speaker phone but told her to stay quiet as I walked up to a house “just in case”. Both times it was nothing and just me being ultra paranoid however I don’t care, I felt so much safer knowing that I shared the location with her and she could hear if anything went awry.

6 Bring a buddy!

Another great perk driving for DoorDash is that you can bring someone with you. For safety, for companionship while driving, for holding food on their lap so it doesn’t fall, or for leaving them (if adults) in a running car in hard to park areas so hopefully they could talk their way out of you getting a ticket (I am NOT advising you to illegally park!!) . Whatever your reasoning, it’s so nice to have that ability!

My 16 yr old son came with me almost every evening. It was nice to have that time together. We would talk about school, about songs on the radio, random thoughts, plan which restaurants we would like to try personally someday because they smelled so good, or the pretty girls he saw walking on the college campus we often delivered to. He has special needs and he said he wanted to come with me for his mental health and I loved that I could say “SURE! Let’s go to work!”.

It also helped that my son is tall and has a full face of hair, making me feel safer that he was visible in my car appearing to be an adult male with me!

7 Ability To Save On Childcare

Is DoorDash worth it? Doordash, at least for now, lets you bring your kids with you. I don’t just mean your teenager but your younger ones too. PLEASE do NOT leave them in the car!! 

Abby, my 6 year old, has been my little sidekick since birth and she is SOOOO well behaved. I have taken her numerous times on deliveries during lunch hours which in our area mostly is delivering to other businesses so I felt comfortable safety-wise.

There also have been times when Troy was stuck in traffic two hours away and wouldn’t be home in time for me to go dashing at the peak dinner time that I wanted to, so I would take Abby with me (during daylight hours only) and would drop her off at home once he arrived by planning my route to pass my house or by pausing my shift (you could pause for up to 30 minutes).

8 Descent Earning Potential

I’m not ever looking for “get rich quick schemes”. I’m a worker and I believe in working hard and being paid for it.

Disclaimer- This will vary depending on the area you are driving. I stick closer to home, and don’t tend to go to ritzy areas just due to my location. I also steer clear of major cities due to traffic and parking headaches.

If you put the time in, you could make a decent earning compared to a lot of other side hustles. Working every dinner time 4-5 hour shifts at a time I would bring home $600-$700 in a week (in my area). Adding lunches in the mix would bring in more for sure .

Mons, Tues, Weds are slow and if you wanted set days off,  picking from those would be the ones to take. Thursdays start picking up, Friday and Sundays are to be the busiest days you don’t want to miss out on. Saturdays tend to be a toss up. I find that Sundays I could bank on at least $200 days if I work a few hours for lunch time 11am-2pm as well as dinner time 4-9.

Now that you heard the positives,

I NEED you to get a full picture 

by hearing the Cons before you start driving for DoorDash.

I also have a MAJOR warning for anyone considering becoming a DoorDash driver.

—–> CLICK HERE <—–