There’s an App for That… Making Money in 2020

Please note that for two of the apps mentioned in this article, Rover and DoorDash, you must be 18 or older to apply. Anyone 13 or older can sell on Depop.

It’s the age of technology. Nowadays, you can find an app to perform pretty much any function you could think of. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you all the ways you have benefitted from your smartphone. There are millions of apps for games, social media, health and fitness trackers, photo editing, music streaming, video watching, scheduling, shopping, and delivery. The options are, literally, endless.

But did you know that you can even use apps to make money? Whether you want to build a business or simply pick up some more cash, you can use the modern-day tech-obsessed world to your advantage. There are probably hundreds or even thousands of apps out there that allow you to make money. I am going to focus on just three—Rover, DoorDash, and Depop.

Rover

I didn’t really know much about Rover until recently. I moved into a house with three other college students for the summer, and all three of my housemates are signed up for Rover. Essentially, it’s an app for pet sitting. People who are going on vacation or leaving town for a few days need someone to look after their pets. They can use the app to find people who are registered pet sitters. The sitter gets paid to take care of the animal while the owner is gone. Basically, you get to get paid to hang out with other people’s dogs! There are also options for house sitting, drop-in visits, pet day care, and dog walking. Although I don’t use the app, it’s been so fun having dogs in the house that my housemates are taking care of. My housemate who is signed up for Rover says, “I love having a furry friend around when I’m away from home, and it’s a great way to get a little extra cash!”

DoorDash

I’m sure you’re heard of the app DoorDash. It’s a food delivery app that allows you to order from restaurants that don’t typically do delivery. DoorDash employs people to drive around and pick up the food from these restaurants and then bring it to the customer. Recently, I became one of these employees! It’s so easy to sign up to be a “Dasher.” All you need is a car (and a driver’s license!). You can dash at any time of day for however long you want. While you are dashing, the app will ding when an order pops up. You can choose to accept or decline. If you accept, it will route you to the restaurant to pick up the food. Then it will route you to the address of the customer. As long as you feel comfortable following GoogleMaps and driving along routes you don’t normally take, it’s so simple and easy to make money using DoorDash.

Depop

Depop is a peer-to-peer shopping app that you can use to buy and sell used clothing. Personally, I love shopping on Depop . It allows you to buy second-hand instead of supporting the awful fast fashion industry. (See an article about the vices of fast fashion here.) It’s basically like thrift shopping online, and instead of digging through racks and racks of clothes, you can search for the specific items you want. And, you guessed it, you can also use Depop to make money! All you have to do is go through your closet and sort out all of the clothes you don’t wear anymore—then snap a picture and upload it to your Depop store, and bam! Anybody on the app can find your pieces and buy them. It’s a great way to de-clutter your life and pick up some extra cash while doing so.

It has never been easier to find innovative ways to make money. Rover, DoorDash, and Depop are all fun, easy, and rewarding. And they are just three of the thousands of ways technology can help you utilize the resources you already have to earn some cash. Whatever materials, skills, or ideas you can think up—there’s an app for that!

Helen Johnson

More Posts