A Side Hustle Date Night

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Abstract

or visit one of our local free attractions. (St. Louis has a lot of them — we’re a great city to be a tourist on a budget!)Tonight we really outdid ourselves, though. We were debating what we wanted to do with our evening when my phone dinged to let me know a new laundry order was available if I wanted to take it on the SudShare app. (It’s the “Uber of laundry” — you take people’s dirty laundry, wash, fold, and return it to them.) We decided we could build a date around doing someone’s laundry.First, we made sure we had a good audiobook (borrowed for free from our local library!) picked out for the drive. (We’re currently listening to Storm Front, the first of the Dresden Files series. I’ve read them all — this is his first time. It’s a struggle not to accidentally spoil anything but it’s really fun to watch him experience the story for the first time.)We took a mini-road trip to pick up the customer’s dirty laundry and bring it home. Then we sorted it out together, all the while listening to our book and occasion

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ally pausing it to chat. Next, we ate some dinner while the washing machine did its work, then hung out and played with our cats and listened to more of our book between folding the laundry together as each load finished.This laundry order will likely bring in around $40-$ 50. Even after accounting for the price of gas for the drive, the cost of doing laundry (detergent, water, electric), and what we spent on dinner, we’ll come out ahead after tonight’s date.What are some of the most budget-friendly dates you’ve tried?Thank you for reading! For just $5 a month you can <a href="https://sarah-nicole838.medium.com/membership">join Medium</a> — it gives you full access to articles and it supports writers like me. Want to support me even more? <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/SarahWilley">Buy me a coffee!</a>Read more stories like this by subscribing to <a href="https://sidehustleclub.substack.com/?utm_source=discover_search">The Side Hustle Club’s newsletter.</a></article></body>

Sure, you can plan a cheap date… but how about a profitable one?

My spouse and I are working hard right now to tighten our budget. I still have some student loans left, plus I’m in graduate school now. We also have some credit card debt we are very focused on paying off; the leftovers from having a very sick cat for a few years and doing everything we could for her before her time came and a few medical issues of my own that have been expensive even with a decent insurance plan.

So date nights have gotten creative. A lot of times we cook at home and throw on reruns of a favorite show or pull out a board game. Or go out for a hike or visit one of our local free attractions. (St. Louis has a lot of them — we’re a great city to be a tourist on a budget!)

Tonight we really outdid ourselves, though. We were debating what we wanted to do with our evening when my phone dinged to let me know a new laundry order was available if I wanted to take it on the SudShare app. (It’s the “Uber of laundry” — you take people’s dirty laundry, wash, fold, and return it to them.) We decided we could build a date around doing someone’s laundry.

First, we made sure we had a good audiobook (borrowed for free from our local library!) picked out for the drive. (We’re currently listening to Storm Front, the first of the Dresden Files series. I’ve read them all — this is his first time. It’s a struggle not to accidentally spoil anything but it’s really fun to watch him experience the story for the first time.)

We took a mini-road trip to pick up the customer’s dirty laundry and bring it home. Then we sorted it out together, all the while listening to our book and occasionally pausing it to chat. Next, we ate some dinner while the washing machine did its work, then hung out and played with our cats and listened to more of our book between folding the laundry together as each load finished.

This laundry order will likely bring in around $40-$50. Even after accounting for the price of gas for the drive, the cost of doing laundry (detergent, water, electric), and what we spent on dinner, we’ll come out ahead after tonight’s date.

What are some of the most budget-friendly dates you’ve tried?

Thank you for reading! For just $5 a month you can join Medium — it gives you full access to articles and it supports writers like me. Want to support me even more? Buy me a coffee!