Dashing for Dollars - Gigging on the Go!

Next on the hit parade for Gigs on the Go is Door Dash. Like Uber Eats this is about delivering food. I also want to point out that my posts are based on my experiences so if you have tips or advice of your own please take a moment to share in the comment section!

On to Door Dash. Just like Uber Eats there is a basic application that can be found here Door Dash . Payday is once a week and your earnings will be deposited into your bank account to make life nice and simple. Keep in mind that you are an independent contractor so they will not be taking out taxes on your behalf and they will be reporting your earnings to the IRS and sending a 1099 your way. To be safe we save 20% of our earnings and keep track of miles for each day we are out making deliveries in a spreadsheet.

Door Dash allows you to really manage your time by scheduling yourself for a "zone" for an hour or many more hours each day. Door Dash also provides you with an insulated bag that will hold most 2 item orders allowing you to keep the hot food hot or the cold food cold. HINT #1 you can use this same bag to keep your Uber Eats deliveries hot/cold just don't take the bag into the restaurant, it will confuse the workers.

Door Dash has the customer tip up front and gives them the opportunity to go back and give a rating and adjust the tip in case you did a stellar job or maybe showed up in a Santa hat during the holiday season and they wanted to give you a little more.

Door Dash will send you a pretty red debit card to be used to pay for a customer order. Not all orders are pay when picked up so be sure to check the order info in the APP before heading into the restaurant. The debit card is tied to Door Dash so don't worry, you aren't buying the food and getting reimbursed you are just the taxi service.

 In addition to scheduling yourself ahead of time you can also "drop in" to dash. In other words if you find yourself with an hour or two of free time, open your APP and "Dash Now". HINT #2 When it's a slow Uber Eats night, open up the Door Dash APP and run them both at the same time.

Door Dash jobs will let you know how much you will earn (minimum) and how far you will be driving. You can take a break and go offline for 30 minutes with out being penalized which is great if you want to get to another area before orders come in that you might not want to take. You can ignore an incoming order or Deny an incoming order but if you do this too often the APP will end your dash.

We are still working on our Door Dash technique so be sure to subscribe to learn with us.

Cozy Christmas Reads courtesy of NetGalley

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Yeast of Eden by Amanda Fox

(A Pancake House Mystery)

Kensington Books Publishing

Christmas is right around the corner and things are getting festive at the Flip Side. At least until Wally the self proclaimed Waffle King  announces his arrival. Wally is long on odious and short on friends and soon finds himself, or rather Ivan finds the man dead in the Waffle Kingdom store, a victim of foul play and  liquid nitrogen. Was it for money, for revenge, or for no other reason than because the guy was a blow hard. Now the sheriff has his sights set on Lisa and Ivan as possible suspects and there is now way that  Marley can sit this one out. Balancing the business her boyfriend Brett, Marley will get to the bottom of not one but three murders. This was another great installment and I really enjoyed the mystery within the mystery. Looking forward to the next Flip Side and starting the new book pub series expected to release next month.

Twas the Knife Before Christmas by Jaqueline Frost

( A Christmas Tree Farm Mystery)

Crooked Lane Books Publishing

What a fun story! Mistletoe, Maine is a winter wonderland and what better place to grow up than on a Christmas tree farm with a lumberjack for a Dad and a baker supreme for a Mom. The only thing better is to be a crafty gal who is about to run her own Inn on the family property that holds Reindeer Games during the festive time of the year.  Unlike other characters I've encountered,  Holly is threatened from the get go for trying to help her Caroline who is suspected of knifing a local judge's son and leaving him dead in a giant bowl of candy mints. Several people have a motive and means, more so than cupcake creator Caroline and faster than you can say Chris Cringle the Contractor (could it be) Holly is working through the clues and a  menacing mints, while recycling glass into the cutest bracelets that are being ordered faster than she can create. With all of this and the Hearth restaurant going through a major kitchen remodel and the construction of the Inn how will Holly get it all done without being done in! Great read loved the teasing bit of romance with the local Sheriff and the introduction of his sister. Can't wait for the next one!

Premediated Peppermint by Amanda Fowler

(Amish Candy Shop Myster #3)

Kensington Publishing

Bailey King,  New York confectionary creator and one of the few non-Amish workers in the town of Harvest, Ohio is ready for the Christmas season with peppermint bark and her new romance with the local deputy. Last thing she needs is for her ex-boyfriend Chef Eric Sharp to blow into her town like a blizzard with Hollywood hype and a producer bent on  filming a "real" Amish Christmas. Seems no one likes his yelling personality on the reality chef show. Bailey wouldn't mind a little publicity but not when it becomes murder and the main suspect is  Eric. Bailey is as soft hearted as a marshmallow in a cup of warm cocoa and does her best to help Eric while making it clear that his amorous attentions are not wanted. Why give her boyfriend the investigating Sheriff's Deputy any more reason to lock him up than he already has. Thankfully her partner in crime or chocolate; the new boss at JP Chocolates, Cass is back to help. Bailey is a wonderful character and those recipes are the BEST.  Read this fast and still didn't figure it out until the very end, so many possibilities and a twist or two for added measure. The only thing sweeter than this story is the next one that I can't wait to read!

In Peppermint Peril by Joy Avon
(A Tea and Read Mystery)
Crooked Lane Books Publishing

They say you can never go home, but Callie Aspen is just visiting during her slow season as an international tour guide.  Back in Heart's Harbor to help Aunt Iphy to oversee an afternoon tea party complete with puzzle cake based on an Brother Cadfael mystery. This authors first cozy is off to a good start. Callie seems to be your typical heroine/main character with the good heart and inquisitive spirit. She is a little older, but she has been leading a busy whirlwind life abroad visiting far off exotic places leading grand tours. She is a little more morose than most but once she realizes that she no longer has the "school girl crush" feelings the thoughts of "what if" or regret disappear making her even more determined to learn who did in the gardener and why. What is the secret of the will and who will be the master of Haywood Hall.. Not as light hearted as a normal cozy but the story ends on a sweet note filled with future possibilities, if Callie just looks for them. Just like I will be on the lookout for Joy Avon's next installment Sweet Tea and Secrets.

As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles by Leslie Budewitz

(A Food Lovers Village)

Midnight Ink Books Publishing

It's Christmas time and the whole town is busy decorating Main Street with lights and all the trimmings. All those special touches like the items you might find at The Merc, the place to find your boutique-like specialty foods, for the true foodie. It's a time for family and friends or at least you would think so, but not for Merrily who returns home after turning her life around only to find that it isn't enough for her Mom who is as cold as the weather in Jewel Bay. Erin Murphy the manager of Murphy's Mercantile AKA The Merc believes in second chances and befriends Merrily, just in time for the annual cookie exchange. Unfortunately Merrily never makes it to the exchange and won't be able to make anymore in the future. Erin works to not only clear Merrily's name of theft suspicions but to also find the killer as well as plan her wedding that is set to take place on Christmas eve. I would LOVE to have the multitasking skills of the cozy heroine. Erin is a fun character and her conviction in getting to the bottom and belief in someone she barely knew was heart warming. Looking forward to the next installment. OH and if you like to cook you will LOVE the recipes as the end of the story. I really appreciate that they are not in the middle, so that I don't get side tracked. 


Christmas Cake Murder by Joanna Fluke

(A Hannah Swenson Novel) 

Kensington Books Publishing

I have been a long time Joanne Fluke/Hannah Swenson fan. From the story lines to awesome cookie recipes every book has been a blue ribbon winner. The Christmas Cake Murder is the best one yet because it is the prequel. Before she was married, before the dentist and the cop, before the cookie truck and the shop there was a girl who loved to cook and was finished with school, who moved back home and suffered the loss of her father. To get her Mom to reengage life after the death of her husband Hannah, her two sisters and a couple of civic minded ladies. This is a story within a story quite literally as Hannah reads each night from Essie's story book journals. This is a great story and just in time for the holiday season. Wonderful recipes for both cakes and cookies can be found scattered through the story, usually shortly after Hannah makes them. I for one cannot wait to try my hand at the hazelnut truffles.

Death of a Russian Doll by Barbara Early
(Vintage Toy Shop Mystery)
Crooked Lane Publishing

New favorite character! Liz is a no nonsense, straight-up, heroine! So very relatable with spot on character development. While she would never wish her ex boyfriend ‘s wife any ill will, she certainly goes above and beyond to help solve her murder to help prove that Police chief Ken, aka the ex didn’t do it. That doesn’t mean she will forgive his forgetting to mention that he had an estranged Russian bombshell for a wife. Besides, there are better slightly more mature fish in the sea whom even her former police chief father approves of. Speaking of former, Liz’s Dad is put back on active duty to head up the investigation which spurns Liz on even harder to help solve the mystery of the holiday who done it to the hairstylist. Her Dad is supposed to be enjoying his golden years as a rare and collectible toy seller, not giving Liz conniptions about his health and well being. Leave it to Liz though as she pieces the puzzle together.