Lyft in a Nutshell
/Today was Day 1 of driving Lyft.
Lesson 1: Good things are scary. Do them anyway.
I mean, I know it's only Day 1 but my first thought after coming home was, "Why didn't I do this sooner?!?"
#1 - The money was easy!
#2 - The people are so incredibly awesome, and all so different.
#3 - The rides are like a mystery. You never know where you're going go to go, or where you'll end up. It's actually such a cool concept.
Lesson 2: The best way to learn is to do.
I had no idea how to operate the Lyft app, especially considering my "mentor training" was last August. A whole year ago! But I peeled back the hot pink Lyft sticker, stuck it in the upper, right-corner on my car, turned on the app, did a test drive, took a deep breath, and put myself in "online" mode. Before you know it, I went from feeling like an amateur to feeling very confident behind the Lyft app. Really, you learn by doing!
Day 1 Stats:
4 Rides. 3 hours, 24 minutes. $64.15
I mean, the stats are great and all.
But, my favorite part was the people:
(1) Shirley - Mammogram ($5, 10 minutes). Sat in the backseat. Very friendly. We talked about her day. Her granddaughter drives for Lyft / Uber / Door Dash. Sorrowed together about Texas and Hurricane Harvey, and all the devastation going on down there. She told me about how the Lyft driver who picked her up earlier that day, was his first ride ever, and how he accidentally canceled the ride request when dropping her off. I didn't admit it was mine, but I'm glad she told me, so I didn't make the same mistake he did. Lol.
(2) Debby (who ordered the ride for a gentlemen she interviewed) - Jewish Federation to Airport. He's a Lyft driver. I told myself I was going to tell no one it was my first day driving (because you should never admit it's your first day). But Mr. Vegas told me he drives and was asking me all kinds of questions, and I just flat out admitted, it was Day 1, Trip 2 for me. He was super tired, but super talkative (wanted to stay awake until he got on the airplane). We conversed about driving Lyft, his interview and VEGAS (I just booked a trip there today!).
(3) Andrea - Work to Home (Tipped me $5!!! So generous.) Also, the person I talked least to in the car.
(4) Leeya - Home to Grocery and Back (Multiple trips are a thing??). Such a sweet lady. We talked about the grocery stores we shopped at (Hers are Kroger for meats, Walmart for produce and water, Aldi for the other things) and buying cars (not having a "car note", her car breaking down in April and she's been Lifting since, her saving up $4,000 to put down for a Chevy Cruze, which she's going to buy in 2 weeks), and I shared with her my #ARecipeAWeek project (in which now she told me she wants to try and make the parm, garlic crusted chicken with zucchini and spaghetti squash) and I forget, she's a music teacher! Tipped me dos dollars!
The other neat thing about Lyft, is I "cashed out" and $54 was deposited within an hour to my bank account. I came home and researched if driving was worth it (considering gas mileage, wear and tear on car, taxes, etc.) and I decided YES. Gotta make sure to put 20% of what I make away for when tax season comes around, but I learned you can claim your mileage, Apple Music, Food / Water you buy when you drive, etc! Thank goodness I've been documenting these things with another new favorite app, Daily Budget. (We'll save that for another post).
Going back out tomorrow AM during Prime Time.
Catch ya on the road!
