Category: uber-and-side-hustle

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401k and Personal Finance advice and tips uber-and-side-hustle

Tax season

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Uber Driving

Noted this: why the Uber 1099-k includes gross income (google search). The important part is: You report the 1099-K gross amount on your Schedule C, then deduct the fees and commissions as business expenses to ensure you are only taxed on your actual earnings, notes TurboTax and Stride Health. (this is from Google AI overview)

Btw, I am not sure if this is new for this year (tax year 2025). I assume if one has tax professionals do the tax, they will catch it. For those DIYers, or people who don’t drive a lot for Uber, this heads up may be relevant. Personally, I added up all the money I received from Uber (at my bank website), and added them up, before comparing with the tax summary from Uber.

Update 03-07-2026: Filed via Turbo Tax e-file.

Update 03-10-2026: I realized I forgot to expense the Internet (Broadband) cost, as both my wife and I work full time from home. Well, if there is any other significant reason that I need to amend the return, I would include that change as well. Otherwise, I just make a note here for myself – don’t forget to expense it next year.

Update 03-15-2026: both federal and state refunds are in my bank account.

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uber-and-side-hustle

I delivered for Uber Eat today

Reading Time: 4 minutes

(02-17-2026) During my lunch hour. I thought about doing it last week. And this noon I did it. My 1st order is to pick up food at Chick Fil A in U City (by Costco), and deliver it to wustl. The second order is in Clayton area, Jimmy Johns sandwich to an office building (a block a way or so). My total earning is about $13. The wustl girl gave me $1 tip.

(02-19-2026) I did two Uber driving trips in the evening as I didn’t get much Uber Eats order. First trip is from WUSTL Knight center to the Budget Avis car rental place near airport. The second trip is short one, near the apartment off Cypress road (again near airport) – a lady wanted to buy something from the plaza not too far from her apartment. I did notice a large group of teenagers (likely high schoolers) gathering outside the apartment complex.

(03-07-2026) I did two more deliveries this morning: Chick fil a CC (Ladue), Starbuck New Ballas/Clayton (across street)

Also noticed a bit meaningful surge (+$10 or more) in the evening at about 7:30 pm, Saturday 03/07/2026. A friend was going to airport, and noticed the normal fair of about +$30 went up to +$70. In other words, Uber is still pocketing most of the cost increase from the surge.

Observation so far: most Uber Eats deliveries are not worth it (time vs income). For me this is mostly to get outside of house, because I work from home for about 6 years now.

(03-08-2026) Today I drove this route when I drove for Uber. I had to admit I was scared during some portion of the trip – and I documented some of my feelings here in YT Shorts. Now I recall almost 30 years ago, when I was fairly new to the USA, and new to St. Louis, a few times I drove by some of the similar places in St. Louis (accidentally), and I was scared. And now I think it’s best for me to stay out of those areas, for that matter, stay out of Uber driving too.

(03–09-2026) Between 6 pm and 6:30 pm: delivered an Uber Eats order from Sides of Soul to Kirkwood apartment. Tip $11.98 + $2 delivery fee.

(03-10-1016) Did 4 Uber trips in the pm. One: from Panera Old Olive to house off Lackland near Costco Business Center; Two: from the International Paper manufacturing plant to McDonald off St. Charles Rock Road; Three, this one takes a bit time to drive, in hind sight I should not accept, from U city near Overland to the U city Chicken Fil A (not a lucrative trip, also the pickup location is not the best spot either.)

Uber offered total $7.50 incentive for the trips above. No tips today.

One thing I like to understand more is how Uber was trying both AI (offers trip to drivers), and promotions (loyalty, rewards and offers*, and driver reference) to get drivers to drive for the trip.

*Today is the first time I received offers money from Uber. It’s $4 for 2 trips, and another $3.50 for another trip (the last one). In my old Mastercard job, as I was working in the loyalty and rewards area, this is called “qualification” (meaning the cardholders need to perform certain action to qualify for the award). Promotion is different in the sense, it’s proportional to the card spend.

One main difference between Uber and Uber Eats: tip is upfront for Uber Eats and could be meaningful. Uber not that much: many factors came into play for tips; in general should not expect much tips.

Ultimately: safety first. After safety, when looking at a trip whether it’s profitable or not, I should look at the earning per minute or per hour. Do a quick math and see if it’s 50 cents per minute, or $30 per hour. At the end of the day though, I should pay more attention to the stock market because that’s potentially more lucrative. Thinking Uber should be a hobby or a way to get out, and feel the real world. So maybe just once or twice a week. There is another factor: the acceptance rate, I probably need to balance the empty miles driven vs acceptance rate.

(03-12-2026) I just signed up the “plus card” and “Shop and Deliver orders”. I think I am going to try that instead of accepting passengers for Uber (in addition to safety, sometimes I don’t like the body smell or perfume from my passengers, sometimes it took long time to dissipate – similar for the cannabis or marijuana).

In the evening, after getting home from “teaching my old daughter pratice on highway aka 141”, I did two Uber passenger trips, first one is from Maplewood to Chesterfield (Twin Peaks to Red Lobster, it appears two ladies or mom/daughter duo are working at two places sequentially?), and the second trip is at Chesterfield itself (from Bunge office off 64 to the Hyatt Place at Chesterfield Mall, traveller to the Bunge North America HQ office). No tips for the two trips.

After that I bought some groceries from the Chesterfield Schnucks and went home.

(03-14-2026) This morning I did 3 Uber Eats deliveries. The first two are normal ones, the 3rd one had a major hiccup. Two issues: it’s for Starbucks and I forgot about the morning rush at Starbucks when I accepted the order. I had to wait for probably 30 to 40 minutes for the order being prepared. Then as I reviewed the order I found out I cannot mark the order as picked up in the Uber driver app – it says delayed. I still delivered the order and tried to contact the customer service agents. And they didn’t solve my issue, and the two agents said complete opposite things. I think I will stop driving for Uber for now. My main complaints are their app didn’t work for me, and their agents are not consistent. It’s more and more like a #ratRace

(04-20-2026) Came across this article. He says he accepted the ride that was supposed to take 30 minutes roundtrip. Then he got ensnared in rush hour traffic. “It’s 5:01pm so there’s a lot of traffic in Charlotte. And I’m driving to the passenger. I hit traffic, it takes me instead of 18 minutes, it takes me 35 minutes to pick up the passenger,” he says. (I know this one btw)

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Saint Louis uber-and-side-hustle

More Uber Driving

Reading Time: 2 minutes

I had two new experiences this morning. It appears I just received a one-star rating from a passenger (the 1st time for me): don’t know for sure why and who. But one girl (passenger, or customer) asked me if she can vape in my minivan, and I told her no (I told her politely though).

Also, I drove on some sketchy area in St. Louis, such as this one: Northway Supermarket. It seems the general area is Walnut Park East (and my google term here). And it seems to me this Yelp review (see below) is quite fair. Honestly when I drove by that place the 1st time this morning, I thought people were doing drug trade – buy and sell 🙂

Read Isaac H.‘s review of Northway Supermarket on Yelp.

And this is the whole route.

(Update 08-12-2025) I did an adhoc Uber driving yesterday afternoon. I got about one hour of time, after swimming. Turned down a few exclusive requests (they are a bit long for me). And did two short trips. I looked at my stats this morning, and it seems my acceptance rate was impacted because I didn’t accept the exclusive requests. I don’t mind that much as my overall score is already down, and I no longer qualify for the advantage mode due to that. The acceptance rate drop was not as bad. Anyway, next time I may be a bit more careful if I only have one hour or less to drive. Maybe just skipping Uber driving altogether.

(Update 10-12-2025) I didn’t do much driving recently. Last I recall was a Wednesday afternoon (evening), I drove for about one hour after picking up my kids. I did come across an article from Yahoo today (I’ve Driven for Uber for a Decade. I Don’t Know What My Future Holds. – Business Insider). I read it via Yahoo and it didn’t have paywall.

(Update 12-22-2025) I drive for Uber and Lyft after retiring from Wall Street. The principles I learned as a trader help me make more money.

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Saint Louis uber-and-side-hustle

Went to St. Louis Bread Co. after my morning Uber driving

Reading Time: 5 minutes

This one (link to YT).

Yesterday morning I was a bit tired after driving for about 2 hours. Next time I should remember take some “coffee breaks” every hour or so, that is, if I drive for more than one hour. Usually I just drive one hour nowadays (refer to my most recent post on Uber driving, refer to “PS: early morning Uber driving“)

This is probably also the first St. Louis Bread Co. I visited in St. Louis area (or one of the first). I used to live near that place Saint Louis – Chippewa St @ Lansdowne Ave or 6607 Chippewa Street, St Louis, MO 63109. I probably had bread bowl soup there too.

Please note one of the St. Louis landmarks Ted Drewes Frozen Custard is located not too far away from the Bread Co., it’s at 6726 Chippewa St, St. Louis, MO 63109.

They are within walking distance, or a very short drive.

(Update 07/07/2025) Bumped into an engineer (or an executive) from Faith Group, LLC (LinkedIn, company website). The gentleman didn’t tell me the exact company name during my Uber driving this mooning, but I am 100% sure this is the company, from the descriptions. He gave me $5 tip.

(Update 07/08/2025) Drive in the city of St. Louis. Occasionally I drove in the city of St. Louis. I would be a bit more careful when driving in the city of St. Louis. Not just because of the crime rate. In fact overall the crime rate is down if you look at the Google search overview – pasted below for the ease of reading.

(Update 07/10/2025) Tips sometimes can come days late. A lot people now live in “motel” which is really more like a studio apartment: they apparently cannot put in number for the motel, other than the main address. This morning, I had something like this, had to text the passenger to get the exact room number (she has some mobility challenges). More re: driving in the city, I noticed some people don’t obey the traffic lights, even official cars such as fire truck. That’s why I said earlier “be more careful when driving in the city”. Btw, the Uber business sort of dried up in recent mornings.

(Update 07/11/2025) This morning I went to Panera Bread at Westport after my Uber driving. This morning’s 3 trips are all for caregivers, the 1st one is for someone who lives in the apartment complex across the street, to a home in west county (home caregiver?). The latter two are drop offs at nursing homes (senior living places): one in Clayton, another one in Maryland Heights.

Btw, it seems a lot of my trips are drop offs at nursing homes (senior living places), especially now I mostly drive in the early mornings. I thought about evenings but considering the high temperature and potential damages to my car (battery), and I decided to skip.

Also, I happened to see this apartment complex Prospect Creek – Ballwin in a nice neighborhood (with privacy and walking trails etc.). You would do more research on apartment yourself, if applicable.

(Update 07/14/2025) I did 3 trips from or to Airport on 7/13/2025. This was a bit unusual because the airport terminal 2 got busy due to an end of a big conference. Today I did my usual: 3 trips total, white castle (fast food restaurant), wustl (off big bend road) to home (custodian get off work?), and lastly take a kid’s caregiver to kids care place. I think in terms of tips, the airport trips are usually better. But I don’t just work for tips. One minor thing though, between yesterday and today, I got a score of 3 (out of 5) and it lowers my average score a tiny bit. It’s not the end of the world, as it used to be though. Because right now I have 98 “5”. For comparison, I have 2 “4”, and 3 “3” and 1 “2”. I don’t have any “1”.

Separately, I came across a YT video 在上海住車上開網約車，一個月掙七千多，女士說這是普通人的生存希望 about driving ride share in SH, it seems they have a much harder job.

(Update 07/15/2025) This morning I only did 2 trips, because I am a bit tired and also today is my younger daughter’s b-day. For the 2nd trip, I took the same passenger as yesterday – WUSTL (off big bend road) to home (custodian get off work?). 1 trip was from an apartment near Page Blvd to a medical facility near Schnucks U city. I overshot a bit over there because my mind was a bit off at the time.

(Update 07/16/2025) I didn’t drive this morning as I need to do some work for my day job.

(Update 07/17/2025) This morning I did two trips related to the hotel (or nursing home). First trip was from the senior living behind Diebergs off Craig road, to his temp housing at Craigshire road. There was a bit hiccup. The customer thinks he ordered a stop at the Mobile on the run gas station, but it didn’t show up in my driver app. I honored his request nonetheless. The second trip was from the courtyard behind Aldi in Creve Coeur, to a hotel in Clayton.

(Update 07/18/2025) I did two airport trips this morning. I took a gentleman from WUSTL (Knight Center, business school) to airport (American Airline). And I intentionally didn’t leave as fast as I could, and lucky me I got another trip as I was leaving, from terminal 2 (southwest) to west port. After that I got food and coffee at Panera bread at west port and went home.

(Update 07/19/2025) Two trips this morning. One is taking a guy from his apartment in Overland to the gas station and back. He bought a pack of cigarette. I think he can walk, because it’s about 0.5 miles one way. The second one is take a lady from her home in Overland (I think it’s still overland) to the McDonalds’ in the U city China town (there is no actual official China town, but if you are from St. Louis, you probably know what I meant).

(Update 07/20/2025) 3 trips this am. Took the same lady (C) from wustl to her apartment at north county (slightly different from her other home). Took another lady (girl) from nearby apartment to the Amazon facility at St. Peters. And last but not least, took a Russian lady (nurse) from St. Peters to the JCC senior living apartment.

(Update 07/20/2025) Two trips this morning. It was raining and the driving conditions were not good. First trip was from the Hilton Frontenac to the Dr. Pepper plant off Page and 170. I was thinking we were going to airport and didn’t pick up the new trip on the way there initially, including an exclusive request. I picked up new trip after I dropped off a passenger, this new trip is from north county to the south city. After that I was a bit tired, and I went to the same bread company the one at Lansdowne and Chippewa. I was happy I drove about 5 miles along Chippewa in south city – my 1st time did something like this.

This post is getting long, and I am thinking start a new post next time I drive for Uber.

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St. Louis has seen a significant decrease in crime, with the first three months of 2025 showing the lowest number of homicides in 20 years, according to the City of St. Louis (.gov). Homicides are down 45%, robberies are down 20%, burglaries are down 33%, and auto thefts are down 39% year-to-date compared to the same period in previous years. However, there was a recent uptick in robberies during a specific week, but investigations led to arrests. The city is actively working to address crime through various strategies, including street intervention and focused deterrence. Here’s a more detailed breakdown:

  • Overall Crime Reduction:In the first three months of 2025, overall crime is down 28% compared to the same period last year and nearly 50% compared to 2023. 
  • Homicide Rate:The city is experiencing the lowest number of year-to-date homicides since 2005. 
  • Robberies:While robberies have seen a recent increase during a specific week, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) is actively investigating and has made arrests related to carjackings. 
  • Property Crime:Property crimes, including burglaries and auto theft, have also seen significant decreases. 
  • Violent Crime:Violent crime in general is down, including rape, aggravated assault, and simple assault. 
  • Targeted Efforts:The City is pursuing a strategy of street intervention, cognitive behavioral theory, and focused deterrence to further reduce crime. 
  • Community Collaboration:The SLMPD, the Circuit Attorney’s Office, the Office of Violence Prevention, and community partners are all working together to build a safer St. Louis. 
  • Public Access to Information:The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department provides crime statistics and a crime map for public access. 

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Categories
Saint Louis uber-and-side-hustle

Somewhat unusual Uber pickup experience at STL airport this morning

Reading Time: 2 minutes

When I first started to drive for Uber, and if I drove to the airport, I usually would call the day and turn off the new requests. After a while, I decided to leave the incoming request on (basically I didn’t do anything special), and twice I got a ride right away the the drop off location. Btw, in terminal one where most airlines fly, the ride share pickup location is near door 6 at the upper (departure) level.

This morning I was hoping for similar magic as I was driving my customers for flight. It didn’t happen right away. So I was pulling away before a request coming in – as I was driving I usually cannot see all details for the request. I accepted it. Turns out to be the beginning of a small disaster for me. The rider (customer) did a loop request for Uber (basically the pick up and drop off at the same location). And they didn’t speak English. They come to STL for an adventist world congress. After looping through airport a few times, and also attempt for them to call their son who speaks English, and also attempt to put in the new destination for the ride (was not successful), I finally gave up. I did what the ride request asked, dropped them off at the almost same spot. They did tip me one dollar.

This is one of the strangest Uber ride I did so far.

PS: early morning Uber driving

Since my most recent China trip, I resumed my Uber driving, and I drove almost entirely during early morning hours (after sunrise, in other words, I still don’t drive for Uber when it’s dark outside). I think early morning Uber-ing has a few benefits:

1) Airport rides. This is usually the most safe, and also sometimes people tip (because of luggages). And in rare cases, I got a new Uber ride at the airport (happened to me 3 times total, and with the last one I mentioned above).

2) People go to work or get off work. I have picked up people go to work (or get off work) at nursing home (this is probably the most common). But really I drove for people who works at Walgreens, Starbucks, Dierbergs, warehouse or assembly line, cannabis* store, hospitals, schools, office buildings and hotels. Basically pretty much anywhere you can think of. And this is as safe as airport ride.

*Cannabis: this is the smell I dislike when driving for Uber. I usually was not in a position or really like to tell people not to get on my car.

Categories
Saint Louis uber-and-side-hustle

I want to give money to you rather than giving it to the casino

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Back to Uber Driving

I took a long break and now I am back. I was back driving for Uber on still fairly limited basis, after my CHN trip. And today is Sunday, and I am happy to report I am doing reasonable well this week. The most import thing among it all (in addition to the extra income generated), is to be happy. And I am happy to report that I am happy now.

This morning I have an slightly unusual encounter with a passenger (let me call me S). I picked up the gentleman S in south county near the Mercy South Hospital, and he was using the walker. I assume he is old (meaning old as my dad, who is in early 80s). To be surprise he is only 61 🙁

Alcohol Use Disorder

He told me he left his car at the casino last night, and now he is going back to retrieve his car. The reason he left his car there was he was intoxicated (drunk) last night at the casino. I think he is a person with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). Google: what do we call people who failed to quite alcohol

I helped his walker, and he can walk without the walker, although quite slowly. In the end, he gave me $5 tip in cash. We talked a bit during the trip, and I told him if money is tight, don’t worry about the tip. He said: I want give money to you rather than giving it to the casino. He drunk too much last night, lost some money and had to leave his car at the casino parking lot as he was intoxicated. Now he is going back to get his car.

He also told me about “One is too many, twenty is too little” – refer to google search and explanation here (I copied below from the google search => Search Labs | AI Overview):

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The phrase “One is too many, twenty is too little” is a common saying that highlights the nature of addiction, particularly to alcohol. It describes the experience of someone with an addiction where even a single instance of the substance (like alcohol) is considered too much, and yet, no amount of the substance is ever enough to fully satisfy the craving. This phrase captures the idea of a downward spiral associated with addiction, where the individual’s tolerance increases while the satisfaction decreases. Here’s a more detailed explanation: 

  • “One is too many”:This part emphasizes that for someone with a substance use disorder, even a single instance of consuming the substance can trigger a cascade of negative consequences. It suggests that the individual has lost control over their consumption and any amount can lead to problems.
  • “Twenty is too little”:This part highlights the insatiable nature of addiction. The individual may consume a large amount of the substance (20 drinks in this case), yet still feel a void or craving that is not satisfied. The tolerance of the individual has increased, and the substance no longer provides the desired effect.

This phrase is often used to describe addiction to alcohol, but it can be applied to other substances or even behaviors as well. It serves as a stark reminder of the destructive nature of addiction and the importance of seeking help for those struggling with it. 

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Other background with this gentleman

He told me he got accounting degree from the Mizzou (University of Missouri at Columbia). I think it was 1987. He worked and lived at Myrtle Beach SC: I first learned about Myrtle Beach from this video about 6 months ago. He also said he separated from his wife for about 5 years. Looking to quit alcohol, he came back to St. Louis where he attended Hazelwood Central High School. Note St. Louis is a town with less party (or drinking) atmosphere than Myrtle Beach. He also intended to take care of his aging parents in early 90s. But the alcohol issue alone sunk the whole plan 🙁

Picking up my next customer

Next ride is from Holly Hills to Ikea.

I gave $2 during my next trip to a guy who was peddling in a traffic light.

Btw, I saw very impressive buildings at Holly Hills (could be Sisters of St Joseph of Carondelet, could be anything else too), St. Louis between dropping off S and pick up my last passenger this morning.

Uber Rider App

I saw it on the car (the ride I took on 05/31/25 early morning from home to STL airport). And I just did a google search: uber driver provides ipad mini – Google Search 

I am guessing the driver is using this one Interactive tablets for Uber and Lyft drivers – Play Octopus “Drivers qualify for a free Octopus tablet if they are regularly driving rideshare trips. We ask that our drivers average more than 100 trips per month and have driven for at least two months.”

I would not be able to qualify because I drove 204 trips in about 8 months so far.

Drinking cultures in Asia

Recently I talked to a teacher at the Ladue School and we talked about the drinking culture in Japan 🙁

As I recall the drinking culture in China when I grew up was not good – especially if we use today’s social standards or knowledge and science. You can refer to this blog post I wrote in year 2022 – Alcohol. I am happy to report that I did give up hard liquor (whiskey) recently. I still drink a bit beer or wine (both white and red) from time to time 🙁

Bonus readings (ordered chronically)

Drove for Uber the 1st time – 我在美国开优步

More Uber driving and tips I learned

Uber driving tips

More Uber Driving Tips

Categories
uber-and-side-hustle

More Uber Driving Tips

Reading Time: 3 minutes

(Update 03-19-2025) I paused Uber driving for last few days since the power outage as a result of the powerful tornado hit STL on Friday 03/14/25 night. I resumed it today (this morning). And I made a mistake – I turned off the Cellular Data for “Uber Driver” app as a measure to save the cellular data usage. I used up about 5GB one day without realizing it until I already used it – I thought playing from YT Music is not using data – my assumption was not correct – it doesn’t use data only when I played it from “Download” folder on the YT Music app.

The problem this morning is as soon as I drove away, my Uber Driver app stopped working. Eventually I stopped at the Stacy Park, and thought maybe I would just do morning walk. But at that time, I realized my cellular data setting and turn it back on. And I went back to the Uber app (after closing the app and re-open) and the trip was still there. So, I proceeded as usual. The lesson for me is I should not turn it off at the first place.

Also, came across this sad news – Father of Houston rideshare driver speaks out on son’s death during carjacking – FOX 26 Houston via YT.

(Update 03-08-2025) Today I drove a bit on gravel road the 1st time as Uber driver. Note gravel road is not popular in America, but there are still some in rural areas.

Be relaxed

A few things came to my mind. Recently sometimes I don’t want to drive far out of way, and then come back home empty handed. So I screen the ride requests carefully, sometimes I stop the car and wait in the parking lot, and only accept the ride I liked. This morning is a good example, I declined a few ride requests before getting a one at Dobbs tire shop, at Olivette, near where I live. Second trip was driving from near the Dieberg’s at Craig to the La Boone Bouchee at Olive and Tempo Dr. I even got tips from both trips. I was not expecting, but I guess when I am relaxed, customers (passengers) may feel that way too.

So this is about “take it easy”. Not solely chasing for the money – honestly I still feel Uber driving is not an easy way to make money or bring bread home.

Again I do understand I am probably lucky in a way because I am not going to kill myself to make money via driving for Uber. Somedays if I feel not like it, I can just do my other things, such as exercise instead of driving. I think I am going to do that tomorrow morning 🙂

Audio

Also, about audio. I think ideally I want to have one AirPod in my left ear, so that I can listen to the passenger just in case. Because I have a 2012 model car, the build in audio is not that sophisticated, so I just use my iPhone and AirPods.

Uber App Notifications

I realized I don’t need the instant notification. I just need to turn on the notification summary. This way I can save quite a few “surge” notifications during my normal work day.

Cleanliness of the car

I washed my car (2012 Toyota Sienna minivan) as practically as possible. Due to snow and the road salt, the car looks dirty from outside, finally I was able to clean over the weekend, due to the warmer temperature. One thing, I noticed, is unfortunately the faucet for the garden hose was broken during the extreme cold weather, and the ice inside the faucet. I am researching and will hopefully come up with a good fix soon.

I may summarized more and refer to my earlier Uber driving tips.

Categories
401k and Personal Finance uber-and-side-hustle

Turbo Tax Desktop and doing tax for eBay and Uber

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Chinese version (translated by Google) is here: 谷歌翻译的中文版在这里。

Turbo Tax web vs Desktop

I switched from Turbo Tax Web version to Desktop version in last 4 years. The main reason is the latter is cheaper (if we consider both the state and tax). It’s probably $40 to $50 cheaper. Before the switch I used the web version for 20 years. I was happy with the web version for the most part: had one or two minor glitches during 20 years journey. One glitch was on me: it was quite a few years ago, 15 to 20 years ago, when I was working for my 1st employer then. That year I purchased the Turbo Tax state (online version) too, and I also purchased the audit defense. But the stupid program allowed me to put in a negative number for the income in the state tax form, and state rejected the tax filing out of box. It was not too difficult to fix that – zero out the number did the trick if my memory is correct. But after that I decided for the state filing I would just use the online PDF form (with calculation capability), and mail in the tax form to the Jeff City instead.

Also, once I made a bad mistake. I installed the desktop version on my personal laptop MacBook Pro 16 inch Intel. And it crashed on me, and I didn’t have backup copy for the Turbo Tax filing file after filing. I recall from my past experience, Turbo Tax usually started from last year’s return, and at one time I was quite worried. Later luckily I was able to find out the actual e-filing from Uncle Sam’s website. Nowadays I store the Turbo Tax filing file on the cloud – feel a bit safer than my local desktop or laptop 🙂

Last tip for Turbo Tax Web: one can always use it for free (without filing), so for example, if you do it manually (say on paper, or via Excel), you can still use Turbo Tax Web, solely for calculation, comparison or verification purpose.

Retailer (where I buy the Turbo Tax software)

I think I paid about $82 for premier at Amazon.com this year. Today (02-02-2025) I saw Costco U city has $15 instant rebate on the top of that ($82). So next year I may buy from Costco instead of Amazon. For Amazon I download the software from their website: used to be Amazon, this year it’s Intuit the company behind Turbo Tax. I expect buying from Costco will be similar.

Do we want Audit Defense?

I got it last year – and I plan to continue to get it this year.

Some notes for me this year

eBay sent me a 1099-K. New for me this year. I am in the process of itemize the cost. This is more tedious than I thought initially. Here is some guidelines from Turbo Tax, btw. I may end up doing it as business too (see Uber below).

(Update 02-24-2025) I did more reading, mainly from

A Tax Filing Factsheet for eBay Sellers (Turbo Tax) and What to do with Form 1099-K (IRS). I decided to go with the Schedule C route (Below Uber is similar).

In my personal opinion, this approach is better than the other Form 8949 approach as implicitly suggested by the Turbo Tax.

Uber driving is also new to me. didn’t send me 1099-K as I didn’t meet their income threshold of $5,000. I mainly followed this Turbo Tax knowledge article as well the Turbo Tax Desktop Premier for this. I took the mileage standard deduction: used the online miles. And I used the tax summary from Uber (available in the Uber Driver App go to Account => Tax Doc) for the online mileages. Overall I am quite happy with the milage deduction (business expense, schedule C).

Summary for reporting taxes for eBay and Uber: again this is new to me. I learned two things: 1) Schedule C for business expense, reporting etc; 2) Refer to IRS website and their document as needed. In the past I mostly rely on Turbo Tax, or google. This time around I still use google, but Google pointed me to the IRS website. It’s good.

Keep things in perspective on Uber driving: the number one priority is always your (driver) safety, passenger safety and overall happiness. Money or tax saving for that matter, should not be a priority compared to the things I just mentioned. It’s more like icing on the cake. The cake itself better to be good – otherwise say if there are too many lemons among passengers, I will quit. This should be applicable to many things in life too, your day job, your other side gigs, and so on. I know I probably say it from somewhat privileged view point – as I do have some savings that allow to me “don’t have to work” for a while, if needed. Again keep things in perspective, I have worked in the USA for almost 25 years. I am at a stage of winding down my day job (career for some more career minded people, no judgement from yours truly here). At the same time, I am thinking about what I want to do after my retirement from my day job. Hint: I posted some plan here. But again, this is subject to change without any notice – the main stakeholders I need to notify is my wife and kids. I want to make sure they are comfortable, and can still splurge as they choose so.

Stocks: one of my favorite topics :-). For my 2 small regular brokerage accounts anyway: one again I traded too much and don’t have much gain to show for. So that’s my main lesson – I need to stick to the winners and hopefully stay away from the losers all together 🙂 Majority of my money (401k, HSA and 529 plans) are in S&P 500 index funds or equivalent. I do have two IRA accounts too: and I trade stocks there, and I am very pleased to announce that my luck there is better than the “2 small regular brokerage accounts” 🙂

State filing is included in the Turbo Tax desktop. One thing I noticed is 529 plan can save some state income taxes. (02-25-2025) Just realized the e-filing for the state is $25 or $40 extra. I decided to file via paper to save that money. (Update 03-04-2025) I sent the state filing tax via USPS mail. The postage is about $3.43 + printing cost which is about 8 cents x 42 pages = $3.36. Total is about $6.79 which is a bit cheaper than about $20 e-filing via Turbo Tax ($25 plus $5 off offer from couple of my Chase CC).

Some Odds and Ends

Probably more than 20 years ago, I recall my big boss has an Excel spreadsheet for tax filing, and he offered to co-workers. I didn’t take the offer. I think it may be a cheaper and better option, but I already fell into the Turbo Tax rabbit hole.

There is a common American saying: only death and taxes are certain 🙂

Other Choices

FreeTaxUSA.com

HR Block

TaxSlayer

Full Disclosure:

Not tax advice. Please consult a professorial tax advisor (an accountant, or a CPA) as needed.

I don’t receive any compensation from Turbo Tax. And I don’t have Inuit $INTU individual stock right now (02-26-2025). The reason I say individual stock is I do have S&P 500 index fund, and I assume $INTU is in the S&P 500.

(Update 03-04-2025) YT: Mass IRS Layoffs — How It Affects Your Tax Refund & Audits! by ClearValue Tax

(Update 03-05-2025) The Tennessean: 2025 tax season off to slow start amid federal layoffs, hiring freeze. Will refunds be affected? What to know

(Update 03-11-2025) Filed and accepted on Tue, Feb 25 – I just saw refund money hit the bank via DD 🙂 Total is about 2 weeks.

Categories
uber-and-side-hustle

Uber driving tips

Reading Time: 8 minutes

(03-01-2025) I just realized today is Madi Gras. This morning I drove 3 trips. First trip: from Rock Hill (near old Warson road) to Kirkwood. 2nd trip: from Kirkwood to South County. Last trip: I drove back to CC, drove a gentleman across the Olive road, from the Courtyard Hotel to the office building across the street. The last trip was worth the money as I needed to come home.

I also had a minor issue when the train was blocking the Geyer road. I had to use Apple Map to make a detour, before switching back to Uber Driver app. This is the 1st time I used Apple Map instead of Uber Driver map for navigation because of road/traffic condition.

At about 1 pm, I also realized it was Madi Gras celebration and no wonder the Uber Driver app shows quite busy and surge prices in many areas. And I also recall my passenger brought beer to friends’ house and he sounds like opened the beer can in my minivan – I didn’t look whether open drinking in the car is legal or not (many years ago I heard from friends who have lived in NY saying it’s illegal in NYC).

(02-16-2025) I drove 2 trips today. One in the early morning, and another one between 10 and 11 am when I was taking my 10 year old to her drawing class (I didn’t have much to do, plus it was too cold to walk outside today). I didn’t know or anticipate we would have snow overnight. The first trip has two legs, the 1st one is from near the Costco Business Center (St. John) to Maplewood (the lady dropped her kids there), then from Maplewood I drove the passenger to a senior living home in the Tower Grove neighborhood where the lady worked for 12 years so far. It’s on Magnolia road, north of Tower Grove park. So overall my minivan has been helpful because I carried 4 people for the 1st leg of the trip (the longer one too).

(02-14-2025) It seems Uber is getting cheaper comparing my Uber trip to airport back in 11/27/2019 vs today I drove a passenger to the Airport (comparable location). I cannot ask passenger how much she paid, but I am using 40% for Uber’s cut. $9.42/0.6 + $3 (tip) = $18.70. In 11/27/2019 I paid $21.48 for trip from my home to STL. I realized one factor: the trip starts at 4:46 am (vs 7:12 am). Bogleheads has a thread too.

Perhaps more importantly, I picked up a trip when I was near the airport, and now I realized it was not worth my effort moneywise, it’s from 63121 near highway 70, to St. Mary High School in South City: 16.5 miles and 28 minutes one way, my fare (earning) is $14.41. Note the plus side – I got to see or drive some of the places I haven’t driven until today, from the north county, north city, downtown (gateway arch) to the South City. I saw the Love gas station, the factory or warehouses, 1st time driving into downtown from highway 70, and transition to 55. Many things look pretty impressive: including the Budweiser plant and the St. Mary HS.

I should probably stick to my one trip a day pledge 🙂 || The reason I turned on the “accept new request” thing is I thought I may be able to pick up a trip starting from airport, after the drop off, it happened to me once – but I guess that kind of luck is rare.

(02-10-2025) I continued Uber driving this morning. I got a repeating customer. Note on Uber a rider cannot designate a driver, but he/she can choose service (Uber X, Uber XL etc.) and so on. The matching part is determined by the system (platform). I think from now on, on weekdays, I am going to just do one trip in the morning (with the exception of airport ride). I am also going to just accept the pickup within 10 minutes of driving.

(Update 02-09-2025) I resumed my Uber driving today. From now on, I will probably only drive on Saturday and Sunday, couple hours at most each day.

(Update 02-08-2025) More about Go Go Grandparents ride (here is a reddit thread if you are interested). Now I recollect, the Go Go Grandparents people kind of tricked me in some way, because initially it was a ride for $4 or $5 and it’s a one way trip (probably from the old gentleman’s home to the McDonald’s at Maplewood, off Hanley road, near Home Depot store). Then once I was on the way (after took the rider), Go Go Grandparents updated the trip, so that I can also bring the gentleman home: made it a round trip. The total is about $7. But because the rider asked for extra stop at the gas station, and I need to help him get off the car, back out my car, etc., it made my 2nd already booked trip a bit late – it’s possible the rider for 2nd trip gave me a score of 4 because of that.

A side note of this is: the starting address is across the street from the real house the gentleman was living in (because I drop back to his home, and I have the address, which I dropped off his phone later, btw). I don’t know why the discrepancy. The house was a bit run-down, which seems to match the old gentleman’s life stage. I saw broken down car in the backyard. Next time, if I ever encounter similar issue (lost item in my car), I would take a picture so that it would help me resolving the issue.

Before the trip on 01-28-2025, I did two trips that were either Uber Health or called by people like Go Go Grandparent. I mentioned one on 01-23-2025 (see below). In another case, I just drove a gentleman (a veteran) from his home to BJC in central west end. I don’t mind drive people for medical appointments etc., but from now on 02-09-2025 I will probably just drive on weekends (leisure time), as well as not taking Go Go Grandparent (not sure how best to distinguish/decline).

(Update 02-03-2025) Rideshare Safety Tips: A Complete Guide

(Update 01-28-2025) Once again please be aware of Uber Health – or those rides arranged by the Caregivers. I got such one again this morning: the ride is taking a gentleman to McDonald’s, order food, and take him back. On the way back he asked me to stop by the gas station: he said he left his debit card there last time. I did him the favor in terms of the extra stop. I also helped him the food and drink during drop off to his home. But he forgot his phone (left it on the seat) in the end. I had to make an extra stop and drop off his phone after I drop off my 2nd passenger. Last but not least, it seems between them I got a 4 star. Later I got a call from gogograndparent (FB page for GGGP) that they are the Uber coordinator. It went to my voice mail as I usually don’t pick up phone from stranger. Looks like they are Chicago based.

This is probably going to be my last Uber driving for a while. I am not overly concerned about the phone itself, but it seems there are quite a few caregiver responsibilities that comes with this kind of Uber driving. Also the customer service stuff (which I got a glimplse when I worked for Mastercard). I think ideally I want to be like the Costco and pick the ideal customers.

Now I am thinking about becoming real estate agent next (part time though).

(Update 01-23-2025) I did a few more trips this week, including during the deep freeze (Sunday to Wednesday morning). I feel some people are appreciative: e.g., on Sunday I dropped off a caregiver from apartment near my home to Delmar Garden, a senior living place near 141 and 64. The lady told me one driver bailed on her: she gave me $5 tip. Yesterday I drove a lady from her home to dental appointment: she gave me $5 tip too. Another trip was for a WUSTL undergrad (senior) from his home to medical school. The day before it was similar: drove a nurse from Mercy Creve Coeur campus to her apartment; then drove a medical school student to WUSTL medical campus.

This morning, I declined a few far out of way trips (I think it’s a bit too much if I need to drive 15 to 20 minutes to pick up someone, via highway). I picked up a lady at Westport and drop her off STL Lambert International airport. On the way we stopped by the Panera Bread at Westport (at her request). She gave me $7 tip.

Today also marks the day that I drove 100 trips (I started on 10-13-2024, as shown in my blog post here). Technically I think it’s 101. As I drove for an old lady after I cancelled the trip because she didn’t respond in time. Uber did give me the money via adjustment later on. Below was the story on Jan 13, 2025 (note the temperature was low, but more importantly road condition was still not perfect after the snow storm).

A bit unusual Uber driving experience this morning. I picked up the ride during my 1st trip. Just as I was going to pick up the passenger for this particular ride (2nd trip), the Uber platform told me the passenger doesn’t do text, via a medical (care) coordinator. I arrived the apartment, did call, text to the number given by the platform. No response. But just as I cancelled the trip, and ready to leave, I saw the passenger – an old woman with cane. She is going to the Mercy Hospital in Creve Coeur. The parking lot for the apartment is both icy and slippery, and I slipped, and almost fell. She said she was just locking her door. I said: okay I will take you. I drove her to the Mercy Hospital which I briefly worked for 18 months between 2013 and 2015. She said she didn’t eat breakfast – somehow, she reminded me of my grandma and my parents nowadays (as they are aging).

(Original 01-18-2025) Last Sunday, as I dropped off one passenger on United Airline gate, the next ride came. My lesson learned: keep the Uber Driving app online. In the past, sometimes I turned off new request when I drove into airport dropping off passengers.

This evening, I dropped off a friend at Southwest Terminal 2. But the Uber Driving app told me to go to the STL waiting lot. I was hoping to get a ride right there, and I was not going to waiting lot.

Some safety features for the drivers

Don’t drive during the night, or early mornings, basically when it’s dark outside. Quite recently, once I woke up early, it was New Year’s Day (01-01-2025), as I drove around for Uber, I picked up a ride for 2 guys. I was not 100% sure what those 2 guys were doing, I suspect they were drinking and f?!x around, as I heard a bit of their conversation re: women etc. I have zero intention to learn their business. There was a small incident during pickup too, I parked, one guy came aboard: he took the seat behind me. Just as I was pulling off, I saw another guy pull my door or knock on the windshield, asking me to stop. Turns out he is another passenger. The ride was not eventually, until the end, turns out two guys have a slightly different destinations: one guy lives about one mile from another. They did give me $10, and after my Uber ride is over, I used Apple map for navigation dropped off the other guy. Note Uber does allow for multiple stops and they are probably not sophisticated Uber users and didn’t use this multi stop feature.

Set the minimum rider star rating (score) to 4.5, unfortunately we need to do it every time we go online. I used to set minimum to 4.5, but the article says Any lower than 4.6 could be a potential issue, because it’s at this point that Uber can consider deactivating your account.

I saw from this Reddit thread one driver says 4.85 for Uber. But I also saw some passenger’s rebuttal. Just copy one back and forth below:

======

Driver: Anything under a 4.8 is a no-go. 10 years driving rideshare.

Rider: I am 4.79, always respectful and tip well. Just had a few too many drivers give me a 4 instead of a 5. The rating system is BS and you are losing money by rejecting perfectly good passengers. Now if someone had a 4.2 or 4.1, I’d understand why you wouldnt pick them up.

======

Go offline if we are not familiar with the destination or area: I did this once at East St. Louis. I didn’t realize the ride was going to East St. Louis at the beginning. It appears a security guard was getting off work at Clayton and went back his home in East STL.

I will add more as I think of some more tips.

Last but not least: some other blog posts I wrote re: Uber driving

More Uber driving and tips I learned

Drove for Uber the 1st time – 我在美国开优步

Uber Official YT Channel – Earning with Uber

Categories
uber-and-side-hustle

More Uber driving and tips I learned

Reading Time: 2 minutes

First a few tips (not the tip as in the money) I learned since I drove Uber.

One is you can setup a secured code like 2 factor authentication: I have one passenger used this feature. This may be faster than looking at license plate/exchange names etc. The driver can only “start the trip” after type in the code from the passenger.

Another one is something I learned this morning: we can do multiple stops. Today two older brothers dropped off the little brother at early childhood place, before heading to their destination high school.

Last but not least, try to keep your car clean. By “clean” I meant the carpet is clean and the cupholders are clean. And if you have a minivan like me, try to keep trunk clean of junks. Guess when do we need the storage space in the trunk? When we have junks there. I am not kidding, it actually happened recently to me once, when I need to take 5 people with their bags 🙂 I learned this lesson the hard way actually, in the very beginning of my driving adventure, I didn’t pay attention to the carpet and the cup holders. And I quickly got a few low rating (2, 3, 4) and it pushed down my overall rating score quickly. And now I can say proudly I am coming back as my score is 4.78 (I think 4.9 is considered excellent on Uber).

How about real tips (tips in the money)

Never expected, always appreciated. In real life though, interacting with passengers, talking to them (probably listen to them 1st) may have something to do with the tips.

Why I drive for Uber – reasons other than money

I think driving these one or two trips helps waking me up. In the old days I commute 20 to 30 minutes to work. Nowadays this is my “commute” in a way. Driving my freshman girl to HS and back is a bit too short to wake me up. The earning per hour never exceeded $30 (before tips). I received $13 tips from below trips. Subtracting the tips, it would be $58.72 for 2-hour 17 m online time. Other side benefits: keep my car clean and watch out for my driving habits no road rage etc. Use the modern word, just “chill”.

Here is an article by Harvard – Taxi drivers are steering neuroscience toward better understanding Alzheimer’s. In Chinese BMJ：老司机狂喜！哈佛团队分析近900万死者数据发现，出租车和救护车司机因阿尔茨海默病死亡风险全职业最低，或与空间导航能力有关

How to improve the rating?

Keep the car clean, in addition to be friendly.

Last but not least, I have driven 65 trips since started this very much part time gig about 2 months ago. PS: this is my earlier post on driving for Uber.

Reference

YT video How Uber Robs Its Drivers by More Perfect Union: let me quote a comment – As an accountant, I did Uber and Lyft a few years ago on weekends to make a few extra bucks. After about 300 rides, I created my own report that detailed my revenue, expenses, hourly work pay rate, etc. And came to the conclusion that was only making about $9 maybe $10 per hour in profit while putting lots of wear and tear on my vehicle. I stopped all ride share driving after that.

I think I tend to agree with the comment above. My main motivation for driving is not to get the extra income (that didn’t hurt). But I think if I want to make more money or make a living, or bring bread home, driving for Uber is not the 1st thing I will attempt to do.