Time… where does it all disappear? According to the 2017 Annual American Time Use Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor, individuals with full-time employment dedicate over two hours each day to tasks such as house cleaning, meal preparation, and shopping.
The rise of the gig economy offers potential reprieve with numerous apps designed to eliminate the burden of errands like grocery shopping, laundry, pet care, and cooking. Yet, do these conveniences truly save us a significant amount of time to justify their costs? Let’s explore common chores and the applications that promise to take these responsibilities off our hands.
1. Grocery shopping
Typically, individuals go grocery shopping once or twice weekly, spending an average of 43 minutes per trip, not including travel time. Thus, hiring a gig worker to handle your shopping could save you around two hours each week—even more if you’re far from the store, your store is crowded, or you shop more frequently.
Though services like Peapod, Safeway.com, and Amazon Fresh have been delivering groceries for some time, the advantage of using a gig app is that you can select the store for your items, and deliveries can often be arranged in as little as an hour. (See also: 6 Ways to Save Money with Grocery Delivery)
The cost
Apps like Instacart, Postmates, and Shipt (operated by Target) impose a charge per delivery, in addition to annual or monthly subscription fees for grocery delivery conducted by gig workers using their personal vehicles.
- For Instacart, fees range from $3.99 to $7.99 per order, or $99 annually.
- Postmates offers a monthly plan at $9.99 or an annual plan for $95.88, alongside a variable per-delivery fee that might reach up to $20 per order.
- Shipt, serving 257 locations, charges $14 monthly or $99 per year. If you decide to tip your delivery person, this needs to be considered in your overall costs.
Be aware that prices for items through these services may exceed those in-store. Instacart openly states that, for certain stores, “Item prices are higher than in-store prices in your area.” Similarly, Shipt communicates to users that select retailers’ groceries may be marked up to cover service costs.
Cost per hour saved
While some time will still be spent selecting groceries and placing orders through these apps, you will save the duration typically spent driving, parking, maneuvering through store aisles, and, worst of all, waiting in line. If you spend $150 annually on a service to save two hours per week, that translates to approximately $1.50 per hour saved. In scenarios where you would allocate just an additional hour weekly on shopping, your cost per hour saved would be around $3.
Is it worth it?
If your earnings exceed $20 per hour, utilizing a gig shopping service is likely a financially sound choice, especially if you don’t own a vehicle or if your work schedule complicates trips to the store during off-peak hours.
2. Dog walking
Walking your dog can be enjoyable and serves as a great exercise opportunity, but for those with lengthy commutes, providing midday walks for your pet can be a challenge. Alternatively, you may simply lack the time to meet your dog’s exercise needs.
The cost
Platforms such as Wag! and Rover can dispatch a gig worker to walk your dog, either on demand or based on a scheduled service, typically costing around $20 to $30 for a 20-30 minute walk.
Cost per hour saved
Should you only be factoring in the time saved from walking the dog, it would amount to about $1 per minute or $60 per hour, which is quite expensive for time-saving. However, many users probably enlist these services for workday pet walks. If you’re a 30-minute commute away from home, that $30 expense could save you about 90 minutes when factoring in the walk and travel time.
Is it worth it?
If you’re at home, likely not. Even with a busy schedule, stepping outside for a walk with your pet may boost your productivity and benefit both you and your dog. However, if you’re away at work, this service could prove worthwhile. (See also: How to Earn $400+ Weekly as a Pet Sitter)
3. Food delivery
Among all the supposed time-saving gig apps, food delivery applications like Uber Eats, Caviar, and Postmates (for takeout, not groceries) present the greatest difficulty in asserting their benefits. Prior to these apps, it was already possible to place a takeout order via phone or drive to the nearest fast-food outlet.
So, what value do these gig apps contribute? Each one has its unique specialty. Caviar, for instance, focuses on offering delivery from locations that traditionally don’t provide it, thus potentially saving you time from driving, parking, and standing in line to collect a busy order. In juxtaposition to dining in a restaurant, these apps might save you considerable time, but for those who relish the restaurant experience, this might not be an appealing trade.
The minimum time saved by ordering food through an app appears to be about three minutes compared to a phone order—which could be the most gratifying three minutes you’ve saved if you find ordering by phone frustrating.
The cost
Uber Eats imposes fees between $2 and $8, subject to customer proximity to the restaurant, as well as additional surge pricing if applicable. Caviar includes a variable delivery fee plus an 18% service charge. Postmates’ $9.99 monthly or $95.88 annual membership covers both food and grocery deliveries, with non-member delivery fees ranging from $3.99 to $9.99 per order or higher during surge pricing periods.
Cost per hour saved
Let’s say ordering through a gig app actually saves you 30 minutes—accounting for the time it would take to place a phone order and travel to pick up the meal. If you place one order weekly using a Postmates annual membership and include a $5 tip with each delivery, your service would then cost you $7 for a half-hour saved, equating to $14 per hour.
Is it worth it?
If you frequently order food from establishments that do not provide delivery, then yes. These applications can diversify your regular meal options. However, if you enjoy cooking at home or prefer dining in restaurants, or have consistent favorites that deliver, these services might not be the best solution for you.
4. Doctor visits
Some may find it surprising that certain medical professionals are leveraging the gig economy. A growing number of startups enable doctors to conduct house calls or offer telemedicine services as supplementary or primary jobs.
In cases of serious conditions—such as a heart attack or a significant injury—convenience will not be your primary consideration and you will require immediate assistance from an emergency room. Yet, for less critical issues—like a urinary tract infection, a rash, needing a strep test, a suspected case of the flu, or a prescription refill—traditional doctors’ visits can consume hours of your valuable time. In my own experiences, simply scheduling an appointment often takes over 15 minutes waiting on the line.
Additionally, reaching the doctor’s office and waiting can consume an average of 15 to 27 minutes, differing by location and type of practice.
In contrast, the Doctor on Demand app can connect you with a freelance doctor via a 15-minute call in as little as five minutes. Other platforms, such as Heal, arrange house calls with freelance doctors. For straightforward issues, you could potentially save anywhere from an hour for an easy visit to over five hours for one of those lengthy ER waits.
The cost
Doctor on Demand charges $75 for a brief 15-minute consultation, and they collaborate with several employers and insurance providers. Heal has a flat fee of $149, also accepting various insurance plans.
Cost per hour saved
For a conventional office visit, if you pay via the app directly and your insurance copayment for your regular physician was $20, utilizing the app might cost between $55 and $79 to save one hour. If this service allows you to circumvent an ER trip, the costs could remain similar while saving you a minimum of two hours.
Is it worth it?
If you can utilize one of these platforms to avoid an ER visit for a non-emergency situation, it could prove extremely worthwhile.
For standard appointments, if these services are covered by your insurance, it would be advisable to explore them. Conversely, if payment is required out-of-pocket, the time-saving aspect may only be justified for high-income earners or those with hectic schedules at doctors’ offices.
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