Healthy Living

by Christian Perea on November 15, 2017 13 Comments

Why Drivers Need Health Insurance & How to Get It

As rideshare drivers, it’s really important to have insurance – both auto and health. With all the driving we do, even if we drive part-time, statistically we’re more likely than average drivers to be involved in an accident. Luckily, there are affordable options out there for drivers. Today, senior RSG contributor Christian Perea shares his experience getting health insurance using Stride Health.

Stride Drive is one of our affiliate partners but they didn’t pay us for any of this. This is a testimony from my direct personal experience because they did such an excellent job at simplifying open enrollment for me last year and probably helped save my life. (Christian’s life. Not Harry’s. Harry is fine.)

It’s open enrollment season again. That wonderful time of the year where I have to figure out how to see a doctor without also having to sell a kidney (or by holding a real doctor hostage in my Uber until they write me a prescription). Fortunately though, this is the first year since I became an independent contractor that I’m not stressing out thanks to Stride Health.

If you are new to driving full-time and don’t have another means to health insurance, you need to know now that you are legally an independant contractor, and you must buy YOUR OWN insurance. Assuming you don’t qualify for Medicare or something else, legally you have to buy insurance or pay a penalty at tax time.

Want to see what health insurance options are available in your state? Click here to check out Stride Health.

Are You Keeping Track of Your Rideshare Earnings?

Every 1000 business miles = $545 in tax deductions. That means you have to track your miles and earnings. QuickBooks Self-Employed helps you track all of that quickly.

[Read more…]

by Harry Campbell on November 15, 2016 4 Comments

5 Ways Drivers Overpay When it Comes to Health Insurance

Harry here. Health insurance can be a big problem for a lot of drivers so today I wanted to share a guest post from Stride Health that goes over all the ways you can save money on your health insurance. I learned a lot from this article and will even use a few of the tips to save some money this year since I pay for my own health insurance 🙂

Open Enrollment has begun, and it’s the only time of the year when anyone can buy health insurance or switch plans. This period lasts until January 31st. At Stride Health, we’ve helped over 100,000 rideshare drivers save money on their health insurance. While more and more drivers are getting insured, many still leave money on the table when it comes to getting subsidies that lower insurance costs or select plans that will cost them more money over time.

That’s why this Open Enrollment, we’ve teamed up with the Rideshare Guy to make sure drivers save money and time while getting the coverage they need. Here are the top 5 ways drivers either overpay for insurance or don’t get the most from their plan:

[Read more…]

by Christian Perea on October 14, 2015 13 Comments

What Can Uber Drivers Do While Waiting For A Ride? (Other Than Scroll Your Facebook Feed)

Harry here. As someone who’s always thinking about ways I can be more efficient with my driving, today I wanted to share an article from RSG contributor, Christian Perea, about what to do while waiting for an Uber ride request. I know I’m guilty of just scrolling through Facebook while waiting for that ping, but there is actually a lot of productive stuff you can be doing in your down time.

Sometimes we spend a lot of time waiting in-between calls. Maybe your market is heavily saturated or maybe there just isn’t a lot of demand. Of course, some markets have more downtime than others. When I drove in Santa Barbara, I would often go an hour or so without a ride. Luckily, Santa Barbara had a lot of beaches and a lot of parking, so it wasn’t so bad.

However, I got to wondering, what are some of the more productive things I can do to minimize the shittiness of sitting in a car all day? There has to be something else to do right?

Things You Can Do While Waiting for a Ride (Other Than Scroll Your Facebook Feed)

[Read more…]

by Joe Strandell on March 17, 2015 50 Comments

Can You Beat My Longest Uber Ride Ever?

One of the most exciting parts about driving is the uncertainty with each and every ride. You never know what type of passenger you’re going to get and just how far you’re going to go. Today, RSG contributor, Joe Strandell shares with us a story about his longest ride ever.

What’s the longest ride you’ve ever given? For me, it was back in September of 2014.

It was a normal day of driving for Uber in Santa Barbara. I get a call from a hotel, no big deal. I show up and an Indian woman with pink pants and a backpack gets into my car. I swipe to start the ride and then I realize something crazy.

The destination is in Palo Alto.

I thought it was a mistake. She said, “I can call another Uber if you can’t do it.” I say, “no no, I have the time.” We get on the freeway and I make sure to call someone letting them know where I’m going for the day! [Read more…]

by Scott Van Maldegiam on February 18, 2015 11 Comments

Is Rideshare Driving A Detriment To Your Health?

I’ve always had jobs where I sat around all day at a desk and I can’t tell you how bad it’s been for my health. Driving is no different, and today, RSG contributor Scott Van Maldegiam gives us some insight into how he stays healthy despite logging a ton of hours on the road.

This post isn’t technically rideshare related but it obviously has a lot to do with helping drivers. If you’d like to see more of these types of posts in the future, let us know in the comments below or send me an e-mail.

Let’s face it, being a rideshare driver is not the healthiest of professions. And I don’t know about you, but I also get hungry when I drive. That is a great combination for gaining weight.

Do you have some weight you would like to lose? Do you just want to stop gaining weight? If so, keep reading. I will talk about my own experience and share with you what has worked for me to get healthy.

Last September, after driving for close to 10 months, I decided enough was enough. I had gained over 10 lbs and was already overweight before gaining that weight. I decided to lose 50 lbs.

Right now, I am about halfway to my goal. This article isn’t about giving myself a pat on the back though. As with other things I have talked about, this is about breaking down the process that leads to success. I hope that some of the ideas here will encourage you to make changes in your life to get healthier. [Read more…]