A Manifesto for the
“Uber Economy”
How to live debt free…
boss free…rent free…
…starting TODAY
A Manifesto for the “Uber Economy”: How to live debt free… boss free…rent free…
…starting TODAY
By the staff of Walden Publishing
Cover photos: ©istockphoto.com/KatarzynaBialasiewicz
©istockphoto.com/wsfurlan
©istockphoto.com/Tanjamy
©istockphoto.com/Newbird
©Copyright 2016, Walden Publishing, Elysium House, Ballytruckle Road, Waterford, Ireland.
All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced by any means without the express written
consent of the publisher. The information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be reliable,
but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
A Manifesto for the “Uber Economy”
How to live debt free… boss free…rent free…
…starting TODAY.
It’s no secret that we’re living in a tough Economy. Most of us work long hours,
physically and mentally exhausting ourselves in order to keep up with mortgage
payments, property tax, loan repayments, bank fees…the list tends to go on and on.
On the rare occasion we find ourselves with enough extra cash for something nice, a
bigger TV or a new set of golf clubs, we often don’t have the extra time to really enjoy it.
So what if I told you there was a better way? That, beneath the surface of the “normal”
economy, full of lay-offs and collapsing businesses, there exists a secret “Uber Economy,”
where people work for themselves and are paid fairly for it…where vacations are free
and taxes don’t exist.
It might sound like fantasy, but it’s not. The systems that make up the Uber Economy
see trillions of dollars worth of business every year. And they’re real enough that tens of
thousands of people are already actively taking part in them.
Take Rob Percival, for example. All Rob did was move his teaching job from the
normal economy to the Uber Economy. Rob quit his job as a conventional teacher and
now sells courses through Udemy, an online marketplace for learning and teaching.
Instead of waking up early to teach just 30 students in a poorly ventilated classroom, he’s
reaching a global class of thousands. Plus, Rob can keep his own schedule, he’s his own
boss, and since switching to Udemy…he’s earned over $2.8 Million dollars from just
three courses!
The benefits of this new and improved economic system don’t stop with just your job
either. By learning to fully embrace the Uber Economy you’ll be able to vacation for free,
cut your food costs in half while improving your overall nutrition, and sidestep many of
the taxes and fees being stolen from your paycheck.
The Uber Economy doesn’t operate on just one level. It’s really a combination
of strategies for approaching your career, your bank account, your vacations…etc. It
represents an economic revolution, which is unfolding before our very eyes. And yet, if
you don’t know how and where to look, you could miss it altogether. Already, a third of
the global workforce operates under the Uber Economy. Chances are you’ve participated
in it yourself, whether you know it or not.
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The best part? By its nature the Uber Economy promotes a healthier way of life.
It’s a system that encourages strength of community, produces high quality goods and
services, and does away with the employee-employer relationship by putting you in
direct contact with clients seeking whatever skills you want to advertise.
So now you can stop working for bloated CEOs who slice big percentages out of every
paycheck. You can stop letting banks take advantage of you. And make paying hand over
foot for brief, stress-filled vacations a thing of the past.
©istockphoto.com/Rawpixel Ltd
Instead, read on and learn how to take hold of the opportunities offered by this new,
better way of life…
Stop working for your boss,
start working for your clients
The fact is, due to the effect the Internet and related technology have had on the
workplace and society at large, there is often simply a “better way” of doing things.
In the same way that the industrial revolution brought us better tools for building and
manufacturing, the “tech revolution” has brought us better tools for communicating and
working.
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A Manifesto for the “Uber Economy”
I’m not necessarily talking about any sort of “high tech solution” either. Often, this
better way just means cutting out the fat cats at the top of the current business pyramid
and replacing them with services that directly connect service providers to clients. It’s a
new way of working smarter…not harder.
For example, let’s say you clean homes for a living. You could, of course, apply to
work for a house cleaning service where you’d probably have to show up early and
report to a manager who does a lot less work and makes a lot more money than you.
That’s the old way of doing things. The “old system.”
Alternatively you could register as a home cleaner on Helpling or Handy, two websites
that are technically part of what’s being called the “Sharing Economy”. Typically all these
websites do is put service providers in direct contact with clients via a simple, easy to use
app or website.
You might think that platforms like this would increase competition, and drive
pricing and rates down, souring the job market, but actually the opposite is true. Because
these platforms operate outside the “big business” model, where some overpaid CEO is
squeezing every cent they can out of your paycheck, payouts for employees are usually
higher.
What’s more, it’s often easier to begin earning money on these platforms than in
the “old system.” Typically, all you have to do is register, which usually means filling
out some simple forms and providing proof of identification. Once the application (the
sharing platform) accepts you and adds your credentials to its service, you’re employed!
Now, instead of working tirelessly to earn your boss’ approval, the only thing
measuring your performance is how highly clients “rate” you within the app.
The best part is that most of these apps and sites show ratings for both service
providers and clients. So if a client or customer is rude, or they don’t tip fairly, or show
a habit of not respecting rented property, their rating goes down. This puts service
providers in control of their work environment. You no longer have to submit to rude,
disrespectful, or unfair clients without first knowing what you’re getting into…And
it provides an incentive for customers to be respectful, honest, decent human beings.
Sounds like a win-win to me!
Of course, the service you select is going to take commission from your earnings,
but compared to the pyramid structure of the “old system,” the percentage can be quite
low. Especially if you’re used to an hourly wage. Let’s take a look at some great ways to
generate more income, while retaining flexibility and independence through the Uber
Economy:
● www.handy.com allows you to very quickly list yourself as a cleaner or
handyman. You can take however many jobs per day as you want, whenever
you want. Their top professionals earn $1,000 per day.
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©istockphoto.com/KatarzynaBialasiewicz
● Drivers with the ride sharing company www.uber.com can easily generate
extra income by running their own taxi service. You simply register as a driver
and log into to the app any time you feel like taking a rider somewhere. You
can easily accept riders on your way home from work or the store if you feel
like making a couple extra bucks. Full-time drivers usually earn around $19/hr
compared to the $12/hr made by most taxi drivers!
● www.postmates.com is a delivery service that puts bikers and drivers in contact
with people in the area. You can accept jobs whenever you’d like, delivering
items like fast food orders and groceries to people nearby.
● Are you good with computers? Register as a local tech expert at
https://www.geekatoo.com/.
● Skilled in appliance repair or basic home maintenance? Run your own personal
home service company with http://tryhousecall.com/.
● If you produce a good, even just as a side-hobby, why not become your own
merchant! www.alibaba.com allows you to sell products worldwide, and
charges no merchant fees, instead making revenue from ads.
● Design help? Translation? Songwriting? You can buy and sell all these and
more at service marketplace https://www.fiverr.com/.
● https://www.upwork.com/ is the ultimate freelancer site, allowing you to
register to perform services like design, writing, and customer support. If you’ve
got a project of your own you can hire your entire team through this site!
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A Manifesto for the “Uber Economy”
● If you have cooking skills you can sign up to cook for events or parties with
a site like http://www.kitchit.com/ or even just local home cooking with
https://plateculture.com/.
● www.rover.com is a database for quickly connecting petsitters with clients.
You can pick and choose jobs based on your schedule. One user quit her job as
a medical examiner because she was earning more income pet-sitting through
Rover.
Just think about that for a second. If you live in an area with high enough demand,
and you’re willing to put in a little effort, you can now potentially make more money as
a dogsitter than you could as a doctor. All you have to do is move to the Uber Economy!
It’s really that easy.
Plus, it allows you to take charge of your income in a way few careers do. You become
your own boss. And you’re instantly empowered by the very tools that allow you to
communicate with your clients.
Turn Your Junk Into Assets
Everyone has got some spare “junk” collecting rust in a basement, attic, or garage.
Instead of hauling it out onto your lawn or driveway for a traditional yard-sale, why not
advertise online? You can rent or sell a lot more than you’d think:
● www.neighborgoods.net allows you to rent everything from tools to tents
to pet carriers. You can set your own price and the site has an extensive peer
review system.
● www.krrb.com is basically an online flea market. Sell art, furniture, antiques
and more locally. The site even allows you advertise for local services, classes,
and events.
To this…
©istockphoto.com/Difydave
©istockphoto.com/woraput
From This…
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● Got a closet full of old clothes you never wear? Sell them on www.poshmark.com!
● Rent an unused vehicle using http://relayrides.com. Some users report
additional earnings of up to $1,000 a month. You could even buy a used vehicle
for the purpose of renting it out! Not a bad idea when you consider that a three
or four car fleet might net $30-$40K annually…
● Rent your garden as a campsite using http://campinmygarden.com/.
● Rent your parking space or garage. www.justpark.com will let you list
your parking space for rent for free, and doesn’t even charge commission.
Depending on demand in your area you could earn $20-$200 per week! If you
commute yourself, and are paying daily garage fees, this is another great way
to save.
You might be starting to see how sites like this use the internet to rekindle that “closeknit community” feeling that’s been lost in so much of the “old system.” Many users of
community sharing and bartering sites praise them, noting how great it is to connect with
and get to know other people nearby.
In the same way you might once have knocked on a neighbor’s door to borrow a cup
of sugar, you can now walk down the block to borrow a bike or a drill, which you found
through a community sharing site.
It’s all part of how the Uber Economy is bringing ordinary people closer together…
and turning the tables on the fat cat elites who have had it so good for so long. Well, say
adherents of the Uber Economy…So long to that!
Sell Your Knowledge
Practical, helpful knowledge shouldn’t require a loan to afford, and teachers deserve
fair pay based on their value to students. That’s what makes online learning platforms
so important. You can receive quality education on a variety of topics, from app
development to cooking, with classes usually averaging around $50.
If teaching is your thing, consider that you’ll also be able to potentially reach a global
community of millions of students in a borderless classroom.
Here’s a look at some of the more popular learning platforms.
● www.udemy.com offers over 32,000 courses to eight million students. You can
progress through the course at any pace on your computer or mobile device.
Anyone can sell a course through Udemy, although they do require part of the
course to be in video format. The top courses sell to hundreds of thousands of
students, earning their instructors millions!
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A Manifesto for the “Uber Economy”
©istockphoto.com/bgblue
● If you’ve got the knowledge, but don’t want to deal with the technical
aspects of producing a course yourself, you might want to check out
www.digitalchalk.com, which also offers production services.
● https://usefedora.com boasts a set of tools that allow you to host courses from
your own website as well as manage your own branding and pricing. They’re
also quite cheap, charging only $1+10% of your course income.
● www.skillshare.com comes with high recommendations from students and
teachers alike, they will allow you to advertise for in-person classes as well, if
face-to-face teaching is important to you.
● You can always create an “alternative” classroom on www.youtube.com by
teaching subjects through a series of videos. You won’t be selling your courses
for a flat fee, but earning money from ad revenue. Videos offering advice on
popular topics like finance, software, and online marketing see millions of
views and thousands of dollars in revenue.
Get Paid to Take a Vacation
Getting paid to spend a week at the beach sounds too good to be true, right? Yet most
people who rent out their apartments and homes while they’re away are able to cover
rent and energy costs while turning a modest profit. If you already own extra property,
and are renting it out long-term you should definitely consider switching to Airbnb.
www.airbnb.com will allow you to list apartments, homes, even spare rooms for rent.
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©istockphoto.com/wsfurlan
A one-bedroom, urban apartment currently renting for around $1,000/mo could
instead be offered on Airbnb for $99/night. Hosts who have already done this reported
an average monthly income of around $2,200 after cleaning and maintenance fees. That’s
a 120% revenue increase!
If you’ve already done some research on Airbnb, you might have come across some
horror stories involving trashed apartments or unruly guests. Fortunately, the site covers
host homes for up to $1,000,000 in eligible countries, and you always have the option
of viewing a guest’s profile before accepting their offer. If this is something that really
worries you, calm those fears by only accepting offers from guests with highly rated
profiles, and always stay away from new users.
Airbnb hosts are essentially running their own business, and you will have to put in
a little extra effort to make your apartment or home a high-demand property. Things like
maintaining cleanliness and keeping the site well-stocked with consumables like toilet
paper and soap are a must. However, people who have already gone this route report
that the extra work to keep their space in perfect condition amounted to about six hours
of their personal time per month. If you manage to pull in a monthly income of $2,000,
that means your hard work is earning you about $330/hr. Not too shabby!
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A Manifesto for the “Uber Economy”
Most people renting apartments in busy areas report no difficulty in filling the space
with a steady stream of vacationers and people traveling for work. Many times the hosted
homes are booked four to six months in advance. If you’re living in a less trafficked area,
you might consider also hosting your home on www.homeaway.com. It’s not quite as
popular as Airbnb, but still boasts over one million listings. Just keep in mind that smaller
sites don’t have the infrastructure to do quite as thorough background checks.
One last thing to note. Airbnb is so successful that it makes hotels furious, and they’re
doing everything they can to pass legislation requiring harsher taxes on Airbnb hosts.
However, at the time of this writing, hosting your apartment or home for less than fifteen
days a year allows you to keep the income totally tax free!
Become a Client Yourself!
Of course, in order to fully appreciate the Uber Economy for all its benefits, you
should be using these services yourself. Let’s recap some ways using the Uber Economy
can save you money!
● Rent tools and other “temporary needs”. Need a special saw to re-tile your
bathroom, or a bike for the weekend? Maybe you’re going on vacation and
could use a bigger tent? Whatever it is, if you can’t see yourself using it over
and over again, check to see if anyone nearby has the item for rent or trade on
www.neighborgoods.net.
● Stop staying in overpriced hotels. Find a beautiful home on www.airbnb.com
instead! Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, you’re sure to save
big bucks on accommodations.
● Rent a car or get a ride for cheap. Stop letting taxi drivers price gouge you
with constantly running meters and get a ride from www.uber.com or
www.lyft.com. If you need a car for a few days, rent one using
www.relayrides.com.
● Rent a parking space. Never pay a high daily rate to fight for spaces in a
crowded garage again! Rent a spot for as long as you need it through
www.justpark.com or www.parkingspotter.com.
● Learn new skills for cheap. Pad your business skills or learn a new piece of
software through a cheap but comprehensive online course. www.udemy.com
and www.skillshare.com are great places to start looking.
Migrating your career into the Uber Economy might seem intimidating, but the
multiple benefits are more than worth it. Escaping the nine to five lifestyle and the
employee-employer relationship has immediate and tangible benefits.
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You’ll feel in control of your life, your job, and your time in a way you never thought
possible. You’ll have the flexibility to do the things you want, and the income to make the
lifestyle you desire a reality.
Sell Power Back to the Grid
Join the Uber Economy’s energy grid! Thanks to developing technology and the
increasing number of clean energy incentives, you’re no longer bound to paying
ridiculous energy rates to a local electric “cartel”. Estimates by solar companies show you
can save almost $9,000 per year with a typical 77.8 kilowatt solar system.
Solar systems aren’t cheap, costing upwards of $35,000 for a residential setup, but if
you consider how quickly that cost is recouped in energy savings it’s quite an attractive
prospect.
©istockphoto.com/hansenn
State tax incentives vary wildly, with some states offering significant financial
benefits, California, for example, allows you to exempt solar energy equipment from
your property taxes and will reimburse you a percentage of the equipment and
installation costs. For a comprehensive list of state-by-state solar policies, head over to
http://www.cleanenergyauthority.com/solar-rebates-and-incentives/.
Solar isn’t the only option either, consider these other alternatives to conventional grid
power…
Fuel Cell systems, an emerging energy alternative, use a chemical reaction between
hydrogen and oxygen to provide electricity and heat water. Fuel cell companies claim
you can slash energy costs by 50% annually. Some states will give you up to a $500 tax
credit too! Check out http://www.fuelcellenergy.com/ for more info.
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A Manifesto for the “Uber Economy”
Geothermal heat pumps are another popular option, EnergyStar reports their heat
pumps are 30-45% more efficient than conventional energy systems and they usually
cost less than $5,000. Depending on your energy costs, you could recoup the cost of the
pump within months! You can also apply for a tax credit, up to 30% of the pump’s cost.
The best part? Thanks to the Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA), energy
companies in the U.S. are legally obligated to buy excess power generated by renewable
energy systems. Stop paying your energy company, make them pay you!
Redefine Your “Primary Residence”
Depending on how much money you earn and where you live, you might currently
be giving away a majority of your verifiable income to the state and federal government.
You shouldn’t be! That’s your hard earned money!
What’s the simplest way to cut both your income and property taxes by a sizeable
percentage? Easy. Redefine your primary residence.
The courts actually find it very difficult to define “principal” or “primary” residence,
and in cases of insurance fraud have always examined the facts on a case-by-case basis.
The result is that a primary residence is usually just defined as the home you own in
which you live “most of the time”. There’s all kinds of fuzzy rules however, you can still
rent out your primary residence, take vacations while still technically living there, and if
you sell the house you can still claim it as a primary residence for a number of years after
the sale.
Think about it. You could spend six months out of the year living in a state with
significantly reduced (or nonexistent) income tax while taking frequent vacations. If
you’ve moved your career to the Uber Economy, you should be able to easily continue
work and you can rent out the residence while you’re away.
Depending on the location of your “primary residence” you could save thousands.
Here’s some of the best states to live in based on taxes:
● Florida has no state income tax. Their sales and property taxes are higher to
compensate but it’s still in the top five cheapest states based on cost of living.
● Washington state has average taxes at 45% lower than the national average!
It also has no state income tax! Residents have voted against higher tax bills
repeatedly, and the state still ranks fourth in the nation for infrastructure and
education.
● South Dakota taxes its residents 46% less than the nation’s average, has no
income tax, and ranks third in the nation on tax return amounts.
● Nevada averages 52% less taxes than the rest of the nation. Their average tax
bill is around $3,400 (compare that to California’s average of around $9,500).
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● Wyoming has the best taxes in the U.S. Their average tax bill is just $2,400 with
tax rates 66% less than the national average! They also rank #1 in infrastructure,
education, health, safety, and pollution.
Want to figure out exactly how much you could save? There’s a handy calculator at
http://www.savetaxesbymoving.com/ which also calculates how much you’d make
investing that savings until retirement.
©istockphoto.com/Newbird
Investing in the Uber Economy
If you’ve already got some extra income rolling in, you might want to think about
investing. I’m not talking typical investments like stocks or property either. The Uber
Economy gives you the tools to directly invest in businesses and products you think
have a profitable future, allowing you to support worthwhile projects while directly
controlling where your money goes.
● “Like kickstarter, but with equity” https://wefunder.com/ is a site where you
can pick and choose startups you like to invest in. From home-chef tools to
virtual reality prototypes, wefunder has it all.
● https://www.acorns.com/ is investing made easy. Acorns is an app which
allows you to round up to the nearest dollar during credit card purchases and
invest the change. You get to customize your portfolio with an easy-to-use
interface, selecting from differing risk levels with proportional returns.
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A Manifesto for the “Uber Economy”
● https://www.crowdfunder.com/ allows anyone to invest globally with
companies ranging from startups to big-time business enterprises.
● http://www.fundable.com/ allows for rewards based and equity based
donations with over $210 Million already contributed to fund projects like hightech home security solutions and photo-sharing mobile apps.
● https://www.equitynet.com/ has been around since 2005 and has a huge
database of investment opportunities. Build your own portfolio by investing in
apps, startup tech companies, and more!
● https://www.lendingclub.com/ is the Uber Economy alternative to bank
lending. It is simply a service that connects lenders and borrowers, also called
peer-to-peer investment. Almost anyone can quickly and easily use this service
and see some guaranteed return.
Escape the Bank
©istockphoto.com/Bolkins
Now that you’re making more and saving more, you’ll want to keep all that hardearned cash safe from the banking moguls that want to pick it apart with ridiculous fees
and hidden charges. In the first quarter of 2015, Wells Fargo made over 90 million in ATM
fees! Don’t be a part of that number! Escape the financial tyranny of the big banks in
favor of the Uber Economy’s banking system.
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Chances are you keep most of your savings in the form of some kind of fiat currency.
All this really means is that the money in your wallet isn’t backed by a physical
commodity like gold, but by the faith society collectively places in the government and
bank issuing that currency.
The shady underside of this system is that the value of your cash is determined
mostly by how much of it is in supply, and that banks constantly devalue your savings by
creating money arbitrarily through loans and stimulus packages.
Wouldn’t you rather invest in a monetary system designed to avoid this financial congame? A system of currency that’s actually deflationary rather than inflationary, made to
actually increase in value over time?
You may have heard about Bitcoin in the paper or on the news. Unfortunately, a lot
of info about this “new currency” is shrouded in technical jargon that can be difficult to
wrap your head around. The overall concept, however, is really quite simple.
Bitcoin Basics
Bitcoin is a digital “cryptocurrency” which uses advanced mathematics to keep track
of all the “bitcoins” in its network. It is many times more secure and resistant to fraud
than the software used by credit card companies and banks.
It also allows its users the option of complete anonymity, even though every Bitcoin
transaction is publicly viewable. In fact, you can head over to http://blockchain.info
right now to watch every Bitcoin transaction in real time. You’ll see some accounts have
names attached to them, while others are just a randomized string of characters.
Bitcoin is non-localized, and has no loyalty to any governing body or corporation,
unlike fiat currency it can’t be manipulated by any “big bank” and the amount of bitcoins
increases incrementally over a period of time. This eliminates the “necessary evils” of
disproportionate inflation. It also means that the value of a bitcoin is determined by its
users, who determine that value simply by pricing their products.
If a majority of Bitcoin users decide one bitcoin is equal to one loaf of bread, that’s its
value, no one has the power to step in and tell you a loaf of bread is actually worth 2.5
bitcoins. This is obviously a simplified example, but that’s the essence of how Bitcoin sets
its value, by the collective “voting” of merchants and customers who use it to exchange
goods and services.
You might be wary of investing in such a young currency, but Bitcoin has shown
resilience as a monetary system. Over 50,000 online merchants from Amazon to Target
accept bitcoin as a method of payment, and venture capitalists have already entered the
Bitcoin market in droves (with some predicting Wall Street will soon follow).
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A Manifesto for the “Uber Economy”
©istockphoto.com/Petar Chernaev
Bitcoin: What are the practical advantages?
For a much more detailed breakdown of what Bitcoin is and how it works, check out
our bonus White Paper Banking Smarter: The Uber Economy’s Low-Cost, Big-Reward
Answer to Outrageous Fees. If you’re interested in learning how Bitcoin can start saving
you money now and how to quickly start accepting bitcoins as payment, keep reading.
Here’s a few immediate advantages to using this “alternative” currency.
●Bitcoin lowers or eliminates merchant fees and other transaction costs.
●Bitcoin allows transfers anywhere, ignoring the annoyance and danger of
arbitrary geo-political barriers.
● Bitcoin is available 24/7. No bank holidays or closing times.
● A Bitcoin account is free to open.
● Bitcoin offers the option of complete anonymity, even from the government.
● Bitcoin allows for complex transactions (escrow, deposit insurance, guarantees,
mediation) with secure cryptographic support.
●Bitcoin prevents arbitrary restrictions of goods and services that may be
purchased.
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● By using Bitcoin, you’re supporting a monetary system that is democratic,
egalitarian, and does not stifle free-trade.
If you’re already thinking about going the route of an online merchant and setting up
an account to sell goods through a site like www.alibaba.com or www.etsy.com why not
add the option of accepting Bitcoin as payment? Many merchants who understand the
benefits even offer discounts for buying in Bitcoin.
Remember, Bitcoin payments can be completely anonymous if you want to keep them
that way. As long as you’re not in a hurry to transfer bitcoins back into fiat currency, that
income is technically “secret” and very difficult for anybody interested in taxing it to
verify.
A Quick Guide to Accepting Bitcoin
In order to get started accepting bitcoins as payment for goods and services, you’ll
first need a place to store them. This is called a “Bitcoin wallet” and functions very
similarly to your current bank account.
Two of the most popular Bitcoin wallets are the “Bitcoin Core” downloadable client
(from www.bitcoin.org) and “MyWallet” which is an online wallet available through
http://blockchain.info.
Both services are completely free and only take a few minutes to set up. You’ll be
prompted through a simple set of instructions which mostly just involve choosing a
password and optionally entering an e-mail address to help recover a lost account.
Your Bitcoin wallet will generate a pair of “public keys” which you give out to others
to accept payments in Bitcoin and “private keys” which are used to access bitcoins you
have already earned. You can even store your bitcoins offline by copying down your
private keys on paper and keeping them somewhere secure. Some people even memorize
their private keys for maximum security!
Some merchant sites, like https://www.shopify.com/, allow you to accept Bitcoin as
payment right off the bat. If you’re running your own merchant website or small-business,
you can easily set up an account with a third-party site like https://bitpay.com/ or
https://www.coinbase.com/. You can even accept bitcoins during face-to-face transactions if your customers have a smartphone!
Still not 100% sold on Bitcoin? Consider this:
● Bitcoin payments have less risk of fraud or identity theft than conventional
online payment options. They’re more secure, and anonymous, what’s not to
like?
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A Manifesto for the “Uber Economy”
● Bitcoin is used globally. There’s no trade restrictions on Bitcoin, and no
exchange fees need be paid by international customers. Just by accepting
Bitcoin as payment, you could potentially reach a whole new customer base.
● Bitcoin sidesteps transaction costs, merchant fees, even taxes!
Keep your money safe from hackers, thieves and big banks. Don’t let them take what’s
rightfully yours! It only takes a few minutes to set up, and the benefits last forever.
A Healthier Way of Life
We’ve seen how the Uber Economy offers the opportunity to earn the income you
deserve, take control of your own schedule, and keep those extra funds safe from greedy
banking practices.
You can now continue to maximize those extra funds and free time by using more
aspects of the Uber Economy. Vacation for free, take control of your health in a positive
way, and enrich your mind without spending a penny!
©istockphoto.com/deimagine
The Freedom to Learn
You might be thinking about using some of that new free time to go back to school, or
learning a new, practical skill. Fortunately, the Uber Economy gives us the tools to learn
anything, from chemistry to home building, no matter where we are.
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In addition to the affordable online classrooms we talked about earlier, you can find a
surprising amount of free online learning material:
● http://ocw.mit.edu/ is a free database of online courses compiled by
professors at MIT. In addition to traditional online courses, you can find audio/
video lectures and online textbooks in multiple languages.
● http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses offers a list of over 1,000 free
audio and video lectures from top universities.
● http://uopeople.edu/ is a tuition-free, accredited online university. You
can earn a degree in a number of fields, only paying a small fee for exam
processing. This fee can even be waived by applying for a scholarship.
● Already well known as a wellspring of knowledge, http://www.ted.com/ has
a huge database of videos on a variety of cutting edge, educational topics.
● https://www.creativelive.com/ offers free online classes geared towards
artistic pursuits like photography, writing, and design.
● A true product of the Uber Economy, the University of Reddit at
http://ureddit.com/ is a large database of shared knowledge, collected
to promote free-intellectualism.
Tips for sidestepping expensive tickets for museums and conferences:
● You can attend conferences for free by applying for a press pass. Even if
you don’t work “for the press” you can easily become a journalist for a
website that runs off “contributed content” like www.Forbes.com or
www.huffingtonpost.com simply by signing up and submitting work.
● You can attend free “unconferences” or “barcamps” where everyone is
welcome as long as they help with a teaching session. You can find a list of
barcamps all over the world at http://barcamp.org.
● http://freemuseumday.org/ has a list of free or discounted museums in the U.S.
● A huge list of free walking tours all over the world is available at
http://www.priceoftravel.com/1835/list-of-free-walking-tours-around-theworld/ and http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/.
● If you spend time in Great Britain, the British Museum offers free and cheap
tours and talks every day! Could be a good way to spend your AirBnb
vacation… Find a list at http://www.britishmuseum.org/visiting/planning_
your_visit/free_tours_and_talks.aspx.
● The National Geographic has a good list of historic sights that are completely
free http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/free-to-see/historic-sitesus/.
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A Manifesto for the “Uber Economy”
A “New You”
©istockphoto.com/Tanjamy
Your newfound free time gives you a chance to focus on something very important,
your health. But did you know that by simply “eating smarter” you can feel better and
save money at the same time?
Here’s some ways you can easily and immediately start saving money on groceries
while simultaneously improving your overall health:
● Stop wasting! On average in the U.S., we waste 20 pounds of food per month.
That’s a big chunk you could save, simply by changing some basic habits.
Figure out what you typically consume and show restraint when shopping. You
can always make an extra run to the store, but spoiled food can’t be redeemed.
● Buy locally abundant foods. Start spending time at your local farmer’s market,
scouting for seasonal deals. Vegetables and fruits that are in season usually
see a price drop. Plus, you’ll be directly supporting your local Economy and
avoiding a lot of nasty, chemical preservatives found in packaged food.
● Start at home. Use what you have! Before going food shopping, always check
to see what you can make from what’s left in the fridge. Remember, any food
that goes bad is dollars down the drain.
● Cut down on dining out. Sitting down at a good restaurant can be a great way
to wind down after a long week, but try to avoid doing it too often. Studies
show that Americans spend as much eating out as they do buying groceries.
Treat yourself, but don’t go overboard!
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● Use simple, whole grains as the base for meals. Build dinner around brown
rice or quinoa and breakfast around whole grain oats and flour. A typical
serving of whole grains can cost as little as twenty-five cents! There’s tons
of options for whole grains that pair with almost anything. Look into wheat
berries, groats, and hulled barley for some new cooking inspiration.
● Eat plants whenever possible. Vegetables, fruit, nuts, grains, beans and other
“plant foods” are not only better for our bodies and less fattening, they usually
cost about 20% less than ingredients for meat based meals!
● Buy local, pastured dairy and meat. Organic versions of these foods will
generally be more nutritious and of a higher caliber than store-bought
counterparts. You’ll be less tempted to go out and spend money when you’ve
got such good ingredients at home.
● Grow your own produce! You don’t need a lot of land to farm veggies or herbs.
The family who runs http://urbanhomestead.org/ claims to harvest over three
tons of food annually from a 1/10 acre plot. They’ve got lots of tips on how to
do it too!
● Rent your garden. If you’re not into growing yourself, you can use the Uber
Economy to get someone to do it for you! http://www.landshare.net/ connects
growers with people who have land to share. If you’ve got a green thumb and
just need some extra space, rent a garden!
● Snack smart. Instead of curbing your appetite with a $2.50 bag of chips, make a
big batch of homemade chips or pretzels from flour, water, and salt. You could
also get a big bag of popping corn for virtually nothing, or roast your leftover
pumpkin seeds during pie season and Halloween!
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©istockphoto.com/Highwaystarz-Photography
● Consider using a tool
of the Uber Economy
to have your groceries
delivered. Sure, you’ll
have to pay a small
delivery fee, but
getting a few smaller
deliveries over one
huge shopping trip
could keep you from
wasting leftovers.
https://www.
instacart.com/ and
www.peapod.com are
two popular options.
A Manifesto for the “Uber Economy”
Take an “Uber Economy Vacation”
Using the Uber Economy you can significantly cut down the costs of a vacation while
simultaneously “upgrading” your options for transportation and lodgings. You can easily
come by airline tickets and beautiful private homes to stay in for free!
Here’s a few tips on taking the cheapest (and best) vacation of your life:
● Funnel select transactions through credit cards to get free frequent flier miles.
If you have steady income and no problem paying bills, you can use a few
credit cards for select purchases, solely for the purpose of acquiring frequent
flier miles. There’s an entire website; http://thepointsguy.com/ dedicated to
this. Some people report they were able to earn 100,000 miles in a year, just by
using the right cards for the right purchases.
● Join one (or more) homeswapping networks. By signing up with a website
like https://www.homeexchange.com/ or https://homelink-usa.org/ you can
stay virtually anywhere for free! You and another family or individual simply
agree to trade homes for the duration of your vacation. The safety of your home
and property is backed up by the fact that you are responsible for the safety of
their home and property. You could trade homes…stay in a beachfront manor in
Spain next weekend…and a cozy New England villa the weekend after that! All
for free!
● Eat with the locals. Replace those overpriced, touristy restaurants with
a local, home-cooked meal on the cheap or free! Some sites like
http://www.eatwith.com/ specialize in travelers wanting to taste real, local
cuisine and allow you to hire a local chef to cook at your lodging. You can
also find local homes hosting meals on https://www.vizeat.com/,
http://eatwithalocal.socialgo.com/, or https://plateculture.com/.
● Never pay full price. Why would you want to when apps like
https://www.groupon.com/ offer 40% to 60% off great restaurants all
over the world. You can also check out http://dealnews.com/, which
compiles a list of discount goods, airfare discounts, and hotel deals.
● Get paid to stay in a beautiful home. With http://www.luxuryhousesitting.
com/, you can travel all over the world and get paid to stay in luxury homes.
You don’t have to be alone either, many homeowners allow couples or families
to house sit.
And there’s more to come…
If one thing’s for sure, it’s that the Uber Economy is here to stay. It’s a new way
of operating in society, of working smarter not harder. The tools offered to us by new
technology are redefining our workplaces and ways of doing business, allowing many of
us much more freedom and control over our own lives.
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Hopefully now you’ve seen how moving your career, your money, and your lifestyle
into the Uber Economy has immediate benefits. You might also have a sense of how much
this Uber Economy is growing on a daily basis. Although billions of dollars freely flow
through this system, new platforms and ideas are taking shape every hour, and the Uber
Economy continues to adapt and evolve.
That’s where your subscription to Independence Monthly comes in handy. Every month,
we deliver directly to your inbox a digital copy of Independence Monthly, packed full of
the latest ideas and tools from the frontline of the Uber Economy. We help you navigate
the new and exciting opportunities available to you and show you how to best take
advantage of this new reality.
Already, the Uber Economy offers a plethora of benefits, and we can expect to see the
list of advantages and ways to save grow in the future. So, don’t wait any longer! Take
your life back from the vicious, top-down system monopolizing your time, money and
happiness.
It’s time to escape “America Inc.” and live well once again. And now, with the Uber
Economy, you can. We’re excited to have you on board.
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A Manifesto for the “Uber Economy”