Courtney lives in Seattle (me too!) and she provides a service that is suuuuuper important to us Seattleites; she walks and cares for our fur babies. We actually have more dogs than children living in the city limits, which means fur nannies are in high demand – read on about Courtney’s story, because it’s not *just* about her work, I admire her mindset about acquiring this much-needed side gig.
Tell us a little bit about yourself: age, where you live, where you grew up, what you do, etc.
My name is Courtney and I’m 28 years old. I’ve lived in Seattle, Washington, for the past three years. I love it here and consider it my second home; my first home is Minnesota–Twin Cities area. I’ve lived a few places in between here and there, including wine country in California and in the Bayou of Louisiana. I am currently in Marketing; my background consists of studying English literature and slinging coffee for five years.
What’s your money moment? Briefly describe what happened.
I consider myself career-minded. Like many adults who try to adult and have expendable income for fun and savings, I started brainstorming ways to make extra money. The catch was whatever side gig I chose needed to be a reasonable time commitment (read: not another 40-hour a week job) and fun. I found dog sitting on Rover and was approved as a contractor through them. Just like that I was making money walking dogs, feeding dogs, picking up dog… well, just everything to do with enjoying the company of dogs. I’ve been doing it for about two and a half years; it’s been an amazing experience and an excellent side gig for vacation money and savings.
What was your money mindset before this happened? (How did you feel about money in general?) How did your money mindset change after this happened?
Prior to this I was daunted by making extra income. I didn’t think that doing so would be an enjoyable endeavor. I was worried that I would be tired all of the time working two “jobs”, which may have been why I took a while to actually look for a side gig. Money has been a stressor for me for a long time–I had enough to pay the bills but wanted to comfortably travel and save without sacrifice. Making side income through Rover has changed my perception completely. I can grab a dog walk or two on my lunch break in Seattle and make enough to go out to dinner that week. Penny pinching has become a thing of the past.
What’s the biggest lesson, takeaway, or aha moment you got from this experience?
You CAN make money doing something you love/are good at. It may not be primary income, through dog sitting certainly can be! You also don’t need to labor extensively to make extra money. Get creative, make money exercising, pick up chores that other people don’t have time to do for extra cash… the possibilities really are endless.
What would you most like people to know about money?
Don’t be afraid of it. It’s very beneficial, but it’s also not the key to happiness. Use it wisely and the benefits are grand.
Have you had a “Money Moment” that taught you something about money, yourself, or your money mindset? I’d love to help you build on that money moment! I always say that you can’t just “work on your finances” once and be done…it’s an ongoing process. So come over to my website and get access to an entire library of free resources!
