{"id":84749,"date":"2025-02-12T22:53:07","date_gmt":"2025-02-12T22:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/business\/finance\/remember-that-you-have-no-job-security-with-gig-economy-apps\/"},"modified":"2025-02-12T22:53:07","modified_gmt":"2025-02-12T22:53:07","slug":"remember-that-you-have-no-job-security-with-gig-economy-apps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=84749","title":{"rendered":"Remember That You Have No Job Security With Gig Economy Apps"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The other day, I received an email from Marketforce that confused me. For some reason, all of the secret shops I had scheduled for the month had been canceled by Marketforce. To make matters worse, when I logged into my account, I discovered that I couldn\u2019t view any available secret shops anymore. From the looks of it, Marketforce had terminated me.<\/p>\n

As a bit of background, Marketforce is a secret shopping app I\u2019ve used for the past seven or eight years. I\u2019ve used it primarily to get free food, receiving thousands of dollars worth of free food over the years in exchange for purchasing food from certain restaurants and filling out surveys about my experience. While I never intended for it to happen, Marketforce also became a significant source of side hustle income for me over the years, often being my third highest-paying side hustle in most months.<\/p>\n

Getting terminated by Marketforce hurts. For the last five years or so, Marketforce has become such an integral part of my life that I\u2019ve been eating at the same restaurants about every week. To lose all of that stings \u2013 it\u2019s like I\u2019ve lost part of my identity. Plus, I\u2019m going to have to start buying my own lunch again now.<\/p>\n

That being said, getting dropped by Marketforce like this does bring some important things to light that are always worth remembering when it comes to these types of apps.<\/p>\n

You Have No Job Security With These Apps<\/h2>\n

Perhaps the most important thing to remember with any of these apps is that you have absolutely no job security with them. Most of the apps I write about are gig economy apps which means you are an independent contractor and can be terminated from any of these apps for essentially any reason. Most of the time, if something happens, you\u2019re likely going to have no recourse.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I have no idea what I did that caused Marketforce to terminate me from the app. Perhaps they saw I was doing too many of the same secret shops over and over. Maybe the restaurants recognized me because I was coming in so often and ordering the same things. Maybe I did something else that angered them. Or it\u2019s possible I didn\u2019t do anything at all and they just wanted to clean house and let some new people in. Whatever it is that happened, Marketforce has no obligation to provide me with any additional information and I don\u2019t expect them to give me any follow-up or let me back onto the app.<\/p>\n

While there\u2019s little job security with these gig economy apps, it\u2019s probably worth remembering that your regular 9-5 also likely provides you with little job security. So unless you own your income source, you should always consider that your job security, as good as it might be, is never guaranteed. But when it comes to these gig economy apps, it\u2019s perhaps even less guaranteed.<\/p>\n

Always Be Prepared<\/h2>\n

That brings us to the second important thing to remember when it comes to these gig economy apps \u2013 you should always be prepared. You can do things well and never have an inkling of any issues. But if you\u2019re an independent contractor, you\u2019re always at risk of being terminated or having your account deactivated at any time. For that matter, you\u2019re always at risk even with a regular job.<\/p>\n

This is why it\u2019s so important to have backup plans. Having multiple backup plans is even better.<\/p>\n

So what are some of the backup plans I have in place? First, I maintain a large emergency fund. This is a basic strategy that everyone should do and since interest rates as I write this (in 2025) are not bad, it\u2019s really not a bad thing to have a decent amount set aside in cash. Whatever happens with me, I can easily cashflow multiple months (probably years honestly) with the cash I keep on hand.<\/p>\n

Second, having multiple income sources is another thing to do. If you\u2019re working in the gig economy, you probably already do this by accident, since you probably aren\u2019t only using one app. But even with a regular job, having multiple income sources is useful. For me, my income sources include this blog, YouTube, all of the gig economy apps I use, and my rental property. With so many income sources, even if I lose one thing, I still have other sources of income that can help me out.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re Going To Feel Like You Lost Part of Your Identity<\/h2>\n

Losing a gig economy app that I used regularly hurts. Even though it\u2019s just a secret shopping app, I was doing it so often and used it so much that it did feel like a part of me. I ate so much free food that losing these secret shops really does feel like I lost a part of myself.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not just me that\u2019s going to feel this absence. My kids were often getting in on these free lunches and dinners with me. There was a chicken place that I went to all the time because of this app that my kids regularly asked me when we were going there again. Now that I don\u2019t have free meals from this app, the chances that we go there and pay with my own money are essentially zero.<\/p>\n

Things that earn you money have a way of becoming a part of you. I spent years working as a lawyer and even though I haven\u2019t practiced law in over five years, it\u2019s still hard to separate myself from that part of my life. These gig economy apps might be silly things to some, but they really did become a part of my life. I\u2019ve fortunately been able to keep myself on most of the apps I use, but losing one like this still stings.<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n

When it comes to most types of work, you have to remember that it\u2019s usually only a business transaction. Most of the time, your employer really doesn\u2019t care about you \u2013 they pay you for your work and if they need to, they\u2019ll get rid of you too. These gig economy apps obviously don\u2019t care about you.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important to understand how tenuous our relationships with our jobs and income sources can be. You never know what the future will hold, so you always need to be ready.<\/p>\n

It sucks that I\u2019m not going to get my free food anymore from Marketforce. And there\u2019s also a hundred or more dollars per month of easy money that I\u2019ll miss out on. But this is the way the game is played. And it\u2019s why I have so many sources of income and backup options, just in case something like this happens.<\/p>\n

That being said, while I did lose Marketforce, I still have a lot of other secret shopping apps and websites I use, so I\u2019ll still get some free food each month. I just won\u2019t get as much as I used to. (For more info, check out my post:\u00a0Restaurant Secret Shopper Jobs \u2013 A Strategy To Eat For Free And Hack Your Food Expenses<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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