Side hustle that helped Aussie book $15k trip of a lifetime to US using Airtasker

While travel has been put on the backburner for many due to the cost-of-living, one Aussie thought outside the box in order to organise a trip of a lifetime.

Leela Parker was struggling to save anything on her current salary, so the 39-year-old turned to Airtasker, and was able to pull together $15k for holiday to the US.

And she took her mum Carolyn, who hadn’t been outside Australia for 40 years.

READ MORE: The best cities in the world for a ‘workcation’ have been revealed

Leela signed up as a ‘Tasker’ and completed odd jobs at weekends to earn extra cash and make her mother-daughter holiday a reality.

“My mother is a saint and at 62-years-old is raising my two nieces. I wanted to do something nice for her as all her time, money, and energy goes into that,” she says.

Leela tells 9Travel she first heard about the site from a friend when she was trying to move some heavy furniture.

“She told me to post it on Airtasker and get someone to help. I had no idea what she was talking about so I looked into it. I posted my task and had someone come to help me shift some furniture. I spoke to the guy who helped me out and he said he used it do earn extra money in addition to his normal job and I went from there,” she tells us.

After six months of extra work, Leela built up her savings and booked two tickets to see LA, Vegas and New York. The pair even bumped into celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay while on their three-week holiday.

READ MORE: How to visit the locations in Emily in Paris

“New York was the highlight, seeing Broadway shows, eating at fantastic restaurants,” she says.

“Mum is a big Beatles fan so we saw the Dakota Building and Central Park where the Imagine mosaic is located. Top of the Rockefeller Center at night was so memorable as well.”

“The Grand Canyon was amazing, we did a helicopter ride as part of the tour.”

And they’re already planning their next trip together to Europe, because Leela was able to earn extra money doing flat pack assembly tasks, as well as random jobs like trimming a kitten’s nails and installing batteries in motorised blinds.

READ MORE: These are the most Instagrammable sunset spots around the world

What she earns per task does depend on each situation.

“When a task is posted, you’re able to submit your quote for the task. For flatpacks like TV cabinets and sideboards which are generally the most common task I perform are $90 upwards,” Leela says.

“I also take into consideration the location from where I am and how complex the task is. I’ve built full walk in wardrobes which I’ve quoted a lot more for. They take more time and are more strenuous.”

The best cities in the world for a ‘workcation’ have been revealed

More Aussies than ever are turning to side hustle opportunities to supplement their income as the cost-of-living bites. Airtasker has more than 6.5 million users across the local marketplace.

“Seeing people use their skills to make extra cash and live out their dreams is what Airtasker is all about. It’s great to see Leela use the marketplace to earn extra cash as and when she needs, as opposed to having to take on a second job that would be hard to keep up with,” Founder and CEO of Airtasker, Tim Fung, shares.

And Leela can’t recommend it enough.

“I like the flexibility of being able to work on the platform when it suits me or I need some extra cash for travel or a bigger purchase,” she tells us.

“The tasks aren’t all physical or furniture building either. I’ve done such a different range of tasks and I’ve also met so many people from different walks of life.

“It’s been such a fun positive experience for me and encourage anyone to take a look and see what types of tasks are on there.”

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest travel news and deals via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.