I lost $180,000 in Wall Street retirement savings. Now, I drive Uber and Lyft 75 hours a week.

I lost $180,000 in Wall Street retirement savings. Now, I drive Uber and Lyft 75 hours a week. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Bill Lewis, 58, an Uber and Lyft driver who lives in the Poconos and has completed about 43,000 trips. He previously worked on Wall Street and owned a Nestlé Toll House franchise. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.I'm 58 and working harder than I ever have. I drive for Uber and Lyft seven days a week, about 75 hours in total.I didn't expect to be in this position.I once had about $180,000 in my 401(k), built over a career that included more than two decades on Wall Street.I started as a runner at the American Stock Exchange in 1989, eventually became a broker, and was laid off in 2013 as algorithms reduced the need for people on the trading floor.After Wall Street, I decided to try something completely different and go into business for myself. Bill Lewis worked on Wall Street from 1989 to 2013. Business Insider I put all of that retirement money into a Nestlé Toll House franchise, a retail dessert bakery chain. I didn't know how to run a business and thought buying a franchise would help because I could rely on the company's structure.The sales weren't the problem. In my first year, the franchise saw strong sales growth compared with the year before. However, it felt like the mall was simply too expensive for me to turn a profit.I ran the business for four years. By the end, I had made less from those four years than the $7 I earned on my first Uber ride. I keep driving for the freedomI make about $75,000 a year driving for Uber and Lyft. The main thing keeping me in gig work is the freedom.If something happens at home, I can stop driving. If my brakes need repairs, I don't have to call a boss. I've always liked driving, and I've learned how to earn a living doing it.Still, I know how quickly things can change. Lewis regrets tapping into his 401(k). Business Insider I definitely regret putting my retirement savings into the Nestlé Toll House franchise. That decision is the reason I'm working harder than ever now.If I hadn't put the money into the business, I'd probably still have my retirement fund and be a lot better off.So for now, I keep driving. There are parts of the work I value and parts that frustrate me. The biggest is the way Uber treats drivers.I've started taking more Lyft rides latelyI started driving for Uber in 2017, and I've learned that making a living at this means being selective.Uber gives me about eight to 10 seconds to look at a ride and calculate what I'd make per hour, consider the mileage and return trip, and decide whether it's worth taking.That's part of my frustration with Uber. Lewis hasn't accepted an Uber trip to NYC in 5 years. Business Insider I understand that Uber is a business and needs to make money. I worked on Wall Street, so I'm not against big business. I just want drivers to be treated fairly.It's frustrating when it feels like the company has all the information, while I have seconds to figure out whether a ride makes financial sense for my bottom line.I've seen offers of around $80 to drive 75 miles to Brooklyn, for example. Once I factor in the return trip, gas, and about $25 in tolls, I could actually lose money by accepting that trip. That's why I haven't taken an Uber trip into New York City in five years.I've gotten better at protecting my bottom line by taking only rides that meet my $30-an-hour target and using Lyft more often.Lyft shows me an estimated hourly rate for each ride, which makes it easier to quickly identify offers that meet my target.Since becoming more selective about the Uber rides I choose and taking more Lyft rides, I've increased my pay by almost 25% since earlier this year.An Uber spokesperson told Business Insider, "We're committed to making Uber the best platform for drivers and regularly engage with them on their experience. Drivers have full control over whether to accept or decline any offer that's made to them. Where Upfront Fares are live, drivers see key details before accepting a trip, including exactly how much they'll earn and the rider's destination, so they can decide whether a trip works for them." Read next Jessica Orwig is a senior editor at Business Insider, where she collaborates with reporters, editors, and producers across teams to shape, write, edit, and publish stories that connect with a global audience. While her roots are in science and technology journalism, her work today spans business, careers, culture, and the big ideas shaping the future.She earned her Master’s in Science & Technology Journalism from Texas A&M University and holds a Bachelor’s in Astronomy & Physics from The Ohio State University. Throughout her career, she’s helped lead coverage on everything from space exploration and climate change to innovation, the future of work, and evolving cultural trends.Career HighlightsLed coverage on scientific milestones, including:Blue Origin's inaugural New Glenn launchIntuitive Machine's groundbreaking moon landing for the USSpaceX’s Polaris Dawn historic spaceflight NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Historic FlybyJapan’s SLIM lunar landingThe first image of a black holeIndia’s historic Moon landingSpaceX’s inaugural Starship-Super Heavy launchDiscovery of gravitational wavesNASA’s Pluto flybyReported on breaking news and scientific discoveries, including:Microplastics in the human brainPeregrine Mission One’s failed flightThe Palisades firesSpaceX Starship explosionsDark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument’s 3D map of the universe and what it revealsA local cosmic void that shouldn’t existThe Boeing Starliner missionMexico City’s water crisisEarth’s mysterious inner core behaviorPopular stories she’s edited on science and health:What it will take to modernize the American grid and usher in the clean-energy revolutionI study toxic microplastics. Here's how I protect myself and my kids at home.A mega-earthquake could strike the Pacific Northwest any day — and we're not preparedFlying is about to become even more miserableWhy the US can’t send humans to MarsThe world's most popular banana faces extinction but scientists' new creation could help save itScientists finally think they know where the most dangerous part of this US earthquake zone is and it's bad news for WashingtonOne of Mt. Everest's deadliest passages is growing even more treacherousJupiter's moon Europa generates enough oxygen to keep a million people alive for a day, NASA saysPopular stories she’s written and/or edited on careers, culture, life, and business:He weighed over 400 pounds as an FBI undercover agent — and it became his best disguiseA former FBI Special Agent who infiltrated the Italian Mafia, Mexican cartels, and Russian and Asian organized crime groups says he fears 1 group above the restHe was diagnosed with colon cancer at 31 in prison, and his survival odds weren't great. Now 59, he says spiraling is pointless.I stopped bartending full-time to sell ice. My company now makes nearly $3 million a year, catering to Michelin-starred restaurants in New York City.My dad ran a food cart and called it the 'worst business.' I decided to follow in his footsteps anyway.I moved from the US to Rome for a slower pace of life, but after 7 years I've realized I'll never fully adjust to some Italian waysAfter losing too many bidding wars for a home in LA, I bought a 5-bedroom house in the suburbs. I quickly realized it was a mistake.We bought our dream home in Colorado, but wildfires and home insurance trends had us selling 1.5 years laterA woman who retired early at 58 thought she was ready with over $500,000 in savings. A few years later, it was gone.I've made over $40,000 selling plush dolls I scoop from claw machines. Here's how I learned to beat the game and turn my hobby into a profitable side hustle.A 17-year-old designed a cheaper, more efficient drone. The Department of Defense just awarded him $23,000 for it.Yukon gold miners are unearthing mummified ancient creatures and truckloads of fossils from the Ice Age. Take a look.Archaeologists are finding mysterious ancient objects on Norway's melting glaciers. Take a look.I'm an American mom in Italy. When I couldn't help my daughter with her homework, I realized how isolated I felt. Margaret is a NYC-based video producer for Business Insider's documentary series, So Expensive.She graduated from NYU, where she directed, produced, and edited her thesis film that explores Philippine history and Filipino-American identity through theater. She's previously worked on Insider's How Real Is It, as well as Science Insider's Debunked.At the heart of her work is to tell accessible, thought-provoking visuals stories. ride-hailing Uber Lyft More Careers