75 Easy & Legit Free Money Hacks to Earn Money Right Now

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If you want to earn some extra cash this year we’ve got 75+ free money hacks to help you stuff your wallet

Author: Kari Lorz, Certified Financial Education Instructor

Author: Kari Lorz – Certified Financial Education Instructor

There are tons of ways to earn free money online right now. Yet, it can be overwhelming. Which money hack is the best?

And you don’t want to get scammed, so how do you know which is a legit real money hack? Don’t worry; we’re going through legit free money hacks that you can use to stuff your wallet.

75 free money hacks

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may make a commission at no cost to you. Please read my full disclosure for more info

Look for the ✅ to see our picks for the best programs, apps, and sites to save money and earn you some free PayPal money!

What is a free money hack?

A free money hack is a method or technique to get extra cash with no outlay of money. But not all hacks work for everyone, and you may have to try a few before you find the best one for you. So don’t give up if the first one doesn’t work right away.

We’ll group each app/program into how you mainly earn money, but some of them overlap, where you can earn money multiple ways. We’ll only list them once by their main category.

Make money reading emails

Inbox Dollars

Inbox Dollars – is a free money hack that can earn you some extra cash each week if you are able and willing to read emails, take surveys, shop online (which we will explain how to do below), use coupons, sell your items on eBay.

When you want to shop, you start by visiting the Inbox Dollars website, where you can search for your desired product. You’ll then be given a list of approved retailers, and if you purchase from one of them through the InboxDollars portal, you’ll earn cashback.

The best part is, is that with Inbox Dollars, they pay straight into your PayPal account – everyone loves free PayPal money! Grab your free $5 sign-up bonus right here.

MyPoints

Mypoints – is another site that will pay you to read emails. They pay you in points that you can redeem for cash or prizes. They have a point system, so if you read their emails and click on the links within, it will count as extra points.

The more pages you explore during your time there (after signing up), the faster they add up, which means faster earning of free money. You can get a $10 Amazon card when you sign up right here and spend $20 online shopping.

How to open up a PayPal account:

If you don’t already have a PayPal account then no worries, you can easily sign up right now and immediately connect it to your game apps so you can start depositing real money today. Here’s how you open an account:

  • Go to the Sign Up page.
  • Choose the account type you want (personal or business, most likely you’ll choose a personal PayPal account) and click Sign Up Now.
  • Enter your information, including your email address, and next choose a password (it must contain at least eight characters and is case sensitive). You will need these to log in to your PayPal account.
  • Click Next.
  • Click Agree and Create Account.

Make easy money taking an online survey or sharing your opinion

Swagbucks

Swagbucks – is a free money hack that can earn you gift cards for doing the things you normally do online. They have thousands of ways to get points (called SB), which are redeemable for Amazon or PayPal Cash, and as with other sites – your account is easily updated on how many more points/credits you need before getting another gift card. Sign up now and get $5 free bonus!

Pogo

Pogo is a fun new cashback app where you scan your receipts and earn points. The cool thing about this app is that you can connect all your accounts to it, so you automatically earn points when you shop. Think of places like Target, Starbucks, Amazon, Kroger stores, and more!

You can also link your credit card to Pogo to earn even more points. Don’t worry; they use Plaid, a platform that all the big banks use for transferring info; no credit card info is stored with Pogo. When you link your cards, you never have to scan receipts; it does it for you.

You can also earn points by doing quick surveys (they’re super quick – maybe three questions max, and you’re done) and taking advantage of other money-saving offers. Or even by looking for a new side hustle in their app, as they can connect you with places that are looking for people just like you.

When you’re ready to cash out, you can choose an Amazon gift card or get cash via PayPal or Venmo. About 1,000 points equal a dollar, so it’s comparable to what the other apps pay, but there are more ways to earn with Pogo than the competition, in my opinion). 

You can sign up for Pogo right here and get your 300 point sign up bonus and start earning today!

Say More

SayMore, as it’s just as it appears, with no crazy gimmicks or flashy distractions; it’s just straight-up answering surveys and getting points that you can redeem for gift cards.

Sign up, fill out your info, and start taking surveys. You can earn $0.50-$3 per survey (on average), and you can cash out for your first rewards at $5. They have all the popular gift cards available, like Amazon, Starbucks, Apple, Target, Walmart, etc!

Again, you’ll need to do some prequalifying surveys to see if you’re a good match for the full survey, so knowing that going in is helpful to manage your time expectations.

Survey Junkie

Survey Junkie – is one of the most popular free money hacks out there. They pay you in cash or prizes for your opinions! The surveys are easy to do, and each offers a different reward, so it’s best to keep an eye on this site every once in a while because they have new ones added all the time.

Life Points

LifePoints – is a great community to take surveys, answer polls, and test products!

By sharing your insights and answers by answering surveys with brand partners, you can help improve products and services for people all around the world. As a LifePoints Community member, you can complete surveys, participate in games and competitions, and enter free giveaways.

In fact, just by signing up, you’ll earn ten free LifePoints! And by following them on social media, you can qualify to enter bonus points and enter win LifePoints giveaways.

Maru Springboard America

Maru Springboard America partners with organizations ranging from household brands, government bodies, not-for-profit organizations, and the media who want to better understand public opinion and inform their decision process.

When you fill out your profile (and answer the basic demographic section), be as transparent as possible, as this is how they match you with survey offers.

You need about 5000 points to redeem for a $50 gift card reward, and your reward will be delivered to your email in one week. Point values are specific to each survey you complete. ‘Survey A’ might be worth 200 points, ‘Survey B’ could be worth 50 points, and ‘Survey C’ may be a sweepstakes entry.

Branded Surveys

Branded Surveys – is a survey site that will pay you for your opinions on various topics. They have a wide variety of surveys to choose from, and they’re all pretty short – so it’s perfect if you don’t have a lot of time on your hands but want to make some extra money. You can redeem for lots of giftcard options, including Amazon, Apple, and PayPal.

join branded surveys

Reward Survey

Reward Survey – is a survey site that will pay you in points, which you can redeem for cash or prizes. This one has many different surveys to choose from, and they’re all pretty short – so it’s perfect if you don’t have a lot of time on your hands but want to make some extra money.

KashKick

KashKick – Earn Extra Cash Playing Games in Your PJs! Go to KashKick and get paid to…

  • Play Games
  • Complete surveys
  • Find a new side hustle
  • Earn sign-up bonus cash for services you need
  • And so much more!

Signup is quick and easy; just enter your name and email address and start making money by completing your first offer today. Get paid doing things you already do, right from your phone! And the best part: Come back tomorrow and make even more money. Cashout with only $10!

Join KashKick and get your share of the “Kash”!

Feature Points

FeaturePoints – is another GTP (get paid to) site where you can earn money by taking surveys, downloading and testing apps & games, and earning cashback when you shop online. They also offer fun scratch-offs where you can win 50,000 points instantly! On this platform, 600 points = $1.

Don’t forget that when you refer friends (and they sign up with your link), you earn 50% of the points that they earn! Don’t worry; it doesn’t come out of their wallet, FeaturePoints covers this payout from their side.

Opinion Inn

Opinion Inn – is similar to Opinion Outpost in that you earn points for surveys, and you can redeem for prizes or PayPal credit.

Opinion Outpost

Opinion Outpost – is one of the most popular survey sites because they payout quickly and in cash! You can redeem your points for Paypal Cash or Amazon Gift Cards, which is a pretty great deal.

Dscout

Dscout – is a site that pays you to answer questions, take pictures, record yourself talking about products or shopping experiences. You may even be chosen for a one-on-one interview.

Believe it or not, my husband was really successful at getting selected for interviews. He made over $600 and even got a free set of AirPods to review (when they did a product redesign and needed user feedback).

Shoppers Voice

Shoppers Voice – You can earn money in many ways with Shoppers Voice; you share your thoughts, answer surveys, test products, and get rewarded with free samples and coupons for your favorite brands.

Zap Surveys

ZapSurveys – is a survey site that will pay you for your opinions on a variety of different topics. This is a very easy platform, but it doesn’t pay as well as some of the other apps.

Quick Thoughts

QuickThoughts – is a mobile app that pays you to take surveys on the go! This one is perfect if you’re always out and about and have some free time. Some surveys pay up to $3, and activities can pay up to $5.

Attapoll

Attapoll works with companies from all over the world, having them create the best customer surveys. These surveys tend to pay higher if you fit the brand’s target market, so keep your eyes peeled for the payment amount on each survey.

You earn money by taking surveys, and you even get bonuses for referring your friends to the platform. You can cash out for giftcards, donate to your favorite charity or transfer money to your PayPal account!

Ysense

Ysense – With Ysense, you can earn money by answering surveys, performing tasks (watching videos, testing new services, signing up for websites, etc.). You can cash out for gift cards from your favorite stores like Target, Amazon, and Starbucks.

Earn money when you use a cashback app

Drop

Drop – Drop members earn points from shopping through the app and can instantly redeem rewards for popular brands. Members can also link their debit or credit card to earn points from select brands, eliminating the need to scan receipts or sign up for additional loyalty programs.

sign up with drop and earn rewards today

Rakuten

Rakuten – is one of the most popular sites for earning cash back on your purchases. They have a wide variety of retailers to choose from and often offer double or even triple cashback deals! It’s an easy way to make some extra money just by doing something you’re already doing. Grab your free $10 Welcome Bonus when you use this link!

TopCashBack

TopCashBack – is another site where you can earn cash back on your purchases. Every time you click through and purchase something from one of the 4,000 major retailers featured on TopCashback, the retailer pays them a commission for referring you to the product, and TopCash Backpasses 100% of this commission back to you; as ‘cashback.’

Dosh

Dosh – Dosh is a free cash back app that rewards you for shopping, dining out, and booking hotels. Some retailers offer upwards of 10% to 15% cash back. But you’ll also see some retailers offering as low as 1.5% cashback. You will need to link your credit or debit card to earn automatic rewards.

Tada

Tada – is similar to other sites, but you can earn money shopping in stores (by taking a picture of your receipt), answering short surveys, and shopping online with an extension. You can also earn money by referring others to the site. They have a nice variety of stores that offer cash back, including Amazon, Best Buy, Costco, and Walmart.

BeFrugal

BeFrugal – is a site that offers cash back on online purchases, dining out, and local deals. They also have an app that you can use to earn free gift cards by taking surveys or watching videos, answering polls, playing games, etc.

ReceiptHog

ReceiptHog – is another cash back app that allows you to upload receipts and earn points based on how much money you spend per month. Points can then be redeemed for cash via PayPal or gift cards from Amazon, Target, Walmart, etc.

Fetch

Fetch – Fetch Reward awards you with points for shopping and submitting your receipts with the app. Use your points to redeem gift cards from a wide variety of your favorite retailers and restaurants! I use Fetch, and it’s super easy and only takes a few seconds to upload your receipt.

P&G Everyday

P&G Everday – I didn’t realize this program existed until recently; it allows you to earn money when you buy their products. I received an email from them advertising they were offering $15 rebate on some of my recent purchases (Aveeno and Herbal Essences). So if you use their products (there are a ton of them), then this could be one of your most profitable money hacks! Oh, they also offer printable coupons for their products. So you can save money at the register and earn money back with a mail-in rebate!

P&G rebate offer

ShopSavvy

ShopSavvy – ShopSavvy is an app that you can use while you’re out in stores. You scan the barcode of an item you want, and it tells you where you can get it for the best price. If the store you’re at does price matching, you can use it right then to get the best deal at the register.

Amazon Shopper Panel

Amazon Shopper Panel – this is an app (iOS / Android), you’ll need to submit at least 10 receipts for purchases you’ve made within the past 30 days. In return, Amazon credits your account with $10 each month.

They say it’s by invitation only, but I’ve seen people get in just by going to the site and applying. Also, they limit signups somehow, either by location, demographic, etc. So you may be accepted immediately or you may be put on a waiting list.

Coinout

Coinout – this is an app that you can use to get cash back on your purchases. They partner with a variety of retailers, and as long as you have the receipt, you can scan it and earn money.

You can also link your credit or debit card to automatically earn rewards without having to submit receipts. You get extra points for linking your email, Walmart, Amazon, or Instacart account.

Bing Rewards

Bing Rewards – this is a program offered for Microsoft users. You can earn rewards for searching the web, taking quizzes, and more. You redeem your rewards for gift cards (Amazon, Starbucks, Target, etc.), Xbox Live memberships, and other prizes. You can even donate your rewards to local causes.

Shopkick

Shopkick – this is another app that you can use to earn rewards (“kicks”) when you walk into stores, scan barcodes of products, or make purchases (in-store or online). You can redeem your points for gift cards from Amazon, Target, Starbucks, and PayPal!

ReceiptPal

ReceiptPal – Here’s another receipt snap program. You can also connect your email & Amazon account and earn points too! By submitting receipts you’ll also be entered into sweepstakes for cash prizes! You can redeem points for Amazon and other retailer gift cards.

Get paid to have an app on your phone

Neilsen Panel

Neilsen Computer and Mobile Panel – This one is not a money hack, but we’re going to put it here because most people are unaware that they can get paid for using mobile apps. This app will pay you when you install and use the Nielsen Computer Mobile App on your smartphone. It’s completely free to join, and you just let it run. That’s it, free money for doing nothing!

Mobile Xpression

MobileXpression – Here’s another mobile app that will pay you to download it and forget about it. The company is doing market research on consumer behavior, so it runs in the background looking at what you look at and how long you spend on the pages. After just one week of using your phone (just as you normally would), you’ll get a $5 Amazon giftcard and keep on earning!

Save money when you shop

This is similar to the above category, but you’re saving money upfront, not getting it sent back to you after the purchase.

Capital One Shopping

Capital One Shopping – This is a free shopping browser extension that finds the best available coupon code for you to use and automatically applies it. It even tells you when you’re shopping on Amazon if there’s a better deal somewhere else.

They also have a watchlist feature that lets you know when an item goes on sale or the price drops. So if you’ve been saving up for that special something, purchase day may come sooner than you think! Plus, Capital One gives you shopping rewards, so you can earn on your favorite brands while you shop.

Slide

Slide is an online shopping portal where you get 4% cashback instantly. Their aim is to be the simplest & easiest cashback payment option – no fees, no restrictions, and no extra steps to redeem, just scan your Slide account (instore and online) as payment, and you are done.

You can even use your rewards credit card as a form of payment on Slide and get those rewards in addition to your Slide 4%. You can even opt to preload your Slide account and then earn an additional 1% cashback!

Slickdeals

Slickdeals is a browser extension that automatically finds and applies the best coupons to your online shopping cart. It’s free money, and all you have to do is install the extension!

If you’re shopping online (which everyone is these days), why wouldn’t you want to earn money at the same time? All you need to do is browse the deals, shop, and you collect cash back rewards points! The best part is that you can cash out to PayPal. They’ve given out more than $400,000 in rewards this year, and part of that could be yours!

What kind of offers can you find on Slickdeals? They have hundreds of deals every day – 50% off Acer laptops, a free $10 Target gift card when you use the Slickdeals portal, earn a $200 cash bonus with a new Capital One Quicksilver cash rewards card.  

These deals can change anytime, so if you find something, you need to jump on it!

MaxRewards

MaxRewards – This is an app that acts as a digital advisor. It keeps track of your cards, activates bonus categories for those cards, and maximizes your credit card benefits with personalized advice.

Don’t worry about security, they use bank-level encryption and you don’t need to input your credit card number, just what kind of card it is. They know what benefits each card has.

Honey

Honey is a browser extension that automatically finds and applies the best coupons to your online shopping cart. It’s free money, and all you have to do is install the extension! It’s very similar to the Capital One extension (I prefer that one) but to each, their own – choose which one you like best!

Target Circle

Target Circle – this is an app that you can use to save money on items while shopping inside your favorite Target store (digital coupons). They also offer special “circle offers”, which are special offers (usually category based i.e. – “25% off toys”) personalized to you. I’ve saved $569.19 over the past couple of years!

Earn cash playing games

This one is for all you gamers out there! You don’t need to feel that you’re wasting time zoning out gaming. You can now make money and have fun gaming at the same time! You’re not going to get rich doing this, but you can earn a few dollars while having fun.

✅ Solitaire Cube

This site pays you to play Solitaire. You can also earn money by referring your friends and completing offers. They have a variety of games available to choose from, and payment options include PayPal and gift cards.

Prize tournaments are not enabled in the following states: AR, CT, DE, IN, LA, ME, and SD.

Play Solitaire Cube now

Mistplay

Mistplay– This is another site that allows you to play games and earn money. You can also earn money by referring friends, completing offers, and watching videos. They have a variety of games available, so something for everyone. (This is only on Google Play).

Gamehag

Gamehag – Gamehag is another site that allows you to play fun games and earn money. They mainly have MMO games, where a massive amount of players can play together in the virtual world. And RPGs, which are Role-Playing Games, as well as puzzle and strategy games. You can also earn by completing quests and interacting with the community.

Jackpocket

Now this is a lottery ticket buying app. Don’t worry, it’s 100% legitimate, but since they always say “should be used for entertainment purposes only,” I’ve put it here in the gaming section. You can buy lottery tickets for Mega Millions, Powerball, and state-specific lotteries. You can auto-pick numbers, pick your own, or join a pool for better odds.

Play now in NY, NJ, TX, OH, CO, MA, MN, OR, AR, NM, NH, and Washington, D.C.

Earn Mode App

Earn Mode App is a great Android app if you’re looking to have fun and earn free giftcards at the same time, which, of course, you are! With over 10 million downloads, there are a ton of people loving the app, so they are constantly adding new games to keep things fresh.

You can, of course, play games (there are a ton, so there’s something for everyone – like Bingo Blitz, Harry Potter, World Series Poker, and Mahjong, to name a few). You can also earn money streaming your favorite videos and music!

With the games, simply download, play, and when you reach certain achievements, you earn points and then cash out for whatever gift card you want. They offer Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, Target, eBay gift cards, and even PayPal cash!

Learn more about Earn Mode App

Twitch

Twitch – is a worldwide live streaming platform where people may view and broadcast digital video events. It began as a mostly video game-centered site, but it has evolved to include streams dedicated to art creation, music, talk shows, hobbies, and even TV series in recent years.

Business of Apps reports, “On average, expert streamers can make between $3,000 to $5,000 each month playing around 40 hours a week.”

It’s free to stream on Twitch, but prominent broadcasters end up investing in high-end technology and software to assist them in what they do.

Earn money while you drive

If you spend a lot of time driving, and you’re not too concerned about looking cool, you can earn money by advertising on your car.

Wrapify

Wrapify – This site allows you to wrap your car in advertisements. Their website lists available cities and states, including New York City. Payment is based on the number of ads displayed on your vehicle. Average earnings for a full wrap is $196-$280 per month.

Stikr

Stickr – Stickr allows you to wrap your car in advertisements, similar to Wrapify. Yet, some decal campaigns have fees to participate in. I’d be cautious with this one, so be sure you research it thoroughly.

Save money on your monthly bills

Earning money can add to your bottom line, but some of the best free money hacks are when you save money; especially when you save month after money. Some of the best apps help you lower your monthly bills. So essentially reverse compound interest here (sort of).

BillTrim

Finding a new internet or phone company can be a pain, I mean, you’ll save money by switching, but you don’t really have a few hours to try and sort through all your options (much less deal with cancellation fees with your current providers).

Don’t worry; that’s where BillTrim comes into play. You have your same providers, BillTrim just negotiates the monthly bills all down, so you pay a lot less every month.

  • Step One: Create a BillTrim account
  • Step Two: Link your bank account
  • Step Three: Link your bills
  • Step Four: Watch your bills go down

BillTrim will take a one-time fee of 25% of your savings (you keep 75% of the savings that they negotiate). If they can’t get your bills down any cheaper, then you pay nothing. But they have a 93% success rate on negotiating cheaper monthly bills, so that’s a good track record.

How much can you save? Well, “BillTrim saves customers over $900 in their first year on average.” Which is amazing! So what are you going to do with an extra $75 a month in your wallet? 

Sign up and get started saving with BillTrim.

Caribou

Caribou – According to LendingTree, the average monthly car payments rose by double digits in 2022. Standing at $700 (new vehicles), $525 (used vehicles), and $567 (leased vehicles). That’s a significant portion of your paycheck going to your paycheck.

But when you refinance with Caribou, you could save $110+ a month* on your car loan. What would you do with that extra money in your wallet each month?

Caribou works with trusted local and community lenders to bring you competitive auto refinance loan offers and rates. You can pre-qualify online by submitting your application (with no impact on your credit**), all without leaving the couch.

People are loving the easy process. In fact, 9/10 customers would refinance through Caribou again (based on 462 Trustpilot reviews rating Caribou 4 or 5 stars out of 5 stars.)

See your new car loan rate with Caribou

Here’s how it works…

*This information is estimated based on consumers who were approved for an auto refinance loan through Caribou between 6/1/2022 and 3/1/2023, had an existing auto loan on their credit report, and accepted their final terms. These borrowers saved an average of $113.78 per month. Refinance savings may result from a lower interest rate, longer
term, or both. There is no guarantee of savings. Your actual savings, if any, may vary based on interest rates, the repayment term, the amount financed, and other factors.

**To check the refinance rates and terms you qualify for, Caribou conducts a soft credit pull that will not affect your credit score. If you choose a loan product and continue your application, one of our lending partners will request your full credit report from consumer reporting agencies, which is considered a hard credit pull and may affect your credit. 

Other terms & conditions may apply.

Earn money by getting refunds

With all the shopping free money hacks mentioned above, you should never pay more for something than you need to. Yet, there are times when a better deals pop up right at the time you bought, or even after the purchase. The following apps will help you get some of that money back.

Earny

Earny – This is another app that helps you get money back on your purchases. Earny constantly monitors when there’s a price discrepancy with the item(s) you’ve purchased and will work to get a refund from the retailer. It is $19.99 a year, but they say the average shopper gets back $60 a year just from Amazon reimbursements.

Sift Wallet

Sift Wallet – This is a similar app for getting money back on items you may have overpaid. Yet they also monitor your subscriptions and monthly bills. They also (this is the big one), they monitor your credit card bonuses and benefits.

For example, one of my credit cards gets you free entry into local museums and big botanical gardens. Another one gets you discounts on gas. So Sift Wallets collects all that info into one place so you can start using all those hidden benefits.

Harvest

Harvest – Acorns’ Harvest automatically negotiates bank and credit card fees on your behalf. Its mission is to look after “Financial Progress for the 99%.” In 2020 alone, Harvest has helped earn back more than $4M in bank fees and interest refunds for thousands of customers, averaging more than $200 refunded per successful negotiation.

Money hack for discounted gift cards

Gift cards have long been a great “gift item” for holidays and birthdays, even for returns. Yet sometimes you don’t anything from that particular store. So gift cards can be a waste of cash. You can go to a store and visit their gift card exchange kiosk, or you turn that into free money by trading in your gift cards online.

CardCash

CardCash – offers discounted gift cards from over 1,300 brands. People sell their unwanted gift cards to them (get paid by PayPal, ACH, or check). And then people buy them at a discounted price. Sometimes they even offer site-wide discounts on cards. I.e., 20% off specific categories.

You can also sell your unwanted gift cards and trade them in for something you’ll actually use. It took me literally 2 minutes to turn an Urban Outfitters gift card (that I’ve had in a drawer for years) into a Target gift card!

Gift Card Granny

Gift Card Granny – This website is the gift card exchange. They sell and trade all kinds of discounted gift cards from online retailers to restaurants (almost all national chains). So you can get cash for your unwanted/surplus gift cards.

Raise

Raise – This is the same concept, only it acts more like a marketplace. This means you can buy and sell on their site directly, they say it’s around 30% off on average. Most of the gift cards are digital so you get them instantly. They also offer coupons and daily offers.

Gift Deals

GiftDeals – This is a website that aggregates all the deals on gift cards. So you can get discounted gift cards for almost any store imaginable. They even try and price match competitor sites’ gift card prices!

ClipKard

ClipKard – is a gift card buying and selling platform, but you sell them directly to the company, not to other people. Plus, ClipKard also has a rewards program, so the more you buy and sell then, the more points you earn, which you can redeem for more gift cards.

Most of these sites offer gift cards to other retailers. Yet, you can score free Visa gift cards which can be used almost everywhere.

Earn free money by investing

So I know for this group you have to outlay some money in the beginning, but it’s still yours. It’s just set aside in a separate bucket. I know many can be intimidated with investing, but today’s technology and ease of use with apps make it accessible for so many more people than before.

If you’ve never considered investing, then you need to give it try. Remember it’s one of the main ways that people grow their money and get rich. I’ve had several investments myself, and it’s been one of the best money hacks that has helped me grow my portfolio.

However, it’s important to know that investing does have risks. So please do your due diligence on which company you choose to invest with, and always consult a financial advisor before making any moves.

The following apps are a few ways to give investing a try:

Empower

Empower – (formerly Personal Capital) is an online dashboard where you can view all your financial info on one screen. It’s so helpful to see the whole picture, all at once in real-time. They are offering you a free $20 Amazon gift card when you sign up today and link your accounts within 30 days (don’t worry, their security is one of the best in the business).

Empower Dashboard

Acorns

Acorns – is another excellent option for beginners as it invests your spare change. All you have to do is set it up once and forget about it. It rounds up your transactions to the next dollar and invests the rest.

invest with acorns

Robinhood

Robinhood is an app well known to many. What sets them apart in the investing world is that they allow you, the investor, to buy fractional shares in stocks, EFTs, options, gold, and more.

It’s an excellent option as you don’t need a lot to get started. Just a $5 investment gets you in the door and started on your wealth building journey.

Plus, investing with Robinhood is commission-free (additional fees may apply). They don’t charge you fees to open your account, maintain your account, or to transfer funds to your account. There are a few industry-wide fees that are applicable to all brokerage firms, so you’d pay those any place that you invest.

When you get started today by signing up and linking your bank account, you can get free stock from companies – see current offerings for details (certain limitations apply).

(We are an affiliate partner of Robinhood and may receive compensation when you use the links provided.)

Stash

Stash – this is a similar app to the ones above, but they also offer banking, among other features. They have three tiers, all reasonably priced for what you get. If you like bells & whistles, then try Stash.

Use the equity in your home without a loan

It seems that everyone is talking about ways to borrow money, but that usually just leads to more debt. But not anymore with the help of Unlock Technologies. If you own your home (yes, you can have a mortgage), you can access between $30k to $500k of your home’s equity.

The best part is that there’s no debt, no interest, and no need to refinance. This is what makes it different from a traditional HELOC.

An Unlock on a home equity agreement (HEA) Home Equity Agreement allows you to tap your home’s future value, and you can have up to 10 years of no payments or interest charges. All while living in your home and using the money from the HEA for your big financial goals.

You can end the HEA by buying back the equity share in one lump sum, a little bit at a time, or when you decide to sell the home. Unlock offers an equity sharing agreement or HEA, where they provide you with a cash payment today in exchange for a percentage of your home’s future value. 

You, as the homeowner, still get full rights of ownership and tax deductions. Unlock is only sharing the future value of your home.

Unlock - home equity sharing program

Again, this is your money that you’re getting; it was just previously tied up in your house, sitting there. But now, you can use it to remodel your kitchen, pay off your debt, or even start a business. Whatever path you choose, your home equity can be used to pave the way.

In a nutshell…

Terms and conditions apply. Unlock is available for homes in the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Washington.

1. The following limitations shall apply: property must be your primary residence; no bankruptcy, foreclosure action, short sale, or deed in lieu within the previous five years; no 90-day delinquencies on any mortgage within the prior 24 months; no 120-day delinquencies on any mortgage within the prior 36 months; Unlock must be in no greater than 2nd lien position and home must be clear of any liens deemed unacceptable by Unlock (Unlock may require investment proceeds to be used in order to clear any unacceptable pre-existing liens as a condition to close); Unlock may also require investment proceeds to be used to pay off certain outstanding debts as a condition to close, including (but not limited to) paying off an amount that is sufficient to result in a debt-to-income ratio (“DTI”) of no more than 45%; minimum investment amount of $30,000; property condition rating, as described in the Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD), must be at least C4 or better.

2. Each home equity agreement (HEA) is subject to an additional individual underwriting review.

Get paid to workout

There are lots of good reasons for you to take better care of your health and work out, lose weight, and eat better.

The first place to look is your workplace, sometimes they provide free gym memberships as part of their benefits package. Or maybe they provide discounts on home programs. If they don’t, then there are some other good options, lets go over a few of the best options…

HealthyWage

Healthywage – is a health and wellness company that provides weight loss and fitness challenges with cash prizes. You are competing against yourself, where you pick your goal weight time length, and then you bet money on you succeeding.

So if you choose to lose 30 pounds at the end of 5 months, with a $50 monthly bet, and you do it, you get back your monthly investment plus the prize amount.

Get Paid To Get Healthy With Sherri Shepherd!

StepBet

StepBet – this is similar to the app above, as you win on achieving your step goal, not on the amount of weight lost. (From a goals standpoint, this is huge! You cannot actually control if your body loses weight, but you can control how many steps you take.)

Sweat Coin

Sweat Coin – this is the app that pays you to walk. It rewards users’ physical activity with sweat coins, which you can use to buy goods and rewards.

How to open up a PayPal account:

If you don’t already have a PayPal account then no worries, you can easily sign up right now and immediately connect it to your game apps so you can start depositing real money today. Here’s how you open an account:

  • Go to the Sign Up page.
  • Choose the account type you want (personal or business, most likely you’ll choose a personal PayPal account) and click Sign Up Now.
  • Enter your information, including your email address, and next choose a password (it must contain at least eight characters and is case sensitive). You will need these to log in to your PayPal account.
  • Click Next.
  • Click Agree and Create Account.

Get free money at work

One of the best places to look for free money is your workplace’s HR department. Many companies have lots of unused benefits, things that people just forget about. Think gym membership reimbursement, internet discounts, streaming services etc. But one of the best free money hacks is with your workplace retirement account.

Retirement accounts –

When you contribute to your workplace retirement account, your assets are invested and grow (they earn interest, on average 7% over time). Yet, you also usually get a company match, almost all workplaces do this as part of their benefits package.

For example. If you contribute 5%, then your workplace contributes the same amount (usually up to a max percentage, 5% is considered normal). This is a huge free money hack, the most profitable by far. Yet, a lot of people don’t use it. They feel retirement is so far away, they’ll have plenty of time to save later when they’re older. This is a huge mistake, as the key to saving money with investments is that they need to sit, for a long time, and just grow. It’s called compound interest and it’s your new BFF.

Health Savings Accounts –

Another thing to check with HR about is if they offer an HSA. Using a health savings account is a great money saving hack, as it can double as another tax-advantaged savings vehicle, that only a few use to their full potential.

With an HSA, you set aside pre-tax money for health-related expenditure later on. But this money rolls over year to year and grows. So when you have a medical expense you pay for it and get reimbursed from your HSA with the pre-tax money. So about a 30% savings.

Other free money hacks

Use a high-yield savings account –

If you’re a little wary of investing, then you should at least consider using high yield savings account for your money. These are regular bank accounts (savings accounts), usually from online banks where they pay a much higher interest rate than regular brick & mortar banks.

When you bank with Current, you can open up three savings pods in that account, which is exactly what we want). The best part is that you can earn 4.00% APY (as of October 2023) on up to $2,000 in each pod (so $6,000 total). This is a phenomenal rate!

Since there’s a cap on interest-earning, this is great for smaller sinking funds like Christmas, vacations, etc.

You can get Current on Android or get Current on iOS

Get free bonus money with Albert

Albert is a money management app that can help you budget, save money, and invest. Their team of experts helps to create a working budget for you and even offers automatic saving (so you never forget) and investing with as little as $1.

Albert also has lots of opportunities to earn money with their saving bonus, direct deposit, referral bonus programs (up to $150), and cash back when you shop. Also, if you direct deposit your paycheck with Albert, you can access your money 2-days earlier than with a traditional bank, and they even offer cash advances up to $250!

sign up for Albert cash advance

The best part about Albert is that they don’t have a monthly maintenance fees or minimum balance requirements! (You can opt-in for a subscription for $8 or go with the free account option).

This isn’t a sketchy payday loan scam; Albert legitimately wants everyone to succeed with their finances!


Albert for Android


Albert for iOS

Use CashApp to earn quick money –

If you haven’t heard of Cash App, it’s a mobile app that allows for person-to-person payments. To transfer money, you’ll need to have a bank account connected to your Cash App account. You can also invest in equities and BitCoin; there are times when there’s a Bitcoin bonus offer available too.

There are some legitimate ways to get free money with Cash App. You can get an instant cash bonus when you sign up and send $5 to someone. You can also earn money by doing a direct deposit $150 bonus, refer friends and get $5 – $15 when they join, and get up to 15% back when you use their Cash Card!

Sign up with Cash App, click here or use code NRTZMHV to get your free sign-up bonus when you send someone $5. Hint – they can send it right back to you so you’re not out the $5

Bank account farming –

I am a big fan of this, as I’ve done this myself a few times, and thought it easy. Bank account farming or churning, as it’s sometimes called, is when you open savings or checking account to earn the sign-up bonuses, and then you close them and move on to the next account. You do have to fulfill some minimum requirements (i.e. length of account, maybe a direct deposit, etc.), but it’s very easy.

Credit card churning –

This is comparable to bank account farming, (and I’ve done this as well) but it’s with credit cards. To be accepted for these cards, you must have a great credit score, so double-check that before applying for anything. You find cards that have great signup bonuses, you fulfill the requirements (usually a minimum spend threshold to meet within a few months), and then you move on to the next card.

Get a piece of a class-action lawsuit –

The Street Directory reports, “Recent class action settlements have exceeded $11 billion, yet more than half of those entitled to payment fail to file a claim.” I hope it’s not you!

There are lots of active class action lawsuits; maybe you bought something a while back that is now part of a lawsuit. If so, then you could be owed some money.

I was paid out $27 for a recent class-action lawsuit from dairy producers. If you lived in a certain state and bought milk, then you were owed money. Now let me tell you, I love milk; I buy a lot of it, so legally I was owed money.

But, it’s important to note that it could take years for you to get the money, and depending on how big the lawsuit was and how many people were involved.

Go to Classaction.org and see if you bought any goods or services where you may be due some reparations.

Search for unclaimed property –

You can go to a site like unclaimed.org and see if you have any money sitting in an account at the state level. You see, when a company owes you money, they try and find you to give it to you. But if they can’t find you, they hold onto it for a bit, and then after a set time, they turn it over to the state.

For example, if you sent a form in for a rebate for something you bought, an old insurance policy, a tax refund, an overpayment that you made, etc.

Now, sometimes you’ll have to go through a process to verify that you are you, and indeed owed money. I found some money of my husband’s (a rebate from Best Buy) and he had to go to a bank to get a letter and form notarized. But sure enough, he got his rebate in the mail.

Get on Patreon –

If you are an online influencer or happen to be really good at your hobby you can get paid to do what you love on Patreon.

What is Patreon? It’s a platform where people can support their favorite content creators by pledging money per creation or monthly. So, if you pledge $X per month, then the creator will get that money every time they release something new (a blog post, video, podcast episode, etc.).Patreon is free to use, but they take a portion of your earnings (all depending on the plan you sign up for).

This is a great program to be a part of alongside Twitch, which is mentioned above in the gaming section.

At the end of the day

There are many different ways to get free money if you know where to look. By following the tips in this article, you can start earning more money without putting in much extra effort. There are plenty of opportunities for anyone looking to make a little extra cash. So what are you waiting for? Start exploring these options and see how much money you can bring in!

Which are the top 3 money hacks that you’ll try first?

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4 Comments

  1. Wow,I had no idea there were so many hacks to earn free money! Lucktastic sounds fun and sweat coin sounds like it’d be something to look into. Also was thinking about making a patreon! Thanks for sharing all of these!!

  2. Wow, you have collected a lot of ideas! I didn’t know you could make money from reading emails or playing games like Solitaire. Super handy post.