Make Extra Cash

Cha Ching! We Found the Easiest Ways to Get Free Money

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    There is no such thing as a free lunch, but there is such a thing as free money. You can get free cash for lots of things, opening a bank account, going out to dinner, shopping, and even investing. If you need some free money fast, we will show you where to get it with almost no effort.

    Patrick, from the Spongebob Squarepants cartoon, handing out free money

    Free Money For Everyday Things

    We all go out to dinner, use the internet, and complain about various products and services. Why not get paid to do these things?

  1. Seated
  2. Is your eating out habit putting too big a dent in your budget? Well, you could go out to eat less frequently but who wants to do that? Not you and not me. But Seated can take a little of the sting out of those dinner checks.

    It’s an App that you use to book restaurant reservations. Every time you complete a reservation, you get a gift code for $10-50 for Amazon, Lyft, or Starbucks. Amazing! The rewards are available within 24 hours of your completed reservation.

    free-money-dining

  3. Survey Junkie
  4. Want to get paid for your opinion? Survey Junkie lets you earn money by sharing your opinion to help brands deliver better products and services. After you create your profile, they will start matching you to online surveys you can take anywhere, anytime, and on any device.

    Completed online surveys earn virtual mypoints that can be redeemed for PayPal or e-Giftcards.

    Survey Junkie is great for anyone who wants to earn extra cash from their couch.

    If you have some time to kill during your lunch break or commercials, sign up and make some extra mad money.

    Most of the surveys are pretty easy, and there’s is no signing up for other services so no annoying spam mail. It’s entirely free, and you earn 25 free points when you create your account.

  5. Inbox Dollars
  6. With InBoxDollars users make money from home through completing tasks like taking online surveys, playing games, and watching videos. There are several similar sites floating around, but InboxDollars is continuously updated with new tasks giving users lots of opportunities to earn money.

    InboxDollars partners with major brands for consumer input. You will earn money by giving your opinion in different ways and viewing different types of advertisements.

    InboxDollars also offers several payment options including a paper check, ePayments, and pre-paid credit cards.

  7. HealthyWage
  8. Want to lose a few? Some 45% of Americans go on a diet each year and most of them give up after just a few weeks. But money is a great motivator so why not get paid to lose those extra pounds? That’s what HealthyWage does.

    There is a calculator on the HealthWage site. Enter how many pounds you want to lose, how many months it will take, and how much money you want to bet per month on yourself to do it. Enter your gender, height, current weight, and waist circumference.

    Based on this information, you’ll see how much money you will win if you meet your goal. I put in some fake numbers (I don’t have weight to lose) and my winnings after my bet would be $169.40 which would be a 56.33% return on my investment in six months. There aren’t many investments that give you that kind of return and you get to control whether you win or not. Pretty cool!

    Shopping

    Remember, this money is only free if you were already going to buy an item. Shopping online for stuff you don’t need is not a side hustle!

  9. Ebates
  10. Currently, you will get $10 sign up bonus Ebates. The site is affiliated with more than 1,800 stores. You click on the store you want to shop through, and you earn cash back. There is 6% cash back for Kohl’s, 8% for Sephora, and 7.5% for Turbo Tax.

    You don’t earn points with Ebates, just straight up cash back. Each quarter they will send you a check or deposit your savings into your Pay Pal account.

  11. Swagbucks
  12. One Swagbucks is equal to 1% cash back. There are hundreds of online stores participating, and they each have their own value for Swagbucks. Amazon gives up to 7 Swagbucks per $1 spent; Forever 21 offers 2 per $1 spent. When you sign up as a new member, you’ll receive a $10 bonus.

    ibotta review

  13. Ibotta
  14. Ibotta is bringing coupons back in style with their app that pays you for finding deals on the items you’d typically be buying every day.

    Their app is free to you and that you get cash rebates right from your phone. They partner with stores all over the country to offer products and brands at discounted prices which they pay you back in cash.

    After you buy the products, you selected at any participating store redeem your rebates by taking a photo of your receipt. They will match the items you purchased to the rebates and give you the cash! It’s an easy way to save money.

    Your cash back will be deposited into your Ibotta account within 48 hours. And you can get a $10  signup bonus.

    Want to get your money under control?

    This is our guide to budgeting simply and effectively. We walk you through exactly how to use Mint, what your budget should be, and how to monitor your spending automatically.

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    Investments

    Investing is one of the pillars of wealth building. Get a head start when you start investing through these companies.

    “On average, millionaires invest 20% of their household income each year. Their wealth isn’t measured by the amount they make each year, but by how they’ve saved and invested over time,” writes Ramit Sethi in his New York Times bestseller, I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

    “In other words, a project manager could earn $50,000 per year and be richer than a doctor earning $250,000 per year — if the project manager has a higher net worth by saving and investing more over time.”

  15. Betterment
  16. We have been singing Betterment’s praises for years, and we continue to do so. It’s the easiest way for new investors to get started, they have no minimum to start investing and very low fees. And as an LMM fan, Betterment will charge you no management fee for the first year!

  17. Acorns
  18. If it’s hard for you to save money Acorns is for you. The Acorns app rounds up on your purchases and invests the change for you. You download Acorns, connect it to your credit cards, they give you portfolio recommendations, and each time you spend, Acorns rounds up to the nearest dollar and invests that amount for you. Simple!

    As an LMM fan, Acorns will give new members a $5 signup bonus to start investing.

    acorns-review-spare-change

    And once you start an account they will pay you $5 for every one of your friends you get to join. They even have features like round-up and found money that allows you to get free money from places you already shop.

  19. Vanguard
  20. Vanguard has long been on the bleeding edge of investing for the masses. It was the home of the very first index fund way back in 1975. The founder, John Bogle, is a champion of offering low cost, low effort investing to the average person.

    Banks

    We all need a bank account, and banks make a fortune in interest when they loan out our money while paying us a measly 0.00001%. So we might as well get some cash from these banks up front. Our loyalty has a price!

  21. PNC
  22. You will get free money from PNC when you open a Virtual Wallet. A Virtual Wallet is basically on-line banking; you can manage your money through the platform. Currently, PNC is offering $50, $200, or $300 to open a Virtual Wallet, depending on your balance.

    You’ll get the $50 after opening a Virtual Wallet account and making direct deposits of at least $500 and making, at least, one bill payment through Virtual Wallet.

    When you open a Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend and make direct deposits of $2000 or more and pay one bill through the platform, you will get $200 in free money.

    If you open a Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend, you will receive a $300 bonus after direct deposits of $5000 and paying one bill with your Virtual Wallet.

  23. Chase
  24. Chase is currently offering $300 when you open a Premier Plus checking account or $200 when you open a Total Checking account. You must open the account in person at a branch with at least $25 and have a direct deposit made into the account within 60 days.

    You are not eligible if you already have a checking or fiduciary account with Chase or closed an account with a negative balance in the previous 90 days.

  25. Bank of America
  26. Open a new Core Checking or Interest Checking account with Bank of America by May 31, 2018, and receive a $100. To be eligible, you must set up direct deposit and receive at least $250 via direct deposit within 90 days. The bonus will be deposited into your account with 60 days of meeting those requirements.

    Found Money

    Found money might be money that is rightfully yours or the remnants of a notorious unsolved crime. Either way, get the free money!

    free-money-government

  27. Unclaimed Tax Return Money
  28. If you are owed an income tax refund from the United States federal government and have not received it, you can check the status at IRS. If you did not opt to have the money direct deposited into your checking account, it could be that the paper check mailed got lost.

    To find out if the state owes you a missing refund, you can check with the state revenue department.

  29. Unclaimed Money
  30. You might have an old bank account that you opened as a kid, a check from a former employer from your high school job or a utility deposit on an account you closed. You can go to unclaimed.org and see if you’re owed any money.

    You can also MissingMoney.com that searches the unclaimed property databases of multiples states at once. Andrew just tried it and is getting $300+ in unclaimed cash!

  31. DB Cooper’s Stash
  32. If you happen to stumble across his missing loot, or just have some non-ill gotten money laying around that has been somehow damaged too much to be spent, the United States Treasury Department will replace it provided that the serial numbers are still legible.

    You just need to submit a Damaged Currency Claim. 

    Credit Cards

    Opening a credit card just for rewards sounds irresponsible, and it is if you don’t know how to responsibly use a credit card. But if you don’t have a problem with credit or debit cards, you can earn some good sign up bonuses.

  33. Chase Freedom
  34. Chase Freedom Unlimited is a  cash back card offering $150 bonus after you spend $500 within three months of opening the card. You can get an additional $25 in free money when you add an authorized user, and they make one purchase within three months.

  35. Blue Cash Preferred From American Express
  36. Blue Cash is a cash back card. You get a $200 bonus after spending $1,000 in the first three months.

  37. Capital One Quicksilver
  38. Quicksilver is another cash back card. You’ll get a $150 bonus after spending $500 in the first three months.

  39. Chase Ink Cash Business Card
  40. This is a business card so not for personal use. Chase Ink is offering a $500 bonus after spending $3,000 in the first three months.

    The Federal and State Government

    Yes, sometimes Uncle Sam will pay you!

  41. Your Paycheck
  42. Getting a big tax refund is exciting, but it’s not ideal. It means you are giving the government a tax-free loan every year. You can adjust the number of withholdings on your W4, so less income tax is being deducted.

    This will put some extra money in your pocket right away. You can use the IRS withholding calculator to figure out the correct number to enter on the form.

  43. Your Downpayment
  44. It’s a myth that you must have a 20% downpayment to buy a home. There are some government programs that help people buy homes with much less down and programs that give grants for a downpayment.

  45. Your Student Debt
  46. The average monthly student loan payment is $351. How would you like to have that money back every month? There are several student loan forgiveness programs, and it’s worth finding out if you are eligible for any of them.

    Changing Pharmacies

    Health insurance these days is insanely expensive. If you take prescription medications, with health care these days, they can cost a fortune.  Doling out those prescriptions is big business and big money, so pharmacies are competing for your business. These pharmacies will give you free money to switch from your current pharmacy to them.

    This used to be more common, but some states have made it illegal for pharmacies to offer incentives to transfer a prescription. The two listed below are current but may not be available in all states.

  47. Rite Aid
  48. When you transfer one eligible prescription, Rite Aid will reward you with $25 in BonusCash. The money is loaded onto your card (the little plastic loyalty card that you have on your keychain) within 24 hours. The next time you make a purchase of at least $25, the $25 is deducted.

  49. Safeway
  50. When you transfer an existing prescription or fill a new one at Safeway, you will receive a $25 gift card. You can get an additional $50 gift card when you fill five more prescriptions and fill your Prescription Stamp Card which is like those cards some coffee shops or nail salons give out. When you fill up the card, you get a gift.

    You do need to fill out a coupon to qualify which you can find in the Safeway weekly sales ads or get from the pharmacy.

    The Best Things In Life Are Free

    This list represents thousands of dollars in free money. We work hard for our money, so it’s nice to get a little free bonus now and then. Take advantage of it when you can and get the free money!

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Candice Elliott - Senior Editor Candice Elliott is a substantial contributor to Listen Money Matters. She has been a personal finance writer since 2013 and has written extensively on student loan debt, investing, and credit. She has successfully navigated these areas in her own life and knows how to help others do the same. Candice has answered thousands of questions from the LMM community and spent countless hours doing research for hundreds of personal finance articles. She happily calls New Orleans, Louisiana home-the most fun city in the world.
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