Disclosure: We’re letting you know that this post contains sponsored links which The Smart Wallet receives compensation for, which may impact their order of appearance because talking about money should always be an honest discussion.
At the beginning of each year it’s New Year, new you, right? But how long does that last? Now that we’re halfway through 2019, I’ll admit, I’m behind on my goals.
Yea I made my usual lose weight, save more money, and travel more resolutions, but let’s face it, these “goals” aren’t going to come true without a solid plan.
And to save more money? Well, it’ll be easier if you have more money to begin with, right? So we’ll focus on that and lay it all out – Here’s our list of stupid simple ways to make extra cash for the rest of 2019.
1. Let’s Start With Getting Your Paycheck Earlier
Getting your paycheck at the same time as your coworkers is so 2018.
Chime, a mobile banking app, can process your employer’s direct deposit immediately instead of holding it until official payday.
This means you could get your money up to 2 days faster than your coworkers.
And having your money earlier can help you budget for the weekend or pay off bills faster. Score.
Chime has no monthly fees, no minimum balance requirement, no overdraft fees, and no
foreign transaction fees either. It’s also FDIC-insured up to $250,000.
Earlier payday and zero hidden fees are the way to go this new year.
2. Free Gift Cards Just for Going Shopping? Yes, please.
Go on your normal grocery shopping trips. Scan your receipt after. Get points towards gift cards.
No extra fuss. No digital coupons to pre-select or specific stores to go to.
It’s perfect for the lazy but smart saver.
And it’s called Fetch Rewards, an app where you can scan ANY grocery receipt to get rewards.
Scan receipts from supermarkets, neighborhood corner shops, wholesale clubs, drugstores, convenience stores, and even liquor stores. Unlike other apps, you’re not restricted to specific stores. As long as your receipt has any of the thousands of participating
products, you’ll earn points to redeem for gift cards.
You can start redeeming points for rewards with as little as 3,000 points ($3). Grab a 2,000 points bonus ($2!) when you enter this referral code: REWARD before you scan your first receipt.
3. Get Paid for Playing Free Digital Scratch-Offs Anywhere
Don’t bother going to the liquor store to buy physical scratchers (they get expensive too).
Instead, play digital scratchers for free on Lucktastic.
There are a ton of different scratchers you can play, and you can earn both cash and tokens.
Scratched all of them for the day? Don’t worry, there are specific night-time scratchers that are available every night too!
When you want to redeem your earnings, you can choose from:
- Amazon gift cards
- CVS gift cards
- Dunkin’ Donuts gift cards
- Check mailed to you
- Visa gift cards
Lucktastic keeps things free by showing a few ads here and there. It’s so easy, just turn it on the next time you’re binge-watching on Netflix and multi-task!
Bonus: Use tokens to enter the $1 Million Pots of Gold contest from now until March 2019 to win up to $1 million! In addition, they award Amazon gift cards on a daily basis too.
4. You Gotta Eat! Get Up to $240 Cash Back in Grocery Savings
If you’re following nutrition gurus or meal planners on Instagram, you know that your shopping list gets a little longer with each inspiration. I know mine does. But I don’t feel too guilty though because my shiny things syndrome and basically everything I buy normally, give me a chance of getting cash back.
It’s simple. All you have to do is take a picture of your grocery receipt and Ibotta will pay you cash.
Here’s how it works:
Before you go to the store, search for your shopping list items in the Ibotta app. After your store visit, take a photo of your receipt to get cash back.
Ibotta is free to download and you’ll also get up to $20 in Welcome Bonuses when you sign up!
Some offers we found:
- 25 cents back on any item
- $3 – $5 back on various wine
- $2 back on KIND Protein Bars
- 25 cents – $4 back on ice cream
- $2 back on Herbal Essence Haircare
Popular stores are Walmart and Target, but Ibotta also works at restaurants, online shopping sites, and at the bar! On average, active Ibotta users save up to $240 a year or more. What would you do with that extra money?
5. Cut Unwanted Subs from Your Life & Save an Average $720 a Year
They say that 84% of people forget they have some recurring subscriptions still charging them. Unfortunately, I was one of them.To fix that and to get a better picture of my overall spending, I downloaded Truebill, an app that focuses on lowering bills, monitoring subscriptions, and my favorite, monitoring internet/cable outages.
After connecting my Chase bank account (it’s safe; they use bank-level 256-bit SSL encryption with read-only access), the Truebill dashboard displayed clear information on my spending, upcoming bills, and all my recurring subscriptions.
From it, I realized I still had a very niche streaming service that I haven’t touched in about 7 months. (Thanks, free trial offer…) I immediately canceled it through Truebill and saved $70 from that sub.
Got an annoying gym membership you’ve been meaning to cancel? No problem, they’ll do it for you too.
Truebill will also negotiate for lower bills on your behalf (no more waiting on the phone!) and monitor any internet and cable outages too. If there are outages in your area, they’ll work to get credit to your account. On average, this accounts to $96 savings a year on outages alone!
Basic service is free, and when Truebill successfully finds bill savings or refunds for you, they’ll take a 40% slice from your annual savings. For instance, if they saved you $100 on a bill for the year, they’ll take $40. Reasonable for the savings they found you!
Overall, having a financial “watchdog” of sorts will keep you on track and help you save on unnecessary spending. It takes only a few minutes for Truebill to analyze so check it out!
6. New Games = New Cash. Satisfy Your New Game-itis
I have a problem and it’s called game-itis. Maybe you can relate.
Symptoms include frequently downloading new games from the Google Play Store, playing them for like, 30 minutes or less, and moving on to the next game if it didn’t catch my attention long enough.
There are so many new games coming out on the daily that it’s easy (and time-wasting) to do so.
My cure? Only focus on the games that pay me for my time.
You can do it with AppStation, an app that pays you to try out new games.
When you earn coins from trying new games, you can redeem for:
- PayPal Cash
- Amazon gift card
- GameStop gift card
- PlayStation Store gift card
- Xbox Live gift card
- And too much more to list
Nab a 4,444 coin welcome bonus too, which is basically around 50 cents in value. And if you don’t like to wait, you can choose to payout as low as $1.
AppStation, where you’ll get bonus coins and 25% of all their earnings. To make it a supportive group, your friends will also earn 25% of your earnings too!
7. Get $1 Million in Life Insurance for as Little as $8/Month
When you hear “life insurance” the first 2 things that might come to mind are death and finances. Ultimately it’s “I love you” money to your family after you’ve passed away.
So for most people, life insurance is logical but the long process could be deterring. Some life insurance companies can take up to 2.5 months for the approval process to complete, including lots of paperwork and a comprehensive medical exam which may not always be necessary.
But one company is trying to change all that. Bestow’s mission is to offer affordable term life insurance in under 5 minutes without you having to talk to anyone. No exam needed either.
You can get up to $1 million in coverage and they offer 2 years, 10 years and 20 years term options.
All of Bestow’s policies are underwritten by North American Company for Life and Health Insurance, who’s been around for over 100 years and holds an A+ (Superior) rating with A.M. Best, a global credit rating agency for insurance companies.
In plain English terms, it means your policy is backed by dependable insurance giants who have been serving customers for many years.
So if you’re between the ages of 21-55, here’s what they’ll ask:
- Your basic information (Name, Email, Address, SSN etc)
- Some Life questions (medical history, hobbies, lifestyle)
- Beneficiaries (who would receive the money after insured’s death)
- Policy and payment details (If approved, you choose the monthly payment and enter credit card info)
Each policy has a “free look” period (usually 30 days) which means you can cancel if it’s not right for you and get a full refund.
And you can easily change your policy at any time based on life events like marriage, job loss, divorce etc.
Life insurance talk isn’t fun but Bestow is attempting to make it as easy as possible for people to get covered quickly. Go ahead and see what your rates are in just under 5 minutes. It’s the biggest “I love you” you can give to your loved ones.
*Bestow is currently not available in New York and Alaska
8. Set & Forget Savings + Get a 1% Bonus Every Quarter (Up to $1,800 / Year)
Prepare for those “oh $#@!” moments by letting this smart AI beef up your emergency savings for you. Or your vacation savings. Or your new pair of kicks savings.
You won’t even notice it but Digit will make it happen.
Just link a checking account and their smart algorithm will determine small but safe amounts to withdraw into your separate FDIC-Insured Digit savings account.
Regular savers will get a 1% bonus every three months, netting you some free money!
It’s the perfect set-it-and-forget-it app where the AI will watch your savings back.
You can withdraw your money at any time you need and it’s free to use for the first 30 days. After, it’s just $5 a month.
Average savings in a month (varies): $144 or more
What it could add up to in a year: $1,728 or more
Quarterly bonus: 1% on your total savings amount
Additional Referral Earnings: $5 per referral
9. Up To 40% Cash Back Automatically? Sign Us Up!
Saving money and getting cash back on purchases always sounds like a great idea – until you completely forget to take the steps to get the savings. There are SO many ways to save money while shopping, who can remember if it’s not automatic?
Ebates can help you get cash back on everyday shopping as well as apparel, beauty, and more, automatically. With Ebates, you don’t even have to upload your receipts after your purchases. They’ll send you simple push notifications when your favorite stores increase their cash back deals or have a good sale.
Offering simple one-tap savings with no points or fees helps ensure that you get the most out of your purchases. So, before buying anything, hop into the app to see if you can get up to 40% cash back at over 2,500 stores.
They also have an amazing referral program where you can earn $25 for each eligible friend. New members get a $10 bonus too!
10. Figure Out What You’re Wasting Money on with This App
Money management can get overwhelming if you’re not used to staying on top of it.
That’s why you need to step back and look at the big picture of things.
You know setting a budget is responsible, but where to even start?
That’s where Clarity Money steps in. As the name implies, it’ll help you see your finances more clearly.
Rather than focusing on the past, (yea I spent 3% more money on dining out last month, now what?), it wants to give users the ability to improve their money spending for the future and make it more meaningful.
It’ll help manage your budget and expenses, cancel unwanted monthly subscriptions, open an online savings account, and also keep you updated on your credit score.
Even better, it’s free to use, so you can stay on top of your budget without having to consult with anyone. Check it out if you want help managing your budget clearly!
11. Get the Big Picture – Then Work on Fixing Your Score
It’s smart to keep an eye on your credit score to make sure it doesn’t fall too much due to unpaid bills. Did you know that a low credit score could affect your ability to actually rent an apartment or even get a car? Yea, let’s try to prevent that from happening.
Credit Sesame is a free credit monitoring service that helps you improve and maintain your score.
You’ll get an easy-to-read view of your total debt plus everything that is contributing to your current score like credit usage, credit age, inquiries, and payment history. It also comes with personal recommendations to help increase your score.
Credit Sesame alerted me immediately when my score decreased because of a credit card and I was able to fix it right away. It’s free to use so this is definitely a must-have in everyone’s life.
12. Dig for Gold (& Redeem for Cash) When You Try New Games
Put on your virtual hardhat when you download Lucky Miner, an app that rewards you for trying out new games.
Each game you try on their app will grant you gold coins, which you can redeem for:
- PayPal cash
- Steam gift card
- Amazon gift card
- PlayStation Store gift card
- GameStop gift card
- Starbucks
- And a lot more!
New members instantly get a 4,444 coin bonus! (This is valued at around 50 cents)
Got friends that like to game too? Get 250 coins for each friend you refer and earn 25% of ALL coins your friend(s) earn. In return, your friends will earn 25% of what you earn too! This incentive group/buddy system encourages everyone to play more and earn more.
13. Make 1.92% Interest On Your Money with Fee-Free Banking
Traditional banks may2 seem to take every opportunity they can to squeeze more money out of you. With everything from a monthly service fee to various hidden fees nibbling away at your account balance. Enter Varo which was founded to provide banking services without the hidden fees.
Yep, Varo has no monthly service fees, no foreign transaction fees, and no ATM withdrawal fees. On top of having no fees, Varo lets you make more money on your money. Varo provides a high-yield savings account that starts at 1.92% Annual Percentage Yield (APY)1 that can move up to 2.80% APY1 based on qualifying activity. To put this into perspective, the average APY of the 5 biggest national banks is 0.09%.*
Varo has a few sweet extra features too:
- Get your paycheck up to 2 days earlier^
- No minimum balance requirement
- Over 55,000+ AllPoint® ATMs worldwide to use your Varo Visa® debit card
- Offers personal loans to pre-qualified customers who want to consolidate debt
- Varo will send any paper check to anyone in the U.S. on your behalf
- “Save the Change” rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar and saves the difference to your Varo savings account
If you’re sick of being charged banking fees and want to make more out of your money, check out Varo. It takes less than 5 minutes to learn more and apply for free.
14. Like a Real Life Daily Quest, Just Leave This App On & Get Paid
This is like a daily quest but you get paid in real life.
Panel App is a loyalty incentive app that will give you points just by leaving the app running in the background.
Because it gives you points on location, go ahead and enable location services. Then just turn the app on before you go about your day and head to school, work, gym wherever.
After testing it we think it’s a great (lazy) app that rewards you for doing almost nothing. If you’re still skeptical, know this:
- You don’t have to complete offers
- You don’t have to watch ads
- You don’t have to buy anything
- You don’t have to do anything but leave the app running
We snagged a $5 Amazon gift card via email after a few weeks of just leaving the app on and forgetting about it. You can also choose VISA gift cards, MasterCard gift cards or sweepstakes entries.
Overall, a solid choice for earning a bit of spending money for literally just leaving the app running on your phone!
15. Make Money Driving Your Car – Here’s What it Takes
If at any point in your life, you used Uber and thought, “hey, maybe I can do this driving gig too” but didn’t research, you should read this because we’ll break it down for you.
Since Uber is privately owned and therefore doesn’t need to disclose numbers, our best-educated guess on the number of Uber driver-partners that signed up in the United States alone is about 1 million. That’s a lot of gig workers who believe in it!
You’ll also need to complete certain qualifications to start driving but they’re fairly simple and common-sense.
Minimum Driver-Partner qualifications:
- Be 21 years or older
- Have at least 1 year of licensed driving experience in the U.S. (3 years if under 23 years old)
- Have a valid U.S. driver’s license (of course)
- Can show proof of vehicle registration and insurance
- Complete a background check after sign-up
Car qualifications:
- Be registered with the state
- Be insured
- Have 4 doors
- Can seat at least 4 passengers (driver not included)
Pretty logical, right? You’ll also be able to set your own schedule and work when you want.
However, the most important question you might be thinking is: “How much money can I really make though?”
The answer really depends on the city you live in, the demand, and how much you want to work as well as managing your time. Sign up to drive with Uber, and see how much you could make.
Uber Driver-Partners can register for Instant Pay with a debit card and get paid anytime up to 5x a day!
For those thinking about a more flexible gig and doesn’t mind driving people around, take a moment and see if Uber is right for you.
16. Cashing Out on The Everyday Things You Do Online
How much time do you think you spend online? Most likely more than you think.
The average American spends 24 hours online a week(*), but for me, I know I definitely surpass this since I have to be online for work. Along with post-office hours shopping, browsing, reading, it’s rare that I’m not online.
If it’s the same for you, capitalize on all that online time by earning points you can redeem towards gift cards, and even better, cash.
You can do it with Swagbucks, a free rewards program for the everyday things you do online.
Earn points by:
- Watching entertaining videos
- Shopping at your favorite retailers
- Searching the web
- Participating in surveys
- Playing fun trivia games
Then you can redeem for a large variety of gift cards (Amazon, Target, Walmart, Starbucks are popular) or my favorite, Paypal Cash and Visa Gift Cards. Cash out in as little as $3!
You’ll even get a $5 bonus when you earn 2,500 SB points within your first 60 days.
The best way to earn SB? Surveys. You can get up to 300 SB for each qualified one you participate in. While you obviously won’t get rich doing this, you can nab an extra $10-$20 a month on them.
Keeping your profile updated and doing the Daily To-Do List will also earn you extra SB. There are a lot of opportunities so you can cash out early and often!
17. Get Paid to Try New Games. Every Gamer’s Dream.
There’s never a shortage of games to play and if you want a little extra motivation to get through your game list, getting paid to play them might help.
All you need is Mistplay, a game platform app where you play new games to earn points which you can then redeem for gift cards like VISA, PlayStation Network, XBOX Live, Amazon and more.
The Mistplay “mixlist” will show all the available free games that you can play to earn points. The longer you play (it’ll track the time), the more you can earn!
ProTips: Turn off Power Save mode when using Mistplay to ensure that all your play time gets tracked and look out for games that have points multipliers to earn even more points!
BONUS: You’ll automatically get 200 welcome points upon sign up but use promo code Bonus_100 to get an additional 100 points for a total of 300 total points!
18. Tackle Debt While Saving At the Same Time
If you don’t want to go into your next decade of life with debt looming over you, consider a debt consolidation. In the long run, you’ll save money from not having to continuously pay high-interest.
Debt consolidation just means you’re borrowing money at a low-interest rate and using that money to pay off the outstanding balances from your high-interest credit cards.
If it sounds foreign to you, don’t stress. You can keep your research simple and annoyance-free with Even Financial, which is basically a marketplace of consolidation and refinancing options.
It’s free to use and takes only three easy steps to sign up.
Even Financial will search all the top online lenders to get you the best personal loan anywhere between $1,000 and $100,0000. And loan lengths can last 24-48 months depending on the lender.
Not only will they help with debt consolidation, but they can also help with any big moment in your life that you may need a personal loan for like Home Improvement, Wedding, Medical bills and more.
19. Just Save Your Emails to Get Money Back
If you never delete emails like me (unless it’s spam) and shop online, then you’ll always have a chance at getting some money back.
A free tool called Paribus gets you money back on select online purchases even after you’ve bought them.
Price changes happen all the time after checkout. And now you can get a refund of the price difference back at online stores that Paribus monitors! (For example, Target, Kohl’s, GAP, Best Buy, Walmart and more.)
They do this by checking your inbox for email receipts. (Don’t worry, they don’t open any other email and their tech logic only identifies emails that are receipts.) Once they’ve found a receipt that has at least a $3 price drop, they’ll alert you then contact the retailer on your behalf to get the money or tell you how to get the refund back.
Also? If your guaranteed shipment is late from Amazon Prime or Walmart, they’ll help you get compensated! Perfect for the upcoming holiday season when gifts in hand are important.
Your savings mileage will vary but Paribus is 100% free to use and all the savings are yours to keep. Your pair of shoes dropped $7? You get $7 back.
20. Invest in Real Estate – Even if You’re Not Rich
Investing in real estate sounds like a very adult thing to do, but it’s actually more achievable than you think. And it doesn’t require a lot of money either.
All you need is Fundrise, a platform that lets you invest in the private real estate market, which was previously unattainable for individual investors (aka normal people like us).
It’s an easy way to invest in real estate because you’re backing real estate investments across the US on the Fundrise platform. There’s no need to manage properties yourself, find tenants, or make improvements/repairs. No physical work is involved on your part and you could be investing in real estate properties across the country.
For each real estate project that you invest in, you’ll get regular emails containing photos and updates which keeps you involved but without breaking a sweat.
You can join with as little as $500 with the Fundrise Starter Portfolio that comes with
a 90-day satisfaction period.*
Fundrise uses technology to remove costly industry middlemen and reduce account fees. And as with all investment, it can come with risk and dividend and principal payments are never guaranteed.
If you want to try it out, start with the Fundrise Starter Portfolio so you can get the 90-day
satisfaction window.
21. Get Paid in Gift Cards if You’re Chill with Lock Screen Ads
The average person unlocks their phone 110 times per day – that’s a lot of time spent looking at a screen for free.
With S’more you get paid every day you unlock your phone. It’s even easier than it sounds, and since you can cash out with as little as $1 there’s no waiting around for your rewards!
They partner up with brands looking for more impressions (aka your eyeballs) and you don’t need to click on anything to get paid either.
S’mores pays in gift cards so you can redeem for:
- Amazon.com
- AMC Theaters
- Best Buy
- CVS
- Target
- Domino’s Pizza
- Starbucks and more!
Just use your phone normally, and your earnings will apply daily. Pretty much the easiest thing to do.
22. This App Will Spot You Up to $75 When You’re in a Crunch
Who’s been hit with an overdraft fee before?
*raises hand
But did you know in 2016, Americans paid $15 billion in overdraft fees and in 2017, the number jumped up to $34 billion?* Ok, whoa. The banks are probably overjoyed with rolling in that extra money that could’ve been prevented.
The average overdraft fee nowadays is $34 and you could get charged multiple times in a day with each bounced transaction. Let’s cut that out!
Meet Dave, an overdraft protection app that predicts when an overdraft will occur and can send you up to $75 instantly to avoid any fees.
No interest or credit check is needed for the small loan. When your next payday hits, then you can pay Dave back!
It’s simple to use and is even backed by Mark Cuban, a Shark Tank investor.
Membership is only $1 a month to cover the cost to connect your bank to Dave’s prediction tool and text alerts.
If you want to tip Dave, every % goes towards planting a tree with Trees for the Future, which benefits entire communities in Sub-Saharan Africa!
This app is extremely useful for those needing someone to watch their back on overdraft fees. Just connect your checking account and Dave does the rest in protecting you. Note that ALL your sensitive information is encrypted and your banking credentials are not stored. So if you’re tired of wasting money on overdraft fees, let Dave save you!
23. Extra Room = Extra Money for 2019
Chances are, you’ve heard of Airbnb or have used the service at least once before.
Their home-sharing marketplace makes a great option for travelers to live locally, save on hotel prices, and feel more culturally connected. For hosts, it’s extra income and an opportunity to meet people from around the world.
That spare room in your apartment or home? It could be paying for your next trip, rent, monthly expenses, student loans and more!
How much can you make? You can find out what hosts in your area are making, and start imagining the possibilities. Your city, type of space, and the number of guests it can accommodate can provide your monthly earning potential.
Guests are charged when a reservation is made, and funds are typically released to hosts 24 hours after check-in. How you’re paid is up to you: You can set up direct deposit, PayPal, and other options.
As there are already millions of hosts around the world, you won’t feel alone when starting out. Airbnb provides plenty of tools and tips to help you feel comfortable welcoming verified guests.
You’re also covered by a $1M property damage protection policy for every booking for your peace of mind!
Hosting isn’t for everybody but Airbnb is a great opportunity to try it out. If it doesn’t work for you, feel free to stop anytime. If it does work for you, then you’ve just discovered an extra stream of income!
*80% world’s energy statistic source: EDF (Environmental Defense Fund)
*Fluent is a paid Affiliate/ partner of Stash. Investment advisory services offered by Stash Investments LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. This material has been distributed for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment, legal, accounting, or tax advice. Investing involves risk.
*Entrepreneur Magazine: “Starting a Business? Here Are the Most and Least Profitable Industries.”
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