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We go to bed with it, wake up with it, look at it out of habit, and just feel more reassured feeling the weight of it in your hand.
Yep, your phone.
There’s no denying that we are addicted to our phones, to a point where having a “phone detox” is actually a thing. Try as I might, I still do the mindless scroll and if you’re the same, not all is lost.
Because while our favorite device is the biggest time-waster it also provides opportunities to make actual money too. So let’s utilize some of that aimless scrolling time on productive (and actually fun!) time to make extra cash to cover your never-ending bills instead.
1. Get Paid to Try New Games. Every Gamer’s Dream.
Who would’ve thought you can play games to make some money?
All you need is Mistplay, a game platform where you can try new games to earn points redeemable for gift cards like Amazon, VISA, PlayStation Network, XBOX Live, and more.
In the app, all available free games are listed so just take your pick to try! The more time spent on each game, the more money you can earn.
You’ll only get paid for playing games if Mistplay is running so be sure to always install games from the Mistplay app!
BONUS: You’ll automatically get 200 welcome points upon sign up but use promo codeBonus_100to get an additional 100 points for a total of 300 total points!
2. Get Paid To Play Free Digital Scratch-Offs Too
Don’t bother going to the liquor store to buy physical scratchers (they get expensive too).
Instead, play digital scratchersfor free onLucktastic.
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 plus it’s easy to play and multi-task at the same time. Get a chance of up to $1M in cash prizes!
Regular giveaways are always happening too. Until October 31st, you could win a trip for four to Walt Disney World!
3. Free 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’moreyou 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!
Theypartner 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.
4. You Gotta Eat! Get Up to $240 Cash Back in Grocery Savings
Did you know that it’s 325% more expensive to eat out versus eating at home*? Maybe it’s time to make more trips to the grocery store instead.
You’ll be aware of all the ingredients in your meal, in addition, you’ll get paid just for shopping!
It’s simple. All you have to do is take a picture of your grocery receipt and Ibottawill 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?
Welcome Bonus:Up to $20
Average savings a month: $20
What it could add up to in a year: $240
Additional Referral Earnings: $5 per referral
5. Look for Auto Insurance Quotes and You Could Save $610 This Year
You’re sharing the same roads with a lot of different people. Distracted people, oblivious people, road-rage people, etc. It’s best to cover yourself with insurance when everyone is operating a giant motor vehicle.
That’s why car insurance exists and is mandatory. You might be overpaying on your current insurance premium though since it can be a hassle finding another provider.
However, you can search for quotes easily on EverQuote. They help match you among dozens of regional agencies and insurance carriers to filter the best matches to save on your car insurance.
It takes about 4 minutes to fill out the form and you’ll see a list of matches that show potential online quotes, email, and potential phone quotes.
EverQuote can save drivers $610 a year on average* compared to their current insurance premiums. Once you see your list of potential matches, choose the online ones you want or wait for more information via email or phone.
It’s a pretty simple process, so try it out to see how much you could be saving on the road!
6. Never Wait 2 Weeks for Your Paycheck Again – Here’s How
“People should have their money once they earn it. That’s how businesses work. When you buy something, you have to pay at once. But when you work, you wait two weeks for your own pay.”
If you agree with this statement, then you’re on the same page with Ram Palaniappan, the CEO, and Founder of Earnin, an app that’ll fast forward your paycheck to today.
In order words, if you worked today, you get paid today with Earnin.
Not everyone is eligible, but most are. If you have the following, you’re golden:
- Direct deposits from your employer into a checking account
- A regular pay schedule (like weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly etc)
- A fixed work location OR an online timekeeping system at work
That’s it. And after you connect your bank and employment info, you’ll get immediate access to your earnings.
You then choose what portion of your paycheck you want to Cash Out. Then, when your normal paycheck arrives via direct deposit, Earnin will just debit the amount you had previously cashed out. Simple!
It’s like having an advance payday loan but without the fees or interest. There is no charge to use Earnin as the app runs on tips by the community. Pay what you wish!
Even if you have a side gig of on-demand jobs, like Uber, Grubhub, Instacart etc, Earnin will work!
7. Never Pay Hidden Fees Again – Here’s How
Common bank fees.
You’re aware of them, you try to avoid them, but you still get hit from time to time.
The worst are overdraft fees (especially when they come in bunches at around $33 per bounce) and out-of-network ATM fees (which are at a record average high of $4.68**).
Good news is that it can be completely avoidable. So this year, make good with your resolution to stop wasting money by setting up fee-free mobile banking with Varo.
There are no monthly account service fees, no foreign transaction fees, and fee-free withdrawals at 55,000+ Allpoint® ATMs worldwide. Also, Varo doesn’t allow overdrafts—so no fees there either! You can conveniently use the Varo Visa® debit card anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted — and the Zero Liability‡ guarantees you won’t be responsible for any unauthorized charges made.
When you open your no account fees bank account, you can open a high yield savings account in a few taps. Start earning 1.92% Annual Percentage Yield (APY)* on your savings and then move up to 2.80% APY* based on qualifying activity. To put this in perspective, the national average APY is only 0.09%!***
In addition, get your paycheck up to 2 days earlier with direct deposit.
This is the new and fee-free way to bank and it takes less than 5 minutes to learn more and apply for free.
8. Play Games, Save Money, Win Cash. Saving is Actually Fun Now.
Look, we know saving money is boring, but it’s just one of those non-negotiables in life. 63% of Americans don’t even have enough to cover a $500 emergency. Yikes.
That’s why Long Game Savings is actually making saving fun by just playing free games on their app. Games are light and easy-to-play (think lotteries, scratchers, slots, and more) and you can win daily cash prizes up to $1M (yes, million) and crypto!
When you set up a savings account, you access the games. The more money you save, the more you can play and now, their new debit card lets you earn more rewards just by spending normally. It has a RoundUp feature that lets your purchases be rounded up to the nearest dollar with the change going towards your savings. So every time you’re buying a meal, getting stuff at Target, etc, you’re contributing to your savings and earning interest!
Long Game Savings is completely free-to-use as banks pay them, not you. There’s no way to lose money, but plenty of ways to earn and win! Plus you can withdraw your money at any time.
9. Binge on Food, Entertainment, Health & Tech News TV for Money
I can barely cook but I love watching food videos. The new season of Chef’s Table? I’m there.
If you’re a video junkie too, become anInbox Dollarsmember where you can watch their TV and Videos section that ranges from Trending News, Entertainment, Food, Health, Tech, and even the latest World News to earn some cash. You’ll also get $5 as a sign-up bonus too!
They set it up in playlists though and they’ll tell you how long it takes as it can range from a few minutes to half an hour.Playlists and earning potential can change, but it’s possible to earn up to $200 a month, watching videos!
More Surveys, More Cash
When you have the downtime, there’s nothing easier than answering some questions in return for cash. If you want more surveys in your life, head over to MyPoints to sign up for free and similar to Inbox Dollars, you can participate in surveys, watch videos, and even read emails for points!
Points turn into gift cards from Amazon, Walmart, Starbucks, as well as PayPal Cash.
Get a $5 bonus when you complete your first 5 surveys!
10. Invest with as Little as $5 From Your Phone
If you feel a little clueless whenever there’s talk about investment portfolios, you’re not alone. It can sound overly complicated.
However, there’s an app that’s like an easy gateway to investing.
It’s calledStash, an investment app that only takes $5 to start and you’ll also get a $5 bonus after funding your first investment!
They curate from over 250 investments which include stocks and Exchange Traded Funds. You’ll get to choose where to put your money based on things like your personal beliefs, interests, and goals.
Finally, investing is no longer for the elite 1% with Stash helping to make it so easy for the rest of us.
11. Stop Losing Money on Recurring Subs and Budget Better
Autopay can be both a blessing and a curse.
No more late payments, woohoo!
Wait, I’ve been paying for a service that I signed up as a free trial? Ouch.
And you wouldn’t be alone. 84% of people forget they have some sort of recurring subscription.
So stop letting money slip away and budget smarter with easy-to-use Truebill.
You’ll see all your current subs at a glance and then you can decide which to cancel, which the app does for you. Even that pesky gym membership that’s typically so hard to get out of.
Truebill also has a killer budgeting feature: it pulls your historical spending, organizes it, and allows you to clearly see your spending so you can set a target budget with context. (Aka you can see where you’re wasting money on).
Already spending 74% of your dining budget and it’s not even mid-month? Time to cut back and the app will even alert you.
It’s simple but actionable money management that anyone can follow and it’s free to use!
12. Just Leave This App On & Get Paid
Panel App is a loyalty incentive app that will give you points just by leaving the app running in the background. This is passive income at it’s best.
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, walk your dog, 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 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 money for literally just leaving the app running on your phone!
TIP: When you’re a new member, it’ll ask you if you want to keep the app running in the background. Just tap “Yes” to continue getting paid!
13. Buy Stuff Normally = Get Gift Cards You Actually Want
If you have room for 1 more app on your phone, then it needs to be this.
Actually, delete another app to make room for this one. It’s that good.
It’s called Drop, a free app that gives you gift cards on stuff you already buy from your favorite stores and brands.
Your everyday purchases from Amazon, Trader Joe’s, and Walmart? You’ll get points for that. Points translate to gift cards so the more you collect, the more you can redeem!
The only thing you need to do is link any credit or debit card you usually use for buying stuff and that’s it! Drop will automatically recognize when you buy from your activated offers to reward.
There’s literally no downside to using this free app to get more gift cards. Use it on top of your loyalty points and credit card points for even more rewards!
LIMITED TIME OFFER: Use promo code SMARTWALLET to unlock 5,000 points ($5) automatically when you link your first card on Drop!
14. 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.
*Results may vary, see website for details.
*325% more expensive eating out vs home source: Investment Zen
*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.
**Average ATM fee source: Bankrate
***0.09% national average APY: FDIC for the week of Feb 11, 2019 https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/resources/rates/#one
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