1. Stop Deleting Your Emails
It turns out that deleting your emails could be costing you serious money. Intrigued?
My new secret weapon is called Paribus — a tool that gets you money back for your online purchases. It’s free to sign up for Paribus. Once you do, they will scan your email archives for any receipts. If it discovers you’ve purchased something from Amazon, Target or one of the other 16 retailers listed on their website, it will track the item’s price and issue you a refund anytime there’s a price drop!
You don’t have to do anything!
It also checks the tracking info for your online orders. If something shows up late, Paribus could help you get money back for what you paid for shipping — up to a full shipping refund.
2. Watch YouTube-Like Videos
The folks over at InboxDollars will actually pay you to watch videos!
Now, most of them aren’t as entertaining as the Grumpy Cat series, but you’re getting paid — so who cares?
The videos are sponsored by brands who need to get them in front of as many eyeballs as possible. Every time you watch one of the ads InboxDollars will credit your account with a little bit of cash.
You’ll get a free $5 just for signing up.
3. Fill This Out While You’re Watching TV
Most of you know surveys aren’t our favorite way to make extra money, but we make an exception when we’re just vegging out on the couch. We figure as long as we’re just watching TV, there’s no reason we can’t click a few buttons at the same time.
Ipsos Panel and VIP Voice are two of the only legitimate paid survey companies out there (they’re rated an A+ with the Better Business Bureau).
Some of these sites do pay in points instead of cold, hard cash, but you can use those points to purchase gift cards with actual cash value. Should you prefer cash over the cards, you can turn around and sell any gift cards you earn.
4. Earn Up to $60/Hour as a Part-Time Bookkeeper
Does earning $60 an hour sound appealing? How about the freedom to work remotely while helping others succeed?
Those are the perks of working as a bookkeeper, says Ben Robinson, a certified public accountant and business owner who teaches others to become virtual bookkeepers.
And no, you don’t have to have a CPA to be successful in this business. In fact, all you really need are decent computer skills and a passion for helping business owners tackle real-world problems.
It’s a great opportunity for moms who want to work part time, millennials who are just out of college and anyone who wants to bring in real money while working from home.
We talked to Ben Robinson about what it takes to become a virtual bookkeeper, as well as tips and advice for making this career track work for you. You can read the full interview here, or check out his website for more information.
5. Download These Apps
A number of companies will actually pay you for downloading apps on your smartphone — and you’ll get paid for every month you keep them installed.
The apps collect data and help companies better understand web and mobile usage — such as what times of day people browse, how long they stay on websites and use apps, and what types of sites and apps are popular (or not).
- Nielsen Panel – If you have a PC or laptop, this Nielsen panel will pay you $50/year to keep this software on your computer and browse the web like you normally do.
- MobileXpression for Android: After you’ve installed this app for one week, you get to play an instant rewards game for a prize. (Everyone wins something.) We won a $25 Amazon gift card, but some of the other prizes include iPads and Samsung TVs.
- MobileXpression iPhone: This is the same, but for iPhones.
- SavvyConnect — You can earn $5 per device (phone, tablet or computer) for each month SavvyConnect is installed. That’s a total of up to $180 per year to help rank the most popular sites and apps. Make sure you keep it installed at least a month to get your first $5 per device.
6. Get a Free $10 Gift Card from Ebates
Believe it or not, there are sites that will give you free gift cards just for signing up with them.
One of my favorites is Ebates, the cash-back shopping site. They’re giving away $10 gift cards if you sign-up as a new member and earn your first cashback rebate. You can choose either a $10 Target, Walmart, Macy’s or Kohl’s gift card.
You do have to wait 30 days. But, it’s free money so can you really complain?
7. Drive with Uber and Lyft
If you find solace on the road and enjoy finding the best route across town, driving with Uber and Lyft is a great way to do it!
As an Uber contractor, you’re responsible for setting your schedule and motivating yourself to work — no one is keeping tabs on you. Your earnings will be calculated by adding a base fare, plus time and distance traveled after your pickup, and Uber charges a service fee (20-35% depending on your city).
If you want to give it a try there are a few things to keep in mind. You must be at least 21 years old, have three years of driving experience, have an in-state driver’s license, a clean driving record and be able to pass a criminal background check.
Finally, your car must be a four-door, seat at least four passengers (excluding the driver), be registered in-state and be covered by in-state insurance.
If you don’t have a car that meets the requirements, Uber’s Vehicle Solutions can connect you to options to help you find one from their network of partnerships.
In participating markets, you could rent a vehicle by the week – a simple way to dip your toes into rideshare driving.
If you qualify, you could also apply for a flexible lease with unlimited mileage and payments deducted directly from your Uber earnings. Ready to buy new? Driving with Uber could get you a discount on eligible vehicles.
Here’s a link to apply with Uber.
Since it’s simple to switch between apps, many Uber drivers also sign up to drive with Lyft.
The company recently announced it’s expanding into 100 new cities this year. Expansion areas include the Southwest, the Southeast, the Carolinas, the Rockies, the Midwest, New England and Central California.
To be eligible, you’ll need to be at least 21 years old with a year of driving experience, pass a background check and own a car made in 2007 or later.
Here’s a link to apply with Lyft.
8. Get a Free $5 From Stash
It’s no brilliant secret that investing can be a smart way to make money.
But it feels restricted to a few wealthy elite.
But Stash is different. This app lets you start investing with as little as $5 and for just a $1 monthly fee (the first months is free).
Stash curates investments from professional fund managers and investors and lets you choose where to put your money.
But they leave the complicated investment terms out of it. You just choose from a set of simple portfolios reflecting your beliefs, interests and goals.
Bonus: Right now, The Penny Hoarder is teaming up with Stash to match your first investment — so you’ll get an extra $5 to get started!
To get your $5 match:
- Download the Stash smartphone app and create your account with the same address.
- That’s it! Within two days, they’ll put $5 into your account!
9. Sell Your Unwanted Stuff With These Apps
Are your closets and shelves packed to the brim with stuff you never use — or even look at?
You can sell virtually anything on letgo. This intuitive app lets you snap a photo and upload your item in less than 30 seconds. Not only does it remove a lot of the hassle of selling things online, it’s 100% free to use.
For old books from college, you can use Bookscouter. Just type your book’s ISBN into the search bar and the site will connect you with more than 25 of the best-paying and most reputable buyback companies online.
10. Rent Your Spare Bedroom (or Backyard) This Weekend
Have a spare room? Might as well use Airbnb to make some money by renting it out.
If you’re a good host with a desirable space, you could add hundreds — even thousands — of dollars to your savings account with Airbnb.
And there’s no reason you can’t be creative. We even found a guy that earns $1,380/month renting out a backyard tent on Airbnb!
Taking a few simple steps can make the difference between a great experience and a less-than-satisfactory one.
Here are a few tips:
- Make your space available during high-demand times in your area. Think: concerts, conventions and sporting events in your area.
- Be a good host, and make sure your place is stocked with the toiletries you’d expect at a hotel — toilet paper, soap and towels.
- Be personable. A lot of travelers turn to Airbnb for the personal touch they won’t find at commercial properties.
Here’s the link to sign up as an Airbnb host.
(Hosting laws vary from city to city. Please understand the rules and regulations applicable to your city and listing.)
11. Sell Your Extra CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, Video Games and Electronics
Have a bunch of movies or CDs collecting dust on a shelf? Decluttr will pay you for them!
Decluttr buys your old CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays and video games, plus hardware like cell phones, tablets, game consoles and iPods.
One user, Gil Flores, sold about 100 DVDs and 75 CDs and made $275 — an average of $1.57 each.
Just download the app and start scanning the barcodes on your media to get immediate quotes. It’s completely free to use, there are no listing or seller fees, payment is super fast and there is even free shipping.
Plus, enter PENNY10 at checkout to get an extra 10% for your trade-ins!
12. Earn $250 By Opening a Second Bank Account
We’ve put together a huge list of banks that will pay you just to open a bank account! Some of them will pay you up to $250 just for opening a savings account!
There’s no harm in having multiple bank accounts. In fact, I often find it’s helpful to have multiple places to save (I’m less likely to touch the money), so I have savings accounts for my Christmas fund and my vacation fund.
The top bank bonus is $250 right now — head over to this list to see all of the banks in your area that are offering free cash.
13. Earn a $100+ Bonus by Opening a New Credit Card
As long as you pay down your credit balance in full each month, rewards cards are a great way to make some extra money.
We’re not advocating that you open 1,497 credit cards like this guy, but taking advantage of a sign-up bonus here or there can definitely help your bank account
Check out this list of seven credit cards with no annual fee that offer a $100 bonus or more when you open a new account.
14. Play Games on Your Smartphone
A new app called appKarma lets you earn points for trying different apps and playing games on your phone. You can trade in points for cash via PayPal and gift cards.
AppKarma lists games and apps that app publishers want people to try. Before you download, you’ll see how many points you can earn and how much you have to engage with the app to earn them.
In some cases, you’ll earn rewards for installing and playing with an app for a few minutes. In other higher payout offers, you’ll have to complete additional tasks, like reach a certain game level, play through a tutorial, register for an account or sign up for a free trial.
For example, you can earn points for playing an action game and reaching level 10.
As you continue to use the app by completing offers and checking in daily, you can also earn achievement badges, which let you earn extra bonuses. Certain badges can help multiply your earnings. The more you play games or longer you use an app, the more you can earn.
There are a lot of rewards opportunities inside the app, so cashing out on appKarma is quick and easy.
Click here to check out appKarma and receive 500 points for signing up.
Note for iOS users: Due to regulations, appKarma isn’t in the App Store. Instead, you’ll be prompted to install a companion app called Word Karma, a word scrambling game. Opening Word Karma will redirect you to appKarma’s web application, where you’ll see offers to try apps and games for rewards.
15. Collect Points for Gift Cards on All Your Purchases
Pssstt… We’ve got a secret.
There’s a new rewards platform on the market, but it hasn’t been released nationally yet — it’s just for us Penny Hoarders.
Drop is a financial tech company that rewards for your purchases.
As an exclusive Drop user, all you have to do is link your credit and debit cards. When you make a Drop-qualified purchase, you’ll automatically earn points, whether you’re grocery shopping, hailing an Uber or ordering a pizza. The points will add up, and you can then exchange them for gift cards to popular retailers like Amazon and Starbucks.
It’s the ultimate loyalty card — without the card.
Penny Hoarders must use a special code backtoschool to gain early access. You’ll automatically score 5,000 points.
16. Get Paid to Go on Secret Missions
Remember scavenger hunts when you were a kid? Ever pretend you were a private investigator on an important mission?
Don’t let a few years get in the way of your fun.
QuickThoughts turns your cell phone into private-eye technology, taking you on top-secret missions in your area.
Was that Target clean the last time you shopped there? Were the checkout lines long?
QuickThoughts Missions relies on your input — and sneakily-taken cellphone photography — to give businesses important feedback. And like any respectable PI, you get paid for your investigative footwork. Pretending as an adult is looking better and better!
Using your phone’s GPS technology, the app will prompt you for information from places you’ve visited in the past few weeks, as well as places it detects you’re visiting right now.
It even has missions you can accept and complete in the future. For instance, it might prompt you to go to your local Walgreens and snap a photo of the seasonal display.
And you’ll earn valuable gift cards for Amazon and iTunes while you’re at it.
17. Get Paid to Drop a Few Pounds
Bottom line: HealthyWage will literally pay you for losing weight.
So not only are you getting more healthy, but you’re also making some money. How’s that for motivation?
Here’s how it works:
- Sign up for HealthyWage,
- Define a goal weight and the amount of time you’ll give yourself to achieve it.
- Place a bet on yourself ranging from $20 to $500 a month.
Depending on how much you have to lose, how long you give yourself to do it and how much money you put on the table, you could win up to $10,000!
Teresa Suarez lost 68 pounds — and made over $2,400.
How many pounds you’d need to lose: This will vary based on your wager. Check out their calculator to find out!
18. Get Cash Back on Restaurant Gift Cards
You may already know that Swagbucks can help you earn SBs by taking surveys or watching videos online. Well, now you can earn more SBs by purchasing gift cards through the site.
Stick with us. It’s pretty easy.
First, buy a gift card from MyGiftCardsPlus through Swagbucks. Search for your favorite restaurant and buy the gift card. Swagbucks will give you cash back on the purchase.
Some of our favorites include Chipotle, Panera, Chili’s, IHOP, The Cheesecake Factory, Krispy Kreme, Domino’s and Papa Johns.
Then go eat. You’ll earn SBs from the gift card purchase you can use toward future gift cards.
Plus, if you sign up now, you can get a $5 bonus when you make your first purchase.
19. Snag This $10 Amazon Gift Card
Have you heard of MyPoints?
It’s a cash-back site that lets you earn rewards by shopping online and printing coupons. We use it all the time at our house, because it’s instant way to save on everything you buy (for example, you can get up to 5% cash-back on purchases in some categories on Amazon).
But, enough about that, here’s how to get a free $10 Amazon gift card that you can use to buy groceries (or anything for that matter):
- Sign up for MyPoints here using your email or Facebook account (it’s free).
- Use the MyPoints portal the next time you need to shop online (it’s connected to thousands of stores including Walmart, Amazon, and Target).
- As long as you spend $10 at any of those stores, MyPoints will reward you with 1,750 bonus points which you can redeem for a free $10 Amazon gift card.
20. Help a Business Professional Organize Their Day
If you have a knack for organization and communication, there are people who will pay you to help organize their day!
You don’t have to be the busy corporate assistant you see in old movies or TV — now you can be a virtual assistant right from your couch.
VA gigs vary in pay, hours and workload. You might help people and businesses with data entry, social media management, website maintenance, research and customer service.
Find virtual assistant jobs through these sites:
21. Rent Out Your RV
How many people do you know who bought an RV for one awesome camping trip or music festival… only to look back a few years later and realize they don’t use it as much as they thought they would?
If you’re in that boat (er, camper), you can turn your unused RV into cash.
You can rent your RV to other travelers through RVshare, a peer-to-peer rental marketplace.
How much you’ll earn per day will vary based on your location and the type of vehicle you have. We ran a quick hypothetical and found that Class A models made in the past 15 years range $185 – $375 a night here in St. Petersburg, Florida!
That’s a smart way to make your pricy RV pay for itself — or to bank some cash for your next big road trip.
To see how much you could earn renting out your RV, enter the specs here.
22. These U-Haul Jobs Let You Work From Home
Some good news for those of you who want to work from home…
Thanks to one of our readers, we found out U-Haul is hiring part-time, work-from-home customer service representatives all across the country. (Thanks for the tip, Tasha!)
Even better, you don’t need a college degree OR experience to snag one. U-Haul lists three work-from-home positions on its site. They’re categorized as “moonlighter jobs” with flexible hours, which U-Haul says are ideal for people with other work or familial responsibilities.
For each, you’ll need to have a headset, high-speed internet and a computer with Windows XP or 7. Training is paid and lasts four weeks. We reached out to U-Haul for further details about the jobs, and will update the post if and when we hear back.
23. Rate Your Local Pizza Place
Awww…yeah! Who wouldn’t want $5 and a free large pizza? 🙂
As many of you know I was a professional mystery shopper for many years (I got my start conducting liquor audits all over the Southeast).
One of the most popular types of mystery shops is for pizza companies — both Papa Johns and Pizza Hut regularly conduct mystery shops at all of their locations. As part of the assignment you’re required to time their delivery service, quality of pizza, etc.
It’s pretty easy to do and you can do it several times a year. If you’re interested in giving it a try, here’s a list of my favorite mystery shopping companies.
24. Pick Up Babysitting Gigs Whenever You’re Available
Ever overhear your co-workers mumbling about needing a night off from little people at home? You’ll be surprised to learn how hard it is to find a sitter!
Keep your eyes and ears peeled, and offer to babysit while friends or co-workers go out for the evening — you could earn $50 to $100.
If you don’t want to bother the people you already know, sign up with SitterCity.
Once you create your profile on the app, you can browse babysitting jobs in your area. Parents post to the app looking for full-time nannies, date-night sitters, last-minute care, and even pet or senior care and housekeeping.
Families can review your profile and run a background check before contacting you. Then you’ll meet them over the phone or in person to talk about their needs and your rates.
If you like hanging out with kids, babysitting could make a fulfilling full-time job or just a fun way to make extra money in your free time.
25. Sell Your Unlimited Data Plan for Up to $2,000
Grandfathered into an amazing unlimited data plan for your phone or tablet?
You can sell that.
If you’re not making use of all those GBs, put it up on eBay — unlimited data plans are selling for between $300 and $2,000 each.
It’s a little more complicated than it sounds — after all, these plans weren’t meant to be resold. But if you’re down with a little loophole dance, this could net you big.
26. Get Paid $100+ to Write an Article for These Sites
If you like to write and have a strong knowledge of your favorite topic (or several), find blogs that will pay you to write articles.
As a freelance blogger, you can work as much or little as you want, so this makes a nice side gig. Check out these seven blogs that pay $100 or more per post.
Want to share your parenting expertise? Check out these parenting blogs and magazines looking for writers.
27. Make an Extra $50 Working for Amazon
Have you heard of Amazon Mechanical Turk? Unlike other online sites that look for contract help, the Amazon Mechanical Turk service offers easy to accomplish tasks that can be completed by almost anyone with a computer.
From the articles and advice I’ve read from others completing tasks, the key seems to be just to jump in and quickly accept the next task you are qualified for. Don’t spend time hunting for the perfect task, just do them next, next, next, etc. While basic tasks may only pay $0.10 they are easy and quick to complete. It does not take long to complete a task in less than a minute, so in an hour, with little experience, you can make $6 to $10 depending on how fast you are.
Amazon Mechanical Turk is not a get rich quick scam or one of those make massive income in your spare time ripoffs. But, realistically you can make an extra $50 or so each month.
28. Sell Your Coupons
What can you do with the extra coupons you won’t use from your newspaper each week? Sell them on eBay.
You’ll have to pay seller fees, but you might be surprised at how much a single coupon can net you — some bring in $300! People are dedicated to getting 10% off at Sears or Target with the right coupon. Are you dedicated enough to spot a sales opportunity when you see it next to the funny pages?
29. Earn Up to $30/Day Going to the Movies
I actually got paid $30 to attend one of the Harry Potter movie premieres. And it’s the 5th movie premiere I’ve been paid to attend. Let me explain.
Theaters and movie studios are interested in collecting data about the audience that attends their movie premieres. They want to know how many people buy tickets on opening day, what screening time is most popular, and what previews are being shown. And they want independent data from 3rd party evaluators.
They are known as “in-theater checks” and to apply, you’ll need to fill out an application with one of the largest mystery shopping companies, Certified Field Associates. The application is just a few questions long and nearly everyone in the United States and Canada is eligible to be hired.
(Note: I get a lot of questions about how to know if a mystery shopping company is real. Here’s a hint: you should never have to pay a fee to join! That’s a big red flag!)
Once you’ve been accepted as a new auditor with Certified Field Associates, you will want to keep a close eye on their online assignment list. As new assignments become available, they will be posted to that list. If you find a movie that you would like to attend, you have the ability to self-assign the project to yourself. “In-theater checks” don’t have huge paydays attached to them, but you can usually expect to make between $10-20 per hour.
30. Check Your Wallet for Strange Dollars
Specifically, dollar bills with strange serial numbers — ones that aren’t easy to come by. The collectors at CoolSerialNumbers.com have created a list of their most-wanted serial numbers, and you might have a bill with one of these sequences on it in your wallet.
Turns out antique coins aren’t the only currency worth cash to collectors.
Check out the full list to see if you’ve got any of these rare bills, but here’s a rundown of the sort of serial numbers these collectors are looking for:
- 7 repeating digits in a row on $1 Federal Reserve Notes (i.e. 09999999, 77777776)
- 7 of a kind on $1 Federal Reserve Notes (i.e. 00010000, 99999099)
- Super repeaters on $1 Federal Reserve Notes (i.e. 67676767)
- Double quads on $1 Federal Reserve Notes (i.e. 00009999)
- and more!
31. Proofread Documents
If you’ve got a keen eye for grammar and formatting, freelance proofreading could be your next great gig — one that pays about $17 an hour. The average rate per page for proofreading is 35 cents, so your earnings depend on how efficiently you work. It’s not a great moneymaker for procrastinators!
Curious about learning how to become a proofreader? Sign up for this free seven-day mini-course on ProofreadAnywhere.com!
32. Serve as a Mock Juror
Fascinated by courtroom drama, but hate wasting the day in jury duty for a measly $4 payout?
Serve as an online mock juror to help lawyers prepare for real cases. You can earn $10 to $60 for about an hour of your time. Instead of hearing arguments from both sides of the case, you review evidence, like documents, videos and photos, at your computer.
33. Sell Board Game Pieces
Ever seen a board game in the thrift store but noticed with great sadness it was missing half the pieces?
You might want to put the game in your shopping cart anyway. One Penny Hoarder made $250 in six months selling spare board game pieces online. You can even sell “mystery bags” of pieces for $12 a pop!
It may take some time for your listings to sell, but if you follow Laura’s guide, you can probably make $100 in about three months.
34. Jump on the Class-Action Bandwagon
If you use a product that’s involved in a class-action lawsuit, a little online legwork could get you a cash payout. The rules of each settlement are different, but in most cases you’ll have to provide proof of purchase or product use, like a serial number or a receipt. Once you fill out your online claim form, you may have to wait a few weeks or months before receiving your payment.
Psst — we regularly post new class-action settlement information, so check in often to make sure you’re not missing a chance to get paid!
35. Find Your Missing Money
Search online to find unclaimed money from retirement accounts you’ve forgotten, old security deposits and more. Check the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators website to find out how to search in your home state.
This strategy can only help you find your own misplaced money. If you keep good track of your cash already, you may not find anything.
36. Work as a Transcriptionist
Are you a good listener — and a good typist? You can make $15 to $25 an hour as a transcriptionist.
You’ll need experience in the medical or legal fields to get those transcription assignments, but plenty of researchers, reporters and Average Joes are willing to pay for someone to type up their recordings.
You get paid per audio hour, so this is another task that’s perfect for people with great focus. If an hour-long recording takes you four hours to transcribe, you still only get paid for one hour. Listen closely!
37. Sell Your Smartphone Photos
If you have a smartphone and a photographic eye, making money may have just gotten a lot easier. Oh yeah – you’ll also need access to marketable scenery.
There’s a new app called Foap that allows you to turn your smartphone photos into cash.
Here’s how it works. You download the free app. You sign up for an account. You take a quality photo. You upload photo to Foap’s marketplace. Someone buys the license to your photo for $10. You make $5.
If your photo sells 20 times, you make $5 each time and end up with $100 in your pocket — all for about five minutes of work. Pretty cool, right?
38. Get Paid to Watch (More) TV
Trivia fiends will love this.
Download the Perk Pop Quiz app and pick from one of the many trivia categories — The 90’s & The 2000s, Music & Movie Quotes and Famous Slogans are just a few.
The more correct answers you rack up, the more points you get. You can redeem those points for gift cards to Amazon, Starbucks, Nike, GameStop, Target and other stores.
You’re not going to get rich doing this, but it’s a fun way to make an extra $15 to $20 a month for the shows you already enjoy watching.
39. Tutor Chess Players
Love to play chess? Tutor other chess players online to make $35 to $50 per hour.
Tutoring sites like WyzAnt can take a big cut (40% until you hit 20 hours of tutoring!), but you’ll get practice (and get paid) without leaving the house. Even if you’re a lower-rated player, you can charge $20 per hour to work with beginners.
40. Rent Your Clothing
You can make money renting clothing through sites like Loanables or Style Lend.
If you’ve got lots of special-occasion or high-end clothes, you could practically be running your own Rent the Runway from your closet!
Make sure to read the fine print on rental sites. Some don’t charge any fees to the buyers and sellers, but some charge a rental commission of 3 to 5% per order. You’ll need to price your wares accordingly to account for any commission handed over to the company!
41. Earn Up to $700/Month Evaluating Search Results
I’ll make about $700 this month for evaluating search engine results this month.
And the best part? Most of it is done while sitting at home in my pajamas. What am I doing? Let me explain…
Search engines use complicated algorithms to determine the results you see. For example, if you type the name of one of our writers, Steve Gillman, into a Google search box, a half-million possibly-relevant web pages will be narrowed down using various criteria until a second later you see his smiling face. You’ll also see links to his personal website, his blog on the Huffington Post, and LinkedIn profiles for a bunch of guys who share his name.
But the search engines don’t always get it right.
They are full of errors, so they need real humans to look at the results and judge them for quality, relevancy, and usefulness. If you’re interested in this type of work, head over to this article to get more info on how to apply.
42. Find Virtual Odd Jobs on TaskRabbit
TaskRabbit helps you connect with regular people who need help getting things done — everything from picking up dry cleaning to calling customer service and tolerating the hold music.
Keep an eye out for virtual tasks, which are mostly centered around personal assistance, administrative work or research help. Last year, TaskRabbit established a pricing floor of $14 for its Taskers. You can rest assured that you won’t be getting paid pennies to solve someone’s Excel woes.
43. Hang Out at Bars
mihailomilovanovic/Getty Images
Sign up for the Bar Integrity Mystery Shop through the Mystery Shopping Providers Association to get paid to go to bars.
As a mystery shopper, you’ll pose as a regular customer — while secretly rating each bar on speed of service, friendliness, accuracy, cleanliness and other factors.
MSP offers other types of mystery shops, as well. Choose what fits your schedule, so you can pick up retail shopping and restaurants, too, if you want to round out your day.
44. Open a NetSpend Account for a Free $20
Editor’s Note (7/28/16): This has worked for more than 10,000 readers so far, but we’ve also heard from more than 100 folks that they were not credited with their $20 bonus. Furthermore, it looks the Netspend customer service is not very helpful in addressing these issues, so we’re no longer 100% confident in this offer.
This is another easy $20 just for requesting a prepaid, reloadable card from Netspend.
1. Click HERE and ”Open a NetSpend account” for FREE. Use the promotion code “1180516423”
2. You will receive your NetSpend “Visa” Debit card within 10 business days. Mine made it here in four days.
3. Once you receive the card, simply log into NetSpend and activate it.
4. In order to get the FREE $20, you’ll need to load the card with a minimum of $40 using PayPal, a bank account or one of the other many options.
5. Once you load $40, NetSpend will add $20 to your available balance on the card. I confirmed this myself with my own card.
6. Go to the ATM and withdraw the $60 total from your card or spend the funds at your local store, online or wherever you can use a credit card. Yes, if you withdraw the money via ATM or cash back, you’ll be hit with the $2 fee for a PIN transaction or a $2.50 ATM Fee (would only be $17.50-$18 bonus in this case). But, you can avoid the fee by ACH transferring it for free back to your bank
Read more it here: “Free $20 Cash for Signing Up at Netspend”
45. Make Money Test-Driving Cars
Working through a company like BestMark, you’ll go to car lots and pose as a potential buyer.
So you get to test drive a car, which is pretty cool.
It also means you listen to the sales pitch, which is less exciting. But then you report back on your experience and get paid!
I used to do automotive mystery shopping, and I’d make $60 for each dealership I visited.
46. Sell Your Friendship
Get paid to be someone’s buddy! I’m not kidding.
You can register to become a Friend at RentAFriend.com, where paying users can contact you to attend concerts, sporting events, family functions, VIP events and more.
You can charge up to $50 an hour and set your own schedule.
Friends working full time (five days a week) earn up to $2,000 a week, plus free dinners and access to those events I mentioned.
What could you do as a “Friend” for 40 hours a week?
First of all, the site clarifies that it is “solely a platonic friendship website” — beyond that, options are endless.
If you have a special skill, like cooking or foreign language, you could teach them. Some people traveling or new to an area hire a Friend to show them the town. Some people just want someone to talk to.
47. Sell Your Junk Mail
[Ed. note, Sept. 2016: At this time, SBK Center is no longer accepting applications from U.S. residents; however, residents of Canada are still being accepted.]
I don’t know about you, but I get a ton of junk mail.
My email inbox and mailbox are both full of crap from different cable providers, credit card offers, car insurance, etc.
If you’ve ever wondered what you could do with all the junk mail besides recycling it or sending it to your email’s trash folder, SBK Center has the answer.
This market research company will happily accept your junk mail and email and give you Visa prepaid cards for it, which work just like debit cards.
48. Get Paid to Wear T-Shirts
[Ed. note: As of Sept. 2016, IWearYourShirt.com is no longer active.]
From 2009-2013, Jason Zook made money promoting businesses wearing their T-shirts through his business IWearYourShirt.com.
He and several “shirt wearers” worked with more than 1,600 businesses before deciding to move on to other projects.
So, there could be a hole in the market…
What creative ways can you think of to promote small businesses?
Zook even used his notoriety to make money selling his last name — over the years, he’s been Jason Sadler, Jason Headsetsdotcom and Jason SurfrApp!
49. Sell Jellyfish
Yes, there’s a market for pet jellyfish. And they’re not cheap.
The first retailer of its kind, JellyfishArt.com sell jellyfish, their specialized LED-lit tanks, food and other products. The least-expensive kit at the site costs $330.
How do you break into this bizarre business?
There’s a bit of a learning curve, but it’s not impossible: Alex Andon founded Jellyfish Art with less than $100 for advertising, plus loads of guts and creativity.
50. Flip a Freebie
Selling Craigslist freebies is a great way to make a profit quickly, because you get the items for free.
You could even have cash in hand today.
Go to the free section on Craigslist and look for things that are close to you and easy to sell immediately. They could be scraps from a job site or metal items you can sell, for example.
For a quick turnaround, avoid items like furniture or electronics. These can be good to sell, too, but will take longer.
Cash in your treasures by reselling on Craigslist, including them in a rummage sale or selling to specialty buyers, like a pawn shop or a local business that could use whatever you’ve just picked up.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
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