Beginner's Guide To Making Extra Money

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Get Started Putting Extra Money (Hundreds) In Your Pocket

Welcome to Adding Pennies.

The blog is meant to show you how to get started putting extra money back in your pocket with little time and effort.

This blog is for people who want to put a couple extra hundred a month or more in their pocket with little effort.

It is not for people who want real income.

If you want additional real income, you will need to try other ventures like overtime, a new job, or a full-fledged side business.

That is not the intent of this blog though.

An extra couple hundred can allow you to squeeze small things into a tight budget like eating out, buying a new outfit, or purchasing electronics.

It can even help you achieve bigger goals like starting or growing an emergency fund, building savings, adding to retirement, or even saving for kid’s college.

The average person in America cannot meet a $500 emergency, so this is no small accomplishment.

The digital age has given rise to an industry of apps and websites that exist to give you cash for various activities.

Most of these companies exist to make money by marketing, so make sure you are ok with privacy permissions.

The blog focuses on the two sides of the money equation:

Making extra money
Saving money

Making extra money involves things like receipt scanning apps, bank bonuses, or surveys.

Saving money involves things like cutting expenses like dining out or getting you a good deal.

This page will focus mostly on making money.

Don’t underestimate saving money though either.

Many people have been able to leave full time work and work part time by cutting their expenses.

Again, none of our money making apps and sites will replace income.

Some of the activities on this page may even seem small, $20 here and $10 there.

You will be surprised how this can turn into a couple extra hundred a month.

Others may make you a hundred or more a month.

The magic is in combining these activities.

Later, I will add a free course to show you how to cut hundreds off your monthly budget and address saving money again.

You will get this 5 day course when you sign up for our e-mail list.

Look for it soon.

All of these companies that help you make extra money are legitimate apps and websites that you can use effortlessly.

All have been featured in publications like the New York Times, Forbes, etc.

Since there are so many and not all will work for everyone, we created this page to get you started.

First, you need to know the various types of apps and websites that give you free money.

Types of legitimate free money makers

Swagbucks’ Discover is one of my highest moneymakers and requires using the site Swagbucks. I make between $100 – 200 or more a month. This section of Swagbucks offers money for signing up for everything from bank bonuses to meal services like Hello Fresh.
Receipt scanning apps require taking a picture of your receipts. The average person can make an easy $100 per month with these.
Online Shopping Portals or Apps/websites give you cash back for shopping online. Amount varies by how much you shop.
Paid Online Survey sites pay you for your opinions. The average person can make $20-$50 per month with these.
Other includes anything that puts money back in your pocket like used gift card sites like Raise or a good deal.

I. Swagbucks Discover

What is Swagbucks’ Discover?

Swagbucks’ Discover is a section of the Swagbucks’ website.

It is on every big deal site.

Why?

You can make hundreds a month at times.

This as well as bank bonuses are my highest source of extra month (thousand(s) a year).

in case you have never heard of the website Swagbucks, it is way for people to make some pocket change doing various activities like:

shopping online
taking surveys
watching videos
surfing the web

Most things on Swagbucks won’t make you hundreds a month though.

At most, you could make $25-$50 a month from something like surveys.

The only section that may make you more than that (besides Swagbucks’ Discover) is the online shopping portal if you do a huge amount of online shopping.

You can read about online cash back sites below in another section.

You can also read about surveys later in this guide too.

Swagbucks’ Discover allows you to try new services and make a profit.

Some sample services you may try include:

signing up for online banks
trying meal kits like Hello Fresh
trying subscriptions like VPNs
giving to charities
streaming services like CBS All Access

Here are some current examples:

Get $250 for joining GoodRX
Get $100 after buying Vuse Vapor product & spending $25 ($75 profit)
Signing up for Hello Fresh & get $50
Deposit $200 in Etoro account & get $100 (you would get your deposit back)
Open online Aspiration account & get $70
Open Current online bank & get $100
Open Chime Online bank & get $120

Not all offers are worthwhile, so you can follow Adding Pennies On Twitter for the best offers to not waste time.

You can read more about the Swagbucks’ Discover program in this post.

Here are two recent offers that I did.

First, I ordered a Vuse vapor product for $25 and got $100 ($75 profit).

You can do this offer every 30 days.

It will make you an easy $100 ($75 profit).

I don’t smoke.

I just like money.

The offer required spending $25, and then you would get $100.

That comes to $75 profit again.

Next, I did the Current online bank offer a couple of months ago.

You get $100 for opening a premium online checking account.

Most people who get into bank bonuses fake a direct deposit, but I used my real direct deposit.

Forty-five days later, I got paid $100 through Swagbucks.

I then closed the account.

You can downgraded to the free account (premium $4.95 a month).

How to get started with Swagbucks’ Discover?

Open Swagbucks’ account, Sign up here with this link to get $13
Go to Discover section of site
Search for offers using “featured offers’ or “sign ups”
Pick offers and complete
Follow instructions carefully
Get paid

II. RECEIPT SCANNING APPS

What are receipt scanning apps?

Receipt scanning apps are smartphone apps that allow you to get cash for taking a picture of your receipts, usually from grocery stores.

They are simple since it takes seconds to snap a picture.

Most people can earn an easy $100 for doing these.

We have a page with more information here.

The page has more information.

How To Get Started With Receipt Scanning Apps

My suggestion is to sign up for all these apps.

Again, that is how the magic really works.

Below is a list of the apps I use.

You will my earning from each app also below.

I would just sign up for all them on the list.

It takes only seconds.

Most will allow you to take a picture of the same receipt, meaning each receipt will get money from each app it qualifies.

If you only want to start with one and then try others later, I suggest Ibotta first.

Everyone has to buy groceries.

You can sign up for all of them to start though again.

That is my recommendation again.

Since most reward you with a $3-$10 sign up bonus, make sure to follow the rules to get your bonus.

Use our links, so we can get credit for referring you.

We have reviews for most of the apps (listed below).

Just use our “search” button at the top of the page.

Receipt Scanning Apps To Start With

Here is list of the receipt scanning apps to start with:

Ibotta
Shopkick Use promo code DEAL8010
Receipt Hog
Receipt Pal
Fetch Use promo code X4VMA

Each is explained in our receipt scannning apps page.

The page tells you everything you need to do to start making money with receipt scanning apps.

My Earning From Receipt Scanning Apps Per Mont

Total : $93 per month

III. Online Cash Back Sites

What are cashback portals?

Cash back websites give you cash for shopping online.

The portals takes you to the website of the merchant you want to shop at.

By adding this extra step, you get cash back on all your purchases.

On average, these sites give you about 5-10% back.

If you shop online (and you should), this is a no brainer.

Not using a cash back portal is simply leaving money on the table.

The most popular one is Rakuten.

Most people should sign up at least 2-4 portals.

Use our list of portals below.

Different sites have higher cash back at certain stores at different times.

For instance, let’s say you want to shop at Macy’s.

You check cashbackmonitor.com to see which portal has the highest rate.

This week, Topcashback is offering 8%, and Be Frugal is offering 4%.

Cash Back Monitor will list several portals, but in this example, since the rate is double, you may want to choose TopCashBack if it is the highest paying portal.

If portals were similar, and your main portal was Be Frugal, maybe you would stick with that.

The following week, Be Frugal may be offering 8% and TopCashBack may be offering 2%.

So again you might make a different decision.

These are just examples.

You can sign up for several portals because sometimes the rate may be too good to pass over at one portal.

For instance, when I paid for hosting, most portals were offering around $50 for the hosting I wanted.

Rebates Me was offering a huge $95.

That was an offer to good to pass up, and those will come along.

I had never used Rebates Me, but I signed up.

Just be warned that each portal has a sign up bonus as I will explain later, so make sure you meet it.

So you may want to slowly sign up for several.

After you sign up for several, pick 2-4 to use as your main portals.

You want your cash to build up and not have accounts with $1 just sitting there.

Usually, most portals have a $20 minimum to cash out again.

Although two of my favorites, TopCashBack and Be Frugal have no minimum to cash out.

All portals usually give a $10 sign up bonus.

So if you sign up for all of these, you will probably get a $100 .

We have reviews of many of these portals on the blog.

Use our “search” button again.

WARNING: Don’t make the mistake I made. I signed up for sites like TopCashback.com and did not get the $10 sign-up bonus. (This was a long time ago when I was not paying attention to free money.)

So make sure to meet the initial spending requirement (usually around $10-$25) and get the sign-up bonus. Otherwise, don’t sign-up until you are ready to meet the initial spend.

As always, use cashbackmonitor.com to find the highest rate for the store you want.

How to get started with online shopping portals?

1. Pick a portal

If you are a beginner, I would suggest Rakuten, TopCashBack, or Be Frugal.

Rakuten is the most popular one that most people start with.

They pay every three months, so if you want cash quicker, I would suggest TopCashBack or Be Frugal.

Swagbucks is another good one.

Most people are already using Swagbucks for other things, and they usually pay monthly.

If you have a merchant in mind (i.e. Macy’s, Amazon), check cashbackmonitor.com to see who has the highest rate, and then you can choose your portal based on that.

I would still suggest beginners choose between Rakuten or Swagbucks.

If you have already been using shopping portals, I suggest you sign up for ones on our top ten list listed below.

Again, signing up for all of them will get you an easy $100.

It won’t be quick, online portals can take at least a month to pay, but it is still an extra $100.

2. Complete the sign up process

If you are new to portals, complete the sign up process for whichever portal you picked in the first step.

3. Go to the portal and click on your store

Use the portal you picked in step one, and find the merchant you want.

Click on the merchant, and shop as normal.

4. Complete your purchase

Complete your purchase in one setting.

Your purchase has to track for you to get credit.

If you leave and come back later, it will not track.

So only do these last steps when you are ready to buy.

5. Get your cash

Your purchase will be pending at the portal.

This is usually a month or more period.

Once it clears, you just have to meet the minimum to cash out with each portal.

Both Rakuten and Swagbucks will let you cash out at $5.

A lot of other portals require at least $25 minimum though.

TopCashBack has no minmum.

Again, you will not be able to cash out until your purchase is not in pending status.

This usually takes 30-90 days.

This is done by merchants to make sure people don’t make returns and take the money.

Make sure your purchase tracks within the first seven days after purchase.

You should see it on the portal as pending within a week.

List Of Cash Back Portals To Start With

Ebates (Rakuten) : Get $10. Sign up here
Swagbucks: Get $3 Sign up here
Ibotta: Get $10 Sign up here
Be Frugal: Get $10. Sign up here
Top Cashback: Sign-up here
Lemoney Sign up here
Giving Assistant Get $5 Sign up here
Mr. Rebates Get $5 Sign up here
Coupon Cactus Sign up here
Rebates Me Instant $5, Sign up here

IV. Paid Online Survey Sites

What are paid online surveys?

Paid online survey sites give you cash for your opinion.

Surveys can take a lot of time without proper guidance.

It is not suggested that you waste too much time on these.

I think at most the average person can do thirty minutes to an hour each day of surveys without wasting time.

That comes out to one to two surveys per day for the average person again.

Honestly, I don’t consistently do this every day.

If you have even less time than that though, you can just get $5-$10 gift cards every now and then.

Surveys average $1-$4 per hour, so again don’t waste too much time.

I learned something new now that I do surveys regularly again.

I had done surveys for years but took time off.

In my month or so experiment, I was able to get between $20-$50 per month with surveys now that I had time to do them more often after years.

Since this is hardly noticed in my day, it is not as bad as I once thought.

If you are time rich, maybe you can do something better.

I don’t recommend it though.

If you have a normal full time job again, I think thirty minutes to an hour a day is ideal though.

That comes out to $20-$50 per month at one or two surveys a day.

If you don’t have time for that, you can just get $5 gift cards here and there again when you have time.

If you do too many surveys, you can get tired.

At one or two a day, they probably won’t be noticed in your day though.

That is the point.

That is my recommendation for most people.

After you make money from surveys, you can also let your cash build up for things like holiday shopping or other big goals.

I usually cash out often and put my money from everything I do in a separate account.

There have been glitches in systems with people who let their money build up, so I prefer a personal savings account.

The good thing about surveys is that you can do them in your bed and between your favorite shows.

Most surveys are only fifteen to twenty minutes.

I think if you can give up thirty minutes to an hour of television or surfing social media, $20-$50 a month is ok spare change.

Remember, the magic is in combining surveys with the other things on the page and on the site.

If you made $50 a month from surveys, $100 from receipt scanning apps, $50 from shopping portals, and $50 from reward cards, that is an extra $250 per month.

Again, there are more things to combine than what is on this page.

How to get started with online paid surveys?

1. Sign up for a survey site

Pick from the list below.

I suggest Swagbucks for most people because you can make money doing other things.

Survey Junkie is great too.

I list others in case you find a time when there are not enough surveys.

Each has a sign up bonus, so make sure to follow rules and receive your bonus.

2. Complete profile and start surveys

Make sure to complete your profile.

It should help you get the right surveys.

Then, just get to those surveys.

Again, one or two in your day should not be noticed.

Go for surveys with the highest points.

For example, Swagbuck currently has surveys at the following amounts:

100 SB ($1)
60 SB ($.60)
20 SB ($.20)

In this example, you would choose the 100 SB or $1 one.

Expect to get disqualified too.

If you do one survey a day at thirty minutes, since surveys are around twenty minutes, I expect you will spend ten minutes in disqualification time.

That means after you answered the initial questions, the survey was not a good fit, and you need to try another survey.

3. Cash out and get your money

Each survey site has a certain amount you have to reach to cash out.

Swagbucks lets you cash out with PayPal at 500 SB or $5.

Survey Junkie requires $10.

Inbox Dollars requires $35.

After you have reached the required amount, get your cash.

LIST OF SURVEY SITES TO START WITH

If you are interested in surveys, here are the sites I use. I will review more survey sites later.

I think Swagbucks or Survey Junkie will be best for most people.

I suggest the other two in case your particular demographic does not have enough surveys on those two sites I recommended.

Right now, I just use Swagbucks, but again sites have more surveys for different demographics.

Swagbucks Get $3 for signing up after 300 points plus $10 after spending $20
Survey Junkie
My Points Get $10 gift card after spending $20
Inbox dollars Get $5 for signing up

V. Other

These are other methods to put money back in your pocket. We will add these as we go along,

1. Discounted Gift Cards

Discounted gift cards can put hundreds back in your pocket each year. You can save as much as 35% at your favorite stores or restaurant.

Restaurant and clothing stores tend to have the best deals (average 20%).

Groceries and gas stations tend to have a smaller discount (4% or less). That will probably not be worth your time as much.

Stack gift cards with reward credit cards and cashback sites.

For example, say I wanted to buy a gift card at Raise.com. To save more, I would go through a cashback portal. Currently, topcashback.com has the highest at 3%.

I would go to the topcashback.com portal and type in Raise.com.

When I got to Raise.com, say I wanted to buy something at Ann Taylor which currently offers 23 % off discounted gift cards.

I now have saved 26% at Ann Taylor.

Now to save even more, (only works if store is online), I go to a portal again to make my purchase at Ann Taylor.

Topcashback.com offered the highest percentage at cashbackmonitor.com at 5%. So now have saved 31%.

After that, just use my discounted gift card to make purchase.

I also used my rewards card for my initial purchase at Raise.com for another 1.5%.

Now, my savings is 32.5%.

Combined this with coupon codes and stores sales, and you could easily save 50%.

With gift cards, the best practice is to buy only when you are ready to make a purchase. Most gift card sites have 100 day guarantee.

Read the guarantee very closely too.

Here is a list of the top 3 sites. You should sign up for all three because different stores have better discounts on different sites.

3 Discounted Gift Card Sites To Sign Up For

Raise.com, Get $5 after first purchase during first 30 days
Giftcardgranny.com, Get $5 for signing up
Cardpool.com, Get $5 for signing up

Conclusion

Again, just keep in mind this website is not intended to make extra thousands or quit your day job.

This site is for people who want to make an extra hundred or so.

If you want to make thousands more, you probably need to get a promotion, work overtime, or start a full side business.

Couldn’t we all use an extra $100-$200 a month?

That is an extra $1200-$2400 a year!

Hope you like the blog, and this gets you started!

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