For most of us, knowing how to save money is difficult — especially if you’re already struggling. However, it can be done. Follow these realistic money saving tips to get started. Saving money doesn’t have to be a chore, it can even be fun! Here are a few creative ways you could put extra cash in your pocket each month.
1. Add $500 to Your Wallet for Trying Out Apps
Whether you’re scrolling on Facebook, playing a game, or downloading a new app, your phone is a serious part of your daily life. Why can’t you use it to make money?
There’s an app called KashKick that pays you for doing things like playing games or taking surveys. Some of the activities pay a lot! So much so that you could earn as much as $500 in your first month. Once you earn $10 from activities, you can cash out and get paid via PayPal.
2. Earn money testing products online
TesterUp is an app that lets you test products from the convenience of your home and rewards you to do it. You won’t get rich testing products, but every little bit helps.
3. Save Money on Daily Essentials with a discounted Sam’s Club membership
Sam’s Club is a big box store that lets you save real money on groceries, pantry staples, cleaning supplies, and pretty much anything else you can find around the house. A membership normally costs $50/year, but right now they are running a promotion where you can get one for half price. This is real savings back in your pocket!
4. Companies could owe you money without you even knowing about it
There are tons of lawsuits out there for people who have had bad experiences with products, or maybe overpaid or were misled by a company. Sometimes there is a data breach, and others it could just be accidental wrongdoing. There are companies that keep full lists of all of these lawsuits and help you find money that could be owed to you already. Check out the list of tort lawsuits and find out if you qualify for a payment!
5. Receive up to $30 a week for applying to jobs
Did you know this was even a thing? You can earn money just for applying to jobs online. Earn up to $10 per application! Apply to as many jobs as you’d like, then check your account Friday to receive your reward.
6. Get free samples of things you usually have to buy
DailyGoodieBox will ship a box of free products to your door at no charge. The catch? They want for you to tell them what you think about the freebies that you get. They share this feedback with the product owners so they can learn how to improve and which products are working versus those that are not. Want to learn more? Check out our full review of DailyGoodieBox.
7. You Could Lower Your Monthly Bills with BillShark
Did you know you can negotiate your bills lower? BillShark is a service that does that for you automatically! Simply tell them what bills you have, and let them do the heavy lifting! In just a few minutes, you could save up to 25% on your monthly bills! As another added bonus, BillShark will also help you cancel costly subscriptions that you’re no longer using. BillShark has over a 90% success rate with negotiating bills lower.
8. Get money sent back to you every time you shop online
Did you know that there’s an entire underground marketplace that pays you cash every time you shop online? Rakuten is the best online shopping hack out there by far. There are over 3,500 stores that will pay you cash back through Rakuten. Pro tip: Install their browser extension to get automatic notifications every time you are shopping on a participating store. You won’t even have to think about it!
9. Get paid every time you buy groceries
Next time you get home from the grocery store, pick up the 100% free scanner and scan your purchases. NCP Online has a program called Homescan, where they will send you real rewards for scanning your purchases when you get home! Why do they do this? Marketers want to learn about consumer behaviors and what they buy at the grocery store. This helps them find out what new products to put on the shelves. The rewards are real and scanning the groceries takes almost no time at all. It takes just a few minutes to sign up and get access to the free scanner.
10. And get paid every time you check your email
You’re probably already checking your email. Why not get paid to do it? InboxDollars is a company that pays you to check email, take surveys, play games and more. Members earn cash rewards for doing what they’d already be doing online anyway.
11. Ditch your cell phone plan for one that’s only $20/month
Americans pay more than almost any other country for their cell phone bill. Finally, there are companies competing to save you money. These phone plans run on the same networks as the big cell phone companies, but they cost a lot less.
Visible is one such example. With Visible, you get unlimited data, text, and talk access to Verizon’s 5G & 4G LTE networks, plus mobile hotspot and unlimited talk to Mexico and Canada – all for only $20/month for 24 months. After 24 months, the price is only $25: FAR lower than what you may be paying elsewhere. See the savings for yourself!
12. You too can save with an AARP membership, even if you are not a Senior
Most people don’t know this secret, but AARP isn’t just for seniors. Anyone can join AARP and lock in instant savings on groceries, travel, cruises, hotels, banking, insurance, and pretty much anything you can think of. Some members saving hundreds of dollars per year just by being a member.
13. Do you have backed taxes? You might qualify for a reduction.
Community Tax can help you negotiate your tax bill down. Whether it’s state taxes or the IRS, Community Tax has the skills and know-how to work with you and your tax challenges, and to try to help lower your overall tax debt.
14. When all else fails, opt for a personal loan
We’ve covered a lot here. If you’ve made it this far and still haven’t found something to work for you, there’s always another chance around the corner. If you need money now, you could qualify to receive a personal loan. One provider we recommend is Nerdwallet. Check them out and see if they have a loan for you.