When Money Is Tight, These 7 Resources Will Help Nearly Everyone – The Penny Hoarder (2024)

When you log into your bank account, how do your savings look? Probably not as good as you’d like. It always seems like an uphill battle to build (and keep) a decent amount in savings.

But what if your car breaks down, or you have a sudden medical bill?

We’re not judging — we don’t roll like that. We’re here to help. We just don’t want you to have to sell those Elvis-Presley-signed velvet pants you inherited just to pay some lousy plumbing bill. Those pants are sweet.

Try these tips to get the ball rolling, and start building up your savings so you can breathe a little easier.

1. Stop Overpaying on Amazon

Wouldn’t it be nice if you got an alert when you’re shopping online at Amazon and are about to overpay?

That’s exactly whatthis free servicedoes.

Just add it to your browser for free, and before you check out, it’ll check other websites to see if your item is available for cheaper. Let’s say you’re shopping for a new smart vacuum, and you assume you’ve found the best price. Here’s when you’ll get a pop up letting you know if that exact vacuum is available elsewhere for cheaper. If there are any available coupon codes, they’ll also automatically be applied to your order.

In the last year, this has saved people $800 million.

You can get started in just a few clicks tosee if you’re overpaying online.

2. Earn Up to $100 this Month By Answering Survey Questions About the News — It’s Anonymous

The news is a heated subject these days. It’s hard not to have an opinion on it.

Good news: A website called YouGov America will pay you up to $100 or more this month just to answer survey questions about politics, the economy and other hot news topics.

Plus, it’s totally anonymous, so no one will judge you for that hot take.

When you take a quick survey (some are less than three minutes), you’ll earn points you can exchange for up to $100 in cash or gift cards to places like Walmart and Amazon. Plus, Penny Hoarder readers will get an extra 500 points for registering, and another 1,000 points after completing their first survey.

It takes just a few minutes to sign up and take your first survey — and you’ll get your points immediately.

3. Earn as Much as $1K/Month Doing Simple Online Tasks

Is there such a thing as easy money? If you know your way around the web, there certainly is.

That’s because data is currency these days, and many companies are willing to pay cash for it — up to$1,000 per month.

Finding these companies can be time-consuming on your own. But a company called Freecash has compiled all sorts of quick cash tasks from about a dozen advertisers and market research companies thirsty for more data. Freecash has paid out over $13 million to users since 2019.

You can pick and choose your tasks and complete them at your convenience. The coins you earn from each completed task can be converted into things like Visa gift cards, Amazon gift cards, cryptocurrency or cold-hard PayPal cash.

Signing up for a Freecash account is easy and there’s no minimum amount you need to earn before you can cash out. And if you’ve got enough free time on your hands, you can join the ranks of Freecash users making more than $1,000 a month in extra cash.
Sign up here to see how much you could earn.

4. Add $500 to Your Wallet for Trying Out Apps

Our smartphones are the world’s greatest time-killers. You can browse Facebook; play a game; download a new app.

You’re doing all this anyway — why not get paid for it? With a website called KashKick, you could get paid for things like answering survey questions or downloading and playing a game — up to $500 in your first month.

You can earn money by playing games or trying new products and services, but surveys are the main way to make money.

Once you earn $10 in your account, you can immediately get paid via Paypal. This is an easy way to make a little extra money while you’re killing time on your couch. All you need is your phone or computer.

It takes just a minute to sign up, and you’ll immediately earn $1 just for completing your profile on the site. You’ll be that much closer to cashing out.

5. Get a $200 Prepaid Mastercard For Switching to Cheaper Internet

There are some bills you just can’t avoid. For most of us, that includes our internet bill. You can’t exactly go without it these days, and your provider knows that — that’s why so many of us are overpaying.

But withT-Mobile, you can get high-speed, 5G home internet for as little as $40 a month. They’ll even guarantee to lock in your price.

You’re probably thinking there’s some catch, but they’ll let you try it out for 15 days to see if you like it. If not, you’ll get your money back. You don’t even have to worry about breaking up with your current provider — T-Mobile will pay up to $750 in termination fees.

Even better? When you switch now, you’ll get $200 back via prepaid MasterCard.

Justenter your address and phone number hereto see if you qualify. You could be paying as low as $40 a month for high-speed internet.

6. Cancel Your Car Insurance

Here’s the thing: your current car insurance company is probably overcharging you. But don’t waste your time hopping around to different insurance companies looking for a better deal.

Use a website called EverQuote to see all your options at once.

EverQuote is the largest online marketplace for insurance in the US, so you’ll get the top options from more than 175 different carriers handed right to you.

Take a couple of minutes to answer some questions about yourself and your driving record. With this information, EverQuote will be able to give you the top recommendations for car insurance. In just a few minutes, you could save up to $610 a year.

7. Get Paid Up to $140/Month Just for Sharing Your Honest Opinion

It sounds strange, but brands want to hear your opinion. It helps them make business decisions, so they’re willing to pay you for it — up to $140 a month.

A free site called Branded Surveys will pay you up to $5 per survey for sharing your thoughts with their brand partners. Taking three quick surveys a day could earn up to $140 each month.

It takes just a minute to create a free account and start getting paid to speak your mind. Most surveys take five to 15 minutes, and you can check how long they’ll take ahead of time.

And you don’t need to build up tons of money to cash out, either — once you earn $5, you can cash out via PayPal, your bank account, a gift card or Amazon. You’ll get paid within 48 hours of your payout being processed, just for sharing your opinions.

They’ve already paid users more than $20 million since 2012, and the most active users can earn a few hundred dollars a month. Plus, they’ve got an “excellent” rating on Trustpilot.

It takes just a minute to set up your account and start getting paid to take surveys. Plus, right now, you’ll get a free 100-point welcome bonus just for becoming part of the community.

When Money Is Tight, These 7 Resources Will Help Nearly Everyone – The Penny Hoarder (2024)
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