There’s an unlimited number of ways to make extra money in your free time.
Some are incredibly time consuming and difficult. Others are easy and take only a little effort.
Today we are going to focus on those easy ways to make money, or as I like to call it, “lazy ways to make extra money.”
I should clarify what I think of as a “lazy way” to make extra money. First, I think it should be done from the comfort of your home, ideally from your couch. Second, there’s bonus points if you can integrate it into your regular routines. Finally, because these are all “lazy” ways to make extra money, if you can even make an extra $5 we count that as a win.
What you won’t see on this list is starting a blog, pet sitting, or anything else that will require significant time commitment or dealing with or coordinating with clients. These are all simple, easy, lazy ways to make extra money.
Let’s dive into the list and join your fellow lazy side hustlers!
1) Check Ebates Before Making a Purchase
Something I am trying to get better at is always checking Ebates before I make a purchase. Ebates gives you cash back when you shop online through their portal. It’s usually as easy as going to Ebates, searching the merchant you are planning on making a purchase from, and clicking through to their site.
It’s hard to believe that it’s this easy, but it really is. The tough thing is remembering to do it each time. I recently received nearly $100 cash back on a week-long hotel stay. The hotel was already a great deal and if I hadn’t gone through a portal I would have missed out on even more savings. Same goes for a recent purchase I made from a clothing retailer. This is easy money people!
Ebates will give you a free $10 when you make a purchase of $25 or more within the first 90 days. Considering how much most people shop online these days, this is a pretty easy threshold to hit.
2) Take Surveys for $
There’s a ton of survey sites out there, and unlike when I was in college and there was only a handful of options, competition has heated up forcing survey sites to increase in quality. If you want something easy to do while watching TV or listening to music in your spare time, consider surveys.
Here’s a list of survey companies you should consider signing up with:
You can also view our big list of websites to make extra money from surveys.
3) Sign up for ibotta
Ibotta is a relatively easy way to make a few extra bucks by submitting your shopping receipts via the app.
This may sound like a lot of work – and if you stick with the app it does take some effort, but getting the initial $10 sign-up bonus is really easy – you only have to verify one purchase to get it.
If you refer friends, family, or significant others you’ll get an additional $5. This can be a really easy way to make a quick $20. Sign up for the app here and redeem one rebate. Refer two friends. $20 in your account.
There are also randomly bonus rebates where you may get a few bucks just for redeeming a single rebate. If you like the app you can use it every time you shop, which of course would result in a lot more money than just getting the sign-up bonus.
4) Sign up for Swagbucks and Earn Free Gift Cards
Swagbucks is a loyalty rewards program that allows you to earn Swagbucks (which are points) for taking advantage of offers shown on the site, taking surveys and polls, playing games, watching videos, and shopping online.
Swagbucks also serves as an app so you can earn points on the go. Once your Swagbucks total reaches a certain threshold, you can cash in your points for gift cards to popular retailers and restaurants.
As far as lazy ways to earn money go, Swagbucks is a good one. You can do it from the comfort of your home or on their app, and it’s not difficult whatsoever. Use this link to get a $5 sign-up bonus.
5) Enter Online Giveaways
Have you ever won a giveaway? If you have, I’m sure you felt excited and probably even thought “I never win anything!”
More likely than not the reason you haven’t won a giveaway before or have only won one or two is because you don’t enter them regularly. There are literally thousands and thousands of giveaways that start and end every single week. Nearly all of them can be entered online.
My wife and I have won somewhere in the range of 50-100 giveaways and made thousands of dollars in side income through them. We’ve sold nearly everything we’ve won, and it’s been a nice “lazy” side hustle to do while watching TV or hanging out at home. My favorite giveaway win? A free trip to Hawaii! A free trip to the MLB All-Star Game was a close second (I sold the tickets).
Read our post to learn more about how to make extra money entering giveaways.
6) Sign Up for Qmee
Another extremely easy way to make money is through Qmee. Qmee is a browser add-in that will every once in a while show results in a side section of the browser that aligns to your search. When you click on the results, you get a certain amount of money. You know exactly how much you will get paid before clicking as it will show you the click value on the sidebar as well.
An example is if you searched “soccer ball” on Google. There may be a sidebar that shows up that has a number of soccer balls available for purchase on various sites. You never have to click, but if you do you make a little bit of money. It’s non-invasive and definitely is a “lazy” way to make some extra money.
Interested? Go to Qmee’s website or read our post how Qmee can help you make extra money.
7) Sign up for Bank Accounts that have Big Sign-Up Bonuses
I was able to get a $400 bonus recently by opening a Citi checking account. I also opened a U.S. Bank account that will pay out a $200 bonus shortly. The offers are out there, but they do come and go. A simple google of “checking account bonus offers” will help you see some of the ones that are ongoing.
Looking for more ways to make extra money in your spare time? Here’s a number of posts that will help you get started:
What have you done in your spare time to make extra money? How much of your free time are you willing to spend on side hustles? When do you think a side hustle isn’t worth it?
Check out some of our favorite personal finance resources:
Are you getting the best credit card rewards? Check out the top cash back credit card offers (updated daily)
Make extra money: 15 ways to make money from your computer
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Great tips. I am going to explore eBates a bit more. Of course, never forget to pick up a penny on the ground when you see it. And look a bit further, there may be other coins near it…!
Solid list DC! Like you said, I’d probably classify it more as saving money, but travel hacking is my favorite on the list. I’m hard pressed to pay full price for a trip and travel hacking makes it relatively easy to avoid that.
I need to get into travel hacking more, especially since my wife and I want to start traveling more here shortly. I also love the tip about googling “checking account bonus offers” to find some banks that give some solid offers for opening an account.
Great list, DC!
I have to admit, sometimes I get lazy with my side hustles. So this is a REALLY good list to have on hand!
interesting ideas :D
I was I was a pro at churning credit cards like you are! That is something that I want to work on.