We’re all feeling the pinch. Gas prices. Grocery store staples. Airfare and travel. Avocado toast over brunch. Prices are up on everything and our paychecks are not keeping pace. Luckily there are some trustworthy ways for you to pad your wallet and get some money today for free.

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How can I get free money right now?

Even people who think they have fairly decent-paying jobs may find themselves staring at a depleted bank account with one more bill to pay. An unexpected repair or even a medical emergency could also leave the average person scrambling for ways to earn more money.

If you have ever needed money desperately and did not know where to turn, here are some solutions to help you get extra money and work your way to financial freedom.

Survey Sites

A quick way to find a number of free money opportunities is to join several of the survey sites. They are completely free to join and you can do the surveys in your spare time. Most have apps so that you can do them from your mobile device as well. With just a few minutes of your time per day, you could take the surveys and do the other tasks that let you earn real cash. You might be asked to read trending articles or you could earn by playing games. Every site is different and most offer a free bonus when you sign up.

A few of the really good sites to try include:

  • Swagbucks: Earn SB which can be used for free Paypal money or gift cards. Swagbucks has a higher than the average number of ways to both earn money and save extra cash on your online purchases. You can get a payout when you reach $3 in rewards.
  • Inbox Dollars: Similar to Swagbucks and owned by the same company, you can earn cash with surveys, games, shopping online, and completing daily tasks.
  • Survey Junkie: Does not have as many earning opportunities as Swagbucks or Inbox Dollars but is a decent way to earn cash.
  • Free Cash: After signing up you will be eligible to win up to $250 in the free case. The site offers instant payouts to your Paypal account with a minimum of $1 in rewards needed to make a request. Payout requests can be as fast as 2 minutes.

Class Action Lawsuits and Missing Money

Have you ever realized that you have bank accounts that you have not checked on in years? If they are savings accounts, the interest will have continued to accumulate unless the amount was so low that service fees destroyed the balance.

If you suspect that you are one of the thousands of people that may be entitled to unclaimed money, there are several ways to search for it. If you know where the money should be, start there. If you are just curious you can start a search at the state or federal level. If you have a very common name, you may have to refine the search several times to get the right information. If you do find that there might be money that is rightfully yours you will have to file forms, prove you are who you say you are and do other steps and it may take several weeks to several months to complete.

Yes, you should always work toward getting your unclaimed funds but please realize that you are not going to get that money quickly.

Did you ever buy a product, use it once or twice or even a dozen times, and then discover that there is a major problem with it? If so, there is likely a class-action lawsuit surrounding that product. You can find out about suits, how to join and what kind of compensation you could possibly be awarded on one website. In most cases, you will not have to provide proof that you bought or used the product or service involved in the case but you will have to sign an affidavit stating that you did so. The amount of money you can get from these lawsuits varies by the compensation pool plus how many people are involved. The more people, the smaller the share of the money you will receive.

Loans

If you need money immediately you may need to apply for a personal loan. If you can apply for a loan where you have your savings account, the process might be easier but it may not be as fast. If you are looking at credit card debt and medical bills, and you need money desperately you may not qualify for the traditional bank loan anyway. The average bank will want a credit score of around 640 for a loan, especially an unsecured loan.

There are online apps that allow you to apply for loans or request money with lower credit scores. There are even loans specifically for people with less than perfect credit. Fiona is a website that lets you apply for a loan and then compare offers from several lenders without affecting your credit score. Bad Credit Loans let you apply for a short-term loan for any situation where you need money fast. There are no credit checks. Go to the Bad Credit Loans website through the Swagbucks portal and earn SB for approved loans.

A Better Credit or Debit Card

Credit card interest rates can make paying your credit card bill a losing game. The higher the interest rate, the harder it gets to pay off the balance leaving most people with a climbing credit card debt that lowers their credit score and keeps them from getting out from under or from qualifying for any type of financial help.

Compare several credit cards making sure that you are looking at:

  • Credit card signup bonuses.
  • Interest rates, including introductory and long-term rates.
  • Credit card rewards.

Another important thing to look at is how much of a benefit it would be to transfer your current balance to the new card. For some, it does make sense because you may get 0% interest and no hidden fees on any amount you transfer. If you can, pay off this amount as quickly as possible while the interest rate is not a factor.

Investing and Better Banking

When people think about investments, they think of rich people in business suits and the chaos of the Wall Street trading floor. But, you can invest money from your home or on the go with an investment app and in most cases, you only have to fund your account with a small amount of money. You can even get free stock shares that you can keep, sell, or trade.

Here are some of the investment companies that can help you get started with free stocks plus lessons about how the market works.

  • Robinhood: With a minimal amount required to get started, Robinhood will help you learn the ropes of the stock market, and crypto markets, plus give you free stocks. Sign up through the Swagbucks portal and earn $45 back after meeting the requirements.
  • WeBull: Start an account with Webull with any amount and get 5 free stocks.

If you are using a traditional bank for saving money you might be losing out because of fees, lower interest rates, and more. Before depositing another dollar, research high-yield savings account information for banks around you as well as the online banks. The advantage of mobile banking is that you never have to worry about bank hours and the fees are typically much lower.

Acorns is banking and investing on a micro level. You can start an account with only $1 and you can do micro trades with minimal fees. Another feature is the ability to round up any purchases that you make in-store or while shopping online. The amount that is rounded up from the actual purchase price will be deposited into your account.

Can I ask for money online?

Yes, you can ask for money online. It does not mean you will get anything, but you can always ask! If you truly need to get free money right away and you don’t want to do online surveys, install another free app, or start a side hustle of any kind, there are ways that you can try.

For many people, trying to rely on the kindness of strangers for fast cash can be demeaning. They may be super reluctant to even try. What if no one at all donates? Does that mean they have no friends at all? How much would that hurt someone’s feelings?

For other people, asking for money online is the same as making money at a job without the bad coffee and the terrible commute. If you want to see if you can get some money fast purely because you have asked for it, here are some sites to consider trying out.

  • Kickstarter: If you have a business, product, or service idea but not the funding to get it started, this is the way to increase cash flow and maybe launch a whole new career.
  • Go Fund Me: Everyone has heard of this website and most have probably donated to at least one or two for friends or for strangers. You can read the entire story of why the money is needed, and how the money will be used, plus get updates if you are interested. Donations are via Paypal and only take seconds to complete.
  • Venmo: Similar to Go Fund Me in a lot of ways. You will need a Venmo account to create a campaign or to make a donation to an active cause.
  • Begging Money: Just like the name implies, you plead your case and hope that people give you some extra cash.

If you are on Reddit and need some food, you can go to the subreddit called Random Acts of Pizza. State your case and you might possibly get a free pizza for your troubles. Sure, it might not be as good as getting some extra money but if you are hungry, what could be better than a free pizza?

How can I get free Paypal money?

Free money online is found in dozens of places. Paypal will pay you to refer the service to friends and family. You can also earn Paypal cash with any of the apps or websites listed above. Here are some more sites that let you earn more money by taking surveys or doing other tasks.

  • MyPoints. Use the coupon codes for thousands of your favorite stores, take surveys, and more to earn points for gift cards and other rewards.
  • Prize Rebel.
  • Branded Surveys.
  • Pinecone Research.
  • Zoom Bucks.
  • Grab Points.

You can also earn extra cash with a side hustle like Instacart or working for a mystery shopper company. You choose your hours, you work the assigned task, and get paid.

If you have a special skill you can create online courses for YouTube or other sites. No matter how niche you think your skill is there will be people who like it and there will be people who are interested enough to want to learn how to do it too.

How do you get $20 on Cash App?

You can get $20 in free money instantly with a Cash App code. You can find the codes online, enter them into your account, and get credited with that amount. From your free account, you can also take surveys, do other tasks, and keep earning absolutely free money.

The best way to get money with any app is to know how it works and do the tasks that interest you and will give you the biggest rewards. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, RUN!

How can I make money free online?

So far, there have been survey apps, investing apps, and better banking apps to help you get more money online. There are other ways that can help you earn extra money in your spare time.

Sweepstakes and Contests

One of the easiest ways to get money is by entering sweepstakes or contests that have cash prizes. If you can fill out a short form and have the potential to win real money, don’t you think it is worth your time? The Publisher’s Clearinghouse is probably the most famous sweepstakes but there are literally thousands from small, local businesses that are offering a gift card to major companies that offer travel, prize packages, and cold hard cash.

Always read the rules and if you are allowed, enter as often as you can to increase your odds of winning at least something. Here are some sources including sites that will list active sweepstakes and the necessary information to get entered.

  • Prize Grab.
  • Sweepstakes Alert.
  • First for Women Magazine
  • Sweepstakes Fanatics.

You should never have to pay to enter sweepstakes.

How do I use the cash back apps?

As the name implies, you pay for something and you get cash back from the purchase. If you ever shop online, you should definitely use one or more of these apps. Why should you have more than one? Sometimes one will offer more cashback at a retailer than another. There are no rules that say you can’t use several apps and choose the one that will offer the best cashback amount.

For most, you can either shop directly from their website, going to the retailer of your choice to earn the reward or you can install their browser extension and never miss a coupon or cashback offer. Here are some of the best cash-back apps that will help you save money plus get money back on things you buy in stores or online. Most also help you get savings and rewards on services as well.

  • Honey
  • Tada
  • Rakuten
  • Drop
  • Shop Kick

How do I save money on monthly bills?

Your car payment. Electric and other utilities. Student loan payments. Cable and streaming services. Subscription boxes. These are just a few of the monthly bills that have to be paid every month without fail. You miss one of these and you get to burn up all of those fancy candles you keep saving. Before you make your house look like a Japanese Cherry Blossom scented seance, let’s find some ways to lower as many of those bills as possible.

Truebill is a service that will track your finances so you know where every dollar is going, find subscriptions that you may not be using, forgot that you had, or are being charged twice for. Not only can it help you get those canceled, but the service will also help you negotiate better rates for some of your recurring bills.

Ever Quote will help you find out if you are getting the best price for your auto insurance. The price of a full year of insurance is just over $1600 or about $136 per month. If your car is more than 10 years old and paid off, you are probably paying way too much for insurance. If you haven’t shopped for new insurance rates in more than 2 years, the same thing applies.

If you live in an area that has limited options for things like internet service and utilities you may be stuck. If you have several options do not be afraid to negotiate a better rate. It is easier for a company to try to work with you than to try to replace you as a customer.

If you have personal loans, credit card debt, and other bills it may be easier to try to refinance your mortgage and consolidate as much of your debt as possible. Refi Rate Guide gives you information about mortgage rates plus helps you compare lenders based on your needs. Payoff lets you apply for a personal loan to help pay off other debts.

Student Loans

The one thing driving people to look for extra money online is student loan debt. There are several ways to help deal with this debt including debt consolidation, forbearance, and forgiveness. If you think that you may qualify to have your loans forgiven for any reason, there are ways to get free help through the filing process. You do not ever have to pay for help of any kind. Go directly to the US Department of Education website to find the forms and information that you will need.

Final Thoughts and Reminders

Almost everyone at some time is going to need some free money fast. Maybe their direct deposit did not hit the bank at the right time and a bill is due right now. Maybe you hit a deer on your way to work and now you have car repairs. Maybe your son had a growth spurt and needs new shoes. No matter what it is, there is no shame in needing a little more in your bank account.

If you can earn money by doing some online surveys, or you just luck out and win some cash while playing games, it all counts. In the end, money is money and it all spends the same. Remember to watch out for the scammers, don’t fall for the obvious traps. If you don’t feel right about something, trust your gut.

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