Please note- there may be some referral links in here. I tried to specify where!
We did our big Disney trip back at the end of September! I funded this entire trip through money-making apps, Swagbucks, and selling stuff we had no use for at garage sales. There was no greater feeling than returning home after an amazing vacation and not worrying about the impending credit card bill! If anyone is interested, I can do a breakdown of our expenses to help you plan for/budget your own Disney World vacation.
Anyway, since that trip, my husband returned to school full-time to become a teacher. That means were are solidly in the one-income family camp. I budgeted diligently in 2019 and used that / the lack of substitute teaching income he would now be bringing in to make our 2020 budget more realistic. And let me tell you: thinks are tight. Granted, our monthly budget includes squirreling away savings earmarked for specific funds--such as unexpected car repairs, local day camps, a small amount for travel, etc. In any case, I knew we would have to watch every single cent this year. While I haven't been as religious about using Swagbucks as I did when I had a savings goal (Disney) in mind, I like knowing I had a little bit of an extra buffer outside of our savings account. We do hope to take another big vacation (my 7-year-old has read all 7 Harry Potter books since Christmas, so we are thinking a split stay between Universal/a few days at Disney) eventually, but between my husband's school and ultimately (hopefully) him finding a full-time teaching job right after, the earliest we could do it would be summer 2022. So if I can even slowly start saving for the prospect of that, it would just be a bonus.
So what do I do now? Swagbucks can absolutely be time consuming. I'm not nearly as obsessed with hitting my daily goal each day so I dabble where I am able. That being said, I've already cashed out $180 just from Swagbucks in 2020. As far as much less time consuming apps, these are what I have been using regularly:
1. Achievement. This is an app that you sync with your Fitbit (or other similar fitness tracker) app and it passively earns points which can be cashed out to $10 in PayPal once you hit 10,000. It is a slow earner, but you don't really have to do anything specific with it. If you open it periodically there are short bonus surveys which can lead to more lucrative offerings. For instance, I was offered a spot in a clinical study about the flu in 2020. Just by answering brief surveys through an Achievement portal, my flu study could net me up to $106 depending on how diligently I participate this year.
2. Ibotta (referral link if you use code beavlaf at registration). To use Ibotta, you search for stores you normally shop at (mostly grocery stores) and clip coupons in the app for products you plan to buy. When you complete your purchase you upload a snap of your receipt and receive credit back. This can be cashed out once you hit $20 to PayPal, Venmo, or a variety of gift cards. So far I've earned $667.42 just by using it!
3. ReceiptHog. This is an app that you just snap a picture of any receipt you receive and it uploads to the app. You earn coins for receipts and you can also earn bonus surveys for extra coins. These coins can be cashed out to Amazon or Visa gift cards or PayPal. Since I began using this app I have earned $80 and I am on the cusp of earning another $25.
4. Fetch Rewards (referral link, use code FB2WH during sign-up to get a bonus $2). This is similar to ReceiptHog except it's only for stores that sell groceries. You cash out to a variety of gift cards ranging from Amazon to Dunkin to Target (and a lot more). So far I've earned $53 and I am almost to another $10 reward.
5. ReceiptPal (referral link, we both get bonus points if you use it to sign up). This is just like ReceiptHog except you are limited to how many receipts you can upload per week. You can cash out to Amazon or other retail gift cards. I couldn't quickly figure out how much I have earned from this app since I began using it, but I currently have enough for a $10 reward (I am saving until I hit $50) and I believe I earned over $25 last year.
6. Coinout. Same idea as ReceiptPal. Snap pics of any receipt and get coins which can be cashed out to PayPal, your bank or a gift card. So far I have over $5 in it and I cashed out $15 last year.
7. Rakuten (formerly ebates. Referral link - you'll get a $10 welcome bonus if you use it and spend $25). I installed the Rakuten button for my browser and it alerts me whenever a site has a cashback option. You simply click to activate the cash back and then do your online shopping. Once a quarter they either cut you a check or send it to your PayPal. My lifetime earnings are $457.41 and that's just for doing online shopping like I normally would.
8. Shopkick (referral link, use code KIND845803 to get bonus kicks when you sign up). You open this app before walking into stores to get walk-in kicks and you can scan specified barcodes in stores to earn kicks also. These can be cashed out to PayPal or gift cards. I haven't been nearly as diligent using this since we did Disney but I do still open it when I walk into stores that have kicks available. I've cashed out $85 since I began using this app.
9. Drop (referral link, use code xc2te to get $5 in credit). I have been using this app way more since we came back from Disney. The reason is because I do a ton of Walmart Grocery pickup. If you place the pickup order through Drop, you earn 3000 points ($3) each time! These points can be cashed out to gift cards like Gap, Macy's, Domino's, etc. I have found the easiest way to use it is to build my grocery pickup order on my computer (while logged into my Walmart account) and then just submitting the order through Drop. I've earned $30 already and I am $2 away from an additional $30. You do have to link a credit card to this app for it to work, but I have had zero issues with security since I began using it early last year.
I know this seems like a lot of work, but snapping receipts takes me less than a minute total across all the apps. When you are living close to paycheck to paycheck, it is easy enough to get in the habit of using these. The pay-off has been worth it for me and it's a great way to make a little extra money.
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