You’ve probably heard the term passive income.
It sounds appealing right? According to the definition of passive, it would mean you’re earning income without participating or having to do anything at all.
Free money? Sign me up!
Unfortunately, that’s a common misconception. Just like you can’t pluck money from a tree, you can’t expect to earn passive income by being, well, totally passive.
However, it’s a viable way to make money, and offers you security and freedom.
If you’re interested in establishing a flow of passive income, here’s a guide to understanding the term and getting started.
1. Killing Time on Your Phone? Play Bingo for up to $83 Per Win
Our smartphones are the world’s greatest time-killers. Browse Facebook, Twitter, TikTok or Instagram. Watch a video on YouTube. Play some Minecraft or Roblox.
Oh, and there’s bingo. We found a free iPhone app called Bingo Cash that lets you play for real money. You could get paid up to $83 per win.
You might be thinking: There’s got to be a catch. This is definitely one of those spammy apps, right?
But there really isn’t a catch. Sure, you can pay to play in some higher-stakes tournaments, but there’s no pressure. And, in fact, there aren’t even any annoying ads.
The game is based on a classic Bingo format. You’ll battle it out against other players at your same skill level. Everyone gets the same board and sees the same Bingo balls. The top three players in a game can win real money — anywhere from $1 to $83.
Over on the App Store, it has a 4.7-star rating (out of 5).
To get started, just download the free app and start playing your first game immediately.
2. Add $100 to Your Wallet for Trying Out Apps
Our smartphones are the world’s greatest time-killers. You can browse Facebook; watch a video; 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 an app — up to $100 per app.
You can also earn money by playing games, watching videos and reading emails, 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.
3. Become a Competitive Solitaire Player — Make Up to $83 Per Win
Wait, that’s a thing? Yep. An iPhone app called Solitaire Cash lets you play for real cash — up to $83 every time you win.
It’s the classic Solitaire game you know and love, and you’ll battle it out against other players at your same skill level. Everyone gets the same deck, so winning is totally a matter of skill. The top three players who solve the deck fastest can win real money — anywhere from $1 to $83.
And no, there’s no catch. There are no ads, either. You can play for free or pay to play in higher-stakes tournaments. Over on the App Store, it has over a million downloads and more than 15,000 ratings, averaging 4.7 stars (out of 5).
To get started, just download the free app and start playing your first game immediately.
4. Fund Your Retirement with Amazon, Google and Netflix
Saving for retirement is smart. Having your company contribute to your 401(k) is helpful. But having an ownership interest in a Fortune 500 company that you don’t even work for help get you to your retirement goal? That’s awesome.
And it’s surprisingly easy to make happen, with an app called Stash.1 It lets you own pieces of well-known companies, like Amazon, Apple, Google and more for $5 or less.
Seriously — with only a few dollars, you can invest in thousands of stocks and ETFs, which can help you grow your investing portfolio and reach your retirement goals. The best part? Some companies may even send you a check every quarter for your share of profits, called dividends. If these companies profit, so can you.
It takes two minutes to sign up, and your investments are protected. With Stash, investments are held by their custodian, Apex Clearing Corporation, a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) — that’s industry talk for, “Your money comes with protection.”2
Plus, when you use the link above, Stash will give you a $5 bonus once you deposit $5 into your account.3
5. Get Paid Up to $225 for Helping Companies Make Better Decisions
If we told you you could get free money just for watching videos on your computer, you’d probably laugh. It’s too good to be true, right? But we’re serious.
A website called InboxDollars will pay you to watch short video clips online. One minute you might watch someone bake brownies and the next you might get the latest updates on Kardashian drama.
All you have to do is choose which videos you want to watch and answer a few quick questions about them afterward. Brands pay InboxDollars to get these videos in front of viewers, and it passes a cut onto you.
InboxDollars won’t make you rich, but it’s possible to get up to $225 per month watching these videos. It’s already paid its users more than $56 million.
It takes about one minute to sign up, and you’ll immediately earn a $5 bonus to get you started.
*Solitaire Cash: Real Money tournaments are not available in the following states: AZ, AR ,IA, IN, LA, ME, MT, SC, WA
1For retirement, Stash offers access to traditional or Roth IRAs.
2To note, SIPC coverage does not insure against the potential loss of market value. Apex Clearing Corporation is a third-party SEC-registered broker-dealer and member FINRA/SIPC.
Remember, not all stocks pay out dividends. And there’s no guarantee any stock will pay dividends in a quarter or year. Dividends may be subject to additional taxes, and are considered taxable income. Please refer to the IRS for additional information.
Investing minimums for fractional shares start at $0.01 for a Personal Portfolio
3Offer is subject to Terms and Conditions. To be eligible to participate in this Promotion and receive the Bonus, you must complete the following steps: (i) successfully complete the designated registration process of opening an individual taxable brokerage account (“a Personal Portfolio”), (ii) link a funding account (e.g. an external bank account) to your Personal Portfolio, AND (iii) initiate and complete a minimum deposit of at least five dollars ($5.00) into your Personal Portfolio. In the event you only complete the designated registration process to receive the Financial Counseling Service (as defined in your Advisory Agreement) or do not otherwise complete the account opening process for an individual taxable brokerage account (“Personal Portfolio”), you will not be eligible to receive the Bonus.
The Penny Hoarder is a paid solicitor of Stash.
This information is for educational purposes only. This material is not intended as investment advice and is not meant to suggest that any securities are suitable investments for any particular investor. Investment advice is only provided to Stash customers. All investments are subject to risk and may lose value. All product and company names are trademarks ™ or registered ® trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by them.
1. No Offense, But if You Don’t Use This Free Tool, You’re 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 what this free service does.
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 $160 million.
You can get started in just a few clicks to see if you’re overpaying online.
2. 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.
3. Copy This Strategy To Get a $526 Refund
Chances are you do a lot of your shopping online. Whether it’s pet food, toilet paper or even gifts, you’re probably leaving money on the table.
A free website called Rakuten has the hookup with just about every online store you shop, including Walmart and Target, which means it can give you a kickback every time you buy.
In fact, since Denver resident Colleen Rice started using Rakuten, it’s sent her checks in the mail totaling $526.44. For doing nothing. Seriously. Rice says she uses Rakuten for things she already has to buy, like rental cars and flights.
It takes less than 60 seconds to create a Rakuten account and start shopping. All you need is an email address, then you can immediately start shopping your go-to stores through the site.
4. Stop Paying Your Credit Card Company
If you have credit card debt, you know. The anxiety, the interest rates, the fear you’re never going to escape…
And the truth is, your credit card company doesn’t really care. It’s just getting rich by ripping you off with high interest rates — some up to 36%. But a website called Fiona could help you pay off that bill as soon as tomorrow.
Here’s how it works: Fiona can match you with a low-interest loan you can use to pay off every credit card balance you have. The benefit? You’re left with just one bill to pay every month, and because the interest rate is so much lower, you can get out of debt so much faster. Plus, no credit card payment this month.
If your credit score is at least 620, Fiona can help you borrow up to $250,000 (no collateral needed) with fixed rates starting at 5.99% and terms from 6 to 144 months.
Fiona won’t make you stand in line or call a bank. And if you’re worried you won’t qualify, it’s free to check online. It takes just two minutes, and it could save you thousands of dollars. Totally worth it.
All that credit card debt — and the anxiety that comes with it — could be gone by tomorrow.
5. Let This Account Give You $300 Just for Keeping Your Money There
Your money keeps your bank running. You’d think they’d be grateful for that. But for-profit banks are always coming up with creative ways to squeeze more out of you.
Credit unions do things differently, because they’re owned by members.
For example, a national credit union called PSECU will give you $300 after just a few months of keeping your money there.
They’ll pay you $100 when you sign up, another $100 when you set up direct deposit within 90 days of opening your account, and another $100 when you keep direct deposit active for three months.*
There’s no minimum deposit or fees to open a free checking account. Plus they have more than 70,000 surcharge-free ATMs, rebates for non-network ATMs and no-fee overdraft protection if you have a backup source of funds.
Credit unions sometimes have waitlists, but PSECU doesn’t right now. Need an extra $300? It’s quick and easy to apply to join PSECU right now.
*Offer valid until 12/31/23
6. Get up to $1K in Free Stock Just for Signing Up and Funding Your Account from This Free App
Inflation is doing a great job of making it really difficult to buy, well… anything. And that includes stocks.
Luckily, when you open a free SoFi Invest account and fund it with at least $10, they’ll give you free stocks in return — worth up to $1,000.
With SoFi, You can buy full or fractional shares of popular stocks, plus you can invest in exchange-traded funds — or collections of stocks.
If you’re new to investing, SoFi has automated investing tools to help simplify things. Plus, they won’t charge you any SoFi management fees.
It only takes a minute to open a free account and get started. Then, once you fund it with at least $10, SoFi will reward you with your free stock — which could be worth up to $1,000.
7. Earn $300+/Month in Passive Income with Your Extra Space
If you’re like us, your garage probably isn’t doing much of anything at the moment. Maybe you have some tools in there, or maybe it’s home to your boxes of odds and ends, collecting dust.
But with a website called Neighbor, your extra space — whether it’s a spare room, an empty garage or a parking space — could be earning you an extra $300 a month in totally passive income.
Neighbor works by connecting people who need storage space with hosts who have the room to spare. The average host makes about $300 a month, but some people have earned up to $50,000 a year just by letting people park on their property.
It takes less than 10 minutes to get started. Just answer a few questions about your space, take some pictures and set your asking price. Neighbor will recommend a dollar amount based on your location and type of rental, but the final listing is up to you.
Neighbor even gives you up to $1 million in free protection as a host and offers protection plans for your renters, giving you both peace of mind.
Neighbor is an easy source of passive income, and it’s easier than most side hustles. It’s free to list your space, and you’ll only be charged a 4.9% processing fee from the profit you make each month, so there’s no risk to you. Sign up here and see how much you could earn.
8. Add $100 to Your Wallet for Trying Out Apps
Our smartphones are the world’s greatest time-killers. You can browse Facebook; watch a video; 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 an app — up to $100 per app.
You can also earn money by playing games, watching videos and reading emails, 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.
