Ways to Get Free Money Now (Including Free Government Money)

Watch Videos

Let’s get real; watching videos won’t give you enough money to live off. But if you’re like me and watch YouTube videos for a few hours every day, why not earn some money in the process?

This is where Swagbucks can help.

Swagbucks allows you to earn points by completing tasks online. This could be watching videos, playing games, or filling in surveys.

Swagbucks will pay you in Swagbucks Points, shortened to “SBs.” You can redeem these SBs for gift cards or PayPal cash.

Get Started with Swagbucks

Pro tip: I recommend visiting the Swagbucks subreddit. The members always share offers with the highest payouts, making it easy to fatten your Swagbucks wallet.

Also, be sure to check out this guide on how to get paid to watch Netflix.

Take Surveys

Surveys are another excellent way to get free money easily. However, many websites will ask you to complete surveys but won’t pay you for them. So go with a reputable website to avoid spinning your wheels.

I’ve tested multiple survey websites, and Survey Junkie works great.

They provide some of the highest payout rates in the industry and have a long track record of making payments on time.

But Survey Junkie is more of an aggregator than a survey website. It gathers the highest-paying surveys from multiple sites, including VIP Voice and Ipsos iSay. So if you’re looking to find the most lucrative surveys under one digital roof to get free money now, sign up for Survey Junkie.

Try Survey Junkie Now

Keep in mind that if you’re taking surveys and answering C for every question, Survey Junkie won’t accept your survey. Instead, they’re looking for honest answers to help them conduct market research.

For more details, check out our Survey Junkie review and our answer to the question Is Inbox Dollars Legit?

Does taking surveys really pay? It does! For another way to make money taking surveys, check out our Opinion Edge review.

And if you’d like to make money with surveys, focus groups, and even clinical trials, check out “Is Apex Focus Group Legit?”

Learn about opportunities to take surveys for Amazon gift cards. And if you’re a professional who would like to participate in market research related to your expertise, check out our Wynter.com review.

Read Emails

When a friend of mine first told me about reading emails for money, I thought it was a joke. But after some research, I found that it’s a legitimate way of making money. You probably read emails every day, so why not monetize them?

But how does this work?

These “Get paid to read emails” websites earn cash from advertisers promoting products and services. So by reading these emails, you’re engaging with their content.

However, choose the correct website, as many scams that won’t pay out your hard-earned money. This is why I suggest InboxDollars. I tested InboxDollars and highly recommend them.

The signup process only takes a few minutes, you won’t have to enter any credit card information, and there are no earning limits.

And if you ever need your physical mail taken care of while traveling, check out our AnytimeMailbox review.

When a friend of mine first told me about reading emails for money, I thought it was a joke. But after some research, I found that it’s a legitimate way of making money. You probably read emails every day, so why not monetize them?

But how does this work?

These “Get paid to read emails” websites earn cash from advertisers promoting products and services. So by reading these emails, you’re engaging with their content.

However, choose the correct website, as many scams that won’t pay out your hard-earned money. This is why I suggest InboxDollars. I tested InboxDollars and highly recommend them.

The signup process only takes a few minutes, you won’t have to enter any credit card information, and there are no earning limits.

And if you ever need your physical mail taken care of while traveling, check out our AnytimeMailbox review.

Try Inbox Dollars Now

Join Sites That Give You Free Money to Invest

I recently started trading on Acorns and Public. These trading apps give you money for free if you invest a certain amount, allowing you to earn thousands with no obligations.

In addition, you won’t have to leave the funds in your account for a specific timeframe, so you can withdraw them whenever you wish.

Acorns also has features to track your shopping habits and invest your spare change. I’m in love with this feature as it encourages you to put money away, even if the amount is tiny.

Let’s say you like buying a Starbucks coffee every morning for three dollars, and your change is $0.75. After a decade of daily investments into an index fund at 8% interest, you’ll be left with over $4,000, not accounting for inflation.

Check out Acorns and Public today to turn spare change into investments for your future.

If you want to start investing but aren’t sure where to begin, check out our guide to investing for beginners.

If you’re interested in getting some investing help from AI, check out our Streetbeat review.

And if you’re looking to open a new bank account, give your balance a boost with one of these banks with immediate sign-up bonus.

Use Free Cash Back Apps

I’m a big fan of cash back apps like Fetch and Upside.

You can save money and earn points with these apps when shopping, eating out at restaurants or filling up on gas. It makes shopping much more enjoyable knowing I’m putting money back in my pocket, not just taking it out.

So if you want to earn cash back, head to the Apple App store or Google Play store and download Fetch and Upside.

Be sure to check each app for current offers, as some require you to claim the offer before making a purchase. After spending, scan your receipt and earn points for cash on what you spend.

Want different rewards? Points can also be redeemed for gift cards to popular places like Amazon, Walmart, Applebee’s, and more.

You can learn several ways to earn a free Sephora gift card for activities like playing games and taking surveys.

Got gift cards you don’t want? Learn how to get instant cash for gift cards. And see how much you could save by learning how to cancel all subscriptions on your debit card.

Learn more in this guide explaining, “Is Fetch Rewards Safe?” And be sure to check out this Upside review, too.

Search For Unclaimed Money

The easiest way to get free money now is to search for unclaimed cash. Perhaps you have a forgotten security deposit or uncashed dividends.

You might be lucky and have thousands of dollars in unclaimed property, but you’ll never know if you don’t search for it.

The best part is there’s no need to pay anyone to locate this money; it’s free and only takes a few minutes.

You can find unclaimed money by visiting Unclaimed.org. This is a government website, and all you have to do is select your state, enter your full name, and you’ll be able to collect any unclaimed cash.

You may also want to find out what the average class action lawsuit payout per person is and whether you could have any unclaimed money class action settlements.

Review a Mock Trial 

You’ve probably heard of jury duty. The government sends you a summons via postcard and says they’ll pay you a few bucks for your time.

Well, websites like Ejury work the same way. But you earn significantly more (around $10 to $25 per trial), and it only takes about 20 minutes of your time.

If you live near a big city and there are multiple trials in your area, you could dedicate a few hours every day and earn over $100 daily.

Here are the basic requirements to participate:

• You must be 18 years or older
• You must be an American citizen
• You should have good reading and writing skills

The only problem with Ejury is that it works depending on your location. For example, if you live in a small county with fewer people, there won’t be many cases, which could limit your earnings potential.

Lower Your Utility Bills

Another easy way to get free money is to lower your utility bills.

The US government offers programs like the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and Lifeline Program that assist lower-income households with heating and cooling costs, energy-related household repairs, and bill payment assistance.

You automatically qualify if you already participate in a government program like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

If you aren’t part of these programs, you can still qualify by applying on the program’s website.

With these programs, the government will pay a part of your energy bill. If you’re living in colder states and require a lot of heating, this can save you thousands of dollars.