11 Ways to Get Free Money Now (Including Free Government Money)
By Maddy Scheckel Have you ever watched one of those corny TV infomercials where the guy says, “But wait! There’s more!”?
Now imagine after every time you shopped, ate out at a restaurant, read an email, or watched a video that the same infomercial man popped up and said, “But wait! You can earn free money!”
People always told me there’s no such thing as free money.
But they never tried the things on this list.
Fortunately for you, I’ve tried them all. This is a list of the top ways to earn free money (including free government money).
How to Get Free Money
Here are ways to get free money now!
1 – 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.
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.
2 – 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.
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.
Another option is AttaPoll (check out this guide to “Is AttaPoll legit?“) .
And if you’d like to make money with surveys, focus groups, and even clinical trials, check out “Is Apex Focus Group Legit?”
3 – 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.
4 – 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’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.
5 – Get In Shape
Are you trying to get in shape? What if you could reach your weight loss goals and make money simultaneously?
HealthyWage allows you to do just that.
HealthyWage will give you prizes when you reach specific weight loss goals. For example, losing 15 pounds within six months could win you $500!
To take advantage of this, head to HealthyWage, calculate your prize, make a bet, lose weight, and win free money! This can be an effective motivator when you’re feeling down and want to quit.
6 – Negotiate Your Bills
I always thought that bills were a fixed price and non-negotiable.
The good news is, I was wrong!
If you aren’t good at negotiating, don’t worry. There are apps like Rocket Money that will do the work for you. Rocket Money has experts that will wait on hold and negotiate your phone bills, car insurance, and more to get you the best rates.
So if you want to lower your monthly bills, sign up for Rocket Money. It’s free, and if you want more advanced functions, the premium plan is also negotiable. Read this full Rocket Money review to learn more.
To learn which budgeting app could best help you manage your finances and boost your savings, check out these comparisons of Rocket Money vs the competition:
Then use a net worth tracker to see how your new financial strategies are paying off.
If you’re looking for a low-tech, hands-on budgeting method, learn about cash envelope categories. And if you need to boost your savings fast, the 60/30/10 rule budget can help.
7 – 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.
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.
8 – Play Games
Who doesn’t love playing games and earning money? This is why Drop is such a popular app.
Drop is a rewards app that pays you for playing games, shopping, and taking surveys. Users get paid in points which can be redeemed for gift cards to places like Amazon, Uber, or Starbucks.
They have tons of games like Solitaire, Bingo Blitz, WorldWinner, Coffee Stack, and more.
You can also sign up for the premium version by linking your credit card. You’ll receive premium offers, exclusive monthly point drops, Hoops replays, and boosted surveys.
The premium version is completely optional to join. It’s possible to earn money on the free version without entering your card details.
Be sure to check out these other games that also pay to play:
- Bubble Party (read “Is Bubble Party Legit?“)
- Bubble Buzz (read “Is Bubble Buzz Legit?“)
- Solitaire Clash (read “Is Solitaire Clash Legit?”)
- Solitaire Smash (read “Is Solitaire Smash Legit?”)
- Bingo Smash (read “Is Bingo Smash Legit?“)
- Bingo Tour (read “Is Bingo Tour Legit?)
- FreeCash (read “Is Freecash Legit?)
If you’d like to play games to win gift cards, this article gives you the top ways to do that. And you can learn here how to get a free DoorDash gift card.
9 – 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.
10 – 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.
11 – 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.
Commonly Asked Questions About Free Money
How To Find Unclaimed Money
Finding unclaimed money is easy. Head to Unclaimed.org, select your state, enter your name, and Unclaimed will show you any money you forgot to claim.
How Do I Get Free Money?
A few ways to get free money now include searching for unclaimed property, using cashback apps like Fetch, reviewing mock trials, and answering surveys on Survey Junkie. The best part is that everything can be done online, so you won’t have to leave the comfort of your home! If you want to be extra resourceful, you could also donate plasma for money.
And if you’d like to get the free use of great products, you may want to learn about Nike product testing and Adidas product testing.
How Do I Get Free Money Right Now?
You can get free money right now by signing up for apps and websites like InboxDollars, Swagbucks, and Survey Junkie. These sites will pay you to watch videos, play games, and complete surveys. You can get cash payouts within a few hours, making this a fantastic way to get free money fast.
Here’s how to make an extra $100 a week. And learn how you could make money as a mystery shopper in this Field Agent review.
