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Are you trying to pay down some high credit card balances, but having trouble making more than your minimum monthly payments? Are extra hours at work, a part-time job, or some sort of side hustle just not in the cards for you right now? Don’t worry; you can actually make money online with a minimum amount of effort. While you may not get rich off these Internet opportunities, you can definitely make some money to pay off your debt faster.
Let’s look at six ways you can make money online and help pay off your debts.
1. Mechanical Turk
If you want to make a little bit of money doing simple online tasks, Mechanical Turk is the way to go. The site, run by Amazon, allows clients to post simple job requirements; typical “turker” jobs include taking surveys, transcribing short audio recordings, or rating product ideas. Most of the tasks pay small amounts; however, the tasks are all easy, don’t take too much time, and the money adds up. You can also sign up for Mechanical Turk quickly and get to work right away.
2. eBay
Founded in 1995, eBay seems as old as the Internet itself! However, despite its age, this online marketplace is still a great place to make a little bit of money. You can sell almost anything on eBay and make extra cash each week to help pay down your debts. It doesn’t take much effort; simply find items around your home or at work that you think people would be willing to buy and list them on the site. Once you get a knack for selling things, you’ll find that you can generate enough cash to pay well over those monthly minimums on your credit card bills.
3. Acorns
Do you want to earn a little extra cash doing no additional work at all? If so, you should sign up for Acorns. Acorns is a micro-investing company that sets up an investment account for you; that account connects to one or more of your credit or debit cards. Whenever you make a purchase on the card, Acorns rounds up to the nearest dollar and transfers that amount to your investment account. The funds Acorns invests in vary based on the amount of investment risk you want to incur. However, over time, you can build up considerable value in your Acorns account and use it to pay off your debts. It literally takes no effort on your part.
4. Swagbucks
On Swagbucks, you can earn money doing what you probably spend hours doing anyway: surfing the Internet. If you set up a Swagbucks account, you can earn points (the aptly named Swagbucks) for doing things such as shopping online, completing surveys, or watching popular video streaming services within the app. When you’ve accumulated enough Swagbucks, you can redeem them for cash. This is a great way to turn your everyday Internet browsing habits into a way to pay down your credit card debt faster.
5. HQ Trivia
Making a little bit of extra money online is easy; if you sign up for HQ Trivia, it can also be fun. HQ Trivia is a massive online game show. If you set up an account and play, you earn money for answering the game’s trivia questions correctly. As you accumulate cash in the game, you can easily transfer it to your own account via PayPal. If you grew up watching game shows on TV and regret never having been on one, HQ Trivia can give you your shot! While you’re at it, you can earn a bit of money to pay off your credit card debt, too.
6. Ibotta
While you’re trying to pay off your credit cards, you’re still going to have to eat and buy things, right? Ibotta can help turn your shopping trips into easy money for paying off debts. The app offers thousands of rebates for commonly purchased items; just make a purchase, scan the receipt and the item’s barcode into your smartphone, and ibotta will credit your account with the rebate. Once your ibotta account has $20 or more, you can transfer that money into your bank account via PayPal. Ibotta frequently has contests that allow you to earn extra cash each month, and it’ll often provide cash rebates simply for scanning a grocery receipt into the app as well.
You don’t have to commit to a part-time job or side hustle to start paying off your debts. These online sites will help you generate a little bit of cash with minimum work, so you have extra money to commit to your credit card bills. None of them will make you rich, but they can help you get out of debt faster. What are you waiting for? Pick one of these sites and get to work earning a little extra cash right away! Of course, once you have that cash, make sure you know how to save smart, so you can be prepared should any accidents crop up.
