Free money is there for the taking if you know where to look for it. Sometimes it’s as simple as asking for it. Other times you’re rewarded for it by loyalty programs. You might even be able to get it by giving companies your opinions. Here are 4 things to try to get free money.
1 Ask the government for it
The government has a whole slew of programs that gives money to people simply for the asking. Among such programs are:
- Food stamps – while not “money” in the traditional sense of the word, it does help buy groceries.
- Both Unclaimed.org and missingmoney.com let you find money that’s owed to you by the government
- Grants/ scholarships for education.
- The Pell grant will help you obtain your undergraduate degree.
- Each college’s financial aid office gives out Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants.
- Disability – if you are disabled, apply for disability. The process, while lengthy, is worth it if you genuinely need the assistance. Note: you may need a lawyer to help you get recognized as having a disability by the government.
- The Child Care and Development Fund helps parents pay for childcare so they can attend schooling or obtain employment outside the home.
- LIHEAP is the “Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program,” which helps people pay for their energy bills.
2 Negotiate your bills to be lower
Paying less for your bills is another excellent way of finding free money. Try the following apps to help you automatically lower your bills:
- Truebill helps save you money by canceling accounts you forgot about and are paying because it hits your credit/ debit card monthly, and in return, they get 40% of the money saved.
- Trim is an app that works similarly to trim, canceling unwanted subscriptions, but it has the extra features of helping you save on your medical bills and bundled communications packages (think TV, cell phone, and internet services).
3 Use online coupon, saving, and rebate apps & sites
There are a variety of apps, extensions, and websites that can help you save money. And as the saying goes – a penny saved is a penny earned.
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- Honey is a web browser extension that helps you save money by finding and applying coupon codes to items you’re already buying. You also can get an additional 20% cash-back by signing up for their Honeygold rewards program.
- Like Honey, Rakuten has a browser extension, the “Cash Back Button,” which users click to activate refunds and automatically obtain coupon codes at checkout.
- Capital One Shopping monitors your purchase history, and if a better deal for something you bought comes along, you’ll get the difference.
- The Giving Assistant serves a dual purpose. Like Honey, this extension helps to find and apply coupon codes. Like Ratuken’s cash-back button, it features a one-click use. You can automatically give a percentage of the refund to your favorite cause when using it.
- Shopper.com is a browser extension that works like Honey, automatically finding and applying coupon codes and vouchers. Unlike Honey, the coupon codes get vetted by its users.
- Paribus is both a website and an iOS-exclusive app that belongs to Capital One. The platform keeps track of the prices of goods users purchase, notifying them of sales.
- Earny works similarly to Paribus, except that it requires access to your email inbox, among other information. It works with credit cards to automatically claim price protection for purchases made with the platform. However, such cards limit how long, how many times, and what dollar amount they will refund. Typically such cards offer protection within a 30 – 120 day window, $250 – $500 per item, and you can’t take advantage of it more than 4X – 5X a year.
- RetailMeNot is another browser extension that offers coupon codes in addition to cash-back. It works on food delivery websites and clothing retailers. During major “shopping holidays,” like Black Friday or Cyber Monday, it has pages dedicated to finding deals. Like Shopper, you can also submit codes you found to the site.
- Coupert is a web browser extension that tracks deals and cash-back promotions that you can get through PayPal. It tracks deals from various places around the web, including
- AliExpress, a B2C e-commerce site out of China
- Skyscanner, a site that works similarly to Hotwire or Kayak, but for airline tickets only
4 Get free money by signing up for and using Yotta
Sign up for the FDIC-insured Yotta card, and add it to your “Cash App” as a bank under cash and bitcoin options. Once you do so, you’ll be qualified to win free money every time you make a purchase. Want more chances of winning? Pay everything through your Cash App card and watch your chances of winning increase. Most purchases come with a 1:250 chance of getting instant cash back.