5 Painless Ways to Save Money

When you are struggling to get a hold of your money, it can be a challenge to figure out how to best throw more money back into your budget. Over the years, I have had to get creative in my process for eliminating debt, building up our emergency fund, and even paying for things like our debt-free Christmas.

So when the money is tight, where do you add more?

I always suggest that others try to side hustle – a side hustle being something that you do on “the side” from your regular job to earn extra money. This can be getting a part-time job, freelance work, picking up odd and end jobs for friends or family, or finding a few options that are more creative.

Painless Ways to Save Money

These are just a few of the many ways that I earn extra income for my family or as we refer to it “money that is outside our budget”. Some of these I have mentioned before but I few are new ones that I am testing out.

1. Swagbucks

I love this one and in fact, it is paying for our Christmas this year. I even use our Swagbucks * for paying for promotions and advertising for The Budget Mama. How I approach Swagbucks is like this: if I can spend countless minutes mindlessly scrolling through Facebook, I spend that same time earning extra money.

I only take a handful of surveys as they are usually very time consuming but I like to watch Swagbucks TV while I’m cooking dinner which helps me to earn more.

2. Checkout 51

If you are on a clean eating diet and purchase few processed foods, this app will not generate a ton of cash quickly for you, but I still use it because it’s a great and easy way to earn a little extra money when purchasing groceries. You simply upload your receipt and check off the products that you purchased and earn your cashback. You will be able to cash out once you reach $20.

3. Digit

So, this one is new to me but holy cow I’m already in love. Digit * is a simple app (or desktop version) to save money brainlessly. It connects to your checking account and every two to three days transfers money (usually $5-$50) from your checking account to your Digit Savings Account. This is a great way to help add extra money to your emergency fund or even save for a vacation! Oh and they have an overdraft protection guarantee so you do not have to worry about overdrafting!

4. InboxDollars

I use this site similar to how I use Swagbucks but I will tell you that it is a little more difficult to earn money through InboxDollars * than Swagbucks. However, I still think it is worth my time and since InboxDollars now offers a reloadable Visa card to upload your earnings to, I let my hubs keep the earnings I receive so he can spend it any way that he pleases. He loves being able to make purchases completely guilt-free and without having to check with me first. There is a cash out threshold of $30 and a fee of $3 when cashing out which is why I usually wait until I have at least $50 earned before cashing out.

So, even though this may not be the best or fastest option for adding extra income to your budget, it is a great way to earn a little extra spending money that is outside of your regular budget.

5. Ebates

I absolutely, positively LOVE Ebates *! Ebates is a website that you earn cashback through by shopping online. Before I make any purchases online, I always check Ebates first for any cashback being offered. This has been a great way for us to speed up our debt snowball without having to save any extra money or come out of our budget. Below is a screenshot of how much I have earned with Ebates * and I have been paid every.single.time by them. Love them!

These are just a few of the ways that I have and love to earn extra money to help us make our money and debt payoff strategies go further. Please share your favorites in the comments – I love learning about new places to try out!

BONUS!

Many of you commented on how much you love using Ibotta* and honestly, I had quit using it years ago (probably about 2 years) because I just never could figure it out enough to get it to work for me. However, y’all convinced me to give it another go and AMAZING! I’m already loving how super easy it is to save and build up cash back. I’ve already starting earning faster and more money than I have with Checkout 51 so definitely give it a try!

Linked Up To: The Thrifty Couple, Thrifty Thursday

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