A little over 3 years ago I was desperate to exit the rat race. I decided that I would figure out how to retire at 29. I started cutting my budget to the bone (Spoiler Alert: bad idea…) and as a precaution, started compiling a list of ways I could make a little extra money remotely if needed.
This list included transcription and small things I could do from my laptop, like surveys and trying out the gig economy. Luckily after I got my current job almost 3 years ago I came to my senses and realized I needed to base my retirement budget on what I’m spending now plus a little padding instead of doing everything I can to quit ASAP.
So the document I created detailing possible side gigs faded from my memory UNTIL Michelle from Frugality & Freedom came to visit Seattle and excitedly talked about how she was making extra money with little to no effort (my favorite way to make dough š ).
At first I was hesitant to join her. I had tried previously to download a few cash back apps that friends on Twitter recommended and found them annoying and unwieldy to even sign up for so I had deleted them. But watching Michelle’s phone ping throughout the weekend with the cash back she was receiving while we were chilling by Puget Sound or eating at my favorite sushi spot got the wheels in my head turning.
After she left and I had some time to reflect, I basically said “fuck it” and dove in. I downloaded all the apps she recommended (using her referral codes – I hope that helped Michelle!) and got to ‘work.’ Michelle had infected me with her enthusiasm and I’m happy to report I LOOOOVE this low effort app life. Here are details of the apps and sites that I used to make a little money on the side without sacrificing the lazy lifestyle I love:
JOB SPOTTER
Payout: $11.27 in Month 1
Payout Type: This app pays you in Amazon Gift Cards. I’ll be using mine to pay for my next purple hair dye purchase (Manic Panic Ultraviolet Amplified is my dye of choice if you’re curious).
Effort Involved: Job spotting takes maybe 2 seconds per job. This is the amount of money I received for doing 19 of them – many of which were during the same walk. Also I might just be a weirdo, but I find job spotting to be really fun – it basically turns your city into a giant scavenger hunt, which helps me pay attention and see new things even on streets I’ve walked a million times.
I never went out specifically to job spot or went out of the way to do so – I just kept my eyes open while walking where I was going. Job Spotting also has the added benefit of helping people. Job Spotter is owned by Indeed.com and the pictures we take are uploaded to their website so people can find jobs, specifically more obscure ones that don’t have the money to advertise online. Money, fun and helping people all in one – it doesn’t get better than that š . If you’re interested in trying it out you can download the “Job Spotter” app from the app store of your choosing.
FREEBIRD
Payout: $13 in Month 1
Payout Type: Cash
Effort Involved: Essentially none. You just need to remember to book Ubers or Lyfts through the Freebird app. I forced myself to do so by replacing my Uber app on my phone’s front screen with the Freebird app so I never forget. Otherwise it’s the same experience. Freebird apparently also gives you cash back if you eat at certain restaurants near where you are dropped off in the ride share, but I haven’t accidentally eaten in any of them yet. Another way to earn cash without trying!
Promo: If you’re interested you can sign up with the code l3575 to get $10 after your first two rides here.
DROP
Payout: $5.58 in Month 1
Payout Type: This app gives you points that you can redeem for Gift Cards to major brands and stores, such as Amazon, Starbucks and Groupon.
Effort Involved: None. You link up your credit card and Drop gives you bonus points when you spend money at stores you select in advance. I selected Trader Joe’s, Uber and a few others I don’t remember (Oops…).Ā
PEI
Payout: $8.12 in Month 1
Payout Type: This app lets you choose how they pay you, which includes PayPal, Gift Card or Bitcoin (yikes on the last one…)
Effort Involved: None. You link your credit card, go about your business and earn cash back from thousands of stores.Ā
PATREON
Payout: $8.55 in Month 1Ā
Payout Type: Cash
Effort Involved: In this instance I’m receiving patrons for something I have done in the past for free and would continue to do for free. Let me explain.
The Ridiculous Backstory: A few months ago Angela from Tread Lightly, Retire Early mentioned on Twitter that she should work on a Transparency post for her blog. I offered my services as a highly organized and persistent (or some might say annoying…) person who likes to bother people until they achieve their goals.
I lovingly call myself “The Accountability Beast.” I started bothering Angela every Wednesday until she completed her Transparency post! After that she mentioned another blog goal she had – which I also bothered her about until she completed it.
HEY @APurpleLifeBlog. Guess what. I ALREADY FINISHED my slow down guest post for @TheFioneers. pic.twitter.com/75oA1VJSlB
— Tread Lightly, Retire Early (@TreadLightly_RE) June 7, 2019
After all this public bothering, people started taking notice of my efficient (*cough* annoying *cough*) methods and asked to be berated into completing their goals as well. This went on for a few weeks with more people coming out of the woodwork until I got up to 14 people I was bothering on a weekly basis.
Angela kept ribbing me to set up a Patreon for my Accountability Beast ways, saying that people could then pledge money and that would give them extra incentives to reach their goals. I thought she was joking and let it go, but she kept asking and finally threatened to give me a taste of my own medicine and bother me until I set up a Patreon – uh oh!
How about I feed you Saturday? š
For real though. Set up a patreon and Iād be on it š
— Tread Lightly, Retire Early (@TreadLightly_RE) June 7, 2019
So under the threat of a taste of my own medicine, I figured out how to set one up, added a silly description about what I was doing and My Patreon Was Born! I was then shocked to discover that Angela, Ms. Mod from Modest Millionaires (who has been posting regularly after a 6 month hiatus since joining my bothering list!) and recently From One Geek To Another joined as patrons. That’s how I accidentally started a Patreon and expanded my ‘gig’ economy ways.
I mention this ridiculous chain of events to illustrate that you might have a skill or set of skills that you gladly share for free that others may be happy to pay you for. I never even considered that so don’t make my mistake – expand your idea of how and with what money can be made.
Conclusion
I am forever grateful that spending a weekend with Michelle and watching her raking in some dough with little effort led to me doing the same. What began as a fun experiment ended up bringing in enough easy money to cover my monthly eating out budget. Sweet! I don’t want to think about how much money I would have made if I hadn’t been too lazy to become part of these sites when I first heard of them š . Thank you Michelle!
Have you ever dipped your toe into the gig or app economy? If so, how did it go? Was it worth your time and effort?
I used to use manic panic ultraviolet too (but with pravana vivid aquamarine) back when my hair was aqua, then dark blue, then neon green, then I started mixing the aqua and purple! I was obsessed with it for 2 years then I let it all grow out and am just natural – for now š
But yes I love most of the manic panic colors! Pravana is good too!
Super cool!! Mixing ultraviolet and aquamarine sounds amaziiing! I might have to try that š . I’ve heard good things about pravana, but haven’t tried it yet. Did you just buy it on Amazon? I thought it was a professional-only color that was hard to find. Have you compared its vibrancy to Ion Color Brilliance’s purple? Curious how it stacks up. I found Ion’s colors to be a lot easier to apply, but less brilliant overall so I stick to manic panic. Thanks so much for stopping by!
I had no idea that Job Spotter was a thing. This is a great roundup of apps for all the side hustlers out there. For some reason I always notice when small businesses have job signs in the window. And I feel like I’ve been seeing them a lot more lately, at least here in Hoboken.
I wish that these apps let you payout directly towards your student loan debt or credit card debt. Have you ever seen an app that lets you payout your earnings towards debt?
So glad you liked it! I didn’t know it was a thing until recently either. You already have the spidey sense going! Time to make some coin š . I haven’t heard of an app that pays towards your debt directly – I imagine that would require a lot of coordination to allow it access to all different kinds of debts held different places, but the apps that pay you straight cash can obviously be used for that!
i always used to use manic panic vampire red and m-p black nail polish when i was about 30. i wish i could find photos from those days but i just can’t.
does ebay count as a gig? if so we’ve made thousands at that. that other digital stuff doesn’t work well for an unreachable person with no dumb phone.
LOVE IT!! I hope one day you find a photo because I would love to see that. eBay sure does!! Love that. I used to make some change on Amazon re-selling my used textbooks. Awesome time.
I remember hearing about Job Spotter a few months back. I never did anything with it, but I’ve definitely started noticing “Help wanted” signs more. Maybe this will get me to actually try the app…
Also, glad to see your Patreon is paying something! š
Dooo it. It’s so fun…also it annoys my partner AND I make money so win-win-win! And yeah lol – the Patreon is currently paying me some money. Who knew friends were the secret to making a few bucks? I’ve been doing friendship all wrong š
Cool! I’ll check out job spotter. There are a bunch of businesses near our home so it’ll be a fun side gig for my son.
Recently, we started charging Lime scooters. It’s a lot of fun and we already made enough to buy my son a new bike (used.) I don’t know if we’ll keep it up once it starts raining, though. It’s an awesome side gig in the summer.
Nice – let me know what you think! Having your son do that sounds super fun. And WOW that’s some awesome money from charging! We don’t have the scooters in Seattle yet that I’ve seen – going to keep my eyes peeled!
Weird, really?? They are in Redmond already! We rarely get things on the Eastside faster haha
Maybe the company (correctly) assumes we can’t handle it downtown LOL!
LOVE all of these ideas. Now that I’ve joined the world of credit card holders, I really need to get on those cash back purchase things…
Do it girl! Don’t make my mistake and get that free money!!
Iāve downloaded Job spotter… now to reminder to actually use it. Ha.
And yes to Patreon! YOU might think itās silly, but you are providing more than $5/mo worth of value for sure, and paying for it is just a tiny bit more incentive not to ignore you, too š
Lol – it’s easier to remember when you’re downtown since the signs are everywhere. I can add it to the things I bother you about in person though if you want š . As for Patreon, who knew that having people PAY you money would make it less likely to be ignored?! Amazing š
Haha never seen Patreon used that way, interesting! I think it’s a great idea though – I often get to work when there are monetary losses involved.
Haven’t stepped into the gig economy, but I did use the freelance service Fiverr this week! You know how in the post excerpts of the Karuna homepage, the date/categories are separated from the number of comments? I’m not sure if you get what I mean, but anyway I found this gap to be unnecessary and paid a guy in Fiverr to fix the problem (this theme file modification was beyond the usual Googling haha). Not exactly the lowest effort like the apps you’ve recommended here, but the Fiverr guy spent only 15 mins to help me and earn 5 bucks. I dunno, maybe you could use your skills here as well haha!
Haha me either! That’s awesome about Fiverr š . I know what you mean by the date/categories being separate and never really thought about it. Your new approach looks good! As for me and Fiverr, that sounds like too much like a job to me š with the clients and emails and back and forth so I’m good š . Thank you for stopping by!
Yay! I love that my app suggestions are paying off for you now.
Just call me Crazy App Lady.
I’m still in love with the Job Spotter app. I’ve made US$800.26 in my 10 months using it! All from quick pics taken on my phone while exploring on foot, which I was doing anyway.
My Job Spotter review at my website has some tips for new users, such as hitting up Chinatown areas and other restaurant strips for good hiring sign clusters.
Long live the low effort app income.
They do?!? That’s an amazing title. Own it! And DAMN GIRL! I need to step up my job spotting lol. Maybe it will help when I quit my job and can explore cities for longer like you did on your miniretirement š . Long live easy money (not to be confused with getting rich quick š )!
I’ve had decent success with Pei. I’ve bee able to cash out twice this year to the tune of a little over $40.
I did cash out in bitcoin, though. It’s a nice way to speculate without risking any of my earned income.
That’s awesome you’ve made so much!! I’ll keep at it and see if I can achieve those kinds of numbers. Cool approach to Pei/Bitcoin – my point with that post I linked to is just that – it’s speculation. Love that you treat it as such!
Huh, interesting post! TBH the Job Spotter one sounded most interesting. I had this other one that closed down recently where you would click on ads and earn a few cents. When it closed down I cashed out like $8.50 to my paypal. Better than nothing I suppose!
Sometimes I use Mechanical Turk – it’s certainly not passive but a decent way to make a few bucks without any commitment. I don’t use it much these days since I have better paying side hustles but I still log on and do a couple of hits here and there.
Hi – glad you found it interesting! Job Spotter is my favorite out of these for sure despite it also being the most ‘effort’ š . I’m sorry that site closed down – that sucks. Glad you made some money before it disappeared. I haven’t tried Mechanical Turk before – I’ll add that to my list of experiments to try! Awesome you have multiple side hustles going š . Thanks so much for stopping by!
Thanks for sharing these options, APL! Maybe they’ll come in handy now that I’ll have more time in the near future. I liked your story about bothering people to reach their goals. That is awesome motivation. I haven’t given the app economy world a shot, but I do have some experience with trying surveys. I didn’t find surveys to be a valuable way to spend time. Thanks for sharing these other alternative options! I hope you’re having a great week!
Happy to! Definitely let me know what you think if you pick any up. And if you want to join my bothering list all you need to do is say so š . I’ve heard similar things about surveys, which is why I haven’t tried them personally. I hope these options give you better return for your time. My week is going well – I hope yours is too!
Yas! Best 5 loonies I’ve ever invested (I’ll clarify that I apparently get a Canadian discount on the accountability beast š¤£). I’m at 3 months now of consistently posting every other week and I am loving the schedule! Still happy to have the accountability beast watching over to remind me to keep it up (and get me to complete other tasks hehe)! This particular weeks reminder was very much welcomed š¬.
All these other options sound easy to use! I actually added Job Spotter after Michelle posted about it on twitter but then we left on our boating adventure in the wilderness where no jobs are to be found lol! Good reminder to keep my eyes open now that we are back and use the app. Michelle’s numbers are making me want to just travel everywhere and spot those help wanted signs :D.
Lolol loonies?! I love that you get a Canadian discount. Patreon is on your side. Happy 3 month consistent posting anniversary!!! And yes you can’t shake the beast lol!
Michelle’s whole life makes me want to do that lol. That girl is hardcore and amazing. If you want become a van-bum and just travel the world making money off apps let me know. Sounds like a fun experiment š .
Lol. Loonies. š @apurplelife: My mom’s Canadian and Loonies refers to the $1 coin in Canada that has a loon on it. Not sure if you knew that already, but thought you might find it interesting. š
Oh cool! Thank you for the explanation!
Nice, will have to check out some of these apps myself. Love how you used Patreon. š
Let me know how you like them! And yeah Patreon is surprisingly flexible š .
I forgot about Job Spotter, I meant to look into it a while back. Appreciate the reminder š
I use small things like Bing search and the Achievement app, and cashback sites, but I haven’t been doing much in the way of other money making apps. I do keep an eye out for that kind of thing just in case, though!
Happy to help! This is the second time I’ve heard of Bing search – maybe I should add that to my to look into list. I haven’t heard of the Achievement app before! Awesome you keep an eye out. Let’s make that $!
I LOVE JOB SPOTTER! I like to walk around downtown a lot and it’s so easy, no bs! They changed the payout lately and I’ve been getting even more money! Plus I’m being paid to go on a walk I would be doing anyways! Love it!
Right – it’s so fun!! How did your payout change recently? I updated the app in Atlanta and saw that the map now showed you all possible pins, but now I’m back in Seattle and everything is as it was. Thinking maybe they only rolled out the new version in certain cities?
This is all so cool. I am totally going to try job spotter on my next lunch break walk. Sounds like a fun way to make a few extra dollars!
That’s awesome! Let me know how it goes š . I love it.
Iāll need to check these apps out! The one I use is Achievement. You can link it to a bunch of health apps (like Apple Health, FitBit, Strava, MyFitnessPal, etc) and you get points. Once you reach 10,000, you get $10. Iām a regular runner, so Iām not doing anything extra but make $20 a year without trying. You can also take small health surveys to get extra points.
And I LOVE that you made your Accountability Beast a thing! Thatās awesome. Now Iām curious about thinking of my own skills that could be utilized in such a way, hmm…
(Ali and Alison of All Options Considered introduced me to your blog – canāt wait to catch up!)
Yeah – definitely check them out! Cool about Achievement – I haven’t heard of that one. And haha yeah the Beast thing still feels ridiculous to me, but if I’m helping people and they choose to pay me for it that’s cool. I’m sure you have skills that could be used like that! And oh cool about AOC – did you meet them at chataqua?