You get a buzz on your phone as a PayPal alert comes in. You are now $20 richer from making a cup of coffee. Watching your favorite show last week earned your laptop $100. All of this appears too wonderful to be true. Same. That’s what I thought, too, until I tested these ideas. “If you’re looking for cool cash online, then Cool Cash Hacks For Extra Online Income is exactly what you need.

Simply scrolling online isn’t the sole use of internet technology. It allows you to earn some extra money and best of all? Starting doesn’t require any cash outlays. They have no advanced educational credentials. You won’t have to face management pressure. Just commitment of time, some cozy moves, and being creative will suffice.

A while back, I was sure online money meant working with suspicious surveys or fraudulent plans. Later, I realized people could make extra money by working on Quick Cash jobs, generating income while resting (Passive Streams), or using their existing knowledge (Skill-Based Goldmines).

Who needs all the extra talk? I’ll share my personal experiences and ideas and I won’t use any technical jargon or scams. Do you want to earn money whenever you use your screen?

 

 

 

No-Investment Cash Hacks (Fast, Low-Effort Wins)

Leveraging Free Resources

Treasure Hunting

Some furniture, in perfect condition, was abandoned last summer on a college curb during move-out. On a chance, I put a slightly damaged but strong desk in my car, posted it on Facebook Marketplace for $75 and it sold to someone who didn’t care about its looks. I then realized how often people discard things of real value.

Just having a want to sell and some creativity are all you need. Just check:

• During the weeks of students moving out (usually in May and August), college campuses are bustling with activity.
• Free sections on Craigslist and groups that give things away for free
• Visiting garage sales in high-end neighborhoods on Sundays (you can earn extra cash by hauling away anything left over)

Sanitize some items lightly, show them best in natural light, and put reasonable prices. With only my time, I’ve made up to $500 every month from turning garbage into cash.

 

Browser Magic

I would roll my eyes at seeing “Use code SAVE10 to get 10% off”, but then I started using Rakuten. Every time I complete such transactions, the cash goes straight into my account. I saved $42 last Black Friday on things I would have bought anyway.

Here we’ll explain exactly how it works.

• Add the free Rakuten or Coupert extension for Chrome.
• You can buy products at ordinary stores such as Walmart, Sephora, or Nike.
• The extension lights up with a pop-up when you can earn cashback—click “Activate” to use it.
• Every quarterly payout goes out by PayPal or check.

It only takes 30 seconds to begin using it. I think of it the same as finding coins in your coat—small joys that eventually amount to something nice. I put aside $217 as my “lazy money” last year. Just enough to support my forgetfulness for a short holiday in a cheap hotel.

This method succeeds because of several reasons.

• If you’re buying things, why not make money out of it
• You can watch Netflix and also use the extensions at the same time
• Get money back right away: You can see your savings as soon as you pay

Give yourself the challenge this week. Get free things from your local area or sign up for Rakuten on your next grocery order. There are lots of opportunities to make money if you look for them.

 

 

Survey & Opinion Income

In the past, I thought paid surveys were only after my money. I also found Opinion Edge and during my first week, I earned $25 while outside the DMV. Learning something, even a small thing, by accident is pretty cool, right?

In short, businesses will pay you for your opinions on flavors in toothpaste, advertisements for cars, and shows or movies you watch. Because they give real cashouts and you can request your money through PayPal even with just $5 in your account, Opinion Edge is my favorite. I have made more than $300 this year from commercials and during bus rides.

The secret? Use more than just a single app. I am using all three of them at the same time: Opinion Edge for quick questions, Branded Surveys for more money, and Google Opinion Rewards for credit on the Play Store. I’m able to complete a different survey while one app loads the next survey for me. It makes an $8/hour job pay more like $12-15/hour.

On Tuesday during my lunch break, I generated $18. I won’t walk away from my current job which means every like earns me complimentary sushi—yay! But I don’t care about drama, though I was paid only a quarter.

Check how long the transaction may take and how much you will earn from it. I don’t complete any survey that pays less than $0.50 per answer. Did they have you answer the profile questionnaire? Be sure to complete your profile fully, as this helps you qualify for more (and better-paid) surveys.

Don’t fool yourself into thinking that investing is easy or quick. You can “make money while scrolling instead of doing it for free.” My rule? I prefer to take surveys in situations when I already have some time to spare such as those waiting rooms, when I am taking public transport, or when my partner is watching golf on TV.

 

 

Passive Income Opportunities (Let Them Run While You Work Or Relax)

A team of fully automated apps.

When I saw that Wi-Fi could earn money for me without me doing anything, I was practically floored. Now, I give this excess internet bandwidth to apps like Pawns and GetGrass and they pay me money as a reward (or crypto, if you choose).

This is the way things happened to me:

• I downloaded Pawns onto my old computer sitting in my closet.
• I kept editing while I was asleep, working or even watching The Office for the 11th time
• Received roughly $37 from Cash App via PayPal after letting my files sit there for two months which is great for doing nothing

But here’s when things start to be interesting. It became clear to me that these apps are playing different roles and work together. That’s how I ended up operating Pawns, GetGrass, and HoneyGain together all the time. Within weeks that $37 had increased to $112. I paid the same amount for my internet and now my router was also quietly earning me more money.

Be careful about:

• Data caps are real, so always check your Internet plan carefully with your ISP (this lesson was tough for me)
• Limits set by devices (some apps restrict earnings to just one per IP)
• I set a payout level (I have my Grass rewards sent in crypto and wait to get my rewards until the amount reaches that level)

Between what I earned using these apps and the digital products I will tell you about, I paid for my Spotify and Netflix accounts without needing any income from my main job. Not huge amounts of money, but still money given to you for free? Absolutely. The only thing I had to do was click “install” and let it manage everything else by itself.

Would you like to see if it works for you? Pawns are the safest pieces to play with at first. If after a week your internet is not at its max, put GetGrass into the mix. Without much effort, you will be paid for something you already do at home. I’m calling that a smarter way to get things done, rather than a hard way.

 

Create content for the brand.

It was nearly a dealbreaker for me to not start the podcast since I thought I’d need professional equipment. After that, I found Anchor – using just my phone from the car during lunch breaks, I recorded my first podcast episode. After about three months, affiliate links were bringing in enough money to meet my needs for coffee. The good news is, that you don’t have to gather a huge group of listeners to make Podcasting work. After making a tiny podcast about obscure board games, I ended up getting sponsors because advertisers find small audiences attractive.

Now I want to focus on Canva templates which turned out to be a goldmine for me. I made a simple wedding planner for my sister last year. The template was put online, and my friends came forward to buy it and that’s how I started making $300 each month with the same $5 template many times. The magic? New designs that make things easier and faster for customers will be well-paid for. If you discover a product like social media kits, resume templates, or meal planners fixes a problem, it is likely to be successful.

This was the biggest surprise for me:

• You can use a design tool without having special design skills (again, I’m no expert)
• If your photos and titles have the proper keywords, Etsy will help you get sales.
• A good template may be sold over and over again without any extra investment of time or effort from the seller.

For selling Instagram templates, Jake makes $800 per month from real estate agents. Some businesses make budget apps for moms. There is a never-ending amount of products on the market. I had no design experience before, so I watched tutorials on YouTube and kept updating what was popular in my shop.

Curious to do this for yourself? Make a short podcast episode about something interesting using only your phone. You could also change that spreadsheet for your needs into a template that others can use. Exactly how my side hustle began was through these job posts. People who make and share things online can be rewarded since having fancy skills is not necessary.

Your mistakes while learning will help you improve. I recorded my first few podcast episodes with really poor sound. I made my first templates look really ugly. However, I made a profit from them which was most important because it made me start my business. What products or services can you make right now that someone would be ready to pay for tomorrow?

 

 

Goldmines that Use Creativity & Skills (Generating Good Income and Can Be Grown)

Design Services

This might sound funny, but my first paid work in design was because I offered to create logos for just $20 on Facebook. I did not know much about Canva then, but I went ahead anyway. Just six months after that, I was getting $500 for each full-brand package. This is what took place.

There is a big demand for excellent design among small businesses, yet their budgets aren’t high enough to use design agencies. My first task was to create social media content for local cafes which anyone could learn with Canva. Something wonderful occurred at that moment. A client wanted me to make the picture match the logo. Not long after, I was developing full brand identities.

How can it be a game-changer? Bundling. Instead of charging $50 for a logo, I began offering the “Starter Brand Kit” – with logo, color palette, and three social media templates at $250. People really enjoyed not having to visit a location to make a copy, so I made more cash but still worked the same.

Most people don’t mention this to you, but…

You can figure out Adobe just by watching tutorials online (I used Skillshare to help me learn Photoshop).

• Most clients prioritize speed much more than looking for perfection
• Repurposing parts of work from one project to another saves you a lot of time

In the last month, I made $2,300 by designing basic media kits for podcasts. My secret? The layout never changes; I switch up the colors and the fonts every time. Many clients think their projects are unique and I finish them in much less time than expected.

How about you give it a try? Go to Canva and give a local business’s post a new design. Share the results you got before and after working on it – that’s what led to my first ten clients. Think of yourself as a learner, not a professional designer. The coffee shop owner is grateful because you’re giving them a new logo after years of using the old one.

Start small. Charge cheap. Try to create a collection of your best works. Soon you might find yourself rejecting assignments because you have no time. That tells you it’s time to increase your prices.

 

Technical Support & Consultation

I have a friend called Mike – he gets paid $150 for spending about 15 minutes fixing innocuous WordPress blunders. An education in computer science isn’t required and you needn’t have a fancy office. A little bit of programming experience and the confidence to fix problems yourself.

It’s really not necessary to make whole websites to earn a good income. There are many straightforward technology issues overwhelming small business owners that they’re willing to fix with professional help.

• The contact form no longer works correctly and I need help fixing it ($75)
• Is it possible to connect my Mailchimp account with my website? ($120)
• “My homepage displays strangely on my phone.” ($95)

I had absolutely no programming background before starting. What was my first gig? Update font color on a Shopify store for a charge of $40. Three months on, I started getting paid $300 to handle email automation for coaches.

It gets crazy with virtual assistance. All Nina does is schedule Pinterest posts for clients and she charges them $35 per hour. Another friend is good at setting up automated emails – this work enables her to make $2,000/month while working only 10 hours per week. They aren’t computing experts. They specialized in learning a single skill.

Start by:

• Decide on one small service (like setting up the Facebook pixel or making basic WordPress changes).
• Set up a basic gig listing it on Fiverr
• When you are having trouble with the game, watch some YouTube tutorials.

The true value is in the niches. Don’t refer to your work as only doing tech support. Tell people you can handle WooCommerce checkout repairs for candle shops. That’s what helps you be different from others.

About a month ago I got to know someone who has specialized in SEO for dentists on Google My Business. Makes $8k/month. Another who turns PDFs into WordPress pages. He makes $5k a month from it. You can do a lot if you focus all your energy on delivering a single valuable service.

Which simple tech task can you work on this week? No doubt, you can earn money doing something like this for others. Over many times.

 

 

How to Get Money Fast (Getting Paid Quickly)

Doing mystery shopping for research.

I went to work on Tuesday and got paid $28 to eat a burger. No joke. I was assigned by the Field Agent to go to a fast food place and just do the following: buy the combo meal, check how long it takes, and take pictures of my receipt and food. Fifteen minutes after starting, I was enjoying some fries and getting my earnings notifications through PayPal.

What’s great about this is As soon as you understand where to find them, these gigs exist all around you. I recently spent a month:

• I got a chance to $test a new mattress display at a department store and was paid to lie down (this is true).
• I earned $15 by checking and reporting the cleanliness of gas station restrooms (it took only 3 minutes)
• I made $60 for my observations of a car dealership visit (there was also free coffee).

It takes only five minutes to sign up. The majority of jobs pay within 48 hours. Does the job when you’re in a hurry to get paid?

 

Carry Out App Testing

Bathroom breaks have never been the same for me since I tried UserTesting. When I do my mobile browsing, I’m now earning between $10 and $50 simply by looking at internet sites. People are paid to do the tasks in market research.

• Download different apps and practice speaking into the microphone.
• Go through the entire checkout process.
• Comment on the layout of the websites you use.

In one day I managed to get $110 on three different banking apps. You just have to say what your opinion is and probably check a few boxes during the test. The money always arrives from PayPal on the same day 7 days after.

 

Entering Data

My car needed repairs with fresh tires and TranscribeMe paid for them in winter. I prepared transcripts of doctor’s messages spent on the phone at $0.30 per minute. Boring? Sure. Even so, $15/hour is possible when you can be entertaining yourself anyway.

The golden rule is: Make sure the information is correct rather than fast to finish. Taking the time to do the work properly made me more money than hurrying through faulty work. I tend to have it in a browser tab for when I just want to relax and make some quick money.

For best results, use a variety of these methods together. I’ll often:

• Agree to conduct a mystery shop at the mall ($25).
• While there, I should do a UserTest with my app on my phone ($15)
• You can earn money by transcribing in the food court ($12).

$52 in a single lazy afternoon and I wanted to buy new shoes in any case. What draws people to quick cash gigs is the simplicity of it all. They naturally mix with your regular life.

What are some ideas for today? Get the Field Agent app before you go out for your next meal. Set up your UserTesting account then, during the commercials. Never life-changing, but often just right when money is needed today, not in the future.

Don’t forget my extra expensive burger. Tomorrow is another day for dinner there. For this one, I am being paid to review the tacos. Certain side hustles are harder to do than others.

 

 

 

Conclusion

In the past year, I used to focus just on finding one ideal side hustle. It was at this point that I discovered the perfect combination – doing quick surveys as well as offering digital products. Every day I make money with my apps running, every week I earn from design jobs and every month money comes from templates made six months ago. When the pandemic hit and work with clients stopped, three other kinds of work kept me going.

Based on the messed-up spreadsheet, I learned:

• You end up spending $240 on $8 survey days each month
• Templates I wasn’t planning to make are now making $500 every month.
• The mystery shop I did at the cell phone store took off into $200/month consulting work.

Your turn. Select only one task and perform it today. Right now. Field Agent can be downloaded on your phone before you go for your next coffee. Fiverr will allow you to build a gig for your go-to tech support. Film a short podcast episode on your phone to talk about something you do that is different.

I monitor all my income on a basic Google Sheet. When I began, every sale added up to nothing. That made it obvious what I had to improve the most. I find that sheet to be my go-to source of motivation.

Someone who looks ahead 10 years to where you are now is watching. Are you the sort of person who thinks about making extra income? Or the person who did something

new today? That very first PayPal notification is what changes things completely. Mine came from a survey that I almost didn’t do while I was waiting for my pizza.

Which thing will you tackle first?

 

 

 

Read Also: Smart Cash Hacks to Boost Your Income

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions