Get Paid for Things You Already Do: 13 Realistic Ideas

If you’re looking for ways to make some extra cash, how about getting paid for the things you already do?

Surprisingly, there are actually several different ways you can make money easily, without much extra effort.

In this article, we’ll look at 13 things you may already be doing, and how you can get paid for each of them. There are plenty of specific resources and examples, so it’s easy to be proactive and start putting these into action.

→ Related reading: 150+ Side Hustle Ideas to Make Money in Your Spare Time

How to Make Money from Things You Already Do

1. Shopping

Shopping is something we all have to do, whether it’s in a store or online. While shopping is usually associated with spending money, and rightfully so, there are actually some ways to get paid or earn cash back for your shopping.

Rakuten ($10 signup bonus) – Rakuten is an awesome cash back website/app that makes it very easy to earn cash back from thousands of different websites. You can also earn cash back from some in-store purchases.

I highly recommend Rakuten because it takes almost no effort. All you need to do is create a free account, activate the browser extension, and then you’ll be notified whenever you’re browsing an online shop that participates in the Rakuten program. Rakuten will also find and apply coupon codes to save you even more money.

Ibotta ($20 in signup bonuses) – Ibotta is another cash back app, but it works differently. Inside the app you’ll find many different cash back offers at various stores and websites. If you make a purchase in-store you can claim the offer that you want, and then take a photo of your receipt. For online purchases, you can simply click through from Ibotta.

It’s easy to save money at the stores and websites where you already shop, and the savings can be pretty good. There are always plenty of great offers for savings on groceries.

Dosh – Dosh is another cash back app, but it’s different from both Ebates and Ibotta. After you create a free account you can link your credit or debit cards to Dosh, and when you make purchases at places that participate, you’ll automatically earn cash back.

→ Right now you can get a $1 bonus from Dosh when you link your first credit card.

Paribus – Paribus is a free app that helps you to get refunds owed to you. You’ll link Paribus to the email account that you use for online shopping, and when Paribus sees a receipt from a store or website that offers a low price guarantee, it will automatically try to find a lower price for the things that you bought. If it does, it will automatically request a refund on your behalf. I’ve gotten multiple refunds this way, so it really does work.

What’s even better is that Paribus will also track the shipment of your purchases from Amazon. If a shipment is late, Paribus can help you to get a free month of Prime (if you’re a Prime member) or a free Amazon gift card.

Mystery Shopping – If you love to shop, becoming a mystery shopper would be a great side hustle for you. At Intelli Shop, Field Agent, and BestMark you can register to become a mystery shopper. Don’t expect to make a ton of money with this approach, but it can be a fun way to make something extra. For more details, please see 5 Realistic Ways to Get Paid to Shop.

2. Paying Bills

One of my favorite ways to make easy money is to use cash back or rewards credit cards for all of my bills and purchases that I need to make anyway.

I use a few different credit cards in order to maximize my cash back. I have a few different cash back credit cards and I can earn up to 5% cash back with the Chase Freedom and 1.5% cash back on every purchase with the Chase Freedom Unlimited.

3. Surfing the Internet

Surfing the internet is something we (almost) all do every single day. Instead of simply wasting time, how about making some money while you surf? Here are a few websites and apps that make this possible.

Swagbucks ($10 signup bonus) – Swagbucks is one of the best sites for making money surfing the internet, and you can get paid for a few different things. You’ll earn Swagbucks for activities you do, and then you can cash in those Swagbucks for gift cards or money (via PayPal).

With Swagbucks you can earn by watching videos online, playing games, and searching. You can earn even more by setting Swagbucks as your default search engine.

Inbox Dollars ($5 signup bonus) – Inbox Dollars is somewhat similar to Swagbucks. You can make money for things like watching videos, taking surveys, and even for opening email.

Nielsen – Nielsen is a major research company (as in the Nielsen ratings) that will pay you for access to your internet browsing data. They do not collect personal data.

Install the app on your device or computer and you can make up to $50 per year, per device. This is as easy money as you can make anywhere.

MobileXpression – MobileXpression is a research company that will pay you for access to your mobile browsing data. All you need to do is sign up and install the app on your device. They will have access to your browsing history but will not collect personal data.

You’ll be compensated with gift cards. I’ve had MobileXpression on my phone for a little while and I’ve earned $30 in Amazon gift cards so far (you can earn $50 per year if you opt for the $10 gift cards).

For even more ideas, please see 13 Best Ways to Get Paid to Surf the Web.

4. Driving

Most of us drive every day, and there are a few different ways that you can make money while you’re out driving

Turn Your Car Into an Advertisement – There are a few companies like Free Car Media, Carvertise, and Wrapify that make it possible for you to make money selling ad space on your car. Earn up to a few hundred dollars per month doing nothing extra.

Uber and Lyft – Ridesharing apps like Uber and Lyft are obviously very popular right now, and they provide opportunities for you to make some extra money. Become a driver and you can work at your convenience and around your schedule.

Food Delivery – There are a number of food delivery apps like Door Dash that make it possible for you to earn some extra money making deliveries from restaurants. This is a great way to make a little extra money while you’re out driving anyway. See a bigger list of food delivery jobs here.

5. Walking

Walking is something all of us should be doing for health reasons, but how about making some money while you do it? It sounds crazy, but there are actually a number of apps that pay you to walk.

Sweatcoin – Sweatcoin is an app that will pay you for the outdoor steps that you take. Just install the free app on your phone and it will track your steps. You can redeem your Sweatcoin for cash and other rewards.

Achievement – Achievement is another app that allows you to earn money from healthy activities, including walking and tracking your steps. It will connect to your FitBit (or another similar device) and you can get paid by PayPal or direct deposit.

Dog Walking – While you’re walking, why not take a dog for a walk with you? Websites like Rover and Wag can help you to find people in your area how are looking for a dog walker.

6. Caring for Pets

Walking dogs isn’t the only way to make money involving pets. If you’re a pet owner, caring for your pet is already a part of your daily life. If you’re willing to host other people’s pets and provide care for them, you can make extra money without too much effort.

Websites like Rover and Care.com allow you to create a profile as a pet sitter, and to be found by people looking for your services.

7. Doing Laundry

Doing laundry may be a normal part of your daily or weekly routine, but did you know that you can get paid to do laundry for other people? Laundry Care offers a unique opportunity in certain cities (and they are expanding). If you want to make money from home, this is an easy way to do it.

8. Entertaining

Do you enjoy hosting other people and providing entertainment? If so, there are some unique ways to make money through websites like Withlocals and Tours by Locals. These sites allow you to offer private tours and experiences to travelers and tourists. If you live in an area that attracts a lot of visitors, this is an interesting way to make some extra money.

9. Cooking

If you like to cook meals and entertain, sites like Eat With, BonAppetour, and Feastly are great opportunities for you. You can host travelers and cook meals for events to make some extra money while having fun.

10. Taking Photos

These days it seems like everyone is a photographer with their smartphone. Apps like Foap make it easy for you to upload your mobile phone photos, and you’ll make a commission whenever someone buys one of your photos.

With MobilePrints.com you can make money from your Instagram photos. People can buy your photos as framed prints, canvas prints, greeting cards, and more.

11. Using Social Media

If you’re an avid social media user, and if you develop a nice following, you can get paid to promote products and services for companies. Websites like Tribe and Influicity allow you to create a profile so brands can find and hire you.

12. Saving Energy

OhmConnect is a free app that will help you to reduce your energy bills, and they’ll even pay you for it! You’ll connect it to your utility service, they’ll alert you of times when you should reduce your energy usage, and you can earn cash if you participate. So far they have paid out almost $5 million.

13. Playing Video Games

It is very easy to spend a lot of time playing video games, especially when we are bored and we open up an app on the phone. The time can move very fast. Well there are games that pay real money just for playing! These payouts can actually get quite large if you get good! My favorite by far is Bubble Cash (for iOS & Android), but also check out Bingo Bling!

Get Started

Now that we’ve looked at 13 different ways to make money from things you are (probably) already doing, it’s time to pick one or two and make it happen.

These options are mostly easy to get started, and they don’t require specific skills or talents. Everyone can find at least one of two ways to make money from this list.