How To Make Money When Your Broke

Feeling Super Broke? Here Are 4 Quick Ways To Get Fast Money

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Let's be all the way real: With today's cost of living, the entry-level $35,000 salary a lot of us are making that just isn't cutting it (don't forget Uncle Sam has to take his cut too) how are we supposed to pay rent, gas and bills?

Sure, you could get a second job on top of your 40-hour workweek (say goodbye to your social life), or you could fill the gaps in with the 11 alternatives below. They don't pay a ton on their own, but commit to doing a couple of them regularly in your free time and you'll have the cash you need before you know it.

1. Get Paid To Watch Movies, Play Games And Shop

MyPoints is an awesome rewards program that earns you cash and gift cards for doing the things you do online every day.

Shop, watch videos, play games, search the web, read emails, and you can also take paid surveys to earn money via PayPal or gift cards to stores like Amazon, Target and more. Get access to exclusive deals, discounts and coupons that when used, earn you even more points towards rewards.

Join MyPoints today and you'll get a free $10 Amazon or Visa gift card — your choice.

Earn gift cards online with MyPoints

2. Make Fast Money Sharing Your Opinions Using This App

African American man smiling while looking at his smartphone

In between paychecks, with a cellphone bill coming up, and not enough to cover it? Then you've gotta check out InboxDollars.. It can help you make up the difference (pretty quickly).

Big brands want people like you to watch short snippets of movie trailers or product features and give their feedback. They pay InboxDollars, which then recruits people like us to give their feedback for actual cash.

People swear by this:

Social media post that says "Hoping to get my InboxDollars payment today! I suggest everyone check this out, great way to earn some extra money.

The free $5 welcome bonus is just another reason to sign up today.

Pro tip: People who earn the most on InboxDollars know that it's important to stick with it for at least an hour at a time, so you start getting fed the highest-paid activities.

Make money watching videos online

3. Make Fast Money On Every Grocery Store Run…Every. Single. One.

Have you ever put off going to the grocery store because money's tight? Then, one day you go to open your fridge only to barely find enough to make a meal (oops)? Trust us, you're not the only one. Some weeks are tougher on the wallet than others and on those days, you need to put your inner penny-pincher to good use with Ibotta , the app that actually pays you every time you shop. I repeat: it pays you to shop!

With the app on your phone, earning money on your groceries is as easy as taking a picture of your receipt. Use Ibotta to scan your receipt for deals and watch as the app instantly applies cash back to your Ibotta account . It works at a ton of grocery stores, from Aldi to Costco to Whole Foods, so you won't miss an opportunity to earn.

A few of the deals we spotted:

$3.49 cash back on Caulipower pizza
$1 cash back on Chobani
$1 cash back on avocados
50 cents cash back on Starbucks coffee

Just look at all the cash back people are getting:

Four social media posts that say, "I saved 132.00 since I started using Ibotta". "Used Ibotta and got $3 back on a bottle of pinnacle." "I have earned $285 with using Ibotta just this year!". "I heart Ibotta!! In just 2019 I have made $516.59"

Get paid to grocery shop

Bonus: You Don't Need Hundreds To Invest, Just Whatever Change You Can Spare

One of the best ways to see your money grow in real-time is to invest it. But throwing down a couple hundred dollars towards an investment portfolio (which is what many traditional investment accounts require) is a lot to ask for from any first-time investor, especially if you're living on a budget. If you want to start investing but aren't quite ready for a deep dive into the stock market, Acorns can help you inch your way in through micro-investing with your spare change.

Acorns is an app that enables you to invest small amounts of money with every swipe of a linked debit /credit card or payments made through a linked PayPal account. The app will automatically round up every transaction to the nearest dollar and transfer it to your Acorns account. As soon as you save as little as $5, the app will then start using that money to buy fractional shares of stocks and bonds (there are 7,000 available for it choose from) to build you a diverse portfolio based on your investment goals and risk comfort level.

You can also set up recurring daily, weekly and monthly or one-time investment deposits to your Acorns account.

Acorns' plans only cost $1, $2 and $3 a month.

Invest however much you want when you want and watch your money grow with Acorns.

Invest with your spare change