Simply put, passive income is money you earn that doesn’t require you to do a lot of “active” work. Our regular salary requires that we work for a company 9-5: this is active income. On the other hand, the dividends you earn on the money you invest in the stock market count as passive income, because you don’t need to work for the dividends.
People who achieve financial independence will tell you that passive income streams are the key to success. Passive income can free you up from the daily grind of work so you can focus on what you truly enjoy while still generating income.
Here are the best passive income apps that you can use to make money this year.
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1. Join Survey Junkie Pulse and make money passively
Survey Junkie Pulse is one of the best passive income apps that you can use to earn side income without much additional effort. By automatically sharing your digital browsing behaviours with Survey Junkie through their Pulse program, you can easily earn passive income. Survey Junkie Pulse is run by Survey Junkie, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the consumer insights platform DISQO.
Browsing behaviours are used for market research purposes to analyze how various consumer groups behave. Secure information — such as passwords or credit card details — is never collected, and personally identifiable information is masked by encryption. Check out Survey Junkie’s resource here to understand how insights are shared.
Sign up here for Survey Junkie Pulse today!
SPONSORED: Find a Qualified Financial Advisor
1. Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to 3 fiduciary financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes.
2. Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
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2. Use Ibotta to earn cash-back for your purchases
Ibotta (iOS or Android) is a popular free cashback shopping app in the US. With Ibotta, you can earn real cash back every time you shop online or in-store. Simply check Ibotta before you shop in-store or online, travel, dine out, or make a purchase in your favourite apps, and you can get rewarded with cash back.
So far, Ibotta has credited $1 billion to savers. Join millions of users that are saving and earning cash back on every purchase!
Check out my ibotta review to learn more!
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3. Download the Drop app
The Drop app is another one of my favourite passive income apps. For every single purchase that you make through Drop, you get some cash back! Drop has more than 2,500 stores from a wide array of categories listed, including many well-known brands like Amazon and Starbucks. Don’t forget that Drop also has flash deals and boosted offers that you should take advantage of.
Check out my Drop app review to learn more!
Sign up for Drop here! Don’t forget to link your card to maximize the perks available!
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4. Use a cash-back credit card
Using a cash-back credit card is probably one of the oldest ways to earn passive income.
If you are looking for a Canadian credit card, you may want to consider signing up for the no-fee Tangerine Money-Back credit card. It is my primary credit card that offers cash-back on every purchase, including 2% for three categories of your choice. I use the card on a daily basis, and I cannot recommend it enough.
Check out my Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card Review to learn more!
Sign up for the Tangerine Money-Back credit card today!
Worried that you may not have enough credit history to get a cash-back credit card? Don’t worry, you can use a secured credit card, such as the OpenSky Secured Visa credit card or Group One Freedom Platinum Card, to build your credit history.
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
5. Get cash rebate with Rakuten
Rakuten, formally known as Ebates, is another popular online cash-back shopping site in the US and Canada.
Using Rakuten is very simple. All you need to remember is that if you want to make an online purchase, you go to Rakuten’s website first, from where you select the desired merchant. Rakuten will then automatically redirect you to the merchant’s official website. Alternatively, you can also install their browser extension (which is what I did) and you will be notified whenever a cash-back or a bonus offer is available.
Rakuten has more than 2,500 stores from a wide array of categories listed, including many well-known brands like Dell, Walmart, Chapter-Indigo, and Amazon.
I have been using Rakuten since 2016, and have always remained a happy member!
To get a cash bonus with your first qualifying purchase:
If you are in the US: sign up here.
If you are in Canada: sign up here!
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
6. Install Honey browser extension
An alternative to Rakuten is Honey, which is a subsidiary of PayPal. Honey is a browser extension that can easily help you find coupons online. It also automatically helps you apply the coupons to your purchases so you can always get the best deals!
Sign up for Honey today and get 500 Gold ($5 free cash) with your first qualifying purchase!
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7. Join SmartyPlus
The SmartyPlus membership is your perfect online shopping companion. You can get savings, protection, and convenience at all of the stores you know and trust. You can get $15 cashback on your first purchase, PLUS get up to 10% cash back with double rewards on future purchases!
Sign up for SmartyPlus today to get $15 cashback on your first purchase!
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8. Open a high-interest savings account
Opening a high-interest savings account is an easy way to make some passive income. Chequing accounts from major banks nowadays earn barely any interest, so your best bet would be to open one with an online bank.
If you are in the US, I recommend that you check out First Citizens Bank’s free online savings account. Read my First Citizens Bank review here!
If you are in Canada, I recommend that you check out EQ Bank. This bank offers one of the highest interests in all savings accounts in Canada, and the money is accessible at any time. In addition to regular savings accounts, EQ bank also has registered accounts such as TFSA and RSP.
Sign up for an EQ Bank Savings Plus Account here, or check out my comprehensive EQ Bank review to learn more!
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9. Automate your investment with Acorns
Investing your money is an easy way to make some passive income. Not only do you benefit from capital appreciation (aka. price increases), but you can also benefit from dividend payouts. Both of these sources of income are purely passive.
Acorns is the leading micro-investing app in the U.S. It is a super easy-to-use app that enables you to invest your life’s spare money. You only need under 5 minutes to sign up, and there is no minimum investment required. You will be investing in a low-cost, diversified portfolio of exchange-traded funds, and watching your money grow effortlessly. Acorns is suitable for anyone, even beginners, who are looking for a relatively easy solution to grow your money.
For a limited time, Acorns is offering a $20 bonus when you make your first investment. Sign up directly for Acorns here, or check out my Acorns review to learn more!
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
10. Join Swagbucks
Using Swagbucks is a semi-passive way to make money online. You can earn points, called SBs, by completing short tasks. They include shopping at your favorite store, searching the web, answering surveys, watching videos, or playing games. Yes, you read it right. You can play video games and make money at the same time!
The payouts of the tasks differ based on the difficulty of the tasks. You can then use the points to redeem for retailer gift cards or cash via PayPal.
An interesting feature of the Swagbucks prizes is that they go on sale too! They have days when they offer 20 – 25% off select rewards. You may want to wait to redeem gift cards on one of these days and get a bigger bang for your buck!
If you’d like to learn more about Swagbucks, check out my complete review on Swagbucks!
Sign up for Swagbucks here and get $5 bonus cash for free!
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11. Earn quick money with KashKick
A great alternative to Swagbucks is KashKick. KashKick will deposit cash directly into your PayPal account for all the fun money-making things you are doing online!
Doing online surveys is the best way to earn cash on KashKick. Of course, other earnings opportunities, such as finding great deals, surfing the web, and watching videos, are also available.
Check out my comprehensive KashKick review to learn more!
Sign up here for KashKick today!
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12. Play games with Android app Mistplay
Mistplay is a wonderful Android app that allows you to play games and make money. It is as easy as downloading the app on your Android phone, playing games, earning Mistplay units, and cashing out on gift cards!
If you are in the US: Sign up for Mistplay here.
If you are in Canada: Sign up for Mistplay here.
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13. Zynga Poker (Android only)
Whether you prefer casual Texas Holdem Poker or competitive tournaments, Zynga Poker is your home for authentic gameplay. You can compete at the traditional 9-person table or the new 5-person table for faster play.
There are tons of opportunities to earn free chips. You can get a welcome bonus of 60,000 FREE chips just for downloading your new favourite poker game! Plus, you also have a chance to win a daily bonus of up to $45,000,000 in in-game money!
Sign up for Zynga Poker today to challenge your friends to fun poker games, or meet new friends online!
Image Credit: istockphoto/puckons.
14. Get paid to walk with Sweatcoin
Sweatcoin is the #1 fitness app in many countries based on its ranking on the App Store and Google Play. The app allows users to earn sweatcoin when they walk or run inside and outside.
You get 0.95 sweatcoin for every 1,000 steps you take and can redeem them for cash (via PayPal) or rewards (gift cards, fitness products, Apple watches, FitBit, music downloads, etc.). They also pay you 5 sweatcoin for every friend you refer to the app.
Sign up for Sweatcoin today to start getting paid for walking!
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15. Get paid to lose weight with HealthyWage
It takes a ton of hard work and dedication to shed a few pounds. However, if you already want to lose weight, why not gamify the process and use HealthyWage?
The concept of HealthyWage is simple: you make a bet on how much weight you can lose. When you achieve your goal, you win real money!
Of course, keep in mind that you should lose weight in a healthy manner. Never go to the extremes to win prize money. It is never worth it.
Sign up for HealthyWage today!
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16. Get paid driving your car with Stickr
Want to earn some passive income by advertising on your car? Stickr is what you are looking for. Drive your normal routine but with an advertisement in your back window, and you will earn a healthy side income without much work! Sign up for Stickr here!
SPONSORED: Find a Qualified Financial Advisor
1. Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to 3 fiduciary financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes.
2. Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
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17. Create a blog
If you enjoy writing like me, you may want to start a blog. Although creating a blog does require some active work in the beginning, as your audience grows, your blog will become a great stream of passive income for you. For example, I have started generating a healthy side income from ads (I joined ezoic ad network), affiliate marketing (I see the best results from Aragon Premium), sponsorships, freelance writing opportunities, and more.
Of course, starting a blog requires some tools. Here are the blogging tools I use:
- Bluehost: perfect for beginners who want to upgrade from a free platform (so you can start monetizing) but who also want to minimize spending. Check out my Bluehost review to see why I chose it as my first hosting company. Sign up for Bluehost here.
- NameSilo: One of the most economical registrar and hosting companies out there. I stumbled upon this company and have been very happy with the service. It is my current registrar. Use promo code “bellawanana” at check out to get a special discount! Sign up for NameSilo here.
- SiteGround: This is my current hosting company. It is more expensive than Bluehost, but I like it for its SiteGround optimizer plugin, the free email accounts, and the better speed with my site. Sign up for SiteGround here.
- Ezoic: This is the ad network I have joined. It pays quite a bit better than Google AdSense. Sign up for ezoic here.
Image Credit: anyaberkut/ istockphoto .
18. Rent out what you have
Renting out what you already have, such as a spare room or a car you don’t drive often, could also be a good idea if you want to generate passive income. Using passive income apps such as Airbnb (for rooms) and Turo (for cars). You can even consider getting a roommate if interested.
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Conclusion
There you have it, the best passive income apps you can use to help you generate some side income effortlessly. Most of these endeavours only require some minimal initial setup, and you can watch your money grow while you sleep or enjoy whatever you are interested in doing. What’s not to love about these passive income apps?
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This article originally appeared on BellaWanana.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
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