Broke as a joke. Brokeahontas. Whatever you want to call it, that’s usually what I am. Despite having a part-time job, there never seems to be any money sitting nicely inside my wallet when I open it. So goes the life of a typical college student. But wait… don’t give up all hope yet! I’ve recently discovered some amazing new phone apps where you can make money while living your everyday life. What’s better than shopping, eating Dunkin, and cleaning out your closet? Being able to do all of those things… and make money at the same time.
Gigwalk is a relatively new app that allows you to book work “gigs” in seconds. It’s perfect for freelance workers looking for some extra money on the side! Users can build profiles highlighting their skills, and then apply to gigs posted on the app. Once you start completing gigs with high-quality work, higher-paying gigs are unlocked. Gigs can include photography, data collection, or even retail audits. What’s interesting is that over 93% of Gigwalkers are college-educated; they’re just hard-working adults like you and me, looking for a little extra cash at the end of the day.
I just started using Mobee, and I’m already addicted. A recent start-up out of Boston, Mobee pays you to mystery shop using your smartphone. By completing missions in locations around Boston (most of them are places you visit anyway!), you earn points towards rewards that you choose yourself and can claim anytime you want. To give one example, completing around 25 missions will get you a $50 Sephora gift card. You can choose different missions around topics like store traffic, hospitality, and store cleanliness, and considering each mission takes about a minute or less. I would say that’s a pretty good deal.
This app seems like it was literally built for college students with overflowing closets (i.e. me). With Poshmark, you can create posts about pieces you’re selling, and then simply wait for other Poshmark users to shop your closet and purchase them! The app makes it super easy to ship and collect payments too—everything is done for you, so all you have to do is stick the prepaid label on a box and take it to the post office for shipping. It’s like EBay, but specifically geared towards stylish young women.
Making extra money can really be as simple as walking into one of your favorite stores. No, really. Every time you set foot in a Shopkick-sponsored store (and there are a lot), you collect “kicks” that can go towards rewards, like movie tickets or free coffees. You can get even more “kicks” from scanning certain items you find in the stores, and especially from purchasing certain items. Stores like Target and Best Buy, and even gas stations like Exxon Mobil, are using Shopkick now to reward you for being a loyal customer. If you ever needed an excuse to reward yourself for shopping, this would be it.
With Viggle, you literally earn money watching TV shows you already watch! The approved list has NCIS, Pretty Little Liars, and other super popular shows on it. Your smartphone automatically records a small part of the show you’re watching when you log into Viggle; for each hour you watch, you work your way towards gift cards and other rewards. 75 hours of TV watching will get you about a $5 gift card, and let’s be real here, there are a lot of people watching that much TV in a matter of two weeks.
Sources:
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/innoeco/mobeescreen.png
http://www.refinery29.com/static/bin/entry/00a/x/96018/poshmark.jpg
http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/4dc9564fccd1d51f1f030000/gigwalk-app.jpg
http://areacellphone.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/iphone-shopkick-app.jpg
http://www.multichannel.com/photo/264/264398-Viggle_loyalty_app.jpg