Easy Ways to Make Extra Money for Traveling

Ibotta

I touched on this briefly in my article How to Save Money While Traveling. If you haven’t already, you need to download the app Ibotta. It is normally known as a couponers’ dream. The biggest reason to download the free app, is that you can get money back on items that you are already buying! The cash back offers are usually similar to what a coupon would be. But here is a way to save money, by doing basically zero work. This money can be put back into a pay pal account, or on a gift card from some of the top retailers. Right now if you use the referral code listed below, you can get $10 off of your first purchase. Ibotta already has many offers that make items FREE. So on top of getting free items, you will immediately MAKE $10 on your first purchase! You can also start sending out referral codes yourself, to make even more money. My first account got deleted accidentally, but according to my second account I’ve amassed over $1,125.22. Between both my accounts I’ve made over $2,000.

Another way to “double dip” on this app is if you have multiple adults in your household. I personally make sure to use both my boyfriends and my own account. Obviously you would have already sent them your own referral code, but you can also get double the free stuff by using multiple accounts.

While normally being used for retail related items, Ibotta has AMAZING travel deals as well. This rebate app has deals where you can earn cash back on everyday purchases. Restaurants, bars, clothing stores, Groupon, etc. Right now there’s deals where you could receive up to 10% cash back on certain stores. Both Home Away and VRBO offer $10 dollar cash back. You need to be using Ibotta to get discounts on everything before, during, and after your trips. Even if you don’t travel, I suggest that everyone use Ibotta if you want some extra money in your pocket. I’ve included some travel related deals, that were featured on Ibotta while I was writing this post (deals are constantly changing). If you are interested in the app (as you should), use the referral code arqppqm and you will receive $10 after your first purchase with Ibotta.

Honestly, even if you do not want to use my referral code. Sign up for the app! You can honestly save so much money doing so, and again it’s free! Listed below are some other couponing apps that you should try. I’ve made a few hundred dollars off of each of them. I’ll also include more referral codes to get you some sign up money!

Checkout51 referral code= https://checkout51.app.link/WNeVBXeT44

FetchRewards referral code= K3PTP

• Receive 2,000 Points once you scan your first receipt

Donating Plasma

This is not for everyone. But If you can spare an hour of your time and want some cash now, this is your place. ALSO, you will be saving lives in the process. So this is a “win win” for everyone! Basically everywhere in the United States there is some sort of Plasma Donation Center. So you may have to do some sort of research to find one. But for over a year now, I’ve been going to BioLife Plasma. There is many locations around Minnesota, as well as throughout the United States. Basically If you can spare an hour of your time, you can make a good chunk of cash for doing nothing. While getting your blood drawn, you can sit on your phone, watch movies, read, etc. The process takes about an hour, and you leave with money on a VISA debit card as soon as you leave. The centers also offer FREE childcare! If you are interested use my referral code to make $300 in just 5 visits. If you decide to try it out, use my name LAUREL PRODAHL to acquire the new donor deal! $60 an hour doesn’t sound bad to me, especially when it is going towards a good cause!

Couponing Basics

Now I don’t expect you to become an extreme couponer overnight. But you can honestly save SO much money by clipping a few coupons. The majority of coupons can be found in your local newspapers on Sunday’s. Personally I don’t have a subscription for the Star Tribune (Minnesota’s local newspaper). But it can be easily bought at most stores and gas stations! They are usually only about $1-2 dollars depending on the newspaper. You basically get your money back with just one coupon! The coupons at the beginning of the month are usually the best and most plentiful. If you don’t have access to Newspaper coupons, check out the website Coupons.com. Here you can print out coupons for a verified website, so nothing here is counterfeit. Take advantage of both, since they are often different from each other!

Now the tricky thing about couponing is that each store has their own “coupon policies”. But if you can manage to understand each stores policies, you can completely take advantage of them. The most useful website I’ve found is the Krazy Coupon Lady. On top of giving you a step by step description of weekly deals, they also have AMAZING videos and posts about how to coupon. Check them out to get a more in depth description. Below I’m going to include a few different stores, and some hypothetical coupon deals.

TARGET

Buy (2) Schick Xtreme3 Razors, 8 ct $9.99, regular price and receive a $5.00 Target Gift card.

Use the 20% off Target Circle (Free app, old Target Circle) = $7.99 each

Use (2) $4.00/1 coupons from Smart Source 03/15 = $3.99

Use your Target Red Card to purchase for a 5% discount = $3.79

Submit for a $4.00/1 Ibotta rebate = .21 moneymaker on each razor

With the $5.00 Target Gift Card this would be a $5.42 moneymaker!

Target allows you to use up to (4) identical manufacturer coupons per transaction. On top of manufacture coupons, you can use Target Coupons on the same item. Target Circle (formally known as cartwheel) will also be taken off of the item if available. Target Also has Category Coupons as well, that will be applied ($10 off of a $40 purchase groceries). The last thing that Target offers are their gift card deals. This usually consists of buying items in multiples, in order to receive a target gift card in return. Always remember to use Rebate Apps on top of all this in order to maximize savings!

WALMART

Buy (1) Dove body wash $2.99

Use (1) $4.00/1 Dove body wash coupon from Coupons.com

Receive $1.01 back on purchase

So while Walmart does not have amazing coupon deals like Target, the one thing that sets them apart from other stores is the fact that they allow overage to be returned to the customer. If you have a $3.00 coupon and something only costs a dollar, you would be making $2.00 from the coupon. You see this most often with clearance items, since they are marked below normal market price. Now “technically” Walmart is supposed to give you money back but I wouldn’t try it. It doesn’t look good to managers and employees. Instead i’ve been taught to put it towards items that wouldn’t normally be on sale. A good example of these things is like meats, dairy, and vegetables. I’ve gotten steaks for free this way before! Like always make sure you are using your rebate apps!

Resell Couponed Items

Since you have just created the ultimate stock pile due to couponing. You can now start reselling the items that you no longer need! At some point you are going to no longer need to keep an item, since you already have 20 at home. It is so easy to sell everyday essential items on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. Recently I was able to get 4 bottles of Nexus Shampoo for $1.99. These bottles normally run for $12-13 dollars at Target (closer to $20 at CVS). I put the items on Marketplace for $25 (half off what they would have paid for the 4). And I had someone asking to pick them up within a few dollars! If you can master the world of couponing, it can be such an easy way to make money!

A second idea on reselling items, may be a bit riskier. A lot of online business’s have made a significant profit in doing so though. Ultimately if you can find amazing deals on clothes and items, you can sell them for significantly more. A lot of Amazon businesses run this way. Heck, that’s how Kim Kardashian started her business career. She had her father loan her money, in order to purchases purses and sell them for more later! While we all don’t have wealthy parents, it is doable. A few summers back, I found North Face Winter Jackets in Cabelas bargain cave. These jackets normally ran for $399 dollars, but after discounts were ringing up for $40. Normally I bought one for myself, and all that were left (like 3). It was the middle of the summer so no one was in the market for Winter jackets. But that fall I put them online for a hundred bucks and they instantly sold. Something to think about if you are constantly finding AMAZING deals. It’s an easy way to make some extra money.

Spring Cleaning

Having recently moved, I ended up going through EVERYTHING before we left the old house. And let me tell you, YOU HAVE MORE JUNK THAN YOU NEED. Get rid of it. There’s no use for holding on to clothes from 10 years ago. Trust me, you aren’t going to wear it again. That old piano from when you thought you might teach yourself has been collecting dust for 3 years now…. All of that crap, could actually be of use to someone. A lot of people would be willing to pay you to take it off of your hands. Plus you get to clean your house in the process! Again, Facebook Market Place has become my number one place to resell items. I prefer it over Craigslist because it links to your profile. Plus there is so many local Garage Sale groups you can join and find potential buyers just down the street.

Restoring and Repurposing Items

Now, you may need to have some sort of creative side to do this. But even if you don’t, Google can walk you through just about anything. Restoring old junk and reselling the items can make you a significant amount of cash depending on the items. Rustic and farmhouse style furniture seem to be in style these days. ALL THE TIME I see old furniture listed online for free. A lot of this stuff was passed through families, and may be out of style. Often the quality of older furniture is significantly better than anything made in recent years. If you can create something that fits in with recent styles, people would be willing to pay you for! This could be something as simple as a fresh coat of paint, to re-staining your parents old oak table.