Inflation Is Killing Us. Here Are 7 Ways to Make Quick Money

Talk about sticker shock. All these rising prices are absolutely demolishing our bank accounts. With inflation at a 40-year high, the cost of groceries, gas and just about everything else is going through the roof.

For years, inflation remained at or below 2%, but now prices are up a whopping 8.6% compared to the previous year — the biggest price spike since 1981.

What can you do about it? You can try to earn some extra cash, and we’ve got a list of ways you can do just that. Every little bit helps.

1. Earn up to $83 Every Time You Win This Viral Game

Lots of us already play Solitaire on our phones for fun. Want to see if you can win money at it?

A free app called Solitaire Cash lets you play for real money — up to $83 per win.

For each game of Solitaire, you’ll compete against at least five other players. Everyone gets the same deck, so it’s all about skill. The top three players can win real money.

You can play free practice games or enter tournaments for as little as $1. Right now, Solitaire Cash will give you a $5 bonus to use toward tournaments when you add $10 to your account. 

And no, this isn’t one of those spammy apps. There aren’t even any annoying ads. Over on the App Store, it has over a million downloads and more than 15,000 ratings, averaging 4.7 stars (out of 5).

Want to see how much you could win? You can start playing right now to find out. Download the free app and get your $5 bonus when you add $10.

2. Get Paid for Your Opinion (as Soon as Today)

Got opinions? Get paid for them!

Sure, there are a lot of online survey sites out there. The catch is that, with a lot of them, it takes forever before you can actually get paid. You find yourself taking tons of surveys before you ever see a single cent — if you even qualify for the survey at all.

That’s why we like a website called Survey Junkie. It rewards you no matter what — even if you don’t qualify. And it lets you cash out a lot faster than its competition — you could even get paid today.

You get points for every survey you take, and once you’ve earned 500 points, you can cash out and get your first $5. A lot of sites make you wait until you’ve earned $20 or $25 worth of points before you can claim your earnings.

Most people get their money within seven days of signing up — but the pace is entirely up to you. Plenty of folks cash out the same day. And you can choose to get paid via PayPal or with digital gift cards.

No, you won’t necessarily get rich taking surveys online, but it’s an easy way to make a little extra cash while you’re killing time. Signing up takes about one minute, and you’ll immediately  earn points just for creating your account. You’ll be that much closer to cashing out.

3. Get Paid $225/Month While Watching Movie Previews

If we told you that you could get paid while watching videos on your computer, you’d probably laugh.

It’s too good to be true, right?

But we’re serious. By signing up for a free account with InboxDollars, you could add up to $225 a month to your pocket. They’ll send you short surveys every day, which you can fill out while you watch someone bake brownies or catch up on the latest Kardashian drama.

No, InboxDollars won’t replace your full-time job, but it’s something easy you can do while you’re already on the couch tonight, wasting time on your phone.

Unlike other sites, InboxDollars pays you in cash — no points or gift cards. It’s already paid its users more than $56 million.

Signing up takes about one minute, and you’ll immediately receive a $5 bonus to get you started.

4. This Free Debit Card Gives You Cash Back on Every Purchase

Wouldn’t it be nice if you got special treatment wherever you went? You can actually get rewards wherever you shop, using this free debit card from Discover.

You’ll earn 1% cash back on every single purchase you make using your Discover® Cashback Debit account, on up to $3,000 monthly.* There’s no impact on your credit score for signing up and no minimum balance requirements ever.

Need groceries? Tap your card for cash back. You can also get paid sooner with Early Pay direct deposit, protect against overdrafts and access to over 60,000 ATMs without fees. You can handle all of your banking needs through the app and connect a virtual wallet like Apple Pay to amplify your rewards. And on top of all that, checking-account deposits are FDIC-insured up to the maximum amount allowed by law.

Does your bank do all that? If not, open a free Discover checking account to get special treatment from a bank that will actually put money back into your account.

*See website for details.

5. Find Out If You’re Overpaying

Wouldn’t it be nice if you got an alert when you’re shopping online at Target and are about to overpay?

That’s exactly what this free service does.

Just add it to your browser for free, and before you check out, it’ll check other websites, including Walmart, eBay and others to see if your item is available for cheaper. Plus, you can get coupon codes, set up price-drop alerts and even see the item’s price history.

Let’s say you’re shopping for a new TV, and you assume you’ve found the best price. Here’s when you’ll get a pop up letting you know if that exact TV is available elsewhere for cheaper. If there are any available coupon codes, they’ll also automatically be applied to your order.

In the last year, this has saved people $160 million.

You can get started in just a few clicks to see if you’re overpaying online.

6. Sell Someone Else’s Stuff

Selling Craigslist freebies is a great way to make a profit quickly, because you get the items for free. You could even have cash in hand today.

Go to the free section on Craigslist and look for things that are close to you and easy to sell immediately. They could be scraps from a job site or metal items you can sell, for example.

For a quick turnaround, avoid items like furniture or electronics. These can be good to sell, but they’ll take longer.

Cash in your treasures by reselling on Craigslist, including them in a rummage sale or selling to specialty buyers, like a pawn shop or a local business.

So, don’t let sticker shock get you down. And don’t let it destroy your bank account. Even though prices keep rising, earning some extra money can help you weather the storm.

7. Get Paid Up to $83 Every Time You Win Playing Bingo

We all have our go-to time-killers on our phones. But this one actually gives you the chance to win up to $83 every time you play.

It’s a free app called Bingo Cash, and right now, you could octuple your money — as in 8x — when you play. When you add $10 to your account, Bingo Cash will give you a $5 bonus to use toward tournaments, where you could win up to $83.

You’ll compete against other players at your skill level, all using the same board, and the top three players can win real money — anywhere from $1 to $83.

And no, this isn’t one of those spammy apps. There aren’t even any annoying ads. Over on the App Store, it has over a million downloads and over 15,000 ratings, averaging 4.7 stars (out of 5).

Want to see if you could turn your $10 deposit into $83 in winnings? Just download the free app and start playing your first game immediately.

Mike Brassfield ([email protected]) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.

*Capital One Shopping compensates us when you get the extension using the links provided.

**See viobank.com for more details