The digital age offers a myriad ways to supplement your income by making some extra money on the side. Here are some choice options for those wanting to take advantage.
Read more: How to Make Money Online
Swagbucks
This reward program lets you earn points, called SB, through various methods such as taking surveys, shopping, and playing games.
Cash earned through the app can be redeemed via gift cards for multiple retailers, including Walmart and Amazon, or deposited directly into your PayPal account.
Swagbucks reports it has paid more than $352 million to members around the globe since it was launched in Southern California in 2008.
Platforms: Android, iPhone.
Branded Surveys
Branded Surveys is a platform that issues surveys for users to complete on behalf of Fortune 500 companies to provide feedback and market research.
Read more: Compare the Best Money-Making Apps
Upon completion of a survey, participants earn points, with 100 points being roughly equal to one dollar.
Types of surveys include consumer insights market research, product-based market research, and brand awareness.
Users can also sometimes be invited to participate in premium surveys, which offer higher rewards than usual.
Rewards vary from country to country, but some of the U.S. partners include Adidas, eBay, Nike, Dunkin', Spotify, and Nintendo. Users can also have any cash earned deposited directly into their PayPal account.
Branded Surveys says it has paid out over $20 million to users since the service's launch in 2012.
Platforms: Android, iPhone.
Rakuten
Founded in 1997, Rakuten offers cash back, deals and shopping rewards on a wide variety of products and services.
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Cash back can be earned via sharing referral codes, using a linked card or shopping at e-commerce retailers, with money being deposited to your PayPal account every three months.
According to Rakuten, over 17 million users in the U.S. have earned over $4.6 billion to date.
Platforms: Android, iPhone.
Nielsen Computer and Mobile Panel
Nielsen Computer and Mobile Panel allows users to earn rewards by having the app track what websites they visit and how long they stay there.
After joining and answering a few questions, users can begin earning rewards once they have installed the app to their mobile device.
Information collected by the app is then used to prepare reports and analysis on internet audience demographics, behavior, and use.
Participants who remain active can accumulate points which can be redeemed for various gift vouchers.
Platforms: Android, iPhone.
Uber
Perhaps a more obvious option, particularly if you own a vehicle, is to complete drop-offs on Uber.
The app, which quickly gained widespread popularity after its debut in San Francisco in 2010, allows anyone over the age of 21 with a year's driving experience (three for under-25s) to become a driver providing they own an eligible 4-door vehicle.
The average Uber driver in the U.S. makes around $20.35 per hour, 17 percent higher than the national average.
Platforms: Android, iPhone.
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Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Joe Edwards is a Live News Reporter in Newsweek's London bureau.
