How to Get Free Money Stuff Near Me | 15 Best Ways

How to Get Free Money Stuff Near Me

It’s surprising, but so many people don’t take advantage of the free government funds to which they are entitled as US citizens or legal aliens. This is partly because many people are unfamiliar with US scholarship programs.

Some people think that grants are loans and must be repaid. Grants are truly free money, but they can only be used for the specific purpose for which they are approved.

You cannot use a grant you receive to pay medical bills to buy a big-screen TV. That will not do. The government ensures that the money is used and used only for that specific purpose.

Get Free Money

The good thing is that you can apply for more than one type of scholarship. You can get free money for your education and at the same time you can get grants to start a business or buy your first home.

Billions of dollars are available in grants each year. But this free money is not advertised and therefore people do not know what is available to them. You never get anything in the mail that would tell you there is free money for you.

It doesn’t come to you, you have to find it. Finding the right one for you from tens of thousands of scholarships is not easy unless you use a scholarship software that automates your search and application.

Take advantage of the state funding available to you. The faster you trade, the sooner you will get the money. A grant writing software can make it very easy for you to get what you are looking for.

Is Free Money Really Free?

You are understandably skeptical. In order to clarify your open questions, we first clarify what we mean by free money. Free refers to any cash bonuses or rewards you receive for signing up and using a Service.

It’s as easy as receiving a $10 welcome bonus when you sign up for a new savings account.

Or it’s the redeemable points you earn when you share your opinion with a business. So, this money is absolutely free in the sense that you are not exchanging hours of hard work for it, but instead you are getting additional benefits while going about your daily activities.

Now that we’ve covered the importance of free money, let’s look at ways to get real money fast!

Best 15 Ways To Get Free Money Fast

1. Take Advantage Of Your Employer’s 401(K) Match At Work

If you work for a great company, one of the best benefits it can offer you is matching your 401(K) contributions. While you may not be able to access this today, it’s yours when you retire.

We found that most 401k match contribution levels are tiered. A generous match might include a dollar-for-dollar match on the first 3%-5% of the employee’s deposit. After that, most 401k programs match 50 cents for every dollar of the next 3%, up to 10% of total employee contributions.

I would take 100% advantage for the first part, I would also take advantage of 50% matching for the second part as well. All of this is free money for you at the end of the day.

2. Look For Unclaimed Money

Technically, this is not “free” money. It actually helps you find and receive missing funds that are owed to you. The most common examples would be uncashed paychecks, forgotten savings bonds, customer overpayments, or home security deposits. Some other forms of unclaimed property include stock, uncashed money orders/gift certificates, royalties, annuities, or cash on delivery.

In 2019 alone, more than $3 billion in unclaimed property was returned to owners. The average payment was around $1,780. To find out if you have unclaimed money waiting for you to grab it, just visit unclaimed.org. Enter your details there securely and the site will tell you if you are owed anything.

Here are some of the best places, government agencies, and various websites to look for unclaimed money:

3. Lower Your Mortgage

For anyone struggling financially, one obvious way to alleviate that hardship is to lower your mortgage. As a result, your monthly payments won’t be as high, leaving you with more free money in your wallet. The downside is that you pay more interest.

Our good friend Choncé Maddox, in an article for Money Under 30, suggests that you can lower your mortgage by extending your repayment period or by refinancing your mortgage. Other recommendations would be a larger down payment, get rid of your PMI, reassess your home tax and seek a federal loan modification program.

4. Get Help With Utility Bills

Struggling to keep up with your heating or phone bills? If so, then you may qualify for programs such as:

5. Refinance Your Student Loans

“Student loan refinancing helps you consolidate your existing federal or private student loans, or both, into a single new student loan with a lower interest rate,” explains Zack Friedman for Forbes. “When you refinance student loans, you can get a lower interest rate, a lower monthly payment, and pay off your student loans faster.”

While not exactly free, this will save you free money in the long run. Just keep in mind that you will have to go to a private lender, as this is something the government does not do.

6. Get Help With Down Payments

Have you ever dreamed of owning a home but don’t have the free money to pay a down payment? If so, you’re in luck.

Most states and counties offer grants to first-time homeowners. These funds can then be used for expenses such as down payments and closing costs. In Nevada, those who have quality can get a grant of up to 5% of the home loan value to help make a down payment. In addition, there are interest-free, forgivable loans and interest-free deferred loans to help you buy your home.

Payment assistance programs are generally aimed at first-time homebuyers. However, according to Down Payment Resource, 38% of homeownership programs are open to repeat buyers. Finally, you can even purchase homebuyer courses to ensure you understand the process.

7. Apply For Educational Grants

Whether you just graduated from high school, want to advance your career, or spend your free time productively, you don’t need to spend a fortune taking classes. In fact, there are many Pell Grants and other scholarships that make going to school financially easier.

8. References

Companies are well aware that the most effective marketing tactic there is is word of mouth. However, to sweeten the pot, they are often more than willing to pay you to recommend their company to others.

For example, I recently joined the environmentally conscious housewares site the Grove Collaborative. As a thank you, they will give me $10 every time one of my referrals makes a purchase. All I have to do is send them a link via email or text.

However, banks, credit card companies, travel sites, Acorns, and even the 23andMe DNA service will add money to your account just by spreading the word about them.

9. Find Healthcare Tax Credits

Having no crystal ball, I cannot predict the future of the Affordable Care Act for you. Until then, however, you can continue to obtain coverage through the government’s marketplace at Healthcare.gov.

If you qualify, you may be eligible for a credit for your rewards, which will then be paid directly to your provider. You may even qualify for a premium tax credit, which can reduce monthly insurance costs.

10. Upgrade Or Open A New Checking/Savings Account

Many banks distribute cash for free. Why? According to Bankrate, sign-up bonuses are used “to differentiate yourself from others in the industry. Cash rewards also help financial institutions attract new customers and new deposits.”

The Best Savings Account Bonuses:

In terms of top reviews and savings, Bankrate lists the following:

If you don’t want to open a new account, you should at least upgrade your existing savings account to a high-yield online savings account. Then again. I can’t understand why you can’t get more for your free money and want to do both.

11. Get free Stock Investments

You may be skeptical about this one. But it is true. Downloading apps like Acorns, Robinhood, Stash Invest, Webull, or Nvstr can land anywhere from $5 to $1,000 in free stocks or account bonuses right into your account.

How do you get free shares? As of January 2022, you can see how much free money you can get in your account bonuses here:

12. Seek Childcare Assistance

For most households, child care makes a significant dent in their spending. Depending on where you reside, this may vary. But it can range from $200 to $600 a week!

And affordable child care is anticipated to become a bigger issue after the COVID-10 pandemic. Data from the Care.com COVID-19 Child Care Survey shows that “More than half (52%) of parents surveyed say they anticipate the cost of child care to be higher than it was before COVID-19, and Almost as many (47%) are more concerned about the cost of child care now than they were before the pandemic.”

The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), which is administered by the US Department of Health and Human Services, can help ease this burden. You may cover the cost of childcare for children under 13, depending on your income. The CCDF made $9.5 billion available to states, territories, and tribes in 2021 alone.

13. Join A Focus Group

Focus groups date back to the work of sociologist Robert Merton in 1946. Since they’ve been around for decades, he’s probably already familiar with them. Simply share your thoughts and feedback on products, services, or even concepts.

Traditionally, focus groups are held in person. However, there are plenty of opportunities to give your opinion online through chats and forums. You won’t make a lot of free money here, but it’s possible to easily collect between $50 and $250.

14. Join A Focus Group

Focus groups date back to the work of sociologist Robert Merton in 1946. Since they’ve been around for decades, he’s probably already familiar with them. Simply share your thoughts and feedback on products, services, or even concepts.

Traditionally, focus groups are held in person. However, there are plenty of opportunities to give your opinion online through chats and forums. You won’t make a lot of free money here, but it’s possible to easily collect between $50 and $250.

15. Shopping

I am in no way advocating that you blow your budget. Instead, I recommend that you use a free app like Fetch Rewards. All you have to do is scan your purchase receipt. You can then redeem these points into eCards that can be redeemed at participating brands, such as Amazon, StubHub, or Airbnb.

In addition to scanning receipts, you can earn free money every time you shop online with Rakuten, Wikibuy, Ibotta, or Be Frugal. There’s also Capitol One’s Paribus that will track your purchases to determine if a store owes you a refund.

Also, you can use a credit or debit card that will give you a cash bonus if you spend a certain amount of free money within a specified period of time. A word of caution here, make sure you can pay off your card so you don’t go into debt.

Conclusion

Whether you’re struggling, trying to pay off your debt, or putting it aside for a rainy day, you don’t have to look far for hassle-free money. Just beware of scams. And try to focus on opportunities that make sense to you.

For example, if you don’t want to go into credit card debt because you can’t pay your monthly balance, avoid signing up for rewards cards. Also, if you’re short on time, it wouldn’t make sense to fill out surveys or join a focus group.

The main takeaway is that free money is available for you to take. You just need to get out there and take advantage of it!

Good Luck For Getting Free Money.