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We’re back baby! August was the first month post-baby that I felt a little semblance of myself return. Part of that included greater side hustle earnings. While it’s no where near what I am used to making, I am working my way to getting back up there. As a recap for anyone new here, each month I keep track of what I earn from various side hustles. I have an annual goal for what I am hoping to bring in and work to increase that on a monthly and yearly basis. Let’s take a look at the earnings and breakdown for my August side hustle report.
The Earnings
- Mperks: $40.00
- Chase Ultimate Rewards: $164.47
- Ibotta: $20.15
- Survey Junkie: $6.79
- Rakuten: $18.96
- ReceiptPal: $5.00
- Lake Michigan Credit Union: $35.55
Total: $290.92
The Breakdown
Mperks
If you live in the midwest you have probably heard of Meijer, a supermarket similar to Target or Walmart. Earlier this year they re-did their rewards program and I have definitely noticed a benefit in terms of the money off I receive every week for my groceries. So I started keeping track in my side hustle reports! If you shop here and are not a mperks member you are leaving money on the table.
Chase Ultimate Rewards
I’ve talked a lot about how much I love the perks I get from my Chase Sapphire Reserve card and Chase Freedom card. This month we had a weekend getaway in northern Michigan and stayed in an airbnb. I used my Chase points to pay for part of that bnb with the Pay Yourself Back feature where at the time of this post, my points are worth 25% more. I used a total of 13,156 points (normally $131.56 face value) to receive $164.47. You can sign up for the Sapphire Reserve card ($550 annual fee) or Freedom card (no annual fee) by clicking the links here.
Ibotta
Ibotta is a cash-back app that I primarily use for groceries. They have an app feature or a browser extension that you can use for cash back for your online purchases. Since I’ve started using the app I have earned over $800 in cash-back. I did an in-depth post on Ibotta in my top 3 cash-back apps you can read here as well as in my most recent post on how to save money on groceries. Click here to get $5 when you submit your first receipt.
Survey Junkie
Survey Junkie is an online survey platform that pays users for their opinions. It’s something I can do from my couch and find it pretty easy to earn a few extra dollars every month. Minimum cash out is 500 points or $5 which is pretty standard. They send a 1-minute 10 point survey daily which helps build up your points too! I wrote an entire review about survey junkie that you can read here if you are on the fence about trying it. You can click here if you are interested in signing up.
Rakuten
Rakuten is another cash-back app/browser extension that offers cash back on your online and in-store purchases from hundreds of retailers. I’ve been using Rakuten for years and always check before I buy anything online to see if it qualifies for cash-back. Since I have started using it I have gotten hundreds of dollars back on my purchases. I even convinced my mom to use it and she loves it when she gets her quarterly “big fat check” as they call it. If you join using this link you will get $30 when you spend your first $30!
ReceiptPal
ReceiptPal rewards its users for uploading any and all receipts. They want to know what consumers are buying. I never earn a ton from this but it takes 2 seconds to take a picture of my receipt and its nice when I can get a gift card to one of the many retailers they partner with (Amazon, Starbucks, and Target to name a few). You earn points for each receipt you upload and can redeem them for $5, $10, $25 or even $50 gift cards.
Lake Michigan Credit Union
LMCU is what we use for our joint checking account. With their Max Checking you can earn 3% cash back up to $15k. This is one of the only checking accounts that I found near us that has a physical location and great checking account rewards. They pay the 3% cash back monthly just for doing a few simple things such as signing up for e-statements, logging in to your account periodically, etc. Definitely worth earning an additional $450 annually in my opinion!
That’s a wrap on the month’s side hustle report! Many of these side hustles bring me income on a monthly basis. Once I establish something, like our Lake Michigan account for example, it almost becomes routine to earn from it. I have a new, interesting side hustle my son and I are working on for September that I’m excited to keep you posted about. Until then, happy hustling!