What would you do with an extra $200 a day?
From July to December, the IRS will start sending monthly checks of up to $200 or $300 per child to eligible parents as part of the American Rescue Plan.
But, while having unexpected money come in is great, it can disappear quickly without a plan.
As such, we tested a bunch of different side hustle ideas to make a little extra cash so you can really make $200 fast.
After going through the extensive list, we've found what we consider the best ideas on how to make extra money (and we'll continue to add to this list) — so be sure to bookmark this page to come back easily.
All of these ideas to earn an extra $200 a day are expert-vetted and it's no wonder these opportunities are growing in popularity.
Here is our list of how to make 200 dollars fast and after we'll go over how to invest 200 dollars.
How to Make $200 a Day
Ready? I’ll only list legit ways that I’ve personally used to make money, and make it fast. We will first start with the quick wins, companies that’ll (legit) pay you money just for signing up:
Need an easy extra $200 right now?
- Survey Junkie: Makeup to $50 per survey in your spare time from home to take online surveys, participating in focus groups and trying new products. Join Survey Junkie Now
- Swagbucks: Watch videos, take surveys, shop and more to earn real money. Join Swagbucks Now to Get $10 Free
- InboxDollars: Has so far paid its members over $40 Million. Watch videos, take surveys, shop and more. Join InboxDollars Now and Get Free $5
Next, we’ll move on to other ways to earn your $200.00 quickly.
1. Invest in Microsoft, Walmart or Facebook stock for free
Stock shares in companies you trust, such as Microsoft, Walmart, or Facebook, can be very expensive for those new to the stock game.
The good news is, Robinhood, allows you to start investing for free and when you sign up through this link, a surprise stock appears in your account.
The best part? You don't even need any money in your account your free stock.
Plus you can cash it out right away and get a free $200 as soon as tomorrow.
Get your free stock here (must complete sign up)
2. Earn cash in your spare time with paid surveys
Websites like Survey Junkie can make you $200 this month for passively sharing your opinion and trying new products. It is 100% legit and simple: companies pay you in cash via PayPal so they can understand consumers better and survey takers can benefit.
The number one survey site is Survey Junkie, which has an 8.9/10 on Trustpilot, the highest of any survey site.
Expect to make between $1 and $50 per survey, it varies but most surveys take under 5 minutes to complete. If you're already a fan of Survey Junkie, be sure to check out our list of recommended paid survey sites.
Knowing that companies are using your opinions to make decisions about restaurants, consumer products, movies and a lot more is oddly satisfying. They also have plenty of high paying surveys to choose from, so you don't have much to lose. BONUS: You can get started with a registration bonus here.
- Online survey site with a large number of surveys
- Can earn up to $50 per survey
- Additional ways to earn up to $100
- Install Survey Junkie extension for bonus
There is a company out there called Airbnb that can net you over $200 a night just by listing your spare room just a few nights out of the month.
Are you interested in seeing what your income potential could be by listing a spare room on Airbnb?
It's easy to use, you could sign up for Airbnb (you just need to give them a name and email address), list your spare space in under 5 minutes, and you can get paid when somebody books your spare room and you can charge whatever you want like $200 a night if you live in a nice area.
Remember, it is a free room booking app for your phone. I really mean free all around – free to join and they don’t charge any fees for you to list your spare room. You can make a little more than free money with this site.
See how much people are making from listings in your area, then make your own!
4. Make $20 per hour teaching English in China
Want to choose your own schedule, on your own time to make $200 fast teaching English from home?
Seriously — all that is required is that you're fluent in English, have a college degree, and you're eligible to make up to $20 per hour teaching English from the comfort of your home.
EducationFirst is an enjoyable company to work with, mainly because of the students from China that you have an opportunity to work with and teach. It's a great side job, that's completely remote and flexible, and you can make up to $20 per hour.
5. Get paid to shop
You'd be silly not to get cash-back for items you would have bought anyway. You can do this by shopping online with Rakuten.
Rakuten is my favorite way to make money when I shop online and right now they are offering a $10 sign up bonus through this link.
Every time you shop at Macy's, Walmart, Sephora, Kohl's or any other retailer — just start at Rakuten and then you can get cash back deposited into your PayPal account.
It's really that easy.
Click here to get a $10 gift card for joining
6. Earn free gift cards for walking into stores
Shopkick is the app that rewards you for walking into stores.
You don't have to do anything else, just physically walk into a store nearby.
You can earn reward points (they call them kicks), then redeem for a wide selection of free gift cards!
So whether you have any stores you can walk by on your lunch break, or go shopping now and then, you can make some quick cash with this app.
You can use Shopkick in addition to other ideas on this list to help you snag $200 this month.
7. Play live trivia and earn big cash
Have you heard of the newest trivia app called Swagbucks LIVE?
Swagbucks LIVE is a trivia game show where you test your knowledge to win huge cash prizes.
Every weekday, the host will ask a series of trivia questions and the app will present you with multiple choice answers from which to choose. You’ll have exactly 10 seconds to select your answer. If you answer every question correctly, you win the grand prize. If multiple players win, the grand prize is split evenly.
It's free. Just download the app to play. Today’s prize is worth over $200!
I'll be playing, will you?
8. Earn cash back on gas
Have you ever dreamed of paying less for gas each week?
Well, that time has come, with GetUpside you can earn money by sharing your purchase receipts and shopping at local stores. I heard about this app on the radio and decided to try it out for myself.
The system is simple: You take a photo of your gas receipt and upload it. Then the app will digitize the receipt information and you'll get up to 25 cents off each gallon. I'm surprised I don't hear about this app more often though, I make a killing with it.
You can likely rack up an extra two hundred dollars this year by using it. And you can also save up to 35% at restaurants and 15% at grocery stores near you. The money you earn can be transferred to your Paypal account or redeemed for gift cards to buy at Amazon and other stores.
You can get a download link sent to your phone here
9. Download an app and earn $50 per device
By using the internet as you do every day, Nielsen invites you to make a difference – and you can make money too.
I downloaded this app on all of my devices and make $50 a year for just having the app on there!
You don’t really have to do anything other than initially registering your devices (phone, laptop, tablet) and they'll pay $50 a year.
This is a smart way to make extra money as even if you just install it on your phone they'll pay you $50 a year to keep their app on it.
They also keep things interesting for me since they give away a modest $10,000 each month if you sign up using a PC or Laptop. I like to think I have better chances of getting it than the lottery, so consider it a free lotto ticket each month, too.
If you are interested in getting paid passively, I recommend that you sign up through here for a registration bonus.
- Earn $60 a year just by installing an app
- Earn up to $1000 from sweepstakes
- 15 different types of rewards, including TVs
- Win up to $500 by downloading PC app
10. Get paid to use less electricity
When you create a free account with Arcadia, this company connects you to clean energy and helps you spend less on your power bill.
Do right by the planet and your wallet and they'll even give you a $5 bonus and save $200 this year in utility costs.
Once you're in, you'll get a notification every few days to save energy for an hour. You'll make money by doing it.
Connect your utility account to Arcadia to access clean energy and lower power bills in under two minutes.
How to Invest $200 Wisely
To get more out of that $200 check, you have to invest it properly. Here are smart ways to make that money grow.
11. Invest $200 in your Individual Retirement Account (IRA)
Most people who have $200 should think about what other wise investors would do with those funds. Most people would think funding your IRA account would be ideal.
It's wise to try and max out your IRA.
For 2022, the total contributions you make each year to all of your traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs can't be more than $6,000.
These accounts offer valuable tax advantages: Money and investment earnings grow tax-free, and there's no income tax on withdrawals during retirement.
Let's say you invest $200 today, in 10 years it'll grow to $1,497, that's the power of compound interest. And that's only assuming a modest 4.00% rate of return and only contributing $100 per year! Imagine investing more, the returns will be much higher.
That is if you open an account with a broker that charges no fees. I currently use SoFi Invest because it offers a range of retirement accounts and 401k rollover options. They offer Traditional, Roth, and SEP IRAs, and can help with the rollover process.
12. Invest $200 in mutual funds and index funds
In case you already have a brokerage account, which most people do, you can invest your $200 in mutual funds and index funds.
Investing in index funds is better than investing in individual stocks because it keeps costs low. And you don't have to worry about staying current with each company you are invested in. The downside is that your returns will likely be average, which is better than being in a bad investment.
Investing in mutual funds and index funds are smart choices for those who have a low-risk tolerance and want a diversified portfolio. So when you get your $200 paycheck, keep on buying these assets in order to invest your $200 in a smart way.
13. Open a high yield savings account with $200
Do you need your money to be liquid? If so, then a high-yield savings account is your best option to make passive income. These types of accounts offer higher interest rates than what you get at your regular bank. They are also FDIC insured so you won't lose your money and you can withdraw at any time.
Where should you get started? I would suggest opening an account with an online savings account since they offer the best benefits for users.
14. Open a robo-advisor account with $200
Robo-advisors are a great option for entry-level investors because of their low fees, low-cost threshold, and ease of use. If you have $200 to invest, robo-advisors may be a great option to help you get started because they provide an excellent starting point to building wealth.
The most popular robo-advisor to invest small amounts of money like $200 is Acorns. You simply link your checking account, and each time you make a purchase, Acorns uses a process called “Round-ups” to help you save money to invest.
For example, if you purchase a sandwich from Subway for $7.25, Acorns will round up the purchase to an even $8. $7.25 will go to Subway, and $0.75 will be held towards investing. Once you accumulate $5 in round-ups, the money will be moved to your Acorns investing account.
It's really simple and there's no catch. It's one of the best ways to grow your initial $200 investment since it will all happen without you having to lift a finger once set up. You can invest your $200 with Acorns here.
15. Invest $200 in cryptocurrencies
With the price of Bitcoin swinging up and down, if you can buy now and hold for a while, your $200 can really grow. I haven't even covered all the other coins that you can buy and potentially double your $200. You can check them out easily on Robinhood, the investing app also allows you to buy cryptocurrencies.
With Robinhood, you can buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and other cryptocurrencies 24/7 and commission-free with Robinhood Crypto. You can even get started with a $225 free stock here just for joining.
16. Invest $200 in real estate
Wouldn’t it be great if you could invest in commercial real estate and apartments without dealing with all the hassle of buying, improving, and re-selling real estate?
You don't have to be a millionaire to invest in these types of properties. You can now invest in large-scale real estate for as little as $10 with Fundrise.
Through their real estate investment products, investors earned an average of 8 – 11 percent on their money last year, and all without painting a wall or dealing with unruly tenants.
There is a reason why they currently have over 500,000+ users, this app really pays you!
Depending on how much you invest, you can make $200 in returns this year.
If you’re interested, I recommend you sign up for more information from Fundrise by clicking here.
- Low minimum starting investment of $10
- High historical returns of 8.8% to 12.4%
- 0.15% advisory 0.85% management fees
- Diverse portfolios of up to 16 investments
17. Use your $200 to pay off debt
Effectively managing debt is important for staying in control of your finances and building credit. Managing your debt starts before taking out a loan or getting a credit card. Here are four steps for managing your debt:
- Analyze your financial status using budgeting tools before taking on debt
- Research interest rates and compare them across banks
- Stick to your budget and be aggressive
- Use your $200 or any other windfalls towards high-interest liabilities
If you missed these steps, you can take the following steps to understand your debt and take control of your finances:
- Figure out exactly how much you owe—including interest rates and loan terms
- Create your own debt management plan
- Consider debt settlement
18. Peer-to-peer lending
Another form of investing that is relatively new, peer-to-peer lending is a significant change in the way that average people get a loan for a various number of needs.
P2P lending platforms provide an opportunity for consumers to borrow money for personal loans. These loans can be used for any purpose, and the amount borrowed is up to $40,000. The interest rates on these loans vary depending on the borrower's credit profile.
The benefits of peer-to-peer lending are that you don’t have to offer up a huge sum of money to a single person or business which would create a high risk for you. Instead, you can create an account and fund it with $200 for example, and then loan out $20 to 10 different borrowers. Your return on investment will depend on the number of those loans that default and the average interest rate for all of the loans.
How to Make 200 Dollars Fast FAQs
When you need more money, times can get difficult or even depressing. But, there is a way to combat your lack of funds:
How do I make money now ASAP?
If you need to make money now ASAP do the following: Find ways to get paid on your lunch break by taking top paying surveys with Swagbucks, join an online rewards club like Drop, use Truebill to detect potential savings in your current bills, score beer money with gaming apps like Mistplay, and earn free gift cards with InboxDollars.
How can I make money in one hour?
If you want to make money in one hour, do the following: Join a rewards site like Swagbucks or InboxDollars where you can make money consistently. Or you can earn money playing games on apps like Blackout Bingo. This app lets you play bingo for money — make $200 fast today. It is absolutely free to play Blackout Bingo and earn real-world rewards and cash prizes when you download through this link.
How can a beginner make money online?
Beginners can use the best survey sites to make money fast on PayPal. Free cash or free money is hard to come by but you can earn money on sites like Survey Junkie by referring friends and answering surveys to earn money online fast. You’ll never need to enter your debit card or credit card either, these paid survey sites are free to use with no broker or platform fees.
Other ways to make $200 a day
Whether you’re looking to make some fast cash, or you’re after long-term, more sustainable income-producing results, there are certainly ways you can use. Try these money making ideas:
- Survey Junkie: Earn up to $50 per survey in your spare time from home to take online surveys, participating in Focus Groups and trying new products. Join Survey Junkie here.
- Swagbucks: Similar to Survey Junkie, but you can earn more ways (such as watching videos, playing games and using their search engine). Get a $10 signup bonus for joining.
- InboxDollars: Has so far paid its members over $40 Million. You can earn by watching videos, taking surveys, shopping and more. Get a $5 signup bonus for joining.$5 signup bonus after linking a card.
- You can see the entire list of little-known ways to make money online here.
There you have it. If you’ve finished the list, you’ve just made at least $200 in free money with this list that teaches you how to make 200 dollars fast a day.