5 Bucks in Your Pocket: Quick Money Moves You Can Actually Do Today

Look, $5 might sound pocket change at first. But here’s the thing—if you can pull it off repeatedly, those small wins compound fast. Imagine knocking out a quick task in five minutes and pocketing $5. That’s $60 an hour if you scaled it up. The beauty? You don’t have to pick just one method. You can stack multiple opportunities and let the money roll in. Whether you’re saving for something specific or just want breathing room in your budget, there are genuinely easy—and honestly pretty fun—ways to pocket that cash right now.

The Fastest Routes to Get $5 or More

Reward Apps: Free Money Just for Signing Up

The quickest path? Apps that literally hand you cash for creating an account.

Swagbucks drops $10 instantly. Sign up through their link, activate the bonus in the Swag Ups section, then spend at least $25 at any shop on their platform. Hit that $25 spend within 30 days and you’re done. You’re actually getting paid to shop—something you’d probably do anyway.

InboxDollars hands you $5 just for opening your account. Activate it, watch for your first paid email (shows up within minutes), confirm you got it, and boom—the credit lands. Fair warning: minimum cash-out is $15, so you’ll need to knock out a survey or two to actually withdraw, but the $5 gets you most of the way there.

Upromise combines education savings with instant cash. Get $5.29 just for signing up and verifying your email. Add another $25 by linking a 529 college savings plan within 30 days and keeping the account active. That’s $30.29 total—well above your $5 target.

Investment Platforms: Free Stock Bonuses

These apps want you to sign up and deposit, so they’re willing to give away real stock to sweeten the deal.

Webull is throwing down serious value. New users get 20 free shares worth anywhere from $60 to $60,000 total. The catch? You need to deposit at least $500 to claim them. But if you’re planning to invest anyway, that’s $60-$60,000 in free stock on top of it. The platform offers zero commissions, fractional shares (invest with as little as $1), and paper trading to practice before risking real money.

Robinhood keeps it simple. Between $5 and $200 in free stock just for linking your bank account or debit card after signup. Pick from “20 of America’s leading companies” and let it sit. You can’t sell for three trading days, but after that you’re free to move it around or cash it out (though withdrawals need 30 days).

Moomoo sweetens the deal with scaling rewards. Deposit $100 and get five free shares ($2-$2,000 each). Deposit $1,000+ and jump to 15 free shares ($30-$30,000 total). The desktop platform is highly customizable with 62 technical indicators, Level 2 market data, and around-the-clock financial news.

Cash-Back While You Shop

Rewards for doing something you were already planning to do anyway.

Capital One Shopping rewards you three ways. $10 for downloading the app and signing up, $10 for installing the browser extension on Safari, and up to $30 for inviting friends. The app works at over 100,000 retailers, compares Amazon prices with competitors automatically, and has a watchlist feature for price drops. Completely free to use—you don’t even need a Capital One card.

Rakuten has handed out over $2 billion in cash back. Sign up, spend at least $30 at any of 2,500+ partnered retailers, and get a $30 bonus. Use their browser extension while shopping online and it automatically identifies savings opportunities. Payouts happen every three months via PayPal or check.

Survey and Game Apps: Casual Earnings

Some apps literally pay you to do things you already do for entertainment.

Branded Surveys rewards you for your opinions. Start with a $1 sign-up bonus (100 points), then earn 50 cents to $5 per survey. Once you hit 500 points, cash out to PayPal, your bank account, or grab gift cards from 100+ brands. Over 3 million users have collectively made $36 million on this platform.

Bingo Cash turns a classic game into cash tournaments. You compete in two-minute rounds against other players; highest score wins. Earn gems and bonus cash as you play, unlock new content by leveling up, collect daily rewards, or watch ads for extra currency. Cash out to PayPal, Apple Pay, or linked Visa/Mastercard. (Must be 18+; not available in AZ, AR, DE, IA, LA, SC.)

Mistplay targets mobile gamers specifically. Discover new games on the app’s feed, play what interests you, rack up points. Redeem for Amazon gift cards, Google Play credits, or PayPal cash. Compete in weekly contests and monthly “epic” prizes. Android only (for now).

Stock Lending: Passive Income You Might Overlook

If you already own stocks, consider lending them out. Robinhood’s stock lending program matches your shares with financial institutions that want to borrow them for trade settlements or short selling. You earn either 15% of the weighted average rebate rate Robinhood generates that day, or $0.01 per share in your total position—whichever is higher. It’s completely passive once you opt in.

The Bottom Line

Pocket $5 free and fast? Absolutely doable. Stack two or three of these—grab a sign-up bonus from Swagbucks ($10), link a cash-back app while shopping, and deposit into an investment platform for free stock. You’re looking at $15+ in pure free money for maybe 30 minutes of work. The real win? Many of these activities replace things you’re already doing anyway. So start with whichever method fits your lifestyle best, then layer on more as you get comfortable.