File this under semi-interesting. It’s niche, but worthwhile if you spend with any of the participating stores.

Acorns is offering free cashback (Found Money) for spending with a linked card at 8 merchants. Some are set amounts, others are a percentage back in your account.

And, you can earn $60+ for completing offers with their partners – things like free trials and insurance quotes.

I’ve earned $50+ for riding with Uber, filing taxes, and booking a pet sitter. So if these current offers don’t interest you, know they’re always rotating – and something’s bound to catch your interest sooner or later.

Acorns is an investment account that costs $1 per month. But considering how much free cash I’ve earned, it’s already paid for itself for several years.

You get a free $5 bonus when you signup using this link.

Here’s how to get free cash coming your way.

Free Found Money with Acorns at 8 merchants (and it’s always changing)

• Key Link: Signup for Acorns and get $5 free

Acorns has rotating card-linked offers that earn “Found Money.” After you link your cards, all you have to do is spend at participating merchants and you’ll see free cash automatically appear in your account. Pretty cool, eh?

In the past, I’ve earned $50+ from BarkBox, H&R Block, Sam’s Club, Rover, and Uber.

Most Found Money stores require you start your shopping through Acorns – basically, as a shopping portal. But a few only require you to pay with your linked card. And the cash will appear with NO extra effort.

Current card-linked offers are:

• Allset – $5 when you dine (I actually hadn’t heard of this before – looks really cool! Get $15 off with code “BOGX56“)
• BarkBox – 5% back
• Chevron – 1% back for $20+ gas purchase
• Liingo – $10 back for any purchase (they sell eyeglasses)
• Natural Healthy Concepts – 10% back
• Sam’s Club – $1 back for $50+ purchase
• Sam’s Club Membership – $10 back when you join
• Silvercar – $25 back for $300+ car rental
• Texaco – $1 back for $20+ purchase

These are good if:

• You already subscribe to BarkBox (I do)
• Get gas at Chevron or Texaco
• Shop at Sam’s Club, or want to join (Stack it with $20 back from Dosh, too!)
• Have a Silvercar rental coming up
• Want to explore the other merchants for extra cashback

If these don’t appeal to you, keep an eye out – most of them expire in February 2019, and there will no doubt be new opportunities.

Get $60+ more for completing free offers

If you have time to kill, you can complete offers to get more cash added to your Acorns account:

• Apple Music – $5 for a 3-month trial
• Bestow – $5 for a life insurance quote
• ClassPass – $7 for a free trial
• Haven Life – $5 for a life insurance quote
• John Hancock Vitality – $5 for a life insurance quote
• Ladder Life Insurance – $5 for a life insurance quote
• Liberty Mutual – $5 for a life insurance quote
• Pets Best – $15 for submitting a pet insurance application
• Tally – $10 for signing up
• 24 Hour Fitness – $1 for a free 3-day trial

(I’m not linking these because you have to click through Acorns Found Money to earn the cash.)

I’d be weary of having to keep track of canceling free trials and a zillion calls from sales-starved insurance agents. But if you can set calendar reminders and send calls to voicemail, it could be worth it.

I might actually complete the Pets Best offer for pet insurance. I currently have Healthy Paws, but wouldn’t mind a comparison. Plus, it’s $15 for free.

And others might be cool. The Apple Music free trial, for instance. Or even ClassPass, if you’re into group fitness.

If you completed all these offers, you’d earn an extra $63 for your efforts.

Plus, there are tons of other offers within the Acorns app under the “Found Money” tab. For example, if you’ve never tried Uber Eats, you can get $5 back for your first order.

I also saw offers for 3% cashback for popular stocking stuffers like Fire tablets, Kindle e-readers, and Echo voice assistants from Amazon.

So it’s well worth browsing around.

Just a word

Remember to always check Cashback Monitor to make sure you’re getting the best deal.

And remember, these are investments.

The upside is they could grow over time even if the initial payout is lower – and the cash you earn is automatically invested. No waiting for a minimum payout or transferring money required.

The convenience and potential earnings could outweigh higher payouts or hassle with other portals. Just had to mention.

Bottom line

• Key Link: Signup for Acorns and get $5 free

I am loving the Acorns app! I actually haven’t invested any of my own money – everything I’ve earned is free from Found Money.

It’s worth it if only for the rotating card-linked offers because cashback appears in your account and get invested automatically. And if you’re keen, you can earn another $60+ for completing offers. Might be a PITA, but free money regardless.

Acorns charges a buck per month. But with all the cash I’ve earned so far, it’s more than paid for itself several years over.

On another note, if you don’t have anything set aside for your future, it really is an easy way to begin. Here’s where it ranks among the best retirement accounts.

Enjoy the free cash! 💸 And happy holidays! 🎅🎄❄️

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