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If you’re looking for an easy way to get started making money online, below are 5 easy steps you can take. The internet has changed so many industries and currently the banking and investing world is being turned upside down by a number of new entrants, including banks that are total online, investment firms called “robo-advisors” and free stock trading.

Making money online is something that anyone can do. All you need is time and the ability to learn. Being a father of two young daughters, time is a very precious commodity, and hard to come by.

Step 1: New bank account bonuses

There is great competition right now in banking. The big financial institutions (Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, etc.) have made billions off of having lots of branches and fees, while selling you on the convenience of having ATMs close that don’t charge fees. Wow, what a deal. They’re not charging you for your money from an ATM, but most of these big banks charge account fees. That’s not all. Most savings accounts are paying around .1%. That means for every $1,000 you have in savings, they give you a $1. With inflation at a minimum of 2%, that means you’re losing close to 2% each year. Here’s a better way to capitalize.

Online banks are arriving on the scene in droves. They don’t have the high expense of having branches (which their customers pay for). They are designed to be easy to sign up online or with an app, and with their low expense base, they can generally give more interest. I have taken advantage of this higher interest using Discover Bank and Capital One 360 for many years.

How are the big banks countering? They’re offering new account bonuses. Here’s a listing of bonuses my wife and I earned last year:

• TD Bank: $300 (with direct deposit)
• Suntrust: $250 (with direct deposit)
• Citi: $200 x 2 (with $5,000 deposit, no need for direct deposit)
• HSBC: $200 (with $5,000 deposit, no need for direct deposit)
• M&T Bank: $250 (with Direct deposit)

That’s $1,400 in new account bonus we made in the last year (this is pre-tax, as this is considered interest payments from the bank, so we do owe taxes on this interest.) 

Now if you don’t have enough saved up for the accounts that don’t require direct deposit, keep switching your direct deposit and opening accounts until you’re there. I close the accounts once I receive the bonus, and start again. It takes 5-10 minutes, a couple times a year. Making $1,400 for two hours of work a year, yes please!

Step 2: Refer your friends

As mentioned above, the online banks are coming fast and furious, and they’re all in a race to increase their deposits as fast as possible. They’re are trying to build size, so that some big company will purchase them, or they will try to sell you more products. I’m not worried about that, I’m only focused on the referral bonuses while taking advantage of their higher interest rates.

My number one example right now is SoFi. SoFi, which I came across a number of years ago as a possible student loan refinancing company, now offers SoFi Money, which is a bank account that gives you 2.25% interest, a debit card with fees reimbursed, and bill pay. While 2.25% is more than 20 times what most banks will give you, that’s not the best benefit. The referral bonus is. Everyone you refer, who sets up an account with $100, will get $50 put in their account, and you get $50, too. THIS IS AN AMAZING DEAL! All you need to do is refer 8 friends, and you can turn $250 into $650 in less than a week. As an added bonus, if you use my referral link, Open a SoFi Money account, if you’re one of the first to click, you can also receive a $50 sign-up bonus. This means $250 turns into $650. 

You may not be comfortable selling, but I’m sure you can find 8 friends or family who want a free $50 and most likely they’ll want the higher interest, too.

Step 3: New credit card bonuses

The competition for credit cards is also pretty strong, which makes signing up for credit cards a buyer’s market. I see what the terms are, generally they include spending $2-3,000 in the first few months. Many cards are offering $150 cash after signing up. Most of the big banks have these offers right on their homepage, including Bank of America and M&T Bank.

I follow the same process as step one. I typically sign up for 6-8 cards per year to take advantage of the sign-up bonuses. I have used multiple airline and hotel cards, and generally most of my travel is 90% paid for by these cards’ sign-up bonuses. I’ve recently switched my focus to the cash bonuses and have used my accelerator plan to get the bonus faster.

My accelerator plan is to pre-pay my normal bills with my new card, hit the bonus qualifying spending, and move on to the next card. I’ve pre-paid phone bills, car insurance, etc for months in advance. If the new card offer requires $2,000 in spending, you can put $500 on four different utility type bills, and you’ve not hit the spending. Now this plan is not great if you don’t have the cash flow to pay off your credit card every month. If you do, it’s an easy way to get the bonuses faster. Your goal should be to get as many bonuses as you can.

Step 4: Investment accounts

Investment accounts are also offer a bounty of new account offers. Robinhood is a great online broker who offers commission free trades. If you’re going to be buying and selling stocks, they’re a great option. Additionally, if you refer friends, as I’m doing through my link above, you can get free stocks. This is a win-win. You can get free stock and ETF trading and free stocks deposited into your account. Now this is capped at $500, but the same holds true with my SoFi recommendation. I’m sure you can also find friends and family that can sign up for an account that can save them money on investing.

Step 5: Survey companies

Make your idle time valuable with online surveys. I have used American Consumer Opinion since I was an undergrad, and have earned $100s. There are many more, such as Neilsen and Dscout. The best part about these, is you can monetize your time. So if you’re waiting to pick up your kids, using the restroom, or standing in line at a restaurant, why not monetize your time?

So there you go. Here are 5 quick steps to make $1,000 or more online with little or no effort, and no upfront cost to you. All these steps only require a paycheck, your savings, which remain yours and grow faster, and some bills. I think we all have those and can take advantage.

Thank you for taking the time to read through these steps. If you would like to receive additional tips and offers as I find them, please click the button below and you’ll be added to my notifications list. If you chose to enroll in accounts through my links above, thank you for supporting me and helping me find even more great options to: Make Money. Get Rich. Grow Wealthy. – Joey P