by Ashley
Have any of you heard of the app called PACT? If not, it’s really cool and can help some of you to earn some $$$ (well, maybe not $$$, but at least a little bit of $) : )
Here’s the basic idea. You download the free app and use it to set up PACTS for yourself. There are three PACT options (you can select 1, 2, or all 3):
- GymPACT
- VeggiePACT
- FoodPACT
With GymPACT, you make a “pact” to work out “X” number of days per week; with VeggiePACT, your “pact” is to eat “X” number of veggie-heavy meals per week; and FoodPACT is to use a food diary to track your eats. There are some rules (a minimum of 3 days per week, 30 minute-minimum for workouts), but if you meet your goals, you get PAID for doing them! If you workout regularly anyway, you could get paid money to just do what you’re already doing for free!!!
Here’s the catch…..
If you DON’T meet your “pact”, then you OWE money!!! That’s how it works. The people who don’t meet their pacts end up paying the benefits to the members who DO meet their pacts. It’s also easy to add/remove/modify pacts (but not for the current week – must be future weeks only), so if you’re planning to go out of town, for example, you can put a “hold” on your pacts for whatever period of time you like.
So how does the app “know” if you’ve completed your pacts?
With GymPACT, your smart phone can “check in” to your gym. I don’t have a gym membership, but guess what!!! It also uses GPS/satellites to track your movements. I’ve been able to take it on runs around my neighborhood and meet my GymPACT that way (caution: I’ve noticed the phone must track not only mileage but also movement. I’ve tried to put it in my stroller console, for example, and it doesn’t “count” my movement because the phone is stationary and I guess the ride is too smooth. If I hold it in my hand, it works fine).
With VeggiePACT, you take pictures of a veggie-heavy meal and post it to the online community for members to vote on! They can “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” your meal. You get credit if you get thumbs ups and you don’t if you get thumbs down (for example, I’ve seen someone post an apple pie…..uhhhh, totally doesn’t count!?!)
And with FoodPACT, you can diary your food either in the app or in MyFitnessPal (another free app), which PACT is set to “sync” with on a daily basis. I was already using MyFitnessPal prior to downloading PACT, so this was a no-brainer for me!
A couple caveats….
I believe you do need a smart phone in order to use PACT. I know that’s kind of a touchy subject because smart phones are NOT a necessity and many of you may not condone having them (preferring a more frugal option instead – which is great!). But, if you do happen to have a smart phone and you do any of these things regularly anyway, why not get paid to do them???
Also, the money thing… At a minimum, you have to wager $5 per pact per week. That means if you have all 3 PACTS set up and for some reason you don’t do any of them, you’re out $15 for the week. On the flip side, you don’t make anywhere near $15 (or even $5) per week if you DO keep your PACTS. My average has been about $2.00/week, and I only do the Food and GymPACT (I would never remember to photograph my meals!)
I’ve been a PACT member since January and have earned a total of $22. There was one week where I failed to keep my GymPACT and lost $5, so my net positive is $17.
Obviously you’re not going to get “rich” using this app, but I wanted to give it a blog-plug for any of you who may benefit from it. If you’d like to get started, go here and enter the promo code, GymPact$5 – you will get $5 for free just for joining (just FYI – I get NO BENEFIT from this whatsoever, this is not an affiliate link and I get no money if you do decide to join. I just want to share because I didn’t have this promo code when I joined and its like getting 2-3 weeks of PACT money free up front!)
What are some good (Free!) apps you use to make money and/or get free goods??
One of my friends swears by ShopKick, but for some reason it has never worked for me (it gives you points you can redeem for merchandise by going to stores you already shop at anyway – like Target – but my phone never registered when I was in the store so I stopped using it).
Hi, I’m Ashley! Arizonan on paper, Texan at heart. Lover of running, blogging, and all things cheeeeese. Freshly 40, married mother of two, working in academia. Trying to finally (finally!) pay off that ridiculous 6-digit student loan debt!
Allowing someone to track my every movement (and profit off me) is not worth the benefits. In fact, to me it is downright scary. Those on disability have already had their movements questioned by insurance companies and those are not movements tracked via cell phone but through posts on FB. A case here in Canada had someone suffering depression being told by their doctor to get out more to be in ‘fun locations’ and to get away from winter to sunshine. They posted pictures of themselves *SMILING* (OMG, how dare they give the impression they are happy?????!!!!!!) and the insurance company cut off benefits. (Here’s a link to the story: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/depressed-woman-loses-benefits-over-facebook-photos-1.861843)
You have no control over who is looking at the data collected. Is it the local coffee shop, Whole Foods, the running shoe store, or my HMO, my employer, my insurance company? Has someone set up a shell company and is buying the data for criminal purposes?
If I’m out on a run, then my house is empty. If I’m out on a run in a park I’ve driven to, then my car is unattended. And the thieves know how long it will be before I return because they know exactly how far I am from my car.
If I’m out on run, then my ex will know where I am (and yes, he can track me as well using the same tech – does everyone factory reset their phones after a breakup just in case the ex has installed tracking software at some point?)
GPS software on my phone is disabled (along with wifi & blue tooth turned off except when I need it and I don’t have a data plan either.) There’s no way I want strangers to be able to track my every movement without having to put some old-fashioned shoe leather to work or applying to a court to get a warrant for cell-tower locator records.
There are a lot of anonymous fitness accountability sites on the internet where you can state your goals, report in and receive support from others. Accountability is important, that’s why having a fitness buddy is a great strategy, or going to Weight Watchers with a friend can offer you better results than going by yourself (and both are better than just doing a ‘diet’ on your own at home, I have personal experience with how not-well that works!)
Losing weight, increasing flexibility, eating good foods are all wonderful goals. But you can do it without allowing anyone to profit off your actions or possibly putting yourself in harms way.
I’m so glad you mentioned this, Kate. I agree completely. I don’t have a Facebook or LinkedIn account for this very reason. What started (for me) as a way to keep my ex-boyfriend from knowing stuff about me has turned into me not wanting the whole world to know my private information. I feel like apps like this just make it easier for all of my data to be out in the ether, and it makes me extremely uncomfortable. If people want to know stuff about me, they have to get to know me first. We already have employers checking Facebook accounts and credit scores before hiring someone. I don’t want to add to this big brother practice, as it’s starting to feel very much like the beginning of a dystopian novel already.
That seems like alot of work for very little benefit. Plus, if you have to pay if you don’t hold up your end, I am assuming this has to be linked to some sort of banking account. I don’t want a random app withdrawing money from my account.
While looking for ways to earn a little extra money to help pay down debt I also turned to apps. I found four that I have used multiple times and received money (via Paypal), so I can confirm that they are legit. The four I use are Gigwalk, Field Agent, Easy Shift and Zapiddy. You don’t make much per task ($3-10) but it can add up. For example, many of the tasks I’ve done require taking a picture of stock at the grocery store, so I get paid to run errands I’m already doing!
I also recently started buying items at thrift stores to re-sell on eBay. It does take some work to do the shopping, make the listing, and ship the items – but I find it fun! I’ve profited $500/month since starting in December. I’ve been putting in a lot of extra time on it this month and I’m hoping I can profit $1000 and pay off my Gap credit card!!
I love Gigwalk… when I was contracting myself out for mystery shopping, merchandising, and product demostrations I used Gigwalk. Still have the app!
Wow, that is awesome – great job!! Thanks for sharing these apps, I’ll have to check them out!
Years ago, back in 2008, I signed up for UPromise and every time I made an online purchase through their website, I was able to get some money back. These were purchases I was going to make anyway, so I was making money for shopping. All total I made a couple hundred dollars over four years and invested it automatically through UPromise and when my son went off to college, I had some extra money to pay tuition! Now I hear there are other web sites that have popped up that are not attached to college savings and give you money back for shopping, so that works too. Why not make some money for things you will be purchasing anyway. I buy online most of the time because I get a better selection.
Apps! I love them!!
For Grocery stores I love to use Ibotta! http://ibotta.com/r/Zh3KQ
You get money back for purchasing certain items, and when combined with coupons and sales, you’re golden. I’ve gotten over $125 back on ibotta in less than a year.
Checkout 51 and Shopmium are others that I’ve just started using as well.
I haven’t used them as much but it’s great because you can get money back on eggs and milk as well.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing!
I have also gotten back from Ibotta a good bit. There are plenty of these apps out there, just look
Oh! and another option for those with or without smart phones is Ebates. http://www.ebates.com/
You get a percentage of every online purchase back from a ton of stores.