I've written a while back about what a good idea it is for companies to incentivize both parties with their referral programs. A couple of recent companies who are following this strategy are Coinbase and Square Cash. Coinbase lets you purchase Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and will give you $10 when you buy at least $100 of Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency like Ethereum. Square Cash is an app that provides a totally free way to send money between two people, and will give you $5 when you send at least $5 to someone within 14 days of installing the app.

I first learned about Coinbase at a conference a few months ago. The speaker provided an overview of Bitcoin and recommended Coinbase as a fairly easy way to get started if you've never done anything with Bitcoin. Given that Bitcoin has been rising sharply all year long and I was guaranteed an immediate 10% return on a $100 investment, I bought $100, got the $10 bonus, and now 2 months later that initial investment is worth $287. Now, I'm not claiming that Bitcoin is a good investment, but there's literally nothing to prevent you from buying $100 worth, getting $10, and then selling all of it and pocketing the difference. Or hang onto it for a bit and see where the ride takes you. Here's a referral link you can use that will get you the $10, and theoretically will credit me with $10 as well (I've not tried that part, yet):

Try Coinbase, buy $100 worth of cryptocurrency, get $10

Last month I went on a trip with a friend to the Grand Canyon. He'd booked the rooms and such; I paid for our meals. When we were done (and after recovering - it was a rim-to-rim and back hike that required some recovery!), we figured out who'd spent what and he suggested the Cash App to me. I'd never used it before, but it's literally a free way to send or request/receive money between two parties. He send me an invite, I signed up (as $ardalis, naturally), and we each received $5 once I made my first payment (to him, to split the trip's costs). You can sign up for the Cash app using my invite code at the link below. You'll get $5 once you send your first $5+ payment. You hook it up to your debit card for it to work. There are no transaction fees between individuals (unlike PayPal, etc.). If this sounds fishy (it did to me), read more on how Square Cash makes money.

Get the Cash App and $5 Free (when you pay someone $5+)

Can't figure out whom you would send $5 to in order to get your reward? If I've ever provided $5 worth of value to you via my blog, newsletter, or podcast, you're welcome, just this once and just so you can get $5 yourself, to send me something here.

Got another (legitimate, legal) easy money/referral tip to share? Post it in the comments and I'll approve it if it checks out.