How to Be a Side Hustle Superstar – Hack Your Bank!
By Heidi Unrau | Published on 09 Aug 2023
In Collaboration with KOHO
Were you born after 1979? Congrats, you probably need a side hustle to afford breathing. Meanwhile, Big Banks mooch off our hard-earned cash and give us squat in return. But we’re the ones who slack? Bye Felicia. It’s time to match their energy and turbocharge your side hustle with KOHO! Ditch the old-school deadbeats with their outdated fees and watch your money grow instead. Here’s how to cash in on the perks, hack the system, and stack that cheddar like an all-you-can-eat nacho bar!
Why choose KOHO?
Because you’re probably sick of banking in Jurassic Park, watching dinosaurs devour your wealth. Welcome to KOHO, the Toronto-based fintech that breeds your money instead of monstrous fees. That’s because they’re not a bank, so they’re not driven by those baser cash-grabbing instincts.
Instead, KOHO is a digital-only financial services provider that offers the same benefits and features of a traditional bank account, but without the bloodbath of hidden charges.
Since 2017, KOHO has made it possible for us to access free essential banking services, a prepaid credit card, and powerful money management tools in the palm of our hands. The mobile app is perfect for tech-savvy folks who want to swipe, tap, and save without the headache of archaic fees and cryptic bank jargon.
When you join, you’ll snag a sweet reloadable prepaid Mastercard that you can use for everything from purchasing Super Mario movie tickets to paying those pesky monthly bills. The best part? You won’t have to worry about surprise overdraft fees or debt spiralling out of control.
Plus, with KOHO’s built-in savings features like cash back and interest on every dollar, we can have our avocado toast and eat it too. Here’s how to turn your KOHO account into a cash-cranking side hustle and level up your current gig!
Supercharge that side hustle
If you’re already side-hustling without KOHO, you’re doing it wrong. There’s free money on the table with your name on it, plus an easier way to get paid. KOHO is the perfect account for gigs on platforms like Kijiji, Poshmark, and Nextdoor.
Enjoy quick and easy payments with unlimited free direct deposits and eTransfers. Plus, your privacy is protected with a unique eTransfer email issued to you upon sign-up. To make cash-crusading even easier, you can opt in for auto deposit and kiss those annoying security questions goodbye. Ain’t nobody got time for that.
If you like using Stripe, Paypal or Xoom for payments, you can cash out your earnings as a direct deposit to your KOHO account. As long as the name on those accounts matches the name on your KOHO account, you’re good to go. Just link your KOHO account following these easy steps.
Pro tip!
Some of the best side hustles out there include freelancing, online tutoring, virtual assistant, graphic design, and other creative gigs. If that’s you, I bet you’re on sites like Upwork and Canva (to name a few!). KOHO considers those membership fees a service. And that means you get cash back in your pocket when you pay for them with your KOHO Prepaid Mastercard.
Why is that extra awesome? Because those membership fees are tax deductible, you just saved money on them without reducing the claim amount, and the cash back you earned is tax-free. Triple win!
Sharing is caring (and a side hustle!)
If you love your KOHO account, it’s time to cash in on it. You can earn up to $1,000 by getting your friends and family to join too. When someone uses your unique referral code to open an account, you’ll each get $20.
Here’s how it works:
To find your code, open the app and tap on the round icon at the top-right of your screen. Then scroll down and tap “Refer & earn.” You can either copy the link to your clipboard or tap “Share link” to post instantly on your socials or send it directly to a contact. To open an account, they must follow the link and insert your code during the last step of the sign-up process.
To get that free bonus money, your referral must make a $20 purchase with their KOHO Prepaid Mastercard within 30 days of opening their account. The purchase can be online or in-store with either their physical or virtual card. If they forget, you can send them a virtual nudge through the app.
You can refer up to 50 people and snag yourself up to $1,000 of easy money. Who knew your copy-paste function could be a side hustle? #winning
Bills are the new passive income
If you’re still using a debit card to pay for life, stop. Stop it now. Those things are fossils that should be in a museum, not your wallet. The KOHO Prepaid Mastercard can turn every purchase into a side hustle – minus the hustle. Better yet? Get paid to pay your bills on time. Set up automatic bill payments from your KOHO account to earn cash back and never miss another due date. #Bless
KOHO offers four different plans so you can decide how to maximize your cash back based on your needs and shopping habits. Choose from:
Easy: Free
This no-fee basic plan offers 1% cash back on groceries and transportation. Since you have to eat, you might as well get paid for it. Not to mention, who even has cable anymore? Time to cash in on cutting the cord.
Essential: $4/mo
With the dirt-cheap Essential plan, you earn 1% cash back on groceries, transportation and eating and drinking establishments. Plus, you now get 0.25% on all other card purchases. Name a single old-school bank that gives you cash back on every purchase with your debit card, I’ll wait. I bet you can’t even name a bank that offers unlimited transactions for that price, never mind cash back.
Not only can you make money on groceries, but you also get paid for the pizza you ordered because you were too tired to cook after putting the groceries away. Wait, am I the only one who does this? #DontDoThis
Extra: $9/mo
Are you a cashless-convert? Welcome to the club. If you prefer plastic for all-the-things, the KOHO Extra plan puts your cash back on beast-mode. Unlock a much juicer 2% cash back rate on groceries, transportation, eating and drinking establishments plus 0.5% cash back on everything else. You can also enjoy more perks when you travel including a 6% discount on Booking.com.
Fun Fact: Extra plan subscribers save an average of $18 more each month than the Easy plan subscribers, just from cash back and interest on savings alone. In case you weren’t sure if the fee was worth it, the plan more than pays for itself.
Everything: $19/mo
You want Everything? You can get it for $19/month. The Everything plan is great if you plan on saving because you get a 4.5% interest rate on your entire balance. Everything also includes a 2% cash back on groceries, transportation, eating & drinking, and 0.5% on all other purchases. You can also enjoy more perks when you travel including a 6% discount on Booking.com.
Here’s a visual breakdown:
Hustle your favourite stores
If you’re sick of underperforming plastic, promote your KOHO Prepaid Mastercard to make every single purchase go above and beyond the call of duty. Better yet, boost your cash back even higher when you shop these MVPs (Most Valuable Payers). Get up to an extra 6% cash back when you buy from a KOHO partner, like:
Stay tuned to level-up your cash back even higher! Thousands of new partners will be added shortly.
Turn your savings into a side hustle too!
Attention fellow cash hoarders! Got some lazy money lounging around doing absolutely nothing? KOHO turns that dough into a side hustle superstar with bank-beating interest on every dollar in your account.
Depending on your KOHO plan, you will earn 0.5% – 4.5% interest on every dollar until the moment you spend it. No need to keep an annoying minimum balance or separate spending and savings accounts. It all makes money whether you spend it or not, right down to your bottom dollar.
Cash stacking hack
Free money is fabulous, so get more of it! Instead of spending your cash back rewards, stash them away in the Vault. Not only are they safe and sound from impulse purchases, but even your cash back balance earns the same bank-beating interest.
Free money that earns more free money? Yes please!
Is KOHO really worth it?
Yes! Because they make hustle culture way less cringe. If you’re reading this, a side hustle is probably less of a passion and more of a necessity. Student loan debt, a stupid real estate market, and the current state of the world are bleeding us dry. KOHO was designed for us to spend, save, and hustle smarter – not harder.
So if you’re tired of all-the-things, give yourself a guilt-free break. Join KOHO today and make your money do the hustlin’.
