I Spent Weeks Using Earning Apps… Honestly It Got Exhausting
A few months ago I genuinely thought earning apps could help me survive college expenses a little easier.
Not “luxury lifestyle” money.
Just enough for:
recharge
snacks
occasional coffee
random subscriptions
maybe train tickets later
That felt realistic.
And everywhere online I kept seeing the same thing:
“Earn ₹500 daily.”
“Students are making passive income.”
“Easy Paytm cash.”
At first I believed it completely.
I think most people probably do.
Especially when you’re sitting in a hostel room checking your wallet balance after spending money on:
food delivery
mobile data
class materials
stupid little expenses you barely notice during the week
Even ₹50 starts feeling important honestly.
So I downloaded a lot of apps.
Too many probably.
Survey apps.
Cashback apps.
Gaming reward apps.
Referral apps.
For a few days it actually felt exciting.
That’s the weird part.
Everything feels possible during the beginning.
The apps are colorful.
The rewards look close.
The notifications keep saying:
“Only a few more steps.”
It doesn’t feel dangerous at first.
Just… productive.
Survey Apps Slowly Messed With My Head
This category drained me the fastest.
At first I thought:
“Okay this is easy.”
Answer questions.
Collect points.
Withdraw money.
Simple.
Except it never really stayed simple.
One night I remember sitting there with:
weak hostel WiFi
phone heating up
battery around 8%
cold instant noodles beside me
trying to finish a survey that already took forever.
Then suddenly:
“You are not eligible for this survey.”
I just stared at the screen for a while.
No reaction.
Just tired.
And the stupid part?
I still opened another survey immediately after that.
Then another one.
At some point I realized I was spending more emotional energy chasing ₹20 than actually improving my life.
That thought stayed with me longer than I expected.
I Kept Checking Payouts for Days
This part honestly feels embarrassing now.
Some apps showed:
pending payout
under review
processing
verification delay
And somehow I kept reopening them multiple times every day checking if the money arrived.
₹32.
₹48.
Sometimes less.
I knew it was small money.
I knew it realistically changed nothing.
But my brain still kept thinking:
“Maybe tomorrow it’ll finally process.”
Weirdly exhausting cycle honestly.
Cashback Apps Were Probably the Least Bad
These at least felt real sometimes.
Especially during:
Amazon sales
food delivery offers
UPI cashback events
I actually saved money occasionally.
But even here something started feeling weird after a while.
I noticed I was buying things mainly because cashback existed.
Not because I actually needed them.
One time at nearly 2 AM I almost ordered snacks just because:
“₹120 cashback available.”
That moment honestly made me pause for a second.
Because saving money and being manipulated into spending are not the same thing.
A lot of apps blur that line intentionally.
Gaming Reward Apps Felt Exciting For Like… Three Days
That excitement disappeared fast.
At first:
tournaments
rewards
spin wheels
leaderboard systems
made everything feel addictive in a fun way.
Then slowly it became:
ads everywhere
overheating phone
battery dying constantly
tiny payouts
“watch another video to continue”
At some point it honestly became exhausting.
Not physically.
Mentally.
when I noticed I was spending entire evenings trying to “earn” amounts smaller than normal chai money.
That realization felt kind of depressing honestly.
And the strange thing is…
the apps always make you feel like the next reward is close.
Always close.
Never really there.
Referral Apps Started Making Conversations Feel Fake
This part bothered me more than I expected.
Referral systems only work properly if:
you already have audience
Telegram groups
followers
YouTube viewers
blog traffic
Without that, things get awkward fast.
I remember randomly sending referral links to friends.
Then after a while I stopped because honestly it started making normal conversations feel transactional.
Like every message secretly had:
“please use my code.”
I hated that feeling.
Some nights honestly felt ridiculous.
Fan noise in the background.
Phone too warm.
Ads everywhere.
Eyes hurting from staring at survey screens.
Then suddenly you check the time and it’s almost 2 AM again…
and somehow the wallet balance still looks basically the same.
About the Author
Smart Deals Hub India is managed by a budget tech content creator who focuses on smartphones, laptops, earbuds and online shopping guides for Indian users.
The goal is to help readers make simple and practical buying decisions without confusing technical language.
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