5 Websites That Pay You to Drop Your Bad Habits

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The following post comes from Kyle Taylor at partner site The Penny Hoarder.

Bad habits are expensive.

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that the average smoker spends more than $3,000 a year on their habit and that being overweight costs the average person more than $1,500 a year in extra health insurance costs. If you’re ready to break your bad habits, these five websites have a novel approach to help you – they’ll pay you!

Hit the gym

1. Nexercise.com – This company has an iPhone app that rewards you for performing 15 minutes or more of physical activity. The app uses the iPhone’s technology to track the length of your workout (no word yet on an Android application). The rewards come randomly so you won’t make money every time, but users have reported winning $5 gift cards to stores like Amazon and Best Buy after their workouts.

2. EarndIt.com – Once you’ve registered for a free account, this site syncs itself up with your GPS device to reward you with points for exercising. It’s compatible with a number of devices, including most mobile phones, Nike+ sensors, and Garmin devices. The points can later be redeemed for gift certificates and prizes. It’s an easy way to make money and get in shape at the same time!

Stop texting and driving

3. SafeCellApp.com – More than 16,000 people were killed in the last six years by texting while driving, and SafeCellApp has teamed up with its sponsors to reward people for quitting this dangerous habit. Their smartphone app will track the number of minutes you drive without texting and will send you a $5 Visa gift card for every 5,000 miles you drive safely.

Quit smoking

4. WebQuit.org – The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center is recruiting smokers to participate in its quit study. If you’re accepted into the study, you’ll be given free access to a web-based program that assists you in quitting. After three months, they’ll pay you $10 to take a quick survey on your experience. It may only be enough money for a free lunch, but don’t forget about that whole living longer thing too…

Go green

5. RecycleBank.com – It might not be the most dangerous bad habit, but leaving the lights on after you leave home is a waste of energy and an easy way to rack up needless electricity costs. This cool website will reward you for pledging to turn them off. You can also make money recycling your trash with Recyclebank and pledging to switch from bottled water.

So get to work on dropping your bad habits! Besides bettering yourself, who wouldn’t mind a little extra cash in their wallet?

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