Is Writing Envelopes For Money Legit? (Here's The Truth!)

On social media, the writing envelopes side hustle or “stuffing envelopes for money” side hustle idea has been going viral lately.

Unfortunately, not all side hustles are legit, no matter how much your favorite TikTok influencers say they are. And this includes writing envelopes for money.

Read on to learn why this side hustle has some red flags and know what to avoid. Plus. I'll share some better alternatives you can use to actually earn some side cash.

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Key Takeaways:

The envelope-stuffing gig isn’t new and was started decades ago
The idea involves earning in-store rebates or casino bonuses by sending in letters with your personal info
Some TikTok creators claim you can make up to $70 per hour writing envelopes and sell a course to teach you how
Writing envelopes for money isn't legit, barely pays, and can even lose people money by encouraging gambling

What Is The Writing Envelopes For Money Side Hustle?

Getting paid to write envelopes is a viral side hustle idea that claims you can earn money by stuffing envelopes with your personal information and some kind of rebate or reward coupon to earn. In short, it promises people easy money just by writing letters in their spare time.

However, while this money-making idea is going viral on social media right now, it's not new. The ‘writing envelopes for money’ side hustle has actually been around for a long time — decades, in fact — but it’s recently begun rearing its head all over TikTok, sparking interest in people who are eager to make quick money by doing something that doesn’t take much time.

This new version of a very old side hustle is based on the fact that some online casinos give you around $5 worth of casino currency to use on their website for online gambling if you send them an old-fashioned letter with your personal information.

Other companies have run envelope stuffing promotions back in the day too. For example, McDonald's ran a Monopoly promotion in the 90s where you could get free food for mailing in some personal information. Other fast food companies, department stores, and chains have also participated in these kind of mail-in-rebate or promotional methods.

In all these cases, you need to add a bunch of personal information to get your rebate or store credit. All information needs to be handwritten, including the envelope you send it in. And, to get your $5 credit, you’ll need to follow all directions exactly, even down to the size of the envelope the casino requires you to send.

As you can probably tell, this isn't really a way to get free money. Instead, you're getting store credit or casino credits you can use to try and win more money.

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Is Writing Envelopes For Money Legit?

Writing envelopes for money isn't legit, and you can't make significant income by stuffing envelopes with your personal information. At best, you can get some casino credits or in-store credits to save some money. But this side hustle takes a lot of time and doesn't really pay.

Back in the day, this scam actually preyed on people desperately looking for work and cash to support their families during the Great Depression. Scam artists placed ads in newspapers and on flyers, making it seem like someone could get paid per letter they send or generate a solid per-hour income simply by stuffing envelopes, addressing them to the right places, and mailing them.

The truth: it was basically a pyramid scheme requiring people to mail ads about stuffing envelopes to others!

The new-gen envelope-writing side hustle has a similar premise, promising people who fall for it a hefty income of $50 to $70 per hour but leaving them with no hope of ever really making that much.

If you’re writing letters for online casinos, you might get $5 deposited in your account (in casino currency only, though). And if you’re doing it for a giveaway requirement, you’re never guaranteed to see any fruits of your labor.

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What Is The $5 Per Letter Envelope Stuffing Side Hustle?

There's a new TikTok trend from people claiming you can earn $5 per letter you write and then stuff into an envelope with your personal information. Many social media accounts actually sell a cheap course on how to do this, promising that you can earn $50 per hour or $5 per letter just from envelope stuffing.

This is similar to the original pyramid scheme version. And most of the people promoting the $5 per letter hustle are actually affiliates for the course and get a commission when you buy it.

A digital marketer might share a video on TikTok showing them writing envelopes and sending them in for cash but leave viewers wondering how they do it. They’ll typically post a link or explain where to go to buy their course where they explain each step. People buy the course to learn all the details, filling up the person’s pockets with money from course sales rather than envelope writing.

And the icing on the cake? All of these get paid to write letter side hustle courses are really promoting gambling. SO, some people who follow this advice might get casino credits but then lose way more money than they ever make!

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What Are Some Better Side Hustles Than Stuffing Envelopes?

It’s clear that stuffing envelopes won’t bring you the easy money you’d hoped for, but that doesn’t mean all side hustles aren’t legit.

Turn your attention to the gigs listed below, which can help you get some side cash when you need it.

1. Answering Online Surveys

The online survey side hustle is one of the oldest in the age of the internet, and it’s still as legit as ever. Share your opinions to help improve brand products and services, and you get rewarded, usually in the form of electronic gift cards or PayPal cash.

A few of our favorite survey sites include:

Survey Junkie: Survey Junkie matches you with surveys that fit your profile. You’ll earn points for surveys that you can redeem for PayPal cash or electronic gift cards.
Branded Surveys: To date, Branded Surveys has paid its members over $59 million. It has over 300 gift cards to choose from as rewards, including Amazon, Walmart, and Kroger.
Swagbucks: Swagbucks offers multiple ways to earn points in addition to taking surveys, like cash-back shopping, games, and participating in sweepstakes. There are tons of gift cards to choose from, like Apple, Starbucks, and Sephora.

Branded Surveys is our favorite here at WebMonkey. You can also read our guide on the best surveys that pay cash instantly for even more options.

2. Freelance Writing

Freelance writing is another alternative to writing envelopes for money with way higher earning potential. If you have experience as a blogger, you could break into this field by contacting owners of other blogs or businesses with blogs to see if they’re open to freelance contributions.

Also, explore freelance writing opportunities on LinkedIn or remote job sites like FlexJobs. You can also follow editors of publications you’d like to write for to get updates when they’re looking for pitches or a freelance writer to assign some work to.

The best part: It’s possible for freelancing to transform from a side gig to a full-time business, depending on how much work and time you want to commit to it.

Extra Reading – The Best Online Jobs Paying Daily.

3. Play Games For Money

While it might surprise you, there are tons of apps that pay you for playing games out there. So, you can turn your gaming sessions into a fun side hustle that actually pays – unlike stuffing envelopes all day.

Here are a few of our favorite cash game apps and sites to try:

Freecash: This gpt site lets you find 100+ fun games to play and earn.
Kashkick: Find new mobile games to play on Kashkick, answer surveys, and try new apps to earn PayPal money!
Scrambly: This is another awesome site where you can get paid to try out new mobile games.
InboxDollars: Another great rewards site that has plenty of ways to earn, including gaming offers.

Personally, I'd suggest starting with Freecash since it has the most ways to earn. You can also read our guide on the best real money games for 15+ other great options.

4. Bookkeeping

As a bookkeeper, you provide basic recordkeeping and accounting services to businesses or individuals. Some bookkeepers also prepare and file taxes for their clients.

Like freelance writing, bookkeeping can become a full-time business once you gain some speed in picking up steady clients. But, it’s also flexible enough to use solely as a side gig if you want to just balance one or two clients each month.

Upwork usually features hundreds of bookkeeping jobs at any given time, making it a good place to find your first client. You can also hang out in the r/Bookkeeping subreddit to learn some tips and tricks for finding clients and managing your bookkeeping business.

5. Virtual Assistant Work

One more alternative to getting paid to write letters is to become a virtual assistant.

Virtual assistants complete various tasks for the clients they work with, which are usually small business owners who need an extra set of hands to schedule appointments, write emails, or work on their websites. As a virtual assistant, you might work on these and other tasks, like light bookkeeping, prospect research, creating advertising campaigns, designing graphics, or writing meeting notes, depending on your skill set and the type of clients you work with.

Check out virtual assistant groups on Facebook to connect with others and find potential work if you’re interested in going this route. You can also look for work on websites like Fancy Hands or Fiverr.

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Final Thoughts

Writing envelopes for money isn’t likely to get you the money you were hoping for, although you might walk away with a few bucks to put toward some online casino games.

Unfortunately, this gig simply isn’t legit — at least, not in the way TikTok influencers make it sound. It’s more like one of those too-good-to-be-true ventures that’ll leave you wondering why you tried it in the first place.

Instead of wasting time trying to earn $5 per letter, consider picking up one of the other legitimate side gigs mentioned above. They’re real, many people do them, and some of them could become a consistent stream of income for you.

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