What are your financial goals? Some people want to pay down debt. Others want to save for retirement or a dream vacation. Maybe you want some extra spending money.

It’s harder to do any of those things today. We’re working more, earning less, and the cost of living continues to rise. All of this adds up to a population that’s just getting by.

There are a lot of ways to make extra cash in the gig economy. That can mean working two jobs when you barely have the energy for one.

You can make money playing games. It’s a way to unwind, earn extra cash, and work towards your financial goals without burning yourself out.

Do you want to know more? Read on to learn the top ways you can make cash by playing games.

1. Turn Games into Points

There are sites like Swagbucks and MyPoints that offer games for points. With Swagbucks, you can also take surveys if you qualify. The points can then be converted into gift cards or cash.

2. Bingo!

Bingo can be a little cutthroat when you’re playing at the local church on Wednesday nights. You have to contend with the oldtimers who have their particular seat and their way of doing things.

Get in their way, and it’ll turn into an embarrassing tongue-lashing. You can completely avoid that by playing online bingo from the comfort of your home.

Oh, you can make money playing bingo, too. Check out BingoZone, which has bingo games going on around the clock.

3. Be a Game Tester

This is the perfect job for gamers that have to critique every element of playing a game. Developers often seek feedback from testers to track the performance, story and overall enjoyment of playing games.

Take a look at your favorite game publisher’s site for opportunities to test games. There are other sites that contract with publishers to find the right beta testers for them.

4. Play the Lottery

Are you a fan of playing the lottery? That’s another way you can make money. There are sites that sell tickets and give you Superlotto numbers and other lottery games. It’s a quick and easy way to play the odds and make some money.

Teach Others

OK, you may be surprised to know that there are other gamers willing to pay good money to learn about making money playing games.

How much you can charge and how you coach other gamers largely depends on your experience. If you have some experience as a gamer, you can freelance as a coach or be a paid coach through a site like GamerSensei.

For professional gamers with a lot of experience, you can afford to charge more for your skills and experience. Your expertise can lead to you being the coach of an eSports team, with your salary paid for by sponsors.

5. Online Casino Games

Do you consider casino games a way to spend money? That they just provide entertainment and that’s it?

Your thinking can use an adjustment. You don’t need to be on the professional poker tour, but you can make money playing slots and other online gambling games.

You’ll need to learn the lingo of online casino games and find games that have a high percentage of payouts.

6. Write About Games

If you have a way with words, you can combine that with your knowledge of

The best part of writing about games is that you can be on the press list of game publishers and hardware producers. These companies will often send out free (yes, free) copies of games and gear in exchange for reviews.

You may have to hold off on publishing the review until a specified date, or sign a non-disclosure agreement to make this happen. It’s well worth it to get your hands on games ahead of everyone else, write about them, and make extra money,

7. Cash in on Useless Knowledge

For gamers that can kill at Jeopardy and other trivia games, you can make money from being a well of useless knowledge.

The game site Givling is probably the most interesting one around. It’s a site that’s focused on doing good. You play trivia, you make money while you win.

On the other side, proceeds from the games go towards crowdfunding. Those funds help people pay off mortgage debt and student loans.

8. Auction Your Creds

How many games have you beaten over the years? Did you know you can sell your game accounts to others? This is a great way to make money for all of the time spent beating a game.

You dnt necessarily have had to beat a game to sell your credentials. Your account is worth a lot if you progressed far or collected a lot of bonuses and coins during gameplay.

9. Build a Server for Gamers

Gamers depend on a server to play. You can build and start to fund your own community for Minecraft and other games.

It will take a bit of start-up capital to get started, but you can use your community to build a nice stream of passive income. That comes in the form of monthly fees that you can charge for gamers to use your server.

Make Money Playing Games

You don’t have to trade your quality of life to reach your financial goals. You can make money playing games. That gives you a creative outlet without burning yourself out.

You don’t have to be a hardcore gamer to make money. You can play games for points that lead to cash. The lottery, online casinos, and trivia games are good alternatives to the shoot ‘em up games.

Once you do build up a nice nest egg of extra cash, you can finally take that dream vacation. Check out the Travel section of this site for some travel inspiration and tips.