I Wrote My Venmo On My Car, And Yes, I Actually Got Some Money

It’s no secret that TikTok has been helping people in more ways than one. A new way to make money has come up on my “for you page” that I had to try. People have started writing their Venmo or Cashapp handles on the back of their car and strangers will send them money!

I know, it’s the best deal ever! When I heard about this trend and saw a summer of car travel coming up, I knew I had to try it.

My partner and I have driven through the entire East Coast this summer. We went to Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, back to North Carolina, and then South Carolina. Not to mention we live in Nashville where I see people’s cars decked out in their Venmos constantly.

The night before we went on our first adventure, we headed to Walmart. We got the essentials for Florida: beach chairs, sunscreen, snacks, and a chalk marker to write on my car. My goal was honestly to earn back the $4 that it cost me to get the marker.

So here goes nothing — let’s hope for some really generous people!

Florida

Did I wake up at 6 a.m., pack the car, and rewrite my Venmo 5 times? You better believe it. We wrote on the back of the car, “Wish me a happy birthday and send me to Disney.” Yes, it was my birthday and we were going to Disney. I didn’t want to lie and constantly say something like, “We’re getting hitched,” or, “Happy bachelorette” even though those might have given me more results.

I thought we would be bombarded with people sending us well wishes and dollars the second we got on the road. This didn’t happen. Granted, we left early in the morning and I doubt anyone wants to dish out any money that early in the day. 

Once we hit Georgia, one person sent us $100! So thank you to that random stranger. I think that we set our expectations rather high though. We were constantly hoping to get that huge donation with everyone we saw and that just wasn’t logical.

North Carolina and Virginia

My partner (who drove the whole time for all of these trips. Thanks, honey) made a comment that people in the South didn’t really want to give as much as people in Florida who already seemed to be on vacation and spending mode. I made the retort that no one really wants to give you money, and that’s normal. I think we made $15 out of that trip.

I wasn’t necessarily disappointed, it made sense that no one was really stopping and giving us their paycheck. It was not fun to come off the first trip having made $100 in one go and then never making nearly that much again. 

North Carolina and South Carolina

We have now covered the bottom half of the East Coast. We travelled from Nashville to North Carolina and got nothing. We were disappointed, but I think a big part of the draw to doing the chalk marker is just the fun that you have when people pass you.

My mom commented that it was a little humiliating, but I disagree. We were having a fun time and we did it out of curiosity more than necessity. Would our trip have improved if we got a million dollars? Yes. But it wasn’t ruined when we didn’t.

When we were on our way home, we got $5! I know it’s not a lot at all, but it was enough for a cup of coffee and it really is fun to see someone pass you and pump their fists or wave at you. Writing my venmo on my car added so much to the road trip experience.

Overall

I honestly think this is a no-lose situation. You write on the back of your car. You wash it off (that’s actually a lose, it’s really hard to wash off), and you might get paid in the meantime. While absolutely nothing is guaranteed, it’s a really fun thing to have. Also, when I drove for 4 hours in total throughout this entire trip, people were waving and honking and it was just fun to see people’s reactions to whatever I wrote on the back.  

I think it would be fun to experiment with captions and sayings; I’m sure if I was really clever, people might have been more drawn to it. I’ve also seen some fantastic art on the back of these cars. My handwriting hasn’t improved since middle school and my art skills stopped growing about then too. 

All this is to say, I made $115 when I could’ve made none, so I’m having the time of my life. 

Are you going to try this hack? What would you write? Comment below!

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