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Do you have student debt? This trivia app wants to help you pay it off

Right now, the United States has a $1.5 trillion student loan debt crisis. So imagine if you could pay off your loan simply by playing a trivia game on your phone.

The game is called Givling and it's basically a crowdsourcing app.

Money is being raised in a few different ways. One is by playing trivia. Everyone gets two free games a day and you can buy more games for 50 cents each.

You earn points by correctly answering trivia questions and by watching ads and shopping with sponsors who add to the jackpot.

Tax attorney Sunday Vanderver said she paid off a huge chunk of her student loans thanks to the app. She signed up for free in October 2017.

“Within the first couple of months of playing, I actually ended up winning trivia. So I got a check for $5,700," she said.

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Vanderver rolled that money back into Givling to earn big points on the app’s leader board and set her sights on the big prize. Whoever is at the top of the leaderboard when Givling hits a goal wins $50,000.

Vanderver’s efforts paid off after she won the jackpot in April. She says she’ll pay off her loans a decade earlier now.

“It’ll go directly to my lender and I’ll just watch that balance drop,” she said.

But there are some concerns with the app. Some people are frustrated when the app changes the rules or is plagued by technical glitches.

“Sometimes it does overwhelm the servers. We try to be open and honest about changes along the way. Not everyone’s going tow in right away. It may take some time,” said Seth Beard, Givling's chief marketing officer.

But Vanderver believes it's worth it knowing the money she puts in is helping support someone else.
"It gives you hope. I think we can never underestimate the power of hope especially when you're starting at massive student loan bills."

So far, Givling has given away nearly $3 million. The app coordinates with the winner to send the payment directly to the loan lender.