How to earn crypto in Upland without spending a dime

I don't spend money on games games played on my iPhone.  Call it being frugal or call it being cheap, that is just how I roll.  This has become much tougher in the P2E world but I'm still clinging to my values here.  In the long-run, I'm probably giving up on money making opportunities by not investing up front but I hate paying and not knowing if I am going to like the game and quickly give up.

I like the challenge of creating something from nothing.  I just sold my account on one of the games on my phone that I played for a few hundred dollars.  I never spent a dime on the game, but did put in time until I reached the highest level and was a significant player in the game.  Some of my teammates were regularly spending around $100 per week on the game, I simply used delayed gratification and strategy to build within the game.

I've taken the same approach to Upland which is a Metaverse game mapped to the real world. I've been playing since the end of 2021 and it has been a slow build so far.  On day one I logged in and got the standard 6K Uplexa ($UPX) token amounts and used this to buy my first property.  Without any research, I didn't make a great decision and bought an available lot in Chicago on Troy Street.  Had I looked into it at all, I would have purchased a house aimed at starters with a higher daily payout thanks to being part of a collection.  Oh well...

Types of Land Parcels in Upland

• Bright Green - have not been minted but can be minted and bought by anyone

• Dark Green - minted properties that can be bought with UPX with prices set by current owners

• Blue - minted properties owned by others not for sale yet

• Grey - unminted lands not for sale

• Dark Blue - properties you personally own

My goal was simply to get to the $10K UPX mark when you are no longer a "Visitor" but an "Uplander", a point in which you can sell your first property for a profit and really start playing the game.  You get a nice UPX bonus everyday you log into Uplands until you no longer do, 775 UPX bonus for each of the first three weeks.  I'm at this point now, it is much more of a long-term grind but takes very little time each day to go in and collect a small amount of UPX. 

Current Stats

• Property Value = 5,850

• UPX Value = 2,936

• Total UPX = 8,786

• UPX per month = 71

I am currently 1,214 UPX shy of becoming an Uplander.  At my current earning rate, I am still 17 months away so about a year-and-a-half.  When someone does visit my property, they pay 20 UPX so that helps but is pretty rare.  I am a patient man, good thing too.  You can see why most people simply purchase some UPX so they can really start playing the game pretty quickly.  For $4.99 I could add 5K worth of UPX and become some sort of landlord king in this little metaverse.

I don't mind, however, and I'm sure to renew my Upland Visa just about every time I log in.  Visa's expire every seven days so if you forget everything will be lost.  While I'm a passive player as of now, many different methods can be used to grow your UPX holdings.

Ways to Get UPX in Upland

• Purchase UPX

• Daily bonus for logging into Upland

• Referrals (50% bonus on purchased UPX tokens)

• Passive income off properties owned (17.3% of the base mint price annually, more if part of a collection)

• Trade/Sell properties or NFTs on open marketplace

• Visitors to your property (you set the visit price, mine is 20 UPX)

• Treasure hunts

I need to spend more time on Upland as many features exist I am not currently utilizing.  My "explorer" continues to wander around town and I'm sure I could find a treasure or two, but I'm just happy to have a little adventure in this part of the windy city.  Many other cities are available currently to explore.

Cities in Upland (ordered by release date)

• San Francisco CA (sold out)

• Fresno CA (sold out)

• Manhattan NY (sold out)

• Brooklyn NY (sold out)

• Oakland CA (sold out)

• Staten Island NY (sold out)

• Bakersfield CA (sold out)

• Chicago IL (sold out)

• Cleveland OH (sold out)

• Santa Clara CA (sold out)

• Kansas City MO (properties available)

• Rutherford NJ (sold out)

• New Orleans LA (sold out)

• Nashville TN (properties available)

• Bronx NY (sold out)

• Alamenda/Berkeley CA (sold out)

• Los Angeles CA (properties available)

• Detroit MI (properties available)

• Queens NY (properties available)

You can still by properties in cities that are sold out.  Owners may put their properties up for sale.  In addition, if a user is inactive for a week the properties held by that user are returned back to the game for other players to mint.

Patience is a virtue.  It is one proverb I hold near and dear to my heart.  In many DeFi projects, this patience gives me a huge edge over others "playing the game".  Upland wasn't really built this way and I wouldn't advise others of playing with the strategy I'm currently employing.  But I love to hear the stories of those who rise from nothing and turn into megastars.  It is admirable and how I approach these games.

Laugh at me now, but give me a couple years of plugging away and I will own all of Chicago if not the entire Upland Metaverse.  Just you wait and see!