This is being re-posted as part of "Works for Me Wednesday" hosted at www.weareTHATfamily.com As I mentioned here, I had a goal this year to make enough money using various online survey, search, and other sites that I could pay for Christmas without dipping into my bank account. While I didn't do as well as I had hoped (due to my temporary abandonment/forgetting of this goal for 5 months), I still did well enough that I think it's worth a shot for next Christmas.
If you don't want to save for Christmas, that's OK! This can be your anything fund-use it for birthday gifts, everyday items that you need, or even use it as your "just for me" fund. I am a firm believer in a little indulgence here and there. :o)
If you'd like to join me at the beginning of this goal, follow these steps. Next year around this time we'll meet at the end and see how it went!
Sign up for a dedicated email address
Visit Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, or any other free email site and set up an email address that you will use solely for your online money making adventures. Make it cute, make it literal, make it whatever you want. I made my email address a play on words about making bits of dough (get it? Dough as in $?). You'll only make a bit of money from each of these sites, but when you add them all together, you'll have enough dough to make a very nice loaf of bread!Once you have your email address set up.....
Begin signing up with different companies.
Some of my favorites can be found in my sidebars. I have also listed good starter sites below:
1. Swagbucks
I love this search engine! Although you don't earn physical dollars for using this search engine, you do earn "swagbucks" that can be traded for a number of different gifts and gift cards. My favorite is the Amazon $5 gift card for 45 Swagbucks.Even if you only earned 1 Swagbuck a day, by this time next year you would have enough for $40 worth of Amazon gift cards, which would equal a present or two that you did nothing extra for (beyond signing up and downloading the toolbar-and trust me, you want to download the toolbar!). You'll be searching for things on the internet anyway over the next year, why not earn some free gifts while you're at it?
Want to read more about Swagbucks? See my previous post, or you can sign up here!
2.Opinion Outpost
Get paid to take surveys! I used to be skeptical of the whole surveys for money idea, but I am converted to it now! It is the way I earned most of my Christmas money for this year, and I plan on earning even more next year. Even with my 5 month sabbatical I still made $45 with them this year.
Read more about Opinion Outpost in my previous post, or sign up online by clicking here!
3. MySurvey
This is one of my favorite survey sites. You earn points whether or not you qualify for surveys. Another thing I love about MySurvey is that in addition to surveys, sometimes you are invited to test products for free, so while you're earning money for other people's gifts, you sometimes get a little gift too!You can redeem your survey points for cash, prizes or charity donations. 1,000 points is equal to $10 cash.
If you'd like to learn more, see my post here. To join MySurvey, please click here. You'll get points just for joining. Take your first survey or download their survey alert messenger to earn more points right off the bat!
4. InboxDollars
Inbox dollars is another site I enjoy using. You earn money by reading emails (usually 2 cents an email- don't laugh, it adds up and only takes 20 seconds!). You can also take surveys, shop online and earn cash back through their site, play games, and complete free or trial offers.This site isn't the biggest payload, but it is one of the easiest and quickest sites to use. Besides, slow and steady wins the race! They send emails directly to your inbox. All you have to do is click the confirm link within the email and you get paid. You can also go to the site and log in to your account to complete other cash offers.
You get $5 just for signing up! Click here to join.
*Note: On sites that have free or trial offers, please always read all fine print before completing the offer. Some sites, for example, will ask you for your cell phone number as a way to complete the offer, and will charge your cell bill a fee for this each month. Most of the time there are no charges associated with the offers, especially the 100% free offers, but it's best to read all fine print, just in case!
The sites listed above are some of the main sites I use for my long-term earning. I will post more sites that I enjoy using in later posts and will let you know when I find new opportunities!
After you have finished signing up for sites using your dedicated email address, the most important step is...
Check your email daily!
I'm sure checking your email is something you do at least once or twice every day. Now, you just need to remember to add your new money-making email address to the list of accounts to check. I recommend setting aside 10 to 20 minutes a day to go through the various emails and survey opportunities you will receive. You will want to try and check at least once a day since many of the surveys will close after they have received enough responses.
I find it easiest to check my money email address first thing in the morning before I get busy with the day. Since I'm a mom who still enjoys young children with afternoon naps, I will also sometimes use naptime as a chance to check my email. Look at your schedule and find a good time for you. If you can't give 20 minutes all at once, split it up- read paid emails in the morning, do surveys before bed, etc.
As you do this, the cash in your various accounts will begin to grow- slowly, but surely. If you stay on track and dedicated, by this time next year you should have a nice Christmas stash! Planning a year in advance for Christmas definitely works for me!
For other Christmas 2010 posts, click here.
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