And The Survey Says

I just got $15.00 in Amazon.com gift certificates, so I only have $475 to go before I can get my new Kindle DX.  Almost there, baby!

Seriously though, I did a few online surveys that took me less than 10 minutes a pop and I got a five dollar gift certificate for each.  You just can’t beat that.  In these tough financial times, I figured I would post again about my little “part time job” doing online surveys. 

If you are looking for an easy way to make a few extra bucks, you should check out my survey links page.  After much experience, that page outlines the best panels to join and what you can expect from each of them. Surveys are easy to do and even fun at times (watching commercials, choosing magazine covers, etc.).  I belong to about 7 different panels so I get a lot of surveys sent to me. There are also times I get invited into a focus group or am offered some other type of unique opportunity.  For example, one on-line focus group I did was worth $75.00 for just an hour of my time. Another time I was asked to record my credit card balance each month (got $5 a month) and at the end of the year they sent me $60.

My husband always chuckles when I tell him, “hey, I just made 2 bucks,” or “I just did a survey worth three dollars.” But then when I tell him I have to go to the bank and deposit the $150 dollars in checks I have, he doesn’t laugh so hard.  Those two and three dollars add up.

When you are forced to live on a tighter budget, you have to monitor all the frivolous spending you do. So, it really does help to have a side income, no matter how much money that amounts to in the end. 

Here’s a breakdown of what I have bought over the past three months thanks to survey money and some of the free products that were sent to me:

$46.50 was deposited into my Paypal account (some survey sites pay directly to a paypal acct which I then used for these Ebay purchases):

• One Halloween costume for Piper
• One Tinkerbell DVD
• One Lion King DVD

$15.00 in Amazon.com gift certificates:

• Kindle DX Fund

$167.00 in checks (I always wait and deposit the various checks I receive at once):

• One winter wardrobe for Piper at The Children’s Place which included a dozen tops, two sweaters, a dozen pairs of pants, three pairs of tights, 6 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of pajamas, a pair of shoes and a winter coat.  
• {Side Note: I also used three $20.00 coupons & one $25.00 gift card for a total of $85.00 in free stuff during that shopping trip in case you were wondering how the hell I pulled that off with less than 200!}

Free products I received to use and got paid to evaluate:

• 1 package of napkins
• 1 frozen dinner meal
• 2 bottles of shampoo
• 1 package of hair dye
• 2 jars of spaghetti sauce
• 1 package of cat treats
• 2 bottles of salad dressings
• Estimated savings for not buying these items myself = $30.00

Grand Total (not including free items) = $228.00 (about $75.00 a month)

That’s a lot of stuff! It may not seem like much when you only get a dollar here, a dollar there.  But if you do several surveys a week, it really adds up!  Who couldn’t use an extra $75.00 a month?

Honestly, it makes the difference if you are like me and second guess buying a DVD for your kid or that cute sweater that finally went on sale or even the occasional dinner out.  When you know it isn’t even touching your budget, but is “extra” money, it really makes you feel good or least not as guilty! And the kicker? You get the chance to voice your opinion and have an influence in the marketplace.

So go check out my survey links page if you are interested.  And if you already do surveys, let me know if I am missing any!  I can always use an extra few bucks myself.

Comments

[Jane]

Hmmm...thanks for the plug for surveys. I belong(ed) (don't know since I haven't done it in a while and they stopped sending me surveys) to Pinecone Research and got a little tired of spending so much time on the computer with their update surveys (the kind you DON'T get paid for). It just didn't seem worth the time. But I'm going to check out the other sites you mentioned. Thanks for sharing!

[Momish]

Jane, Pinecone is one of my favorites! They send surveys and products all the time. I don't know how long ago you used them, but now they pay through PayPal within a day ($3 a survey). Their surveys are shorter now too, but they still do the updates (definitely more surveys than updates though).

[Christine Simiriglia]

I like buzzback.

[Jane]

Another bloggy friend gave this great review on Kindle and a new product by Barnes and Noble. Check it out! http://passionsandsoapboxes.com/2009/10/23/let-the-competition-begin/

[Jane]

ooops! I just realized I posted in on the wrong post! Sorry! This was in reference to your questions about the Kindle!