Gather Little by Little

Like most everyone, I enjoy earning money and supplementing my income. I do this a number of different ways: through blogging, doing side jobs building and maintaining websites, running a few online stores, and by participating in various online surveys, points programs and rebate sites such as Mr. Rebates and EBates.

I’ve been trying out various services and programs now for more than a year, and thought I would share my perspective on the one’s I’ve tried.

MyPoints (my personal favorite)

My favorite thus far is MyPoints. Why? Because it’s quick and easy. With MyPoints, I receive about 5-10 emails a day and they literally take all but about 30 seconds to work if you use the tips I recommend. About every 2 months I get enough points to redeem them for either a $25 Amazon.com gift card or $25 Olive Garden gift card.

Online Surveys

I started off doing each and everyone of these from the various online survey sites. This included surveys from MyPoints. Over time though, I found that the survey’s take up far too much of my time, and for limited reward. For example, some surveys take more than 15 minutes to complete. I also got frustrated when I would spend 5-10 minutes completing a survey, only to find out that I didn’t qualify. I seldom do these anymore, and when I do it’s primarily through MySurvey or MyPoints. Given the various supplemental income streams I have, I can spend my time on other activities and make more money than I do through surveys.

I have been trying a new site called CashCrate this week though, and so far I’m impressed. CashCrate pays cash for completing surveys and allow you to cash out at $10.00. One of the nice things I like about CashCrate, is that most of their surveys tell you up front how long the survey will take. For example, one this morning paying .80 cents was going to take me 25-30 minutes. Too long for me. Others though only take 5-15 minutes, far more worth my time. My wife on the other hand does them while she is reading email or surfing the web during the day. She says the time isn’t a big deal at all. She surfs a little, completes a survey page, surfs a little more, etc.

Another nice feature of CashCrate is their coupons section. The update their coupon selection daily. So if you’re heading to the grocery store, check out their coupons page and maybe save a few bucks.

Signing up for both CashCrate, MySurvey, and MyPoints are all completely free. I would encourage you to give them a try and see what you think. Please post your feedback here in the comments section.

Rebate Sites

The sites I most use are rebate sites. I purchase a large number of the things I buy online as I find it more cost effective and just plain easier. I’m not usually in a big hurry to get the items I want, so waiting a few days for shipping isn’t a big deal. Both Mr. Rebates and EBates have saved me more than $20 over the past 2 months. These sites work by allowing you to purchase items online just as you normally would, but they give you a discount. Both sites work with various online merchants and in exchange for driving traffic and purchases to merchants websites, they receive a commision for each sale. A portion of this commision is shared with you in the form of a discount. The amount varies per merchant.

This is a very quick and easy way to save money that literally takes just a few more clicks on your behalf. Whenever I’m ready to purchase something online, I always spend an extra couple of minutes checking both Mr. Rebates and EBates to see who has the best rebate option.

Your Take

What is your take on these various programs? Do you use them? The rebate sites are a no brainier for me. MyPoints and in particular the surveys do cost some time though and in my life time is money. I’m always having to make a decision about how to best spend my time. How do you decide which programs to use and not use? Please share your tips for utilizing these sites.

Photo by: milst1