Earn extra money online | Just Doing My Best

I consider myself a very skeptical person. I think carefully about what my family is involved in as well as what I promote here on Just Doing My Best. Because of that, I have taken the time to research the following suggestions before promoting them to you. I have personally signed up with the following companies so I can accurately share with you the pros and cons of each. Long story short, the company’s programs mentioned below work, I love them and can recommend them to you.

Now for the fun stuff:

I have earned a nice little Christmas savings in just the past couple months with SwagBucks and Ebates. I have some Amazon Gift Cards ready to use that I earned at Swagbucks and a little balance on a virtual credit card through Ebates.

SwagBucks is a search engine that will reward you with points. The points then convert to merchandise, PayPal cash, gift cards and more. The benefit is you can earn these points simply by searching the web as you normally do. There is no fee associated with Swagbucks; you only need to register. The cons are: the search results can sometimes be limited to larger name websites as opposed to smaller blogs. However, this is not always the case. I usually search first through SwagBucks and then through another search engine if I need even more results. SwagBucks usually gives the search results I need. You will not receive points for every search. The second con is it can take a while to earn points, depending on how much you search or how you use the website. If you are interested in learning all the ropes of their program, you can certainly accumulate many points.

Ebates is a portal that you click through before shopping at your usual big box online stores. When you click through the portal, you are given a tracking number that will provide for cash back on that purchase. I have earned over $50 by clicking through Ebates on online purchases that I was going to make anyway. The pros are its incredibly easy to use, no fees associated, and there is a huge list of stores in their program. The cash back, of course, is the best benefit.

I really cannot find any cons. I have had 2 issues with a Sephora purchase not being credited back to me, but they provided contact info and got back with me on what to send them to receive the proper credit. Also, not a con but important to know- when you sign up, Ebates will place $5 in your account. When you make your first purchase, if its within 90 days of signing up, it will be yours on their next pay out day.

To sign up, click here for Ebates and here for SwagBucks or any of the grey/brown company names listed above.

These two programs have worked beautifully for me and I hope you like them as well! I am currently checking out a few other rewarding programs online and if they work for me, I will be sharing them with you.

This post has been linked to:

Works for Me Wednesday hosted by We Are THAT Family

Frugal Friday by Life as Mom

Written by Heather on Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Filed under Frugal Living, Just My Best Picks - Reviews, Moneymakers

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Melissa said on Wednesday, September 30, 2009 @8:04 am

I’m a big fan of Swagbucks, too. I haven’t saved up my Amazon credits for gifts; I apply them to our account and we use them as needed. But your idea is great!

Heather said on Wednesday, September 30, 2009 @8:45 am

Melissa,

Isn’t Amazon great? You can buy just about anything there! I need to poke around on the site because that is my next chore, applying the gift cards to my Amazon account. I’m thinking some of the children’s gifts are coming from Amazon this year.