Simple Ways to Earn a Few Extra Dollars

Earn extra money with these tips.

As a stay at home mom you’ve probably wondered or even tried to earn a few dollars here and there to help your family. I’ve been there. I get there time and time again. Life is already pretty full with kids, home, and family but the idea does cross your mind to add to the family coin purse. Especially when things are tight or when an unexpected expense rears it’s ugly head.

Apart from the money you can earn blogging, because not everyone wants to blog, there are other ways to earn some spare change to help your family. Do note that they usually take time, an email address, and online access but unlike blogging they *don’t cost you anything but time (I said that already).

*If you’re ever asked to pay to be part of a survey or online shopping hub turn the other way. That smells like a scam to me and I would be very wary.

Grocery Bags with Food

Simple Ways to Earn Money Online

Isn’t it great that in this online age having access to a smart phone or a computer can be your ticket to making a little money. Notice I keep saying a little because unless you spend hours at it you won’t bring in thousands or even hundreds. But well timed activities can buy some essentials and even pay a few bills.

Sell Your Excess or Excellence

If you’re reading this in January you are probably in the process, or at least dreaming of decluttering your home. I’m doing the same. Did you know that you can earn money from your goods? Here are several ways…

  • Consignment: Look for local consignment shops that will sell your gently used clothing and furniture and share the profits with you. Each store has it’s own policies and set up but that is an easy way to part with something you know is still good but you don’t have any use for it anymore.
  • Decluttr: What an appropriate name! This great service will pay you for your older electronics. Not everything of course. You scan or enter in information on what you have. They quote you a price. It’s not tons of money but making money off of things you would have given away anyway is a plus. You can also sell them CDs and DVDs. I do have some stuff that is too old for them to take but then I have some stuff that they will take. I haven’t done this one yet but I have the app and we are in the process of decluttering.
  • Garage Sale: This goes without saying. If you are unfamiliar with this concept then…where have you been! Just kidding.
  • Bazaars: For those with talent a bazaar is a nice way to share your creativity, make money, and make friends. I love bazaars. This past summer there was a bazaar that discounted tables for homeschoolers. It was a great success for students in our homeschool group so think of this as a great way to help your kids make some spending money AND work on their craft.

Earn Money By Doing Surveys

Filling out surveys is an easy way to make a few dollars. It  is not the best way or the fastest way to earn extra money but over time it can add up. Over a lot of  time though. Got some spare time on your hands? Fill in a survey. My mom does this a lot but she has a lot more free time than I have. I do it now and then. It can get annoying when they show up in your inbox over and over. And it takes a while to add up but it makes some nice pocket change. Also sometimes I will pass on a survey that asks too many personal questions. And then there are the demographics that they can be after that you might not fulfill.

Survey Companies I’ve used (and am still using occasionally) are Vindale Research, and Pinecone Research. I’ve also heard decent things about Survey Junkie, although I’ve never tried them.

Sometimes I think, don’t I have better things to do with my time? But then I’ll be waiting in the doctor’s office, or hanging out somewhere waiting for my daughter (for example at gymnastics). I read, take an online course, or DO SURVEYS! LOL! If you want to know how much (or little) you can make here is an example here is part of a screenshot of my Vindale portal. This is after a couple of days. I only do about 2 a day and it’s more of a test than anything at this point. You need to be 18 or older, live in the US, Great Britain, Australia, or Brazil to participate.

 

Earn Money When You Shop

Now we’ll talk about earning money on the stuff you are already buying. I’m sure you’ve heard that one before. Earn money when you shop. Well know services for this are Swagbucks, Ebates, and Ibotta.

I’m not the best at remembering to do things like this but I like using Ebates the best for cash back. You can add a little widget to your browser and the Ebates sign will light up when you’re on a site that uses Ebates (sometimes). It will also tell you about current coupons going on and you can apply them to save even more. This is for online shopping.

Another online shopping rewards site is Swagbucks I’ve been a member there for several years but found but haven’t been using them as much since Ebates.  I talked my mom into subscribing and in her spare moments she earns iTunes cards so she can purchase her favorite Gospel music. I seem to get paid faster with Ebates.

Again note these are all free to sign up with. If you’re being charged back away.

And then finally Ibotta. I have heard about Ibotta for years but it wasn’t until my close friend and neighbor told me she earned $14 on a very simple shopping trip that I decided to take a closer look. It’s okay. I have to be mindful about receipts and whatnot and scanning things. Again I’m not the best. I haven’t got a payout yet but that’s my fault for the whole mindful thing. It’s kine of like coupon cutting, if you are very good at that then you should do well with Ibotta.

What other ways have you found to earn a few bucks here and there?

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