Whether you are looking to make extra money to supplement your full-time job, or perhaps just some extra to save for a rainy day, there are some great opportunities out there to work from home in your spare time.
Below I describe some four of the ways I make extra cash each month to supplement my income. Some are more time consuming than others, and while some are easier to do than others that I’ve listed, they all have one thing in common; I earn extra money with each of these methods and so can you.
Complete Surveys Online
When I first heard that you could get paid for completing surveys online, I thought it must be a scam. After all, the pessimist in me thought it sounded too easy to do… answer a few questions and get cash?!
Well, there are legitimate companies out there that do offer payment for your opinions. It’s not much, usually $1 to $5 per survey, but it can add up if you do a few surveys a week. Most companies I work with pay via PayPal and usually within a week or two of completing the survey.
The way it usually works is you create a profile with the survey company and based on your answers about yourself you’ll be emailed links to surveys for which you qualify. Complete the survey and get paid. It is really that simple.
Become a Mystery Shopper
While being a mystery shopper is not entirely “work at home” per se, it is a great way to make some extra cash and get stuff for free. I actually stumbled across mystery shopping by accident. A co-worker was looking for a way to make some extra cash and she told me about a website that offered to get her set-up as a mystery shopper for only $39.95. Knowing the Internet is chocked-full of FREE information, I told her give me a few minutes with Google and I could get her the same information for free. Sure enough after searching using Google I found several companies that actually pay people to be mystery shoppers. I imagine the information my co-worker was going to pay for was just a list of the companies, anyway. Don’t waste your money paying for a service to give you the information when you can just search via the Internet yourself.
So, armed with the information I found on the Internet, we both signed up with several companies. After a few days, I began to get emails offering assignments. Now, when most people hear about mystery shopping, they think of all-day shopping sprees funded by someone else to which I say “dream on.” Mystery shopping is a great way to get a meal or night out at the movies paid for (usually up to $40 per visit). But when it comes retail stores, you usually must buy the items with your own money and then you are reimbursed (and the reimbursement is usually less than $20).
You may also be given a small fee for performing the shop, and generally the fee is $10-$15. And for that fee, you’re expected to complete a report (most of which are online). Most reports are very detailed and can take an hour or more to complete. And if you’re not detailed enough with your report, or you don’t complete it on time, payment may be withheld or denied.
Write Articles
If you’re reading this article, then you’ve made me a little extra cash (and I thank you for that!). You see, companies like Associated Content and others pay folks for content. Sometimes the payments are upfront and sometimes they are based on the number of people who read the articles (and therefore see ads on the website which generate revenue).
When you register as a content producer, you may be asked to write about a particular topic while other times you can write about anything you want. But no matter what you write about, you’re sure to find someone interested in what you have to say. And the great thing about writing content for Associated Content is that my articles make money every month they are on the website. Sure, some articles only make .5-.10 a month, but years from now, if that article is still posted, it will still be making money for me.
Complete Offers Online
I discovered a site from which you can register for other sites and complete simple offers and make money doing it. You can make money on CashCrate.com two ways, completing offers and referring others to complete offers. Completing offers involves you clicking on the offers from the members’ area of CashCrate. You are then redirected to another site to enter some information like your name and email address and answer questions about products or offers.
Most of the offers take 5 minutes or less and you’ll earn anywhere from fifty cents to a couple of dollars per survey. There are some offers that pay up to $20, but they are usually trial offers for services like NetFlix and credit monitoring and require a credit card to complete the offer.
In my first hour on the site, only completing free offers (requiring no credit card), I made $21.75. Not bad for an hour’s work!
You can also make money by referring others to the site. You don’t get paid for each referral, but you do get a percentage of the money they make when they complete offers.
Tip: Create a new email account at yahoo.com or gmail.com to use for these offers. They will generate spam, so it’s best to have an email address that you just use for this website.