SURVEY UPDATE: Earning Money, Rewards and Gift Cards Doing Surveys

Back in April I wrote a post about doing surveys to get money, gift cards and other rewards.  I have now been doing surveys at home for about six or seven months and have a much clearer idea of what is worth spending time on.  Now, you don't make a bunch of money doing surveys, but I have earned thousands of Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards points, over $100 in gift cards, Hilton Honors Points and made some money doing surveys.  A little extra help with the cost of a flight, hotel stay or a free dinner here and there is really nice and worth the time doing surveys while you watch tv or are bored on your lunch break. 

OK, fine.  This isn't going to happen.  (photo: dogsportgear.com)

Here's the details on Survey Sites.  Remember to create a separate email address for these type of things because you will get a lot of emails.

1.  Daily Survey Panel:  This site offers multiple surveys per day and if you qualify for and complete the survey, you will earn points.  You then choose to either turn those points in for money deposited into your Paypal account or for gift certificates to places like Starbucks, Applebee's, Amazon.com, Walmart or Game Stop.  The best deal is to use the points for gift cards.

The good and the bad: The good part about this site is that you will likely qualify for multiple surveys a day and quickly earn points.  Your points show up on your account in a few hours or at most a couple days (other sites can take weeks).  The down side is that you will answer the same preliminary questions over and over again each day.  That doesn't bother me, but it may bother you like it seemed to annoy the boyfriend after only two surveys.  I don't mind it, I am just always prepared to take a couple different quick surveys before qualifying and earning points.  I have earned the most gift cards on this site.  I have cashed in for multiple Starbucks, Walmart and Applebee's gift cards.  So I say that Daily Survey Panel has the most annoying surveys but with the biggest rewards.

2.  Clear Voice Surveys: This site offers a couple surveys a week.  You won't qualify for all of them but the preliminary questions are usually shorter than on Daily Survey Panel.  If you qualify and complete the survey, you earn 50 cents to a couple dollars and then can cash those out.  I highly recommend cashing your points out for Amazon.com gift cards.  The Dining Dough does not seem to be that good of a deal.   So far I have earned three gift cards to use at Amazon.com. 

The good and the bad: While you earn money faster for less surveys than Daily Survey Panel, there are less surveys to qualify for.  Also, be warned that you cannot redeem in most cases until you earn $10 and your points expire within one year, so you have to make sure you are keeping up with it.  You are also entered into a sweepstakes every time you do a survey.  I have not won a sweepstakes yet and I do surveys multiple times a week, so I doubt that will ever happen.  This is a good site to get some extra money to use on Amazon, which is great for me. 

Love Amazon gift cards (photo: techcrunch.com)

3.  American Consumer Opinion: This site offers less surveys but you will qualify for most of the surveys they personally email you. This is not my favorite site as it is slow to earn you anything.

The good and the bad: There aren't as many surveys to do, but you will most likely qualify for a higher percentage of the surveys you start.  It is a little slower to earning points, but they are usually fun surveys and you make a couple hundred points for the longer ones.  Be sure to remember that you cannot redeem your points until you have reached 1,000 and that equals $10.  I just redeemed my points for $14.50 in my Paypal account.  Nothing crazy, but the little extra cash adds up for buying myself little treats online.

4.  EREWARDS: For this site, you have to be invited to join.  I highly recommend joining if you are invited.  On this site, you get a couple surveys a week sent to you and you get partial credit whether you qualify or not.  This site does not pay out in cash, but you use your "money" to get rewards.  The rewards can be gift cards, discounts or flight/hotel points.  This is my favorite survey site.  I have thousands of Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards points and Hilton Honors points from here.  I have also used my points to order food from Omaha Steaks when there was a sale online.

The good and the bad:  The erewards.com surveys have generally been shorter than most of the Daily Survey Panel surveys, which is nice.  There is no option to cash out on this site, however, if you fly or stay at hotels, then this can really be worth it.  You can rack up points pretty quick.  Just be aware of each program and how often you can cash in for rewards points.  It is 30 days for Southwest and long for Hilton.  There are plenty of other airlines, car rental services and hotels participating in this program.  I love erewards.com! 

Photo: blogs.sun-sentinel.com

5.  e-miles: I have just recently discovered this site.  Sign up for e-miles to earn rewards points to programs like Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards.  You earn points for doing really quick 3 question surveys, buying deals on Groupon and buying products online through Nordstrom.  Just sign up and get started.  I have cashed in 1,500 Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards points so far.

The good and the bad:  This is a quick and easy way to earn rewards points.  Most people buy Groupons already, so just be sure you are signed up on e-miles and buy your Groupons through the link on the e-miles site.  The only downside is that you have to wait until you get to 500 points to cash in your rewards.  There are other ways to earn points as well, by donating to charities, buying other products or services through the site or signing up for other programs.  I just use my junk email address for any of the offers. Definitely check out e-miles.

Homemade is Cheaper and Healthier (Recipes below)

A good visual of "healthy money" (Photo: investinternals.com)

We all know that it is less expensive to not only eat all your meals at home, but to make all of those meals.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love splurging a bit and going out for dinner once in a while as much as the next person.  However, making the majority of your meals saves an enormous amount of money and I never realized how much until recently.  I bring my lunch to work every day, we have a coffee machine in our kitchen and I make dinner almost every night.  It has really made a huge difference financially.  Another amazing benefit is that it's so much healthier!  Just think about all the butter and oil most restaurants use to make their food.  Gross.  I despise working out, and just by cooking at home instead of ordering in or eating out has helped me lose weight.  So today's post is all about eating in and making your own meals, specifically lunch.

(http://satellitepro27.webs.com/)

First, the money facts.:  I don't know many places where you can get lunch for under $5 and most are closer to $10.  So let's average this out and call it $7.  If you eat lunch out 5 days a week, that's $35 per week.  Make that a whole year and you are spending $1,680 per year on lunches and that's not including the weekends.  (I'm starting to feel like Suze Orman).  A homemade lunch costs about $3 and that's with a snack.  I've got main dish recipes below.  So if you bring your lunch 4 days a week and treat yourself by eating out just once, you will save over $700/year on just lunches.  I could use 700 extra bucks.  And that bonus of being healthier, makes it even better.  Making most of your dinners at home too can lead to even more savings.  Going out for dinner adds all of the following expenses:

1. Gas/bus/cab fare to get to and from, 
2. The increased price on food to cover costs for the restaurant, 
3. The increased price on drinks, which can sometimes be triple or more of cost, in order to cover the costs of the establishment, and 
4. Tip for the server.

Instead, you can spend less than $12 and make a good quality steak dinner for two at home and pop open a bottle of wine for far less as well.  Of course going out is nice to do once in a while, but making more meals at home will save you a lot of money.

Next, the health facts:  It's common knowledge that most restaurants use butter and oil in most of their cooking.  What we don't know is exactly how much is used.  At home, you can control exactly what goes into your meals.  If I'm following a recipe, I often adjust it to make it a little healthier by either replacing an item with something healthier or use less of the "bad stuff."  For example, I use brown rice instead of steamed or fried rice, whole wheat pasta and whole wheat bread instead of white flour items, or I cut down on the butter, oil, salt or sugar in a recipe.  I am not a nutritionist or expert of any kind (I just compare the numbers) but it looks to me like butter has about the same amount of calories and fat as olive oil.  So the key is to use less.  It's hard to tell that to the cook/chef at a restaurant you go to.

(http://naturelivings.blogspot.com)

Lower fat/calories and budget friendly recipes that I use:

(Warning:  I cook and am not a baker.  Therefore, I don't use real measurements.  You'll be able to figure it out, I hope.) 

• Grape Chicken Salad:  

• What you need:  Chicken breast, salt, pepper, low fat mayo, non fat plain yogurt, red grapes, green apple, walnuts or pecans, whole wheat bread (craisins or celery are optional)  
• First, boil about 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts and then dice them up into bite size chunks after they cool in the fridge.  Sprinkle with salt and just a little pepper.  Then add approx a half cup of Hellman's low fat mayonnaise (Hellman's just tastes better) and a half cup of non-fat plain yogurt.  Then add any mix of the following:  halved seedless red grapes, chopped up green apple, crushed walnuts or pecans, craisins, chopped celery.  Mix all that fun business up and voila! Be sure to use toasted whole wheat bread if you are going to make a sandwich.  
• You will get a few sandwiches out of this and it comes to approximately $1.75 per sandwich.  

• Pasta Salad:  

• What you need:  whole wheat pasta, olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar, cherry tomatoes, red or orange bell pepper, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder,parmesan or feta cheeese and any mix of basil oregano and parsley (celery or meat is optional).  
• First, cook  a half pound of whole wheat pasta in salted water until it is al dente.  Drain the pasta, but reserve some of the pasta water, you will use this for the sauce and it is better for you than oil or butter.  Now, add just a little of the reserved pasta water, a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a table spoon of balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar and splash of lemon juice to the pasta.  Mix that up and then throw it in the fridge to cool off.  Now, cut some cherry tomatoes in half. Then, chop up half of a red or orange bell pepper.  When the pasta is cooled off, add the tomatoes and peppers.  Next, mix in a dash of garlic powder and onion powder (real diced onions if that's your thing).  Then add a sprinkle of some herbs, like basil, parsley or oregano.  Some people like to add celery for a crunch, not my style but feel free.  I like to let it sit overnight to let the flavors meld together.  The next day, I add either parmesan or crumbled feta cheese and it's all set to go.  Other items you can add:  Olives or a meat like ham or pepperoni, which make it a bit less healthy.  I usually add some parmesan right before eating, but that sort of takes away from the healthiness of it.  
• You will get a few servings out of a half pound of pasta and assuming you have seasonings already in your pantry, the cost per serving comes to approximately $1.00, closer to $1.50 if you use feta cheese.   

• Chicken and turkey bacon wrap: 

• What you need: Whole Wheat tortillas, turkey bacon, chicken breast, non-fat ranch, caesar or blue cheese dressing, salt, pepper, lettuce and tomato.  
• First, cook your chicken that is seasoned with salt and pepper either by boiling in a pan with water or cooking with a little olive oil.  Let the chicken cool, then chop into cubes.  While that's going on, cook your lean turkey bacon in a pan with no oil or on a tray in the microwave and then let cool.  Once the bacon is cool, dice it up.  Get your tortillas out and put diced lettuce, tomato, turkey bacon and the chicken in the center.  If you are going to eat the wrap now, add the  fat free dressing of your choosing.  If you are taking it for lunch later, put the dressing on the side and dip it in the dressing when you're ready to eat.  Now, roll that sucker up, cut in half on a diagonal and wrap it in foil and it's read to go.  Easy peasy.  
• The cost per wrap is about $2.00 per wrap because the whole wheat wraps can get a little pricey sometimes. 

Add some baked chips and/or veggies to the side and that puts you at about $3 or less for each meal.  Now, go out there and do some grocery shopping so you can save yourself money for more important things, like clothes, wine or White Sox tickets.  :)   

**Here's a whole blog full of healthy meals for a budget.  I haven't had a chance to try any of the recipes, but it looks worth checking out:  http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/

Make Money and Earn Rewards From Your Couch. Count Me In.

Photo: http://images.clipartof.com

That's right.  You can actually make yourself some money or earn rewards like gift certificates and points towards flights or hotels by sitting on your couch and staring at your computer.  How, you ask?  By taking online surveys.  Now,  don't go and quit your job because you think you can do surveys and be able to pay your rent.  That's just silly.  However, you can make a few extra bucks or get some fun stuff with very little effort.

First, I will warn you that if you haven't already taken  my advice and created an email address just for this kind of thing, please do so now.  Once you sign up for a couple survey sites, you will start getting multiple emails.  If you set up a separate email just for discount offers and surveys like this, you will be a lot less annoyed.  Promise.

Next, you need to sign up.  Here are the sites I have been using and have actually been paid or earned rewards.

1.  Daily Survey Panel:  This site offers multiple surveys per day and if you qualify for and complete the survey, you will earn points.  You then choose to either turn those points in for money deposited into your Paypal account or for gift certificates to places like Applebee's, Amazon.com or Game Stop.

The good and the bad: The good part about this site is that you will likely qualify for multiple surveys a day and quickly earn points.  Your points show up on your account in a few hours or at most a couple days (other sites can take weeks).  The down side is that you will answer the same preliminary questions over and over again each day.  That doesn't bother me, but it may bother you like it seemed to annoy the boyfriend after only two surveys.  I don't think he's used the site since.  I don't mind it because I can earn what I refer to as "Applebee's Points" while watching T.V.  It's great! In two weeks of spending about 20-30 minutes a day, I had $20 towards either Pay Pal or a gift card.  Nothing crazy, but I like a little extra money for barely any work.  I can't wait for those Applebee's nachos...

2.  Clear Voice Surveys: This site offers on average of a survey or two a week and if you qualify and complete the survey, you will earn a couple dollars in most cases.  That "money" can either be redeemed towards Amazon.com gift cards or Dining Dough (a program for eating out, duh).

The good and the bad: While you earn money faster for less surveys than Daily Survey Panel, there are less surveys to qualify for.  Also, be warned that you cannot redeem in most cases until you earn $10 and your points expire within one year, so you have to make sure you are keeping up with it.  You are also entered into a sweepstakes every time you do a survey.  I have not won anything yet, but I suppose you never know.  I'm not holding my breath.  

3.  American Consumer Opinion: I have not qualified for a survey yet on this site, and they only send about one survey every couple weeks.  So I am not able to tell you whether this site is any good, but I can tell you that it does get pretty good ratings on other websites that research and rate survey sites.  This is another one where you earn points.  I have done screener surveys and earned points, but have not qualified for any actual surveys yet.  I have a whopping 15 points.  Some of the surveys give you points and others give you prizes.  If anyone tests this out and actually qualifies for a survey, let me know how it goes.  I'm interested to see if this site is worth anyone's time.   

4.  EREWARDS: For this site, you have to be invited to join.  If you are invited, I would say to join because it can't hurt.  On this site, you get a couple surveys a week sent to you and you get partial credit whether you qualify or not.  This site does not pay out in cash, but you use your "money" to get rewards.  The rewards can be gift cards, discounts or flight/hotel points.

The good and the bad:  The erewards.com surveys have generally been shorter than most of the Daily Survey Panel surveys, which is nice.  However, you can't redeem the rewards as quickly because there are fewer options at the under $20 level.  Also, there is no option to cash out.  I'm at $16.70 in rewards after a couple weeks and am saving up to get Southwest Airlines rewards.  So for how few surveys I have done, I have a pretty good amount in rewards, I just can't redeem them for anything yet. 

Now this is just not going to happen. (photo: http://chicagoist.com)

My conclusion in all of this is that if you're interested in doing something easy while sitting at home watching tv, sign up and try out a couple surveys.  A little extra money, airline points or gift cards can't hurt.  Just remember, you're not going to supplement your income or get rich doing online surveys.  Fine by me 'cause I'm going to Applebee's for free.  Happy Surveying!