Unsure about the subject today? Stay with me friends and I'll explain. Let me tell you before we get started, that I was dubious about this kind of thing before looking into it further myself. It always seemed to be like some kind of scam. But after finding a couple of really good, reputable sites that you can earn by doing surveys or just doing your normal shopping, my mind has been completely changed!
People in the UK or other countries, I'm not sure if these websites are available in other countries aside from the USA. However there will be others that you can use I'm sure. I did have a brief look to see what was available outside the US, but I'm hesitant to recommend something that I haven't used myself!
First of all let me tell you how I got into this and my advice to you should you wish to do the same...
How I started
Believe it or not, it wasn't through Facebook like the rest of my finds seem to be. I like to browse other peoples blogs that are about home and living, both to get inspiration and to learn new things. One day I stumbled across this one blog (I can't remember which one now) where the author was describing the ways that she earned money at home. I was naturally intrigued and wanted to find out more so read her blog post. There were lots of ways that she earned money from home, and most just weren't feasible for me. But filling out surveys online for a reward caught my eye and did sound like it could be interesting for me to look into.
After checking out a few that she suggested and talking it through with Ben, I decided to go with one called American Consumer Opinion as it seemed quite official. However, after 2 to 3 weeks of qualifying for only a couple of surveys and there not being many other chances to earn. I decided to unsubscribe from their website.
I wanted to find some other reputable survey companies, so off I went on the hunt again. I came across another blog (I can't remember this one either) who said she paid for her laundry detergent through taking surveys through one of these survey websites. This particular one was called Mintvine, and it's one I currently use and recommend to you today. After using it for a few days I found another one called Swagbucks through Mintvine. This is the other website that I use and recommend.
How do these sites work?
Basically once you've signed up and completed your profile with some of your details, you can get started completing surveys and earning points. Points can then be redeemed for e-gift cards or can be transferred into your PayPal account (or other similar accounts) for you to use anywhere.
The points system is easy to remember:
1 point = $0.01
10 points = $0.10
100 points = $1.00
And so on. You get the idea.
You'll be able to find out the most about these websites by visiting them. I'm also going to lay out some good and bad points in the next section that I've found so far.
The Pro's of Mintvine and Swagbucks
Mintvine
- They have a daily poll, which you get 5 points for completing each day. If you complete ten daily polls in a row then you get a bonus 25 points on the 10th poll.
- You pretty much always get disqualification points ranging from 2-5 points if you don't qualify for a survey.
- You can get deals that are local to your area. Assuming that you've completed your profile so they know your zip code.
- You can choose which surveys you participate in so if one requires you to use your web cam or provide your home address and you don't want too. You can say no.
- Completing surveys through Mintvine takes you to third party sites so if you wish you can read their individual privacy policies before you continue with their survey.
- You can choose the exact amount you want on a large variety of gift cards or into your Pay Pal account. So for example if you had 1330 points (equal to $13.30), and you wanted to make the amount even then you can cash out 1300 ($13).
- You can take surveys either on your home computer/laptop/tablet or on your mobile phone.
- There are a lot of opportunities to take surveys through Mintvine and also those featured in their 'Offers' section. My favourite one to use of those is AdGate.
If you want to find out more about this website then click here.
Swagbucks
- You can complete a 'Daily Goal', which differs each day. If you reach the goal amount of points on that day you get some bonus points. At the end of each month you'll receive those bonus points for participating. For example, for the month of June I got 77 bonus points.
- All points you earn through surveys are instantaneously added to your wallet.
- You can earn cash back in points through just doing your regular shopping online. Some places include Target, Walmart, Lowes, eBay and Amazon. You can also earn lots of points for subscribing to services that you may want to try out anyway like Dollar Shave Club, Honest Company and Verizon.
- Just like Mintvine you can choose which surveys you participate in so if one requires you to use your web cam or provide your home address and you don't want too. You can choose not too.
- Completing surveys through Swagbucks also takes you to third party sites so if you wish you can read their individual privacy policies before you continue with their survey.
- You can take surveys either on your home computer/laptop/tablet or on your mobile phone.
There are so many ways that you can earn via Swagbucks. If you're intrigued to learn more then check them out here.
The Con's of Mintvine and Swagbucks
Mintvine
- You can't earn cash back by shopping online like you can with Swagbucks.
- It's harder to earn larger amounts of points in the 100's or 1000's. But I guess that depends on what kind of surveys you qualify for.
- A good number of the surveys you complete have a pending status for your points, for at least a couple of weeks.
Swagbucks
- Swagbucks also have a daily poll, but you only get 1 point for completing it each day.
- If you don't qualify for a survey, you only get 1 point each time and there is a maximum of 3 disqualification points. Unless you use Peanut Surveys through Swagbucks in which case you get 1 point each time regardless.
- You can't choose the exact amount you want to cash out like you can with Mintvine. Instead you have to work to set amount's like $3, $5, $10, $15 and so on.
Some further advice
If you would like to check either of these out then I would recommend going with Mintvine first because you can earn bonus points through them when you sign up with Swagbucks and reach 500 SB (Swag Bucks). Incidentally, this is how I came across Swagbucks.
I've never experienced this with the above two companies and the third parties they feature. But if you check out any other similar company that I haven't mentioned here, please watch out for scams. The main warning sign for those is when they ask you to put your debit/credit card or bank information in. Keep those details safe friends! It's a good idea to use caution with any thing like this though, even the ones I've mentioned.
Only do what feels comfortable to you. Like I mentioned above, some will require your home address or to use your web cam or to be able to contact you again for a follow up survey. You can always opt out of doing those if it makes you uncomfortable.
Persevere. I have good and bad days in terms of how many surveys I qualify for. Sometimes it's just one but it can also be as high as four or five as well. Although that's quite rare.
You've got to look at this as a way to supplement your income instead of a way to make any real money. It could really help you out in ways like purchasing your cleaning or personal care products, or perhaps even treating yourself to something you've had your eye on!
For the most part I've been enjoying my experience so far. The main reason for me taking this up was so that I could purchase all the ingredients I needed to pursue making some of my own household and personal care products. But without it coming out of our bank account. So far I've been successful and will be sharing what I've bought soon.
Just be smart, safe and have fun with it!
Much love until next time,
Kathryn.
Note: This page contains referral links, which means if you sign up I'll get a small reward at no cost to you. With Swagbucks you'll also get a reward as well for earning points or spending a certain amount in the Shop and Earn section.