3 Tried & True Ways to Earn Money From Home

I cannot believe that it has been almost a year since my last blog post! I could go on and on about the reasons why that has been; but I will save you all the dramatics and just state that I long to be more consistent in the new year of 2022!

One thing that HAS been consistent in 2021 was the ability to earn extra money from home. After a few years of trying and failing, I have finally found a combination of sites and methods that truly provide usable funds rather than a couple cents here and there. As many of those who read my blog should know, I love interior design and home decorating. It fulfills my creative nature and also enables me to create a beautiful space for my family and neighbors to enjoy. And let's face it, home decor and renovations cost money! 

There are many shopper savvy ways in which to diminish the bill for your kitchen revamp and plenty of frugal tips on how to get your materials, furniture, and decor pieces on the low (all of which I plan to share in future posts); but today I want to talk about ways that I have successfully and frequently pocketed hundreds of dollars of extra spending money. This allows me to complete frivolous, "non-essential" home projects without placing any financial burden on the income my husband earns for the household. Maybe you're wanting to do the same or maybe the spike in your weekly grocery bill has you in need of some financial padding; either way I am sure the following list of simple methods will help provide a solution.

 4 Tried & True Ways to Make Extra Money From Home

1. Online Surveys

Two very important things I have learned while completing online surveys is that 1) make sure the pay rate is worth your while and 2) only use sites where you can achieve the payout amount relatively quickly. Usually survey sites should inform you of how much you will be paid for completing the survey and also indicate approximately how long it should take you to finish. If the survey pays 40 cents for 25 minutes, you're only getting paid at a rate of $0.96/hr! You wouldn't accept that in real life, don't accept it online! Your time is valuable and you should get paid well for it! I would suggest trying to pursue surveys that pay a rate of $7/hr or more. But it's really up to you.

The next issue is the payout amount, which is the amount you need to earn before you can actually transfer and access those funds. If the site has a great pay rate for the surveys (high earnings for less of your time) then a higher payout amount won't be such an issue. But low pay rates and high payout requirements are a recipe for complete frustration. There are some sites out there where I have earned a good $10 or more and still haven't accessed those funds since the payout is too high with hard to qualify surveys that pay a pittance. Don't waste your time! In light of that, I am including my top three most used, higher cash yielding sites so you don't have to sort through the riff raff and learn the hard way!

Survey Junkie

https://www.surveyjunkie.com

This was the first survey site that I stumbled upon where I actually got my payout. I was so surprised at how fast it was to reach the $25.00 payout requirement and delighted to find some of the surveys very interesting and quite fun. The great thing is that they have recently reduced the payout amount to $5.00, which is very easy to obtain! They will give you a few cents for any survey you don't qualify for but I find that I generally qualify for most of them. The pay rate on Survey Junkie tends to be a bit lower than the other sites listed but the low payout makes it very doable. Try your best to go for the higher rates first, but the smaller rates will quickly add up as well.

Qmee

https://www.qmee.com/surveys

I haven't been on Qmee very long but it is quickly becoming a major favorite of mine! The surveys tend to be quick, ranging from 7-15 minutes with nice pay rates. It's very easy to find yourself making $7-10/hr with their quick and fun surveys. I've recently done some for Halloween candy and for Knorr packaging that were very enjoyable. And here's the kicker! There is no payout amount for Qmee! I currently have $3.27 sitting in my account since my last pay out (I only like to cash out even amounts lol) but if I wanted to I could request those funds right now! You can have your funds sent to your Paypal account, request gift cards, or even donate your earnings to a charity!

Point Club

https://www.pointclub.com

Within the first week of having an active Point Club account I banked $15.00. I love the fact that accumulating funds is relatively fast on this site! There is always a plethora of surveys available and you can receive a bonus (up to 10%) by signing in every day. The longer your streak of signing in, the higher the percentage of bonus points. I simply just put a daily reminder on my phone to prompt me to login and maintain my streak. One downside I have with this site is that your points are not available right away. You may complete a survey and your points will be "pending" until your answers are reviewed and determined to be sincere/consistent. I know they want to do quality control but if you have a lot of points it can take quite some time to get them approved. Once approved, you have three payout amounts to choose from: $25, $50, and $100. If you're planning on requesting these funds via Paypal, they will charge you  2% fee (um, nope!); but there are so many options for gift cards, including a debit card that can be used anywhere!

2. User Testing 

https://www.usertesting.com/

This is definitely my most lucrative work from home option! The minimum pay rate is typically $40-$60/hr. Yes, you read that right! Majority of User Testing tests pay you $10.00 for about 10 minutes of your time. It is very rare that a test will take more than 10-15 minutes; it's more likely that the test will actually take less time! So, what is User Testing anyway? It's when companies pay you to test out their website, app, or product and tell them what you think! All you have to do is speak out loud while you screen record using their site/product/service so that they get an idea of what you're experiencing and indicate places for improvement. There are no wrong answers, just honest opinions! 

User Testing also has what they call "Live Interviews," where you hop on a Zoom call and answer questions a company may have about a specific product, website experience, or input on a new launch. These interviews are listed at 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes and pay at a rate of $60/hr. Live interviews are hard to qualify for but really make it easy to rack up some funds! I have personally done live interviews for Windows, Etsy, Home Depot, Chase Bank, and a few app startups. Talking to random people about what you think can be a bit awkward at first but once you realize that they truly just want to know your thoughts to make their product better for the consumer, you're able to warm up and share what you really feel! 

Payments are received via Paypal and you are automatically paid 7 days from when you completed the test or interview. If you finished a test on Wednesday at 2:37pm, that money will be in your Paypal account next Wednesday at 2:37pm, without fail. I have made over $700 using this site and that's me not even being consistent and intentional. I just hop on every now and then and see if I qualify for a test; imagine what you could make if you made the time! Be sure that you're answering all the questions and not rushing through as the companies are able to give you a test rating. The higher your rating, the more tests come your way!

3. Purchase Tracking

We all shop, some of us more than others, but it's hard to get through life in our consumer society without going shopping. So why not get paid for something you're already doing? All that shopping that you do is precious and valuable data for companies and businesses who manufacture and provide the items we consume on a daily basis. Knowing what we buy and how much we're spending on any given item can help them in numerous ways. So much so that they're willing to pay you for that information. Here I share with you the two purchase tracking apps I use on an almost daily basis. 

Fetch Rewards

https://fetchrewards.com/

This is a very popular app that allows you to earn money by simply scanning your receipts! Generally each receipt you scan (and they now accept any and all receipts) will earn you 25 points which equates to about 2.5 cents. I know it's a pittance but this is for a piece of paper you already have and are just going to throw in the trash! On my weekly shopping trip I usually stop at about 6 stores and thus make about 15 cents on my weekly shopping receipts. In order to make more money you'll have to keep an eye out for bonus scan points! There are certain brands that will always get you bonus cash but they also have a list of special offers that should you purchase these items/quantities in a certain time frame you will earn thousands of extra points. The list is ever changing and so it's always a good idea to check it before you shop as there may be an item on the list that you're planning on buying already! You can also connect your email and amazon account to have the app scan for your most recent online purchases so you can earn points on those as well!

You can also earn extra points through your referral link! Get your family and friends to join and you both can enjoy 2,000+ referral points! If you'd like to sign up today, use my referral code: M1F9V to receive your first 3,000 points ($3.00)! Use your points to redeem gift cards to your favorite retailers, and when I say that Fetch Rewards has hundreds of gift card options to choose from, I am not exaggerating! There are some gift cards that you can redeem with only 3,000 points or $3.00 and the amounts go all the way up to $50.00. So far I've been able to redeem Amazon gift cards for home decor purchases and a few to restaurants that the hubs and I like for a "free" date night. I wouldn't consider this option fast cash, but it's definitely a useful source of passive income.  

National Consumer Panel

https://www.ncponline.com/panel/US/EN/Login.htm

The National Consumer Panel (NCP) is similar to Fetch Rewards in that they desire to collect data on how you shop, what you purchase, and how much you spend. NCP differs from Fetch in that they don't care about your receipt...they want a more detailed look at your spending habits. This means scanning each purchased item individually, by store, and give information such as price, quantity, whether or not the item was on sale, and if you used a frequent shopper card or coupon while purchasing. I know it sounds like a lot (it is a lot) but it goes by quicker than it sounds. What helps me is putting my groceries away by store. I have my receipt out (after scanning it into Fetch Rewards) to refer to the prices and as I grab an item to put away, I scan it into the NCP App. It slows me down just a tad, adding about 10-15 extra minutes onto the task (depending on how many stores I visited) but I find that I've been able to speed up now that I have been doing it a while.

The amount you earn per week depends on your consistency. For every week that you record your spending, your consistency score (c-score) goes up by two points and every week you miss makes it go down one point. There are five c-score levels, each with their own earning potential. The lowest level, "recruit," has you earning 150 points a week while the highest level increases to 350 points per week.  In addition to these weekly points, users receive bonus points for reaching new c-score levels as well as taking surveys about shopping, the NCP site, and things like the state of the economy and how it's affecting you.

You can use your points to request gift cards or enter sweepstakes to win very awesome prizes. One cool thing to note is that the higher the amount you request for payout, the less it costs you in points. For example, a $5.00 gift card will cost you 5,000 points whereas a $50.00 gift card will only take 41,000 points. The beauty of this site is that as long as you're recording at least one shopping trip a week, you're accumulating points that pile up faster than you would think!  

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I hope the resources shared here will reach and help someone who is in need of some extra income. These methods won't make you a millionaire overnight, but they have provided so much for my hobbies and passions. I am able to set monetary goals for my home projects and know that I can work towards achieving them in my spare time. I'll leave you with a final piece of crucial advice; have integrity and do not obsess over it. Take what comes your way for the blessing that it is. Don't lie in order to qualify for more surveys. God's word states in Proverbs 20:17, "bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterwards his mouth will be full of gravel." 

There will be some very lucrative weeks and then there will be some that leave much to be desired. When things are slow on one survey site, switch over to another. If things just don't seem to be picking up at all, chock it up to it being a slow day and leave it at that. Walk away from the computer, step away from the apps, and focus on the things you have to do in front of you. I give this advice because I made the foolish mistake of obsessing over trying to make as much as I possibly could when I first started out. My days would go by in a breath and I would get nothing else done and all that time would be wasted. These resources are meant to help supplement your life, not become it. So use them wisely, be honest, and have fun!

Until next time, happy earning! 

xo

Janine