Make money online

200 Monthly Winners!

Do you want to get FREE products, get FREE money for giving your opinion of them, and have a chance to win FREE prizes too?

Then join me as a member of Synovate!

Synovate is one of my very favorite survey sites. I earn rewards quickly, the surveys are well done and interesting, and best of all…. I get to do a lot of product testing with Synovate. Free product rocks.

Here is a little more about Synovate:

Help companies improve everyday services, products, and household items.
Be the first to test new consumer goods.
Help design new products before they appear on store shelves nationwide.
Earn points redeemable for cash by taking surveys with the Synovate Rewards Program

Plus, I just learned this today:

Register today to be entered into our Monthly Sign-up Sweepstakes with over 200 winners monthly!!

How great is that, right?

Check it out and get signed up for Synovate today. You’ll love it. And if you want to learn more about how Survey Sites work, or find some other new ones to try, check out {Part 1} of my “How to Get FREE Stuff” series here.

Posted by Meagan Paullin on April 21, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies | No Comments

Spin to Win! Daily $50 Prize!!

Survey Spot Spin to Win Daily Prizes!!

There is still time to SPIN TO WIN!! Read details:

Participate until April 26th
for your chance to WIN!!
$50 Daily Prize!!

Are you a member of Survey Spot yet?? One of my new VERY favorite Survey Sites! They have so many fun promotions all the time…. I’m loving them. Get signed up today so you can do the daily Spin to Win too!

Join SurveySpot and participate in online research studies that match your interests and demographics. Earn prize draw entries every time you participate in a survey, with a chance to win up to $12,000 in our quarterly prize draw. Click Here!

And if you LOVE survey sites, making extra FREE money, and WINNING fun prizes, make sure to read my post about Survey Sites here to learn more about how they work, and how to get started!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on April 19, 2011 Filed Under: Contests, Freebies | No Comments

{Part 3} “How to Get FREE Stuff”

Welcome to {Part 3} of the series, “How to Get FREE Stuff”…

Cash Back Shopping Sites!

You can see my most recent check from Ebates in the picture above; I posted it so you can see that yes, these sites are legit, and you DO get real rewards!

I will admit that Ebates is my VERY favorite cash back shopping site, and I can’t believe that it took me so long to start using it! I do most of my shopping online since it is easier than going out with the kiddo’s, I find better deals, and especially- because I can earn rewards for my purchases!

Why would I use a cash back shopping site?

Well, if you’re going to shop online, and you’re going to buy it anyway, why not use one of these sites to get a reward back as a bonus? It’s like free money!

Now that I have been using some of these sites, I have started to buy some of our basics online too… I can stock up on shampoo, detergent, paper towels, etc, at a place like Walgreens, Right Aid, or Drugstore.com, and get cash back rewards on my purchase. This saves me time since I don’t have to get to the store in town, and gives me free cash. Awesome, right?

How do these type of sites work?

There are several different types of shopping sites: some give you cash back in the form of a check, and some reward you with gift cards.

When you get online to make a purchase somewhere, you just take a quick second to go to a site like Ebates FIRST. You type the store into the search box to see if it is a partner, if it is you click the link to visit the site, and you do your shopping just like usual! The site will track your purchase and calculate your rewards. Simple, right?

Plus, some of these sites, such as Ebates, will also post exclusive coupon codes that you can use on your purchase too!

Shopscotch (say the name, it makes you smile, love it!) is a really fun new one that I’ve just started using. It makes shopping and getting deals into a game almost :) It is built on the idea that all of the users are a community, and it lets you share deals and best practices with others, so you can all benefit! Plus, you earn badges and rewards for your activity. Very fun site.

What are some things to be aware of when using these sites?

I learned the hard way that you need to carefully read the rules on these sites, to make sure that you don’t miss out on rewards.

For Christmas, I ordered about $150 worth of merchandise from Shutterfly. Since Ebates had a promotion, and Shutterfly was earning you 12% cash back, I thought this would be a great way to save on such a big purchase.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t aware that you cannot use a “non-Ebates” coupon code on your purchase. This means that you can use any of the great coupon codes that they provide on their site, but not a coupon code that you have found on your own. This is because the partner companies will only provide cash back with APPROVED discounts. But it makes sense… I was using a photo book Buy 1 Get 1 FREE deal, and saved over $100 already, so it seems fair that I couldn’t earn cash back TOO. Just wish I’d known that at the time!

What tips do you suggest for using these reward sites?

I’ll explain how I use these sites, and what works best for me, just as an example. You’ll figure out what works best for you, based on what type of purchases you make, but this will give you a basic idea…

I always go to Ebates first, since most of the companies that I order from are partners there. I search out the company, check out the available coupon codes, and keep that in my mind. If I’m not too excited by the coupon code or the cash back percentage, sometimes I’ll also take a minute to check out ShopAtHome and Shopscotch and see what they offer. Then I make my decision on where to link up for my purchase.

If I have a coupon code of my own, (this usually happens with Shutterfly or Snapfish) then I’ll head over to MyPoints to do my shopping. MyPoints rewards you with points for your purchase, no matter what code you use! Those points are then redeemable for FREE gift cards, and I get a lot of these.

Another option that works great when you are using your own coupon code is Inbox Dollars. Inbox Dollars you earn cash back too. MyPoints and Inbox Dollars are similar in that they reward you for lots of different activities, not just shopping. So you can earn rewards pretty quickly. Check them out to learn more!

Now that you know how it works, I’m sure you’re ready to get started! (And, if you’re like me, this just gives you another reason to go shopping, lol.)

Here are links to the sites that I mentioned:

MyPoints: Earn points for shopping, surveys, offers, and ads. Points are traded for FREE gift cards to tons of great stores!
Ebates: Shop at 1200 Top Online Merchants and Get Up To 25% Cash Back! Click Here.
Shopscotch: Earn $5 today for signing up! Shopscotch is a “social” cash back site, and lets members share what they’re buying, and learn about great deals from each other! Lots of other fun stuff too. Click Here.
Inbox Dollars: Featured on the Good Morning America TV Show.InboxDollars pays members to read e-mail, take surveys, play games, shop online, and more! As a special bonus, anyone that joins NOW will receive a quick $5 in their account just by filling out their user profile, so signup right now for FREE. Click Here.
ShopAtHome: This site offers tons of other great features like giveaways, coupons, and more. Click Here.

I’d LOVE for you guys to share any cash back/reward sites that you are using to get bonus stuff back on your purchases. There are so many of them out there, and these are just the sites that I personally use…. So I’d love to hear your experiences with other sites too! Leave some comments and share your tips.

If you missed {Part 1} about Survey Sites or {Part 2} about Newsletter Freebies, make sure to check them out and leave some thoughts! And I always LOVE it when you guys shae my post on Facebook and Twitter! (Check out the new little Twitter box my the GFC!).

And don’t forget, there is a new giveaway, where you can win a swag bag just like the one that my guests took home from the Dinnertime Dillema House Party! Win it… Enter the giveaway HERE!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on April 13, 2011 Filed Under: Shopping, Deals and Coupon Codes, Freebies | 3 Comments

How to Get FREE Stuff Online {Part 1} – Earning Free Money & Products with Survey Sites

How to Get FREE Stuff Series {Part 1} – Earning free products and cash with Survey Sites! So many of my friends were super skeptical when I first started signing up for survey sites… Everyone told me that there was no way that this stuff was legit, and that I was wasting my time. But as the free full size test products, the boxes of samples, and the checks that I cashed to get free money started rolling in regularly, they changed their tune pretty quickly, lol. Most of them now use these sites too, and I’m excited to share my tips and tricks with you guys here too!

Welcome to Part 1 of this weeklong series teaching you, “How to Get FREE Stuff”!! Today’s topic is how to get FREE stuff by becoming a member of Survey Sites.

Why use survey sites?

Signing up with survey sites was one of the first things that I did years ago when I first started looking for online freebies. I was pretty discouraged at the beginning, because so many of them just didn’t seem to be getting me any rewards. I’d spend tons of time filling out surveys and never have enough rewards to cash out. Or, once I got enough points to get something, all of the “good”rewards were always “sold out”, leading me to think that they never actually offer this stuff.

How to find legit survey sites

With a legit survey site, you should be able to earn rewards in a reasonable time frame, cash out and get a check {or PayPal deposit} without waiting months, and have a good selection of rewards to choose from. Also, when you request a reward, you should get it within a few weeks, not be told that it takes “2-3 months for shipping.” No way. So, how do you know if a survey site is a scam? A legitimate survey site will be honest about what they can offer you… Beware of offers like, “Make $90 per survey!” or “Test out new iPads at home for FREE!”… offers like this are a pretty obvious sign that the company is a scam.

And be careful too about claims like, “Make a full time income from home filling out surveys!”, because I have not seen ANY company where you can earn that much!

Don’t get me wrong, you can make some nice extra money doing surveys, just don’t expect to quit your day job :) I make about $80 – $150 a month from the sites that I use… Plus a few product testing shipments each month, and sometimes I even get lucky and win a big prize in one of the giveaways! I used to make even more, but with the new baby and new blog, I’ve cut back quite a bit.

How to Maximize Your Online Survey Site Earnings

The more sites that you sign up with, the more surveys you can complete, and the more money you can make. Here are a couple tips to keep your email under control if you’re worried about the offers coming too frequently – Use one separate email account dedicated just to surveys, so you can easily log in when you’re ready to earn some cash. Or, put the survey invites into their own email folder in your regular account, and have everything ready to go in one spot. The sites I use don’t send spam, just the invites to participate in surveys or giveaways.

What kinds of rewards can you get from these survey sites?

Most of the sites that I use have the option to trade in my “points” for cash, which means checks mailed to you, or a PayPal deposit. Some sites let you cash out as soon as you reach $5, but I like to wait until I hit $20 or $30 to request my checks. Lots of sites reward with you with FREE gift cards, which I love. You can usually earn these even faster than you can cash, and the sites that I use all have a great selection of places to choose from, like Amazon, Macy’s, Home-Depot, Old Navy, and more. Many sites will also reward you with entries into their monthly giveaways each time you attempt a survey. That way, if you start a survey but don’t qualify to finish it, you will still get rewarded, with a chance at winning prizes. And – one of my favorite rewards is the product testing! Several of these sites will send out surveys to see if you qualify for product testing opportunities, and if you do, ask you if you’d like them to send you free stuff. Um, of course, right? Right now we’re doing a salad dressing test, air freshener plug-in testing, and trying out a new face cream product too. Super fun.

What should I know before getting started with survey sites?

Know that you won’t earn HUGE amounts of money, but you will have a new, fun way to earn some extra spending money. I put part of my earnings away in a separate account each month, and then I have FREE Christmas shopping money at the end of the year. {Learn more about how to shop online for free.} Know that you won’t always qualify for every survey, but that’s ok. Don’t get discouraged. You’ll see the rewards start to pile up after a while! Just make sure to sign up for as many survey companies as you think you can handle, so that you are always earning in different places. Soon, you’ll be amazed at how much you’ve earned at each one :) And remember… Not every survey site is right for everyone. Some people like to get lots of short surveys that offer smaller rewards. Some people like taking the longer surveys to earn rewards faster. Some people want to only earn cash, while others (like me!) LOVE getting to do the product testing! So sign up for a few, try them out, and see what you like.

There’s nothing to lose…

If you don’t like one site – cancel it, and come back to find some new ones to try out! Bookmark or Pin this page, so you can easily add new sites when you’re ready for new rewards. I’ll add to this regularly as I use and earn with new sites… I don’t like to recommend sites unless I’ve actually cashed out and received a reward myself, to ensure I’m not sharing spammy-scammy places with you. Because those suck.

Now that you’ve learned more about how this stuff works, it’s time for the fun part… Signing up!

Inbox Dollars: Get $5 in your account just by filling out your user profile, so signup right now for FREE. Click Here.
SwagBucks: Search, complete surveys, and more! Start today! {You may have read my post, and seen how I earn about $5 in FREE Amazon gift cards each week with SwagBucks. Adds up quick!} Click Here.
Global Survey Group: Businesses want to pay for your opinions – that’s how they develop and launch new products, learn what pricing people will pay, improve existing products, and more. And they reward you well for filling out those surveys and trying their products!
Valued Opinions: Nice reward options, fun surveys so far. Click Here.
Neilsen Home Scan: I was doing this one, using the scanner, until the baby came and I got too busy. I want to get started again, and I heard their taking new members. It’s incredibly cool – you scan everything you buy, in town or online. You earn points for sharing that feedback. You can earn SERIOUSLY awesome stuff like kitchen appliances, trips, and more. Click Here to check it out.
Opinion Outpost: The minimum cash out for Paypal is $10 and only $5 for Amazon gift cards. Learn more.
MyPoints is a little bit different than the rest. You can earn points for surveys, completing offers, and clicking on the ads that they send you via email. You also earn points if you start here when you shop online. You’ll learn more about MyPoints on Wednesday when I post {Part 3} about cash back sites. MyPoints rewards you with FREE gift cards, and I have earned sooooo many of these over the years with them.
MySurvey: They have tons of great product test opp’s for moms. I’ve tested out two big packages of diapers, and a baby jumper. Take Surveys, Earn Rewards, It’s Easy & Free! Click Here.
SurveySpot: Love this- “Earn prize draw entries every time you participate in a survey, with a chance to win up to $12,000 in our quarterly prize draw.” They always have fun games. promotions, and giveaways. Click Here.
NPD Group – Online Research: This is one of the largest and most trusted market research companies in the world, with over 40 years of experience, very trustworth and legit.
Mindfield: Frequent surveys = more chances to qualify. Click Here. This is valid for US and Canadian residents too.
Vindale Research: Keep products you review Click Here.
Ipsos I-Say Moms Panel: Earn points for taking surveys and use them towards Cash, Gift Cards or Charities.

So – now you know how to tell if a survey company is safe or a scam, what to expect in rewards, and have a HUGE resource of great new programs to join! And remember: I am VERY interested in hearing from you guys this week! If you have questions about any of these companies, post your question in the comments. If you want to share your experience, good or bad, with any of these sites, please comment about it! And if you have a great site to add to my list, post it!

Check out the the rest of the How to Get Free Stuff Online series here.

Once you become a NCP panel member all you have to do is scan and send them your household purchase information every week with a handheld scanner that they provide. For each week of the month NCP receives your purchase information, you will earn one entry into the Monthly Sweepstakes where you can win a $500 American Express Rewards Card. That’s up to FOUR entries every month! Every month, 25 panel members win!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on April 11, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies, Product Testing | 7 Comments

How to Get FREE Stuff Online – Series Intro

Have you even wondered, “How do some people get SO much free stuff?” Or, maybe you hear about people getting all these cool freebies, see posts on Facebook with offers that look great, but your skeptical or suspicious on whether it’s all real? Well, I’m here to help! First of all, I’m going to show you pictures of what I get in the mail on a weekly basis – each of these were taken after collecting a week’s worth of free stuff from my mailbox. That’s to show you that yes, it’s real, and you really can get freebies like this. Then I’m going to give you a week’s worth of tips, to help you tell the difference between the scammy-spammy stuff and legit offers, where to find them, and other ways to get things totally free. Check it out…

[Read more…]

Posted by Meagan Paullin on April 11, 2011 Filed Under: Product Testing, Freebies | 8 Comments

How do you know if a survey company is legit?

You know a survey company is legit when you see this…

… my most recent reward check from Toluna! This post is for those of you that are skeptical of working with survey companies… I’m posting it so that you can see, yes, you really DO earn rewards with these companies. Not all survey places are legit, but as you can see, Toluna is! They let you cash out and request a check every time you reach $20 dollars, so I get a check about once a month or so.

You can get started here…

It takes just a minute to sign up, and soon you’ll see that first survey show up in your email! You don’t have to fill out any surveys that you don’t want to do, but the more you complete, the faster you’ll earn that first check :)

You also get entered into their amazing monthly contests with every survey that you attempt but don’t qualify for, and I know a couple of other bloggers who have won pretty awesome prizes from Toluna!

Check it out, and get signed up today! There is no risk… Fill out surveys whenever you have a little extra time, and cash out checks every time you reach $20 bucks. Why WOULDN’T you sign up, right? Toluna rocks.

And, if you’re looking for new survey companies to work with, read my post about the new product that I’m testing from Synovate here, and learn more about signing up with them.

And here are a couple more that I PERSONALLY use. When a company is a favorite of Sunshine and Sippy Cups, you know it’s good, right? :)

*InboxDollars will pay members to read e-mail, take surveys, play games, shop online, and more! Sound too good to be true? Absolutely not! Our advertisers want to hear YOUR opinions on every day products and services and will PAY you to try them.

Join over a MILLION Americans just like you who are earning cash from reading emails and taking part in advertiser trials. As a special bonus, anyone that joins NOW will receive a quick $5 in their account just by filling out their user profile, so signup right now for FREE. Click Here to get started.

AND ANOTHER…

Start earning Swagbucks today and you’ll soon be cashing out for Free Prizes. Earn bucks by searching the web, completing surveys and polls, and more. Start today! Click Here

Posted by Meagan Paullin on April 9, 2011 Filed Under: Product Testing, Freebies | 2 Comments

Wanna test FREE products, and get paid?

Check out my newest free test product!

This is my most recent product to test for Synovate! {If you’re not a member yet, you can sign up here today} It is a new Italian Salad Dressing that I get to try out with my family, and then give some feedback in a survey in a couple of weeks. After that, we get a second brand of dressing to test out too. We eat a TON of salad, so I’m pretty excited to try these out.

When you sign up with Synovate, they will email you surveys that allow you to share your opinions, and they reward you with points for each survey you complete. These points can be redeemed for checks, and you can cash out as soon as you reach $5! {I usually wait until I reach $20, which takes about a month or so}

And, not only do you get the cash rewards for simply sharing your thoughts, but they also send you fun new products to try out too! I’ve sampled and reviewed air freshners, cleaning products, lots of food goodies, and more cool stuff over the past couple of years. Plus, you are entered into all of their monthly giveaways wtih TONS of prizes just for being an active member!

So check it out, and get signed up to join the fun. Synovate is one of my very favorite survey companies that I use, because of the high amount of product testing opportunities. Plus, I like that they don’t send you a ton of surveys that you don’t qualify for… They are very good at sending you surveys selected just for you.

They have been taking new members for the past couple months, but they’ll cut it off at any time now, and it’s usually quite a bit of a wait until they open up again, so sign up today!