Money, Money, Money...Mon-EEEEYYY

One of the good things (probably the ONLY good thing) about not staying totally caught up on the blog challenge is that I get to see what the next few topics are before I write about them. Then, I can pick and choose the order in which I write them, or even if I write about a particular topic at all. Remember my "Friends" blog, where I mentioned I thought I'd skipped a day? I did, and just realized last night it was the "My Favorite TV Shows" blog. That's probably why I skipped it, because I don't really do much in the way of adult television watching. While Ni Hao Kai Lan, the Backyardigans, Dora the Explorer, and Yo Gabba Gabba are positively riveting, I don't think you really want to read about how often I watch them (so much that I know what Blue is trying to tell Steve before they even find a clue because I've seen the episode 5902093480 times). However, if I could point you in the direction of just two TV shows before moving on, the first would be "Being Human". Not the American version on SyFy, but the British version on BBC America. It's truly a fantastic show and worth the time to DVR it if you have a chance. The second is one of the funniest shows on TV right now, "Modern Family". I knew that show was going to be a hit in our household because one of the characters is a Vietnamese baby named Lily. (We have one of those, too, so how can I not be endeared to this show?)

Another moderately lame topic was "My Dream House". I actually think that's where I'm supposed to be today. I don't know that I have a dream house. I want certain things IN a house, like more closet space than I have now, a big pantry, and a bonus room. I love the house I live in now, except it's missing those things. But it's cozy and it is our first house. When the time comes for us to move, I'll be sad. But anyway, yea, I don't have a real preference for a dream home. Moving on...

I've mentioned a few times that I wanted to talk about coupons, and a few of my loyal readers are anxious to hear what I have to say. Maybe my stalkers (how lofty of me to think I have any) want to learn, too. Who knows. That being said, I deem today "Day 13: Coupon, Surveys, and how to save...Amy Style" This is likely going to have to be split up in to Part 1 and Part 2, so your eyeballs don't fall out.

The shorter of these two topics is definitely the "Survey" portion. I follow several different frugal living/money saving blogs on facebook. Several of the women that author these do paid surveys and things online. I looked into these, poked around on the Better Business Bureau website, and signed up for some. One of the bloggers I read takes these very seriously and does many of them and actually makes enough each month to allow her to be a stay at home mom. I haven't had such luck with them, but I have made a little extra money, and not had to use a lot of precious time to do it. And, really, ANY extra money I can make while messing around online, sitting on my couch is good, right?

Here are the sites I use:
1. Inbox Dollars: www.inboxdollars.com This site will send you emails each day. If you click on the "read this email" button, $0.02 gets credited to your account. Of course, these emails are all kinds of different offers, and often if you sign up for a particular offer, you get more money. There are also surveys that you can take, and they pay anywhere between $0.75-$2.00. There is a coupon printer that is through coupons.com, and each time you use one of the coupons you print, you get another $0.10 credited to your account. It doesn't sound like much, but it adds up. It took me maybe 2 months of less than 15 min every few days to earn a $50.00 check in the mail.
2. Opinion Outpost: www.opinionoutpost.com This site is strictly a survey site, and they usually give me about 4 surveys a day to try to qualify into. If you fill out your profile surveys, the higher your likelihood becomes of receiving qualifying surveys. I have really good luck at qualifying into surveys at this site. I've made $35.00 so far from them. Last week I had 2 surveys that paid $5 a piece, which was cool. Another good thing about this site is it will let you pick how you want your money-- paypal, a paper check, a visa gift card, or a donation to the red cross. These surveys give estimated times that sound really long (that $5 survey said it'd take 40 minutes) but I've never had one take longer than 15 minutes.
3. Toluna: www.toluna.com I haven't cashed out from this site yet, because I am trying to really accumulate some points here. You don't have to take cash on this site. You can get other "rewards". Each survey pays in "points" and once you accumulate a certain point level, you can get money, starting at 20. Some of these surveys are longer, but I still haven't taken one that has been longer than about 15 minutes.
4. My Points: www.mypoints.com This one works a lot like Inbox Dollars except there are a lot more emails and ways to earn points. Here, though, the points can be redeemed for a BUNCH of different things-- cash, gift cards, stuff. Also there are "deals of the day" and you can go through stores that slash their prices on certain items. One day there were $49.99 Sketcher shoes for $14.99, so the deals are usually pretty good! If you shop the stores online through this site (inbox dollars has something similar) you can get a percentage cash back credited to your account.

This isn't a survey site but it is one that I use a lot for online shopping: Ebates. www.ebates.com Ebates works like the cash back areas of My Points and Inbox Dollars, but some of the time, the percentages you get back are higher. For instance, on Inbox Dollars and My Points, Wal-Mart is something like 2% back but on Ebates it's 3%. Usually I check them both, and if Ebates is higher, I use it. Ebates also does a "site of the day" and they'll double or sometimes even triple, the percentages back. Ebates is not only shopping-- there are hotels, travel agents, and I believe even airfare, and there are hundreds of stores so it's very likely you'll find what you're looking for. This site is great for holiday shopping-- you're spending the money anyway, so why not get a little back, as well as shop from your couch in your pajamas? Shopping without ever leaving home AND getting money back for it is SO my style.