Guest post from Miriam:
Getting a job (or a second job) isn’t always feasible… especially for parents.
Fortunately, there are many ways to bring in some additional income without leaving your kids to daycare, sitters, or nannies all the time.
1. Swagbucks and Bing Rewards.
If you are just looking for a little bit of fun money to spend, Swagbucks and/or Bing Rewards are the way to go.
Searches, videos, and surveys can earn you small gift cards to places like Amazon.com, Target, and Starbucks in just a few weeks.
Read more about how Swagbucks works here and read more about Bing Rewards here.
2. Babysitting.
If you are already caring for children at home and aren’t too overwhelmed, consider babysitting for another family. Done regularly, this kind of work can really add up.
3. Mystery Shopping.
This is a bit more involved, but signing up to do this a few times per month can easily get you $50 or more. You just need a Paypal account in order to receive the payments.
Read more about becoming a Mystery Shopper here.
4. Online Surveys.
Typically, the points received from taking these surveys take a long time to accumulate. But you can earn some fabulous rewards.
I once earned a $20 Amazon gift card; it took a while, but refusing to check on my points totals for several months made it seem much faster!
Read more about online surveys and the best companies to sign up with here.
There are many other simple, creatives ways to earn a little extra fun money without getting a “real job”, so i’d love to know…
Molly says
I use Ibotta, Checkout 51, Checkpoints, Shopkick Apps, I no longer pay for certain things, like Redbox Codes, Amazon purchases, Best Buy, Target is where I never pay for anything because of Shopkick. My husband also has the apps as well and that got us through some tough times. I used Ibotta one time to pay my water bill. I started selling thrift like clothes on Ebay and let me tell you, since my husband is not working, nor getting unemployment, that paid for our Thanksgiving, Xmas until income season came around. I have been doing really well on ebay that I will be opening my own ebay store soon. I do Swagbucks, Inbox Dollars, Mycokerewards (that paid for our trip to Six Flags in S.A., Texas), Kelloggs Family Rewards. I do every kind of rewards program out there. Why pay full price or anything at all when you have all these apps and sites that reward you? I love it
Patti Sutton says
I’ve been trying the surveys offered thru Swagbucs, unfortunately after I spend several minutes giving honest answers I’m told I’m not what they’re looking for and maybe get 1 buck for my trouble. At this rate I should have an amazon gift card in about two years or so.What am I doing wrong?
kariane says
Blogging! 🙂
Danissa says
My husband donates plasma twice a week for his fun money.
Constance says
I frequently go for walks at the beach. While there, I pick up cans for recycling. I also get whatever coke codes (for mycokerewards.com). I save my points for certificates from restaurant.com, and save up my recycling money for a nice meal out. I’ve only recycled twice so far this year (2015) and already have $21.35 saved up. That may not seem like much to some people, but it’s enough for us as it’s just me and my mother for the most part now. As for entertainment, people watching at the mall is quite comical. You never know what you are going to see.
Jessica says
Oh. Two more that I forgot… but these involved my kids! Same university but 10 years after I finished my masters degree. So my DH works there now. He got an email that the infection control department was seeking stool samples from babies who were exclusively breastfed. I tell you, I could have provided them with all the “samples” they could have ever wanted from my son!!! We got $20 for the poop. Haha!! Then when my youngest was six months old, we enrolled her in a family psychology study. She was taped with my DH, then with me, then while interacting with two strangers (female grad students) who presented her with toys. We did this three times, got paid $20 each time.
Amanda S says
Hi Jessica! I love your out of the box ideas! How did you find them??
Jessica says
I did the psychology experiments as an undergraduate at Northwestern University. I did the dental and nursing school studies as a graduate student at The Ohio State University. In the hallways on bulletin boards, they would post “help wanted” ads for the studies. Of course, I graduated from college in 2001 and with my masters in 2003, so I’m sure it’s all online now! For the infant and “poop” studies, my husband got an email to his work account.
Ronni @ The Screenwriter's Wife says
It’s been a few years, but I’ve done a few medical type studies for money too. I’ve had my brain scanned twice, I’ve been paid for my time AND received free dental fillings at dental schools, and I’ve also given blood when pregnant and collected my newborn’s saliva after she was born for the same study. I’ve found these on craigslist under the volunteers section.
I’ve also done a couple market research studies.
Oh and I’ve also bought things super cheap at garage sales and then sold on ebay or at consignment sales for a profit. I’ve documented some of my garage sale purchases on my blog.
Jessica says
Um, well this wasn’t exactly “fun”, but when I was a graduate student, I acted as a “model” for the nursing school. The future nurse practitioners of America needed to learn how to do Pap smears! And… I got a free pap smear and a $50 stipend for my time. I also did psych studies (those were fun, including the kind where they put electrodes all over my head) and one very much not fun study. That one was through the dental school. They were studying stress and healing. They created a wound on the roof of my mouth and I had to collect saliva samples 7x daily and do a survey of my emotions while collecting each sample. I had to go in daily for two weeks to have pictures taken of my mouth as it healed. That paid $600. Again, I was a newlywed and grad student, we had no money and that $600 paid our rent that month!!!
Crystal Paine says
Now THESE are creative… so creative, in fact, that I had to read your comment to Jesse!!
Jessica says
🙂 Glad you got a smile out of it, I do look back on those days fondly. It was a stressful time but we did what we could and we really developed strong work ethics as a result. We didn’t have financial help from our parents, we had a tiny apartment, an old car and ate a lot of pasta.
Amy @ DebtGal says
I use Swagbucks, MyPoints, and Inbox Dollars, and always go through Ebates when I shop online. also, I sell my daughter’s outgrown clothing at consignments sales, on Craigslist, and at a local consignment store.
Amy R says
usertesting.com!!!!! It’s online surveys that pay $10-15 each. I’ve been doing them for years now. The longer you do them, the better the opportunities become. No more waiting for points to accumulate or earning $2/hour. You can make actual money. Each survey takes less than 15 minutes and you are paid $10 for the computer ones and $15 for the mobile ones. (The mobile ones obviously require some kind of smart phone or tablet.) I started these in November of 2012 and made almost $400 my first month.
Sarah Blake says
I earn extra money from home by doing Paparazzi Accessories Facebook parties. I sell cute $5 accessories outside of the home as well, but there are many women who’s businesses are based entirely on online parties. I made $80 the other day simply by posting on a Facebook party for two days. I would love to tell anyone who is interested more! You can find my contact information at the following website: http://paparazziaccessories.com/32185
Amie says
I earn my extra money through Swagbucks. I get most of my points through their mobile apps. My husband also has an account. We each earn what averages to $7-$10 per week in gift cards. I combine the gift cards with coupons and rewards to stretch it even further. It pays for: clothes, diapers, wipes, cleaning products, gifts, etc. I earn Amazon points by using a rewards credit card for all my non-gift card shopping and by paying a few bills with it. I pay the bill in full each month and earn $8-$13 per month in credit. I just ordered my oldest son new baseball pants for $3 after rewards.
Diane says
Amie I agree Swagbucks mobile apps are great especially if you have unlimited data phone service or one that will connect to wifi and not count against your data plan. We print our coupons through Swagbucks and use Engrave. You can find both the coupons and Engrave under the Discover tab on the Swagbucks home page. The Engrave with the swirl icon will run by themselves once they are set up. They are a great option for busy moms just set one up and when it is finished set up another one. We have earned up to $50.00 per month.
Amie says
Yes, we run the mobile apps through our WIFI so no data use is required. I have a tiny data plan for my phone, but it is no problem with WIFI. I also print my coupons through swagbucks. I do encrave sometimes, but it doesn’t run on my devices so I only do it when I have a laptop available. I also play games sometimes to boost my points. I try to meet the “monthly master” goal to get the extra 300 points. It has really been great for us.
Dana says
Diane, is this “encrave”? Does it only run automatically on through the app? Or on a computer? That would save so much time!
Diane says
Dana I have only been able to get engrave on my computer not my phone. It is great. We have 2 computers so I will set engrave on 1 computer then go to the other and swag. It would be great if you had small children at home as well. The point range form 2-6 so I usually try to find the 6 point ones. The more videos the higher the points.
Kelly says
I love Swagbucks and Bing.
Also, I use Inbox Dollars and Send Earnings to earn a little extra money. You can get 15 a day by searching, 10 cents per coupon printed and redeemed ( I love this option), complete surveys and special offers for additional rewards. They also send email you can read for 2 cents each so set up a separate email account for these.
The money amounts are small on a daily basis but overtime and doing all of these combined it adds up. Last year, I figured I made in rewards about $2500.00 and spend less than 30 minutes a day of extra time on this.
lizajane says
I just participated in a mock trial in my area that was very interesting. I found it on Craigslist. A lady that was there told me she’s found several that way, and had even participated in them online. Just use caution, as with anything on Craigslist. I’ve also had small successes with purchasing new or barely used smaller items at yard sales & reselling on ebay. You have to have a pretty good idea what would sell if you do that or you’re just wasting money.
Becky says
I use bing rewards. I use the points for gift cards from Game Stop & X Box gold membership for my grandson. It’s a simple way for me to give him a few extra fun items, for free.
Reelika @Financially Wise On Heels says
There are endless options to make some extra easy money. The funniest way I ever earned money was getting “tips” from random people on the street who wanted to take photos with me! I don’t know why, I guess I just looked different than locals (I was travelling). But that was unplanned earning of course 🙂