Surveys and Stuff

Once in a while, if I have some spare time after Isaac goes to bed, or if it's a slow day at work, I like to take paid surveys. Of course, you don't make a whole lot of money doing this, but if you'd like to make an extra $20 here or there, it might be worthwhile to check out. In this post, I've highlighted a few survey sites out there. I'm sure there are way more than this, but these are the ones I use and have been happy with.

FYI - if you sign up through the link I provide, for some of these sites I'll get some sort of referral bonus.

Toluna - This is one of my favorite sites. You can get your rewards in the form of a check (which is what I usually choose) or music downloads, etc. There are a LOT of surveys available so you won't have to wait long to take one. And if you don't qualify for a survey, you'll be entered in a sweepstakes to win some cash. There are also several mini survey questions you can answer that you don't have to qualify for. These usually only take a few seconds, and you'll receive 10-75 points for them. Those points add up really fast!

 

Opinion Outpost - Another one of my favorites! Actually, this one is probably my favorite. The rewards come in the form of gift cards (Amazon GC, Citi GC), a donation to the red cross, or a check. And the minimum balance you need to cash out for some of the gift cards is only $5! If you want a check, though, it's $20. Either way, my balance is building quickly. Opinion Outpost won't give you quite as many surveys as Toluna, but for me that's fine because I don't spend all that much time doing it anyway.

Survey Savvy - I haven't actually gotten paid from this one yet, but I thought I'd mention it anyway. The surveys are much fewer and farther between than the other sites I've mentioned. They give you a dollar amount for each survey, and it's usually very good.

These next two site are a little bit different, but I love them:

Inbox Dollars - This is a site that will send you emails, and you get paid for clicking on them. You can get about $0.02 per email, but it adds up. The only bad thing is that you need $30 in order to get a check, and that can take a while if you only click on emails. If you want to boost your account balance, you can also take surveys. Their surveys, however, usually take a long time to complete for a minimal amount, like $0.50 usually. Also, you can respond to offers, but that typically involves spending money, so I never have. There are other things you can do, too, but I haven't really looked into them too much. It's really easy to click on the emails though, so that's generally what I stick to.

MyPoints - I've been a MyPoints member for years. Like, since I was in high school. It's awesome. The main thing I do is click on emails. You get 5 points for just clicking on an email. I have also shopped through MyPoints on various occasions. You can get a certain amount of points per dollar you spend at participating online stores. And there are a lot of participating stores. So if you're going to buy something online anyway, you might as well shop through the MyPoints link and earn some points. Points will get you gift cards to just about anywhere. There is a HUGE variety of options for gift cards. I usually will get a GC for a restaurant or Target. If you only join one site listed in this post, this is the one to join.

I just wanted to put these out there for my readers. I don't spend much time doing this stuff, but the time I have spent has been worth it.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Since I'm on the subject of debt, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite debt-related things.

www.whatsthecost.com
It's a website where you can enter all of your debts, interest rates, and minimum payments. Then you enter how much you plan to put toward your debt every month, and it tells you how long it will take you to pay off your debt if you continue to pay the same amount every month, even after you pay something off. It's a little thing called the "debt snowball", which brings me to my next favorite thing...

Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover
 

Ok, this isn't exactly a favorite because I haven't read it yet, but it's on my list. Obviously, it's a book. And although I haven't read it, I've heard a lot about it and I think it's a great program. There are two things that I really like about it.

• Seven Baby Steps - Dave gives you seven steps that tell you the best order in which to do things. This will help you get started.
• Debt Snowball - If you're serious about getting out of debt, this is the way to do it! Basically, you figure out how much extra, if any, you can afford to put toward your debt every month. Then you pay all the extra (if any) toward the smallest debt. And when that debt is gone, you take all the money you used to pay toward that debt, to the next smallest debt, and so on and so forth, until it's all gone. So you're paying the same amount every month, and each time you pay something off, you're putting more and more money toward the principle of the next debt. This is what whatsthecost.com helps you do.

Dave Ramsey also has a tv show I like to watch once in a while that makes the list too.


Suze Orman

I watch her show occasionally on CNBC. I like her. She'll tell it like it is. There is a segment of her show where people call in because they want to buy something, they give her all their income and debts, etc, and Suze tells them if they can afford it or not. Love it!

She also has a website called MoneyMindedMoms. I just discovered this website and haven't done a whole lot of exploring yet, but I think I kind of like it. You should check it out.

I use Quicken for our personal finances. I love it. I'm the type of person who wants to know exactly how much money we have at any given time. It helps me keep track of my check register, savings account balances, credit card balance, investments, loans, assets, etc. And you can easily download your transactions directly from your bank. I bought mine, but if you don't want to pay for it, you can use http://www.mint.com/, which is owned by Quicken and essentially does the same thing.

Let's Talk About Debt

Earlier this week, I was watching Oprah's Debt Diet. Now I have finances on my mind. So I thought I'd blog about it. Because that's what you write about when you have a blog - things that are on your  mind. Right? Right.

Ok, so I have a degree in accounting and have been blessed with a natural understanding of most things finance. Of course, I don't know everything. Not even close. But finance is an interest of mine, and therefor I want to learn about it. I understand that not everyone is so inclined. But I have a hard time dealing with the fact that A LOT of people don't even have even the most basic understanding about their finances. In fact, it really bugs me. It bugs me almost as much as women who know nothing about their own bodies, but that's another post for another day.

This particular Oprah show was highlighting a couple who were trying to make "sacrafices" in order to pay off their debt. The husband had to sell {gasp} half of his season tickets for some pro football team. Um, seriously dude? If you're $100,000 in debt (and I don't mean a mortgage), don't buy them in the first place. How is that not common sense? I would love to have season tickets for Sioux hockey. But I don't. You know why? Because I have other financial responsibilities that come first.

There was another lady on a few weeks ago. They were $170,000 in debt, but she would NOT give up her weekly trips to the salon. It was absolutely non-negotiable. Why the eff did she even sign up for this? Because it seems like she doesn't really want to get out of debt. No, scratch that. She sounds like she wants someone to wave a magic wand and make all their debt go away without having to make any changes.

Of course, now I'm sucked in to this whole Debt Diet series that Oprah has going on. I guess I just enjoy watching train wrecks.

{Steps down off soap box}