How to Make Make Money Taking Surveys from Home

Raise Your Hand if You’d like to Make Money From Home!

Doesn’t everyone want to find a way to make money from home? Well, maybe almost everyone… I suppose there are some that love their job and thrive in their workplace. 🙂

But there are others who crave the flexibility that comes with earning an income while working from home. Or maybe you are a stay at home mom (like me) and would like to find a way to bring in a little extra cash (like me) to give some more cushion to the budget (well, actually, now I am the primary breadwinner in my home).

Or maybe you work away from home and want to find a way to earn a part/full-time income while working from home instead. OR maybe you’re just one of those people that wants the convenience of not messing with traffic, paying for fuel or childcare, and just want a little more freedom with your day to day life!

Whatever it may be, today I’m going to show you a very simple way to start making a few extra dollars here and there, all from home (or anywhere, really). 

How to Make Money Taking Surveys

Today I’m going to cover some very simple ways to generate some extra cash filling out surveys. You don’t need a private home office to do any of these things. In some cases, you can do it right from your phone. You don’t need extra education or skills either.

With all the survey sites below, you’ll be giving feedback on different products and services in return for some extra cash! It’s really as simple as that. As long as you have an opinion, you can get paid!

Although some of these survey sites won’t make a HUGE impact on your budget, most of them will give you some extra perks for fun money. So be open-minded as I share these simple ideas. They might not be the first thing you would consider when thinking about “working from home”…but they have potential!

7 Survey Sites We Recommend Getting Started With

There are WAY more than 7 survey sites out there, but a lot of them aren’t so good. Below are 7 of our favorites that have been around for a long time and all have good reputations, so we recommend starting with these!

1. Swagbucks

Now, some people might not think that this could really make a difference to your income, but with a little time and effort (and a network), you can bring in a little extra. The plus of Swagbucks is that you can do a little something each day and earn gift cards for date night or Amazon.

It takes 22,000 SwagBucks to get a $25 Amazon gift card. So it’s not like you’ll be rolling in the dough, but it could maybe help alleviate some pressure on your budget 🙂

I started using this website back in 2009 (I think!?!). In fact, I earned enough (thanks to referrals to be honest) to buy a 48″ TV on Amazon (that’s back when a 48″ LCD TV was over $800). So it’s worth it if you have people under you that sign up and do earn Swagbucks as well. If not, then it might not be worth it.

There are 3 different ways you can score SBs (or Swagbucks):

1. Surveys – They range in value between 1-1000 SB (1 SB = 1 cent). Swagbucks realizes you won’t qualify for all the surveys, so they pay you 1 SB after you have been disqualified from 5 surveys! Not many other places do that! They also are up front on where the survey information is going! You can know who it’s for and why they are making this survey!
2. The Swagbucks search engine – They will reward you Swagbucks for the time you spend using their search engine! The amount is random, so you could earn anywhere from 1-1000 SB each time you use it! Their search engine is powered by Yahoo and proven to be reliable and safe.
3. Referring people to the program – For each person you refer, you will receive 10% of all the SB they earn. That means if they do a 1000 SB survey, you got 100 SB just for signing them up!

There are other ways to win smaller amounts of SBs as well and those are through cashback opportunities, playing certain online games, random SB point drawings, and more.

Once you have racked up your points, you can use them for gift cards, prizes, or you can redeem your Swagbucks for actual dollars and send it to your PayPal account.

TIP: It is best to wait until you have a large amount of SB’s since the more you have, the more valuable each SB becomes. For example, it costs 500 SB for a $5 Starbucks gift card, but only 2200 SB for a $25 Amazon gift card.

2. Opinion Outpost

Opinion Outpost may not look very fancy, but they’re one of the most reputable survey sites around! They partner with a ton of different big brands and companies too so you’ll be answering surveys about products you actually use, which is really neat.

The system Opinion Outpost uses is really simple – as you fill out surveys, you’ll earn points that you can redeem for rewards. These rewards include Amazon gift cards, app store gift cards, and best of all, PayPal cash!

To get started just sign up and then keep an eye out for surveys as they get added to your account. Make sure to regularly check your email too as they’ll send exclusive survey opportunities there, but they’re first come first serve!

3. My Soap Box

My Soap Box is very similar to Opinion Outpost in that it rewards you for giving feedback on products and brands that you use. As a member, you’ll get paid for answering surveys and you might even get the chance to do product testing!

For each task you complete on My Soap Box, you’ll earn points. 1,000 points = $1, and 25,000 points are needed to cash out. That may seem like a lot, but you should earn 500+ points for each task you complete so it adds up fast!

Once you’ve earned enough points you can cash them out for a gift card of your choice, and there are a ton of options to choose from – including Amazon, Starbucks, Walmart, various restaurants, and more.

4. Inbox Dollars

Inbox Dollars is unique because they pay you for a lot of different things besides just taking surveys. You can get paid to watch videos, play online games, read emails, and they even have cashback shopping and paid coupons that you can download and use to save money on groceries.

Most importantly of all, Inbox Dollars is super reputable. They’ve been around since 2000 and have paid members over $50 million in rewards!

On top of all of that, Inbox Dollars pays in cash, not points. AND, you can get a $5 sign up bonus to get started with! Doesn’t get much better than that!

Related reading: Top 5 Grocery Rebate Apps (Save $100s on Groceries)

5. Pinecone Research

Pinecone Research is another survey opportunity! This one gives you opportunities to take short, 2-5 minute surveys and longer 15-20 minute surveys. They also offer opportunities to test products before they are even on the market.

PineCone Research will pay you via check, PayPal, gift cards, or vouchers! You get to pick whatever you would like! One of the best parts about Pine Cone is that you can cash out as soon as you have $3. So you can keep building your points OR you could PayPal the minimum amount straight to yourself when you want it.

PineCone is known for having great customer service and great staff. Once again, this is a very simple way to earn a couple of extra dollars each week that could add up to making a big difference in your monthly budget. And the best part is, they email the surveys right to your inbox so all you have to do is check your email!

6. YouGov

YouGov is another survey-based website, but this one is more politically focused. Although survey topics will vary, the majority of the topics will be about politics! So, if you are into politics, this is the survey option for you!

This website is well functioning and super easy to navigate. All you have to do is take surveys that vary between a minimum of 5 minutes and a maximum of 20 minutes. As you do, you’ll receive points for their completion!

You can cash out once you receive $25 worth of points. You can redeem your points with PayPal deposits, checks, gift cards, or even YouGov branded merchandise.

You also have the opportunity to refer a friend and get up to 2000 points for it!! That way, you and your friends will all be gaining a little extra cash.

For the little effort you put into it, the points will add up fast and you will get paid for spending a little extra time on your phone! So worth it!

7. Springboard America

Springboard America is a way to take surveys and avoid the point system every other website has! You do surveys for direct cash! Each survey is between $.50 to $5 depending on the length of the survey.

In order to cash out, you much accumulate $50 of rewards. You may choose how to cash out as well! You can pick direct bank transfer, Amazon gift cards, visa gift cards, sweepstakes entries, and more! It all lies in your hands!

They also have opportunities to test new and upcoming products before they hit the market AND you get paid for it!! This is an awesome deal and a great way to spend a few minutes of your time.

Note: Springboard America isn’t always accepting new members, so you may have to wait! This is a good thing though as it keeps the panel as high quality as possible.

Bonus: Survey Junkie

Survey Junkie is a really popular survey site, so you may have already heard of it. Still, I thought I’d include it as a bonus one just in case you hadn’t!

This one works very similarly to the sites above but focuses more on surveys related to brands and services. By participating, you’ll be influencing REAL products and services – some that you might even use yourself. It’s pretty cool!

Tips to Make Survey Taking Easier

If you want to earn more money, you need to optimize your survey taking! Follow these three tips to make sure you’re getting the most ot of your time:

1. Create a separate email account to use when signing up for all of these companies – ALTHOUGH, if you do this, you’ll still want to be plugged into that email so you know about special offers and events. Often times you can earn a lot more from companies like these if you pay attention to offers and timing.
2. Be honest – If you are honest on the surveys and such, you’ll get info that is more relevant to you. PLUS if you are getting compensated for giving an opinion, you should make it honest. 🙂 It’s just the right thing to do!
3. Get it on the calendar – A little effort every day makes a difference, so block out some time in the morning or during the littles nap time to focus in and log on to sites and get ‘er done!

Final Thoughts

Now, you may be asking yourself, “How is taking surveys considered working from home?” Well, although it’s not the highest paying work from home job, you’re still doing work and making money!

If you set aside some time every day, the rewards will start to stack up. Even if it’s just gift cards, those GC’s can be used to buy the stuff you need (or better yet, want!). You won’t be making a ton, but with how easy this is to do, it’s not a bad way to make some extra money.

Have you tried any of the survey sites above before? Or any other ones that we haven’t listed? Tell us your experiences in the comments below!

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