by A Frugal Friend on March 25, 2011
Have you heard of You Data?
The concept is simple…..Advertisers will pay you to view text ads (and visit the homepage of their website). What I love about YouData is that you can fill out a profile about yourself and give as little (or as much) information as you want……it can be as simple as you are a mom in TX, for example. Hardly any information is required.
Log into your YouData account whenever you want and they will tell you if advertisers are willing to pay you to look at a text ad….this includes companies you’d recognize, small companies and organizations too. I have found some great new companies this way too, especially smaller boutiques.
They pay you to look at an text ad – and you can earn a bit more for clicking over to the website. You don’t have to stay.
Every Friday, YouData deposits the money in your PayPal account for your activity that week. Safe and consistent. Every Friday
They won’t send you emails or reminders….you just visit them whenever you want. I like that.
How do you Get Started?
SIGN UP: YouData sign-up – click here
CELLPHONE: You’ll need a cell phone number (only for sign-up). They do this in order to make sure you are a live person and aren’t trying to set up multiple accounts. They will text you an activation code…..and that’s it.
PAYPAL account: You’ll need to open a PayPal account if you don’t already have one. You Data was the reason I opened my account, and it’s already come in handy. Many popular retailers let you order online and pay using PayPal. I love PayPal because I can transfer the money easily into my checking account.
MeFile: Fill out your MeFile (profile) and tell them as much or as little about you as you are comfortable with….what kind of music you like, etc. This will help them get the right ads to you. They don’t want to offer you children’s clothing ads to watch if you have no children.
Sign up your Spouse: You can have 2 active accounts per household….you’ll need separate email addresses and cellphone numbers though so they know you aren’t trying to double dip.
Visit once a week: Remember, what I love most about YouData is that you won’t get emails from them reminding you to visit. If you don’t visit and log-in, you won’t get any $$$, it’s as simple as that. I try to visit each Thursday (right before they send out payments for the week). It takes me no more than 2-3 minutes to view my weekly text ads. Some weeks there may be no ads for your particular demographic….they may be targeting women or men of a certain age that week. There have been weeks where I’ve earned up to $6.00 and some where I earned 20 cents, but little by little you’ll save up that money. Just forget it’s there in your PayPal account til next year!
PAYDAY: Every Friday, usually in the afternoons for me, you’ll receive a notification from PayPal that YouData has sent money to your account for your activity that week.
I just visited and found 9 ads waiting for me! Took me less than 3 minutes…..love it! I’ve been using YouData since 2009!
YouData sign-up
Enjoy!
by A Frugal Friend on March 23, 2011
I get many emails asking about survey companies and ways to make a bit of extra money. Yes, I take surveys, but only from reputable companies. I’m Type A and quite conservative, so I really do my research before I even sign up. Most survey companies I have used are absolutely wonderful to work with……but there have been one or two that I have never mentioned on A Frugal Friend…..and won’t.
Survey companies are a way you can earn a bit of cash or merchandise on your own time and when the kids are fast asleep. You decide how much time you want to spend doing it. You don’t have to accept every opportunity that comes your way…..in fact, you can ignore them. I love that.
Previously, I spotlighted the survey company, Ipsos i-Say.
Now I’m highlighting Opinion Outpost, which I’ve been using for about 3 years.
Earning Points:
For completing a survey, you will earn points. The amount of points available for you to earn differs with each survey, but I’ve seen a wide variety of points offered per survey. At Opinion Outpost, you only need 50 points to start redeeming. 10 points equals $1.00.
Redeeming Points:
UPDATED: You can redeem your reward points with Opinion Outpost in several ways – just updated recently:
Amazon Gift Card – you can redeem reward points for Amazon Gift Cards. Just 50 points will get you $5.00 cash and you can redeem! It doesn’t take long at all to earn that.
Cash – sent via check. You’ll need 200 points to redeem for $20 cash.
Citi Gift Card - you can redeem with $15 (150 points)
Donation to American Red Cross – need a $10 (100 points) minimum to redeem – Love this new option!
Opportunities:
Survey opportunities are emailed to you. It’s best to open them as soon as possible, so they don’t fill up. What I’ve noticed with Opinion Outpost is that I always seem to have survey opportunities (more than most). Today I received a survey opportunity by email, and when I logged in, I had several other opportunities waiting for me.
Preliminary questions – when you open up the survey link, they might ask you a few preliminary questions to see if you qualify. Don’t give up – remember, surveys fill up quickly at times. They are looking for a certain demographic with each survey. Some are obviously looking for parents of children, some look for persons who consume or purchase certain items. If you don’t qualify, you’ll know pretty quick. Just wait for the next opportunity…..it likely won’t be long. With Opinion Outpost, they always seem to ask questions that don’t have anything to do with the survey at first……I’m sure they are trying to find out if you fit with other survey opportunities they have for you.
Advantages:
1. I do get many survey opportunities from them each week
2. Get points for Referring Friends
3. CASH – they’ll send checks (I’ve received them) 
4. Only have to attempt to take 1 survey every 3 months to remain active
Note: 1 account per household and for US or Canada residents.
Opinion Outpost is an easy one to start out with. Enjoy!
by A Frugal Friend on March 21, 2011
I constantly am asked what I think about survey companies for making a few extra dollars. I think it can be a good thing, and I have used them, but only a few select reputable companies. I’m very particular and do quite a bit of research before I sign up. And while I don’t have near as much time to participate in surveys as I did a year or two ago, I have to admit that it’s fun to get paid for answering questions…..love those checks in the mail. Yes, some pay in cash!!
Here is one company that I have personally used (and been paid from!):
Ipsos Survey Panel:
Most rewards are either CASH or American Express Gift Card. I noticed that change last year, which really made me pay attention to their particular surveys in my inbox (versus other companies).
Earning Points:
For completing a survey, you will earn points. The amount of points available for you to earn differs with each survey, but I’ve seen up to 100 points per survey.
Partial points are awarded if you don’t qualify for a survey. Many times a survey has either already filled up or I am just not who they are looking for. Ipsos i-Say is one of the only survey companies that I’ve seen do this. Because of this, I always open their surveys and try to qualify. Just tonight, I didn’t qualify for a survey, yet received 10 points just for trying.
Redeeming Points:
You can redeem your reward points with Ipsos i-Say in one of a few ways:
Gift cards – you can redeem reward points for American Express Gift Cards. Just 500 points will get you a $5 Gift Card!
Cash – you can redeem reward points for cash, issued as a check.
Donate – There’s also an opportunity to donate reward points to charity
Opportunities:
Survey opportunities are emailed to you. It’s best to open them as soon as possible, so they don’t fill up. Not only do you have the opporunity to earn rewards by taking interesting surveys, but you might also have the opportunity to try new products. You always have to promise confidentiality (that’s why I can’t tell you exactly what projects I’ve been involved with). That’s important not only to Ipsos i-say, but to the companies wanting the research done as well.
Preliminary questions – when you open up the survey link, they might ask you a few preliminary questions to see if you qualify. Don’t give up – remember, surveys fill up quickly at times. They are looking for a certain demographic with each survey. Some are obviously looking for parents of children, some look for persons who consume or purchase certain items. If you don’t qualify, you’ll know pretty quick. Just wait for the next opportunity…..it likely won’t be long. The best part, is that with Ipsos i-Say, you’ll earn 1 point even if you don’t qualify.
Poll Predictor - After you have completed a survey, you will be given the opportunity to play the Poll Predictor Game. You can opt out if you don’t want to play – it’s no big deal. You are asked a question and have to guess what percentage of the population it applies to. You get so many Poll Predictor points based on your answer and you can spend those points on chances to win things like Home Depot gift cards. I never count on winning, but I like to see if I can guess correctly. It’s just fun.
Advantages:
1. Earning points even if you don’t qualify for survey
2. I do get many survey opportunities from them each week
3. The opportunity to earn reward points for trying new products
4. US and Canada
5. CASH
It’s super easy to join the Ipsos Survey Panel! This is a good one to start out with.
Check back this week as I focus on more ways to earn a bit of extra money!
by A Frugal Friend on January 11, 2011
With the holidays behind us, many are taking the month of January to regroup and get focused on finances. I constantly am asked what I think about survey companies for making a few extra dollars. I think it can be a good thing, and I have used them, but only a few select reputable companies. I’m very particular and do quite a bit of research before I sign up. And while I don’t have near as much time to participate in surveys as I did a year or two ago, I have to admit that it’s fun to get paid for answering questions…..love those checks in the mail. Yes, some pay in cash!!
Here is one company that I have personally used (and been paid from):
Ipsos Survey Panel:
Most rewards are either CASH or American Express Gift Card. I noticed that change last year, which really made me pay attention to their particular surveys in my inbox (versus other companies).
Earning Points:
For completing a survey, you will earn points. The amount of points available for you to earn differs with each survey, but I’ve seen up to 100 points per survey. At Ipsos i-Say, you only need 500 points to start redeeming.
Partial points are awarded if you don’t qualify for a survey. Many times a survey has either already filled up or I am just not who they are looking for. Ipsos i-Say is one of the only survey companies that I’ve seen do this. Because of this, I always open their surveys and try to qualify. Just tonight, I didn’t qualify for a survey, yet received 10 points just for trying.
Redeeming Points:
You can redeem your reward points with Ipsos i-Say in one of a few ways:
Gift cards – you can redeem reward points for American Express Gift Cards. Just 500 points will get you a $5 Gift Card!
Cash – you can redeem reward points for cash, issued as a check. Just 1000 points will get you $10.00 cash! It doesn’t take long at all to earn that.
There’s also an opportunity to donate reward points to charity and an option to redeem for amazon gift cards.
Opportunities:
Survey opportunities are emailed to you. It’s best to open them as soon as possible, so they don’t fill up. Not only do you have the opporunity to earn rewards by taking interesting surveys, but you might also have the opportunity to try new products. You always have to promise confidentiality (that’s why I can’t tell you exactly what projects I’ve been involved with). That’s important not only to Ipsos i-say, but to the companies wanting the research done as well.
Preliminary questions – when you open up the survey link, they might ask you a few preliminary questions to see if you qualify. Don’t give up – remember, surveys fill up quickly at times. They are looking for a certain demographic with each survey. Some are obviously looking for parents of children, some look for persons who consume or purchase certain items. If you don’t qualify, you’ll know pretty quick. Just wait for the next opportunity…..it likely won’t be long. The best part, is that with Ipsos i-Say, you’ll earn 1 point even if you don’t qualify.
Poll Predictor - After you have completed a survey, you will be given the opportunity to play the Poll Predictor Game. You can opt out if you don’t want to play – it’s no big deal. You are asked a question and have to guess what percentage of the population it applies to. You get so many Poll Predictor points based on your answer and you can spend those points on chances to win things like Home Depot gift cards. I never count on winning, but I like to see if I can guess correctly. It’s just fun.
Advantages:
1. Earning points even if you don’t qualify for survey
2. I do get many survey opportunities from them each week
3. The opportunity to earn reward points for trying new products
4. US and Canada
5. CASH
It’s super easy to join the Ipsos Survey Panel! This is a good one to start out with.
by A Frugal Friend on September 7, 2010
This doesn’t usually last too long, and this time it is limited to:
Females
ages 18-24
I’ve been signed up for about a year now and get $3.00 checks routinely!! Love Pinecone!
Click here to sign-up for Pinecone Research Click Here
by A Frugal Friend on September 7, 2010
I’ve gotten a lot of new readers since I last talked about one of the best programs out there, Upromise 
…….. a program that I think all of us with children or grandchildren should look into.
It’s a program where you can turn everyday spending into future money for college education. It’s something you can do right now, even when you may not have much to invest in the market. Buy groceries or gasoline (things we all need) or even use coupons and it will earn you (or your children and grandchildren) money for college.
You can join for free. Then you register either a grocery card (like a Kroger card or a CVS card), credit card or debit card. I’d recommend starting with a grocery or drugstore card like I did. You never have to add a credit card, but you’ll want it especially if you eat out a lot!
PURCHASES: Upromise has partnered up with major retailers we all use (Target, Gap, Apple, Home Depot, etc) that will give you a rebate with every purchase. That rebate goes into your Upromise account and accrues until you roll it over and invest.
E-COUPONS: Upromise gives you the ability to load e-coupons onto your grocery card and when you purchase that item at the store (and then scan your card), the value of that coupon is deposited in your account! FREE MONEY!
RESTAURANTS: Earn 8% back from more than 8,000 participating restaurants
Not only can parents of a child enroll in Upromise, but the child’s grandparents, aunts, uncles etc can all enroll under the same account to benefit the same child or children.
I joined back after we had our daughter! Every bit helps and it’s never too early to start.
Check it out yourself by visiting Upromise (it’s FREE of course)!
SEPTEMBER UPROMISE E-COUPONS: You can load these to your grocery card after you join. Here’s a sample of the e-coupons available:
50 cents off Elmers School Glue
$1.00 off Charmin Mega Roll
50 cents off Bounty Napkins
50 cents off Wacky Mac Pasta
50 cents off No Yolks Egg White Pasta
75 cents off Snyders Pretzels
$1.00 off Chiquita Bites Family Pack
50 cents off Wacky Mac & Cheese Dinner
Check it out yourself by visiting Upromise
Enjoy!
by A Frugal Friend on August 20, 2010
I get many emails asking about the checks I receive from survey companies each month. Yes, I take surveys, but only from reputable companies. I’m Type A and quite conservative, so I really do my research before I even sign up. Most survey companies I have used are absolutely wonderful to work with……but there have been one or two that I have never mentioned on A Frugal Friend…..and won’t.
Survey companies are a way you can earn a bit of cash or merchandise on your own time and when the kids are fast asleep. You decide how much time you want to spend doing it. You don’t have to accept every opportunity that comes your way…..in fact, you can ignore them. I love that. I didn’t have anything to do with surveys for the last 6 weeks that we were fighting ear infections and stomach bugs in our house. No problem….you can do that.
The last few times I spotlighted the survey companies , Ipsos i-Say and Opinion Outpost.
This time I’m highlighting Toluna, formerly Your2Cents, one that I’ve been signed up with for almost 2 years.
Earning Points:
When you sign up you will receive sign up points automatically. For completing a survey (or participating in sponsored polls), you will earn additional points. The amount of points available for you to earn differs with each survey, but I’ve seen a wide variety of points offered per survey.
Sponsored Polls – this is one of my favorite ways to earn points. Just log-in and answer some fun polls…..some are multiple choice and some you get to write your opinion. It’s fun!
Redeeming Points:
You can redeem your reward points with Toluna in one of three ways:
Cash – you can redeem reward points for cash and they’ll mail you a check.
PayPal – you can redeem reward points for
cash deposited in your PayPal account. It doesn’t take long at all to earn that.
Gift Vouchers - This takes a bit more points to redeem for, but I actually prefer the check or PayPal method myself.
Minimum payout is $20 either by Cash or PayPal. I just today looked in my account and have enough points to have a check issued. YEAH!
Opportunities:
Survey opportunities are emailed to you. It’s best to open them as soon as possible, so they don’t fill up.
Advantages:
1. CASH – they’ll send checks (I’ve received them)
2. On sign-up you don’t have to divulge everything (I personally like that you can check,”Prefer not to say”….note however that you may be limited with surveys based on needed demographics.
Visit Toluna and check it out!
by A Frugal Friend on July 29, 2010
It’s that time of year……kids go back to school and before you know it we’ll be Christmas shopping. Or if you’re like me, you have a closet with some gifts already stashed. There are a few things I do throughout the year that help pay for Christmas….and you’ll find some of them on my navigation bar (up above) under Earning Extra $$. If you’re wanting a few extra dollars this holiday season, you might want to get started now.
The first one I’ll highlight is SwagBucks……..mostly because I get paid for something I would do anyway!
What in the world is this SwagBucks thing everybody is talking about?
That’s what I kept saying too, now it’s my absolute favorite thing. I had heard about it for months, but kept putting it off. Finally I started looking into it and signed up over a year ago.
Swagbucks is an alternative to Googling, but the results are powered by Google. More importantly, you win Swagbucks by searching. You win Swagbucks just for doing something you already were doing anyway – searching the internet.
They start you off with free Swagbucks and then you WIN Swagbucks when you search online. After only a few searches the first day, I had already accumulated many Swagbucks. After a couple of weeks, I had earned enough to redeem! Yeah. The best part – you can turn them in for gift cards (or other items).
The way I look at it, this is FREE money they are giving me for choosing to “SwagBuck” something instead of “Google”.
A Few of my Favorites:
$5 e-gift card to Amazon.com
$10 e-gift card to Barnes N Noble
$10 gift card to Starbucks
$50 e-gift card to Southwest Airlines
$5 PayPal (yes, cash)
Other gift cards available: Target, Disney.com, Lowe’s, Ticketmaster, and so many more.
Merchandise available- MP3 singles, books, TV series DVD’s, sports memorabilia and more.
Most of the time I redeem my SwagBucks for amazon gift cards….as amazon has so much, including groceries. But I do have to tell you that we recently started redeeming ours for Lowe’s gift cards………and we bought all our supplies for a major home improvement project we just finished in December……all FREE (just for searching the internet).
Everytime I need to search on the internet, I just go to the SwagBucks home page……others have the option to download a toolbar on their computer. I find it easier to just go to their homepage. If you are online often, like me, you’ll earn quickly.
Make sure you get your spouse or significant other to sign up too! Another perk is that you can earn SwagBucks for referring your friends too or even recycling your old cellphone.
They often publish free SwagBucks codes on their blog and other places.
Each Friday is also Mega SwagBuck day and they are giving away extra large SwagBucks denominations, so do a few random searches for things on Fridays. Go there and search for fun activities for the weekend, the weather forecast, or even A Frugal Friend.
To sign up, click on the link below and start earning gift cards for something you already do:
SWAGBUCKS SIGN-UP: Click Here
Enjoy!
by A Frugal Friend on July 8, 2010
I get many emails asking about the checks I receive from survey companies each month. Yes, I take surveys, but only from reputable companies. I’m Type A and quite conservative, so I really do my research before I even sign up. Most survey companies I have used are absolutely wonderful to work with……but there have been one or two that I have never mentioned on A Frugal Friend…..and won’t.
Survey companies are a way you can earn a bit of cash or merchandise on your own time and when the kids are fast asleep. You decide how much time you want to spend doing it. You don’t have to accept every opportunity that comes your way…..in fact, you can ignore them. I love that. I didn’t have anything to do with surveys for the last 6 weeks that we were fighting ear infections and stomach bugs in our house. No problem….you can do that.
Recently, I spotlighted the survey company, Ipsos i-Say.
This month I’m highlighting Opinion Outpost, which I’ve been using for about 3 years.
Earning Points:
For completing a survey, you will earn points. The amount of points available for you to earn differs with each survey, but I’ve seen a wide variety of points offered per survey. At Opinion Outpost, you only need 50 points to start redeeming. 10 points equals $1.00.
Redeeming Points:
You can redeem your reward points with Opinion Outpost:
Cash – you can redeem reward points for cash, issued as a check. Just 50 points will get you $5.00 cash! It doesn’t take long at all to earn that.
Opportunities:
Survey opportunities are emailed to you. It’s best to open them as soon as possible, so they don’t fill up. What I’ve noticed with Opinion Outpost is that I always seem to have survey opportunities (more than most). Today I received a survey opportunity by email, and when I logged in, I had 9 opportunities waiting for me.
Preliminary questions – when you open up the survey link, they might ask you a few preliminary questions to see if you qualify. Don’t give up – remember, surveys fill up quickly at times. They are looking for a certain demographic with each survey. Some are obviously looking for parents of children, some look for persons who consume or purchase certain items. If you don’t qualify, you’ll know pretty quick. Just wait for the next opportunity…..it likely won’t be long. With Opinion Outpost, they always seem to ask questions that don’t have anything to do with the survey at first……I’m sure they are trying to find out if you fit with other survey opportunities they have for you.
Advantages:
1. I do get many survey opportunities from them each week
2. Get points for Referring Friends
3. CASH – they’ll send checks (I’ve received them)
4. Only have to attempt to take 1 survey every 3 months to remain active
Note: 1 account per household and for US or Canada residents.
Let me know if you have any questions at all about Opinion Outpost! Enjoy!
