I keep getting emails about how you can make some money from home. The reasons range from just trying to make ends meet to trying to get out of debt (check out our Debt Free Challenge). While many work at home sites are scams, there are legitimate ways that you can bring in a few extra dollars.
Points Sites. There are several sites where you can earn points for doing serarches, checking emails or even completing polls. Your points are then redeemed for gift cards for stores such as Target, Amazon and even Walmart. Some of those that I have used include Swagbucks, Bing, In-Box Dollars and MyPoints. I would recommend you set up a separate gmail or other account before signing up just so you don’t clog up your email with these requests. Out of all of these, I will admit that Swagbucks is my favorite — and you can learn more about them in this Swagbucks 101 post.
Survey Sites. I’ve recommended these before – because the work. You may not always get approved for every survey, but if you keep at it, you can definitely earn some money. Most of these sites reward you in the form of points and then you in turn redeem the points in exchange for cash or prizes. Some of those which I would personally recommend include: Toluna, Neilsen Consumer Panel, and MySurvey.
Home Based Business. There are so many that we all have heard of and it seems that every person you know is a consultant. You know the ones, Mary Kay, Party Lite, Pampered Chef, etc. If you are looking to get started with any company, you might try for some that are not a saturated, such as 31 Gifts or even Scentsy. These are great companies that allow you to set your own hours, get out and meet new people ands till bring in a little spending money. Make sure you do your homework so you fully understand the startup costs and even what you have to do in order to maintain your consultant status.
Ebay. If you love to search out deals, Ebay might be a good deal for you. If you find a great deal on a toy on clearance, you can probably turn around and sell it on Ebay for more than what you paid for it. Another great thing to sell on Ebay is children’s clothes. Right now, the economy is so tough that parents can’t afford new clothes, so they can head to Ebay and purchase them for just a few dollars per item. Whatever you decide to sell, Ebay has tools to help you from determining your cost to ad layout. Just do your research and get ready to sell!
Virtual Assistant. This might be a realtively new idea for many people. A virtual assistant (VA) works for bloggers or websites. They could do things from check email, to writing articles to even doing accounting. The hours and pay varies from site to site, but it is a nice way to pick up a few extra hours of work and some extra spending cash.
Whatever you decide to do when you work from home, just make sure you do thorough research. Make sure it works for you and it is something you enjoy doing. Not all opportunities are for everyone. Good Luck!
Tracie is a stay at home mom to three young children; ages 4, 6 and 8 in Raymore, Missouri. In November 2007, she and her husband decided to eliminate their debt and made many changes in their lifestyle to do just that.
In 27 months, they eradicated over $37,000 in debt through both budgeting and learning how to live a frugal life. She now shares her knowledge in order to help you stretch your hard-earned dollars so you can live the life you want.