Tuesday 12 August 2014

Something for Nothing

Some easy ways to make a few bob or receive free things!

Paid surveys

There are plenty of sites offering money or entries into prize draws, however in my opinion some are quite frustrating as they ask loads of screening questions before deciding too often that you don't quite match the profile for who they are wanting info from on this occasion.

My favourite is YouGov as they only seem to invite you to take surveys they do actually want you to take, you typically get 50p - £1 per survey and usually get invited to a couple a week so it quickly adds up (you do need to remember to click at the end of each survey to say you want to be credited with the cash and not convert it to a prize draw entry though). Once you get to £50 you can get the cash transferred to your bank . The surveys are usually to do with current affairs/news/politics and usually take 5-15 minutes, and are easy to do when travelling or half watching tv.

You can join YouGov here

Panelbase seems quite reasonable too


Free Things
There are lots of websites which notify you of offers for free samples. Personally I only register for things I am genuinely interested in, like toiletries (I do quite well for little tubes of toothpaste particularly, which are handy for travelling), food things and cosmetics (because I don't think it's fair to either take something I'm not that bothered for the sake of it, particularly if it is costing a small company, a not-for profit organisation or something limited availability where it will deny the opportunity to someone else).

My favourites are Money Saving Expert and Free Stuff

Blogging

If you have something to share that other people might be interested in, you can do worse than have a blog! There are plenty of free to use blogging sites (like Blogger) and on many you can add things like Adsense which will display adverts determined from the reader's own internet use and if they click on any that interest them to find out more it will earn the blogger pennies.

Loyalty Cards

Even if you don't shop at a particular store often or at all, it can still be worth having their loyalty card.

For example with Nectaryou can get points for ebay purchases, supporting Oxfam, using their internet search engine (up to £1's worth a month), then spend them at places like Argos without ever having set foot in Sainsbury's!

I also use Qmee which sits quietly in the background and occasionally when I am searching for things (either through the usual search engine or on sites like ebay or Amazon) will politely offer via a sidebar some pennies if I am interested in looking at their suggested alternatives. You can get the money paid whenever you like (no minimum) to a paypal account.

Free Postcode Lottery

Free daily competition - register your postcode, check the site and if it is drawn you can claim a prize. Free to enter with winnings paid from ad revenue generated - good luck!

Free Daily Draw

Register, check daily, you may win £50 : )

Street Lottery

Register, check daily, good luck

GeoLotto

There is a free version of this treasure hunt game. Register and you get 50 free digs a day. Choose where you dig and the pennies add up. (Update - free game does not always run)



None of these are going to bring you life-changing riches, but it all adds up : )


You might also be interested in Easy Ways to Support Good Causes


For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas



Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )