Money Earning Ideas for Christmas

Here are some ideas to get you started on earning some extra cash for Christmas.



1. Mystery Shopping: I have been a mystery shopper for about six months now. It is a fun and easy way to earn money. If you are interested in mystery shopping, go to http://www.volition.com/ . They have everything you need to get started. You can view a list of legit mystery shopping companies, you can view their job board, and most importantly you can connect with other mystery shoppers. The discussion forum was very helpful to me in deciding which mystery shopping companies I wanted to work for.

Most of the shops that I have performed were at a local grocery store. I was reimbursed $9 in groceries plus an extra $10 for my time, which was about 40 minutes. I've also performed shops at casual dining restaurants and chocolate shops. In all cases I was reimbursed (up to a certain amount) for my expenses and then paid a nominal fee for my time.

In my experience, I was always paid promptly and in full. I took time to review other mystery shopper's feedback to ensure that I worked with only the best companies. Be sure to NEVER pay to become a mystery shopper or to be put on a mystery shopping list. The pay to work scenarios are generally scams.

Generally, when you sign up for a shop you will be given a time frame in which to perform that shop and a set of explicit instructions outlining what you need to do in order to accurately perform the shop. After said shop is complete you will then have a window of time in which to enter your findings online. Some companies have brief yes/no type questions to answer, while others require more lengthy answers. Be sure to do the research ahead of time to know just what is expected of you.



2. Online surveys: There are many online survey companies. I work with two in particular that pay in a timely fashion. Pincone Research is the first online survey company that I signed up with. They are not always accepting new applicants, so you'll have to check back with their website often. They pay $3 per survey. The surveys are short (approx 10 to 20 minutes). For each survey you complete they will mail you a check.

The second company, which I JUST signed up for, is Cash Crate . If you sign up, please be sure to use me as the person who referred you. The same basic principle applies here. Fill out surveys and get cash. I have read a lot about this site, and it comes highly recommended from many of my fellow bloggers.



3. Swagbucks: I LOVE Swagbucks! Seriously. It is sooooo easy. Just sign up at http://www.swagbucks.com/ to get started. Basically, you are rewarded points for using Swagbucks as your search engine. Instead of using google or bing or any other search engine, use swagbucks instead. You get the same results. You can then cash in your points for prizes. I've cashed my points in for cash via paypal, for Starbucks gift cards, for Amazon.com gift cards, etc. It is just that easy. If you do sign up for Swagbucks, please be sure to use me as the person who referred you.



None of the above ideas will get you rich, but it is always nice to have a few extra dollars in your pocket. As I have earned cash and prizes from each of them, I have been saving it aside for Christmas gifts.



I will soon be doing a post on how to save money with online purchases. Since I am far too busy to shop my life away at Christmas time, I prefer to do much of it online. By combining promo codes, sales, and cash back sites you can get some pretty good deals. More to come soon...