I’m going to skip the part where I apologize profusely for not posting more frequently and just leave it at – I’m trying. I’ve been doing this blogging thing for about a year, and still, haven’t found a way to fit it into my schedule on a regular basis. I’m here now, and I want to share with you, my favorite way to get a little extra spending cash!

A friend at work introduced me to Swagbucks, and it’s become one of my favorite things in the world. Swagbucks allows you to earn points for things you do online anyway: perform searches, buy things, watch videos. The only point generating activity that you may not do every day already is taking surveys (unfortunately, these will get you the most points). My favorite way to use Swagbucks is to take a couple of surveys during my lunch break, and then run the video playlists in the background while I’m at work. You can even mute the tab if you don’t want to hear the videos! Then just sit back and watch the points roll in. They also have a Swagbucks Local component to the website. If you link your debit or credit card to the Local module, you can earn points for shopping at some of your favorite local eateries. One day, I went to get lunch and earned a surprise 160 Swagbucks, just by buying a sandwich I would have bought anyway! You can then redeem your points for gift cards at pretty much any retailer you can think of (I almost always choose Amazon). The points accumulate pretty quick – I’ve earned enough for a $30 gift card since Easter. If you’re interested in Swagbucks, you can sign up here.

Another website that I use to generate cash is InboxDollars. InboxDollars works much the same way as Swagbucks, in that you take surveys and watch videos to earn points. The main difference between the two is that with InboxDollars, you earn actual cash. It takes a bit more time to accumulate money, but cash is king, as they say. During the video playlists on InboxDollars, they frequently present virtual scratch cards where you can earn extra cash or entries into their sweepstakes (for more cash). Therefore, it’s a little harder to have the videos playing behind your work screen, if you want to maximize your earning potential. You can sign up for InboxDollars here.

The last opportunity is switching your search engine to Bing. I know, ‘google’ has turned into a verb, so why would you want to switch to Bing? Bing offers a point system, where you earn points for every search you perform on your computer. You can even default the search engine on your phone to use Bing.  Every time you’re at brunch and can’t remember who that background actor on Gilmore Girls is – well whip out your phone, Bing the answer, and earn a point. Bing points probably take the longest to accumulate, but there are levels to the program, so the more points earn, the quicker you can accumulate them (and there is an additional discount on the gift cards for which you redeem your points).

Overall, I’ve earned about $240 worth of gift cards from Swagbucks, about $25 from Inbox Dollars, and $70 from switching my search engine to Bing. If you ask me, it’s not a bad haul for doing things I would do anyway.

Do you guys have any ways to make some extra money? I’m always looking – so let me know in the comments!

(gifs source of Giphy – they had so many amazing cash ones)