All You Have to Do is Sign Up for Surveys to Start Earning
Disclaimer: if you join a survey platform using my links, I earn referral bonuses.
It is so tough these days to stick to a budget, especially when prices are continuously rising and hard to predict. When smart savings and planning don’t seem like enough, bring in some extra dough to counterbalance your expenses. I have become a huge fan of Swagbucks and User Interviews for earning quick cash that can be used so my spending doesn’t have to put a dent in my income. Here are some tips to make the best use of your time when completing surveys:
Complete a profile at signup
All surveys begin with screening questions to make sure you’re the right type of person the researchers need to question. To save yourself the time of having to answer the same questions again and again (only to start surveys you absolutely will not qualify for), include as much information as possible in the initial profile you create. If you’ve shared your marital status and a survey is only looking for opinions of singles, the survey won’t be offered to you and waste your time. If a survey is only for married folk, you might receive the offer where unidentified survey takers will not know it’s available. To sign up for Swagbucks, click here and earn $10. To instantly earn $10 on your first survey with User Interviews, sign up for User Interviews here.
Swagbucks tips
I’ve found that Swagbucks surveys are great for short time-fillers. Say you’re standing in a line. Pull out your phone and fill out a quick 15min survey. These add up eventually and if you do this frequently, you’ll notice you earn enough points to redeem gift cards each week.
User Interviews tips
The kinds of surveys you’ll find at User Interviews are harder to qualify for, but yield bigger rewards. If you don’t mind face to face interviewing, either in person or virtually, this site is a great option to earn over $100 in an hour. It helps to provide as much information as possible on your profile, as one of my greatest payouts came from a survey that solicited me specifically for the field of my work. You’ll likely apply for many surveys and only qualify for a handful, but that handful is worth the time it takes to complete their suggested 5 applications per month.
Warning
Beware of the validity of surveys. Also remember that you are never required to follow through with something with which you aren’t comfortable. Thirdly, watch that the points you earn actually appear in your account. I once completed a survey that was supposed to have an $85 payout, only to learn that the researcher did not have a valid account and no payout would be coming to me. This was not on Swagbucks or User Interviews, but another survey site I am not recommending in this post. I have sent inquiries to Swagbucks a few times when I did not see my points for a completed survey come through, and they have been very accommodating with adjusting my account, but if I hadn’t caught it, I would have spent 20min on a survey for nothing.
Using Your Earnings
The rewards for surveys vary depending on the researcher, but is usually given as a selection of gift cards. A Visa or American Express gift card is more versatile for your use, but be aware that these can only be used at or below their total value, unless combined with other payment methods at a retailer that allows split payments at checkout (there are not many of these). I try to wait until I have at least enough points to claim a $25 award, which is enough for a pizza order or simple service. If you want, however, you can use the $15, $5, or $25 gift card you have earned to purchase a retailer gift card, which can more easily be combined with other payment methods.
Think about signing up, even if you don’t complete surveys right away. You may have instant earnings on signup, and when you are ready to fill some idle time, you may find out how quickly and easily you can earn extra cash or invites to larger payout surveys. If you want to make these earned dollars go as far as possible, check out this post on comparison shopping so you will always get the most bang for your buck.