Ways to Make Some Extra Coinage Online

Ever since I've been home with my kids, I've tried to find little things I could do from home that would make me a little extra money. I've done surveys, shopped at cash back sites, and read e-mail for pennies.

Here are a few websites I've used to bring in a little extra cash. In the interest of full disclosure, I will say that if you sign up using these links or ask me to refer you, I'll get a bonus. I always appreciate the support! Remember that once you've signed up, you can get bonuses for referring others, too!

Ebates: This is a shopping portal that offers you cash back for your purchases. There are tons of merchants to choose from and sometimes rewards are quite nice (10 percent cash back or more!). The site is super easy to use. If I'm doing any shopping online, I always make sure to check the deals at Ebates. When you sign up and make a purchase before August 14, you'll get a $10 bonus. Then you can refer your friends and earn bonuses for the referrals. Just by doing my regular modest amount of internet shopping, I've earned $65 from Ebates since January.

MyPoints: I love MyPoints. MyPoints gives you rewards points for reading e-mails, shopping through their website, completing surveys, and signing up for offers. You can turn your points into gift certificates at hundreds of different stores. It's super easy to click on the e-mails and do the surveys. I'm planning to convert my rewards points to some Christmas gifts this year. If you are interested in MyPoints, e-mail me and I'll refer you.

MySurvey.com: Very easy to use survey site, and most surveys take under 10 minutes. You earn points that you can convert to cash. Sign up here if you're interested.

ZoomPanel: I enjoy the surveys from Zoom Panel. Many of them ask you about interesting products that are under development. This program awards points that you can convert into merchandise. I've got my eye on some things for the house that I'm working towards. Click here to sign up or shoot me an e-mail and I'll send you the referral.

Global Opinion Panels: The surveys are pretty simple and it doesn't take too long to get a few bucks. Drop me a line for the referral, if you want.

Inbox Dollars: This is another program that pays you for reading your e-mail. You make about 5 cents an e-mail, but it doesn't really take any time. You get a $5 bonus for signing up. You also can earn additional money for taking surveys, signing up for offers, or making purchases.

Mechanical Turk: If you're okay with being an Internet minion, you can sign up at Mechanical Turk. This is run by Amazon. Basically you do menial online tasks for pennies. The tasks range from rewriting copy to discerning differences between two products, to transcribing information. The longer the task, the more it pays... I think the most I've seen for a task is $15. You need to make sure that if you sign up for a HIT (human intelligence task), that you're able to complete it in the timeframe allotted. The money you earn can be directly deposited in a bank account or converted to Amazon credit. I personally found this insanely putzy for the amount of money they pay you.... but if you're really in dire need of some extra cash, it's worth a look.

If you're thinking of signing up for any of these types of things, I highly recommend having a separate e-mail account to handle all the mail you'll get. I've also found that the more active you are with the survey sites, the more surveys they send you.

You will not get rich doing this. But you will earn a little bit of something (either cash or gift cards.). You will have to ask yourself, "What is Your Time Worth?" I'm kind of a nerd who likes reading e-mail and doing surveys, so for me it's no big deal to spend a few minutes of my day doing these types of things. I like having a little extra spending money in my pocket, too!