Earning Extra Money

One of my goals for 2013 is to earn an extra $1000 in cash and gift cards from things like taking surveys, mail in rebates, rewards programs etc.

Here is a list of the programs, websites and mobile apps I plan to use.

1. My Discover card runs promotions where certain types of purchases will earn 5% cash back during a certain month. For me, the best deal is when they run it on gasoline (usually during the summer). I typically only use this credit card for the special 5% items. (For the record, I pay of my credit cards each month and NEVER carry a balance or pay interest.)

2. My Bank of America Visa also does cash back....3% on gas, 2% on groceries and 1% on everything else. This card also gives a 10% bonus on your cash back if you have it deposited into your BOA account.

3. Ebates & Mr. Rebates. These cash back shopping sites are great. You earn a certain percentage of cash back on purchases at hundreds of online retailers. You just need to be sure to use their links to get to the retailers web page.

4. Endorse. This is a mobile app that I recently found. Each week they offer cash back on different items. You scan take a photo of your receipt with your smart phone, check off the items you bought and submit it. They have offers like 100% cash back on a cup of coffee or 10% back on a tank of gas.

5. Shopkick. This is another mobile app I was just introduced to last week. They give you points just for walking into certain stores in your area. You can also earn points for scanning the bar codes on certain items, by making purchases at certain stores and by clicking through their "look books." You can redeem your points for gift cards from places like Target, Best Buy, Starbucks etc.

6. Plink. This site gives you points when you link up your credit card and make purchases at certain retailers.

7. Mypoints. I've been a member of this site for about 6 years. I open a few emails every day and take surveys once in a while and usually get $50 - $100 in gift cards every year.



I also use the following sites to get freebies, coupons and sample products:

Vocal Point
MyInsite
She Speaks
Influenster - Leave a comment with your email address if you'd like an invite. I have 2 left!
BzzAgent


What sites/apps do you use to make extra money or earn gift cards?