10 Ways Moms Can Make an Extra $850+ This Year Without a Regular Job
We all know how tough it can be to raise a family on a budget.
Summer vacations drain you. School shopping sucks you dry. Thanksgiving dinner empties your wallet. And somehow you’ve got to fulfill holiday gift lists.
We want you to be as stress-free as possible, so we’ve put together a list of ways you can make extra money to help throughout the year.
Get started with everything on this list this month, and you could be $850 richer this year.
Pretty cool, right?
1. Take 10 Surveys from Swagbucks: $20
Swagbucks is one of the only legitimate paid survey companies out there (and it’s rated an A+ with the Better Business Bureau).
I’ve heard some of the top-end surveys can pay up to $95, but those are rare and can take a while to complete. Most surveys pay a buck or two and only take 10 to 15 minutes.
Also, Swagbucks rewards you with points you can redeem for cash via Paypal or gift cards to places like Amazon or iTunes.
You can usually expect to get roughly $1 on a gift card for every 100 SBs you redeem. The redemption rate is the same across the board, so 500 SBs will get you a $5 Amazon gift card or $5 on PayPal.
Click here to sign up — it’s free to sign up and you’ll get a $5 bonus when you take your first survey.
2. Get Paid While Watching Movie Previews: $30
If we told you that you could get paid while watching videos on your computer, you’d probably laugh.
It’s too good to be true, right?
But we’re serious. By signing up for a free account with InboxDollars, you could add up to $225 a month to your pocket. They’ll send you short surveys every day, which you can fill out while you watch someone bake brownies or catch up on the latest Kardashian drama.
No, InboxDollars won’t replace your full-time job, but it’s something easy you can do while you’re already on the couch tonight, wasting time on your phone.
Unlike other sites, InboxDollars pays you in cash — no points or gift cards. It’s already paid its users more than $56 million.
Signing up takes about one minute, and you’ll immediately receive a $5 bonus to get you started.
3. Download These Apps: $39+
A number of companies will actually pay you for downloading apps on your smartphone — and you’ll get paid for every month you keep them installed.
The apps collect data and help companies better understand web and mobile usage — such as what times of day people browse, how long they stay on websites and use apps, and what types of sites and apps are popular (or not).
Here are my favorites:
- ShopTracker – If you’re a regular Amazon shopper, you can earn money each month contributing to research to help companies understand what people are buying online. Download and connect this to your Amazon account and you’ll instantly earn a free $3 Visa gift card, plus another $3 for every month you keep it installed.
- MobileXpression for iPhones – After you’ve installed this app for one week, you get to play an instant rewards game for a prize (everyone wins something). We’ve seen users win a $25 Amazon gift card, but some of the other prizes include iPads and Samsung TVs
- MobileXpression for Android – This one is the same as above, but for Android devices.
4. Get Paid $100+ to Write an Article for These Sites
If you like to write and have a strong knowledge of your favorite topic (or several), find blogs that will pay you to write articles.
As a freelance blogger, you can work as much or little as you want, so this makes a nice side gig. Check out these seven blogs that pay $100 or more per post.
Want to share your parenting expertise? Check out these parenting blogs and magazines looking for writers.
5. Sell Some of Your Old Stuff: $50
Are your closets and shelves packed to the brim with stuff you never use — or even look at?
You can sell virtually anything on Letgo. This intuitive app lets you snap a photo and upload your item in less than 30 seconds. Not only does it remove a lot of the hassle of selling things online, it’s 100% free to use.
Set a goal of making $50, and start digging through your closet!
6. Turn Your Carpool Skills Into Cash: $600
A hectic family schedule of school, extracurriculars, sleepovers and weekend get-togethers has probably forced you to find the best routes around town. Put that to use to earn some extra cash!
As a partner driver with Uber, you’re an independent contractor. You set your own schedule and drive as much or as little as you want.
Set yourself a small goal to earn about $50 and drive a few shifts each month. That little bit could be enough to cover gifts for the holidays.
If you want to give it a try, here are a few things to keep in mind: You must be at least 21 years old, have at least one year of licensed driving experience in the U.S. (three years if you’re under 23 years old), have a valid U.S. driver’s license and pass a background check.
Finally, your car must be a four-door, seat at least four passengers (excluding the driver), be registered in-state and be covered by in-state insurance.
8. Sign up for Free Gift Card Promotions: $10
Believe it or not, there are sites that will give you free gift cards just for signing up with them.
One of my favorites is Ebates, the cash-back shopping site. It’s giving away $10 gift cards if you sign-up as a new member and earn your first cash-back rebate. You can choose either a $10 Target, Walmart, Macy’s, or Kohl’s gift card.
You do have to wait 30 days. But, it’s free money so can you really complain?
9. Evaluate Your Local Stores with Mobee: $10
Have you ever tried mystery shopping?
The Mobee app will pay you to go undercover in your local stores and rate the level of customer service and cleanliness, among other things.
Most of you know I’ve done quite a bit of mystery shopping, so I was pretty excited to find this app. It’s really easy to use and the shops went pretty quickly, but I wasn’t super impressed with the payment amounts.
For example, there was a Subway mystery shop in my area paying $8. It’s not a huge amount for a mystery shop, plus I had to buy a sandwich during the shop that wasn’t reimbursed.
Regardless, it was still like getting a free lunch, so I’ll take it!
