Inbox Dollars...The Good & The Bad

Can you really get paid to read emails? Yes you can but very little. I joined because I heard it on Good Morning America. I think, or maybe The Today Show. Anywho.... They were talking about getting paid to read email or PTR. I can always use the extra cash so I decided to give it a whirl. Since August 2007, I have made $12.22. Very slowly the cash is adding up.

Here is the good and the bad of inbox dollars. First, make sure you don't use your personal email account. Get a Hotmail, Google, Yahoo, or Gmail account because you may start to receive junk. (I know I did.) After you join, they start sending you emails. I get about maybe 4-5 per day. I make 2 to 5 cents per email that I read. They send me lots of offers to sign up for. For example, sign up to receive a free trial period of stamps.com. I don't sign up for these because I will invariably forget to cancel the membership and then I'm stuck paying a fee for something I didn't want to begin with. So if you have a better memory than me, then you can make a little more doing offers. Just please make sure to read everything, that is, read all terms and regulations before you click submit. You can also make money with them by referring your friends. It's $5 per person, that signs up through you.

Now let's talk about payout. I haven't made enough to even think about cashing out. They have a minimum of $30. But I have done some research and found that when you ask for your payment, they take out $3 for processing and it usually takes 1 - 2 months to finally receive your check.

So, is Inbox Dollars for you? As for me, I am going to stay with them and continue clicking away. I don't want to lose what I have already earned! When I reach their payout limit I am done. For me it is a waste of time especially since I work full-time. Some like me may find it to be a complete waste of time, while others don't mind. The main thing to remember is, it just takes time to accumulate cash and you certainly cannot make a living by doing it, but you can earn a little extra.

Get Paid When You Get Phone Calls...Brring.com

This is real. I am trying it now. I signed up with my cell phone. You can choose a special Brring number that you give out to friends, family, or anybody. (Just a note. I have not received any telemarketing calls from them.) Every time someone calls me they listen to a short ad before they reach me. I signed up in December and to date I have $2.25 in my account. When the account reaches $10 I can cash out which shouldn't take long. Sounds like an easy way to make a little extra $$$ if your friends and family don't mind the advertising.

Survey Sites That Have Actually Paid

The following are sites that I have had success with.

Greenfield Okay. They send me lots of surveys. Most of them are long and most I don't qualify for so I get an entry into their sweepstakes. I was beginning to give up on them until recently I qualified for a $20 interactive online survey, then another last week. So far I have cashed out $45.

my points Basically a rewards network. Rack up points by shopping at select merchant sites, reading/responding to their emails, taking surveys, and playing on-line games. Doesn't take that long to earn points. Then redeem them for various gift certificates. I redeemed about 1,500 points for a $10 WalMart gift card and have cashed out for $10 Burger King gift card.

opinion outpost Rewarded points for each survey you complete which you redeem for cash. Doesn't take long for points to add up. When your account reaches 50 opinion points you can cash out. (10 opinion points = $1.00). I've cashed out $7.60. Accept members from US and Canada.

survey spot Most of their surveys are for entries into sweepstakes for prizes, but a few are paid. Could be $1 to 5$. To date I have been paid $13. Can cash out at $5. Haven't won anything yet, but I can wait!

testspin Okay. I've received invites for surveys ranging from $1 to $3 but I seem to disqualify for many of their surveys . They pay in Amazon gift certificates. Have to complete enough surveys to cash out at $10. So far I've cashed out twice and I've been with them since August 2007.

These are but a few. I'll be updating this list as more come in.

Can You Make Money Doing Surveys?

You've seen the ads "make $1000 a day at home hour doing surveys", right? Wrong! You can make some money from surveys but you can't make a living by doing them. Here's the skinny. I got involved in the whole survey thing in August of last year. Why? Because I was searching for a way to make some extra money to have a little extra spending money and possibly help pay some of my credit card debt off. Well, I am making extra money but not as much as I would like. Don't get me wrong I am grateful for what I have received. Mostly it's gone in my gas tank and to my kids who always need money for a field trip, for this, or for that. So if your thinking of getting into surveys you need to weigh is it worth my time and it does take a lot of time. You can't make a living doing them but you can make some extra cash. Here is what I have earned so far: $80 in Amazon gift certificates, $10 WalMart gift card, $10 American Express card, and about $50 in cash. Some survey companies compensate in points where you rack up points for doing their surveys and then redeem them for cash or prizes. Then there are some that don't pay anything but you can redeem your points for sweepstakes entries. By the way, I haven't won anything yet but who knows maybe... So it all boils down to is it worth your time. Oh, one last thing don't EVER PAY for a list of survey sites. They are all scams!

I have just skimmed the surface, if you are still interested check out katieshugs.com for more details. It helped me tremendously.