$$$ 10 Ways I Tried To Make Extra Money Online and They Actually Worked $$$

You have seen the ads. You have received the emails which come from unknown people who want to convince you that you can make $10,000.00 per month doing some sort of task. I'll admit I have not tried most of those suggestions. I was taught that if something seems to good to be true . . . it is. I sent off for one of those "assemble items at home" kits once, but instead of an actual kit, I received a book which listed hundreds, maybe thousands, of businesses I could contact to ask if they had anything I could assemble for them at home. I threw the book away.

I have always worked. I spent several years working outside the home on a part time basis, but my husband and I agreed that our family functioned better when I worked from home. Teaching toddlers and preschoolers (as opposed to teaching in the public school system) from home is better for our family, but I have always felt the need to supplement the family budget. I have sold Home Interiors and Gifts, Avon, Mary Kay, and jewelry. All of those things worked for a while, but finding the time to grow my home based business was a challenge. Once my children started to school, I realized I did not want to be away from them every evening to do presentations. I wanted to be home with my husband and my children who had been at work or in school all day.

It took me a little longer to become acquainted with a computer than most people, but when I finally made friends with technology, I discovered several ways to make money online.

None of these suggestions will make you a wealthy person. You probably will not make enough money to quit your current job and some of them are more time consuming than others. However, with a little bit of work and dedication, you can certainly pad your family budget. You will discover ways to generate income which will be paid to your PayPal or bank accounts. You will discover a way to use coupons so that you get the coupon discount and cash back for using them. You will discover ways to shop online so that you receive cash back for your purchases. These suggestions take a little time and planning, but these are the ones that have worked for me.

One of the first things I tried was Inbox Dollars. At first I thought it was another gimmick because they advertise that you get paid for reading emails, but it was free to join so I thought I would give it a try. I'm glad I did. Yes, you do get paid for reading emails. You get paid a whole two cents for every email you read. You can also watch short commercials and get a few cents too. However, I quickly discovered that reading the emails keeps your Inbox Dollars account active, but there are other ways to make beneficial extra money by using the site. I have received several $30.00 checks from Inbox Dollars. Once you go to the site, you can click on store tabs. If you are accustomed to shopping online from stores such as Target or Walmart, you will definitely benefit from Inbox Dollars. Instead of going directly to the store's website, access it through Inbox Dollars. Your purchase is tracked with a referral code. You will receive a percentage of your total purchase back into your Inbox Dollars Account. Once your total reaches the $30.00 threshold, you may request a check. If you are saving up to a particular sum, leave the money in your Inbox Dollars account. Once you have made your desired amount of money, you may request a check as long as you have reached the $30.00 threshold. Inbox Dollars sends you a check in the mail. Once you receive it, take it to the bank.

Another way to get money deposited into your Inbox Dollars account is by accessing their coupons. Once you are on the site, click on the "coupons" tab. Click on the coupons you would like to use, then print them. You may need to install a program on your computer so that you can print the coupons properly. If you need to install a coupon printing program, you should get a message on your computer screen. Follow the simple directions to install. It should be quick and simple. If I can do it, you can too. Using coupons through Inbox Dollars is doubly beneficial. When you use the coupon, you get the discount on the product, but you also get 10 cents deposited into your Inbox Dollars account for every coupon you redeem. I discovered that this takes a while to process, sometimes weeks, but you will eventually see the credit.

You can install the Inbox Dollars tool bar and receive a few cents here and there for online searches too. Even if I haven't made any online purchases through an Inbox Dollars Affiliate store (and there are many stores), it is still kind of fun just to look up at the tool bar and see the amount increasing every day.

I only offer you one warning about Inbox Dollars. You will need to set up a separate email before you sign up. You will get some spam emails. I received a lot at first, but it is under control now. A good way to avoid a lot of spam emails is to watch the offers. Some of them are good offers you will enjoy. You will receive offers to join book clubs, insurance programs, etc. If you would like to take advantage of any offers, feel free. Just know that you will receive emails and not all the offers are free.

I do only a few things. I click on my paid emails to keep my account active. I use the coupons. I use the search bar. When I shop online, I go through Inbox Dollars to access the store if the store is an Inbox Dollars Affiliate. Those things will get several dollars deposited into your account on a pretty regular basis. If you are interested making extra money with Inbox Dollars, see the note at the bottom of this article. It's free to join.

There are a few other similar sites you can use as well. These sites don't offer as many ways to earn income as Inbox Dollars, but you do get cash back for your purchases, either through bank direct deposit or PayPal deposit. They are free to sign up. Different sites offer a variety of store affiliates, but you will be familiar with most of them if you are accustomed to shopping online. Various stores offer different percentages of cash back. Some offer 2%, some 3%, some 4%. Any amount of cash back is better than going directly to the store website and getting no cash back at all. It is like using a coupons for every item you purchase every time you shop.

Ebates

Kick it Back

Big Crumbs (Big Crumbs has a huge variety of store affiliates and their payment threshold is only $5.00 so you will get paid more often. It doesn't take as long to meet their minimum threshold as Inbox Dollars.)

Helpful Hint: When you are placing items in your cart, try to plan so that you receive free shipping. If you pay a lot of shipping costs, it might cost you more in shipping than the savings you receive from using the site. Be careful. Shop smart.

I enjoy getting money placed in my Inbox Dollars account when I redeem coupons printed through the site, but I also enjoy using digital coupons. There are several sites which help you make the most of your digital coupons. Sites such as Southern Savers and Coupon Moms help you know when and where to use your clipped coupons. I tried this and still do occasionally, but it is time consuming and I find that I always forget to take the coupons with me to the grocery store or I get into such a hurry at the store that I walk out with my groceries and my coupons are still in my purse. I get pretty upset with myself when I make that mistake.

With modern technology, you can load coupons from the internet to your shoppers card (those little cards we now have to present at every cash register at every store if we want to take advantage of all their store savings). I love this because I always have my card and the attendant will always ask for it so I never forget to use the coupons. I usually shop at Kroger. They are not the cheapest store without coupons and offers, but if I use my digital coupons, I do well there. I go to the Kroger website and click on the coupons to load to my shoppers card. Check to see if your store offers such a plan. If so, go to the website, load the coupons to your shopper's card, go to the store, purchase the items, scan your card - coupons redeemed!

If your store doesn't offer such a plan, there are other sites that will help. You must register your shopper's card with the site, but then you can load coupons from the site to your card.

SavingStar (www.savingstar.com)

ShortCuts (www.shortcuts.com)

Upromise (www.upromise.com)

Do you enjoy making things? You might as well use your skills and hobbies to make a little bit of extra money. Open an eBay or a Webstore account and sell your stuff. If you are not crafty, but you have a lot of stuff laying around the house you don't want anymore, sell it on eBay or in your own Webstore. I don't enjoy yardsales, but I can list items from the comfort of my home and ship them to a buyer. Be careful using eBay. They offer a limited number of free listings per month, but you need to know exactly what it will cost you to ship the item. The buyer pays the shipping but if you don't charge enough to cover your shipping cost, you will loose money. If you plan to sell a lot, open an eBay store. You will not get free listings, unless they have a special offer going on, but your listing fees will be reduced. Do your research on eBay before opening a store. You can definitely make extra money on eBay, but if you aren't careful, you will loose money in listing fees, seller fees, and shipping costs.

I opened a webstore with Webstore.Com, but I have not used it yet. I recently discovered it. I have a friend who finds it successful. There are no seller fees or listing fees. You can open a store with Webstore.com for free as well. You will still need to watch your shipping costs. Be smart.

If you are not thrilled about using an online site such as eBay or Webstore, start your own e-commerce website. There are no seller fees or listing fees. It is your site so you set the rules. It is easy enough to start a free website but in order to add PayPal buttons or Google Check-Out, you will need a premium account. This can be as little as $10.00 per year or more than $100.00 (maybe much more). I sell some things on my personal blog, Steele Magnolias, and I only pay $10.00 per year. Do your research and choose a service that satisfies your budget but allows you to operate your business effectively. There are plenty of options out there. Just do a Google search for "free websites."

We set up a Weebly site to market my daughters paintings. It is easy to use. Here is her site: The Artwork of Megan Truelove

Become a MyMemories affiliate. It's free. If you love scrapbooking, you will love this - especially if you love digital scrapbooking. I recently discovered MyMemories and love all the paper packages they offer. I love them because I am not a very creative person and using their papers and software helps me keep my photo memories up to date. While exploring the site, I discovered they have an affiliate program. Sign up for the site and receive your referral code. Use the code on your own websites or in your personal emails - or any other way you can think of. Those who use your code will receive $10.00 off their purchase of the MyMemories Suite software package. You will receive $20.00 deposited into your PayPal account within 48 hours after the purchase is processed.

Check out MyMemories for yourself. Their newest package is the MyMemories Suite V3 package. If you are interested in receiving $10.00 of the MyMemories Suite package, you may use my code and share it with others. Use code STMMMS65817.

Whether you purchase a package or not, it is free to sign up for the site. You will receive freebies often which will save you money (a penny saved is a penny earned) and you can get your own affiliate code if you like.

Drink Coke? Cash in! My Coke Rewards doesn't actually pay cash, but it is just as good. I drink a lot of Diet Coke. Using my rewards points, I just purchased a magazine subscription, a very nice ice cream scoop, and my favorite - a Coca Cola cookie jar. I didn't pay one sent, not even for shipping. Here is how it works:

Go to My Coke Rewards. Type in your codes. Your points are deposited into your rewards account. You can see the numbers increase right there on your computer screen. You can access the My Coke Rewards catalog on the website. Once you have gained enough points, you can purchase items from the catalog. You can also enter points into sweepstakes. The points do expire after a certain amount of time. You will be notified when your points are close to their expiration date. If you finish shopping and have points left over, go ahead and enter those into a sweepstakes. You will see several options. It's fun!

You can find the codes underneath the bottle caps of Coke products. If you purchase a 12 pack or 24 pack of canned Coca Colas, you will find the code on the inside the box. If you purchase a "frig pack," the code will be on the inside of the section you tear off.

My Coke Rewards isn't really a "make money online" site, but if you get free products, it is just as good. Remember, "a penny saved is a penny earned."

If you enjoy writing, you can earn a little bit of money while blogging. You can start a personal blog and write about your family and personal experiences or you can start a professional blog and write about your profession. You will need to sign up for a Google Adsense account. When you do, you will be be able to create ads. You can add the ads to your blog by placing the codes where you would like the ads to appear. When your readers view your blog, they will see the ads. If they click on the ads, you will receive funds into your Adsense account. You will only receive a few cents here and there at first, but your earnings will increase over time. The more you write, the more you are likely to earn. To sing up, go to Google. Then, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on "Advertising Programs." You will see links for "Google Adsense" and "Google Adwords." Using Adsense is free. Google Adwords will cost you, but some writers find it profitable. Do your research and choose a plan that works best for you.

I have one warning concerning Adsense: DO NOT instruct readers to click on your ads. This is strictly prohibited by Google. If they discover you have instructed anyone to go to your site and click on your ads, you will loose access to your account, permanently. Google has ways of tracking ads and clicks and they will know. Don't take the chance. Be smart and operate with integrity.

There are a few other ways to earn money while blogging.

Sign up for an Amazon Associate's account. Go to Amazon and sign up for an account. It's free! You will receive a tracking ID and a link to your Amazon Associate's page. From there, you will be able to access codes for products you can advertise on your blog or personal website. You will not receive money from clicks, but you will receive a percentage of sales when a reader purchases an item through your link. Once you have received $12.00, you will receive a direct deposit into a bank account. You will need to link a bank account. I wanted to keep my Amazon payments separate from my household account so I opened up a separate bank account for Amazon payments. A separate bank account is not a requirement, but it might make budgeting and bookkeeping easier for you.

Chitika is another affiliate which works like Adsense. Signing up is free. You will receive access to an affiliate page where you can create ads to place on your blog or website. Click here to set up a Chitika account.

Finally, my favorite way to earn extra money: Hubpages!

Earning money from self publishing articles online takes a bit of work. You must be capable of writing good, quality content which benefits your readers. Signing up for Hubpages is easy and free. You can write about any topic you like as long as you remain withing the Hubpages terms of use. I write on a variety of topics. Some days I like to write about my family and my faith. On other days, I like to share professional ideas in the area of Early Childhood Education. I enjoy doing book reviews and movie reviews. Today, I'm writing about ways to make money online. Some Hubpage writers like to concentrate on a specialty topic while others, like me, prefer a variety. You can write about whatever you like, but to be successful, you must demonstrate good writing skills including grammar, language, and quality content.

There are several ways to make extra money on Hubpages. Once you sign up for an account, you may begin writing immediately. To begin making money, you will need to go to your "My Accounts" page and follow the directions to configure your Adsense and Amazon Accounts. You will need to enter your Adsense Publisher ID and Amazon tracking ID accurately in order to receive credit.

There are two ways to earn extra money through the Hubpages Earnings program. You will need to be approved for an eBay code. Simply click on "set up" and follow the directions. It will take a few days to get approval. Once you are approved, you may begin adding eBay items to your hubs using the eBay capsule.

If you would like to sign up for the Hubpages Ad program, follow the instructions for set up. Signing up for the Hubpages Ad program is not required. If you do not set up the Hubpages Ad program, your ad spaces will continue to be filled with Adsense Ads. If you sign up for the Hubpages Ad program, some of the Adsense space will be replaced with Hubpage Ads. It is up to you, but my personal experience has been that my earnings increased drastically when I signed up for the Hubpages Ad program. You may visit the Hubpages Forums to ask questions from other Hubbers, but I believe most of them, if not all, will recommend the addition of the Hubpages Ad program.

Writing for Hubpages is fun for me and I have received one Adsense deposit, one Amazon deposit, and one Hubpages Ad deposit in the last 20 months. My earnings were very slow at first, but they have increased over time. Now that I am approaching the two year mark, I have noticed a pronounced increase in earnings. The more you write, the more you earn.

Click Here to sign up for Hubpages and begin writing your own articles. Start earning extra money right away and it's free!

If you decide to take advantage of my suggestions, most of them will provide you with a referral code. You will receive either monetary compensation or another type of credit if you refer others to the program. Use your social networks to promote your affiliate companies. You can share Amazon items on social networks such as facebook. I found an adorable pair of puppy salt and pepper shakers once and advertised them on my facebook page. They received a lot of clicks and someone purchased a set. I have discovered that my number of clicks greatly increases when I advertise Amazon products on facebook. Take notice of your friends' interests. Search for Amazon products that spark your friends' interest and meet their needs. If you maintain a blog or write for Hubpages, share your articles on your social networks. You might be surprised at how many other share your work as well. If your work is shared often, your page views and earnings will increase.

If you sign up for any of the previously mentioned programs and receive a referral code, go ahead and share. Share often and enjoy watching your earnings and credits increase.

Credit Card rewards is another way that isn't really considered a way to make money online, but it is a similar way to put money in your pocket. Check to see if your credit card company offers rewards. My husband uses a card for business. He had used if for a long time before he noticed he had earned a large number of points. He checked to see what the points meant. He discovered that he had the option of choosing cash back to his credit card account or he could choose gift cards to stores like Target and Walmart. After evaluating his points and his options, he opted to receive cash back. That month, he received over $600.00 returned to his credit card account. WOW! We felt like children at Christmas time. I immediately pulled up our other credit card account information. I discovered that my PaPal credit card offers rewards. I didn't qualify for cash back but I did qualify for six $15.00 target gift cards. To me, that is as good as cash. I used the cards to shop at Target for our grocery needs that month. Now, we both keep a close watch on our points and rewards. Over time, those points and rewards add up to a lot of savings.

Remember, none of these suggestions will earn you a large amount of money and none of them will make you wealthy, especially in record time. However, as you can see, if you take advantage of several programs, remain organized, share the information, and shop smart, you will either receive a good deal of rewards or cash back over time. For my family, the amount we receive over the course of a year, all programs combined, helps us with our Christmas budget or perhaps a quiet weekend away. All my suggestions are free, so go ahead and try them out. If you are not satisfied with your results, you need to do nothing else. If you are satisfied, you will at least have a lot of fun with a little bit of extra income.