Gilly Bean
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I'm in a similiar boat- little extra money, kids, and Christmas creeping up too fast.
I started looking around in September for ways to make money online that were legit. It took a while, and many mistakes, but I do have several sites I now use. The only thing is that you might not get paid before Christmas with all of them.
Net Winner is my favorite, and the one I've earned the most on. Since the end of September when I signed up, I've earned $100 in gift cards ($25 to Game Stop, $75 to Wal-Mart, I choose the stores from a list of 14 places). I'm almost to a 5th card now. They take 30 days to arrive, so this is one that has the potential for arriving before Christmas yet.
http://www.*********.com/?signupCode=gilly2878 You play a game for free, and win points when you win the game. The points are easy to come by, and the exchange rate is 1000 pts equals $1.00. You need 25,000 to cash out (Cash outs are available in $25, $50, $75, $100 gift cards- you can cash out immediatly, or wait).
Another one I use is Gather.com, but it's slow earning points. It's kind of like Yahoo Answers. You post stuff- questions, articles, pictures, and earn points for doing so. When you get to the point payout, you can choose from a very select few stores, or a ton of charities. It's taken me almost a month to earn my first one, which is $10 to Barnes & Noble, which we don't have up here. I'm using that as a gift to give my aunt, who has one near her, and shops at it often.
The last place I use regularly is actually one my kids use (though, I supervise them on it). It’s called Weekly Reader Insider. Do you remember those little 4 page “magazines” you’d get in school about animals, or current events, or history, or what not? Weekly Reader is one of the companies that makes them. Weekly Reader Insider is a survey site that asks kids about different things, from how they spend their holiday’s, to what they think about smoking, to what they think should be made the 8th world wonder.
The information collected is used to help put together issues that pertain to what the youth of America wants to read in school. Things that are both educational, but also fun!
http://wrinsiders.com/
Referral code: P14497445358
In combined totals, my kids have earned $75 in gift cards from them since August. Or, rather, cashed in for that much. They built points up over the summer, but I’ve noticed when helping them that points come MUCH quicker in the fall and winter. They have gift cards to places like Claire’s, Wal-Mart, Amazon.com, and even charities such as Habitat for Humanity. I was a sneaky mom- they didn't realize the points were cashable. So, they earn them, and I cash them out in time to use them to buy their Christmas presents, or give them as actual gifts to the kids. The amounts still go to the kids, regardless of who cashes them out.
This year, my oldest daughter is getting a $25 gift card to Claire's (I got a $20 one free with points at WRinsider, and added $5 to it), my son is getting a $25 card to Game Stop (again, earned free, this time at *********), and my youngest daughter is getting a $25 Wal-Mart card (again, earned free at *********). That's $75 worth of gift cards, and I'm only paying $5 for upgrading the Claires card.
The rest of what I've earned ($125, a total of $200 even through several sites) are being used to buy their actual Christmas presents this year.
I also earned about $90 cash from Treasure Trooper, but you don't get a payout unless you earn $20 the month before. For example, if you have a $20 balance on October 31st, you get a payout November 15th. If you only had an $18 balance on October 31st, you do not get a payout in November. I had about $16 in September, so I did not get a payout in October. However, as of October 31st, I had about $92 built up, so sometime next week, or the week after, I'll get a check in the mail for $92. That's also going to Christmas shopping. I highly recommend getting a junk email for this one. None of the ones listed before spam you at all, so you won't need a junk email for those.
http://www.treasuretrooper.com/161978
I know these are not a HUGE help, but if you do get them going, even if they don't payout for Christmas, it could be a source of extra income afterwards. I wish I could help more.
EDITED TO ADD: Definetly look into the Salvation Army, Toys for Tots, and any local programs you can find. I've done them in the past, and they are HUGELY helpful. Sometimes there is a city program that operates WITH Toys For Tots, but seperatly. You can usually qualify for both programs. |
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