Thrifty Tips

If you’re looking for a quick ‘n simple way to earn a little extra income from home, check out this list of legitimate online survey companies.

I have had some readers lately emailing me to ask about which survey companies are legit or worth their time. So today I wanted to list out some of the top rated survey companies, and some of the ones I have tried personally and know to be great. Most of these survey companies offer a cash payment, while others offer both cash and/or prizes!

Note: You should NEVER have to pay to join a survey company. Never ever.  Also – it’s a good idea to set up a separate email account for your surveys as you will get a lot of emails.

Now you’re not going to be able to quit your job, or become a millionaire from doing these but it’s always nice to get checks in the mail, free gift cards, and some extra gas, grocery, and shopping money!

Here are the top legitimate online survey companies:

OpinionOutpost – Opinion Outpost offers its members the opportunity to shape the products and services that touch their lives! Participants complete surveys for points that can be redeemed for cash payment through Paypal, a Citi Bank Card, or even donated to their favorite charity.

Valued Opinions - Being part of Valued Opinions is a rewarding experience all the way. Earn rewards simply by building up your balance, through completing surveys, and then exchange them for some brilliant rewards. Give your opinions by voting in Online Polls and Hot Topics.

MySurvey - MySurvey.com is a group of consumers from throughout the United States who influence future products and services by volunteering to participate in consumer research. By sharing your opinions about products and services, you are rewarded with Reward Points to redeem for Paypal, e-certificates, gift cards, charity donations and much more.

SurveySpot - The beauty behind SurveySpot.com is that it allows members to be a key factor in market research. Members enjoy unlimited access to all surveys with NO commitment (cancel membership at any time). Participants are entered in their quarterly drawing with prizes up to $10,000, plus earn prizes and cash rewards just for participating.

Ipsos i-Say - Join the i-Say panel and be a part of their team. Create polls, take surveys, and give your unique thoughts on the products and services you use every day. You’ll earn more than just points for being a member of i-Say. It’s how every day people like you or I, can have a real voice. Take surveys, earn points and redeem them through their online reward catalogue. They also periodic contests & prizes.

GlobalTestMarket – GlobalTestMarket was designed to give you the opportunity to get paid for directly influencing global market research. In partnership with top companies around the world, our online surveys offer you the ability to help influence the development of products and services that you use every day. Earn “MarketPoints” as well as Sweepstakes entries into their daily and monthly cash drawings. For every 1,000 MarketPoints earned, you’ll receive payment of $50.

Swagbucks – This is a GREAT way to earn gift cards, cash to your Paypal Account and more just for searching the web.  I am currently saving my Amazon gift cards earned from Swagbucks to pay for the majority of Christmas this year.

Pinecone Research - Upon approval into their program you will receive survey’s via email.  For each survey you complete you will receive $3.00 and paid by check through the mail or paypal. Note: This one is currently not taking on new members, but it is one of my favorite ones! I will make a post when this one becomes available again.

These are the top rated survey companies rated by TheSurveyPolice.com, which means they have been tried, tested and rated.

Which survey companies have YOU tried? I would love to hear your experiences with this. Do you love & use a survey company I didn’t list on here?

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There are a lot of different ways to organize your coupons. I have tried to cut my coupons all out and put them in a binder, or arrange them into little organizers. I have clipped, and alphabatized and my biggest complaint I had was the TIME it took to do all these things. Cutting out every coupon alone took me about 30 minutes and organizing them took even longer. As a busy mom of 4 kids I needed something quick and easy.

So here is a wonderful method I use that will take you less than 2 minutes each week!! It is the hanging file method and it is what I would recommend doing above all else for beginners. It saves so much time. First purchase a hanging file box or drawer system. I found this one at Walmart for around $4 and a pack of hanging file folders there as well for around $5.  You will only need 4 folders to begin! Have the tabs on them say: (1) SmartSource (2) Red Plum (3) P & G (Procter & Gamble) and (4) Misc.

Then you will want to take the inserts out of the Sunday paper and stack “like” inserts together. Make a pile of all the SmartSource inserts. Then a pile of the Red Plum ones. And then P&G ones once a month. Take a thick marker and write the date on the front cover of each insert.

Take the stack and place into its folder. Place the newest stack of inserts on the top, close the folder and file them away. After about 5 months, the majority of coupons in the insert will be expired, so at that point you would take the coupons and recycle them. Then once you reach 5 mos, every week you add a new stack of inserts, you throw out a stack of old ones at the same time.

Use the Misc. folder for things like Internet Printables, Fast food coupons, or other great coupons you find.

And that is it! It takes hardly any time at all to file away your inserts. So now you ask, “Well how will I know when to use the coupons in them? I cant see them!” That is the beauty of my grocery and drugstore matchups on my blog. You can go to my store lists and the list will tell you what coupons you will need that week and what date they are at. You can make yourself a personalized shopping list by clicking on each item you would like from each store.

For example the list will say I need to get some Quaker granola bars coupons that were in the 3/17 SS (SmartSource). So I will go to my file system, open it up to that date and cut out my coupons. Its so easy and saves tons of time!

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Do you find yourself going through several bottles of laundry detergent in a single month? Does having your washer constantly running leave you cringing every time the water bill shows up? Are you appalled by how fast different clothing seems to shrink – right before your very eyes? Would you like to go a little “greener” with your family’s laundry?

Well, this next Thrifty Tip will help you change all that! Are you ready? Okay…here goes: 

Wear your clothing twice before washing it!

Now, before you shout “Eeewww!” hear me out.

I’m not advocating wearing  the same outfit for two days in a row, nor am I saying it’s suddenly en vogue to re-wear one’s undies and socks (because frankly, that IS “Eeewww!”). What I’m suggesting is that you consider re-wearing visibly clean items like shirts, pants, skirts and dresses for more than one day BEFORE throwing them in the washer.

You may not realize it, but more often than not, the clothes that you wear in a day aren’t all that dirty by the time you take them off. So instead of immediately throwing them in the hamper, hang them to air out a bit, and re-wear them later that week or next.

Of course, if you’re sporting a spaghetti sauce stain, or your son’s t-shirt smells bad (teenage boy, anyone?) then by all means – wash away! But to really extend the life of your clothing, reduce shrinking, and save money on both detergent and water, consider wearing your outfits more than once. (Please note that I do not suggest applying this practice to things like socks and undies. Ahem.)

This practice actually works really well for sweaters and jeans, which tend to get a lot of use this time of year. They’re also prone to shrinkage (both), pilling (sweaters) and general wearing out (both).

A few rules to remember:

1) Hang clothes up so they can “air out” – never stuff them back inside your dresser drawers. (This is especially good practice for dressier items like suits and church and/or work clothes!)

2)  Don’t re-wear the exact same outfit two days in a row. Instead, wear a pair of jeans and a sweater on Monday and re-wear it on Thursday. (You get the idea.)

3) Due to bacteria, sweat, and a general “ick” factor, this practice does not apply to socks or undergarments.

4) If it’s clearly stained or otherwise dirty, just wash it.

Have you done this- do you wear your clothes more than once to save money?

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If you’re in an area with a U-pick orchard now is one of the best times to check them out. Not only can it it be a lot of fun, but the prices are usually a lot lower than you find in stores.

Me and my son Liam went picking peaches at Ray French orchard in Richland this week. It was SO much fun and these peaches were so big and delicious. I was thrilled with the cost too – from $0.68 lb – $0.90 lb. Next year I plan on doing some canning and will come back to the Ray French orchard to load up.

It was fun picking our own peaches.  Liam went around searching for the biggest peach on the trees.

When I got to the orchard, I took one of their bucket-pickers and went to work. Afterwards, they weighed the peaches and moved them to my own bucket. We made fun memories and enjoyed the yummy fruit.

If you are from the Tri-Cities check out Ray French Orchard to save money on fresh fruit. Its near the Target in Richland, and everything was so easy to do.

Make sure and see my recipe for Peach Cobbler or Fresh Peach Pie too!

Where do you go to to pick fruit in your local area? Please share!!

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I wanted to update you all with my post How I Make Cold Lunches in a Day.

First off, this method has been working so wonderfully for me – it’s an absolute dream. I am so so so so happy its working! Last year I was giving up on Cold Lunches all the time and just sending them instead with money for hot lunch..OUCH! With 3 kids paying eating hot lunch @ $2.50 each that was expensive. This Making Cold Lunches in a day is saving my family money.

So what is this system? It’s basically making a week’s worth of bagged up lunch stuff once a week. The kids can grab their lunch stuff every morning quickly – I have a cold lunch bucket that is in my fridge, and a room temperature bucket in my pantry. You can read all about it here.

So here is the update I wanted to share with you. I have been making sandwiches and freezing them a week in advance. The kids can grab the frozen sandwich and add it to their lunchbox – and it also acts as a cold element so I usually don’t even add one of those freeze-ice packs.

Usually I just buy a package of rolls – there are larger sandwich styles or just basic rolls if you find your children dont need that much sandwich. I will just add some sort of deli meat and cheese only. If you did want to add mayo or mustard you should add it between the meat & cheese so it won’t be absorbed into the bread when it thaws, making a soggy yucky sandwich. PS – My kids love just pepperoni and cheese. I then saran wrap the sandwiches and add them to a freezer bag. Then freeze. Works like a charm.

So I am curious to know, have any of you been trying this method out? Is is working for you? Any cool food ideas you would like to share?

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