I have been apart of survey sites, where you can get paid a few dollars to do a 20 minute survey. However I have found that after about 5 minutes, I get that dreaded pop up saying "Sorry, we have reached our Quota", or "Sorry but you do not qualify". They got the details of what they needed, from age bracket, earning bracket, how many children you have, what you drink, eat and smoke, to when you go out and even what brands you use. Then all of a sudden you dont qualify and you maybe lucky to earn maybe 20 cents, or 2 entries into the quarterly competition. So as you can see, I am not a great fan of some of these sites. I have however found a couple of great pages within Australia, where I have managed to cash out at a decent amount.
SELLING UNWANTED ITEMS
Now, you can't possibly tell me that you have nothing in your place that you can't sell. Have a look around the room you are in now, and see if you can find 5 things that you no longer need or use, but is still in great condition. It could be a book, DVD, Cd, game or even clothing. Each of these items could earn you some money.
I normally sell on ebay, however I what they charge when you sell, then they charge you on the postage you charge, then there are the paypal fee's. It is one thing where you really need to weigh up, if it worth it, and the effort, from taking the photo, to doing the description. I find, that just to one listing properly, can take roughly 20 minutes. If it is a book and DVD, I do the blurb, which I do normally copy and paste, however it all takes time.
In Australia there is a site called Gumtree, it is a free site to sell items on it. I have not tried to use it as yet, however I will be giving it a go soon.
I find that it is Facebook, is where I sell alot of items. There are so many buy, swap and sell pages, you just need to look. I type in my area and the next thing I know there are over 20 pages for not just my area, but surrounding areas as well. When I add something new, I do a single sale, where it is not in an album and people can see it better. I also look at the item and think about how much I would want for it and then I add either $5 or $10, because people always try bargain down. Also, people will buy anything, from kids clothing, to furniture, to plants.
Then with those items, I have placed on facebook, I also add to Gumtree. This way I have can have one item advertised in various places, which just about guaranteeing it to sell.
Then last, but not least...... Garage sales...... I had a joint one 2 years ago with a friend, we advertised in the local area, from signs, to advertising on facebook and gumtree, For a couple of hours, I managed to make over $400. This is on thing I would love to do again, however with the owners selling the house, I don't have as much time, as there are constant open days.
STORE CARDS
This one is a hit a miss, there are some great store cards out there, where for every dollar you spend, they will give you points, which when tallied up will convert to money.
There is one that I love and use whenever I can. It is Flybuys
This program is linked in with Coles and can be used in many of the Coles Myer shops, from Coles, to Target, Kmart, Kmart auto, and Myer, as well as many other stores.
I only use my Flybuys card at Coles and Coles Petrol. I try and save all of my points and then by December I transfer them to Flybuys Dollars, where not only does my flybuys card act as a bank card, but I have actual money to spend at any Coles Myers store. Which is why I wait till December, and do my Christmas shopping at Kmart or Target. You can even use it to pay off layby's. Normally by December I have over $200 worth of points ready to use.
Often with flybuys they will have opportunities to earn bonus points, from spending $120 to earn 1000 points. Or at the moment they have a great bonus offer and one I always take up.
If you spend $50 for 4 weeks in a row, you can either claim $50 back off on your Coles shop, or you can get 10,000 points.
I always do the 10,000 point as that equals to $50 dollars to spend at either Kmart or Target, which I save till December. Even though this may seem like its not a money making idea, it is. You do end up with money that you can spend when you either have enough money, or when you have enough points.
With these points you can transfer it to "Flybuys Dollars" and can be spent at any of their affiliated shops. This is one thing I love, as I now have the freedom.
You maybe questioning the "Spend $50 for 4 weeks". For some it is very easy, and for some it maybe a tad harder. However, I use this opportunity to stock up on things, like tinned tomatoes, passata, pasta, cereals, and even Rice milk. As well as other items that can be used for meals and if I get stuck, I stock up on toilet paper. With 3 sons, we always need toilet paper, as well as paper towelling. Also with doing this, and buying everything that is needed and then cooking it up and freezing it, it means that I don't have to do food shopping for a week or two. Well, I still need bread and milk, but not the expensive items needed for dinners. Also one day of cooking, saves me time on those nights where we have after school activities.
So there are store cards, where you earn points which convert to money. There are some like Priceline, where if you earn enough over a certain period, they will send you a cheque that can only be used in Priceline. It is great if you shop at Priceline. Just like Amcal chemist also has the same deals.
Do your research and see what is suitable for you.
Well I better sign off for now, I don't want to inundate you with too much at once. I have alot of other idea's that I have jotted down in my notepad, so I will go into other idea's soon. These go further into Survey's, as well as Competitions.
If there is ever anything else you can come up with please let me know. But, please remember, I am located in Australia, so there are some things that I write about that are based within Australia.
I would love to hear of other peoples legitimate money making ideas.
