Make Extra Money Taking Paid Surveys

The best work-at-home method I've found is taking paid surveys. You won't get rich, but it helps bring in a little cash when times get tough. There's a lot of hype about paid survey sites, but unfortunately a great deal of them only pay in gift cards and downloads, or they take too long to cash out. All of the sites mentioned below are 100% free and have been tested by myself, and they all pay cash. I've included some of my personal survey experience, such as what I've earned so far and how long it took me so you know what to reasonably expect.

For some of these survey sites, you will need a PayPal account to receive payment. If you have a checking account, you can sign up for PayPal here. Just click "Sign up". If you can't sign up for PayPal, I've included reviews of some survey sites that pay by check.

Survey Police is a handy website for checking to see which survey sites have the best rankings, and which have bad reputations. There are detailed customer reviews for every survey company as well as open complaints you can view so you know what you're getting into before you sign up. Feel free to look it over for survey sites not mentioned in the following article, there are plenty more out there I haven't had time to try.

The best survey sites I've discovered and tried myself are as follows, in no particular order:

Pinecone Research, which pays $3 per survey (excluding household surveys, which are optional and serve to help match you up with surveys about products you use regularly). You can choose either PayPal or check as your payment method. I've made over $100 using this site (it took me about six months to earn, I was getting surveys daily and testing a wide variety of products).

The best part is you're not just taking surveys -- you're testing brand new products in your home before they hit the shelves, almost all of which you get to keep. You're paid an additional $3 for doing a product evaluation survey after you've received the product and had time to test it. This means, for every product you're chosen to test, you're paid a total of $6. You also receive sweepstakes entries for cash prizes for the surveys you complete. In the event you're asked to return a product, Pinecone sends a prepaid package for you to send the product back in. To date, I've only been asked to return one product.

SurveySpot, which allows you to cash out for $10 with 1000 points (PayPal only, no checks). These surveys are usually 300 points apiece, which means you should be able to cash out in about two weeks to a month. You receive entries into the quarterly sweepstakes for those surveys that don't pay in points, and there is a quarterly sweepstakes drawing of $12,000.

BuzzBack, which allows you to cash out for $15, $25, or $50 (PayPal only, no checks) once you've earned it. These surveys start at $0.50 and vary. In two days I earned $2.50. You can opt for rewards instead of a cash incentive once you reach $25, including Yoville, Rixty, Tiger Direct, Farmville, Mafia Wars, and iTunes. Rewards at the $50 level include Amazon, Rixty, and VIPGift Pass.

Instead of cashing out, you can choose to donate your earnings to the following: Animal Rescue Foundation, Trees for the Future, Doctors Without Borders, American Cancer Society, Special Olympics, and American National Red Cross, among many others ($15 level and $25 level).

Toluna, which allows you to cash out for $20 (check only, no PayPal) once you have 60,000 points. Believe me, it doesn't take that long to accumulate since most surveys average between 1,800 - 7,500 points (some go up to 75,000 points). In addition to which, you can take hundreds of short sponsored polls for 15 - 75 points apiece on the home page (some of which lead to surveys for more points). Surveys take, on average, between 6 - 35 minutes to complete (most of the surveys I've taken have been about 20 minutes). I cashed out for my $20 after about a week and a half. On top of the $20 check you're working toward, you also get entries into the monthly sweepstakes (grand prize is $2,500) for those surveys you don't qualify for. No survey leaves you empty-handed. You can also cash out for other rewards, including sweepstakes entries (these cost 500 points apiece), and music downloads for 3,000 points.

All sources used in this article:

https://www.paypal.com/
http://www.surveypolice.com/
https://www.pineconeresearch.com/
http://www.surveyspot.com/
http://www.buzzback.com/
http://us.toluna.com/Default.aspx