Extra Special Earnings ... Swagbucks

As you've most likely seen ... because of the current economic conditions in America ... we are doing lots of extra things to try and save more money.  So far, this has led us to use pretty drastic measures in our food budget.  Implementing these have had AMAZING results on our emotional well-being.

Imagine getting essential supplies for free - every week, and what that can do for you emotionally.

Now, however, I have also uncovered another extra little source of earnings.  This resource is not something that I would call income.  I would call this program a perk of being thrifty.

What are these extra special earnings I am talking about?

It's a service called Swagbucks.com.


Ok, Chris ... since you are going to talk about this crazy new program ... tell us ...
What is Swagbucks?

Alright, since you asked ... I will tell you.

Swagbucks is a search engine tool, like Google.com, or Bing.com, or Ask.com.  However, unlike just a standard search engine, you also earn bucks for doing searches on Swagbucks.com.   The more searches you do, the more bucks you can earn.    Over time, you trade in your points for actual prizes and gifts offered by Swagbucks.

What are swagbucks?
When you do searches at Swagbucks.com, some of your searches earn you points.  Basically, they want you to do natural searches, like you would normally do on other sites.  These points are called Swagbucks.   That is, essentially, how you earn your Swagbucks points when you are first starting out.  You can get banned for several hours, if you just keep searching, and searching, and searching, without actually visiting the sites you are searching.   (I don't suggest this)

My Swagbucks Suggestion:
I suggest using Swagbucks to search those sites you visit often - facebook, your email accounts, the Speer Family blog, twitter (if you like that), and maybe Youtube.   Just use this engine to find those sites, instead of going straight to them.  For example, in the morning, I usually search my favorite sites until I get points.  This is usually about 3-5 searches.  Then, you can do the same in the evening.  Of course, you can do more searches throughout your day - but this strategy makes it more reasonable for those with normal lives and jobs.


Swagbucks prizes:
Over time you earn more and more bucks.  Once you have collected enough Swagbucks, you will then be able to trade them in for high-quality gifts and prizes.  This is the reason I call this 'extra earnings', and not income.  In a way you are making extra money.  But the payment of this money is in the form of gift cards, gifts, or digital payments which you can use personally, or for your family or friends.

So far, we have been using our points to amass $5 Amazon gift cards, which we will use to buy things on Amazon, during upcoming gift giving seasons ... like Christmas, or birthdays, or any special event.

For example, you can see in this photo that I have saved up 344 bucks towards my next prize.  Currently, the $5 gift card takes about 450 bucks.
You can get a maximum of 5 - $5 Amazon gift cards per month. 
I was able to get all 5 this month, plus I'm still collecting points.

Here are some other Swagbucks Prizes you can get.  As you can see ... there are a LOT of options.

• Starbucks gift cards
• Southwest Airlines gift cards
• Paypal money deposits
• Apple (store) gift cards
• Target gift cards
• iTunes store gift cards
• Restaurant.com
• Barnes & Noble
• Lowes
• Nintendo
• REI
• Bass Pro Shops

** ONE Super Important Note **

Only one account per household. 
If you have more than one, they will deactivate your account,
and you will lose all the points you've gained.

How to get swagbucks?
Well, we've already talked about the basic idea of Swagbucks ... you search, and you earn.  Additionally, you'll get 30 swagbucks just for starting up your new account.  However there are other ways for you to earn Swagbucks as well.

1. They also have Swagbucks Swag Codes.  These are codes released throughout they day, by Swagbucks.com.  When you find these Swag Codes, by following the clues, and hunting down the codes, you can plug them in at Swagbucks.com and earn extra points. 
   
   Typically there about 2-5 extra Swag Code hunts per day.  You have to keep your eyes peeled for these, because they are like a treasure hunt giving you extra spending power everytime you find one.
   
   
2. Additionally, if you ever buy or order sample products online, you may be able to earn extra Swagbucks for buying online.  Up to now, I have not made any purchases through Swagbucks like this, but many people make their purchases this way so they can earn those extra points. 

Finally, I wanted to show you my proof, because many of my friends are asking ...
Does Swagbucks work?

Obviously we all are going to have different results, because no person will have exactly the same searching, buying, and time strategies.  But, since I joined Swagbucks in January, I have earned $50 Amazon gift card dollars that Al and I are planning to use for Christmas gifts for the girls this year.  Actually it's $60 now, since I've started writing this article, but $10 of them are still waiting to show in my Amazon account.

If you are at all interested in joining Swagbucks, and you have any questions, I'll be glad to talk with you about it.   You can email me at Chris  {at} ScrapbookRadio {dot} com.

Talk soon!
Chris