Put A Little Extra Cash in Your Pocket (Updated)

Have you signed up for Swagbucks or Ebates yet?  If not, why not?  Maybe you've never heard of these two programs.

There are lots of scams out there, and I am typically very skeptical of anything promising free money.  However, these two programs came highly recommended so I decided to try them out. 

Basically, Swagbucks allows you to earn points for doing what you already do:  searching for things on the internet.  You earn about 1-3 swagbucks each day just by using the swagbucks search tool instead of something like google.  The points easily add up, and then can then be redeemed for all kinds of things.  My personal favorite is the $5 Amazon.com gift card, which can be earned with 45 swagbucks.  So, with basically no extra effort on my part, I've been earning one $5 gift card for Amazon.com approximately every month.  It doesn't seem like much, but you can save them up for something big that you've been wanting.  And hey, free money is free money!

Update:  hours after I posted this article, Swagbucks rolled out a new point system in honor of their 2nd anniverary.  It looks like the only difference is that you now earn 10, 20, 30 swagbucks instead of 1, 2 or 3.  Everything else looks the same.

Here's how to do it:
1.  Click on this link to the Swagbucks website.
2.  Sign up for an account.
3.  I found it useful to download the Swagbucks toolbar so I could search from any website.
4.  That's it!  Start earning swagbucks.

Ebates works a little differently, though what I love about it, is that it also helps me earn money doing something I already do:  online shopping!  In a nutshell, when you shop online using Ebates, you get back a percentage of what you spent shopping.  That adds up in your Ebates account, and they periodically send you a check!  Yes, actual money.  I just got a check in the mail for over $30 just from Christmas shopping I was going to do anyway.

Here's how to do it:
1.  Click on this link to the Ebates website.
2.  Sign up for an account.
3.  Check out the long list of stores/websites that participate in Ebates:  pretty much every place I've needed to shop except for Amazon.com.
4.  The next time you're going to buy something, go to the Ebates website first.  Find your store and click through to it from the Ebates website.
5.  That's it, do your shopping and watch the money add up in your Ebates account!

So both programs are really that easy.  I definitely would not recommend something that I had not personally tried and thought was worth it.

In the spirit of full disclosure, yes, I will earn a small referral if you sign up through me.  But I also really just think these are two worthwhile programs. 

Enjoy, and happy shopping!