I’ve searched the internet a lot for money making ideas that would allow me to sit at my computer and make money. I’ve found some winners and some definite losers. I’ve tried sites that pay pennies to read emails or open web pages and sites that pay to take surveys.

I could never get more than ten to fifteen cents a week for emails because there were never enough to add up to anything, and many of the survey sites I found had no surveys available most of the time.

This isn’t to say that there aren’t any paid survey companies that actually have free online surveys available, or sites that actually pay money. There are a handful of paid survey companies on the web, some that have lots of surveys and others that have fewer surveys along with other ways to earn cash.

Best Survey Sites

CashCrate

Cashcrate is my favorite of all the sites. It isn’t 100% surveys, but it does include surveys as well as a lot of other different ways to make money. There are five different ways you can earn money including surveys, offers, videos, shopping, and referrals.

The surveys are daily surveys which can be completed once every day. The pay per survey typically ranges from 50 to 80 cents. This is quite low, but they are quick surveys and this is only one part of the program.

More money can be made from offers where you get paid to sign up for things. Most of the time you’ll only have to enter in your email and address. Some require credit card information. The credit card offers pay better, but I try to stay away from them to avoid incidental card charges or other problems. The videos will pay you a couple cents to watch a short video.

One of my favorite features is the shopping channel. If you’re planning an online purchase, click the link through CashCrate and get a certain percentage of cash back. It’s an easy way to save more money on your purchases.

The best way to make more money is to refer other people. When you refer friends and family to the program, you can earn a percentage of what they make. For each person you refer, you’ll earn 25% of their earnings. If you refer a friend and they make $20, you get an extra $5. Plus, when your referrals earn their first $10, you get a $3 bonus.

You’ll also earn 10% of what the next level of referrals make. For example, if your referral tells a friend and makes a referral too, you get 10% of what that person makes and your friend makes 25% of it.

This is a great way to earn money for surveys and other simple tasks. You probably won’t get rich from CashCrate, but it is a great way to earn a little extra cash each month. Plus, the more people you refer, the more money you’ll make. You can sign up for CashCrate right now by clicking here. Get started with surveys and offers to start earning money right away.

Swagbucks

Swagbucks is another different kind of survey site. You can complete surveys for money as well as for completing other tasks. Instead of getting paid cash, you can earn rewards such as gift cards and other prizes. There is the option to trade in points for cash as well.

Swagbucks started out by just giving points to members to complete searches. For example, if you do a search in their search engine, you could win 10 points. The amount of points you win is always different.

You can also win points through shopping (just like with CashCrate), watching videos, taking polls, playing games, completing offers, completing surveys, trading in old electronics, using coupons and doing simple tasks. There are lots of ways to win points so you’ll always be busy and earning.

I always like to trade my points in for Amazon.com gift cards. In a fairly short time I can get quite a bit in gift card money to buy gifts for other people or to buy things I need. I visit this site on a daily basis to win points.

You can sign up for Swagbucks by clicking here and get started earning points right away.

What to Look for in a Survey Site

If you want to find more survey sites but you’re worried about which ones are worth your time and which are a waste of time, you have to be able to look at a potential site critically. Ask yourself these questions.

• Do you have to pay to sign up?
• What are other people saying about it? Are there good honest blog reviews? What are they saying in forums?
• Do you qualify for any surveys?
• Do they ask for a social security number or other highly personal information?
• What does your gut tell you?