How to make a little extra money

Being a stay-at-home mom, I’m always looking for ways to make a little extra money. Here are a few things that I’ve found that are easy to do and can be done from the comfort of your home. I’m not talking thousands of dollars, but every little bit helps!

Some of these have referral options available. Please know that I am not writing about these for the referrals! These are legitimate ways that I make money. If you do want a referral, leave a comment with your email and what program you want. I will not post any comments with email addresses for privacy protection.

I am putting together a separate post on "How to earn money doing paid surveys".

Rebates – Rebates do take some time and effort, but I love to see those checks come in the mail. If you’ve gone to the trouble of sending it in, don’t forget to deposit the check – usually you only have 90 days to cash. Walgreens and Rite Aid rebates are so easy to do! I’ve blogged about these here. Here are some places I've found rebates:
*hangtags in the aisles at the store
*on the product package
*in the coupon inserts on Sunday
*on manufacturers' websites as downloadable forms

Ebates – I blogged about Ebates awhile back. Here’s the direct link to my post. Basically, you shop through them and earn a percentage back on your purchases (in cash). If you sign up through me, we both get $5.

Mr. Rebates – Just like Ebates, but they are competing sites and sometimes one will offer a better deal than the other. So it really does pay to shop both and compare promotions.

Swagbucks – I just joined Swagbucks a few days ago. Swagbucks is a search engine that gives you results to your web searches from reliable sources like Google and Ask.com. I earn points as I search the internet. I have made Swagbucks my home page, so I always start there with a search. Plus you can download the toolbar and search from there. When you sign up, you'll earn 3 points automatically. When you reach 45 points, you'll earn an Amazon gift card. Once you sign up, you can refer others and win points when they do. My goal is enough for a Wiifit!!

My Points – I get points for opening and clicking on links in emails that they send. If I choose to participate in the offer included in the email, I will receive more points. If not, I still receive 5 or 10 points just for reading the email and clicking on the link. Points accumulate easily and can be redeemed for gift cards, etc. If you are interested in joining My Points, send me an email because I can invite 5 people each month to join. I also print coupons and earn points for printing them (coupons are through coupons.com).

Upromise – With Upromise, you get money from your everyday spending deposited into a 529 account to pay for college expenses. I figure it's never too early to plan for college for my girls. "Every time you make an eligible purchase, our partners return a portion of that money back to you. Those earnings accumulate in your Upromise account until you decide to use it to invest in a 529 plan, help pay down eligible student loans or assist with college expenses—all tax-free!" Here's a link that explains how this works. From now until 1/31/09, for each friend that activates a Upromise account, both you and that friend will receive a $10 Restaurant.com gift certificate. So if you are interested, let me know and I'll send you a referral.

Affiliates – I just learned about affiliate links. These are those links that are on blogs that advertise or that you can print coupons through. Each time you click on one of those ad or sidebars, you help support that blog. If you have a blog and are interested in these, let me know and I can direct you to where I found my information. I haven’t made any money on these, nor do I expect to. I don’t want my blog to be about me making money, but about me being able to help others save theirs.