Frugal Friday- Making Money Online

Hey Everybody,

I wanted to write about something a little different today. I promise you more recipes are coming but I do want this blog to be about other things as well. Plus some of you have heard me talk about the work I do online to supplement our income and have asked about how it works so I decided a blog post was probably worth it.

At the moment there are 2 websites that I work from besides my main part-time job at  RemedyLive where I am the on-call SoulMedic and help out with other various things related to the SoulMedic program. I get to do most of that from home so I am able to devote a decent chunk of my week to outside endeavors.

MTurk - Super easy and reputable. It is run by Amazon. It is based off of HITs- human intelligence tasks. Things like surveys, transcription, data entry, and giving feedback on videos. It can take some time to get used to and learn which HITs are worth your time but once you learn the ins and outs of the system you can make some decent side money.
Amazon has very specific rules for the work that is posted so there are very few scammers ever on there. You still have to use your judgement but I have only ever found a handful of HITs (in the 1000 that I have completed) that were scams.
Depending on the month and how much time I put into it, I can usually make upwards of $50 a month through Mturk. Definitely worth it for me. I can either deposit it securely into my bank account or use it to buy things on Amazon.
HitsWorthTurkingFor- A forum where users post the best HITs of the day. It is updated very regularly and dead (HITs that are no longer available) are crossed off consistently so you dont waste time clicking.
Mturk Forum - A forum all about Mturk. It clarifies rules, tells you which requesters (the people, companies or schools that post the HITs) are the best and is overall helpful for any question or issue you might have about anything related to Mturk.

Swagbucks-  You use their search engine and do various other little things to earn "swagbucks". You can also play games, do surveys, polls and other such tasks. Swagbucks roughly translate 1 swagbuck = 1 cent when you redeem them for gift cards. You cannot get cash like with Mturk but you do get giftcards to places like walmart and amazon.  I have only been using them for a few weeks now and I am still trying to figure out how to maximize my time on there but for now it seems just like an as you use it type of thing. I did install the tool bar and I do use it their search engine. Its not much for now but IMO every little bit helps. As I use it more I may post again about it.


7 Tips

1) Know when something just isnt worth it - for example HITs on Mturk that take an hour and only pay 5 cents aren't worth it. For every one it is different, I might be able to do something that is a little bit longer and pays less if I am able to multi-task while doing it.
2) Know how much info you are willing to give out- some places might want more info that you are willing to give. For example - I wont give out my street address or cell phone number. Those are not asked for often (especially on Mturk - on SB it is more likely) but they do come up every now and again. I simply back out of the survey
3) Know specific tax laws and how you would report these earnings. I wasn't doing any online money making last year but I am researching the specific laws and requirements for next year because I am on track to make enough to have to report. MTurk does have you fill out tax info and provides one of the forms you need if you reach the amount.
4) Know that these forms of income do NOT take out taxes for you. If you make the minimum amount you WILL have to report it.  You can combat this by making a point to put aside a percentage of your earnings in case you do hit that number so that it does not impact you come tax time.  I am still doing the research but as I currently understand it you report it under other earnings - the same place you would put the money made if you were self employed. I am still doing research on this though so I could be wrong. I was not doing it seriously enough last year for this to be an issue but I am this year.
5) Learn the signs of scams, links that might contain viruses, and places that might sell your personal info. Mturk is a bit easier with this - a general rule of thumb is to keep it in the work box or on one of the trusted survey sites (i.e. Qualtrics) SB is a bit harder and you do have to vigilant about the NOSOs (No Obligation Special Offers) Its just a matter of using your judgement.
6) Learn the best Requestors on Mturk and when you first log on do a search for them and do them first. Make a note of their posting habits (i.e. days and times they post, specific things they require etc. ) By doing this you develop a relationship with them and they are more likely to notice the HITs you work on.
7) To maximize earning set reasonable daily or weekly goals for yourself. This keeps you motivated and helps you figure out how much you can earn. It also helps you keep track of everything. You can either set a time goal or a monetary goal.


Do any of you use a website like these? I have a couple other ones I am looking into that I will probably post about eventually.  Let me know about your experiences or if you have any additional tips.