Today I’m going to discuss one of my favorite sites for bringing in a little extra money each month, Swagbucks. Swagbucks has been around for a few years and continues to add new opportunities to make extra money while using the internet as you normally would. Each Swagbuck is worth $0.01, so 100 points is equal to $1.00.
Getting Started
If you don’t already have a Swagbucks account you can sign up here.
Next install your Swag button on your web browser.
The Swag button helps you earn additional points for Swag Bucks by reminding you of cashback offers as you shop online. Once you go to an eligible store’s web page the Swag Button appears in the top right corner notifying you that there’s an offer for a certain percentage off.
The Swag button will also let you know of any coupons it was able to find associated with the store site.
Additionally, the Swag button has a place for you to enter Swag codes which you can find on the Swagbucks Facebook page. Once you find a Swag code click on your Swag button and enter the code and receive a few points. I usually only see one Swag code a day. You can also use your Swag button as a search engine to earn additional points as you search the internet.
Apps
Swagbucks has a few apps you can download currently:
- Swagbucks app
- Swagbucks Answer app
- Swagbucks SB Live app
- Shoply App
- Watch
- Movie Cl.ips
- Sportly.tv
- EntertaiNow
Swagbucks App
The basic Swagbucks app is an abbreviated form of your dashboard on their webpage. You can see your daily goal for earning Swagbucks, your to do list, enter Swag codes in the top right corner, answer surveys, and shop through the app. I prefer to do most of these activities on the web page but having this app is handy for entering Swag codes on the go.
Swagbucks Answer
The Answer app is focused on surveys and receipt uploads. This is a great app to have when you’re someplace that you have to wait for an appointment or in line. The surveys can be tricky sometimes and many times you’ll get part of the way through and end up disqualified based on demographics from your answers. I try to do just enough surveys to meet my to do list for the day and usually not much more than that.
SB Live
The SB Live app is a trivia game that Swagbucks runs once a day. The winners split the pot of Swagbucks for the day. I often look forward to playing the trivia game, the themes are interesting and just challenging enough. Completing a game of trivia often helps with Swagbucks goals throughout the month so it’s worth taking a few minutes to play here and there.
Shoply
This app is focused on receipt uploads. It’s very easy to use, add your offers before shopping and then scan your receipt after you shop to earn easy Swagbucks.
The rest of the apps on my list are apps that you can watch content to earn Swagbucks. I sometimes will turn down the volume on my phone and let the videos play to earn points while I’m doing something else. I periodically check on the app to make sure it’s still going. If you want to get really creative here is a great use for extra phones if you have a bunch of unused ones laying around the house. Install the watch apps on them all and start them all up and let the points roll in.
Swagbucks Daily Goals
Everyday Swagbucks will have a daily goal that has a midway point. If you can earn enough points to meet both the midway goal and the full daily goal this will give you extra points next month. If you can maintain a streak of several days in a row achieving the daily goal you can also earn a bonus for that. As you complete the daily goals they get a little higher each day so this can be an interesting challenge to shoot for.
Swagbucks Swago
Swago is a game of Swagbucks bingo they put out once a month with varying rewards for completing certain patterns on the board. The activities required to earn squares vary from clicking through a certain retailer site to adding friends on Swagbucks.
Swagbucks To Do List
Everyday there is a new To Do list, complete the items on this list for a nice little bonus.
Buy Gift Cards
Swagbucks often runs awesome deals on gift cards. One of my favorite deals to pickup is 10% off Lowe’s gift cards. You earn 10% cashback in the form of Swagbucks added to your account. If you’re creative when these offers come around you may even be able to resell the gift cards for a little profit. A majority of my Swagbucks are from gift card purchases.
Cashing Out
Cashing out your hard earned Swagbucks is probably the most fun thing about them. I typically only cash out my Swagbucks once a month but if you have a large balance you may want to cash them out more often. I usually look at the gift card options because there’s often a deal for cashing out for certain retailers. For example I recently cashed out only 2,200 points for a $25 Walmart gift card which saves me $3 worth of my points.
For more information you can go here to the Swagbucks “How it Works” section.