Comments on: Why Many “Alternative Income” Ideas Aren’t Worth Your Time – And What You Might Do With It Instead

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 21 May 2010 22:25:46 +0000

I definitely agree that a lot of “make money online” methods, many of which I’ve tried, require a lot of work, often way more than they’re worth.

eBay reselling is a really nice job, but only as long as you have a good product source. I’ve been making around $500/week by reselling stuff from yard and garage sales, and I’m really satisfied with the results – besides online poker, it’s the only other alternative income operation I’ve done which has been moderately successful. I blog about this now (you can check it on the link on my name) – I’m surprised that so few people write about doing this.

By: Kaci

Kaci — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 08:36:11 +0000

Thank you. I’m so exhausted reading about those websites where you put in more effort than you’re making. Frankly, the extra work is not worth the few dollars I’ll get. Plus, it’s an inconvenience and a time consumer. I don’t believe in working hard, I believe in working smart.

By: Allan

Allan — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 05:34:54 +0000

I completely agree with reason #2 – “You’re not building anything.” I’ve been working as an IT employee/contractor for several years and just recently realized that there’s no residual income coming out of the past successes I may have had, other than the “hope” of having a little bit increase in salary in the future. This might not even be as sure as anyone thinks especially in times of recession. Having an insightful blog post like the one above has a lot of “future” residual value. A proof of this is the fact that even after more than a year since it was written, there are still some people finding value from it (like me) and trying to express this appreciation via a short comment. More power! =)

By: russds

russds — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:55:42 +0000

I remember reading this post when it was first published, and I really appreciated it. I went back and read it again today. Still a great article. Trying to find some good resources for what to do during those idle times, this post has some good ideas.

By: Darla

Darla — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 18:19:00 +0000

While I do agree that surveys and reading emails do not generate a healthy enough income to retire or live on alone, it is nice to have a little supplemental income that you can use towards a dinner out, a movie, etc. The nicest bonus I have found is that I often receive a LOT of samples to try for free and get paid for my opinion on it. I’m not talking cheap or small samples either. I was asked to complete a survey last year for a well-known women’s lingerie boutique on four samples (1 ounce each) of spray perfume that they sent me in the mail. Quality perfume that people would pay a substantial amount to purchase as a gift and I got to keep all the samples for free and was compensated for my time as well. It’s fun to actually have a voice in products that are being marketed and it’s nice to be compensated even if the compensation is considered to be small. I’m a single mom and I can’t leave my son home 16 or even 13 hours a day to work two jobs and can’t afford online courses. Besides, I use my small sources of revenue to fund my savings account and what may sound like only a few dollars here and there can add up to quite a substantial savings if you leave it IN your savings account. Plus, compensations, like in all jobs, start out small because these companies want to know who is dependable enough to stick around. If you stay involved for a fair amount of time then you will be granted more opportunities for bigger compensation. For instance, I have been asked to test 6 different varieties of soup for a well-known soup label and once I finish each 10 minute survey (6 cans, 6 surveys) I will receive a check for 50 dollars. Not bad for an hour’s worth of time AND I will eat for free for 6 meals. Every little bit helps. Besides, a wise man once said, “A penny saved is a penny earned” so have respect for the humble penny…they DO add up.

By: J

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:24:24 +0000

Just do the surveys while you’re at work.

By: harleyhasben

harleyhasben — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 22:03:29 +0000

Sara #17

I would LOVE to test free stuff and provide feedback.

Would you be so kind and share who you test for with me? If so please email me at~
harleyhasben@hotmail.com.
(hasben, with one e)

TIA
hhb

By: Michaela

Michaela — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:48:03 +0000

I may not have earned money doing surveys, but I have won many free tickets to theatrical plays, musical shows and movies by doing so. I have saved money by not having to pay admission prices. If there is something that one is passionate about, like photography or crafting, it can be used to generate a good amount of income. If you have a great deal of general knowledge about a subject, you can teach and get paid to do so.

By: Lynne

Lynne — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 05:12:04 +0000

I have a question about the ways that you recommend to save money, etc. Have you heard/tried of the “soap nut tree” nuts? I recently read about them, checked several websites, and it sounds great, both financially, and ecologolically. I just wondered if you had checked it out and your thoughts on using them. I was especially impressed with the fact that they could be used in the bath as well as in the laundry and safe for babies. Another plus is no fabric softener is needed either! (at least that is the claim.) I’m looking forward to a post about this product of nature. :)

By: shannon

shannon — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:34:32 +0000

I have mixed feelings too on this post. I’ve been doing surveys/product tests for almost 10 years and it’s really just a lot of fun! I’m single and have the spare time. I also have a full-time job and an active Linkedin profile. The extra survey cash (an no it’s not a ton of money but sometimes yields over a hundred dollars a month) goes straight to my ING account and earns great interest. The products often off set the costs of personal/pet products and groceries a bit too. I see it as being resourceful and at least paying the cost of internet access.

By: Griffin

Griffin — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:29:25 +0000

I think it’s very interesting that there are dozens of people piping up to defend actual survey sites, when really what it boils down to is

time invested vs reward

If you have random spots of 30 mins throughout the day that you can’t do ANYTHING else with, then yes they can be a great source of income. In fact, if you do it right you can make about $250 a month with sites like SwatCash (or CashCrate, if you prefer). But if you’re not doing the major money-saving options like clothes mending, you are losing even more.

I know sooooo many people who toss a shirt once a button pops off — what a waste! Just get a new button (most shirts come with extras sewn on the inside) and put it on. For $2 or less, you may have saved $30 on a business shirt.

By: Dividend Growth Investor

Dividend Growth Investor — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:52:45 +0000

I actually agree that people are not really building future income streams with them ( unless they open a savings/investment account with the money they earned from these one time activities and earn off interest or dividends).

However if you are a student at a university those sites could be a nice addition to your budget. If you are an international student who only works 20 hours/week on campus for minimum wage, those survey sites could definitely help you a lot.

As for the blogging versus writing paid content, I would say that doing surveys and writing for others gives you money now, whereas blogging might give you some money in the future. Most people choose the money now as opposed to choosing a larger amount of money in the future. I see this on my blog on dividend investing – people want to get high yields NOW, and not in 10-20 years.

Anyways, it’s always nice to challenge the status quo.

By: Dedicated

Dedicated — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:50:49 +0000

What about those that save the money and create Residual Income Streams? Isn’t that building something? Doesn’t that carry with it a revolving and continuously growing income stream that can amount to something?

Perspective my friend. Glass 1/2 full or 1/2 empty. This is what makes the world go round.

By: Uncommonadvice

Uncommonadvice — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:50:23 +0000

I’ve yet to find a part time “bit on the side” money making opportunity that pays better than a simple second job. Pizza delivery beats surveys any day of the week.

By: Vicky

Vicky — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:01:13 +0000

The five minutes a week I spend on menial web tasks is entertaining and blissfully free of responsibility. I bought a book with my Mechanical Turk earnings a few weeks ago – it had taken something like 1 hour’s worth of completely idle, carefree time over the course of a year and a half, split among tasks that I found interesting or amusing. Stress and effort wise, it’s the same as though someone were keeping track of comments I’d left on this blog and after some point they gave me a gift certificate.

By: Trent

Trent — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:57:12 +0000

The people that make money with Squidoo aren’t people who just sit around making lenses on Squidoo. They’re people using the site to leverage their business that is entirely independent of Squidoo. They link out of Squidoo to their own resources, etc.

By: Amazonite

Amazonite — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:37:11 +0000

I enjoy sites like MyPoints, as well as others like eRewards. I certainly don’t look on them as income-producing activities, though, and Trent is correct in pointing this out as the central pointi of this post.

MyPoints gets me enough points for restaurant certificates a couple of times a year (and more if I actually make a purchase through them; this is just for clicking through). I just bought 5 or 6 magazine subscriptions from accrued points on eRewards – if you are considering joining up to this site, be aware that the points cannot be used for genuinely “free” items, with the exception of magazine subscriptions. Most rewards are more along the line of “take $25 off a $75 purchase”, which is fine if you were already going to purchase something, not so much if you just wanted a free gift.

I tend to enjoy the survey sites that pay off in something I’ll actually use, such as $10 Amazon certificates.

By: Lise

Lise — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:09:36 +0000

Trent, I for one love this post. I have been enrolled in MyPoints, taken surveys for “cash” (hint: they RARELY epay cash), signed up to be a ChaCha guide, etc, etc. While it’s nice to occasionally get a $10 gift card or some such through these, I get the niggling feeling that it’s a waste of my time.

And why? Because I’m not building anything, as you say. It’s not an investment in future success. Having taken 10,000 surveys doesn’t make me a credible source of information or an expert someone would want to hire; it doesn’t ensure that I’ll have more money in my pocket at the end of the day.

Thanks for putting your finger on why these activities have bothered me for so long now.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:10:22 +0000

I agree some of those survey sites are a waste of time, I tried one a while back and got a ton of spam email. That was it for me, but I’m sure there are people out there that enjoy making a little extra $$ from it. I tend to disagree that this is a worse way to make money than blogging. Sure some bloggers are making a good income, but I bet 90% or higher are making much less than min. wage.

I think another good idea for making extra money is turning a hobby into a small business. What if Trent made extra laundry detergent and sold it? The incremental cost and time probably wouldn’t be that high so it might be a viable enterprise.

By: Misty

Misty — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:08:49 +0000

I do do the surveys, but it is because I am looking at a computer at work all day and have the time.
I have been sent a free package of diapers to “test” (saving me about $10), stretch mark cream that sells for $50 and 5 perfume samples- one that I am wearing today! So, it may not be totally worth the time that it takes but I don’t mind being a guinea pig- in fact, I think it is kinda neat that I get to try things before other people do. In other words, there are some savings that go past the time vs money output.