***New*** Thrifty Gifty Money Making for Christmas and all occasions 2011***

A question about : ***New*** Thrifty Gifty Money Making for Christmas and all occasions 2011***

***Money making for Christmas and all occasions 2011***

Whether you are new to this thread or one of the gang from previous years (class of 2007, 2008, 2009 or 2010) please let me welcome you warmly into the group!

What are we all about? Christmas and Birthdays and other occasions often creep up on us. It's an expense none of us want or need, so our ambition here is to get as much as we can for as little as possible.

We do survey sites, review sites, we do eBay, we do car boot sales, we take advantage of glitches and basically try our very hardest to earn some money/vouchers that can cover the cost of special occasions and Christmas (Christmas is a major focus, as it has the most expense).

We run mini challenges on the 1st of the month. Many people, who have joined previously, have saved hundreds (or even thousands) on the original cost of gifts, and paid very little 'real' cash for their presents, opting to use their vouchers or cash back money instead.

I know it isn't 2011 yet, but January is a money-saver's favourite month for bargain shopping and getting sorted for next year. So please join us now ready to start the fun on 1st January.

To help keep tabs on how much you earn/spend/save you can download a spreadsheet from HERE. (Thank you Jamtart06)

Money Neutral

What does 'Money Neutral' mean?

Basically, it means that you are able to buy a gift without actually paying any extra cash for it.

You could have paid for it using money ALREADY earned OR you could earn that amount of cash to COVER THE COST. As long as the incomings (money earned) are more than outgoings (cost of presents) you WILL be MONEY NEUTRAL!

Why a group?

We found in previous years that have other people to motivate you is really helpful to keep the momentum going. We are all in this together. A big happy money making family!

So is this just for Christmas or all special occasions?

That is entirely up to you! I managed to cover of the costs of Christmas and Birthdays for 2010 (my first year too), but if you just want to join us for Christmas then feel free!

SOME GOOD STARTER POINTS.....

1. Make a list of everyone you need presents for in a dedicated Gift Notebook.

2. Keep your eye out in the sales for anything that might suit that person for their birthday or Christmas - try and buy it with loyalty points/vouchers

3. Make a note of how much you spend in the book and mark if you spend vouchers, points or cash

4. Try and earn the cash to cover your purchases via eBay, surveys, writing reviews, cash back from Quidco etc.

5. Keep us posted on how you are doing with your earning!

6. Subscribe to this thread - come back to us! Click Thread tools above and click 'subscribe' then you can get emails to your inbox whenever there is a new post!

We'd love you to join us - feel free to join in whenever you feel like it.

That's not all!! We have a sister thread (thanks mum2one) who will help you get organised and spend your money in the most efficient way HERE.

And finally:
Make what money you do have work harder for you:
See this link for full details what to do:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/money-help

A special 'Thank you' goes to Jamtart for her dedication to this thread in previous years.

Best of luck and hopefully this time next year, we will have all had a money neutral gift buying year!

Let's all get together and make the year 2011 a fabulous one!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~

Best answers:

• This post is reserved for links.
  SURVEY, CASHBACK AND OTHER MONEY EARNING SITES
  Survey Sites
  Valued Opinions - Payment at Ј10 - can redeem for Amazon instantly or collect HMV, Tesco, Marks and Spencer, John Lewis, Topman, Marriot Hotel/Spa vouchers, Argos, Boots or donate to a charity. Paper vouchers usually arrive in 4 weeks. Surveys vary in length and payment. You will always be informed how long it should take, and they are generally spot on. On occasions there are opportunities to join online forums where you earn extra cash, in addition to the surveys.
  Onepoll - Payment at Ј40 Paid by BACS, Paypal or cheque. The surveys are very quick, and there are many a day, you need to keep checking back. Ј2.50 credit when you join.
  Youngpoll is for Kids (between 6 and 15) - Payment at Ј20, and a Ј5 bonus when you join. That will get them a great head start. Surveys are usually less than 10 questions long and extremely quick. Surveys are not so often, but it's all extra pocket money for the kids.
  Toluna - Payment when you reach 80,000 points, which is equivalent to Ј15. The payment is made by paper voucher, and you can choose where to spend it. There's HMV, love to shop (these can be spent at a variety of stores with just the one voucher), Debenhams, CD WOW, Halfords and Amazon (E Voucher but not instantly). This is the bugbear with toluna, payment can take anything from 8 - 12 weeks, and it's a bit hit and miss.
  Surveys are emailed you regularly - several times a day to be precise, and although you have filled out a demographic study, with my reckoning, you only get to complete about half of them. If you do not complete it, you are entered into a prize draw so all is not lost. You are able to vote on quick polls, each day and this bumps up your points significantly. You can ask people's opinions and you will earn extra points for this too. Your points mount up quite quickly but you have to put the effort in.
  Posted by Rufusdog on 2nd July:
  Those of you not finding the sponsored polls on T. I was having trouble finding them as well couple of weeks ago but think that they have changed the site. If you click on HOME then look on the right hand side, just under your dashboard, it says sponsored polls in a light grey and if there are any you will see either one or two polls there, sometimes has a little house next to it or a tie or something to show what kind of poll it is. Click on this and it will give you the poll, just do the poll and more than likely it will say you have quailified for a survey so click on the survey link and it will open a new tab or window (does on mine anyway) then if you dont qualify it will give you the link to go back to the home page and start again. I always close the old window and just keep going like this until there are no polls left on the home page.
  Sometimes you might need to refresh the page to get new ones up, just keep doing it, you will see when there are none left.
  Mysurvey (formerly Lightspeed) - I can't give an opinion as I haven't cashed out yet, but the site is well laid out and easy to manoeuvre. Payment is by Paypal, Amazon, Marks and Spencer, Dress for Less, Argos and the charity Unicef. I'm not 100% positive so don't quote me, but I think payment is at 2,000 points which is equal to Ј20.
  Opinion People - You get paid per survey either Bonus Points or raffle tickets. Quite a few survey sites give you tickets for a draw if you don't make it filling out the whole survey. Each survey is worth so many points and payment is at 150 points (worth Ј15). Payment is by Paypal or bank transfer (BACS?) or to charity. It's quite a nice looking site but in the past two weeks I've only had one survey. Grrr.
  NewVistaLive - Payment has recently changed for this site. You supposedly get more surveys through now. It remains to be seen though. It has taken me 15 months to reach payout (a Ј50 cheque), but other members on the site have done it in as little as 3.
  As with any survey site, it depends on your demographic. Surveys start at Ј1 and go up 50p per extra five minutes. Surveys are good pay but few and far between - hopefully this will change.
  IAP (Ipsos Access Panels) - This is a brilliant site - payment is really quick. Surveys are very regular but usually about the 20 minute or so range. A Ј5 payment is at 750 points, or Ј10 and 1,350 so obviously it's better to hang on for Ј10. Paper vouchers can be redeemed at John Lewis, Leisure voucher (various eateries), Capital bond voucher (various high street stores) or a voucher for a wide range of charities. You are able to redeem for an Amazon E-voucher. I have recently redeemed and my vouchers took only three weeks to arrive - the quickest so far.
  IAP - also have a reward program. The more surveys you take, the more bonus points they give you. There are also many opportunities to win prizes with their VIP program.
  As posted by member PammyJ:
  globaltestmarket (GTM) They send at least 3 or 4 surveys a day between 15 and 60 points each but sometimes just sweepstake ones. I probably get to do about 2 a day. It is an american site and once you get to 1000 points you get $50 which is about Ј32 sent by cheque. I have had one this year as I havent been doing them every day lately but I am at 750 points, if I had kept it up properly I would have cashed out again.
  I think this is a consistant survey site.
  I have also started doing maximiles previously iPoints. You have to opt to do surveys on the tab to be sent surveys. You also get points for clicking through the emails they send you and you can also watch videos and rate for 5 points on each. It is also a cashback site.
  Surveys are a bit scarce but its worth joining. There is a link on the site for free points which is worth looking at too.
  I tend to go for 3000 points for an asda voucher which I ordered and received within a week. Very impressed.
  Survey Network - this is a new site recommended to us. You have three main surveys per month that you take daily. These are on your main page. You also get several surveys emailed to regularly. They surveys get credited on Tuesdays and Fridays. Payment is by Paypal, once you have reached Ј20 - this get's applied to your account within the hour, no hanging around for weeks waiting with this site.
  SWAGBUCKS REVIEW (04/05/11)
  swagbucks
  Although it is an American site, the UK user can earn rewards, but they are more limited as some things can only be delivered in the US. I have been able to claim paypal cash, and UK amazon vouchers.
  The main way i earn money through this site is it has a search bar you can download onto your computer. Every day when i first open up internet explorer i earn a swagbuck. If i use the bar to search, which i use as i would google, then i will get rewarded with between 5 and 50 swagbucks up to 4 times per day. Sometimes the site will ask me to write in a code so it isn't an autobot earning the reward.
  I also look on the earn section of the site. Every day there is a poll. If you vote on a poll, then you are rewarded with a swagbuck. Also, you can look through the NOSO section, where you can skip through some adverts and then you are rewarded at the end with 2 swagbucks. There is a puzzle to solve, but all you do is type in the words shown in the puzzle box. This takes less than a minute to do these 2 things.
  There are also surveys on the site, although honestly i have never ever qualified for one.
  The quickest way to regularly find yourself some points is that there are codes released every day for a set number of points. These are found on facebook or if you are not a member there, you can also check out this website:
  https://sbcodez.com/
  I find if i check here in an evening i can usually find a code that works for me.
  It is a slow earner but not that time consuming. 700 swagbucks can be converted to $5 into your paypal account, which when i did it i got Ј3.01. I have found it better value to save up 849 swagbucks to get a Ј5 amazon voucher.
  Without really trying i have had Ј8 for myself from there, and also donated a couple of pounds to the Japan earthquake appeal on the site, and i joined at the end of December.
  Vivatic.com
  This site has regular surveys for 85p or Ј1 each. There is usually one, two or three sites listed, and you keep doing surveys for each site, until you have qualified for three on each site. This means if you a very lucky, you are able to do Ј9 worth of surveys per day. Payment is set at Ј25 by paypal, an payment runs are done monthly.
  ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
  Other sites where you can earn money
  Bingoport - (WARNING - THIS MUST NOT BE MENTIONED ON THE SITE - THIS OWNERS OF BINGOPORT ARE MONITORING THIS THREAD, AND CAN AND WILL, BAN YOU FOR SIMPLY BEING A MEMBER HERE - by all means, please sign up. It's easy money, but please don't mention your username on the thread)
  Join, and play free bingo to the value of 2,000 worth of points per week. When you have 10,000 points in your account you can redeem for a Ј5 Amazon E-Voucher. To get more BP's (points) you are able to post on the forum up to ten times per day, you will obtain 100 points per post. This is very boring but if you play five games with 18 tickets (twice) on automatic, you can post on the forum at the same time - getting the job done quicker and easier
  Dooyoo - here is where we write reviews. Each review MUST be of good quality or your review will be locked and you WILL NOT receive payment at all. They must be over 150 words, of quality - if its nonsense, no-one will read, or rate. You get so much money added to your account for writing the review in the first place, and then you receive so much money per rate you receive. This is most defiantly a site where, you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours, comes into play. The more you rate other reviews, they are more inclined to rate yours. The scale of payment varies per topic varies greatly. Electronics reviews are worth the most moneywise but they are the most detailed to write. A review on how to make the best apple crumble will not pay anything for posting, but you will get points per rating.
  Top tip - Add as much detail as you can without going overboard. Be precise and to the point, don't waffle! The best reviews are awarded a crown, and for this you will get paid a bonus plus extra points per rate.
  This site is fun, and quite addictive when you get into it, but rating does take a long time - You MUST read the review, the whole review, no speed clicking allowed - you are being timed!
  Ciao.co.uk - This is another review site. Simply copy your review from Dooyoo and paste into Ciao. You must do rating on here too, but you will in effect earn double from the one review if you see what I mean. Do the best you can, as whereas Dooyoo if you write an excellent review you can earn a crown, with Ciao, you can earn part of the Premium Fund. Details below:
  Each month, a "Premium Fund" of approximately Ј2400 is divided out between the best reviews as follows: Ј15x10 (Diamonds), Ј10x20, Ј5x100 and Ј2x775. Please note that Ciao Cafe! reviews are not being considered for a "Premium Fund" Award.
  Cafe are opinion reviews, such as how to deal with depression, or recipes, are what you would do if you won the lottery etc. They don't have any help to consumers (they don't actually lead to a sale).
  ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
  Cash back sites
  Earn back commission on your purchases, and also earn extra money from taking out insurances, buying or recycling phones, or switching suppliers for utilities.
  Quidco - this is the one, in my opinion, is the best. Others may disagree. Whatever you do online, check it's not on quidco first - from buying flowers, joining survey sites, checking out the comparison sites (compare the market, kelkoo etc) even buying your online supermarket shopping, make sure you go through a cash back site such as this, to earn back money. Payments with quidco are made every two weeks. This doesn't mean anything though. Once your purchase has tracked, it has to go to validated, and then received before payment can be made. This process can take days (as in the case of Let's go Rewards, to years!!!). A big tip is - it's not free money as such, but treat it as though it is, cash back money is not a right, It's a bonus. Think like that, and you won't go far wrong! Quidco costs Ј5 a year (which is taken only once you have earned Ј5. Everything else then is yours. Payment is by BACS (any amount) or Paypal (under Ј50).
  Topcashback is more or less the same as quidco. There is no fee for using its service though, plus you can earn an extra 1% cash back over and above the rate quoted.
  My tip is to join both, as it won't cost any extra than joining quidco alone. They both have exclusive deals, so this way you get the best of both worlds. Check out each site before you commit to each purchase though as you may kick yourself to find the cash back is more on the one you haven't used. Typical!
  There are others - Captain Cash back, Quanti, Ilovecashback etc (google them, you'll find loads) but these are the ones above have the best payment reputation, and can intervene when things don't go to plan.
  ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
  EBay
  My Quick Guide to selling on eBay.
  To sell on ebay you must first have registered, and you must also have a paypal account and a landline.
  To sell you click 'Sell' at the top left hand corner. This is really quick as all the categories are chosen for you. You just have to choose which one is better suited to your product and highlight it. It's really simple and self explanatory.
  At this point, you can choose to pay an extra 6p to have you listing finish at a time which is convenient to you AND your potential customers are at home (potentially placing last minute bids). If you are listing your items during the daytime, this is most highly recommended as you will recoup much more than 6p if you item sells. The best time for listings to end is anywhere between 6.30 and 10pm. The last minute bids can really bump up the prices.
  You have the option on both versions, to place the item on 'buy it now' this means that a buyer can purchase (at your stated price) at any time they require, without having to wait for the listing to end.
  You need to have items weighed and get some idea of postal charges. I get my information from www.royalmail.co.uk.
  In the My EBay 'Selling' section of the site, this is where all your information is held. You may see how much you item are listed for in red, and when it turns green you have a bid. Next to each listing is a counter of how many people are watching the item (with a view to placing a last minute bid of either just comparing to see if they can get it cheaper).
  Once the listing has gone green, the item will sell, whether or not you get further bids is whether or not other people require that item and are willing to pay more.
  When the listing ends, in My EBay section you will now have the option to send the winning bidder an invoice. Sometimes people pay, via PayPal before you have even sent this. This is when you know your item will be going to a good home, because they are eager to pay! Once they have paid the Ј sign icon will turn blue.
  You are now able to parcel up your package and post it. I like to put a little note in there, thanking them for their purchase. At this point you may leave feedback for them and mark the item as dispatched.
  You have now, posted your parcels, and left feedback. You can now sit back and await the positive feedback.
  If an item does not sell, you are able to re-list again. Re-listing is much more straightforward than starting the whole process again. In My EBay, on the item that did not sell, you will find the tag - re-list this item, press that and the process starts again, as if by magic!
• This post is reserved for Challenges.
  Challenge No 6 – June 2011
  1. Take the oath – Promise you will complete every survey on so and so site. Whatever site it is, is up to you. If you’re struggling with any one imparticular, make it that one, OR if one is sending you quite a lot lately, make it that. It’s your choice.
  Fill in the blanks. I, .................................. do solemnly declare to partake in every survey sent to me by....................................... , until the end of the month.
  2. Pay the forfeit – Earn Ј2.50 a day by any means possible – using vouchers while shopping, surveys, writing reviews, eBay sales spread out over the week, etc. However you like to do it is ok. If by the end of the evening, you haven’t earned at least Ј2.50, you put 50p in your savings account.
  3. Remember Quidco! I don’t know about you, but I seem to have got out of the habit of using Quidco/TCB when I’m making a small purchase, thinking, oh it’s only pennies. That could be why my payments have gone drastically down. Make sure you use cash back sites for EVERY online payment, and don’t forget your reward cards in store. You’ll soon see the benefit.
  4. It’s Father’s Day this month – instead of buying cards, either you made them, or gets the kids to do it. They are more special then, and the price of some of them in the shops, is astronomical. Don’t go out and buy tonnes of card and stuff, see what you can make from what you have at home. Granddads will treasure a card off the Grandkids, the more glitter the better .
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~
  I hope these challenges are ok for you. If any has any ideas for next months challenges, don't be afraid to make a suggestion. This thread is for all of us, so if you think of something we could all benefit from just shout out. I'm nice - honestly.
  Thanks to everyone for all the support you have given to each other, you've made this thread a lovely place to be. If anyone is struggling, don't forget we are here for you, and you can pm me, anytime you like. I will help in any way I can.
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Challenge 7 – July 2011 (that is so scary)
  1. EBay challenge – I know most of us have been making the most of the free listing days recently, but this hasn't been a challenge for six months, and this is just another push to clear out those cupboards, before the kids break up for the summer, and you’ll have your hands full.
  2. Swagbucks – join it if you’re not on it and use it every day. You should be easily be able to redeem every month (paypal or amazon voucher) and over the year, it’ll make quite a nice sum. Michelle has written a lovely guide to using it here. Thanks Michelle. If we all post the codes we get, it will bump us up further.
  3. Referals - Refer as many people as you can to join via your links. Funky Pigeon is Ј3 per referral, Living Social is if three people sign up via your link – you get your deal free. Toluna is points, some survey sites, even offer a percentage of the other persons earnings. Get your referral links posted, and earn some money the easy way
  4. Member challenge - From next month we are going to have one challenge from a member of this thread. That way we all can get more input and involvement in the challenges. I’ll pick the first person today, and then next month they can choose someone else.
  Michelle – Could you please be the first one to come up with a challenge for all of us? Don’t worry, you have a whole month to think of one.. It won't need to be posted until next month challenge. It could be something that you’re struggling with, or the group as a whole.
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~
  The Ј2.50 a day thing was a great success, and if any of you wish to carry it on, please do.
  I would like to say how proud I am of each and every one of you. June's totals are absolutely fabulous, and it shows just what we all can acheive if we set our minds to it (another shop.com promotion would be most helpful too. ).
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  AUGUST 2011
  The theme for this month is SET YOUR OWN CHALLENGE.
  We are continuing with the DooU challenge that we set ourselves – here’s a reminder:
  Elysia2003 15 reviews
  Rufus 25 reviews
  Clairylulu 25 reviews
  Michelle 35 reviews
  Pinkfluffybabe 15 reviews
  Nickybo 15 reviews
  Cornishchick 15 reviews. (If I forgot anyone please let me know).
  Legend and Savvy have committed to doing the Ј2.50 a day challenge instead, so if you feel this works better for you, do this instead.
  Michelle – has kindly come up with a challenge this month, following the theme. This is a two pronged attack.
  1. Prioritise – Do a bit of an audit. See what pays the best and concentrate on doing the very best you can on those sites. T being a prime example – none of us make the best use of this one.
  2. Remember not to forget to look after the pennies, at the expense of earning some. (I know I’m guilty of this)
  Set yourself the challenge to do this regularly.
  Ideas include - Take time out from surveys etc that pay a few pennies, and spend the same time writing a shopping list, or using a comparison site, which could save you Ј’s.
  Or set a grocery budget and stick to it religiously – any money left over at the end of the month goes into your pot.
  Or even set a limited amount of money to entertain the kids over the hols. Do not go over it, however tempting. The proviso that any money left over goes in the pot too, plus it has the benefit that you’re not going on a wild spending spree in the first place.
  This is your challenge to do with how you see fit. Please take the oath. I pledge to ................................................ You are more likely to succeed if you have it in writing.
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  September 2011
  This challenge is a bit of a mixed bag – there’s something here for oldies and newbies alike.
  Money Saving
  1. Winter is most definitely on its way – check your electric/gas supplier and what tariff you are on, and if you haven’t switched for a while – compare and switch to the best deal, and get a fixed deal if you can, before the prices hike up for winter. Don’t forget to go through Quidco or TCB to make the highest savings.
  2. It’s starting to get colder – but don’t just bung the washing in the tumble drier, make sure you use your washing line for as long as you can.
  3. As suggested by Savvy – Down grade one level in your weekly/monthly shopping and make savings where you can. If you usually have finest, switching to value isn’t going to work, but it you have a brand, try T’s own, or if you usually have T’s own, try value. You may find you like something J
  Money making
  1. Ebay - Have a sort out, as now is the time to be starting to list winter clothes and toys. If you aim for them to finish around the end on the month (payday) you’ll see better returns. You can get sorting and photographing now though, but if you're really inspired its free listing again this weekend.
  2. Set yourself a challenge – I know this worked with most of us last month – we set ourselves challenges, and in the main, we all completed them. Set yourself a challenge – write it down, stick it to the fridge/computer, somewhere visible, and do it!!! Suggestions include – write an opinion on T everyday this month, complete every survey going, and not fishing for the good ones, four reviews a week.
  3. Go out looking for money making opportunities and not wait for them to come to you.
  4. Do you have a talent you could use? There are lots of new sites springing up where you do small jobs for Ј5. On most of them, the site takes Ј1 as commission but you can still earn Ј4 for not a lot. – There are smobs.co.uk (short for small jobs), fivesquid.co.uk (this is the best UK one), and fiverr.com (US). They all work on the same premise – you do a small job and you earn Ј5 (or $5). Offer to proof read kids homework, write a personalised poem, make a card, hem up trousers, sew in kids name labels for their uniforms, compile professional looking CV’s for people, design a logo, edit something for Youtube – the list is endless. Have a think and see what you can come up with.
  As ever, use this like a pick and mix – sort out what you can easily achieve. We want you to stick at it, and not give in after a week. Do what you can, but remember Christmas is around the corner now, and we really need to push this month and next, so we have lots of money to treat our families with, and make Christmas magical. J
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  October 2011
  Pay the forfeit! – Earn Ј2.50 a day by any means possible – using vouchers while shopping, surveys, writing reviews, eBay sales spread out over the week, etc. However you like to do it is ok. If by the end of the evening, you haven’t earned at least Ј2.50, you put Ј1.00 in your savings account/jar to be added to your totals at the end of the month.
  For DooU'ers - write at least 10 (NEW) reviews. For non dooU'ers - see if you can up the limit on the first challenge to Ј3.00. A struggle I know, but you can do it.
  Remember Quidco when buying presents! I don’t know about you, but I seem to have got out of the habit of using Quidco/TCB when I’m making a small purchase, thinking, oh it’s only pennies. That could be why my payments have gone drastically down. Make sure you use cash back sites for EVERY online payment, and don’t forget your reward cards in store. You’ll soon see the benefit.
  Now's the time for present buying and as Mum2one would say over on the other thread - 'Do the talk' sooner rather than later. Have a chat with friends and family and see who you can knock off the Christmas list. Don't be embarassed, they might be hoping the same thing. See if you can buy the kids, and cut the adults out this year, or say you'll do kids at christmas and adults on birthdays. Whatever you decide upon, don't go wild - set a budget and stick to it.
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  It might seem a bit of a cop out doing the same challenge again so soon, but I think we all agree, we all had a great month doing this last time. It pushed us just that little bit more and that's what we need right now.
  Come on Ladies (and gents) there's only two full months left. We can make a difference between a great Christmas and a wonderful one.
• Welcome to the new thread everyone. I'm posting this info about survey sites for any newbies who wish to join.
  We are all set for the off now, so read through the first post and take your time to digest it, there's a lot in there. First thing to do is join some surveys sites. There will be no stopping you then.
  Thanks for joining - any questions, please don't hesitate to ask - we are all one big family on here, and we all help each other.
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Quote:
  Originally Posted by Well Preserved
  Please could you start the 2011 thread with some kind of guide or explanation of how to get started on these surveys etc? I haven't a clue how to start or even whether I could feasibly do it, & maybe there are others like me.
  Of course I could. Thankyou for mentioning it - I didn't know until someone on here told me I'll post it now so you can get all ready for the off.
  You just join a survey site (you can google surveys) and they will ask you to fill out a survey so they know demographic you are - no use sending you surveys on subjects to do with kids programs if you haven't got any children etc. They then send you surveys that are/should be applicable to you.
  Each survey site is different - some have points and when you get to the payment threashold you are able to redeem the points for Amazon vouchers or paper store vouchers (love2shop) or some you can see the cash mounting up. These have different payment threasholds too.
  Here are some examples:
  Valued Opinions- payout in vouchers - but at a low Ј10 threashold
  Iap (ipsos) - Ј5 minimum payout in vouchers or amazon but works out better pointswise if you wait for Ј10. You'll see when you join
  Onepoll- payout at Ј40 (extremely quick surveys though) by cheque
  Newvistalive- payout by cheque once you reach Ј50
  Toluna - payout at 80,000 points which is equivalent to Ј15.00 and payout is in vouchers and not cash.
  I have linked to the site homepage so you can see what you think.
  There are tonnes of others - Pinecone, Hi Panel, GFK, join whatever you can. The surveys take time and effort - but like anything, you only get out what you put in. The more you do - the more you get.
  Don't forget each survey is not guaranteed - they may say you're not suitable half way through, which is a little offputting but you'll
  be fine for the next one I'm sure.
  It would be doing someone else a favour if you could get someone to refer you as they would get a little bonus, but we are not allowed to openly do referals here, only on the referals board which is here) but I'm sure it wouldn't hurt if you PM a member on this board and ask what surveys they do, and ask them to refer you - then when you join something they're not on, they could return the favour for you - iyswim.
  I hope this is easy to understand. Once you get signed up and going, you'll won't believe how easy it is - it just takes time.
• Sorry.
  Of course I can change it.
• Thanks Elysia, I'm in again for next year, have slacked a bit this last few months but still made being money nuetral for the 2nd year running
  Can't wait for the challenges in 2011
• Lovely start to out new thread Elysia, I am like Sarah, slacked off a bit this last month but will definitely be getting back into it with a vengeance after Christmas has died down. I was money neutral for all occasions this year again thanks to the old thread. Rufus xx
• It's lovely to see you both here for next year. I was a bit worried I'd offended everyone by asking to take over the running of the thread, and I'd be here on my own.
• I am still in it too.Yay.Cant believe I am already saving and preparing for Christmas 2011.Well hopefully for birthdays aswell.
  So far I have 30 worth of vouchers on order from Toluna and 10 on order from ipsos.
  Nearly at pay out on VO .So great start as far as im concerned.
  Anyone else got a bit of a head start?
  And a great big hug and thankyou to Elysia for starting the new thread.Dont forget to subscribe to find it easier xxx
• Yep. Headstart made here
  Waiting for a Ј50 cheque from NewVistaLive
  Ј10 from Valued Opinions
  Ј15 from Toluna
  And just this minute received Ј10 vouchers from Ipsos
  Ј85 for next year already. Yippee
  And thankyou too Ddraig. Hopefully we can all help each other.
• I had way too much on last year to do this but OH and I are trying really hard to save for a house deposit for 2012 so anyway I can contribute by making savings on pressies the better for us!
  I will probably go for those that offer Amazon vouchers!
  good luck all...
  I also have several craft projects which I intend to finish as gifts!
• I'm in need to save some money
• Welcome to the thread Wit40.
  Take your time to read the first post. Then join any survey sites you can (info on post 4 I think). There will be a Money making challenge on the first of the month, so I hope you can join in often. Good Luck with the house deposit.
  I wish you all the very best of luck for your money making efforts.
• Hello MissKaty. It's lovely to see you here. Have you joined any surveys sites or anything yet?
• There are plenty of other things we do to make money here, but for the new people to the thread, this side of Christmas we'll just be focusing on Surveys (something quick and easy). I hope that's ok with everyone. Not too long to go for the first Challenge.
• Hi
  I am with Valued Opinion, Toluna, IPSOS, Juicy Brains, Dubit Informer, OnePoll and Dooyoo, any others worth joining ?
• NewVistalive? Their surveys are probably the best paying. You get Ј1 for the first five minutes, Ј1.50 for ten minutes and Ј2 for 15 minutes (or something like that) they've just changed the payments but you should get surveys more often. It's taken me 15 months to get to payout on there (with the old scheme), so we shall see.
  I've found lightspeed to be very good. I only joined last week myself.
  On the old thread, longhauladdict posted a list of what he/she does and how regular the payouts are. I'll move it over here for you to see. Be right back.
  ETA: Here's the post. See what you think.
  Not surveys but Bingoport - you play bingo and can earn a Ј5 amazon roughly every fortnight.
• Hello Ladies......
  Im going to join this year too