Money Monday: These Two Apps Pay You

We're continuing our theme from last week, which was earning job-free income. Today we're talking about two shopping apps that pay you. I've earned money and/or gift cards from both of these apps (more on that later). If you click the links below, I may get some compensation (and you may too).

Ibotta gives you cash back rewards from shopping at major retailers. The way it works is you choose the retailer that you'll be shopping with. Then you select deals from what's available at that store. Each deal will show you a picture of the item, its name and the amount of cash back for the deal. After your purchase, you scan your receipt and your selected items with the app. While my account is usually credited with the money within a few minutes, Ibotta says this can take up to 48 hours. You need to have at least $20 in rewards to redeem the money. So far I've redeemed $40.

Pros: You redeem your rewards for cash via Paypal or Venmo. Ibotta gives you $10 at sign-up toward your first $20.

Cons: These rewards require a purchase.

Try Ibotta.

Shopkick is my favorite shopping app because you don't have to buy anything to get rewards. You earn points for a variety of activities. You can get points for opening the app while walking into selected retailers. Another way to earn with Shopkick is scanning barcodes of items at participating retailers. And you can even earn a few points wherever you are by watching videos in the Discover section of the app. Finally, if you are making a purchase of an eligible item you can get points for that too. I focus on getting points that don't require a purchase. I'v used my points to get Walmart, Target and Amazon gift cards so many times that I have lost count of how many I have redeemed. (I have earned over 38,000 points on Shopkick so far.) Last year I used my gift cards to do my Christmas shopping. 

Pros: You don't need to make a purchase to earn. Earning points is easy.

Cons: Points count toward store gift cards, not cash.

Try Shopkick.

Legitimate Adventures in Job Free Income: Surveys

If you're looking to make some money outside of your day job, the internet provides lots of legitimate ways to do so. However, be cautious because scams are also prevalent.

For taking surveys, these sites pay in cash and gift cards to major retailers. I've tried each of these and have received payouts. If you're wondering if this post has affiliate links through which I might receive compensation, the answer is of course it does.

YouGov
YouGov is one of my favorite survey sites. Unlike other survey sites, you nearly always qualify for the surveys they invite you to complete. YouGov will e-mail you when there's a survey that you qualify for. While point values per survey vary, the minimum appears to be 100 points with most surveys actually awarding 500 or more points. The results of YouGov polls are sort after by the media and other organizations. I've redeemed my points for a total of $150 worth of Amazon gift cards.

Pros: For your efforts, you'll be rewarded with cash or gifts cards to popular retailers such as Amazon, Macy's and BestBuy.
Cons: You need at least 25,000 points to redeem for a $15 Amazon gift card. You'll need more points for more valuable rewards.

Try YouGov.

Survey Junkie
At Survey Junkie, you'll need to complete a profile so the platform can send appropriate surveys to your member dashboard, which you'll see when you log in. Each survey on your dashboard has a survey number, the number of points you'll earn for completing the survey, and the approximate length of time it will take to fill out the survey. If you don't qualify for a survey, you may receive 3 points for your time. If the survey fills up before you finish it, you often will receive 2 points for your effort. The number of points you can get for a survey varies. Once you've accumulated 1,000 points you can redeem those points for cash via PayPal or your bank account. Your points can also be redeemed for gift cards to retailers like Target and Amazon.

Pros: Surveys have almost always been available when I've logged in. You can get paid in cash.
Cons: Most of the surveys I've seen award between 40 to 90 points. You have to take a lot of surveys to get to the 1,000 points, however, I've managed to do it in less than a week when I work on it a few minutes each day.

What is DC Vote Celebrating?

Local organization DC Vote is celebrating its 20th anniversary with an event on December 4th. In case you've never heard of DC Vote, and it wouldn't be a surprise if you've never heard of DC Vote, the organization's vision to see DC residents become first class citizens. In its vision statement, DC Vote says reaching that goal will be evidenced by DC "gaining the freedom to control its own budget, pass its own laws without congressional interference, and having its citizens enjoy equal representation in the US House of Representatives and the US Senate."

What is DC Vote celebrating? DC citizens do not have equal representation in the US House of Representatives or the US Senate. Congress still has the legal authority to interfere with DC's laws. As long as Congress has that right, DC does not have complete control over its budget. DC Vote is zero for three in accomplishing its vision. 

Someone who understands what there is to celebrate, let me know in the comments. Thanks.