Category: Money

We’ve all heard the jokes about students living on ramen noodles and lugging trash bags home to have mom do laundry for free. All joking aside, college is a great time to learn how to save money on every day expenses. Not only because it’s a necessity, but also because it is good practice for getting ready for “adulting” after graduation.

Calculate “Extra” Spending Dollars

That trip to the corner coffee store can add up to more than you might think. Look at your bank statement and add up the extra expenses that you’ve made in the last 2 months. For example, if you’re spending $100 at Starbucks yet you find yourself short on gas money by the end of the month, it may be time to reconsider your spending habits.

Suggested fix: Spend that $100 on a pod-based coffee machine and buy a bulk box of K-cups online (look for an online coupon!). You can usually walk away with spending about .50 per cup of coffee rather than $5. Grocery store add-ons like hot chocolate powder and half & half can make it feel like an expensive cup of coffee for much less. Alternately, spend even less by buying a can of ground coffee and use a reusable K-cup filter in your machine!

Eating Out Versus Eating in Your Dorm

Even those with a meal plan can spend way too much on eating out. Since the cost of a home-cooked meal is less than when it is prepared by a restaurant, try to make your own food whenever possible. If you have a mini fridge, a microwave, and a hot plate (or electric griddle) in your dorm room, you can spend very little money and bring back quite a bit of food from the grocery store.

Suggested fix: Invest in the above appliances to help you save money in the long run. Cook your own breakfasts and late night snacks to reduce your meal plan to just 2 meals per day. Depending on the school, you could save hundreds or even thousands over the length of your college career.

Participate in Online Paid Surveys

Finding the time to work a full time job can be nearly impossible with a full class schedule. For those who need to work part time, doing online paid surveys can be a great way to make money from the comfort of your pajamas.

The secret to success is to sign up with multiple survey sites so that you can receive enough survey invitations to make some decent money. Completing surveys isn’t a way to get rich, but it is a way to earn a few extra dollars without the hassle of spending gas money on commuting. You make your own hours, and you decide how long you want to work.

Suggested fix: Open accounts on legit paid survey sites (they should never ask you for a credit card number), and fill out your personal profiles completely. By doing this, you’ll increase your chances of being selected to participate. Have a dedicated email address for your surveys so you don’t clutter your student email account with non-school messages. And be sure to keep track of new invitations that come in so you can complete the surveys by the deadline date provided.

Point Club Online Paid Surveys

Point Club offers our participants the ability to earn points for surveys, which can be redeemed for gift cards to your favorite stores and restaurants. One of the most appealing reasons why our members love us is that we offer points even when surveys are not fully completed.

We understand that college life can be hectic and sometimes things come up, so we don’t penalize our members for not being able to finish. Open your free online member account today and start making money with paid online surveys!

Reference:
https://www.thepennyhoarder.com/smart-money/simple-money-management-steps

Making the most of the time you have will help you get the most out of your survey experience. This is important because most survey takers also have other pressing responsibilities to deal with such as college, a job, or a family.

Set Aside a Specific Time

Maybe the best time for you is in the evening after the kids are put to bed. Or perhaps it’s easier for you to do surveys on the weekends when you’re not working or studying. Whatever time is best for you, pencil in a time slot that you dedicate to completing surveys.

By planning your survey activities during times when you don’t have to be multi-tasking or focusing on anything else, you’ll have far less stress about getting them done (and they’ll get done faster, too).

By sticking to a particular day/time that works best for you, you are also less likely to drop out of a survey in the middle of it (which can disqualify you from getting paid on 99.9% of other sites).

Set Time Limits

As we all know, being focused on something you’re interested in (social media, we’re looking at you…) can make hours seem like mere minutes. Setting a time limit for yourself where you’re spending, say, an hour or two on surveys will allow you to not let time get away from you.

When limitations aren’t put into place, some people can feel like surveys are completely taking over their free time. This can cause frustration, which can lead to dropping out altogether. If you plan wisely, you’ll set a timer or calendar reminder for your allotted amount of time, and when it’s up…you can get back to your life again.

Stay Organized

There’s nothing more frustrating than wasting time trying to find something you’ve lost. Your time can be wasted if you:

• Can’t remember what sites have available surveys waiting for you
• Lose track of survey deadlines
• Forget to complete the final step necessary to get paid for your time

Excel spreadsheets work great for those who are involved in multiple surveys on many different survey sites. Make sure your email is well organized with folders that can help you easily find what you need. But here’s the trick…you have to stay on top of new emails that come in. If you don’t, you’ll lose track of what goes where and you’ll miss out on some great rewards.

Your Excel spreadsheet might have columns dedicated to each survey site, with rows corresponding to each survey that is waiting for you to complete. Make sure you have a row for deadlines so that you can keep track of which surveys need to be done first.

Similarly, organizing your email folders by survey site with a separate folder dedicated to “Top Priority” can help you to never miss a survey opportunity. We also recommend having folders labeled “Waiting for Payment” and “Received Payment” so that your rewards can be easily tracked.

Join Point Club Today — For Free!

We hope these time management tips will help you have a better experience when taking online surveys. Point Club is free to join, and we are the only site that rewards points even if you are unable to complete a survey.

Today’s top paid online survey sites have thousands of active members and are glad to issue rewards to those who complete them. However, there are people who try to “game the system” and attempt to get away with being dishonest.

Here are the top 3 reasons why honesty really is the best policy when it comes to taking paid surveys.

Your Integrity is At Stake

There’s an old saying that goes, “Once your integrity is gone, you can never earn it back again.” This is a great principle to live by. People who don’t care about doing dishonest things have no place doing online surveys.

You as a person are represented in your survey answers, so having integrity means that you want to present your best self. Integrity also means that your answers hold up, are a true representation of who you are, and can be truthfully used by the survey site to better the survey sponsor’s business goals.

Detection Technology

Advanced algorithms and data tracking utilized by survey sites make it very hard (if not impossible) to fool the system. Your user profile with your personal data presents a particular picture of how you are likely to answer questions relating to your personal interests and demographic information.

For those who have completed several surveys with the same site, a pattern of likely answers will emerge, allowing the site to pretty accurately predict how you are most likely to answer a particular question.

These technological tools help the survey site to detect when someone is “gaming the system” and to disqualify their answers and forfeit their survey. This type of behavior results in ineligibility to complete that survey and, for repeat offenders, suspension of their account. Don’t waste everyone’s time (including yours) by answering dishonestly.

Keep your account (and your integrity) in good standing by truthfully answering your survey questions.

Not Getting Paid for Surveys You Complete

If you’re looking to make money doing online surveys, great! You’ll be pleased to know that they reward quite well depending on how many you complete. However, if you’re looking to rush through questions and answer them any which way for the sake of finishing, you’re going to be sorely disappointed.

Quantity really isn’t more important than quality when it comes to your answers. There is the potential to dishonestly complete a large quantity of surveys, only to find out that the site or the survey sponsor has rejected each one in its entirety. Guess what? You don’t get paid.

Answering questions honestly is the best and only way to fill out paid online surveys. When they happen to be about topics that interest you, they are actually a pretty fun way to spend your time. The bonus is that you can get paid without unnecessary delays or complications when you produce high quality surveys that are accepted right away.

PointClub is the #1 Way to Get Paid for Online Surveys

Our survey sponsors depend on the integrity and honesty of our users. It is important to us to have truthful survey takers backing us up. Being honest helps everyone involved: you get points for the surveys you take, the sponsor gets reliable survey data, and we get to continue offering high quality online questionnaires.

It’s a win-win for all. Join PointClub today for free, and start getting paid to take online surveys. We are the only site that offers points, even when you can’t finish a survey for whatever reason.