SWAG!

Well, today isn't working out like I had hoped (long story, but just like almost every story about me, it involves lost keys).  So I am turning this lemon day into lemonade and blogging!  I TOLD you I was committed this time.

I am going to jump right in to explaining how to earn gift cards for free.  As mentioned before, there are lots of ways to achieve this, but today I will be focusing on the granddaddy of them all... SWAGBUCKS!

Swagbucks started several years ago as a Google competitor with one major difference - Swagbucks paid users for the data that their searches generated (you didn't think Google was helping you search the Interwebs out of the kindness of their heart, did you?  They make coin on that info, big time).  So anyway, SB (as it shall henceforth be called) kept some of the money to pay employees and fill up the office coffee pot and such and passed the rest on to users in the form of points that could be cashed in for gift cards.  I got involved back in the early days, and it was an easy, if slow, way to earn some extra cash.  I traded in the points I earned for Amazon gift cards and that helped support my extreme K-Cup addiction, so that was A-OK by me.

Fast forward to a few months ago... I had noticed that the SB website had really expanded but I didn't pay that much attention to it since I was busy doing more important things like playing fantasy football.  First, there were a lot more ways to earn points.  Second, there were lots more options for gift cards to spend your points on - in addition to Amazon, you could now get Target, Walmart, iTunes, Paypal cash and a host of other options.  I started digging and found a gold mine - SB is now the number one way I am earning free money for vacations!

I'll take the time in future posts to explain some of the major ways you can rack up points on SB, but I am going to start by outlining the easiest way to get going - SB apps.  SB has a couple of smartphone apps that earn points for you by playing (notice I did not say "watching") short YouTube style videos.  These apps are free to download (both iPhone & Android).

Here's how you do it:
1.)  Sign up for Swagbucks - it's free and they don't sell your info for spam.  Here is the link:
Swagbucks sign up

2.)  Once you've completed the sign up process (short & easy), go to the App Store or Google Play and download SBTV and EntertaiNow.  The icons look like this:

EntertaiNow

SBTV

You'll need to link these to your SB account with the email & password you used during sign up.

3.)  On SBTV, you can earn 2 points (called Swagbucks) for every 5 videos that play, up to 50 points a day.  They run & advance automatically, so you don't have to babysit them - just start 'em up and let 'em go!

4.) To make the process even easier & faster, go to the "Categories" section of the menu & click on "Home and Garden".  Scroll through the list, and you'll see several videos labeled "10 Second Tip".  As you might imagine, these videos last 10 seconds.  Swipe left across them and a little heart will appear in the lower right corner - this video has now been added to your favorites list.

5.) Go back to the menu and tap "Favorites."  Then tap the first video on your list, and THAT IS IT!  They will run automatically until you reach your daily limit of 50 points.  With the 10 second videos, this will take less than an hour.

6.) EntertaiNow is similar, except that you need to watch 10 videos to earn 2 points.  However, the daily limit on EntertaiNow is 120 points!  It takes longer, but the reward is greater, too.  And again, once you start the process - that's it.  You just let it run and don't think about it.  EntertaiNow has several shorter videos under "TV Spots" on the menu: The Boondocks, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League, Modern Family, Touch, and Mad Men are shorter choices.  EntertaiNow is great to run while you are sleeping!

To review - after you sign up for Swagbucks and download the 2 free apps, you can earn 170 Swagbuck points per day with minimal effort.  What can 170 Swagbucks get you?  Well, SB makes it easy because each Swagbuck is worth 1 cent.  Doesn't sound like much, but it adds up fast.  After just a month, you will have earned $51.  After a year of nothing but the apps, you'll have earned $620.50 for FREE!

And it gets better in a couple of ways.... First, Swagbucks allows multiple accounts per family, as long as the user is 13 or older.  So you can double, triple or quadruple that money if you have family members that are old enough and want to help with the earning process.  Second, Swagbucks has daily point goals that will show up on the left side of your SB home page.  It looks like this:

Basically, it's a reward that SB gives you for using them to earn points.  They are tiered - the first goal is smaller and the second goal requires you to earn more points.  But... the 170 points you earn will ALWAYS get your first goal for the day, and usually the second, as well.  AND... you can earn even more points for being consistent - as much as an additional 300 points per month if you meet your first goal everyday.  SB pays out the daily goal bonuses once a month - so conservatively, you can make an additional 600-650 points per account per month - making your annual earnings $700 per person.  For nothing!!!!

Phew... this is a lot of information, but honestly - it is crazy easy.  Leave a message in the comments if you have questions.  In the next few days, I'll post about other ways to earn on Swagbucks that can raise your earnings even higher.  Happy Swagging!!!!