Easy ways to get free money
Who doesn't love free money?
As a freelance layabout there have been times where I've worried my income won't be enough, and I've had to investigate easy ways to get a little more.
You will find loads of examples of panels and surveys, but you can never be sure whether it'll be worth it.
YouGov
The most well-known survey survey organisers are YouGov. They are one of few who give you guarenteed cash payouts. They also tend to have some of the more interesting surveys: often, when you hear about a survey in the news, it has come from them. Prize draws are also available, but I'm not sure which works out better.
Valued Opinions
Valued Opinions (operating under names like 'Irish Opinions') was the one I used to recommend. I used to earn about £20 a month, paid for in shopping vouchers. You could then treat it as either money for extra treats or less to worry about at the end of the month.
While Valued Opinions does work, it is a frustrating experience. On three occasions they limited my account access, with no information given, until I sent them an enquiry and they replied to explain that they had reactivated my account, but with absolutely no information on why they ever deactivated it. On one occasion they told me this was because I wasn't based in America (!!)
In addition, the survey partners used by Valued Opinions have become increasingly unreliable. One particular survey, that is sent out every day, asks you many questions for 10 minutes and then screens you out with no reason given. It is not the only regular survey to do this. When this happens, you have no recourse: even if you ask for justice, they will simply give you a standard response that sometimes these things happen. I did eventually start pushing for action on these and they now quickly issue some 'gesture of goodwill credit' when you send them a broken URL, but it's still a lot of hassle.
It's not just the screenouts that make Valued Opinions frustrating. One of their regular surveys has a technical error near the end that makes it impossible to complete. Surely the client has noticed that they aren't getting any data? And there is another one that, towards the end, asks you to press a button that doesn't exist. It is impossible to skip past these; if you quit it after starting, they will try to serve it to you again later on.
As a matter of morality I'd urge you to answer their questions honestly. But if the survey is genuinely a waste of your time, you shouldn't worry about wasting theirs.
Once you have earned £/€10 in survey credit, you can convert your credit into a shopping voucher. These normally arrive by email within a few hours, but first you have to pass an irritating two factor authentication test on your phone. Tesco and Amazon vouchers are probably the most popular. (You can actually get a Tesco voucher onto your Apple Wallet, but to do that you have to open the email, open the vouhcher, check your balance, copy and paste the voucher code and pin, and only then will you get the option to download it.)
To conclude, Valued Opinions is a genuine website, but it does let you down. As with all market research, you will get more opportunities if you're a young, middle class mother who drinks regularly and regularly buys a car, as this will get you into all the most popular categories (fashion, groceries, alcohol and motoring). For those who don't, there is no harm in doing one or two surveys while you're sat around waiting, it will add up to a voucher eventually, but just be prepared for some frustrations.
Pick My Postcode
You can also win money just for having a post code with Pick My Postcode (formerly Free Postcode Lottery). Every day they hold a prize draw, and if your postcode is chosen you'll win a small amount of cash. (In practice, your postcode is just used as a more fun version of having a raffle number - you can give them any postcode you like, or even make one up.
The advertised amount can be very low (£10 in some draws), but it works out much better than that. That's because by using the website and its features, you will build up your own personal prize pot, which is added to your winnings and never depleted.
The cash is paid into your PayPal account within a few days.
Does Pick My Postcode work? Some people in the comments get too mathematical about it. It's a random draw, so you're not guarenteed to win, and you need to be checking it every day. You can't be sure what the odds are of winning as they (understandably) won't tell you how many different post codes are registered: the worst-case scenario, where every single post code in the UK is registered, would mean that you would win - on average - once every 4,000 years! But there's not that many people on there, and averages don't work like that, so it's up to you whether you want to make the few daily clicks required to be in with a chance.
One way to increase your bonus is to use their affiliated surveys. As with all surveys, these can be a frustrating and time consuming process, but the little bonuses (including the small bonuses for being screened out, which are my favourite) do add up. It is probably worth the few minutes a day you spend on this website to know that, once every couple of years, you could win a few hundred pounds.
Quidco
Quidco is something I've read so much about, and always forget to use. For the consumer, it is fantastic. Basically various online retailers will offer you cash back if you purchase from them via Quidco. So if you were thinking of buying something online, always check if they're on Quidco first.
It works because the different retailers will be on there competing with each other. For example, all the different hotel websites look the same to me, so if I know which hotel I'm looking for I book it via whoever offers me the most cashback.
It works with other purchases too. For example I had already chosen who my car insurance would be with, and then I checked and found out Quidco were offering £70 cashback if I went via their link. A no-brainer, but always check the terms and conditions.
It is very unreliable - often the retailer will come back and say you didn't make the purchase, when you clearly did. Quidco will say there's nothing they can do and that's the end of that.
This does strike me as very unfair, and that's why you must never let it convince you to buy something you didn't want - you'll only end up feeling ripped off. Sometimes the devil will be in the small print: they will say no cashback with any other discount, and a lot of the things you buy will already be on a special offer, so that makes your cashback invalid. But if you were going to buy something anyway, you might as well give Quidco a go - it won't do any harm and may make you a bit of money.
Although the money you make can be converted to cash, they will encourage you to exchange it for a voucher of some sort, where you will get a better rate. Again, if it's a retailer you use anyway - and they have a wide range - then it makes sense to do that; or you can treat yourself if you'd prefer.
