Mooching and the Art of Freebies

I was watching the Today show this week and was delighted to see a segment titled "The Age of Mooching" from Today's Consumer Smarts segment. You can access the video "How much can you get for free?" at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/30453083#30453083. A lot of the information they gave is the same stuff as I have written. One of the suggestions they gave was to use a different email address that is not the one you normally use. I agree in principal with that suggestion, however, not everyone has the luxury or time to set up multiple email addresses and then, more importantly check them daily. Sometimes our lives can get so complicated with a never ending list of things to do that we may forget to check an obscure email address that we set up for the purpose of answering surveys. One of the tricks I use to make it easier is to set up the second email address on a free site like Yahoo or Google and then configure it up to have my mail forwarded directly to the email address I check daily. That way, I don't have to remember to go to another site to check the mail, I get it delivered on a timely basis, and I don't get spammed. So if you are worried about giving out your normal email address, do as I do and make life easier on your self and have it forwarded automatically.

Some of the other things they talked about are important to remember. You will need to give a valid address if you want to receive free items or to get paid. However, do not give out your credit card information or other personal information including social security numbers. A site that says they need that information may be fraudulent and is certainly not worth your while.

PayPal Pays Out!

A lot of the survey sites will offer either points to be redeemed for prizes and gift cards , chances for sweepstakes and money for your time. If the latter is better for you the easiest, fastest and safest way to get paid online is to sign up for a PayPal account. PayPal  is a service that allows you to get money transferred from your PayPal account to your checking account. They are a global leader in online payment options.

It is really simple to sign up for a basic account that you can then use whenever a survey site requires a PayPal account. To get the money from PayPal to your checking account you will need to provide tracking information that can be verified by PayPal and your bank. All of this activity is done in a secure environment where your personal information is safe. IF you are uneasy with providing your normal email address you can always open a free one on Google or Yahoo. Then you can use that account whenever you fill out surveys, request payments and transfer funds to PayPal.

Another option would be to ignore sites that use PayPal solely and rely only on those sites that send checks or deal with prizes and gift cards. Check out PayPal  for more information.