Making a Little Extra Money for your Wedding

Let's face it. Even when you use coupons, buy used, and slash the guest list, weddings are still expensive. Since I already work over 40 hours a week and go to school full-time, it is not like I can go out and get a second job to help pay for the wedding. I was beginning to feel like our wedding dreams were simply out of reach when I came across a couple different ways I could make extra money to help pay for the wedding without even changing out of my pajamas. 

1. Swagbucks: 

Sign up for your free account at www.swagbucks.com. This is the easiest way to make extra money online! In fact, I'm using it to earn extra wedding money as I am posting this! You get a bonus for signing up, liking the site on Facebook, watching videos on Swagbucks TV, answering polls, shopping online, searching the web, using coupons, answering online surveys, and (are you ready for this?) playing games! It is super easy to do. I run the Swagbucks TV while I am writing blog posts, doing homework, or watching television, and I earn points. Earn even more points by referring your friends. You send them a link and when they sign up using that link, you get rewarded every time your friend is rewarded a search win. In addition, Swagbucks partners with coupons.com to bring you awesome money saving grocery coupons. Not only could you put your grocery savings toward your wedding budget, but Swagbucks also awards 10 points for each coupon that is redeemed! Points are distributed in "swagbucks", which you can use to buy items in the "Swag Store" such as PayPal, Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Overstock.com gift cards. These can be used for wedding supplies. Jelly Belly gift cards can be used if you are planning on offering a candy bar. Zales gift cards can be put toward wedding bands or attendant gifts, Starbucks gift cards for wedding morning coffee for you and your attendants. Spa gift cards you could use for a bachelorette party, bridal party outings, or beauty prep for wedding day. JC Penny gift cards that could be used for attendant's gifts, wedding day jewelry, wedding bands, wedding shoes, lingerie, or even possibly bridesmaid's dresses. Thomas and I are planning a few DIY projects for our wedding, so the Lowe's and Home Depot gift cards offered by the swag store are going to come in handy! Sephora gift cards for your wedding day beauty necessities. Shutterfly gift cards to help out tremendously with save-the-dates, invitations, programs, and thank you cards. They also offer FTD gift cards you could use for your flowers or decor. The Swag Store even offers Travelocity gift cards, Southwest Airlines gift cards, and Marriot gift cards, BedandBreakfast.com gift cards, Hyatt gift cards, Celebrity Cruise gift cards, Ritz-Carlton gift cards and Royal Caribbean Cruise gift cards you could use for the honeymoon. The hotel gift cards would also come in handy if you are planning on booking blocks of hotel rooms for out of town guests. Any stylish bride also needs new clothes for the honeymoon! Get those honeymoon threads for free by using Swagbucks for gift cards to stores like Old Navy, Nike, Banana Republic, Gap, American Eagle, Foot Locker, Sports Authority, The Limited, Aerie, Adidias, Champs, Athleta, Aeropostale, PiperLime, and Columbia gift cards. Don't forget about the guys through all of this! If your groom's attendants are sports fans, the Swag Store also offers Bass Pro, Callaway, Cabela's, fanatics.com, and NFLshop.com gift cards that may come in handy. It's not just all about gift cards though, Swagbucks even offers a jewelry section with beautiful pieces you could use to thank your bridal party!

To see a total breakdown of how we are using Swagbucks to pay for our wedding, check out the "Our Swagbucks Wedding" post coming soon.

 2. Inbox Dollars:
Sign up for your free account at www.inboxdollars.com and get a $5 sign up bonus. Like Swagbucks, you get rewarded for taking online surveys, shopping, searching the web, using coupons, etc. In addition, this site sends you paid emails! That's right! You get paid for confirming each email they send you! Don't worry about spam emails. They typically only send a handful of emails each day. The only other difference with this site is you get an actual check in the mail. For every $30 you earn, you can request a check and it will be in your mail box within a month. This site is great for saving for the larger expenses for your wedding such as venues, catering, photography, and let's not forget about the dress.

3. Send Earnings:
This is another site that is exactly like Inbox dollars down to the physical check, the free account, and the $5 sign up bonus. 

4. Viggle:
This is a free app I have for my iPhone that is designed for DirecTV customers. All you have to do is check in to your favorite shows and you get points for watching! You are watching TV anyway, so why not get rewarded for it? You even get rewarded for watching shows like Four Weddings and Say Yes to the Dress! You can cash in your points for Travelocity, 1-800 Flowers, Lowe's, Fanatics.com, and Royal Caribbean gift cards.

5. Slice the Pie:
This is a website that is free to join. All you have to do is listen to songs that artists are producing and critique them. Typically the payout is $0.10-$0.20 per review, so it can be tedious at times. However, if you enjoy music this will not feel like work at all and before you know it you'll have enough money to pay for something needed for your wedding.

6. Bing Rewards:
This is probably the simplist way to earn money online. All you have to do is use Bing as your search engine and you get rewards points. These points can be redeemed for gift cards and dollar amounts off online purchased at places such as Red Envelope (great place to get Bridesmaid's and parents' gifts), Amazon, and Sephora. You can even cash your rewards in for Swagbucks! 

7. Ibotta: 
Ibotta is a free app for smartphones that allows you to get cash back on purchases from the grocery store. I love this app because all you have to do is answer polls, read facts, post on social media sites, and watch videos to earn cash back on purchasing your favorite products at the grocery store. They are mostly products I already purchase too such as toothpaste, laundry detergent, bread, cereal, and even milk! Ibotta is featured for stores such as Walmart, Target, and Whole Foods too. They have also recently started offering cash back on movie tickets from AMC theaters and restaurants such as Qdoba and Quiznos. Payouts are made through PayPal, which makes it super easy to use this extra money for your wedding. This would also be a great app to have if you are self-catering, providing your own appetizers and drinks for cocktail hour, baking your own wedding cake, or offering DIY edible favors for your guests. 

 8. Jing-it:
This is an app for smartphones similar to Ibotta. You watch videos and answer poll questions online to earn money. You can also get paid for checking in at your local grocery store with different items as well as purchasing specific items. Payouts are currently made using a prepaid debit card through US Bank.