It’s inevitable: If you ask the Internet how to make extra money, someone (more likely several someones) will suggest taking online surveys (also, doing clinical trials). On the surface, this sounds terrific: Sign up with a few websites or apps, spend some downtime answering questions, get paid. And it generally is that easy to make a little money using platforms like Survey Junkie, Swagbucks, or Kashkick. The real question is, how little is the little money? Taking online surveys is easy work, but the Federal Minimum Wage is $7.25, and state minimum wages go as high as $17 per hour. Can you make anything even approaching that via online surveys?

The answer is: No, you cannot. Not even close (with one caveat noted below). Here’s how little the little money in online surveys actually is.

The downside to taking online surveys for pay

Every single online survey site you sign up with will pay you dramatically less than $7.25 an hour. In some cases, you’ll wind up earning less than one dollar an hour, while folks using Survey Junkie can sometimes get as high as $5 per hour—and on SurveySavvy, you can snag 10-minute surveys for $1 each, so theoretically you can earn a majestic $6 per hour if you hustle nonstop. Note that all of these ranges are significantly below the $7.25 you’ll earn—at minimum—from some sort of actual part-time job.

And these numbers assume you’re able to dedicate significant time and effort to surveys, and that you enjoy remarkable efficiency—which is difficult due to three aspects of the platforms:

• The qualification process. When you sign up on these platforms, you fill out an initial questionnaire designed to determine which surveys would find your feedback valuable (you often get a small sign-up bonus for this). When you snag a survey, however, your first few responses will narrow things down even further, and you might be rejected from the survey after you’ve begun the process, and get paid just a tiny amount for your time—often as little as 2-3 cents. For example, one person attempted 152 surveys on Survey Junkie over the course of one and a half months, but only managed to successfully complete 53 of them. The typical success rate for completing surveys is about 25%.

• Search time. While some of these platforms will actively recruit you to surveys you’re particularly well-suited for, you have to spend time searching for surveys to take—and they go fast. And that time is unpaid. If you spend an hour trying to sign up for surveys and then make $3 taking them over the course of the next hour, your pay is really $1.5 per hour.

This means it’s probably better to think about online survey work in terms of monthly earnings instead of an hourly wage. For example, the person who completed 53 of 152 attempted surveys? After one and a half months they’d earned $26.17, or about $13 per month. And the platforms themselves are pretty clear about this. Survey Junkie, for example, explicitly states in their FAQ that you can expect to make “as much as” $40 a month using the site, and Swagbucks states that typical survey-takers “should be able to” earn as much as $1,825 per year, which is about $150 per month—but that’s the high end. And one site reviewing KashKick concluded you could earn $10-$40 per month there.

That’s not nothing! But it’s also not exactly a great way to make a living, and it’s definitely not a replacement for a job.

The upside to taking online surveys for pay

So, online surveys won’t make you rich or replace your 9-5. But used in the right way, there are certainly upsides to online surveys:

• Easy. They typically require no special skills or experience, and signing up is free. While specific backgrounds or demographic details may snag you more or higher-paying surveys, there’s almost zero bar to making at least some money on these platforms.

• Spare cash. That $40 a month might not pay your rent, but since you can earn it in the spare moments between other tasks—clicking through a lunch hour, or tapping on your phone while on the bus to and from work—it’s a low-friction way to toss some extra cash into your accounts.

• Fun. Most people enjoy offering their opinions and learning about new products or concepts, so taking surveys is often a lot of fun—fun you’re getting paid for.

Finally, if you’re a professional in a demanding field of some sort, there can be a lot more upside taking surveys. There are specialized companies that pay pretty handsomely for the opinions of doctors, lawyers, or other professionals—for example, one doctor reported earning as much as $1,000 per month taking surveys offered by companies like InCrowd, Curizon, and M3 Global Research.

There’s also FocusGroups.org, which pays pretty well for online surveys (they also do in-person focus group studies and phone call interviews, which pay more). Many of their surveys fall into the $6/hour range (or less), but if you sift through and do some math to translate their points system into dollars, you can find some that pay out pretty high hourly rates—as much as $60 an hour, according to one review. However, there are generally fewer surveys to take here, and they are harder to qualify for—and that hourly rate depends on how fast you can finish the surveys, so your mileage may vary quite a bit. In the end, even though FocusGroups.org pays a bit better, you probably still won’t make a huge amount there every month.

Source: LifeHacker – Here’s How Much You Can Actually Make by Taking Online Surveys

The end of the year is approaching quickly, which means it’s time to make sure you are taking full advantage of your employee benefits before time runs out. Many workplace benefits have use-it-or-lose-it deadlines or contribution limits that reset each year, so it’s important to review your benefits package and take action before the new year starts.

Spend your FSA funds

Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) allow you to set aside pre-tax dollars for qualified healthcare or dependent care expenses. The catch is that FSAs often have a use-it-or-lose-it policy, meaning any unused funds at the end of the year are forfeited. Calculate your anticipated expenses for the rest of this year and the beginning of next year while there is still time to incur more costs. If you have money left in your FSA, stock up on eligible expenses now before the year ends.

Max out HSA contributions

Much like an FSA, a health savings account (HSA) allows you to contribute pre-tax dollars for medical expenses. The advantage of an HSA is that unused funds roll over year to year. For 2023, the annual contribution limits are $3,850 for individual coverage or $7,750 for family coverage. Confirm what you have contributed to date and, if possible, bump up your monthly contributions through the end of the year to hit the annual maximum.

Use remaining flex time

Before any year-end resets hit, make sure to use any remaining flex time, work-from-home days, or paid time off afforded by your employer. Schedule appointments, knock out lingering tasks, and request days off if allowed under your company policy. With potential schedule changes coming as the year wraps up, now is the ideal time to take advantage of flex time while you still can.

Review retirement savings

Most companies with 401(k) plans have limits on annual employee salary deferral contributions, with the 2023 maximum being $22,500 if you are under 50 or $30,000 if 50 or older. Log into your retirement account and identify gaps between your current savings rate or annual contributions and the legal limits. If you have room to save more before Dec. 31, contact your HR department to increase your deferral percentage.

Check your benefits for other perks

There may be other employee perks or discounts that you have not taken advantage of yet this year. Revisit new hire paperwork or your employee handbook and read through all available programs. Look closely for things like gym memberships, continuing education reimbursements, commuter accounts, employee assistance services, tuition discounts, and more. Learn what is available and use relevant services before Jan. 1 when eligibility may reset.

The end of the calendar year is the ideal time to maximize workplace benefits that have expiration timelines or annual limits. Review all available programs and take appropriate steps to utilize them fully now so that they do not go to waste. A little proactivity this month can add up to major savings and optimized offerings to carry into the new year.

Source: LifeHacker – Do These Things to Maximize Your Employee Benefits Before the New Year

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