Thursday, April 23, 2009

Blingo - I earned $100 Today!

For some of you, you have been following me for over a year now. And, if so, you know before I ever discovered Swagbucks, I was using Blingo to search the web and earn money. In fact, the programs are very similar in many ways.

So, to start, I wanted to share that I won a $100 Amazon.com Gift Certificate. Boy, was I excited! I have already added it to my Amazon.com account and it is ready to be spent. Yay!

Are you new to my site or just to the method of earning money via searching the web? Then, let me explain what all these programs are about.

First, these companies are FREE to sign up with and you are under no obligation to use them. But, what they do is take the place of your current search engine. Whether that is Google, Yahoo!, Ask, or some other company, you need to begin using Swagbucks, Blingo or some other search engine with incentive.

Why? Well, these companies give you the chance to win different things, just for doing what you do everyday....searching the web! Save these as your homepages, and you don't even need to think about it when you log online. Simply begin searching as normal.

So, what are the unique details of each company?

Blingo
Blingo
  • Powered by Yahoo!, Live Search and Ask
  • Your first 25 searches each day qualify to win
  • Main prize changes everyday ( Digital Camera & Photo Frame is today's gift )
  • On top of the main prize, many other prizes will also be awarded. The most common is $5 Amazon.com Gift Certificate or Free Movie Tickets. But, there are many others. Like the $100 Amazon.com I got
  • Refer a friend program. If they win, you win. Hence, this is how I got $100. Even if they win the big prize of the day ( even if that is a Flat Panel TV, Computer or Ford Focus )
  • You can only claim 2 prizes a calendar month. They give you the choice whether you want to accept the prize when you win it or hold off in case you want to hold off for a potentially larger prize.
  • Click here to sign up for your own Blingo account and begin searching the web



Swagbucks

  • Powered by Google and Ask
  • Win Swagbucks in 1-5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 denominations. These can then be redeemed for gifts or gift cards. The dollar value of a Swagbuck is not equivalent to US dollars. For example, a $5 Amazon.com Gift Certificate costs 45 Swagbucks.
  • You can win multiple times per day
  • Refer a Friend program. If they win, you win...up to 100 Swagbucks
  • Click here to sign up for your Swagbucks account
So, this can be confusing? Which ones should you use? Well, if you are someone like me who searches the web ALOT. You can use both. I do enough searches a day that I can use Blingo and Swagbucks. In fact, sometimes they come back with slightly different results. So, if I am really looking for details on a subject, I may do a search at both sites.

But, the advantages of Blingo are this. You can win MUCH larger prizes. I mean look at the $100 I got from my referral. And, I can still win from that referral. With Swagbucks, you can only win up to 100 Swagbucks, which is approx. $10. And, that is the end of it. You only get 100 Swagbucks.

The disadvantage? You win much less frequently.

What about Swagbucks?

The advantage is you win much more often. I often win multiple times a day, and earn approx 1 swagbuck each time. Even though it can take a bit of time to win enough to redeem for a prize, there is something to be said for knowning you win a bit each day. It is psyhcological.

There are other ways to earn, too. From recycling your old phone to shopping online, you can earn swagbucks!

I hope you enjoy both of these companies and earn a bit extra!



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16 comments:

Sandra Dee said...

Congrats! That is AWESOME! I have been using Blingo for months now and I still haven't won. I was beginning to think that nobody really won. I am going to use it more often now that I know people actually win! Have fun shopping with you $100!

Carrie @ Moneysavingmethods.com said...

Sandra,

You definitely dont' win as often as you do with Swagbucks. If you want to win more often ( daily ) just a few bucks from Swagbucks, you might have better luck.

In using it for over a year, I have only one 4 times, if that tells you anything.

But, with Swagbucks, you can usually win enough to at least earn $5 in Amazon.com gift cards a month, if not more.

Life, Cheaper said...

Thanks for suggesting Blingo, I just signed up through your referral link! I have been using Swagbucks for a few weeks now and think it's great.

Samantha said...

Thanks for the post I had never heard of Blingo. I am a total Swagbucks junkie! They also put out code hunts a lot on Facebook and their blog so you can find a code and earn between 1-3 SwagBucks! I just signed up a little over a month ago and already have 82 Swag Bucks from searching, codes, shopping and 1 referral, I am saving up for a $10 Starbucks gift card that is 130 SB!

Laura said...

I had never heard of Blingo--thanks for the great resource! Although I was a little surprised you didn't mention that I was clicking on your referral link. To register without using the referral, I had to clear my cookies and cache, which was kind of a pain. If you had mentioned it up front, I would have signed up happily, but my pet peeve is bloggers posting referral links without full disclosure. I always feel like I'm being used. :-P Otherwise, I really like your site so far and I think I'm going to poke around a bit more. Thanks for all your hard work!!

Carrie @ Moneysavingmethods.com said...

Laura,

Sorry, I thought it was self explantory since I was describing the great referral program to everyone. :-)

That is one of the benefits, so I suggest everyone use the referral program, including myself.

Anytime you read a post in my blog, if I talk about a referral program, I am also using it. You can click on my 2009 Saving and Earnings to see how much I make my doing refer a friend program, as I try to encourage all users to use Refer a friend programs to earn money for their families.

I don't know how to be more self disclosing that actually posting my earnings!!!! Most blogs don't even do that!

I am sorry you felt like I was not disclosing this, as that is not what my blog is about at all. I try to disclose EVERYTHING as an encouragement to others so they can also learn how to be successful.

Another hint, most of the time if you see a bolded link in my post, that is a referral link....just for future reference, or you can scroll over the bolded area and look at the bottom of your screen. You will be able to see the link to tell if it is a referral.

Laura said...

Thanks for replying to my concerns! I am a new reader, so your comments will help me understand future posts. I've been doing the drugstore game and grocery store promos for awhile now, but this is a whole new world of information! I'm looking forward to learning more about how you put all the pieces together. :-)

Christina said...

That makes me want to search more. I sometimes forget to use all the search sites I have, everyday and often. Now I know things can be won, I'll try harder! Thanks for this post.

Catherine said...

Carrie - Do you know if Blingo site is available outside the United States? We are military stationed overseas.

I had signed up for Swagbucks and then when i went to get my first $5 Amazon gift card they shut down my account & told me basically sorry about my luck.

I think I would rather know before signing up for the blingo site if I will have a repeat.

Thanks

Anjie Kay said...

WOW! great job@! which one are you?
Marie Kall? or Karon?

• Marie Kall and Karon each won a $100 Amazon.com gift card on 4/19/09
• Rebekah won a Fandango movie ticket on 3/17/09
• Marie Kall and Carrie each won a $5 Amazon.com gift card on 1/31/08
• Marie Kall and Carrie each won a $5 Amazon.com gift card on 11/8/07

Anonymous said...

In response to Laura:

I don't see why you would consider yourself to be used by using a refered link. You wouldn't even know of the program if some wonderful person didn't point you in the direction. No offense, but you are using this wonderful blog for your own benefit without giving in return. Sorry if I sound mean...just my two cents.

Carrie @ Moneysavingmethods.com said...

Catherine,

I am pretty sure it is US only. But, write them, explain your situtation, and see. It can't hurt to ask.

Anjie,

Too funny...I forgot I still have Marie Kall on there. I think I still do for Big Crumbs, too.

That is my middle name. I wonder if I can go in and update it to just be Carrie. I will go check now.

Rita Palanjian said...

Carrie - thanks for all you do for your readers. I will check them out.

Connie Petertonjes said...

Carrie:

I always assumed you posted referral links...why wouldn't you? Personally, I don't feel "used". I mean, you post so many greats deals for us, I look at your links and referrals as your payment for doing what you do. I don't have time to do the research you do for the deals. So, I am more than happy to "use" your blog to get the info and then you can "use" my referrals to get freebies, bonuses, etc. It's a win-win in my book!

Thanks for all that you do! Wish I had the time, energy and passion for blogging that you do!

Laura said...

Wow, maybe I should have explained myself better. I don't have any problem using referral links, either, and I am absolutely not trying to "use" anyone. Like I said, it's just personal quirk--I like to know when I'm giving and have the choice to give, because otherwise, it feels like "taking." The other deal sites I follow mention it whenever they use referral links, which is why expected the same here. Now that Carrie has been nice enough to explain how things are set up here, I'm happy to "give back" in the future! I just thought I'd better explain myself so I didn't give anyone the wrong first impression. :-)

And can I say, Carrie, I think it's great that you give so much feedback to your readers. I've been looking around the site a bit more today and have been amazed by how quickly you answer questions! Which is good, because I'm going to have a lot! ;-)

Carrie @ Moneysavingmethods.com said...

Ask away...love helping people earn and save. :-)

I hope to have a Refer a Friend webpage up soon, too, that will give recomendations on how others can use them....especially if they are bloggers, but also if they are not!

And, I plan to list all Refer a Friend programs I find to be worthwhile.

And, for anyone reading this comment string, you can also find my Privacy and Disclosure statement at the bottom of my blog. If you click on that, it will explain some more details about my blog, and programs I use via my website.

 
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