Staying disciplined / dedicated? How do you do it?

[Belle0101]

I decided to open this as a new thread ... it's my response to Toystoryduo's post on her (or maybe his) earnings. I thought it might receive more replies as a new thread so ...

First off, a big CONGRATS!! I can't believe how much can be earned from doing these misc. programs.

Now to my question....when and how do you all find the time to do your programs, surveys and such?

In the 1 1/2 years I've been doing this I've earned $25.00 at MyPoints and $10.00 at CR and $10.00 at (dare I mention this one?) DA. I'm really close to cashing out at a few others but haven't gotten there yet.

I'm a stay-at-home with 3 boys (ages 3yrs, 8 yrs and 41yrs) and 2 dogs (ages 6 yrs and 16yrs). And yes, I count my dh as one of the kids jokingly. I love him dearly and he's a great father and husband but he's pretty lost when it comes to the household.

Or, maybe I'm just not dedicated / disciplined enough?

So, if you have any tips for finding the time and / or staying disciplined I'd really appreciate it! And again, CONGRATS to everybody on your earnings!!!!!


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[mad4themouse]

I keep a log of the rewards that I redeem, when I redeemed for them and when they arrived. I have a spreadsheet for each month and I keep track of how much I take in each month from rewards/rebates/saved changed. I recently started eBaying and Half.com sales as well.

When I get discouraged, I take a look at my monthly earnings and remind myself that those little bonuses would not be there were it not for rewards programs. I try not to look at how much each program is earning, but more at the BIG picture. I'm redeeming at two or three programs every month and last month I took in over $100. Most months I make more.

Sometimes, I set a short-term goal and try to see how quickly I can meet it. It might be getting enough in webbies to purchase a park pass or restaurant GCs to cover a weeks' worth of dinners. As each goal is met, I set new ones until I can pay for the entire vacation. By breaking the vacation costs down into smaller "chunks", I find it's a lot easier to keep my eye on the real prize.

Finding the computer time to get my rewards done is also a challenge. I am now the proud mother to a teenager who lives for her computer time. When she's home and awake, there's no getting online. I found that getting up an hour before the rest of the family gives me a peaceful start to my day, an uninterupted cup of hot coffee and time to get most of my rewards sites done. Switching from a dial-up service to cable has also speeded things up considerably.

Consolidating your online purchases to one or two sites will make those sites pay off faster. Remember that shipping and handling costs can be offset by the amount that you save in gas, time, and those impulse buys that you make when you walk into a store. I figure that shopping at a B&M store with the kids is guaranteed to cost me $10-$15 more than shopping online. If the store is in the mall, it will set me back even more.

When all else fails, I take a break. Consider taking the summer off. Or put one or two slow earners on the shelf for a while. You can always return to them later if they're still around.

 

[dtuleya]

I do several programs faithfully a day (Mypoints, Blink, Milesource, Creation Rewards and now Freeride). I do alot of online shopping and do most of it at Mypoints. If a merchant doesn't participate with Mypoints, I then search one of the other programs. I fit it into my morning routine since that is when I have the most "ME" time. If I have time in the evening, I go back and do the programs I missed. I have a cable modem which really helps and I do multiple programs at once.

It's no so much a problem staying motivated, it's more like an addiction. And I don't want a 12 step program!

 

[Eilonwy]

Originally posted by dtuleya
It's no so much a problem staying motivated, it's more like an addiction. And I don't want a 12 step program!

LOL! Yes, it's an addiction!

I do PCHPoints, LuckyPoints, CR, and Memolink in the morning, while reading my email. Then if I think about it, I do BLINK in the evening when I do all my sweepstakes entries. I also tend to do the surveys in the evening. I probably spend too much time on the computer, but I'd like to think that it's paying off a little bit. I don't do any other daily programs. When I shop online, I tend to use MyPoints or eBates.

 

[toystoryduo]

Belle0101.... I am a stay at home mom of two girls (ages 2 and soon to be 1) and finding time to do rewards programs is challenging for me too. I am the "early bird" in our house and if I want time to do my rewards programs, I have to do it first thing in the morning. Usually, I'll check my email first, do any surveys or points offers that were emailed to me, check out the trivia answers at the DISboards, (and usually get distracted by reading all the different posts ), and then I go to CR, Memolink, and MyPoints and do what I can there.

Last week, I was discouraged because we do not shop online very often and so accumulating points has been very slow. Then, I got the Vividence survey and the Amazon.com GC and that inspired me to keep chugging along like the Little Engine that Could. I think I can..... I think I can..... I think I can...... (Sorry... I did say that I am the mom of 2 preschoolers. )

At any rate, I would say that whatever you can accomplish through the rewards programs is a blessing. As stay at home moms, we know that our free time is limited, and every little bit that helps us get that much closer to the "magic" helps.

 

[jlp651]

I wake up every morning and go grab a cup of coffee sit down and start with Lucky Points...check out My Points and then surf for a bit. I do my shopping thru mypoints also...
On the days that I have work (which starts at 0630) I get them going with "the question of the day" and somewhere there is usually a good debate that happens b/c of it-keeps our day going.