I’ve been subscribing to this lady called “Dealicious Mom” who e-mails out frequently about freebies and coupons that she finds.  I’ve gotten some good deals out of it, like two free tacos at Jack-in-the-Box.  Well, most recently she introduced me to YouData, which I have found to be a great way of making a few extra dollars here and there.

Basically YouData takes the middle man out of the advertising cycle, linking you straight with advertisers interested in getting your attention.  You therefore get paid directly from them for clicking on a link and going to check out their website.  It doesn’t give much, with anywhere from 5 cents to 15 cents per click.  So far I’ve averaged a dime a click, which isn’t bad.  You get paid to your PayPal account every Friday and I just received my first payout!  It’s not much, but it’s something I wouldn’t have had otherwise.  The site is still growing, so there aren’t that many offers up yet and there is no guaranteed supply – patience is key here!

I like them a lot though, because they really feel like an honest way to earn money.  After all, what is a second of my time worth?  Plus, with ads targeted at my demographic, it’s actually stuff I may be interested in, which can improve my life.  Most people will probably look at this and think to themselves, but that’s hardly anything.  Well, certainly, but everything adds up.  I’ve been a member of MyPoints for years and I’ve never taken them up on a deal, but I always click the e-mails I get to get the 5 points just for viewing the offer.  From that and a few special offers, I have accumulated over 12,600 points.

So similarly, over the years this can start off just making a difference of pennies, then nickels and dimes and quarters and dollars.  Eventually, I can look back to see that I’ve earned dozens if not hundreds of dollars just by taking a few seconds a week to click and check out relevant ads.  That makes me feel good and realistically, money doesn’t just come so easily, so this feels worth it.  I shared it with my fraternity brothers on our listserv, but I don’t know if they’ll all see the value and potential in this.  Whatever the case, I’ll keep using it and sharing it with anyone who might be interested.

Why not go sign up too?