Beyond the Dollar: Earning Bitcoins Online

With the value of Bitcoins steadily rising (and the value of the US dollar only going on the decline), now is the time to look into earning more than just straight cash. For a while, Bitcoins were only available through straight purchasing or mining, but now there are plenty of opportunities on the internet to earn Bitcoin. Below are a few examples of the kinds of ways you can earn Bitcoins online.
(To learn more about what Bitcoins are, look HERE. You can get your own Bitcoin wallet at Blockchain, Coinbase, or through various other websites).





Paid-To-Click (PTC) Sites: Click ads, earn Bitcoins, refer others and earn a small percentage of their earnings. As simple as that. Given that Bitcoin PTC sites are fairly new and not too highly saturated, there is potential to grow a referral base and bring in some residual income without too much investment. Using a Bitcoin PTC site also has the benefit of exposing you to other Bitcoin business opportunities through the ads.
Example:

• BTCClicks: Straightforward and simple site, click ads and earn Bitcoins. After posting a few cheap ads on Clixsense and Nerdbux (totaling about $15), and have gotten 42 referrals, most of whom have been actively clicking and earning money. This is my first payment proof:
  
• CoinAd: Another Bitcoin PTC site, though this site offers a lower referral commission rate than BTCClicks. However, there are plenty of ads to click at competitive rates, so if you have time for PTCs, this site is not a bad choice.

Faucet Sites: As far as I can tell, this constitutes as a site that gives you Bitcoins basically just for showing up. I can only assume they are doing this either out of the goodness of their hearts, or because it generates ad revenue from website traffic, but I don't see much potential for malicious activity since most will only ask for your Bitcoin address (something you would have to give to anyone paying you Bitcoin) and for you to create a username and password. The payouts are not tremendous, but you can't beat free!

Example:

• FreeBitcoin: Like the name says, you get free Bitcoins. You can come back every hour to click "Roll" to earn a small amount of Bitcoin, and if you are feeling lucky, you can wager your winnings to earn even more (I have lost the few times I've tried to do this, so I just keep mine). Any amounts which reach the cashout threshold (which is pretty low) are automatically sent to your Bitcoin wallet on Mondays. These are a few of my recent payment proofs:
  

These are just the ones that I have liked the most so far and am using regularly, but there are many more sites and opportunities out there! You can check out Bitcoinwork.info for a more thorough list of Bitcoin earning sites.
Also, it never hurts to stay informed! Follow blogs like Sit Down For Your Rights to stay in the loop!

Saving Money Through Freebies and Coupons

While finding ways to make money can be immediately gratifying, learning how to save money is just as important. Thanks to Netflix and my new fixation on the show "Extreme Couponing", I've dug up some ways to help you keep your money in your wallet.

The Krazy Coupon Lady: I have to say, I'm in adoration of this site, both for what they provide, and by how much revenue they must produce through their site (advertisers, Amazon kickbacks, and over 1 million Facebook followers?? You know they have to be raking in the money, all while helping their readers save/make money!). Their newsletter and Facebook site provides useful information to get everyday items dirt cheap or free, both online and off, and can even lead you to some good deals for you to use to resell. Using this site takes a ton of time and hassle out of having to search for coupons and sales yourself, since they do the work for you and combine the deals so you can get the lowest possible price. Definitely a go-to site for anyone who wants to save a bit of cash on their shopping (so, pretty much everyone).

FreeStuff.com: A couple minutes looking on this site got me some free contact solution (via Target Samples):


This site is so far my favorite because the majority of what they post are small, useful freebies that are just that... freebies. With good finds like this, you'll simply enter your info (mailing address, email, name, and so forth) and you'll receive your item in the mail in a couple of weeks, no strings attached. You can find other small items (like coffee K-cups, makeup, health products, etc.) usually for minimum time and effort too (again, by simply entering some info, or "liking" a company's Facebook page).
However, there are other sites that offer "freebies" that are not exactly free. For example, you may see posts like "Get a Free iPhone". Though it may seem obvious, these are not exactly free, and do take a lot of time and effort to complete other offers (usually those that cost money). This doesn't mean that they aren't worth pursuing (I have heard that often you can put in about $100 doing offers and get a product worth about $500 for "free"), but don't expect it to be a quick and painless journey.


Though they only scratch the surface of what is available out there, these two sites are great starting places to help save (or even make) you some money through coupons and freebies.