I have been doing something you might want to consider doing too, if you are looking forward to Christmas and having a good time and having some little extras in the way of income from surveys to spend on pressies….

That is, I have been going through all the survey panels I am with, and updating all of my profiles, completing any onsite surveys which might be available and generally reminding them I exist. It is always a good idea to do this, no matter how long you have been with the panel, and no matter how much you earn (or don’t earn!) from the company. It is a good idea because there being so many people out there these days who try to earn extra money this way, that everything you do to remind the panel to send you survey invitations is something in your favour and may well bring your profile to the fore in terms of getting sent invitations so you can reach redemption status in time for Christmas.

I think everyone saves up their little extras so that they can have that little bit extra to spend – we all need extra at this time of year. What I have done is to go through them all, as I say, and update them. I have also made a list using an A4 sheet of the panels that are close to redemption status and those I think I will be able to reach redemption with in time for Christmas. Of course, you have to take into consideration the fact that you may have to wait some time for your redemption to arrive, in the case of the panels who still send out cheques. For example, Globaltestmarket and Opinion Health, two panels I have recently redeemed with, take an average of 5 weeks….so my cheques should arrive in time for November, at least….on the other hand, panels like Toluna have an even longer redemption time frame, as we all know!!

Once you have your list handy, keep it close by your PC so that you can prioritise. If your inbox is anything like mine, you get a vast amount of emails every day and if you don’t prioritise in this way, you will find yourself getting bogged down with panels you are nowhere near redemption with, and you will not be able to redeem your rewards in time for Christmas. So if, like me, you only have £1.00 to go to reach redemption with Yougov, then for goodness sake, keep your eyes peeled for those two elusive 50p surveys which will take you there!! Get the surveys done right away, under your belt, and then you can breathe a sigh of relief when you know that you will have that cheque “on the way” in time for Christmas.

One thing to remember too, is that you would do well to update your list as you go along. I have three categories…..”actual redemptions” – which are the sites I have redeemed with and have the rewards on the way, “nearly” – ones I only need a small amount to redeem with, and the amount I need to go….and “possibilities” which are ones I think I can reach in my suggested time frame.

Go on, try it, if you get organized you will be very surprised how much easier it is to plan your pressie list this year! And who knows, you might even find some great bargains too, using your cashback sites for that little bit extra!!