6 Tough Lessons I Learned Doing Online Surveys: Creating the Survey App Challenge

I started doing surveys as a way to spend my early mornings over a cup of coffee. I'm an early riser; Will is not. So, while he was sleeping, I would spend a few hours trying to reach my $1.00 goal for the day.

Survey apps won't make me rich, but I have had some success and happily covered a couple months of streaming services with my little payouts.

To date, I think I've made about $200 doing surveys in two years. In those two years, I've learned a few lessons along the way.

• HONESTY is the best policy with surveys. I try my absolute best to keep my answers honest and the app seems to reward me for that.
  
  
• Do EVERY bonus the app offers. Those $5 bonuses add up quickly. I only need to grind for about 10 days to hit the 3 surveys-a-day goal to qualify.
  
  
• Sundays and holidays are the slowest days for surveys. It can be a bit discouraging, but also a good reminder to take the day off and enjoy it with family.
  
  
• If the site I'm redirected to takes too long to load, or the survey is just taking way too long to complete, I back out. I can quickly jump to another survey and start again.
  
  
• Smaller payouts seem easier to qualify for, but they can be a scam too. If they ask for personal info, I'm OUT!
  
  
• Don't automatically trash the emails from the survey app. I've had good luck refreshing the links and getting to do some awesome, unique surveys. I've also had luck accessing surveys through those links when the app doesn't generate any.

The gamification of money can be a good motivator for some, especially when it comes to saving. Have you ever seen those cash-saving, envelope-stuffing videos on YouTube? The pretty sheets, the coloring, the counting of the money—they are a treat to watch! 

With those videos in mind, I wanted to push the amount of money I could make in a year by gamifying a survey app side hustle.

VOILÀ! The 30 Deposits Survey App Challenge was born!

I don't have a printer at the moment, so I created the challenge in Canva (disclaimer: I am not an affiliate for Canva, I just love the app!) and then drew it in my budget notebook. Saved me paper and printer ink!

I made this challenge general enough that it should work with any survey app. However I did create it with a specific app in mind, which has a minimum allowed withdrawal of $5. Using an app with bonuses will make this challenge go by quicker.

My only rule is NO IOUs. If I go over the deposit amount? Great!! A couple more cents! But, I will not deposit under.

The success of this challenge depends on the number of active surveys available for completion. Often times I log on and see LOTS of surveys, but I'm ineligible for many or I'm kicked out for some random reason. I try not to let that discourage me. Some days are bad for surveys and I try again later.

Realistically, this will take me the year to complete, though I am curious how quickly I can finish it. I'm trying to double my lifetime earnings in less time... Oh boy... good luck!!

I'll post monthly with a status update and where I'm at as I get closer to $400 savings. If you'd like to join me with your survey app, download the challenge for FREE at my Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/offgridbudgetwithkay

I'm excited to see how this goes! See you in the CHALLENGE!

Disclaimer: This information is for entertainment or educational purposes only. I am not a financial professional and this is not financial or legal advice. I am not affiliated with Canva.com.