Earn $$$ for surveys! No, really.

I know, I know, but I'm not following that up with "EARN $20,000/MONTH AT HOME CALL ASK ME HOW," so you know I'm legit here. I belong to several survey sites, where they send you invitations to participate in online surveys in exchange for cash or rewards points. My favorite, e-rewards.com, has gotten me more free magazine subscriptions and movie rentals than I can shake a stick at, but you have to be invited to join by a partner company.

However, Opinion Outpost (that's my referral link) is free for anyone to join, and you can earn cold, hard cash, which is arguably just as good. You earn points for completing (or partial points for being disqualified from) surveys, and if my shaky math works out, it's about $0.01 per point. So a typical survey might get you 20 points, or $0.20, which doesn't sound like a lot, but it adds up pretty quickly and they're easy to polish off in a couple of minutes while you're waiting on hold or whatever. I've cashed out $50 so far from the site, which isn't too shabby.

There are plenty of other good sites out there if you look for them, many of which pay in cash. Just remember, a legitimate site will never charge you to join up, will explain its rewards system clearly, and won't require you to participate in any "special offers" or "premium memberships." If you're going to waste time in front of your computer, you might as well be making money, right?