European Train Travel Tips

There is nothing better than being on a train in Europe, looking out at the beautiful countryside (or reading a book!) while getting to your destination as quickly as possible. When we traveled in Europe for the first time, we had quite a few mishaps. Here is what we learned:

Book early. 
Book train tickets at least three weeks in advance, especially if you are using a Eurail pass. If you are going to a popular destination like Prague or Paris, book as soon as you can. We had friends who tried to book a night train from Cologne to Prague five days in advance, and they found out every night train was booked for the next two weeks. We always tried to book as soon as we decided on our destination.

Check platforms often. 
I will never forget the name Herzogenrath-August-Schmidt-Platz. Never heard of it? Neither had I. Trains can change platforms at the last minute. When we were traveling to Berlin with a big group, the regional train in Aachen arrived before our train to Berlin. We thought it was our train because it was at the correct platform and time, so we took the train and ended up in Herzogenrath-August-Schmidt-Platz. We didn’t make it to Berlin until 2 a.m. (Want the whole story of our Herzogenrath mishap? Read three European travel stories I will never forget.)

Also, be aware that some trains will split off in the middle of the trip and head in different directions. Make sure to listen to announcements that tell you if you are in the right compartment, especially if you are in the food compartment at the time of the change.

Write down the number of the train leaving after yours. 
Trains are sometimes late, so you should look up and record the number of the next train to take in the case of a late train. For example, when our train from Frankfurt to Brussels ran 20 minutes late we missed our train from Brussels to Liege. However, we had written down the next train we could take, so we were able to get to the platform in time to hop on the next train to Liege.

Have you ever traveled in Europe by train? What was your favorite destination?

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Three Great Sites to Earn Gift Cards

A few months ago, I wrote a post about my favorite survey sites to make extra money, so today I thought it would be fun to share my favorite sites to earn gift cards. I love discovering new ways to earn extra money, and last Christmas I bought many presents with the gift cards I earned.

Swagbucks:
Swagbucks is probably the most popular site to earn gift cards. There are many opportunities to earn points, such as surveys, searching the web through the Swagbucks search system, watching videos, shopping, printing coupons, and more. However, out of the three sites, Swagbucks is my least favorite because it takes the longest to earn gift cards.

Crowdtap: 
At Crowdtap, you earn points by communicating with various brands through quick hits, discussions, and sample opportunities. At the end of the month, your points are entered into giveaways for various gift cards. Although you can’t directly redeem points for gift cards, Crowdtap is a fun community, and I get at least one gift card each month (and sometimes quite a few more)!

MyPoints: 
I first discovered MyPoints because it’s the way you earn prizes through BzzAgent, but since then, I have redeemed points through shopping, surveys, and deals. My favorite part about MyPoints is that there are so many great gift card options. So far, I have redeemed my points for gift cards to Cheesecake Factory, Loft, and Macy’s.

Best Grocery Apps

I can be a bit frugal. The word “cheapskate” has slipped out of my husband’s mouth a time or two. I am all about saving money, especially since we are currently a single-income household. Even so, I don’t like time-consuming ways to save money. That’s why I love grocery apps. With these apps, all I have to do is take a photo of my receipt, and I get cash or rewards back.

Checkout 51:
I like this grocery app because it gives me cash back on groceries without having to buy a certain brand. This app has a list of items that you can receive cash back on that changes weekly. The downside is that the list is small, and I usually only buy one or two items from the list a week. I like to use it because bananas are always on the list.

Receipt Hog: 
With Receipt Hog, you can upload any grocery receipt to receive rewards, which you can spend on cash or Amazon gift cards. Receipt Hog is quick and easy to use, and I like that you don’t have purchase specific items to use it. The only negative of this app is it takes a long time to have enough points for a reward.

Ibotta:
Ibotta is great because you can get cash for purchasing items at many different stores, including clothing and electronics stores. It has a large amount of items available for cash back, and you can get bonuses for working as a team with your friends. The downside to this one is you have to do an action before getting your cash (such as “learn a fact” or “get a recipe”), so it takes longer.

Do you use grocery apps? Do you have a favorite?

Make Extra Money: Best Survey Sites

When Chris first started medical school, I was looking for ways to earn a little extra spending money. Though I was skeptical about it, I decided to give taking surveys a try. Over the years, I have been a part of some really terrible survey sites, but I also have some sites that I absolutely love.

My criteria for a great survey site:

1) The money is worth my time: When I first started taking surveys, I would take practically every survey that I received. Huge mistake. Now, if a survey says it will give me 50 cents for 30 minutes of my time (or even 10 minutes for that matter), I automatically click the delete button.

2) Don’t spam me: Some sites have good surveys, but I end up getting sick of them because they send me 20+ emails a day. I prefer websites that send out one good survey a day (or once a week). In general, these surveys pay more, and I don’t have to sift through a bunch of surveys to pick out one I want to do.

3) Interesting topics: Don’t ask me to take a survey on credit cards or fast food restaurants. I’m just not interested. In general, if the survey is short enough and about a topic that excites me, I enjoy taking the survey (weird, I know).

My current favorite survey sites:

Pinecone Research
It is terrible of me to have my number one survey site be a place that is difficult to get in, but I could not write a post on my favorite survey sites without mentioning Pinecone. You can choose how many surveys you want sent to you per week, and you receive a flat rate of $3 per survey. The surveys take me about 10 minutes to complete, and they are usually about interesting product concepts. Sometimes, they will let you test products that are not even on the market! You can’t sign up for Pinecone through their website, but they do advertise sign ups on other sites several times throughout the year. If you are interested in joining, goggle “Pinecone Research Sign Ups,” and there is usually a website offering sign ups.

American Consumer Opinion Panel
The American Consumer Panel is open to new members and is another great site. I get a survey about once every two weeks, and I usually love the topics. The pay is fair, and I have completed some fun product tests through this site.

Consumer Opinion Institute
I like Consumer Opinion Institute because they mail you one or two surveys a month with $5 already in them. The surveys can be a bit boring, but I like that I already have the reward, and they don’t take me long to complete. They pay well for the amount of time it takes to do the survey.

I could write about many more sites so I am considering putting together a second tier survey list if people are interested. I am also thinking of writing a post on some of the worst survey sites I have tried so your feedback is appreciated!

Do you take surveys and have a favorite survey site? I am always up for trying other options!