This week's FREEDAY Freebie

Ok, I must admit, my children are both too old for this, but I might get this for one of my friends who is expecting..... Check it. Not totally free, but free for shipping (how else can you get a baby sling, brand new, for  under 20 bucks?)

Use code KIWI4. It will take $40 off your total order.

Sevenslings

So i haven't been on here in a long long long time. But now, I am back :) Keep checking back and I will be posting new things at least weekly. And I'm going to move Freebie day to Friday (FreeDay lol) Anyways, see you later, I will be posting and all that good stuff. If you know of a good GPT or otherway to earn online drop me a line and I will check it out.

Beezag Proof

I made a decision that even though Beezag allows me to cash out at $8 that I would cash out at $10. This is an easier number for me to work with and it's a round number. So I finally hit it, and I cashed out via PayPal.

 So, there it is proof that Beezag does indeed pay :D Go ahead and sign up for this. You are paid to watch videos. Most are commercials, movie trailers, and snippets of music videos. The pay ranges from 20 to 250 points. There are also sweepstakes entries. I will see if I win one of those. Sign up for Beezag and post your Beezag proofs here :) .

SwagBucks Deactivation

A few days ago, I was deactivated from Swagbucks. I honestly do not know why this was. I attempted that  survey exploit ONE time. When I went to cash out and after review, I was deactivated. With that being said, I have contacted them to see if I would be able to reapply. I thoroughly enjoyed using SwagBucks. It is my favorite "GPT" site.

With that being said, I want to reiterate what I said the other day about cheating: DO NOT CHEAT, YOU WILL GET CAUGHT.

Have a good day, and if you have any questions, please feel free to post them below.

Cheating FAQs

In response to Robin's post, I have decided to post my own thoughts on cheating.

I also will no longer post any sites that support cheating. There was one listed on my "Sites I like" page but I took it down because I will not be associated with this site.

There are questions you may be having:

Why do people cheat?
This one is easy to answer. They want to accumulate as many rewards as quickly as possible.

How do people cheat?
This one is a little trickier to answer. There have been auto searchers and auto watchers for SwagBucks and other sites like it. There is also a survey cheat and cheat sites. SwagBucks makes it easy to know IF you are cheating, they ahve a list of Do's and Don'ts. Follow this list and you should be fine.

How do they know?
Short answer: Technology. The long answer can be found on their blog.

What happens if I cheat?
When they find that you have cheated, they can and will deactivate you.

This isn't sounding too fun.
No, cheating isn't fun for everyone. The cheaters are taking rewards from our pockets. But if you follow the rules, you will get far.

Well, I won't cheat.
I'm happy to hear that.


If you have any questions that I didn't answer, please feel free to ask them. I will find the answer for you. 

Freebie of the Week: Educational DVDs

Well, the freebie this week is from Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Yes, the same Howard Hughes that was portrayed on The Aviator (Blu-Ray). This is a great freebie becasue they have 15 dvds and will send them all to you, for free PLUS you will receive their monthly magazine, again FOR FREE. I love this magazine it is so colorful and informational. So, here it is. Pick and choose or get them all. There are other freebies here, so browse the catalog. Have fun and learn something.

P.S. These are videos that you may see on Nova on PBS.

Beezag

Ok, I found Beezag earlier this month through a chat~pal. Well, i thought it was a joke because the videos are similar to the videos on InboxDollars but pay more. So, I thought well I will try it out. Cash out is at 8000 pts, which is currently $8 PayPal. Currently, that's how Beezag pays.

Let me break it down for you: each video is 250 pts, which is $0.25. Ok, so your cash out goal is 8000 pts, which is just 32 videos. You watch these videos and see 2 numbers, 1 at a  time. At the end you input the numbers and get your prize. The way I remember the numbers is I pull up my calculator and just put them there, but you could do something differently. I think this is great and very simple.

The referral bonus is 10% and some sweepstake entries.

Surveys

One way to make fairly good money at home is with surveys. One very reputable company currently has openings: Pinecone Research. This link goes through Annika's, but they will take it down when it is no longer open. So, check it out, see if you qualify and you can make between $3-$5 or £3-£5. Currently accepting: USA, UK, and Germany. You can check and see for Canada, but at posting it is listed as "Closed." 

Good luck and let me know!!

Freebie of the Week: Kiddie Stuff

Alright, it's SPRING!! Yay!! My kids want to play outside, what about yours? So, with no further ado, my freebies for the kiddies!!

Homemade bubbles: Nearly every recipe I have encountered has called for glycerine. Here are several. Some do some don't. One calls for Ajax, I personally wouldn't want my children playing with something made out of Ajax.

Homemade Sidewalk Chalk: Really gotta love Martha Stewart. I saw this watching her talk show last year. The chalk has lasted for an entire year. May not need to make any until NEXT summer.

Homemade Finger Paints: Not really JUST for summer, but fun anyways. This has a list of 5 recipes. For an all natural approach, click here.

These aren't really "free" in that they will be mailed to you, but they are "free" in that MOST are made with stuff already around the house.






Advertising

Coupons!!

Did you know that there are mega-couponers? These are the people who can go to the store and purchase hundreds of dollars worth of stuff for under half off. I don't really advocate that, but it's amazing. The reason I don't advocate it is that some of them stockpile these goods to the point that it could be considered hoarding (by me). Now, if you harness your couponing powers and then donate to the local food bank, church, or that needy family down the street, I am all for that.

So, where can you get your coupons? Short answer: alot of places. Do I recommend any? Of course: Swagbucks has coupons, Inbox Dollars has coupons, and most other sites like them. The added bonus here: they PAY you to use the coupons you print. That's right. Swagbucks pays 10 swagbucks and Inbox Dollars pays $0.10 per coupon used.

I also searched for a free coupon binder. I found this site. It has the information for how to set up the binder, which is free, and offers several options for buying form them. Of course, you don't have to buy from them. With patience, you can probably find all of these items at the local thrift store. I found a binder in almost new shape for $0.50. You may even be able to find them on sale at the local office store. If you do want it now, go ahead, and make that purchase.

Ok, so you have your binder set up and you're learning how you want to use it. So, how do you organize those coupons? Well, a coupon sorting mat of course!! You can of course find these commercially, or you can make one yourself. Here's how. She used a piece of blank newsprint, but I am sure other sources of paper would work. I am making one of these myself.

And a note for your own protection: Beware of fraudulent coupons.

Swag PROOF

I have PROOF that Swag Bucks works. The following screen shots.

The screen shot is of the gift cards in my Swag Bucks account.

This is a screen shot of what I purchased on Amazon with those gift cards.

An Eric Carle book, for free!!!

Do you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

Freebie of the Week

This week there is no freebie. I was unable to find something that I thought was acceptable. I will make up for this by posting 2 freebies next week. I hope that you will be understanding. Do you have any ideas? Please feel free to post here.

SwagBucks, #2

Okay, so I have been doing this SwagBucks
thing for a few weeks now, and I must say that this is pretty amazing!

What have I already gotten: $15 in Amazon gift cards!!!! I have dedicated some time to it. As long as you can shop Amazon and find the great deals (Are you a student?) (Not a student?)  then this is great.

How can you make SwagBucks work for you?

1. Follow Swag rules.
2. Hunt for the swag codes, they come out approximately 1-3 times a day.
3. Do all the "daily" items, ie, visit "Trusted Surveys," use the Toolbar, vote in the poll, and do NOSO, this should add up to 5 swagbucks (sb) per day, or 1825 per year, which currently is enough for $20 from Amazon for NOTHING.
4. Watch the videos. 10 videos=3 sb, and you can earn up to 75 sb per day this way, or 27,375 sb per year for watching videos. Do you want a video trick?.....Use the toolbar, then you can go about your business, and change the video as needed.
5. Complete some surveys. If you qualify, they are really great for sb.
6. Play the free games. You will get 2 sb every 2 games, a maximum of 10 per day. This adds up to 3650 per year.
7. When your good at the games, enter a tournament. It's a gamble, but if you win, sometimes you can win big.
8. The sweepstakes are hard to win. Save them for sister site swagbucks.
9. Have fun.

That's the short and long of it. Follow my advice and you will rack up at least 32,850 or enough for a Nintendo DSi, or an iPod Touch. Neither of those are appealing to you? Trust me that only skims the surface.

There are giftcards and so many goodies that you are sure to find something you like.

Go ahead sign up!! It's definitely worth it!

Freebie of the Week: Free Coffee or Tea, or BOTH

Okay, I am going to be dead honest: I DO NOT LIKE COFFEE!!! I grew up with a mother who drinks 2-3 or maybe more pots of coffee a day BY HERSELF!! I love the smell of coffee, brewing, the "raw" grinds, the brewed grinds, the liquid. I love the SMELL!! But the taste is not pleasing to me. So, for my mom and others like her, here are some free coffee links: Coffee, Tasteschoice, Coffee (one includes Folgers.)

So, now you have your delicious brew on the way, but what oh what to drink it in? How about a free mug?


Okay, so for me, there is free tea. I really like southern sweet tea. Yummy. It's the best. With no further ado...

Tea Several different varieties, 1 per family. Teasta  Several varieties, 2 per order, 1 order per household Tea Chef I didn't see where it had that info, probably the same 1/family.

Okay, okay so you say you don't like tea OR coffee? How about hot chocolate? Hurry, it expires on March 31. But they say it will be back on October 27.

So, go enjoy your free beverages in your free mug. And I promise all will be well. Have a good evening, and let me know what you think.

Freebie of the Week: Free Seeds

So, I wanted to share some gems that I find online. So every Thursday, I will share with you my Freebie of the Week. I surf for freebies practically every day. I want you to have the benefit of that. As of today, I get no benefits from these except that, like you, I get the product for free. The owners of the website did not search me out, I searched out the freebie and found their site. So, with no further ado, here is this week's freebie:

Free Seed!!!


And to go with it a free gardening ebook.


I know it's not making money online, BUT with gardening you can plant your own food and become more self-sustaining. THAT is my ultimate goal. Good luck with your garden and let me know how it goes and what seeds you order.

I ordered: strawberries, blackberries, tomatoes, beans, corn, bellpeppers, and alot more. I will post when I receive them in the mail :)

Farmville, Cityville, Oh my!!

Tonight, I would like to discuss something that has happened to me on my search to Internet Cash. I signed up for FaceBook. Well, I wanted to be able to connect with my family from out of town. I don't really talk with them often and I like the Internet. My sister kept pushing me. I really liked MySpace, a few years ago.

So, I had also heard about Farmville. Do you see where this is going? Okay, I saw that my sister (yeah, that same one) was on Farmville. So, I thought I would check it out. Well, it seems that now I really really like Farmville. So, one of my younger cousins said he doesn't like Farmville, he prefers Cityville. So, I decided to try that, too.

Okay, so here I am trying to use my computer for LEGITIMATE uses, and what am I doing? Frittering away time on Farmville and Cityville!!! I wouldn't dare buy the money. I can wait until I "level" up. Or maybe my neighbors can do the things I need done. I would do it for them. LOL

Anyway, this is more of a musing than any actual information.

It's been awhile since I posted. I apologize for this. I could give you a list of reasons, but ultimately this is all that matters: this is my blog, my responsibility. I should make every attempt to post.

That being said, I have been able to find some new ways to make money online. Some are quite intriguing.

So, let's start with the one that has me most engrossed at the moment: SwagBucks. This nifty little site let's you take surveys and other such things and earn "SwagBucks." You then trade them in for various items. For example, a $5 Amazon card is 450 SB. Not bad, considering this: there's a sign on bonus, a 250 SB bonus for completing 15 surveys a month, and you can win SBs by playing games. I signed up about 7 hours ago, and I already have 153 SB. I have also already completed 2 surveys. If you use SwagBucks for your searches, there are even more chances for SBs.

Before signing up, you should search for a "Swag Code" so that if there is a current sign up bonus, you can grab it. I got an 80 sb sign on bonus with a swag code.

You can also earn SBs by watching videos. These are educational type videos on topics from health to gardening to tech. Some are interesting, some are dribble, all add to your SBs.

Now, I must state that if you click on the link above, I do get a referral bonus. The good news is that you will also get a link that you can send to your friends or post on your blog and get the same bonus. I wish you luck, and hope that you get your SBs quickly.

Mystery Shopping

Today I would like to talk to you about mystery shopping. There are ALOT of scams surrounding mystery shopping, to the point that some think that the whole industry is a scam. That's just not true. There are plenty of reputable mystery shopping companies.

The Successful Secret Shopper: Tips, Tricks, and Advice (1)

There are sources of shops. This is one of my favorite posting sites. This link goes into the forum. The first line is job postings. You can search the postings. There as a multitude of information for mystery shoppers, merchandisers, and practically everyone.

Another site of particular interest is MSPA. Their website states that there are over 400 member companies. They also list shops but in my experience, it has been best to search volition and the individual company sites. However, this company provides mystery shopper training. This is important because some shops are reserved only for those with certification. If you either can afford it or decide to be a serious mystery shopper, I do recommend certification. I am not certified but it's because neither applies to me.

 

Always read the fine print. As a mystery shopper, you are normally considered an independent contractor. This is essential to understand because there are tax implications. Speak to an accountant or visit the IRS website for more information. Also, there are several items I feel you do need access to. You need not purchase these items, but if you have them that's even better. You will probably need a fax machine (or another way to fax, through the computer?), a spreadsheet program to keep track of payments, index cards and a box to keep up with passwords and companies, transportation, and patience. Some of these companies take awhile to pay, but it is worth the wait.

I can make 300-400 a month shopping. It's easy to get caught up in the trap of finding the "perfect" shop. Try not to do that. The pay per hour goes down. While most repay any money you spend (with a receipt), I don't always have extra money available.

Mystery shopping can be a great amount of fun, as can merchandising. I fully enjoy evaluating apartment complexes, auto dealerships, banks, restaurants, jewelry stores, and especially grocery stores. So, I hope you try this out. The information I have provided is the best to my knowledge. I promise this is one of the neatest and most fun ways to make money. There is some traveling but if you're already going to the mall, why not get paid?

Tell me all about your mystery shopping successes. I will only filter out spam. Opposing views are always welcome.

Online Education

Going back to college won't make you rich NOW, but statistics do show the more education a person has, the more earning power they have. I am back in college.

I am going to Colorado Technical University online. I enjoy learning and my degree is concentrated in Network Management. I have enjoyed returning. Funding higher education is easy. First off, I decided what I wanted to study. Then I found a matching site (the federal government has one). Then I filled out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Assistance). Then, I started classes.

Once you fill out the FAFSA, you will know how much grants and federal loans you will qualify for. There are also private loans and scholarships available. Your school should have info on those that are available to you.

Most of the books are e-books. I recommend an e-book reader that reads PDF files. I also recommend a good computer. Mine really isn't good enough. It has only 128 megs of RAM. Another thing is high speed internet. The most important is the computer. Don't count on the local library's computers to be satisfactory. Mine doesn't keep the computer synchronized so some have Adobe Reader on them and some don't.

I recommend the computer you use for school to be a laptop. This is mostly for portability. Nothing is worse than an assignment being late.

There are several online schools. Check that they are accredited. Also, when you search for the school code, or verify the school code, you will be able to see the school's graduation, retention, and transfer rates.

Good luck!! Let me know how it goes!!

Making Money with mturk

So, I will go ahead and share the first little tidbit I have found. Mechanical Turk. This is called mturk for short. It's a site ran by Amazon. I have been doing this a few days and have earned approximately $20.00 doing odd jobs, or HITs (Human Intelligence Tasks). I have transcribed business cards, graded audio transcriptions, and participated in research surveys, among other activities. Some are mundane, some are fascinating. The ones I have been paid for range from $0.01 to  $1.00, with my average being $0.07. I am okay with this. I don't accept the highest paying ones, they seem to be mostly ways for companies to acquire my email address. I also avoid the ones that are asking me to post an advertisement on a 3rd party website. I could make alot more if I did these two things.


What I have learned so far is that I shouldn't expect too much from mturk and I need to become acquainted with some of the companies that post often. I have already done this with one of the transcription companies. Also, I should work on my transcription skills as there are alot of those jobs and they pay better than the average. I want to be able to make approximately 10 times what I am now. I will work up to it.


There are other websites similar to this one. One that I have signed up for is ShortTask. I haven't completed any tasks. It is very similar to mturk and seems to be almost the same. The main difference is ShortTask pays through PayPal and mturk pays through Amazon and can direct deposit into a US checking account. I will look a little further into this company and post about it in the near future.

Feel free to ask me any questions. I promise I will respond. I also promise that this blog will have no scams within my writing. If you find one of my ideas to be shady, please let me know.