6 Ways to Make Money From Home

MyPoints - Earn "points" for taking surveys, reading emails, and buying products.  If you participate in Buzzagent you can connect the accounts and earn more points. Eventually you will get enough points to be able to redeem them for a $10 gift card.

CashCrate - This company has an assortment of tasks you can do that pay various amounts. Surveys, free samples, coupons, and other stuff like that. 

 
Upromise.com is the smart way to save for your child's college education This program is completely free.  I've already saved over 200.00 by registering my grocery cards.


Inbox Dollars - Earn a few cents for reading emails.  You also have the option to do online tasks or take surveys to earn money. So far, I've earned $17.

Resolution Research - Sign up and they will email you when they have surveys available. I made $10 on the last survey I did for them.

Forward Focus - This company tends to have high paying surveys.

Make Money with Twitter

I have recently discovered SponsoredTweets and so far I really like it.  I have already made money with them.  It is simple to use.  You can pick and choose which tweets you want to send out.  As long as you included the required elements you can write what you want.

6 Ways to Make Money with your Blog

6 Ways to make money blogging

Although there are hundred of programs out there that promise you will make money using them on your blog; I have found that few are worth your time.  Here are some I have tried and can recommend.

1) Social Spark is one of them I recommend the most.  Register your blog and if companies are interested they will contact you with an offer.  You can turn down any offer.  Each post pays a different amount and it is negotiable.  It is very easy to use and not a scam.  I've have successfully used Social Spark.

2) Blogsvertise  This program is the same as social spark.  Register your blog and an advertiser will contact you if they want to pay you to post about something.  You can accept or reject the ad. 

3)
LinkShare - I have used this in the past, but currently I am not running any ads from them.  I have nothing negative to say about them and there is no particular reason I am no using them at the moment.  The one ad I did run in the past with them was a Lego ad.  Join LinkShare Today!  You can sign up for an account and browse through the companies available through them.


4) Savvy Source - Savvy Source is another website I have used.  They have many cities they offer daily deals in.  You can sign up for an account and get a ad widget for your blog.  If anyone purchases something through it you get a small percentage.  I have run this ad in the past, but not currently.  I know of a few bloggers that have made $100 or more a month using Savvy Source. 


5) JuiceBoxJungle has an ad network that you can participate in.  You place widgets like this one shown and you get a 50% ad split with them.  This is another type of ad that I know some bloggers are making $100 a month or more from. 

6) Commission Junction is another ad network that has lots of different companies you can choose from. I have been trying their ads for a while, but have yet to make any money off of them.  That is where I got the Travelocity and Priceline ads. They charge you fees to work with them, which they take out of any revenue you make.

4 Ways to Make Money Blogging

How to Make Money Blogging

Two of the questions I get ask the most about blogging are, "Can you make money blogging?" and  "How do you make money blogging?.

Yes, you can make money blogging and there are lots of ways to do it. I know because I've tried like a hundred ways. Many of them aren't worth your time, but some are. Here are 4 ways I make money off my blog that are good enough to actually recommend.

Social Spark is a sister company to Sponsered Tweets, but instead of making money from a tweet, it's from a blog post. You create an account for your blog and if companies are interested in you reviewing them or writing something about them they will contact you with an offer.  You can turn down any offer you are not interested it.  Each post pays a different amount and it is negotiable.  It is very easy to use and not a scam.  I've have successfully used Social Spark many times.


 I have not been using  shareasale.com for very long, but I was able to meet with the people behind this website while I was at Blogher and I was very impressed. They like working with bloggers and want you to succeed. They are growing too. With Google ending their affiliate ad network, Shareasale has picked up many of their merchants. Which means there is a high chance they work with a company you might want to work with.











Escalante Network is a good one to work with. They email you several times a week and you literally just have to copy and paste. I find them less time consuming and the most engaged. It's mostly deal type offers like coupons.










The newest way I'm trying to make money blogging is with Goldstar. They have discount tickets for shows and plays in different cities. Chances are they offer 50% off tickets in your city or a city near you.

How to Get Ads on your blog

Recently, I have had several people ask me how I got ads on my blog.  Since, I have used and tried several programs I thought I would just make a list for everyone.  This is five of the ways I have tried.

LinkShare - I have used this in the past, but currently I am not running any ads from them.  I have nothing negative to say about them and there is no particular reason I am no using them at the moment.  The one ad I did run in the past with them was a Lego ad.  Join LinkShare Today!  You can sign up for an account and browse through the companies available through them.


Savvy Source - Savvy Source is another website I have used.  They have many cities they offer daily deals in.  You can sign up for an account and get a ad widget for your blog.  If anyone purchases something
through it you get a small percentage.  I have run this ad in the past, but not currently.  I know of a few bloggers that have made some very good money off this particular ad.



JuiceBoxJungle has an ad network that you can participate in.  You place widgets like this one shown and you get a 50% ad split with them.



Commission Junction is another ad network that has lots of different companies you can choose from. I have been trying their ads for a while, but have yet to make any money off of them.  That is where I got the Travelocity and Priceline ads.

shareasale.com has a lot of merchants to choose from and they like working with bloggers.

Upromise really does work!

I think I have mentioned UPromise a half a dozen times now, but I just have to mention it again.  I just transferred a little over $200 into my sons 529 plan and it felt so good.  I accumulated all the money by registering my credit cards, grocery cards, and using their coupons.  I got some of my family to do the same so the savings are adding up faster than ever!  My dad has been doing it since June and it already added up to over $60!!  Upromise - Start Your Kid's College Savings Today - Join Now

Ebates - make money at home

 Have you heard of Ebates yet?  Ebates is a website that you log on to and then choose a store to shop at.  For example I just ordered contacts.  So, I logged on to Ebates and then choose VisionDirect to buy from.  I got a certain percentage back.  I can't remember the exact percentage, but I spent about $140 on contacts and I got back a little over $15 on my purchase.

 If you are doing any online shopping this is the way to go.  I just started my online Christmas shopping and so far I have gotten free shipping deals and atleast 6% back on everything!

I consider this a way to make money from home.  You would have spent the money any way and now you have gotten some of it back.

She Speaks

     I mentioned in an earlier post that I am a product reviewer.  She Speaks is another great website I do product reviews for.  You can register on their website. Then if you match up with one of their current product promotions they will send you a survey to see if you qualify and to see if you are interested in reviewing it.  If selected you receive the product in a few weeks. After trying it you have to fill out a survey or write a review. Sometimes both. 
     The most recent review I did was for a credit card.  I did not have to apply or have the card already.  All I had to do was review the card on the website and then give feed back.  The reward was a 1 year magazine subscription.  I have only gotten picked for a few reviews, but still it's free stuff when I do.

Become a Buzz Agent

InboxDollars - make money from home

I know a lot of moms out there are looking for different ways to make money.  I know this because I am a mom and I like the idea of making a little money from home.  I can't remember any more who told me about InboxDollars, but I signed up at least six months ago.  Since then I have looked at some of the emails.  They pay you a few cents to read the email they send.  I have never tried any of the products, played their games, or taken any of their surveys.  The only thing I have done is read some of the emails and so far I have made $9.70.  So, if you are looking for something you can make some money off of this might be worth it.



Become a SheSpeaks Product Reviewer
Become a BuzzAgent Product Reviewer

I'm a Buzz Agent

As a stay at home mom I am always looking for little ways to contribute. One of my favorite ways is by being a buzz agent.   In other words a product reviewer.  I don't get paid, but I do get a little kit with free stuff to try out.  Right now I'm a buzz agent for Elmer's glue and X-Acto through Buzzagent.com.  I'm trying out several of their fantastic glue and cutting products for scrapbooking.  Here is a picture of the items they sent me.






Once I am done trying them out I "buzz" about them. As in tell other people. If they send me coupons then I pass those out to people.  Then I go to the website and fill out a few things. Simple things to get a few fun freebies!

Review for SheSpeaks

Coverdell - A Great way to save for College

     On my last money Monday I mentioned a good way to save for college that I stumbled across while learning to invest. It is called a Coverdell plan. This year you can max it out at $2000. After this year, unless the government keeps it at two thousand, it will drop back to $500 a year. What I like about this account is that you choose how it is invested. It isn't just another mutual fund or money market account. As long as you use the money made for college the earnings are tax free! I only set up one of these accounts because if my oldest doesn't use it I can transfer it on the next child without penalties.
   
Again, I found myself wondering what to pick to invest the money in. Since I am a little unsure of myself still I decided to only invest half of it on the stock I chose. That way if I was wrong I would not lose too much money! To decide which stock I looked through my watch list and started checking the numbers again. (Rule #1 Investing). Because I am unsure I went with what I thought would be a somewhat safe bet. As in put it in Warren Buffett's brk.b. I figure even if I am still uneasy with this whole process Warren Buffett knows what he is doing. (and the numbers were good). So, in this case it was Phil Town's advice on good management that helped me make the decision.

Rule #1 - Book Review

Now that I'm a work at home mom making a little extra money; I was very excited to figure out how to invest my money. I mentioned to one of my husband's friends my frustration with my mutual fund. My mutual fund was still losing so fast you couldn't even tell I was still contributing. He recommend the book by Phil Town; Rule #1 Investing. I immediately started to read it.

I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it. He broke things down so clearly and explained things so well. I had never picked out my own stocks to invest in. It was so nice to have a step by step explanation of how to go about how to pick out stocks. He even went so far as to tell you what info to find out about your potential investment and where to find the info. I like the fact that he shows pages from MSNmoney and showed you exactly what to click. This was all brand new information to me and it was nice to have someone point blank point me in the right direction. I will admit I have had to read some of the sections over and over until I "got" it.

 Phil Town has a website/blog where you can get an idea of what he is about or get additional resources. He also has a members site where you can get access to his calculators. I tried to run formulas with out these for a while and just couldn't. I found the calculators extremely helpful.
I wish I could say I have made obscene amounts of money investing, but I am still trying to figure it all out. Phil in his book encourages you to learn it before you do it. I am still in the learning phase, but I am watching about 30 stocks now and slowly figuring out what is a good or bad company. I have only made one investment using his method (BRK.B in a college account for my kids) and I am eagerly putting aside money waiting for the right company at the right price and then I will invest again.
Start reading this book and next week I will tell you about a great investment tool for my kids college account that I stumbled upon while trying to learn Rule #1.

Rich Dad Poor Dad

To continue on about my quest to make money or atleast do better at making money and investing, I will start back with the first book I read.  In Rich Dad Poor Dad he make a lot of money through rental properties.  We have two rental properties, but I wouldn't say we are making money on either.  But we are slowly paying down the mortgages and hopefully building equity.....if the market quits dropping!  This is not how this guy would suggest making money.  He recommends getting a house for super cheap and renting it.  We on the other hands bought "homes" both times.  Not rental properties.  If we had bought them with the rental concept in mind then we would probably actually be making money because it would have totally changed what the conditions were when we were looking.  With all that said, we are not going to but another house just to have a rental property.  If you are thinking about this though I would take this guy's suggestion and buy somewhere the market is horrible, Vegas or Phoenix. 

Knowing that this main option was a no go I turned to his other suggest and found a business opportunity.  I am a stay at home mom obviously and a military wife that moves all the time.  These two factors limit what I can do.  So, I went with what I knew I could do.  I could work from home and use the internet.  I looked into a lot of options and settled with Amway.  The start up costs were incredibly low and you could really build a business through it.  I already had a basic understanding of how you could make money from using Ebates.  I realized quickly I could do the same thing through Amway.  Buy the products I was going to buy anyway and get 3% or more back.  The more people I recruited to do the same thing the higher my percentage.  Easy!  http://www.amway.com/meaganshamy  I realized that 3% doesn't sound like much, but it really adds up when you are buying food, makeup, cleaning products....and whatever else it is you buy for your family.  Plus, they have other stores they have partnered with like Best Buy, Disney, Barnes and Noble, Petco....that you get money back on as well. 

Now that I had this going for me I just had to figure out what to invest my new income in.  I knew I no longer wanted to put money in my mutual fund, but I still hadn't come across a better option.  Next up....the best investing book I ever read.

Money Mondays

Over the past six months I have began some what of a new hobby.  We were trying to sell our house and knew we were moving, so there was no point in working my garden this year.  Normally I would spend a great deal of time on this, needless to say I found myself with some extra time.   I decided I needed a new hobby.  After having become so frustrated losing money in my mutual fund I decided that my new hobby should be figuring out how to invest better.  If you are like me your mutual fund is literally eating your money.  I could flush that money down the toilet and I would still be at the same point.  Where to start was the problem.  So, I took the advice of a friend and read Rich Dad Poor Dad.

I must say I thought it was a really great book.  It made me realize that I needed my own business and that there is something to having a few rentals.  It gave me a whole new perspective on it.  (I absolutely hate being a landlord.  I do not do well dealing with people on this level.  Of course both the houses we have rented out are because we got stuck with them when they didn't sell.  We did not intentionally get into the rental business!)  Unfortunately this book did not help me solve my mutual fund problems, but more on that later.

Next week I am going to talk about the business I now have after reading this book.  You could too!

Book Review: Knockout Entrepreneur

I just got done reading George Foreman's KnockOut Entrepreneur. This was not a book I would normally read, but I must say I really enjoyed it. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to read something different. Even if you don't consider yourself an entrepreneur maybe you could become one.

I like the way he pointed things out and held people accountable. One of the things that impacted me was that entrepreneurs do not just happen upon great things, they are actively looking for opportunities. I have now changed my way of looking at the things around me. I am now trying to look for money making opportunities. Hopefully I will find one and when I do I can put the rest of his book to practice as well; such as surrounding yourself with like minded people.

Working from home

I have a successful business I do from home.  If you are looking for something you could do from home and would like to know about it fell free to check it out just click here.

Work from Home

One of my readers, who is also a good friend of mine, ask if I knew of any good companies that you can work from home for. I have been doing a little research on this for a few weeks trying to find some. I will now be posting any opportunities I find that seem legitimate. So, this takes some time. If you have a company in mind feel free to ask me about it and I will do my best to find out. I know that there are a lot of scams out there and unfortunately it is somewhat easy to get scammed these days. I have found a website that lists available work at home jobs

www.homeworkersnet.com

I like this website and I have looked through the jobs. The ones I like are the ones that are straight forward. I do not like the ones that tell you to go sign up on a certain website for a fax number or some sort of program. I would avoid those.

VIPdesk - work from home opportunity

Here is some info from their website http://www.vipdesk.com/

Home-based Concierge - 2009 Training Classes
CURRENTLY HIRING FOR THE CONCIERGE POSITION. VIPdesk is the innovative provider of high touch virtual contact center and loyalty solutions for companies committed to the retention and growth of their high-value customers. VIPdesk specializes in delivering VIP Concierge Programs, Customer Connect – virtual contact center solutions, and Reward Redemption Services for national brand leaders in the travel, auto, financial services, and retail industries.
The Home-Based Concierge position is the focal point of VIPdesk’s Concierge platform. Successful candidates will serve as Concierge experts by assisting and responding to customer/client requests for information via phone, email, and chat. The Concierge will fulfill the request through a variety of resources (Internet, team member or personal experience, partners, VIPdesk resources, etc.), and communicate responses in a prompt and concise manner.

At this time we are looking for full-time or part-time candidates. VIPdesk operates 24/7/365. Concierges are currently Monday through Sunday, 7:00am-12:00am Eastern Time. Overnight hours are Monday through Sunday, 12am-8am Eastern Time. Full-time Concierges will be required to work 35-40 hours weekly, currently broken into 8.5-hour shifts. Part-time Concierges will be required to work a minimum of 16 hours per week, currently broken into shifts between 3.5 and 8 hours in length, not to exceed 34 hours weekly. Weekend and holiday work is required. Fluency in English is required. Fluency in one of the following languages is a plus: French, German, Spanish or Italian.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.
Handle customer requests from home office via phone, e-mail, and chat.
Research and fulfill requests from customers in the United States and abroad for the following categories: Dining, Entertainment, Travel, Sports and Recreation, Tourist and City, Household, Shopping, and Unusual Requests.
Apply high quality customer service guidelines when fulfilling customer requests;
Leverage current partners and utilize Internet and other resources to fulfill requests;
Communicate responses in a clear, timely and concise manner;
Participate in ongoing training programs;
Qualifications: Concierge positions are available for the following states: Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, and Virginia;
High school diploma or equivalent required;
Some college required. Degree preferred;
2+ years related customer service experience;
Hospitality and Service orientation a must, direct experience is highly desirable;
Travel agency experience a plus;
Internet savvy – ability to obtain information quickly utilizing online resources and search engines.
Computer literacy required - able to successfully navigate and maneuver across multiple applications simultaneously. Able to learn quickly in a technical environment;
Able to type at least 35 wpm;
Highly resourceful, strong investigative nature and knowledge of various market offerings;
Outstanding customer satisfaction and follow through skills; understanding the highest levels of customer service;
Polite, friendly and knowledgeable phone demeanor;
Detail oriented, ability to multitask, strong sense of urgency and commitment to excellence;
Ability to work under minimal supervision;
Ability to work weekend and holiday hours;
Excellent English verbal and written communication skills;
Ability to fluently read, write, comprehend and speak French, German, Italian or Spanish is a plus;
Highly adaptable, self-motivated and self-disciplined;
Able to successfully pass a credit, criminal and employment reference security check;
Able to provide a work at home environment that is ergonomically sound, conducive to taking customer calls, quiet and free from distraction;
Able to supply a computer and telephone that meets the minimum requirements (see below for details).

Compensation: Ability to make $14 + per hour. Information about compensation will be discussed further in the interview process.
Monthly bonuses are awarded for achieving quality scores according to the pre-defined incentives set forth by VIPdesk.

Work from home company

Every now and then I here about a company or have a friend go to work for a company that allows them to work at home. I have never heard of this company before but a friend of mine is working for Apple through this company as a free lance. I see that they also have other companies as well. The company is called Arise. Here is their website. http://www.arise.com/

Has anyone had experience with this company? If so please leave a comment!

Surveys for money

I read someone's blog about three months ago that mentioned that they use all these different survey companies to make money. So, I decided to try one. I have made 17.00 since signing up which is not very much, but I don't bother to do it most of the time. I have only taken two surveys both of which I didn't qualify for so it took less then thirty seconds. They do offer you a little money for reading emails. Basically I just open the email scan it and then hit the button that says confirm reading this email. Pretty simple. You do not get very much for this, but I can see how it would add up over time. Here is the link to the company.