Sunday, January 30, 2011
IDEAS TO MAKE EXTRA MONEY
| Ideas to Make Extra Money Trying to get out of debt, or simply make enough money each month to pay bills, sometimes takes more money than what normally comes in. I've tried different ways of earning money in the past, and this month I've done the following (with results of my hard work displayed): 1) Mturk.com - This is an Amazon site, and as a worker you work on "hits" (ranging from $.01 per hit to $1.25+ per hit). Some hits that I've worked on took about 5 or 10 seconds, and others have taken slightly longer but no more than 2 minutes. I've done this for a total of maybe 45 minutes, and have earned close to $6. Maybe minimum wage, right? But every little bit helps. 2) Fiverr.com - As a Seller, you would post what you're willing to do for $5. If there's someone out there looking for that type of job to be done, they would request it, you perform the gig and deliver the finished product (via email, video, mail, etc.), and get paid (Fiverr keeps $1, you get $4). You should check out the site, if for nothing else you can get a peek at some of the things people are willing to do for $5. I got 3 gigs for transcription, and am hopeful of more in the future. 3) $20 Walmart gift card - I redeemed my earnings from MyPoints. For the record, it has taken me a year to rack up enough points to get these gift cards but all I've done is click on the 2 or 3 emails they send me per day. 4) $30 Check from InboxDollars -  I will be redeeming my earnings from InboxDollars. Again, it's taken a LONG time to get this minimum amount required for cashing out my earnings, but clicking on a few email links per day is not that much work. 5) Mystery shopping - I'll get paid for this probably next month. My favorite company is Mintel (they pay quickly, and the pay is pretty good). The link to sign up is: https://shopper.mintel.com/user_login.php Labels: extra income, Extra money |
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Cheap Recipes
| Cheap Recipes My absolute favorite "recipe" is Fried Dough - more like a calzone, and you simply add whatever fillers you want. We recently tried Canadian Bacon, Mozzerella cheese, and eggs...it was DELICIOUS! Some of our other favorites are, of course, pizza, BBQ chicken, and rice with peas and chicken. The basic dough recipe came from a bread machine recipe book, but I don't use the bread machine to mix it anymore. Dough Recipe: 3/4 cup warm water 1 tsp. yeast ($1.06 per 3 pouch packet - each pouch yields 2 tsp.) 1 TBSP oil (we use the fat free butter spray rather than oil - $1.67 per bottle) 1 tsp. sugar ($4.98 per 10 pound bag) 1 tsp. salt ($.33 per box) 2 cups bread flour ($2.24 per 5 lb. bag) Mix ingredients. Roll the dough out to the thickness desired. (This recipe makes more than enough for a family of 3 to have a medium to large calzone each). Stuff with desired contents. Calzone can be fried (we use an electric skillet) or baked in the oven at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes. The cost to make the dough is not much. Depending on the contents you use to stuff the calzone, this could be a cheap dinner for your family! Labels: calzone, cheap recipe, dough |
Sunday, January 23, 2011
There is Nothing New...
| There is Nothing New Under the Sun By Lynn Forgy Does the fact that there is nothing new under the sun ever cross your mind? Nothing that is being done has never not been done before (or something like that). Ideas for increasing income, decreasing expenses, ways to save, ways to earn - I search, Google, and scour the internet and other reading material, only to find the same old, same old everywhere. If you've tried cutting expenses, and used all or most of the ideas you've read or heard about, what is left??? Cutting expenses to the bare bones is one thing, but chipping away at that bone is another matter. Basic Ideas for Cutting Expenses: 1) Electricity * Use fluorescent light bulbs * Don't use the oven to cook - instead, try using an electric skillet or, better yet, a crockpot 2) Water: * "Reuse" shower/bath water - place a bucket in your shower to catch all that water that's flowing down the drain and use it to fill up the washer when you're washing clothes 3) Heating/Cooling * Set your thermostat to a lower temperature in the winter and add an extra layer of clothing; in the summer, turn it up and drink lots of cold drinks :) 4) Food * Make a list of meals and their ingredients prior to going to the grocery. Stick to the list * Use coupons and research the ads - this can easily be done online 5) Clothing * Visit your local thrift store * Buy new clothing after the season ends (I bought 3 new pair of jeans from Old Navy in October for $4 each!!! That's $1.89 cheaper than my local Goodwill) Beyond the Basics: 1) Unplug ALL appliances not currently in use 2) Cancel your cable/satellite subscription - why not watch your favorite shows online? Many television stations offer some episodes online, and Netflix is a lot cheaper than cable 3) 76 the landline - I've used my cell phone exclusively for years, and haven't missed my landline yet :) Do you have any wacky, different, unique, or creative ways to save on expenses? I'd love to hear them! Labels: clothing, cutting expenses, Debt, electricity, expenses, food, water |
I fell off the wagon...
| By Lynn Forgy So it's been quite a while since I've written anything, mainly because I've been too busy but also because I've fallen off the wagon. I confess - I used the credit card again, and again...and again. Prior to my gluttonous activity (using the credit card in December, which I justified by telling myself that I hadn't had a new bedroom outfit since, well, forever), I hadn't used a credit card in 5 1/2 years. The worst part is, I don't feel terribly guilty. I do feel some guilt, and some remorse, but not enough to make me take all of the items back and to hide the card from myself. My solution? Begin writing/posting again. I need to have some accountability, and if I put it in writing then it's not so easy to deceive myself. Labels: credit card, Debt, spending |
