Make Money Now
Ways and methods to make some money now. These will not be get rich quick schemes but actual ways that you can make some money whether it just be some extra income or ways to work from home
I just found out about Scour today and I am excited about the possibility of it. Everyone who knows me knows that I am an avid Google nut and love a lot of the product they have put out. But, I think they need a little bit of competition in the search market. Yahoo and MSN are just not very good competitors anymore.
Scour looks like they may have a product that could compete with them. The challenge, of course, is that it is a huge uphill battle for them. Google has most of the internet’s users using it as their search engine, so in order to have a chance Scour is going to have to be a lot better.
My experience with Scour (so far)
Scour is a search engine that has two distinct advantages over Google…
- The results are voted on by other users. So, in theory, only the best stuff should come up to the top of the list. Just like Digg.
- They offer incentives for using it. You earn points for searching with it, commenting, voting, referring, etc. Those points can then be redeemed for gift cards. Looking at the points system, it will take quite a while before you ever get enough points for a gift card. That’s okay I am more interested in it’s search capabilities.
The Scour results page…
What I like about Scour
- I love that Google is finally getting some competition. While realistically, I would be surprised to see Scour become the next Google, I am glad that they are in the game. Increased competition just means that everyone will produce better. Google has done a great job with it’s search engine, but there is a lot of room for growth. There are still a lot of spammy results coming up, I think that user generated feedback is going to be part of the solution.
- It allows you to get search results from Google, Yahoo, or Live all on the same page. So, if you don’t like the Scour results that you are seeing, you can still see what Google lists as the top sites…
- I like the points system. Even though you would have to use it for a while to actually get rewarded, you still do get rewarded. I have never gotten a gift card from Google
What I don’t like about Scour
- It is brand new. It is going to be a while before Scour provides some actual benefit as a search engine. Initially, spammers are going to vote up their spam sites, so initially users will probably have to wade through some of that stuff. Only after there are a whole bunch of users who come and vote will the results become valuable.
- The referral program. I know it seems to be what every new thing does now. They offer incentives for referring people. But, bottom line I agree with Seth Godin on this one. If it isn’t remarkable, there is no point in having the referral program. On the other hand if it is remarkable, it probably doesn’t need it because people will talk about it either way.
So, I think I will give it a try for a few weeks and see how I like it. If it is something you think is worth trying out, you can get there with my remarkable referral link .
Any Scour users out there? I would love to hear your opinions on it!!
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The truth about CashCrate
I recently heard about this program and thought I would check it out. Basically you get paid for filling out short surveys and giving your email address to spammers.
The sign up is simple enough. It only takes about 30 seconds and once you complete that, they take you to the below screen. Here you select which offers you would like to complete. You click the offer on the left and once you complete the offer, then you click the submit button. Cash Crate then verifies that you completed it and then adds the funds to your account.
All of the offers I have done so far are actually very short and easy to fill out. Only taking about 30 -60 seconds to fill out for each one.
The problem is that it is difficult to tell how much of the offer you need to fill out.
So for example, the “Running Shoes” offer above gives you the below screen…
I think this is all you have to actually fill out to get paid, BUT as soon as you press submit it takes you to this screen…
So, now they are taking you down a trail to get a $150 gift card, which you are going to have to jump through about 1000 hoops and sign up for credit cards and a bunch of other stuff to actually get it.
I wish they would have a screen that says, “you have completed this offer,” but they seem to just try to confuse people into filling out additional offers that were not part of the CashCrate offer.
But like I said above, I think all you need to fill out is that first screen with your email address in order to get your $1.00 for that offer. Others ask you survey-type questions, some want your physical address, etc.
Well, that just sounds too easy
A lot of companies run their businesses completely off of email lists. So, you are getting paid $1.00 to get added to their email list. It may or may not be worth it to you. But I can almost promise you that you are going to start getting a lot of spam in your inbox
How handle this
I have a few different email addresses that I use. One is only given to businesses. So, any time I sign up for anything that I think could possibly add my address to a list I use that address. That email gets hundreds of emails a day, so I only check it when I am specifically looking for an activation email or something similar.
My review of CashCrate
It seems like a decent way to make a few extra bucks. I filled out about 7 offers (they have hundreds available) in 15-20 minutes. It would have been shorter, but I was following some of their deceptive rabbit trails.
After filling out the offers my my account shows that I have earned $2.90 and have $4.40 pending. As CashCrate verifies that I filled out the offers, the money moves from the pending earnings to July’s earnings. They say it can take from 5 minutes to a couple of hours for them to get approved.
They also have a generous referral program, so you get a cut of everyone who signs up from your referral link. I guess I will see how successful that is after I post this article.
I am going to continue using them, but only because I am not going to give them my personal email address.
I would love to hear from people who have used it so far. Is there anything I am missing?
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Taking a survey to help your buddy Google
If you are looking to make some money as a guinea pig for Google, you might want to sign up for their usability study. They typically pay $75 per hour that you spend with the Google researcher (in person or on the phone). They have some online surveys which are completed from your home computer and the payment varies based on the length of the survey.
From the Google FAQ page about it:
What am I signing up for?
You’d be helping us to improve Google products, both existing ones and those that are still in development. For example, we might ask you to try out a prototype and give us feedback on it, or we might interview you to help us plan a new product.
They are looking for all types of people: those experienced with Google products, new users and everything in between. There are a few pages of questions they ask you when applying for the study, which will help them decide which studies you would be a good fit for. Many fields are optional, but as they say, “However, the more information you give us, the easier it is for us to match you to a suitable study and the more likely it is that you’ll be invited to participate.”
Click here to sign up for their surveys…
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Get paid to shop with Live Search Cashback
I just found a cool new tool to make some extra cash for shopping online (thanks Phil!). Amazon prime has turned out to be a good investment for me, but I also love having options. Enter Live Search Cashback.
No, this isn’t one of those ridiculous email forwards that say something like, “Bill Gates wants to pay you $450 for every person you forward this to in order to do market research. I didn’t think it would work until I got my check for $45,000 signed by Bill Gates himself.” It’s not quite that ridiculous.
Per the Cashback site, here is how it works:
Step 1 - Search
Search for Cashback deals at Live Search Cashback. Each time you click a Live Search Cashback listing, you’ll find great deals on the product you chose. Your results will clearly list the Cashback savings you’ll receive off the store price, and your final bottom-line price that includes tax and shipping costs. Also look for this icon
when you search for a product on Live Search to find great Cashback deals.
Step 2 - Shop
Compare and sort products by the bottom-line price. Click the best deal to go to the store. Everything you buy during that store visit will be eligible for Live Search Cashback. On your first time using Live Search Cashback, we will ask you for an email address so we can tell you how to quickly set up your free Cashback account.
Step 3 - Save
Keep saving money each time you use Live Search Cashback. Every time you make a qualifying purchase, we’ll send you an email to confirm your Live Search Cashback savings. When your Cashback account reaches a balance of at least $5, you can claim your cold, hard cash. Terms and conditions.
Searching on Live Search Cashback
I recently signed up and the process is surprisingly simple. You just go to Cashback search screen and type in whatever product you are interesting in buying (Mac Mini). It then displays all of the items that fit your search terms…
Then you just select which product matches what you were going for. It displays the prices and Cashback % for each seller.
By default it picks the best deal for you and tells you how much cash you will get back on the deal. In this case we would get $30 cash back for buying this Mac…
Apparently, Microsoft is desperately trying to get shoppers to use Live Search rather than Google. Well, as far as an everyday search engine goes, it doesn’t even compare to Google, but for price comparison shopping it looks like a decent competitor to Google. I mean hey, they are paying you to use it - what’s not to love?
I have seen percentages ranging from 2%-12%. The funds are paid:
- after 60 days once you accrue at least $5.00 in Cashback rewards
- via paypal, direct deposit to your bank account, or a snail-mailed paper check
It seems simple enough, I am going to try it out for a while - not much to lose I guess. I haven’t got a check yet, but come to think of it Bill Gates never sent me a check for that email I forwarded to 100 people either.
Technorati Tags: online shopping
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I just read an interesting article about a guy who 14 years ago bought the domain pizza.com for $20 (and had to pay $20 each year to keep it). He didn’t really know what it was worth, so he recently decided to put it up for auction to see what he could get for it and it went for a cool $2.6 million. How is that for a nice return on investment?
I remember about that time looking for domains to buy because I had heard a few people comparing it to the California Gold Rush. I spent about 15 minutes typing in domain names and then gave up. Maybe I should have kept at it a bit longer.
While the Pizza.com story is remarkable and not the norm, people have been and continue to make money with domains. I haven’t gotten too involved in buying or selling domains, but if anyone is interested I would be willing to sell ChristianPF.com for a bargain price of $2.5 million (it’s not quite as valuable as Pizza.com hence the discount).
I found another article that talks about how you can still make money with domain names today. The domain name market has some similarities with the real estate market.
Here are a few of the ways the author suggested to make money with domains:
1. Buy existing domains and increase their value (or just flip’em) - it takes money to make money, but you can start small. The domain name aftermarket is extremely inefficient, meaning you can buy domains from one venue and sell them quickly on another. You can also buy underutilized domains, build them up, and watch the cash roll in.
2. Embrace the power of predictive domaining - One of the best new blogs about domains is Predictive Domaining. It discusses ways to determine tomorrow’s hot topics and keywords so you can register (or buy cheap) domains today. Here’s a case in point: the term “blog” wasn’t around during the original 1994 gold rush. There are lots of other terms that aren’t hot (or even known) today that will be tomorrow. I would consider myself a good predictive domainer, but the Predictive Domaining blog always teaches me something new.
3. Stay in it for the long haul - so domain parking revenues are down this year. Perhaps it’s just a speed bump. Will we look back ten years from now at domains that sold for millions when they are then selling for tens of millions? There are still great buy-and-hold strategies for those who are able to hold for the long term.
Real estate and “virtual real estate”
I see the similarities between real estate and domains, but the thing that stands out to me is that there is a limited amount of real estate. There are only so many square feet on the earth, however with “virtual real estate” it is a seemingly unlimited supply.
I understand that the most valued domains receive quite a bit of type in traffic, but it seems like sometimes it may not be worth the investment. For instance eBay, Google, and even amazon all chose not to go after the prime domains and built their brand around a more obscure name. It seems to have worked well for them.
Domain Name tools
If you are curious to see what domains are still available use this tool, it makes it very quick and easy to spot what is available. And if you are trying to find a domain with a particular keyword included - Nameboy is a good tool as well…
Buy your name
I have read a few articles that have suggested to buy YourName.com if it is still available. Domains are cheap - $8 a year with www.GoDaddy.com and it is a lot easier and cheaper to buy it from them than a private party down the road.
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ePinions.com $10 for 10 reviews
ePinions.com is running a promotion to pay users for their reviews. If you write 10 reviews you will receive $10. If you write 20 then you will get $20, all the way up to 100. They also have a $10 bonus for every 10 reviews that are rated “very helpful.”
I have never really been a fan of ePinions because they never seem to have many reviews on products that I am shopping for. Hence the reason for this promotion?
A few notes about the 10 for $10 promotion:
- The Promotion is valid until the first 30,000 reviews are received or until April 30, 2008 (11:59 PM Pacific time), which ever comes first.
- Your reviews must be submitted on a product or service in Epinions.com’s database, excluding editorials, buying guides, comments about Epinions.com, member advice, and the writer’s corner.
- At the time Epinions.com validates entries (some time shortly following the end of the submission period), each review must have an overall rating of at least “somewhat helpful”. Express reviews are not eligible. (Express reviews contain less than 200 words.)
- Maximum payout is $200 per Participant during the Promotion period.
All in all, I think ePinions has a good idea with this promotion. It seems like a nice win-win. They get a bunch of reviews to hopefully help them better compete with Amazon and the user can potentially make $200. Not a bad deal.
If anyone has taken advantage of this offer I would love to hear some feedback about it…
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How does Virtual Bank compare with ING Direct?
I decided to open a Virtual Bank savings account. They gave me $20 for opening it, so I figured I don’t have much to lose. To me ING has clearly been the best online savings account in terms of features, interface, and overall user experience, but I am trying to keep an eye out for other up and coming great online banks, so I decided to check out Virtual Bank.
ING Direct and Virtual Bank Features
|
ING Direct |
Virtual Bank |
|
| Minimum Balance |
$0 |
$100 |
| Minimum to open |
$1 * |
$100 |
| Interest Rate |
3.4% |
3.0% - 4.0% |
| Monthly Fees |
No |
No |
| FDIC Insured |
Yes |
Yes |
*$250 to get the $25 referral bonus
Refer a Friend program
- ING Direct’s refer a friend program pays $10 to the referrer and $25 to the person opening the account (if the new account is opened with at least $250).
- Virtual Bank pays $20 to both the referrer and the new account holder (if the account is opened with at least $100).
Security
As far as security goes, both of these sites are top-notch in the level of security they offer. I would almost say that both of them could be considered frustrating if you are used to having your browser log you in to web sites automatically. There are a few steps to log in for both ING and Virtual Bank. That said, if you are concerned with keeping your account safe, you can’t go wrong with either ING or Virtual Bank.
User Interface
For the user interface and overall web site, I have to give it to ING Direct. Virtual Bank’s layout and web site isn’t bad and it is actually easy to navigate from one place to the next. ING’s is just better. This is one of the area’s that makes ING stand out from the others. They have worked very hard to create a great user experience with their web site and they have been successful. ING’s interface is very user friendly, intuitive, simple, and well organized.
Virtual Bank interface
ING Direct Interface
Customer Service
I have had very good experiences with ING’s customer service thus far. I have called them 3 times and each time I got my problem resolved or question answered quickly and from a friendly person the line. I have heard from others that not all calls to ING go as well as mine did.
My first call to Virtual Bank did not go so well. After being on hold for 28 minutes, all of a sudden their hold music stopped and I was hung up on. Possibly in their defense, I looked at their hours of operation and it appears as if I called right after closing time. It just would have been nice if they would have had a message that said to call back later. It is never any fun to wait on hold for a half an hour.
Conclusion: ING Direct vs. Virtual Bank
After all is said and done, I think I am still in the same place as I was before my Virtual Bank experiment: ING is still the winner. If I had $100,000 to put in savings, I would probably put it in Virtual Bank to get the 4.0% return rather than ING’s 3.4%. But, for smaller amounts I am sticking with ING Direct.
If you are interested in opening either (or both) of these accounts - contact me so you can get the referral bonus cash!!
Technorati Tags: ING Direct, Virtual Bank
Also, if you have used either or both of these banks, I would love to hear your opinions about them…
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7 Steps to sell your stuff on eBay
As part of my de-cluttering process, I unload a lot of my stuff and random items by selling it on on Ebay. If you have never done it before, you will probably be surprised at how easy it is and how quick you can make a little money. Last time I de-cluttered, I made over $200 for only a few hours worth of time. This is a perfect follow-up to some major closet simplification. So, if you have a few hours of spare time, this may be a good way to make a few bucks.
1. Open an eBay account
This is a very quick and easy process. Click here to get started.
2. Buy a few items to get some positive feedback
(This step is optional, but it will probably help) -Small items are fine, anything you can find will work. The reason is that your credibility as an Ebay seller is primarily determined by your feedback score. By purchasing a few items and paying for them quickly, you will be able to get some positive feedback, thus giving you at least a little bit of credibility. Think about it, if you are buying an item wouldn’t you rather buy from a seller has feedback proving that he actually delivered his products rather than a seller who has never used eBay before?
3. Decide what to sell
I only sell name brand or easily defined unique items. When selling, you have to think like the seller and ask “how would I search for this item?” If the answer isn’t clear, it may not be a good item to sell. For example, I had a pair of fake leather pants (don’t ask) that weren’t a brand that anyone would care about, but I knew that people would be searching for leather pants, because it is such a unique item. Often times buyers will search for a brand name and a size, and this is why brand name items are good to sell.
Oh, and I also don’t sell items that aren’t in great condition - you can, but one person’s definition of “small hole in sleeve” can be completely different from another’s. I consider it to be dangerous territory, so proceed with caution.
Just FYI, about the fake leather pants, I had gotten them for about $3.00 on a clearance rack and ended up selling them for about $15.00. So, the $12.00 profit helps offset all the harassment I received for owning them in the first place.
4. Get Pictures of your items
Grab your digital camera (if you are still taking Polaroid pictures, then see step #2 and make a digital camera one of your purchases) and start shooting. Use a well lit room, with the simplest, nicest looking background you can find; e.g. a hardwood floor or a plain wall. Take a few pictures of each item and get close ups if needed. Check out this article for more tips about Ebay pictures.
5. List your item
Now you are ready to list your items. I suggest doing all of your listings on the same day. This will enable you to do the shipping all on the same day, eliminating wasted trips to the Post Office.
Be as detailed as possible in the listing title. Include as many that apply to your item:
- item names and similar names
- Brand names
- Model names or numbers
- Sizes
- Colors
- Men’s, women’s, or kids
- material
- any other details that stand out about your item
At the time of this writing, if you search for “dress shirt” on eBay it will yield over 12,000 listings. However, if you search for “M banana republic dress shirt blue” we only get 5 results. As sellers, this is what we want - limited competition when people search for our item. If your listing title just said “dress shirt,” then your shirt would now be thrown in the world’s largest bargain bin with 12,000 other shirts for people to dig through. The more detail you put in the title, the easier it is for your buyers to find it.
The first picture is free, but Ebay does charge to add additional pictures. I suggest adding at least one additional picture, unless you are convinced that the item doesn’t need it. Buyers like to see products from different angles and with detail.
Use the description field to fill in any and all detail that you couldn’t squeeze into the title section. The more detail the better. I learned the hard way when selling my wife’s clothes that a lot of the eBaying women like to know the measurements of each item before bidding on it.
A few more things to keep in mind:
- open a paypal account (free, simple, and will make it easier for buyers)
- Check for misspellings in your title (this could dramatically affect sales)
- International shipping can be expensive and time consuming, so you may want to limit your shipping area
6. Answer buyer’s questions
Buyers may email you with questions about the product, it is in your best interest to respond quickly to them. They are clearly interested in buying the product, otherwise they wouldn’t have spent the time emailing you about it. You can respond to their questions and see what each item is going for from your Ebay account.
7. Ship your eBay items
Try to get your items shipped ASAP to get positive feedback from your buyers. Look for old boxes (without writing on them) or for some items you can use brown paper bags to package it in.
I have had the best luck with the good ‘ol U.S. Postal Service. The standard shipping at that Post Office is almost always cheaper than UPS and FedEx. There are some occasions where this is not the case, but from my experience, the USPS is the best way to go.
As with anything, the more you do it, the faster you will get at it. And of course, some items will sell, and some won’t - I just give the unsold items to Goodwill. Good luck!!
Click here to open a FREE eBay account
Technorati Tags: How to sell on eBay, eBay selling, put stuff on ebay
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This was a trick I discovered late in college, that I wish I would have known about earlier, it could have saved me thousands over my college years. It shouldn’t take more than a hour and could save you hundreds each semester. Basically, the goal is to buy and sell the textbook for the same price - making it ($75-$75=$0) FREE!!
1. Find the cheapest priced textbooks.
Check Amazon and eBay. Get the ISBN# from the barcode of the book and do a search on both for the cheapest used book. Feel free to look other places like textbooks.com or Barnes and Noble, but Amazon and eBay are likely to be the cheapest. Make sure you are getting the right edition for the class (I had many classes that it didn’t matter, but for the purposes of reselling, the newest edition will help).
2. Use it, but don’t abuse it
Folded pages, highlighting, rounded edges don’t affect the price very much, but missing covers or pages do. Don’t eat your book! I know you are in college and probably short on cash, but if resorting to eating paper as a dietary supplement, stick with looseleaf; it is cheaper.
3. Get ready to sell those textbooks
After the fall semester you are going to want to sell them right away, because other anxious college kids will be looking to buy them up for the spring semester. After the spring semester on the other hand, you should probably wait a couple months before looking to sell. Remember: supply and demand. How many college kids are looking to buy their textbooks for fall, when classes let out in May?
4. List and sell them
There are many options for selling your books, but you want to find one where YOU are selling to the customer. What you will find is that as long as every school in the U.S. hasn’t switched to a newer edition, you shouldn’t have a problem selling them for what you paid. I like Amazon’s textbook store
- When setting your price, look to see what the lowest price is and go a few cents below that. This will help you to sell your book as quickly as possible. Check back every week or so and adjust your price so it is the cheapest listed. If your book is not in the 5-10 lowest priced books, it is unlikely that it will sell.
- When you do sell your book, you will receive a notice via email with the buyer’s info. It is your responsibility to get it shipped ASAP. Not doing so will result in poor ratings and will make it more difficult to sell the next book.
I did profit off a few books over my last year in college doing this. You will find that some are winners and some are losers, but no matter what - you will be doing a whole lot better than those who buy their books new and sell them back to the campus bookstore.
Technorati Tags: free textbooks, cheap textbooks, save money on textbooks
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The following is a guest post written by Terry Sprouse, author of “Fix em Up, Rent em Out: How to Start Your Own House Fix-up and Rental Business in Your Spare Time” - Find out more at Fixemup.org
In my opinion, the two safest ways to get started in real estate, are: 1) buy a home, rent it, then do it again, and/or 2) buy a home, live in it 2 years, then sell it without paying any federal taxes using the “homeowner’s tax break.” Over the past six years, my wife and I have used both techniques. We have several properties that we keep as rental properties and provide us with cash flow. In addition, we also buy houses in need of repair with the intention of selling them and utilizing the “homeowners tax break” to pay no federal taxes.
Turn Your Residence into a Rental Instead of Selling It
A system that I like to use is to refinance my residence six months to a year before I plan to buy a new residence. This gives me enough money for a down payment on the next house that I will purchase. When I locate a good fixer-upper I can quickly purchase it. During the 3-4 weeks it takes to close on the new house, I prepare the old house so it will be ready to rent. This usually involves some painting and landscaping. Then, before I close on the new house, the “for rent” sign goes up on the old house.
The 3 steps in this technique: 1.) refinance your residence. 2.) use the refinance money as a down payment to buy a new house. 3.) move into the new house and rent out the old house Instead of refinancing your residence, you can use savings or a loan from a relative as a down payment. As mentioned, an advantage of refinancing your residence while you are still living there is that you get a lower interest rate on your loan than if you were refinancing a rental property. Under this technique, you get the lower “primary residence” interest rate for both the old property and the new one, since each property is your primary residence at the time that you take out the loan.
Sell a House that You Live in For Two Years and Pay No Income Tax
The 1997 Taxpayer Relief Act was a great boost for average people who wanted to sell their home and buy a new one. It was also a great boost for investors. Couples are allowed to exclude up to $500,000 of the capital gain on the sale of their primary residence. Single individuals can exclude up to $250,000. In other words, the sale of the house is never reported on your federal IRS forms if the capital gain is less than the $500,000 and $250,000 limits.
This exclusion is based on compliance with two requirements: 1. The home must have been the primary residence for both spouses during two of the last five years. The two years do not have to be consecutive but if you rent out the primary residence for more than three years you would be required to occupy it again for two years. 2. The exclusion is available only once every two years. Utilization of this tax exemption is the safest investment strategy for the conservative investor who wants to take few risks. This is the type of investor who wears both suspenders and a belt to hold up his pants. They like to play it safe.
Under this strategy, the investors can quality for the least expensive loan, the owner-occupied loan. There is no need to worry about tenants destroying your rental property or not paying the rent. You completely control the investment by living in the property yourself. When you sell, you have the opportunity to bring in up to $500,000 tax-free money every two years. My wife and I didn’t sock away much money for retirement, but with our rental houses, we have a flow of income that will last as long as we keep the houses.
Many people stay away from rental properties because they don’t want to deal with renters. However, with practice anything is easy, including dealing with renters, and the rewards far outweigh the difficulties. If you really don’t want to deal with renters, just use technique #2, where you buy and sell every two years. Technique #2 is for people who like to play it safe. I have made real estate investing my hobby, as have many others, and you can do it too. For anyone who wants to learn there is plenty of room in the fix-up business. Grab a hammer and join me.
Technorati Tags: real estate investing, how to invest, real estate
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