EzLaptop scam

For several months I have been reading ads to earn a free laptop from ezlaptop.com. I finally reached the required number of credits and clicked the link to claim my laptop. I got no confirmation email, not have they replied to any of my emails asking for the status of my shipment. Now let me say this - I went into this with my eyes open, knowing that there was a 99% chance that this was a scam. I am quite tired of these sites that make big promises and then scam their loyal members, so I am prepared to file a complaint against these folks. I am going to bulldog this one, folks, and I'll keep you updated as to my progress, or lack thereof. For any of you who have had issues with this site, full contact information can be found here:
http://whois.domaintools.com/ezlaptop.com

Let's band together and let them know that this is unacceptable!

Attention: Spammers

This is for the individual who somehow thinks that anyone will want to read his spam comments on my blog. No one wants to invest in your schemes. That should be obvious to you by now, since you have had to resort to spamming blogs, which seems to be quite a desperate act. Because of you and your very unwelcome crap, I have set my blog to comment moderation. I will now have to view your tripe before I delete it, but at least my readers won't be subjected to it. To my readers, I apologize for the delay this will cause when you post a comment, but the spammer left me no choice. I refuse to allow you to be spammed on my watch.

Free cell phone and free minutes!!

I was so excited about this that I couldn't wait to get it posted! I found a link on my state's Job and Family Services website that said "Get a free cell phone." Intrigued, I clicked on it. Apparently, those who qualify by income can receive a free cell phone and free minutes from SafeLink Wireless. If you are already qualified for HEAP, Medicaid, food stamps, etc., you automatically qualify for the phone program. If you are not on any of these programs, you can still qualify by submitting proof of income. Well, since my family is enrolled in the HEAP program, I filled out a very simple application online and submitted it. Within 10 minutes I received a message that said I had been approved and would receive my phone within 5-10 business days! Please, please, please email this post to anyone you know who could benefit from this program. Most of us are driving crappy cars that break down all the time, now you can have the security of knowing you can call someone for help. What a great way to restore a sense of security to those of us who can't afford cell phones.

MyPoints.com

MyPoints is a site where you earn points for various activities. You do not actually earn cash, but the points are just as good as cash. There are so many ways to earn that everyone is bound to find something they enjoy. You can earn just by reading emails received from them, you can complete offers, you can earn huge points by shopping through their site, and you can earn by joining other sites that are affiliated with them. They also have an affiliate program, which I have not tried, that pays cash. I personally use my points for emergency gas money since I earn enough for $20 BP gas cards a month. That's $20 I don't have to spend out of my pocket every month. If you're into offers, you could do much better. I typically only read emails. They do not have a referral program, this post is just for your earning enjoyment. If you click on the post title it will take you to their site. Have fun with it!

Frugal living resource

I found this great eBook about frugal living and I thought I would share it with you. If you are like me, every penny counts in these hard economic times, and this book is a goldmine of frugal living tips. If you want to save money, this is your resource! Just click on the post title...

The Junk Store - A Classic Treasure!

Today I happened upon something that I should have known about all along. I wandered into a second-hand store. It is sort of an eclectic mix of wares. They sell tires and car batteries, jewelry, electronics, clothes, toys, etc. Virtually any kind of item can be found there. Not only could I stand to save a few bucks on items I need, but the thought came to me that they have to get the stuff somewhere, so why not from me? I went home and gathered a few things I thought might be of value and went back. Long story short, I made $50! I also established a business relationship that will help me the next time I need to unload some stuff for extra cash. The best part? Since I gave them my stuff at a good price, I got a good price on new tires for my car, and they agreed hold them until payday. If I had taken the time to gather more stuff to sell, I might have even been able to get the tires free. I will be looking around for other consignment shops and "junk stores' in my new quest to unload extra items and earn extra cash. I'll bet you have some in your neighborhood too.

Saving money with plastic cola bottles

I found a great article on the ways you can reuse plastic soda bottles and save yourself some cash.

http://lifestyle.msn.com/your-life/living-green/articledg.aspx?cp-documentid=20947473>1=32001

My online earnings in the past month

I thought maybe you would like to have a quick rundown of what I have earned online in the past month. It's not a full time income, but those of you who are trying to figure out how to pay the electric bill or put gas in the car will appreciate it. Without earning online, I most assuredly would not be able to make from one payday to the next. I earn from various sources. I am not posting referral links here, other than to my blog that is devoted entirely to online jobs, so if you do sign up for one of these programs, please tell them firemom31 sent ya!

MyPoints: $25.00 Walmart card
Chase Leisure Rewards Program: $100.00 cash, $10 BP gas card
Toluna Surveys: $10.00
SurveySpot: $16.00
oDesk: $89.00
Pinecone Research: $9.00

Think about your budget (or lack of one) and imagine how much this would help. You can earn in the same way, and stretch that paycheck. If you wish, go to my other blog for in depth information about earnings opportunities.

http://linkbee.com/MyWork

See previous post...lol

So it seems that we are using one roll every 2.5 days. Doesn't that seem like a lot for two people? Seriously, isn't it?

Not really a tip, just a funny example of how serious I am about this

It occurred to me this morning that hubby and I have made a science out of this whole frugal living concept. I spend at least an hour every day looking for bargains and online coupons. I spend a few hours a week research the various ways to make money online. I Twitter relentlessly. I not only want to make extra money from home, I want to make all of my money from home. I accepted all of this as a part of my life, but this mornings activities kind of brought it all home, so to speak.

My husband, who has previously not paid much attention to my online efforts, sat at his computer yelling "Woohoo!" because he got paid $5 for a survey - he's been hooked into my world of online cash. He is also very excited to have received a package in the mail that contained three pair of underwear. Why is this exciting? Because he is being paid to wear them, wash them, and review them (I even woohoo-ed about that one).

The crowning moment this morning was when I changed the toilet paper roll. I logged the date I opened the new package, how many rolls, the brand, and the fact that they were double rolls. This is my attempt to locate the best, yet cheapest, toilet paper. Is this hard core frugal living, or what?!

Quick tip of the day - auto insurance

Buying auto insurance is a hassle, no doubt about it. I think that's why so many of us stay with the same company and never shop car insurance rates. You are probably paying more than you have to. The cheapest was is to buy car insurance on line. Many of the traditional brick and mortar insurers are also set up to let you get auto insurance online, even if you are a new customer. Get your car insurance quotes from several sites, and then use them to negotiate with the one you decide on. You can save big this way, and saving is just as good as earning, in my opinion.

A couple of tips

I sat down this week and tallied up what I had saved in coupons, and then decided to figure what the best source of coupons is. I looked at where I had gotten the best coupons from and decided to share with you where I got them. By the way, I saved $37.00 this week by using coupons!

Internet coupons are by far the best, but not just those you get from coupon sites. Go to manufacturer sites and you can often find great coupons and special offers that aren't advertised anywhere. For example, hubby is a smoker, and Marlboro was giving away 2 one dollar coupons every day for 30 days. That's a $60 savings, my friends! Betty Crocker almost always has great coupons on their site, I check there regularly. The next best sites are the free sites that let you print coupons, such as www.coupons.com. If you do a search for free Internet coupons you will come up with three or four sites that you can use. I generally get at least $5 a week in savings from these. The only drawback to Internet coupons is that most cannot be doubled. If your store has a double coupon day, save your newspaper and manufacturer coupons to use on those days. That leads me to my final tip. Look for stores with double coupon days and make sure you schedule your shopping trip on those days, you will save a ton.

I hope these tips help a little, now get off of my blog and start looking for coupons! Have an awesome day!

Want to make some money?

Folks, this is one of those rare referral programs that really does work. No, you don't have to read thousands of emails every day, you don't have to sign up for a bunch of offers that you don't want or will forget to cancel. You don't have to put your finger on your nose and hop on one foot. All you have to do is sign up for your own site and then tell everyone you know about it. The website will do the rest. It is packed full of wonderful, educational, and informative eBooks at an awesome price. It's not a bunch of "become a millionaire overnight" books, but books on real subjects that us real people want to read about. Want to learn how to make baskets? Want to help your teen lose weight? A recipe book loaded with nothing but cheesecake recipes? And my all-time favorite: Weight Watcher Points, Recipes plus Tracker! Check it out, you'll be glad you did.

http://linkbee.com/eBooks

This site rocks!

I have heard over and over again how great CashCrate is, and always stayed away from the whole idea of completing offers. Well, I'm here to tell you that you can make money online with Cashcrate. I decided to give it a try and made $5 in the first 5 minutes without spending a nickel. There were offers available that only required sign up to a newsletter or some other relatively non-invasive thing. Of course, there are the usual survey sites that requires 700 pages of yes/no buttons, but really not too bad for such great earnings. I am now sold on Cashcrate, and I think you will be too.

http://linkbee.com/WSJN

Make Easy Money Online

I'd like to tell you about a couple of ways I've found to make quick money online.

www.microworkers.com This site allows you to perform small tasks for pay and earn quick money. The perk to this little site is that you can exploit another money making opportunity at the same time. If you have a blog or need affiliate sign ups, this is the place for you. You can post your own jobs free for others to perform, direct folks to your preferred links, and viola, easy money online as the workers view your site or sign up under you. You won't spend a penny while making easy money from your site revenue.

www.getafreelancer.com Of all the ways to make money on the Internet, this one offers the most variety of jobs available, You simply register with them and start browsing jobs, and before you know it you will be making money at home!

Nice little way to organize and earn at the same time

I just recently got brave enough to try LinkBee on someone else's suggestion and it was one of the best things I've ever done, as far as my online life anyway...lol. It was an easy registration process and very simple to create the shortened URL's for my various blogs and sites. I am working with about 15 sites and I used to have to go from one to the other just to copy and paste links for advertising and such. Linkbee lets me have them all in one place, it shows me how many hits per day, per site, I am getting, and I earn a tiny bit for each one. I am lovin' it! Here's the link if you want to check it out: http://linkbee.com/

Beware of eBay and PayPal

I am pleased to say that my eBay activity had been steadily increasing, as was my income from it. I WAS on my way to building a full time income. I say was, because it is looking like it will all go down the drain, thanks to eBay/PayPal "security" measures. I have been working a couple of online jobs that pay via PP, as well as selling some eBay items on consignment for a commission. I began selling high end items,which generated a substantial influx of cash to my PP account. Within 48 hrs I ran a lot of money through there, including a large WU payment. For some reason,PP froze my account, saying I had to ship items and provide a tracking number to resolve the issue. Well, it's a bit hard to pay a drop shipper and get a tracking number when the acct with the money in it is frozen. Instead, I refunded the buyers their money with a note of explanation. The buyers whose items I had already paid the drop shippers for were sent emails explaining that I would send them tracking info as soon as I receive it. I also had two cash transfers from individuals who did not have a PP acct, I simply transferred the money along to another acct. PP is also asking for tracking numbers for the cash transfers, even though I sent them an email explaining that they were not payment for goods received. I got an automated response from New Delhi, India that said I must provide tracking numbers. See the dilemma here? Apparently, if you become successful, you become suspect as well. eBay froze my account just because P did. Beware!

Awesome money maker, and help others at the same time

There is a new Internet directory project called Boomja that allows you to start your own directory of information on the topic of your choice. You can monetize with AdSense and then be paid when someone clicks your ad or views your page. Slots are filling up fast, so if you think you might be interested, check it out right away. It is one of the fastest growing directories on the web, so get in now, while you still can. I will tell you that it takes a lot of work, but I think it is well worth it in the long run. You can check it out here: http://linkbee.com/AIB0P

A Great Find!

I just got several crates full of clay pots for free! An elderly fellow in our neighborhood was tearing down a barn (yes, a barn) and wanted to know if I wanted to buy the pots. I debated too long for his liking and he gave them to me. I already have a million craft ideas in store for the pots, and they will make great yard sale fodder. Ha! Free = 100% profit. The crates they came in are pretty cool, too. I'm working on ideas for those. If you have any creative suggestions, please send them to me. Have a great evening!

Happy Mother's Day

I just wanted to stop in and say happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there.

How to remove anything from a drain without a wrench

This site just rocks! It's useful as all get out and funny, too. Check it out:

http://www.familyhack.com/2007/08/29/drain-tip/

How to save money on meat

I often hear people talk about serving meatless meals to save money. Now, I'm not here to debate the pros and cons of eating red meat. Let's face it, whether it's good for us or not, most of us love a good steak. How do you have steak on a hamburger budget? The cheapest way is to buy it directly from a butcher, and buy in bulk. Check the classified ads and get yourself a big freezer. Then find a reputable butcher where you can buy a whole cow or pig. Buy as much as you can fit in that freezer. You may need to wait until income tax time and use your refund, or work a part time job for awhile, but it is definitely worth it. For example, our local meat market sells New York Strip steaks for $8.99 a pound. I just got them for $2.78 a pound when I bought half a cow. No matter the cut of meat, it is $2.79 a pound. Even the hamburger is wonderful and lean. Fillet Mignon - $2.79 a pound. Pork products were $1.89 a pound. Have you price a pound of name brand bacon lately? And this stuff is fresh! You can do the math for your family, but you just can't go wrong with a big freezer and bulk purchases of meat. Happy grilling!

Update on oDesk

I have officially been hired for a job on oDesk and it is a data entry job requiring that I Google for info and then add that info to another web page owned by my new "boss". I have started the job and it is repetitive but not too difficult, and the pay is fair the type of work. I will keep you all posted on my progress and new jobs, then you can better judge if it's something you would be interested in.

A Real Live Actual Legit Work At Home Internet Job

I found a great site where you can actually work from home. The site is definitely legit. You have to apply, take skills tests, and then do a bit of work to build your online resume. Once you have passed the appropriate tests, you are then permitted to apply for posted jobs. There are categories such as data entry, administrative support, web development, customer service, etc. I will warn you that the tests are not easy and you are expected to create a cover letter for each job you apply for. It has a bidding component to it, in that you put in the lowest you are willing to do the job for. Some are fixed prices per job, some are paid hourly. Most of the hourly rates are pretty low, but then you can sit in your undies and do the work. There is no referral bonus, no ads, no hype, just jobs. Someone in a MyLot discussion actually told me about this and I applied right away. >>>>> www.oDesk.com

Little Help. Please!

I am looking for reader's suggestions. Do you make money online? Do you earn from social networking sites? Pay To Click sites? Give us your best recommendations. I don't need to see proof of payment, just the names of the sites and your experience with them. As a reward for your willingness to share, feel free to post your affiliate links here once you've written about them.

New Forum

I just wanted to let you all know that I started a new forum. It deals with budgeting, making money, saving money, eating cheap, free stuff, and general conversation. Please take a minute to stop by and introduce yourself:

http://livingwithless.forumotion.net/forum.htm



See you there!

Snippets

Today I was pondering what to write about, and it occurred to me that I have a lot of ways I save money on my food budget that have become second nature, and that these small things were worth sharing. So, by popular request, here are a few of my tips and tricks for saving food dollars:

You know how you always have vegetables left over, but never enough to do anything with? I have several bags in my freezer that I put them in. It doesn't matter if it's only a teaspoon of corn, put it in the corn baggie. You can also mix veggies all in one bag. Either way, they are incredibly handy for those nights you want to use that leftover pot roast to make beef stew. Just throw all those "spare" veggies in the stew and no need to open several cans or bags of veggies. You won't notice a difference in the taste and it can save you some cash.

I do the same thing with onions. Whenever I dice onions for anything, I always add the leftovers to a baggie in the freezer. Eventually I have enough to use in a recipe and zero waste.

No one in your house wants to eat that last piece of bread when there's a fresh loaf calling their names? Throw them in a bag in your freezer. The next time you want to make stuffing, you already have the bread.

Skim, 1% and 2% milk can be frozen for later use. The next time your favorite grocery store has a killer sale on milk, stock up without fear. Don't forget to use about 1/2 cup before you put it in the freezer (to allow for expansion).

Leftover chicken broth (or any other kind of broth)? Pour it into ice trays until frozen, then dump them into a bag or plastic container and keep frozen. When you need fresh broth, just drop your cubes in the pot.

Need a vegetable bin but don't want to spend the money? Go to your favorite dollar store and get a small mesh trash can. They usually come in various attractive colors and the mesh allows airflow so your veggies don't go bad.

Never throw leftovers away. If your family is the type that won't eat the same meal two nights in a row, make up your own "T.V. dinners" and freeze them. When you are too busy or too tired to cook you will have homemade convenience food for a fraction of the price.

Recommendation of the day

Three words: The Tightwad Gazette. I'm talking about the books, not the newsletters. Before you accuse me of hawking for profit, I recommend purchasing them from eBay. I got one for .99 and one for 1.04 (this is a site for saving money, after all). There are 3 volumes and all are packed with money saving tips. They also make for pleasant reading, and have a nice index in the back. I just can't say enough about them. They are chock full of tips for making things yourself, recipes that are inexpensive but yummy, substitutions for when you run out of that all-important ingredient, etc. Just check them out, you won't be sorry.

And Making Some More Cash

Hi all! I've been gone for awhile, but I hope to be around more often now. My dear hubby donated his kidney to a friend and we've had a long road to recovery. I am happy to report that both hubby and his friend are now both doing very well. Hence, I can get back to my loyal followers...lol. While I was sidelined at home, I did continue to work on ideas in my head. I also tried various Internet tasks that pay for your time and I have had ample time to see who is legit and who is a complete waste of time. Here are the results of my research:

One of my favorites is Vinefire. This is a brand new site that promises to pay by January 2010, and if it does, it will be worth the wait. It is not time consuming, although it's easy to lose track of time while you're there. You can earn up to $50 per day, although I am averaging about $30 per day, which is still nothing to sneeze at. Check it out at:
http://www.vinefire.com/?ref=rib89@hotmail.com

My other new favorite is YouData. They don't promise big bucks, but they do pay out every Friday to your PayPal account. All you have to do is look at some ads and make your money. Check them out at:
http://www.youdata.com/join/firemom31

Want truly free ringtones, wallpaper, etc., for your cell phone? www.myxer.com is the best I've found. I use them regularly and I get no spam, just great stuff for my phone. How can you not love free stuff?

How about free education? In these horrid economic times, education can help you get or keep that coveted job. I found a website sponsored by reputable educators Prentiss and McGraw-Hill that will allow you to take an entire degree program for free. Now, the catch is that they do not offer any degrees or diplomas, but they say they are working on it. In the meantime, why not improve your skills for free?
Check them out at:
http://www.free-ed.net/free-ed/

Well, enough writing for my first day back. Have an awesome day and see you soon!