Free Ebooks

Okay, I know eReaders are expensive, but if you have been living the frugal lifestyle, you know you can get one from eBay on the cheap. If you are still thinking they are an unnecessary expense, allow me to enlighten you. If you are an avid reader, you already know how expensive books are. If you are lucky enough to have a friend who reads the same genre that you do, maybe you can trade. You still have to have books to trade, so there is still an expense involved. You can buy them at thrift stores, cheaper than new books but still sapping your hard-earned cash. Now you're thinking, "What about the library?" If you've noticed the price of gas lately, the library costs you money even though the books are free. Not to mention late fees if you forget, or the hassle of having to hurry up and finish a book before the due date. For all the options ranging from brand new books to the library, your cash is still involved. Enter the eReader, a one time expense. I know you're thinking that eBooks cost money, right? Wrong! I purchased a three month old android tablet/eReader from eBay that still had the original receipt and extended warranty with it, and I got it for $85. Since then, I have done my homework and found many sites to get free eBooks. If you are on FaceBook (you know you are), my favorite page is "Free Nook Books etc". While you're on FaceBook, do a search for the page and then "like" it. The wonderful page owner, Tina, posts many free NookBooks every day. These are ePub files and will work on almost any eReader, laptop, or tablet. I was a bit suspect of anything free, but I have read some truly awesome books that were completely free. My other suggestion is your library. Almost all libraries have a digital section now, and you can download to your hearts' content. You do have to worry about the due date, but you never have to worry about late fees because the books just expire on the due date. If there is anyway you can manage snagging a cheap eReader, do it! You will never have to pay for a book again.

Better Than Playing The Lottery

I thought about something today that made me feel guilty - guilty for not telling you about it sooner. There's a great site called Brainbench that provides online testing for employment skills. They also provide certification testing for those interested in being able to verify their abilities in a specialized skill. On the surface, this sounds like something that will cost you money, not make money, right? Wrong! Let me expand on how this turned out to be quite the money maker for me. I ended up with over $200.00 in six weeks. Combined with my Amazon Mechanical Turk earnings, I was able to complete 90% of my Christmas shopping without spending a dime out of my paycheck. First, you will need to register at Brainbench. Then you will need to take some of their free tests. They have many free tests that are basically just for fun. There are personality tests, trivia test, and others that you will enjoy. So far you haven't spent any money and had a little fun. You will then be in their database and will start receiving emails from them. You will receive requests to take beta tests. The key is to respond and take the tests immediately. The minute that email comes in, stop what you're doing and take the test. Brainbench will offer Amazon gift codes for the first 50 people who submit the tests. Every time I have gotten a beta test request, I have gotten a gift code. In some cases, they will offer additional codes for high scores (Sadly, I have never won one of those). If you are really good at the given skill, you might really clean up. Bottom line, after realizing I had done my Christmas shopping, purchased two new cordless phones and eight games from Amazon without dipping into my own pocket, I really felt bad about not sharing this with you all. It's an incredibly simple way to get things you might not otherwise be able to afford. Head on over to Brainbench and get started earning that extra money!