No matter how often I plan things or how hard I try to plan them perfectly, things dont always go the way I plan. I forget that too often.
A coworker asked me this morning if I had talked to my boss. I looked at him a bit funny and said 'no'. Apparently she has been wanting to talk to me for several days. That was the first I had heard about it. I knew that M was frustrated. I assumed it was because of the computer issues so that I wasnt able to get any work done. Now, I really have no clue!
I know that I am frustrated. Communication with my boss is currently nonexistant. The way she says anything to me, I interpret as an attack. I do not believe that is what she means, but that is certainly how it comes across to me.
I am afraid of approaching her at all. I feel as though when I talk, she doesnt listen to me at all. Just the other day, she had asked me to do something. I was asking a question for clarification because it was something I had never done before. Before I finished asking the question, she gave an answer to the question she assumed I was asking. But in the end, it didnt answer my question at all! I had to ask 5 times before I actually got the answer I was looking for - and it was a simple question with a simple answer.
I definitely have a lot of stress from work. I have been doing well to leave it at work and stay relatively non-stressed at home. But as soon as I walk into the building, there is definitely stress. At the time when I know that my boss arrives, there is definitely more stress.
However, I did have intentions of hopefully working here until we have kids. The pay is good. The benefits are good. The problem is that I dont have job security because I am a temporary employee.
There are definitely benefits to staying here, as I was planning. But there are also definitely benefits to finding a different job. Of course that entirely depends on if I can find another job.
I am excited because Jim and I have reached a savings goal. I am excited because there are many things that seem to be going my way as far as making money is concerned. Both online and offline. (The offline stuff I havent talked about yet, but look for a post soon!) I know that the savings are for when things happen - because things will happen. I just really dont want to have to touch that.
I am going to end this with a few things that I am thankful for, no matter how this all turns out.
*My car should be paid off next month.
*Jim's tuition is fully paid.
*I will still have some work (my part time security job) regardless of my status at my full time job.
*We will probably be able to get by without touching savings, even if we cant add to it.
Sometimes things dont go as planned only to end up better! We shall see what actually happens.
Edit: I have almost exactly 1 month left. That gives me a month to find a new job and figure out exactly what is going on. If nothing else, I will finally have time to finish the things around the house that need done! I doubt I am done crying because of the things that were said by my boss. I will never forgive her for the way she treats me, but in one month that wont matter anymore. I am very much relieved in a lot of ways.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Failure: BlastBux
A little while ago, I was so excited about my first online payment. Read about it here.
Today, Im not so excited about BlastBux. It has been about 1 week since I have been able to log into BlastBux. In fact, logging in isnt really the problem! The website just doesnt seem to exist anymore. When you try to get to the website, it takes you to what looks like a search engine results page.
I think that BlastBux is officially dead. Thanks for the $0.16, but I was hoping for more!
I have learned a few things from this.
Paid to Click sites come and go faster than you can say 'new!'. Sometimes you will be able to get a few cents or maybe even a few dollars from them. Other times, you time will be completely wasted. This makes me completely hesitant to sign up for any new sites.
Things arent always what they seem. Something can seem absolutely amazing and then disappear off the face of the planet.
I will not get rich off of Paid to Click sites. I may not even make enough money to make it worth my effort! However, I am not yet ready to come to that conclusion, especially based off of only one site! There are other sites out there that seem far more trustworthy. I will stick with those for a while and then make my decisions about PTC's.
Thanks for the good times BlastBux, I am sorry to see you go!
Today, Im not so excited about BlastBux. It has been about 1 week since I have been able to log into BlastBux. In fact, logging in isnt really the problem! The website just doesnt seem to exist anymore. When you try to get to the website, it takes you to what looks like a search engine results page.
I think that BlastBux is officially dead. Thanks for the $0.16, but I was hoping for more!
I have learned a few things from this.
Paid to Click sites come and go faster than you can say 'new!'. Sometimes you will be able to get a few cents or maybe even a few dollars from them. Other times, you time will be completely wasted. This makes me completely hesitant to sign up for any new sites.
Things arent always what they seem. Something can seem absolutely amazing and then disappear off the face of the planet.
I will not get rich off of Paid to Click sites. I may not even make enough money to make it worth my effort! However, I am not yet ready to come to that conclusion, especially based off of only one site! There are other sites out there that seem far more trustworthy. I will stick with those for a while and then make my decisions about PTC's.
Thanks for the good times BlastBux, I am sorry to see you go!
Monday, June 15, 2009
A Bit of Earning and Helping Others
On Friday, I got a somewhat unexpected Email. The title: myLot just sent you $56.72 USD with PayPal. It was only a somewhat unexpected Email, because I didnt actually expect it until today. They promise payment by the 15th of each month. Instead, I got it on the 12th!
I was super excited for this particular payment, because it is only my 2nd payment from my online earning ventures. But I am even more excited because my earnings so far this month exceed that. If I did nothing else for the rest of the month, I would still get $92.54. Of course, I will continue to do things on that site - so I am hoping for more than $150!
For all of you that like writing, I have gotten a majority of that from writing 4 short paragraphs about various different things. I usually look up info and put together the paragraphs pretty easily. Each on pays $2 and usually takes me about 20 minutes. $6/hr isnt a lot of money, but it definitely adds up for something I can do from my couch! Even when those tasks arent available, I contribute to discussions and earn a few cents here and there to add to the earnings, that way I get something every day!
A few days prior, I had read about something called Kiva. It is an organization that allows the average person to lend money to people who are trying to establish themselves financially. Most of the recipients are from third world countries. They take the loans to fund a business so that they can support themselves.
There were several things that I really liked about this website.
1. The money is loaned to the individuals, not handed to them. They are expected to repay within a given time frame.
2. The group that I chose to help is comprised of many people. The agreement that they signed states that if one person is delinquent, the rest of the group will pick up their slack.
3. The money you give is in increments of $25. That is an amount that I can give
4. The money you give via the website is a loan. Granted, you will not earn anything from that money. But when the loan is repaid, you get your initial investment back in its entirety!
5. After you get your money back, you can then keep it for yourself, donate it to Kiva to cover their administrative costs, or loan it to someone else!
6. You get to pick who the money goes to. You can see what they will use it for, how many people are involved, the term of the loan, and even the delinquency rate of the group!
It will be several months until that $25 is free for my use again. But when it is, I can loan it out again. And then again. And again. So with only $25 ever invested, I will be able to help countless people!
I just think it is pretty cool that I am on a quest to support my family when I have kids and in doing so, I am able to help someone else have the means to support their family. I cant promise I will do this every month, but it is definitely pretty awesome to be able to help someone else with so little sacrifice on my part!
I was super excited for this particular payment, because it is only my 2nd payment from my online earning ventures. But I am even more excited because my earnings so far this month exceed that. If I did nothing else for the rest of the month, I would still get $92.54. Of course, I will continue to do things on that site - so I am hoping for more than $150!
For all of you that like writing, I have gotten a majority of that from writing 4 short paragraphs about various different things. I usually look up info and put together the paragraphs pretty easily. Each on pays $2 and usually takes me about 20 minutes. $6/hr isnt a lot of money, but it definitely adds up for something I can do from my couch! Even when those tasks arent available, I contribute to discussions and earn a few cents here and there to add to the earnings, that way I get something every day!
A few days prior, I had read about something called Kiva. It is an organization that allows the average person to lend money to people who are trying to establish themselves financially. Most of the recipients are from third world countries. They take the loans to fund a business so that they can support themselves.
There were several things that I really liked about this website.
1. The money is loaned to the individuals, not handed to them. They are expected to repay within a given time frame.
2. The group that I chose to help is comprised of many people. The agreement that they signed states that if one person is delinquent, the rest of the group will pick up their slack.
3. The money you give is in increments of $25. That is an amount that I can give
4. The money you give via the website is a loan. Granted, you will not earn anything from that money. But when the loan is repaid, you get your initial investment back in its entirety!
5. After you get your money back, you can then keep it for yourself, donate it to Kiva to cover their administrative costs, or loan it to someone else!
6. You get to pick who the money goes to. You can see what they will use it for, how many people are involved, the term of the loan, and even the delinquency rate of the group!
It will be several months until that $25 is free for my use again. But when it is, I can loan it out again. And then again. And again. So with only $25 ever invested, I will be able to help countless people!
I just think it is pretty cool that I am on a quest to support my family when I have kids and in doing so, I am able to help someone else have the means to support their family. I cant promise I will do this every month, but it is definitely pretty awesome to be able to help someone else with so little sacrifice on my part!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
PTC: LinkGrand
One of the PTC sites I quickly signed up for was LinkGrand.
There were a few things I quickly noticed about LinkGrand. You can view new ads and old ads. Even after you have clicked on them, you can view them again. You wont get credit for viewing them more than once, but there is nothing stopping you from going and getting the information again. That seemed promising - something that would make people actually want to advertise there.
There are lots of ads. Lots and lots and lots of them. I think I have clicked on at least 10 everyday. I logged in last night and there were over 20 available!
Having lots of ads is great, but each ad doesnt pay very much. At only $0.003 each, it takes a while to build up any money. The minimum to cashout is $5. In the couple of weeks that I have been clicking on ads on this site, I have earned $0.543. So it is going to take me a while to reach the cashout, but I will take an extra $5 anyday!
Like most PTC's, there is a minimum amount of time you have to view the ad in order to earn for it. There is a timer at the top of the page, and then a button to push in order to get paid for it. I learned quickly that the timer doesnt continue if you have LinkGrand open in one tab and are doing something on another tab. However, if you have a completely seperate window open, the timer will continue to tick away. (Before doing this, I do always check out the ad. Sometimes I am just not interested!)
Definitely a way to earn money slowly, but I have no reason to doubt this site! Many others have said that it is a good one. Check it out for yourself.
There were a few things I quickly noticed about LinkGrand. You can view new ads and old ads. Even after you have clicked on them, you can view them again. You wont get credit for viewing them more than once, but there is nothing stopping you from going and getting the information again. That seemed promising - something that would make people actually want to advertise there.
There are lots of ads. Lots and lots and lots of them. I think I have clicked on at least 10 everyday. I logged in last night and there were over 20 available!
Having lots of ads is great, but each ad doesnt pay very much. At only $0.003 each, it takes a while to build up any money. The minimum to cashout is $5. In the couple of weeks that I have been clicking on ads on this site, I have earned $0.543. So it is going to take me a while to reach the cashout, but I will take an extra $5 anyday!
Like most PTC's, there is a minimum amount of time you have to view the ad in order to earn for it. There is a timer at the top of the page, and then a button to push in order to get paid for it. I learned quickly that the timer doesnt continue if you have LinkGrand open in one tab and are doing something on another tab. However, if you have a completely seperate window open, the timer will continue to tick away. (Before doing this, I do always check out the ad. Sometimes I am just not interested!)
Definitely a way to earn money slowly, but I have no reason to doubt this site! Many others have said that it is a good one. Check it out for yourself.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned
Savings is something that I have always been acutely aware of. I am just not comfortable without a safety net to fall back into! I very much agree with the experts that you should have at least 6 months worth of income saved up. That way if something happens, you arent completely up shit creek without a paddle.
Of course there is also the mantra 'you have to have money to make money'. I dont necessarily agree with it 100%. You can make money without having any to start. Afterall, everyone has to start somewhere! But having a bit of money can definitely help you make money faster.
One of the things I do with the money that Jim and I have in savings is open CD's. The CD rates almost always are higher than regular savings rates. Higher interest rates = more money in my pocket!
Unfortunately, one of the downsides to the economy being bad, this isnt true at the moment. With ING, you can get 1.5% with savings or a CD! That is TERRIBLE! It wasnt long ago that I was getting CD's at 5%. Now that I have hit one of my monetary goals on my 101 in 1001 list, Im pretty frustrated that our money wont be earning much for us!
We havent gotten to the 6 month mark yet. But we are definitely getting there. $10,000 is a good place to start. We have been there before, but had to use some of it to replace the windows. Hopefully nothing like that will come up this time. I really like knowing that money is there.
Just one step closer to being ready, financially, for a baby!
Of course there is also the mantra 'you have to have money to make money'. I dont necessarily agree with it 100%. You can make money without having any to start. Afterall, everyone has to start somewhere! But having a bit of money can definitely help you make money faster.
One of the things I do with the money that Jim and I have in savings is open CD's. The CD rates almost always are higher than regular savings rates. Higher interest rates = more money in my pocket!
Unfortunately, one of the downsides to the economy being bad, this isnt true at the moment. With ING, you can get 1.5% with savings or a CD! That is TERRIBLE! It wasnt long ago that I was getting CD's at 5%. Now that I have hit one of my monetary goals on my 101 in 1001 list, Im pretty frustrated that our money wont be earning much for us!
We havent gotten to the 6 month mark yet. But we are definitely getting there. $10,000 is a good place to start. We have been there before, but had to use some of it to replace the windows. Hopefully nothing like that will come up this time. I really like knowing that money is there.
Just one step closer to being ready, financially, for a baby!
Monday, June 8, 2009
A Weekend of Practice
Jim and I had Buddy and Jordan for the weekend. Buddy will be 4 in August. Jordan is just over 5 months. We were brave enough to take them to the zoo on Saturday and then kept them overnight. It was a good weekend, but completely exhausting!
Read all about it here.
Read all about it here.
PTC: Clixsense
Clixsense is a PTC (paid to click). I have only been on this site for about 2 weeks. So far, I am really liking it! It definitely seems to be reliable.
The ads you view usually pay $0.01 each. I have seen a few that pay $0.02. Once, I even had one that paid $0.05! That isnt a lot of money - but that reassures me that it is legitimate!
There is no 'minimum' number of ads. You simply have to check to see if there are any ads available. However, I have not had any problems with this. The first day, there were just over 30 ads that I could click on. Since then, there have been at least a couple every day.
The ads seem to be updated at various times. When I have a few minutes of time, I will check the site. Sometimes there is an ad or two that I havent clicked. Sometime there is nothing new. Either way, it only takes a couple of seconds to check.
There is one other feature on the site that I really like. It is called 'clixgrid' It is 12x12 grid. A standard member can click on 20 blocks each day. You could potentially earn anywhere from $0.01 to $5.00 from the block. I just discovered, so I have only done it a couple of times. So far, I havent gotten anything from it. If you dont earn anything, there is an ad instead. I never bother to look at the ads, so this is a quick process for me.
This is another site that you wont get rich off of. But I click on these ads as I am doing other things, so I feel like I am not wasting my time on the internet! I am currently up to $0.91. The minimum payout is $10. This is a site that you do not need a paypal account for! Each time you reach $10, a check will be mailed to you by the 10th of the following month.
The one downside I could find is the $3 processing fee for each check. You can change the amount of the check so that you dont have to lose 30% of your earnings, but then you get paid less freqently.
Check it out!
The ads you view usually pay $0.01 each. I have seen a few that pay $0.02. Once, I even had one that paid $0.05! That isnt a lot of money - but that reassures me that it is legitimate!
There is no 'minimum' number of ads. You simply have to check to see if there are any ads available. However, I have not had any problems with this. The first day, there were just over 30 ads that I could click on. Since then, there have been at least a couple every day.
The ads seem to be updated at various times. When I have a few minutes of time, I will check the site. Sometimes there is an ad or two that I havent clicked. Sometime there is nothing new. Either way, it only takes a couple of seconds to check.
There is one other feature on the site that I really like. It is called 'clixgrid' It is 12x12 grid. A standard member can click on 20 blocks each day. You could potentially earn anywhere from $0.01 to $5.00 from the block. I just discovered, so I have only done it a couple of times. So far, I havent gotten anything from it. If you dont earn anything, there is an ad instead. I never bother to look at the ads, so this is a quick process for me.
This is another site that you wont get rich off of. But I click on these ads as I am doing other things, so I feel like I am not wasting my time on the internet! I am currently up to $0.91. The minimum payout is $10. This is a site that you do not need a paypal account for! Each time you reach $10, a check will be mailed to you by the 10th of the following month.
The one downside I could find is the $3 processing fee for each check. You can change the amount of the check so that you dont have to lose 30% of your earnings, but then you get paid less freqently.
Check it out!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Not Always About the Money
If there is one thing that I have learned in my life while trying to be frugal: It isnt always about the money! The money doesnt have to be the end result of everything. The cheapest price isnt always the right choice. So I have taken that and applied it to my online endeavors.
I continue my blog on Xanga, even though it isnt making a lot of money for me. I have developed some amazing friends on there. I wouldnt give them up for anything! They bring me things that money cant.
Another great thing that I have discovered about the internet is you dont have to do anything without being rewarded! How many web searches does the average person do each day or each week? I know that I do far less than most people, and I still tend to do at least one per day!
A few months ago, I was informed about a new (to me) search engine. It is called Swagbucks. You go there to do your searches just like you would use any other search engine. The only difference is that they sometimes give you a 'swagbuck' or two.
The swagbucks can then be used to get various prizes. You can get books and electronics. Trading cards or video games. There is even a program to get airline miles for your frequent flyer program. Right now they are running a special on the $5 Amazon gift card - only 45 swagbucks. That way you can get anything you want!
I am saving up to get some Xbox live points for Jim. He uses them to download add-ons to different games. This is something that we use anyway - and normally pay for. Why not get them for free?
I will admit that this is not the best search engine out there. I would say that 95% of the time I get what I am looking for. Occasionally, I have to head over to Google.
So far, Jim and I have accumulated 92 swagbucks for doing the things we would normally be doing anyway! So we will ultimately save money just by doing the same things. Cant get much better than that!
I continue my blog on Xanga, even though it isnt making a lot of money for me. I have developed some amazing friends on there. I wouldnt give them up for anything! They bring me things that money cant.
Another great thing that I have discovered about the internet is you dont have to do anything without being rewarded! How many web searches does the average person do each day or each week? I know that I do far less than most people, and I still tend to do at least one per day!
A few months ago, I was informed about a new (to me) search engine. It is called Swagbucks. You go there to do your searches just like you would use any other search engine. The only difference is that they sometimes give you a 'swagbuck' or two.
The swagbucks can then be used to get various prizes. You can get books and electronics. Trading cards or video games. There is even a program to get airline miles for your frequent flyer program. Right now they are running a special on the $5 Amazon gift card - only 45 swagbucks. That way you can get anything you want!
I am saving up to get some Xbox live points for Jim. He uses them to download add-ons to different games. This is something that we use anyway - and normally pay for. Why not get them for free?
I will admit that this is not the best search engine out there. I would say that 95% of the time I get what I am looking for. Occasionally, I have to head over to Google.
So far, Jim and I have accumulated 92 swagbucks for doing the things we would normally be doing anyway! So we will ultimately save money just by doing the same things. Cant get much better than that!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Failure: Paidmailz
The last few days I have really been working on beefing up my PTC sites. I know that they all take a while to earn anything on. I figure if I keep clicking on all of them, I might get a decent sum one of these months!
I am always getting the names of different sites from various people. Unfortunately, I dont always know these people so I just have to have blind trust. That has officially bitten me in the butt for the first time!
Yesterday, I signed up for Paidmailz. Almost immediately after, the computer started acting goofy. There was an 'antivirus software' that it kept trying to get me to download. I couldnt close that 'trial' program. Before long, there was a huge warning replacing the picture on the desktop. Not long after, I couldnt do anything with the computer!
(Thankfully it is not my home computer. It will be fixed and everything will be ok.)
This is my warning: Dont go to the paidmailz website! (I wont link it so that you dont accidently click on it.) Im dont know anything else about it. I dont know if others have had this problem or not. Im not willing to risk it again when there are so many other good options out there!
I am always getting the names of different sites from various people. Unfortunately, I dont always know these people so I just have to have blind trust. That has officially bitten me in the butt for the first time!
Yesterday, I signed up for Paidmailz. Almost immediately after, the computer started acting goofy. There was an 'antivirus software' that it kept trying to get me to download. I couldnt close that 'trial' program. Before long, there was a huge warning replacing the picture on the desktop. Not long after, I couldnt do anything with the computer!
(Thankfully it is not my home computer. It will be fixed and everything will be ok.)
This is my warning: Dont go to the paidmailz website! (I wont link it so that you dont accidently click on it.) Im dont know anything else about it. I dont know if others have had this problem or not. Im not willing to risk it again when there are so many other good options out there!
Monday, June 1, 2009
MyLot Payout
The month of May is officially over. My total earnings for May totalled $56.72. I should be paid by the 15th of June!
Even more exciting is that I already have $16 in earnings for the month of June! The tasks are really paying out!
I can really forsee myLot paying me close to $100 each month. It takes a little bit of effort. Not too bad from the comfort of my own couch though!
Jim has made an agreement with me. We will both come up with half of the money towards the new camera we want. It shouldnt take me long at this rate on myLot! That may not help me in my desire be pay off debt before we have kids. But it will definitely make us both happy. I am doing far better than I ever dreamed on myLot so I think it is worth the camera reward!
Even more exciting is that I already have $16 in earnings for the month of June! The tasks are really paying out!
I can really forsee myLot paying me close to $100 each month. It takes a little bit of effort. Not too bad from the comfort of my own couch though!
Jim has made an agreement with me. We will both come up with half of the money towards the new camera we want. It shouldnt take me long at this rate on myLot! That may not help me in my desire be pay off debt before we have kids. But it will definitely make us both happy. I am doing far better than I ever dreamed on myLot so I think it is worth the camera reward!
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