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!