On Saturday, I got an email from MyLot. It asked me to fill out a W-9 before my earning from last month would be released.
Everything in the email appeared to be legitimate to me. I was still hesitant, though. They would have my full name - which they obviously already knew because they used it in the email! - along with my address and social security number. MyLot has proven to be a trustworthy site. As long as they were the ones receiving the information, I didnt mind supplying it. I just wanted to make sure.
I sent a message to a friend on myLot. She lives in Italy, so I wasnt sure if she would know anything about it or not. She didn't and had never seen any discussions about it. So she asked another friend of hers who is an American. They had never heard of it either!
So then a discussion was started. It was labeled as a possible scam for phishing. There were tons and tons of responses. There were a few people who said that they had filled out W-9's for myLot previously. Most of the people said they were 100% certain it was a scam.
They were wrong. I contacted myLot through its site. I quickly got a response indicating that it was indeed legitimate. They were requesting the form because of my earnings. In order to send out a 1099 if my earnings are over $600, they need the information! Because my earnings were just over $115, it will be easy for me to reach the $600 mark this year.
I wasn't too worried at first. However, as soon as I started reading some of the other responses to the discussion and started getting worried. Did someone have access to my information? Did they know my passwords? What exactly was going on!
Im glad that I didnt jump to conclusions. I dont regret asking for advice and finding out that it was legitimate - I still dont want my information in the wrong hands! However, I do feel bad for all of the rumors that have started because of a legitimate request! Hopefully I can avoid that in the future
I am relieved that everything is well. And I should be getting my $115 soon!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Opportunity
Since I wrote about my job situation last month, I have had a lot of time to think. I am thrilled with the way things are turning out.
I have a week left at this job. I do not have another job lined up yet. I am not at all worried about it! I will be filing for unemployment. I also learned that I will probably be able to continue to work some hours doing security - which I have been doing regularly for the last year. With these 2 things combined, my income will not change! We wont be cash strapped and we wont be dipping hardcore into our savings.
That said, we will probably be able to save more! I will no longer be driving 35 miles each way to work. That will save tons of money on gas. My car insurance will drop significantly because I wont be driving nearly as much. In fact, I expect I will get a refund for the current premium and the next one will be less! Those 2 things alone will make a huge difference.
I am expecting another payment from myLot in the next few days. It isnt nearly as much as I had hoped at one time, but I stopped doing as many tasks a little over halfway through the month. I havent earned a lot this month, but I know that the earnings will only continue to increase. Without a job, I can spend more time working on tasks to make a decent amount of money there.
I have also been working on a project to make money by selling goods. I will post more on that later - hopefully soon!
So, there is the potential to have more money coming in than I do working full time! That is exciting to me, I never would have expected that!
The other thing that I will be concentrating on is the money going out. With more time at home, I will have more time to prepare meals. I plan to keep track of how much I am spending on different things. I want to reduce the money we spend on food. Not because we have to, but because it is always nice to have that extra money. I was just recently introduced to 2 websites that I think will be a huge help. $5 Dinners and A Year of Slow Cooking. I have found some great recipes and tips on both websites. I am excited to try them out!
I also think that it will help me with my weight and health goals. They have really been pushed to the wayside lately. I want to change that. Having time to focus on me will be a huge help!
Of course, I also have plans to get a lot of things done around the house. We have started to accumulate junk. That needs to go. There is some yard work that desperately needs done. There are some things that I need to get done around Mom's house as well. This will give me a chance to do those things.
Although I was some what nervous and very frustrated at first, Im not anymore. What originally seemed like a failure, a roadblock, is now a great opportunity. I know that things will turn out fantastically because opportunities allow us to make changes. I am going to make the changes that make my life turn out the best way possible.
I have a week left at this job. I do not have another job lined up yet. I am not at all worried about it! I will be filing for unemployment. I also learned that I will probably be able to continue to work some hours doing security - which I have been doing regularly for the last year. With these 2 things combined, my income will not change! We wont be cash strapped and we wont be dipping hardcore into our savings.
That said, we will probably be able to save more! I will no longer be driving 35 miles each way to work. That will save tons of money on gas. My car insurance will drop significantly because I wont be driving nearly as much. In fact, I expect I will get a refund for the current premium and the next one will be less! Those 2 things alone will make a huge difference.
I am expecting another payment from myLot in the next few days. It isnt nearly as much as I had hoped at one time, but I stopped doing as many tasks a little over halfway through the month. I havent earned a lot this month, but I know that the earnings will only continue to increase. Without a job, I can spend more time working on tasks to make a decent amount of money there.
I have also been working on a project to make money by selling goods. I will post more on that later - hopefully soon!
So, there is the potential to have more money coming in than I do working full time! That is exciting to me, I never would have expected that!
The other thing that I will be concentrating on is the money going out. With more time at home, I will have more time to prepare meals. I plan to keep track of how much I am spending on different things. I want to reduce the money we spend on food. Not because we have to, but because it is always nice to have that extra money. I was just recently introduced to 2 websites that I think will be a huge help. $5 Dinners and A Year of Slow Cooking. I have found some great recipes and tips on both websites. I am excited to try them out!
I also think that it will help me with my weight and health goals. They have really been pushed to the wayside lately. I want to change that. Having time to focus on me will be a huge help!
Of course, I also have plans to get a lot of things done around the house. We have started to accumulate junk. That needs to go. There is some yard work that desperately needs done. There are some things that I need to get done around Mom's house as well. This will give me a chance to do those things.
Although I was some what nervous and very frustrated at first, Im not anymore. What originally seemed like a failure, a roadblock, is now a great opportunity. I know that things will turn out fantastically because opportunities allow us to make changes. I am going to make the changes that make my life turn out the best way possible.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Paid: Inbox Dollars
I got home yesterday expecting to get a paycheck in the mail from my part time job. (I did find that!) What I didnt expect was a check from Inbox Dollars.
In May, I had requested payment. Inbox Dollars pays all of their members via check. I assume it is to help keep the fraud down. They also require a waiting period before the checks are mailed. Because I requested my check in May, the waiting period wasthe month of June. At the beginning of July, the checks were printed and mailed.
I got mine yesterday. The total was $30.36. Not a lot of money - but I will take anything I can get!
One of the benefits of having gotten your first payment is a 'Gold Membership'. It doesnt cost you anything - you get it automatically for having recieved your first payment. When people sign up for Inbox Dollars without listing a referrer, they are randomly assigned to a Gold Member. My earnings could increase with each of those members - all for doing nothing extra!
So far, I have only $3.30 towards my next payment. But I will get there again. And when I do, I will have another check for my efforts!
Check it out for yourself here.
In May, I had requested payment. Inbox Dollars pays all of their members via check. I assume it is to help keep the fraud down. They also require a waiting period before the checks are mailed. Because I requested my check in May, the waiting period wasthe month of June. At the beginning of July, the checks were printed and mailed.
I got mine yesterday. The total was $30.36. Not a lot of money - but I will take anything I can get!
One of the benefits of having gotten your first payment is a 'Gold Membership'. It doesnt cost you anything - you get it automatically for having recieved your first payment. When people sign up for Inbox Dollars without listing a referrer, they are randomly assigned to a Gold Member. My earnings could increase with each of those members - all for doing nothing extra!
So far, I have only $3.30 towards my next payment. But I will get there again. And when I do, I will have another check for my efforts!
Check it out for yourself here.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Uncertainty
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.
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.
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.
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