Happy Holidays

With tomorrow being Christmas, and New Year's being soon after, we're clearly in the midst of the holiday season. On that note, I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays and all the cheerfulness they bring. People usually associate this time of year with spending money, but there are plenty of hidden opportunities to make money as well. Have no doubt, I'll be telling you about all of those new opportunities so together we can make more money in the new year.
Of course, that doesn't mean that we won't make the most of the last few days of 2008! Be on the lookout for a few posts before this year is over.

Til then, enjoy your holidays :]

Make More Money with myLot

So have you signed up for myLot but you’re finding that your earnings aren’t going as fast as you’d like them too? Not to worry, there are plenty of things you can do to start earning money faster. Here are just a couple to get you started.

As you should know, one way to make money on myLot is writing posts that get a lot of replies. If you find you’re only making a few cents a day, perhaps it would help to start more posts. I find it helpful to write 10-15 short conversation starters every day. Not only will this get you a lot of replies, but it will also increase your myLot presence. The more well known you become, the more likely people will be to respond to your posts and look at your profile (on which you can place some money making referral links ;-) ). This will make you more money, not only through myLot but also with your referral links.

You can also earn some extra money from referrals if you answer posts relating to earning money. If you find someone looking for a way to earn money online, you can refer them to your favorite money making sites. Telling them about your personal success with the site will make it much more appealing.

Gaining trust and presence within the myLot community is one of the best ways to make more money. One way to gain trust and popularity is by responding when people answer your questions. Thank them for their contribution and for taking the time to answer. They, in turn, will appreciate the gesture and be more likely to reply to your posts in the future.

Remember, myLot is about more than just earning money. It’s also about participating and enjoying the community. Keeping that in mind is probably one of the best things you can to benefit from your myLot experience.

P.S. If you’ve never heard of myLot, you can read my post about it here.

Get Free Stuff to Host Parties

HouseParty is a website that gives you free stuff to host an awesome party for your friends. In exchange, you may be asked to complete a survey, review the products you received and/or take pictures of your party. You will get enough stuff for you and your friends to share, which will make your “house party” fun for you AND your friends.

So, how can they afford to give you free stuff when you’re not doing much in return? Well basically, it’s a form of advertising. By giving you free stuff, they’re also getting the message out about their product or service. Hopefully, people will connect their product with the awesome time they had at the party. This helps the company to generate more sales.

But of course, you’re more interested in how you will benefit. Well, free stuff is always nice. But it’s not just any free stuff; it’s really cool free stuff. Some of their recent parties include a “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” party and an X-box game/movie themed party. If you like having a good time with your friends, and you like getting free stuff then this is definitely something you should look into. Check it out here.

Fun Paid Surveys with Choozz

Choozz is a cool survey site that’s looking for the opinions of teenagers and young adults (13+). This site offers surveys about the latest games, music, and movies with a fun spin. The surveys are high quality and most will offer an upfront payment for completing them. All of the surveys also offer an instant win game, and you’re guaranteed to win something each time. You can win either sweepstakes entries, cash, and prizes.
You should qualify for the surveys pretty often and they’re usually short, easy, and fun. Their site says:

“By registering with Choozz and taking surveys, you help us provide high-quality research that shapes the world of music, movies and games. In return, you become an influential member of a global community.
Simply by giving your opinion in online surveys, you can:
Win great prizes and earn cash rewards
Influence music, games, films, business, governments and others
See, hear and play new products before they hit the market
Express your views

Register now- it’s free of charge, simple and there are no strings attached.”

Check it out here.

Paid Product Testing: GREAT Oppotunity

Hey guys! Sorry for the long absence. I’ve been busy studying and I was working on writing for Trivia Wars over the past few days. (I got an assignment from them worth $70!) Hopefully, you’ve been keeping up with all of your money making sites like I’ve been trying to.
If you’re looking for more sites to earn some extra money, I promise more will be coming over the next few days. Just keep checking back for something new.

Product testing is a fun and easy way to make some extra money. If you don’t know what product testing is, it works along the same lines as a survey that asks your opinion about a product. The only difference is you receive an actual product to test yourself. So basically, you get paid AND you get a free product. You have nothing to lose!

The hard part of product testing is finding a company that actually delivers. Many “product testing” companies require hidden fees or aren’t product testing companies at all! So how can you tell which sites are legit? Well I’ll do my best to help. Here’s a few real and trusted product testing sites.

Market Reader Pro

This site is 100% free, 100% legit and 100% spam free. You take surveys on their site to find out if you qualify to test the products they’re offering. If you qualify, they send you the product free of charge. After you test the product, you simply complete an online survey and wait for your payment. You will always know the product being tested (and usually the reward amount) before taking the survey, so you won’t get stuck with something you don’t want. They have a specific part of the site for teens.

BzzAgent

The goal of this site is to help companies generate “buzz”. After you receive a product, you’re encouraged to share your opinions with friends and family. Then you tell BzzAgent a little about the buzz you generated and they reward you for it. With this site, the rewards aren’t cash but you can win prizes. You can also increase your status which allows you to sign up for new product tests before other members as well as other perks. This site is open to anyone 13+.

Product testing services

I haven’t received any products from this site yet, but it can’t hurt to try it. Their site says: “It is free to join the Product Testing Services web panel. You will have opportunities to receive products, cash or other incentives in exchange for your participation in online surveys. It is free to join our panel. Plus, you will have your chance to help companies create better and more useful products for yourself and others.”

These are just a few of many products testing sites that I’ve seen and I’ll be writing about many more in the future. Also, if you’ve signed up for any survey sites you also have a chance of getting a product to test. My first product test was from a survey about the types of drinks I liked. At the end, I was asked if I would like to test a new Dr. Pepper product. I received the product a few days later (it was delicious) along with some simple instructions. So I got to try an awesome product AND I got paid for both surveys (the first one, and a later survey about how I liked the product). Product testing is fun, easy and you get paid to get free stuff.

Sorry Guys

Hey guys! Sorry for the long absence. I’ve been busy studying and I was working on writing for Trivia Wars over the past few days. (I got an assignment from them worth $70!) Hopefully, you’ve been keeping up with all of your money making sites like I’ve been trying to.

If you’re looking for more sites to earn some extra money, I promise more will be coming over the next few days. Just keep checking back for something new.

Make Money Taking Surveys with Focus Line

I found another awesome survey site called Focus Line Surveys. It's very similar to Surveyhead, which explains why its awesome. If you haven't heard of Surveyhead, read my post about it here. I think the two sites might be run by the same company. If not, then Focus Line must have stolen Surveyhead's layout.

Anyways, like Surveyhead, this site offers you a free $5 for signing up. You also get $.50 each for the three profile surveys. This puts you $6.50 closer to the payout, which is (like Surveyhead) $25. I'm assuming the surveys come just as often, possibly even the same surveys. You can earn the cash out with both pretty quickly.

Payment is made via Paypal a few days after you request payment. As of now, there is no referral program, but it's still a good paying survey site. Surveyhead and Focus Line are both great.

Get Paid to Test Software with uTest

Would you consider yourself to be pretty tech and internet savvy? Ever been called a computer geek or nerd? If you can say yes to either one of those questions (or both) then you might be interested in a company called uTest. The concept is simple; you test, and they pay.

uTest pays you for finding bugs and errors in software and computer programs. Most of the software is web-based so it will not require you to download anything to your computer. You get paid for each bug you submit. You can even make money with very minimal computer knowledge.

uTest pays via Paypal at the end of each month. The pay rates are pretty generous too (I made $17 for submitting 4 bugs :]). If it sounds like something you might be interested in, check it out here.

Making Money Online: Is It Really Possible?

Many people have doubts that you can actually make a decent amount of money online. But with the right sites and a bit of motivation, it's quite achievable. I think the first step is finding out what works for you. It might take a week or two, but it'll be well worth it. If you're still having trouble believing you can make money online, consider this:

In less than a month I recieved a little over $60 in my Paypal account (which was then transferd to my bank account). I also recieved about $10 in checks, and I have another $15 in checks on the way in the mail. There's also another $30 or so that I should be recieving probably before then end of the month. So if you do the math, that's about $115 in a month which is especially nice as the holiday season approaches.

Still having doubts? If I can do it, I'm sure anyone can. I'm not saying it will be easy at first; it will take a bit of work, of course. But an extra $100+ is definately worth a few hours of easy work, at least in my opinion.

If you're having trouble getting started, feel free to leave me a comment or email me.

How To Get More Referrals

If you’ve signed up for some of the sites that offer referral programs, you’re probably wondering how the heck you’re supposed to get referrals for them. Referrals are a great way to increase you earnings without doing much work. You don’t even have to be very active to make money, if you have enough active referrals. But obviously, you can’t make money from referrals if you can’t get any. I’ve come up with a list of ways to get more referrals and improve your referral earnings.

Invite family and friends. This is probably the most obvious one. Inviting family might be rather iffy, because most sites won’t allow more than one user with the same physical or IP address. Friends are easier though. If you tell your friends about a cool way you found to make money, most of them will probably want to check it out. This is especially true if you can show them the results (money or prizes) that you’ve gotten from it.

Link together your profiles. For any site that gives you a personal profile that other users can see, you might want to add your referral links and banners. This is especially effective for sites where the people who view your profile will have similar interests (Mylot, Associated Content, etc.)

Join referral exchange sites. These are sites that allow you to trade referrals with other people. You sign up to a site for someone, and in exchange they sign up for one of your sites. This is still somewhat iffy. I’m checking out a few referral exchange sites, and if I find a good one I’ll let you guys know.
SearchBigDaddy: This isn’t exactly a referral exchange site, but it seems interesting. This is another site that “rewards” you for searching, but not with money or prizes. Your reward is being able to list your links in their search results. When you sign up, you also receive a free top keyword position. With this, you can have the site of your choice appear at the top of their listing for whatever keyword you choose. The earlier you join, the more likely you are to get a good, highly searched keyword. The whole system is somewhat confusing, but it can’t hurt to have a few more links out there, right? Who knows, this might be the next Google ;]

Post on message board and forums. You can add your referral links and banners to your signature on various message boards. This is a great way to get referrals, since many people will see your posts if you’re an active forum member.

Getting referrals can definitely be a challenge, but it is worth it. Referrals are a near invaluable resource. Knowing this, you should treat them as such. Many sites will automatically add referrals to your friends list. Leave them a friendly message, and thank them for using your link. Let them know that you’re willing to help them get started. This will also increase the chances that they remain an active member. You may also want to ask them how they found your link; this will help you to find which methods are most effective for getting referrals.
On this note, I’d like to thank everyone who has signed up using one of my referral links. I plan to offer some sort of contest/raffle soon for those who have signed up with my referral link for more than one site. Stay tuned for more information.

Get Paid To Socialize with MyLot

Do you enjoy talking to people with similar interests and hobbies? Do you like meeting new, fun people online? More importantly, would you like to get paid for it? If the answer is yes, you might want to consider signing up for MyLot. With MyLot, you’ll earn cash for simply talking to other people on message board threads.
You’ll also get paid for starting your own threads AND for referring your friends to join you. More friends will translate to more posting, which translates to more money. There’s no way you can go wrong. When signing up for MyLot, you are asked to add some of your interests to your profile. The more you add, the better.
And don’t worry, there’s no need to have intelligent, in-depth conversations to make money. You get paid per post, no matter the length, as long as you don’t spam of course. Most people on MyLot are there for fun, friends and a few extra bucks.
Realistically, you won’t become a millionaire from MyLot. You’ll probably earn more money from the other programs you’re (hopefully) participating in. But MyLot is definitely a fun and easy way to earn another $10 - $20 each month. That’s $120 - $240 each year, which is definitely a nice bonus.
If you want to check it out, sign up here.

Making a Budget and Sticking To It

As much as some may hate to admit it, saving money is a HUGE part of making money. Like they say, a penny saved is a penny earned. It may be cliche, but it's true as well. However, if you're like some people I know, you want to spend money the second you earn it. The thrill of having the money can only be beat by the thrill of spending it. Not that this is bad necessarily... we all know buying new things can be very fun.


For a while, I was the exact opposite. I hated spending money, unless I really needed to. I wasn't really making much, so I figured I should save what little I did have. But then I ended up with money sitting around doing nothing, while I wasn't being able to buy the things I wanted. I began to wonder, "What's the use of having money if I'm not going to spend it?" Over time I figured out that the best way to manage money was somewhere in the middle: a combination of spending and saving along with some simple cost cutting methods.


If you've been following the organization tips outlined here, or doing somthing similar, you're already on the right track. You cannot possibly manage your money if you're not keeping track of it. There are a few important values to consider when deciding how and when to spend your money:


How much you have. Of course, you don't want to go out spending more than you have to begin with. Knowing this, it is very important to know how much you have at all time. While knowing about how much you have can be nice, knowing exactly how much is much better. You could be greatly over or underestimating your balance. For example, I went through all of last week believing I had ten dollars less than I actually did. Of course it was a pleasant surprise to find 10 extra dollars, I was also rather frustrated to know that there was 10 dollars that could had been used for something besides just sitting around unused.


How much you want to spend. Now I don't mean you should go out and spend all your money once you hit this number. However, it is convenient to know how much you need for the things you want. Not all of these have to be set for the same length of time. In fact, I believe it is better if they aren't. Look at it this way. You can spend months saving up for everything you want, go out and buy them (hopefully not spending all of your money), and then have nothing left to save up for afterwards. Alternately, you can have a variety of short and long term goals. You will save up for one thing, buy it and then start saving for the next. Each item you buy is a measure of your success and motivation to keep going. Also, if you decide you want something else then you can just add it to your list instead of adding it to a neverending grand total of money you need. Personally, I would prefer one thing from my list every couple of weeks than everything in a few months. But of course, it's up to you.

Either way, you should never ever EVER spend all of your money at once. I know it may be tempting once you have just enough to go out and buy what you want. A part of budgeting is controlling this impulse. Try to wait until you have a bit more than you need before you spend money.

Besides the things you want to buy, you should also remember to count any other costs. If you buy your own lunches at school, don't forget to count the cost of lunch each week. Also make note of any monthly subscription fees (iTunes, Netflix etc.).


How much you want to (ahem, have to) save. As I said earlier, you will absolutely have to save some of your money. There are two main ways to do this; by percentage or by dollar amount. That is to say, you can either save x% of the money you make or make sure that you always have x dollars set aside. If you're going with the second option, you may want to increase the amount as your earnings increase. Now I know some of you are thinking, "What's the use of having money if you aren't going to spend it?", like I thought earlier. Well, it's never a good idea to be completely without money. If nothing else, think of this as your emergency money. You never need to worry about needing money for last minute necessary purchases. Saving is also a good habit to get into, since you'll be doing it for the rest of your life ;)


How much you expect to earn. This will be either the simplest or most complicated number you have to keep track of, depending on your spending and earning habits. It will probably also be the one you update most often. The calculations are simple enough, at least. Just add up all the earnings you have "pending" or "processing". This includes checks that are on the way, Paypal and bank deposits that are pending as well as other expected earnings. For example, if you submitted 5 articles to Associated Content last week, you could add another $15+ to your expected earnings.



The basis of budgeting is balancing these numbers. Ideally, your projected earnings will be enough to cover your expenses. This is definitely not always the case, especially not when you're just starting off. Knowing this, you want to make sure you're always getting the most for your money. I'll provide some tips for this later. For now, be sure to follow these tips to better manage your money.

Another Way to Earn Money by Searching

If you liked the program I wrote about the other day, called Scour then I’m sure you’ll like this as well. If you didn’t see that post, Scour is a program that rewards you for searching the web through their website. For more detail read the post here. Anyways, I’ve found a similar program called SwagBucks. By searching with SwagBucks, you receive well…Swag Bucks. You can then use these to buy a variety of items ranging from gift cards to video games and consoles to guitars and drum sets. The search results are powered by Google and Ask.com.
There is no voting and commenting on results like with Scour, but Swag Bucks are offered in higher denominations than Scour points are. Rather than a single point per action, you can receive up to 100 Swag Bucks in a single search. Each Swag Buck you win also enters you into a contest to win a new Nintendo Wii. They also have a referral program that allows you to receive matching Swag Bucks (you receive a Swag Buck for each one they earn) up to 100 Swag Bucks per referral. You can also earn Swag Bucks by turning in old cell phones and mp3 players or by buying from SwagBucks’ partners.
SwagBucks is a pretty cool site, and a nice supplement (or alternative) to Scour. Try them both, and see which one you like!

P.S. SwagBucks is partnered with many other sites (such as WWE, Avenged Sevenfold, etc.). Searching these sites with your SwagBucks account will also earn you Swag Bucks.

Win AWESOME Prizes with PayByOffers

The site I mentioned at the end of my post yesterday has got to be one of the coolest sites ever. It’s called PayByOffers, and it’s another site where you earn spendable points. What makes this site special is the amount and variety of prizes they offer. There’s Paypal cash, of course. There are also video games, movies, website hosting, online game cards, and all sorts of gift cards. As if that isn’t enough, PayByOffers will also buy almost ANYTHING for you, from eBay or another site. They do have some offers that require a credit card/ purchase, but there’s also plenty of 100% free offers that can rack up points. Fast.
You can also get paid for every person that you refer to the site, and every person that they refer, AND every person that they refer. It’s a three tier referral program. They’re even holding a referral contest now in which the top prize is $500. Even if you don’t think you’ll achieve that many referrals, this site is worth joining just for the awesome prizes. You can earn points by taking surveys and signing up for newsletters and other free offers. For the few minutes you spend doing that, you get almost anything you want FREE. The site is relatively new, but has already given out tons of money in cash and prizes. If you want your share then sign up here.

P.S. They also provide these really cool pre-made buttons and banners for referring people. Since the site is pretty new, try to get the word out and you can rack up the points from your referrals.

Two Interesting New Oppotunities

Alright, these next two sites (or at least the first one) may seem rather childish. But bear with me because they can actually pay off in the long run.

The first site is a bit strange. Perhaps you remember reading those “Weekly Reader” magazines in elementary school. They covered current events, as well as science, technology and other topics. Anyways, this website, WRINSIDERS, is run by the publishers of that magazine. You earn points by taking quizzes, playing games and filling out surveys. It’s pretty easy to earn points on the site too. Without any real effort, I made over 6k in my first few days.
The downside of this site is HOW you get to spend your points. There are really only a few options. You use the points to “buy” sweepstakes entries for 10 points each. The sweepstakes are for things like gift cards, PS3’s and video games. They just recently added auctions in which you bid points for various items. You can also use them to “buy” coupons and special promotions for your favorite stores/items. The final way in which you can use your points is to purchase items for your virtual room, but if you’re on this site you’re probably more interested in the other two. It might not be the most “exciting” opportunity out there, but if you’re feeling lucky then check it out here.

Now, one of WRINSIDERS’ partner sites is called SayNation. Earning points on this site is MUCH more rewarding. The majority of the points you earn here will be from surveys. Unlike other survey sites, these are specifically aimed at a younger crowd. You shouldn’t have any trouble qualifying for most of them. Most surveys will earn you 1k – 3k points. These points can then be used to buy real world items and money. Not sweepstakes entries. You actually BUY the items. 29k gets you $25 via PayPal and with the number and value of surveys they offer, it shouldn’t take you too long. They also offer gift cards, books, movies, video games and other cool stuff. This site also is specifically aimed at teens. Also, when you refer someone you BOTH get points for it. This is a fun site that is DEFINITELY worth looking into, so check it out here. (If you would like to credit me for your referral so we can both get some extra points, my referral code is 3135294545.)

I also found another site that offers really cool cash and prizes that you buy with points. I’m checking it out at the moment, and if it’s good I’ll tell you guys about it sometime this week.

Get Paid to Write Questions for Trivia Wars

Are you a fan of shows like Jeopardy and Trivial Pursuit? If so, then you might just be interesting in writing questions for Trivia Wars. Trivia Wars is a website that offers trivia games for nearly every subject imaginable. They’ll pay you to submit high quality trivia questions, so they can keep their site running.
The first step in working for this site is of course registering. When you go to register, you’ll get the option to become a Trivia Wars Writer. Make sure to check the box, and fill in all of the required information (availability, areas of knowledge, etc). After this, you’ll have to play around 20 games of Trivia Wars to get the hang of the type of questions their interested in.
Then they ask that you submit a sample of your work; 5 questions about a single topic. The process might sound long and tedious but you should be able to finish all of this in about 30 minutes. They should get back to you in a few days.
They’ll pay you .35 to .45 cents per question, more or less. They claim you can make $10- 17 per hour writing questions for them, so it can be very profitable. Even working only 1 hour for 5 days a week would give you an extra $50 each week. They pay by check, which are mailed monthly I believe. If you think this is something you’d be interested in, check it out here.

Earn Money for Searching the Web

Everyone uses Google, Ask.com or some other search engine to find what they’re looking for online. If you’re a student, you probably have to search the web often for research. Since searching the web is something you do often anyways, why not get paid for it?
With Scour, that’s exactly what happens. You get PAID to search the web, like you normally do. The search results are really good too; they combine top results from Google, Yahoo and Windows Live Search. It’s not just website results either. You can also search for images and video.
Now here’s how the reward works. You receive points for searching and also for voting and commenting on search results. They also have a referral program that allows you to receive a whopping 25% of the points your referrals make. So if you refer a few friends who search regularly, you’ll be racking up the points in no time at all.
Once you accumulate enough points, you can cash them in for a $25 prepaid Visa gift card or money through Paypal. It may not sound like much, but that’s $25 more than you would normally earn for searching the web. It’s definitely worth looking into, so check it out here.

Get Paid for Making Mobile Content with Playscreen

Ever wish you could make your own ringtones, wallpapers and videos for your cell phone? Well now you can! Not only can you make them, but you can also get paid for them! With Playscreen (formerly known as MyNuMo), you can upload and create pictures, audio etc. easily through their built in tools.
From there you can edit your uploaded content and add keywords so people can find it easily. After that, it's simple. Your submission will be reviewed and added to the site, and from there anyone can buy it. They also provide cool promoting tools and widgets so you can advertise on other sites.
Playscreen pays you via PayPal when you earn over $10, which shouldn't be too hard depending on how hard you try. You'll make 20% of each sell as pure profit. That's more than most music artists recieve from a purchase of their ringtones. And even though you're only making 20%, $10 isn't hard to achieve at all. For example, if you're selling wallpaperss you'll recieve 20% of $2 or $0.40. That means after just 25 sales, you'll be ready to cash out!
That's not even counting videos, ringtones and anything else you might want to sell through Playscreen. This is definately a cool and unique way to make some extra cash without a lot of extra effort on your part. Even if you don't think you'll be good at it, it's definately worth checking out!

Make Money Taking Surveys with Surveyhead

This is probably one of my favorite survey sites that I’ve tried so far. I haven’t been paid by them yet, but I’ve already accumulated over $14. They offer surveys far more often than most of the other sites I’ve been using, and they pay through Paypal so it will be much faster than having to wait around for a check. One of the few things I dislike about this site is that you have to wait for quite a bit for your earning to actually be credited to your account. They maintain a status of “Pending” until someone verifies them. But, I think it’s well worth the money, especially since you’re saving the time most sites would take to send a check (4-6 weeks). The surveys offered are pretty good as well. They’re usually about TV, movies, video games etc. and you might get to see some exclusive previews.
Bottom line is, I strongly suggest that you check Surveyhead out. (It’s open to anyone over 14).

Proof of Payment from AC

Associated Content has some SERIOUSLY speedy payments. It's insane. All three of those, I recieved the day after I confirmed them on AC. So if you're looking for some quick cash AC is probably the way to go. If you haven't seen my post about it check it out here.

P.S. The Perks.com payment is from a survey site that I joined 4 days ago :]

Associated Content

Alright, I’ll be honest; originally I disliked Associated Content. But now that I’ve taken the time to try the site out, I think it’s a pretty good money making opportunity. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s similar to Constant Content (see my post about that here). You submit your writing to the site for money. There’s different aspects of AC, some better than others. Here’s the list:

Pros
- Guaranteed $3-$20 for each submission eligible for upfront payment.
- You can submit almost anything.
- Opportunity to make $1.50 per 1000 views of your articles.
- Various contests to earn extra money.
- Friendly community members on the forums.
- Frequent payments through PayPal (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays).
- “Calls for Content”; Requests for specific submissions for a set price.
Cons
- Limited ownership of submitted content.
- Somewhat strict submission guidelines.
- No way to set prices.

Overall, I think it’s something worth trying. If nothing else, submit your old homework assignments and essays (school is already a job, why not get paid for what you do).



EDIT: I've officially published my first AC article. It's just a homework assignment from a week or two ago, and I'm getting paid for it! It's only $4, but considering I would have had to do it anyways, I'm pretty excited. Check it out here.

Staying Organized

As promised, I’ve come up with a list of organizational skills and techniques that can actually significantly improve your money making capability. On top of that, you’ll be able to keep track of the money you earn (and spend). These habits will help you in the long term too, as you’ll use them to manage your finances for the rest of your life.

Dedicate a binder or folder to your finances. Keep this binder somewhere safe, as you’ll be keeping some personal information in it. Be sure to keep some paper in it, as you’ll be writing down quite a few things (detailed later). You will want to have this binder with you whenever you sign up for something new, receive money or spend money.

Keep track of what you sign up for. This includes the email addresses, usernames and passwords that you use to sign up. You will most likely be signing up for more than one program, but what use is earning that money if you’ve forgotten your password or even the website itself? Also, if you forget that you’ve registered for a site, and attempt to sign up again with the same address then both of your accounts can be banned for fraudulent activity.

Make a daily or weekly schedule/routine. Chances are, you will have memberships with many different websites, with different jobs (reviewing, writing, surveys, etc.). If you want to be efficient with more than one site, it might be helpful to make a schedule. Allot yourself a certain amount of time for each website you’ve sign up for. It might also help to get into a routine. Something like: “At x time, check email for survey invitations/writing approvals/etc. After that, check traffic ratings on my y sites. Then, spend z time on each of a sites.” Once you get into the habit of following a routine, it will be almost second nature.

Make (realistic) goals for yourself. There are several ways to go about this. You can write down an amount of money that you can expect to earn for each of the programs you’ve signed up for. Then, you can work towards achieving those goals. Another way is to set a general goal, such as earning x dollars by next month or having a steady income of y dollars per month within z months.

Write down a list of things you would like to buy and their prices. This will add extra incentive to achieving those goals. Once you start earning money, you can divide the money evenly between the things you want, save up for one item first or split the money up by price or how much you want it.

Keep track of your money. Bank statements and other information regarding deposits and withdrawal into your account should be kept in this folder (You can clear these records every few months). This will allow you to keep track of how much money you have. You will also be able to see your progress towards your goal of financial independence.

Staying organized is not only beneficial, but crucial for financial success. Having one place to go to find ALL of your information is much better than flipping though websites and pages of email. If you don’t want to go trough the trouble of having a physical folder or binder to keep track of your information, you can store all of it in a Word document. However, computers can crash so I would recommend having a backup copy store elsewhere. Whichever way you choose to store and organize your information, it is VITAL that you do.

More Survey Taking Opportunities

I’ve been continuing my research of legitimate online survey sites that allow teens to register and I have found quite a few more. All of them are available to people 18 or over unless otherwise stated.

Greenfield Online
This site allows you to take surveys on popular teen products and trends, with the average survey paying $2 to $10. The referral program allows you to receive one dollar for each of your friends that registers and takes a survey. Greenfield pays through PayPal and the minimum amount to request a payment is $10.

NPD Online Research
This site is different. When you complete a survey, you are awarded a certain number of points. You can then play a game to earn more points. These points can be entered into sweepstakes and daily drawings for up to $5000 or prizes including plasma TV’s and gaming systems. It is also aimed specifically at teens.

TestSpin
With this site, your surveying efforts are awarded with Amazon Gift Cards, and you can cash out once you have accumulated $10 in rewards. They are currently implementing a program that allows you to be paid in other forms, including PayPal.

Focus Foward
This survey site pays you for taking surveys and sends you you a check when you request it (balance must be over $10)

You may be wondering why I'm posting so many survey sites. The reason is quite simple; the key to making money with surveys is to register for a variety of sites. Not all sites will provide the same number of surveys in a given time frame. Some might send a few each week, while others may only offer 1 or 2 per month. If you sign up for a few sites, say 5 or more, you should get a steady flow of survey invites and thus income. And just imagine reaching a 10 or 20 dollar payout limit with 5 different sites. That's $50 to $100 just for giving your opinion! Not to mention the various other money-making oppotunities I'll be providing for you. The oppotunities are endless, if you know where to look.

Online Surveys

A few friends of mine have asked about completing surveys online to earn money. This is something I am interested in but there are two major problems; A LOT of survey sites out there are scams, and A LOT of them require you to be 18 or older. However, after spending some time looking around today, I’ve found a couple of sites that actually pay, and will allow you to sign up under 18.

SurveySavvy
This site pays you for completing surveys, which are worth $2 to $20 dollars each. If you don’t qualify for a specific survey, you will be entered into a drawing for a $10 prize. SurveySavvy pays solely through checks as far as I know, so if you don’t have a bank account yet, you might want to talk to your parents again before signing up. SurveySavvy also pays you for referring your friends; you will receive $2 dollars for each survey you referral takes and $1 for each survey anyone that they refer takes as well.

(If you would like to credit me with a referral, use the sign up link here: SurveySavvy . I’d greatly appreciate it.)

Your2Cents4Teens
This site awards you $1 to $5 for each survey completed, which a specific portion of the site dedicated to teens. You are also awarded money simply for signing up and completing the initial survey. The downside to this is that it doesn’t seem survey opportunities are posted very often, so if you get one you should take it right away. This site has no referral program that I know of.

CashCrate
This site rewards you money for signing up and completing surveys as well as other offers. You might want to make a separate email account if you don’t want your main inbox collecting offers and such that require an email address. This site has a referral program that offers 20% of your referrals’ earning and 10% of their referrals’ earnings. You will also receive $3 when a referral makes over $10.

(If you would like to credit me with your sign up, register here: Cash Crate. Thank you if you do.)

These are just a few of the ones I found in my research; there are a few others. However, in order to provide only quality, reliable sites I want to take some extra time to check out the others. I go through the Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy and check various other trusted sources to verify the sites I provide are NOT scams. Keep checking back for more money making tips and opportunities.

Make Money Writing Reviews with Shared Reviews

A few days ago, I came across this site called Shared Reviews that pays you for writing reviews on products as well as for voting and commenting on the reviews of others. I like this site because it's very community focused, and encourages communication between members. In addition to meeting new people, you can write about almost any product and get information about the stuff you might want to buy with the money you make ;)
Currently, they are adding a lot of new features including contests that will win you $5-$25 as well as rewarding you for the types of reviews you write. Unfortunately, a lot of the new content and reward opportunities are unclear at the moment, so I can't go into detail. However, I CAN tell you that the site is definately worth checking out/joining. Shared Reviews is new, and already some of the top members have earned nearly $1000, and this is without all of the new programs they are adding.
SharedReviews has stated on their blog that the new program will include 3 random contests every week, with the payment given on the day the contest is won. Remember that how much you will make is based on how much you actively participate in the community and submit QUALITY reviews. If you're not too fond of writing, remember that the 10 minutes or so you spend on each review can end up in a nice pay out at the end of the month :)

If you enjoy this site, you might want to invite your friends as well. By having lots of friends on the site, you ensure votes for your reviews (and also have a good way to spend your votes) which is good for everyone. If you sign up and would like to add me, my username is Cheez.

The First Steps to Making Money Online

There are many scams that try to take advantage of people (especially young people) looking for ways to make money on the internet. These scams often advertise to make you hundreds or even thousands of dollars in no time and with minimal effort on your part. If you are serious about earning money online, understand that you won't make a fortune right away. You also won't make ANYTHING if you don't try.
Teens Can Earn Too! is here to tell you that you CAN earn money online with a little effort and some free time. Looking around the site, you will find many ways that you can earn money. A lot of the time you can get paid for things that you already do everyday.
Before getting started, make sure you have the motivation and dedication to work for your money. You can't expect to jump into the online money making field and expect to get rich instantly. With that in mind, I've come up with the following list of tips to help you get started.

Get a checking account, preferably one with a debit card. This will give you a place to store your money, as well as a way to spend it. Depending on where you live and how old you are, your first account may have to be linked to one of your parents' account. You will still have the same capabilities as an adult account (and you won't have to pay that pesky monthly service fee). Of course, if you plan on getting a checking account you'll need your parents' help anyways, unless you're over 18. Talk to your parents about it and be sure to do your research about the programs offered at your local bank (there's usually an account aimed at 13-17 year olds called High School or Student Checking). Remember, the more thorough and professional you are, the more impressed your parents will be and the more likely they will be to agree.

Sign up for PayPal or a similar service. Once you have a checking account, register for PayPal with your bank account or debit card. Don't worry, PayPal is extremly secure and they won't share your account information with anyone. PayPal will most likely be how you want to recieve your payments from most online sources, and you can transfer that money directly to your bank account. PayPal is also convenient if you plan on shopping online as well. If you can not sign up with PayPal, some sites will allow you to opt to recieve checks in the mail instead.

Decide how you want to earn your money. What type of online "job" are you looking for? How much time are you willing to spend working? How much money do you want to earn? These are all important factors in deciding what programs you want to use to earn your money. You can write articles, take pictures, complete surveys, review products, write and/or display ads etc. etc. There are so many options out there, but you have to find what's right for you. This blog is just starting, but I plan to include information about various money making oppotunities for teens. If you don't have anything in mind now, that's fine. Just keep checking back to my blog for new ideas.

After you have done these things, it will be time for some organization so you can keep track of you income and work more efficiently. Organization tips (including goal-setting, prioritizing, keeping records, scheduling ,etc.) will be covered in a seperate post soon. If you're serious about earning money, be on the lookout for it ;]

In the meantime, if you think you're ready to start making money, head over to the archives or use the search bar to find something specific.

Constant Content

There are many websites that offer to pay you for submitting your articles, tutorials and pictures. There are quite a few of these that I've tried with varying results, but I would have to say that Constant Content is by far my favorite. Unlike other sites, which pay you only a few bucks for that article you spent YOUR time on, Constant Content allows you to set your own prices.
You can choose whether you want to sell full rights (which pretty much gives the buyer full ownership of your writing) or usage rights, which allows the buyer to use your writing elsewhere but you still own the copyright.
Another GREAT thing about Constant Content is that they allow buyers to post what kinds of writing they want and how much they're willing to pay for it. It's common to see someone offering $20 for a well written 400-500 word article. That's pretty good for the half hour or so you'll spend working on it! Some current topics and prices on Constant Content are:

PC Articles and Tutorials - $10 - $20

Water Sports and Beach Articles - $50 - $100

Fish and Aquarium Articles - $20 - $30

Another great thing is that you can pretty much write about whatever you want. They also accept pictures, videos and illustrations which gives you a variety of ways to make money. Constant Content is also completely free to sign up for, and once you sign up you can start uploading and selling content right away.
Also, once you sign up you can refer you friends, and you'll recieve 5% of all of their sells as well as the money from your own sells. All payments are made through PayPal, so if you don't have a PayPal account now would be a good time to make one.
This is a good way to make money if you have any interest at all in writing. There are plenty of customers on Constant Content, willing to pay quality money for quality writing.