The Simple Savings website is packed full with helpful tips. There are over 7,000 ways you could be saving money. Easy, simple tricks that ordinary Australians use to make their dollars stretch further.
At the beginning of the year, I finally gave in an applied for a pink Everyday Money Credit card, which is a Woolworth's product underwritten by HSBC. I admit that this was AFTER having spent nearly 3 years paying past foolish credit card debt (CCD). I basically gave in to the repeated advertising offers I saw almost daily via WDYT, Rewards Central and other similar companies. They were offering one year fee free and a $50 Woolworht's voucher, plus 6 months low rate transfer of other debts. I didn't have any of those thankfully. Also evert $1 spend earns a point for a shopping voucher sent out every three monts. Woolworth's Select products earn bonus points as do products from their shopping partners, like Dick Smith's. I tend not to get bonus points as I have been using hte card isntead of cash then paying it back each month. In otherwords I wasn't shopping for particular products to get the extra points. If you want to know why not visit my earlier posts on the foolishness of Flybuys.
Anyway...after expenditure of nearly $9 k - that's right $9,000 AU over 3 months, and an additional 1000 bonus points plus 324 Woolworth's bonus points, I was rewarded with a $70 gift card which expires on 14 October this year....wow....mad money indeed. Can you hear the dry tone in my writing ?
What they are paying me for of course is a whole lot of vaulabe consumer spending patterns data. $70 for 3 months of my data. No wonder the reputable market research companies warn you doing their surveys won't make you rich.
Still as I am a reformed shopaholic and a Simple Saver, that will cover at least half a week's groceries. Some of my forum mates could make it stretch to a week's worth.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Warning there seems to be something fishy about this!
Several of us discussing making money on line in the Simple Savings forum have notices that there are many survey directory/paid email style clubs popping up offering a $25 sign up bonus. These include Grocery Clicks, Cash emails Club, Paidsurvey bank and others. What several of us have found is that if you sign up for one and recieve the bonus, when you sign up for another you do NOT seem to get the bonus. For example I signed up for Paid Survey bank, got my bonus and began earning points. This company sent me and email for Cash emails club, also offering a bonus. So I signed up there too. Suddenly my clicks for Paid survey Bank were not being listed in my earnings. On Cash emails club I was earning my clicks for emails, but my bonus was listed as Approved $0. When I added the relevant email addresses to my address book, I noticed that they all are linked to Megan at Fat Cat Rewards. I ahve repeatedlt emailed her about the problems with both clubs yet received no reply as of yet. The same thing has happened for some other members of Simple Savings. So beware- they may be wasting your time. I'd love to hear in your comments about any related experiences.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Read the fine print! (Don't spend more than you make online).
Hi my faithful followers and occasional blog browsers!
I am still searching for oppportunities to earn some cash online with a cup of tea in hand.
To this end I have been checking out Snap Dollars which is similar to online directory sites. The good news is it is legitimate in that they do not charge you and fee and do pay out at a reasonable level -$30.
I was looking at one of their offers- they pay $5 if you sign up for Vista Print's 250 free business cards deal. Sounds good...until I checked Vista Print's postage on this freebie- the lowest is $11.99! So if I actually WANTED business cards this would a good deal- cards and postage for $6.99 when the Snap Dollars payment is taken into account. I do not however want this product. So to gain $5 from Snap Dollars I'd be spending almost $7.
There are other good deals on this site- if you are interested in joining survey sites like Lightspeed research then Snap Dollars will give you a small incentive payment. If you like online gambling they will pay you $50 each for signing up with a new account to 3 different Bingo web clubs. You do need to deposit $20 for each one though and payment is via credit card. I have avoided these as I worry about my credit card security and the risk of getting addicted to gambling. If you are over 18 and are looking for online gambling you may as well get a $50 incentive for it though.
There seem to be quite a few cash bonus for signing up companies around at the moment. Snap Dollars offers a $5 sign up bonus, and pays 1c per email viewed. Another I have been considering is Cash Emails which is offering a $25 sign up bonus. Shall let you all know how I go.
My personal financial goal is $400 for this month in mad money and so far I am up to about $70 in earnings on surveys, Rewards Central and Paid Survey Bank. Hey, only $330 to go!
I am still searching for oppportunities to earn some cash online with a cup of tea in hand.
To this end I have been checking out Snap Dollars which is similar to online directory sites. The good news is it is legitimate in that they do not charge you and fee and do pay out at a reasonable level -$30.
I was looking at one of their offers- they pay $5 if you sign up for Vista Print's 250 free business cards deal. Sounds good...until I checked Vista Print's postage on this freebie- the lowest is $11.99! So if I actually WANTED business cards this would a good deal- cards and postage for $6.99 when the Snap Dollars payment is taken into account. I do not however want this product. So to gain $5 from Snap Dollars I'd be spending almost $7.
There are other good deals on this site- if you are interested in joining survey sites like Lightspeed research then Snap Dollars will give you a small incentive payment. If you like online gambling they will pay you $50 each for signing up with a new account to 3 different Bingo web clubs. You do need to deposit $20 for each one though and payment is via credit card. I have avoided these as I worry about my credit card security and the risk of getting addicted to gambling. If you are over 18 and are looking for online gambling you may as well get a $50 incentive for it though.
There seem to be quite a few cash bonus for signing up companies around at the moment. Snap Dollars offers a $5 sign up bonus, and pays 1c per email viewed. Another I have been considering is Cash Emails which is offering a $25 sign up bonus. Shall let you all know how I go.
My personal financial goal is $400 for this month in mad money and so far I am up to about $70 in earnings on surveys, Rewards Central and Paid Survey Bank. Hey, only $330 to go!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Selling my own used goods on ebay
ebay is an addiction for both shoppers and sellers. The problem for me lies in being both!
Buy and Resell
I have bought Tupperware at much reduced prices and then resold the items I did not want to keep. I don't think I made a profit this way but it helped pay for my Tupperware addiction. If you are a Tupperware dealer, do not do this as I believe it is against their contract rules.
Kaycee I found to be an excellent and reputable dealer, from whom I bought many items. She also taught methe ways of the Mystery box. Hers I always found were excellent value. Have a look at her listings if you are interested in selling Tupperware. It is a real education. She uses language, colour and honest description very well to promote oehr goods.
A bad experience
Another person ripped me and others off big time. I knew it was a list of goods too good to be true, but profit and Tupperware lust got to me. $600 down the drain for a bulk buy of desirable resellable items which never arrived. I was able to get a partial refund at the time having paid via Paypal but ended up $200 out of pocket.
Tip: Before buying check to see if there are any methods of payment which include protection against fraud. Make sure you know what EXACTLY you are bidding on and how it will be delivered etc. Pay the extra for Postal insurance (registered post).
Overall
Think carefully about what you are selling and why.
Questions to ask yourself:
Would you buy it ?
At what price?
Would I buy it on ebay?
For example an online aquaintance was selling second hand brand name runners online, offered them at a low starting bid, and received bids of around $10 plus of coruse postage. She was disappointed having seen other similar items go for more. But ask yourself- would you buy 2nd hand shoes at all, if so at what price and why on ebay when you can see the goods at an Op shop at a low price? So she was advised to accept the price and be happy. I found this was good advice when selling on ebay. Take the offer and chalk it up to experience. Sometimes bids went wild and I was happy while at other times no bids at all or someone got a real bargain at 99c from me!
For items which you know are valuable
Is this the right market place?
Can I offer evidence that it is valuable? Eg photos of the backstamp on porcelain pieces, documents showing provenance for antiques
Can I offer it at a price which makes it a bargain relative to auction houses, antiques stores and fairs?
Am I sure I know its true market value?
For items you just want gone and will be happy to get rid of at any price
Is it worth my valuable time listing this on ebay and my sellers fees or should I just give it to chairty or freecycle?
(This is what I do with clothes as I have never had any luck selling them on line)
Is it likely to sell and hence be worth my time?
Is it going to be a pain to post and or deliver?
I have often found I was better off giving certain items away and saving my time for more profitable activities (like overtime, writing letters to Take 5 or just enjoying life). With freecycle the more you offer the more likely others are to help you out when you post a wanted.
Buy and Resell
I have bought Tupperware at much reduced prices and then resold the items I did not want to keep. I don't think I made a profit this way but it helped pay for my Tupperware addiction. If you are a Tupperware dealer, do not do this as I believe it is against their contract rules.
Kaycee I found to be an excellent and reputable dealer, from whom I bought many items. She also taught methe ways of the Mystery box. Hers I always found were excellent value. Have a look at her listings if you are interested in selling Tupperware. It is a real education. She uses language, colour and honest description very well to promote oehr goods.
A bad experience
Another person ripped me and others off big time. I knew it was a list of goods too good to be true, but profit and Tupperware lust got to me. $600 down the drain for a bulk buy of desirable resellable items which never arrived. I was able to get a partial refund at the time having paid via Paypal but ended up $200 out of pocket.
Tip: Before buying check to see if there are any methods of payment which include protection against fraud. Make sure you know what EXACTLY you are bidding on and how it will be delivered etc. Pay the extra for Postal insurance (registered post).
Overall
Think carefully about what you are selling and why.
Questions to ask yourself:
Would you buy it ?
At what price?
Would I buy it on ebay?
For example an online aquaintance was selling second hand brand name runners online, offered them at a low starting bid, and received bids of around $10 plus of coruse postage. She was disappointed having seen other similar items go for more. But ask yourself- would you buy 2nd hand shoes at all, if so at what price and why on ebay when you can see the goods at an Op shop at a low price? So she was advised to accept the price and be happy. I found this was good advice when selling on ebay. Take the offer and chalk it up to experience. Sometimes bids went wild and I was happy while at other times no bids at all or someone got a real bargain at 99c from me!
For items which you know are valuable
Is this the right market place?
Can I offer evidence that it is valuable? Eg photos of the backstamp on porcelain pieces, documents showing provenance for antiques
Can I offer it at a price which makes it a bargain relative to auction houses, antiques stores and fairs?
Am I sure I know its true market value?
For items you just want gone and will be happy to get rid of at any price
Is it worth my valuable time listing this on ebay and my sellers fees or should I just give it to chairty or freecycle?
(This is what I do with clothes as I have never had any luck selling them on line)
Is it likely to sell and hence be worth my time?
Is it going to be a pain to post and or deliver?
I have often found I was better off giving certain items away and saving my time for more profitable activities (like overtime, writing letters to Take 5 or just enjoying life). With freecycle the more you offer the more likely others are to help you out when you post a wanted.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
More positive detail on PaidSurveys.com
It turns out this website is more than a directory. They also offer surveys and daily emails to earn cash. they pay out to a Paypal account on the 10th of the month as long as your balance reaches $50. Having started with a $25 start up bonus and having earned 50c I am well on the way!
In the FAQ section they emphasised that they are free and not to be confused with a site which charges called paidsurveys.com
The GOOD ONE: http://www.paidsurveys.com/ Their logo uses capital P and S and is red and blue.
Happy earning.
REMEMBER YOU NEVER HAVE TO PAY TO CONTACT MARKET RESEARCH COMPANIES.
They want YOUR opinions!
In the FAQ section they emphasised that they are free and not to be confused with a site which charges called paidsurveys.com
The GOOD ONE: http://www.paidsurveys.com/ Their logo uses capital P and S and is red and blue.
Happy earning.
REMEMBER YOU NEVER HAVE TO PAY TO CONTACT MARKET RESEARCH COMPANIES.
They want YOUR opinions!
LATEST NEWS ON A FEW SURVEY SITES
Hello my faithful followers and any new visitors,
Just a quick post tonight to fill you in on my paid survey exploits and news. Your Voice Neilson has made some significant changes. A while ago I had 125 points which was worth one movie voucher- should have cashed it in then! Why? Because now for a reward the minimum is 200 points! That is the bad news. The good news is it will get you a $20 shopping voucher at Myers or similar. The other sad news is you can no longer view surveys from the website.
I have been a bit too busy with LIFE -catching up with the kid's school activities and reports- to do much regards mad money earning and so missed out on 50 Nielson points as they had enough people like me for their latest survey. Besides, I don't drink alchohol. Why not lie and pretend I do you might ask. Because besides being unethical, in the end I think that these companies can collate all your data and work out you are having them on. Soon the surveys would dry up I suspect!
Other news- http://www.paidsurveys.com/ was offering $25 into your account if you signed up with them. This was a promo through Rewards Central emails I believe. I decided to give it a go, and they seem to be a legitimate link to other offers company. When you join they offer you chances to directly join other companies, including surveys, on line gambling sites, competition sites and the like. If you want to get into market research surveys quickly and sign up for many companies ot get started, this could be a good way to begin. They have a tab at the top of the webpage linked to a listing, by country, of offers available.
I am off to update my Nielson home scanning now- we are not far from our first reward. With electricity having gone up in cost from today we could use one.
Just a quick post tonight to fill you in on my paid survey exploits and news. Your Voice Neilson has made some significant changes. A while ago I had 125 points which was worth one movie voucher- should have cashed it in then! Why? Because now for a reward the minimum is 200 points! That is the bad news. The good news is it will get you a $20 shopping voucher at Myers or similar. The other sad news is you can no longer view surveys from the website.
I have been a bit too busy with LIFE -catching up with the kid's school activities and reports- to do much regards mad money earning and so missed out on 50 Nielson points as they had enough people like me for their latest survey. Besides, I don't drink alchohol. Why not lie and pretend I do you might ask. Because besides being unethical, in the end I think that these companies can collate all your data and work out you are having them on. Soon the surveys would dry up I suspect!
Other news- http://www.paidsurveys.com/ was offering $25 into your account if you signed up with them. This was a promo through Rewards Central emails I believe. I decided to give it a go, and they seem to be a legitimate link to other offers company. When you join they offer you chances to directly join other companies, including surveys, on line gambling sites, competition sites and the like. If you want to get into market research surveys quickly and sign up for many companies ot get started, this could be a good way to begin. They have a tab at the top of the webpage linked to a listing, by country, of offers available.
I am off to update my Nielson home scanning now- we are not far from our first reward. With electricity having gone up in cost from today we could use one.
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