Thanks for this post (and thanks for keeping it up for a couple of years so that I can find it!)
This post is very poignant for me on a few points:
1. For many years I worked with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society raising money for research and assistance to patients with blood diseases. I too know people that are survivors as well as others who were not as fortunate!
2. Last week, I donated my bone marrow to an individual that I will never know, never come in contact, and will never meet.
3. Gratitude for what we have, regardless of how much or how little, will always improve our lives! It is a skill that just needs to be practices and reinforced.
4. Life is full of choices.
I've worked from home full time for five years. I've never tried Flex Jobs, but I've found Google to be an invaluable tool for weeding out scams - that's great advice. I also use iGoogle to pick up feeds from places like CraigsList and my other favorite job sites so that I can look for new listings quickly. I have them set up on a home page rather than the feed reader.
Great places that list real work at home jobs include:
ProBlogger
About Freelance Writing
Freelance Writing Gigs
Media Bistro
Funds for Writers
and, for government job options, Usa Jobs.gov
Not every opportunity is on the up-and-up at these places, but higher percentages of them are and it means wasting less time trying to find legitimate work.
This is a great article Linsey, you're spot-on about the best way to spot a scam. My indicator has always been that if it costs me money (instead of paying me money) then it isn't legitimate.
This is a great collection of the tips to spot such earn easy money by working at home scams. To me, the biggest tell-tale sign is always the bad English. And if things really look too good to be true, it probably is, but if I am curious enough, I always Google to cross-check any complains online. I guess as long as there are easy money to be made from careless people, there will continue to be such work from home scams around. So just be vigilant.
My husband and I used our rewards points to buy an inexpensive espresso machine. We paid in cash after the points $22.00 for it. This endeavor alone led us to rethink many of our other habits. We purchase our favorite creamers, like the international coffee caramel macchiato and white chocolate mocha. I am lactose intolerant so I heat some of the creamer with soy milk in the microwave, he steams his milk with the flavored creamer in it. It has saved us soooooo much money. We still get Starbucks sometimes, but now it is truly a treat, usually on date night. Tonight we split our first Starbucks, usuallly we each get our own. I was so proud of us and we were completely satisfied with the amount we each had.
I make New Mexican chile with my food strainer. I boil the chile's, blend with garlic and water (not the water you boil it in), and then run it through the food strainer. The water to chile ratio takes practice. After, you need to heat the chile on the stove, it should not be liquidity but not thick either, somewhere in the middle. It is a silky smooth delicious, can't live without recipe. It can be used on enchiladas, tacos, eggs, ham, etc....
Balance Transfers are great, but you just have to understand what the fee is for the transaction of your balance over to the new card. Reviewing a good credit card comparison site is a good way to find the best credit cards for the balance transfers. An example of a credit card comparison site is CreditCardWave.com
I have really gotten in the habit of paying my credit cards off each month. I know allot about credit and have now learned the art of using my credit cards to get cash back by using them for transactions to get points but not to ring up debt. Items I want to buy I have money withheld from my check deposits and automatically saved. When I have the money I buy, if not I wait.
But how would we measure how much each individual should be charged for how often they use the roads? Would you pay more taxes if you called the police and they showed up at your door (or even if someone ELSE called the police while your house was being robbed)? If the coast guard fought off a huge school of jellyfish from invading the Easter Seaboard, would people in Arizona have to pay for that?
Definitely worthy of a best-of. I get so many questions on this. I'm working on a guide for my own website, and I'm going to include a link back to post.
Credit Cards: I have higher interest now then I did on my first card. Low Interest cards are the danger. When the interest is high you learn to not buy. Honestly people at all ages need to learn to not live beyond their means.
Late Fees: 30? Hell you shouldn't have these as an adult. Honestly how hard is it to know when you bill is due?
Partying: I did the smart thing. I did all mine in High School(hung out with people in college). Honestly I have never really understood American culture and our need to get drunk all the time.
Rent: Rent until you are ready to buy a long term house. I bought young and flipped houses and even though I made money I paid a lot to realitors. Renting is better till you are ready.
Ringtones/Wallpaper: Only idiots pay for this. With today's phone any MP3 or picture works. But even in the old days it was easy to convert and upload what you wanted. If you have ever paid for a ring tone or wallpaper you are either an idiot or lazy. I'll for give lazy but the rest of you need to learn how to get things for free.
Yes, it is a shame! Unfortunately, as long as people keep paying for these fake opportunities, they will never go away. I'm hoping this helps some people to be alerted to them and at least get them to ask for advice if they aren't sure.
Thanks for your comments! I actually paid for a Flexjobs subscription awhile back and find it to be a great tool for browsing real work at home job opportunities. I recommend it if you don't want to scour all the Craigslist and online job boards yourself.
I'd also highly recommend FlexJobs.com, a site which compiles and screens legitimate telecommuting job opportunities so that members don't have to spend as much time digging through scams to find real work-at-home opportunities. They also list part-time, freelance, and flexible schedule jobs and every job is pre-screened before being listed.
GREAT advice! I'd also add that when you're searching Google, you'll find the scammy stuff faster if you search for the company or person's name and the word "complaint" or something similar at the same time. I also like badbusinessbureau.com to check on any business that seems like a scam.
As someone who has worked form home for over a year, I can honestly tell people that legitimate telecommuting opportunities do exist. For my first year, I worked for a software company in their client services department, and now I'm working for a website (FlexJobs.com) that actually helps job seekers find legitimate work-from-home opportunities by hand-screening jobs and weeding out the scams.
If you're looking for a work-from-home position, be vigilant and never take a company at its word. If you do your research and learn to spot language like "limitless earning potential" and websites that seem to only discuss career opportunities, but say nothing about what they actually DO as a company, you can certainly find legitimate telecommuting jobs.
Great article Elizabeth. When it was time to trade in my iPhone 3G I got a great price from http://www.selliphoneforcash.com and was very happy that my old phone was being recycled.
I have a big tub in my freezer that I save all of my trimmings from vegetables as well as chicken carcass. When it's full, I add it all to a big pot of water and make stock. It works wonderfully, has so much flavor and best of all, it's free, considering I would have just normally thrown all of that stuff out. I also have another tub where I keep all edible leftover bits of meat, vegetables or grains. When that's full, I'll make a big batch or soup dubbed "leftover stew". It's a great way to use up those little bits that most of us don't save because it's not enough to really do anything with.
Pea greens are also wonderful on a sandwich instead of lettuce and if you peel the broccoli and cauliflower stems, they're just as tender and flavorful as the florets.
Its a shame that so many scams like this are out there. They're designed simply for somebody to make a quick, easy buck, and have no value outside of that. It really takes away from legitimate opportunities that have the potential to benefit many more people.
We give the teacher a card with a book of stamps and a gift card. The gift cards are for either their favorite restaurant, Target, 7-11, or Walmart. My son writes what he loves about the teacher in the card.
A note to the principal expressing appreciation of the teacher. Principals pay attention to these and can be especially beneficial for new teachers. Let the teacher know and give him or her a copy of the note. Way better than more "stuff."
I can definitely relate to this post, as I don't require gifts from others. I am always trying to get rid of stuff and don't need a trinket I won't use.
The best give I can give and the one I'd like to receive is time with a loved one. Cheesy but true.
I work at a hotel and while I agree with most of your article there are a few things I think should be pointed out:
-Dealing directly with the hotel gives the hotel more money and control. Every website takes a cut and makes any changes nearly impossible. Dealing directly with a hotel makes you a more valuable guest and allows more ability for a hotel to fix problems.
-Negotiating can be good but don't be rude about it. The front desk doesn't get paid more if you stay and one troublesome guest is more problems than a hotel full of quiet ones. Be nice to the front desk and they will generally be nice to you. If not politely ask to speak to the owner or manager. If you really want to avoid problems give a tip to the front desk when you check in: you will not have any problems for your stay.
Wow. $3,000 doesn't seem like that much credit card debt, but the interest really adds up. I first realized this when they added the new boxes about minimum payments to my monthly statements. I've been paying more than twice the minimum, but my interest rates are all 18% or higher, so it hasn't made a huge dent. I might look into balance transfers to see if that helps. I can afford the monthly payments, but when I think about how much it costs in year I want to scream.
Thanks for this post (and thanks for keeping it up for a couple of years so that I can find it!)
This post is very poignant for me on a few points:
1. For many years I worked with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society raising money for research and assistance to patients with blood diseases. I too know people that are survivors as well as others who were not as fortunate!
2. Last week, I donated my bone marrow to an individual that I will never know, never come in contact, and will never meet.
3. Gratitude for what we have, regardless of how much or how little, will always improve our lives! It is a skill that just needs to be practices and reinforced.
4. Life is full of choices.
Thank you for sharing.
Be Well.
Paul.
I've worked from home full time for five years. I've never tried Flex Jobs, but I've found Google to be an invaluable tool for weeding out scams - that's great advice. I also use iGoogle to pick up feeds from places like CraigsList and my other favorite job sites so that I can look for new listings quickly. I have them set up on a home page rather than the feed reader.
Great places that list real work at home jobs include:
ProBlogger
About Freelance Writing
Freelance Writing Gigs
Media Bistro
Funds for Writers
and, for government job options, Usa Jobs.gov
Not every opportunity is on the up-and-up at these places, but higher percentages of them are and it means wasting less time trying to find legitimate work.
This is a great article Linsey, you're spot-on about the best way to spot a scam. My indicator has always been that if it costs me money (instead of paying me money) then it isn't legitimate.
This is a great collection of the tips to spot such earn easy money by working at home scams. To me, the biggest tell-tale sign is always the bad English. And if things really look too good to be true, it probably is, but if I am curious enough, I always Google to cross-check any complains online. I guess as long as there are easy money to be made from careless people, there will continue to be such work from home scams around. So just be vigilant.
Wife should have been item #1, the biggest hole in most pockets, even good wives buy things for no other reasons than they feel like it.
My husband and I used our rewards points to buy an inexpensive espresso machine. We paid in cash after the points $22.00 for it. This endeavor alone led us to rethink many of our other habits. We purchase our favorite creamers, like the international coffee caramel macchiato and white chocolate mocha. I am lactose intolerant so I heat some of the creamer with soy milk in the microwave, he steams his milk with the flavored creamer in it. It has saved us soooooo much money. We still get Starbucks sometimes, but now it is truly a treat, usually on date night. Tonight we split our first Starbucks, usuallly we each get our own. I was so proud of us and we were completely satisfied with the amount we each had.
I make New Mexican chile with my food strainer. I boil the chile's, blend with garlic and water (not the water you boil it in), and then run it through the food strainer. The water to chile ratio takes practice. After, you need to heat the chile on the stove, it should not be liquidity but not thick either, somewhere in the middle. It is a silky smooth delicious, can't live without recipe. It can be used on enchiladas, tacos, eggs, ham, etc....
Balance Transfers are great, but you just have to understand what the fee is for the transaction of your balance over to the new card. Reviewing a good credit card comparison site is a good way to find the best credit cards for the balance transfers. An example of a credit card comparison site is CreditCardWave.com
I have really gotten in the habit of paying my credit cards off each month. I know allot about credit and have now learned the art of using my credit cards to get cash back by using them for transactions to get points but not to ring up debt. Items I want to buy I have money withheld from my check deposits and automatically saved. When I have the money I buy, if not I wait.
Botox. Something that should clearly be started after the age of 30 in the case of the author.
But how would we measure how much each individual should be charged for how often they use the roads? Would you pay more taxes if you called the police and they showed up at your door (or even if someone ELSE called the police while your house was being robbed)? If the coast guard fought off a huge school of jellyfish from invading the Easter Seaboard, would people in Arizona have to pay for that?
Definitely worthy of a best-of. I get so many questions on this. I'm working on a guide for my own website, and I'm going to include a link back to post.
Credit Cards: I have higher interest now then I did on my first card. Low Interest cards are the danger. When the interest is high you learn to not buy. Honestly people at all ages need to learn to not live beyond their means.
Late Fees: 30? Hell you shouldn't have these as an adult. Honestly how hard is it to know when you bill is due?
Partying: I did the smart thing. I did all mine in High School(hung out with people in college). Honestly I have never really understood American culture and our need to get drunk all the time.
Rent: Rent until you are ready to buy a long term house. I bought young and flipped houses and even though I made money I paid a lot to realitors. Renting is better till you are ready.
Ringtones/Wallpaper: Only idiots pay for this. With today's phone any MP3 or picture works. But even in the old days it was easy to convert and upload what you wanted. If you have ever paid for a ring tone or wallpaper you are either an idiot or lazy. I'll for give lazy but the rest of you need to learn how to get things for free.
Yes, it is a shame! Unfortunately, as long as people keep paying for these fake opportunities, they will never go away. I'm hoping this helps some people to be alerted to them and at least get them to ask for advice if they aren't sure.
Thanks for your comments! I actually paid for a Flexjobs subscription awhile back and find it to be a great tool for browsing real work at home job opportunities. I recommend it if you don't want to scour all the Craigslist and online job boards yourself.
I'd also highly recommend FlexJobs.com, a site which compiles and screens legitimate telecommuting job opportunities so that members don't have to spend as much time digging through scams to find real work-at-home opportunities. They also list part-time, freelance, and flexible schedule jobs and every job is pre-screened before being listed.
GREAT advice! I'd also add that when you're searching Google, you'll find the scammy stuff faster if you search for the company or person's name and the word "complaint" or something similar at the same time. I also like badbusinessbureau.com to check on any business that seems like a scam.
As someone who has worked form home for over a year, I can honestly tell people that legitimate telecommuting opportunities do exist. For my first year, I worked for a software company in their client services department, and now I'm working for a website (FlexJobs.com) that actually helps job seekers find legitimate work-from-home opportunities by hand-screening jobs and weeding out the scams.
If you're looking for a work-from-home position, be vigilant and never take a company at its word. If you do your research and learn to spot language like "limitless earning potential" and websites that seem to only discuss career opportunities, but say nothing about what they actually DO as a company, you can certainly find legitimate telecommuting jobs.
Great article Elizabeth. When it was time to trade in my iPhone 3G I got a great price from http://www.selliphoneforcash.com and was very happy that my old phone was being recycled.
I have a big tub in my freezer that I save all of my trimmings from vegetables as well as chicken carcass. When it's full, I add it all to a big pot of water and make stock. It works wonderfully, has so much flavor and best of all, it's free, considering I would have just normally thrown all of that stuff out. I also have another tub where I keep all edible leftover bits of meat, vegetables or grains. When that's full, I'll make a big batch or soup dubbed "leftover stew". It's a great way to use up those little bits that most of us don't save because it's not enough to really do anything with.
Pea greens are also wonderful on a sandwich instead of lettuce and if you peel the broccoli and cauliflower stems, they're just as tender and flavorful as the florets.
Its a shame that so many scams like this are out there. They're designed simply for somebody to make a quick, easy buck, and have no value outside of that. It really takes away from legitimate opportunities that have the potential to benefit many more people.
We give the teacher a card with a book of stamps and a gift card. The gift cards are for either their favorite restaurant, Target, 7-11, or Walmart. My son writes what he loves about the teacher in the card.
A note to the principal expressing appreciation of the teacher. Principals pay attention to these and can be especially beneficial for new teachers. Let the teacher know and give him or her a copy of the note. Way better than more "stuff."
I can definitely relate to this post, as I don't require gifts from others. I am always trying to get rid of stuff and don't need a trinket I won't use.
The best give I can give and the one I'd like to receive is time with a loved one. Cheesy but true.
Off-hour shopping is a great way to go! We try to do off-hour everything! Dining, Vacation and whatever you can think of :)
I'm starting to do more online shopping too, this year it was an American Girl doll for my daughter and a DS video game :) I guess I'm hooked!
I work at a hotel and while I agree with most of your article there are a few things I think should be pointed out:
-Dealing directly with the hotel gives the hotel more money and control. Every website takes a cut and makes any changes nearly impossible. Dealing directly with a hotel makes you a more valuable guest and allows more ability for a hotel to fix problems.
-Negotiating can be good but don't be rude about it. The front desk doesn't get paid more if you stay and one troublesome guest is more problems than a hotel full of quiet ones. Be nice to the front desk and they will generally be nice to you. If not politely ask to speak to the owner or manager. If you really want to avoid problems give a tip to the front desk when you check in: you will not have any problems for your stay.
Wow. $3,000 doesn't seem like that much credit card debt, but the interest really adds up. I first realized this when they added the new boxes about minimum payments to my monthly statements. I've been paying more than twice the minimum, but my interest rates are all 18% or higher, so it hasn't made a huge dent. I might look into balance transfers to see if that helps. I can afford the monthly payments, but when I think about how much it costs in year I want to scream.