Pointers On Life: Tips and Advice Of All Kinds

How to make some extra money

2012-02-09T22:09:00.000-08:00

I first stumbled across CashCrate.com on accident, and boy I am glad I did. I was randomly reading an article on MSN from Prime Time Money about ways to make extra money. One that really stood out for me was for a website that claimed to pay you for simply doing free offers and surveys. But was this too good to be true?

Like many people, I was very skeptical to begin with. How could a company pay you to do free offers and surveys? Because I am a very cautious person, I first did some research. Everything looked legit so I decided to give it a try and it has been paying off (literally) ever since.

How CashCrate Works

The way that CashCrate.com works is companies need consumers to try and review products, services, and websites and are willing to pay money to have them do so. Most of the time you’re asked to do this without any compensation, and sometimes without even knowing. What CashCrate does is take the money that companies give them for your participation through offers, and give you back up to 75% of it.

I have found that doing offers is the quickest way to get money through CashCrate.com There are two different types of offers. 100% free offers make up the majority of the offers available. Most of these offers take only minutes to complete and require no further action on your end.

Completing 100% Free Offers with CashCrate

An example of a free offer that I have recently completed is titled “Free Blackberry Phone.” Next to the name of the survey will be a description stating what you need to do to fulfill the requirements to receive credit. In this example the description states, “Participate in the survey.” You DO NOT have to do anymore than what is in the description. Once in the survey there may be several different offers, only sign up for these if you are interested, otherwise you can keep pressing skip until you get to the end.

This offer took me just over a minute to complete and I was credited $0.50 to my account. This may not seem like much but it adds up extremely fast. Once completed, the offer will move into a ‘Pending Offers’ category until CashCrate receives credit for it.

Completing Trial Offers with CashCrate

Another type of offers are trial offers. Most of these are also initially free. All of the trial offers require credit card information to verify the account and for after the free trial is done. I suggest only signing up for the free trails if you are truly interested in the product or service because if you do not cancel within the trail period you will then be charged for normal member price.

Earning Referrals with CashCrate

The final way to make money is through referrals. This may take a while to get your referral numbers up there but once you do it is the way to make the most money.CashCrate.com gives you 20% of whatever people that you refer make, plus 10% of whatever people that they refer make. As you can see, if you have a lot of referrals this money can add up very quickly.

Final Thoughts on CashCrate

I highly recommend CashCrate for anyone that wants an easy way to make some extra money. I would be glad to help out.

Good Luck.

by PHILIP TAYLOR · 8 COMMENTS

College: Facebook Drinking Game

2012-02-08T17:36:00.000-08:00

The Facebook Drinking Game

How To Play:

1. Grab a drink and gather round the computer monitor with your friends!

2. Take turns going through each other's Facebook Profiles!

3. Get shitfaced!

4. Try not to send rambling, incoherent messages to every girl you had a crush on in high school.

Alright, here we go...

Profile Picture

Take 1 DRINK if your profile picture is a blank expression looking away from the camera

Take 2 DRINKS if your profile picture is you when you were a cute little baby

Take 3 DRINKS if your profile picture is a blank expression looking away from the camera when you were a cute little baby

Friend List

Take 1 DRINK if your Friends List has someone on it who you don't know and have never talked to, but you don't want to delete them because you're not sure if they'll find out

Take 2 DRINKS if your Friends List has a platonic friend jokingly listed as 'You hooked up once'

Take 3 DRINKS if your Friends List has someone on it who stifles your entire Facebook existence, such as your an ex-girlfriend, your boss, or your real-life mom or dad

Photos

Take 1 DRINK if you have posted a Photo Gallery called 'Random' or 'Misc'

Take 2 DRINKS if you have jokingly tagged an inanimate object in one of your photos with something like "Chair Darrell puked on"

Take 3 DRINKS if you have ever posted an as-big-as-possible 60-photo album covering one three-hour night out with your friends

GROUPS

Take 1 DRINK if you're in a charity group such as "For every 1000 people who join this group, I will donate $1 towards finding a cure for traffic jams"

Take 2 DRINKS if you're in a group for graduates of your elementary school, but you don't know anybody else in the group and whenever you visit the page you just get depressed

Take 3 DRINKS if you're in a group dedicated to bringing somebody else onto Facebook such as "Jessica Durk, get on Facebook already bitch!!!"

Personal Info

Take 1 DRINK if you have posted a quote from Yoda

Take 2 DRINKS if you have posted a quote from Napoleon Dynamite

Take 3 DRINKS if you have posted a quote from Nietzsche

Facebook Habits

Take 1 DRINK if you've ever written "Wow! Never thought you'd join Facebook!" on someone's wall

Take 2 DRINKS if you've ever felt guilty when reading a lengthy Wall-To-Wall conversation between two people who are better friends with each other than they are with you

Take 3 DRINKS if you've ever checked the size of someone's friends list and felt superior that yours was bigger

50 Things Learned From The Movies

2012-02-08T10:42:00.000-08:00

Things Learned From Movies

I thought this was not only funny, but true.

Things I learned from the movies:

1. All telephone numbers in America begin with the digits 555.

2. Medieval peasants had perfect teeth.

3. The ventilation system of any building is the perfect hiding place. No one will ever think of looking for you in there, and you can travel to any other part of the building you want without difficulty.

4. Any person waking from a nightmare will sit bolt upright and pant.

5. It is always possible to park directly outside the building you are visiting.

6. A cough is usually the sign of a terminal illness.

7. If you decide to start dancing in the street, everyone you bump into will know all the steps.

8. No matter how badly a spaceship is attacked, its internal gravity system is never damaged.

9. The more a man and a woman hate each other, the more likely they will fall in love.

10. All bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices with large red readouts so you know exactly when they’re going to go off.

11. Cars that crash will almost always burst into flames.

12. A cup of black coffee or a splash of cold water in the face is enough to render the most inebriated person stone cold sober.

13. If you try hard enough, you can outrun an explosion.

14. If you stick your head out of cover during a gun fight, it will never be hit, especially if you look backwards to hold a conversation with someone behind you.

15. Police Departments give their officers personality tests to make sure they are assigned partners who are their total opposite.

16. Honest and hard working policemen are traditionally gunned down three days before their retirement.

17. You’re very likely to survive any battle in any war unless you make the mistake of showing someone a picture of your sweetheart back home.

18. The Eiffel Tower can be seen from any window in Paris.

19. Computers never display a cursor on screen but always say: Enter Password Now.

20. Once applied, lipstick will never rub off — even while scuba diving.

21. All watches and clocks are synchronized to the second.

22. No matter how fuzzy the photograph, it can be enlarged and enhanced to show the finest detail.

23. Nearly everyone speaks English, no matter where they are from. Even aliens from outer space, despite the fact they have never been to Earth, seen an Earthling, or even heard of Earth or Earthlings.

24. No matter how catastrophic the disaster, pets will always survive it.

25. There will always be a doctor in a plane or building with the right medical supplies.

26. No matter how dead you think you’ve killed a bad guy, he can still get up at least three more times.

27. People rarely use the bathroom, and if they do, they’re usually dead within minutes.

28. Most laptop computers are powerful enough to override the communication systems of any invading alien civilization.

29. Cemeteries generate their own weather. Usually rainstorms… and not just gentle sprinkles, but biblical downpours.

30. When paying for a taxi, don’t look at your wallet as you take out a bill — just grab one at random and hand it over. It will always be the exact fare.

31. Most people keep a scrapbook of newspaper clippings — especially if any of their family or friends have died in a strange boating accident.

32. Cars that fly off cliffs spontaneously combust in midair for no apparent reason.

33. When you turn out the light to go to bed, everything in your room will still be clearly visible, just slightly bluish.

34. All computer disks will work in all computers, regardless of software.

35. Television news bulletins usually contain a story that affects you personally at the precise moment that it is aired.

36. Close blood relatives usually look nothing like each other, or have only a passing resemblance.

37. Any lock can be picked by a credit card or a paper clip in seconds — unless it’s the door to a burning building with a child trapped inside.

38. When they are alone, all foreigners prefer to speak English to each other.

39. An electric fence that’s powerful enough to kill a dinosaur will cause no lasting damage to an eight-year-old child.

40. If your town is threatened by an imminent natural disaster or killer beast, the mayor’s first concern will be the tourist trade or his forthcoming art exhibition.

41. It does not matter if you are heavily outnumbered in a fight involving martial arts — your enemies will wait patiently to attack you one by one by dancing around in a threatening manner until you have knocked out their predecessors.

42. A man will show no pain while taking the most ferocious beating, but will wince when a woman tries to clean his wounds.

43. If you are trapped in a tunnel, in a sinking ship, or a burning building, a cute little girl, a nun, and a feisty granny will be trapped with you.

44. All writers are wealthy; all publishing companies are glamorous; all artists are self-supporting and have large attractive well-lit loft studios.

45. Action heroes never face charges for manslaughter or criminal damage despite laying entire cities to waste.

46. During all police investigations it will be necessary to visit a strip club at least once.

47. If an expert makes a prediction and is disbelieved, then it will come to pass exactly as he predicted. If he makes a prediction and is believed, it won’t happen.

48. If there is a large bump in a downhill road, a speeding car will fly over it and hit the ground in shower of sparks. Unsecured passengers will not be injured, and no tire damage, broken axles, or suspension failures will occur. The car will then execute a sharp turn involving a skid.

49. Dogs always know who’s bad and will naturally bark at them.

50. Text appearing on a computer monitor appears letter by letter and making a sound as if it was produced by a typewriter.

5 reasons to quit smoking in college

2012-02-07T22:42:00.000-08:00

Why should you stop smoking while still in school?

You're young, healthy, and carefree.

Right?

WRONG

Here are the top 5 reasons for you to quit while you're ahead.

Reason #1: Smoking is No Longer Sexy

Gone are the days of badasses in leather jackets lighting up on the back of a motor cycle.

In the health-concious society we live in today, smoking is an automatic turn off.

Tossing the butt might grab you some tail.

Reason #2: Alienates Non-Smoking Peers

Aside from repelling possible love interests, smoking might lose you friends.

Second-hand smoke is a legitimate health concern, and people are quick to leave a smoker high and dry in favor of a longer life.

Besides health concerns, smokers are often accompanied by an unpleasant smell that will give some people a headache.

Reason #3: Addiction Will Last a Lifetime

You may justify your addiction by reminding yourself that you are young, and you have all the time in the world to quit.

In reality, with every cigarette comes a stronger addiction.

The time to quit is now.

Reason #4: Creates Clean Air and Clean Campus

Cigarette butts are a terrible thing to sit on as you try to enjoy an outdoor lunch at the quad.

With cigarettes comes litter, of the air as well as the land.

Reason #5: It Costs Too Much Money

Almost by definition, College students lack money.

Instead of buying a $7 pack of smokes, why not spend that on a meal?

Smokers will spend thousands of dollars on cigarettes over their lifetime. Save your money.

12 Businesses Ideas For College Students Living In Dorm

2012-02-07T18:38:00.000-08:00

Every College Student Can Use More Money.

Here's A List Of Business Ideas For Those With The Spirit Of An Entrepreneur.

1. Barber

Learning to give a nice buzz cut can earn you a few extra bucks from guys who don't wanna spend twice the price at a hair salon.

2. CashCrate.com

Its a secure way to get money for surveys, I just signed up and I've made $25 in the last half-hour

Plus, if you get your friends to sign up, you make 20% of what they make, and 10% of whatever their referrals make. Check it out. http://www.cashcrate.com/3523420

3. Create a Blog

If you're reading this right now, you're probably interested in blogs.

Write about something you like and install Google AdSense to turn a profit.

4. Starting a Landscaping Service

Shovel snow, rake leaves, and do yard work for the community surrounding campus.

Most likely, you're customers will compensate you handsomely.

5. Become an Online Juror

No, you will not be convicting anyone of murder.
Online cases are used by lawyers to get a sense of how well their arguments are displayed.

Although cases can be infrequent, twenty minutes can earn you a pretty penny

6. Freelance Writing

The internet is littered with freelance writing jobs, click on one.

7. Sell Your Notes

Type your notes? Why not print out an extra copy to sell to a sick classmate?

As long as they're complete, everyones a winner

8. Work as a Personal Trainer

Were you a high school athlete that didn't make the college cut?

Why not offer your skills to the former band geek? Personal training allows you to make money and stay in shape.

9. Start a Dorm Cleaning Service

Perfect cure for the pigsties that some guys live in, offer your services to help clean up the mess.

10. Have a Car Wash

Not just for high school sports teams, car washes can earn you and a couple friends a lot of cash.

11. Sell Snacks

Buy bulk, sell individually. The client base for snack food at college is astounding.

Just make sure to not munch on the merchandise.

12. Sell Plasma

If you can stomach giving blood, might as well give someone in need some plasma.

Reaching $50 a pop, selling plasma is a quick way to gather some green.

9 Habits That Are A Drain On Your Bank Account

2012-02-07T17:12:00.000-08:00

What Are You Doing To Drain Your Bank Account?

To state the obvious, college kids are not the best with saving money.

That being said, is there anything you can do to keep a few extra bucks in the bank?

Here's a list of 10 common things that can save you some cash.

1. Collect Change.

Most guys will agree, coins can be a pain in the ass to carry. Unlike the ladies, most of us men don't carry around a purse to carry our mess in.

Cashing in a change jar can make the trip the bank a little less painless.

2. Get on the Bike.

Enough people rant about the current gas prices.
This one's self-explanatory.

3. Too Many Transactions.

Ever think about how much money you waste by using another bank's ATM?

If you must accept the $3.00 transaction fee, make sure you withdraw enough cash to last you a while.

4. Why Not Use a Coupon?

Believe it or not, coupons are not just for housewives!

Everyone thinks it is annoying, but 20% off will start to add up.

5. Enjoy A Home Cooked Meal.

Why spend $5 on a burger when you can buy 20 frozen patties for the same amount?

Control the munchies and save some pennies.

6. So What If It's Used?

Cars, books, and homes fall into this category.

Instead of dropping 20K on a new honda, buy the used BMW for the same price and buff out the dents yourself.

7. Retro is in, nowadays.

You girls think you need a new outfit for every event.

Unless your last name is Kardashian, suck it up with something in the closet.

8. Smoking Hurts More Than Your Lungs.

Cigarette prices in places like Manhattan will cost you the better part of $20.
Not only are you killing yourself, but your bank account isn't looking to hot either

Quitting now can give you the money to take the girl that "doesn't date smokers" out on a date.

9. Know The Plan.

If you don't have an unlimited cell phone plan, shut your yap.

Overcharges on cell phone plans can easily reach into the hundreds...just for one month!

Do yourself a favor and keep track of how many minutes and texts you have left, or the next text you send may be the most expensive "whatsup" you've ever said to anyone.

5 Tips to Academic Success in college

2012-02-07T15:53:00.000-08:00

College would be great if class didn't get in the way of the fun stuff.

The structure of our educational system allows most teens to skate by on minimal effort during the course of secondary education. High school has become an factory designed to produce diplomas for everyone - including the bottom 20% of the class. If you think the high GPA you carried in high school is somehow going to follow you throughout your university years, you might want to reconsider the choice to attend an institution of higher level education and save a lot of time and money.

WARNING: COLLEGE IS NOT LIKE HIGH SCHOOL.

By senior year, this was beaten into the heads of many college-bound kids from the administrators that were supposed to be preparing them for college, without proper explanation of techniques on how to succeed in an unstructured environment.

Here are some tips on how to bring home a decent GPA, compiled from people who had to learn the hard way. You won't find these in most college handbooks, trust me.

1. If you are one of those people who has always thought that you may have Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), see a doctor BEFORE FIRST SEMESTER.

Attention in class will make or break your GPA. Many people suffering from ADD and ADHD go undiagnosed and untreated. If you believe your short attention span will land you on academic probation, see a doctor and raise your concerns!

Many medications such as Adderall, Vyvanse, Concerta and Ritalin are all designed to combat the wandering minds of a variety of people suffering from ADD.

Don't wait to consult your doctor! The first semester of college is a hectic experience, and time is scarce. By the time you address your attention problems, your GPA could already be hurting.

Also, due to the abuse potential of attention medications by college students, your doctor might find it to be a little suspicious that you think that you need Adderall after coming back from your first-semester flop...

2. There is a reason that Stephen King is not an astronaut. Consider your academic strengths and weaknesses in deciding on a major.

I see this time and time again with my generation. Perhaps it is because we were raised on the "both teams get a trophy, no matter who won the game" mentality.

If you do not excel in science, maybe the pre-med major you were considering isn't the best choice.

The funny thing about college-level courses is that they really do a great job at exploiting the fields of study that you suck at. It's gonna be pretty tough passing organic chemistry when you had trouble with balancing equations in high school chemistry.

3. No one is a morning person in college. Schedule your classes at times you will be awake and alert.

At some schools, the luxury of late classes may only be a commodity for upperclassmen.

However, if you do have some time options, a PM class is usually the way to go. Advanced Calculus is pretty hard to learn out of one bloodshot eye, and the creative juices needed for Art 101 dry up pretty quickly without some coffee.

Late classes allow flexibility to your schedule: allowing time to study before class, giving you that much needed hour or two of beauty sleep after a late night, and providing time to get some brain food to start learnin'.

Another added benefit is that with early classes, weekends are not the only time to go out. Weekday parties are not unheard of, especially Thursdays.

4. If you were like my friends and I in high school, you don't know how to study. Studying does not mean staring at the words of a book, LEARN HOW TO STUDY.

You've probably heard this before. More than likely, no one has actually took the time to explain practical ways to learn the art of studying.

There is a reason for this, people learn in different ways.

That being said, I'll share a few things that have saved my ass on more than one occasion.

I take notes on my laptop during class, in an outline style format. From there, I use a website called studyblue.com that allows students to upload notes from word documents. It can turn your notes into online flashcards, term sheets, and even generate a practice quiz.

5. Your first semester may be scattered with a few ugly grades. Don't bug out, this is common for the first semester, and you will get the hang of it. That being said, DO NOT LIE to your parents about your academic success, or lack thereof.

This is not like high school. You cannot steal your report card out of the mail and set it on fire, because a bad GPA in college won't go up in smoke.

Talking to your parents eliminates that awkward tension during Christmas break when that "amazing english grade" is sitting on the kitchen counter.

Parents can also tend to offer words of encouragement and advise, and its much better if they're not in the dark.

How To Hook Up in College - Guys

2012-02-07T15:49:00.000-08:00

Are you having sex or not?

Like most stages in life, having sex is pretty high on the to-do list for the majority of college students. However, the tactics that some freshman guys and gals utilize trying to chase tail is terribly flawed.

For myself, finding the perfect girl for me took a mere 48 hours after move-in, and we've been in love ever since.

Other friends of mine were not so lucky, bringing their high school "game" to college and coming up short.

I don't claim know everything about women, what guy does. These are just a list of Do's and DO NOT's when it comes to seducing the ladies at college, as observed through the trial and error of men who have walked that path before.

Let's start with the DO NOT's

1. DO NOT brag about how many girls you used to get in high school.

Telling people about the quantity of sex you may or may not have had only does one thing: Make you look like a douche.

Girls don't like to think that they will be "just another notch in the ole' belt" or that the guy they are with is easy. Man-whores are not attractive after a while.

Besides possibly being perceived as a diseased slut, sharing the number of sexual partners you have had with complete strangers can spark the wrong thought in a girl's mind: He might be overcompensating for something.

She might think the overcompensation is due to a lack of experience with girls, or a smaller than average "appendage" . Either way, these are both things that you do not want your brand new love interest to think for a second.

2. DO NOT try to force yourself onto girls.

This is not to say that you shouldn't be outgoing and flirty. A mild aggressive demeanor is something that most girls find attractive, but many guys have turned the corner from "sexy and knows what he wants" to "creepy and still following me around the club".

Many guys do not mean to transform into the "creepy kid," but not recognizing when you are becoming a little too overbearing can make you infamous with the females of the dorm.

3. If you do get some from a girl in the dorm, DO NOT ignore the girl in the future.

Contrary to popular believe, gossip does not end in high school, and your business will most likely be everyones business.

That being said, you will be known as the guy who likes to "hit it and quit it". If you're not trying to at least spend the next week or two getting to know her, you probably shouldn't be poking her with your manly parts.

4. DO NOT kiss and tell.

This one kinda ties in with the first one.

Telling the entire floor that you've actually touched a vagina does not improve your life in any way. This is college, and most guys have. Telling your best friend is one thing, even a mutual high- five is okay.

Posting it as your Facebook status and having your dad "like" it is not okay.

5. DO NOT brag about how much you can drink or how much you party.

It's college, and most people drink and party. Most girls are now looking for a classy guy.

And no one thinks you're a bad ass.

So what can a guy do to increase his chances of hitting a home run?

Here are a few tips for guys who don't want to strike out

- Approved by a few sexy Alpha Phi sorority girls at University of North Carolina at Wilmington

List of DO's

1. DO care about the girl you are trying to get intimate with.

Don't pretend, many girls can sense when affection is not genuine, which is an automatic turn-off. Girls will only be intimate with guys they like and they trust that their partners like them back. Guys should not pursue a girl purely for sex.

2. DO act confident.

Confidence is sexy. If a guy has the balls to approach a girl, it says a lot about his overall character. The confidence makes the girl think: "I bet he's confident in everything he does," and has the potential to give her a good vibe about his sexual prowess.

This means the guy makes the first move, especially on the first kiss. If the time is right and the feelings are there, take a risk and go in for the kill!

Don't forget the advice of Will Smith: Only go 90% !

3. DO keep yourself up physically

Looks aren't everything, but they do count for something. Muscles of a body builder aren't necessary to attract a female peer, but unless you're Biggie Smalls, the extra chub is not helping your cause. Try not to smoke and take her out to a healthy meal as a date, or join her on a jog.

Who knows, maybe she's going green and she'll invite you to join her in the shower to save water.

4. DO be willing to wait

Getting to see a girl naked probably will not happen overnight. American culture has taught her to hold out and resist, to make certain of your sincerity. We have a saying down south: Put in work. Be persistent yet not aggressive, and start friendships with everybody you meet.

Hopefully you find your way to the right girl. Remember to play the field and don't take anything to seriously,

And never forget: Don't be a fool and wrap your tool!