The Family CEO

eHow Earnings Update for October

2009-11-06T09:45:00.000-06:00

I have posted about my October eHow earnings at Write for eHow. I reached a new milestone this month!

How to Buy North Face Denali Jackets for Less

2009-11-06T09:13:00.000-06:00

My kids, like all other teenagers I see, love the Denali jackets from North Face. That being the case, I was in the market for two new Denali jackets for them but I was balking at the $165 price tags. I did all the usual online shopping searches and couldn't find much of a break anywhere so I headed over to eBay. Here is the process I used to save big money on these jacket purchases.

1. First I had the kids go to a big sporting goods chain store near us to try on jackets. Since you can't return on eBay, I wanted to make sure we were getting the right size. (I discovered that my daughter can wear a youth size in these jackets, which saved us some money as well.)

2. I went to Mr. Rebates, searched for eBay and then clicked through to the eBay website through Mr. Rebates. Doing this earned me a 3% cash back rebate on my purchases just for about 30 extra seconds and a couple of mouse clicks.

3. Once at eBay I did a search for Denali North Face jacket in the size and colors I was looking for. I narrowed my search to only items that were offered using the 'buy it now' feature because I didn't want to mess with bidding. The buy it now prices were low enough I limited myself to those.

3. Keeping in mind shipping costs and seller ratings, I selected the lowest-priced jackets in my sizes/colors that were advertised as new with tags.

By using this method I was able to save almost 50% on these North Face jackets. Now that my purchase is complete, I can earn an extra 50 cent rebate by doing an eBay store review at Mr. Rebates. Hey, every little bit helps! ;-)

Here's Why It Pays to Learn to Sell on eBay

2009-10-29T13:17:00.001-05:00

I loved this guest post at Man vs. Debt about paying off debt by selling on Ebay. The author paid off $15,000 in student loans in nine months by selling stuff she had laying around. I did something similar one year when I financed Christmas by selling on Ebay.

A lot is written about staring a part-time business by selling online. I dabbled in that at one point but ultimately chose to make money by writing online instead. Still I think knowing how to sell on Ebay is a good skill for every Family CEO to have. At some point we all end up with stuff that we don't need anymore and it's surprising what some of that will bring. If you've invested some time learning how to sell on Ebay, it's pretty easy to sell some items in a minimal amount of time. In fact, I don't think it's out of the question to set aside some time once a year to sell unwanted stuff on Ebay or Craigslist and earn a significant amount of money in the process.

Related Articles:

How to Make Money on eBay with Effective eBay Titles

How to Photograph Books for eBay

How to Save Money on Shipping as an eBay Seller

How to Make Money Selling Cookbooks on eBay

How to Make Money Online Selling Kids Clothing on eBay

How to Make Money by Decluttering Your House

How to Start an Online Business Selling Used Books

How to Find Out What Will Sell on eBay

Another Way to Make Money with Mr. Rebates

2009-10-22T12:58:00.004-05:00

I am a fan - and regular user of - Mr. Rebates. Recently I discovered a new feature they have (well, new to me anyway), where they will pay you 50 cents for each short store review you do. It's called a Store Rating Bonus and here's how it works:

You have to have shopped at the store through Mr. Rebates.
Go to the very bottom of any page on the site and click on Store Ratings. (By the way, this feature is helpful to you as a shopper as you can see how others have rated the store.)
Click on the name of the store where you have shopped and then click on Rate and Review Store on the review page that pops up.
You'll be asked to enter a name and a nickname is fine.You'll then be asked to rate the store from 1-10 in five different categories. Finally you'll be asked to write at least a few sentences in the comments section about your experience with the store.

That's it! The whole thing takes maybe a minute and you can add 50 cents to whatever rebate you earned from shopping at the store. Store Rating Bonuses are added to your account and made available immediately.

Since discovering this feature, I've reviewed stores that I've shopped at up to three years ago. So if you've done shopping through Mr. Rebates, you could likely spend a few minutes on the site doing store reviews and earn some money for your trouble.

If you're new to Mr. Rebates, don't miss this opportunity to increase the amount of your rebate every time you shop!

(Note: Mr. Rebates also offers a referral program where you earn money for referring others to the site. This comes at no cost to those you refer - their rebates are the same - so it's truly win/win for both of you. By far the most amount of money that I've earned from Mr. Rebates has come through the referral program. I mean there's only so much shopping one can do! :-) The links in this post are referral links to Mr. Rebates. I say that in the interest of full disclosure because I am happy to recommend this site.)

Related info: Mr. Rebates Review

eHow Earnings for September

2009-10-04T10:39:00.000-05:00

I've posted my September eHow earnings at my blog Write for eHow.

Price of Nintendo Wii Dropped to $199.99

2009-09-30T08:54:00.001-05:00

Does someone you buy for have a Nintendo Wii video game console on his or her Christmas list this year? If so, you're in luck! Just in time for Christmas, the price of the Wii has been dropped from $249.99 to $199.99.

And Amazon is sweetening the deal. Not only do you get free shipping from Amazon but if you order between now and October 3 you'll get a $25 gift card as well. That's $25 you can spend on Wii games or accessories, other Christmas gifts, or even something for yourself.

Now might be a great time to get a jump on your holiday shopping!

Upromise = Completely Passive Income

2009-09-29T14:33:00.003-05:00

The last time I wrote about Upromise was to tell you how I requested a check from them. Upromise is promoted as a way to save for college, but in reality, the money that accrues in your account can be used for any purchase you want.

Upromise has made it much easier to withdraw money since the last time I did it. Back then the instructions on how to do it were hidden on the site and it was kind of a secret that the money could be withdrawn at all. Now, when you visit the Upromise site, you can click on a 'Use Your Earnings' link and four choices come up:

Pay Down a (Sallie Mae Student) Loan
Invest in a 529
Give to Others (your family or friends)
Collect a Check

When you choose option #4, it opens up a form that you can print off and mail or fax to Upromise. I just requsted my second check in the amount of $63.06. I'll update you when I receive it.

Now onto the topic of this post. Upromise is a legitimate form of passive or residual income. Once you've signed up and registered your grocery store reward cards and credit/debit cards with them, the rest of the savings will happen completely automatically.

For instance: our favorite pizza place, which happens to be about a mile from our home, is one of the Upromise restaurants. So every time we pay for our pizza there with a registered credit or debit card, we get a little rebate in our Upromise account. I don't even have to remember to do it. The last credit to our account was 55 cents for pizza we were buying anyway.

The same thing happens at the grocery store when I buy an eligible product from Coca-Cola, Kellogg's, or Del Monte. I don't adjust my shopping habits one bit but because my grocery rewards card is registered with Upromise, I get the rebates.

So while I've only earned a little over $200 from Upromise, the only time I've spent is registering for the site and requesting and cashing my checks. Not a bad deal at all.

Related info:

My other favorite Online Savings Site

Save Big Money by Doing Your Christmas Shopping Online

2009-09-24T06:58:00.009-05:00

There are many great reasons for doing your Christmas shopping online. Among them:

No crowds to fight
No mall or store hours to worry about
No money spent on gas or other transportation costs
Great deals - often available to online shoppers only

But there's something else to make online Christmas shopping even more appealing - online cash back or rebate sites. Just a few extra clicks of the mouse will allow you to earn rebates of up to 25% on all your online Christmas shopping. And I'm talking about thousands of stores, including those where you already shop like Target, Walmart, and Best Buy.

What follows is my how-to for saving the most amount of money when doing your Christmas shopping online:

Sign up for the major rebate sites like Mr. Rebates, Ebates, Big Crumbs, and Cashbaq. They are all free to join and Mr. Rebates, Ebates, and Cashbaq will put $5 in your account just for joining.
When you're ready to do any online shopping, visit Evreward.com and enter the name of the store. Evereward will tell you which cash back site has the best rebate. Some stores offer rebates up to 30%! You can even click through to the cash back site from Evreward.
Once at the cash back site, click through to the store you want to shop at. The rest of your shopping experience will be exactly the same as if you had visited the store directly.
At the end of the Christmas shopping season you should have some nice little rebates coming from one or more of the sites. All for just a few extra clicks each time you shop. Use your rebates to pay some Christmas bills or buy something special for yourself.

Make Money by Decluttering

2009-09-23T09:08:00.004-05:00

Decluttering feels great to most of us. Letting go of all that unused, unwanted stuff can lighten our loads, both literally and figuratively.

But while decluttering is lightening our loads, it can also be fattening our wallets. Indeed there are a number of ways that getting rid of unwanted stuff can benefit you financially.

Hold a Garage Sale.
This may seem like an old-fashioned idea, but it's still a great way to have people pay you to carry off your stuff.

Use eBay
Don't feel up to organizing a garage full of castoffs? Sell them a little at a time on eBay. Check the completed listings to see what is worth your time and what isn't. But don't make assumptions. You may be surprised at what will sell well and what won't.

Use Craigslist
If you've got large items that would be hard to ship, like furniture or appliances, hop on your local Craigslist site and list them there. They could be gone within a few hours.

Check out Consignment Stores.
Consignment stores are great for things like designer clothes, children's clothes and items, and furniture. Some will pay you on the spot and some will pay you when your items sell.

Sell your books, music, and movies.
Many used bookstores will buy unwanted books, CDs and DVDs. If you have a Half Priced Books in your area, you can take in a box or two of these items and they will value them while you browse. If you accept their price, you'll walk out with cash in hand.

Donate
Sometimes a tax deduction can be more appealing than cash in hand. If that's the case, consider donating to your favorite charity and taking the writeoff. It's fast, easy and will still put money in your pocket (or keep less from leaving it) at tax time. Plus you can feel good about having done it.

Some general tips.
Determine your overall goal: are you trying to get top dollar or just get rid of your stuff and earn a little money doing it? Knowing that can keep you from haggling over a 50 cent item at a garage sale.

Know what you're going to do with the money. Whether it's a nice dinner out or an extra credit card payment, keeping in mind your "why" will make all the work worthwhile and make you feel like you've accomplished something.

This post is part of Works for Me Wednesday at We Are That Family and Frugal Fridays at Life as a Mom.

Carbonite Online Computer Backup

2009-09-10T20:52:00.001-05:00

The Carbonite ads finally got to me. Especially the line about how your whole life is on your computer. That is so true! Pictures, documents, contacts, financial information. Everything I do is on my computer.

A couple of years ago I bought an external hard drive to back up files. That works great...when I remember to do it. Despite the fact that it sits on my desk ready to be connected to my laptop at a moment's notice, I estimate I only actually perform a backup a few times a year. And then only the really important stuff because it's such a manual process.

So when Carbonite says that it runs silently in the background of your computer and that you can easily retrieve your files in the case of a fire, a lost laptop or (the most likely of all) a crashed hard drive, I had to admit that it was really attractive.

Purchasing and installing Carbonite was easy. It only took a few minutes and didn't even require me to restart my computer. According to the tutorial, the first backup will likely take a few days, but after that backups will happen very quickly since they will only involve new or changed files.

The cost of Carbonite was $54.95 for one year. I was able to earn a 30% rebate by going through Mr. Rebates. (If you're new to Mr. Rebates you will also get $5 deposited in your account just for signing up.)

If you've had experiences with Carbonite or other online computer backup services, I'd love to hear about them.

Related info: Mr. Rebates Review

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eHow Earnings Update: August

2009-09-04T10:20:00.003-05:00

August was a tough month at eHow. Traffic at the site seemed to suffer from the typical summer doldrums and many writers (myself included) lost some articles in an eHow sweep. Despite all that, I was able to have my second best month ever with earnings of $172.15.

Why am I excited about $172? Remember that income at eHow is residual income. I could choose to not write a thing there this month and reasonably expect to earn that much again. In fact, many months I've done just that. And after only two days of updates, my September earnings already stand at $11.74.

So while August was a tough month, eHow continues to be a legitimate source of online income for those wanting to make money from home. If you're interested in more details, I blog about my eHow journey at Write for eHow. I'd love to have you join me over there.

Related info: Micro Niche Finder Review

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eHow Earnings Update for July

2009-08-07T16:32:00.000-05:00

eHow earnings rebound a little for July.

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Amazon Groceries and Free Shipping

2009-07-21T20:50:00.004-05:00

Tonight I needed to order from Amazon a required reading book for my daughter. The book was $19.95. As anyone who regularly uses Amazon knows, many products are sent with free shipping as long as your order reaches $25 or more. I really didn't want or need to order another book, but I also hated the idea of paying the shipping charge.

What's an Amazon shopper to do?

That's when I remembered that Amazon also sells groceries and other household items. I realized I'd be better off buying something I would eventually need rather than pay the shipping. I decided on a package of razors. The price wasn't any better than I could have done at Walmart or Target, but I loved having it all come to me for free.

I've never shopped Amazon groceries before. Has anyone done a price comparison on things you regularly buy? I'd be interested in hearing a review.

eHow Earnings Update for June

2009-07-06T10:22:00.001-05:00

I have blogged about my June eHow earnings over at Write for eHow. I have also updated my earnings in the sidebar of this blog if you're interested.

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eHow Earnings Up 22% in April

2009-05-01T18:38:00.003-05:00

My eHow earnings for April took a big 22% jump, despite the fact that I only added two articles at the end of the month. My total eHow earnings have now gone over $1000.

You can read more at Write for eHow.

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eHow Earnings Update for March

2009-04-04T10:57:00.000-05:00

$143.76. Total to date is in my sidebar. More info at Write for eHow.

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February eHow Earnings Update

2009-03-07T23:09:00.003-06:00

My February earnings at eHow were $131.97 and almost all of this was passive income. eHow earnings to date are $726.02.

Life has been crazy busy for me so it's wonderful to log on daily and see my eHow earnings grow, even though I haven't been able to write much of late.

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Bookkeeping: A Practical Skill

2009-02-20T10:13:00.005-06:00

In almost every job I've held, and even as a Family CEO, bookkeeping has proven to be a very practical skill to have.

My first job out of college was as a Credit Analyst, where my ten key became my trusty assistant. After that I worked mainly for small firms where my job description consisted of "do whatever needs to be done" and I found myself keeping company books and doing payroll in addition to my other responsibilities.

While staying home with my children I ran a small business from home and bookkeeping came in handy again. I've also been able to help my dad and my husband with their small businesses, all because I knew my way around bookkeeping and payroll software.

Even as a stay-at-home mom and homemaker, those bookkeeping skills came in handy as I managed our budget and worked with our accountant to prepare our taxes. And when I decided to go back to work part-time, I found my job opportunities were much more plentiful because I could add those bookkeeping/accounting/payroll skills to my resume. Indeed, accounting and bookkeeping jobs show up on many "recession-proof jobs" lists.

Besides being a practical skill to have, bookkeeping lends itself to many kinds of working situations. Bookkeepers work in large corporations, small companies, and it even makes a great work from home job. A bookkeeper trained in taxes might even be able to pull in some seasonal work, either on his or her own or working for a CPA. That can be an ideal situation for an at-home parent.

I've written quite a few 'how to' articles on bookkeeping at eHow. If doing this kind of work interests you, I'd encourage you to check them out:

How to Get Free Bookkeeping Training

How to Become a Certified Bookkeeper

How to Take Online Bookkeeping Classes

How to Find Online Bookkeeping Courses

How to Choose Bookkeeping Software

How to Find a Bookkeeping Job

Related Resource:

Bookkeeping Work: Bookkeeping Jobs, Bookkeeping Training, Bookkeeping as a Career

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eHow Earnings Update

2009-02-03T16:45:00.001-06:00

My January eHow earnings were $143.13 and all but 35 cents of that was completely passive income. You can read about the details on my eHow blog.

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Great Free Resource for College Scholarships and Information

2009-01-05T11:46:00.001-06:00

We're in the process of looking at colleges for my oldest child and the school counselor passed along a great resource for lots of college information, particularly college scholarships: FastWeb.

Once you register at FastWeb (it's free) you'll find tabs for Scholarships, College Info, Jobs and Internships, and Other Resources. By filling out a profile, FastWeb will match you with schools and scholarships that meet your criteria.

We're just beginning to figure out all this college stuff (it didn't seem so hard when I went to school!) but FastWeb has been a help to us. Here's a link if you're interested: FastWeb.

Related articles:
How to Plan a College Visit
How to Prepare for the SAT for Free
How to Go to College Without Student Loans

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eHow Earnings Update

2009-01-02T13:42:00.004-06:00

My eHow earnings were $130.30 for December. Details are on my Write for eHow blog.

Happy 2009!

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Save Money on Your Weight Watchers Online or eTools Subscription

2008-12-28T10:40:00.000-06:00

Do you New Years Resolutions include losing weight with Weight Watchers? If you plan to use Weight Watchers Online or Weight Watchers eTools, you can save $10 on your subscription when you access the Weight Watchers website through Cashbaq.

If you're new to Cashbaq, you'll also earn $5 just for signing up. It's free!

For step-by-step instructions visit How to Save $15 on Your Weight Watchers Online or eTools Subscription.

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eHow Earnings Update for November

2008-12-05T12:07:00.005-06:00

I have taken most of my blogging about eHow over to Write for eHow, but I wanted to update my earnings on this blog as well.

My November eHow earnings totaled $101.26, an almost 33% increase over October. At the same time, in order to achieve that I only increased my article count by 15, or 12%. The 15 articles I added in November brought my total article count to 142.

My total eHow earnings to date are $320.62.

The great thing about eHow is the residual income that these articles generate. It's a great way to earn a side income, or even something more significant if you apply yourself. In fact, eHow recently announced that one of its writers has just crossed the $2000/month threshold. Others are right behind. I'm very eager to see where this can lead.

Related site: Make Money from Home Writing for eHow

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Another Site to Earn Money From Writing

2008-11-09T15:52:00.002-06:00

Bukisa is another revenue-sharing content site where you can earn money for your writing, photos, and videos. You can also earn money by referring other members.

Bukisa pays its users based on the number of unique views their content generates each month. Users will also be paid on the number of unique views their referrals generate, up to three levels deep.

I'm eager and excited to see what kind of income potential Bukisa has. And since Bukisa is new, I'm eager to jump in at the beginning. I hope you'll join me at Bukisa. Signup is free!

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Write for eHow: A New Blog

2008-11-08T13:16:00.000-06:00

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you probably have noticed how my experiences writing for eHow have taken it over in the last few months. And while earning income from home by writing for eHow has been a great thing, and certainly in keeping with the purpose of this blog, I've decided it's time to start a new eHow blog devoted entirely to what I've learned by writing for eHow.

For those of you who are interested in earning residual income by writing for eHow, I hope you'll follow me to Write for eHow. And for those of you who aren't, you won't be seeing nearly as much eHow content on this blog as you have in the past few months.

I'll probably continue to post my monthly eHow earnings and highlight articles that are relevant to this blog, but most of the eHow content will be moved to and expanded on at Write for eHow.

I'll take this opportunity to say one more time that writing for eHow has been the most effective thing I've done in terms of earning money online. It truly is something anyone can do and it's much more fun and intellectually stimulating than completing surveys or completing trial offers.

So if you're interested in earning money by writing for eHow, or if you're just interested in following my experiences, I hope you'll take me up on the invitation to follow me at Write for eHow.

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