NOTE: You’ll find that several of the sites listed below offer both onsite assignments as well as work-from-home assignments. When searching for work on such a site it would be a good idea to run your search using the keyword: TELECOMMUTE. This will bring up only work-at-home opportunities.

These resources are extremely valuable as they present opportunities in home office work, many writing Assignments, medical billing, coding and transcription, general transcription, data entry, web design, graphic design, voiceover assignments, Internet marketing, and search engine optimization (SEO) assignments, and more.

Some of the assignments will require that you bid on the job. Many sites offer you a certain number of free bids per week, so use your bids wisely. Others will post the pay rate they’re offering. Obviously, there will be competition for some of these opportunities. Before getting started, compile your resume and any related work samples or endorsements you might have. Make yourself stand out from the crowd by placing these materials on your own website.

Freelance Opportunities

Various Listings

www.2work-at-home.com/telecommute.shtml

freelancefolder.com

www.odesk.com/jobs

jobs.freelanceswitch.com

www.allfreelancework.com

www.freelancefree.com

www.freelancers.net

www.guru.com/pro/index.aspx

www.elance.com

www.getafreelancer.com

www.tjobs.com/joboppsn.shtml

www.worldwideworkathome.com

www.quintcareers.com/telecommute_jobs.html

www.workaholics4hire.com

www.mediabistro.com/bbs/cache/f151_1.asp

Telephone, Writing, and Design

www.onpointathome.com

www.ifreelance.com

Design and Graphic Design

www.designcrowd.com

www.freelancedesigners.com

Web and Programming

www.rentacoder.com

www.devbistro.com/jobs/telecommute

Translators

www.freelancersupport.com

Professional Positions

www.flipdog.com/jobs/usa/telecommute

(Use a Telecommute filter on these huge databases.)

www.simplyhired.com

www.careerbuilder.com

Specialty Listings

Handyman

www.handyman.com

www.hometask.com/services.aspx

Process Server

www.serve-now.com

www.processservers.com

Both my parents have passed away and my mom died at a fairly young age. She was only 48 and I was 26. It seems as I get older I miss her more and more. So I have mixed emotions on Mother’s Day. I wish I could put my arms around her and tell her how much I appreciate all that she did for me.

I appreciate that she made sure I was raised in an innocent world. She protected me and my siblings from all that she could and we were able to have fun childhoods like children should have. We’re pulled so many different ways as women. We have so many roles to fulfill that sometimes it’s just overwhelming!

So on this upcoming Mother’s Day take some time and let yourself remember those very special women in your life now and in the past. If someone wants to pamper you a little on that day then I say sit back and ENJOY IT! Enjoy your good memories of your mother as well.

I think the good thoughts will outweigh the bad if you’ll let them. Being a mother is sometimes very hard and I think most of us are just trying to do the best that we can! I think we all want to just be good moms. We love our children and want them to be the best they can be and we as wives love our husbands.

And we’re trying to have great marriages and great families. You know what I just realized? Writing this post has helped me to look forward to Mother’s Day and to feel less overwhelmed. So… I hope you have a really GREAT Mother’s Day.  Then come back here and tell us about it.

Today, let’s dig into the topic of…mystery shopping. I know mystery shopping has gotten a bad rap and perhaps rightly so. But… contrary to popular belief, mystery shoppers do not review products, nor do they ever pay an application or certification fee. They visit stores, banks, restaurants, hotels, salons and many other businesses to browse, ask questions, purchase and sometimes return products.

Afterwards, they fill out a report about what happened – noting the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff, cleanliness of the environment and other details. All links below are to reputable Mystery Shopper companies who are verified by the Mystery Shopper Providers Association and never charge an application or certification fee.

There are no requirements for being a mystery shopper, though certified mystery shoppers do receive higher paying assignments on average. The certification process is always free from a reputable agency. In addition to per-shopping-trip pay, shoppers receive reimbursement for purchases and services. Pay can range from $8 – $100 or more per trip.

A Closer Look – www.a-closer-look.com/BecomeAShopper.aspx
About Face – www.aboutfacecorp.com/shop_become.cfm
Ace Mystery Shopping – www.acemysteryshopping.com/shoppers.asp
Ann Michaels – www.ishopforyou.com/Shop_For_Ann_Michaels.html
Anonymous Insights – www.a-insights.com
CRG – www.crgms.com/general.cfm
Customer 1st – www.customer-1st.com/shopper/default.asp
Customer Perspectives – www.customerperspectives.com/how-to-become-a-mystery-shopper
DSGAI – www.dsgai.com/Mystery_Shoppers.aspx
Experience Exchange – www.experienceexchange.com
HS Brands – www.hsbrands.com
ICC Decision Services – www.iccds.com/become-a-shopper-2
Infoma – www.informars.com/main/Company/BeAMysteryShopper.aspx
Intellishop – www.intelli-shop.com/evaluator-area/become-an-evaluator
Jancyn – www.jancyn.com/work-for-jancyn
KSS International – www.kernscheduling.com/shoppers
Measure Consumer Perspectives – measurecp.com
Mystery Researchers – www.mysteryresearchers.com/shopper.html
Mystery Shops – www.mysteryshops.com/prospective.asp
Mystique Shopper – www.mystiqueshopper.com/apply.html
Caliber Interactions – www.caliberinteractions.com/become.aspx
Reality Based Group – www.realitybasedgroup.com/secret_shoppers
Secret Shopper – www.secretshopper.com/info/shoppers/shopperIntro.asp
Service Excellence Group – www.serviceexcellencegroup.com/shopper-headquarters/become-a-shopper
Shoppers’ View – www.shoppersview.com/shopper-login.php
Six Star Solutions – www.sixstarsolutions.com/Become_A_Shopper.html
Shoppers’ Critique – www.shopperscritique.com/Preview/LocationSelection.aspx
Tell Us About Us – www.tellusaboutus.com/Customer-Feedback/BecomeShopper.aspx

There. That should be enough to keep you busy for awhile!

Virtual Call and Customer Service Centers

Virtual call center representatives work remotely and are geographically dispersed. Hours are very flexible. Many centers have positions for native English as well as Spanish bilingual speakers. Good call center reps can speak clearly, establish rapport, and multitask. A home office, land line or VoIP phone, computer, Internet access and headset are usually required.

Call centers pay in a variety of ways, including by the minute, on commission, hourly, or any combination of these. Pay varies, but agents typically earn $8 – $16 an hour with top performers averaging $25 an hour.

Accolade Support – www.accoladesupport.com/techjob.html
ACD Direct – www.acddirect.com/becomeanagent.html
Alpine Access – jobs.alpineaccess.com
Arise – www.arise.com/work-at-home
ARO – www.callcenteroptions.com/shell.asp?p=hr
Blue Zebra – www.bluezebraappointmentsetting.com/Careers.aspx
Capital One (virtual call center) – www.capitalone.com/careers
Convergys – careers.convergysworkathome.com/WAHApplyNow.aspx
Cloud 10 – www.cloud10corp.com/index.php?home_career
Cruise.com – www.cruise.com/misc_pages/employment.asp?skin=001
Direct Interactions – www.directinteractions.com/default.aspx
Frontline – frontlinecallcenter.com/Company/Page/2
Globewired – www.globewired.com/web/globe/applynow.html
HirePoint – www.hirepoint.com/athome/index.html
ICT Group – www.ictgroup.com/careers.aspx
Liveops – www.liveops.com/company/careers.html
NCO – www.ncogroup.com/Careers/Search_for_Careers_at_NCO.html
Service 800 inc – www.service800inc.com/careers
Sitel – www.sitel.com/index.php?p=Careers&pageId=8
Sutherland – www.sutherlandathome.com
VIP Desk – www.vipdesk.com/info/careers-at-vipdesk/current-openings.aspx
Ver-A-Fast – www.verafast.net/job_opportunities.htm
West – www.apply.westathome.com/index.html
Xact – www.myxact.com/jobs

Medical Transcription and Coding

Medical transcribers listen to doctor’s voice recordings regarding patient visits, procedures and other information. Transcribers then write this information into a computer text file. Medical coders ensure that doctor’s requests for blood work and other procedures use proper medical codes so that the requests can be filed by health insurance companies.

Both fields require some knowledge of medical terminology. The average starting salary of a medical transcriber/coder is $30,000. This assumes good typing skills.

Applied Medical Service – www.appliedmedicalservices.com/career_main.html
Complete Coding Solutions – www.completecodingsolutions.com/positions.html
Medical Transcription Jobs – www.medicaltranscriptionjobs.org
Personal Touch Coding Solutions – www.personaltouchcoding.com/medical_coding_careers.htm
Professional Medical Services – www.professionalmedicalservices.org/mt_requirements.html

That ought to be enough to keep you busy for a few days! Let us know how you do with these opportunities. I’ll post more opportunities soon.

What I’d like to do to make it up to you is to give you several posts over the next few days to make up for the ones I missed. Plus I’ll be back on my regular posting schedule this week. So let’s get going with today’s post. This post comes from awesome article I found out about. I’ll have a few comments at the end.

Nearly 40 percent of women aged 30 to 55 are worried about spending their retirement years at or near the poverty level because they cannot adequately save for retirement, according to a recent survey.

The National Women’s 2005 Retirement Survey found that women of color are most concerned about their ability to save for retirement. While 53 percent of women of color report that they expect to live at or near the poverty level in their retirement years, just 33 percent of all men expect to face the same dilemma.

The survey was commissioned by the Heinz Family Philanthropies under the direction of Teresa Heinz, founder of the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement and chairman of the Heinz Family Philanthropies.

Here are some of the survey’s other key findings.

• Fifty-two percent of women expect to continue to work once they reach retirement age, including 57 percent of Hispanic women.

• Fifty-four percent of women have little to no money left to save for retirement once they pay their bills, rising to 62 percent among Hispanic and African-American women.

• When asked, “At the present time, do you feel that you are saving enough money for your retirement?” 62 percent of the women surveyed answered no. Among women of color, 74 percent of African-American and Hispanic women said they are not saving enough.

• When asked about barriers to saving for retirement, African-American women are more than twice as likely as white women to cite financial responsibility for adult children or grandchildren” as a reason for not saving for retirement.

• Of the African-American women supporting their adult children or grandchildren, 63 percent report spending between $100 and $1,000 on them each month.

The Heinz Family Philanthropies commissioned this survey with the Christie Foundation, the Barbara Lee Foundation and others to identify the critical retirement savings issues facing women and to use the data to develop ways to help women secure their financial futures. (The survey polled 1,700 adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.)

Ok. So. What did you think of the article? Do you agree with it? Disagree with it? Do you have the same concerns? If so, what are you doing about it? Tell us about your favorite ways to make sure you have enough gold in your golden years. I’d tell you some of my ideas but this post is running a little long. We’ll talk about some of those ideas in my next post.

Another issue the article mentioned is that personalities can clash over money. Many of us marry spouses that have opposite views on finances.Initially these differences attract us, but if we aren’t careful these differences can pull us apart. Savers should understand it’s OK to spend now and then but spenders must learn to stick to savings goals and a budget.

Another thing they brought out was “unilateral delegation.” Too many couples assign bill paying to just one partner. This may seem convenient but it also can leave the other spouse uninformed. Even if one person pays all the bills and writes all the checks a couple should get together once a month to review the family’s bills.

Then the article mentioned how we live for the moment. It said that Americans’ saving is at its lowest since 2007. Many of us are more concerned with the moment than with our futures. If you don’t set aside money for retirement , you could incur more debt later in life and this could increase the burden on your relationship.

Lastly, the article stated that we have lack of preparation. It said that only 51% of adults have estate planning documents and that only 35% have wills. You have to sit down and draft a legally binding will and create a list of where all the important papers are kept. In case of the loss of a spouse the surviving partner may be overwhelmed or unable to deal with the paperwork. Additionally, if the family couldn’t carry on without the lost salary, you might consider buying an insurance policy.

Rick and I have followed some of these suggestions but we need to work on some of the others. We sometimes just let life get in the way but we all need to take some time and get our finances in order and look at our long term financial goals. Life is shorter than we think and before you know it you are looking at those retirement years! Perhaps you’re already there!

So tell us what you think. What techniques do you use in your marriage to handle your financial goals? Give us your ideas in the comments section right below this post. See you next time!

7. Spend time with your family and children. A wife will have a hard time feeling love and affection toward her husband if he mistreats or is unkind to their children. The reverse is also true. WHEN YOU TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN YOUR CHILDREN’S LIVES AND DON’T LEAVE IT MAINLY UP TO ONE SPOUSE IT DOES HELP YOUR MARRIAGE. Sharing the responsibility of raising children is both parents responsibility.

8. Get feedback and help each other. Having a humble attitude and approach helps husbands and wives to learn from one another.

9. Eliminate anger! Anger is a destroyer of marriages and families. Get control of your anger.Never ever hit your spouse. Abuse of any kind (physical, verbal, sexual, or emotional) should never be tolerated.

10. Be sensitive to each others’ stress levels. When you work outside of the home, leave work at work! It might mean you have to leave the frustrations of work at the door as you walk in. It might mean adjusting daily routines from time to time to accommodate one or both spouses. Mothers usually make sure children get off to school and other activities.

They usually fix the food, nurse everyone, and serve as the family psychologist. And then a lot of mothers work outside of the home as well. So when both spouses are tired and drained, emotions can be raw. The key is to support each other through good times as well as those difficult moments.

I heard some one say one time that the important key to remember to a great marriage is “A happy marriage is not so much a matter of romance as it is an anxious concern for the comfort and well-being of one’s companion.” So if you want a happy marriage do what happily married couples do! And now it’s your turn! Tell us what you do to maintain your happy marriage. Just write your comments in the comment box right below this post.

2. Show affection. We all need affection. A hug, holding hands, or a quick kiss shows that we care. We all need to feel loved, needed, and wanted.

3. Remember that you are each others’ therapists. No one knows the two of you better than the two of you! You know each others’ likes, dislikes, strengths and weaknesses. It takes listening and patience and being non-judgmental, and it helps us to think things through. Communication is a must in a happy marriage.

4. Be humble. Having humility and working together to solve problems also makes for a happy marriage. When you can see it from your spouse’s point of view it may change your perspective. When you have a disagreement remember both of you have the responsibility to solve the problem.

5. Date frequently. You need time to renew your relationship. A date gets you away from the mundane of life. If finances are a problem, remember to be creative. Maybe exchange with a friend the babysitting of each others’ children or ask the in-laws! Remember above all, a babysitter is cheaper than a divorce!

I was going to write the rest of the techniques but I see I’m out of time for this week. Looks like you’ll have to wait until next week for the rest of the items.<g> Until then, be thinking about the things that you do as a happily married couple. And don’t be shy! Go ahead and post your favorite items in the comments right below this post.

She knew it would upset me because I had gotten to know this woman and her sisters very well when they were young. They were special young girls. And my sister’s daughter, my niece, was a part of the pack! When the sisters were teenagers we used to take our small kids and all go swimming at their grandma’s and these girls became very special to me.

Wendy, (my sister’s niece), had met this boy in high school who’s name was Jamie. (Jamie later became Wendy’s husband.) So Wendy brought Jamie over to Grandma Sue’s pool so everyone could meet him. At the time she was so giddy, it was so cute!  When Wendy died last week, she was only 40 years old.

And all these memories that I had of Wendy came flooding back and all I saw in my mind was this bubbly young girl and this young boy that she ended up marrying. Now here he was going to have to plan a funeral way too soon. They have two sons, one is 16. The other is 12. It’ s just so sad.

The reason I talk about all this is I guess it’s a way for me to be able to remember the wonderful young girl that Wendy was in the past and the wonderful woman, daughter, wife, mother, and friend she had become. I want to honor her life. I’m sorry her life ended so soon.

I feel for her husband Jamie and their two sons. As you know, I’m a mother of 4 sons and I feel so sorry that Wendy’s mom and dad have to bury a child, no matter what the age. It would be heart breaking. It makes me stop and realize how fortunate I am to have my husband alive and well. It makes me realize how blessed I am to have all four of my sons alive and well.

It makes me want to try to not to take life for granted. I am so grateful for Rick, my sons, my daughters-in-law, my family, and Rick’s family. I hate that it takes something sad like this to make us stop and smell the roses (as they say). To realize what our spouses and families mean to us and to value every day with them.

I hadn’t seen Wendy in about two years and not a lot since we left the South but my sister always kept me up to date on their lives. I’m so grateful to have had Wendy in my life, to have had the opportunity to have known that special personality she had and to have felt her kindness. She was and is a very special woman… I know she’s in Heaven.

1. Camp out in your living room. Set up your tent and accent with plants from around your house. Roast hotdogs & s’mores over the stove. Also, put those “Glow In the Dark Stars” on your ceiling to look at when you turn off the lights. Then you never know what could happen in that tent in the dark!

2. Kite flying! Get some kites at the dollar store. Go to a park, a beach, or an open field. Take your shoes off and go barefoot. Run around and get those kites flying. Then have a picnic, too!

3. Volunteer together. Many volunteer opportunities exist in your community. Most places welcome the help. This is something you’ll have to call about and plan ahead. It can be very rewarding and lots of fun.

4. Read a book together. Go to the library or bookstore. Find a book you both would like and sit down and read it together. Then have hot chocolate afterwards.

5. Find a new recipe that you both would like to try. Start your date by going to purchase the ingredients and make the recipe together. You could then eat it by candlelight.

6. Visit a local museum or art-gallery. Try one you’ve never been to before!

7. Give a little, take a little date. This means spending at least 30 minutes or longer doing a hobby or other activity that your spouse likes to do and then switch and have your spouse spend the same amount of time doing something you like to do. Make sure you set a time limit so no one feels like they’re stuck doing one thing. Go out for ice cream later!

8. Real estate date. Design your dream house together. Draw the house and go to open houses or take a tour of “The Parade of Homes” for ideas. You could even look at ideas to update your current home.

9. Recreate your first date or your favorite date!

I hope you can see yourself enjoying at least one of these ideas for you and your spouse. This might keep your weekly dates from getting boring! Enjoy! And share some of your favorite date ideas with us!