Early next week you can expect the first post in my sweepstakes series! I used to enter sweepstakes as a hobby (and even win sometimes), and I gave that hobby up a few years ago. I have in the last few weeks started it up again, and I’m planning to share my progress and tips with you over the next several months. Sweeping is exciting and fun! If you keep it up,  you’ll win something eventually.

I actually wrote a post on sweeping as a hobby a long time ago on this blog here if you are impatient and want to know more now.

Today, I decided to make a list of some popular sweepstakes you can enter (some of my favorites) if you want to go ahead and get your name in the running for some cash & prizes. I know with some of these it seems really unlikely that you’d win seeing as how the prize is so big, but at least by entering you’re giving yourself a chance:

• HGTV Green Home 2012 sweepstakes - Grand Prize: HGTV Green Home located in Serenbe, GA, $100,000 check, and 2012 GMC Terrain automobile OR $400,000 check, $100,000 check, and GMC Terrain vehicle in lieu of home (ARV $538,535 – $788,535).
• American Family $50,000 cash sweepstakes
• DIY Network Smart Money Solutions Giveaway - Giving away $75,000
• Cloud 9 Father’s Day Experience Giveaway
• Bic Soleil - 2013 BMW 128i Convertible or Cash Option of $32,000 (ARV $40,000-$32,000).
• Anheuser Busch – *This one is through Facebook* Two tickets to each regular-season home game and season parking pass for the NFL team of winner’s choice, to be delivered annually for winner’s life, up to 50 years, beginning with the 2013 football season or $100,000 cash option in lieu of prize (ARV $100,000).
• National Peanut Board – *Instant Win* - Grand Prize: 2012 Ford Focus (ARV $20,500).
  Grand Prize: 1-night trip for four to a Six Flags park and $500 cash (ARV $3,996).
  Instant Win Prizes:
  (200): Peanut pack (ARV $2.33).
  (200): Dry roasted peanuts (ARV $4.99).
  (200): 3 pack of peanut butter (ARV $17).
  (5): Apple iPod Nano (ARV $129).
  (25): $25 Amazon gift card.
  (74): T-shirt (ARV $3.32).
  (24): Peanut prize pack (ARV $24.87).
• Kraft Seek Snack & Win – *Instant Win* - Grand Prize: 6-night trip for four to Oahu, HI, rental car and $3,500 spending money (ARV $14,850).
  Instant Win Prizes:
  (100): Hasbro Battleship USS Missouri (ARV $69.99).
  (500): Hasbro Battleship movie edition (ARV $39.99).
  (2,000): Hollywood Movie Money certificate for two admissions (ARV $26).
  (2,000): Nabisco product coupon (ARV $5).
• Electrolux – *Through Facebook* Full suite of Electrolux appliances (ARV $11,000)
• HBO & Dish Network Watch Like Royalty sweeps – *Instant Win* - Grand Prize: Sony 46″ LED HD Internet TV, surround sound home theater system, and $500 check (ARV $2,299.98).
  First Prizes (2): Apple iPad (ARV $499).
  Instant Win Game Prizes:
  Second Prizes (20): Game of Thrones Season 1 DVD set (ARV $59.99).
  Third Prizes (20): Game of Thrones hoodie (ARV $44.99).
  Fourth Prizes (100): Game of Thrones stein (ARV $24.99).
  Fifth Prizes (20): Game of Thrones t-shirt (ARV $24.99).
  Sixth Prizes (20): Game of Thrones Sigil coaster set (ARV $12.99).
  Seventh Prizes (150): Game of Thrones mouse pad (ARV $11.99).

Good luck if you enter! Please check back later next week for my first post in my sweepstakes series

You can get paid to work at home taking calls for American Express. This is one of the higher-paying phone jobs you can do from home. American Express is not always hiring, but as of the date of this blog post, it appears they are in certain states. In the past, American Express has occasionally contracted through West at Home for workers, but they are currently recruiting directly.

How much does American Express pay?

The job posting says that you start out at $15.73. This rate is based on prior work experience. If you do well though, you can expect your pay to go up. They state that some of their workers make over $20 an hour.

What exactly do you do?

You are primarily taking calls, helping customers with their accounts, answering questions, etc. You need to of course be able to provide a quiet background while you work.

Is training paid?

Yes, training is paid provided that your attendance is 100 percent.

Are you hired as an independent contractor or an employee?

I believe you are hired as an employee because they offer a benefits package with retirement, medical, dental, and vision. Most IC positions do not offer these kinds of benefits.

What is the scheduling like?

This is a full-time position with 40 hour work weeks.

Who can apply?

They are only recruiting in certain states as of the date of this blog posting. These states include:

- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming

Additionally, they are looking for people who have either a 4-year college degree or at least 4 years of customer service experience.

I’ve heard this is a good company to work at home for. They pay well and have good benefits! If you have the required experience or a degree and think you can put in 40 hours a week, this might be a great work at home opportunity. I posted this here today because they are hiring now, but the job posting probably won’t be up for long.

For more information and to apply, visit the job posting at American Express.

Just wanted to let you all know that I have started doing daily (or at least every other day) freebie round-ups on my other blog, Real Ways to Save.  I wanted to do this because I love free stuff myself and I know many of you do, too

I have this laid out very similarly to how my Job Leads board is laid out here on this site in an attempt to ensure that the listings stay neat and organized and you can easily sort through the freebies posted by each day (I bold the date at the top). That also makes it easier for me to delete freebies that have expired, which prevents a bunch of broken links pointing back to my site.

If you like getting freebies in the mail, but sure to check in from time to time for the freebie updates. I try to share it on Facebook as well once I have them posted.

The fun thing about all these freebies is that if you make sending off for them a daily or almost daily habit, soon your mailbox will be overflowing with free samples every week!

As you know, free stuff offers don’t always last long (especially not the really good ones), so please don’t get disheartened or frustrated if you click on something only to find that you’ve missed out.

I will be adding a small section to the board too for “Almost Free” stuff — things that are so cheap (usually less than $5 shipping and all) that they might as well be free.

So that’s it! Please feel free to go ahead and start browsing the Real Ways to Save Daily Freebies Board.

You know those little text ads you see on most websites? There is actually a way to get paid for writing those! And yes, this would be pretty easy writing because the text is very short, usually not more than 30 to 40 words. A site I stumbled across a few days ago called BoostCTR will let you apply as a writer for these ads. However, this is actually more of a crowdsourcing thing than upfront pay writing.

How it Works

After applying and being accepted as a writer, you log in and search for ad-writing contests to enter. You’ll be given all the information you need to write a good ad if you find one you think you can do. According to the website, “Advertisers have the option of accepting, rejecting or modifying every ad submission. If your ad beats the performance of the existing ad, then you are paid the stated contest prize.” So you are competing with others to write the best ad for people/companies that need ads written.

In addition to these ads you write for contest submissions, there are also “instant pay” ads that pay around $4 (the contest ads pay much more more than that if you win, around $25 to $45 apparently), but after digging through their site I can’t find much information about these. However, I have applied and if I’m accepted, I can come back and provide more details.

If a certain advertiser really likes your writing, he/she can select you to participate in private challenges that pay out more than other challenges do.

The Application Process

As stated above, I went through the application process a few days ago. You have to take a short test where you pick which ad out of two given would win in one of their contests, and then you have to explain why you chose the way you did. They stress being very detailed in your explanations.

They state before you take the test that their need for writers fluctuates and that they can afford to be picky in who they approve, so I have no idea if I’ll actually get in or not, but I hope so because I’d really like to try this and see how it goes! And then of course provide more detail here. You are asked about your copywriting experience when you submit your app. Unfortunately the drop down box doesn’t have an option for no experience. You have to select at least one year. But if you’ve ever written any content that was kind of salesy in nature then this would count as some experience.

Getting Paid

BoostCTR will pay you with Paypal for your ads. They do pay every week, but only US dollars are available.

Income Potential

Most opportunities like this are just extra money and that would be my immediate assumption here, but BoostCTR claims differently on their site. This is taken from their FAQ:

How much can I earn with BoostCTR?

A lot! BoostCTR offers its writers the opportunity to generate a consistent and potentially a significant revenue stream while working from home. Our on-demand model allows writers to have the flexibility to choose their own hours, assume projects at their choosing, and the ability to work from any computer with access to the internet. The potential to generate revenue can vary greatly depending on writer’s experience, efficiency, quality of reported ads, writer’s grade, etc.

Is this site for real?

There is little information online from writers who are actually getting paid to do this, but you can find several articles and blog posts from advertisers who are actually using the service and awarding writers in their contests for ad-writing. There is a small thread about BoostCTR on WAHM (which is where I initially found out about this opportunity) that you can read here. My conclusion is that this site is legit, albeit fairly new. There is nothing about it that sends up any red flags for me.

Would you like to go ahead and sign up?

You can do so here. I have applied myself, and I’ll report back on my experience if I am accepted.

Whether you’re a serious filmmaker or just someone who likes creating videos for fun, there is money in uploading your online. And YouTube is not your only option (although it is a good one)! There are a ton of sites that will pay you for the videos you create. Some of the sites are revenue-sharing while others might pay you a flat fee upfront.

If you are interested in making money online with your videos, here are some options to consider:

YouTube

YouTube is by far the most popular video-sharing site, and you can make money using it. They have a partner program you can join, and once you are signed up and approved, the ads you see around your video will earn you revenue. You do have to set up a Google Adsense account and associate it with your YouTube account in order to start profiting from the ad revenue your videos generate.

iStockVideo

iStockPhoto has a “video” section on their site. You can get paid there by uploading videos for others to use, and you’ll be paid royalties. They pay a base royalty of 15 percent for each file download and up to 45 percent for exclusive contributors. You can read more about submitting video to their site here.

Break.com

Break will pay for not only videos (although that’s the main focus on their site), but also for flash games you create and pictures. Videos that end up on the front page of the site get $2000 and you can get $25 if your video ends up in their gallery section.

Blip

Make your own web-based TV show and air it on Blip. Please note this site does not want stand-alone videos. Because they want web TV shows, you have to be consistent and put out videos regularly for it. You can get 50 percent of the revenue that your shows generate on the site, and you retain 100 percent of the rights to your content.

Flixya

Flixya is another revenue-sharing website that allows you to upload your own videos and make money. You can also make money sharing photos and blogs there.

Demand Media

The popular site that hires freelance writers will also hire freelance filmmakers. Similar to how you claim articles to write,  you log in and look for video projects to claim. You’ll be paid anywhere from $200 to $600 for your approved, completed work. Go here for more details on becoming a freelance filmmaker for Demand.

I’d also like to add that while I was doing my research for sites you can use to upload videos and get paid, you would not believe how many I came across that were just totally gone or had a message saying they had to shut down! This list would have been longer if not for that.

If you’re not interested in serious filmmaking and instead prefer to just make one-time short, simple videos, your best bet of everything listed here to earn money are probably going to be YouTube. It is by far the most popular and established.

If you know of any other sites that will pay you for uploading videos, please comment below and let me know!

One of the most sought-after non-phone work at home positions is chat and email based customer service. It seems that there are almost as many people who want to do this at home as there are people wanting to do data entry. Sadly, there are not as many opportunities out there for this as there are phone-based jobs.

But if you have small children at home with you, the majority of the phone-based jobs are not going to work out because of the “no background noise” requirement most of the companies seem to have. So chat and email based customer service positions do seem ideal if that’s your situation.

I’ve decided to do some digging and make a list of the companies that do hire (at least occasionally) for email and chat based work. Please note that the companies listed might not be hiring now and that many of them also hire for phone work:

Site Staff 

Site Staff occasionally hires work at home chat hosts. They have a lot of different clients, so the type of questions you’ll answer and support you’ll give via chat will depend on who you’re doing it for. Pay is around $10 an hour and shifts last roughly four to five hours each. WAH Adventures actually wrote up a thorough review of Site Staff here if you want to check it out.

Talk 2 Rep

Most people who have worked for Talk 2 Rep seem to think that it’s not worth it, but I’m throwing it in here anyway because they are one of the few that do hire people to work from home helping customers via live chat. This is commission-only and most former workers report working tons of hours for little to no pay. Definitely do some research on them so you’re making an informed decision before applying. They also have some phone-based positions.

Sedgwick CMS

Sedgwick does have an e-support (email support) and fax work at home position, although most of their at-home work is primarily phone-based. I did some reading though and apparently this e-support position is very hard to get in on. To check if they are hiring for e-support, visit the Career Center link and select Customer Service/Call Center in the “Area of Interest” drop-down. Then, hit the “Search” button and scroll through until you find the “E-support” position. If it’s not there, keep checking back because they are sometimes in need of e-support reps.

G5 Live

G5 Live is another company, like Talk 2 Rep, that I hesitate to even mention because so many people say it’s a waste of time But, they do hire for chat-based customer support regularly. Also, instead of paying on a weekly basis, they just let you cash out your earnings once you hit $20. This is kind of odd to me and more like many of the extra money opportunities I post rather than an actual home job. I’ve browsed forums and read horror stories from people who have signed up to do this and sat there for eight hours, only making $3 or less. This is because you’re paid a set amount per chat and there just aren’t that many chats to do. As always, do plenty of your own Googling and research on this one before registering so you’re making a fully informed decision.

Arise

Arise apparently has a  lot of clients that are chat and email only, although much of what they have is just phone-based work. You can read this thread at Work Place Like Home to see which clients they have that offer chat/email work.  One thing you should know about Arise is that it’s not like your typical home-based phone job. You actually have to pay to incorporate yourself because it’s sort of like you’re starting a business. That said, Arise is NOT a scam. A lot of people conclude that it is because of the fees, but it isn’t your run of the mill home-based phone job. I would recommend reading the Arise review written by Work at Home No Scams for more details on how it all works. This review is very thorough and will fully explain everything (including the fees and what they’re there for).

Live Sales Staff

Live Sales Staff is another company that offers chat-based customer support. I can’t find a ton of information about them, but one thing I have learned is that they require you to work very long hours (12 hours shifts) and that the pay is not all that great. Their website doesn’t have an application to fill out, you just have to email their HR department and contact them via chat.

Weebly

If you understand web technology and building websites, you might be able to get hired to work at home doing email-based customer service for Weebly. They are not always hiring for this, but as of the date of this blog post, they are. Pay is pretty good at $17 an hour.

A Few Tips

Someone on Work Place Like Home suggested keeping your eyes on sites like Odesk and Elance for chat/email support positions because sometimes companies and individuals recruit workers through there.

It’s also a good idea to check and see if a company you’re interested in has any chat/email support jobs even if they don’t openly advertise it.

Do you know of any other sites that hire for email or chat-based customer support? What are your tips for finding these kinds of jobs?

I’m posting this bit of news on this site instead of my savings site because I initially wrote a review of Food on the Table here sometime late last year.

Food on the Table is a menu-planning service that is normally something you have to pay for. They do have a free membership, but it’s not as good as the paid one.

Anyway, this month they have a special going where if you sign up and enter promo code SPRINGFREE, you can get the service free for life, never having to pay at all! So it’s too good of an offer not to share and follow up that other post with here.

How much would you save?

Well, Food on the Table normally costs about $5 a month if you get the premium membership. With your membership, you get access to a very user-friendly meal planning platform online where you can put in what you want to eat in a given week, check off the ingredients you might need, and get a list of recipes. You can then print off your grocery list, put in your zip code, and see the grocery stores in your area and where the things you need to buy for your week of meals are on sale. This way you’ll for sure spend the least on everything you need and save big bucks.

So, Food on the Table benefits you because it not only helps you plan out your meals based on what your family likes to eat, but it will also help ensure that you’ll get the best deals at local stores for your ingredients while also spitting out a handy grocery list for you of items you need. And yes, they do have an app for a smartphone and yes, you can customize it with your own family recipes so it knows what you often eat.

And … it’s normally something you pay for but if you sign up this month, you will never have to pay. Just create your account and use promo code SPRINGFREE when you check out Enjoy!

You may remember that a few months back, I posted a review of Onpoint Advocacy. Well, Next Wave Advocacy is a similar company. This is a phone job, but it doesn’t involve sales although it is all outbound calling. You are making the calls to interview people about current events and/or political issues from what I’ve read. From the website, you will be, “utilizing unscripted conversations to educate citizens about current political issues and help interested constituents get involved in the democratic process.”

How much does Next Wave Advocacy pay?

Currently the pay is $11 an hour for the phone work. Website claims other incentives are additionally available for outstanding performance on the job.

How often is payment made?

You’ll be paid every week and you can choose direct deposit if that works better for you.

Is this an independent contractor or employee position?

You work for Next Wave as an IC (independent contractor).

What are the hours like?

This is what’s great about this company — the hours are very flexible. Much more flexible than what you’ll see with other work at home phone jobs. You have to put in a minimum of 20 hours a week, but you can work these hours around your own schedule. As long as you put in this much time per week, you can work at any time during the day (although I’m assuming not in the middle of the night or anything because you don’t want to be calling people, waking them up).

What are the requirements to apply?

They are all listed here (including the tech requirements), but basically they want outgoing, motivated people who have basic computer skills. They will train you before you start working so you know exactly what you need to do.

What kind of phone do you use?

You don’t use a cell phone or a landline. If you’re hired, Next Wave will let you download their software program to make the calls through while you’re online. You will need high-speed internet and also a headset.

Is the work steady?

This will depend. This company lets you work on different projects, and the projects don’t all last for a set length of time. Some projects might last a few weeks while others might last a few months. But the good thing is that you can work on more than one project at a time if your schedule will allow for it. So be sure you have a back-up source of income in place if you get put on a project and the project ends without another one for you to join.

What other positions are there at Next Wave Advocacy?

If talking on the phone just isn’t for you, but you do like to write, you can also apply to be a freelance writer for Next Wave. From what I can gather, this mostly involves writing letters to government officials, citizens, etc. about current events/news going on. You can read all about the writing positions at Next Wave here.

Want to go ahead and apply for the phone work?

Go here to fill out your application (you will need a resume).

Summer is just about here, and that means many of us will be hitting theme parks, water parks, zoos, and aquariums. Wouldn’t it be great to get paid back some for your visit? I came across a very unique mystery shopping company called Amusement Advantage that lets you get paid for visiting theme parks. Now would be a great time to sign up if you regularly visit a lot of parks during the summer.

How much does Amusement Advantage pay?

Like any mystery shopping company, it varies. However, you may not get the full amount you spend back. Here is what Amusement Advantage has to say about pay/reimbursement of expenses:

 Because we only service the amusement industry our shops are FUN!  As a result in many cases we don’t provide a large payment or any payment aside from the set reimbursement/payment amount of expenses.  We generally are able to provide reimbursement of all expenses required to evaluate the facility for 1-2 people.  Sometimes there will be additional funds for pay above that amount figured into the TOTAL payment.  Regardless the entire pay and reimbursement is always listed on the posting.  If the total possible payment/reimbursement for a shop is less than $25,  then the payment will ONLY be paid via PayPal.  Total payments under $25 will NOT be paid via check.

In another area of their site, it does say that they may offer free admission passes and/or passes for unlimited rides, etc.

How do you get assignments?

Amusement Advantage posts new assignments on their site around mid-month. You can check the site periodically to see if assignments have been posted and indicate your interest for the ones you’d like to do. You won’t get every assignment that you want. They assign them based on a variety of factors including demographics, past shopper experience, and also client requirements. However, they do say that they try to rotate assignments out so that everyone gets a chance to do a shop from time to time. They say you can increase your chances of getting a shop by requesting early, often, and keeping your profile up to date all the time.

What are you asked to do during shops?

Each client will have their own requirements, but typically you’ll have to check out certain parts of the park and report your findings. You might be checking for cleanliness, good service, food quality, etc. If you’ve ever done mystery shopping before, it won’t be much different from what you normally do.

Please note that you do need to have some writing skills in order to do this kind of work. You’ll have to submit very detailed, thorough reports on your findings after a park visit. You need to be very observant in order to be successful with any type of mystery shopping.

Who is Amusement Advantage open to?

They are open to 49 US states and also Canada. People who live in Nevada are not eligible to do shops directly through Amusement Advantage because mystery shopping is against the law in that state unless you are a licensed private investigator working for a licensed company. However, there is still a way for you to do some shops even if you live in Nevada. They provide details on that here.

Is this company for real?

Yes, Amusement Advantage is real and legit. They’ve been paying mystery shoppers since 1996. You may not be as profitable doing shops for this company as you might be for other mystery shopping companies, but if you’re going to do a lot of park-hopping this summer anyway, it’s a great way to get a little extra to do more on your trip.

For more info, you should check out their FAQ. It’s very detailed.

If you’re ready to apply, go here.

I follow a lot of other work at home blogs, and every once in a while I like to make a list for you of some of the other great, helpful content I’ve come across. Here’s a list of some of the best work at home content I’ve read this week on other blogs:

Top 5 Misconceptions About Work at Home Moms 

This post by Evan Fischer at The Work at Home Woman is an excellent read and really hits home. Being a work at home mom, while very rewarding, is also extremely challenging. So many people have no idea what a constant juggling act it can be.

I Want to Be a Freelance Writer for Parenting Magazines

1099 Mom posted a very insightful Q&A with Kerrie Solsberg McLoughlin, a freelance writer for many parenting magazines. Kerrie offers a lot of advice and tips for people who are interested in doing what she does.

Top 6 Reasons to Build Email Lists for Your Blogs

This post by The Work at Home Wife really hit home for me. If you have a blog, it’s a really good idea to begin building an email list if you haven’t already because quite frankly you can’t always depend on your other sources of traffic (Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) because you don’t have as much control over those as you might think you do.

Write Articles and Answer Questions on Knoji

Great overview of how Knoji works at Work at Home Adventures. If you’re a writer looking for another “egg” to add to your basket, you might enjoy spending some time at Knoji. If I’m not mistaken, I believe Knoji used to be known as Factoidz.

Workers On Board

I’m not mentioning a specific post here, but rather just recommending this site in general. Tons of useful work at home information here! I have had it listed on my resources page for several months now, but I’ve been visiting more and more lately. Definitely take some time and check out the weekly job leads section. Lots of interesting leads get posted every week.

Have you read some good work at home articles this week? Please share!

Guest Post by: Workfromhomejobs.tv

What are the Benefits of Working from Home?

There are a number of benefits to working from home. The lack of travel is a benefit in itself as time is not wasted commuting to and from the workplace. Rather than working on a rigid schedule with fixed, timetabled breaks, you can choose your own hours and take a break whenever you feel it is needed. If you’re a morning person, you can be up with the sun and finish early. If you work better at night, you can still be sleeping whilst others are sitting in an office on Monday morning. Also the stress of meeting targets and aiming to please your boss is non-existent; you are your own boss.

What Kind of Work is Available for Those with No Experience?

There is a range of work available to those with little or no experience which can be undertaken from the comfort one’s own home. Though experience may not be needed for some of these jobs, certain skills can be very useful and increase the opportunities available without the need for formal training.

Though not likely to provide a large income, one of the most basic means of gaining an income from home is by completing surveys for various companies online. These are available on a range of subjects and pay out anything from pennies to a number of dollars or pounds per survey. Alternatively, some companies reward their participants with shopping vouchers instead of cash which can be useful in reducing outgoings or saving for special occasions.

These companies, or others, also offer the chance to write articles or review products in return for a greater sum of money than simply completing surveys, though this requires a greater time investment and a certain degree of literacy and ability to write to a certain standard.

For those who possess a manual skill, the option to handcraft anything from jewellery to clothes is a viable option for making a profit on auctioning websites such as eBay. The potential for earnings here may be greater than writing jobs that are available online and sourcing materials from the very same websites used to sell may return a greater profit. A successful business can potentially arise from such a simple venture.

If you are educated in a specific subject to a high enough level, the option of home tutoring students may be available. This can earn you an hourly rate of pay beyond the minimum wage and brings the benefit of minimising costs to oneself and keeping things simple to manage.

Do I Pay Tax on what I Earn?

It is important to first determine whether you are classed as self-employed. This can be affected in part by the amount of money you earn and the hours you work. However, there is no legal definition for the term “self-employed”. The official government website for the Department of Work and Pensions (UK) does provide some guidelines that allow most people to determine whether they are likely to be classed as self-employed.

If you are self-employed in the UK, then you hold accountability for submitting your own tax and National Insurance contributions. Essentially this means informing the HMRC of your income from self-employment by submitting a self-assessment tax return.

Although you could be subject to paying tax on money earned in this manner, there are some ways of reducing the threshold. There is guidance online relating to this and it involves calculating your losses such as the price of an internet connection if your work involves the use of the internet, or the cost of a laptop if your business or work necessitates a computer.

This post is contribution from the biggest Work from Home Jobs community in UK which provides home workers with all the necessary information and advice on starting up and running a successful self-employment.

Higher One (a company I have researched and reviewed) is currently hiring for seasonal customer support (fall). I did add this to the job leads board the other day, but if this interests you, you should get your app in now because training classes start in July 2012! Training is paid, but this job offers no benefits once you start working.

Please note that this company does conduct both a credit and background check. If you’re worried about your credit not being up to par, this is what the site says regarding that:

Applicant must not have past due or collection items including charge offs, judgments or liens. Bankruptcy items are excluded.

If you’re curious about your credit score, you can check it free (no credit card required or trial period) at Credit Sesame. Just put in your details and they’ll give you your score.

What You Do

This is a phone job. You are taking inbound calls mostly from people who attend colleges/universities and assisting them with inquiries about their student loans.

The Pay

Between $9.50 and $11.50 an hour

Who is eligible?

Higher One is hiring only in specific states. You will not be considered unless you live in either CT, CO, FL, NC, TX, GA or VA. Some prior customer service experience is preferred.

Background noise?

You can’t have background noise, so you’ll need to work this around your younger kids/loud pets if you have them.

Hours?

Monday through Friday, between 8am ET and 11pm ET, between 15-30 hours per week.

If you want to apply or need more detailed information, visit this link, go to “View all job opportunities,”  then click the link that says, “At Home, Seasonal Customer Service Representative.”

You can also read my review of Higher One (scroll down to the comments because many readers have offered valuable feedback/insight)!

Student of Fortune is a different sort of online tutoring site. Pretty much anyone can register to do it,  you don’t have to have a lot of special qualifications or anything like that. You can even do this if you’re a student to help other students for some extra cash.

How does Student of Fortune work?

If you’re trying to earn money with this site, you register for an account (just filling in some very basic info) and begin looking through user questions to see if you can find one you can help with. Instead of actually answering the question, you are supposed to write up a tutorial for the student that helps them find their answer. If the tutorial you posted gets selected by the student, you’ll get paid (minus Student of Fortune’s fees) for your help.

How much are questions worth?

It varies. The students who post the questions set a different bounty amount for every question they post. You will earn whatever the question is worth to the student, minus the fees set forth by the site.

How much are the fees?

This is what Student of Fortune has to say about their fees:

 If your tutorial is purchased by the person who asked the question, you’ll earn the bounty less 18%. That’s about what it costs us to process the transactions and keep the kittens fed for you.

You’ll make great money selling tutorials to the original question askers. But we’re not leaving it at that. With Student of Fortune, you’ll make even more money selling your tutorials to lots of other people… tutorials can be sold dozens or even hundreds of times! In these cases, you’ll get 60% of the bounty.

So as you can see, there is potential to make some ongoing cash here because your tutorials will stay on the site indefinitely and will earn money every time they sell.

What’s to keep a student from reading the tutorial and then not buying your answer?

Student of Fortune does not show the full tutorial to the student, just a small snippet. So they would have to buy it in order to get the real help they need.

How does payment work?

You can withdraw your money through Paypal, but Student of Fortune will deduct a $1.50 fee when you do.

Is this site for real?

It is. It was created originally by some students who were looking for a site like this one that they built out of their own frustration for finding good homework help, but it was recently sold to Chegg, which is a popular book buyback site.

What is the real money potential here?

I wouldn’t advise using it as your full-time job or anything, but I’d say you can make some extra money here and there online by using the site a lot and keeping good tutorials posted. They have a little widget in the sidebar for their “Top Earners,” and those numbers there are pretty impressive, though I’m sure that’s over the course of time the site has been in existence and those people probably use the site religiously.

What have other people had to say about Student of Fortune?

I did find some other interesting reviews:

• Student of Fortune review on Yahoo! Voices
• Review on The Bottom Line

Do you want to try this for yourself? You can sign up here.

Guest Post by: Chrystal Mahan

A month ago I ran across a job posting for My365Assistant.com. I immediately applied, not sure what to expect. My wait for a reply was very short, maybe a day or two. My reply was an immediate request for an interview. Not knowing what to expect, I made it as soon as possible and began to write out a list of possible questions. I did not get a chance to ask those questions because the day of my interview the caller was 45 minutes late. My phone rang one time and then the call was dropped. When I tried to return the call, I got a full mailbox. I had tried another number and ended up leaving a message, not wanting them to think I flaked out. Once I hung up, my next step was to email the person back and let them know that I had my phone ring once, and I had hoped everything was clear on their end.

It was not. The next day I received an email from someone else regarding down servers causing the internet and phone system to go down. It was a new company, so I paid that no mind. Growth pains can be painful, but we all go through them with our business. After a few emails passed back and forth I ended up in orientation. At the time I was still questioning a commission only job, but felt that it was easy enough I had nothing to lose. April 21 was my first “working” day and within a few days I was made Michigan’s District Manager.

I started at 100% commission. I recently (today May 16) switched to the new program which is pay per lead. The company is brand new, but not the people behind it. With the help of a few others we did a complete investigation with the company. Everything is legit and we’ve since made it through our first payday. Yes, this company pays! Wooohooo! I know when working from home this is one of the biggest obstacles.

There have been a lot of shifts within the company. This is to be expected with a start-up. Some good, some bad, but what I like the best is that the owners are more than willing to listen and work things out with us. I don’t know too many bosses like that. There has been nothing but an open line of communication with division and company managers. That is a huge plus for me.

So, let’s get to the nitty gritty that you came here to read…

The work is fairly easy. You do need to have some sort of management or team leading skills to be a district or territory manager. To become a staffing consultant you should have the basic understanding of lead generation because you are responsible for finding leads that could result in a sale. Your past experience is important, but not as much as your desire to be a team player, your motivation, work ethics, and desire to work with the company. The biggest skill I think people need right off the bat are good researching skills. You must know where to look to find people who can benefit from our service.

A personal email and fax system is set-up for you. Again, at time of publication I should mention that the fax service is being switched to another company. If you already have a virtual fax service, you can use that without problems.

From what I understand insurance benefits will be added this summer. There are bonus plans, contests, and other ideas in the works. There are a couple of different pay plans to choose from after the initial 60 day probation. You can also switch pay plans after 6 months if you feel a different one better suits your needs.
Because it is a new company, things will change from time to time until they work out all of the kinks. Patience and dedication are the key ingredients to being successful with My365.

Is commission work for everyone?

No. While I work on my pipeline I am also working on the side with my freelance business, pen name books, and my graduate degree. Because this is a new business, it will take time to build. I am not walking into this with blinders on. I do not expect anyone to quit their day job or side gig for this. You will someday, but not right now. Working a commission job is just like starting your own business. It can also be compared to direct sales. Both work on the mission of seek and find.

Is it hard?

Not at all. But you should devote plenty of time during the day to seeking leads and making connections. There is a monthly quota that has to be met. You will have days where no one will call you. No one will send you an email. All of your voicemails are people saying to please not contact them in the future. You will have bad days. You just have to stay motivated, see the big picture, and keep pushing forward. It does all pay off in the end.

I honestly feel as we continue to work hard the company will grow, allowing us to grow with it. There is a great amount of potential with this company. They offer a product that has a need. It serves a purpose.

Questions?

Feel free to email me cmahan@selfemployedwriter.com and I will try to answer them. Please note that we have signed an NDA so there is a lot that we are not allowed to discuss.

Note: This is a reflection of my personal experience and opinion of the company. This is not a paid review so I am not required to write positively (or negatively) but merely discuss my experience. Your opinion, experience, and results might vary.

Chrystal Mahan, author of Easy Accounting for the Self-Employed and owner of the website Self Employed Writer, has been working from home for over 10 years. She holds Associates in Accounting degree, a Bachelors in General Studies degree with majors in Marketing, Business and Accounting. She is currently working on her Masters of Business. Her blog, More to Life than Chocolate, shares the ups and downs of working from home and her health. You can find more of her business articles on HubPages and Wizzley.