Kiplinger: The Six Best Budgeting Sites

With the slow economy and fast-approaching holidays, keeping track of your money can be like a stomach-churning roller-coaster ride.

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SingleGuyMoney Savings Challenge

A new challenge to put money away in a savings account, and then being able to use that money to give yourself a "loan" when needed.

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Circuit City #3157 - Black Friday Door Open

Good times on Black Friday!

Squidoo

I have updated a few of my lenses at Squidoo recently:

My Favorite Christmas Movies
The Amazon Kindle e-book Reader
NBA Teams (This is still a work-in-progress!)

Piracy In Somalia - FAQ

This link will take you to a site that has tons of info on the Somali Pirates. I think the pirate stories in recent days are fascinating!

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Somali Pirates are a Result of Highly Organized Business

Somali piracy has become a major news item, and most are blaming Somalia’s chronic anarchy. In truth, the pirates have become a highly organized business that originates in the stable civic society of Puntland in the north, not the chaos of the warring south.

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Day 26

So... another month has come and gone, and another 30 day challenge has passed me by without much to show for it! I've made a few dollars here and there, but probably nothing more than $10 total in passive income (cafepress, adsense, etc). My best savings has been using coupons for my grocery shopping and being able to eat at home for lunch and dinner.

I guess I can take one more shot at the goal in December to make an extra $300 in 30 days by "passive" techniques, and then be set for an amazing 2009! Of course, the economy isn't helping all that much, when people aren't buying, but that will all change in January, right??

Buy Nothing Day 2008

You could always save some money by celebrating Buy Nothing Day, which happens to fall on Black Friday this year! How convenient!

PromotionalCodes.com on CNN

Top Tips for shopping on Black Friday 2008. Discounts should be better than ever this year!

Black Friday (Day after Thanksgiving) store advertisements

The site features advance notice of the stores upcoming sales for the day after Thanksgiving, which is traditionally the second biggest shopping day of the year.http://www.blackfridayads.com/

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Tricks to Get Black Friday Deals Without Standing In Line

Learn from a Black Friday expert how to get the deals without getting up early or waiting in line: "The problem is that most shoppers start in the wrong place. They make the assumption that the Black Friday deals are found in the Black Friday advertisements. That's not where they are..."

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Black Friday: Man CRIES on News Because He Didn't Get to Product in Time!

A man that was attempting to get a portable DVD player at Target on Black Friday doesn't make it, and he cries on camera. This is from 2005.

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Are These 10 Common Money Mistakes Keeping You Poor?

As creatures of habit, who like to repeat the same behavior, our personal finance habits have an enormous impact on our financial well being.

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The Best Time to Buy Everything

CNNMoney reports on the Best Time to Buy Air Tickets, Televisions, Houses, Cars, Video Games, and Toys...

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Wal-Mart: How You Can Save Even More!

Tips on saving money by going to Wal-Mart

Poor economy leads to cheaper prices for consumers

American consumers hit by a seemingly endless stream of bad news, from vanishing jobs to shrinking retirement accounts, are getting a small dose of relief: lower prices at stores.

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Let Detroit Go Bankrupt (Mitt Romney)

This is kind of off topic, but I think it is an interesting look at the auto industry, and the impact each of the various options available would have on the economy."A managed bankruptcy may be the only path to the fundamental restructuring the auto industry needs."

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40 devastatingly simple ways the web can save you big money

Capitalism is collapsing, we're eating shoes for dinner and our houses are worth about 10p - so it's more important than ever to ensure that we're getting the biggest bang for our bucks. If money really talked, it'd be saying "go online and save some cash!"

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Tip’d - A Social Community For Financial Articles

A new website where you can submit articles related to all sorts of financial topics. Check it out!

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How To Pay Off $14,330 In 20 Months

Stuck in a $14,300 debt hole, reader Trixare4kids was able to dig herself out using tips she learned about on Consumerist.com. Let's learn how she attacked her personal finances and learned to live frugally, and did it all in just 20 months. "As of today I am debt free...My spirit feels lighter. I am free. I am doing a happy dance."

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Mr. Rebates

I found a new online shopping site today - Mr. Rebates. It is a site where you can get cash back from a variety of online retailers. They also have links to coupons and other discounts you can use when shopping on the websites. Check it out!

$300 in November - Day 1

It's that time again - time to start a new 30 day challenge! I was looking back over the history of the blog, and realized my first month was January of 2008, so there is still a chance that I can complete the challenge at least once within the first year of the creation of the blog. I have had a few months where I did make some money but didn't post about it, but I don't know that I have ever reached my goal.

Speaking of the goal - to clarify, my goal is to make $300 in 30 days using alternative means of employment to my regular job. This would include using blogs, sites like Squidoo, online surveys, and other means of alternative income. These can be broken down into categories, two of the main being passive and active sources, and I plan to get into more detail each day as I write about what I am doing.

I also plan to do a comprehensive update once a week to see where I am at - figure out what is working and what may have to change to meet my goal. Since there are 30 days in November it works out great, but I think my goal is to be over the finish line by Thanksgiving, since I'm not sure how much time I will have to work on the goal that weekend.

Of course, making money online doesn't mean I have to be online the entire time. When looking at passive sources of income (Google AdSense, etc) you just have to have the site set up properly, and let time take it's turn. And as you build a sustainable stream of passive income, the long-term benefits are that you should be able to spend time on expanding, rather than maintaining, and further increase your profits.

Let the Challenge begin!

"Credit cards likely to change"

Credit-card holders, you're in for a rough ride. As the financial crisis deepens, some experts say card issuers will be even quicker to raise interest rates, drop people's spending limits and tighten up credit. "You can definitely expect that banks will tighten up the credit-card market," said Bill Hardekopf.....

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WSJ.com - How to Cope With the Credit Crunch

The financial crisis is making it difficult for small businesses to secure credit. A look at alternatives for getting extra cash to run a business in this economy.

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20+ Ways to Get Rid of Your Debt for Good

The first step is probably the most obvious - stop spending!

This is not a step-by-step guide to reducing debt. Rather, it is a collection of a lot of the wisdom I have read so far on this topic and a list of some of the things that worked for us.

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How to Use Google Documents : Finance Formulas in Google Documents

This feature is kind of cool - you can use Google Docs to make a spreadsheet using data from Google Finance. I don't have a large portfolio, but this is useful to know, even for my limited need. And I do like Google Docs for basic spreadsheet functions and the fact that it is easy to access from anywhere!

Woman Says She Gets Free Groceries

Where is she getting toothpaste for $0.99??

YouTube!

So I was going through a few websites tonight when it hit me that YouTube might be a good source for videos on frugality and saving money! I'm sure as I poke around and click through that I may find other money tips, including saving and even making money in non-pyramid scheme ways. The first video I liked is posted in the previous post.

Saving Big On Food

Is your grocery bill eating you alive? Not once you've seen these tips that may shave your bill by 20 percent or more.

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The Frugalista Files

I found a new blog tonight - The Frugalista Files. The blogger talks about her challenge of living a frugal lifestyle for a month after a few college years of spending big.

From the site:

During the month of February, reporter Natalie P. McNeal does the unthinkable: buys virtually nothing. She knows she needs to rein in her spending. She will go a month without shopping, eating out, manicures, eyebrow waxing and/or hair salon visits. Get a front seat view in her quest to save a buck. Natalie will be cooking regularly, coupon clipping and free-party hopping. And yes, The Frugalista is determined to have a good time – for free.

Her latest post mentions one of the shifts in the current economy - Packaged food sales are up as more people are eating at home.

Ten Ways to Save Green by Going Green

I've thought it would be cool to be able to buy a solar panel that would be enough to power one or two appliances and could be installed like a satellite dish. It may not save the world, but it would at least be something. The article linked to here points out that "Going green inherently saves money - by using less, we save more".

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Top 10 money drains

These seemingly small expenses can bleed dry potential savings. Identify and avoid these common money drains. One of the easiest (and best for your health!) is the afternoon snack, that can save you $260 a year. That would be a monthly car payment for many people!

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The 10 Worst Job Tips Ever

I am considering looking for a new job myself, and this list was pretty useful. Check it out!

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How to: Live on $12,000 a Year

One of the tips: "Master the art of coupon clipping, but only save coupons for items you actually use." I just finished cutting my coupons from the Sunday paper! Good times!

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10 Truths About Frugal Living

This posting lists 10 general truths about frugal living from 5,000 reader comments. It's from a blog called FrugalDad, and he seems to have some great tips!

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Pay Off Debt And Save Money At The Same Time

The secret is having a weekly budget instead of a monthly budget.

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As Gas Prices Go Down, So Will Food, Right? No

As prices for crude oil and other commodities ease, Americans have gotten a small dose of relief at the gas pump. But don't expect less pain at the grocery counter.Food inflation is to stay — and will probably get worse for some things.That's because retail prices for cereal, eggs, cheese and meat generally lag by several months.

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Printable Retail Coupons

This is a great list of coupons! There is no login required, and coupons are available for BestBuy, Sears, Circut City, Radio Shack, and Barnes & Noble. There are also several for guest passes at fitness centers.

For grocery coupons, try this link: Grocery Coupons

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90% of People Believe Personal Finance Should a Required Part of School

Seems like a fairly obvious thing to be teaching in school - and I remember having a few lessons on it, but it is probably true that there should be an expanded curriculum to help prepare teenagers for later in life. Any thoughts?

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88 Tips To Save Money

Many of the suggestions have been mentioned before, but it's always good to review and make sure you are looking at ways to save money in all areas. This list of 88 tips includes things you can look at with your personal finances, food, home, electronics, and other great ares.

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10 New Ways to Make Money Online

So you want to ditch your corporate cubicle and join the ranks of web workers? But you have a mortgage, maybe a dependent or two, and a taste for Venti Mochas from Starbucks? You can make money in the new economy, though it might not be as easy or cushy as keeping your old economy job.

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Have you checked out Scour.com?

Scour.com allows you to search Google/Yahoo/MSN from one place and earn points redeemable for VISA gift cards. Check it out!

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Top 60 Finance Blogs (by Alexa ranking)

Another list of finance blogs, this time using Alexa and Technorati rankings. These blogs are more related to finance in general as opposed to personal finance, but they still may prove useful if you are looking for info on investing and such.

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Happy Birthday Disneyland!

53 years old today!

Building a Personal Finance Library: 25 of the Best Books About Money

Get Rich Slowly puts together a list of books relating to a variety of personal finance topics. I have read The Millionaire Next Door, and found it to be quite motivating!

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How to Make a Million Dollars: Festival of Under 30 Finances - May 30, 2008

The following is one of the "Carnival" posts for the group focusing on "Under 30 Finances". This month's posting was hosted by How To Make a Million Dollars, and seems to have several useful links. This is one of the things I have been considering participating in, although I would probably have to come up with something useful to say!

How to Make a Million Dollars: Festival of Under 30 Finances - May 30, 2008

Top 100 Personal Finance blogs based on del.icio.us popularity

Posting that lists the 100 personal finance bloggers as ranked by the number of del.icio.us bookmarks.

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National Aviation Day

So it's kind of random, but I made a t-shirt design for National Aviation Day to upload at Cafepress. It isn't until August 19th, but I figured I'd get it uploaded so people could get their shirts ordered in time! :) To be honest, I'll be lucky if I sell one!

Scour - Get paid to search!

A friend sent me a link to a new search engine platform - Scour! It is a combination of results from Google, MSN, and Yahoo, along with ranking and reviews by users. They just went live this week, so by signing up you can be one of the first to use the new system!

Their mission:

Scour’s purpose is to bridge the gap between searchers and relevant results. Our goal is to provide users with the most relevant results available by providing a platform for searchers to vote on relevancy, share their feedback and connect with one another creating a true social search community, attained through innovative solutions to meet the needs of the Scour community

Fresh & Easy

I have been meaning to write about my trip to the local Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market - it was kind of exciting! I had read about the store last year in The Economist, and have driven by it a few times, but hadn't made a visit until about two weeks ago. I had kind of thought it was going to be more like Whole Foods - convenient, but pricey - and I was surprised that it was actually quite affordable and easy. The one I went to only had self-checkout counters, with someone there to assist as needed.

One of their values is "We think fresh, wholesome food should be accessible and affordable to everyone." From my experience, they seem to live up to that goal!

The task at hand - Day 5

In keeping with my stated goal, I should probably do an update for July, although it is already day 5, and there is not much to report. :)

I did make a few updates at Squidoo, most notably my page on Adam Smith's Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. My income from Squidoo has never really increased, but there are still a few sales here and there, and I don't spend much time on it.

I have been planning to spend more time on HubPages, since the payment is more direct from AdSense, but I haven't had much time.

Other than that, not much to report!

Humor on Frugality

So a new discovery - Punny Money. It's a humorous blog that uses cartoons, pretty pictures, bulleted lists, and too many exclamation points!!

I do have one objection - he doesn't believe in coupons! Of course, I do agree with most of his points - the only way to benefit from coupons is if they are for items you need or use, as opposed to buying something new just because you have a coupon for it.

Off to a great start

Do you ever wish you had been better with money and finances after graduation from high school? Over at Youngdough.com, you can read about "a college kid’s journey to financial freedom", and his plans to take control of his finances early on. He seems to be off to a good start with the dividends, but has some work to do on the blogging! Of course, who am I to talk!

Another blog with a similar theme is Neville's Financial Blog. His stated goal is "Tracking the road to financial success from the age of 22 (now 25)".

Happy 4th of July!

What a great holiday!

July plan

Well, it's been about a month since I was last posting - not the best rate of posting for a blog that is supposed to track my progress over 30 days! It's been an interesting month, and I still haven't made much progress in my online goal, but I did get a promotion at work, and that has helped out quite a bit!

I have realized that part of my problem has been the need to have more focus in my posts, and to plan ahead. I have thought about using two main divisions - making money vs saving money - and then creating subcategories within those main branches.

51 Painless Money Saving Tips

A great list of 51 Money Saving Tips from the blog Dough Roller.

#7 has worked for me in the past (Request a reduction in the interest rate on your credit cards). It's interesting that all it takes is a call and asking the question, but you really can get them to lower the rate by a percentage point or two.

#10 (Get your books from the library) is another one of my favorites. It's also nice because if you aren't enjoying the book, you don't feel obligated to read it - you just take it back and check out another one!

12 Ways To Be Financially Boring

Great post listing 12 Ways To Be Financially Boring. I just got back from the library about 10 minutes ago (#12), and of course I clip my coupons and double them at Ralphs! (#11)

Single Guy Money: I admit it...I'm a clipper!

This post made me laugh - I just got back from the grocery store about an hour ago after saving $8.07 with coupons (I spent $7.07 at the store - a savings of 53%!) and telling the cashier that using the coupons was close to being the highlight of my day today!

Single Guy Money: I admit it...I'm a clipper!

Marrying debt

An interesting post from the perspective of someone who has no debt and is considering marriage to a person who has very high debt. She mentions that her plan is to give more details on how he reduced his debt in future posts, so stay tuned!

Freelance life

Mrs. Micah has a great blog on Finance for a Freelance Life.

Visualize your Debt

Have you ever imagined what your debt would look like if it was in cash? $100 bills? $50s? Even $20s? Can you imagine that pile of cash sitting on your desk?

Over at Your Finish Rich Plan, the ides is given to use the power of visualization to help you face your debt. If you were to take paper money in the amount of your debt, it is much easier to see that it is in fact real, and that you need to do something about it - the first step to the reduction. Once you are ready for the challenge and can see the debt in front of you, you now have the ability to physically remove the debt as you pay it off. There really is a value in seeing the "cash" go away in front of your eyes, as opposed to numbers on a spreadsheet.

Sense to Save has a photo of what their debt looks like.

Don't want to be a millionaire?

Great post over at a blog called No Debt Plan that lists 10 steps to avoid becoming a millionaire. It's basically a reverse list of what steps you would take to be more financially secure, but probably hits a bit harder, because he lists things we are probably doing, but shouldn't be, since they are on the negative list.

More sales!

A few more sales of my "I Read, Do you?" t-shirts! I think it's my favorite design on CafePress, outside of my Abe and George mugs that have also sold well.

"The Best Finance Blogs"

A few blogs recommended as being "The Best" by FinanceDaily.com.

What do you think?

$50 a month on groceries!

From my last post on the May Grocery Challenge, I found a link to a blogger who has a budget of $50 a month for groceries. The blog is called Change Can Be A Good Thing, and the author really has done a great job in giving simple examples of saving and budgeting!

One of her great ideas is tracking No Spending Days. It seems like a good way to ensure that you stick to a budget - if you plan to not spend any money on a particular day, and you meet your goal of not spending any money, it is easy to track!

Join the Grocery Challenge!

This is something I really need to focus on - a monthly grocery budget. The blog Give Me Back my Five Bucks is running the May Grocery Challenge, and seems to have a pretty good list of participants. It seems that most people are around $100-$150/person for the month, but a few people go as low as $50! Amazing!

I guess a good place to start would be to add up my expenses for the last few months to see where I am at currently, and then go from there to try and work it down a few dollars. It seems so simple, yet I haven't been able to quite keep my momentum going!

Snowflakes in April?

I finally have my finances charted out to the point that I can begin an effective snowball in my efforts to reduce my debt. Hopefully I can get the momentum started, even if it is with a small ammount, and then increase my payments as I am able to increase my "extra" income. I'll put up a few more specifics of my plan in another post...

Make an extra $25

If you sign up before tomorrow, using the link below, you will receive a $25 bonus. The site works like Paypal, but without the fee structure. Try it out!

Getting closer to Tax Day!

There is just over one week left before the big day - April 15th! Tax Day!

Are you ready?

April - Day 6

It looks like I made a sale on my Squidoo lens Things to do in Hawaii. The commission isn't all that high, but considering I haven't done anything with the site in about 6 months, it's at least nice to see that there still may be potential in the Squidoo site.

April - Days 1-5

Well, it's now the 4th month of my experiment, and I'm already behind, and I still haven't had a month where I have even come close to reaching the goal of an extra $300.

But that's no reason to despair! There are still 24 or so more days in April - plenty of time to reach my goal!

February - Results

And the totals are:

AdSense: $1.64
Cafepress: $22.50
Amazon: $0
mTurk: $.50
Squidoo: $3.00
Hubpages: $0
CJ: $0

Total: $27.64

It was better than January, but only because of some sales on Cafepress. I think it helped that some of my items were related to February holidays.

The Check is in the Mail!

Here's an update on the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 "refund check" from Single Guy Money. It looks like they have a schedule out now for when you should receive the payment. We'll see what kind of effect it has, if any.

It will help me double my goal of $300 in 30 days... that $600 check will be nice, and I suppose I could take May and June off! :) Or I could stick with my plan, and reduce my debt by double those two months. I think I'll stick with the plan!

January - Results

In the month of January:

AdSense: $1.50
Cafepress: $0
Amazon: $0
mTurk: $.50
Squidoo: $2.50
Hubpages: $0
CJ: $0

Total: $4.50

So I decided to round the numbers a bit... since there really isn't much of anything to show for the month.

Plan for April

So the new plan is to try again with the 30 day challenge in April, and for the remainder of March I will be working out a daily schedule to accomplish that goal in April. March has turned out to be a pretty good month so far, and because of a contest I won on one of the sites I use, I will be well over $100. I'll also try and get an update put together for January and February results. It's been a busy past few weeks!

Debt Support Group

Part of the reason for attempting to make $300 in 30 days is to reduce my debt. I have recently been reading several blogs and forums on better ways to plan and implement a strategy for reducing debt. One site that seems interesting is a Debt Support Group on iVillage.

Month 3 - Day 2

I made a few cents early today on MTurk - it isn't the highest paying site, but I do enjoy the break it gives me for 3-4 minutes as I make my $0.30! :)

Month 3 - Day 1

A return to AdWords:

My latest efforts with CafePress.com
have involved using AdWords again, but I'm not sure it's going to work out as planned. I have had a few sales of my "I Read, Do you?" t-shirts, and I thought I might try to do some placement ads , but it doesn't seem to be working out. Maybe I need to read up a bit more on AdWords - it's been about a year since I last used it!

Month 3

My third attempt at this... my first two tries weren't all that successful. Most of my problem in February came from a relocation and trouble with the internet at my new apartment. That kept me down for about a week, but I also didn't put in the effort needed the other three weeks to make up the difference. We'll see what March has in store - "in like a lion"?

Need to update

Well, it's been about a month since I have blogged... not the best record, considering it is only the second month this blog has been around! I'll try and get a few updates prepared tonight and tomorrow, and we'll go from there!

Day 28 - New Plan for a New Month

At this point, I think my best bet is to start preparing for my second go at $300 in 30 days for the month of February. (Although in reality the month only has 29, but we'll deal with that when we get to it!)

There have been a few signs of success.... a few clicks here and there as well as some Cafepress affiliate sales, but still a long way to go!!

Day 26 - What happened?

Well, things haven't gone exactly as planned this month, but that's OK. I still have a few more days to wrap up a few things and then I am set for February and we'll try this again! My goal at the beginning was to make $300 in the month of January, but as I thought about it, I realized my goal should be to make $300 each month (as a starting point), so this blog can serve as a tracking device for the next few months as I work towards making my goal sustainable.

Day 18 - More Mahalo and Squidoo

Today I plan to work on a few more search result pages for Mahalo, and this morning I updated a few of my Squidoo pages:

Counting Crows
Back to the Future

You can see a group of my sites here.

Day 17 - TurboTax

Ready to claim that refund you have been waiting for? Wait no longer!



TurboTax is the program I have used for the last 4 years, and have always been extremely pleased with the results. It also keeps track of your info from year to year, so you don't have to re-enter all sorts of information.

I won't count my tax refund as part of my goal, but it will be a nice addition to my monthly income!

Update - Week 2

Cafepress - $0.70 on a Referral sale
Squidoo - $5.09 from November, but I don't know that I'll count it toward my total this month. Also created a new page.
Mahalo - One result page submitted = $14
Hubpages - I have a few new hubs: Online Calendars and Groundhog Day, and have seen continued good traffic on my existing hubs. No sales, but maybe a few Adsense clicks
Amazon Associates - A few more clicks, but still no sales
Adsense - $0.78
MySurvey - Several online surveys and one by mail, so not enough points for payment
Amazon Mechanical Turk - $0.50

So my new total so far for the month = $15.98

Day 13 - Disney Movie Club

The Disney Movie Club is a great deal if you are looking to expand your collection of Disney DVDs.

Day 12 - Coupons

Today's idea is a bit different than the others so far, since it isn't necessarily a way to make money, but instead a way to save money. I have recently discovered the excitement of Double Coupons at Ralphs, and today I had my best day yet - I spent $37.33 on groceries, but between my Ralphs Club Card and Double Coupons, I saved $37.62 - more than %50 off of my bill!!

It started a few months ago when I subscribed to the Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Times, and realized that the paper included coupons. I have always used the club card at Ralphs (my local grocery store), but I hadn't used many coupons before. The paper cost $15 for 12-15 weeks (I don't remember exactly how long I subscribed!) and they gave me a $10 gas card for signing up. With the coupons being 'doubled' at Ralphs, I figure I am saving an average of $10 a week with the coupons, so $120-150 over the time of my subscription. I think that pretty much pays for the paper, and as of yesterday, has helped cut my grocery bill in half!

There are a few online grocery coupon sites, but I have had the most success from the Sunday paper. If I had a family (baby food, diapers, etc) there are lots of opportunities to save online, so that is something to keep in mind.

Day 11 - Mystery Shopping

Perhaps you have heard of secret shoppers or mystery shoppers, but didn't actually believe that people made money doing that sort of thing. I actually have made some money doing this in the past - not necessarily a large amount of money, but a few meals and gas money and such. So as part of my $300 in 30 days, I suppose it would be valid to include a mystery shop or two, since all of the paperwork is done online, along with signing up for the job in the first place.

I'll have to put together a list of some of the sites I have used in the past....

Day 10 - Zazzle

Another t-shirt design program I have used is Zazzle. I haven't had much success (only $0.36 as of Dec. 31st), but I also haven't put as much effort into Zazzle as I have at Cafepress. I do like the site itself, though, and it seems to offer many options that aren't found on Cafepress. If I had a better ability with design, I would probably be spending much more time there - it seems to be the place for artists.

A sample design:


Lots of original prints and pictures and t-shirts... the main reason my commission is so low is because I have only sold 2 cards with an image created by a friend. No one has bought the mousepad version:

Day 9 - Other Google Programs

There are several other types of Google affiliate programs - I haven't actually used any of them, and don't know much about them, so part of my learning process will be to figure out if they are at all useful and worth promoting.

Update - Week 1

I guess the first week is over, and not too much to show for it:

Cafepress - No sales or affiliate sales
Squidoo - A few visits, but no sales that have shown up so far
Mahalo - One result page submitted = $14
Hubpages - I have one new hub, and have seen good traffic on my existing hubs, but no sales
Amazon Associates - A few clicks, but no sales
Adsense - $0.26
MySurvey - One online survey and one by mail, so not enough points for payment
Amazon Mechanical Turk - $0.46

So my total for the month = $14.72

Day 8 - Amazon Mechanical Turk

Kind of a strange name, and not exactly the greatest money-making site out there, but hey - if you can have fun making that $0.40 (yes, forty cents) a day, they why not?

Amazon's Mechanical Turk program allows users to submit 'tasks' that are then completed by other users, who are paid for their work. The downside here is that most tasks pay less than $0.07, so it takes some time to build up a respectable sum, but I do have to admit, by spending 5 minutes every so often on the site, I have earned $10 without much effort.

Don't expect to be making that $300 from this site alone, unless you are excellent at transcribing and can build up a reputation in that area, but it is a nice break, and kind of fun to watch your pennies add up!

Day 7 - MySurvey

Mysurvey.com is one of many (probably hundreds) of survey sites online, but it is different from the others in that I have actually made money with this one. They payout level is $10, and I probably hit that every two months or so, making $50-60 a year, which isn't a ton, but it certainly is a few free lunches. :) And I rarely spend more than 5-10 minutes on a survey, so it doesn't take much time at all.

If anyone has had any luck with other survey sites, let me know, but for now, this is the only one I can vouch for!

Day 6 - Adsense

Google Adsense is a fairly basic advertising program for your website or blog. It shows relevant Google ads inside of a box the size and shape of your choosing, and when visitors to your site click on the ads, you receive a small commission. I haven't had great success with it yet, but I haven't been entirely unsuccessful. (If a few cents each week can be counted as success!) My goal this month is to figure out how to use Adsense more effectively, to the point it helps people out in their web browsing, and maybe brings in a few more cents each week! :)

Day 5 - Amazon Associates

One of the affiliate programs I have found some success with is Amazon Associates. I have sold a few items, although most of them have been through Squidoo, rather than direct posts on my other blogs. I'm sure that with a bit more focus, I could increase my sales, particularly since Amazon seems to sell anything and everything under the sun. It is just a matter of finding the right products for your audience.

The link below is an example of one of the widgets you can create. This particular one lists the deals of the day and other discount items.

Day 4 - Hubpages

After spending some time on Squidoo, I decided to look around for some other sites that are similar, and found HubPages. It is somewhat different from Squidoo in that it is much simpler, and tends to have a bit more focus in the content.

For example, the hub Off-the-Wall Holidays: January 2008. The author has put some time into creating the hub, and it is mostly text, but it does include a few ads. The profit is shared between the hub creator and Hubpages, but unlike Squidoo, your account (Amazon, Adsense, etc.) is credited immediately. I like the fact that the content is more user generated, and it also has the added feature of creating "requests", which are then answered by other hubbers. The only downside I have seen (and maybe I just don't know how to do this) is that the pages aren't as easily 'linked' by subject or topic as they are on Squidoo, but the quality when you find a topic is generally high. Of course, there are always the poorly created pages!

To see some of the hubs I've created, click here.

Day 3 - Mahalo

Mahalo is something that would be a part of Web 2.0 - and possibly pushing it a bit further. It is a collection of user-generated search results, with the intent of eliminating the "keyword" abuse and clutter that fills up the search result pages of regular search engines. Users put together collections of links in various categories related to a topic, and visitors can then search for a page that covers the topic they are interested in.

It isn't an affiliate or sales program - it is more like a part-time job. You can sign up here to be a member of the Greenhouse, where you are paid for creating search result pages.

Day 2 - Squidoo

If you are reading this post, you are probably well aware of Web 2.0, and user-generated content that is becoming more and more the focus of the internet. And if you are interested in making money with user generated content, you probably realize there are plenty of ways to go about that. One site that I have found useful is Squidoo. I have been able to create a series of pages related to various topics that are of interest to me, and then I share in revenues from Adsense, as well as being able to make money from Amazon and eBay sales.

The payout is monthly, with about a one month delay, although your stats are updated daily so you can see any revenue from product sales. It is very simple to get started with a few pages, and then get involved in groups and linking your pages together to create even more useful content.

Check it out here:

Day 1 - Cafepress

So to begin, I figured I would mention my most successful program to date - Cafepress. I have made money both by selling products I have designed and promoting products designed by others.