3 Different Ways to Make Money Online

The ways to make money online are constantly changing and evolving as more opportunities become available. Let’s look at 3 ways to make money online that you might not have normally thought of.

You don’t have to put out a single penny and you can begin to make some money. These three opportunities are smaller gigs that can generate a steady stream of cash, which can really add up.

1. Provide Answers and Add Value
This is the perfect gig for anyone who loves information. There are a few different ways you can make money. You can get on as an expert in one of the sites like JustAnswers where customers ask questions and you get paid for answering it or you can make money writeing great posts through your own blogs and sign up with Google Adsense.

2. Affiliate Marketing. 
Pitching products of others online is a great paying gig. One way to do this is as an affiliate at one of the huge sites like Amazon.com where you can earn commissions that are a high as 25%. When someone buys a product that you are pitching you will earn a commission. You can choose from the millions of products on the site and that includes computers and gift cards.

Join Shareasale. I've been with them since 2010. They have lots of merchants to choose from and they pay well. I've been paid by them multiple times already.

ClickBank is another site where you can make decent money. Their commission is as high as 75% and there are over 50,000 products you can choose from. There is no cost to signup. However, ClickBank products are of a poorer quality caliber than those offered on Amazon, so just be aware of this. Their prices can often be much cheaper too, and so that can make it easier to pitch and sell than others. If you are concerned, you can always buy the product yourself and determine if you feel you want to market it.

3. Perform a Microgig
You can provide services online at task marketplaces like Fiverr.com where workers complete tasks starting as little as $5 per job. You can also head to MTurk.com where there are more than 200,000 tasks listed to make money online with various work requirements and pay. Once you complete a task, your pay goes into your Amazon payment account. Your skills can be used for almost anything. You will be competing against those in developing nations, so you have to be willing to work for pennies. There is still money to be made as long as you carefully assess the task before taking it.

Why Become a Work at Home Transcriptionist?

If you’re looking for an at-home business that offers flexible hours and interesting work as well as consistent pay, you should consider medical transcription. Medical transcription work is the choice of many Work at Home Moms.

Many a mom who works at home has chosen transcription work as their go-to business because they can control their schedule. But there is a generous amount of work available, so earnings are consistent.

Why become a work at home transcriptionist?

There are many advantages to doing transcription at home. You can control your hours and do the work whenever it suits you (as long as you meet deadlines and deliver work when it’s due), and you can work exclusively at home, never needing to leave if you don’t want to. The work can be interesting and the pay can be good, depending on how experienced you are and how smart you are at setting your rates.

However, to be a transcriptionist, you need to either have past experience doing this kind of work (perhaps at a job outside the home) or you must take classes. If you decide to run your own business, it can be hard to get clients initially, but if you work for another company that simply sends the work your way, you might not make as much as you would with your own business. The advantage of working for another company, of course, is that you don’t have to seek out your own clients.

Training

If you are entering the medical transcription field for the first time, you must take some classes in this field. The terminology is complicated and you won’t be able to decipher what you are hearing without having some medical terminology under your belt. Of course, you will get faster and understand more as you work, but it’s unlikely you’ll be able to find work without having some medical terminology classes under your belt first.

Even if you have worked for another company doing medical transcription, you should take more classes when you start your own business. This is something you can note your résumé or credential sheet and it will help you find work.

How to find clients

If you have worked in this field before, you likely have some contacts and you should work those contacts to find your clients. If you are new to the field, you can do several things. First, create a good resume or credential sheet. Outline all of your work experience, not just the experience that relates specifically to medical transcription.

Your overall experience can help potential clients decide if you are a good fit for them. For example, medical transcriptionists should type quickly, so a note about your typing speed is useful. You might mention that you have had experience working in an office environment, which gives the client confidence that you know how to do work that is assigned and do it on time.

It’s advisable that you invest some money in business cards and perhaps a flier or – even better – a brochure that outlines your services. You can hand deliver these to medical offices or you can mail them to targeted potential clients.

Offer to do an audition transcription, whereby the potential client gives you a small transcription job and you complete it at no charge. If the client is happy with your work, you can pick up a new client. This is one of the best and easiest ways for a new medical transcriptionist to add new clients.

Working at home as a medical transcriptionist is a good way for moms to make extra money. You can work part-time or full-time, or a combination of both depending on your needs at any particular time. Many moms find the work exciting and interesting and they don’t get bored. And once a client base is developed, the job can lucrative as well.

If you're interested to learn more, here are some books for you!

15 Simple But Beautiful Christmas Wreaths

Christmas is approaching. If you are looking for ideas to add festive wreath decor to your front door, here are 15 simple but beautiful Christmas wreaths for you.

 Which one do you like best?


If you would rather just buy a ready-made Christmas wreath, here are some for you

How to Choose Home Decorating Fabric

An important aspect of home decorating is choosing home decorating fabric. When picking a theme such as Victorian, Modern or Oriental, the choice of fabric makes a difference to the overall theme. 

There are many kinds of home decorating fabric. If you are looking for fabric that compliments a particular theme, perhaps doing a little research regarding the theme would be helpful. This sort of information can be found in home decorating magazines, books and also the Internet on home decorating websites.

If you decide to use a Victorian theme for your decorating project, whether you do one room or the entire house, it is essential to remember that Victorian decorating is quite elaborate and tend to be very feminine. Choosing home decorating fabric for a Victorian theme, you should strive to pick those which resemble those used during the Victorian period. Home decorating fabric for bedding and curtains should be made from heavy materials. Choices such as velvet and brocade are popular for Victorian home decorating fabric. To accessorize the fabric, ribbons, and bows, face and beads can be used as trim.

Choosing a modern theme would suggest the use home decorating fabric which is bold and vibrant. Modern home decorating is usually based on an open concept with big spacious rooms. The large space is intended to draw your attention to the various details in the room which would include home decorating fabric. These bold and vibrant fabrics, used in curtains, slipcovers or throw pillows, will certainly stand out in a modern, spacious room with light to cool colors used on the walls. In this situation, the home decorating fabric would definitely be noticed and appreciated.

Oriental home decorating seems to be popular nowadays. Its unique design with accessories such as Chinese dragons, elephants, fans and screens, make a room interesting and a great topic of conversation. Home decorating fabric or an oriental theme usually includes coral, red, ivory and jade colors. The most popular fabric used in oriental home decorating is silk. Using silk in colors like coral or red would definitely stand out and compliment the rich dark wood furniture recommended for oriental decorating.

Home decorating fabric is sort of like icing on the cake. You add great pieces of furniture to a space with walls painted in beautiful colors. Then to accent the furniture or a window, you choose home decorating fabric. A window, because it provides access to the outside, is always a focal point in any room. Using fabrics made from materials suited to the theme, your window treatments would definitely draw attention to the window.

If you are wondering where to find home decorating fabric, there are several places to shop. You may want to buy slip covers, cushions or curtains that are already made. Department stores have a great selection. There are also stores that specialize in home décor. These would certainly provide a selection of home decorating fabric. If you are a crafty individual, you may choose to make your own decorative items for your home. Again, department stores usually stock a big variety of fabric. There are fabric stores in most areas as well. If undecided regarding what you should use or would like to use in home decorating fabric, the Internet will surely be able to provide links taking you to all the right places.

Here are some great books about home decorating fabric for inspiration:

WAHM 101: How to tell if you’re ready to become a WAHM

More and more women are choosing to stay home but still pursue a career. The old idea that women had to choose to be at home or away at work no longer applies. But if you currently work outside the home, you might wonder if you can take the plunge and become a WAHM.

Perhaps you have the business idea, or you have the acumen to start something new, but you just aren’t sure that you can actually do it. How will you know when the time is right? There are a few things to consider.

1. Can you afford it?

First, consider finances. Depending on what business you plan to work at home, it might take some time for you to make money in your new venture. Can you afford to live on your spouse’s income only during that time?

To determine if you can afford your WAHM venture, first do a budget and figure out what your base living expenses are each month. Does one income cover that expense? If not, do you have enough in savings to cover the difference if need be for the first few months of your WAHM business?

If one salary isn’t enough to cover the expenses, do you have savings that you can pull from if necessary? If not, consider working a few more months while putting as much as possible in the bank.

Before you take the plunge, also consider what kinds of start-up expenses there will be for your business. Can you afford to make that investment? Remember that some start-up expenses are tax-deductible, but you still have to be able to make the purchases and investments now.

2. Can you handle it?

Working at home is often harder than it might appear initially. While the idea of working at home could hold some romance for you, the reality is that it’s much harder for most people than they initially realize, especially when there are children in the house.

So ask yourself if you will be able to find the time and quiet to effectively work at home. Think about the kind of job you’ll be doing. If it requires phone work, consider that you need to have quiet in the house before you can do that work. Do you have a good area that you can claim as your workspace?

Once you have secured a spot and know what you’re going to do, think about the family arrangement. If you have very young children who aren’t even in preschool yet, do you have plans for how you will work around them? Do you have family who can help you or could you hire a babysitter? If you need to work full-time and your kids are in school, how will you handle your work time once they are home from school? How about holidays, days off and summer vacations?

3. Are you ready to make a change?

Transitioning from being a mom who works outside the home to one who works at home can be tough. Or, if you’ve been a stay-at-home mom, it can be difficult for your family, who must make the transition from seeing you as very accessible to them to being concerned with other matters.

Ask yourself these hard questions about the transition. Are you ready to work at home? Can you handle the isolation? Do you think you can be a work at home mom and still see to your family’s needs? Most moms decide to work at home because they want to be available to their children; if you plant your children in front of the television so you can work, you haven’t necessarily succeeded in your mission.

Here are some great Work at Home books for you!




If you’ve been thinking about becoming a WAHM for some time, you likely know the answers to all of these questions already. Once you know that you’re ready for the change, the transition can be fairly simple because your confidence will help provide a good result.

How to Cook a Juicy Thanksgiving Turkey

It is almost Thanksgiving. Are you ready for it? I am. 

I am always excited for Thanksgiving. There are a lot of things to be thankful for this year.

Anyway, I wanted to share with you how to cook the best Turkey for Thanksgiving. I know we all have different ideas and flavor preferences on how we want to cook our turkeys. When I say the best Turkey, I meant juicy, tender and moist, not dry.

I've been cooking Turkey for many years now and it has always turned out moist, tender and simply delicious. I cook my turkey using simple ingredients. Sometimes I add more stuffing but continue to stick with the same procedure.

I cook my turkey in the oven 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  The secret to having a moist and tender Thanksgiving turkey is 1. brining the whole turkey (12 hrs or more) and 2.  rubbing herb butter.

Ingredients for herb butter rub: 
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3 large garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 cup freshly chopped sage
1/2 cup freshly chopped thyme
1/2 cup freshly chopped rosemary
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Ingredients for Turkey stuffing:
1 large onion, quartered
2 garlic cloves, halved
1 carrot, sliced chunk
1 celery stick, sliced

What you'll need: 
Whole Turkey
Kitchen String
Heavy duty foil
A roasting pan that accommodates whole turkey
A temperature probe

Instructions: 

1. Thaw turkey. Remove the neck and bag of giblets from the turkey. (we use these for making broth).

2. Wash whole Turkey and pat dry.

3. BRINE whole turkey. To make the brine, boil 1/2 gallon water and add 1 cup table salt, stirring until dissolved. Add 1/2 gallon of cold water and let cool to room temperature. Submerge the whole turkey. If you need more water, just remember to mix 1 cup table salt per 1-gallon water. Cover and place in refrigerator for at least 12 hours. 

4. Lift the whole turkey from brine, rinse, and pat dry. Let turkey sit in over paper towels to soak up any excess water.

5. Prepare Herb Rub:  Stir together the sliced herbs: fresh sage, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, pepper, and garlic. If you don't like garlic, exclude it. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the softened butter. You can manually slice the herbs and garlic into really really small and mix everything or you can combine all ingredients using a food processor until smooth. Prepare this rub ahead.

6. Rub the whole turkey. Carefully slide your fingers between skin and turkey flesh to make pockets and rub herb butter in all pockets carefully to not to tear the skin. Do the same anywhere you can (breast, legs, and back).

7. Also, rub herb mixture into the cavity of the turkey. Add your stuffing to the cavity of turkey for additional flavor.

8. Preheat oven to 350° F (175 degrees C).

9. Set turkey on a rack in a large roasting pan. Tie turkey base and legs together; crossing the legs to better close up the turkey cavity. Fold the wings behind the turkey, and position breast side up.

10. Place a meat thermometer into the turkey; in the thickest part of the thighs.

11. Place on a roasting rack. Cover the top of the turkey with aluminum foil. This is to shield it from being dry and burnt. (Take aluminum foil out 45 minutes before fully cooked).

11. Roast turkey. Cooking time varies with the size of the turkey and individual ovens. Baste every  30 minutes or so with pan juices or drippings until the inside meat temperature is 170 degrees (76.67 degrees C).

12.Remove the turkey from the oven, and allow to rest in a warm area (20 to 25 minutes before slicing), enough time to make the gravy.

13. Transfer turkey to your serving platter. Decorate your platter and make it festive. 

How do you cook your Turkey? Do you have any tips to share?

14 Ways to Save Money on Your Accommodation

Accommodation can be one of the most expensive parts of your vacation if you do not plan carefully. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to keep the budget down.

1. Look for a package deal. Once you have created your travel budget, you should have a pretty good idea of how much you can afford per day. Go online to see what kind of package you can get at around that rate. For example, booking flight, hotel and car rental on Expedia can offer significant savings.

2. Be clear about what is important to you and your family. If you are single, chances are you won’t care what your room is like because you will be outside of it most of the time soaking up the sights. But do check if you get stuck with a single supplement fee.

If you are traveling as a family, a suite with a refrigerator and microwave can help you keep the kids fed and costs down.  Remember, the less you spend on your room, the more you have to spend on other things.

3. Consider staying with family. If you have any family in the area, see if you can stay with them?

4. Try Airbnb. Some of the properties are really great and a fraction of what you would pay for a hotel. Just be sure to check the location in relation to all the places you want to visit. You may need a rental car if you are not driving to your destination, which can add to the cost. Check for public transportation and typical taxi fares.



5. Consider travel hostels.  Hostels have come a long way in the past few years, and are clean, modern, and full of amenities. Some of them can be a bit out of the way, but their cheapness can more than make up for location. Backpacker hostels in New Zealand are a way of life and are used by people from 8 to 80, so don’t worry about being "too old" to go to a hostel. Just be prepared to share kitchen and sometimes the bathroom, or pay more for a private room if available.

6. Watch your travel dates. Peak times will be at the holidays and in the summer in many locations. Travel in the off-season can cost a fraction of what it does at peak season.

7. Bid on travel booking sites such as Hotwire or Priceline. You can get some great bargains this way. With Priceline, you can’t pick the exact hotel, but you will have an idea of location and rating.

8. Beware of location. City center hotels can cost a small fortune compared to others a bit further out. So too can airport hotels if you are not careful. Consider the cost and availability and time factor in relation to public transportation and/or taxis to where you need to go (and/or car rental), and see what makes the most sense.

9. Loyalty programs. If you are a frequent traveler, join a loyalty program for the same chain of hotels. It can add up to a range of perks and might also get you a room upgrade at no extra cost.

10. House Swapping. House swapping is becoming more popular, as families who want to visit certain locations but still enjoy comforts of home exchange with others. Just be careful of location, and do be careful of their property and your own valuables when you have anyone in your house.

11. Camping. Camping can be a great adventure. Campsites can be very basic, or full of amenities.

12. Caravan parks. Caravans are one up from camping in a tent. They are warm, dry, have a stove and fridge, and can be a fun way to enjoy a holiday at the seaside or other scenic location.

13. Deals and discounts. Look for bargain deals, coupons and more. I am going to be adding more information about travel deals, coupons and more ways to save money on this blog very soon.

14. Check the fine print of your bookings.  Before making any booking, be sure to read the fine print so you know exactly what things will cost.