BeccaGirl's Money: 2006-10-01

Saturday, October 07, 2006

My Earnings for 1st Week in Oct.

Just a quick update on my earnings from GPT sites. I started tracking this on Trackslife, but I haven't been able to get back into my account since then. :( So for now, this will have to do:

Cash Duck $117.87 (very pleased about that)

Deal Barbie $13.10 (didn't do much on this site this week)

Inbox Dollars $5.45

Send Earnings $3.15

Week 1 Total: $139.57

Posted by Becca at 11:28 PM | Permalink | Comments

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Got GPT Questions?

I noticed that I have not been as active on GPT sites as I was a week ago. I think it's because I know the cash out date is still a ways away. Plus I plan on doing more paid offers this month - and I'm waiting a little bit to get my pre-paid VISA for those offers.

The other reason is that I've been busy coaching some of my friends on how GPT sites work. I wrote a little tutorial to help them get started (it's posted below, if you'd like to see it), but it seems that a lot of little questions come up here and there as well.

So this message goes out to any of you out there reading this, who may have questions about how these sites work or how to get started - please feel free to email me anytime. I was a little skeptical when I started as well, but receiving my first payout made me a believer. And then I discovered a whole slew of people out there doing these sites every month. Some people are making $1500+/month... that's almost my whole monthly salary right there! And they make it from the comfort of their own home. Wow.

Anyway, I'd be more than happy to answer any questions - if you'd rather discuss things over IM, I'm available most evenings. Just email me and let me know you'd like to set up a time and I'd be happy to do it. I think if more people knew that these sites existed (and work!) they would do it -- the problem is most people just don't know. So I'm doing my part to help spread the word. :)

Posted by Becca at 1:47 PM | Permalink | Comments

Turning Over A New Financial Leaf

Well, I finally did it. I filled out the paperwork to start contributions to my 401(K). I have no idea why I waited this long. I've been eligible to start contributions since January of this year... and I just kept putting it off. :(

My company does a $0.50 contribution match for every $1.00 that I contribute (up to 5% of my salary). So here's the breakdown:

My 401(K) contribution: $96
My company's match contribution: $48
Total Contribution to 401(K) per pay period: $144

Which works out to $288/month or $3456/year. I think.

Yikes, I feel like such a grown-up. But I'm liking the matching contribution thingie - that means $48 free money every month.

Next on my list is:

Fund my Citibank e-savings account w/$100 - I already received a $15 bonus from Cash Duck for opening the account.
Open an ING account - get $25 bonus.
Open a Sharebuilder account - get $50 bonus from Sharebuilder AND $30 bonus from Cash Duck!

I love free money. :)

Posted by Becca at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments

How To Survive Being Broke In College

I went to the library over the weekend and picked up a bunch of personal finance books. I got this cute little weird-shaped book written for college students. It includes a bunch of tips from college students on how to save and make money while in college. I realize that I'm not a college student, but the book looked fun and it only took about 20 minutes to read the whole thing. It said things like "Ketchup + hot water = Tomato soup" and "Never buy anything at the campus bookstore" and "Go out on lots of dates for the free food and entertainment." All great advice, I'm sure. :)

My financial advice for college students:

1. If you take out a student loan - get your degree! You're going to have to pay the loan back whether you graduate or not. So you might as well get something out of it. :)

2. Don't go to an expensive private school if you're not even sure what you want to study or do. Community college or a state school will do just fine while you try to figure it out.

3. Sell your old textbooks to a student taking the same class next term. You'll make more money and they'll end up paying less than if you go through the campus bookstore.

4. Keep track of your library books. I was always turning mine in late or even losing them. By the time I left school I had racked up an $80 library fine. :(

5. Get your financial stuff taken care of before school starts. For example, get an ID card for the state you're in, open up a checking account, get your ATM card, etc. I saw a lot of out-of-state students constantly asking for rides to the grocery store so they could cash a cash they'd received... or trying to find someone with a checking account at a certain bank who could deposit/cash their checks for them. Take the time to get all this set up properly in the beginning and you'll save yourself lots of time/headaches later on.

Obviously, I don't have enough advice to fill a book - not even a cute little book like the one I read, but it's helpful advice anyway. I COULD however probably write an entire book on How To Travel In Mexico & Cuba for Practically Nothing. Ahh, memories.

Posted by Becca at 8:59 AM | Permalink | Comments

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

How To Make Money On GPT Sites

If you want to get started making money on GPT sites today here's how to do it: (I use Cash Duck as an example, but you can do the same on any GPT site).
Before you start:

Get a free Internet phone number.

The surveys you complete will often ask for a phone number. If you give your home phone number you run the risk of being bombarded with telemarketing calls. Using a free internet phone number is perfectly legal and helps to protect you as well. Two good ones are http://www.aimphoneline.com/ and http://privatephone.com.

Set up a Gmail account specifically for surveys and other GPT sign-ups.

A simple, but long email address is best. Pick 3 random words to make an email address – for example, pinkblanketgirl or bluebonnetbetty. The point is to create an email that is long enough to get lots of use out of (more on that later). If you need a Gmail invite send an email to beccagirlsmoney@gmail.com. (The invite will come from "candydishmix").

Now you're ready to sign up for Cash Duck!

Note: Use your REAL info (name, address, email, etc.) when you sign up for any GPT sites or you run the risk of not getting paid.

Also, realize that GPT sites should only be accessed from your home personal computer or laptop. Use of a proxy server (work, school, library) could get your account banned.

Once you've registered, open Cash Duck using Internet Explorer.

Start making money:

The easiest way to start making money is to complete the Winning Surveys. These surveys usually take about 3 minutes to complete and are worth $1.50-$2.00 each. At this time, I believe there is only 4 or 5 $2.00 surveys, the rest are worth $1.50, but there are about 40 of these. So there is potential to make a good amount of pocket change from just completing one family of surveys.

You can locate the offers in Cash Duck by clicking the Members link in the lefthand sidebar on the Cash Duck homepage. Then click on View Offers. This will bring up a drop-down menu – click the arrow and scroll down until you see this:

100% Free > Winning Surveys > Surveys

Select this option and this will bring up all the Winning Surveys available.

Choose the first survey by clicking on the link or banner of that survey. It will say something like "Win Free Groceries for a Year. Complete Survey." This will open the survey in a new window.

1st page: Put in your birth date, email and click the two boxes then press Enter.

While doing this family of surveys (Winning Surveys) you will need to alternate your email addresses so that it recognizes it as a different one each time. If you use the same email for every survey, you will not get credit for them. You can alternate emails by placing a periods in the email address. Gmail allows you to do this and still send all emails to the same inbox.

For example:
1^st survey: youremailhere@gmail.com
2^nd survey: y.ouremailhere@gmail.com
3^rd survey: yo.uremailhere@gmail.com

Once you run out of places to place that first ".", you can do this:

y.o.uremailhere@gmail.com

And so on and so on.

2^nd page: Enter your info... be sure to use your internet phone number.

The next page will be the actual survey. Here's how to complete it in the fastest way possible.

ONLY click on the questions that are marked with a *. This stuff is required...the rest of it is optional. Train your eyes to look for the * and only click or choose an answer on these questions. Sometimes you will have a whole page with no *s. You can skip the whole page, just scroll through it till you get to the bottom and hit Continue...
I always choose "None of The above" or "No" on the required stuff. You can make up answers for questions about Home Value, Occupation, etc as well.

You'll know you're done when you get a message in black letters at the top of the page saying "Thank you for completing the survey etc., etc. ".

After the survey

Exit out of the survey.

Go back to window where Cash Duck is open and click the little box in the survey you completed that says Mark As Waiting

This will take you to another page... showing your Awaiting surveys and offers...

Delete Cookies – Very important! –

Go to Tools, Internet Options, Delete Cookies, OK, OK

Now you can click Back on your browser this will take you back to the Wnning Survey section.

Pick the next one and do the exact same thing - just be sure to put in the next email on your list.

Do as many or as few surveys as you want. The first one will probably be the slowest, but after awhile you should be able to complete a survey in about 3 minutes.

More about Cash Duck and other GPTs

You can choose to cash out at Cash Duck after you reach $10.00. Surveys usually credit after a few minutes. You'll receive an email (in the email that you signed up for Cash Duck with – not the email you used for the survey) saying "Cash Duck - Offer Completed". You can also go to Account Balance to check how much you've earned so far.

For every survey or offer you complete, you also receive a feather. Feathers can be used to buy prizes like gift cards or movie tickets.

There are tons of surveys you can do. They are worth anywhere from $.50 to $1.50. You can also look at other categories and make money from doing things like requesting college information, getting auto insurance quotes, signing up for different sites – all for free.

Later if you want to buy a pre-paid VISA and try some of the $1-$10 trials you can. For example, you can buy a bottle of Vitamins for $4.95 or so and make about $20. After you receive the product, decide if it's something you want to keep - if not, check the company TOS for proper procedure on how to cancel. Some companies have you send stuff back and others don't. Always keep TOS! I usually copy/paste them and email them to myself or you can print the page out and keep it in a notebook for future reference.

Take your time and figure out what it is you like to do. Also, there are many other sites like Cash Duck – you can sign up with those as well and try out their surveys following the same rules as on Cash Duck.

Links to other GPT sites

Here are some links to other sites you may want to try out:

See more links on the right hand side of this page.

Feel free to email me with any questions at beccagirlsmoney@gmail.com. Thanks!

Posted by Becca at 6:30 PM | Permalink | Comments

More Money-Saving Beauty Tips

• Take advantage of free samples and trial sizes. Wal-Mart often has free samples of lotion and shampoo available on their website. Order them every time!

• Cover Girl, Maybelline and Loreal often offer free samples of their products as well. Look at their websites and sign up to receive their newsletters for great deals.

• Scour deal sites like Fat Wallet and Slickdeals to see what the hot new free samples are.

• To stock up on AVON trial sizes, befriend your AVON rep and let her know what kind of products you like and which ones you'd like to try. They're often inundated with samples that they pass on to their favorite customers.

• If you're anxious to try a new product, but not sure if you want to invest in a full-size bottle, try checking the travel size aisle. Last time I was at Wal-Mart I noticed that the products they offer in the $0.99 trial size versions have almost tripled.

• Find ways to make products go further – for example, my best friend buys face wipes to clean off her make-up at night, but she'll cut the wipes in half. Half a wipe works just as well and makes the box last twice as long.

• Use baby oil instead of expensive eye make up remover.

• Consider cutting your hair to a shorter, more manageable length. This keeps your hair healthy, is a huge time-saver plus it means you don't have to use as much of your hair products either.

• Use coupons! Most fashion magazines feature beauty product coupons, so make a habit of looking. If you don't subscribe to these magazines, find a friend who does and hit her up for the coupons. Most people don't even bother using them.

• Subscribe to the Sunday paper. It costs about $1.50 (less if you get it in a subscription) and has tons of coupons for everything from food, cleaning products, OTC drugs and of course, beauty products. So there are lots and lots of savings to be had.

Have more money-saving beauty tips? Let me know by leaving a comment. :)

Posted by Becca at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments

How To Make the Most of your Beauty Budget

I love beauty products – hair products, make-up, lotions, etc. I love all of it. But any beauty product-loving girl can tell you that beauty does not come C-H-E-A-P.

Or does it?

As I showering this morning, I realized that in the last couple of years, I've switched up my beauty routine to more wallet-friendly choices. Here's how:

HAIR PRODUCTS

Herbal Essences 2 in 1 Shampoo/Conditioner - $5 for a big bottle (Target)

Fructis Smoothing Milk - $2.49 (Wal-Mart)

I use a little bit of this every day instead of the more expensive Frizz-Ease. Works great AND smells great.

Johnson & Johnson's Baby Powder – less than $2.00 (Wal-Mart)

If I'm crunched for time I'll sprinkle a little bit of baby powder onto my roots at night or in the morning. This gives me volume and soaks up any excess oil – it also means I only have to wash my hair every other day so I buy shampoo less often.

MAKEUP

Cover Girl Foundation & Powder – about $10 for both

I always buy these items at Wal-Mart because they have the best prices on Cover Girl usually. But I can usually find coupons for $1 off any Cover Girl product in magazines or the Sunday paper as well.

AVON eye shadow, blush, brow pencils, eyeliner and mascara – about $15-$20 for all

I don't buy these products as often. My sister used to be an AVON rep so I was able to score tons of practically free cosmetics, but she's not doing that anymore. I have found that you can order from AVON.com and there are coupon codes all over the internet for Free Shipping. I suppose the other option is to actually become an AVON rep for the discount and free stuff. :)

Vaseline - $1.25 a tube (Wal-Mart)

I keep one at work and home all the time and use it on my lips constantly. It makes the best lip gloss and if you want a little bit of color, you just mix in a bit of blush. Plus the tube lasts about 4 to 5 times longer than a smaller .99 tube of lip balm would.

DEODORANT

AVON – $0.99 per roll-on

I love AVON deodorant because it works and comes in lots of different fragrances. AVON runs a lot of .99 deodorant sales so I stock up then.

LOTION

Johnson & Johnson's Baby Lotion – $5 (Wal-Mart)

It smells unbelievably great and comes in a huge lotion dispenser, so it lasts an incredibly long time. It's gentle enough to use on your body and face too.

FACE WASH

Neutrogena Scrub, Cleanser, Wipes or Foam – from $4 -$7 (Wal-Mart)

Neutrogena is awesome. They have products for all face types – dry, oily, acne-prone, etc. so you can always find something. Plus I'll often run across a $2 off any Neutrogena product coupon which makes the deal even sweeter. I vary which product I buy from time to time, but for the most part, I have a jar of the scrub on hand all the time and one other product. I use the scrub at night and just a small amount of the other product in the morning, so it lasts a pretty long time.

SHAVING

Gillette Shaving Cream - $2 - $3 (Wal-Mart)

I once tried to save a buck and bought the generic brand shaving cream. I had to throw it out the next day because my underarms were so irritated. Now I stick to Gillette and buy the Extra Dry or Extra Sensitive kind every time.

Razors – Free to $10 (Wal-Mart)

I don't know why it is but I've gotten a lot of free shaving razors in the mail. It seems there's always some company giving their new razors away. If I can't find these deal on the net though, I usually opt for a package of the disposal over replaceable cartridges. I've tried both kinds, but buying the replacements can be spendy… and the disposable ones work just as good. Still, I suppose it's a matter of preference.

So you can see that it's easy to get good deals if you know where to look. Of course, if you have a favorite expensive beauty product that you couldn't dream of giving up – no one says you have to. But find products that you'd be wiling to replace with an inexpensive option and go from there. Everyone should be able to trim some of their beauty budget.

Posted by Becca at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

More Cool GPT Site Finds

I'm always looking for a new site where I can make some easy cash - and today I found three cool new sites.

The first two Inbox Dollars and Send Earnings actually PAY you just to sign up. Use the links provided to sign up, check your inbox for confirmation email, then complete your profile and that's it! You get $5 from Inbox Dollars and $3 from Send Earnings.

But the easy money doesn't stop there. Each site send you emails that you get paid to read. Simply open the email, click the link to confirm you read it and that's it.

Both sites have lots of free offers you can do as well as free trials and paid offers... even games! Check them out.

The third site is called Cash on Tap. The cool thing about them is that they pay 3x/month - the 10th, 20th and 30th of each month. If you're looking to make some quick cash - this site is perfect.

You can find links to all the GPT sites I currently use to make extra cash on the right hand side of this blog. Check them out and let me know what you think!

As always, if you have any questions, email me at beccagirlsmoney@gmail.com.

Posted by Becca at 9:43 PM | Permalink | Comments

How To Save For a Weekend Getaway

I have a co-worker who I always thought was kind of cheap. For example, she'd often pass up on ordering takout with us, even if all she had for lunch that day was leftovers from a couple nights ago. Even though she WANTED takeout, she hated wasting food... and money. I, on the other hand, am not that disciplined.

Another thing she does is, she'll always say YES! to a free lunch. Her department regularly gets invited to lunch by various vendors and she's always one of the first to accept. Other people pass on these lunches becaue they'd rather spend it alone or doing something more fun than having lunch with a vendor (it's kind of like working during lunch). Personally, I only go to those lunches when I'm being dragged there by another co-worker. Not fun.

Anyway, the reason I'm rambling on about her is because she just got back from a weekend getaway to San Diego with her husband and little girl. She was telling me about it yesterday (she brought me back a few postcards, because she knows I collect them) and she said, "It was expensive, but worth it. I mean, that's why we work, right?"

Interesting. But she's completely right.

I usually never pass up a chance to spend a few dollars here and there - lunch, magazines, coffee, DVD's - I'll use any excuse to spend money. I figure it's just a few dollars, right? But those dollars add up fast... she gets that, I don't.

Which is why she just got back from a fun-filled weekend in San Diego... and I got a postcard. Lol...

I desperately need to learn how to save. I'm trying... I opened up a Citibank e-savings account. Now I just have to put some money in it.

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I have no savings ... none. I have a couple hundred dollars in my Paypal account, but I also have a Paypal debit card attached to that account sitting in my wallet DYING to be used somewhere. What if I actually stuck that money in a savings account?

Are there other people like me out there? Any advice?

Posted by Becca at 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments

Monday, October 02, 2006

Where To Get Free Stuff

I got an Intuition razor in the mail today. I vaguely remember signing up for it somewhere, but then I'm always on the lookout for a good freebie. :)

Internet freebies are a great way to make your dollar stretch a little bit further. I've gotten all kinds of freebies in the mail before - shampoo, make-up, magazines, popcorn, pens, stickers, Advil and lots more.

Where are your favorite places to find internet freebies?

One place that usually has good freebies is Wal-Mart. They change pretty frequently, so it's a good idea to check back often.

Also, BillyGraham.com has a free offer every month. You can request free Christian books and CD's. This month's offer is Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper.

Slickdeals.net and FatWallet.com are two deals site that have freebie threads so check them out as well! Happy freebie hunting :)

Posted by Becca at 11:03 PM | Permalink | Comments

How To Save Up To $1200/Year

This morning I did not want to go to work. In fact, I was still in bed 15 minutes before I needed to be out of the house to get to work on time. I was thisclose to calling in again, when I realized that I would have to take the day as an unpaid absence which would've meant a loss of almost $100. Ouch.

Needless to say, I went to work.

Turns out that was a good call anyway, because there was tons to do at the office today.

Lately, I've been going out to lunch quite a bit. It's not unusual for me to eat out 3x a week. It doesn't seem like much, but I can spend anywhere from $6-$10 depending on where we eat (more if I'm treating someone else). That's $24-$30 a week! If I stopped eating out altogether, I would save almost $100 a month or $1200 a year. That's almost a whole month's pay! Just think of all the things I could do with that money.

So this month I'm going to try to cut going out to lunch down to 1 or 2 times this whole month. I think that's pretty reasonable. I've got a freezer full of frozen entrees that should last me a week or two. Then I can always make my own sandwiches or pack last night's leftovers.

Anybody else got any creative inexpensive lunch ideas?

Posted by Becca at 9:08 PM | Permalink | Comments

I got some referral's!!

My best friend, Bree, signed up with Cashduck a few days ago and has already made over $80!

Today, I got a phone call from another great friend of mine, Brooklyn, who also signed up! She had a bunch of questions and was very eager to learn more.

Then I received a comment on this blog from Trishzen who also signed up for several of the GPT sites I mentioned, including CashDuck!

Thanks so much ladies! If there's anything I can do to help out, any questions I can answer - just let me know. And if there's anybody reading this who hasn't signed up yet - use the links located on the righthand side and start making money today!

*Note - all names have been changed to protect the innocent. ;-)

Posted by Becca at 8:53 PM | Permalink | Comments

Sunday, October 01, 2006

How I Made $600 Online Last Month

I spent last month clicking away online and yesterday I cashed out 3 of my GPT accounts. Here are the ending totals:

Rock Hard Cash: $22

Deal Barbie: $61.45

Cash Duck: $254.73 + $10 Target gift card (cashed in 150 feathers)

Total: $338.18 + $10 Target GC

Not too bad for about two weeks of doing this for a couple hours each night. :)

If you're interested in trying these sites out (100% Free) use the referral links on the right-hand side. I also have a tutorial that I'm currently updating that I'd be happy to send you. Just email me at beccagirlsmoney@gmail.com.

Other earnings I made on GPT sites in September (ones where you pay to do offers):

Order Cash 4 Free: $119

Referrals: $147 (people paid me for signing up as their referral for various sites)

Click Points: $10 Walmart GC

Total: $266 +$10 Walmart GC

Total earnings for paid/free GPT sites: $604.68 +$20 GC

I bought 3 $20 Simon pre-paid Visas to sign up for various sites and to do a few paid offers as well. Each card cost $2/each. So I spent a total of $66 to earn over $600.

How come I'd never heard of GPT sites before??

My goal for October is a realistic $500. I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to top this by as much as several hundred dollars. But this way, I won't be disappointed if I only make $500.

I'll report my progress and tips here, so keep checking this blog.

Posted by Becca at 6:35 PM | Permalink | Comments

How To Make Money by Saving Money

You all know I'm a big fan of Cashduck. Well Cashduck has a few opportunities for you to make money by saving money.

The first one is to open a Citibank e-savings account. This offer is worth $15 and I believe mine was credited within 24 hours. It takes less than 10 minutes to open the account and then you get your paperwork and ATM card in the mail about a week later. I received mine just yesterday. The e-savings accounts comes with a checking account as well. The only downside is that you have to maintain a $1500 min. balance in your checking account or havve direct deposit to avoid the monthly fee. BUT I was looking on Fat Wallet yesterday and apparently a lot of people get around the DD requirement by simply tranferring money from their Paypal account to their Citibank account. Citibank sees it as an ACH transfer and counts it as DD.

I'm going to try this, just to see what happens. I'd really like to keep this account, especially because the savings account earns 5% interest. :)

The other offer is to open a Sharebuilder account. This offer is worth a whopping $30 on Cashduck . I haven't done this one yet, but I plan to. There are $50 bonus promo codes available on Fat Wallet and 2MillionBlog.com - so you could make $80 on this deal. Some people even claim to do the $50 bonus promo thing on multiple accounts. I'll have to read up a little more on that one before I try it.

Anyone one else had experience with either of these accounts?

Posted by Becca at 6:23 PM | Permalink | Comments

How To Track Your Money Online

This month I've resolved to keep track of everything I spend and earn. This should give me a good idea of where my money is going and also what money is coming in.

Trackslife is a great "online tracking" system that will allow me to make updates anywhere I have internet access (work & home). Plus I can easily export the figures to Excel if I want to calculate or sort.

If you want to check out my money tracker, here's the link: http://www.trackslife.com/user/Bexx/100106/october-money

*Update: I don't know if it's just me or what, but I can't log in to my Trackslife account today. When I try the Forgot Password? option it tells me that my email doesn't exist. :( Oh well... guess it's back to using an old Excel spreadsheet, unless anyone else knows of another tracking site.

Posted by Becca at 4:13 PM | Permalink | Comments

BeccaGirl's Money