Warning: This is a Big Dog Update

So far I've made an easy 47 points in apps alone with Big Dog Rewards, and it just keeps getting better. The next app game I decided to install and try out was, Castle Clash. It is a fairly fun game if you like strategy games, but for those who are not a big fan of game apps, there are also videos you can watch.

I'm thinking a video will be the way I earn points for today. The points for videos are not as much as game apps, but every little bit counts in my opinion.

For those who are following me in the Big Dog Rewards Journey, how are you liking the app? Is it worth using in your opinion?

It's Official There Really is a Big Dog in My Cell Phone

I downloaded and installed the game app Megapolis, then received 24 points just for doing that. No need to play the game, although I highly recommended it, if you like strategy games.

This is such an easy way to accumulate points on a lazy day off that can be exchanged for cash with Big Dog Rewards. They won't make you rich, and certainly don't claim to, but it's a great way to make a little extra spending money!

Now I'm off to explore and accumulate more points. Too bad they don't have any cool writing apps. Will you be joining me on this journey?

If so, just go to Big Dog Rewards and enter the code: theinsanewriter when prompted.

There's Still a Big Dog in My Cell Phone and Now I'm Starting to Wonder Why

Initially, Big Dog Rewards seemed like a good cell phone application for making a little extra cash. Yet as I write this, I have not seen my points unlock, which is suppose to happen when a user reaches 100. I met my 100 points goal on the very first day I started using this app, and still no points.

Now to be fair, I haven't tried to install any of the apps you can make points from. Maybe that is the reason my points haven't been unlocked?

I will give it one more try and post another review in the next week or so. For those of you who did follow my Big Dog Rewards journey by joining with me, did your points unlock for you? I would love to hear your experience with this phone app.

WARNING: There Might Be a Big Dog in Your Cell Phone

It's a dog eat dog world literally when it cones to the various ways you can make money on the web. Yet technology is a never-ending process that is always changing, and with it cones new ways, new opportunities for work-at-home moms.

Today's online companies have taken advantage of cell phone technology because more and more people rely on them, more often than we really should.

We can practically schedule our entire lives and live on our cell phones. We use them for everything, and I really do mean everything!

So, with this knowledge, companies like Big Dog Rewards are offering mobile users a way to make a little extra money without even having to be at home. It's actually very genius because you can make money anywhere life takes you.

Big Dog Rewards is a cell phone application that allows you to accumulate points, which can then be turned into cash and sent to your PayPal account.

Earning points looks fairly simple and most ways to earn won't cost you anything. I'm actually just getting started with this program, so as I use it more and more, I'll post updates. I've already earned 50 points just for signing up.

There are two ways you can earn points. You can:

Invite others to be a part of Big Dog Rewards

Install applications on your mobile phone

Once you earn enough points you can redeem them for cash. For example:

200 points = $1
450 points = $3
650 points = $5

Now keep in mind, Big Dog Rewards won't make you rich overnight, nor do they claim to. Most of the apps you'll be installing on your phone give you 10 points on average. There are however, plenty of apps to choose from.

Many of the apps are games, so this is a perfect program for teens with pre-paid phones looking for a little spending cash, or gamers who wouldn't mind getting paid for playing free games.

One of the games I saw was the CANDY CRUSH game everyone seems to love, so the games are not ones that are unheard of.

One thing I do want to be straightforward about. I signed up with Big Dog Rewards a few days ago and have yet to see my points for signing up, post to my account. But, I'm thinking maybe it takes them a week to clear everything? We will see.

Still, I am hearing a lot of positive information about them, so I believe it's worth a shot.

If you would like to follow me on this entrepreneur journey, you'll need my invite code.

To get started, go to: http://bit.ly/bigdogrewardsapp and use my invite code: theinsanewriter

Walking in Walmart

Even with jobs becoming more available, prices are still ridiculous no matter where you shop. And if it's not the prices that get you, it's the taxes. It's also why walking in walmart here is a rare event for me anymore. I simply can't afford to spend a fortune on any items and would rather buy from our own homeland verses somewhere else.

Now don't get me wrong. I don't have anything against the good people from other countries, but we also need to look out for our own, and that's something we just haven't been doing at all lately. So when I can, I shop our local shops where products are made here and I visit our farmer's market  in Independence Kansas for the very same reason. I've been trying to avoid processed foods as much as possible and cooking from scratch instead.

I've also been taking advantage of Mother Nature's resources like the sun to save money. I've been using it to make tea, dry fruits and veggies and dry clothing. Now, if only I can grow a garden!!!


Joy Smith also known as The Insane Writer, is the author of the Sci-Fi novel, The Generation. You can email her at silent_beautie@yahoo.com She can also be found on Twitter @theinsanewriter.



WomenFreebies.com - Enter to Win Royal Secret II Perfume

Our city Wants Us to Pay to Blog!

This is insane! Cities like Philadelphia, Pennsylvania are telling bloggers they must pay for a $300 business license in order to blog. Don't believe me? Check out Zack Johnson's blog post for the entire story.

The next thing you know, states will want you to get a business license just to write in a journal or write a book! And before you know it, you'll need a business license just to chat with friends online! I just wish people wouldn't get so damned greedy when it comes to finding ways to rob people of their chance to express themselves.



Joy Smith also known as The Insane Writer, is the author of the Sci-Fi novel, The Generation. You can email her at silent_beautie@yahoo.com She can also be found on Twitter @theinsanewriter.



WomenFreebies.com - Enter to Win Royal Secret II Perfume

Keep Your Balance Paid

A few days ago my aunt and I were discussing credit cards and using them during tough times.While it's tempting to rely on a line of credit to make it through hard times, it's not always a wise decision.

Many credit card companies are taking advantage of the economy by charging extra fees and raising the interest rate on purchases. And even if you think your card has a very reasonable interest rate, keep in mind that while it's tempting to put that fast food night out on your card, what was a simple $10 meal could very well turn into an expensive $100 meal if you're not careful.

However, having a positive line of credit can be a good thing when it comes to apply for some jobs and even renting a home. It can also help when there is a true emergency and you need a little extra money before payday arrives. It's when you decide not to pay the balance right away that the trouble starts.

Keep your balance paid and your credit card can become a positive advantage. Don't pay your balance and you're setting yourself up for a trouble of debt. Believe me, I've been there and done that, and it's no fun!

Know Your Readers

One of my old bosses is building his business online. Some of the ways he brings in an income is by way of affiliate programs. I know several other online entrepreneurs like John chow who are also making a little extra money this way. But I also know that most of these guys and gals trust in programs that they use personally or have a similar interest in.

For example, if you're a writer like I am, you might not want to consider using a weight loss affiliate to create a little extra money, since your readers are visiting your website or blog for writing or stories. However, if you have a fitness blog, this type of program would be perfect for it since many of your readers would be interested in weight loss and fitness.

Knowing who your readers are and sticking with affiliates that are similar to your website or blog's subject, gives you a better chance of becoming a successful online entrepreneur like my old boss and John Chow.

YouData is a Waste of Money Making Time

Okay folks, here it is. After several months of trying out the money making program, YouData, I find that it is a serious waste of time when it comes to making money online.
The profit making program that was once dishing out $2.00 and sometimes more a week to stay-at-home parents that were willing to surf the web and click on ads to make money has dwindled in profits big time!

First off it can be several weeks before any offers become available for you to click on to make money and second of all, that click is now only worth about 2 - 4 cents in profit.

A big difference and not worth the time in my opinion if moms really want to make money online. So I just closed my account with them. Time to move on to bigger and better things!



Joy Smith also known as The Insane Writer, is the author of the Sci-Fi novel, The Generation. You can email her at silent_beautie@yahoo.com She can also be found on Twitter @theinsanewriter and you visit her official website at www.theinsanewriter.com.WomenFreebies.com - Enter to Win Royal Secret II Perfume

What Happened to YouData

Many months ago I became a member of YouData, a little program that spoke of great opportunities for making a little money. However, every month that I've been with YouData, I've noticed that the opportunity to make a little money has been dwindling drastically.

When I first started out with the company I was making at least $1.00, if not more per every few weeks. Right now I'm making less than 10 cents once a month, if that!

So if things continue this way it's certainly not worth my precious time and I'll be dropping out from YouData to pursue other online opportunities for making a little extra money. What's your opinion on YouData?

Want to Pay For That Cup of Tea Today?

Okay, so even if you're not a fan of tea, maybe you'd like to pay for that cup of coffee or gallon of milk? If so, then read on.

Now first let me tell you, this is not a way to get rich. As a matter of fact, you'll only make a little extra change a week. A blogging buddy made a little over $4 in less than a week and I just made $.090 in less than 5 minutes. So, it's great for those small purchases, but if you're thinking big bucks, move on.

But for those of us who wouldn't mind paying for a gallon of milk or that loaf of bread, you can do it without even having to have a blog or website. Believe me it really all adds up. Ready to learn how? Just follow my steps below. Okay? let's go!

1. Visit Youdata and Sign Up with them.
   
2. Next, make sure you have a paypal account. You'll need it in order to get paid.
3. Then, Fill out the surveys on your MeFile. This is where I made the mistake of not doing so. I've been with Youdata for a little over a year now, made around $0.30 a week and just learned I could have been making a lot more just by filling out the info. Oops!
4. Now just sign in to the YouData application either through the site itself or by installing it on your computer and click on the ads. It takes under a minute and well worth getting paid for. My advice is to sign in every time you get online or on your computer. It also helps to click the reload button every so often since there's always a chance of getting paid for more ads.
   
5. YouData pays you weekly through paypal no matter how much you've earned. I've always gotten paid and never had a problem with them.

That's it. Pretty simple huh? If you have questions, just leave me a comment or drop me an email and I'll be happy to help. I will also try to share more programs in the future to get paid with that I am a part of and have tested to make sure it's the real deal.

I will never share those who ask for your precious time and simply enter you in for a drawing to win items, nothing more. In my opinion they're a waste of time since you're taking a chance. What I will share is the real stuff that pays you no matter what. So stayed tuned!


WomenFreebies.com - Enter to Win Royal Secret II Perfume

We're Not Made of Money, We Budget!

When people think we have money to spare they're wrong. With the economy we've had to cut a lot of costs too. This week we didn't get groceries, but we didn't need them. We had groceries left from last week and my husband's cousin offered to buy us groceries in exchange for storing some food in the freezer and a shower.

Today he came buy and dropped off two very large watermelons (from a farmer he worked for) in exchange for doing some laundry for him. While the watermelons aren't exactly a food necessity, they are a treat the kids will enjoy, so it makes them worthwhile.

Other things we're able to enjoy are freebies like Lipton tea, yogurt, cereal and Starbucks coffee and ice cream. This happens because of contests I enter, reviews I write or simple surveys that I fill out online.

I also don't always make meat the main meal for dinner. While we do include it, more veggies and fruits are included as well as grains. And we try new things like cow's tongue, emu meat, lemon cucumbers and white eggplants. And aside from the cow's tongue, we shopped for the rest at our local farmer's market which runs on Thursdays and Saturdays. We can save a bundle that way and I mean a bundle. I managed to spend a whopping 50 cents for two very healthy veggie lunches.

On weekends we spend our days doing free activities like hiking, fishing and even singing. It's amazing how much fun kids can have without having to turn on the television!!! However, we do allow for at least one movie on the weekends that the entire family can enjoy. We borrow a movie for free at our local library or we rent one for $1.08 from our local Redbox.

It's not hard to enjoy life even when you don't have a lot of money. It's just all in the budget.

A Scour Update

I decided to try out a new search engine called Scour.com. The cool thing about it is I get points that I can cash them in for Pre-paid Visa Cards. I can collect the points by using the search engine...I'm always doing research anyway so I figured I might as well get paid for it, right? And I can also earn points by commenting and voting on websites.

So far the points are easy to accumulate and I've earned 572 points with very little effort. If I did a lot more searching I'm sure I would earn quite a bit more! And it only takes 6500 points to get a $25 visa card. It's just as easy as Mypoints only better. For every friend that I get to sign up I earn even more points. So far I have 4 friends. Not bad! Not bad at all since I've only been a member for 47 days!

Okay one thing I'll admit I was afraid of at first, in the past I've joined other search engines for points and found that the search results were worthless. With Scour however, the results come from google, yahoo and msn, which is great since I've been known to use them all.

So if you're interested, check out the link for yourself : http://scour.com/invite/theinsanewriter and let me know what you think. And as I earn more points I'll add more info and give you more updates!!!!

Online Jobs and Those Get Rich Scams

I wonder, how many online users click on those ads that say, Real Job Opportunity Online. Make Money At Home. I know not all of them are bogus ads, but how do you tell what's real and what's not.

As a freelance writer I've learned a lot about online marketing opportunities. If they say make millions in a month, week, days, etc. They're most likely a scam. I don't know anyone who's made millions that quickly. Not even online guru and blogger, John Chow. It takes time and a lot of hard work to succeed in the online world of marketing. But that shouldn't be discouraging, however.

Companies like Stokes Media and HerMedia are seeing some success and have been for a very long time. While they might not be rich, they are able to put food on the table and share their success with others using various affiliate markets and some specific programs just like the Real Job Opportunity Online. Make Money At Home ads.

So of course they're all not bogus, it's just a matter of doing your research and finding out what's real and what's not.

Making Money With Your Writing

I was reading somewhere that Journalism is Dead, or in the very least will soon be. Do I believe it? No. Is there any truth to it? Maybe.

In some aspects journalism is a dying breed. Look at what happened yesterday with Michael Jackson. The online world got a hold of the story and knew several hours about his passing before the media crew did.

It's a changing world and the online writers of today along with technology are able to write and blog about the latest news going on in our world with the click of a button.

They don't need a degree to write and they certainly don't need a degree for readers to notice them, but that also doesn't quite mean that Journalism is Dead either. There are still the tough stories out there where the live action occurs and the media crew and journalists report. Not everyone can go to Iraq in the middle of a war zone and not everyone is willing to risks their lives in doing so either.

Journalists do much more than report about the news and write about it. They risk their lives investigating areas where every day citizens don't have access to or wouldn't want to be a part of.

And don't forget the authors who books are sitting on shelves in stores and in libraries. We read every day, but I'll be honest. I would much rather be reading a novel offline curled up in bed than sitting at my laptop.

I know as a freelance writer I work online and I'm still going strong with my writing. Sure, with the economy the way it is I may not be making as much as I'd like to, but I'm still making some money to pay a few bills. It helps and there are still companies out there who want bloggers and freelance writers and are willing to pay. Some will only offer credit, some will offer a ridiculous payment of $0.50 per a post for 700 words, while others offer a fair price for articles.

So while the world has changed as far writing, I believe it has opened up a world for everyone who loves writing and wants to share it with the world. But what I would love to know is your opinion. What do you think? Do you believe that Journalism is Dead?

How Scour's Doing For Me

I've been using Scour.com for a little over a week now. So far I've found the search engine to be........... not bad at all. I have 241 points and found that the search engine really came in handy one night when I was working on my novel. Could I have made more points in the week since I started using scour? Yes. But my excuse is I haven't been online as much to do so.

The points really might not seem like a lot, but freebies add up and for something I already do every day, I'm glad I took advantage of this program. I can't wait to get my first $50 pre-paid visa card from these guys just for searching. I'll keep you informed on how things go with this one!

Scouring For Pre-Paid Visa Cards

I decided to try out a new search engine called Scour.com. The cool thing about it is I get points that I can cash them in for Pre-paid Visa Cards. I can collect the points by using the search engine...I'm always doing research anyway so I figured I might as well get paid for it, right? And I can also earn points by commenting and voting on websites.

So far the points are easy to accumulate and from what I understand, it only takes 6500 points to get a $25 visa card. It's just as easy as Mypoints!

Okay one thing I'll admit I was afraid of, in the past I've joined other search engines for points and found that the search results were worthless. With Scour however, the results come from google, yahoo and msn, which is great since I've been known to use them all.

So if you're interested, check out the link for yourself : http://scour.com/invite/theinsanewriter and let me know what you think.

Mid January Financial Update

Here is my update for mid-January. It was a decent few weeks despite the fact that much of our paychecks went towards car insurance, tags, taxes and titles. Things will become even tighter soon due to my husband's recent notification of a lay-off. I'm still not sure what his plans are, but I'll post about them as soon as I know more. Right now I believe he is hoping that this lay off is all one big joke. He's not one to accept the worse. Here are my online earnings as promised.

January 15th - 31st

Payperpost $4.50
Youdata $1.55
Payu2blog $38.00
Private sales $320.00
Slicethepie $0.50

Total: $364.55

Uhh Ohhh

Two things important going on here in the world of the Insane Writer. The 1st being there is no school for the kids tomorrow. We had some nasty sleet which made hell for drivers everywhere so the school was smart enough not to risk lives this time.

The second is, the husband set up the loan from his check early for the vehicle which means we'll be very short on cash for the next three weeks. The loan pulls weekly, but wasn't suppose to start until Mid-February, but he didn't tell Human Resources that, so they'll be sending the money early. Unfortunately it doesn't mean we get to pay off the loan early. It just means there's extra money in the account my husband will assume is play money unless he tells the bank lender otherwise. Sigh.

Cutting Costs Everywhere

I honestly don't know if it will come down to it, but with all of the lay offs and lack of jobs in this area, we may be forced to move. It's something that we've talked about recently.

I guess we'll know more in the next month or so. I just wonder if we'll need to hire someone to move our stuff. I doubt we will need to hire any moving companies, but it's a thought because we have a lot of stuff even though it doesn't seem like it.

Actually when we bought this house, it really only took the husband's truck to move everything, so maybe we won't. That's probably a good thing because of the rising costs of almost everything around us. It's a sad shame because I know that everyone needs the money, but then it all boils down to who can afford to spend the money?