It's not Swine Flu...
Friday, May 01, 2009

...but I haven't been posting lately because I've been ill. Pneumonia, to be specific, and it's been more than a month that I've been sick. So I will be posting again - I promise! I just need to get lots of rest and get better. I'm just glad it's not swine flu!

Posted by The Eclectic WAHM 11:11 PM 3 comments Links to this post  

Labels: pneumonia, swine flu

GREAT video on WAHM
Saturday, March 14, 2009

I found this great video over at Jessica Knows on why being a WAHM (or marketing yourself as a WAHM) is bad for business. Scott Stratten brings up some very good points. What do you all think?


Scott Stratten on Why Being a WAHM is Bad for Business from Jessica Knows on Vimeo.

Posted by The Eclectic WAHM 2:53 PM 5 comments Links to this post  

Labels: Jessica Knows, Scott Stratten, WAHM

Got Swag?
Saturday, March 07, 2009

One of my new favorite sites is Swagbucks. You use it to search the Web like you would Google, but you earn Swagbucks doing it. Trade your Swagbucks in for cool prizes. Over the last month I've cashed out $25 in Amazon.com gift certificates. Now that comes in handy. There are lots of other prizes to choose from too. Check it out:

MySurvey has treated me well so far this year too. I've gotten over $50 in checks mailed to me. It's not a living, but the extra cash sure comes in handy!

Posted by The Eclectic WAHM 2:14 PM 0 comments Links to this post  

Labels: online surveys, prizes, Swagbucks

Job Ads Could Be Scams
Friday, February 27, 2009

Scammers are out in force trying to get your personal information or set people up in "jobs" which are money laundering schemes or dealing in stolen goods. Here's a link to a recent report from 7 News in Denver: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/video/18806204/

Bottom line: be careful out there. Don't give too much personal information on job applications. There is no reason a company needs your Social Security number before you are hired. If the job seems too good to be true, it probably is. No real company pays hundreds of dollars a week for a "few hours" of work re-shipping packages or doing "data entry." And no legit company sends you money orders, has you cash them and wire back a portion of the funds.

Best case scenario, your identity gets stolen. Worst case, you end up in jail for fraud or money laundering. Be careful out there!

Posted by The Eclectic WAHM 12:55 AM 0 comments Links to this post  

Labels: avoiding scams, job applications, work from home jobs

The Hypocrisy of Internet Brands and WAHM.com
Friday, February 06, 2009

Something very disturbing was announced today at WAHM.com, a site I have been recommending for years. WAHM.com, originally conceived and owned by Cheryl Demas, was created as a resource for moms looking to work from home. Over the years it was built into a terrific Web site with a valuable informational forum where WAHMs could communicate with one another, share leads, talk about business and life. Ms. Demas (whom I do not judge one bit for making the decision that was right for her) sold the business to Internet Brands, and internet media company.

Today WAHM.com announced that one of its long-time employees (who worked faithfully from home for years for WAHM) was being let go because they are bringing the position "in house." As far as I am concerned this is typical corporate America bovine excrement. It is the height of hypocrisy. The entire purpose and mission of WAHM.com is to promote working from home and give people resources to find ways to work from home. Why in the WORLD would a company make a decision to go against everything the Web site stands for by taking a job in house which can easily be done from home and has been successfully done from home by this employee for years? It makes no sense.

So, unless this course of action is changed I am removing my recommendation to use their site.

Posted by The Eclectic WAHM 8:10 PM 3 comments Links to this post  

Labels: corporate America, hipocrisy, Internet Brands, WAHM.com

Massive Listing of WAH Companies Updated!
Monday, January 12, 2009

Here is the updated list:
http://www.eclecticwahm.net/2008/01/massive-listing-of-wah-companies.html

Find tons of companies that hire workers from home!

Posted by The Eclectic WAHM 9:22 PM 3 comments Links to this post  

Labels: companies that hire home workers, telecommuting companies

Another Scam Ad
Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Personnels?? LOL. Um, "personnel" is already plural. That and about a million other spelling and grammar errors. Smells like the old Nigerian scam to me. Besides, a company that it a subsidiary of the Sony group isn't going to use Hotmail and Yahoo. They're clearly idiots. Friends don't let friends work for morons. Shall we highlight all the mistakes in this ad? Let's see:

ONLINE CLERK - COMPUTER SKILLS - TYPIST Hello Applicant, We have recieved a notification of your resume from Job Planet Resume Database. We have reviewed your resume and we are satisfied with your credentials. Let me start by introducing myself and the Company to you, I am Benny Moore the Personnels Manager of the firm Chester Concepts Networking Company which is a new Innovation of the Sony Group Holdings Japan, Through our Rep. Ms. Josephine K. Anderlet Sony Technologies, Inc and also a member of the British Better Business Association.

We are offering one of the Best Work from Home opportunity to individuals seeking for Temporary Jobs, Work From Home and Second Shift. The Company is offering an ( HOME BUSINESS NETWORK - WORK FROM HOME INICIATIVE ) For $25 Per Hr. ( location not required ).

Chester Concepts Networking Company is a United Kingdom baby firm which is just getting to a year old, seeking assistance with the work from home iniciative to assist with clerical and administrative duties online pending the establishment of our New Outlets in ( Ontario, Alberta and Saskatoon ) Canada, ( New York ,California, Texas, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Pennsylvenia and Virginia ) United States. We are into Computer Peripherals Supplies. We are dedicated to meeting the needs of independent dialysis providers around the world by leveraging today's most innovative technologies to deliver a full spectrum of high-quality services to the businesscommunity. We Specialize in all kinds of Computer peripherals Suplies such as ATX case, Networking Routers, HDDX Compacts, Satilite HDD Communicator, Computer Pheripherals, CD-R Hard Drives, Memory Sticks and many more. CHARACTERISTIC DUTIES:Your duty when work commences are to be provided by your supervisor which would be made known to you . You would be giving Log s and records of company transactions that are back dated and back logged to sort out and help to ascertain balance sheets and computer records of several invoicing and payments made in past transactions. This are the enormous logsthat the company needs an extra hand for, which made it necessary for the company to employ Online staffs to record company transactions the ever growing needs of our clients.Now the software you would be having would entail the proper data entry and arrangements of records beingsorted out along side with Microsoft office Soft.( Spread sheet and Excel ). This would help make it easier. After Logs have been processed by you, the end data would be passed on to your supervisor by through the Accounting Software. ( Tuition and Training on how to use the softwares would be given freely by our supervisors before your equipments arrive. These equipments are given out to online staffs for Data-security reasons. ) Here is a Brief Questionaire that would help Us acertain your skills and experience. Interview Questions *Have you ever worked from home?*So why do you want this Job?*Are you taking this as a primary or secondary job? if secondary explain why?*Do you have professional Reference which I can go through?*Will you be able to devote 20 hours of your time toChester Concepts Networking Company.? that is 2hrs atleast daily?*Have you worked as an Online assistant before?*Do you have a printer, fax machine and a scanner?*Privacy and code of conduct....explain the phrase?*What do u understand by petty cash?*How would you describe your self?

*Do you know your clerical speed?what is it?*Do you have an idea of how to use ms excel? SEND YOUR REPLY TO ( chesterconcepts@yahoo.com ) IMPORTANT: Send in Your Full Name, Address and Contact phone number so we could reach you after the Interview and create a folder for you on the administrave desk.

RegardsBenny MoorePersonnel And Resource ManagementChester Concepts Networking Company. HQ26-29 Curlsburg Avenuve,Bolton, SW London. SW2 S1Email :

chesterconcepts@yahoo.com chesterconcepts@hotmail.com

Bwahahahahaha. Seriously. WHO in the WORLD would take an ad like this seriously? It's ridiculous. I can't believe anyone would fall for that after the first couple sentences.

Bottom line...use common sense, people! And if you don't see the problem with ads like this, you should seriously enroll in an English class.

Posted by The Eclectic WAHM 5:37 PM 0 comments Links to this post  

Labels: avoiding scams, work from home scams

So Many Scams...
Sunday, January 04, 2009

....so little time. Seriously. This comes up all the time on message boards I read, and I see the postings on craigslist and job sites all the time. It's getting old and people should know better. But here we go again. If you see a "job" posting like this, IT IS A SCAM!

JOB DESCRIPTION
Earn ~$300-$700+/wk. Personal on line/email training and support. Work your own hours - days, nights, weekends. This position will consist of sending/receiving emails, processing orders, and general typing. The work will be sent to you upon your request. There are NO sales, cold calling, talking to strangers, click banks, or taking surveys! This is all friendly, customer-based response. These are customers that we as an organization need your help keeping up with. Customer care and timely customer response is crucial in having a successful business. This home-based position gives you the opportunity to earn $100 or more per day! The amount of work you choose to do is entirely up to you and your schedule. Once the work is completed, you will be compensated. Your compensation per week will depend on your typing skills and customer response time. Compensation is as follows: Each on line customer response should take about 1 minute. Each customer response will contain, at most, 40 words. In a 2-3 hour work window, you should be able to respond to approximately 100-150 customers. You will be paid per customer response and on average expect to earn $600/week (keeping these figures). The amount of money you earn is entirely up to you! You can get paid daily through PayPal or through paper checks; whichever you prefer.
YOUR REQUIREMENTS
Computer with Internet/Email access. Good typing skills. Basic Internet knowledge. Excellent work ethic. Self-Motivation/Dedication. Courteous customer care.
TRAINING
The Training Manual you receive will give you STEP-BY-STEP instructions on how to get started. Very simple to follow, however if you have questions we're here for you! When you receive your Training Manual and first work order, you may begin working immediately! There is NO special software required for this position. There is a ONE-TIME fee of $11.95 for the Training Manual. This fee is to weed out the "curious from the serious." You will make back this fee in about 10 minutes of work! This cost will cover the Training Manual and first work order sent to you. Please understand that as much as we would like to not charge this small processing fee, we must protect ourselves from those who are not serious about working and to pay for the cost of the Training Manual sent to you, pay those who answer your questions/emails, etc. NO business can afford to cover administrative costs, wasted time, or provide valuable materials to everyone who inquires about this position. There will be NO other fees after you start. This is guaranteed in writing in your training manual. Your Training Manual will be emailed out the day the fee is received. Please make payment throw Paypal. Below you will find the link, Click or copy and paste the link to your browser to get started.

Why is this a scam, you ask? Well, this was my latest response on a message board:

For your $11.95, they'll tell you to post ads like you saw and scam others out of $11.95 to tell them to post ads like you saw and so on and so on. It's a bunch of bovine excrement and anyone who posts that crap should be ashamed of themselves.

Oh...and "please make your payment THROW Paypal"??? LMAO That's as bad as the people who want to hire work from home "mom's." Theres NO apostrophe in MOMS, people. The morons posting crap opportunities should have spent more time on basic English and grammar, then maybe they wouldn't have to scam people because they'd actually be qualified for a REAL job. Sheesh.

Scammers make me grumpy. Not that I've been personally scammed, but I see so many people out there who are desperate to make money. So desperate that they'll try almost anything. It's painfully apparent that many, many people are unaware of how things work in the real business world. It's obvious that there are folks out there who simply haven't had the benefit of a decent education and/or just don't have critical thinking skills.

Two kinds of people post ads like that. Scammers and the...how shall I put it...intellectually challenged. It's either people who don't care that it's a scam, don't care that they're taking some poor desperate mother's diaper money, or it's people who just are clueless and don't realize what a scam it is. There's no "position." It's not a job. It's not a legitimate way to earn money.

Don't fall for it. People who post that garbage should be strung up.

Posted by The Eclectic WAHM 11:27 PM 0 comments Links to this post  

Labels: avoiding scams, home job scam, work from home job, work from home scams

New Years Resolutions
Thursday, January 01, 2009

New Years resolutions are not something I've ever really participated in in the past, but I'm starting something new today. Perhaps not a New Years resolution, but starting a new habit to help me save. Every time we go to the store, we use the store card and coupons and the receipt always prints out a handy-dandy summary of the amount you saved. I decided that I'm actually going to SAVE it.

I have my Quickbooks all in order for the new year. Since I enter in my receipts and transactions every day, each time I have a savings from a coupon or discount, I'll transfer the funds into my savings account. I wonder how much I'll have in there at the end of the year. Today is a perfect day to start, seeing as it's New Years Day. My husband just came home with a store receipt with $10.73 in savings. I just used my online banking to transfer and entered it in Quickbooks. Yay!

If you haven't tried it, Quickbooks and Quicken are a great way to keep track of your finances. It makes things so simple and the reports you can create to see where you are spending are awesome. It's especially great to use Quickbooks if you have business income to keep track of.



I got so excited about my savings plan for the year, I started a blog about it. Check it out at My Frugal Year!

So, what's your resolution this year?

Posted by The Eclectic WAHM 9:07 PM 1 comments Links to this post  

Labels: frugal living, Quickbooks, saving money, savings

Christmas Got You Tapped Out?
Monday, December 29, 2008

Don't forget about surveys! I've talked about them before, but another handy check reminded me of how great they are. Now, they aren't a "job" and won't replace your income from working. Still, surveys are a great way to earn some extra cash and prizes.

For survey beginners, there are a few things to know. First of all, you don't need to pay for a list of surveys or pay to join any survey site. The information is all out there for free and legitimate market survey companies never charge a fee to the people who take surveys.

What are surveys, anyway? It's all part of market research. Companies pay market research companies to gather information from their "target market." In other works, they want to know what consumers think, and more specifically they want to know what the people they want to sell to think. The "target market" is whatever demographic (age group, gender, income level etc.) the company is trying to market their products to. This is valuable information, so the companies are willing to pay to have these surveys done. This is why survey takers NEVER should pay any kind of fee to take surveys. Sites that ask you to pay are not legitimate survey companies.

When you sign up for online survey companies, you will get "screener surveys" before you get the paying surveys. These short screeners are to ensure that you fit the demographic the company is looking for. Don't be frustrated when you get these and don't get to go on and take the paid survey. The more of these screeners you get through, the more paid surveys you will receive.

Along with online surveys, you may also find local market research companies that do focus groups in your area. These tend to pay very well. I've made anywhere from $50 to $200 for a couple hours of my time. Focus groups are fun too, and sometimes you even get to do taste tests!

There are many legitimate survey companies out there. I have my favorites and I'll share those with you.

Top of the list for me is MySurvey. I regularly get surveys and they pay very fast. They have a $10 pay out threshold and it's very easy to reach. With MySurvey, you can get a check mailed to you, or you can turn in your points for prizes. I usually take the check, and it always comes quickly.


I highly recommend joining MySurvey. They rock!

Another good one is Opinion Outpost. This one is a lot of fun. Simple surveys, and they pay out on time via check. I've received several checks from them in the time I've been a member. Their customer service is also extremely responsive and helpful.



Another GREAT survey company is Global Test Market. They send survey invitations all the time. Cash-out is at $50, and if you try to qualify for all the surveys they send, it's not hard to get there. I just received a check from them recently. They pay quickly once you cash out.



Survey Savvy! SurveySavvy is a great company. I've been a member for a few years now and have cashed out many times. They pay by check, and you can request a check any time you have funds in your account. They pay quickly and send lots of surveys.



Lightspeed is a very reliable survey company. I've been a member for several years. I get a good number of survey invitations each month and have successfully cashed out many times. They pay by PayPal or in Amazon.com gift certificates.

Ipsos is a worldwide leading market research company. i-Say panel members earn rewards for each survey they take.

* Earn reward points for taking surveys - Points will be deposited one to two days after survey completion.
o Once you've earned 50 (or more) points, you can redeem your points for merchandise and gift cards offered by popular retail merchants.
o Click on the link below to view your reward points account, redeem rewards or to see what you can get for the points you earn.




Last but not least is MyPoints. MyPoints is one of my top favorites. I've been with them the longest of all the survey or paid to read email companies. My Points is a little different as it is not all surveys. When you sign up, you'll receive emails from them on behalf of their advertisers. It's simple. All you need to do is click on the link in the email to go to the advertiser's site and you get points. You receive 5 points just for looking at the site, and more points if you actually shop there or complete a certain task. NEVER once have I gotten any type of virus or issue from clicking their links.

They also send survey emails for which you can receive more points. You can also refer friends to receive points. If you do your online shopping through MyPoints, you get points for every dollar you spend. Shop at popular online sites to rack up the points. They also offer a MyPoints Visa card where you earn points for every dollar you spend.

MyPoints has been completely reliable. I highly recommend this company!

The rewards are awesome! The reward partners change from time to time, but I have received gift cards from Target, Starbucks, Baja Fresh, Red Lobster, Kohl's and many other of my favorite stores.




Those are my favorite survey companies. Now I have found a new fun site that rewards you for searching the web. I just cashed out for a nice Amazon.com gift certificate and received it almost immediately, so it's legit. Yay! Check out SwagBucks! Someone recently turned me on to Swagbucks. It's easy to win. You use their search engine to look for things online and you're awarded Swagbucks which you can redeem for gift certificates and prizes! Check it out!




That's all for now! Have fun earning some extra cash. It SURE comes in handy!!

Posted by The Eclectic WAHM 5:33 PM 0 comments Links to this post  

Labels: cash, earn extra money, online surveys, paid surveys