Advance Focus has open registration!  Even young consumers can participate in some focus groups through this company.

I have participated in 3 Focus Groups so far and each one has been a great opportunity to share my opinion and get paid for them.  They are usually very low responsibility.  I have done two that are online focus groups in which one required a webcam and the other one was just a chat session.  The third one that I did was in a group setting and we met together for an afternoon.

All three paid well for my time.  Advance Focus is one of the companies that I have done work for in the past and they are very great to work with.

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Do you have an extra bedroom or two that is not being used.  You can rent out your bedroom to travelers through Airbnb.

Listing your home is free. Airbnb will collect 3% of each accepted reservation to cover the cost of processing. Guests are charged 6-12% of the booking fee. Funds are transferred directly to the host.

There is several listed for my area.  I think this is a great idea if you married or a male but I don’t recommend this for a single female.  All safety precautions need to be taken.

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Did you know the average household has up to $3000 in stuff laying around that they could sell on Ebay or Craig’s list.  I have sold for over 9 years on Ebay and on Craig’s list and it is a great way to make some extra money as well as cleaning out the stuff in your house.

I have had some items that I make a lot of money off of and I have to admit, I have had some items that I should have just donated because I didn’t make any money off of.  I have learned over the years from my mistakes.  I want to try and share some tips with you on how I sell my items.

1. Make sure the item is clean.  Check out every inch of the item.  Clean any stains, get all the dust off and give it a good polish.  It might not look too dusty to you but when you go to take pictures, the flash will show every lint on the item.   You want to be a seller that only provides good and clean products.
2. Take great pictures.  This is the biggest part of selling your item.  Taking good pictures is how a buyer decides if they want it.  Descriptions are important, but if the pictures are not good, you will not sell the item.  I take at least 5 pictures of each item.  Make sure the pictures are taken in good light and with a good digital camera.  Unless you have a newer cell phone, you don’t need to use your camera phone if all possible.   Make sure it is on a solid background.  You don’t want other objects in your pictures.

For example, if I am selling a pair of jeans,  I will take the following pictures;

• A picture of the full length front side of the jeans.
• A picture of the inside tags to show the brand, style & size.
• A picture of just the top of the jeans. (Crotch to the waist band)
• A picture of the back of the jeans, to show the design on the pockets and any tags on the back.
• A picture of the hems of the jeans.

3.   Write a good description.  Be honest in your description.  Don’t try to give the ‘used car salesman’ pitch.  If the item has a dent, scratch or   tear, be honest.   If you are doing clothing, put the measurements in the description.   Don’t indicate in the description what you think a good value is for the item.  The buyer will know that by your selling price.

4.  Give your location but not your address.  If you are selling on Craig’s list especially, don’t give your location of the item until you talk to the person and you feel like they are a legit buyer.  You don’t want to expose your house to someone trying to harm others.  You will need to put the city and state but you don’t have to put the physical location in the post.   When I sell on Craig’s list, I don’t meet the people at my house to exchange, I meet them in a public place unless the item is too large.

5. Pricing  This is a hard one especially for new sellers.  If it is an item that you have had for 5 years and it cost you $1000, you don’t need to expect you will be getting $1000 for it when you sell.  It is very rare you get back exactly what you buy unless it is something that increases in value.   Be realistic in pricing.  I always check on Ebay and Amazon at what items similar to mine is going for and then I price from there.  If those prices are too low for you, then you might not be ready to get rid of that item.

6. Answer all questions about your item.  Don’t shrug off any questions because that might be the buyer.  If they are asking questions about the item, answer them to the best of your ability.

7.  Ship your item securely and quickly.   If the sale is to someone outside the area, ship the item to them quickly and pack it securely.  They will appreciate the care and will leave you a good feedback.

8.  Save emails.  Save your multilple potential buyers emails.  If you are selling on Craig’s list, save the potential buyers emails incase the 1st buyer falls through. This way you can give the others a chance to purchase.

If you are courteous and polite and up front and honest, you should have a positive experience selling on Craig’s list and on Ebay.    Plus you will make some extra money for your family.  Maybe use it for a vacation, a new item for the house, repairs for the house or car, or to pay off bills.

Here is more post that I have written about selling on  ebay and other online venues online.  Go here, here , here , here, here,  here, &  here,

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Ipsos is hiring Home Interviewers currently.

Here is a brief description taken directly from the site.  Interviewers are responsible for conducting telephone surveys using a landline and an on-line computer program with people throughout Canada and the United States on a variety of political, social and consumer topics including agriculture, financial services, retail services, health & pharmaceuticals, telecommunications and public affairs. There is no telemarketing involved. 

The pay is:  Ipsos Direct hires at a training wage of $8.00/hr. Your training period encompasses your first 250 hrs of employment. Your training will be self directed study and instructor lead via your PC at home. After 250 hrs worked you have the potential to increase your wage to $8.75/hr if you achieve expectations of reliability, work conduct, work quality and productivity. You will then have the opportunity to increase your potential earnings to $11.35/hr (with performance based premiums) thru hours based performance reviews which are conducted every 500 hrs.

This is a great way to make a part time income for your family or even a larger income if needed.    Check out the rest of the information here.

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Share Product Views and Earn Rewards!

Become a member of the Consumer Advisory Group where you can enter sweepstakes for prizes including $50 Gift Cards for completing surveys, as well as opportunities to earn individual gift cards..

Openings for Ladies here

Openings for Men here.

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Surveys is a great way to make a little extra money while sitting in front of your favorite TV show or while you are waiting at a coffee shop for someone.   Surveys are not the way to make money to support your family. I have not heard of anyone that supports there family by doing surveys.   BUT, a little extra cash always helps.

*Tip*  When signing up for survey companies, I have a hotmail account that I use just for the survey and online deals sites.  This way it is set aside and I can check them quickly and they are not mixed in with my personal emails. 

Here are a few survey companies that have open enrollment right now for you to sign up for.

Synovate –  Synovate is one of the largest market research firms in the world. Being a member means you get to participate in exclusive surveys and product tests. Earn rewards for sharing your opinion! Click Here

Pinecone Research.   They are looking for Hispanics to sign up.  Click Here

Pinecone Research  They are looking for 65 and older to sign up Click Here

Ipsos  I-Say Panel for Moms. Join the Ipsos i-Say Panel and Enter to Win $5,000. They need some mother’s intuition! Win $5,000 for joining the Ipsos i-Say Panel. Plus, each time you complete a survey, you have a chance to win cash. Share your views, influence decision-makers, and win CASH; it’s that easy! Click Here

Valued Opinions   Join Valued Opinions and get rewarded for giving your opinions. Plus, you’ll have a chance to win a $500 Amazon gift card just for registering. Click Here

Springboard America    Join Springboard America today and make your opinion count! Earn Survey Dollars redeemable for checks or charity. Get entered into their $1000 Sweepstakes for joining. Click Here

Mommy Talk     Earn cash rewards for sharing your opinion about baby products and services. Join now for free and get $5.00 cash in your account! Click Here

Survey Spot    Join SurveySpot and participate in online research studies that match your interests and demographics. Earn prize draw entries every time you participate in a survey, with a chance to win up to $12,000 in our quarterly prize draw. Click Here

Global Test Market   Complete online surveys and earn cash from GlobalTestMarket. Click Here

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I am hearing more and more about moms that stay home with their children asking how to make money while staying home.  There are several ways you can make money while staying home. I will be the first to say, there is also several scams too so you have to be very careful.

The ways that I share with you is normally a supplemental income and doesn’t really have the ability to be the primary income.  Here is some of the ways I have learned about and see them as legit ways to make money from home.

Virtual Assistants / At Home Call Agent.  Companies will contract out their customer service to at home agents.  There is training that will be involved and a newer computer with a landline will be needed for these types of jobs.  Here is a list of companies that hire. Click here.

Focus Groups. Companies want your opinion.  And more so companies want the opinions of women / moms.  They are very interested in what you opinion is on certain products, ideas and marketing methods.  Here is an article that I have written that explains Focus Groups in more detail and has a link to a list of companies.

Mystery Shopping. Mystery shopping is one of my favorite things to do.  Gregg and eat out a lot by doing mystery shopping.  I have found that through my mystery shopping you do earn cash from several jobs but the thing you get from mystery shopping the most is you get products or eating out for free.  I wrote a 3 part series trying to outline mystery shopping for you.  Part 1, part 2 & Part 3

Swagbucks. Swagbucks is a way to get gift cards for just surfing the web.  I use this way to get Amazon gift cards and then turn them into Christmas presents. They add up pretty quickly.  Here is a more detailed description. Click here

EBAY If you know me personally, you know I sell on Ebay and it has been at time a huge blessing to our family’s budget.  Every household has things laying around that they don’t need or use anymore that would sell on Ebay.  The saying one man’s junk is another man’s treasure is so true.  Here is an over view of how I sell on Ebay. Click here.

This is just a few ways to make some extra cash but they are legit ways that if you put some time and effort into they could turn into a cash for your family.

If you are doing something that is bringing cash into your home, please feel free to share in the comments for others to read.

Have a great weekend!

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DSGAI is hiring mystery shoppers between the ages of 18 – 29 to do some insurance mystery shops.  I have done these before for this company and they are so easy to do and pays GREAT!

All you have to do is email Jennifer at jennifer@dsgai.com and tell her the Anna McMullen at thethriftygeek@live.com sent you.

Spaces are limited but these are great jobs is you qualify.

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Johnson & Johnson  is taking applications for people to participate in a Hair Study.  I just did the survey and it is quick and simple.  Now I am just waiting to see if I get accepted into the study.  Fingers Crossed.    I have done several of these studies and normally they don’t take much time at all. The company just wants you to be honest, answer questions fully and be available to talk to them.   

Go here to take the survey.  Good Luck.  They will contact you if you qualify.  

If qualified to participate, you would receive a $50 Prepaid Citi Visa Card for participating in this Hair Study

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I have talked about Swagbucks in the past but have not really talked about it lately.  I just cashed in my swagbucks points and got 3 O’Charlies $10 gift cards for FREE!!!    All I did was use Swagbucks as my search engine to find things on the web.  It was as easy as that.  When I would search I would get points (“Swagbucks” ) for searching. 

You can also earn points by sharing your personal link with friends and letting them know they too can earn swagbucks and get great gift cards. Just like I am sharing with you.  

Check it out, it is one of those deals that it is kinda crazy not to do because it is FREE money/ gifts that you are not taking advantage of and it won’t cost you a dime to do. Plus, you use google to search the web and so why not use a search engine that will pay you to search?

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