Happy Holidays!

This year has gone by so incredibly quickly!  I can't believe that we're already coming up on Christmas... As a matter of fact, it snuck up on me so badly that I fell victim to price gouging on a gift for our son.  What was it?  A Lego Harry Potter construction set of course!  Seriously, tiny little pieces of plastic are a lot more expensive than I remember them being.
Luckily I had enough gift cards from SwagBucks and iRazoo to make the purchase of a $40 set at 100% mark up without any actual out of pocket expenses.  The price has actually gone down since we got it, probably because there's less chance of it arriving before the holidays.  I also grabbed the Big Blue Book of Beginner Books and some Melissa and Douglas sticker books to add to the pile of presents that are waiting to be wrapped.  On the plus side, after this year I can guarantee that I won't ever put off buying something for Christmas because I think it's overpriced again!
Most of the other things we got were a bargain though, so I guess that helps to make up for it as well.  How about you guys?  Did you get any super deals or duds this year?
On a work related note, I've been applying like crazy for all sorts of positions.  It's always hard to get back into the game after you've faded out.  I did take on a mystery shopping position for one client, but the time to pay ratio was a bit sub par.  I'm determined to find something that pays well on an hourly basis - I just keep carrying on chanting like the Little Engine that Could!

SurveyHead is Still a Keeper

SurveyHead is one of the good eggs that I've kept in my basket from the start.  There are a lot of sites out there that offer compensation for taking free online surveys, and of all of them, Survey Head is definitely in my top 5.  I'll admit that I haven't paid much attention to the surveys recently, but I'm getting back on the ball again because the earning potential there is definitely worthwhile.
If you haven't signed up with SurveyHead, I'd definitely do so.  Between the end of September 2009 and the middle of December 2009, I managed to earn nearly $100 with Survey Head.  What's great is that even though I haven't been as active as I should have been, all of my earnings that I haven't cashed out are still there safe and sound with no deductions!  The site itself has also undergone a great makeover that makes everything really simple to keep up with.

Getting started is easy and you can start earning instantly, while fine tuning what surveys they send you - so that you don't get mismatched as often.  With these 3 simple steps, you'll be on your way...

Getting Caught Up...

Thanks so much for all the emails and comments!  I'm glad to be back, and I'm glad that you guys are glad I'm back!  My family has been cycling a terrible cold and cough for the past couple of weeks, hence the lack of activity on my part, but we seem to be in the clear again... *knock on wood*.
Having been gone for so long, I figure that now is as good a time as any to see what all of you ladies (and gents) are up to.  Have you found a great job or business that's helping you and your family?  A GPT with solid results and decent earning potential?  I want to know what's going on in your work at home world before I start boring you with mine ;)
In a nutshell though, I'm starting from scratch - luckily I have a few small eggs that are still snug in my basket, although some of my eggs have spoiled as well!

Back in the Saddle Again!

First of all, I want to apologize to all of my readers (and friends) who have been left hanging over these last couple of months.  What started off as an unannounced vacation at the request of my significant other quickly spiraled into an extended absence from the blog-o-sphere, but the good news is that I'm now back in the saddle and ready to start providing help and encouragement again!

Over the past several months I've been "taking it easy" on the monetary home front and have been dealing with family and health issues instead.  We suffered several family deaths this spring and summer, my grandmother is still struggling with various illnesses (but her spirits are high) and my parents separated in the blink of an eye when my mother picked up without warning and relocated.  To put it mildly, things have been rather interesting.

I'll be getting back into the swing of things again though, and Earning At Home will back in full swing in no time at all!

Things to look forward to:
A possible relocation of AtHomeEarning.com, we won't be changing our URL though!
Reviews of classic earning opportunities such as SwagBucks, iRazoo, SurveyHead and more!
Tips and bargains for the holidays...

March Earnings Breakdown

I didn't put in a lot of work last month because of my headaches and migraines, so I didn't make my goal, but I did decently overall.  I also dropped one client who required a lot of reminders to send me my weekly assignments, and constantly changed what they needed done... The money was good (usually around $100 a week), but the stress wasn't.

I also massively slacked off on another project throughout March because it's so tedious.  I'm trying to motivate myself to get to work on it right now, but it's obviously not going well hehe.

April 5th Already?

Where did the last week go?  Oh yes, into Easter preparation and celebrations... So much candy and family!  We had a good 3 days of various celebrations to attend, and still have to do something with another chunk of family this week. 

While I might have lost a week of productivity in the chaos, I am now pretty much 99.9% sure that my glasses are the issue with my headaches since family get togethers and outdoor excursions mean that I opt for contacts and shades for over my normal glasses - and sure enough my head has been fine lately.  Unfortunately, that means I need new glasses because I only have one pair of contacts and the prescription for them is expired.

I'll be updating on March's numbers and April's goals this week - the latter will be a bit different from normal.

Another One Bites the Dust

I swear, time is going so fast lately, I just don't understand it.  Everything is just one big blur - I can't believe that we're already a quarter of the way through the year already!

I completely lost track of this month, mostly because of those migraines and headaches which are still attacking.  I've decided that it's most likely my glasses, and I probably need a new prescription.  There's no other logical reason for me to be in crippling pain on a nearly daily basis.  I really hate getting new glasses though because they're so darn expensive, especially since they are the one item that I refuse to be cheap about since they're right smack dab in front of my face.

I'll be crunching my numbers soon, reviewing the month and updating on my goals for April soon.  Hope everyone else has done well!

PS: If you're interested in doing a Motivational Monday post this coming Monday, let me know!

Do You Have *SPRINGFEVER*?

Yes, it's cheesy I know, but I really do.  After living in a dark room for the better portion of the week I am ready for Spring to be here!  Unfortunately the temperatures plummetted back down into the mid to high 30s today so you can bet your bottom dollar that I'm not going out.

My solution?  I'm going to "splurge" with the BigFishGames sale that's going on and buy a couple games to keep me from going insane while I'm trapped inside the house. 

If you use the code SPRINGFEVER when you check out, you'll get 30% off any (and all) standard games which takes them from $6.99 each down to $4.89.  The discount won't apply to games that are already discounted under $6.99 or on Special Edition games though.

I've always had a weakness for cheesy turn based RPGs (like the Aveyond series), Sim games (like Virtual Villagers) and Time Management games so I'm digging this sale.

The sale ends tomorrow though, so grab your games now!

   

I'm Alive!

After suffering for 3 straight days from the worst migraine I've ever had in my life, I'm finally capable of existing outside of a pitch black room again!  I actually had a migraine 4 of the last 7 days, but only 3 were in a row hehe

Bring on Spring!

SwagBucks Sale

From today (the 22nd) until Wednesday (the 24th) SwagBucks will have their $5 PayPal cards on sale at a lower price than usual.  They've dropped them down to 550 SBs currently which I think is about 200 cheaper than normal, but I'm not sure since I generally go for the $5 Amazon cards at 450 SBs.

If you're a PayPal buyer though, this is a pretty good deal!


Like this post?  Check out these!
* SwagBucks Birthday Celebration
* Thank You iRazoo and SwagBucks

Pay Day (3/13 - 3/19)

Here are my payments for last week, just some change from my down line at Cloud Crowd, so it's nothing too impressive.  I really need to get back to work on all my GPTs!

• Cloud Crowd: 21¢, $45.27 total since I started (Cloud Croud Proof of Payment)

I also cashed out $10 in Amazon cards from SwagBucks and $5 from iRazoo, I'll post proof when they arrive. 

I'm super annoyed because I've been saving points on SwagBucks for a while now in hopes of a sale, and two days after I finally broke down and bought a couple cards, they announced a sale for later this week!  Hopefully they'll put some good cards on sale, but not so many that I fully regret already redeeming 2 of my 5 monthly rewards hehe.

Other Pay Day Related Posts:

* Pay Day (3/6 - 3/12)

* Another Thumbs Up for iRazoo

Thursday Tip Triad #13: Variety is the Spice of Life

As I've mentioned recently, I probably won't meet my income goals for the month again... Why?  Well, for one thing I'm not giving it my all, and two, a lot of my private clients have gone MIA over the past couple of months or have made severe cut backs.  I've also made some cut backs on the time that I'm willing to work for lower paying clients as well.  This is all fine and dandy, part of being a freelancer and part of pruning - however I've been so focused on private clients for the last five months that I haven't gathered up any high quality back up eggs!

My realization of this is what has brought about the creation of today's TTT topic on variety.  Private clients are great, content sites are great, survey and gpts are great - but to get the most security and the most money in the bank, you need to maintain variety!

Break Studios

I've decided that I really need to force myself into writing for more content sites on top of my client base so that I can fall back on something when my clients go AWOL or are short on funding.

I took the first step and applied with Break Studios this week and got my acceptance letter from them as well.  I'm excited because the rate of pay is pretty decent compared to other content mills, but I'm a little reluctant to start.  I'll just have to force myself jump in and hope for the best...  I should be fine and I've never gotten bad feedback on my writing, but I'd imagine that private clients are easier to please than content sites that have 1000s of writers begging for a chance.

I'm on the Prowl

All right, it's official, I'm back on the prowl!

Over the last month or two a lot of my clients have been pretty hit or miss, so it's time to start seeking out new ones again.  I had toned down my constant seeking so I wouldn't be tied to my computer for as long during the day, but it looks like I'm going to have to find a happy medium between constantly searching, and not searching often enough.

Pay Day (3/6 - 3/12)

All right, here's the Pay Day update for this past week!

• Cloud Crowd:  4¢, $45.06 total since start (Cloud Croud Proof of Payment)
• YouData: 26¢, $5.60 total since start (YouData Proof of Payment)
• Pinecone Research: $3.00, $36.00+ total since I started with them (Pinecone Research Proof of Payment) 

And of course I also got another $5 from iRazoo this week that I already mentioned in my "Another Thumbs up for iRazoo" post.

Right now I'm around the $350 mark for the month so I really need to put the pedal to metal if I want to make my goal this month.  I'm about $150 behind where I should be so I'm going to have to quit slacking and get in gear!

How are you guys doing so far this month?


Posts You May Enjoy:
* Pay Day (2/27 - 3/5)
* Pay Day!
* Proof of Payment "Friday"

Thursday Tip Triad #12: Fighting Off Distractions

One of the biggest pitfalls of legitimate work from home jobs is the fact that there is no easy way to avoid distractions.  Between family matters, household chores and the temptations of the internet, it's incredibly easy to get side tracked.  The good news is that there are a few things that you can do help fend off these distractions.

Another Thumbs Up for iRazoo

It really looks like iRazoo is getting their act together.  On top of improving their referral system, it seems that they've made improvements to their gift card delivery times as well unless this last one was a fluke.

I've been with them since around October 2009 and have usually had to wait 3-5 weeks for Amazon gift cards to reach my inbox.  This week however I had a shocking surprise...  The gift card I ordered on 3/6 arrived today - less than a week later!  That's even faster than with SwagBucks, granted I don't know if I was just lucky or if they are actually going to be that quick all the time, but I'm looking forward to finding out!  (Proof of Payment)

Are any of you guys still using iRazoo?  If so let us know how long it takes your next gift card to get delivered!

You May Also Enjoy:
* Newest iRazoo Updates - Better Than Before?
* Pay Day (2/27 - 3/5)
* Thank You iRazoo and SwagBucks

The Niche Blogger - Update Part 1

All right, I'm super hyped up about this, and am planning on using my experience with The Niche Blogger as the foundation of my residual income blog once I start it.  I will be putting up periodic updates here as well though, so you won't have to worry about reading two of my blogs to see how it's going unless you want all the juicy details of my experience.

What a weekend!

So this weekend was really something, I managed to get a virus on my computer Friday, and a terribly invasive bit of spyware on Sunday, both while working for one of my clients doing some back link building... Who would have thought that there would be so many blogs out there with evil intent?

I've since switched my anti virus/spyware software to something new that seems to be catching things better before they come through.  (Thank goodness!)

We also went to see Les Miserables at one of the local high school's and I have to say that it was a lot better than we expected it to be. 

Now I'm ready for a fresh week, and I'm ready to keep pushing through March!


Other Entries You May Enjoy:
* March Goals
* No More Snow!
* What Would You Like to See?

Scholarship Approved!

I just checked my email and found out that I received one of the scholarships for The Niche Blogger - Make Money Blogging that will last 3 months! 

I'm really excited and can't wait to get started on it.  Everything is broken down into one day lessons, so it should be pretty simple to follow along with.  I've already got my hosting with Host Gator and I can easily get another discounted domain through Name Cheap, so I am super excited. 

Hopefully this will help me get a jump on my residual income goals for 2010 (and beyond).  I'll be sure to keep everyone updated on my progress as well... And if you get a scholarship also, let me know!   
 
You Might Also Like:
* Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010 
* A New Year Means New Goals 

The Niche Blogger Scholarships

I just caught wind Scholarships for The Niche Blogger - Make Money Blogging through an email that I got from the creator of the site... I had signed up for the free 10 day course earlier this year, and I really loved it, but I couldn't (and still can't) afford to sign up for their full course until now!

Earlier today I got a mail about a scholarship program, and there are still a few slots open so I applied and thought I'd spread the word.  The opportunity is just too good to share, even if I'm putting myself at risk of not getting a scholarship by letting you guys know about.

You can find the full details at My Debt Free Goal and to qualify you need to meet the following three criteria:

• Have children or a spouse that you need or want to stay home with.
• Have a financial hardship.
• Be motivated enough to actually take advantage of the program.

Other Posts to Check Out:
* VistaPrint Blow Out Sale
* Celebrating!

Pay Day (2/27 - 3/5)

Here are my payments for the last week, and my total earned so far for March.  It's looking pretty good... I also went ahead and picked up a Zino HD 400 for my little sis like I'd mentioned because I caught one on the outlet site for $189 as opposed to the usual $229.  Hopefully that'll motivate me to work extra hard this month to make up for the cash I really shouldn't have spent - it was for a good cause though!

Thursday Tip Triad #11: The Three Steps to Freelancing

When it comes to freelancing and legitimate work from home jobs, you have to look at your work like it's a garden, or more specifically a rose bush.  To find jobs and succeed at them you have to possess several skills that are similar to those that you need to employ when taking care of your flowers, veggie gardens or fruit trees.  Today, for the Thursday Tip Triad, I am going to break freelancing down for you into three sections from start to finish, planting, nurturing and pruning.

Asking for your Input...

All right, pardon this post, it's quite out of character - but I thought that this question could probably be answered (quite well) by you guys so here it is:

What computer would you recommend for a 15 year old girl?

Right now I'm looking at the Inspiron Zino HD 400.  Not necessarily through Amazon though since I've found it through Dell for around $230 (sometimes a little less) and that price is my primary reason for looking into it.

March Goals

All right, I'm keeping it short and simple once again, just in case the chaos of February isn't done with me yet.  The biggest catch is that my birthday is this month which most likely means that I'll have at least 2 to 3 different birthday related dinners with different people.

1. Make $1000 of spendable cash after fees.  I was tempted to raise this to make up for February, but I think that would probably just put a lot of unnecessary pressure on me.
   

February Goal Check

So last month I had two goals, and as we all know, I didn't achieve both of them.  I'm still happy with how things turned out overall though, and March is off to a great start.  The client who had two outstanding invoices paid them on Monday, the Canadian currency issue was resolved today and I have a new invoice out for another $50.  When that one get's paid I'll be roughly 25% of the way to my goal for March, which is pretty excellent considering it's only the the second day of the month.

Here's my pass or fail recap on February's goals.

February Earnings Breakdown

The final total is in!  I finished up with $617.40 in spendable earnings for February, with about $200 in invoices out for the month still.  After adding it all up, taking everything that happened into consideration and making note of the fact that those unpaid invoices would put me over $800 - I'm pretty happy overall.  Hopefully, March will go smoother though and I'll be able to reach my goals without any complications.