Spare Time
Seven Simple Ways to Make De-Cluttering Fun
So we all know that being organized saves us money, right? When we can find what we need we don’t spend money to re-buy the item. Plus you never know what items you’ll uncover that you can sell for cash! But organizing is not always the most enjoyable project, so here are seven ways to make it more fun!
1. Host a round robin organizing party. Organizing is always more fun with good friends who can talk you out of holding onto a bright, teal dress with an oversized raffia style bow. Get a small group of friends together, start at your home and complete an organizing project. Then move to the next person’s home.
2. Throw a photo organizing party. Invite a small group of friends; have them each bring a bag of photos and a photo album or photo box. Unlike a huge artsy crafty scrapbooking event this one focuses on organizing the photos. It’s a fun time to share memories with friends.
3. Make a de-cluttering date and write it in pen on the calendar. Having the time set aside means it will get done since we all know organizing never happens in your “spare” time.
4. Have a de-cluttering party complete with food, music, and a prize at the end. This is a great way to get your family on board with the project. Try a de-clutter award for the person who bags up the most items to give away to a charity.
5. Host a giving party. Have everyone bring a bag of gently used items they no longer love that they can swap for stuff they will use. Then you can donate all the leftovers to a local charity.
6. Barter with friends to help you with large de-cluttering projects or ask them to watch your children so you can have some uninterrupted time. Uninterrupted means it will be more enjoyable and productive!
7. Give yourself a reward! After your organizing session treat yourself to something fun, anything but shopping!
This is a guest post by Jamie Novak. Jamie’s newest book Stop Throwing Money Away is on shelves now and she hosts an online community at www.BiteSizeLiving.com.
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Weekly Roundup: Sink Or Swim Edition
Our kids are in the process of learning to swim. It is something we probably put off too long, but that we’ve become more dedicated to both as a survival skill and a form of summertime entertainment. Teaching kids to swim takes a lot of patience, a virtue I was not born with, but one I’ve tried to cultivate over time.
Things like having kids young, coaching youth soccer, and settling down to write all help develop patience, and it’s a good thing because patience is a key factor in financial success. The most serious screw-ups I’ve committed with money were made when I moved too fast. When not teaching the doggy-paddle, or how to float on your back, to the kids in my spare time, I managed to run across a few excellent posts this past week.
The Fab Five
Can You Survive As a One Income Family? Yes, we’ve been doing it for over ten years now. But living on one income is not easy, and it requires a tremendous sacrifice. (@ The Wisdom Journal)
Retired at 31: An Early Retirement Story. I read these stories and wish I could go back to 20 years-old and have a mulligan. If I only knew then what I know now. Still, I find these posts to be extremely inspiring for those in their early twenties because it is a decade of so much opportunity!(@ Million Dollar Journey)
Junky Car Club. Cool idea here. Register your “junky” car here and agree to use at least some of what you used to pay for a car payment for charity. (@Stiletto Money Online)
15 Ways To Get Started On Snowflaking. The idea of “snowflaking” is one of the best ways to get out of debt. I’ve used it to pay off thousands of dollars of debt in small increments of micro-payments from various side hustles. Believe me; they add up over time! (@The Simple Dollar)
Poor Man Wins Lottery – Will it Help or Hurt Him? After any sizable lottery winnings the media instantly reports all those who have been cursed by the winnings. I still believe the idea that it is the love of money that is the root of all evil. Money alone is simply a tool. (@Money Help For Christians)
Best of the Rest
- SEP IRA: Self-Employed Retirement Plans
- Four Simple Ways To Make The Most Of Your Day
- Keep Your Kids Busy Without Breaking the Bank This Summer
- How To Win a Race in Last Place
- Three Quick Tips For Getting Ahead In Life
- How To Be A Millionaire: Start Thinking Like One
- Is the 401(k) Broken? I’m Not So Sure
- The Four(ty) Hour Workweek
- Where Is Gold Heading To?
- Shopping List For A Newborn Baby
Post from: Frugal Dad
Getting Started with Paid Online Opinion Surveys
This is a guest post from Karen who lives in Rhode Island with her husband and two daughters. Besides being a frugal stay at home mom ,she blogs at frugalrimama.com about weekly deals/sales/freebies and more. In her spare time she enjoys taking surveys and doing some mystery shopping. You can see a list of Karen’s survey earnings on her blog.
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Everyone seems to be looking for ways to make extra cash and the one place they seem to be looking to is the Internet. There are a lot of scams but there are also legitimate ways to earn some extra money. You won’t get rich but who couldn’t use gas money each month, or extra money to pick up those lattes that you love so much, but can’t quite fit into your budget. One way I’ve found to earn a little extra cash is by taking online surveys.
I started doing online surveys a few years back but it’s taken me a while to find companies that really do pay. There are so many out there they say they pay but they really don’t. They just want your email address so they can Spam you. If a company really wants your opinion then they are not going to Spam you.
I’ve had success with a few survey sites and I’ve made well over a $100 with some of them and I don’t even take every survey that is sent to me, I just don’t have that much extra time most days. But when I do it’s nice to earn a little extra cash and know that I’m helping companies make better products or services.
When you sign up for just about any survey company, they do want a lot of information, but this is how they will match you up with surveys. They will most likely want to know about every member in your household. Some companies will send you surveys for your family to take, even your children. I’ve done a few with my 4 year old. I just basically walk her through it asking her the questions.
They may ask for your social security number when you sign up. The reason why is if you make more than $600 in a year, they have to report it to the IRS. You may not have to give it to them when you first sign up, but you will need it to receive your first payment. This is very normal.
You will probably get a few screener surveys a week from most companies but that really depends on your demographics. If you don’t receive many emails from them, it just means they don’t anything that will fit you at that time. When you get the screener emails, it will tell you what your compensation will be for taking that survey and how long it should take if you qualify for it.
Each company has a different way of compensating you. Some of them do pay cash either by check or paypal. Other’s will let you choose gift cards or prizes. Some of them will enter you into monthly drawings. But before you begin any survey they will always tell you so then you can make the decision of taking that survey or not. It’s OK if you pass up on some of them but after a while you may become inactive so be careful about that.
Here are a few companies I have been working with for a while now and they do pay and they are REAL:
Before you sign up with any survey companies I suggest you get a separate email address just to use for your surveys so your inbox won’t be flooded with emails and your personal stuff gets buried. Some days you may get more emails than others.
If you take a few surveys a week you could probably fill up your gas tank for the month. With the price of gas going up again, that would be nice.
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