How to cut down on your electrical bills?

I find this document I received (see below) pretty insightful. If this phantom load thing is true (see e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standby_power for more details), many people may already have wasted quite a bit of electricity. So it's your call... do you want to cut your pockets some slack and save Mother Earth as well? Cheers! :D Cut Electrical Bills 2009

Does making money bust your conscience?

I was talking to a friend who recently got involved in "another" MLM kind of opportunity. Well I am not sure if it is MLM but the ignorant me tends to conveniently lump anything and everything concerning selling products by word of mouth or through an online network of leaders, distributors or what-have-you under the MLM category (or network marketing, whatever). Not sure if I am right but I don't really care lol. :P Anyway because he is a good friend of mine, I was racking my brains to think of ways I can help while he was telling me about his new passion. I was in fact looking at the product list and scrutinizing the text to see how any of the products might be of use to my family or me. I then asked him whether the products have been patented and if he can provide more details on how WOW the products claim to be, etc. But guess what? He replied that the products are not patented then went on at great length about how I can RECRUIT people, form teams and make this a stream of income. Everything will be done for me since the awesome system is automated online. Apparently he wasn't the least bit interested about the products (though he did try them out for the sake of "professionalism") and if I may say this irresponsibly, he couldn't care less if what he is selling is dirt or curd. And when I commented that this sounded like a pyramid scheme, he beat his chest and said that the company HAS PRODUCTS. In his mind, having products automatically separates the company from pyramid schemes. In our quest for money, do we sometimes need to take a step back and ensure we are acting responsibly and in good conscience? Well... to each his own. PS.: The cute inset image is from http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/money.jpg . I hope the kind owner doesn't mind. If yes, drop me a note and I shall remove it immediately and offer my apologies. Thanks in advance! :D

Earn money at Webcosmo forums with Google Adsense

WebcosmoForums.com is a webmaster forum offering help and resources on marketing, search engine optimization, link development, graphics design, hosting, HTML, CSS etc. With the Revenue Sharing system you can earn while you are having fun posting. There is nothing like feeling at home in any place, whether virtual or real, and this is where my heart is at and if you are looking to perfect your webmaster skills, or share your knowledge then please do drop by and I promise you... you will get hooked. * This is an advertisement.

Need a loan? Check out Payday LoanQuotes (U.S.A.)

"A payday loan or cash advance is a quick and easy way to bridge your cash needs between pay days without a credit check. It is a small short-term loan that can range from $100 up to $1,500. The money can be electronically deposited and repaid from your checking account on mutually agreed upon dates." Geez, I didn't know that. Honestly! Perhaps it is because I have not taken such a loan before or that I am just plain ignorant (probably the latter :P). But hey, I think this concept of "payday loan" is quite interesting. I have posted the definition above just so that those as "muddled" as me may now be enlightened (lol). As opposed to loans for big ticket items like houses or cars, what Payday LoanQuotes offers is something of a smaller scale. However, this in no way diminishes its usefulness. When you need money, you need money. An emergency is an emergency and that "small loan" can make or break. Payday LoanQuotes is a FREE comparison service where you can request free quotes from its network of licensed lenders. You can utilize this one-stop station to get all the information you need to make your own decisions regarding short-term cash loans. Applying for a loan is quite easy - just three steps: - Fill out a 1-page online form - Connect with your lender to work out terms - Get your funds via direct deposit into your bank account Alternatively, just pick up your phone and dial 1-888-615-4346. No Fax Payday Loans truly. So for those in the United States, you can see if Payday LoanQuotes is of any use to you should you need a short-term cash loan. Remember: please still do your own due diligence! :P * This is a sponsored post.

ClickBux is back!

With reference to my earlier blog post, looks like ClickBux is back! Now let's hope that it will continue to stay this way and our efforts will pay off in the end. =)

Squeeze your creative juice and join Squidoo today!

Squirt. Squirt. Squirt. Now out with your creative juice. And a generous push, mind you! :P Squidoo is pretty much like Blogger, WordPress and any other blogging platform yet vastly different. In terms of structure, I guess a Squidoo "lens" is closer to that of a typical website. A Squidoo lens is just a page hosted by Squidoo. You have complete control over the content you want to display and you get quite a bit of leeway there. Everything is free in case you are starting to wonder. The best part of Squidoo though is that it allows you to make money. Next to your content, ads from Google Adsense are displayed alongside (you do not use your own Adsense account - you get a cut of the money made from the company's Adsense account). On top of that, referral income can be made from any affiliate source you allow. Some examples are Ama zon, eBay and CafePress among others. From all the money received, Squidoo's bills will first be paid. Thereafter, you get 50% of the revenue. 5% goes to charity and the company keeps the rest. The detailed distribution is as follows: "AdSense revenue (these are the Google ads you see on every lens): This money goes into a pool, so as to avoide clickfraud. Half of the pool distributes out to lensmasters, on a PayRank scale that is based on each lens's average LensRank and traffic. Affiliate revenue (ie, referral income--like Amazon and eBay and CafePress and SuperStore sales). This is directly attributable to the lens that generated the revenue, and is not pooled with the whole co-op. The lensmaster gets a straight 50%." Sounds good? Then swim over to Squidoo and get started today! I strongly recommend that you use my referral link at http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/referral/lordwarwizard . The reason is that once you earn your first $15, both you AND I will get $5 each. If you skip my referral and sign up from the root domain instead, neither you nor I will get anything extra. So if you don't like me, at least give the "commission" to one of your friends - this way, you can at least still get an extra 5 bucks for yourself. :P PS.: Min payout is just $1 and payable via PayPal.

Check out Nations Finance for your insurance needs (U.K.)

I once spoke to a friend who dabbles in insurance. Or more correctly, she trains people to sell insurance. She was trying to convince me that the gray and shady world of insurance was no more. In the past, the insurance line was not exactly a respectable one to be in. The primary reason was that there were simply too many black sheep around who were essentially swindlers and tricksters strutting around in Mary-has-a-little-lamb garments. Those people generally knew little about the insurance products they were peddling - but they knew just enough to con innocent victims into writing them their paychecks. But that was in the past. The insurance industry has already moved a big step forward since then and it is now cleaner and more professional. No doubt black sheep are still lurking around and ready to sneak on any unsuspecting victims. But fortunately, they are in the minority. If all else fail, you can at least still appeal to the company which will likely give you a fair answer lest their reputation be ruined. If you are in the United Kingdom, check out Nations Finance. It is a trading style of JK Online Media Ltd and offers tables for easy comparison of popular finance products such as personal loans, credit cards, insurance and banking. For instance if you are looking for home or car insurance, you can refer to the two links below: Home insurance - http://www.nationsfinance.co.uk/insurance/home-insurance.html Car insurance - http://www.nationsfinance.co.uk/insurance/ For cheap car insurance, you can click on the embedded link too. Remember that insurance is a relatively long-term product (even term insurance runs for 365 days) so do not simply rush to buy the first one available. Always do your due diligence and if you are in the U.K, Nations Finance is one place you can check. * This is a sponsored post.

Check out Bloggerwave

Who said two is company and three is a crowd? Utter crap! :P I had signed up for Blogsvertise and P-cannot-be-named earlier and I am still not contented. ;-) Check out Bloggerwave that also pays bloggers to blog. Unless yours is the top ranking kind of blog, there are likely not too many opportunities available to you. Like my blog for instance, it is still relatively new and unestablished. I have been checking both Blogsvertise and P-cannot-be-named regularly but sadly, there isn't really any real opportunity I can accept and get paid for. Enters Bloggerwave . And that's why I say it is a situation of "the more the merrier". With this third company, I hope to secure more opportunities to display my flair in writing (LOL). So don't say I am hoarding "my precious" to myself - go check out Bloggerwave and sign up for a free account today. :D

Opening contest for Newbiegen

Newbiegen is now officially launched! Newbie Generation is a forum board that has sections dedicated to online earning. YES, ever wondered how you can earn some extra money with your spare time and bandwidth? Then join us at Newbiegen to explore together the various ways we can fatten our purses. :-) There are absolutely no charges involved and we even have plans to reward active members once things get settled. Besides discussing online earning, you can also talk about anything and everything under the sun. You can make friends too, chat and make merry, and we even have a very robust section for forum games. To kick things off, we have an opening contest which you can read more from here . There are cash prizes of total US$100 up for grab so hop over to Newbiegen and start by getting yourself a free account. There is nothing to lose and much to gain! PS.: We are like a baby who is starting to crawl (but dreaming to fly ^^). If you join now, you would be a pioneer of sort in this forum. Now who doesn't like to be a pioneer? :D

I am "giving" away US$65 per person! :-)

PLEASE NOTE: THIS OFFER HAS CURRENTLY BEEN MOVED TO THE REFRIGERATOR. KINDLY CHECK BACK IF YOUR INTEREST REMAINS DETECTABLE AFTER X DAYS. If you are interested in the why, OGF seems to be having a field day partying without us. Easy money, ladies and gentlemen... Here's the deal: There are 3 referral links below that you can use to sign up as my referral. You can be my referral on 1, 2 or all 3 sites. Link 1: http://paypal.ordergiftsfree.com/?referral=19039 Link 2: http://coke.ordergiftsfree.com/?referral=19042 Link 3: http://nocreditcard.ordergiftsfree.com/?referral=19045 After signing up, you need to complete offer(s) amounting to 1 credit each for link 2 and 3. As for link 1, you need to complete 2 credits total. After you are done, simply email me using the online form at http://www.contactify.com/10324 with your registered email address there, the offers you have completed for the respective credits, as well as your PayPal ID. Once I confirm that everything is in order, I will send you the money via PayPal. Sign up as my referral using http://paypal.ordergiftsfree.com/?referral=19039 and complete enough offer(s) worth 2 credits in total and I will send you US$40. Sign up as my referral using http://coke.ordergiftsfree.com/?referral=19042 and complete enough offer(s) worth 1 credit in total and I will send you US$20. Sign up as my referral using http://nocreditcard.ordergiftsfree.com/?referral=19045 and complete enough offer(s) worth 1 credit in total and I will send you US$5. So all in all, if you do all 3, I will send you US$65. That's it, no tricks at all. :-) For link 1 and 2, you will likely need a credit/debit card. Most offers require only a token sum and many are in fact free trials. Those in the USA/Canada are the most fortunate in this aspect since most offers are available only for them. If you stay elsewhere, no harm checking out the offers too. Make sure you are able to complete enough offers to get the necessary credits. I will not pay unless you can give me the credits required and sign up using my referral link. Important: Do not reverse the charge on your card because that would be cheating!!! (Offers dealing with free trials are exceptions. You can cancel the trials before the trial period ends if you do not wish to continue with the service.) For link 3, you will NOT require a credit/debit card. If you are going for more than 1 of my 3 offers, you are strongly suggested to use back the same email address. And very importantly, you can't earn credit by doing the same offers you did before - even though you are doing them on a different site. If you need any clarifications, feel free to contact me using the form at http://www.contactify.com/10324 .

EmailCashPro - get paid to read emails

I first read about EmailCashPro in Singapore's Sunday Times . If I understand correctly, this is a homespun outfit that has been in operation since July 2006. Nothing awfully spectacular of course, just another of those paid to read emails programs. But I am paying particular note to this because of my obvious bias towards the island nation of Singapore that is somewhat known for credibility. At time of writing, EmailCashPro has 56,235 members. I wouldn't say that the size of the membership base is staggering - but it is not a one-man-two-members show either. Though it hails from Singapore, it is open to international members. Payment is by cheque and paypal only. I joined the program some 3 weeks ago and have received 8 emails to read thus far. I didn't keep score, of course - just basing it on the 8 personal points I have in my account. This comes up to be about 1-3 emails a week - hardly enough to be irritating, barely enough to be lucrative. Yet then again, you can ask for a payout of $10 via paypal as soon as you hit $11. So if you don't mind, just take it easy (and hope it doesn't fold up too soon :p). Remember those spam emails that waste your time and pay you nothing? Well, 2 more emails a week that pay you something surely won't hurt. If what I have said interests you, you can check out EmailCashPro at www.emailcashpro.com . Please do your own due diligence if you want to sign up - be it as a free member or as a paid Gold member. ;-)

Blogsvertise - earn $$$ by publishing reviews on your blog

Alright, mea culpa. I confess I do not know if this is just another of those scams or if it is indeed something that might really work out. I came across Blogsvertise which you can evaluate for yourself at www.blogsvertise.com . Basically, if you have a blog, you are in the running for a slice of the pie. Practically everyone has a blog - some have many, some have just one; some may even include the address(es) on their name cards, others feign ignorance. Regardless, what this site offers are review assignments from sponsors. Blogsvertise acts as the middleman and hooks you up with sponsors who want you to review their products/services/sites/etc on your blog. The neat part is that you are already blogging anyway. You might even have posted a review on what they are paying you to do without any prior tie-up. The main criterion of your blog entry cum review is a minimum of 75 words - hardly hard at all. Then toss 3 links and off you go, with the coins clanking in your pockets. So if you have not come across www.blogsvertise.com , you might want to check it out. Another boon to bloggers is the payment mode. Blogsvertise pays by paypal and paypal is available to most people around the world. Hence no matter which country you are in, you do not need to fret over e.g. cheques that can get unreasonably costly when you need to cash them. Especially with the current dark clouds looming over egold (paypal's friendly competitor), I feel safe and comforted. Beware though that Blogsvertise does not accept too-new blogs. I find mentions of 30, 60, 90 days as the minimum so the only thing I am quite sure of is that if your blog is too new, it might not be approved. But, if it is found to be of good quality (subjective of course), they might accept it on a case by case basis. So if you are feeling tantalized already, head over to www.blogsvertise.com and judge if it is something you want to experiment with. Good luck!

myLot - A place I call my home

This quiet community that is not at all quiet has been slowly spreading across the world. I would describe it as a benevolent virus that is catching people all around the globe and infusing them with hysterical ecstasy. It may not yet be as popular as e.g. myspace but at this time of writing, there are already 89,000 users. Some people might have stumbled upon the site while surfing; others might have been recommended there by friends. Whichever the case, we have many satisfied myLotters making this place their home. Many are so addicted that they cannot survive a day without myLot. They might suffer withdrawal syndromes no different from those addicted to caffeine or drugs. But, the good news is that myLot is definitely not a vice. To help you decide whether to take one more step and join this vibrant community, I have elaborated on 8 reasons below. ;-) 1. Like many other networks and communities, myLot provides a fertile ground for you to sow seeds of friendship, and reap them. If you are feeling lonely in real life or just want another person to talk to, it is hard not to make friends at myLot. Even in the first few days of posting discussions and responses, it is almost a guarantee that you would be hooked. 2. myLot is all about expressing thoughts and understanding them. It is a silver bullet for training your communication skills. You learn to read between the lines and figure what the discussion poster is trying to say. Thereafter, you try to put forward your response in a concise yet relevant manner. For "advanced" myLotters, wit and humor are often laced in their postings too. 3. You can brush up on your language skills and strengthen your grasp of the English language. Currently, there is a fair number of myLotters from countries where English is not the first language. For these people, they get to observe how the native writers write, and improve their own writing through postings. For those who can write well enough, they get to fine-tune their abilities and be even more succinct. 4. myLot trains your mind and hones your instinct. When you read a discussion topic, you can challenge yourself to come up with a response within a certain time frame. Instead of taking one day to mull over a question, you can practise being more mentally agile by starting to type a relevant response immediately after reading the question. This is very effective in preparing you to think on your feet and answer just about any question under the sun. 5. This is old, but practice indeed makes perfect. If you do many postings and/or postings of long length, you are going to hit the keyboard a lot. By typing so much, it is inevitable that your typing speed will increase. You become a more proficient typist and this will definitely help you in related tasks. 6. There are so many people at myLot and the community is only going to get bigger. There is a saying that "Two brains are better than one". Have you ever been stumped by a question that you have no answer for? That even a Google search cannot help with? With so many people here, it is quite likely that someone would have the answer to your query. 7. Ever started a blog to rant about your daily problems, and feeling even more frustrated since there is no one to listen? At myLot, there are so many pairs of ears always on the ready to support you emotionally. Think of it like many Aunties Agony cooing over you. If you have a problem, shout it out loud. The myLot community will give you a big hug and help you move on in life. 8. Would you believe if I tell you that you get paid for chatting? As ridiculous as it might sound, it is true. I can't provide you with any proof since that is against myLot regulations, but I can certainly tell you I have been paid real cash for my frivolous chatting. How's that for killing many birds with one stone? Excited? Want to get started right now? Check out http://www.mylot.com/?ref=lordwarwizard . I don't want to be sneaky about this and lie to you that this is not a referral link. It is. If you prefer to sign up without being my referral, just remove my username at the end and go to the root domain. However, let me just share why you want to consider being my referral. If you sign up as my referral, I get a cut of 25% of your earnings. In case you get all worked up wondering why you should pay me 25% just for reading my article, relax. This 25% is paid by myLot and it will not come from your earnings. So if you join without a referral, this 25% is just going to go back to the myLot coffers. But the real reason for joining as my referral is that I will then have a vested interest to see you succeed. I want to see you do well at myLot because the more you earn, the better off I am. If you are my referral, I will be your mentor for free. How's that for a deal? Cheers.

Loans that change life

Ever wanted to donate money yet hesitant because you don't know where the money would go? Many charities have been set up for noble causes and many dollars have found themselves in the coffers of these organizations. However, one issue often crops up on the minds of donors. Exactly how is the money being spent? How much of it goes to offset administrative fees? How much ultimately reaches the recipients? More and more of the super rich have jumped onto the bandwagon of setting up their own foundations. They know exactly which areas they want to contribute their money to and they contribute their money to see to precisely that. Having their own foundations gives them more control over how the money would be used - this is something not realizable for a public charity organization. So does this mean that if you are not rich, you cannot contribute the way you want it? Check out Kiva at http://www.kiva.org . Kiva partners with existing microfinance institutions. It lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you have sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back. Make a loan to an entrepreneur in the developing world for as little as $25. You know where your money is going, and you can choose which business to help. To top it, you are helping to give someone the ability to help himself. This makes it better than a simple one-off donation. Check it out and open your heart. ;-)

Is your bank robbing you?

Do I hear a resounding yes? YES!!! I know you hate your bank; we all do. Whether or not we have a real reason to, we still hate them anyway. What are they paying you for the money you keep with them nowadays? In Singapore, we make use of decimal places - because our interest rate is not even 1% per annum! In Japan, no, I dare not even begin. In the US, probably around 5% - but have we forgotten that the dollar isn't exactly the most healthy specimen around? This really depends on the country you reside in - it may not be the best bet to place your savings in the currency of that country. I know it is certainly not the case for Singapore - I get a few pathetic cents for interest every month while paying out dollars for what banks call "maintenance fees". Is there justice in this? Just looking at the factor of interest rates alone, I would urge that you convert your money to a currency that offers higher rate and keep it that way. I have 3 recommendations - the Australian dollar that pays around 6%, the British Pound that gives roughly 5%, and the New Zealand dollar that offers 7ish%. This may sound complicated if you are new to this whole thing. The easiest way for you to start would be to place a simple time/fixed deposit. Look for those that are foreign currency denominated so that your dollars would be converted to that currency of your choice at the on start, and earn interest rate applicable to that currency. For me, if I put my Singapore dollars into e.g. the kiwi, then I would get 7% p.a. instead of the<1% I am currently "enjoying". Sounds all good? It is. But that is a catch - what if the value of your second currency drops against your primary currency? Then it would be one tough cookie - you can either continue holding your money in the second currency till things brighten up, or choose to run. That's why if you want to take my suggestion, make sure it is money you are not likely going to need for quite some time. In the long run, I do believe that your money would be better protected and grow faster this way.