November Earnings

Pay to Blog - £352.75
Pay Per Post - £20.50
PayU2Blog - £13.75
Private Reviews - £307.75
Blogsvertise - £5.00
Review Me - £2.50
Sponsored Reviews - £3.25
Writing - £102.72
Article Writing - £68.50
Elance articles - £34.22
Get Paid To - £4.62
Linkgrand - £3.01
Neobux - £1.61
Other - £16.55
Linkworth - £16.55
Making a grand total of £493.13

Money, money, money!

I think I had one of best days ever yesterday! I earned about £100 selling blog posts on various sites and also sold over £50 worth of books (which of course was not all profit) but I am still so happy about how things are going. It looks like my earnings this month will be up on last month, which is really good. I was expecting things to get hard in this economic climate where people do not seem to want to spend money, especially as my book sales have gone down. However, it seems like I have managed to avoid losing much income at the moment. Long may it continue!

Saving by Cutting Insurance

You may think that a good way to save money is to cut down on insurance costs. In these times of economic unrest it can be tempting to cut spending to a bare minimum and hold on to as much money as you can. However you do need to be careful. Insurance is something that can potentially save you a lot of money and stress in the future or may just be a waste of money. It is a gamble as you may pay your premium each month and never make a claim, however having that peace of mind may be enough to make you think that it is worth it. Think about the insurances that you have and whether you have made a claim and also how you would feel if you did not have that insurance cover. You may feel that some insurance is more important than others such as car insurance is very important as it is a legal requirement and perhaps sickness insurance is less important as you never get ill. It is important to carefully weigh up the pros and cons of each different type of insurance, thinking about how it would effect you if you did not have the insurance, before you make a decision as you never know when you might need it.

The End of Matched

Unfortunately matched.co.uk has been forced to close. It is a shame as I was getting between £5 and £35 a month income from them, although it was beginning to get less lately. I guess this is just a sign of the times and makes me realise that I must take advantage of the opportunities available to me now as there may be less in the future. I will miss the passive income, but I am hoping that the work I am doing with a new client will more than make up for this. It looks like I should be able to earn more than £500 this month which will be terrific, it is all a great help coming up to Christmas.

Saving Money on Las Vegas Shows

At the moment we are all trying to save money more than ever. With Christmas coming we are likely to be spending more than usual and if we can find a bargain we are snapping it up. I have come across a great deal for Las Vegas Shows. Take a look at this website if you are likely to be seeing a show in the near future and you should be able to book up at a discounted rate. With these shows being so dear, it is great to be able to have the opportunity to make a saving and still be able to afford to have some fun.

Bar Stool Economics

My in-laws just sent me this by email and it certainly provided food for thought :

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this: The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.The fifth would pay $1.The sixth would pay $3.The seventh would pay $7.The eighth would pay $12.The ninth would pay $18.The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59. So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers,' he said,'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80. The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men--the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay. And so: The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings). Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. I only got a dollar out of the $20,'declared the sixth man.He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10!' 'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man.'I only saved a dollar, too.It's unfair that he got ten times more than me!' 'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man.'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two?The wealthy get all the breaks!''Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison.'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!' The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill! And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier. David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.Professor of Economics,University of Georgia For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

Great News for Spenders!

When shopping in the supermarket yesterday I noticed that there seemed to be a lot of reduced prices. It was quite a random selection but it does mean that prices are starting to come down. Petrol prices are also coming down and a newspaper yesterday predicted that petrol prices would be falling even further. With the government announcing on Monday their plans to boost the economy, it looks like we might be in for a cheaper time, which is good news for spenders but perhaps not such good news for sellers.

Memory Stick

I have recently got a new computer. It is a little Aspire One and I got it because it was cheap! The only problem I have with it is that it has no DVD drive. Now my old laptop had a broken DVD drive so, I am not used to having one, but it does worry me if I want to back things up or recover data. However, I have recently discovered how useful a memory stick can be. They are so cheap and I can use one to back up all my articles and spreadsheets and it takes hardly any time at all. I find them easier to use than DVD's and so I am really pleased that I have saved money and not got a DVD drive.

Christmas Present Ideas

Thinking of what to buy people for Christmas can be quite tricky. At this time of economic downturn, it is good to be able to buy presents which are useful but also something which is fun. Something such as funny t shirts can be a great idea as it is useful and practical but also light hearted. Other similar ideas could be fun kitchen aprons, luxury food items or chocolate Christmas tree ornaments.

Mortgage Overpayment

I have managed to earn enough over the last few weeks to pay another £500 off my mortgage. I now owe £84886.25. I am really pleased that over the last 6 months I have managed to pay over £4000 off the mortgage balance as well as investing in shares and premium bonds too. I am really happy as although I am not on target, at least I am still managing to pay off some money as well as keeping up my retirement investment and some low interest, but safe savings. I asked the bank about my mortgage interest as the rates have fallen so much recently. They have come down to £287 and we have been paying over £450 in the past, so that is fantastic news. If the interest rate falls even more, we should be able to start paying significant chunks off the mortgage using the money that we normally pay out in interest. My husband is safe in his job, we have cut our unnecessary spending and so am not noticing the credit crunch that much and I have made my business more efficient and found a new client to work with which is bringing in more money for me. So overall things are looking very positive.

Mortgage Cuts

You may be aware that the UK interest rate recently dropped from 4.5% to 3%. I am lucky enough to have a tracker mortgage which means that it is guaranteed to follow the base rate. This means that my mortgage payments will be reduced now. This is great news, it means that coming up to Christmas we should have a bit more money and then into the new year we will be able to start paying more money off our mortgage again which is fantastic news.

Making Claims

In these times when money is tight, it is tempting to try to get hold of as much money as possible. Recently my son had an accident in a shop which led to a trip to A&E and many people told me to go to a lawyer and see if I could get compensation. I am not sure that it would be worth the hassle as he only cut his head, had no long term injuries apart from a small scar under his hair. However, if you have a major accident and lose money from medical expenses and lack of work then it could be worth the effort of trying to get some compensation. There are many companies out there who can help such as Michael padway who are motorcycle accident lawyers los angeles. It could be hard work pursuing a claim of this nature but if you feel you have a good case then it might be worth it.

Save 10% on eBay

If you want to save some money this Christmas why not shop on ebay. You can save loads by buying used items but also brand new items tend to be cheaper too. They are currently offering a 10% discount if you use the following voucher code CUKDV3 when you pay using Paypal. It is simple and could save you up to £100. You will need to be quick though, the deal ends on the 14th of this month.

Great Contests!

If you are interested in earning some good money then Free Cash Money Gifts could be the site for you. They are a website where you can earn money by completing offers, registering on websites and similar. It is very easy to earn and you can cashout as soon as you make the minimum payout amount of $10. Payments are made daily so you can be paid within 24 hours.

They have some great contests at the moment too:

* Referral contest with a top prize of $100 running until the end of the year
* Offer contest - do 10 offers before 14th November and get $1 bonus
* Offer contest - do 100 offers before 21st November and get $10 bonus
* Most offers by the end of the year wins an X-box

Most contests have at least 3 prizes and so it is well worth having a try - the bonuses always pay out until the closing date, there is no limit.

Cutting Back on Spending

How are you coming with the economic problems? We have just started to cut back a bit. Initially we just reduced the extra money we were paying off the mortgage. I assumed that it wouldn't last long and so just cutting back in this area would be enough. But now it seems that things could be more serious. I am making a few more changes. I am trying to keep the credit card bill under control, trying not to spend too much each month. We pay it off each month and I am determined that we will continue to do this. We have cut out certain luxuries as well. I need new clothes but have managed to do without. I have started buying cheaper clothes for the children. We have started our Christmas shopping and have bought much cheaper Christmas cards than normal as well as cheaper presents. I am also buying earlier to spread the cost because I will have the extra food and travel expenses in December. I have even got my husband involved, asking him to delay some of his spending plans for a while. He needs eyeglasses though, for night driving when it is dark so I have asked him to have a look at Zenni Optical's website as they have pairs starting at just $8 and they will not break the bank.

Losing Faith in Bux Sites

I have decided to give up expecting any money back from bux.to and bux3. I have changed my computer and am concerned that if I log in to the sites now they may think it is not me and use it as an excuse to close my account. On the other hand if I do not stay active they may use that as an excuse not to pay. I invested a fair bit into bux.to - upgrading membership and referrals I probably spent about $500. I am owed $2700 from them and I have been waiting for my last payment to be paid which I requested in April (It was only for $80). Bux3 I have not invested any money in but they do owe me about $80. I was really hoping for the money I was owed for Christmas but I have lost hope that I will even get the smaller amounts.

New Computer

Well I managed to get myself a little Acer Aspire One for just £187. It is a big compromise as it is smaller that what I am used, has Linux and a tiny screen but is less than half the price and at this time of year I cannot afford a bigger one. We are also hoping that it will solve some of the problems we have been having over the years with laptops, such as problems when they are dropped, overheating, not very sturdy etc. It is interesting to test one for the 10 hours a day that I tend to use my computer for and see how it fares. Buying technology always makes me cross though, it is so unreliable, expensive and never quite does what you want it to. Sometimes I wish we had just stuck to old fashioned punch tape drives and technology would not feature in my life!

Broken Computer

My laptop has finely given up after having a wonky screen for a while and the heat sink being dodgy for quite a while, it finely died when my son knocked it on floor. It will therefore be an expensive month, what with Christmas coming too so I will be working very very hard.