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7 Ways to Go to College for Free

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Want to go to #college for free? These are 7 real and legit ways that you could actually do just that!Tuition. Fees. Books. It all adds up!

College can be ridiculously expensive, but it doesn’t have to be.

Don’t accept the idea that you’re going to pay an arm and a leg for college.

You can go to college for free.

How to Go to College for Free

Take a look at some of these methods that have the potential to put you through college for free. Some will work well with your circumstances, others won’t – think through them to decide what’s best for you!

1. Serve Your Country

The Air Force, U.S. Coast Guard, Air Force, Merchant Marine, Military, and Naval Academies offer a free college education to those who serve after college.

The requirements vary, but military training is required and those serving must commit to up to 10 years of service. That’s a lot of service, but it’s for a great cause.

Serving your country is a noble endeavor, and should you choose to do so, you absolutely deserve a free college education.

2. Work at Your College

While colleges charge students tuition, it’s not always the same for college employees.

That’s right, you might be able to get a free college education by working at your college of choice. Even if you don’t get an entirely free college education, many colleges offer at least some degree of tuition assistance to those who help around the school.

3. Have Your Employer Pay

Some employers offer tuition reimbursement programs, especially for areas of study related to their industry. For example, if you’re working for a medical clinic, your employer may pay all or part of your education to become a registered nurse.

Ask your employer (or future employer) if they offer tuition reimbursement (if you’re shy, read through the benefits online).

4. Secure Grants

By applying for FAFSA, you’ll find out if you qualify for the Federal Pell Grant.

But there are many more college grants available, and you can find them at Edutopia.org.

5. Apply for Scholarships

There are also scholarships available at many colleges, offered by generous donors. Talk with your college to see what scholarships are available. Check out a college scholarship guide to learn where to apply, and then apply for as many as you can!

You can also find scholarships through Fastweb.com, a database of scholarships that automatically matches scholarships with your Fastweb profile.

6. Find a Tuition-Free College

It’s surprising, but they do exist.

There’s a good list on U.S. News, although many of the tuition-free colleges require some kind of special condition – such as enrollment in a music program.

Barclay College is one example of a Christian institution that, upon acceptance into the program, gives all resident students a $11,000 full-tuition scholarship.

7. Try Fundraising

Are your friends and family extra generous? Try fundraising!

GoFundMe is a great way to fundraise that allows you to create your fundraising campaign, share it with family and friends, accept donations, and withdraw funds to your bank account (or you can request a check).

Many people use GoFundMe for their college fundraising campaign, and the website even advertises this as an option.

Also, you won’t have to worry about your donors getting charged anything extra beyond their donation amount. Other online fundraising services sometimes charge donors an extra fee. Instead, GoFundMe charges you a 5% fee from each donation you receive. That’s not bad, and would probably be made up by increasing donations through the use of their well-designed website.

Final Thoughts

Many who sign up for student loans end up paying those student loans for years to come. Even if you can afford to pay in cash, college can take a huge chunk out of your bank account.

You can go to college free of charge. Brainstorm your plan, work hard to achieve it, and be amazed at the results!

Are there any other ways to go to college for free? Leave a comment!

The 5 Best And Worst Car Insurance Companies As Rated By Consumers

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The 5 best and worst car insurance companiesEvery year, J.D. Power and Associates ranks consumer satisfaction across a variety of industries and services using information gathered through surveys, and one of their areas of expertise is the automotive world.

Their list is acclaimed for its accuracy and respectability.

They recently released their annual ratings of auto insurance providers determined by customer satisfaction. This year, the results are listed in a different format than what we are used to seeing.

Instead of listing a comprehensive countrywide findings, for 2016 J.D. Power and Associates broke down the Best and Worst Car Insurance Companies by region.

Let’s take a look at each region’s Top 5 Best and Top 5 Worst Car Insurance Companies.

If you’re with one of the companies that topped the list, congratulations; if you’re with one that’s lower down, it might be time to get a car insurance rate quote.

Take a look and see where you wind up!

The Best Auto Insurance Companies

California Region:

  1. Ameriprise
  2. Wawanesa
  3. Auto Club of Southern California Insurance Group
  4. State Farm
  5. The Hartford

Central Region:

  1. Shelter
  2. The Hartford
  3. State Farm
  4. Safeco Insurance
  5. American Family

Florida Region:

  1. The Hartford
  2. GEICO
  3. Liberty Mutual
  4. Metlife Insurance Co.
  5. Progressive

Mid-Atlantic Region:

  1. Erie Insurance Company
  2. The Hartford
  3. Allstate
  4. Nationwide
  5. Plymouth Rock Assurance

New England Region:

  1. Amica Mutual
  2. Allstate
  3. Nationwide
  4. GEICO
  5. Progressive

New York Region:

  1. GEICO
  2. State Farm
  3. Nationwide
  4. Allstate
  5. Metlife Insurance Co.

North Central Region:

  1. Auto-Owners Insurance
  2. COUNTRY Financial
  3. The Hartford
  4. State Farm
  5. Erie Insurance Company

Northwest Region:

  1. PEMCO Insurance
  2. The Hartford
  3. GEICO
  4. Progressive
  5. State Farm

Southeast Region:

  1. Farm Bureau Insurance – Tennessee
  2. Alfa Insurance
  3. Kentucky Farm Bureau
  4. Auto-Owners Insurance
  5. GEICO

Southwest Region:

  1. The Hartford
  2. American Family
  3. Liberty Mutual
  4. State Farm
  5. GEICO

Texas Region:

  1. Texas Farm Bureau
  2. Allstate
  3. State Farm
  4. Farmers
  5. Progressive

The Worst Auto Insurance Companies

California Region:

  1. Mercury
  2. Esurance
  3. Safeco Insurance
  4. Farmers
  5. Liberty Mutual

Central Region:

  1. Nationwide
  2. Farm Bureau Mutual
  3. Allstate
  4. Farmers
  5. Travelers

Florida Region:

  1. 21st Century
  2. Nationwide
  3. Safeco Insurance
  4. Auto-Owners Insurance
  5. Travelers

Mid-Atlantic Region:

  1. Liberty Mutual
  2. 21st Century
  3. Progressive
  4. Travelers
  5. GEICO

New England Region: 

  1. The Hanover
  2. Safeco Insurance
  3. MetLife Insurance Co.
  4. MAPFRE Insurance
  5. Arbella

New York Region:

  1. Liberty Mutual
  2. Progressive
  3. The Hartford
  4. Travelers
  5. MetLife Insurance Co.

North Central Region:

  1. Esurance
  2. Safeco Insurance
  3. The Hanover
  4. MetLife Insurance Co.
  5. Progressive

Northwest Region:

  1. Nationwide
  2. Safeco Insurance
  3. Allstate
  4. Liberty Mutual
  5. American Family

Southeast Region:

  1. Safeco Insurance
  2. Travelers
  3. Liberty Mutual
  4. MetLife Insurance Co.
  5. Progressive

Southwest Region:

  1. CSAA Insurance Group
  2. Farmers
  3. Progressive
  4. Allstate
  5. Safeco Insurance

Texas Region:

  1. Nationwide
  2. Liberty Mutual
  3. GEICO
  4. Auto Club of Southern CA Insurance Group
  5. Progressive

So what does all this mean? Well, it’s important to remember that customer satisfaction is a helpful way to gauge the quality of an insurance company, but the rankings leave out something important: price.

You might be able to find a lower cost auto insurance policy with your current company than with one of those at the top of the list. And if cost is your ultimate decider, then that will guide your decision. However, the intangibles that lead to customer satisfaction — kindness, responsiveness, willingness to go the extra mile for the consumer — have a way of balancing out pure price, or at least putting it in perspective.

When you shop around for quotes, use this list as a guide and try to find the most affordable insurance at the most-loved company. You might wind up paying a higher premium than you would elsewhere, but the gains in customer satisfaction and peace of mind will be worth it.

Now that you’ve seen the best and worst, it might be time to get a car insurance quote to see if you are paying too much.

10 Ways to Keep your Cell Phone from Running Your Life

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10 ways to keep your cell phone from running your lifeFor many of us, our smartphone is the greatest productivity tool we’ve ever owned. Apps like Todoist, Evernote, and Dropbox make it easier than ever to plan, stay organized, and keep track of our lives.

At the same time, our cell phone can be one of our greatest enemies.

An interruption from a cell phone can steal as much as 25 minutes of work flow.

Just as frightening, it can make a person as much as 20% dumber.

Worse yet, all of us have missed a meaningful interaction with a spouse, a friend, or a child when an unimportant push notification distracts us.

Take a few minutes and watch this brilliant insight about cell-phone usage from Simon Sinek. The entire video is great, but the 3:15 point may lead you to turn off your phone for a while.

It’s not all the cell phone’s fault, either. We develop our own habits of checking news, email, and social media, one swipe leading to the next without our even thinking.

Below are 10 ideas you can use to keep your cell phone a productive part of your life instead of an attention thief. I’ll use iPhone lingo as a shorthand, but most of these are available on Windows and Android.

Before digging into those, check out another short video that will surely give you a good reason to curb your cell phone use.

1. Turn off all notifications.

When your phone sends you a notification, it is nearly impossible to stop yourself from checking it. Like a TV drama, the phone creates a tiny cliffhanger in your mind that you need to see resolved. Don’t let it do that to you. Very few apps send you urgent information.

2. Use “Do Not Disturb” liberally.

Many of us feel like we need to be on call 24/7, and in a few cases, that’s true. But limit the number of people who can reach you when you need time to concentrate. “Do Not Disturb” blocks everyone not listed as a “favorite”. Keep that list lean: bosses, spouses, and kids make my list.

3. Use your phone’s timer as a productivity tool.

Your phone’s timer has many uses that can actually aid in your concentration. Try setting your timer for periods of deep work, telling yourself you will not pick up your phone for anything until the alarm goes off. When you take a break, try setting your timer to cue you to put your phone back down and get back to what’s really important.

4. Organize your apps.

Too often, productivity apps sit next to tempting time-wasters. Important apps are sprawled all over the place, intermingled with unused apps. It’s worth taking a few minutes every couple of months to get organized.

Delete apps you never use. Delete apps that duplicate other, better apps. Delete apps that do something a web browser can do.

Then, organize your apps by page. Apps that make you a better or less-distracted person are great for home pages. For example, I keep my calendar, my weather app, my to-do list, and Evernote on my home page.

If you need to keep an app but tend to check it obsessively, put it on a different page or in a folder.  Web browsers, email, and social media apps are my main temptations.

5. Remove game apps.

This isn’t for everyone. But ask yourself honestly if the games on your phone detract from your quality of life, productivity, and concentration. If the answer is yes, get rid of ‘em.

6. Remove Social Media apps.

This is a deceptive one, because you can remove your social media apps and still visit corresponding sites in your browser. But making it a little harder to fall down a social media rabbit hole can be a good thing. Every little bit helps.

7. Start using a physical alarm clock.

If you grab your phone first thing in the morning, you might find yourself in a routine of immediately checking email, social media, news, and weather before you’ve had a chance to think. If your phone is in another room, you’re less likely to start your day on a distracted foundation.

8. Disable your browser.

This is tough to do. I disabled my browser for a long time and found myself much less likely to mindlessly surf the web. That said, when colleagues would email me a link to open at a meeting, I had to pull out my laptop to view it. I began to feel a little silly and so I unblocked my browser.

Easy access to web surfing can be a source of endless distraction. If you can swing it, consider disabling or hiding your web browser.

9. Block your ability to download apps.

Once you have the apps you need, consider blocking the ability to automatically download new ones. This is even more extreme than disabling your browser, but if you can’t stop yourself from downloading that new game everyone is playing, blocking your ability to do so may improve your life.

10. Carry real books, audio books and CDs.

My favorite apps are Kindle, Podcasts, and Spotify. It’s great to have a book anytime I’m bored, and it’s great to have the ability to listen to anything I want at any time.

But having fewer options can be incredibly freeing. If there’s only one CD in your car to listen to, dive into it instead of rifling through the millions of options you have on your phone. Read the book that’s in your hand. Or go to the library and get a real-life audio book.

If you find you’re skipping along the surface of life, unable to get to anything rich or deep, consider ratcheting down how much your smartphone can entertain or distract you. You might be happy you did.

What techniques have you used to keep unhelpful smartphone habits from ruling your life?

 

Cory Edwards is a performing songwriter, storyteller, worship leader, and professional musician. He lives near St. Louis, MO, with his wife, Crystal, and their three kids. He loves finding new ways to be productive, to save time, and to pay better attention to the people around him.

How to use Dave Ramsey’s Envelope System [and 4 Envelope System Wallets]

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I have noticed that since I’ve started using the envelope system, I’m spending about $60 less per two-week period than when I used a debit card. I think it’s because when I lay three $20s down for groceries, it hurts! When I paid with debit, it didn’t really register with me.

—My Total Money Makeover member mgtyjoe

What is Dave Ramsey’s “Envelope System?”

How to use Dave Ramsey's envelope system to budget.

Glad you asked. It’s a simple and effective way to budget by using envelopes to organize your cash. The envelope system has no doubt been popularized by financial expert, Dave Ramsey, but he will be the first to let you know he didn’t invent it.

Dave says, “I found out that Grandma’s way to handle money still works. People used to always use cash envelopes to control their monthly spending, but very few do in today’s card swiping culture.”

I first learned about the envelope system in 2005 from a couple from my church who were successful business owners. I later completed Financial Peace University with my wife where we learned even more about the power of paying cash versus using a card.

Here is how to get started:

1. Review Current Expenses

If you already track your expenses, this part will be easy. If not, you can pull up your online banking and do your best to categorize your expenses over the last three months. Once you’ve done that you will have a better idea how much money to allocate for each category going forward. Click here for a printable budgeting worksheet.

2. Find Out How Much Cash to Withdraw

Before you go to the bank and cash your paycheck you need to know how much cash to withdraw. When you first start using the envelope system your goal is to pay cash wherever possible and practical. It’s more practical to pay certain bills online every month (i.e. cell phone, rent, car insurance and life insurance). So leave enough funds in your bank to cover for these.

After you subtract the amount you need in your bank from your net pay then you know how much cash to take out. For example, if your net pay was $3,000, rent was $1,000, cell phone $80, car insurance $100 and life insurance $35; then you would withdraw $1,785 cash.

3. Create Envelopes

Now the fun part. Take a marker and label your envelopes. Here is a list of the most common budget categories:

  • Tithe (10% of gross income)
  • Offering (you decide)
  • Gifts (i.e. Birthday, Christmas, Anniversary)
  • Food
  • Gas
  • Vehicle Maintenance
  • Clothing
  • Coffee
  • Personal Care (toiletries, makeup, etc.)
  • Home Supplies
  • Entertainment
  • Books/Music/DVDs
  • Blow Money

4. Fill the Envelopes

Now refer back to your last three months of expenses. On average, how much did you spend on food, gas, coffee and so on? When you fill your envelopes, be realistic. If you’re spending $500 on food you may be able to get by on $300 if you don’t eat out as much. But do you think you can really go from $500 to $100/month?

5. When an Envelope is Empty…

You guessed it – it means you are done spending in that category until payday. If you want to go to the movies but realize your entertainment envelope is empty it doesn’t mean you steal from your food envelope. It means you get to stay home and read a book or play some board games with friends. I know, you have it rough now.

Benefits of Using the Envelope System

So why go through the trouble of stuffing a bunch of envelopes with cash? I’m glad you asked. And no the answer isn’t Because Dave Ramsey says to. There are several benefits to using the envelope system:

  • Psychologists have found that people spend less when they spend cash rather than use a card.
  • You will have cash leftover. It’s common to forget that you put cash in an envelope only to realize a few months later, Hey, I have $80 in clothing. Time to go shopping!
  • It works. Your financial situation will improve if you stick to this for at least six months. If it doesn’t, what have you really lost?
  • No more waiting for the waitress to return your card at restaurants. Just pay and leave.
  • You get better deals. Many businesses give discounts when you pay cash. Sometimes they advertise it and other times you just need to ask, “Hey, do you guys give a discount if I pay with cash?”

Get Started Today

If you’re ready to get started then just keep on reading about some of the wallet options that you can use – though they are NOT necessary and envelopes for budgeting will work just fine.

4 Great Cash Envelope System Wallets

The envelope system of budgeting requires that one keeps their money in, well, envelopes. You label the envelopes for each area of spending, like gas money, groceries, eating out, entertainment, etc.

Carrying around a bunch of envelopes can be cumbersome, to say the least. Also, since my sister-in-law once threw a large sum of cash into the garbage thinking she was throwing away an empty envelope, my husband has his hesitations about the system.

We’ve used the system anyway.

Paper clipping bills together and labeling with a sticky note helps. But then, what do you do with the change?

And who wants to be in the checkout line behind someone trying to juggle paper clips and sticky notes with their wallet and their bags of stuff? Not me, and I consider myself a pretty patient person.

Enter the Envelope System Wallet . . .

Recently, I discovered the envelope system wallet.

Now I have an organized way to, once again, implement this budgeting system without all the obstacles.

An envelope system wallet is designed to be used with the cash envelope system of budgeting. Here are four great envelope system wallets I’ve found…

4 Envelope System Wallets

1. Dave Ramsey’s Envelope System

Personally, I don’t care for Dave Ramsey’s Designer Envelope System. I prefer natural materials like leather or fabric and his wallets are vinyl.

I also cannot appreciate the huge Financial Peace University logo embossed on the outside. But since I know that a lot of readers are Dave Ramsey groupies, I’ve included it. Actually, he has several envelope systems to choose from, plus a coupon organizer and they are all reasonably priced.

2. SavvyCents

If you want your wallet to stand out in the crowd, choose one from SavvyCents. These envelope systems come in black, pink, or polka dotted patent leather or zebra stripes.

However, if you’re a firm believer in the idea that it’s the inside that counts, SavvyCents wallets have the goods. Inside the zippered wallet are an accordion-style file system, six debit/credit card slots, and room for your checkbook. Included are pre-printed and blank labels for the tabs on the accordion sections. SavvyCents wallets measure 8”x4” and sell for $28.

3. Etsy

A search on Etsy for “cash envelope wallets” returned over 300 hits. Ranging in price from $12 to $76, most of the wallets featured are for women. At least my man wouldn’t carry any of them. I did see one labeled “Man Organization Wallet Carhart.” The fabric on the exterior resembles a Carhartt® coat. One other is made of camouflage fabric and is more like a zip-shut bank bag with fabric envelopes inside. I think it would be something a man would keep in the glove box of his car, but not carry around in his pocket.

Two crafters’ wallets were my favorites. CitrusDesigns makes the camo one already mentioned and another style made of vinyl. Her design looks less bulky than those with zippers on all the pockets; plus I really like her choice of fabrics. TheLaughingHouse is the other crafter. Her accordion design is my absolute favorite because you don’t have the bulk of a bunch of envelopes to contend with.

4. Make your own!

For those of you with a creative touch, or at least a little sewing/crafting know-how, make your own wallet. Craftsy.com sells a great pattern for a wallet that includes six zipper-shut pockets, slots for credit/debit cards, and a place for your checkbook.  The pattern sells for $1.61 and you can choose any fabric in the store to make it out of—even zebra-striped.

If you enjoy crafting, but not sewing, consider modifying a wallet you already own. Kelleigh Ratzlaff is a work-at-home mom that designs papercraft templates to sell. On her blog, she has a free template and tutorial for making your own envelope insert that will fit into a standard-sized wallet. She also has an Etsy store where she sells pre-made envelope sets for your cash budget system.

I’m excited about this wallet discovery because, honestly, I’ve gotten a little lax with the use of my debit card lately. Now, I have a true reason to go shopping—with cash, of course.

Do you use the cash envelope system of budgeting? What do you carry your cash in? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

22 Ways I Use Evernote To Get Control Of My Money and Grow In My Faith

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22 ways I use Evernote to get control of my money and grow in my faithNote from Bob: Today’s post comes from my friend and Evernote wiz – Andy Traub.

It’s overwhelming trying to keep track of the massive amounts of information you are forced to deal with every day.

You get email, paper receipts, bank statements and make on-line purchases.

You take notes at work or in church but you can’t keep it all organized. You’re being buried in information.

Evernote is the answer to your information overload.

Evernote can do so many different things that people that have been using it for years are constantly learning new ways to use it.

I just taught Bob something new yesterday in fact!

This post has some of the 22 tips that you can get in our FREE download and you’ll also be registered to join Bob and me for a FREE on-line class to learn to Master Evernote when you click below.

Click here to get the 22 tips and register for the FREE class

evernote web

How Evernote Can Help You Grow In Your Faith

Sermon Notes

My wife used to give me “the look” when I got my phone out during church. Now she smiles when she sees me pull out my phone as our pastor begins his sermon. She knows I’m not playing Candy Crush, but using it to take notes in Evernote.

Evernote is a digital file cabinet that you can put audio, text, images, videos and most any other kind of file in. Most of us take sermon notes in the bulletin and we never see them again.

Taking notes during a sermon is great for retaining the teaching but scribbling notes on the back of the weekly bulletin isn’t an effective system if you ever want to find them again.

Evernote solves that problem because it never forgets what you’ve entered and its search function is smart enough to search all of your notes in seconds.

Rest Sermon

Prayer Lists

Everyone wants a better prayer life and Evernote can help you achieve it. Here’s how. Evernote never forgets. If you create a note called “Prayer List” and enter topics, people and hopes in the different sections, you can access that note from any tablet, phone or computer you own.

You can even save your prayer list as a favorite in your Evernote program so it’s easier to access.

Prayer List

Bible Studies

Evernote is smarter than you are. Evernote never forgets. To use that to your advantage you can use Evernote to keep track of any notes you take in your Bible study.

If you lead a group you can keep your notes in Evernote then send out a public link to group members. If you have PDFs or audio files that pertain to the study you can include them in the same note.

How Evernote Can Help You Manage Your Money

Evernote makes finding your financial records and keeping track of expenses simple because you can put them in a separate notebook (Evernote’s version of a folder), tag them (Evernote’s version of a label), or simply search for a word or number in your document.

Evernote makes finding your information simple and quick.

Taxes Evernote

No More Paper (including notebooks)

As much as we’d like to live in a paperless world, that day hasn’t arrived. Whenever I get an important document in the mail or in my email I immediately put it into Evernote. When you put a picture or document into Evernote it becomes searchable.

That means you can take a picture of your recent cell phone bill (which is easy with Evernote’s apps) and every single word and number on that document becomes searchable.

You can put bills, mortgage documents, financial records or whatever other “record” you need to keep on file inside Evernote.You can also take pictures of your hand written notes and Evernote will index them to make your hand written notes searchable.

Optical Character Recognition

Security

Security is an important part of Evernote’s business and they take it seriously. In addition to the security options they have built in to their service you can also keep all of your records “off-line” inside Evernote.

That means they’re not backed up to the web like the rest of your Evernote notes but they’re still accessible to you on your computer. If anyone ever broke into your on-line Evernote account they wouldn’t have access to your records. You should always password protect your computers and devices as well.

I trust Evernote’s security and keep my most important documents there. I take pictures of our licenses, birth certificates, voter registrations and credit cards and put them into Evernote.

One of the reasons I do this is when my cards get compromised or stolen I have a place to go find that information.

Security Highlights

  • Evernote offers two-step verification (also known as two-factor authentication).
  • When you delete a note in Evernote they don’t store it. “When a note is deleted, all references and connections to the data in that note are removed from our databases.”
  • Information is encrypted using industry standards. “This is commonly referred to as transport layer security (“TLS”) or secure socket layer (“SSL”) technology.”
  • You can also encrypt text within a single note with a unique password.

To learn more about Evernote’s security standards click here – https://evernote.com/security/

Cost

Evernote’s free version is used by a vast majority of its users.

The paid versions do offer some features the free version doesn’t but downloading and using the free version of Evernote is the best place to start.

Get 22 Tips on Using Evernote to improve your life

 If you’d like to learn more on how to use Evernote to help you grow in your Faith and Finances then join Bob and me on Wednesday August 19th at 8pm EST for a free class.

Click here to get the free tips sheet and a ticket to Wednesday’s FREE on-line class

evernote web

The Best 5 Work-from-Home Jobs from Someone Who Has Tried Them All

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Note from Bob: This article was written by Christen P, someone who really has tried a ton of the work-from-home jobs out there. I asked her to share her experience with the 5 best ones out there, and she was gracious enough to oblige.  So if this is something you are looking into, enjoy!

The Top 5 Work-From-Home Jobs, from someone who has tried them all! Working from home is an excellent option for people who want to be with their families and still earn a living.

When you work from home you can usually build a lot of flexibility into your schedule so that you can attend school functions for your children, care for sick family members, and tend to your household responsibilities.

Other perks include being able to shop when stores aren’t busy and get medical appointments out of the way early in the day. By telecommuting, you also save money on childcare, travel expenses, and business attire.

It is not always easy to find a job that allows you to work from your home office. While the internet is full of valuable information, it is also a haven for scams and false leads.

That is why I put together a list of my favorite tried and true work-from-home jobs.

These are all jobs that I have personally done in order to stay at home with my children:

1. LiveOps

liveopsLiveOps is a company that hires virtual call center agents. When you work for Live Ops you are considered an independent contractor for your own business. You are responsible for paying for your own criminal background check prior to starting work (this costs around $30). You also must have your own dedicated phone line and a quiet workspace.

Once you are all set up, LiveOps has an excellent online training program that teaches you how to handle calls from customers. You will be taking calls for many different companies. When you start working, your phone will ring and a script will pop up on your screen. You simply read the script word for word and input customer information as you go along. If customers have questions, there is a section on your screen with FAQs and you are also logged into a virtual chat room should you need to ask for support from a supervisor.

LiveOps is great because they often offer extra incentives for sales and they give you constant feedback on your performance. The pay is .25 per minute of talk time. The better your performance, the more calls are routed to you, and the more talk time you will accrue. Agents typically make anywhere from $7-$14 per hour. As for the hours, they are totally flexible. You can choose which shifts you want to work each week and the shifts are broken down into half-hour increments giving you optimal flexibility. You can even log in and work if you are not scheduled for some impromptu cash.

Some things to remember: As an independent contractor you are responsible for paying your own taxes. Also, always keep your commitments as this is what will ensure you get a high number of calls and possibly get invites into higher paying projects. I was able to secure the job of “sales specialist” when I worked for LiveOps. I was also invited to do outbound calling projects. I averaged $14 per hour.

2. Fancy Hands

Fancy HandsIf you’re looking for a lot of variety in your work, you may want to sign up to work as a virtual assistant for Fancy Hands. Once you are a Fancy Hands assistant, you can log on anytime and browse all of the tasks that people are requesting. These can be anything from proofreading to making sales calls, to finding a restaurant that serves a specific food in a specific city.

The tasks vary in what they pay. Each person requesting a task sets the price and assistants can choose whether they wish to take the job or not. You can log in and work anytime.

Hint: Log in often and do a great job.

Assistants with excellent track records are often promoted into supervisory positions where they can get paid to approve the work of other VAs. I enjoyed working for Fancy Hands when I wanted to mix things up and do something different. I loved the feeling of knowing I was helping someone. This is one of those gigs I’d do once in a while when there was a job that intrigued me.

3. YouEye

YouEyeIf you’re looking to make some extra money, YouEye.com is a fabulous resource. This company conducts usability tests on websites. All you need is a web camera and a computer to get started. After signing up, you’ll receive an email when there is a test available for you to conduct. You then log in and carry out various simple tasks such as, “Look for the price of a digital camera in this online store.” The webcam will track your eye movement and you will be asked for feedback on your experience with the website.

Each test takes around fifteen minutes and pays $12. Be sure to check your email often because each test only requires a certain number of participants. Therefore, you’ll want to snag the jobs quickly. I check my email often even utilizing my cell phone to do so when I am on the go so that I never miss an opportunity.

Since $12 for 15 minutes is equal to $48 an hour, I feel that YouEye gives me a really fair price for my time and efforts. I like taking the tests, too. At first, I felt a little strange because they ask you to answer their questions aloud, but I got used to it and I enjoy it now.

4. Leapforce

LeapforceIf you are interested in improving the quality of search engines, you will enjoy working for Leapforce. When you work for Leapforce you generally are asked to review search engine results and rank them on how relevant they are to the search query in question. This job pays $13.50 per hour and you can log in and work anytime you wish as long as there is work available.

In order to secure this position, you are required to study a manual of about 120 pages and take a test on what you learn. It takes about a week to become adept enough to pass the test. There is almost always work available although there are times late at night where you may find they have nothing for you to do. This job requires you to be as exact as possible and you’ll find you’ll have to refer back to the manual often in the beginning.

Leapforce is a great option for those who like to work independently and aren’t crazy about dealing with customers. I am a very technically-inclined person and I like working independently. I was able to bank a lot of money from Leapforce during my 6-month contract with them.

However, I cannot say that I enjoyed the work as much as I thought I would. It turns out I am a people person, which came as a surprise to me. I have a lot of friends that are still loving Leapforce though and I think the money is very good for a work-from-home job that doesn’t require a degree.

5. Textbroker

textbrokerIf you are interested in freelance writing but are not sure where to begin, Textbroker.com is a nice place to start. Once you sign up with Textbroker you are asked to choose your areas of expertise. These are the topics you would like to write about. You then compose a sample piece in order to be rated.

Writers are rated on a five-star system, five stars being the highest. Your compensation is determined this way. Your rating is always based on your last five articles so it changes as you go along. Once you are accepted and ranked, you can log in to Textbroker any time and choose articles within your rating level or lower. Once your article is accepted your pay will be deposited in your Textbroker account. You can cash out your earnings and have them deposited into your Paypal account anytime as long as you have a minimum of $10.

If you’re interested in Textbroker, I suggest you work as hard as possible on your sample piece by taking the time to research your topic extensively and to rewrite your draft several times. I also recommend you work equally as hard on the first five articles you do after the sample. This will set a good foundation for you to begin earning at a higher rate of pay than you would if you just handed in your first draft.

If you do start with a low rating, don’t get discouraged. Just keep writing because the more you write, the more you will improve! I personally love taking on writing projects. I learn so much from researching and I enjoy teaching others about what I learn and experience. At first, I did not make much with this company but over time my rate of pay and my writing have improved.

Nobody should have to sacrifice time with the people they love because they have to work. We should never have to choose between our families and our basic needs.

Thankfully, there are real opportunities available that can enable people to “have it all.” These are some of my favorites!

If you’re looking for more ideas for legit at-home jobs, check out the video below!

What are some other work-from-home jobs you’ve tried and liked? Leave a comment!

3 Ways to Learn Spanish
Online for Free

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Here are 3 simple, #free, and even FUN ways you can start learning to speak #spanish online today!Spanish is a fantastic language to learn (it’s one of the top spoken languages in the world), but it isn’t always easy.

Besides the difficultly of learning a new language, there are cost considerations. Taking Spanish classes at a university or community college certainly costs money – not to mention transportation costs.

Thankfully, the internet has made learning a new language convenient and, in some cases, free.

Here are three unique ways you can learn Spanish online, absolutely free of charge. Pick the method that’s right for you!

1. Duolingo

If you haven’t heard of Duolingo, you’re in for a treat.

Duolingo is perhaps the most beautiful, fun way to learn a language online. And that’s right, it won’t cost you a penny.

You can learn from your desk or laptop computer, iPhone, iPad, or Android device. The apps work very well, and everything syncs so you won’t lose your course progress.

Duolingo is effective, too. Check this out from their website:

An eight week study was independently conducted to assess the effectiveness of Duolingo as a language learning tool. The participants took one university placement Spanish language test at the beginning of the study and one at the end. The improvement of language abilities was measured as the difference between the initial and the final language test results.

The study estimated that a person with no knowledge of Spanish would need between 26 and 49 hours (or 34 hours on average) to cover the material for the first college semester of Spanish. Since a one semester university course usually takes more than 34 hours of work, this study suggests that Duolingo is more effective than university.

You’ll encounter a variety lessons, including opportunities to speak, listen, translate, and answer multiple choice questions. Plus, you’ll get feedback on each lesson so you know how to improve.

Duolingo encourages you to keep learning through the use of “streak counts” which records how many days in a row you spend learning Spanish. You’ll also lose “hearts” when you answer incorrectly; but don’t worry, you can try the lesson again if you lose them all.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OebgtUjLg4

Duolingo also promotes that you can: “Learn a language for free. Forever.” That’s a powerful statement, and means that they won’t start charging you once you’re signed up.

2. iTunes U

iTunes U offers free courses in Spanish that you can listen to online or on your iOS device (your iPhone or iPad).

One such course is Basic Spanish: SPN101, SPN102, SPN103, which can help expose you to spoken Spanish to enhance your learning. This would be great to listen to while doing chores around the house, on your commute, or while working out.

Another course called Spanish I provides video of written Spanish to help you learn. This would be fantastic for more in-depth study.

3. YouTube

Many times, you can find just about anything you want to learn on YouTube. Learning Spanish is no exception.

The YouTube channel, The Spanish Blog, offers thirty excellent lessons on how to speak Spanish. Of course, they are free of charge, and the instructor does a great job going slowly through each lesson. These lessons teach the basics, and gradually get more advanced.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uzrQ0QJKcI

You can also search YouTube for common Spanish phrases to supplement your knowledge.

It may help you seeing a person speak Spanish instead of just hearing it. If that’s the case, YouTube is probably the right choice for you.

Final Thoughts

Learning Spanish online isn’t for everyone. Sometimes you might find yourself needing some feedback or having questions with no one to answer them. Plus, you may find that being accountable to an instructor can help you learn faster.

However, if you have the drive to learn Spanish, and can push yourself to learn Spanish without the oversight of an instructor, why not give online learning a whirl? After all, it’s free!

Have you discovered any other resources online to help you learn Spanish? Would you recommend them to others? Leave a comment!

How to Open an Etsy Store: A Step-by-Step Guide

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Want to open an Etsy store to make some extra money? This article details every step in the process!If you haven’t heard of Etsy, well basically is it a website that allows you to create a simple storefront to sell your crafts, homemade items, vintage items, or a lot more.

It has exploded in growth over the last few years and many artists are finding it to be a great way to earn money from their creations.

I’ve been thinking about opening an Etsy.com store for a long time, and I finally did it – so glad I did.

It wasn’t hard at all and I have to hand it to the developers at Etsy because the store setup process was about as smooth and simple as anything I have ever done online.

Actually, now that I think about it, I found it less confusing than setting up a Facebook fan page. My only regret is not opening is sooner.

Some of my wood rings at my Etsy shopI’ve been creating designs for wooden rings and jewelry for awhile, and my husband and I decided to go ahead and start making them available for sale. This was a great chance to try Etsy and see how it would fit our needs – which it did perfectly.

If you have some cool products that you make and would like to start selling and earning money by reaching millions of potential customers, then opening an Etsy store might be a good choice for you too. Read on for a step by step tutorial on how I set up our Etsy store and a few secrets that will help you get more traffic and sales.

Opening an Etsy Store Step-by-Step

1. Create a Free Etsy Account

The first step is to create your free personal Etsy account. Your store will be en extension of this account. It will ask you for an email address and then send you an email verification email to make sure you do in fact own that email account.

To create your account, from the main page select “Register.”

Etsy Main Page

Then enter the information to create your Etsy account.

Regester For Etsy Account

Next, log into your email account to verify your email and your Etsy account will be official!

2. Create Your Store

The next step is to create your Etsy store from within your Etsy account. To do this, simply log into your new Etsy account and, once inside, click the button in the top left corner that says “Sell.”

Setting Up An Etsy Shop Main Account Page

On the next screen you can learn more about selling on Etsy and then click the button that says “Open An Etsy Shop.”

How to set up an etsy shop - sell

You will then be lead through a series of pages to help you enter the information about the products of your store.

Etsy shop setup screen

3. Add Products to Your Store

Once you have entered your shop name you can then enter your first item to sell at your new store. Take time to fill out each section carefully and be sure to be accurate with the categories you choose and options you make available for each product.

Listing An Item for sale on Etsy 1

Tip: When choosing a title and description for your products, be sure to consider what words potential customers would be searching for when looking for your product. Use those words in your title and description to help them more easily find your product.

Listing an item for sale on etsy 2

Tip – When entering the keywords and material descriptions, try to imagine what a perspective customer would type into the search box if they were wanting to buy a product like yours. Use those words as keywords. This is a key to getting the most traffic to your shop and consequently making more sales too.

4. Choose Your Payment Options

Typically when selling online and using websites with ecommerce functionality, setting up the payment section is the most difficult and complex part. However, I was pleasantly surprised with Etsy. The payment options are streamlined and very simple. Just select what you want and enter your information, it’s incredibly easy.

Choosing Payment Options For An Etsy Store

5. Add Your Billing Information

Next you can add your billing information which is used to pay your listing fees as well as the fees when an item is sold.

Opening an etsy store - entering billing info

6. Publish Your Store

There is still more you can do if you wish, by adding information to your about page, shop policies, a pretty header image, and other details too. For the most part you though, you are ready for business. You can preview your shop to take a peek and see what it looks like now from the customer’s point of view.

When you like it and you are ready to make some money, just hit “Publish” and you are open for business!

Final Thoughts and Benefits of Opening an Etsy Store

Here are a few final thoughts about opening and running an Etsy store that I think might be helpful to you . . . .

Inside a real Etsy Store

Benefits of Etsy Shops

  • Etsy shops be created in a matter of minutes with no computer coding required.
  • No need to try to build traffic from search engines like you would have to on a normal self-hosted website.
  • Etsy has a built-in stock management and order management interface – and it works great.
  • Etsy also has built-in shipping integration with the USPS that makes printing your shipping labels as fast and easy as possible.
  • Great community aspect helps to build connections and generate sales.

How Much Does Etsy Charge?

Lastly, you might be wondering how much it will cost to open a store. The great news is that the cost to open an Etsy shop is actually very low. Etsy doesn’t charge any membership fees, however there is a fee for listing each item of only $.20 for 4 months. In addition to this, they also take 3.5% of each sale you make. You also have to factor into this the additional cut that your payment processor will take. I set our store up to take credit cards and also PayPal. So in addition to the fees from Etsy, there will be more fees from the payment method the customer chooses. When it is all said and done, about 10% of the sale is going to cover the various fees.

So there are a few costs to consider, but nothing major. If you compare it to the costs of some other sites for selling online, as well as the costs of self-hosting a website with ecommerce capabilities, it is really very affordable and a unique alternative to selling on eBay.

Do you have an Etsy store or have shopped at one? What has your experience been like? Leave a comment!