How To Maximize Your Paid Survey Chances and Perks

By MoneyBlueBook

As I mentioned in previous posts, one of my hobbies when I have downtime at work or home is filling out online paid online surveys and getting paid for it. One of the welcomed perks of doing these surveys is that you occasionally receive free products to review. So far I've received a few large bottles of shampoo and a couple of other personal items (very personal items I must add) to try out and review.

It's actually quite interesting and I enjoy receiving free stuff. I don't mind being a guinea pig for these companies. It's not like the products are toxic or potentially hazardous. Some of them, like the shampoos, are pretty much what you use at home anyway except they might be packaged differently or the texture of the shampoo might be different. But it's certainly interesting to be able to voice my opinion on products that haven't been released to the general public. I haven't received any electronic merchandise to review yet but I'm hoping to get the chance eventually.

Tips To Get the Most Survey Opportunities

Product reviews don't come too frequently, but the best way to maximize your opportunities and rewards in general is to do the following:

By MoneyBlueBook

I'm thinking of a number...between 450 and 850. Do you know what it is? It's my credit score, and it happens to be be 720.

Ok, my credit score is actually 750, but I'm sure you've heard that commercial before from freecreditreport.com. It's the one where the guy is sitting on a producer's chair talking about his credit score in front of a plasma tv. Well I'm here to warn you not to fall for their slick advertising. Their marketing technique is very clever but seemingly misleading. The free credit reports they offer are not truly free as most people would understand it. You have to enroll in their credit monitoring trial program to obtain your complimentary report. If you don't cancel within the trial period, you will be charged.

AnnualCreditReport.com is the Only Official Free Credit Report Site

There is only one truly free way to obtain your credit report, and that is through AnnualCreditReport. There are numerous sites out there that claim to offer "free credit reports", "free credit scores", or "free credit monitoring" but none of them are part of the legally mandated and official free annual credit report program. In most cases, the so-called credit report product comes with strings attached.

By law everyone is entitled to a free copy of their credit report from the three major credit agencies, Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian, upon request once every 12 months. These credit reports usually cost upwards of $10 each. It's a good idea to keep tabs on your credit report and

By MoneyBlueBook

I used to fly a lot and racked up a lot of frequent flyer miles over the years, but now I have to be extra careful. Airline travelers who don't use their frequent flyer miles...well, frequently, may soon discover that their miles have expired. It is a growing trend, but airlines have shortened the time period that an account can remain inactive before miles expire. In most cases that time period ranges between 1 to 2 years.

Here Are the Expiration Policies For Some of the Biggest Airlines:

• AirTran: Points in A+ Rewards expire after 12 months.
• American Airlines: AAdvantage miles expire after 36 months of inactivity.
• Delta Airlines: Delta SkyMiles expire after 2 years of inactivity.
• JetBlue: TrueBlue points expire one full year from the date that they are earned.
• Northwest Airlines: Northwest WorldPerks miles expire if none are earned for 3 calendar years.
• Southwest Airlines: Rapid Rewards points expire after 2 years.
• United Airlines: Mileage Plus miles expire after 36 months of inactivity. Starting December 31, 2007, miles will expire after 18 months of inactivity.
• U.S. Airways: Dividend Miles expire after 18 months of inactivity.

How You Can Easily Prevent Mileage Expiration

The way to prevent your miles from lapsing due to inactivity is to simply generate miles-earning activity for each airline that you have an account with. Other using than using a specialized miles-generating credit card rewards like

By MoneyBlueBook

I've been having the worst server reliability issues with my current host provider, HostMonster. After several months of complaining and pleading with them to fix the problem permanently, I have given up. In the next few weeks I will slowly be transferring my websites to DreamHost. I'll write a more in-depth rant of my HostMonster experience sometime later in the future. I've been swamped with work these days so I'm a bit pressed for time right now. Suffice to say, I'm disappointed in the way HostMonster makes continued excuses for their persistent server downtime and their lack of proper and prompt customer attention. When I indicated to them that I was contemplating changing host providers, rather than try to convince me to stay or offer me a retention deal, they simply asked for my credit card number so they could cancel my account. Boooo! Two thumbs down! :(

DreamHostis currently running a great promotion. I don't get any referral for this, but I must share it because it's such a great limited time deal. If you sign up with them today and prepay for a year or more of service using the promo code 10ten10diez10dix10dieci10shi (yes, that entire crazy long thing), they will give you a discount of off your bill! Only the first 1010 customers can qualify so you might want to get on board while you can.

By MoneyBlueBook

I spend a great deal of time browsing the internet looking for bargains and discounts. While some people like to play video games or watch television at home, or do crossword puzzles and Sudoku at work, I prefer to look for deals. I even like to spend a few extra minutes here and there filling out online paid surveys to make a few extra dollars. I don't consider it a waste of time at all because I enjoy it - it's my hobby. Over the years, I've made and saved a respectable amount of money by following through on these money making and saving opportunities whenever possible. I've made bargain hunting and being a savvy consumer an integral part of my life. As long as it is reasonably time and effort efficient to do so, I don't mind taking the extra few steps to maximize my money further.

Some People Just Aren't Into It

But I've noticed that there are many people that simply aren't interested in these deals. Oftentimes, they consider it too much trouble or too much of a hassle to bother with. Some are even peculiarly worried that they might contract a computer virus or spyware by participating in these money saving solutions. I could explain the procedure and method in great simplistic detail and yet some would still prefer to shrug off the money saving opportunity.

I always try to take advantage of special online promotions. Some promotions are just so easy and simple to apply for that it boggles my mind

By MoneyBlueBook

Was it too good to last? Only time can tell. Zeccojoined the online brokerage scene only a year ago promising free trades and even slashing minimum balance maintenance requirements during the summer. Now the balance requirements are back and they've even reduced the maximum number of free trades allowed per month. Zecco issued the slightly disappointing news release today.

Changes You Should Know

Customers who applied before October 1, 2007 will get to retain the old pricing structure until 2008. However, the policy changes applies to all new customers from here on. Under the new structure, Zecco reduced the number of monthly free trades from 40 times to 10 and slapped on a minimum balance requirement. To qualify for the 10 free trades per month, you must maintain a minimum balance of $2,500. If you have less than $2,500, each will trade cost $4.50. Despite the changes, the cost is still lower than that charged by other brokerages.

I find it sort of ironic that in my earlier post about Zecco I thought perhaps the new brokerage firm was signaling a change in the way online brokerages were going to do business in the future - focusing more on cash interest and other services than relying on commissions to generate revenue. It is quite remarkable how soon and fickle company policies can be. I guess one can never get too comfortable with any one particular financial product. The terms do change and you just have to keep up with the times and changes.