Similar to Adsense-advertisers pay you!

Blogads.com launched in 2002. It is a program such as Google’s Adsense where you get payed a percentage to advertise. Their website says they receive “30% of your ad fee” which, as far as I know is far less profit they get than most sites such as theirs, which means more money for you-the BLOGGER! The great thing about it is that you can set the price you want to sell your space for. Which means, if you have a higher number of page views/visits a day then you can sell it for more. The catch is that currently you have to be sponsored by a member of Blogads. “If you don't know a sponsor, write signup@blogads.com and [they will] notify you when a sponsor appears in your niche.”

I recently sent out an e-mail to four people who signed up for Blogads. I asked them what they thought of Blogads and if they were reaping a good profit or if it was just taking up space. Only 3 people answered back, 2 said that Blogads weren’t working well for them and 1 said that she makes over $400/month (with ~3000 page views/day and 1700-1800 visitors/day). The 2 people who said the program wasn’t working well for them said that about 1% of his income comes from Blogads but that Adsense, Amazon, and FeedBurner do better for him and the other person said he was unimpressed and hasn’t received many offers.

Now, after you read that, you have to research on your own. Perhaps some of the blogs weren’t doing well with Blogads because of the type of material on their pages or they weren’t updating their site enough or because the advertiser’s content was not interesting to the readers of the site. There are many variables to consider and research. Here is an article about this guy’s opinion of Blogads: DiggersRealm.

*Caution: Remember it could take awhile for the money to start rolling in. *


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Storage Items for Auction

This last Saturday my husband, myself, and my mother-in-law went to a personal storage facility for an auction they were holding. The auction was being held because the renters of a particular unit stopped paying their rent for a specified amount of time and now the items were being sold.

We were excited because we will be needing some items for our future house ,so we went to see what was offered. In the past they have held a huge yard sale with items laying out in the front of the business. This year they did something different. We didn’t expect what was coming. Instead of auctioning off pieces, they actioned off the unit. So, you and the rest of the people there go in the unit and look around-but the catch is you can’t open boxes to see what is inside. Most of them looked like people had moved into a place and this was leftover stuff they didn’t know what to do with and so they rented a storage unit only to stop paying so that someone else could have their trash. Seriously, there were abused recliners and lawnmowers and desks with broken pieces, etc. Some of those items are fine for some people who are good at and know how to fix things up, but the thing is, if you want that one recliner you have to buy the whole unit and clear it out with in 24-28 hours. In clearing it out you could come across something valuable or not so valuable things in a box, but that is along with the items to trash. It would not be a fun process.

I say all that to say that there can be good deals sometimes. Not all storage unit auctions are like this. Call around and find out what they do if people haven’t paid their rent and when they sell it or auction it off. That way you can go and see if there is anything of value. Not many people think about this but it could be a good find. It is also for those people who are good at getting great deals at garage sales. While we were there on Saturday, we were told about a previous unit full of boxes that was auctioned off and turned out to be full of vintage Barbies. The person turned around and made a good profit off of them. However, you take a risk if you purchase a unit full of boxes that could just be trash or clothes. People do like the mystery of boxes and are willing to pay more for it. A small 5x5 (closet sized) unit, full of boxes, was sold for $250!

So, the search continues…

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What personal storage company to use?

My husband and I need to store a majority of our items in a new facility. The place we have our items in now will deliver them for free. So we thought we would get a self-storage unit but for the size we want, the cheapest I have found by calling around to local names and big names is $62.50/month. That is not a bad price to store all our items, however, when we want them in our future home we will have to pick them up and do all that work ourselves. That is not fun since you also have to put the stuff in the new house and arrange it. So my husband and I called a few places such as PODS, GoMinis, Public Storage, and Door to Door. Many of you have heard of P.O.D.S. (Portable On Demand Storage) which is where they bring a large container to your house, you fill it up, you keep it at your house or at there warehouse, and then they deliver it when you are ready. Here is the quote I was given for P.O.D.S. for a 8’H x 8’W x 12’L container.

Initial delivery of POD, the pickup, and 1st month rent (with tax): $ 257.10
Each additional month (with tax): $146.14
Return POD to original zip code (with tax): $110.96

Pretty pricey I would say, especially since it could be in storage for about 8 months or more. This is the total cost for storage of 8 months: $1537.19! Ewww-I could use that money to buy a house not rent a storage space people!!

Then we looked at DoortoDoor. Right now the delivery and pick up of the container to your home is free (usually about $69 unless you are out of their area then it is double that-$138) with Door to Door. Plus, currently there is a coupon you get from their site for 25% off the first month. A 8ft x 5ft x 7ft container (the only size they offer) will cost us $52.70/month (including tax). Now the only issue is the container is a little smaller than what we would like, but we can store the little things that won’t fit in the container at the place where we are now. They do charge a re-delivery fee ($69 plus tax) to your place (our new home) when you are finished with the storage, which is not bad considering if we had friends and family helping us take our vehicles back and forth from a personal storage unit it would cost that much or more in gas depending how far we lived from the storage facility. So $52.70/month for 8 months plus the $69 re-delivery fee the total would be ~$491. Here is a visual breakdown:

Initial delivery of container and the pickup (with tax): FREE
Each month (with tax): $52.70
Return container to area within their zone (with tax): ~$69

Now that my friends is a much better deal. It is still not that great of a feeling to pay $491 just to store our items but you have to do what you have to do! So an estimated saving of $1046.19 for using Door to Door vs. P.O.D.S. Hooray for DoortoDoor!!

*Note: The construction is a fair amount different though-P.O.D.S. is steel framed and Door to Door is all wood framed with both having a tarp around it and stored inside a warehouse. Also, I have read some negative comments on the customer service for Door to Door and great reviews for P.O.D.S., however, I can deal with some customer service issues if it saves me over $1000!!

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To see or not to see...Movie Conscience parents, students, everyone!

So there is a really exciting trailer I just saw on TV! It comes out on Friday. I wait until Friday and I go to kids-in-mind to check on the rating and description of the known issues. Kids-in-mind breaks down a movie rating into three sections: Sex & Nudity, Violence & Gore, and Language. They have a scale from 0 (none) to 10 (extreme) for each of those three sections. That way, right off the bat, you can see if you even want to bother reading the details of a rating. For example, let’s say you are okay with watching a movie that has a rating of 3 or less for language and a movie you were thinking about going to see has a rating of 6 for language. You would know that movie isn’t something you would be interested in seeing. You can also search for past movies by a rating scale. For example you set the scale as a max of 3 for Sex & Nudity, 8 for Violence & Gore, and 3 for Language. It filters all the movies with that rating for you. Then from there you can pick a movie and read the details of the sections for a particular movie.

Now, this is what happened to my husband and me. We were being cautious of what we went to see and then began to get frustrated because Hollywood’s movie producers like to make a good movie bad with just one scene. So, we found a happy medium: ClearPlay. This company (as seen on the Today Show) offers a great benefit for those who want to protect themselves and/or their children from things they deem objectionable content in movies. ClearPlay offers two DVD players: the MaxPlay DVD Player and the ClearPlay USB Player. The DVD players allow filters from their website to be loaded on them and while you watch a movie you have bought or rented, it filters what you have specified. They are very thorough in the sections they break a movie into: “violence, sex, nudity, vulgarity, bloodshed, substance abuse, blasphemy, disturbing, bigotry, dishonor parent, dishonor flag, and mushiness.” The filters for those sections can be either of the following: No Filtering, Least Filtering, Medium Filtering, or Most Filtering.

I have the ClearPlay USB Player because the USB is easier to deal with since I have broadband. If you aren’t sure which one would be best for your internet type and viewing then call their toll free number (1-866-788-6992)-they always have friendly people who will explain everything to you and if they don’t know the answer they will find the answer from someone who knows. We bought the DVD player with a year long subscription to all the filters (past and future ones they would offer) rather than buy each filter individually. The year long unlimited subscription gave us a wider range of movies to watch. It is not difficult to figure out how to load the filters on to the USB and then into the player-my husband figured it out and he doesn’t know that much about that stuff. What happens is the Filter Developers watch the movie and locate the objectionable content, they then prepare the program software to mute, skip, or zoom in on something else at appropriate times. I have watched about 5-10 DVD’s on the player using the filters and most of the time I couldn’t tell if anything was taken out at all. However, there was one movie where I think some things could have been edited out or where they should have zoomed in on something else. You can always call and let them know what you think should be edited out. Here is a long list of the movies or TV shows they currently offer filters for. Remember, with ClearPlay you are more in control than ever with the movies you and your family watch. And as ClearPlay says, “Being a Very Cool Responsible Parent Just Got a Whole Lot Easier.” If you would like to order you can click the banner above or the ClearPlay link here.


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Pinecone Research-easy $5 guaranteed!

OPEN RECRUITMENT: Very cool!! I have been looking for this link for Pinecone Research for a few months. Sign up from the above Pinecone Research link. Usually it is up and then gone in a less than a few days or 24 hours because they fill their quota. They are usually closed to new members, so it is really hard to join their panel. People love working with them. Hurry folks-you have to sign up ASAP. It is a legitimate company that pays you $5 for every product you test or survey you take-even before you take them. It is really easy money-the surveys only take about 15 minutes so for $5 that is really great!! You can sign up here too Pinecone Research!


Read here for more info. Also, here is a great forum to read what others say about Pinecone Research: forum.volition.com or forums.dealofday.com

HURRY-easy money and you get to try new items!!



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Continued...(almost) Free Trial....with Benefits! (part 2)

Please read this post (almost) Free Trial...with Benefits! If you have not already.

So I called to cancel one week after I began the trial, and they tried to get me to stay on with them.

Great fun offered to send me 4 $10 vouchers for anything I would spend money on such as gas, movies, dinner, etc. so I said okay. About 2 weeks after I called I told them I hadn’t received anything and that I just wanted to cancel it because by the time I got the voucher and sent it in for a refund it would be too late and I would have to pay the fee so they extended my free membership until April 2, 2007. Click here for the vouchers and notice that I can only use one $10 refund every 3 months. I should have figured it was some little scam like that but I can at least use one $10 voucher before I cancel my trial membership. That way I have gotten a $10 gift card to Circuit City and a $10 check and it only cost me $1 so my net payout is $19, which is not much, but it was more than I had before.

I called Traveler’s Advantage the same days as I did Great Fun (I think they are sister sites of a parent company thought not sure which one). When I tried to cancel the first week they told me they would send me a buy one flight ticket get a companion one for free. So when I didn’t receive it two weeks later I called to cancel and they extended my membership until April 2, 2007 so I have received the voucher for the free companion ticket and $20 in Exxon Mobile gas cards and only paid $1. So my net payout is $29 plus how ever much that companion ticket would be-maybe $200. We’ll see how easy it is to redeem the voucher. Click here for the flight vouchers.

I will continue to keep you posted on this deal. Write me with questions at zloofah@hotmail.com.

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EXTRA cash back with UPromise

So Upromise is having EXTRA savings for all of March. Go on and sign up and shop through their website. Here is just a sample of the types of increase in cash back:

Target- 4%, Now 5% through 3/31/07
Overstock.com - 3%, Now 5% through 3/31/07
Brookstone - 4%, Now 8% through 3/31/07
Dell - 2%, Now 3% through 3/31/07
1-800-FLOWERS.COM - 10%, now 12% through 3/31/07

For more info on rebate programs and information on UPromise, please refer to my previous blog here.


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