A personal update

I'm sure I mentioned at some point that I was pregnant.

Well, not anymore^^ Steven Joseph was born at 8:32am on Sept. 23rd. He weighed 8lbs, 10oz and was 21" tall. He also insisted on having his hand in his mouth when he was born (and ever since), which has made recovery a little more difficult for me. Regardless, I couldn't be happier to finally have my little boy in the world.

I did kind of shock the nurses, though. We didn't know if it was a boy or a girl, and everyone except my father in law thought it would be a girl - so the only thing I could think to say after the nurses told me it was a boy was "as if it's a boy". I would have been laughing if I had the energy left, but the only one in the room who would have realised that is my husband - so the nurse's reaction was "aww... poor Steven".

Lockerz Update

As I said in my previous post, this is an invite-only community (feel free to ask me for an invite) that lets you collect points to redeem for prizes. It looks pretty good so far, but they have not officially launched yet. I got enough points for a prize today (was just going to get one of the cheaper ones to test it out) and they're pretty much out of everything.

However, they're launching on the 15th of October, and they'll be restocking the prize pages then - as well as releasing more ways to collect points. So I'll be sure to request my prize and update you guys about how legit the site is. I'm pretty sure it's legit.

Another good site for all you freelance writers

Just found another site today. It seems to have a good reputation, though I haven't had much personal experience with it yet.

The site is called Constant Content and is for freelance writers. You can post your original work to be sold to whoever needs it - this can be a one-time sale or multiple sales (keep in mind that it is more likely to sell if the customer knows it will be theirs alone).

There is also a "requested content" section that you can browse through to increase your chances of selling articles. The site takes a 35% commission on every article you sell - but a good article can sell for $20 or more. So you can potentially make a lot more off of one article than you would normally, since most freelance writers make about $2 an article.

Check it out if you're interested: Constant Content

Lockerz

This seems like a neat site. They're not fully launched yet, so I can't really tell you much about it.

It's another site that lets you collect points to redeem for prizes, and they have quite a few good prizes available. It also seems like it won't take long to accumulate the points. Right now, you can get 4 points a day - 2 for signing in and 2 for answering the daily question. You also get 2 points for everyone who joins under you.

In the future, you'll be able to earn points by shopping online and watching videos, if I understand correctly.

For now, the prize I'm after is only 40 points, so I'll be able to redeem it in 10 days at most. If the site proves to be legit, I'll start saving up the 300 points for an Ipod, or maybe the 375 points for a DSi... I don't know yet.

If you're interested, check it out: Lockerz

Codeword: "Unique Matrix System"

Just wanted to give you guys another tip to protect yourself online. These "Unique Matrix Systems" are popping up all over the internet. The most popular one seems to cost only $3, and claims that it will pay you around $20,000.

Now, hopefully you already know that paying for any money making program isn't a good idea, with the number of scams out there. But these low-priced ones might tempt you to take the chance - after all, if it's a scam you're only out $3 and if it's not you'll aparently make thousands. So it seems like it might be worth the risk.

However, be aware that there might be a bigger risk involved - the risk of being arrested.

I don't know which of these programs are scams and which aren't - I'm sure a couple of them must be legitimate - but if you look into the details, you'll find that most of them are pyramid schemes. This means that they are illegal, both for the owner and the people that join - and besides that, even the scam-free ones are generally fairly short-lived. So it's hardly worth the risk.

So, what is a pyramid scheme?

A lot of people seem to think that a pyramid scheme is any program that asks you to pay money and then refer people. If that was true, then there'd be a lot of illegal PTC sites out there.

A pyramid scheme is quite different. You pay a one-time amount, and then refer people. The idea is that you will get a percentage of the fee payed by the people you refer, and the people they refer, and the people those people refer... and so on, indefinitely. If there is a limit to this downline building (i.e. the sites that let you collect a percentage of the profits from the people you refer, or the people your referals refer, but it ends there), then it is still legal. However, if you're indefinitely earning money from everyone that gets referred down the line, it is likely illegal.

Some of these sites even illustrate the pyramid that gives pyramid schemes their name. I'm sure you've seen it tons of times. The diagram that shows a little stick figure - presumably you - at the top, then two people under you, then two people under each of those people... and so on to infinity.

It seems to make sense when you first join. But I promise you, the site will eventually run out of money and the owners will likely run off with whatever bit of cash they still have left - leaving you waiting for a payout that will never come. Besides that, you run the risk of having police show up at your door if they ever look into the illegal site, because it is just as illegal for the owners to make the site as it is for you to join it.

Sorry again...

I know I haven't been giving you guys many updates lately. I just haven't had much to write about. I found a decent job on Get A Freelancer (my referral link is on the top right, under "trusted sites", if you're interested) and it has been taking up a lot of my time. It's nothing special - just some proofreading and article writing - and I'm only making $20-$30 a week so far. But money is money, and that's a lot more money than I make off of most other sites at any given time.

I've also been using Moola a lot (when I decide to take breaks from my job), which I have determined has the ability to make me another $10 a week if I play 1-20 games every day. I'll let you know when I have payment proof from this site. I haven't requested a payout yet, but I will be doing so fairly soon.

I did it!

Remember that crazy idea I had the other day? When I said I was thinking of starting up my own online money-making site?

Well, I did it.

So, here you go - a guaranteed, scam-free, way to make money - brought to you by someone you can trust - me!

http://trustthemath.blogspot.com/2009/08/welcome.html

Any feedback is, of course, appreciated.