Frugal Mom Blog

Archive for the ‘Work at Home’ Category

Are you in need of graphics for your blog or website but don’t want to spend a lot of money?

Fotolia.com and istockphoto.com are two resources I use exclusively, and are the lowest prices I have found for high quality images.

Both sites have a searchable database of royalty free stock photos for purchase on just about any topic you need.  Fotolia is the cheaper of the two; most xs small graphics (around 460 x 460) sell for 1 credit.  istockphoto normally start around 3 credits for an xs graphic, although you can find xs graphics for 1 credit.

As you browse Fotolia and istock and come across images you like, you can put them in a lightbox for later purchase.  istock allows you to organize your lightbox with folders so you can have images on different topics saved and sorted.

Once you are ready to purchase, you will need to buy credits, which is their form of currency.   They accept all major credit cards, as well as Paypal.  Both sites have a minimum number of credits you must buy.  Fotolia’s minimum purchase is 10 credits for $10.00 and istock’s minimum purchase is 12 credits for $18.00.  You do not have to use your credits all at one time – you can save them for later use.

If you don’t want to pay for images, try some of the copyright free image sites that allow you to use images free of charge.  Make sure you read their terms before downloading the images.  Two popular sites for free images are Freefoto and Stock Exchange.

Do you know of a place to get frugal graphics?  Let us know in the comments!

Home based business

Have you ever thought about working from home selling your own products online?

Maybe you’d like to become a Power Seller and sell on eBay, or maybe have your own online store. If so, I have a great (free!) ebook for you called, “Successful Product Sourcing: How to Find REAL Wholesale Products YOU Can Sell Online.”

This ebook is filled with great information on how to find products to sell on ebay or products to sell in your own online store.  What I like about the book, it is very easy to understand, and is written by a respected company called Worldwide Brands.

Worldwide Brands is the only publisher of product sourcing information that is certified by eBay! So it is a name you can trust in the business. And that’s important, because there are a lot of work at home scams – it is hard to know who the good guys are!

To download your ebook, simply right-click on the hyperlink that says “Right Click to Download the Ebook” and select “Save Target As” or “Save Link As”. Then save the files to a place on your computer where you can easily find them again.

Right Click to Download the Ebook

The ebook is a pdf file so you’ll need Acrobat Reader to open it. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you can download it here.

I hope you enjoy it, and you are welcome to share it with your friends! Please let me know what you think of the book in the comments.

What is Mystery Shopping?

We often decide where to shop or who to do business with based on our previous shopping experience with the store. We remember if our waiter was rude, or if we stood at checkout for 10 minutes waiting for the sales person to finish talking on the phone with her boyfriend. Because our bad experiences will keep us away, and good experiences will keep us coming back, companies want to know if their employees are acting as they should.

To accomplish this, companies hire mystery shoppers to visit the stores and report back on the experience.There are wide assortments of businesses that utilize mystery shoppers.  I have done an assortment of shops that include apartment complexes, fast food restaurants, large department stores, sit down restaurants, online services, travel agencies, convenience stores, smaller retail stores, gas stations, outlet malls, hotels, grocery stores and even amusement parks. And there are so many more that I haven’t experienced yet. Imagine getting a job as a shopper for a cruise line! Those jobs are out there, and as you establish your name in this business they will become available to you.

What makes Mystery Shopping the ideal job for a stay-at-home mom?

• You choose how much you work, or how little you work.
• You are your own boss and that means you set your own hours.
• You will get out of it what you put into it – your income level is up to you!
• It is fun and easy to become a mystery shopper
• Free meals, and free stuff!

How Do You Become a Mystery Shopper?

If you’d like to learn how to become a Mystery Shopper, visit our Mystery Shopping pages on Frugal Mom where you’ll learn:

• A 4-Step Plan to Become a Mystery Shopper
• How to get jobs including a list of over one hundred companies you can shop for
• How to stay organized
• How to set up your Home Office
• Tips on how to be a good Mystery Shopper

Enjoy, and if you have any mystery shopping tips to share, we’d love to hear them!

If you are looking for a fast, easy, get rich quick program, then copywriting is not for you.  But if you are looking for a real, work at home career, or even something to do part time and supplement your income, then this could be “the one.”

Basically, if you can write a simple letter, you can be a copywriter.

AWAI sent me a copy of one of their programs called Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting so I could review it, and share it with all of you FrugalMom readers.

You know me – I am very protective over you all, and I am picky about what I endorse. But let me tell you, I love this program and highly recommend it for anyone looking for a work at home solution.

As I work through this course they sent me, I am getting more and more excited because I want to tell you guys all about it.

Here’s a link to Jen Steven’s story. She is a mom who works from home as a freelance copywriter. Let me know what you think in the comments – are you as excited about this as I am?

If the $399.00 price tag for Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Powerpoint) is a bit steep for your budget, then the comparable Open Office Software is the perfect solution. It has all that Microsoft Office offers, except the price. The cost? Free.

Open Office components include word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, data charting, formula editing, a database, and file conversion facilities (including those for Microsoft Office formats).

What’s the Catch?

There is no catch. Open Office is released under the LGPL license, which means you can use it for any purpose including business use, you may install it on as many computers as you need to, and you can even make copies and share it with your friends.

Download Your Free Copy Now!