I do it my way! (ctoc.co.uk/homeworking_work_from_home.htm)

Member Name: SusanLesley

Product:	ctoc.co.uk/homeworking_work_from_home.htm
Date:	21/08/02 (382 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Extra cash, Good fun

Disadvantages: None

I like to think of myself as being self employed although I don't have a specific job as such but rather participate in a number of money making from home as a way to supplement the general household budget.

When I left my employment with Walsall MBC I was given three months pay in Lieu of notice together with almost another month's worth of accrued holiday pay. I put this into a savings account with Egg and I use it on a month-by-month basis to 'top up' my finances. Although it was only effectively four months pay, I worked out that I could make it last nearer to twelve months! This gets replenished sporadically as various insurance policies mature so it is lasting very well!

Now I'll share the ideas with you for the various ways I have found of making an extra penny or two.

As you obviously know I work on the Internet. I have been a member of both Ciao and Dooyoo for over 12 months now and have enjoyed the work that I have put into both sites. I have also made a lot of friends and this has been a lifeline to me. I had been used to working in an office for 30 years and suddenly there I was on my own all day at home. I don't have a problem with being alone and rarely get bored but I did begin to miss the interaction with other people. I have now found this at Ciao and Dooyoo together with a bit of extra cash. I have so far earned £250 in cash and £50 worth of High Street vouchers from Dooyoo and over £200 from Ciao.

I also do other work on the Internet. I did do some work for a site called Visitor Friendly here I am a 'mystery customer' testing out websites. I earned £62.75, but have heard nothing from them for about 4 months or so. I can only assume that their work has dried up.

I now do the same type of work for a site called Emysteryshopper and have earned £51 from them so far, with the promise of more work to come in the next few months.

I complete all the paying questionnai
res on YouGov and have received my first £50 and currently have about £6 in my account towards my next £50. It's taken me about 12 months to get this far - but it's free so why not?

I also have a go on various lottery sites each day such as Loopy Lotto and Bananalotto but haven't won a fortune as yet!

I am a member of sites such as Ipoints, Mypoints, Myvoice etc., where you are asked to fill in questionnaires or register with various sites in exchange for points. The points gradually add up and you exchange them for High Street vouchers. Again, it takes a while to get there, but if it's free why worry?

If you need more information on the websites that I have mentioned here I have done individual opinions on each one.

Some friends of ours run the Gay and Lesbian Helpline in Ipswich and asked me if I would be prepared to do their end of year accounts for them, for which they would pay me £200. I was a bit out of practice at doing basic income and expenditure accounts and balance sheets but it soon came back to me and I quite enjoyed it. The accounts were praised at the AGM and I earned myself £200.

When I left work I wrote to our local Electoral Registration Office and asked if they would put me on the register of people willing to work in the polling stations on Election Day. I worked as a poll clerk and then as a counting assistant on the general election earlier this year. It was a long day starting at 6.30 at the polling station and ending at about 1.30 the following morning when we had completed the count and the winner had been declared. For that I got £110.

I saw adverts on the TV asking for people to work on the census last year so I put my name down for that too. I had a formal interview and I was accepted as an enumerator. This meant that I had to deliver the forms, preferably handing them to a member of the household. I then had to return to the houses where there had been no form re
turned to try and get the form from them. This earned me £450.69.

I run a catalogue which pays me 10% commission in cash, but there's only Dave and me have anything out of it, apart from the occasional item for mom, so this isn't particularly lucrative, but every little helps!

I do knit baby clothes and make shawls with daisies made from wool. I have sold a few of these and have visited three craft fairs so far, but it is taking a while to get myself known.

By far my favourite way of making some extra money these days is Ebay! I have been a member of the site now for 8 months and have already made a net profit of over £1,100! I just Ebay the sort of stuff that I would once have taken to a car boot sale, the big difference is that I get more money for it on Ebay! I?m Auburnsue on Ebay if you want to have a look at the ort of stuff I sell. We have just moved into a new home, so I have some of the previous owners bits and pieces to sell as well as my own.

I keep a spreadsheet on my PC showing all the amount earned, on what date I received the money and the period covered by the money, just in case I earn enough to warrant my filling in a tax return at the end of the tax year.

So you see I am not earning a fortune and I couldn't survive on these earnings alone, but at least I?m not sitting doing nothing and it does give my confidence and self-respect a much-needed boost too.

If any of you have any more good ideas for me, please feel free to let me know - I'm always on the look out for more opportunities to make some cash!

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