PrizeRebel: Free Video Games

Free Smartwatches, Free Video Games & Free Movies

Prizerebel has been giving me freebies since April 2008. See the picture collage below? Those are some of the items I've received from using their website. I didn't spend a single dime on these swags, not even for shipping.

 What's the catch? 

I didn't spend a single cent from my pocket on any of these items. I didn't give out my credit card, sell my soul, or ritually sacrifice my cat (that I don't have). So what's the catch? Your time and patience. 

What do you have to do? 

You fill out study surveys or advertisement offers and you earn points (money) from doing them. 
For instance, Example A shows a study survey offer from PR. You can see how much it pays, how many times it's been credited, the last time the offer was credited, and most importantly, what you have to do. I usually find offers that have a high number of "Times Credited" because it shows that the company pays out! 

 

Example A: Study Offer

There's also advertisement offers. You get paid to look at ads. I recommended saying "No" to each offer - you still get paid whether you get the offer or not. When I first started PR, all they had was ad offers. Some offers require your email address. I highly recommend making a new email dedicated to doing these offers. You will need a valid email address because sometimes you may need to confirm the email. You don't want to spam your real email with these confirmations (plus, I think they sell your email).

I found a hack called "Fizix's Point Gainer" that automates ad offers (I don't know if this still works, I haven't done an ad offer for a long time). It's a Firefox add-on that says "no" to all the offers automatically. You can let this app run in the background and earn points while doing something else. Here's a youtube video on how the add-on works. You can also see an example of what an ad offers looks like in this vid. Check out (did not make this video, but has good info) Fizix's Point Gainer Video ►  

I'm Prizerebel Platinum Member

Prizerebel was founded around 2007, I started early 2008 - I'm a senior member! I'm not as active as I used to be, but I still check back once in a while to see my referrals points. Oh, referrals! If you enjoyed this article, please sign up through my referral linkhttp://www.prizerebel.com/index.php?r=205980 Thanks!

My PR Stats as of Feb 10, 2014 (100pts = $1)

Why I Use Prizerebel

Once upon a time, there was a poor highschooler who wanted to get all these video games and odd gadgets like cellphone watches (now called smartwatches), but didn't have the money for it. She couldn't really work (for various reasons) and she didn't want to be a burden and ask for money to buy useless swags. 

She scoured the internet for money and stumbled upon websites promising riches and cash for surveys. She signed up for A LOT of them. Some are slow payers, some are too complicated, some closed down after a year. She focused on three sites: Inboxdollars, Gaminglagoon and Prizerebel. Prizerebel was the best. It paid out the fastest, had great support, an active forum and an easy to navigate website. 

She still uses PR when she wants to buy games and gadgets and doesn't want to waste her hard earned cash from her real job. 

Try Prizerebel

It doesn't require money, doesn't cause pain (unless you have arthritis and clicking hurts for you) - there's really nothing to lose, but your time. Skip out on watching Cat videos for a few minutes and Sign Up for PrizeRebel ►

Free Webhost, Free Sitebuilder & Free Domain Name

You Can Have Web Presence for Free

Setting up a website can be expensive.

1. Hosting Service (cheapest option): $4.99/mo = $59.88/yr
2. Website Designer/Developer: $1000+ for the design plus maintenance fee
3. Domain Name: $12.99/yr

*Based on GoDaddy pricing. 

Pricy, right? And all you wanted was to make a website to post your cat pictures. Unless you are already running a multi-million dollar company, taking the free option to start isn't a bad idea. If your website does grow in the future (to a million dollar company), it's not hard to upgrade.

How to get Free Webhosting

To have a website on the internet, you need somewhere to put your website and its content in - you need a host. Most hosting services charge a monthly fee to host your website.

There are free hosting alternatives and I've tried a lot of them. Some put annoying ads on your website, some require you to have certain amount of visitors every month and some have small bandwidth and storage (to the point that it's useless). Of all the hosting services I've tried, I found this service named Xtreemhost to be the best.

Xtreemhost Free Plan

Xtreemhost offers a free webhosting plan with no ads. They also offer adequate amount of webspace and bandwidth with their free package.

I've been using Xtreemhost for around 5 years. I host my personal website there. Their uptime is pretty good. I don't have many problems with their servers and they have good support even with their free service.

You can look at what their free plan offers with the chart on the left. A long time ago, Xtreemhost did offer free unlimited bandwidth, free unlimited web storage - almost free unlimited everything - I miss those days. They have a premium service for $42/yr that does offer this unlimited everything service. But their free package is still the best I've seen so far. 

Not only does Xtreemhost have the best free package, they also have free script installers and free a site builder. What does that mean? It means that you can have a website up and running in 30 minutes. With a couple of clicks, you can start blogging with Wordpress, create your e-commerce store with Open Cart, or run a forum with My BB. They also have a site builder where you can choose from serveral free templates and all you do is plug in information to build your website.

For all the web developers out there, of course, you don't have to use the scripts and templates. You can upload your hand-coded masterpiece via FTP. Host and Build Your Website with XtreemHost ►

How to get a Free Domain Name

I didn't get an actual ".com" for my personal website cyreneq.com until 2 years ago. I finally gave in and bought a real domain when "co.cc" shut down. I'm happy with the decision even though it cost me $13/yr at GoDaddy. My justification is that having a ".com" is easier to remember and looks more professional.

If you don't want to cough up the $13, here's some free domain (really sub domains) alternatives.

• Uni.Me: Instead of having a ".com," you can have a "uni.me" (ex. cashhunterprincess.uni.me) They also offer cz.cc, mac2.org, trade-e.com. You can set up nameservers and redirects with this free domain service.
• Co.nr: It's the shortest free domain I've seen, but they require that you put a small link of their service somewhere on your website and they have a 2 months inactivity rule. I don't think you can set up nameservers, but they do have path forwarding. 

Keep it Simple

If all that confused you too much with hosting, domain names, nameservers, etc. and you just want a simple website, here's the easiest ways.

• Wix: Once you sign up, your hosting is automatically set up, your subdomain (ex. cyreneq.wix.com) is automatically set up. All you have to do is find a template to start, or you can design from scratch (no coding required - it's all drag and drop). Free version is ad-supported.
• Blogger: It's what I used for this website blog. You sign up and you can start blogging right away.
• Wordpress Blog: Similar to blogger - sign up and start blogging.

Happy website building!

Crowdspring: Design Your Way to Extra Cash

Crowd, what?

Find an interesting project, create a design and win money. Yes, Crowdspring is like a contest website.

What are my chances?

I first tried Crowdspring during my freshman year of college. I was an aspiring graphic designer. I had no portfolio and barely any experience. I wanted to make money by doing freelance design jobs on my spare time, but there's just one problem - no one would hire me because I had no experience.

After being turned down or receiving no response from other freelance websites, I was starting to lose hope. Then I found Crowdspring. With Crowdspring, clients base their judgement on your entry for the project, not your past experiences or qualifications. I had the same chances of winning a project as someone who had 5-10 years of experience.

What if you are not that great of a designer?

I barely even knew what graphic design was when I started at 2008. I did some art in high school, I took a few art classes and even some computer design classes. I knew how to use the digital applications to make the logos, but, initially, I didn't know anything on how to make an effective logo.

After around 20 unsuccessful project entries, I finally won my first client. I know many might see this as a waste of time, but I developed rapidly as a designer in this competitive environment. I didn't see non-winning projects as losses or a waste of time. I looked at the winning design, studied it, and took it as inspiration for the next project.

You can see my transformation here. TheCupLady.com was my first win!

How much did I make? 

I made $6,925 in about a year. This doesn't have to take too much time. I was a full time student taking 18 hours and I was even active in extracurricular activities. I would sneak design entries in between classes or boring lectures (which I don't recommend - always pay attention!) Sometimes I would win $150, sometimes up to $1000 - it was an exciting hobby!

Am I still on it? 

I'm not active anymore, but I wouldn't mind going back. You can potentially build a client base from your winning projects. I've had returning clients who contact me directly now for design jobs. I've also built a portfolio with my winning and even non winning entries which I've use to show potential clients.

I built my design foundation on Crowdspring. I now work for Verizon Wireless as a Web Designer and I think that my experience from this help me become the designer I am today. See My Portfolio ►

On the side note, I was a featured designer on Crowdspring. See the Interview ►

Ready to make your own design adventure? Visit Crowdspring ►

Tax Time Tip: How to File Your Income Taxes for Free

Professional Income Tax Filing for Free

More people should know about this! Some states have free tax filing events and locations. People with low to moderate income can take advantage of this incredible event. These events are have professional tax preparers who are trained to help people get their maximum tax credit and deduction.

What and where is this free tax filing thing you are talking about?

The Free Tax Filing Kick Off event, at least where I live, is called "Super Saturday." If you miss the event, there's various filing locations that will file your taxes for free. For Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Orleans and Texas, visit the ETIC Website to find out the nearest filing locations.

As for the other states, a simple google search can let you know if free tax filing is offered in your area. I just googled "Free Tax Filing Super Saturday" and information for Alaska and Michigan appeared.
I wish there was one website that had a link to all locations nationwide that I can give you, but I don't.

Is there an income limit?

I know you are probably wondering, is there an income cut off to use this free service? We asked and they said there's not an income cap - not all the millionaires run there at once! This is designed for low to moderate income families, so while there isn't an income cap, unless you are strapped for cash, I would give priority to the families that really need it.

Mechanical Turk: Earn Money Doing Random Online Tasks

What is a Mechanical Turk?

According to Wikipedia, "the Amazon Mechanical Turk is a crowdsourcing Internet marketplace that enables individuals or businesses to co-ordinate the use of human intelligence to perform tasks that computers are currently unable to do."

What does that mean? You get to do tedious task that computers can't do in exchange for money. It's not as boring as it sounds. A while back, I saw a fun listing to label inappropriate scenes in a movie (real Hollywood movies). By the way, mturk calls its listings "hits" - I know, odd name, but I can assure you, these hits, these jobs, are legit and legal.

How Much Does it Pay? 

Example: Mturk Payout

I've seen hits for up to $100 and some as low as 25 cents - it really depends on the job. 25 cent jobs are commonly quick study surveys, higher paying ones are usually transcribing audio, labeling movie scenes or more intensive surveys.

Most high paying hits require a qualification test. For example, for a language translation hit, you need to take an unpaid language literacy test. Once you receive qualification by passing the test, you open more hit opportunities.

What do you actually do?

You are introduced to a wide range of activities. Here's some hits examples I've seen.

• Research Surveys - most hits are surveys
• Transcribing Audio - convert audio to text
• Video Tagging - watch a movie, mark the scenes with drug, language and sex
• Usability Tests - test websites so they can see how you interact
• Text Editing - check text for errors
• Voice Recordings - read words and record it
• Write Copy - write marketing copy, write reviews (I've always suspected that some reviews online are paid)

Sometimes you find odd ones that ask you to make facial expressions on your webcam while they record it...creepy?

How Much I Made

After around 10 low paying surveys, I made $10.50. Of course, you can probably make more. Some hits payed out immediately, some took a day to pay. I didn't try the higher paying hits because they required 30 minutes or more, and I didn't have the patience for it.

The reason I signed up for mturk is because I had this crazy Cinderella story idea of how someone can use the money they earned on mturk and use the easy extra income on risky, but high paying investments, like penny stocks. That idea is in pause right now. Stocks made me sleepy. You have to sift through so many penny stocks, do very close research since penny stocks are very high risk. During the day, you have to be alert, know that right time, the right second, to buy and sell. I can talk about stocks later. I've only played the virtual market, I'm too chicken to do the real thing...anyway, got off topic.

Is it Worth It? 

It's free to join, it's free to look at hits, it's free to do the hits and you earn guaranteed money as long as you finish the hits. Yes, I think it's worth checking out. Become an MTurk ►