How I Almost Got Suckered Into Selecting A Prize

When I wrote up my list of survey sites that I use on a regular basis to earn a little extra money, I said that I always get cash (or gift cards where cash is not available) as my compensation. I don’t do surveys that are “sweepstakes entries” and I don’t select prizes. Ever.

This past week, I almost got suckered into selecting a prize through my own idiocy, and I caught myself just in time. One of the survey sites I use is called My Survey, and you earn points which can be redeemed for cash (1 point = 1 cent, minimum you earn for a very short screener survey is 10 points). The cashout level is pretty low - 1000 points or $10. The last time I was ready to cash out, for some reason I decided to look at the prizes - I’d never even looked at them before, I always redeemed for cash and went on my way. Most of the prizes were uninteresting to me, but one caught my eye. For 1000 points, you could get 50 4 x 6 prints from Snapfish along with a shipping credit equal to free standard shipping.

As I have mentioned before, I am a scrapbooker. In my younger and more free-spending days, I accumulated a large collection of scrapbooking papers, stickers, and accessories. Generally for me, scrapbooking now is a fairly frugal hobby, because all I usually need to buy is prints of the pictures for my project and sometimes an album or more page protectors for an existing album. Not that these things are cheap, but it is a lot less expensive than buying everything for a project. Being creative and using birthday presents for scrapbooking gift certificates, I have been able to scrapbook for several years now with very little spent out of pocket.

I have taken advantage of several promotional offers for free picture prints from various online services, but I am always on the lookout for more. Pictures are not that expensive, but they do add up! I had gotten a free set of prints from Snapfish in the past through My Points, and I was pleased with the quality of the prints, so this sounded like a great deal. Free shipping! 50 prints! Awesome.

Well, until I did some research and really did the math. For 50 prints, Snapfish’s price for shipping would be $3.44. So if I subtract that from $10.00 (what 1000 points redeems for) that leaves $6.56 as the actual cost of the prints, which divides out to a smidge over $0.13 per print ($0.1312 to be exact). That still didn’t sound too bad to me, until I looked up the regular price of prints on Snapfish’s website. $0.09 per print. Whoops! If I used 1000 points to claim this prize, it would actually cost me $2.06 more ($0.0412 x 50) than if I got a $10.00 check and then just bought prints through Snapfish’s website. This is assuming I pay tax either way - if I pay tax on the prints when using cash and not when using the prize card, that reduces my savings to ~$1.59, but it is still a savings. It is less expensive, either way, to get the $10 in cash and then just buy 50 prints directly from Snapfish.

The only downside to that is I probably will not buy prints anytime soon - the nice thing about a “prize” is that since it is money I don’t actually have yet, it is easier for me to “let go” of it. Which isn’t a great thing, either. I need the $10. I don’t need more pictures to scrapbook. That can wait until I am out of debt, or much closer to it. I haven’t finished using the pictures I already have printed from redeeming some Pampers Points (more on that in the future, I hate when “free” isn’t really “free”…) so it is not like I am sitting around with no pictures to use. And my birthday is this month. I may get a new album for my birthday and have plenty of scrapbooking to do, with no new pictures purchased.

The moral of this story is that prizes are generally a bad deal! Don’t use one just because it *sounds* good. Actually do the research and do the math is the lesson I reinforced for myself. In general, prizes are overpriced as far as how many “points” you need to use to get them, and you are better off getting the money and using that to buy the prize yourself. Remember - it is still money! Don’t get a bad deal on a prize just because it is “free” - if you can get more cash than the prize is worth, you’re wasting money and overpaying.

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DurstNotes on Divorce Law - # 6

DurstNotes on Divorce Law is a nine part podcast series, and is part of the Divorce Law Podcast with Robert J. Durst, Shareholder and Chair of Stark & Stark's Divorce Law Group. DurstNotes on Divorce Law podcast series is designed to give you a brief overview of the several most common areas of divorce law, enabling you to better understand your divorce and the law.

This is the sixth installment of DurstNotes on Divorce Law, and will discuss equitable distribution. This podcast will address how equitable is determined through a discussion of marital assets and liabilities at the time of your divorce. This podcast will also give you an outline of the procedures used to create an equitable distribution format.

You can download installment #6 here. (8.3 MB)

Installment 6 Show Notes (PDF)

Thomas Giachetti to Present at InvestmentNews Workshop Series

Thomas D. Giachetti, Chair and Shareholder of Stark & Stark's Securities Practice group, will present at the 2008 InvestmentNews What you Need to Know About Going Independent workshop series for advisers.

The series will help you understand the pro's and con's of becoming a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA), and will will provide you with the opportunity to discuss your options with others in your field, educate yourself on the process of going independent, and learn from industry experts what it really takes to make this move.

Mr. Giachetti is scheduled to present at the series as well as offer a free one-on-one consultation to advisers to discuss an individual's specific legal requirements when going independent. You can access additional information on the workshop, as well as registration information, here.

Financing Health Care (pfblogs.org)

So, had my initial follow-up with the orthopedic surgeon and, while going over some paperwork with his staff, noticed this brochure in a handy rack on the desk:"We offer No Interest Payment Plans..."Given that I don't know yet the final cost of all the medicine that was (and continues to be) committed upon me, I was curious about non-insurance options in these circumstances. Credit cards and home equity loans are popular and well-known choices, but this alternative intrigued me, and seemed to be interesting blog-fodder.On a consumer bulletin board that Bob and I frequent, we often see posts by folks looking for ways to trim and/or manage large health care bills. It makes sense that a surgeon's office would have this kind of option available; perhaps other big-ticket providers offer similar plans. I'd be very interested in IB readers' experiences with such a plan (a note in the comments, perhaps, or an email).Regular reader Rick B alerted me some time ago to one carrier's financing option, as well. This "CareCredit" plan offers two alternatives: a kind of "90 days same as cash" deal, and an extended version which offers discounted interest rates (although discounted from what is not entirely clear). ...

BR: Financial Analysis through December 2007 (pfblogs.org)

We have analyzed the financial statements of Broadridge Financial Solutions (BR) for the quarter that ended on 31 December 2007. Broadridge's results were reported in this press release and this 10-Q filed with the SEC. Broadridge was spun off by Automatic Data Processing (ADP) to shareholders on 30 March 2007. The new company provides investor communication, securities processing, and clearing services to financial companies. Company shares advanced nicely during the final quarter of 2007, despite the ills of the financial industry; however, the continuation, if not deepening, of these problems have caused Broadridge's stock price to decline during the last few weeks, as can be seen in the figure to the right.We first evaluated Broadridge after the September 2007 quarter. We didn't compute gauge scores at that time because the GCFR methodology requires a historical record to which current financial metrics can be compared.Before we review the latest values for these metrics, we will examine the Income Statement for the recent quarter. We didn't attempt to predict Broadridge's earnings in advance. Note that Broadridge was part of ADP during the year-earlier period. Please also note that the tabular format below, which we ...

Would you throw away money on a new car? (pfblogs.org)

Now that the word is out about the new job coming up, people are asking me if I am going to apply. What has been interesting is that quite a few of them, after wishing me all the best, have then commented along the lines " at last you'll be able to buy a new car".Now the first time I heard it I didn't take much notice. But as the week has gone on I have felt more and more annoyed each time I hear it. Yesterday a friend (who does not work, and is financially independent due to an inheritance) commented about it as well."Oh thank God! You'll be able to afford a decent car at last!"Grrrr…!!!!My car is a 23 year Ford Laser. It's fine. I like it. It likes me. It doesn't break down, or cost a lot of money to maintain. I am very happy with 'old faithful' as I call her. I arrive where I am going safely and on time. I got this car as an ex-demonstrator model for a real bargain. It was the newest car I had ever owned and I paid it off in a year.Sure if someone offered me ...

Senate Votes For Safer Products, Approves Consumer Product Safety Commission Overhaul [Product Safety] (pfblogs.org)

The Senate finally voted last week to send the ailing Consumer Product Safety Commission desperately needed funds, staff, and powers. The overdue reform bill passed with bipartisan support on a 79-13 vote. Senators, McCain, Clinton, and Obama were busy campaigning and did not vote on the measure. Significant differences remain between the Senate and House legislation, but compromise seems assured on several key points:Funding for the Commission would rise from $63 million to over $100 million.The CPSC would be allowed to work without a quorum, but funding would be available for a full slate of 5 Commissioners.Lead would effectively be banned from all children's products, not just toys.Toy makers would be required to use independent labs to test their products for lead.Maximum fines would rise from $1.8 million to at least $10 million. The Senate bill goes farther than companion legislation passed by the House in December. Under the Senate version, state Attorney Generals would be allowed seek injunctions for violations of federal law; whistleblower protection would be extended to private-sector employees; and, the CPSC would create a consumer database that lists death, injury and illness reports. Thirteen Senators think the bills goes too far and that their families are plenty safe without ...

Who Says Money Doesn't Buy Happiness? (pfblogs.org)

People say money doesn't buy happiness, and I don't fully agree. It buys options, and if you know how to choose your options, you can definitely achieve happiness.Personally, money can (and does) buy me happiness. When I, for instance, save for trip and I reach my financial goal: that makes me happy. What makes me ecstatic is actually going on the trip. When I finally reached my financial goal for going on my mini-retirement, I was astounded. I had accumulated enough money to make a personal dream a reality. There isn't a price you can put on this.So yes, having the money [to do what I like] makes me happy. If I wasn't able to travel, I would be a less happy person. Money allows me to buy things or experiences I enjoy, which in turn makes me happy. Ergo, money buys me happiness. If I couldn't participate in the things that I'm passionate about, I would be unhappy.Of course, if someone is simply depressed in general, or is unhappy for another reason, spending money is not going to fix those feelings and make them happy for more than a few minutes. This kind of spending behavior is how a ...

How To Submit Articles Using Article Submission Software

I submit 3 articles each day to about 25 articles directories. It would be impossible for me to write and submit this many articles manually. Doing it manually, each submission would take about an hour. That doesn't include the time it takes to write them. All told, I would spend about four and a half hours a day just writing and submitting articles.

This job is much more manageable using an article submission software program. I use Article Submitter, by Bryxen Software, but there are many similar programs available on the Internet. Article Submitter comes with over 100 directories pre-programmed into the software. This is a great advantage if you are new to article marketing and you do not have a list of directories that you want to submit to.

On your first time using your article submission software, you have to register with each of the directories that you are submitting to. This process is rather time consuming, but the time you save on subsequent submissions will more than make up for the extra time you take in the beginning. When registering, use your email address as your user ID. This makes it easy to remember your user ID for future reference. In addition, use the same password with all of the directories that you submit to. This also avoids confusion in the future.

Using article submission software, I can make an article submission to 25 directories in 10 to 15 minutes. Using the submission software reduces my article marketing time to about 2 hours per day. That results in a time savings of about 2 and a half HOURS per day. When you add that up, it represents a significant savings in both time and money.

Are you writing articles? Get the right tools and start making money online!

Get Your Own Article Submission Software!

Down With The Flu (pfblogs.org)

The last couple of years, I've gotten a flu shot every year (I've caught the flu before, and I'll take the minor discomfort of a shot to that any day). Unfortunately, a good number of flu cases this year were from a strain that wasn't covered by the vaccine. The Unknown Family had four of those cases. They're now mostly over it, but I've developed my yearly case of bronchitis as a result. It's funny how the timing worked out - Unknown Son started spiking a fever of 103 Thursday night. Since fevers over 100.5 are cause for concern for cancer patients (with a surgical port and a possibly compromised immune system, infections are a constant concern - if he gets one, it's serious). So, we went to the ER at about 10:00 Thursday night. It turned out to be the flu, which, while not trivial, is far better than infection. In any event, they gave him fluids and antibiotics, and we were back home by 11:00.Unfortunately, I had to get up the next day at 5:00 to get to the CFA Level 2 accounting ...

Emergency Fund Back To Zero ! (pfblogs.org)

Previously to seeing the car we got the VIN # from the owner and pulled a history report, on the vehicle which verified that there had been only one owner and that there was no record of flooding, serious accidents or a rolled back odometer.Here is an actual picture of the car outside of the storage facility:-->The owner was kind enough to let my mechanic pick up the car earlier Friday morning and take it back to his shop to thoroughly inspect it. After inspecting it he called me at work to tell me that he found it to be in excellent mechanical condition. He even suggested that if I didn't want to buy it he would be interested.Finally, that afternoon I met with the gentleman who had the signed title and Bill of Sale by the owner. I haggled with him and the owner (via his cell phone) for about 20 minutes, when we finally settled on the price of $2,500. Although, I was hoping to get him down to $2,200 my mechanic told me that we still got a really good deal considering the condition of the car. After purchasing the car I took it to the ...

Five Blogging Rules to Make a Great First Impression [ProBlogger Blog Tips]

Guest Post: Andy Beal is co-author of Radically Transparent: Monitoring and Managing Reputations Online and a recognized expert in online reputation management.

When someone first discovers your blog, it’s much like that awkward first date. Will they like your appearance, do they find you interesting, and did you remember to brush your teeth? As a blogger, your goal is to demonstrate that you’re worthy of a second date and perhaps even marriage–or at least worth subscribing to your RSS feed.

To convince your readers that you’re worth their effort, you need to make a great first impression. Your blogging reputation may not proceed you, but there are five rules that every blogger should follow–if you want to make a great first impression and grow your audience.

Rule 1: Dress Your Blog to Impress

That free WordPress theme you’re using on your blog might be enough to impress a few readers, but if it’s the same theme used by dozens of other blogs, you’ll blend into the crowd. Just as you’d consider a new suit a great investment for impressing your date, you should consider a custom design a great investment for your blog.

When I first started MarketingPilgrim.com, I used a really bad off-the-shelf theme. Two years ago, I invested in a custom designed WordPress theme. Did it help me dress to impress? Within one month of launching the new design I doubled the number of RSS subscribers and attracted new advertisers–which more than paid for the cost of the theme.

Rule 2: Mind Your Blog Language

Blogging lends itself well to a casual attitude. What does it matter if you don’t spell-check your post? Why worry if you happen to insert an expletive here or there? Well, if you were to turn-up to your first date and subsequently cuss throughout dinner, or utter sentences such as “I is very smart,” what do you think you chances would be of getting a second date?

You should understand that the voice and style you use in your blog posts, reflects on your blogging reputation. Whether you’re hoping to land that new job, attract new advertisers, or just want to increase the number of people that link to you posts, you’ll be judged by what you say in your blog posts.

Rule 3: Always Bring a Gift

If you want to make a great first impression, bring a gift on your date. Likewise, if you want to build your reputation as blogger, you should shower your readers with gifts. Now, I don’t mean you have to give away an iPod every week–although I’ve certainly gained readers with such promotions–but you can give them ideas, tips, and insight that they can’t find anywhere else.

While it might feel unnatural to be so giving, you need look no further than ProBlogger as a great example of giving away the farm, in order to build your blogging reputation. Have you ever known Darren to hold back? Do you ever get the sense he’s not spilling all the beans? Nope, me neither. Darren’s tens of thousands of daily readers proves that having a reputation as a “giving” blogger will make you the hottest date in town!

Rule 4: Listen as Much as You Talk

Do you know what happens if you spend your entire date talking about yourself? You don’t get a second date! The same is true with your blog. Sure, your readers want to hear your advice, thoughts, and opinions, but you’ll build your reputation as a blogger by learning to listen to them.

I know what you’re thinking: “readers are free to leave their comments.” Whoopdedo! Do you actually read their comments? How about responding to them? I make a point of reading every comment left on my blog. If a reader has taken the time to share their thoughts, you might just learn something from them. Go one step further and engage them in a conversation, and you’ll build a reputation of being a fantastic blogger.

Rule 5: Don’t Let the Flame Burn Out

What do you think would happen if you went on a dozen great dates, then didn’t phone the object of your affection for two months? Do you think they’d readily come back to you? So why would you blog consistently for a month, then not update you blog for 8 weeks?

You don’t have to be as prolific in your posting as Darren–who can?–but you should be consistent in your posting. You readers will become comfortable with the frequency of your posting. If you post once a day–or once a month–they’ll get used to that schedule. Stick to it! Nothing kills a romance faster than ignoring your amore’s phone calls, and nothing kills your blogging reputation faster than going quiet without an explanation.

Of course, like a romantic relationship, blog relationships take more than just making a great first impression. In Radically Transparent, we discuss how you can use a blog to build a stellar reputation and my sincere thanks to Darren for his generosity in sharing his advice for the book. Such benevolence is part of the reason ProBlogger is the most eligible bachelor in the blogosphere!

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Speedlinking - While I was Gone…. [ProBlogger Blog Tips]

Over the past ten days I’ve been ‘on the road’ with my family taking a vacation. We traveled west of Melbourne to the wine regions of South Australia (and bought WAY too much wine). After 11 hours drive home (how many times can a guy listen to the Wiggles!) I’m home again for a few days before taking off to SXSW.

While I was gone a number of stories, links and posts came around that I thought I’d catch up everyone on:

• AdSense updated it’s Terms and Conditions - most of it is simply tweaks to accommodate for new products (their video product particularly) however there is one important thing to note - all publishers are now expected to ‘abide by a transparent privacy policy that users see. According to this policy, publishers must notify their users of the use of cookies and/or web beacons to collect data in the ad serving process.’ Jen has more on this and the other changes here.
• Domain Name Tool - just before I went away I found this great little tool call MakeWords for helping to find domain names. Warning - it’s addictive and potentially expensive.
• Freelance Blogging for Side Income - Skellie has a helpful post on how to make a few extra dollars as a freelance blogger.

The Next Two Weeks at ProBlogger

I hope you’ve been enjoying the guest posts that I’ve been publishing this past couple of weeks. In the two weeks ahead while I’m in SXSW (I’m leaving for Austin today) expect to see a mixture of posts - more guest appearances, a series of posts from me on blog promotion (next week) and hopefully a few posts live from sessions at SXSW.

And lastly a quick video (and a good example of linkbait from banner blindness I guess):

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Job Opening, Technical Support Ninja [b5media]

b5media is currently looking for a passionate individual who is looking to work with our technology team. This position is a support role, and you would be supporting the day to day needs of our bloggers, channel editors and staff.

While most positions are Toronto-based, we are explicitly fielding candidates in the eastern hemisphere - Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Phillipines, etc. You must have a working familiarity with WordPress, be able to demonstrate your problem solving ability and have a desire to learn.

This is a part time job, and you will work virtually. If this interests you, forward me your resume. Thanks.

Thoughts on Investment and Incubation [Technosailor]

On this week’s District of Corruption show, Geoff and I discussed entrepreneurship, incubation, investment and the role that a company like Launchbox Digital plays in a regional community. It all stemmed from Jimmy Gardner’s post titled Are DC Startups Developing a Complex?

Launchbox provides a critical piece for a burgeoning startup community - namely, the resources to get going. Companies like this are known as incubators, and they are great catalysts for entrepreneur with great ideas to get started with a little seed money, assistance with all the legal hurdles and potentially the opportunity to pitch an idea to an angel investor or VC.

Passionate people with great ideas. Turning those great ideas into valuable entities worthy of investment. These are things that companies that may not have a ton of experience need.

Something that disturbs me about Jimmy’s piece is the expectation that a DC firm should invest in DC companies and nowhere else. An investment in Lookery, a Silicon Valley based startup does seem to be a questionable first move for a company looking to tie its roots to the DC community, it does not mean that regional investment won’t come. It certainly doesn’t mean that local tech deserves the investment.

I’m not a VC, but my opinion is that a company looking for an investment should be able to demonstrate an idea for revenue. Launchbox probably could help develop some of this sense. Certainly, a company looking for angel or VC money needs to have at minimum a business and revenue model and at best, track record of revenue production.

No one gets money for their good looks.

For the DC community, I still think it’s a little early for significant investment. Before all my colleagues stone me, I’d ask you tot take a step back and look objectively at what we have here. We do have a community that is coalescing quickly, but 8 months ago was really non-existant. We do have some great ideas developing from local entrepreneurs. We do have lots of networking.

However, we don’t have any demonstrable boot-strapping. We don’t have the business savviness that places like Toronto, Seattle and yes, the Valley have. We do have large enterprises dominating the landscape and while AOL is all but gone from Northern Virginia and Sprint is leaving for Kansas City, the business landscape is still dominated by Telecoms and government contracting companies.

Though this will take time to change, an incubation company like Launchbox may be just what the Doctor ordered. In an ideal world, entrepreneurs should start thinking about their ideas and writing down their notes. When asked what they do or why they do it, they should practice their confident deliveries. Never be shy about what you do or why you do; it’s good practice for when you need to pitch your ideas to potential investors). Think proactively about what you want to do and ways that you can make it fiscally sound.

If you’ve already started a company and it just doesn’t seem to be taking off, don’t hesitate to temporarily cease what you’re doing while you figure out a different approach. Think like a business, act like a business and maybe you’ll have the opportunity to be funded like a growing business.

Tags: Business, district of corruption, entrepreneurship, incubation

b5media Hiring Support Tech [Technosailor]

I am reposting this from the b5media posting that went up earlier today.

b5media is currently looking for a passionate individual who is looking to work with our technology team. This position is a support role, and you would be supporting the day to day needs of our bloggers, channel editors and staff.

While most positions are Toronto-based, we are explicitly fielding candidates in the eastern hemisphere - Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Phillipines, etc. You must have a working familiarity with WordPress, be able to demonstrate your problem solving ability and have a desire to learn.

This is a part time job, and you will work virtually. If this interests you, forward me your resume. Thanks.

Tags: b5media, job openings