Frugal Friday- Making Money Online

Hey Everybody,

I wanted to write about something a little different today. I promise you more recipes are coming but I do want this blog to be about other things as well. Plus some of you have heard me talk about the work I do online to supplement our income and have asked about how it works so I decided a blog post was probably worth it.

At the moment there are 2 websites that I work from besides my main part-time job at  RemedyLive where I am the on-call SoulMedic and help out with other various things related to the SoulMedic program. I get to do most of that from home so I am able to devote a decent chunk of my week to outside endeavors.

MTurk - Super easy and reputable. It is run by Amazon. It is based off of HITs- human intelligence tasks. Things like surveys, transcription, data entry, and giving feedback on videos. It can take some time to get used to and learn which HITs are worth your time but once you learn the ins and outs of the system you can make some decent side money.
Amazon has very specific rules for the work that is posted so there are very few scammers ever on there. You still have to use your judgement but I have only ever found a handful of HITs (in the 1000 that I have completed) that were scams.
Depending on the month and how much time I put into it, I can usually make upwards of $50 a month through Mturk. Definitely worth it for me. I can either deposit it securely into my bank account or use it to buy things on Amazon.
HitsWorthTurkingFor- A forum where users post the best HITs of the day. It is updated very regularly and dead (HITs that are no longer available) are crossed off consistently so you dont waste time clicking.
Mturk Forum - A forum all about Mturk. It clarifies rules, tells you which requesters (the people, companies or schools that post the HITs) are the best and is overall helpful for any question or issue you might have about anything related to Mturk.

Swagbucks-  You use their search engine and do various other little things to earn "swagbucks". You can also play games, do surveys, polls and other such tasks. Swagbucks roughly translate 1 swagbuck = 1 cent when you redeem them for gift cards. You cannot get cash like with Mturk but you do get giftcards to places like walmart and amazon.  I have only been using them for a few weeks now and I am still trying to figure out how to maximize my time on there but for now it seems just like an as you use it type of thing. I did install the tool bar and I do use it their search engine. Its not much for now but IMO every little bit helps. As I use it more I may post again about it.


7 Tips

1) Know when something just isnt worth it - for example HITs on Mturk that take an hour and only pay 5 cents aren't worth it. For every one it is different, I might be able to do something that is a little bit longer and pays less if I am able to multi-task while doing it.
2) Know how much info you are willing to give out- some places might want more info that you are willing to give. For example - I wont give out my street address or cell phone number. Those are not asked for often (especially on Mturk - on SB it is more likely) but they do come up every now and again. I simply back out of the survey
3) Know specific tax laws and how you would report these earnings. I wasn't doing any online money making last year but I am researching the specific laws and requirements for next year because I am on track to make enough to have to report. MTurk does have you fill out tax info and provides one of the forms you need if you reach the amount.
4) Know that these forms of income do NOT take out taxes for you. If you make the minimum amount you WILL have to report it.  You can combat this by making a point to put aside a percentage of your earnings in case you do hit that number so that it does not impact you come tax time.  I am still doing the research but as I currently understand it you report it under other earnings - the same place you would put the money made if you were self employed. I am still doing research on this though so I could be wrong. I was not doing it seriously enough last year for this to be an issue but I am this year.
5) Learn the signs of scams, links that might contain viruses, and places that might sell your personal info. Mturk is a bit easier with this - a general rule of thumb is to keep it in the work box or on one of the trusted survey sites (i.e. Qualtrics) SB is a bit harder and you do have to vigilant about the NOSOs (No Obligation Special Offers) Its just a matter of using your judgement.
6) Learn the best Requestors on Mturk and when you first log on do a search for them and do them first. Make a note of their posting habits (i.e. days and times they post, specific things they require etc. ) By doing this you develop a relationship with them and they are more likely to notice the HITs you work on.
7) To maximize earning set reasonable daily or weekly goals for yourself. This keeps you motivated and helps you figure out how much you can earn. It also helps you keep track of everything. You can either set a time goal or a monetary goal.


Do any of you use a website like these? I have a couple other ones I am looking into that I will probably post about eventually.  Let me know about your experiences or if you have any additional tips.

Sweet Saturday - Cinnamon sticky buns

If you ask my hubby to name his favorite things that I make for him, this recipe will most likely be one of the first things he says.

They are crazy cheap, super easy and can be customized to individual taste easily. I came up with them one day when I was craving monkey bread like my mom used to make, but wanted to do something a little faster and easier. Though I will admit they are NOT very health conscious


Cinnamon Sticky Buns

3/4 cup margarine or softened butter
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbs cinnamon
1 tube refrigerator biscuits (NOT the flakey or butter flavored ones, the classic buttermilk work best)
1/4 cup maple syrup (optional)


Cream together first 4 ingredients. Spray small casserole (or glass pie pan) and preheat oven according to biscuit directions. Spread 1/3 to 1/2 of sugar mixture on bottom of pan. Separate biscuits and layer on top of sugar mixture pressing slightly. Cover with another layer of sugar mixture. Bake until done (mine took about 4 min longer than the package directions.)
Cool slightly and invert onto plate or platter. Drizzle with maple syrup (optional)

The above is the easy and fast option. 30 min or less. If you have a little more time and are willing to put in a little more effort you can cut the biscuit dough into quarters, roll into balls, coat with butter mixture and put into loaf or bundt pan. It takes some extra time but looks better and provides more flavor.

While it is not healthy (over 250 calories for just 2), it is crazy cheap. The biscuits you can get for less than $1 on sale and the rest which you probably already have in your kitchen amounts to a little over $1.

Sugar mixture:

I always make a little extra and keep it in the fridge. It is good on toast :D

With this batch for some reason I decided to see how it would go if I just spread it on the bottom of each bun. It was still good but Hubby said they werent sticky enough. Do spread a layer on the bottom of the pan. But dont forget to spray it. Been there done that. So much hard cooked on sugar. Had to soak that pan for a while.  

All done! If you want them to be a little more moist you can cover them with foil while cooking. I just like them with a bit of crust. 

Inverted on a plate. YUM! 

These don't fit in with my diet especially since Clint and I tend to just about evenly split the pan (over 500 calories yikes!) but I will eat these every now and again just because they are delicious, cheap and IMO everyone needs a treat every now and then. Its a great saturday morning treat.


<3

Rachel

Whatever Wednesday! For The Love of a Jar of Salsa

Someday I want to try my hand at making my own salsa. And I probably will this summer when I will be more likely to be able to find decent tomatoes.

But for now I shall enjoy the convenience of a jar of salsa.

Have I mentioned that I LOVE salsa? any variety, even the not so common ones, I will try just about any salsa. I have seen mango and peach salsa (apparently one of my relatives makes a mean fruit salsa) but I have not yet had the opportunity to try those kinds.

And I love cooking with it too. Salsa isn't just for dipping or for topping tacos and burritos! I keep it on hand to cook with. It is convenient and not too bad on either the health or pocket book either. (Aldi salsa works great for cooking cause even though it isn't the greatest quality it has decent flavor and is cheap - under $2 for the big jar)

I add it to lots of different things. I have added to to meatloaf, burgers, burritos, casseroles, chili, and plenty of other things. But for today we will focus and 2 recipes that utilize salsa in a more traditional sense. Seasoned rice and an awesome Taco meat recipe. Hubby loved this and I will not be changing this recipe in the future. The rice recipe can be used as a side dish or combined with the taco meat to make an awesome and filling burrito. Both are crazy easy and as my hubby says "Homerun, spot on!"

Seasoned rice

1 1/2 cup uncooked rice
1/3 cup salsa (I used Aldi black bean and corn specialty salsa)
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 can black beans drained and rinsed
2 cups beef broth
1 1/2 cups water
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder


Bring salsa, broth, hot sauce and water to boil.  Add beans, green pepper, and chili powder as well as some salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil again, and then add rice. Cook as you would any other rice.



Favorite Taco Meat

1 lb ground beef
1/3 cup salsa ( great with regular salsa amazing with specialty salsa's too. this time I used a tequila lime salsa that I found)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 can diced tomatoes w/ green chilis (Rotel on sale :D ) drain 3/4 of the liquid.
1 teaspoon hot sauce


Brown  ground beef. Drain if needed. Add remaining ingredients, stir well and simmer for 15 min.

The finished product from today. We did them burrito style. Tortilla filled with taco meat, seasoned rice, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, and some more salsa. The meat has a bit of a kick and lots of flavor.

What's your favorite way to use salsa? Ever cooked with it? I would love to hear about you have used salsa.

First Post! Foodie Friday: Burgers!

Hi!

This blog is about my 2 favorite things - cooking and DIY projects.
 I love cooking. But I don't generally follow recipes. I will see something somewhere and get a general idea of what I want and then do my own thing with it. So be forwarned that my cooking can be random and somewhat nontraditional.

I have enjoyed DIY projects ever since I was little. I remember making cards and necklaces from things I found around the house and asking for yarn, beads, paper, or things to paint for my birthdays instead of toys.

The element that will tie all of these blog posts together is creativity as well as frugality. My husband I are paying off student loans so money is tight. Meals aren't usually elaborate and projects are practical.

PS. Apologies for the not so great photo quality.

So here goes!

This blog is a few months coming and I thought long and hard about what recipe to do first. So I decided to do something that most everyone loves.

BURGERS!

But I wanted to do something a little different. So in this blog post I am doing burgers 2 ways - a more traditional meat based recipe as well as a meatless black bean burger.

Not that there is anything wrong with it, but I am in no way a person who would go on a meatless diet. I admit I like my meat. But in my recent endeavor to loose 30lbs by eating healthier and exercising more, I have found that I do better when I eat less meat but never really thought I would enjoy a meatless burger. But I was watching PBS one day and one of the cooking shows did a meatless burger that actually looked good to me. So I paid close attention and decided to try it, with my own spin of course. ;)


Ingredients:

1 can black beans (or equivalant dried)
1/2 Green bell pepper
 medium sized mild white onion
1 large egg white
1/3 to 1/2 cup Chili bread crumbs (directions below)
garlic powder
hot sauce
Chili powder
Salt & Pepper

Rinse black beans well. Set aside. Chop onion and bell pepper. Place in pan. Add approx. 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon each of garlic powder, salt, chili powder, and pepper (fresh ground is best). Add a dash of hot sauce (more or less depending on how much spice you like) I know hot sauce might seem weird but even just a little bit adds a lot of flavor with out much heat. Onions should be almost translucent. Add beans and cook til well heated. Take off heat and allow to cool a bit.
After cooled slightly, pour from pan into food processor. Pulse a few times. You want to slightly break up the beans and just bring everything together but NOT puree. You do not want goop. (picture below) Transfer mixture to mixing bowl. Make sure mixture is completely cool and then add the egg white and crumbs. If the mixture is not cool the egg white will start cooking before it is mixed in.
Form into 4 patties. they will still be crumbly but should hold together fairly well.
Heat frying pan or griddle to medium heat. Place patties on pan and cook about 3-4 min on each side. Unlike regular burgers you DO want to press down on these with the back of a spatula to get a lot of color and crisp on each side.

Peppers and Onions with fresh ground pepper

beans!

All mixed up! Ready to cool!

I over pulsed just a bit but they were still fine. 

Doesn't look that yummy but trust me it is. 

Cooking (pardon the grease in the corner. I cooked one of the regular burgers on the griddle)

I finished it off as an open faced. I topped it with a bit of shredded cheddar cheese and some salsa! Yum!

Super Easy Chili Bread Crumbs

 bread (I like whole wheat best)

Chili powder
salt

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Spread bread on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with generously with chili powder and lightly with salt.
place in over for 30 - 45 min
break into pieces and put in food processor. pulse until crumbly. (lol)


Simple BBQ burgers

1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup Chili bread crumbs
1/2 mild med. white onion,
chili powder (I did about a teaspoon)
Salt
Pepper

Chop onion (or mince if you have a husband who doesn't care for onion). Combine all ingredients. Form into 4 large patties. Cook either in the oven (350 degrees for 45 min to an hour ) or on the stove top.
Helpful hint: if you make this the night before, cover and let sit in the fridge. (or even for a few hours) the meat gets a lot more of that flavor.

I threw the onions for this one in the food processor cause hubby doesnt care for onions. butthead..... 

Raw meat.... blech.

Chili bread crumbs before the food processor. 

Patties!

Cooked in the oven. They are not burnt even though the picture kind looks darker.

A slice of Cheese, some bbq sauce, and a side of frozen seasoned fries i found on sale for $2 for a big bag. Hubby was more than happy. Even though he found out there was onion in them.... 

Both of these recipes were fairly simple. There will be more burger recipes to come but simple is always good. Simple is also generally cheaper.

So there it is. My first recipe post. Whats your favorite burger recipe? If you try these let me know what you think!

Some things to come:

14 days of valentines
Lemonade!
Balsamic dressing
And More!