A List of Programs That Have Paid Me Recently

Every so often I like to show you guys that the programs I recommend do pay. For this post, I’ve compiled a few checks and Paypal screenshots for companies that have paid me in the month of November alone. I’ll give you a quick description of the program and links to sign up.

The point of this post is to show you that every little bit of earnings add up. Some people seem to think that online surveys aren’t worth their time. Here’s proof that even if you get paid a few bucks here and there, you can still pull some nice extra side cash each month.

The best part? Everything on this list is FREE to join.

To the proof!

SurveySavvy

Survey Savvy Check

SurveySavvy was one of the first programs I started recommending when I’ve Tried That was just beginning. Four years later, I’m STILL collecting checks regularly from them. The surveys are fairly easy to do and they do pay out very nicely. They also give you the option to take more “in-depth” surveys and participate in research studies. I’ve been paid $60 just to track what I drank for a week. Not bad at all.

Click here and sign up at SurveySavvy now!

Opinion Outpost

Opinion Outpost Check

Opinion Outpost is another paying survey program with a frequency similar to SurveySavvy. However, at Opinion Outpost, you get rewarded with points for completing surveys. You can use those points to redeem cash or prizes. They slightly differ from SurveySavvy because SS pays in cash only. At Opinion Outpost there is an extra step involved, but you can still get paid in cash. Join!

Click here and sign up at Opinion Outpost now!

American Consumer Opinion

ACO Check

Similar to SurveySavvy and Opinion Outpost, but as you can see, the surveys are a little less frequent. The good news is that surveys do come in and you do get paid! It’s still a must-join from me.

Click here and sign up at American Consumer Opinion now!

BigCrumbs

BigCrumps Payment

With BigCrumbs, you can get money back on nearly anything you buy online. BigCrumbs has setup an affiliate program with hundreds of different online stores like Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, Macys, or even Walmart. You use BigCrumb’s affiliate link just before purchasing and they receive a percentage of your purchase as commission for referring you to the sale. BigCrumbs then will give you a cut of the affiliate commission as a thank you for using their link. As you can see, I saved an extra $15 just by clicking through BigCrumbs first. Highly recommended with Black Friday/Cyber Monday coming up!

InstantCashSweepstakes

InstantCashSweepstakes Payment

Instant Cash Sweepstakes is a market research business that will reward you for taking part in short online polls. Every poll consists of three questions and takes only a few seconds to complete. The polls are a mix between member created questionnaires and polls created by businesses interested in seeing answers from a specific demographic. You can take part in up to 5 polls every three hours.

The easiest way to make money is to just keep taking the polls. You can randomly be selected to win a handful of change at the end of each poll. (Another bonus tip: consistency in your answers will also allow you to take more polls per 3-hour block, so be honest!) The polls are fun and they’re a great way to kill some time during the day if you get bored. You just need to log in and remember to take them!

PaidViewpoint

PaidViewpoint Proof

PaidViewpoint is a relatively new company that I’ve been recommending lately. This is actually the first time I’ve been paid by them. It’s run by the same company that operates InstantCashSweepstakes. They are a market research company paying you to participate in surveys. It does sound familiar, but PaidViewpoint is putting a fresh spin on things, including guaranteed payments for every survey you’re invited to. Seriously, you can’t get kicked out of a survey halfway through because you don’t “qualify.” Oh, and you automatically get $1.00 just for signing up.

Click here and sign up at PaidViewpoint now!

Use this code when signing up for an extra cash bonus: itriedthat

ClixSense

Clixsense Proof

Clixsense pays you to look at ads and websites. All you have to do is click on a link, look at a website, wait a few seconds, and you’ll get money deposited into your account. This is probably the easiest way to make money on this list. As you can expect, it doesn’t pay as well as the others, but it’s still a great way to make some extra money in your spare time. If you join Clixsense, I highly recommend upgrading to the Premium Level. This will allow you to view hundreds more ads and will quickly pay for itself. Remember to refer your friends and family. This one allows for referrals 8 levels deep. Start building that downline!

Click here and sign up at Clixsense now!

SwagBucks

SwagBucks Proof

This one is a personal favorite of mine. SwagBucks awards you simply for using their search engine. Every time you search, there’s a chance you might win SwagBucks and you can redeem SwagBucks in their marketplace for money, gift certificates, or thousands of other items. Just think how many times per day you use a search engine like Google or Yahoo. Google.com used to be my home page, but I switched it to Swagbucks after I joined. I’m getting the exact same search results, only now I’m slowly making money by doing so.

I cash out $25 in Amazon gift cards every month. You can redeem your SwagBucks for cash as well. I like the Amazon gift cards because they’re less SwagBucks per dollar and I shop there frequently.

Click here and sign up at SwagBucks now!

CashCrate

CashCrate Check

Finally, we have a program called CashCrate. Really, it’s a giant compilation of this list rolled into one program. You can get paid for answering surveys, participating in polls, viewing sponsor ads, shopping etc. I tend to avoid completing offers for cash. I believe it’s not worth the hassle. Instead of rambling on about the features of this one, you really just need to click through and check out the website yourself.

Click here and sign up at CashCrate now!

The Bottom Line

The bottom line on this one is simple and when added up, it comes out to…

$301.87!

That’s an extra $300 I made this month. So far. Starting to see the value in ‘get paid to’ sites? Individually it may not seem like a lot, but when you add everything up, it’s pretty clear that you can make a nice chunk of extra change each month.

Don’t overlook this post! Be productive! Go back and click on every single Sign Up link I posted above. Like I said, everything here is free to join and will certainly help out each month.

I’ve Tried That is a Scam!

That’s a pretty bold title haha and damn is it eye-catching. It doesn’t exactly seem like good business to advertise that your own website is a scam, does it? I’ve always done things a bit differently here though.

I started this blog in 2007 and started working on it full-time in 2009. It’s my baby. I love it and I love all of you. Without you guys, there would be no I’ve Tried That. Some 3.5 million people have visited this site since I started it. For the most part, people seem to enjoy my work. You guys like to email me or leave comments on my blog thanking me for opening your eyes to new scams.

I used to try and keep track of how much money has been saved by this blog, but the task became very tedious. I’d have to guess that it’s within the tens of millions of dollars by now (mainly due to all my work exposing wire transfer scams.)

But alas, some people are not happy about I’ve Tried That. They accuse me of having ulterior motives (“wolf in sheep’s clothing” comes up as the most common insult) and taking advantage of people who want to learn how to make money online. It sucks, but with 3.5 million visitors, someone is BOUND to get angry every now and then.

So, I decided to collect a laundry list of complaints against the site. Here are the most common complaints that pop up (in no particular order)…

I’ve Tried That is a Scam!

Steve promotes the same products he bashes!

“How can you bash data entry or home typing “jobs” because they sell affiliate marketing training and then promote a company like Wealthy Affiliate that ALSO promotes affiliate marketing training?!”

I completely see the confusion. I’ve called out plenty of programs that sell affiliate marketing training programs and I DO highly recommend another. There is absolutely no denying that whatsoever.

The thing is, I don’t bash a program for promoting affiliate marketing training. Affiliate marketing is one of the few legitimate ways of making money online. I bash programs who disguise the fact that it’s affiliate marketing and overload their sales pages with hype to try and deceive people into thinking affiliate marketing is a quick and easy way to make a lot of money online.

The biggest offenders here are companies that label themselves as data entry or home typing jobs. If you paid money to become a data entry employee, what would you expect? Probably something along the lines of getting paid to transcribe data from paper into digital form, right? Would you expect a packet of information on how to do affiliate marketing? Is that at all related to data entry? No! Herein lies what I advocate against.

Here’s a visual aid to help illustrate my point. The following two programs are both selling Affiliate Marketing training. One is the type I warn you guys against, the other I actively promote. Spot the difference!

Again, both are selling Affiliate Marketing training, but it should be immediately obvious which one is actually going to help you and which one is using insane amounts of hype to trick you into think affiliate marketing is something that it’s not.

Affiliate Marketing isn’t a job in the traditional sense of the word. It’s a business that you start. It CAN eventually become a job, but it does take quite a bit of time and effort. It’s not easy to go from knowing nothing about affiliate marketing to living solely off the income you make as an affiliate marketer. It takes a lot of work. I realize affiliate marketing isn’t for everyone which is why I also make recommendations on telecommuting jobs, and other miscellaneous ways of making money online.

Steve wants you to trust him so he can sucker you into wasting money!

My good friend Eddy over at WorkAtHomeNoScams.com (check it out if you’re looking for more ways to make money online. Eddy’s site rocks!) had this to say…

The fact of the matter is you provide various ways to make money online legitimately. Many are free. But when it comes to running a business it requires an investment in the business and or training to run a business. It’s no different than someone going to school for an MBA. You have to pay tons of money to do that! So why would it be different for an online business.

The issue here is there is a lot of misinformation out there about fees and making money online. Too often sites and people are running around saying anything that requires money is a scam. But what really should be said is that you probably shouldn’t pay for a job but when it comes to a business there is going to be an investment involved. In which case you should still do your research to determine if the business is legitimate.

Smart guy that Eddy. Seriously check out his site.

I’ve covered this plenty of times in the past though. When I say “you shouldn’t pay to start a job” I mean, avoid websites that are guaranteeing you’ll make a set wage doing things like data entry, typing, filling in forms, surveys, etc. If they make it sound like you’re going to be an employee of a company and you’ll make x amount of dollars per hour, but want you to pay some fee up front, they’re most likely trying to trick you into buying information and NOT offering you an actual job.

On the other hand, we have “paying to learn how to make money online.” The distinction here is that you’re paying to learn how to do something that you didn’t already know how to do. You want to learn how to make money online? A good place to start would be to seek out a mentor or a training program. Find someone who can teach you the things you don’t know. This costs money because you’re paying for someone’s expert knowledge. You’re not paying for a job; you’re paying to learn. It’s no different than attending classes at a school. Make sense?

Steve is a millionaire!

Ha. Ha. Ha.

God I wish this one were true.

Did a binary “watchdog” group lead you to this page?

I have extensively covered HUNDREDS of these binary option programs over the last 14 months. I’ve said just about everything I possibly could have on these scams.

I also seemed to have made quite a few “review” sites angry by not actively promoting ANY binary option programs. It’s hard to promote something you willingly know will be robbing people of their hard earned money. The people affected by these programs are the ones who usually have it all on the line and stand to lose the most. I could never comfortably live with myself knowing I was making money in that way.

These fake review sites like to point fingers and claim that I AM the one lying to deceive folks. They essentially accuse me of the exact tactics they are using. It’s definition insanity.

Why I Don’t Deposit Money into Binary Option Brokers

A new binary option program pops up daily, sometimes 2 or 3 open shop, each and every single day. These programs are designed for one purpose: to get you to deposit money into a foreign brokerage account that is not regulated by any U.S. law. Meaning, you have little to no recourse at ever getting any of your money back, filing a complaint, or sometimes even withdrawing the money on the off-chance you win one of your bets.

These programs typically have a $500 minimum deposit. With two popping up per day, I would have to spend $1,000 of my own hard earned money, every single day just to test their claims.

Listen, I don’t need to punch myself in the face to know it’s going to hurt. And I also don’t need to send $1,000 per day overseas to know I’m not going to become a millionaire just by pushing a button or by following some secret algorithm.

Here’s the Million Dollar Reveal…

There’s a program being touted as a guaranteed winner right now. Numerous fake review sites are popping up promoting it. It’s called Fast Cash Biz and they 100% guarantee you’ll earn $10,000 per day on average JUST BY PUSHING A BUTTON.

I am not personally exaggerating this. These are the exact claims made by Fast Cash Biz, taken DIRECTLY from their website.

Here is a screenshot directly from their page…

Let’s think about this rationally for just a second.

If it were that simple to make $3,650,000 per year, why on Earth would I ever advise against joining? We could all be millionaires overnight! There is literally no reason for me to ever say a bad word about this program.

Unfortunately, reality falls far from their claims.

Did you know that Fast Cash Biz pays out $250 in affiliate commissions? That means, any of those fake review sites are paid $250 every time a new user follows one of their recommendations.

Last time I checked, my Fast Cash Biz review was averaging over 100 views per day. If I were to review it positively and recommend that people join it, I suspect I could convert on average 10 people per day. This means, I would make $2,500 per day in affiliate commissions from Fast Cash Biz ALONE. This is close to A MILLION DOLLARS PER YEAR just for one article.

Hey… are you starting to see why so many of these fake review sites are popping up?

And this is just ONE PROGRAM. I have HUNDREDS of these reviews in our database. I am comfortably sitting on millions of dollars worth of commissions if I were to give these scams a positive recommendation.

Why on Earth would I ever advise against joining a Binary Option program? You already know the answer to that…

Because what they claim isn’t possible.

The only people making money here are the scammers suggesting you deposit money into these shady brokers. Not you. That’s all there is to it.

The Good News

The FTC is currently on to these scams. I suspect we’ll start seeing some of these fake review sites shut down in the coming months. Expect to see headlines where they issue millions of dollars in fines and possibly even jail time. It’s happened before with scams I’ve covered previously. It’s only a matter of time at this point.

The claims being made by these programs are also getting increasingly outlandish. Their marketing methods are becoming ineffective and these are last ditch efforts to attract new victims. This is a cycle I’ve seen time and time again. And I will continue to work behind the scenes to make sure these scams are properly persecuted.

On our side, I’ve Tried That has been around since 2007 and has become one of the most trusted voices on the web. I’ve celebrated my site’s 8th anniversary this year and I am happy to continue to work tirelessly for all of you for years to come.

Steve doesn’t care about his readers!

Of all the complaints against I’ve Tried That, this one hurts the most.

If you’ve spent any time on the site or have sent me an email, you’ll know my goal is to protect and help others. I can’t even begin to count the hours of free support and help I’ve given out over the years. My I’ve Tried That email account currently has 65,000 emails in it. That’s about 44 emails per day since starting this blog! That doesn’t even include the times I’ve purged my email because I was running out of space.

It’s greatly upsetting to know that people think I don’t care about my readers. I know I shouldn’t let the opinions of a few upset people get to me, but it occasionally does.

One things is for sure though: I’m going to keep on doing what I’m doing. I’ll continue to point out scams, provide legitimate ways of making money online, offering hours of email support, and just helping out all of you in general. I truly hope this blog has helped some of you.

Enjoy the music as well.

Bottom Line: I’ve Tried That is no scam. Feel free to drown out the naysayers and leave a comment below. I always love hearing from you guys.

Love,
Steve

The Most Common Money Transfer Scams

Money/wire transfer scams are among the most prevalent work at home scams that people are falling for today. What’s worse is the fact that these types of scams are some of the easiest to prevent. You can protect yourself by following this one simple rule:

Never wire money or send money via Western Union or Money Gram to someone you do not know.

Scammers use money transfer services because you’re essentially just mailing cash quickly across the world. It’s near impossible to trace and you can forget about recovering it. Once you transfer your money away, it’s as good as gone.

But this can all be avoided if you only transfer money to people you know. It’s really that easy. If someone you don’t know or haven’t met in person is telling you to wire them money, it’s pretty much guaranteed to be a scam.

Protect Yourself

Once you send the money and it gets picked up, consider it gone. It’s never coming back, especially if you wired the money overseas. Imagine dropping a $100 bill in Times Square and going back 12 hours later. You’re equally likely to get that money back.

That’s why you need to stick to wiring money to people you personally know. Don’t wire money to someone outside your friends or family. This includes…

  • Potential employers who insist it’s part of your job
  • Sellers on sites like craigslist
  • An online love interest who asks for money or a favor
  • Advertisers who put up vacation rentals

I’ve actually seen scammers take it one step further and try and impersonate a person you might know. I once received an email from my brother’s email address and it said he was in Spain on a business trip and he was mugged and desperately needed me to wire him money. Unfortunately for the scammer, my brother happened to be about 10 feet away from me when I read the email. They’ll go to any lengths to get money out of you.

The Most Common Money Wiring Scam

The most common scam I cover here at I’ve Tried That are fake check cashing jobs. With a check cashing scam, you’re asked to receive a check, deposit it into your bank account, and forward most of the amount overseas while keeping a portion of it for yourself as a “payment.” The checks you receive are either fake or stolen and it’s only a matter of time before they bounce.

Unfortunately, most banks don’t spot the fake checks and will allow you to deposit them. Federal law requires banks to immediately grant you access to the funds even though they haven’t cleared. This allows you to complete your “job” and send the portion required overseas.

The fake check you deposited WILL eventually bounce. It can take weeks, or even months but that check will bounce. Unfortunately for you, you’ve already wired the money overseas and there is no hope of recovering that money. This leaves YOU responsible for repaying the cost of the check.

Follow this one simple rule: NEVER accept a job that requires you to handle someone else’s money. If an “employer” want you to receive a check and forward the money elsewhere, it is 100% guaranteed to be a scam. Every. Single. Time.

Alternative Money Wiring Scams

Scammers in countries like Nigeria do this full-time. It’s like a job to them and they’ll go to great lengths and come up with amazing, emotional stories to get you to send them money. Here are some of the more common scams…

  • Overpayment Scams – This one creeps up on Craigslist a lot. The scammer will agree to purchase an item you posted online, and will send a check, but accidentally make it out for more than you agreed upon. The scammer will then ask you to wire back the difference. The original check will bounce and you’ll be out an item, the money for the item, and the money you wired away.
  • Relationship Scams – Online dating is becoming increasingly popular and naturally scammers are taking advantage of this. They’ll spend MONTHS building up a relationship with a victim and then one day leave on a trip an encounter a problem when away. He or she will desperately plead with you for help and ask you to wire money with promises to pay you back once the scammer is back home. Don’t fall for it.
  • Mystery Shopper Scams – Mystery shopping scammers are following the same formula as check cashing employment scammers. They’ll send you a check for a few thousand dollars, and tell you to cash the check, keep a portion of the money for yourself as “payment,” spend a portion of the money at a store, and then send the rest of the money back along with your evaluations of the bank, the store you shopped at, and the company you used to send the money back. It’s all a scam of course. The original check will bounce and you will have to pay back the thousands of dollars you spent.
  • Online Purchase Scams – Just don’t pay for an item via money transfer. Easy as pie. Stick with credit cards and reputable businesses.
  • Property Rental Scams – Scammers have been putting up fake listings for apartments or vacation rentals at amazing prices. They will promise to hold it for you for a deposit or for rent and will tell you to wire money to owner. Do not do this! There is no rental and you will lose all that money.

If you’ve seen a variation on this scam, leave a comment below! You can help protect others from losing thousands of dollars. So speak up!

Please SHARE this page with anyone who thinks they’ve found a dream job that requires them to wire money. If a job wants you to wire money through Western Union or Money Gram, it is always 100% a scam. Do not accept a position where you handle a company’s money. Only wire money to people you PERSONALLY know and you’ll avoid all of these scams.

Stay safe out there.

Is PaidViewpoint.com a Scam?

Easy money. Sure, this usually goes hand-in-hand with small amounts of it, but man do I love me some easy money.

Enter PaidViewpoint.com.

It’s run by the same company that operated InstantCashSweepstakes, which was a favorite here at I’ve Tried That for many years before they closed down. They are a market research company paying you to participate in surveys. It does sound familiar, but PaidViewpoint is putting a fresh spin on things, including guaranteed payments for every survey you’re invited to.

Seriously, you can’t get kicked out of a survey halfway through because you don’t “qualify.” Oh, and you automatically get $1.00 just for signing up. (Details on how to increase this signup bonus at the bottom of this post.)

Okay, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Let’s dive in here.

What is PaidViewpoint.com?

Yes, it’s an online survey company, but it’s unlike any survey site I’ve seen before. I’ll let PaidViewpoint.com explain…

PaidViewpoint is the market research survey site built upon 4 principles:

  • We pay cash for every completed market research survey.
  • We never screen you out once you’ve been invited into a survey.
  • We’ve cracked the code that takes “boring” out of the survey answering experience.
  • Privacy – we never ask you to register your real name or complete physical address.

The most important thing to take away from those four points is the second line. Once you’re invited to take a survey, you will get paid no matter what. The biggest complaint with online survey companies is that a user will be halfway through an hour long survey just to find out he or she “doesn’t qualify” and is subsequently kicked out of the survey with no pay. That DOES NOT happen at PaidViewpoint.com. An invitation to a survey means you’re going to get paid.

You also get paid in CASH for completing a survey. No points or gift cards, but actual money. There is a $15.00 minimum withdraw though. I haven’t yet hit that amount of money, but I will keep you guys updated on how much I make there.

Lastly, we have their privacy commitment. You don’t have to give out your name or home address when signing up, but you do have to call in and verify a phone number in order to cash out your earnings. This is for two reasons: 1. To ensure that you only create one account at PaidViewpoint.com and 2. To ensure that no unauthorized party can login and steal your earnings.

I know a few of you are going to be unhappy about having to provide a phone number, but rest assured, the number is used for verification purposes only. This line is taken directly from their Privacy Policy: “We do use a third party application to dial and send the confirmation code to your phone. At no other time or function on PV is your phone number used or shared.” PaidViewpoint.com makes it clear that your number will not be used for anything other than account verification.

My experiences with InstantCashSweepstakes have been nothing less than stellar. They are running a great company and I feel safe recommending PaidViewpoint.

Click here and create your PaidViewpoint account now!
Use this code when signing up for an extra cash bonus: itriedthat

An Example Survey

While working on this review, I was actually invited to participate in a survey. I decided to grab a screenshot to demonstrate how the site works and funcitons.

PaidViewpoint.com

There are a few things I want to point out. First, we have the earnings bar at the top. This tallies up how much money you’ve earned so far during the survey. Since you can’t get “screened out” of a survey, that money is yours. Off to the right of the survey is how much money this particular question will earn for you. In this case, I earned $0.05 for answering this question.

Next we have the question/answer window. The first black bar is the question that’s being asked with the options below. Pick an option, then click on the arrow to continue to the next question. Finally, we have the time estimation bar at the bottom. This shows you approximately how close you are to the end of the survey. This is a great feature since other survey sites generally keep you in the dark about how much time is left.

Here’s a PaidViewpoint Activation Bonus Code!

The nice folks at PaidViewpoint.com have offered to provide I’ve Tried That readers with an additional sign up bonus. Right now, you automatically get $1.00 just for signing up. As a thank you for reading I’ve Tried That, you can get an additional monetary bonus for reading this review.

All you have to do is signup using the activation bonus code: itriedthat

Click here and create your PaidViewpoint account now!

You’ll see the bonus field after you click on the register button. Don’t forget to use the code itriedthat for some extra money!

Overall, I like PaidViewpoint.com. If you’re a fan of InstantCashSweepstakes, you’re going to love PaidViewpoint. The two programs compliment each other nicely and both are legitimate ways to make some extra money online.

I joined a few hours ago and I’ve already been invited to 3 different surveys and have made a total $1.86 so far today. Not bad considering each survey only took a few minutes to complete. I think I’m going to like this site. PaidViewpoint.com gets my full recommendation.

PaidViewpoint in 2018

This article was first written in 2011, when PaidViewpoint first launched. I have been an active member there ever since and I’m happy to say they still have my full recommendation.

In fact, since I’ve joined, I’ve cashed out over $2,800 in earnings.

Paidviewpoint Earnings

Additional Programs to Try

After you create your account with PaidViewpoint, here are a couple of other similar ways to make some money online. Join them all to increase your earning potential!

  1. Swagbucks – Login, answer questions, take polls, watch videos, make money. I’ve cashed out a couple hundred dollars in my first few months of joining. Absolutely a must join.
  2. SurveySavvy – This is my all time favorite survey company. I’ve cashed out thousands of dollars over the past 4 years from both my completed surveys and referrals. This one is highly recommended.

Is SixFigureKit.com a Scam?

Ah the old, “I make millions of dollars online and now you can too for just $27” trick. Their advertising must be working because this has been one of the most requested programs for me to review in a long time.

Let’s take a look around, shall we?

Is the Six Figure Program at SixFigureKit.com a Scam?

It’s a program put together by two guys named Dave Clabeaux and Ben Moskel. These guys have been advertising very heavily lately. The very first thing they claim is that they make $1.2 million dollars per year and sometimes make $22,000 in a single day. These are seriously the very first claims they make.

Ben learned how to make all this money online after he found out that a coworker of his was making $10,000 a month with just one simple website. They talked and his coworker gave him her “one simple trick” and after just a few hours of work was able to start making $300/day following his coworkers system. Two years later he quit his job and now wants to sell you this secret for just $27.

Man does this one stink.

Let’s ask two rather obvious questions:

1. Ben starts his story about how miserable his job was and how he hated his boss. Yet he has a coworker that makes over $120,000 per year from one website and yet the coworker still works at his company. Why wouldn’t she quit?

2. Ben was able to start making over $300/day (again that’s a six-figure yearly salary) but still worked at a job he hated for 2 more years? Why wouldn’t HE quit?

Ben goes on to talk about how the Six Figure Program at SixFigureKit.com isn’t a get rich quick scheme and it’s only for motivated people. He then backs up this statement by showing checks reaching well into the five figures that he received by doing relatively no work. Of course, any identifying information is blacked out meaning these checks could have been issued to just about anyone.

There’s not much left on the sales page after that. A few questionable testimonials, some more pictures of money, and then a sign up box. I did wander over to the FAQ section and found these two gems tucked in there…

How Long Before I Start Making Money?
The Six-Figure-Program shows you exactly what to do to immediately start making money. If you follow the instructions you can realistically receive your first commission check within about 7-10 days.

I See a lot of “Get Rich Quick” Schemes – is your Product like them?
We are not a scam! There are a great number of people who will sell you the latest “get rich quick scheme.” These people will tell you that you can get rich by selling garbage on E-Bay or Investing in real estate with no money down. Those programs are all the same: they promise you the moon, but never deliver a thing. Most of these programs tell you that you will get rich, but never actually tell you what you will actually be doing!

Ick, this one doesn’t smell pleasant. I can’t see how you could possibly be receiving checks 7-10 days after you join. Given my experience with affiliate companies and how they operate this is not even remotely realistic. Do you know how much work it takes to start an affiliate marketing business? I also love how they think making $300/day within just a few days isn’t considered get rich quick. I really wish I could join their fantasy world.

Should You Join SixFigureKit.com?

I think we both know the answer to that.

I had every intention to actually sign up and review the information they sold. I entered a unique name and email address specifically for this program. It was a requirement to view the order page. I didn’t sign up right away, but they did capture some of my personal information.

Within a few MINUTES, I found two emails tucked away in my spam folder. One was advertising personal online coaching from a company called Prosper and another was a link to my first “home job kit.” This link took me to a fake news website and advertised fake work at home jobs. These sites are exact replicas of the fake news sites being shut down by the FTC.

The mere fact that these two guys are peddling these scams is enough of a reason for me NOT to give them my credit card information. I absoltuely will not be taking a look inside this one. Instead, I’ll turned to some real reviews by real people who have actually signed up for the program.

I wasn’t surprised to find that mostly every one who signed up had a complaint to file. The most common complaints are…

  1. The information you receive for $27 is very basic affiliate marketing information found free anywhere on the web.
  2. You’re just going to be continually sold products.
  3. Support is very hard to get a hold of and often rude at times.
  4. It’s all just a ploy to get you signed up for more products.
  5. It’s very hard to get a refund.

Not ONCE did I read a positive report where someone was able to earn any money follow their system, let alone in the “realistic 7-10 days” claim made by these guys.

Let’s get one thing straight though. Internet/Affiliate Marketing DOES work. It’s not easy, especially when you’re just starting out. You cannot decide to start an Internet Marketing business and realistically expect to start making thousands of dollars per day.

Please do not buy into the hype.

If you’ve had any experiences with SixFigureKit.com, please leave a comment/review below.

A SwagBucks Update (Over $400 Cashed Out So Far!)

I did a review of a program called SwagBucks a few months back and just wanted to give you guys a little update on my progress, show you how much I’ve actually made with the program, and give some tips on how to quickly start making some money with them.

A quick overview: the concept behind SwagBucks is that they’d pay you for using their search page to browse the web. They make money through Google’s sponsored results and then pass some of their earnings on to you in the form of SwagBucks.

All you have to do is use their search bar and every so often, you’ll be awarded SwagBucks which you can redeem for cash or prizes. The best part is the SwagBucks search bar uses Google, so you’ll get the same results you’re used to, but now you have a chance to make some extra money. It takes no extra effort on your part either. It’s a fun way to make some extra money each month.

There are a lot more ways to earn, but searching is by far the easiest and the quickest. You’ll see the other ways in just a minute, but first…

Proof SwagBucks Actually Pays

Here’s an inside look at every order that I’ve placed with SwagBucks since I’ve joined. This is a look inside my own personal account. As of May 2011, after joining for less than six months, I’ve cashed out and received $420.00 worth of gift cards.

Now, there are thousands of items you can spend your SwagBucks on or you can even redeem them for cash. I chose the giftcards because they’re a little bit cheaper than the cash redemption so you get more value for your SwagBuck, so to speak. Plus, I shop at Amazon often and this really helped cut down on costs.

I’ll save you the trouble of adding it all up. I cashed out $200 in Southwest Airline vouchers (paid for my round-trip flight to Orlando!) and an additional $220 at Amazon.com!

Oh, and did I mention this was all free?

How to Quickly Start Making Money at SwagBucks

Step 1. Click here and create your account now. It takes 30 seconds and it’s completely free to join.

Step 2. Once you confirm your account and login, you’ll see the menu at the top of the page. Click on Earn, then search and you’ll be taken to a page that looks like this:


Click on the link that says ‘Make this my homepage’

Step 3. Use SwagBucks like you would Google, Yahoo or Bing, but now, you’ll actually make money doing so. As a matter of fact, I was planning on taking a screenshot of the search results when I was rewarded with $7 in SwagBucks. Not bad at all!

Swagbucks Reward

Step 4. That’s it! Browse the site to find out more ways you can earn, but searching is by far the easiest and it’s something you probably already do a lot during the day. Now you can make some extra money while doing so.

The Bottom Line

SwagBucks is a scam free way to make extra money online. I’ve been a member for about six months now and I’ve been paid a total of $420. It’s completely free to join and will help you bring in some extra cash by doing things you already do online. What more could you want from a program?! Swagbucks is awesome and I highly recommend you click here an create an account right now.

BigSpot Review: Try These 3 Alternatives That Actually Work

Ah, the allure of easy money. BigSpot knows their target audience.

I always need to preface my posts regarding online surveys.

It seems that whenever the topic comes up, a few people like to come out of the woodwork to call me a scammer for saying there are legitimate online survey companies. Real survey companies do exist people. It’s not the glamorous $75/hr jobs some websites try and lead you to believe, but if you sign up for enough companies and spend enough time taking surveys, you can easily make some extra spare change each month.

It’s true! Honest.

Also, a legitimate survey company will never ask you for money or to complete offers as part of a survey. These are not surveys, but scams. As long as you know that online surveys aren’t insanely lucrative and you never spend a dime to take a survey, you’ll do just fine.

Is BigSpot.com a Scam?

BigSpot.com, while free to join and use, isn’t exactly a survey company and they do tell you this upfront. Instead, what they’re doing is “matching” you with other survey companies. You fill out a small form with your demographics and they send you a list of survey companies they recommend you join.

Bigspot Review

You do have to decline a number of “offers” (read: spam) in order to get to the list of companies and this is where BigSpot.com makes it’s money. If you’re not careful, you could be giving away your private and personal information to a bunch of companies you’ve never even heard of. You’ll receive junk mail, credit card offers, spam, and just about every annoying type of direct mail offer you can imagine.

While BigSpot says they aren’t selling your information to these companies directly, your miss clicks here could technically count as your consent and you are basically sending your personal information to third parties.

So, I’d have to say that while BigSpot.com technically isn’t a scam, I still wouldn’t recommend joining them.

There is one redeeming quality to the site. Right on the main page is this paragraph…

Will I get rich?
No, silly. You’re not going to get rich taking surveys. You’ll have the opportunity to put some extra cash in your pocket each month and the chance to earn some really great rewards.

It’s a good relief from the usual scams that claim you could be making hundreds of dollars per hour and could even live off of the money you make taking surveys. They’re at least upfront about the income you could expect to earn.

In the end, you don’t need BigSpot. It’s just collecting emails to show you a list of survey companies.

Try These 3 Legit Sites Instead

BigSpot.com isn’t necessarily a scam. It’s not costing you anything, but they aren’t representing themselves fairly either.

You can skip all the hassle of shelling out your private information to a random company and join a few legitimate survey companies directly. Here are three that I highly recommend above the rest:

  1. Swagbucks – Login, answer questions, take polls, watch videos, make money. I’ve cashed out a couple hundred dollars in my first few months of joining. Absolutely a must join.
  2. SurveySavvy – This is my all time favorite survey company. I’ve cashed out thousands of dollars over the past 4 years from both my completed surveys and referrals. This one is highly recommended.
  3. PaidViewpoint – PaidViewpoint is a fun way to pick up some extra cash in your spare time. You answer short three question surveys every few hours. Some surveys were created by companies, other by users. Every survey you take has a chance at earning you cash. It’s fun, easy, and definitely worth checking out.

You can click here and check out a list of 15 additional survey companies. These are all legitimate companies that are looking for panel members to complete SURVEYS. They’re not looking for you to complete offers, you won’t have to spend any money, and you WILL get paid.

Always remember that survey companies aren’t going to be the answer to your financial woes. They can be a fun way to earn some extra money in your downtime, but that’s it.

Don’t join any survey site expecting a windfall of cash. That’s just not going to happen. And anyone telling you otherwise is looking to make money off of you by either scamming you or selling your personal information.

Stay vigilant.

I’ve Tried That Investigates: StoresOnline.com

I received a few requests to do a review of a program called StoresOnline. Apparently, it’s a company that sells eCommerce websites and training. They advertise seminars that are taking place all over the world and they invite you to come in, have some lunch, receive a free MP3 player, and listen to their pitch on how they’ll set you up with a profitable website.

They are a very intimidating and pushy bunch and try and convince you that you NEED StoresOnline if you want to have any shot at making money online. After the presentation, you’ll be forced to talk to a closer who will try and scare you to signup on the spot with the company. He or she will promise you that the company will build a couple websites for you and help you maintain them. Total cost? $6,000 plus monthly fees for website maintenance.

Yes, I did just say $6,000.

Is StoresOnline.com a Scam?

Unfortunately, this is one program I won’t be able to try personally. I simply don’t have the time to attend a conference, listen to someone spout nonsense, and decline a pushy sales person. So, I’ll be outsourcing the majority of the review.

Let’s start with their BBB report…

BBB Rating for Storesonline Inc

Based on BBB files, Storesonline Inc has a BBB Rating of F.

Factors that lowered this business’ rating include:

  • 807 complaints filed against business
  • Government action(s) against business
  • Business has failed to resolve underlying cause(s) of a pattern of complaints

807 whopping complaints. This is the most I’ve ever seen against a single company. Plus the government is taking action against them and they have a history of not responding to customers. At this point, the review should be done, but I have to continue with a few customer horror stories.

MARJOH at scam.com writes…

I am very upset, it’s been a year that I felt for this…I went to the seminar and at that time I believe that it could be a good opportunity for me! but after a year of trying to make my website with no luck, I know that they are such a lie…I paid for the package $6k a year ago, and now they are calling me saying that if I need to get started my own business, they can help me if I invest from 9k to 10k, can you believe that? A year ago I didn’t have the 6k I used my cc to pay it and now with no business, with this economy they are asking me for more!!!!! I just want my 6k back and I don’t know what to do, I already called them and asked that if they don’t give me my money back I will sue them because they promise things that never happen!! and they didn’t care! I am out of 6k and don’t know what to do…Any advice will be appreciate it, thanks.

After taking $6,000, StoresOnline wanted an additional $10,000. Seriously.

goodpasture writes…

Stores Online is definately a scam everybody. I went to their free lunch and it cost me over $4000. My credit card won’t even allow me to back out. And yea they gave me that 3 day crap as well. Stores Online is the biggest wate of money ever. Plus let me mention that it’s not only $4000 for their ‘software” but they have all other additionals that they try to high-pressure you into buying and if you ever want to go live with your $4000 websites you just purchased did I mention there is a $29 PER MONTH PER WEBSITE fee for hosting it and you have to host it on their server or you lose half the stuff that their software does for you of course.

mmtrem writes…

About a month ago I received a postcard in the mail about attending a seminar to make money online from home. StoresOnline was the company holding this seminar that offered a free lunch. So, I held my spot to go and check it out. Most of the stuff they covered I have already known but they were offering another class for an 8 hour session for $99. They said the class was to learn about SEO so I was very interested in going. It was offered for the $99 for two people. So my friend and I went to this all day class. They never taught much of what they said they would but only to talk about how much money other people have made with the services they offered. I did learn a few things that will be of help to me in the future… however, they were selling two different packages, A Silver package for $3,400 and a Platinum package for $6,000 and then $29.95 a month. Whoa! Hold on a second… For real?

And I could go on and on and on. There are thousands of these reports out there. Don’t fall for the hype of the free MP3 player they offer for attending the seminar either. There are more complaints regarding not receiving the MP3 player than there are against the company itself.

Oh, and everyone says the lunch sucks.

So what do I suggest? It should be fairly obvious but stay as far away from StoresOnline as possible.

If you’ve had any experience with the company or even attended a seminar, let me know what you thought in the comments below.

How to Wake Up Better Each Morning

This post is a little off the beaten track, but this is I’ve Tried That and I am trying something new. But first, I have a confession.

I hate winter.

I don’t do winter. The cold. The snow. The constant gray skies. Gah, I want no parts of it. So much so, that I spent an entire day last month planning to move to Australia for the next few months. I looked into plane tickets, dual citizenship and even picked out some nice looking real estate near a beach.

Pipe dreams of course, but man do I hate winter. It doesn’t help that I live in Pittsburgh either. It snows often and the overcast is relentless. I wish I could hibernate to be quite honest.

The mornings are the worst. My bed is fitted with a heated mattress cover and an incredibly heavy down comforter. It’s my own little cocoon that I try to spend as much time in as possible. As you can imagine, getting out of bed each morning is quite the struggle and I wanted a solution.

A few weeks ago I was reading an article on light therapy and how you can use certain lights to simulate sunlight and improve your mood. These lights are widely used to help treat Seasonal Affective Disorder and help regulate sleeping patterns. The article had briefly mentioned “wake up lights” and how they can be effective in helping people wake up in the morning.

Basically, there are alarm clocks which feature bright lights to help ease the wake-up process. The alarm clocks gradually get brighter as they near your set alarm time effectively simulating a sunrise. Your alarm goes off and you wake up to a fully lit bedroom and an energized body.

This piqued my interest since I refuse to do winter and I set out to try one of these wake-up lights. If there’s a light out there that could help me deal with winter mornings, I am going to use it.

Enter the Philips HF3470 Wake-up Light

I started shopping around, comparing different models, and reading customer reviews. The model I ultimately settled on is a Philips HF3470 Wake-up Light.

Philips HF3470 Philips HF3470

It is an alarm clock. You set a time for an alarm to go off; however, about 30 minutes before the alarm sounds, the light kicks on and gradually gets brighter. It reaches its full brightness just as your alarm sounds. You have three options to wake up to: music, chirping birds, or a more traditional, albeit less annoying, alarm tone. Your body is subconsciously adjusting to “rising sun” providing you with a much better wake up experience.

I chose this model largely due to the reviews and the price. One feature that really stood out was the user replaceable light bulb. A lot of other models required you to send the alarm clock in to replace the bulb if it ever burnt out. That sounded completely unacceptable. It’s changing a light bulb for crying out loud. I shouldn’t have to send the alarm clock away to change a bulb. The fact that I could service this model myself sealed the deal for me.

I placed my order and said goodbye to my old alarm clock. That night, I went to bed skeptical, but woke up energized. It was quite amazing. I didn’t have to struggle to get out of bed or bargain with the clock for more time. The birds chirped, I woke up to a completely lit room, and I sat up ready to go.

It’s just such a better and more pleasant way to wake up each morning. My typical morning used to consist of a god awful high-pitched beeping to scare the hell out of me in hopes of waking up. This usually followed by at least 45 minutes of pressing the snooze button and hearing the siren go off every five minutes. After I finally convinced myself to get out of bed, I’d plod my way over to the coffee pot and contemplate going back to sleep for a few more hours. It was a struggle each and every morning.

Now my wake up process is awesome. I wake up to a fully light room and birds chirping. My eyes pop right open and I’m able to get out of bed without having to feign sleep for nearly an hour. I still make my way to the coffee pot, but with a spring in my step and a song in my heart.

Okay, that’s a bit much.

But in all honesty, I feel much more awake when I use the wake-up light and have a much more positive mood throughout the day. You know that super heavy eyelid feeling you get each morning? Well, I haven’t felt that at all since using the wake-up light.

Winter mornings have finally become bearable.

The biggest downside is the price. I spent $90 on my Philips Wake up Light. That’s a tad expensive for an alarm clock. However, this is going to be something that I use on a daily basis for years to come. It helps me wake up better each morning, helps me focus on work easier, and has generally improved my mood. For me, it is well worth the price. I would gladly buy it again and am completely satisfied with my purchase.

If you’re like me and struggle with the mornings, I highly recommend trying out the Philips HF3470 Wake-Up Light. You can check it out at Amazon.com by clicking here. It comes with a 45-day money-back guarantee. If you try it and don’t see any results, return it! I started seeing results after my first night with it. This baby isn’t going anywhere. It might not be Australia for the winter, but it sure does help.