tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71501952342287882082024-03-05T06:26:03.079-08:00frugal grad studentAs a grad student in business school, I am working hard to get some extra money and mange my finance well in order to survive under the high tuition loan and high living expenses.serenelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419956602098393839noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7150195234228788208.post-6387096473099310682012-02-03T10:21:00.000-08:002012-02-03T10:30:28.235-08:00Several new offers from cashcrateGreat Fun has a sign up bonus for 12$, and when you enrolled, it will be a 40$ visa rebate for you to claim(Cancel 1-877-488-9480);<br /><br />Mobilesure has a sign up bonus for 8$, and there will be a 20$ rebate on phone bill rebate(Cancel 1-866-345-5126) ;<br /><br />Privacy Guard has a sign up bonus for 15$, and there will be a 50$ rebate if you have a shredder receipt(Cancel 1-800-374-8273) .<br /><br />These bonus shows up quickly(in an hour), you can cancel it if you don't want those rebate, which also shows up in your mailbox in a short time, enjoy!serenelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419956602098393839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7150195234228788208.post-43354125582481450462010-03-28T07:03:00.001-07:002010-03-28T07:04:27.749-07:00received my Febuarary fat cash check from cashcrate<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBIZB2gEMAyQiphFJFJf__ycHp_7Fj9nYc3otCt6KkmfZaSkmA8I5atP0pEtheg3lhVZ4rL9WHULItG0Ft8onYZ8JbJsVqCT3B8Mdvc-7D6I_A4pDqTYD8Tvhtt_N0PrEgzbueL-JNjwAO/s1600/IMAG0011.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 190px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBIZB2gEMAyQiphFJFJf__ycHp_7Fj9nYc3otCt6KkmfZaSkmA8I5atP0pEtheg3lhVZ4rL9WHULItG0Ft8onYZ8JbJsVqCT3B8Mdvc-7D6I_A4pDqTYD8Tvhtt_N0PrEgzbueL-JNjwAO/s320/IMAG0011.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453685310698808338" /></a><br />This is by far the biggest one I got for a single month.serenelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419956602098393839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7150195234228788208.post-78783002203469585492010-03-22T19:26:00.001-07:002010-03-22T20:01:03.205-07:00received 50.00$ amazon gift certificate from cashcrate!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ard1nyile9PcOmK_1RDWJKONS6sPpbtgYBVmf6JiLyO-9Rv6Ec1L-2TvJ5_S2jJQTwXPRiKbDuKBwqPyn6mJY5qfRnFoCVUOGkDOp_bUGqP_ir71nppcNWYOC8RDhK2OI-1QNWCBcpdM/s1600-h/points+offer.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 101px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ard1nyile9PcOmK_1RDWJKONS6sPpbtgYBVmf6JiLyO-9Rv6Ec1L-2TvJ5_S2jJQTwXPRiKbDuKBwqPyn6mJY5qfRnFoCVUOGkDOp_bUGqP_ir71nppcNWYOC8RDhK2OI-1QNWCBcpdM/s320/points+offer.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451658384551262034" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYsH4ZCBNW5SaGA5B0_EoW2Ih03ag43CboBPUnUVj8KzlzltunG6mBg_fSZNo6SHI3SEToZZSlcYDXis1oGA3VSLeobUnQaKUMk7c61ZrALK1VENGw_ZfuIbmJ1_cTWwKFRY3ZKcL1xAgC/s1600-h/IMAG0009.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 190px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYsH4ZCBNW5SaGA5B0_EoW2Ih03ag43CboBPUnUVj8KzlzltunG6mBg_fSZNo6SHI3SEToZZSlcYDXis1oGA3VSLeobUnQaKUMk7c61ZrALK1VENGw_ZfuIbmJ1_cTWwKFRY3ZKcL1xAgC/s320/IMAG0009.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451656893056683682" /></a><br />Everyone likes free prizes right? Cashcrate has a lot of free prizes that range from gift cards to popular stores to electronics like iPod Touches and gaming systems. You buy these prizes with points that you earn from completing offers. With Cashcrate, you earn one point for every dollar earned from completing offers.<br /><br />You can get paid to play games and that you can earn points from finding and redeeming Cashcrate coupons. There is one way to earn points that I have not made a post about, and that way is to complete points offers.<br /><br />Cashcrate has a section of offers that are dedicated to earning points instead of cash. This section is located in the sorting box beside "Cash Offers". Most of the points offers require cell phones and will cost some money. There are a couple that doesn't require cell phones or credit cards and really payoff. Those that do not require anything and are 100% free are mostly surveys or signups. Every couple of months Cashcrate replenishes the amount of offers and usually the points offers are replenished too.<br /><br />My favorite way to earn points are by completing Bonus Points Offers. You can find the bonus points offers by clicking the green banner in the points offers section. When you first join Cashcrate, there is roughly 3000 points that you can earn from completing bonus offers. This is really great because most of the prizes cost less than 1000 points, so you can start buying prizes soon after you join. I know a couple of tips to completing points and bonus points offers at Cashcrate and if you are interested in joining and earning free prizes, click here to join Cashcrate.serenelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419956602098393839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7150195234228788208.post-4566881132211271092010-02-27T12:04:00.000-08:002010-02-27T12:27:55.955-08:00Two similar GTP website, treasuretrooper~http://www.treasuretrooper.com/595609<br /><br />I will let you know how it goes.serenelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419956602098393839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7150195234228788208.post-24878256477065403322010-02-24T08:08:00.000-08:002010-02-24T08:09:57.655-08:00This is my January rewards check from cashcrate<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYx5aXLEGDqhIePijB-2kJG1YRkMCweWbU-iDw8knJES0ShzZCjBwqr_kcHTmdnTPiz1wudQlMTt7LbvhIKOgu2D610CUr9I3z081a0jyi5bo69z_P-DPAUPvzTojVgYYFVlZS0YhQc2Gz/s1600-h/frugalgraduate+check+image.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYx5aXLEGDqhIePijB-2kJG1YRkMCweWbU-iDw8knJES0ShzZCjBwqr_kcHTmdnTPiz1wudQlMTt7LbvhIKOgu2D610CUr9I3z081a0jyi5bo69z_P-DPAUPvzTojVgYYFVlZS0YhQc2Gz/s320/frugalgraduate+check+image.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441842924955814738" /></a><br />Always forgot to upload the real check, here you go!serenelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419956602098393839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7150195234228788208.post-55015300178901226542010-01-24T12:49:00.000-08:002010-01-24T13:13:48.264-08:00My progress with cashcrateCashcrate is Not a scam. I spent a lot of time on finding out a reliable website for earning extra money by finish offers and survey. This one stands out. I would give it 5 stars.<br /><br />I have talked about making extra money with <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://cashcrate.com/1061407">cashcrate.com</a> in the past. Yes,I did. I have already made over 400$ since I joined it though I didn't do it during my summer international trip. It is legit website, I always got paid on time by check. <br /><br />I have already been used to it, and I could finish the offers much faster and easier.<br /><br />Several strategies I found very important:<br /><br />1.Always try sorting the offers by ratings, you can sort by ratings and choose those 0 cost ones, very easy and quick to confirm.<br />2.For similar offers, you should try upgrade your roboform with new junk email in order to be proved quick.<br />3.Clear your cookie when you finished one offer. You can do this by click tools in your browser,and clear privacy data(check the cookie box)<br />4.Try to use some keyboard shortcuts, such as Alt&+ let you choose all "no" in a long and tedious survey(and then you can change one to yes, if you need to choose one yes at least).Also tab+down let you finished the survey as quick as possible, you don't need to care about what you put in these kind of survey, right? So,this is the way to go.serenelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419956602098393839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7150195234228788208.post-35804646452124815722009-02-23T11:39:00.000-08:002009-02-24T08:57:05.083-08:00Get your overdraft fee backSometimes, you probably forget the balance of your checking account, and get more money out of it than its balance. You will be charged overdraft fee from 25$ to 35$,depending on the bank. A girl in my group just made this common mistake, and she was charged 25$ overdraft fee by Bank of America. She is upset about that. <br /><br />However, don't worry, you can get this fee back. I remember when I opened my account with Bank of America, they gave out a card, which allows you to get your first time overdraft fee back by presenting this card to the bank associate. I told the girl about this, and she made a call to a nice BOA agent, after the girl explained the overdraft charge appearing on her account,the agent said " sure, we will refund that money to you immediately", without asking any questions. The call took her only a couple of minutes and saved her 25$. I guess she will be more cautious next time. <br /><br />Similarly, I got my late fee, over limit fee of my credit cards etc. back before by calling the customer service. It was not that hard. But still you should be more careful next time as it is not 100% guaranteed to get your fees back. But my point is that you could always call to see if they will help you out, this could save you a lot!!serenelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419956602098393839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7150195234228788208.post-51252173537207355192009-02-23T09:34:00.000-08:002009-02-24T13:38:17.010-08:00thinking about extra money??People couldn’t easily give up the opportunity to get some extra money, especially for our graduate students who live on assistantships. We could all use a little extra money every once in awhile. One of the more popular Get Paid To sites is <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://cashcrate.com/1061407">cashcrate.com</a>. By filling out surveys and completing trial offers, you can earn some extra money in your spare time. I just started this month; I would keep you posted how it goes. I have already earned 27.40$, I guess this is very good for beginner, although old members got more than a couple of hundred dollars each month.<br /><br />1. Create a separate email for the cashcrate exclusively. Some of the survey or offers do require you provide a valid email address. Set up a new Gmail account or myway.com email accounts, so the advertisement or marketing offers sent to your email from time to time, which will not flood your regular email box.<br /><br />2. Use shopsafe, virtual credit card number provided by your credit card company. As far as I know, schwab give out as many as virtual credit card number as the customer’s request. You can define the spending limit (2.00$ or more) and expiration date (in 2months etc.) It can definitely facilitate you to take advantage of the free trail offer or 1$ trial offer without worrying to be charged full monthly fee later on if you forgot to cancel. Citi also provide similar virtual credit card number which can guarantee your safe shopping experience.<br /><br />3. Use some form fill out software. This could make you finish the survey or online offers much quicker. One good example of this kind of software is Roboform, it is absolutely free, and you can <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.roboform.com/">download</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>here. Instead of typing your contact info in over and over again, just type it in once and Roboform will automatically fill in the form fields with the click of a button. This is easy.<br /><br />4. You can also take advantage of their offer sorting tools, by payout amount, whether a credit card needed or not etc. The 100% free offer, such as short survey, could be quick, but the payout is also not that much. I took some short surveys and did get the credits. Some of them require credit card, but actually it is very easy and give out credit more generously and quick. You could use either your virtual credit card number or shopsafe I mentioned above. The offer I took last week were Yahoo Success Center , I had to pay 2.95$ for shipping and handling(they will delivery electronically), however I got paid 15 bucks for this purchase. I have already earned 24.40$ total since I joined last week. <br /><br />5. You can also earn cashback by using the link it provided to make purchase at other merchant. I have already used a fatwallet, ebates, which are good and easy. <br />The most impressive cashback provided by cashcrate is walmart.com, which is 5% cashback. That means if you click the "go shopping" link under your account at cashcrate, and click on walmart.com, and make a purchase in 24 hours, you will be rewarded 5% cashback on your purchase. The cashback will be deposited on your cashcrate.com. <br /><br />I will keep your guys posted for my progress; you can also share your tips. Thanks.serenelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419956602098393839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7150195234228788208.post-84676924320784587272009-02-21T07:49:00.000-08:002009-02-23T08:28:04.053-08:00First postI am a graduate student in Massachusetts. I would like to share some frugal tips I gathered from time to time. Hope these tips can help you live a good quality life with less money.serenelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14419956602098393839noreply@blogger.com0