I am a stay-at-home mom. When she was born I could not stand the thought of leaving her with anyone. I have heard of online surveys that you can make money from home (via computer). Has anyone tried this or is it a gimmick??

Also, if anyone knows a type-from-home service or any other way to make money from home, please share.

Thanks so much for any info. you can share!!!!


Thank you for all the advice and opinions!! I really appreciate it.

I know of online surveys but ones that pay a decent amount of money are few and far between. I used to do surveys for gift certificates but then the amounts of the gift certificate diminished and I stopped. Even if I was doing every survey offered, I'd make 50 dollars/month in gift certificates. Now I hear about surveys where you get 1 or 2 dollars in cash but you get a couple a week, not regularly. I recently did a survey for $50 dollars but that was a rarity because I had used a specific prescription product and because they weren't getting enough respondents to their previous survey attempts.

The one thing to be wary of is if you see advertisements "work at home, typing, mailing letters, etc just send $25 dollars (or other amount) for setup costs". Those are a scam. Basically you pay someone who tells you to send letters, put up signs, send e-mails telling others how to work at home and you tell the other people who respond to send you $25 dollars and you tell them how to scam other people.

I know someone who works part time from home answering incoming calls from people who are responding to infomercials. You have to have a dedicated line and have to build up time to earn more calls, but it's supposed to be easy and pay reasonably well. www.wahm.com has some links.

It is very time consuming and most of the time, you don't get money, you get entered in a drawing for money, so you only get money if they draw your name. Sometimes you get a free product that isn't worth the postage to mail it. I wouldn't waste your time. Your time is much better spent raising your child.

Amen! I've spent AT LEAST 20 hours filling out online surveys. I've received a free sample of Green Giant frozen sugar snap peas (that I had to complete a survey on the quality and taste...it took about 15 or 20 minutes and I had to refer to the number on the box), and a whopping FOUR whole bucks! WOO HOO! Now I'm gonna retire.

Are you saying this about kateful's post? Or responding in general to work-at-home stuff? Cuz I'd like to do it myself and was thinking of checking out the link kateful posted but wanted to be sure, first, that you weren't talking about the answering calls for infomercials being a waste of time.

Thanks

I think she was talking about the surveys.

I agree that the surveys are generally a waste of time. You might try searching for "telecommuting" positions in regular job databases (monster, careerbuilder, craigslist, etc.). I found my last part-time-from-home job on Craigslist, and it worked out well for a while (until the manager got promoted and some jerk took over her position--I only quit because I hated working with him). What I was doing was editing evaluations written by secret shoppers before they got sent to the clients. I don't do it anymore, but I do still perform some secret shops at restaurants myself--I don't get paid for it, technically, but I get fully reimbursed for a fabulous meal for me and my boyfriend (usually at least $50).

Actually, from what I can tell, a lot of the account managers at the company for whom I perform shop evaluations work from home. Maybe try to find a Mystery Shopping company in your area? Of course, like anything else, be careful--anything that requires you pay THEM money in order to do work is a scam!

I'm not sure what your professional background is, but I know there are quite a few editing/writing positions that can work from home. You could maybe even send your resume to local contracting recruiters--I work with recruiters, and if there's anyone who can help you get a job, it's them! And by working on a contract, you always have the option to take time off between contracts if you want.

If you can afford the training, medical transcription is a lucrative work from home business. However, I'm not sure how compatible it would be with an infant in the house. As I understand it, you usually get paid by piece for those jobs.

Oops!

Okay, thanks, just wanted to be sure

Yes, I was talking about surveys only. Sorry for any confusion!!

No problem! Just wanted to clarify

You can find aptitude tests for medical transcription by just searching on the web. You might also see if there are court reporters in your area who outsource their work. I used to type depositions for them, and I have a friend who does actual court transcriptions.

The surveys I've taken are not all they're cracked up to be. They either put you in for a drawing or pay soooooo little. But then, maybe I'm just doing the wrong ones. If you hear of any decent paying ones, let us know....