Money Blue Book

According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a consumer reporting company is officially permitted to list accurate negative information on a consumer’s credit report history for seven years (7) and bankruptcy information for ten (10) years.

Information regarding a lawsuit or judgment against you can be reported for seven years or until the statute of limitation expires, which­ever is longer. There is no time limit on reporting information about crimi­nal convictions, information that is reported in regards to a job application for a salary of more than $75,000 a year, nor is there a time limit on information reported because of an application for $150,000 worth of credit or life insurance. Thus, unless the reported information is otherwise determined and proven to be inaccurate, incorrect or downright fraudulent, negative information on your credit report can only be removed or marginalized through the passage of time.

It’s the job and duty of the credit reporting agencies to store and maintain accurate information about consumers by collecting data from credit granters and public records, including bankruptcies, judgments, and liens. Potentially negative information or remarks, such as missed payments and most public recordations, generally remain on a personal credit report for 7 years, with the exception of Chapters 7, 11 and 12 bankruptcy filings, which remain for 10 years. Unpaid tax liens remain for 15 years while paid tax liens remain for 7 years. Positive information may remain on a report indefinitely, and paid-for closed accounts generally display for 10 years. Requests for your credit history remain on your personal credit report for 2 years.

While the Fair Credit Reporting Act places limits on the time period that negative information such as a bankruptcy filing notation may remain on one’s credit report, the actual time period it will remain will vary depending on the type of bankruptcy filing and whether the bankruptcy procedure was properly discharged, halted, or dismissed. The length of time that a bankruptcy filing stays on the credit record will depend on which one of the two common consumer bankruptcy proceedings was filed - Chapter 7 or Chapter 13:

• Chapter 7 Bankruptcy - Chapter 7 is a type of straight bankruptcy procedure also known as a liquidation proceeding. This type of last resort bankruptcy filing is for those who have little assets or income, and have incurred so much debt that only a complete sell off will properly heal their financial position. Under Chapter 7, the debtor turns over all non exempt property to the bankruptcy trustee who then converts it to cash funds for distribution to the various creditors. The debtor then receives a discharge of all dischargeable debts, usually within four months. In the great majority of Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases, since the debtor had no significant assets to hold onto, the Chapter 7 filing will give that person, who was previously encumbered by crushing debt, a new opportunity at a fresh start. Most major unsecured creditors such as credit card companies hate this form of bankruptcy filing since they stand to lose the majority value of their unsecured debt claim again the debtor upon completion and discharge.

• Chapter 13 Bankruptcy - Chapter 13 is also known as a reorganization bankruptcy and differs from Chapter 7 in that instead of forcing the debtor to sell off nearly all of his or her possessions, it affords the filer the opportunity to keep most them and enter into a court mandated payment plan. From the start of filing, the Chapter 13 bankruptcy debt restructuring process takes over a period of three to five years. This type of bankruptcy appeals to individuals who have non-exempt property that they want to keep and is the preferred choice for people who are struggling with the burden of debt but still have the income or assets to cover some payment obligations. For individuals who maintain a predictable income stream and whose income is sufficient to pay reasonable expenses with some amount left over to pay off their debts, this is their only bankruptcy option.

Notwithstanding the FCRA, The Big Credit Reporting Agencies Have Customary Policies Of Reporting Chapter 7 Filings For Ten (10) Years and Chapter 13 Filings For Seven (7) Years

Although the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act does provide that bankruptcy notations can remain on your credit report for 10 years, most creditors will only leave a chapter 13 bankruptcy on your record for 7 years from the time of filing, instead of the 10 year maximum. They do this primarily to encourage people to pay part of their debts rather than discharge everything under a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing. Since a Chapter 13 debt repayment process typically takes 3 to 5 years to complete, the bankruptcy notation on your credit report likely won’t be removed until 2 to 4 years after the debt repayment procedure has been fulfilled and properly discharged to the bankruptcy court’s satisfaction.

Despite some reported online information to the contrary, the reports that Chapter 13 reorganization bankruptcy appears on one’s credit report history for a period of 7 years from the date the case is completed and discharged, and that there may be a cloud of bankruptcy for 12 years from filing, such indications are categorically false. The 7 year reporting period is from the date of Chapter 13 filing, not from the date the several year Chapter 13 process is completed. The bankruptcy discharge date has no bearing or effect on when the bankruptcy filing information expires and is expunged from the credit report.

This cloud of Chapter 13 bankruptcy debate is obviously less applicable to Chapter 7 filings due to the comparatively quicker speed and pace at which Chapter 7 liquidation proceedings are usually completed.

There Is Less Reporting Consistency When Bankruptcy Filings Are Dismissed By The Court Or Filer, Without A Proper Discharge

Not all Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings successfully run their course and get discharged by the bankruptcy court. Sometimes, the court can dismiss a bankruptcy case, the trustee can request dismissal, or the debtor can file a voluntary dismissal for various reasons. Regardless of stoppage method, a bankruptcy dismissal derails the bankruptcy petition and procedure, and eliminates the automatic stay provision of bankruptcy where creditors are forced aside while the bankruptcy court assumes control. Without the automatic stay protection, creditors are able to once again resume collection activities against the debtor.

But despite the dismissal itself which is required to be recorded on all credit reports, the original bankruptcy filing will continue to remain on the filer’s credit history for a certain period of time. One thing to note is that creditors and credit bureaus report bankruptcy dismissals differently - the time period can be anywhere from seven to ten years. That said, most other negative data and remarks on your credit report do drop off after seven years from when it was placed on the report. Here is how the big three credit reporting agencies treat subsequently dismissed bankruptcy filings:

• Experian - The Experian credit reporting agency doesn’t list bankruptcy dismissals as a separate reporting item. On its frequently asked questions page, Experian indicates that: “Missed payments and most public record items remain on the credit report for seven years, with the exception of Chapter 7, 11 and 12 bankruptcies, which remain for 10 years, and unpaid tax liens, which remain for 15 years.” Thus the indication is that Experian reports all Chapter 7 filings, whether properly completed and discharged, or whether abruptly dismissed, for a period of 10 years. All Chapter 13 filings, whether discharged or dismissed appear to be reported for seven years (7) from the date of filing.

• TransUnion - Trans Union material on its website indicates that the typical retention period for Chapter 13 bankruptcies that have been either dismissed or discharged remain on file for seven (7) years.

• Equifax - On its website, Equifax states that it keeps in its credit reports all dismissed Chapter 13 filings for ten (10) years from the date filed. Discharged Chapter 13 filings on the other hand are only reported for seven (7) years from the date filed.

Of the big three credit reporting bureaus of Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax, it appears that only Equifax reports dismissed Chapter 13 filings for ten years. The other two report dismissed Chapter 13 filings for only seven years. Because the credit reporting agencies receive and report their data independently of each other, there’s always bound to be some differences in their information retention and reporting policies. Be sure to check your free credit report and free FICO credit score on a regular basis - preferably at least once or twice a year. You want to catch accidental errors, mistakes, or even fraudulent transactions before they ever get out of hand.

While Bankruptcy Filings Represent A Detrimental Mark On Your Long Term Credit Reporting History, It’s Not The End Of The World, And The Negative Effects Do Fade With The Passage Of Time

These days, just because someone has to file for bankruptcy protection doesn’t necessarily mean the person is broke. Bankruptcy can occur for many reasons, and it’s certainly not always the fault of the person who borrowed money in the first place. There are a variety of unforeseen situations and life emergencies that may cause one to file for bankruptcy including persistent unemployment, sudden illness or injury in the family, or simply the inexperienced use of certain financial instruments like credit cards. The reality that consumers must recognize is that bankruptcy is not the cure all for financial distress or ailments, but should be regarded as a small part of an overall strategy to financial and fiscal stability. Bankruptcy will help you keep the creditors off your back and get you on your own financial feet again, but it’s important to acknowledge that there are long term repercussions to such a filing. But at the same time, it’s also important to know that your business and consumer life won’t just end with a one time filing for bankruptcy help.

With the passage of time, the negative reputation that follows filers of bankruptcy fades, weakens, and becomes less pronounced. Your credit rating will unlikely remain low for the entire time that the bankruptcy information remains on your credit report, and will more likely than not gradually rise over time. Credit scoring takes into account the age of the derogatory stain, and gradually discounts the value of that information the older it is. Therefore, the more time that passes the less effect the bankruptcy mark will have on your credit score. Thus after bankruptcy discharge, a two year old bankruptcy will likely mean more to potential future creditors than a five year old bankruptcy because creditors are primarily interested in present financial circumstances. If one’s debt to income ratio is much improved from past years, the negative effect of a prior bankruptcy is likely going to be minimized. So keep in mind that negative history on your credit report is just that - history. It’s just something credit lenders will take into consideration when they evaluate your overall credit worthiness in the future. It does not doom you to perpetual credit rejection or credit purgatory, but it will challenge and should embolden you to strengthen your financial future by saving and using credit more carefully.

The truth and oddity of it all is that the bankruptcy debtor will probably be a much better credit risk and more credit worthy after bankruptcy than before the filing. Some have suggested that the effect of bankruptcy on one’s ability to obtain future credit is vastly overstated and on some level I have to agree. While your past credit reporting history has a significant effect on how potential creditors perceive you as a possible credit risk after bankruptcy discharge, the key to getting credit also has to do with your present income situation as well. If you have a decent job with good present income, creditors will likely be willing to look past your credit report to the contents of your wallet if possible. Even with a bankruptcy on one’s record, it may still be very possible to get loans for new cars and new credit cards, or even a mortgage for a new house. Creditors may not offer you the best rate, but if you have good present income, even a person with an active bankruptcy filing mark on their credit report can still get the credit they want in many cases. Of course this will depend on the condition of the overall credit market. In super tight credit markets, lenders may be less inclined to assume any type of financial risk that may remotely be construed as questionable.

Another reason why former bankruptcy filers strangely become more attractive to certain creditors after emerging from bankruptcy protection is that creditors know that the former debtor is precluded from filing again for many years.

A Chapter 13 bankruptcy can only be filed again if:

• The debtor received a bankruptcy discharge under Chapter 7 more than four years ago, or
• The debtor received a bankruptcy discharge under Chapter 13 more than two years ago.

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy can only be filed again if:

• It has been more than eight years since the debtor filed the previous Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Because creditors are keenly aware of the bankruptcy filing limitations after discharge, it helps to explain why former and recent bankruptcy filers often see new credit card applications arrive at their doorsteps very soon after bankruptcy emergence. My advice is to avoid all new credit card and loan applications altogether until you can get back on proper financial footing and develop a more mature perspective on managing credit and debt obligations.

Have you tried out the Capital One Card Lab program from Capital One credit cards yet? It allows you to build your own custom credit card using a pretty nifty online gadget. This novel web based feature from Capital One represents a promising shift and emerging trend in the credit card business towards providing customers more control and choice over the credit card selection process - by allowing them to create and set the terms and conditions of their credit card rewards and promotional offers. This is a growing movement that I hope is ultimately picked up by the other top credit card companies like Citibank, Chase, American Express, and Discover as well.

While credit cards and financial services in general have a history and reputation of being dry, complex, and frequently confusing, Capital One’s new Card Lab online tool tries to make the application and selection process more entertaining and engaging, while still staying informatively functional at its core. The company’s improved workshop tool gives customers a glimpse at the future of credit card creation, personalization, and customization. Through its convenient Card Lab website, users and prospective customers are given full informational control of the online application cycle, as the site offers interactive tools that permit them to select from a menu of credit card interest rate terms and rebate rewards to build their own unique credit card program to meet their needs. By providing consumers greater control and manipulative access to all card variations and reward terms in a way that is accessible and organized, the Card Lab program enables them to make more informed and financially responsible choices.

The Attraction and Appeal Of The Capital One Card Lab Stems From Its Interactive Power to Create Something To Call Your Own

The Capital One Credit Card Lab website offers an array of customization options related to interest rate, annual fee, cash back rebates, airline miles rewards, promotional balance transfer offers, and even the print design on the plastic card face. The graphically driven and interactive Capital One card selection tool allows consumers to select the combination of card features that are most important to them and provides an experience that even has an element of fun. The company’s attempts to market the Capital One Card Lab as an entertaining financial product selection tool is certainly evident in the way it has been promoting the tool through humorous television commercials and print advertising. While the Capital One Card Lab commercials still tout the obligatory and catchy Capital One “What’s In Your Wallet” slogan, one of the goofier Card Lab commercials features a decked out evil galactic empire space ruler and his backdrop army of red robotic soldiers standing at the ready and preparing to exercise the new found triumph and power to create one’s own custom Capital One credit card, complete with a picture - of all things, kittens. The quirky request prompts his crazy eyed cyborg sidekick to inquisitively exclaim “War kittens”?! With commercials like that, Capital One is obviously attempting to inject some light-heartedness and fun into the do it yourself build-a-card experience.

The Capital One Card Lab Gets High Marks For Allowing Credit Card Users To Build Their Own Unique Cards, Complete With The Option To Add Their Own Images

If you take a look at how companies are changing the way they do business these days, it’s not hard to see that the newest emerging tend is geared towards offering the ability to customize and personalize. Companies are finally starting to realize that one size does not always fit all and that it can be more profitable for them to market customizable variations rather than trying to pigeon hole one type to fit everyone. Because people are different, what may be suitable for one individual or lifestyle may not be the most appropriate package for another. For example, when it comes to credit card offers, I personally prefer reward credit cards that provide cash back rebates, airline miles rewards, or some other form of high percentage back purchase incentive. Of course the downside is that reward credit cards tend to impose higher interest rates than non-reward credit cards, but it’s a tradeoff I recognize and accept. But at the same time, not everyone is interested in purchase rebate rewards. Some are content with not having any purchase incentives, and prefer the peace of mind of having a fixed low interest rate credit card. Others seek card offers for the credit card sign up promotions that they offer exclusively, while others look to credit cards as a potential source of interest free loans through balance transfer offers. Some consumers actually care what the design and color of their plastic card looks like, while other couldn’t care less. The concept of different strokes for different folks is very true - which makes the ability to build your own credit card a very attractive option. After all, vehicle manufacturers already allow us to go online and design our custom dream cars, complete with optimized color and features, and online music stores already allow us to pick and choose our individual songs rather than have to purchase an entire music album - so why not credit cards?

The functional and marketing appeal of Capital One’s Card Lab is rather ingenious if you think about it. While the Card Lab site may seen a bit whimsical and silly with its interactive graphics and functions, the company truly understands that the best way to build prospective customers into loyal and active card users is to get them to develop an emotional bond or attachment to a particular product so that they’ll want to use it over the other credit card options sitting in their wallets. Frequently this emotional and personal attachment comes from having had a hand in the product or service’s creation.

I remember when I designed and customized my very first own vehicle using the manufacturer’s online web tool before visiting the car dealership to purchase it. When I finally bought it, there was something very personal and unique about the car that I wouldn’t have been able to feel if I was merely told the car came in only one style, with no distinctive accessories or additions, and only in one color choice - like one of those old black Model T Fords in the old days. Similarly, I remember back when I was a freshman in college and stumbled upon an online application for a Garfield cartoon branded credit card that I decided to apply for. While the card offered no significant reward benefits or provided any special interest rate offer, I was still intrigued and got a kick out of carrying around a Garfield adorned card. Everytime I pulled the credit card out at the supermarket, the person operating the cash register would always smile and make a pleasant remark about it. The Garfield card certainly got noticed. While there was nothing particularly special about the card other than having a big Garfield cartoon picture on the face of it, I felt unique and differentiated by just having it.

The Capital One Card Lab Tool Also Gets Positive Reviews For Its Interactivity and Ability To Easily Mix and Match Credit Card Offers

One of my big likes about the Capital One Card Lab program is the ability to easily sort through all available Capital One credit card offers with a few clicks of the mouse. Simply by selecting a few card features, the user gets to see how their give or take selection of certain preferred options affect the ability to have other card features. The Capital One Card Lab offers a whole new area of credit card transparency and financial awareness for consumers, enabling them to see in real time the trade-offs that are necessary to create the credit card that works for them. As choices are made, the Card Lab tool narrows the options in the remaining categories, eliminating options that don’t work together. For example, consumers who are willing to select higher interest rates may be entitled to higher cash back reward percentages for purchases, and those who are willing to pay a small annual fee can earn rewards and frequent flyer airline miles faster. The Capital One Card Lab also provides important education into key credit card account terms while the applicant moves along the process. By proceeding through the step by step selection program, card applicants are given the interactive and important opportunity to understand the key trade offs to the choices they make.

To start making your own custom Capital One credit card with Card Lab, just hit the “Get Started” link, and you’ll start the design process. Based on your FICO credit score, first select your credit level among “Excellent”, “Above Average”, “Needs Improvement”, and “Limited History”. Then, you can choose from the following card features: “Basic Rewards”, “Additional Rewards”, “Introductory APR on Purchases”, “APR on Balance Transfers”, “Annual Percentage Rate (APR)”, and “Annual Fee”. As you click on various options, you’ll notice that the option selection process is an inherent give or take as certain more lucrative rebate rewards will result in certain other offers being moved off the table. You can certainly try to create the world’s best credit card offer by choosing all the best rewards and credit card promotions to its maximum potential, but not surprisingly, you won’t be able to select a super credit card offer featuring 2% cash back for all purchases with double 2x rewards for gas, groceries, and travel, with a 12 month 0% APR balance transfer and purchase period, with 6.9% APR, and no annual fee. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to try and you can always play around with the Capital One Card Lab to see what options preclude what features.

Note that all of your card choices will obviously come with the standard and usual Capital One credit card benefits such as having no foreign currency transaction fee, regardless of what Card Lab features you select. Capital One is one of only a tiny number of major credit card issuers that don’t charge foreign currency fees for transactions made overseas and abroad. All of the other major issuers including Citibank, Chase, and American Express levy them to different degrees.

Finally, after having selected your card reward features and satisfied your what-if curiosity through the mix and matching card selection process, the most interesting and perhaps most attractive credit card customization feature of the Capital One Card Lab is the ability to choose the custom image or graphical design that will be printed on your new plastic card. The graphic isn’t just a tiny photo of your face that appears on some Citibank Platinum credit cards, but rather encompasses the entire face of the card. While the program currently requires applicants to get approved for their Capital One credit card before they can send in their own custom card design to be printed on their card, the company is actively working towards allowing customers the ability to upload their own images onto the credit card right from the start during the application process. Can you imagine the variety of custom photos, graphics, and designs you could put on it? You could put a family portrait photo shot on your new Capital One credit card or you could put an image of your beloved pet dog, cat, or parrot on it - anything that suits your fancy. All of these customization tools and educational features of the Card Lab process certainly will help the company go a long way in building long term customer loyalty and confidence.

While Having The Complete Freedom Of Options And Power To Build Your Own Credit Card Offer Can Be Overwhelming and Hassling For Some, The Capital One Card Lab Does A Good Job Of Making It Easy

Personally, I love having a lot of choices at my disposal, but at the same time, I understand why certain people might not welcome an interactive tool that features the ability to maximize and customize. The Capital One Card Lab software does take a little bit of tinkering around to figure out what program offer works the best for you. While I already understand the tradeoff system inherent in all credit card terms and already know what type of rebate rewards I seek in my ideal credit card offer, many don’t. One can liken it to standing in front of the toothpaste, soap, or shampoo section at the supermarket. The wealth and variety of personal hygiene products, brands, and terminologies at your local grocery store shelf can be a bit mind boggling at times. Sometimes having too many options can make the selection process for the perfect product a bit daunting. While I think the Capital One Card Lab does a very good job of organizing all of their card offer options into an easily accessible and mildly amusing interactive program for consumers, I suppose there will always be some lazy people (like my brother) who prefer to have their standard credit card options narrowed down to a recommended few and essentially handed to them.

Updated List Of The Top 10 Best Work From Home Paid Survey Offers Below

Ever since college, I’ve continuously exposed myself to a wide array of get rich quick schemes and online money making gimmicks. The majority of my hobby-esque efforts have primarily been for entertainment and informational purposes. While many of the online offers that I pursued and researched back then ultimately turned out to be fraudulent scams or fruitless endeavors, a handful of them have proved to be reliable and consistent money making methods over the years. One of the ways I used to make some extra money on the side and still work from home was by getting paid to fill out online surveys. Back when I was a college student, online surveys were an easy way to generate a few dollars here and there for extra cash and gift card rewards. Today, I still get paid to take online surveys but I’ve learned to manage them more efficiently and learned to fill them out substantially quicker than I used to. Nowadays, a 30 minute online paid survey usually only takes me a matter of 5 minutes to scan and rapidly click through.

While I work full time now, I still enjoy the little bits of part time income I generate with these paid online surveys. These survey money making offers are best suited for certain work at home types such as: stay at home moms, college students looking for extra spending cash, or working professionals like myself looking to kill some time and make money doing it. I complete most of my occasional paid online surveys quickly at work between lunch breaks or I knock out a few qualifying offers on my laptop when I’m lounging around at home like a couch potato, watching a football game or during television commercials. Most of the time I redeem the survey completion reward points for either cash or I exchange them for gift cards to frequently visited places like Starbucks or Amazon.com. While taking surveys isn’t exactly the most productive way to spend my time, I liken the practice to the same way that some people might choose to spend their spare time playing video games or enjoying a TV show. None of these habits are particularly productive in the business or financial sense, and they are all performed for purely entertainment purposes. But rather than sitting there passively watching television shows or playing computer games, I prefer to spend my bored time by engaging in hobby type activities that generate a little side income.

What Are Paid Online Surveys, And Why Are The Marketing Research Companies Willing To Pay Consumers Money To Fill Out Survey Questionnaires?

The business aspect of surveys has always been around, but the Internet has revolutionized the way they are now being conducted. It used to be that surveys had to be performed in person through a live focus group exchange or had to be transmitted through the postal service using snail mail means. However, the Internet has changed all that and improved upon the speed and the way market research may now be performed and compiled. While many of the big companies and retailers in the world still perform their own in-house research into the consumption and usage habits of consumers to build and brand their products and services, oftentimes, these companies must solicit the aggregate views of larger sample sizes to better hone their research results and improve upon their brand’s appeal to whatever population demographic they are trying to target. This usually requires that they outsource some research work to third party market research companies that are better equipped to handle mass survey research projects. This is where you and I come in - as ordinary consumers and potential opt-in survey participants.

As ordinary members of the population, we all have different likes and dislikes when it comes to certain products, brands, companies, and services. The online survey companies are out to inquire and gather all this public opinion information to better assess the views and preferences of the American and world population when it comes to such consumerism matters. The product development and service promotion choices and strategies of these billionaire dollar mega corporations depend on the views and whims of their target customers - you and I. Because of this need for public opinion information, market research firms are willing to pay consumers like us a reasonable amount of money to answer some of their market research related questions on a regular basis. It’s not a job interview and it’s most certainly not something anyone has to worry about getting trapped into participating. Even after registering and agreement to be a willing online survey panel participant, you are always free to back out. You can always subsequently ignore the paid survey offers you receive for whatever reason. If you refuse to later take part, the company will just turn to another voluntary opt-in participant in the target sample. Of course, you also won’t get paid for any online surveys you don’t adequately complete.

What Type Of Payment Incentives Do Free Paid Survey Sites Offer, and Is It Possible To Get Rich Filling Out These Internet Surveys?

Usually the paid survey research sites pay you after each completed survey offer. Some firms will issue you a check or PayPal cash deposit for the qualified amount immediately, while others will offer you survey reward points that can be accrued in your accessible online account and later redeemed for cash rewards, gift card prizes, or free merchandise. The gift card and product rewards can be anything from popular Amazon gift cards to various electronic gadgets. Obviously the bigger the merchandise, the more survey points you’ll need to redeem. When a survey offer is proposed to you, sometimes the offer will expressly indicate the proposed payment amount, say $5.00 upon completion, while other times it may indicate that completion will only result in an entry into some prize drawing in the future. Personally, my advice is to avoid all paid survey links that want to reward you with useless sweepstakes drawings. The chances of willing one of those prizes are slim and you are much better off focusing on surveys that reward you with cold hard cash or redeemable reward points upon completion.

One thing to make clear is that no one should expect to make a lot of money or get rich quickly by filling out online surveys. Remember, you’re just taking online surveys - not performing expensive open heart surgery for someone. No one is going to retire from the income they earn or be able to make a full time living from taking online surveys. The survey money you get paid for is meant to be a part time supplement to your existing day job salary. However, if you’re determined to make a lot of money from paid online surveys, it is theoretically possible to make $2,000 or even upwards of $3,000 a year if you register with multiple online survey sites and actively engage in all survey offers that are sent to you. If you are a member of a demographic that is actively targeted by survey companies, you may luck out with more paid survey chances - it all depends what demographic types businesses are interested in knowing more about during their Internet marketing research trials. However, you’ll also have to be a pretty prolific and fast survey census taker to hit the money jackpot. For most people (99.9% of everyone else there), it’s best not to see this as some career, but rather as a way to generate some stress free profits by working from home. Your online paid survey income may help pay for a few expensive family restaurant dinner outings or help subsidize the cost of gifts at Christmas time - but that’s pretty much all you should really expect from doing them.

The payout amount that is offered differs among online survey sites and also differs depending on the difficulty and length of time it takes to complete an individual survey. The most lucrative online surveys can pay as much as $20-50 each, but these usually require a substantial amount of time and effort to complete - be prepared to spend upwards of 1-3 hours for these high payout offers. Oftentimes the highest pay out surveys will require the participant to appear at least once for a live online discussion format where the survey taker will be required to log into an online site and actually engage in a moderated Internet chat discussion with other panel members. Through these online discussion and chat formats, the survey researchers will usually probe and ask direct questions about the opinions and viewpoints of participants in regards to whatever consumer product or service they are researching for.

But in the vast majority of paid online survey cases, payouts will likely be less than a $1 for each completed survey. The lower payout offers usually only take a few minutes to complete but if you are able to fill them out quickly and efficiently, the monetary amounts do add up quickly. Keep in mind that many paid survey companies issue payment in the form of reward points. Your final cash payment or merchandise redemption value will depend on how many high value surveys you ultimately complete.

How Do I Participate and Get Paid Cash For Online Paid Surveys, and What Type Of Questions Do The Paid Survey Sites Ask?

To start receiving free survey opportunities, you’ll need to register yourself with some of the more reputable paid online survey sites. While there are literally thousands of survey companies on the world wide web, I’ve listed the links of the ones I’ve had the best and most reliable experience with below. Remember to examine their individual terms and conditions before registering. Most of the survey site links will require that you submit your name, and basic contact info such as your address, phone number, and email information. Usually they will also request for additional demographic data such as your age, gender, and race. The site registration process will usually also go through a brief introductory questionnaire to figure out what you like, dislike, or have experience with in regards to all aspects of ordinary consumer life. This information is important because it helps the researchers build your survey profile, which is used to determine whether you qualify for particular survey offers or not. Your qualification for certain surveys will always depend on what the Internet marketing research company is looking for at that particular time.

The email address you provide during the application process is particularly important because your provided email address will be the survey sites’ primary method of contacting you about paid survey offers. Be sure to provide an email address that you intend to check regularly and don’t mind receiving extra mail messages on. While most of the legit online opt-in survey sites will never send you unsolicited spam or messages without your authorization, to make money with paid surveys, you’ll inevitably need to agree to receive an influx of regular email offers. Particularly if you register with multiple survey companies, expect to receive more email traffic than you’re used to receiving. Each survey notification email will usually provide a clickable link to the online survey questionnaire, embedded with tracking information to make sure you are ultimately paid for upon completion.

The type of paid survey questions asked will always depend on what the requesting company is looking for, but just about everything under the sun relating to commerce, business, and consumer spending habits will be fair game. You may be asked about your dining habits, culinary preferences, what type of soap you’re using, whether you’re looking to buy a new car, or whether you are currently suffering from any physical medical conditions that necessitate the use of certain prescription medications. I’ve noticed that one particularly high paying survey subject matter is the health related niche. If you have high blood pressure, diabetes, or any other health condition, you will likely be sought after by prescription drug companies looking to get your online survey opinion about various treatment solutions. The frequency and demand of your survey services will really depend on your age group, profession, hobbies, interests, and the particulars of your personal demographics. Usually the surveys are comprised of basic text based online questionnaires, but sometimes you may be asked to watch a new product commercial or a movie trailer, or you may be asked to look at a new restaurant menu plan or magazine print advertisement, and then later instructed to fill out a questionnaire about what you liked or didn’t like. Most of the time it’s just a matter of clicking a quick yes or no, or stating your opinion using a sliding scale.

While not as frequent as email surveys, sometimes you may also be sent free household products and electronic merchandise in the mail for your review and opinion. I’ve been sent everything from shampoo bottles, to snack crackers, to razors, shaving cream, to iPod ear buds, to even a pack of experimental condoms for my use and review. The products are almost always new beta trial products not currently yet in the market place that some company is still working on perfecting or figuring out how to properly advertise. Most of them don’t even have proper product labels on them yet, usually with only a serial number sticker affixed. Receiving product review surveys in the mail is probably my favorite paid survey opportunity. The best part is that you get to keep the products after you fill out and return the survey questionnaires that accompany them. Even if you get lazy and don’t respond by filling out the accompanying product surveys, you still get to keep the free products sent to you. For me, there’s always something terribly exciting about trying out a new retail product that no one has yet seen or used in the marketplace. It’s nice to know that my survey opinion may actually make a difference in shaping how these brands and companies ultimately market and perfect their products.

My advice on improving your paid survey taking strategy is to say yes to everything and express interest for all subject matters - every product, every service - everything. If you are looking to game the survey system and maximize the amount of money you make from online paid surveys, your best bet is to qualify yourself for as many survey criteria as possible. By not expressing any dislike or lack of experience with anything, you greatly increase your survey qualification chances during the profile building process. Keep in mind that certain demographics (such as home owners) tend to get lots of extra survey opportunities that others don’t qualify for. There are a lot of home owner type surveys regarding home improvement appliances that only those that represented themselves out to be owners of a house or condo will qualify for. (Hint-Hint. Wink-Wink)

How Do I Find The Legitimate Paid Online Survey Websites and Avoid Falling For An Online Survey Scam?

As I mentioned earlier, there are literally thousands of paid online survey sites and services out there. However, the vast majority tend to be scam and disreputable sites that either have questionable membership fee policies or simply don’t have sufficient survey business in their pipeline to make registering with them worth your time as the consumer. The ones that are legitimate and trustworthy tend to be established market research firms that have been around for a long time, and have built up solid track records of providing reliable payouts to survey participants along with providing steady and guaranteed streams of paid survey work for registrants.

There are plenty of free paid survey links and services on the web. There is never a need to resort to paying anyone or any online company for the right to use their database list of survey offers. While certain disreputable sites will attempt to sucker you in by advertising that they offer the highest payouts for surveys and that access to their exclusive list will be worth the membership fee you pay upfront, the fact of the matter is that most of these lists are absolutely useless. There is no reason for you to pay the survey research company the right to take their online surveys. Remember, they are supposed to pay you to take their Internet surveys, not the other way around. Don’t fall for any of these membership fee survey scams. If they ask for a membership charge or a registration fee upfront, run the other way.

As for those who are worried about getting their email accounts spammed to death, remember that reputable online paid survey companies do not spam or send unsolicited messages. Most will only send you survey notification email reminders upon your request. Should you ever find the influx of survey offers too overwhelming, as I have a few times before in the past, you can simply log onto your online survey account and unsubscribe temporarily, or even permanently.

To recap, remember, to fully maximize your paid survey opportunities and make money with paid surveys, you ought to register with as many reputable online survey companies as possible. You can always turn off email notifications or unsubscribe thereafter but by applying, you open yourself up to paid survey chances. To increase your survey qualification opportunities, you should express interest in everything and check your email routinely for daily and weekly survey offers. Upon receiving one, you should complete the paid online survey as soon as possible assuming you have the time to do so. Don’t put off any high value survey offers for later because the highest paying surveys tend to expire quickly after a certain number of participants have been selected. Also, you should avoid all survey offers that only provide you a sweepstakes entry or prize drawing ticket for survey completion. Stick with only cash and reward point survey offers.

Reviews Of The Best Sites To Make Money Online With Paid Surveys, Based On My Experience (All Are Free To Join):

1) NFO My Survey - Of all the top paid online survey companies out there, the National Family Opinion MySurvey site is probably my favorite one. Their website is easily accessible and their survey payouts are pretty good. They’ve provided me a steady stream of paid survey opportunities regularly on a wide array of interesting topics for some time now. My Survey is one of the best and biggest online research companies on the Internet. The company uses a point system for survey completion rewards and issues payout when you’ve reached the point equivalent of $10. Points can be redeemed for a variety of options from cash to gift cards, and you can even earn extra points for referring friends. I’ve also received household cleaning supplies and various food products (e.g. experimental potato chips), from them before for product panel related reviews. The proven company is great at keeping its survey takers busy and earning paid survey income.

2) Survey Savvy - Survey Savvy is definitely one of my best paid survey sites and a pretty highly promoted program by most people due to its nice recurring direct and indirect referral program. Not only can you earn the usual payout for your own completed surveys, you can also earn $2.00 for every survey your direct referral takes and yet another $1.00 for every survey taken by their referrals. The trickle down referral system makes it one of the best paid survey choices to make money and get paid, particularly if you refer many of your friends and family members. Survey offer frequency is average but payout is quite good. Of course, coupled with the referral system, your Survey Savvy paid income will probably end up being quite lucrative.

3) Greenfield Online - Greenfield Online, which acquired Go-Zing, offers survey participants cash or an entry in their reward sweepstakes for completed survey offers. Survey registrants are advised to bypass all survey offers that provide only prize drawing entries and go only for those that provide actual cash money for survey qualification and completion. Greenfield Online keeps its participants very busy with plenty of paid survey opportunities, but keep in mind, participants may not always qualify for all survey offers depending on their demographic details.

4) Synovate - The Synovate Global Opinion Panel pays cash for completed surveys. The company sends out a reasonable number of regular paid surveys and survey payout is decent and comparable to that offered by other online research firms. Once in a while I get a few nice and long $10 surveys from Synovate. I’ve also received a few products from them for review before - mostly soap and shower products.

5) Lightspeed Consumer Panel - The Lightspeed consumer survey company rewards you with points for completed surveys and product reviews that can be later exchanged for cash, gift certificates and other prizes. Lightspeed is pretty active in sending out surveys and it’s easy to rack up reward points quickly based on my recent experience with the company. The survey payouts are a bit lower than I would like but the lower pay rate is made up by the extra high frequency at which they send out potential offers. Most of their paid surveys are easy to fill out and for experienced survey takers, they’re a piece of cake to rapidly complete. Just click like crazy.

6) American Consumer Opinion Panel - The American Consumer Opinion Panel, or ACOP as it’s commonly called, is a paid survey favorite of mine due to the rapid speed at which the company issues out compensation checks for completed surveys. ACOP issues checks for completed surveys that range anywhere from $4 to $20 depending on the length, qualification requirements, and nature of the survey. Online focus group surveys almost always pay much more - between $25 and $50, but those types of offers are infrequent and more difficult to qualify for.

7) Ipsos I Say - Despite its semi-weird name, Ipsos is one of the major marketing research firms in the world. In my opinion, the best benefit and lure of this online survey company is the chance to receive product reviews as many of its regular text based online surveys tend to only offer prize drawing related payouts. Ipsos is a nice paid survey company to register with if you’re interested in occasionally receiving freebies and test products to review.

8) Global Test Market - The Global Test Market company offers Market Points for competed surveys and sends out survey opportunities quite frequently for both American and international survey registrants. While the cash out level of the reward point equivalent of $50 is higher than that required by other paid survey providers, they make up for it by sending participants a lot of paid survey chances with respectable payouts. Even if you don’t qualify for an offer that is sent to you, you still get to earn some points for merely looking at it. Most of their surveys are not too long, and are varied enough to not bore you to tears as you click away at the check boxes.

9) My Points - This company is not really a dedicated paid survey company but it does offer paid surveys as part of its reward earning program. MyPoints offers a wealth of ways to earn reward points for future prize and merchandise redemption. You can earn them by completing surveys (SurveyMail), reading e-mail advertisements (BonusMail), or signing up for online trial offers. I highly recommend avoiding the trial offer route unless you really are interested in the offers. You are better off sticking with Survey Mail and Bonus Mail opportunities to earn reward points. Survey Mail is just your usual get paid to fill out surveys option, while Bonus Mail is basically a way for you to get paid to read spam emails.

10) Pinecone Research - The Pinecone Research survey company is noted for its extremely elusive and almost secretive nature. They are very selective in who they accept into their survey program. It’s great if you’re in because they provide you quality survey opportunities, but it’s bad if you want in and can’t find their membership application page. Pinecone program recruitment opportunities usually appear as advertisement banner links placed unpredictably on various relevant sites and blogs. Currently they do not recruit new members directly through their website. You can try visiting their main homepage, but good luck trying to find their sign up page - it’s non existent. While an active Pinecone registration link may not always be available, I will update this particular sign up link with a working Pinecone referral link whenever possible. The Pinecone Research payout rate is a set $3 per completed survey. Paid survey chances are steady and the company is known for prompt payouts - via either PayPal or check, depending on your selected payment method.

There seems to be a trend among online finance and frugality commentators to share their personal frugal meal solutions. Some have gone so far as to post step by step instructional guides on how to put together simple peanut butter sandwiches, or compiled detailed cost analyses of the ham and cheese brown bag lunch making process. I think these simple and frugal lunch plans are excellent how-to’s for people like myself who are clumsy clowns in the kitchen. Single guys such as I are notoriously bad cooks. I think my lack of any real cooking ability simply is a byproduct of my single man laziness prowess, lack of hand skills when it comes to culinary creations, and overall personal opinion that cooking for one is too inefficient to even bother with. Thus far I’ve tried supermarket salad bars, Chinese carry out, Thai food take out, prepackaged frozen meals, microwave TV dinners, and the occasional home made steak, but my options always seem to boil down to eating ready made food or dining out (a particularly expensive habit). While I do try to find ways to save money by utilizing restaurant credit cards to earn cash back and rebate discount rewards when I dine out, the reality is that eating out is almost always more expensive and usually less healthy than preparing your own food at home.

Cooking and Preparing a Meal At Home Isn’t Easy For Busy Single Guys (Or Gals) On The Go Who Lack Speedy Cooking Skills

While I’m sure most amateur Iron Chefs out there may simply suggest that I take the effort to go buy groceries regularly and learn to cook home meals for myself, I’m also fairly sure most of the individuals that would suggest that are either married, or have jobs that allow them to spend time grocery shopping and cooking actual complete meals. Much of my life is on the go and oftentimes I simply don’t have the time to buy the ingredients needed to cook proper meals on a regular basis. If I had a family, a wife, and kids, I might be more motivated to do so, but when it’s just one person, it just doesn’t seem as cost or time efficient to do so. I did try cooking for a while, but each meal took too much time and oftentimes the vegetables that I purchased for use later expired by the time I got around to using them all. I have been told by friends and family that I’m very much the stereotypical single bachelor in his late 20’s - adequately knowledgeable about financial and technological matters, but absolute butterfingers in the kitchen. While my long term food strategy is to marry a girl who knows how to cook like a pro and keep me well fed with hot meals, my short term meal solution is to continue to find shortcut ways to assemble a reasonable balance between speed, taste, and nutrition.

I’ve tried the sandwich route, eating cheap ramen, frozen pizza, Chinese dumplings, and even cooking steak in the oven, but the truth of the matter is that none of these meal choices are remotely healthy. All they do is increase my sodium and saturated fat intake, thereby increasing my blood pressure count and making me feel sluggish, as well as causing me to grow a very slight belly pooch. Most instant food products contain high fat, high sodium, lots of calories, and offer little nutritional value in return. Even the common lunch meats that many commentators seem to speak so glowingly about are actually very unhealthy as they are quite high in sodium, fat content, and artificial preservatives.

Eating Vegetarian Meatless Burgers and Food Products Is My New Quick and Healthy Food Solution

However, recently I discovered a culinary lifesaver for single guys like myself - Boca burgers, from Kraft Foods! Actually, the terminology should probably be - vegetarian prepackaged frozen foods. As a little side clarification, I’m no anti-meat PETA fanatic. I’m a hearty beef, pork, and fish eater, who enjoys a nice juicy medium well done steak or hamburger patty off the barbecue grill as much as the next guy. While I do love the taste of genuine meat, I can still appreciate the overall health benefits of vegetarian food products that are often vegetable, grain, and soy protein based. While I’m not a health nut, I do try my best to focus on healthier foods when I can by increasing protein and fiber intake while limiting saturated fat, processed sugar, and sodium consumption.

One particular ingredient that is frequently found in vegetarian imitation meat products like the Boca food line is soy protein. Soy is a very healthy ingredient most commonly found in tofu, and is usually more nutritious and high in fiber than most meat products. While I love burgers, cutting down on red meat has been said to have appreciable health benefits, as over-consumptions has been tentatively linked to higher risk levels of colon cancer. Since I’m a pretty thin guy with a high metabolism, I don’t usually pay attention to caloric nutritional content, but I do pay extra notice to sodium, fat, and nutritional fiber percentages. The last time I had my physical exam and complete blood work done, my doctor advised me to consume more fiber. While I was otherwise very healthy, she suggested that I could benefit from an increased consumption of certain grains and vegetables high in dietary fiber. My purpose of eating vegetarian inspired burgers and sandwich products is to cut down on saturated fat and unhealthy ingredients of most other forms of prepackaged food, but do so in a way that is speedy and efficient. Even so-called healthier meat products like extra lean ground beef can only cut down the saturated fat content by so much. Veggie patties tend to contain less fat and much fewer calories - perfect for those who are weight and health conscious.

Boca and Other Vegetarian Food Products Require A Taste Compromise, But I think It’s Worth The Nutritional Benefits

While I’ll probably never quite give up the decadence of meat, I’ve grown to enjoy the taste of most vegetarian dishes. I’ve dined and eaten at very good vegetarian restaurants and cafes before. Many of the best vegetarian places are uniquely skilled at creating dishes that closely mimic the distinctive flavor of meat products but with all the nutritional benefits of soy and veggie ingredients. In downtown Washington D.C. near the Farragut North metro station where I work, there is a Korean, Asian fusion vegetarian cafe called Java Green that I often frequent. They serve the best vegetarian sandwiches and even die hard meat lovers enjoy them.

However, you don’t have to dine out to get vegetarian food. Easily found in your common supermarket are extensive lines of Boca and vegetarian food products in the frozen foods section near the ice cream, tater tots and frozen pizzas. The great thing about these meatless Boca products is that they come in a wide selection of concoctions, from organic meatless burger patties, to meatless sausages, meatless lasagnas, to even meatless tacos. The company really tries to disguise the vegetarian nature by creating imitation flavor. While the meatless products will never truly fool meat connoisseurs into believing they are really biting into a hunk of meat, for some of the burger products, they actually do a pretty good job of substitution.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell you’re really eating a vegetarian burger patty. When you stick the Boca veggie pattie between two slices of whole wheat burger buns, insert a layer of iceberg lettuce, add an extra tomato slice, slab on some wasabi horseradish, and squirt on a dab of low sodium ketchup, if you’re not paying attention, you could easily get fooled - not quite, but almost. The burgers even come in a variety of purportedly different flavors - including flame grilled, and roasted onion (although they all tasted the same to me). For those who like hot dogs, Boca even offers a nice line of meatless sausages and hot dog products.

While Boca from Kraft is probably the most well known vegetarian frozen food brand, there are also several competitors as well, such as Dr. Praeger, Morning Star Farms, and Gardenburger. However, I personally like Boca brands the best since I think they do the best job of re-creating the meaty flavor of real meat in their vegetarian products. The others, particularly Gardenburger seem to be geared towards the hardcore vegetarians as they are much more “vegetably flavored”. Gardenburger products contain more grains and vegetables - hence the more veggie, and less meaty taste. Gardenburger is not the best when it comes to recreating imitation meat flavor. Their vegetarian buffalo wings are terrible - I’m convinced they simply slapped some tofu soy concentrate together and compressed it together to give it the denser consistency of buffalo chicken meat (tastes nothing like real chicken however). I’m only a soft core, part time vegetarian so I’m not as into the pure vegetarian burger experience - I prefer vegetarian products that do a better job of imitating meat dishes, like Boca. Brands like Dr. Praeger, Morning Star Farms, and Gardenburger would probably be better suited for real vegetarians or vegans who want the true vegetarian experience without the imitation meat flavoring.

Nutrition Comparison Between Boca Vegetarian Meatless Burger and The Common Meat Patty

Below I’ve provided the Nutrition Facts for both your standard Boca burger patty (on the left) and your standard McDonald’s Big Mac Burger (on the right). Keep in mind that the Big Mac is not even the fast food chain’s least healthy meal option. Compare the caloric count, total fat content, as well as the sodium and sugar numbers. Scary isn’t it?

Boca Burger (Roasted Onion)	McDonald’s Big Mac Burger

Comparing the nutritional facts of Boca vegetarian burgers to that of your ordinary McDonald burger, the healthier choice is pretty clear. While Boca’ll never be perfect substitutes for meat products, once you get accustomed to the taste, they can serve as quick and easy healthy food choices. It’s just a matter of heating them up in the microwave at home and pairing up with some bread.