dcsimg
Advertiser Disclosure: Many of the savings offers appearing on this site are from advertisers from which this website receives compensation for being listed here. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). These offers do not represent all deposit accounts available.

Logging on for love: What's the catch with online dating sites?


Logging on for love: What's the catch with online dating sites?

Published 2/1/11  (Modified 3/22/11)

Logging on for love: What's the catch with online dating sites? By Peter Andrew

Time was when it was, "In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love." Nowadays, young and old, male and female seem pretty focused on the subject year-round, although Valentine's Day may well trigger many to seek out their perfect partner through an online dating site. But at what cost?

How not to get dates

When I was on the dating scene, in the days before the web, I had a tried and tested five-step process for attracting new partners:

  1. Meet friends at appropriate bar/club
  2. Pick from a distance the person/people I wanted to chat with
  3. Drink bladder-bursting quantities of beer in order to build up Dutch courage
  4. Eventually, stagger across to the object of my desire, and slur--in a haze of foul alcohol fumes--some corny chat-up line
  5. Receive a withering put-down/slap/false phone number

Yes, it was tried and tested, and it almost invariably failed.

How to get dates

If I were in the market for a new lover now, I'd save a fortune in bar tabs, and do my liver an enormous favor. Because I'd almost certainly try online dating. And why not? It sure can work: the last two weddings I've attended have both been the result of Internet encounters through matchmaking websites, and one 2010 study suggested that 17 percent of new marriages over the previous year had come about this way.

But what I would save in beer, I could easily spend on dating site fees. Because online dating can be quite expensive.

Putting a price on love

It's not

Read the full article »

Chase Sapphire credit card -- what's not to like?

Published 1/11/11  (Modified 7/31/14)

By Peter Andrew

I'm not expecting any sympathy, but it's not easy writing product reviews. That's because it's rarely possible to rank different features in a way that's meaningful to everyone.

Take televisions as an example. I badly need a new one, and recently started reading TV reviews. All I've discovered so far is that there isn't a perfect model, or certainly not one in my price range. One has a brilliant picture, but slightly lower sound quality, or vice versa. Another is great except for occasional motion blur during action sequences. Yet more are good, but ugly, and don't fit in with my living room decor. When I eventually come to make a choice, I'll have to decide which of these factors are most important to me personally.

And it's the same with credit cards. I can tell you all about the Chase Sapphire? credit card, but whether it's the best for you will depend on your individual needs and wants. What I can say for sure is that it is a good all-rounder, and that you should almost certainly include it on your list of potential cards.

Not for everyone

But let's begin by identifying those who should think carefully first before including it on their list of possibilities. If your credit score's going through a down patch, the chances of your application for a Chase Sapphire card being accepted are remote. This is a premium product that's reserved for those with great credit.

In...

Read the full article »

How to use rewards credit cards

Published 12/3/10  (Modified 12/12/13)

By Jim Sloan

I never really paid much attention to the rewards programs offered by different credit card companies. I was raised to use credit cards only for emergencies and not for everyday use, so my sole criteria for getting a card was that the interest rate be as low as possible.

But then a friend of mine told me he was planning a trip to China, and was going to pay for his plane ticket through the rewards he was earning on his credit card.

"I'm paying for everything with my card," he said. "All my monthly bills - the rent, the groceries, the phone bill, everything. Then at the end of the month, I just write a check to the credit card company instead of eight or 10 checks to all these other places."

And it worked. After several months, my friend and his wife were able to get the tickets for next to nothing--all thanks to the judicious use of their credit card.

The fine print of rewards cards

Even if you're not planning a trip to China, this approach can work for anyone, provided you keep a few things in mind as you decide which rewards credit card programs works best for you:

  • Rewards cards usually carry higher interest rates than non-rewards cards. That means if you're not paying off the balance every month, your interest payments will quickly exceed your rewards.
  • Look for rewards that you'll use. The points you earn
Read the full article »

Get Paid To Take Free Online Paid Surveys

Published 10/27/09  (Modified 3/9/11)

By MoneyBlueBook

Reviews of the Best Paid Online Surveys: Avoid Internet Survey Scams

If you are searching for a genuinely legitimate paid online survey, you're at the right place. The following is a recommended list of popular online marketing firms that are offering free paid surveys and is a nice resource for people looking to make some money online from home or earn a little bit of extra cash on the side by filling out short survey questionnaires. After much research with a lot of trial and error, I've compiled a list of what I've found to be the top paid online survey programs that compensate participants with either cash or gift card rewards for completed surveys.

If you've already conducted an online search via Google.com or Bing.com for the best paid surveys, then you've probably already noticed that the vast majority (95%) of those search results invariably lead to some rather scammy looking links or to websites that try to convince you to fork over a membership fee for exclusive access to some secret list of paid surveys. It's a sad and rather sobering sight to see, but the Internet is littered to the brim with such misleading resources and self interested clutter. Don't buy the marketing hype or misleading online promotions that suggest that you must actually pay money to gain access to some super secret list. If a survey company starts asking you to pay an upfront charge, run away as fast as you can - lest you unwittingly succumb to the online scam. There is

Read the full article »

How To Make Money With Paid Online Surveys and Avoid Internet Scams

Published 5/20/08  (Modified 3/9/11)

By MoneyBlueBook

Updated Review List Of The Top Make Money Online 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 such ultimately turned out to be fraudulent scams or fruitless endeavors (acai berry scams for example), 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 free online paid 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

Read the full article »

How To Maximize Your Paid Survey Chances and Perks

Published 10/21/07  (Modified 3/9/11)

By MoneyBlueBook

As I mentioned in previous posts, one of my hobbies when I have downtime at work or home is filling out online paid online surveys and getting paid for it. One of the welcomed perks of doing these surveys is that you occasionally receive free products to review. So far I've received a few large bottles of shampoo and a couple of other personal items (very personal items I must add) to try out and review.

It's actually quite interesting and I enjoy receiving free stuff. I don't mind being a guinea pig for these companies. It's not like the products are toxic or potentially hazardous. Some of them, like the shampoos, are pretty much what you use at home anyway except they might be packaged differently or the texture of the shampoo might be different. But it's certainly interesting to be able to voice my opinion on products that haven't been released to the general public. I haven't received any electronic merchandise to review yet but I'm hoping to get the chance eventually.

Tips To Get the Most Survey Opportunities

Product reviews don't come too frequently, but the best way to maximize your opportunities and rewards in general is to do the following:

  • Express Interest In Everything - Why yes, I am interested in septic tanks, for example. :) When you complete your initial profile, remember to indicate interest in every subject matter available. Obviously the company won't send you a survey or product review if you admittedly aren't in their target demographics or have any
  • Read the full article »