Online Surveys

Has anyone had any experience of these?

As I'm spending hours online, looking for jobs, I thought I might as well try surveys as well, and see if I can make a few quid.

I have signed up for a couple of sites, with mixed success. I have done a few surveys, but not so far earned enough money to actually get any payment in hand.

A couple of days ago I signed up with another company called Vindale Research. Has anyone else had any experience with them?

Its weird, they have sent me an invitation to do an evaluation of an online Bingo site. If I do the evaluation, then I can earn USD15. BUT ... to do the evaluation I have to join the site and deposit a minimum of £10, and play bingo. Now it seems to me, that if I spend £10 to earn $15 dollars, then I'm not actually making any money. Also, they will only pay me any money once I have earned USD50. So I would have to wait to get my $15/£10 back.

Now it might be, that I can go to the Bingo site, play one game and get most of my £10 back. But even so, it doesn't look like a good deal to me!

I'll give the company a few days and see if what other surveys/evaluations I get. But if all I get are invitations to spend money, then I'm wasting my time.

Back Again!

Its months since I last blogged.

I spent two months trying to sell beds. It was an interesting job. I quite enjoyed bits of it. I don't consider myself a 'people person', so I was surprised to find that most of the time I enjoyed meeting customers. I met some really intersting people.

But I was rubbish at actually getting them to part with their money and actually buy a bed.

I successfully sold 3 beds. There was another lady who ordered a bed, and then cancelled, and one couple who wanted to buy but failed the credit check.

I learnt a lot about psychology.

But I'm not a manipulative type of person.

Let me make it clear, the company was very keen that its reps stayed within the letter of the law at all times, and there were loads of guidelines on what we could and couldn't say to the customers. But were we going out there to sell beds, and the whole appointment was very closely scripted to get the punters, errr customers, to buy, buy, buy.

Having said that. If I ever win the lottery, I will buy myself one of the beds!

Now its nearly 3 months later and I still don't have a job, and I have run up the credit cards, and I need to sort out the fact that I am registered as self-employed.

Its all pretty depressing, especially with Christmas coming.

Luckily I have been able to surrender an insurance policy for more than I was expecting, which will give me a bit more breathing space.

But I just don't know what I am going to do.

I can't find a job in computers, and I don't have any useful experience in anything else.

I'm sitting at home, freezing because we don't want to turn on the central heating because of the cost.

My hands ache all the time. I think I might be getting arthritis in my right hand. If I am getting arthritis, then I would be better off getting a job that doesn't include spending all day sitting at a key board.