My New Declutter Secret Weapon

You know how they say one man's trash is another man's treasure? Well, it's also true for women! And I've found Etsy to be a great secret weapon in my decluttering quest. Ok, so it's not so secret. But who knew there were so many people looking to acquire what I'm looking to pass along?

For instance, do you know anyone who wants Vintage 1990 Special Edition Skippy Beaver 100th Birthday of Peanut Butter Glass Jar Banks? Me neither - but someone did! And she wanted all three and was willing to pay $5 each plus shipping to get them. I guess I shouldn't be surprised - I've been hanging onto the cute little buggers for over 23 years!

But let me back up a bit...

My SIL opened an Etsy store a few months ago (September 29, 2013 to be exact). At about the same time she was removing barbed wire that had been strung between trees about 100 years ago, she noticed that folks were buying rusty barbed wire for craft and decor projects. So she figured she might as well sell it instead of hauling it to the dump. But you don't want an Etsy store with just barbed wire, right? So after some brainstorming and looking around to see what else might be saleable here on the old homestead, she settled on the name Rough and Rustic and began amassing a variety of items for her shop.

Then I got an idea. Why not join forces and add my decluttered treasures? She's a photographer and I'm a writer. You need pictures and descriptions of each item. It was the perfect pairing! So I jumped right in and have turned my unwanted items into $61 during the last quarter of 2013! I know it's not a windfall and is only about 10% of her sales but still...I'm generating a little cash from things I no longer need that other people want.

And what else have I sold?

So why don't you pop on over to Rough and Rustic and see if we've got anything you can't live without?

Getting Paid to Read - My Dream Has Come True!

I'm embarking on a long-awaited, new adventure this month. After three-plus decades, I am finally getting paid to read. Yes, you read that right - paid to read! Does is get any better than that?

A Little History

I love to read. I was the kid who preferred to stay inside during summer with my nose stuck in a book. I read my way through my teen years, early parenthood, my kids' teen years, and on and on. I also read in bed almost every night before I go to sleep (and researchers that say it's counterproductive and inhibits sleep obviously haven't studied me - it is THE way I fall asleep). So, of course I'd love to get paid to read. I mean, who wouldn't?

I've been wanting to get paid to read for over three decades, since my oldest child was born and I wanted to earn money working at home (was I ahead of my time, or what?). In fact, two decades ago, I bought Get Paid for Reading Books by Barbara Hensen. At the time, getting paid to read was just a dream, an ideal-sounding job. There was really no practical way, however, for me to put Ms. Hensen's experience and advice to use in my own life. But fast-forward 20 years and here I am with the opportunity to fulfill my dream. How cool is that?

So How Can I Get Paid to Read?

Let me explain. I am not just a reader. I'm also an obsessive error-finder. When I read, spelling and grammar errors seem to jump right off the page. Sometimes they even stop me cold. Well, since I've become "friends" with several authors online, I've found a way to put my innate tendencies to good use and help (as opposed to annoy) others at the same time by offering a final read-through service for eBooks and quilt/craft patterns.

One thing I know from experience to be absolutely true is that it's next to impossible to catch all your own errors when you finally get to the final draft of any written material. You will often see what is supposed to be there rather than what really is. After all, you know what you wrote, right? And that is most likely what you will read. Even if (well, especially if) you read it over and over and over again. Seriously, it's true - ask any author.

So, if you have written an eBook, let me be your fresh eyes. Let me read your final manuscript through to catch your overlooked errors. Or if you know anyone who may need a final read-through of an eBook or quilt/craft pattern, please send them my way.

Questions? For now, email me at crystal (at) hornsjewelry (dot) com or leave a comment here and I will contact you. Once I have my website live, I'll include a link in this post.

Update: CrystalClearEdits.com went live 1/30/12!

Blogging for Beginners by Felicia A. Williams



Old cover . . .



Blogging for Beginners Make Money Blogging is a new eBook just released by Felicia A. Williams that gives a newbie basic info and techniques to be a successful blogger and earn money blogging. For those who don't know, Felicia is a full-time blogger/writer that I "met" online a couple of years ago. Since that time, I’ve become a faithful follower of No Job for Mom, the little slice of cyber-heaven where Felicia shares what she’s learned to help others “free themselves from the rat race in order to have a more fulfilling life . . .”

Read Blogging for Beginners Make Money Blogging to learn everything you need to know to, well, make money blogging. In classic Felicia-style, you will find no tricks, gimmicks or get rich schemes. What you will find is clearly presented, solid information on setting up your blog, choosing blog topics, posting frequency, search engine optimization and much more.

NEW cover!!!

So what are you waiting for? For just $9.98 you can grab yourself a copy of Blogging for Beginners Make Money Blogging and be on the road to success! (And yes, that image is an affiliate link but I would still have gladly written this post without it. After all, if Felicia were a rock band, I would be her biggest groupie!)

Please note: This post was updated 11/18/11 to reflect the new title. It's the same great info but with an updated cover that gives a clearer indication of the contents.

Goodbye ArtFire

After reexamining my goals and evaluating the numbers, I’ve decided to let my Wilderness Crafter ArtFire studio go. I’ve enjoyed selling there but spending more time and money to maintain the studio just doesn’t make sense. While the site is easy to use and very seller-friendly, my sales volume does not justify the monthly fee - and I really never wanted to have a handcraft “business” anyway.

I don’t remember how I found out about ArtFire but it was shortly after I started selling on Etsy. My primary goal at both venues was to destash my excess (mostly vintage) craft books and supplies "so my daughter never has to" with the secondary idea of maybe unloading some of the excess handcrafted items I’ve made over the years. Although I usually dig into my stash to make Christmas and birthday gifts, there is a limit to the amount of handcrafted stuff that even I can off on family and friends.

When I joined ArtFire, the basic account was free. I didn’t have access to a lot of the cool seller features but the basic studio more than met my needs. Then about 13 months ago, I signed up for a special pro-seller rate when they started to transition their business model toward paid seller accounts only. I figured I’d give it to the end of 2011 and then make a decision on whether to continue. Well, it’s not quite the end of the year, but the correct decision is obvious.

So How Will I Destash Now?

So how will I continue “destashing my stuff now so my daughter never has to” if I close my ArtFire studio? Well, I still have my Etsy shop although it’s set to vacation mode indefinitely. I had such trouble signing up there (I’m sure it was me, not them) that I don’t want to delete my account just yet. As Etsy’s business model includes listing and transaction fees but no monthly fee, it won’t cost me anything to take my time on this decision.

As mentioned in a previous post on hobby clutter, I also belong to a few Yahoo Groups on which I can list sewing/quilting/craft supplies and materials. Posting to these groups has proven to be a much more expedient way to find new homes for my excess stuff. It’s a little tricky to keep track of all the posting rules, however. For instance, one group prohibits the sale of items “related to business.” Although I never intended to be in “business” selling crafting supplies or handcrafted items, apparently I will NEVER be able to post any item to this particular group that was ever listed on ArtFire. In addition, any material that was used in any handcrafted item ever offered for sale in any venue is prohibited - even if the handcrafted item was simply made to use up my stash and not originally made to be sold.

So What Have I Learned?

I think the biggest lesson from nearly two years with ArtFire is that it is easy to get distracted from my real goal. If my goal were to sell handcrafted items and crafting supplies, it would have been time well spent. Since my goal is to simply reduce 40+ years of accumulation to a manageable level, there are better ways to go about it. Add in the fact that there are usually a couple of months each year that shipping is nearly impossible because I’m not willing to snowshoe a book or pattern 5+ miles so I can get to the car to drive 20 miles to drop it in the mail. So part of the year, I need to pull back and focus my attention elsewhere (like on drinking hot chocolate in front of the fire).

The second lesson I learned is that the simplest solution is often the best (and I think this holds true in most areas of life). Posting items on sites like ArtFire and Etsy is very time consuming, as you have to take, edit and upload multiple photos, and write detailed, creative descriptions. When you have mostly singular items for less than $10 each, it’s a lot of work for little return. Posting to the Yahoo Groups is easy, however. Potential buyers usually know exactly what you’re selling and don’t require sales copy or photos from every angle.

So Goodbye ArtFire! It’s been fun but I’m moving on. And if anyone has suggestions for groups or sites on which to list sewing/quilting/craft stuff, please leave a comment and let me know.

Cash for Hobby Clutter

Get cash for hobby clutter!

I am so excited! I’m actually making money decluttering my hobbies! Over the years, I’ve accumulated an insane amount of sewing/quilting/craft stuff. It’s gotten to the point that I don’t even know what all I have. Really. Kind of embarrassing to admit, but it’s true. Well, enough is enough! So I’ve gotten serious about finding buyers for my excess. And trust me, MOST of it is excess.

First Step: Letting Go

The hardest part is letting go. I’m sure I have inherited hoarder tendencies (thanks Grandma H), which are compounded by living so remotely for much of my adult life that it just makes sense to have whatever you might need for any project always on hand. So I had to ask myself what is my REAL goal - and the real goal at this point in my life is to clear out the clutter. I have a ton of hobby stuff I will never use due to one or more of the following reasons:

• No longer interested in that hobby
• Aging eyesight and/or hands make it less enjoyable
• I can’t possibly live long enough to use all this stuff

 Although I’d like to recoup some of what I’ve spent, making money is not the primary goal.

 Second Step: Finding Buyers

Although yard sales and Craigslist are common ways to sell your stuff, I haven’t used either for a variety of logistical and practical reasons. I have used both Etsy and Artfire with some success, but my best return for time invested lately has been Yahoo Groups. I’ve been a member of three very focused groups for years - Sew It’s For Sale, Craft Items For Sale and Quilter’s Flea Market. I used to be mostly a buyer but now have turned to just selling. (Well, I did backslide two days ago and order four books, but for the most part, I’ve been good!) The beauty of these groups is that I have a super-targeted audience looking specifically for the kinds of stuff I have.

In the past week+, I’ve unloaded nearly three dozen yards of fabric, six quilting patterns/books, five packs of grosgrain ribbon, and 11 fashion discs for a Singer 503A. After PayPal fees and postage, I’ve netted almost $250 - for stuff I no longer want. How cool is that? Am I going to get rich? No, but that isn’t the goal. Is this a long-term moneymaker? No, I WILL eventually run out of excess (yippee!). But for now, I’m going to thoroughly enjoy converting my clutter into cash.

So How About You?

Have you ever made any money decluttering your hobby? If so, how? And even if you haven’t, do you have some ideas to share?

Writing for Dollars Review - Another Great Resource for Writers

I’m taking my first ever online class, Writing for Fun and Profit, through KSurf. A resource given in lesson one is WritingforDollars.com. What a great site! In addition to a weekly newsletter and some other cool stuff, Writing for Dollars has a guidelines database (link below) that is searchable in several ways. You can find a market by name, subject, rate of pay, etc. Some are well known, such as AARP or Good Housekeeping (what do these examples say about my age group and gender?), but many I’d never heard of. Regardless, there’s a short synopsis and an online guidelines link for each.

As I’m actually a quilter/sewer/crafter first and a writer second, I searched for quilting, sewing and craft related markets. To my most pleasant surprise, there are about two dozen matches. Some are specific to subjects about which I have no interest, such as homebuilt aircraft, but many show promise. Even the lowest paying market I found beats what I made per how-to article writing for Demand Media Studios.

As I move forward toward a new year, I’m taking stock of where I am, how far I’ve come, and where I want to be next year at this time. I spent a lot of time and energy writing for up-front pay in 2010. This was good for me on several levels, including financial. In 2011, however, rather than writing so much for up-front pay, I want to redirect my energies toward accomplishing some long-term goals that took a backseat while I indulged myself with the instant gratification of immediate money. It appears that the Writing for Dollars Guidelines Database may provide leads to more lucrative gigs to satisfy my cash flow needs without sucking me dry.

Working From Home in Any Weather

I was going to title this post "I’m Dreaming of a White . . . Thanksgiving?" but changed my mind. After all, a white Thanksgiving isn’t all that unusual here – we always get our first real snow around turkey time. But waking up to a rising blanket of white (and with Thanksgiving just around the corner) set me to thinking about how thankful I am to work at home. I sure wouldn’t want to be out commuting to a job in this weather, although I did for a lot of years. Just one of the many joys of being a self-employed early retiree! Now if our power stays on, I’m all set for whatever work I choose to do. If the power goes out, I guess it’s hot chocolate by the wood stove.

Actually, as a writer and quilter, I can do several things without power. I enjoy composing with pen and paper part of the time. Although it’s slower and less neat, I often think best with a pen in my hand. Quilt design can be also an electricity-free activity. So while I’d rather the power stay on, if it doesn’t and I’m so inclined, I can still be productive.

Working from Home has Many Advantages

The ability to get to work safely and comfortably despite inclement weather is just one of the advantages of working from home. Setting your own hours, wearing the clothing of your choice and attending to other issues as they arise are others. Whether you need to support your family or just supplement other income, there are a variety of viable work at home options available, my favorite being writing.

Some Work-at-Home Ideas

If you’re interested in pursuing freelance writing but don’t know where to start, check out No Job For Mom – that’s where I found out most of what I know. If other avenues appeal to you, such as online selling, do a ton of research online first. Always type the site, company, or whatever into a search engine with the word "complaint" or "scam" or "review" afterward. And always beware of any offer that sounds too good to be true or requires you to buy something first – for the most part, making money shouldn’t cost you money. Your goal is to be on the paid end of the equation rather than the paying end, right?

In addition to writing online, my other at-home moneymaking ventures include editing for other writers and creating custom memorial quilts, examples of which can be seen on my Custom Memorial Quilts website. These income-producers all grew from my hobbies so think about what it is you like to do and find a way to turn those very things into a work-at-home job.

Is Readbud Legit? The Jury is Still Out . . .

Update 12/9/10: Red Alert! Readbud IS a SCAM! It’s official - see PTC Investigations for full report.

Update 10/8/10: Readbud links removed as I no longer recommend Readbud.

I signed up for Readbud April 26, 2010. Initially I was earning over $1 each day reading articles based on my chosen interest categories. In mid-May, the Readbud blog announced an upcoming system expansion that was to include a new way to earn money and rewards, such iPhones and Xbox. On June 24, Readbud announced an infrastructure relocation to the US. On July 27, Readbud announced that the previously touted expansion was on hold until further notice, due in part to the infrastructure relocation. On Aug 22-26, Readbud underwent an extensive server upgrade. During these months, the number of articles available to me each day decreased significantly – some days just a few, some days none at all. I stuck with the program hoping things would improve after the move. Well, guess what?

No Improvement in Sight
It’s been nearly a month since the server upgrade was finished. Instead of an increase in articles each day, I’ve dropped from three to two. Hmm. Beings you have to earn $50 to reach payout, it’s going to take a while! In my post one week ago, I estimated reaching payout in 5-6 weeks based on an earning rate of 15-20 cents/day. Well, as of Tuesday, my available articles have dropped to just two and my average earnings are now 13 cents/day. I still may make payout in 5-6 weeks since I only need $4.45 more – unless they drop the articles to one or even zero. Can this happen? It rather looks that way.

Does Readbud Purposely Delay Payment?
My family kindly calls me tenacious for not throwing in the towel. What they really mean is obsessed but I’ll take tenacious any day. Anyway, I’ve gotten a couple of them on the bandwagon here. My DH and SIL both joined when I did but grew tired of the site glitches and slow earnings within a few days or weeks. Well, they’re both now active again. What better way to test if Readbud purposely delays payment than to compare their current experience to mine? One had earned under $5 and the other under $20. Guess what? They’re both earning over $1 each day by reading 15-19 articles. Hmm. And I only get two? What’s up with that? So we’ll see how it goes. They both predict my number of articles will drop to zero so that I can never reach payout. I predict that one of them will soon see a decrease in articles (at around $25) and the other will still have many each day.

So is Readbud Legit?
Only time will tell. If I do reach payout and actually see $50 deposited into my PayPal account, we’ll know that Readbud is legit to a point. But if Readbud purposely delays payment through lack of opportunity to earn, aren’t they actually a scam? Some would argue so, myself included. Luring participants with no intention of actually paying qualifies as a scam, right? Just because the mechanism by which non-payment is achieved is through participant opt-out due to difficulty and/or frustration is irrelevant. So once again, I’ll keep you posted as time goes by. I’m keeping stats on the number of articles and total earnings each day for the three of us and am anxious to see how this unfolds over the next several weeks.

Readbud - Will I Ever Reach Payout?

Update 12/9/10: Red Alert! Readbud IS a SCAM! It’s official - see PTC Investigations for full report.

Update 10/8/10: Readbud banner removed as I no longer recommend Readbud.

I’ve been hanging in there with Readbud, more out of stubbornness than anything else. I was enthusiastic when I joined in April and had a great time the first few weeks. Then things got iffy. But I stuck with it through the slow times (and non-existent times) while the company promised upgrades and a better experience with more earning opportunities. Now 4+ months later, the site does seem improved but the paid articles are extremely limited. So I’m getting three articles daily and earning at the exhilarating rate of about $.15-$.20/day when I’m lucky. That’s right – a little over $1/week. Compared to the initial $1+ per day in the beginning, the current rate is a huge disappointment.

Earnings To Date
Like I said though, I’m hanging in there. My earnings now total $44.46 and I am determined to see if I actually get paid once I reach the $50 limit required for payout. And you can bet I will be posting here either way. I’ve seen a few instances online of payout “proof” but will remain somewhat skeptical until I actually see the money in my PayPal account. For all I know, Readbud planted the proof I’ve seen. Would they do that? I have no way of knowing. It does appear that the number of articles each day diminishes significantly once earnings exceed $10 or so. At the initial rate of reading, I would have reached payout in a less than two months. At the current rate, it would take almost a year. I should be there in just another 5-6 weeks, however. How many people get discouraged and give up? I know at least two personally. So why did I stay with it?

Why Bother with Readbud?
I actually enjoy reading the articles. During the painful transition period that began shortly after I joined, I often found myself gritting my teeth just to get through. How many times can I read a poorly written article about government college grants for single moms? There were many articles that didn’t even rate a single star. But lately the content has improved. I actually found all three articles today interesting and reasonably well written. And the ads have improved, as well. At least now I’m seeing ads for tankless water heaters instead of nothing but online gaming.

Bottom Line
The bottom line is I plan to stick with Readbud at least until I reach payout. If I’m actually paid, I will probably continue simply because I do enjoy many of the articles, which I read while drinking my morning tea. I also have a few people signed up under me and if they ever reach payout, I supposedly get $5. I figured out, however, that to actually receive payment, my account total would have to reach $50 again. So we’ll see how it goes and I’ll be sure to report my experience here.

Please note that the above banner is a referral link. So if you click on it and sign up, I will receive $5 once you reach payout (supposedly).

Work At Home Site Directory

Many people would like to work from home. College students to retirees often need to supplement their income and can’t or don’t want to seek an outside job. While there are numerous purported work from home opportunities, how do you know which are legitimate and which are scams? Well, first off – if the opportunity promises you a quick road to riches, it’s a scam. The only people who are making big money while they sleep are those who are successfully scamming others into sending it to them. So, if it sounds too good to be true or if you have to pay to play, run the other way!

Which brings me to the point of this post. Through a comment on this blog, I recently “met” a nice gal named Victoria who has put together a Work at Home Site Directory. The directory is an extensive and varied list of legitimate work from home opportunities. So if you’re looking for a way to make some money from home, check it out. And thanks, Victoria, for creating and sharing this valuable resource!


Update from Victoria on August 6 2010:

I just wanted to post that I took the site down. I found a huge list here: http://workathomemoms.about.com/od/workathomecareers/ss/wahjobdirectory.htm
I think any site I had listed is likely in this list too. I haven't found any others that includes as many as About, but if I find a good one, I'll let you know.

Readbud 503 Error – Temporary Glitch or Gone for Good?

Update 12/9/10: Red Alert! Readbud IS a SCAM! It’s official - see PTC Investigations for full report.


I was excited about the prospect of Readbud as indicated in previous posts. It was fun to read the articles and I was making about $1 each day. Not a windfall by any means but worth the time it took. Payout doesn’t happen until you but $50 but I figured I’d be there in about 2 months. Then things changed. And not for the better!

A few weeks after signing up for Readbud, the articles dried up. Instead of getting 12-14 each day, I was getting less than 5. I noticed right off that the Google Adsense ads were gone. I had wondered if Readbud was violating Google’s terms of service and had even questioned them by email. It’s unclear whether they decided to discontinue Google Adsense of whether Google pulled the plug – but I strongly suspect the latter. Anyway, things haven’t been the same since. Instead of accumulating about $1 each day, I’m lucky to make a quarter. So payout is coming much more slowly!

Well, this morning the service is unavailable. Yep – a 503 error. Never a good sign. And they supposedly just moved their service to the US for more stability. I guess that didn’t work out as intended. As I recall, they’ve been down a few times before so maybe this isn’t a dire sign but it sure makes me wonder. I’ve been giving Readbud the benefit of the doubt during their lengthy transition but maybe my optimism was misplaced.

Early Lesson Learned as a New Demand Studios Writer

In my new gig as an eHow turned Demand Studios writer, I’ve submitted five how-to articles with sewing and quilting related titles. It’s been fun and I’m definitely getting better at thinking step-by-step and figuring out how to explain things without the benefit of photos as backup. But I’ve just experienced my first rejection!

Yes, my How to Make Rag Quilted Curtains article was rejected for an erroneous formula and sewing steps that “are difficult to visualise for someone who does not know how to rag quilt.” Fair enough. Upon telling my sweetie all about it, I realized that I said “add” when what I meant was “multiply” and in checking the article – yep – that’s what I wrote, as well. So indeed, the formula for calculating the needed number of squares was in error.

As for the steps being “difficult to visualise” (my editor must be British), I guess that’s why it would be nice if we were able to include photos. But DS only allows photos from their library and the pickings are pretty slim when looking for specific shots. And considering that the photos attached to my already published articles aren’t showing up on eHow anyway, I guess it’s a moot point. So it is what it is.

And what is that? Why, an opportunity, of course! I have a good article and a digital camera. I could:

• Post the article on another how-to site with an modified title and appropriate photos.
• Post the article on one of my blogs or websites.
• Develop it into a pdf pattern to sell.
• Use it as part of a rag-quilting eBook.

So basically I have several options to consider and I’m sure there are more. And I’m not limited to just one! An article rejection transformed into a variety of opportunities – how cool is that?


For those who might be interested in giving rag quilting a try, be sure to invest in rag snips if you plan to make more than one or two - especially if you're using denim or other heavy fabric.

Readbud Update

Update 12/9/10: Red Alert! Readbud IS a SCAM! It’s official - see PTC Investigations for full report.

Update 10/8/10: Readbud banner and links removed as I no longer recommend Readbud.

Well, I’ve been a Readbud participant for 5 days now and am having fun for the most part. I get to read and rate articles of interest and get a few cents each for doing so. Sounds like a win-win to me! So far I’ve made nearly $7 so I won’t be quitting my day job (wait! I don’t have a day job!) but it’s a little extra money piling up for a rainy day. Anyway, I’ve yet to reach payout so have no first-hand experience on how that will go but I’m optimistic based on what I’ve read online. It takes a while to hit the $50 mark so we’ll see what happens in another month or so.

I’ve discovered a work-around on what may be glitches in the system or a problem with my computer or a combo of both. Periodically the articles freeze up during download. Try refresh but if that doesn’t work, just close the browsers and open the Readbud site again. This usually works for me.

To rate articles that may have been skipped due to closing and opening browsers, just go to Article History. The titles of every article you’ve read or been offered to read are listed there. Just click on any that show as not rated and proceed as usual. Be sure to do this promptly, however – the opportunity to rate and be paid expires the same day.

All in all, my Readbud experience has been positive. There was a problem with the site a couple of days ago and it was down mostly all day. Things seem to be back to normal now, however. So happy reading!

Please note that the links in this blog post are referral links. So if you click on one and sign up, I will receive $5 once you reach payout.

More Paid to Read Online Info

Update 12/9/10: Red Alert! Readbud IS a SCAM! It’s official - see PTC Investigations for full report.

Update 10/8/10: Readbud links removed as I no longer recommend Readbud.

Well, I’ve done some more research on this fascinating and totally-new-to-me topic. What I’ve discovered is that there are a lot of paid to read (PTR) scams but so far, Readbud doesn’t appear to be one of them. I did happen across a couple of interesting sites, including a good article on Consumer Reports WebWatch about Online Work-at-Home Schemes. Although it was written in 2004, the info and warnings are still valid.

In my web travels over the years I’ve heard of paid to read email schemes where you click through to advertisers from email that comes to your inbox. No thank you - I don’t need more spam! With Readbud, the articles are accessed online at the site and no click through is required. So again, this seems like a legit opportunity but only time will tell. At this point, it’s fun and I’m only spending time that would likely be wasted surfing anyway, so nothing lost and a few cents gained!

Make Money Reading Articles Online

Update 12/9/10: Red Alert! Readbud IS a SCAM! It’s official - see PTC Investigations for full report.

Update 10/8/10: Readbud banner and links removed as I no longer recommend Readbud.

There’s a new online moneymaking opportunity that shows promise and appears to be legit. At Readbud you simply read and rate articles based on the areas of interest that you’ve chosen. For each article rated, you receive a few cents. While it isn’t much, the articles are short and don’t require a lot of time. This has proven to be a really enjoyable way for me to spend time while having my morning tea. Also, it's fun to read and rate articles rather than write and be rated for a change.

Here are a few tips based on my limited experience with Readbud:

• Select the maximum number of interest areas (50). The articles you receive will be based on the areas you choose but can be changed daily.
• Do not skip an offered article unless the title really holds no interest for you. I discovered that skipping an article not only decreases earnings, but shows up in the stats. I will not be skipping any more!
• Read all articles available at one sitting, when possible. So far the most I’ve gotten is 8 or 10 in a row so it doesn’t take a lot of time.
• An article to be rated opens in a new window. Once you read and rate, close that window. You cannot open the next article with a previous article still open.

I signed up yesterday and so far have earned a couple of dollars on Readbud. Payout requires a $50 balance so I’m a ways from that but my online research indicates that some folks have reached payout and been paid so I’m cautiously optimistic that I will be paid once I reach $50, as well. Anyway, if you’re interested in being paid to read articles online, check out Readbud. And if you know of any similar sites that appear to be legitimate, please leave a comment here!

Update: I've done some more checking and have written another post with additional info on avoiding scams.

Please note that the links in this blog post are affiliate links. So if you click on one and sign up, I will receive $5 once you reach payout.