I’ve been paid-blogging since September ’05 and it’s worked out rather well for me. It’s nice to log in and poke around to earn some money on things that interest me. I’m involved in about 8 sites at the moment and I’ve brought in quite a bit of money from each one of them. I’ve also been contacted directly from advertisers looking to have me review their website without having to go through an outside company where I’d lose money on the deal. The problem is, a few of these advertisers never came through and I just stood there waiting in the wings for my payment to come through while they were enjoying all of the hits to their website for free. Those that did actually pay went through Paypal and one insisted on using an eCheck that took about a month to clear – it was too much of a hassel for me to deal with.

I joined a review site a little while ago but I’ve yet to receive anything as far as work is concerned. But I’ve also found out that they keep quite a bit of money from your review so in the end you’re really not making much at all. Another site that I’m involved with takes 35% of my bid. The issue with that is there are a lot of advertisers only looking to spend $5 on a review but then they require 200 word minimums for their posts so I’m only earning around $3.25 to post a two-three paragraph review on a site that in the end isn’t very interesting at all. Minus this factor – however – I’ve made about $200 from them in about a month so I’m not complaining.

The company I’ve earned the most money with, PayPerPost, has made life a little easier on me. They’ve just created a new program named PPP Direct where advertisers can hire bloggers directly without having to share the opportunity with other posties. So say I set my fee so that I’ll review a site for a minimum of $100. This advertiser would then click on my badge (located on my sidebar) and then they’ll be brought to PPP and go through the quick and painless sign up process. Their name will be added to the database and thanks to the new program PPP implemented into their system – the advertiser deals with me and only me directly, without any influence from PPP. If I review their website for $100, I’m getting the full $100 – no questions asked. I get my money, the advertiser gets their PR and everyone is happy.

There are thousands of different types of credit cards. There’s a company in the UK called “Smile” which has award winning credit cards. (2002-2005). They’ve got two cards, the classic card with cashback on every penny or the low rate cold card. I surfed around their site for a little while and I have to say, it’s not the typical credit card website. I’ve never seen a business use pink, white and black to promote credit cards so that right there made me smile a bit. Too bad I don’t live in the UK to get this card for myself but hey, I’m sure I can find something like it in the US.

Maybe if my PP Debit card ever gets here it’ll give me something to smile about too…heh.

What exactly is Lasik Eye Sugery? According to my trusty Wiki source:

LASIK, an acronym for Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis, is a form of refractive laser eye surgery performed by ophthalmologists intended for correcting myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. The procedure is usually a preferred alternative to photorefractive keratectomy, PRK, as it requires less time for full recovery, and the patient experiences less pain overall. Many patients choose LASIK as an alternative to wearing corrective glasses or contact lenses.

You go in with bad eye site, a little laser plays with your eye and then you’re eye sight is supposed to improve. Quick and simple, easy and painless? This isn’t always the case. I remember a few months ago when my friend said she was going to have Lasik Eye Surgery. She saved up quite a bit of money because her optical insurance didn’t cover the surgery (even though she was close to blind in one eye). A few days later she noticed that her eyesight really didn’t improve and she was convinced she was going completely blind, she had an infection. It’s all cleared up now but while Lasik Complications are very rare, they do happen. Not many people know the full danger of any surgery they’re looking to have, or how to resolve the outcome if something goes wrong. Resources like complicatedeyes.org helped her, and I’m sure it could help anyone else.

My friend Jackie lives out in Arizona and I remember her noting how hot it was last summer. I’m not a big fan of heat but I do like traveling to new and interesting places. Part of me instantly thought of Scottsdale Arizona because next to Phenoix, that’s the only other place I’ve ever heard of in AZ. I did a quick search to see what the real estate market was like and I have to say, if I had $4.4 Million there’s a house in Paradise Valley that’s got my name written all over it. There’s beautiful landscape, gorgeous lighting surrounding the house and an awesome waterfall in the middle of the pool. I’d kill to visit, let alone live there. There’s also a house listed in the $6.9 range that’s gorgeous as well. I just wish I had the money!