Jan 10 2009
Work From Home Programs for Retired People
It really sounds so simple, does it not? Attend a short class, get a certificate and some software, and for only $299 you can do medical transcription right from the comfort of your own home. Really it is not much more difficult than playing another game of solitaire or hearts. Of course all of this depends on actually having clients. You mean to tell me the brochure, website and sales rep failed to tell you the program is only to teach you how to use their software but you still need to go out and get a doctor to hire you to transcribe?
You should be old enough to know that if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is not. There are, however, a few things you can do to earn money at home that really do not cost anything to do. In fact my wife has been filling out online surveys for about a year and she is now up to between $80 and $100 per month. Additionally she has been selected to participate in a drug testing program which lasts for 6 months and when it is finished she will recceive a $1500 check. In the mean while every time she goes to an appointment (about twice per month) they give her a $10 gas card. Three of those appointments have very literally been “right across the street”!
To get started doing online surveys I spent about $50 and bought someone’s list of the different types of work at home plans and links to get started. I signed up with a few and from time to time do surveys and earn $1 to $15 per survey but my wife does three to five surveys every day. They take anywhere from five to thirty minutes and most pay one or two dollars. Myra receives a check in the mail every couple of days or so for $5 or so.
My preferred method of streaming income from home is blogging for pay. In fact I will be paid $1 for this blog you are reading and a few pennies for the traffic (number of visitors) it generates. In addition to that I actually write blog articles for people of about two-hundred words for $2 each. I have had a career in finance and the internet and therefore mostly write on those topics. Each order is for a minimum of twenty articles which I can write and proof in about two hours. When I am working I earn about $20 per hour.
On other blogs that I do for myself I have a Google AdSense account and I let Google place ads on my blogs. When visitors click on the links in the ads I earn from a few pennies to a few dollars. Once I actually earned $17 from a single click! Normally it is just a few cents but I earn anywhere from $2 to $3 per day on each blog that actually has traffic.
Yet another way is to create a blog and setup an Amazon Associates account and sell books, movies, DVD’s, toys, tools … anything Amazon sells- to earn additional income. I personally have never earned enough to actually get a check but I have used my earnings to purchase gifts for others. The reason I have not been successful is because I have never focused on it but the potential is definitely there! You only earn a small percentage of the sale but the only investment you have is your time.
Oh, before I forget, sometimes my wife earns dining certificates from her online surveys. In fact our most recent anniversary dinner was sushi and tom yum soup in a flaming hot pot paid for in part by her survey. Just be careful what you spend your money on. There are plenty of things to do that pay. Between us we earn about $200 per month with just surveys and AdSense in just a few hours - probably no more than 2 hours between us per day. When I pick up a blog writing job that is just bonus!
For my purposes I do have a business license and file taxes through my LLC. You do not have to do that to use AdSense, Amazon or surveys but you will have to give them your taxpayer identification number. For most of us that is our social security number. You may also apply for your own taxpayer identification number and use that instead of your social security number. They will need this to send your 1099 form to you at the end of the tax year.
