How to Make Moola

I've recently discovered the site Moola, which is an interesting concept that I haven't really seen done before. There are basically 3 ways to make money on Moola: playing any of 3 games against other people, winning money by using their search engine, or getting paid through referring others. The cool twist is that you are given a penny to start, and can play against opponents by risking your penny. Win, and you now have $0.02. Win again, and you double your money to $0.04. You can continue to play, betting all of your balance or as little as a penny.

Moola also has Search & Win, where, by using their search engine you get to spin a wheel and win some money. The amounts on the wheel vary from a few cents up to $9000. So far I've gotten mostly a few cents up to $1.00, but there are posts on the Moola forum of people winning $100. So it looks like the real deal. You automatically get 1 spin a day, and can get up to 4. It seems to me that after some testing, just using the search engine a few times a day will get you 2-3 spins.

Finally you can make money through referring others to the site. When you sign up you get invites to give to other users. If they win with Search & Win or other offers, or when they cash out, you get 4% for them, 3% for any of their referrals, 2% for their referrals referrals, and 1% for the 4th level of referrals.

As with most sites where you can make money on the Internet for searching or surveys or similar things, most of the top money making people get their income through referrals. It's like a big pyramid scheme, but if you can get yourself to the top of a pyramid, you could do pretty well. Otherwise, it's a fun time waster where you might win some money and can try to win big playing their games.

Another Short Article

I found another short article on MSN that had some cool tips for saving in it. Here's a little excerpt:

But hooooow, you whine? How can you save a red cent when you just barely live on what you earn? Well, since you asked: Saving is a two-step process. First you retrain your brain, and then you find all kinds of clever ways to live on less (many of which are conveniently located below).

I think the best tips in it are the "Go Veggie" and "Haggle" ones. I find myself consciously looking for the meat in all my lunch and dinner meals, and it is the most expensive part. Beans are a great substitute, and they provide lots of good protein that you would have gotten from the meat. Protein also fills you up, so you won't go hungry.

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Everybody loves free and discounted stuff, especially when strapped for cash. That's why I enjoy passwird.com so much. You never know what kind of deals you'll find when you go there. Most days I just end up browsing and not getting anything, but sometimes it really pays off. When I purchased my Dell 700m last year, I got nearly $700 off from a 50% off coupon. I was in the market for a laptop but was waiting for a deal, and I couldn't pass it up. It's a good site to go to everyday, just to see what kind of discounts and offers they have. I don't know what's up with the spelling, but hey, I'm not complaining.

Being Prosperous

Here's something I don't think I've seen before. Prosper.com lets users borrow and lend money through the Internet. It could be a good way for those in debt with high interest loans to borrow money at a lower rate and pay them off. There doesn't seem to be any danger for borrowers except for the downside of having to accept a high interest rate in order to get people to lend to you. Being a lender seems rather risky and not worth the trouble. Splitting up your money between a few different loans would mitigate the risk of someone defaulting, but the rate at which you earn interest just doesn't seem to make up for the risk. If anyone has any experience, please post in the comments. I'll be looking into this further to see what some others have to say.

Living on a Shoestring

MSN Money recently had an interesting article about a woman living on $12,000 a year:

My 2007 "income," the money I can actually count on, will be $12,084. I know this because it consists of alimony and a portion of a school grant. (I went back to college last year; the grant covers tuition and books with a little left over.) I already know my big-ticket annual costs, too: rent of $6,300 and $1,200 for car insurance. Subtract these from my income and I'm left with $382 a month for food, utilities, clothes, medical deductibles and co-pays, gasoline, renter's and life insurance and any help I give my daughter, who lives on even less than I do.

It's a good read to get a few tips about how to save some extra cash, if a little extreme. I think the article shows how important saving the money you do have is, compared to simply making more money. I constantly look for ways to increase my income, but saving a few dollars here and there really adds up quick.