# Made my First Dollar Online!



## JechtSpencer (Jan 18, 2016)

So this might sound completely stupid but I just can't help but feel f*cking amazing right now. 

It is so early on in my endeavors but the fact that I actually made $1 off the internet is still amazing to me right now.

Did you guys have similar experiences? 

I feel like I just got a hit of heroine of something like all this content I have been putting out isn't for not.

Incredible feeling... incredible.

Seeing how happy I am over $1 I can't imagine what $100 feels like or $1000 or ... well you get the point.

Experiences?

WOOOOOOP!


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## Caveman Dreams (Nov 3, 2015)

Good stuff, keep it up.

You know the process now. 

If you can make $1 you can make $2 or $3 or more.

Just keep doing what ever it is your doing.

Happy for you bro.

About time we had some good news.


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## JechtSpencer (Jan 18, 2016)

cybersloth81 said:


> Good stuff, keep it up.
> 
> You know the process now.
> 
> ...


I agree it is only a matter of time and concentrated effort. I will definitely increase what I am doing. I'm at the point in my life that I know (generally) what my interests are and am working a way to monetize them. 

Honestly though I think a lot of it has to do with the fact I just generally enjoy what I'm doing it doesn't even feel like work 

Are you an online Entrepreneur as well?


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## Caveman Dreams (Nov 3, 2015)

JechtSpencer said:


> I agree it is only a matter of time and concentrated effort. I will definitely increase what I am doing. I'm at the point in my life that I know (generally) what my interests are and am working a way to monetize them.
> 
> Honestly though I think a lot of it has to do with the fact I just generally enjoy what I'm doing it doesn't even feel like work
> 
> Are you an online Entrepreneur as well?


Not myself. But Im a massive fanboy of self help and personal growth. 

Maybe try listening to some of the following podcasts, some of them focus on Making Money via sales.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/may-frame-be-you-podcast/id1016004297


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## JechtSpencer (Jan 18, 2016)

cybersloth81 said:


> Not myself. But Im a massive fanboy of self help and personal growth.
> 
> Maybe try listening to some of the following podcasts, some of them focus on Making Money via sales.
> 
> https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/may-frame-be-you-podcast/id1016004297


Haha how ironic I know a lot of those names of the people they bring on the show. I too am deep down the rabbit hole that is self-actualization. I probably have about 200+ GB of material on my computer for health, wealth, and relationships. I also have a few invites for a private success with women tracker. If your interested throw me a PM with your email and I'll send it your way.


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## Caveman Dreams (Nov 3, 2015)

JechtSpencer said:


> Haha how ironic I know a lot of those names of the people they bring on the show. I too am deep down the rabbit hole that is self-actualization. I probably have about 200+ GB of material on my computer for health, wealth, and relationships. I also have a few invites for a private success with women tracker. If your interested throw me a PM with your email and I'll send it your way.


Lol, I used to be in the group and have chatted to a few of those people personally over PM. Its an experience all of its own.


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## Force Majeure (Apr 15, 2015)

Interesting.
I didn't feel that happy about making my first $ online. The only thing I could think about was scale-ability.


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## Death Persuades (Feb 17, 2012)

I've made hundreds online. It took me 2 years to reach the first 100, 1 year to reach the second hundred, and then the next year I made another 100. Nothing to brag about but it's still 300 I didn't have before. So far this year I am at 22


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## JechtSpencer (Jan 18, 2016)

Force Majeure said:


> Interesting.
> I didn't feel that happy about making my first $ online. The only thing I could think about was scale-ability.


Yeah I agree with you. Scaling a business is huge... it feels like a snowball just getting bigger and bigger.



Doge Precedes said:


> I've made hundreds online. It took me 2 years to reach the first 100, 1 year to reach the second hundred, and then the next year I made another 100. Nothing to brag about but it's still 300 I didn't have before. So far this year I am at 22


That is awesome. I love the fact that you didn't just stop. That is what I think most entrepreneurs do they quit way to soon. Thinking that it will just be this overnight success. 

"You are paid in proportion to the problems that you solve" -Elon Musk

Good hustle.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

I made my first dollar a while back on my travel blog. I think I'm up to $1.05. Since I'm crippled up now with a broken leg, I think I might focus on doing more stuff online and my ultimate goal is to be able to make enough income online to support myself. I do agree, it takes a long time to hone in your skills and get momentum going. Right now I need to hone my design skills. I've been told my content is interesting, my design just sucks. It's funny I took the advice of other bloggers that said focus on content so I did. Now it's time to work on design.


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## Caraxor (Apr 21, 2015)

how do you guys do it??? I'm planning on making some money off the internet too, for fun


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

Caraxor said:


> how do you guys do it??? I'm planning on making some money off the internet too, for fun


Just start writing content. It's probably going to suck at first, but practice makes perfect. The more you do it, the better you'll get.


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## Caraxor (Apr 21, 2015)

Is it like your own website sort of thing? Or a social media platform like reddit & tumblr? What kind of things do u guys do?


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

Caraxor said:


> Is it like your own website sort of thing? Or a social media platform like reddit & tumblr? What kind of things do u guys do?


Right now I just registered a domain with GoDaddy (Home - The Impulsive Traveler Guy) and then paid for a year's hosting. it comes out to around $120 or so a year. I chose to pay for hosting because it gives me more flexibility to experiment and learn Wordpress itself. If you are focused on just creating content, there are many sites that offer free blogging out there. In the whole scheme of things, each tool like a website, social media, YouTube or whatever out on the web is at your disposal. You don't have to sign up for every single one to be effective. Just think of the platforms that your target audience uses and then go on those. 

I personally just have my website and then I post links to my personal Facebook wall (although I did make a page I currently don't maintain). I do use Youtube and Flickr to hold multimedia. Once I get the design down a little better, I'll start advertising more. I also will give my website out to people I meet in my travels. For the most part, I'm just focused on learning and not trying to make a ton of money (although eventually that is the goal).


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## Razare (Apr 21, 2009)

I was going to open an internet arcade game that operated off of micro-payments using crypto-currencies.

... but then I decided to do something else.

It was largely for fun, basically. Would work pretty well, though. Maybe I still do something? Not sure. I would need a different idea, I think.

Maybe online accounting system development??? Hmm!!! Problem is I got a normal accounting job already and that's my focus. If I ever did internet business, it would always be on the side, I like a 9 to 5 job.


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## JechtSpencer (Jan 18, 2016)

PowerShell said:


> I made my first dollar a while back on my travel blog. I think I'm up to $1.05. Since I'm crippled up now with a broken leg, I think I might focus on doing more stuff online and my ultimate goal is to be able to make enough income online to support myself. I do agree, it takes a long time to hone in your skills and get momentum going. Right now I need to hone my design skills. I've been told my content is interesting, my design just sucks. It's funny I took the advice of other bloggers that said focus on content so I did. Now it's time to work on design.


That is some funny shit. Not the broken leg but I myself did a travel blog for some time. I think if there is passion in anything that you are talking about you can make it work. It really is based purely on the niche and providing the most amount of value to your consumers/community. A loyal following is built through consistent action and the fact alone that you have a website is valuable in and of itself. Kind of a little hack that I have implemented is reviewing items and than using links to amazon for soft sales. 

I like to provide value and if a person is so inclined to purchase something through one of my videos cool if not that is cool too. Ultimately I know to many people quit so just staying consistent puts most people head and shoulders of most. Do you have another vlog in the make and if so what is your link?



Caraxor said:


> how do you guys do it??? I'm planning on making some money off the internet too, for fun


You have to find something you are passionate about that you can talk about consistently with passion and fervor. The monetary aspect is a byproduct of your passion. Some good books on the subject would be from Gary Vaynerchuk in terms of personal branding but honestly it is just producing free content for consumers. This builds brand loyalty. 

Its essentially give give give give give give give give give give ask for something. You essentially are guilting people in to buying. I think I had a massive problem at the start charging people for a products that I make because I don't feel my content is good enough yet to warrant my own product but I do not mind selling products from people I believe in which is why I do book reviews. Reviews are an easy (albeit kind of cheap) way to do it. All you need is an opinion and some valuable content (summarizing) the product. Be as authentic as possible people respect that and it may be hard at first particularly behind camera (I can see a bit of try hardness in my delivery sometimes.)

Find what you like to talk about and then take action realize though that it will take time to build a base.



Razare said:


> I was going to open an internet arcade game that operated off of micro-payments using crypto-currencies.
> 
> ... but then I decided to do something else.
> 
> ...


Honestly taking action and failing is better than the thought alone. Take action because even if you "fail" it will be a great experience for your next endeavor. A big thing that I think is Key to the long term game anyway is to be passionate about what you are talking about. That way it doesn't even feel like work but rather a fun hobby. 

If you coding is efficient enough to build such products and apps why not give it a try? I'd love to see your alpha or beta tests (just promise not to malware me lol) Good fortune to you.


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## JechtSpencer (Jan 18, 2016)

PowerShell said:


> Right now I just registered a domain with GoDaddy (Home - The Impulsive Traveler Guy) and then paid for a year's hosting. it comes out to around $120 or so a year. I chose to pay for hosting because it gives me more flexibility to experiment and learn Wordpress itself. If you are focused on just creating content, there are many sites that offer free blogging out there. In the whole scheme of things, each tool like a website, social media, YouTube or whatever out on the web is at your disposal. You don't have to sign up for every single one to be effective. Just think of the platforms that your target audience uses and then go on those.
> 
> I personally just have my website and then I post links to my personal Facebook wall (although I did make a page I currently don't maintain). I do use Youtube and Flickr to hold multimedia. Once I get the design down a little better, I'll start advertising more. I also will give my website out to people I meet in my travels. For the most part, I'm just focused on learning and not trying to make a ton of money (although eventually that is the goal).


I think you would benefit greatly from installing wordpress onto your website. It takes away a lot of that "coding" stuff and lets you get your hands dirty and experiment while not destroying your work in the process. I know GoDaddy has a wordpress install section (did I mention it is free.)

I'm by no means a pro and my website as well could use an overhaul but it is head and shoulders from where it started.

Give it a try you won't regret it.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

JechtSpencer said:


> Do you have another vlog in the make and if so what is your link?


Not really much of a vlog as it is a place where I put my videos of my travels: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGTwFlYoMtFX4EgcGv9-0lQ

I bought a Garmin VIRB X and started making drive videos like the following with it:











Prior to that, I shot a drive video of a Border to Border drive from Canada to Mexico with a cheap cell phone My Border-to-Border Drive - The Impulsive Traveler Guy






I also record me doing things:






Or things happening around:


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

JechtSpencer said:


> I think you would benefit greatly from installing wordpress onto your website. It takes away a lot of that "coding" stuff and lets you get your hands dirty and experiment while not destroying your work in the process. I know GoDaddy has a wordpress install section (did I mention it is free.)


I do use Wordpress and the theme I have is the minimalist theme I got from Leo Babauta of Zen Habits. I just found the most minimalist theme I could find to start focusing on creating content.


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## JechtSpencer (Jan 18, 2016)

PowerShell said:


> I do use Wordpress and the theme I have is the minimalist theme I got from Leo Babauta of Zen Habits. I just found the most minimalist theme I could find to start focusing on creating content.


Good stuff. Implementing a subscriber through the blog has definitely helped viewership as well albeit a small amount. I guess it really depends on what your doing. I know there is a "wood guy" on youtube if you go that route basically mimicking him (not all the way add your own flair of course) would help you kick some major ass. Again I'm not expert... I'm just parroting what "The Greats" have said.

Good fortune to you brother. I subbed you.


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## Razare (Apr 21, 2009)

JechtSpencer said:


> Honestly taking action and failing is better than the thought alone. Take action because even if you "fail" it will be a great experience for your next endeavor. A big thing that I think is Key to the long term game anyway is to be passionate about what you are talking about. That way it doesn't even feel like work but rather a fun hobby.
> 
> If you coding is efficient enough to build such products and apps why not give it a try? I'd love to see your alpha or beta tests (just promise not to malware me lol) Good fortune to you.


Here is my dungeon generating engine, makes a random dungeon every time the page is loaded. http://www.quezzar.com/cgi-bin/dungObjV051.php

The idea was making an arcade dungeon game no one could beat.

Then I would make rare treasures in it, which are digital assets, meaning people could trade them and exchange them outside of my platform. Digital assets are a new things that block chains allow for.

So you get the ultimate sword, you can sell it on Ebay if you want. And I would have done the rules and legal terms so you actually do own the digital assets... I would just reserve the right to issue more if I ever wanted to.

Anyway, 5 years from now these types of games will have taken over and it will be another one of my "I knew it" moments. Not that I care that much, it's just fun being ahead of curves.

---------------

It was to work similar to this, except a dungeon crawl: 






I was also going to make it covertly Christian themed because I am one. So no witch and warlock classes


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## Caraxor (Apr 21, 2015)

Thanks a lot, I'll check it out when exams are over. Maybe I'll even start during the holidays. Or do some other stuff again.


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## JechtSpencer (Jan 18, 2016)

Razare said:


> Here is my dungeon generating engine, makes a random dungeon every time the page is loaded. http://www.quezzar.com/cgi-bin/dungObjV051.php
> 
> The idea was making an arcade dungeon game no one could beat.
> 
> ...


I agree being head of the curves allows for major land grabs in a particular market. Snapchat is a great example of a platform that is going to see major growth in the next 1.5 years and those early adopters are going to thrive under the current platform. 

If you see the curve why not seize the opportunity and make it a reality? You sound very intelligent especially in your particular field. Seize the day. I'd love to be one of those guys who is like "Yeah I knew that guy before he became that big game czar who runs the industry." Shit is incredible to me. I'd love to see you push it to that next level shit. If you hit a beta or alpha phase I'd love to be involved... albeit on a micro level. 

Good fortune to you 



Caraxor said:


> Thanks a lot, I'll check it out when exams are over. Maybe I'll even start during the holidays. Or do some other stuff again.


Go for it. Most people don't even take the jump. Those that do quit way to earlier. Being consistent alone and putting out good content will separate you from most of the sheep trying to be a wolf. Internet $$$ is good $$$ but it also gives you a passion to live. Cheers.


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## Razare (Apr 21, 2009)

JechtSpencer said:


> If you see the curve why not seize the opportunity and make it a reality? You sound very intelligent especially in your particular field. Seize the day. I'd love to be one of those guys who is like "Yeah I knew that guy before he became that big game czar who runs the industry." Shit is incredible to me. I'd love to see you push it to that next level shit. If you hit a beta or alpha phase I'd love to be involved... albeit on a micro level.
> 
> Good fortune to you


Thanks!

I'd probably only pursue internet business seriously if I was assisting someone else's internet business.

I get more work done when I'm working for someone else, because I really don't care that much myself. Most of my incentive is generated by seeing others succeed because I was a key part in helping them succeed.

I'm an accountant for a normal job. I am going to get my CMA certification this year. So I'm mostly busy doing accounting stuff, and I get to use these skills with my job.

Like I'm the type of person who will say, "Oh, I could do this business idea!" And I'll have it worked out in my head during a car drive. They are a dime a dozen with me. I've had at least 3 or 4 in the last week.

So it's good I got a job somewhere... lol... 1 or 2 good ideas is enough.


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## Razare (Apr 21, 2009)

- Question....

Do you use Search Engine Optimization?

Like 14 years ago, I could basically manage SEO myself, it was easy back then because businesses didn't know about it yet. So if you knew the tricks, you'd get a front page google search result.

But I just have thought that today, online sales don't happen unless you got a top-ranked result, and getting that result costs money, whether SEO or Adwords.

Is this your experience?

It's my understanding presently, that SEO is what drives product sales for product websites. You can buy an umbrella on any site, who cares? Therefore, you need the top ranking and then you sell. And so with products, it seems its all about SEO and other marketing, rather than business model.


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## JechtSpencer (Jan 18, 2016)

Razare said:


> - Question....
> 
> Do you use Search Engine Optimization?
> 
> ...


SEO still plays a big part in terms of making sure webpages are procured at the top of the serach engines like google but they have changed the "formula" in which stuff rises to the top of google. Where is used to be the amount of backlinks that were the indicator of where someone would land on google it now has gone to "Facebook" and "Sharing." 

Of course direct domain names still definitely help specifically if you are aiming at a particular search term. I don't do a particularly good job in SEO I just know the broad strokes of it.

Where there are eyes and ears there are dollars to be made. The biggest shift in attention particularly on the social media field that I see EXPLODING right now is Snapchat. In the next 6 months you will start to see some really big celebrity's being pushed on Snapchat (Kardashian's and Football players alike.) 

Which will ultimately lead to a demise in the medium because of marketers but I'm off of an a tangent. 

Is it unfair that I am mad that you are not using your skills lol? When it is clear you have a good sense of how the market works.


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## Penny (Mar 24, 2016)

JechtSpencer said:


> So this might sound completely stupid but I just can't help but feel f*cking amazing right now.
> 
> It is so early on in my endeavors but the fact that I actually made $1 off the internet is still amazing to me right now.
> 
> ...


I made like a total of $200 bucks in amazon or paypal credit using Swagbucks. mind you it was over the course of like a year or two.
here's my referral link if anyone wants to try it - https://www.swagbucks.com/refer/AliceH5


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## SilentScream (Mar 31, 2011)

Penny said:


> I made like a total of $200 bucks in amazon or paypal credit using Swagbucks. mind you it was over the course of like a year or two.
> here's my referral link if anyone wants to try it - https://www.swagbucks.com/refer/AliceH5


I've gotten close to that amount from Bing for using their search engine over the course of a few years too lel.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

Penny said:


> I made like a total of $200 bucks in amazon or paypal credit using Swagbucks. mind you it was over the course of like a year or two.
> here's my referral link if anyone wants to try it - https://www.swagbucks.com/refer/AliceH5


I've made like $10. How'd you make $200?


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## Penny (Mar 24, 2016)

PowerShell said:


> I've made like $10. How'd you make $200?


so, i made it a point to reach the point goal of the day every time i went on which was fairly often in spurts. it's been awhile since then and i'm not sure if it's the same now, but i think the average goal was about 30 points (swagbucks) and if you reach them you get bonus points. i had a method that got me so many points. do the daily poll, play i think it was 5 games for 5 or 10 points. i think it was you get a point or two every other game you play. sorry it's been so long. i also watched movie trailers which were actually interesting and other videos that didn't look too boring. i did surveys. (i think this was swagbucks i'm thinking of.) i think you get credit for 5 survey attempts daily. so i would attempt at least 5 surveys a day and sometimes i'd be granted the whole survey points. and i also used the swag search bar. it's very random the points but occasionally i'd get like 50 swagbucks, but usually 8 or 10 at a time whenever it actually paid out. i also used the shop feature. (not very often or much) but if i bought something online through one of their participating merchants, i'd try to get swagbucks that way. i think that was it. itt akes some patience and time and stuff but i remember it was sort of fun. reaching your daily goal, the bonus points really add up though it doesn't seem like much looking at it.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

Penny said:


> so, i made it a point to reach the point goal of the day every time i went on which was fairly often in spurts. it's been awhile since then and i'm not sure if it's the same now, but i think the average goal was about 30 points (swagbucks) and if you reach them you get bonus points. i had a method that got me so many points. do the daily poll, play i think it was 5 games for 5 or 10 points. i think it was you get a point or two every other game you play. sorry it's been so long. i also watched movie trailers which were actually interesting and other videos that didn't look too boring. i did surveys. (i think this was swagbucks i'm thinking of.) i think you get credit for 5 survey attempts daily. so i would attempt at least 5 surveys a day and sometimes i'd be granted the whole survey points. and i also used the swag search bar. it's very random the points but occasionally i'd get like 50 swagbucks, but usually 8 or 10 at a time whenever it actually paid out. i also used the shop feature. (not very often or much) but if i bought something online through one of their participating merchants, i'd try to get swagbucks that way. i think that was it. itt akes some patience and time and stuff but i remember it was sort of fun. reaching your daily goal, the bonus points really add up though it doesn't seem like much looking at it.


How much time did you spend to reach your daily goal?


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## Aridela (Mar 14, 2015)

I've made £500 so far this month, but the maximum I've earned in a month was around £4k. 

I do a mixture of online teaching/programming gigs.


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## Penny (Mar 24, 2016)

PowerShell said:


> How much time did you spend to reach your daily goal?


never noticed the time. i have lots of free time. if i remember correctly it took up a lot of my early mornings.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

Penny said:


> never noticed the time. i have lots of free time. if i remember correctly it took up a lot of my early mornings.


I'm just looking at it from how much money per hour I can make to see if it's really worth my time.


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## Penny (Mar 24, 2016)

PowerShell said:


> I'm just looking at it from how much money per hour I can make to see if it's really worth my time.


if you are looking at it that way i would say it is not. lol. it's definitely not a job. think of it as a mildly lucrative time consuming hobby and it might be worth your time.


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## strawberryLola (Sep 19, 2010)

^Yes, mostly side cash.

Offer-Up is a nice app as long it’s near a police station or a Starbucks.

Actually sold a few pieces of Tupperware. Tupperware, of all things, who’da thunk!  

Even if you need to donate large items but don’t have a truck to haul it, Offer-Up is perfect for that too. People make a business out of re-selling free picked up items. Anything helps, and it’s a fun way to meet some friendly neighbors. I’ve had positive experiences with it so far. I trust it more than Craigslist.


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## Penny (Mar 24, 2016)

PowerShell said:


> I'm just looking at it from how much money per hour I can make to see if it's really worth my time.


have you heard of a site called Prolific? I haven't used it because it's only one account per household, but my bf has gone on it and he says the payout is decent for doing surveys. he got 27 bucks for doing one survey once.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

Penny said:


> have you heard of a site called Prolific? I haven't used it because it's only one account per household, but my bf has gone on it and he says the payout is decent for doing surveys. he got 27 bucks for doing one survey once.


No I haven't. I might need to check it out.


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