One of the top stressors for women today is what many are calling the “supermom syndrome”. Many of us are led by society today to believe that in order to be successful Moms, we have to do it all, and give all. Nonsense. We all want to do our best as Moms, as we should. But at some point, for our own mental health, our best has got to be good enough. Here are some great ideas to reduce the syndrome at your house.

It’s ok not to be perfect. Let me say that again. It’s ok, not to be perfect. I think many of us hold ourselves up to a level of perfection that merely hurts our ability to be a good Mom. So what if the living room isn’t clean on Monday nights?…you had bedtime stories to read. Who cares if you had to choose a work presentation over your childs field trip…you’ll go next time. Not allowing ourselves any slack simply causes more stress in our lives, and prevents us from savoring every precious moment of being a Mom. Lighten up. It’s ok not to be perfect!

Don’t buy into societies hype that in order to be a good parent, you must offer your child every experience under the stars. Over and over again, psychologists talk about the dangers of over scheduling our kids, but it seems few are listening. It is not healthy for your child to learn to be so busy that he/she never learns to be with and like himself, to dream, use his imagination, or just be bored! Limiting your family to one extracurricular activity per child will help reduce family stress both in time and money. Do not let society guilt you into doing more…after all, this is the same society rules that say its ok for our children to starve themselves to look like movie stars, or to play Nintendo for 12 hours straight. Is that what you want for your kids?

Make time for yourself. Make a rule that you will take 10, 20, even 30 minutes a day and shut out the world. Close the bedroom door, take a bath, take a walk…just have that time to yourself. You deserve it, and your family owes you that much. Do not feel guilty asking for it either! Tell the kids Mom is not to be disturbed unless someone is bleeding or something is on fire…then enforce the rule! Oprah says it well…if your cup is empty, how will you fill up the ones you love?

That being said, it is important to recognize your family as an essential part of your life. Stopping to smell the roses when it comes to your family will help you to keep your life in perspective, and therefore, reduce your daily stress. Make sure you take time for yourself, but also take time to spend with your family outside of the daily chores and running around. Let your children help you cook dinner, play cards together in the evening, take a walk around your neighborhood with your kids. Make sure you read to those little ones every night, and make sure you do those great voices with the characters! Laugh with your family, choose your battles wisely, and savor every moment of their precious childhood…before you know it, they will be tending their own families! (And won’t you feel good knowing what an example you were, cherishing your family as you do!)

Finally, make sure you remember who you are as a person. Not as Mom, or wife, or business associate, but as who you are. Cultivate old pastimes, and expand your world by developing new ones! Learn to play piano, paint, or to speak a different language. Read. Celebrate your spiritual life, and let yourself grow in the world that has been gifted to you.

It is time Moms stood up and made a stand…we don’t have to do it all to be good Moms. We already are good Moms, because we do our best. And that’s good enough.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kathy Wilson is a columnist, author, and editor of The Stress Less Journal. For free stress reducing inspiration and to sign up for her free online newsletter, visit her at http://www.StressLessJournal.com

Over the years, I’ve tried it all- different ways to get organized. Trial and error. Some worked, some didn’t. I tried some of those fancy looking matching desk sets. They looked beautiful and for some, I’m sure they are perfect. But for me, they took up too much valuable space. Space I needed to proof my work, keep my reference books, or keep those essentials that I use on a regular basis. For me, when I work I want everything within an arms reach and have the tools I need to complete my assignments within arms reach.

I have a corner desk and on it I have my computer, printer, fax, phone, etc. Beside my desk I have a two-drawer filing cabinet. This was possibly the greatest thing I’ve ever done to organize my business. In it I have my files and supplies that I use on a daily or regular basis. My clients’ stationery, clients’ files, file for my receipts, all personal correspondence, paper, folders, etc. Whenever these files get bulky with client documents, I simply empty them into the main filing cabinet. For example, my main clients that I’ve been working with for 15 years, their files in the main cabinet are quite large and it’s so nice to have the smaller file close by with just their recent correspondence. Plus, when I need a folder, an order slip for my books, a copy of my stationery, it’s all right there. AAAHHH, now that’s convenience.

Now for the receipts’ file. I keep it monthly. I simply at the beginning of the month, replace the file with the new month’s file. That way, at tax time, I don’t have to go through a whole year’s receipts and divide it up then. It’s all separated.

Here are some other organizational tips you might find beneficial:

Mail—We have a round basket by a small table by the front door. All incoming mail goes in there first. Then when I have the opportunity to sort through it, I get it and put it in its appropriate place. Always pitch anything you aren’t keeping All business-related mail is sorted and put away immediately. Anything that might need work done on it, is logged into my Daytimer and then put in the To Do Bend.

Desk—Your desk should have on it only those items that you use on a regular basis. Look around. What haven’t you used in the last month or two. Start Dumping. Find another spot for it. But find the RIGHT space for it.

No Piling of Anything Allowed. This is one of those habits that can be so easy to get into. Definitely one of the ones that I catch myself doing a lot! But I stop myself now because I know it will just be brushed off to the side and forgotten. Too often I miss something important and regret the piling blunder again. You will be amazed how much more organized you will feel if you just don’t do this one thing.

Daytimer—Now this isn’t only for Time Management. Your Daytimer can have a space for all your business cards, appointment cards, etc. How great it is to have all these cards right in the same place. On the date of your appointment, you simply grab the card and off you go.

Start the beginning of the day and the end of the day with a clean-up. What a tremendous feeling that is. When you are done with a project. Away it goes. Everything. When you start the next project, out comes all the material you need.

There’s nothing like the feeling of sitting down in the morning to a nice clean organized desk and office. Once you feel this a couple of days, you want to experience this every day so you’ll take the appropriate steps to make it happen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Diana Ennen, Co-Author, Virtual Assistant the Series, Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA (www.va-theseries.com) and Words From Home: Start, Run and Profit from a Home-Based Word Processing Business. President of Virtual Word Publishing, Inc. http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com

Mom, are you spending way too much time sorting, washing, and folding laundry?

Here are some quick easy tips to help get you out of the laundry room!

1) Sort Less

With the exception of whites that need to be bleached, brand new dark or red items that bleed or delicates, you may not need to sort laundry as much as you think.

Most high quality clothing doesn’t bleed. And there is no crime in washing towels with other laundry unless it will get linty (like microfiber cleaning cloths).

You might want to sort laundry by what room it will end up in. I throw my boy’s laundry all in together and despite what home economics gurus might tell you, I haven’t noticed any bad effects! This method simplifies things because each load goes to the same place. Instead of walking around the house delivering laundry to each room, you save energy and time.

2) Instead of folding…

Hang kid’s shirts in their closet and simply lay small items flat in their drawers.

I use those cheap shoebox size plastic organizers in the boy’s closet and throw unsorted clean socks in one, undies in another, pjs in another. Each child has his own containers so there’s no confusion.

It’s much simpler than spending time folding underwear and matching socks. They can find their own sock mates!

3) Use Your Tools

Put one laundry basket in each room where dirty laundry is discarded (usually one per bathroom or bedroom). Buy some of those zippered mesh bags at the dollar store and throw one in each.

4) Teach your kids and husband

Ask your husband and kids to put laundry in the hamper instead of dropping it on the floor, and to bring their hamper to the laundry area when you’re ready to wash. Don’t scold or nag, use natural consequences. When someone needs that favorite pair of Buzz Lightyear pjs or boxers, they will quickly learn that if it doesn’t make it to the hamper, it doesn’t get washed!

Train them too to put their dirty socks in the mesh bag. Even if they’re too young to do so, put all dirty socks in the bag and throw the entire thing in the washer. They come out clean and the washer doesn’t eat the baby’s socks.

Enlist your kid’s help when it comes to folding laundry.

A 2 year old can put dirty laundry in the hamper and throw clean clothes in the dryer when you hand it to them, a 3 year old can fold washcloths, and an older child can deliver clean folded laundry to their room and even hang items.

5) Forget Perfection

When I was a kid we had “play clothes” and “school clothes”. The nicer things were what you wore to school and out of the house, and you changed into your play clothes (usually items that had a defect or weren’t as nice as going-out clothes) as soon as you got home.

Using this method means that the nicer items don’t wear out as quickly, and they may not need to be washed after every wearing. An item that is worn once (unless it’s socks or undies) doesn’t necessarily need to be washed.

And you may decide that it’s not worth spending time removing stains on play clothes, thus saving you more time and money.

Also, try using Oxi-Clean or another non-toxic whitener instead of bleach on your whites. Since it can also be used on colors, it won’t be the end of the world if a stray colored item gets in your bleach load.

I hope these tips help rescue you from laundry room shackles!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Carrie Lauth is a work at home Mom of 4. You can learn more tips for carving more time out of your busy day at http://www.business-moms-expo.com/organized_moms.html

Does your family have credit card bills or other debt that won’t seem to go away no matter how much extra you pay each month? If so, it’s time to get vicious and tackle those bills like you really mean it.

Before you start tackling your family’s debt, you need a game plan. Paying an extra $5 on this bill, $10 on that bill and another $10 on some other bill each month is not the smartest way to approach debt elimination. In his book, Financial Peace Revisited (New York: Viking Penguin, 2003) financial guru Dave Ramsey recommends what he calls the “debt snowball.” First, list all your family’s debts from smallest to biggest based on the total amount owed on each debt. Then tackle the smallest debt on your list with all your might using strategies such as the ones listed below. When the smallest debt is paid off, put all the money you were paying each month on that bill toward the next smallest debt on your list. Keep working in this manner until you get all your bills paid off.

Okay, now that you’ve got a game plan for tackling your family’s bills, let’s talk about some creative strategies for making a dent in those bills. Some of these might sound a little crazy, but what’s crazy about wanting to be debt-free? Make a commitment to do whatever it takes to get yourself and your family free from burden of debt.

* Sell stuff like crazy

– That treadmill you never use? Put an ad in the paper and sell it. All that baby gear and those toys your kids no longer use? Have a yard sale and get rid of them. Sell that jewelry or stereo equipment you don’t need on eBay. Turn your extra stuff into extra cash you can use to pay off debt.

* Get out the piggy bank

– Pull out a piggy bank or old Mason jar. Ask all family members to put all their loose change in it at the end of each day. At the end of the month, deposit this money in your checking account and put it toward the smallest debt on your list in addition to your regular payment.

* Sacrifice

– Getting out of debt will benefit the whole family. Being free of debt means that you can have more money to spend on fun stuff for everyone in the family. Ask everyone in the family to give up one special thing for a certain period of time (trips to McDonald’s, that cappuccino on the way to work, the Friday night movie rental, etc). Then put the money you would have spent on those items toward your debt.

* Become obsessed

– Become a frugal living maniac. Read everything you can get your hands on about frugality. Borrow books from the library, surf the Internet for web sites dedicated to saving money. If you are diligent, you will surely come across a few new ideas that will save you some extra money. When you do, put the money that you saved using those new ideas toward your smallest debt.

* Resort to drastic measures.

– Brainstorm with your spouse for drastic measures you could take to raise money to eliminate debt. Consider options like: taking on an extra part-time job; renting out your spare bedroom to a college student; selling your second car; selling your home and buying something less expensive; etc. Some of these suggestions may seem too drastic, but if you brainstorm long enough, you can probably come up with something you are willing and able to do. Don’t think in terms of working an extra job or being a one-car family for the rest of your life. Think of it as a short-term sacrifice that will help you attain the long-term goal of being free from debt.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nancy Twigg is a Christian author and speaker who loves inspiring others to live simply. She is also the editor of Counting the Cost, a free email newsletter about simple, frugal and abundant living. Visit Nancy online at www.countingthecost.com or at her newest site, www.keepitsimplesister.com.

There are many different types of mortgages with a plethora of features and fees. Choosing the right kind of mortgage based on your life style could not only make it easier for you to repay the loan but also save you thousands of dollars.

First, make an honest assessment of your financial position. Do you have a stable job? If you are in business, does it yield you a regular profit? Calculate your gross income. If you have a very low income that deters you from saving anything then you would do well to opt for a low down or no down payment mortgage. If your income is good enough to have allowed saving for the down payment its better that you make 20% or more down payment. The less you owe the better.

Are you sure that you can repay your loan after a sudden loss of employment? On the other hand, if you as a couple are repaying together, what if your spouse loses their job, can you still manage it? A longer amortization period (30years) would mean that you pay a smaller amount monthly that would be lighter on your monthly budget. Also, remember that you pay a higher interest and a larger amount overall incase of mortgages that are spread over longer periods. A shorter (15years) amortization period would mean that you pay a larger monthly installment, but a lower interest rate and hence a smaller price for the house.

A job that pays you bonuses, or retirement benefits where a lump sum amount is expected can be helpful in making large down payments or clearing balloon mortgages.

Choosing between a fixed rate loan and one with an adjustable rate is always a gamble. If the fixed rates are low now, it’s better to go for that option. The choice between ARM and FRM is based on the wider economic outlook, whereas the choice of mortgage is more dependent on your financial situation.

Mobility is another factor that has to be actively considered when deciding about mortgage. Will your job require you to move away from your current place of residence to another? Do you see yourself out of a house in 4-5 years? Alternatively, you do not intend to move out of the town/city where you live, for the rest of your life. A short stay may not work in favor of buying a house altogether, unless rent prices in the area where you live is higher and real estate prices are appreciating faster. If you plan to sell the house in 5 years and move out then opt for mortgages where the interest rate is lower in the first few years of the mortgage. Better still go for interest only mortgage where you pay only the interest for the five years you stay in the house. ARM mortgage loans are also suitable for short home owning periods. The rate in ARMs is very low during the first few years. Definitely, the interest/interest+principal paid will be less than the rent you would have paid. People who want to move to a bigger house after a few years can also consider these mortgages.

It will be assumed here that you have thought well about the kind of property you have decided to buy. Just make sure that you are entering into a debt with complete understanding of all the pros and cons.

PROVIDED BY:

By Anita Johnston, Staff Writer for www.LendersMark.org

Do you frequently get cash from ATMs and then have no idea where it ends up? Do you end up paying late fees simply because you don’t have a good system in place for tracking and paying your bills? If you don’t have a good budget system in place, it is easy to lose track of your hard earned money. The tips below can help you to keep your finances under control.  

1. Keep your financial records organized and your filing up to date. Have a set of file folders for items such as receipts, bills, canceled checks, checking account statements, etc. Have a designated place where you keep or can easily assemble your master home budget, your financial files, checkbook, etc. so it is all in one convenient location.  

2. Avoid spending cash, unless you are good at writing down cash expenses in a journal. It is all too easy to get $100 from the ATM and then have no idea where it all went at the end of the week. If you have trouble figuring out where your cash gets spent, keep a small amount of cash on hand for minor purchases. For everything else, try to pay by either a paper check, online checking or through credit cards so you have a record of your purchases. Credit cards are a good way to track purchases unless you have trouble controlling your spending. If this applies to you, then avoid credit card purchases and focus on keeping track of your expenses in a journal or by paying for items by check.  

3. Give your children a set allowance for things like movies, CDs, snacks and toys instead of just giving them money on as needed basis. Giving children an allowance teaches them to make wise spending choices at an early age. A twelve year old who spends all of his allowance right away on CDs and then doesn’t have enough money to go to the movies with his friends on the weekend has just learned a good lesson on the negative consequences of impulse spending.  

4. Have a system in place for handling the mail. If you are not in the habit of misplacing bills or checks, good for you. Keep on using whatever system you have in place now. However, if losing track of bills is an issue at your house, it may help to have a designated mail drop box inside the house. Each family member should be instructed that whoever brings in the mail that day should always put the mail in the designated mail box for later sorting. Then the family member who has responsibility for sorting the mail should do so near the financial folders. That way checks get put right away in the check folder, bills in the bill folder, etc.  

5. Avoid going to stores where you have had problems overspending in the past. Our neighbors stopped shopping at warehouse clubs and actually ended up saving money. They found they spent more money by not being able to resist all of the warehouse club bargains on products they really didn’t need than they would by just getting their food at the local grocery store.  

6. Have written, long term savings goals. Some sample goals might be getting out of debt, saving for college, or building a retirement fund. It helps to avoid spending money on day to day purchases if you have financial goals and reasons to save money in mind. Not having any compelling reasons to save makes it easier to fritter away money on small day to day purchases instead of saving for the long term.  

7. Have a set time each week to review and pay the bills. If you have the money to pay your bills, there is no point in getting unneeded late fees due to disorganization or lost bills. If you take home $15 an hour after taxes, then to make up for just one $30 late fee you would have to work an extra two hours to cover the fee.  

Getting organized is one of the first steps to getting your budget under control. Avoiding unnecessary late fees, paying bills on time, and having a good system in place for filing and bill paying can all help to keep your household budget on the right track. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Copyright 2006 Always Frugal. 

S. L. Simmons is a thrifty mom of two. Visit her site at http://www.alwaysfrugal.com/budgeting.html for tips on creating a home budget, a free budget worksheet, and more frugal living articles.

There are tons of women looking to work from home and not everyone wants to have a business that involves retail sales. If you’ve been at your search for a work at home business or career for any length of time, you’ve likely heard that there are telecommuting positions in medical coding, as well as opportunities to open your own medical coding business and work from home.

Medical coders work with doctor’s offices, hospitals and many other service types to code medical documents with numbers for insurance and billing purposes. The growth in the medical coding job market is expected to grow at a much higher pace than most industries over the next eight years and with an average income of over $25,000 in 2004, it is no wonder that this has been a big interest of women looking to work from home.

In addition, medical coding is an opportunity with many options. From being employed outside the home, to telecommuting for an employer from home, to telecommuting for a freelance medical coding agency to owning your own medical coding business that could one day blossom and allow you to even employ other medical coders from home. The medical coding career has numerous options to fit any mom’s career desires.

But not just anyone can be a medical coder. It does require training and skill and beware of any company that tries to tell you otherwise. As with many other industries in the work at home field, some of the “opportunities” you’ll find are scams designed to play on the intense desire many women, especially mothers, have to work from home.

There are various ways to educated to enter the medical coding field. Specialized degrees for medical coders are offered by many colleges as are qualified training courses that give you the education you need to get certified. Be sure to check out any program you look into (especially if it isn’t at a college and is instead offered by a private company) before you shell out any money to get involved.

So how do you know what the scams are and how do you “check out” programs offering medical coding training or opportunities? One way is to network within the community. Visit the websites of the American Academy of Professional Coders and the AACCA. You can also find books relating to the medical coding career on Amazon and well-reviewed e-books on the topic such as the Medical Coding Career Guide.

Another way is to research, which can be done for free. You can use sites like those above as a starting point. By searching in Google, Yahoo and MSN you will find many sources of information. It may take you a few weeks to compile a decent amount of information, but you’ll be better off for doing so before you spend any money working towards this career.

If you don’t have time to research – or are impatient – you can find information at the resources above. Whatever you do, don’t shell out money to any opportunities before understanding the industry and checking out the program with professional organizations.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

R. Hoffman is a long time work at home mom with a highly successful business consisting of numerous websites. When she’s not glued to her laptop, she juggles the needs of her three active children and travels whenever possible. She can be reached through It’s a WAHM Thing – she’s not sure what the final product will be, but welcomes input!

Finding a legit telecommute job can be difficult. Telecommute jobs are in high demand and hundreds if not thousands of other people are competing for the same position.

So how do you stand apart from everyone else? Your résumé.

Your telecommute résumé the first and often the only document a potential employer has to make a hiring decision with. Here are some tips specifically for your telecommute résumé to keep it on the employer’s desk and out of “file number 13”.

I have consulted with telecommute résumé expert Jennifer Anthony of Résumé ASAP to get a list of the top five telecommute résumé mistakes. Here they are!

1. Wild designs or frilly fonts.

If you want to be taken seriously for consideration, avoid using cursive fonts or cutesy clip art. Leave this to personal use; it does not belong on business correspondence. Also, check your e-mail signatures. You don’t want to send your résumé out and then sign your name “Mommy to Sean and Sissy” with little angel graphics around their names.

2. Résumé templates.

“I know for a fact that recruiters hate templates and would rather rip their hair out than read templates”, Jennifer Anthony

Recruiters and hiring managers spend their day (often overtime) sorting through hundreds of résumés. Templates are hard to read, and the design elements often don’t show up correctly on a monitor other than that your own. Hiring managers need to be able to scan your document quickly to see if you are qualified before moving on. If they can’t find out in 6-8 seconds, your résumé is trash. It is better to start with a blank document and look at other résumé examples for inspiration.

3. The selfish objective statement.

If you are using the same old objective statement as everyone else, your résumé may be thrown in the trash because you did not put forth the effort to create a personalized résumé.

Here is an example objective you should avoid:

“A telecommute position allowing me to utilize my knowledge and expertise working from home.”

Why? This statement opens up many questions. What kind of telecommute position? What is your knowledge and expertise? Also take note that using the words “me” and “my” sound very selfish. Instead of telling them what you want, you should be showing them what you have to offer them.

Here is an example of what you can use as your headline:

“Talented and experienced virtual assistant, skilled in all aspects of office management within nonprofit environments.”

(More headline examples can be found at RésuméASAP).

This is targeted and to the point. The reader knows this person is an experienced virtual assistant who is especially skilled in a nonprofit role. No wasted time.

4. Irrelevant Experience.

Don’t list irrelevant work experience just to fill in space. If you are applying for a transcription position, your customer service experience at the local fast food restaurant does not apply. What matters is how much transcribing experience you have, how fast you type, how good your spelling and grammar skills are, and how accurate your work is. Any work experience that deals with these skills can be listed.

5. Personal Information.

Leave off information like how many children you have, how long you have been married, or that you happen to love scuba diving

Let’s look at children and spouses for instance. Some people may see this as stability, but many others look at it as a liability. They may have questions about how you will work out for them with the responsibilities. How often will this person miss work because his/her kids are sick? Is his/her spouse supportive of the telecommuting role? Can he/she work efficiently if the children are home? Employers are not allowed to ask, so why put this on your résumé. Personal information should be left off.

If you write that you love scuba diving, you may think this makes you look like a well-rounded person. However, it could give someone the idea that you love scuba diving more than work. It is best to just leave this kind of info off.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nell Taliercio is the owner and founder of www.telecommutingmoms.com – which is a leading resource website with work at home jobs and everything a telecommuting mom would need. Come visit us today!

This article is available for reprint with author’s resource box intact and all links live and clickable. Copyright is reserved by author.

Scams are every where online. Just about every where you go online you will find ads for so-called “easy and fast money” jobs. Anything that promises “easy money” or “big bucks part time” is full of it. Don’t waste your time on something that promises fast and easy money because it’s not going to happen.

Let’s delve into the scams out there and then talk about resources you can use to research a company!

Common work at home scams to avoid

Typing “Jobs” – you can type in typing jobs in any major search engine and you’ll pull up many of these so-called “jobs” typing for “easy” money. Most of the time you will pay a fee, and then they will send you information about how to place ads in local papers to “sell” this so-called job to others. This simply is not a “job” and it’s nearly impossible to make a decent income with this. They post testimonials that are either made up or of successful internet marketers in order to persuade you into believing this is a great “job” for you.

Envelope Stuffing – I’m sure you’ve seen this one everywhere and might have fallen for it. I sure did. Not once, but twice! I thought, “Well the first company was just a scam but this one looks legit” and, yes, I was wrong. I got scammed by this little sucker twice! Please do not fall for this tempting “job”. What you’ll probably receive (what happened to me) for your “small fee” (which is usually how its worded) is a letter telling you to place that same “envelope-stuffing” ad in newspapers, magazines, online sites and anywhere else you can get your ad. The only way you will earn money is to pass on this scam to other moms who desperately want to work at home. There’s no stuffing of envelopes involved. You simply pass on this scam to others and get paid by charging a fee…the same way it happened to you. Please don’t fall for this HUGE waste of time and please don’t pass this scam on to others.

Assembly/Crafting Scams- If you want to make money with assembly or crafting your best bet is to start your own business and sell your work online, locally and at fairs. The so-called jobs online for assembly or crafts are scams. Usually you will be required to buy supplies or a kit and then, after days or weeks of work, you would send in your work for payment. What usually happens is your work supposedly didn’t meet the standards they have and they will either send it back for you to fix or they will keep it and not pay you. If you get the chance to “fix it” and send it back you’ll again be told it didn’t meet the standard. It’s a nasty on going cycle and the end result is that you’ve wasted your hard earned money on the “kit” and you’ve wasted your valuable time for nothing.

Processing Government Refunds- Boy this one sounds pretty interesting huh? Yet another scam for you to avoid. What the meat of this scam? Basically you’ll see ads that you can earn $500 to $1500 a week processing 3rd party government refunds via your computer. You are told that you’ll get a list of people who might be home owners and might be entitled to a refund by HUD. They make you pay up to $300 (or even more) for this list. What you’ll do is contact these people and try to get them to share the refund with you, BUT what they fail to tell you is these people can get refunds FREE by calling HUD themselves.

So, if you go through this list and find a few people owed a refund, phone them up and tell them why you’re calling, one of three things will happen:

1. They will hang up on you

2. They’ll listen to you, then tell you that their going to research this themselves. Doing so they will find out they don’t need you and can get the refund on their own. Therefore you make nothing.

3. You find someone who actually takes you up on your offer. You “help” them get the refund they could have done on their own and you collect your portion. You’ve basically scammed that person out of all the money owed to them by withholding the fact that they can do this on their own and collect all the money.

Just stay away from this – it’s bad for all concerned. And in fact, the HUD site warns people of these so-called “tracers” … that the public can collect a refund without a “tracer.”

Chain Letters- This usually guarantees you to earn large amounts of money with a one time small investment. (See the trend? Scams ALWAYS ask you for money.) The typical chain letter scheme usually requires you to mail the chain letter, along with a specified amount of money to six (or more) people. And then they must do the same. There just simply aren’t enough people in the world to make this worth your time. AND, it’s illegal! The post office says that chain letters are a form of unauthorized lottery and may violate federal mail fraud laws. They also warn not to waste your money! Read more about this at US Postal Service Inspection Services

Medical Claims Billing- I’m sure you’ve seen this everywhere and it may have caught your eye. This one caught my eye, but I was fortunate enough to meet someone who told me to stay away. The ad will usually state you can make tons of money part time doing “Medical Billing/ Claims Processing. The fee for the software and training can be as high as $7500 or even more. You supposedly get a list of doctors and sample letters in order to gain clients. Although this isn’t necessarily the typical scam, it’s not as easy (or possible) as they claim it to be. If you want to do this I would take a local class on Medial Billing (or an accredited online school) and then get an offline job doing this…then build your client list and make it home-based.

What have we learned from the examples above? If you have to pay a free, it’s a scam, rip off or just not worth your time! So stay away from the above scams.

I would also like to discuss some common red flags to look for with any job offer.

They ask a fee – you should NEVER pay for a job

They claim it’s easy work – a real job is never easy

They claim you can earn great money for little work – a real job will never claim you can make riches with little to no work.

They have testimonials about the “job” – a real job offer isn’t going to need testimonials posted. Why would they? If they aren’t trying to sell something to you, then they won’t need to convince you that it’s worth your time.

If it says “no kits, no fee’s, not MLM…etc.” – a real job isn’t going to post that in their job ad. If you find a “job” advertised like that you can guarantee it’s a business opp. or outright scam.

The words “No Experience Necessary” – although there are some jobs out there that don’t require experience they often won’t make that a big part of their ad (or at all) and usually you find this on scam ads.

A 900 number to call for more information – any legitimate company will call you or provide you with an 800 number. If they are a smaller company and don’t have an 800 number, then if you inform then you don’t wish to use your long distance to call them, they will usually call you.

Resources-

The Better Business Bureau

Web Assured (”Watch List” to see complaints on companies)

The Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Response Center

Scambusters – newsletter you can join too

The National Fraud Information Center

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nell Taliercio is the owner and founder of www.telecommutingmoms.com – which is a leading resource website with work at home jobs and everything a telecommuting mom would need. Come visit us today!

This article is available for reprint with author’s resource box intact and all links live and clickable. Copyright is reserved by author.

Let me ask you a question: are you tired of using job sites only to find scam after scam? I bet you’re nodding your head in agreement to that question. I know that I was sick and tired of spending all my time online searching for telecommuting jobs only to find scams. Any type of free job site is going to have a few scams, but some sites have more legitimate jobs than others, and some are easier to use than others.

There is one job site that I enjoy, have found the most legitimate jobs from, is the easiest to search through, and has a good variety of jobs. This site is http://www.craigslist.org/. If you’ve never used this job search website, I would start using it today!

What makes it such a superior job lead website? Well, let me tell you what I personally like about it. I like that there is an option to search telecommuting jobs only; not too many job sites have this option built into the search feature. You simply go to whatever city you want, select whatever category you want, and click on the telecommuting option. Then, it pulls up the telecommuting jobs! It’s sooooo easy!

I also enjoy that there are so many great categories, and there are some really diverse categories. If you’re looking for jobs in administration, biotech, writing, teaching or many others, you can find them at http://www.craigslist.org/.

I also enjoy that there are so many cities and countries to search through. If you’re searching for Canadian telecommuting jobs, there are options to search that country. If you’re looking for telecommuting jobs in Ireland, there is an option to search that country and many other countries as well. Plus well over 30 US cities!

To find the best results, I go to http://www.craigslist.org/ and start with the first city, Albany, and start with the first category, accounting and finance, and then start searching through every city and category! Sounds simple right? It is simple, but you need to stay committed to looking for jobs everyday.

Telecommuting jobs go fast, so searching everyday at Craigslist.org will be your best bet. You need to jump on the jobs the day they are listed. Is this going to take time on your part? Of course, but if you’re serious about working at home, you will find the time to search everyday for jobs.

Craiglist.org is one of the easiest job search websites I’ve found, and it’s one that I go to in order to find legitimate leads from every single day! My husband has even started using it to find offline jobs in our area.

I have other job search websites that you can try out listed on my MommysPlace site. I haven’t used all of the websites on this list, so please know that I can’t vouch for them all or tell you if they are the best to use. You should try as many as you want in order to decide which ones work best for you.

http://www.telecommutingmoms.com

Now get out there and get searching! I wish you the best with your job search.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nell Taliercio is the owner and founder of www.telecommutingmoms.com – which is a leading resource website with work at home jobs and everything a telecommuting mom would need. Come visit us today!

This article is available for reprint with author’s resource box intact and all links live and clickable. Copyright is reserved by author.