Survey Site Opinion Outpost Pays Out!

I have been using a survey site called Opinion Outpost for quite awhile now. The site connects users with companies that conduct surveys for clients on a wide range of topics. At the time I had only completed surveys, but I had not actually redeemed any of my monetary rewards.

I have to say I am VERY impressed. I looked back at my account and realized I've been a member of Opinion Outpost for about 7 months. In that time I have earned $67.50. Granted, that's not a ton of money, but a couple of things should be pointed out. First, I'm not sure I'm the target audience for a lot of these surveys. I'm a 30 year old guy. There are a lot of these surveys that just don't apply to me. A typical SAHM, however, would be right in the wheelhouse for a lot of these surveys.

Also, there are times when I'm just too busy to respond to surveys. There are times when I just delete every survey I get for about a week at a time. That is a lot of opportunities passed up. If I could respond to every survey (and there are a lot of surveys) I know I could make more money.

The other thing that impressed me was the turn around time on recieiving my check. The website says to allow 4-8 weeks for delivery. No problem. It's not like I need this money to live on right this second. But surprise, surprise. My check showed up yesterday less than a week after I requested it. That is a really good response time.

So I am officially fully endorsing Opinion Outpost as a survey research panel. The surveys are easy to comprehend. The website is set up very well. And most importantly, they actually pay you for your time. So if you're interested, just click on the banner at the top of this post and sign up. It doesn't cost a dime to sign up and you could be earning money in a matter of minutes. Have fun.

Time Management for SAHMs (Part 1)

I think I've figured out the one thing that is the difference between a good day and a bad day for my wife: time management! Of course there are those wildcard variables that can wreck even the best-planned day. My son scraping his knee falling on the driveway, my daughter deciding today is the day she going to bite her brother repeatedly. But those things aside, time management can make or break a SAHM's day.

For some people time management is second nature. They have no problem setting up a schedule, planning out a day and sticking to it. I don't think my wife and I are like that. We try. We really do. I swear. But there are plenty of times it just doesn't happen.

So I started doing some research and came across a couple of websites that profess to help those of us that are time management deficient. Today we'll cover one of the websites, and we'll get to the other one tomorrow. The first website I came across was Motivated Moms. The website offes printable chore lists to help with the sometimes difficult task of deciding what needs to be done when. If you're like our family, looking at a house of chores that need to be done can be very daunting. Where do you start? What task comes next? My wife likes to tell me I have ADHD, so I typically jump from one job to the next.

According to the website, the Motivated Moms chore lists are "designed to help you complete chores and tasks throughout the year so that you don’t spend your entire day doing housework." And let's be honest, nobody wants to spend all day doing housework. The goal is to reduce stress and make it easier to maintain your home in the easiest possible manner.

The chore lists come in 8 different styles and can be easily downloaded for a measly $4 on the website. All you need is a PayPal account. Here is a sample of a Full Sized Weekly Planner.

Click here to view more details

Anybody ever used this system? Any thoughts?

I Survived My Weekend As A SAHM

OK, so it was barely more than 24 hours. And it was only 1 of 3 kids. But it was the 4 week old baby, so that's gotta count for something.

Regardless, it was my own little SAHM experience. It was just me and a baby. I changed all the diapers, made all the bottles and got up every time he got up during the night. I guess I had forgotten just how much work newborns are. It's been less than 2 years since my little girl was a baby, but it seems like decades.

If your husband ever asks what you do all day (which I have and will NEVER do), just leave them with your kid(s) for a day. Take a girl's weekend and see how well you are recieved on Sunday afternoon. I'll be honest, I can't wait for my wife to get home. I need a break.