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Make Easy Money Online By Selling Your Textbooks

You need a little bit of extra money right now. Who doesn’t? Maybe these people. But if you’re reading this, chances are you are not on that list. So what are your options? Why not sell your unneeded textbooks and make easy money online this summer?

Now you may be asking yourself “What if I need to brush up on my imaginary numbers twenty years from now?” Well, there are some alternatives to selling your textbooks. This handy, 100% unbiased* flowchart spells out all your money-making options:

Go with the flow(chart) and earn some extra money.

There you have it. Unless you want to become a cage fighter, or a medical guinea pig or wait until next year to sell to your campus bookstore only to find out that they are no longer buying that edition you should give Cash4Books.net a try. Shipping is always free and you can sell your textbooks anytime, not just during finals week. Letting go is never easy. But all that cold, hard cash will make it a little easier to part with your dearly beloved, and now mostly useless, textbooks.

*Actual level of unbiasedness may vary.

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Sell Used Video Games Online with GameRevive

March is well underway, and here’s a way to put aside some money for your Spring Break getaway or get some cash toward the most anticipated video game releases of 2012: sell used video games online to Cash4Books.net’s new website, GameRevive.com.

I don’t have to tell you that it’s spring cleaning time, and here at the Green Frugal, we are big fans of clearing out clutter and making a few extra bucks in the process. We’ve been buying and selling used books at Cash4Books and MKZBooks.com for years now (and developed a loyal following too), and now we’re offering the same great deal and same great customer service to all of the gamers out there (we know how college students love to play video games–doesn’t everyone?). At Cash4Books, we’ve been buying your used textbooks for years, and now we want to do the same with your used video games.

Do you have a pile of used video games that you have already conquered (and are now just collecting dust)? Looking for a way to sell your used video games in order to offset the high cost of new video games? Or do you just need extra cash deposited into your account?

Here are the 7 key reasons why you should sell us your used video games:

Reason 1: Easy checkout process

Simply enter the title or UPC code in the search box, and you will get an instant quote for your game. When you’re done, you can print a free shipping label–voila!

Reason 2: Online convenience

Just like Cash4Books, you can go through the whole process online, so you don’t have to lug a big box of stuff out to a brick-and-mortar store.

Reason 3: Gives you fast cash through PayPal instead of sticking you with store credit

When you sell your video games to brick-and-mortar stores, you often have to choose store credit to get a competitive price, but GameRevive can give you what you really want–cash–to do with as you will.

Reason 4: Free Shipping

That’s right, I’ll say it again: we pay the cost of shipping.

Reason 5: You’ve conquered the game, now get reimbursed with cash through the GameRevive website

Get some cash for the used video games you’re not playing; it’s as simple as that. Use PayPal so we can quickly and efficiently deliver that electronic payment to you. After we inspect the game, it only takes about a day.

Reason 6: Use the money to offset the cost of new games

Here’s a secret that voracious book buyers know: the best way to afford the cost of new books is to sell back your used books that are just sitting around on the shelf. Now gamers have that same opportunity with GameRevive.

Reason 7: Wide variety of games

We are currently purchasing hundreds of used games for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Wii games. Check out the homepage at GameRevive to see some actual sample quotes that we’ve offered customers.

We are very proud of our new website and checkout process at GameRevive (we think it’s a very handsome website, indeed), so please come and visit us to find out why we earned a stellar reputation as the go-to place for selling textbooks online and sell us your used games today. Easy process, free shipping, and fast cast deposited into your account. Check it out and tell us what you think.

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How to Make Money Reviewing Products

There are a number of ways to make money reviewing products for a business. You may choose to do this as a side business to supplement your income or as a full-time job.

Reviewing products is a fun way to give your opinion while helping businesses cater to their customers’ needs and make relevant changes to products or services. Here are just a few ways you can get make money reviewing products.

Taking surveys is a great way for college students to earn a little extra cash.

Surveys
There are a number of legitimate websites that offer people compensation for taking surveys. Typically you earn points for every survey completed. When you reach a certain point threshold, you can cash in your account.

Students may want to try the website SurveyU to make a little extra money for college. They even give you extra points when it is your birthday! Money earned can be transferred to a PayPal account, Amazon gift card or an iTunes gift card. Surveyspot is another good site for paid product reviews and also runs on a points system. Once you have reached a certain amount, you can request your payment via check.

Taking surveys of products can be a good way to earn money, but keep in mind you may have to take many surveys before you actually get paid. Additionally, you may come across surveys that you are ineligible to take as you do not meet certain demographic criteria. This is normal and should not discourage survey takers. The company simply needs very specific data for that particular survey. Keep trying and eventually you will see your income grow!

E-bay and Company Product Reviews
Another way to make money through product reviews is to write them for specific companies. There are a number of websites, such as oDesk, where companies and individual E-bay sellers write job postings looking for product reviewers. You will earn an income and companies receive reviews and feedback to help them better serve their customers. Everybody wins!

Make money reviewing products on your blog! Credit: shimgray, Flickr.com

Blog about Product Reviews
You may also want to use your existing blog to make money reviewing products. You can directly approach companies about reviewing their product or service for compensation. In your pitch, include information about your blog to convince the company that you are a good fit and that your readers will be interested in purchasing the product.

There are a number of successful bloggers that frequently include product reviews on their websites. Many of them either receive the actual product as compensation for the review or a direct payment from the company. One product review site you might want to use for reference is TheWebReviewer.com.

Reviewing products online is a great way to get started making money. There are a number of additional resources online and at your local library that can help you get started on writing product reviews. Good luck and happy reviewing!

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How Students Can Save Money in College

College is an exciting time in students’ lives.  Students learn about new subjects and explore their career options in a safe, knowledge-based setting. However, it is important college students also begin to form healthy financial habits in college. Too often, students that start off on the wrong foot make poor decisions later on, especially when it comes to their finances. Here are some ways students can save money in college and use their money in smart ways. These methods have worked for a number of students and are a good way to usher in adulthood and responsibility.

Purchase Second-Hand Supplies & Textbooks

You'll probably have some of these items that you can bring from home. Credit: William Hook, Flickr.com.

Many students want all new supplies for their dorm room. This can cost students and parents a lot of money and frustration when the bill arrives.  Thus, consider borrowing and buying used as strategies to save money in college:

• Buy items like furniture, second-hand. You may find good second-hand supplies like coffee tables or lamps at consignment shops or garage sales. You might even have these supplies at home and can easily transport them with you to college.

• Talk to family and friends and see if they have any supplies lying around you can buy at a lower cost. You never know when an old desk can become a study companion at college!

• Bring materials and supplies you already have. Your pillow from home will work just as well at college and decorative items like photos or pictures you wish to hang up might be suited for your dream dorm room design. Additionally, bringing items you already own may help when you feel homesick at college. It is always a better option to add a touch of home to a dorm room rather than shopping for brand new items at stores.

• Read our post on how to sell textbooks back online for cash.

Use Meal Plans

Most colleges require students to purchase a meal plan as part of their room and board. Even commuter students that live at home or have an off-campus apartment may be required to have a meal plan in order to keep their enrollment status. Meal plans are often grandfathered into costs and are difficult to avoid. Here are some tips for strategically using a meal plan to help  save money in college:

• The meal plan is typically already paid for as a set number of meals per week or in points for food and beverage items on campus. The school may offer a combination of both of these options in their meal plants. Students do not have to spend extra money on meals with meal plan options, which is a benefit for those students that do not work while in school.

• Colleges have begun focusing on healthier meal options. This helps students avoid calories and unnecessary spending on unhealthy foods they might be tempted to buy off campus.

• Check your school’s policy on meal plans and any restrictions, such as times the cafeterias might be closed. This can help you plan your schedule better and make plans with friends to meet on campus for meals.

Check out even more advice on how to save money on food in college.

Avoid Using Credit Cards

Leave the plastic at home and save money in college. Credit: Andres Rueda, Flickr.com.

Credit cards are readily available on college campuses and can easily lead students down to a dangerous path of increased debt and frustration. Avoid using credit cards or being cajoled into signing up for one while on campus. The benefits the salesperson might tell you at the table will not outweigh the cost of high interest rates.

• If you come on campus with a credit card, use it sparingly. Students typically have a parent as a cosigner on credit cards, so overuse of credit might harm the parent’s credit score, too.

• Avoid using credit by leaving the card out of your wallet altogether. Store it in a safe place, such as in a small safe with a lock, so you are not tempted to use it on a regular basis. If you must use credit for purchases, pay the debt off immediately the next month.

It may be challenging for students to save money in college, but it is not impossible! Following these steps will ensure many dollars (and headaches) saved during your college experience!

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Attention college students: as you get settled into your new fall classes and start shopping for the best textbook prices, here are a few things to look for in a writing handbook that will help with your term papers and essay assignments.

Once you get past the introductory writing courses like English 101, your professors are going to expect competent, college-level writing in your assigned essays without giving you a lot of steps and support. Hopefully you learned all of the basics from English 101, and even if you did, an excellent writing handbook can provide a lot of quick support and resources at your fingertips.

All college writing handbooks will give you the basics about starting your essay (brainstorming, mapping, outlining, and drafting), and all handbooks will give you the grammar basics (how to make sure your sentence isn’t a fragment and how to tell if your sentence has a comma splice), but here are a few things to look for in a writing handbook that offer extra support to make your writing shine during college (and maybe beyond college too).

Have you selected a college writing handbook yet? Image credit: Unhindered by Talent, flickr.com

#1 – Sentence Style

In the beginning of your undergraduate days, you will probably be most concerned with creating error-free sentences. However, as you go deeper into your degree field and start taking upper-level courses, correctness is no longer enough; you want to have style. Learning the intricacies of subordination is essential for advanced college-level writing, especially if you want to go on to graduate school. It takes a lot of practice. For example, do you know how to use parallelism in order to convey the multi-part meaning of a complex idea, capture your audience’s attention through stylistic devices, and display a sophisticated level of critical thinking with your grammar? Make sure your handbook has an entire section on sentence style that gives plenty of ideas and instructions for a variety of sentences.

#2 – MLA/APA Updates

Your professors will expect you to use MLA or APA format (or maybe something else) to document your sources. Make sure your writing handbook has the latest updates. For example, MLA format has now been updated so students no longer need to include cumbersome urls in their citations. As far as I can tell, most of the updates for documenting electronic and online sources are very helpful for students, so it’s better to make sure you’re using the new format.

#3 – Glossary of Style and Usage

There are a lot of things in college writing that your spellchecker will not pick up. For example, do you know whether or not to use “toward” or “towards”? “Further” or “farther”? “Hanged” or “hung”? Do you know the differences between “lay,” “lie,” and “laid”? Should you capitalize seasons? A good glossary of usage will provide easy answers to all of these things and a lot more. If you think your professors don’t notice stuff like this, you’re wrong. They notice, and it doesn’t take very many little usage errors to add up and make an overall bad impression.

Use a writing handbook to easily develop a spiffy resume. Image credit: The CV Inn, flickr.com

#4 – Resumes and Cover Letters

During college and after, you’re going to need to make awesome resumes and cover letters for job hunting. All of the lessons of effective college writing come into play with these documents that can make or break your job search: how to write for a specific audience (your prospective employer), how to craft concise and impactful sentences, how to persuade, how to use powerful verbs for dynamic style. Making a perfect resume and cover letter is an art form–it takes style. In addition to these features, there are very specific conventions regarding format and presentation for resumes and cover letters. Too many people stop at correct format without making their sentences powerful. You want your writing handbook to give you all of this information within easy reach. Spend at least as much time editing and revising your resume as you would a college term paper that is ten times as long.

Some of you out there might be thinking, why should I bother paying for a writing handbook when all of this information is available online? It’s true that you can find most of this information online, but you have to find it first. As a working writer myself, I can tell you it is much more time consuming to go searching for a usage question online (and sort through all the results that pop up) than it is to flip open my handbook, which is always sitting on my desk.

Do you have any questions about finding a writing handbook? Or do you have any other questions that you always wanted to ask your professors but were afraid to ask? Leave your questions in the comments section and I can give you all of the inside information.