April 29, 2011

Easy Wins: Low Entry Giveaways

Since giveaways on blogs are usually entered by commenting, the lower the comments, the better your chance to win! Here's some I found with low entries ending soon, organized by end date.

May 2
Affresh Dishwasher Cleaner (45 comments)
Homesav $40 Voucher (18 comments)

May 3
Allight Plus Size Clothing (20 comments)
Rebecca St. James CD:  I Will Praise You (5 comments)

I Will Praise You

Rocket Town by Bob Logan (14 comments)

Rocket Town

May 4
How to Be God's Little Princess (5 comments)

How to Be God's Little Princess: Royal Tips on Manners and Etiquette for Girls



If you have a giveaway with less than 60 entries per prize ending in the next 5 days, please click here to submit it

April 28, 2011

Hop and Squidoo

Hello, and welcome fellow Squido Lensmasters! For those who aren't travelling here by blog hop and don't know what Squidoo is, it's just a place where you can make nifty little web pages about any topic you choose, and maybe earn a little money for yourself or a charity in the process.

Hope everyone had a nice Easter.  I noticed I wasn't the only one who took the week off.  But I'm back!

I have a correction for my last Squidoo Hop post  which talked about how to report your Squidoo earnings on Taxes.  Turns out how you report it depends on whether what you earn is counted as hobby income or self-employment (and if you have earned it for three years running you have to prove its a hobby).  I've made corrections here.

Speaking of resources, I found a useful article about some things to avoid if you want to get listed in the google search engine.

Oh, and I have good news!  You may remember before that my Giveaway Linkies Lens got delisted.  Well, since then I added a photo to it and it got squid-liked by several people, including a couple giant squids (thanks Marsha and anyone else who helped!)...and it's back on the map and fairly highly ranked too.  Yeah!

2 Question Thursday/Aloha Friday

Every week or so I participate in Aloha Friday, where I ask a simple question for you to answer (nothing that requires a lengthy response) and Two Question Thursday (same idea...only TWO questions).  If you'ld like to, comment with an answer to the questions below:

1.  I'm really hoping someone knows the answer to this and can help me.  My spell checker on Firefox is set on British English.  It wants me to change color to colour and endeavors to endeavours.  It's getting on my nerves now and I want to change it.  Anyone know how?  (Icy, the first person to comment, knew this...THANKS...so no you can skip this one).

2.  What little (or big) problem is annoying you lately?


Please leave your answers in a comment.  Thanks a bunch!

April 27, 2011

Get a Free Card At Shutterfly

Lovely Branches Green 5x7 folded card
Create personalized greeting cards and invitations at Shutterfly.
View the entire collection of cards.

Now through April 28 you can get a free custom 5x7 folded card, or 5x7 or 5x5 stationery card from Shutterfly with coupon code MOMCARD. Limit one per household. Taxes, shipping and handling charges will apply (shipping was only $0.99 for me, though it might be more if you live outside the US).

Giveaways for Good

Haiti Relief Valentine Stickers sticker
GIVEAWAYS 4 HAITI
The Haiti earthquake happened just a little over a year ago, and though the news spotlight has moved on, this country has not yet healed.  These giveaways are all for items which are made by Haitians or build awareness of the problems facing this country.



Acting Balanced Autism Awareness Month 
GIVEAWAYS 4 AUTISM
Found some great giveaways which support good causes this month.  First, there's still a few days left to take part in the giveaways for Autism Awareness month, which help raise awareness of Autism.  Also, Jamerican Spice is giving away the book The Everyday Advocate: Standing Up for Your Child With Autism. (Ends April 30)





The Heart Graphic above is by Hearts4Haiti, a shop created to help the Haitian people.  25% of sale price from this shop goes to the Charity Hope4Haiti.

Easy Wins: Low Comment Giveaways

Since giveaways on blogs are usually entered by commenting, the lower the comments, the better your chance to win! Here's some I found with low entries ending soon, organized by end date.

April 27
Zippo Lighter (40 comments)
Speaker Key-chains (53 comments)
Loveable Lables (13 comments)*

April 29
Easter Soap Set (14 comments)


April 30
Flameless Candles (14 comments) *
In Zanesville (5 comments)

In Zanesville: A Novel

Keratin Enhance (23 comment/2 winners = about 7 entries per prize)
The Everyday Advocate: Standing Up for Your Child With Autism (10 comments)

The Everyday Advocate: Standing Up for Your Child with Autism or Other Special Needs


Adoption Nation (11 comments)

Adoption Nation

Super Boom (1 comment)

Super Boom: Why the Dow Jones Will Hit 38,820 and How You Can Profit From It

*I got extra entries in some of these for blogging.

If you have a giveaway with less than 60 entries per prize ending in the next 5 days, please click here to submit it

April 21, 2011

The Best Gift

What's the best thing you've ever been given?  I've been given a lot of precious gifts in my years on this earth, but the one gift that means more to me than any other is the gift that Jesus gave when he took the punishment for my sins and gave his life in my place.  He didn't do it just for me but for all who would believe in him, so that we could have God's forgiveness, not have to live under the condemnation of our sins, and be free to follow him.  If you would like to learn more about what this means, click here.


Praise God for his mercy and grace!


April 19, 2011

Easy Blog Wins: Low Comment Giveaways

Since giveaways on blogs are usually entered by commenting, the lower the comments, the better your chance to win! Here's some I found with low entries ending soon, organized by end date.

April 20
S'well Bottle (52 comments)
Natural Calm (15 comments)

April 21
$10 Walmart Gift Card (45 comments) - Giveaway for Good
Crane Air Purifier (58 comments)

Crane Five Stage Air Purifier, Penguin

$10 Credit to My Lady of Gourds (12 comments)
Robby Wash Ball (48 comments)


April 22
Freschetta Pizza Prize Pack (17 comments)
Address Labels (34 comments)


April 23
Cutting Edge Therapies for Autism (29 comments)

Cutting-Edge Therapies for Autism 2010-2011

Chicken Soup for the Soul - Grieving and Recovery (2 comments)

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Grieving and Recovery: 101 Inspirational and Comforting Stories about Surviving the Loss of a Loved One


April 25
Two GoPicnic Meals (37 comments)
Wholly Guac, Salsa, or Queso (130 comments/5 winners = 26 comments per prize)

 


If you have a giveaway with less than 60 entries per prize ending in the next 5 days, please click here to submit it

10 Giveaway Pet Peeves

Generally, I enjoy giveaways and I enjoy giving things away.  But I do have a few pet peeves about giveaways and holding giveaways.  Thought I'd share ten of these pet peeves for 10 on Tuesday.


10 Giveaway Pet Peeves

1.  When bloggers don't give an end date for their giveaways (since I post them based on end date).

2.  When bloggers are unclear about how you enter their giveaways.

3.  When bloggers tell you something is worth 5 extra entries, but don't tell you whether you should post a separate comment for each entry, or just comment once.

4.  When a giveaway says it ends on a certain date, but doesn't mention that it ends early in the morning on that date.

5.   When people enter my giveaways and don't leave a way to contact them.

6.  When  people comment on a giveaway post and clearly haven't read the rules.

7.  Bloggers who don't read my rules when submitting giveaways...especially the part about them ending in the next 5 days (yes, of course it has low entries NOW...you just posted it and have 20 days to go!).

8.  Sponsors who never send the giveaway item.

9.  Finding a low comment giveaway for something I love RIGHT AFTER the giveaway closes (DOH!).

10.  Having to pay taxes on items I won (not so much that I mind the taxes...it's the extra time involved in trying to figure what everything is worth and tallying it all up to put it on my tax forms).


Photobucket

April 16, 2011

You Have to Report Giveaway Winnings on Your Taxes? Really?



Every year I find out something else I didn't know I was supposed to report.  Did you know that you are supposed to report the following?
Yeah, that makes me want to lovingly throw a pie in an IRS agent's face (ok, that's not really fair, since they aren't the ones actually responsible for this mess of a system...hey Congress, want pie?).

And did you catch that last item?  Yes, they want you to report your giveaway winnings, and no, not just if you won something BIG (like a car or a house).

Technically, you are supposed to report ANYTHING you win, no matter how small (though some promotional items may be exempt.)    I found a really good article that explains how to do that, and another at Get Along Home which has a helpful method of keeping records.

But if you don't need to file anyways....
Of course, some people don't even have to file taxes (some people earn so little they don't have to).   If you don't have to file, then you probably don't have to report any of this unless it changes your income enough that you would have to file.

(If tax season is getting you down, check out these tax day freebies from restaurants and businesses...that should cheer you up!)
Dear-IRS shirt

Squidoo Blog Hop - Taxing Odd Jobs

Hello, and welcome fellow Squido Lensmasters! For those who aren't travelling here by blog hop and don't know what Squidoo is, it's just a place where you can make nifty little web pages about any topic you choose, and maybe earn a little money for yourself or a charity in the process.

So Squidoers, have you finished your Taxes yet?   If you are  wondering if you have to report your Squidoo earnings, and how the heck you report them if you do, this post may help (though note, I'm not a tax expert...this is just the answers I came to through my own research as I tried to figure out things.).

I donate everything to charity, and none of it ever comes into my pocket, so I don't have to report it (I suppose it's possible I could write it off, but right now I'm not earning enough to make that worth the effort).  But I make money from some other online endeavors, like affiliate programs, taking surveys, and selling my art through PODS like Zazzle and CafePress to have to report those.  None of it makes very much, but the IRS still expects me to report it, and doesn't make it easy to do so!

The IRS expects you to report income from odd jobs, like babysitting, mowing lawns, and yes, earning money through Squidoo.

And what you have to do to report it depends on what you make and whether it is considered hobby income or self-employment income (find out here).

Some People Don't Have to File Taxes:
If your income  from all  sources (including odd jobs), is less than a certain amount, then you don't have to file taxes.  And if you don't have to file taxes (and choose not to), and your income from odd jobs is either under $400 or considered hobby income, then you don't have to worry about any of this.  (But if you choose to file I believe you still have to report it).
See if this applies to you here.

If you earned less than $400...
If you earned less than $400 total from all your odd jobs, but have other income, you'll need to report it (though you won't have to pay Self-Employment Tax).  If you earn money from something that  can be considered a hobby, you can report it on line 21 on form 1040EZ.  If its not a hobby I believe you will need to use form 1040 (not 1040-EZ) to file your taxes. You will need to fill out  Schedule C or C-EZ, which tally your net profit (it's a very simple form). The net profit goes on line 12 of Form 1040.  Is Squidoo a hobby?  That I can't answer for you, but this site may be helpful.

If you earned more than $400...
If you earned more than $400 from all your odd jobs, you will be paying self-employment tax, unless what you do can be considered a hobby (in which case, it can go on line 21 on form 1040EZ).  If this is not hobby income you cannot use Form 1040-EZ--you have to use Form 1040. You will need to fill out  Schedule C or C-EZ, which tally your net profit (it's a very simple form). The net profit then  goes on line 12 of Form 1040. You will also need to attach Schedule SE to calculate the Self-Employment tax.

If you earned more than $600 from any one source...
If you earned more than $600 from Squidoo or any other odd job provider, they have to file a 1099-misc form, and will be sending you a copy which you will include with your taxes.   You cannot use Form 1040-EZ unless what you do can be considered a hobby (in which case, it can go on line 21 on form 1040EZ).  If it's not hobby income you will have to use Form 1040  (their might be other forms you can file with also that I'm not aware of). You will need to fill out  Schedule C or C-EZ, which tally your net profit (it's a very simple form). The net profit then  goes on line 12 of Form 1040. You will also need to attach Schedule SE to calculate the Self-Employment tax.

Whew!  On the IRS page about this subject, they complain about the lost revenue from people who don't report this type of income.  Well, shesh, if they made more simple and obvious how to report this stuff, maybe more people would.

BIG IMPORTANT NOTE:  I'm not a tax expert,I've just researched this myself and may be dead wrong!  I've already had to change info on this (added info on hobby earnings).  If you want to be absolutely sure to be right on this you'll just have to hire a real tax expert, or wade through the IRS website yourself. However, the sources I got these might be tax experts (or not), and I list these below :-)





(This was great except they had a typo and called form 1040 form 10)


April 12, 2011

Easy Wins: Low Entry Giveaways

Since giveaways on blogs are usually entered by commenting, the lower the comments, the better your chance to win! Here's some I found with low entries ending soon, organized by end date. GC stands for Gift Card.

April 12
Rebecca St. James Priase Album (12 comments)

I Will Praise You


April 13
Ollie Olio $20 GC (46 comments)
 
April 14
Clean/Dirty Diswasher Sign (34 comments)

April 15
Flower Earrings (43 comments)
My Vintage Couture $25 GC (34 comments)
Sew Ronimo Keychain Wristlet (54 comments)
Shaklee Scour Off Paste Sample (53 comments/10 prizes = about 10 entries per prize)*
Punkin Seeds Productions $25 GC (49 comments)

April 16
Sissy Little Wall Decals (45 comments)*
H. K. Anderson Pretzels (35 comments)

April 17
Dinosaur Train Video (23 comments)*

Dinosaur Train Pteranodon Family Adventures

April 18
$25 Starbucks Gift Card (12 comments)

(*I'm getting extra entries for posting those marked with a star.)
 

If you have a giveaway with less than 60 entries per prize ending in the next 5 days, please click here to submit it

April 8, 2011

Aloha Friday

Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday. Every Friday (well, ok, almost every Friday) I ask a simple question for you to answer--nothing that requires a lengthy response.

My questions are these:
  1. What's your favorite frozen microwave dinner?
Please leave your answer in a comment.

MY ANSWER:
My favorite is Mayan Harvest Bake by Kashi, which tastes like no microwave meal I've ever tasted, and which I only get once and a while for a treat because it's kinda pricey.  The ones I eat the most are the Marie Callendar's Meals, which are delicious and really quite reasonably priced. 

If you have a blog and would like to post your own questions you can leave your link over at An Island Life.

April 7, 2011

Squidoo Blog Hop - Squidoo Lenses for Bloggers

Hello, and welcome fellow Squido Lensmasters! For those who aren't travelling here by blog hop and don't know what Squidoo is, it's just a place where you can make nifty little web pages about any topic you choose, and maybe earn a little money for yourself or a charity in the process.

I have a couple lenses with helpful stuff for bloggers!  The first is Blog Events and Linky Parties.  On this one I share about events that you can participate in by sharing a link to a post, sort of like this blog hop (only I only share seasonal or one time events there, not weekly linkies).  There's a lot of Easter events going on now, and other great events in April.  If you know of any more, please let me know so I can add them!

I also have a lens listing some of the Best Giveaway Linkies I've found for promoting blog giveaways.  I watched my stats on several giveaways I had, and though I'd listed my giveaways on many, many giveaway linkies, I found that most of the traffic came from a few high performers (I don't know how this site stacks up since some of those giveaways were hosted here), and listed them on that blog.  I included links to other giveaway linky lists and specialized linkies too.

I really need to update that list.  Actually, I'm looking for some people to help me research, so if you're interested, let me know.  (And I'll be offering some extra advertising for any bloggers who help out.) 

If you do giveaways on your blog, or have ever wanted to but didn't want to spend a lot on a prize, I have an idea for combined giveaways that I'm looking for participants for too!  Read more here.

April 5, 2011

Easy Blog Wins: Low Comment Giveaways

Since giveaways on blogs are usually entered by commenting, the lower the comments, the better your chance to win! Here's some I found with low entries ending soon, organized by end date. GC stands for Gift Card.
 

April 6
$25 to Creonando Wallets (15 comments)
Inching Along (40 comments)

April 7
Frais Hand Sanitizer (8 comments)
Custom Bracelet (20 comments)
Suarette Girl's Spring Dress (39 comments)

April 8
Kidorable Umbrella (50 comments)
The Creative Chickadee Prayer Blocks (8 comments)
Beaded Bookmark (2 comments)
Coupons (11 comments)
Black/Up Make-up (11 comments)
Sewing Patterns (21 comments)

April 9
Outfit or Shoes from Fashion Barganista (1 comment)
Vegan Lip Glaze (36 comments)
Feria Haircare (128 comments/3 winner = Aprox 43 comments per prize)
Dreambox Learning 3 Month Subscription (13 comments)*
Skin MD Lotion (25 comments)




April 10
Spundy Underwear (48 entries)
4 Tickets to Pretend City, Irivine, CA (8 comments)

(*I'm getting extra entries for posting those marked with a star.)
 

If you have a giveaway with less than 60 entries per prize ending in the next 5 days, please click here to submit it.