Who couldn’t use a little more moolah these days? If you’ve lost your job, taken a pay cut or are just looking for ways to boost your income, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance can help. Here we offer 11 smart tips for generating extra cash. See if any might put more money in your pocket by clicking the navigation bar to your right.
Sell Your Stuff Online
Kiplinger’s senior editor Jeffrey Kosnett and his wife recently made $200 selling flatware they no longer used through the popular online auction site eBay. You, too, can unload everything from furniture and furnishings to collectibles and clothing on eBay or Craigslist.
Sell your old, unwanted books on Amazon. Kosnett’s wife, Deborah, says the key to selling your wares on the Web is to research similar merchandise that has been sold recently through the site and price competitively.
Be a Shopping Spy
You can get paid up to $20 if you agree to browse a store and provide feedback on customer service, merchandise quality, and other quality-control metrics. Start by visiting the Mystery Shopping Providers Association’s Web site (www.mysteryshop.org) to see a database of jobs with legitimate companies. Sign up with several companies because it can take a while to be contacted. If you like to shop, can pay close attention to detail and can be dispassionate, this could be a good money-making opportunity.
More from Yahoo! Finance:
• As Prices Rise, Some See $2 Gas
• Celebrity Charity Auctions
• More Travelers Redeeming Miles for Merchandise
Visit the Family & Home Center
One word of warning: Watch out for scams that require you to pay a fee or wire a cashier’s check.
Operate a Call Center From Your Home
You might consider a job (for up to $14 an hour) with a virtual call center, such as Arise Virtual Solutions (www.willowcsn.com), West Corp. (www.west.com) or Alpine Access (www.alpineaccess.com). As an independent contractor (or, in some cases, an actual employee with benefits), you would provide customer support for companies such as Office Depot, Sears, J.Crew and even the Internal Revenue Service.
In general, you must provide your own computer, designated telephone line and high-speed Internet connection -- and, in some cases, pay for your training to become a certified agent. But if you have the time, companies need “operators standing by.”
Tutor Students
Some parents are willing to pay big bucks to see Junior and Janie succeed. So if you speak a second language, such as Spanish or French, or have great math, science or writing skills, you might be able to earn extra cash imparting your knowledge to kids -- even college students -- for $20 to $30 an hour.
Check with local schools and universities to see if you can advertise your services on their bulletin boards. Or post your services on Craigslist.
Join a Street Team
This is a relatively easy way for young adults who are outgoing and articulate to earn some fast cash. Street teams promote products, films, albums, events and more by handing out samples, interacting with people on the street, or dressing as mascots.
To get a job at $17 to $25 an hour, sign up with a company such as Street Team Promotion.com or A.D.D. Marketing. Actually, if you sign up with several companies, you’re more likely to get a steady flow of jobs, says James Aquafredda, managing director of Street Team Promotion.com. Make sure, though, that the company has a contract that specifies when you’ll get paid.
Walk the Dogs
Why not get a little exercise while you earn anywhere from $15 to $30 an hour? Working folks will pay plenty for you to take Rover or Scruffy on a daily stroll while they’re at the office.
If you don’t want to brave the elements, you might consider pet sitting for people while they’re on vacation. Advertise your services in veterinarians’ offices and on Craigslist.
Be a Babysitter
Just graduated and can’t find a job? Retired and looking for a little extra dough? Like children? From full-time gigs to occasional stints, babysitting can be a fun way to put money in your pocket. In big cities such as New York and Washington, expect to earn up to $20 an hour as a babysitter or nanny. (In small and midsize cities, the going rate is closer to $7 to $10 an hour.)
Advertise your services on Craigslist, the bulletin board at your local house of worship, or by word of mouth.
Write for the Web
Sorry, Kiplinger.com isn’t hiring. But plenty of Web sites are looking for freelancers to write blogs, commentary, and reviews for about $15 to $30 an hour or article. For example, if you know a lot about a particular subject or region, you might be able to be a “guide” and write articles for About.com (http://beaguide.about.com/ ).
In all major U.S. cities, Craigslist has ads for writing gigs. Demand Studios (www.demandstudios.com) offers freelance work for writers, copy editors and filmmakers.
Make Your Hobbies Pay Off
Amateur photographers are in demand to shoot weddings and events, especially in a recession when people are reluctant to hire high-priced pros. If you’re a great cook, you could hold a workshop or prepare meals for a busy family. Tech-savvy? You could teach classes on Web design.
See what your services might fetch by checking out ads on Craigslist or in your local paper or community Web site. Then hang out a virtual shingle.
Sell Your Unwanted Gold Jewelry
Although the price has dropped a bit since the beginning of 2009, the going rate for this precious commodity is still near $900 an ounce. That’s a pretty penny for jewelry you no longer wear or bling that reminds you of a best-forgotten suitor.
Gold-buying shops are popping up at malls across America.
Adjust Your Tax Withholding
This is probably the fastest and easiest way to put more cash in your pocket. If you got a big refund this year, you’re not alone: The average refund so far this year is $2,700. But think about it: You're letting Uncle Sam hold on to your money for a whole year and paying you 0% interest.
Why wait until next spring to get the money you really need now? To see how much you could gain by adjusting your withholding, try our easy-to-use withholding calculator.
Copyrighted, Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc.
Monday, May 4, 2009
11 Ways to Get Extra Cash
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Manny Pacquiao stuns Ricky Hatton with KO
By Leslie Wilson Jr, Sports Editor
Published: May 03, 2009, 07:57
Dubai: The Philippines' Manny Pacquiao showed why he is rated the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world by knocking down Britain's Ricky Hatton three times to win their much anticipated junior lightweight showdown in Las Vegas on Saturday.
In a fight that was seen as a matchup of two great fighters looking to cement their place in boxing history as the best pound-for-pound stars, Pacquiao totally outclassed his rival in 359 explosive seconds.
Hatton felt the full force of Pacquiao's speed and power as he suffered what was only the second defeat in his career and first at 140-pounds.
The Englishman's only loss came in 2007 when he moved up to welterweight and was stopped in the 10th round by US star Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The Filipino was in great form right from the first bell at the MGM Grand Arena; landing a high percentage of his power-packed combinations to get Hatton in all sorts of trouble.
Pacquiao sent the Englishman crashing to the canvas twice in an action-packed first round and then knocked the lights out of Hatton with a devastating right cross to the head with seconds remaining in round two.
Ringside doctors rushed to the aid of Hatton, who lay motionless on the canvas, However, he eventually recovered and was able to leave the ring unaided before being taken to hospital for a routine post-fight test.
"I am surprised this fight was so easy," said Pacquiao. "I did work hard in my training camp and it paid off. This is as big a victory for me as when I beat Oscar De La Hoya."
Pacquiao's trainer Freddy Roach, who had predicted a quick knockout by his fighter, said, "This is no shock at all. Hatton pumps his hands before he throws a punch, and it makes him a sucker for the right hook. Manny is a monster, he is the best fighter ever. There is no surprise here."
Both fighters are 30-years-old and were trying to cement their spot in ring history in the junior welterweight division, but it was Pacquiao who totally dominated his opponent from the first bell.
Hatton had no answer to the left-right combinations that the Filipino icon threw at him and twice hit the deck in one of the most explosive opening rounds of a boxing match.
Pacquiao then finished the fight with a thundering right to the jaw that floored the Briton.
"That was the best knockout punch I've ever seen," Pacquiao trainer, Roach, said. "It was the perfect shot. That rarely happens."
According to computer statistics, Pacquiao landed 73 of 127 punches in just under six minutes, including 34 of 53 power punches in the second round, while Hatton connected on only 18 of 78.
Pacquiao matched the all-time record by becoming a champion in his sixth different weight class by lifting Hatton's International Boxing Organisation junior welterweight world title after dispatching now-retired six-division champion Oscar de la Hoya.
Pacquiao will reportedly take home $12 million from the bout while Hatton was set for an $8 million-payday. Pay-per-view income alone for the megafight is believed to have crossed $40 million.
For Pacquiao, the future looks bright with a fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr already being talked about.
Hatton's trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. did not attend the postfight news conference, leaving co-trainer, Lee Beard, to do the talking.
"We knew about Manny's speed and that it could play a factor in the fight," Beard said. "What you saw was two rounds of action and Ricky got caught."
Gulfnews Link: http://www.gulfnews.com/sport/Boxing/10309880.html
I really didn't see the punch coming! - Hatton
LAS VEGAS - Favorite Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines claimed the IBO light-welterweight title with a stunning second round knockout of British holder Ricky Hatton on Saturday.
The 30-year-old southpaw twice knocked the Englishman to the canvas in the opening round before ending the fight with a stinging left hook at the MGM Grand Hotel's Garden Arena.
The ring announcer said the bout, scheduled for 12 rounds, had ended two minutes 39 seconds into the round but that was later corrected by officials to two minutes 59 seconds.
"I was surprised that this was so easy but I've worked hard in training camp since the beginning of March," a beaming Pacquiao said in a ringside interview. "He was wide open for the right hook. I knew he would be looking for my left.
"It's nothing personal. I was just doing my job.
"This is as big for me as the De La Hoya win," the Filipino added, referring to his eight-round stoppage of 10-times world champion Oscar De La Hoya in Las Vegas in December.
Hatton, who had stopped American Paulo Malignaggi in November to retain his IBO light-welterweight belt, was left motionless in the centre of the ring for several minutes before being helped to his feet to sit on a stool.
"It was a hard loss but I am okay," the 30-year-old Manchester boxer said before being taken to the nearby Valley Hospital as a precaution.
"I really didn't see the punch coming but it was a great shot. I know I will be okay."
Widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Pacquiao improved his career record to 49-3-2 with 37 knockouts.
Hatton, who had never previously lost at his natural weight of 140 pounds, slipped to 45-2 with 32 knockouts.
Capacity crowd
Watched by a capacity crowd of around 16,000 that included Hollywood actors Christian Bale and Jack Nicholson and boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., Hatton began the opening round by cramping Pacquiao and repeatedly forcing him to back-peddle.
However, the Filipino responded with a flurry of combinations late in the round, bloodying the Englishman's nose with a right hook before sending Hatton sprawling to the canvas.
Under concerted pressure, Hatton was pinned to the ropes before again being knocked to the floor by a Pacquiao left hook.
Pacquiao maintained the dazzling pace in the second round, landing a series of sharp punches and jabs before feinting with the right and unleashing a stinging left hook to the jaw, which put Hatton flat on his back.
"This was no surprise," said Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach, who had predicted his man would need only three rounds to win. "Hatton pumps his hands before he throws a punch. He is a sucker for the right hook and this is what we worked on.
"He cocks back before he throws his punches. He fights the same way over and over. I studied tapes of all his fights for the last two months and I know him as well as I know my own fighter."
Pacquiao dominated the official ringside statistics, connecting with 73 of 127 punches thrown to 18 of 78 for Hatton. He also landed 65 power punches compared to Hatton?s 16.
Hatton's trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. said: "I really felt Ricky would get him. I don't want to go into it more than that."
Pacquiao could next fight the winner of the bout between Mayweather Jr., who announced earlier he would come out of retirement, and Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez who meet in a non-title welterweight fight in Las Vegas on July 18.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Pacquaio vs Hatton Free Live Streaming
8:00 am Philippines === May 3, 2009 === Sunday Morning
6:00 pm U.S. ======== May 2, 2009 === Saturday Evening
2:00 am U.K. ======== May 3, 2009 === Sunday Morning
3:00 am Oslo, Norway = May 3, 2009 === Sunday Morning
Here's the OFFICIAL links will broadcast the event.
NOTE: be sure to copy all the links before the fight! Thanks! HAPPY VIEWING !!!
JUSTIN TV LINK:
http://www.justin.tv/TeamRN ( courtesy of RN Halawi )
SOPCAST LINK:
sop://broker.sopcast.com:3912/24267
sop://broker1.sopcast.com:3912/6002 – CCTV-5 NEW !!!
You’ll need to download SOPCAST in able to use the above link.
DOWNLOAD HERE :
http://download.sopcast.cn/download/SopCast.zip
KRALIX LINK:
http://www.kralix.com/2009/04/watch-pacquiao-vs-hatton-fight-online-live-streaming/
PACQUIAO FIGHTS B L O G S P O T LINK:
http://pacquiaofights.blogspot.com/
TEAM PILIPINAS LINK: ( courtesy of RN Halawi )
http://teampilipinas.info/search/label/Pacquiao%20vs.%20Hatton
http://www.youtube.com/user/dude2nuckle
http://www.justin.tv/TeamRN
PUNCH TV (not sure)
http://www.mogulus.com/punchtv
FEEL FREE TO POST YOUR LINK / S HERE !!! THANK YOU ! ! ! :toast:
Ill be updating this post for any updates on the fight so stay tuned for the updated post.
Keep checking this thread, every now & then.... "See You At The R i n g s i d e ."
Share & Enjoy Watching ! ! ! Ilabas ang mga inumin at mga pulutan !!! Kampay !!!
PAMBANSANG KAMAO Video: ( Watch it! ) -->
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tig0PcE32ow
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IF YOU HAVE EXTRA MONEY TO BUY PPV , PLEASE DO IT... LETS SUPPORT MANNY PACQUIAO!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Approval expected over Flintshire's £400,000 CCTV plan - HAVE YOUR SAY
The CCTV service was launched in Flintshire in 2002, as part of a partnership between North Wales Police and town and community councils.
About 46 cameras were originally installed to monitor open spaces across the county, in a bid to reduce anti-social behaviour, criminal damage and alcohol-related violence.
Over the past six years, the number of cameras has increased to 120 and the new plans, if approved, will see all equipment updated and two operators on duty in the control room at all times.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Millionaire 'carried out sexual assault on mother-of-two while his own CCTV system recorded attack'
By Chris Brooke
Last updated at 1:49 AM on 16th April 2009
A millionaire businessman was caught on his own CCTV system allegedly attempting to rape a terrified mother-of-two at his luxury mansion, a court heard.
David Atherton, 51, sexually assaulted the 49-year-old woman in his kitchen before threatening to drown her in his swimming pool, it was alleged.
She managed to escape semi-naked to her car, but he snatched the keys off her as she tried to drive away and the victim eventually raised the alarm by flagging down a passing motorist, Leeds Crown Court heard.
Atherton, who made a fortune selling his internet retail business, was a drug addict who was said to have carried out the attack in a 'drugged and or drunken state'.
James Goss, QC, prosecuting, said he had become 'paranoid' through his long-term cocaine addiction.
He believed there was a 'bent police' conspiracy against him involving the woman, with secret passages within the walls of his home and people filming him.
He had installed an intricate CCTV system at his recently renovated £1.5million home in Bolton, with cameras triggered by movement both inside and outside the property.
Images from these cameras allegedly showing the violent sex attack were shown to the jury.
Atherton denies attempted rape, two sex assaults, making threats to kill and false imprisonment.
Mr Goss said the defendant 'has been a successful businessman' and became 'very rich' as a result.
Atherton, who has a grown-up daughter from his former marriage, lived alone at the time of the incident on August 17 last year.
He knew the victim, who drove to his house at his request following a shopping trip. Once in the kitchen the woman was subjected to an unprovoked and violent sex attack in full view of one of his security cameras.
The court heard he 'forced her to the floor and ripped her jeans off' before sexually assaulting her.
Throughout the three-minute attack she was 'crying and telling him to get off'.
He also slapped and punched her and got her in a head-lock, the court heard.
The woman was wearing no underwear and was naked from the waist down when he then took her to the swimming pool.
Mr Goss said he told her he would 'take her to the pool to kill her' and told the woman to take her top off.
But she managed to break free and ran outside to her Range Rover with Atherton in pursuit. The CCTV camera outside showed how Atherton struggled at the car doorway for about 20 minutes, allegedly trying to stop her escaping.
During the tussle, the woman was 'screaming' at Atherton who 'kept throwing things out of the car'.
At one point, she reversed the vehicle with him 'hanging on.' Eventually he snatched the ignition key and went back in the house.
The woman put on a pair of pyjamas she had bought during her earlier shopping trip and ran down the driveway.
She was 'crying and distressed' and asked the first motorist who stopped to phone the police.
The woman was taken to hospital where she was found to have bruising to her jaw, a swollen and bruised neck and bruised thigh.
Police arrested Atherton in an apparently 'intoxicated state'. He was interviewed by police and handed in a statement in which he claimed the woman was a ' prostitute and drug dealer' who had a 'preference for rough sex and simulated rape'.
He said she had 'fully consented' to the incidents caught on camera, which were not sex attacks but a 'simulated sex session'.
In 2006 Atherton sold his business Dabs.com, selling computers and electronic equipment online, to BT for a reported £30 million.
Stealthy Rootkit Slides Further Under the Radar
By Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service - Wed Apr 15, 2009 2:20PM EDT
Thousands of Web sites have been rigged to deliver a powerful piece of malicious software that many security products may be unprepared to handle.
The malicious software is a new variant of Mebroot, a program known as a "rootkit" for the stealthy way it hides deep in the Windows operating system, said Jacques Erasmus, director of research for the security company Prevx.
An earlier version of Mebroot, which is what Symantec named it, first appeared around December 2007 and used a well-known technique to stay hidden. It infects a computer's Master Boot Record (MBR). It's the first code a computer looks for when booting the operating system after the BIOS runs.
If the MBR is under a hacker's control, so is the entire computer and any data that's on it or transmitted via the Internet, Erasmus said.
Since Mebroot appeared, security vendors have refined their software to detect it. But the latest version uses much more sophisticated techniques to stay hidden, Erasmus said.
Mebroot inserts program hooks into various functions of the kernel, or the operating system's core code. Once Mebroot has taken hold, the malware then makes it appear that the MBR hasn't been tampered with.
"When something is trying to scan the MBR, it displays a perfectly good-looking MBR to any security software," Erasmus said.
Then, each time the computer is booted, Mebroot injects itself into a Windows process in memory, such as svc.host. Since it's in memory, it means that nothing is written to the hard disk, another evasive technique, Erasmus said.
Mebroot can then steal any information it likes and send it to a remote server via HTTP. Network analysis tools such as Wireshark won't notice the data leaking out since Mebroot hides the traffic, Erasmus said.
Prevx saw the new variant of Mebroot after one of the company's consumer customers became infected. It took analysts a few days to nail down exactly how Mebroot was managing to embed itself in the operating system. "I think everyone at the moment is working on modifying their [antimalware] engines to find it," Erasmus said.
And those companies need to act fast. Erasmus said it appears that thousands of Web sites have been hacked to deliver Mebroot to vulnerable computers that don't have the proper patches for their Web browsers.
The infection mechanism is known as a drive-by download. It occurs when a person visits a legitimate Web site that's been hacked. Once on the site, an invisible iframe is loaded with an exploit framework that begins testing to see if the browser has a vulnerability. If so, Mebroot is delivered, and a user notices nothing.
"It's pretty wild out there now," Erasmus said. "Everywhere you go, you have a chance to be infected."
It's unknown who wrote Mebroot, but it appears that one aim of the hackers is to simply infect as many computers as possible, Erasmus said.
Prevx has a self-named specialized security product that works alongside antivirus software to detect drive-by browser exploits, password stealers, rootkits and rogue antivirus software.
Prevx released the 3.0 version of its product on Wednesday. The software will detect malware infections for free, but users must upgrade to get the full removal functionality. However, Prevx 3.0 will remove some of the more evil malicious software, including Mebroot, as well as any advertising software, known as adware, free of charge, Erasmus said.
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/pcworld/20090415/tc_pcworld/stealthyrootkitslidesfurtherundertheradar