Affiliate opportunity for bloggers: Mommy Bear Media

Mommy Bear Media is looking for bloggers to be a part of their Premier Blogger Program.  It is free to join, a great way to monetize your blog, and a good way to increase your audience as they will help promote posts about them.  I was fortunate to host a giveaway for them back in November and they were great to work with.  When you sign up with them, they start you out with a $5 bonus.  For every new blogger you refer to them, you will receive another $5 bonus.  In addition, you will earn commission on every bought by one of your readers and you are paid for each click from your blog.  The best part is, you don't even need to do anything special for those things to happen, you just post the link to Mommy Bear Media in your post, and they know where the reader is coming from.

To get started:
1- Head over to Mommy Bear Media
2- Fill out the quick and easy form and go from there.

I would greatly appreciate it if you would put my id (TheHappyWife) as the referring ID, as I will get a bonus, but there is no pressure to do so :)

Another way to earn some money: Medical Research Studies

Another way you can earn some extra money to help with the holidays, or any time, is to volunteer for medical research studies.  I know some of you are thinking that you would never want to be a guinea pig for some untested medication, so it is important to note that there a LOT of studies that do not require you to take any medications.  Also, many of the studies that do have the participants taking medications, are giving medications that have already been through many safety tests.  Here are some of the benefits, aside from monetary payment, of participating in medical studies:

- You may be able to participate in a study that is related to a disease/illness you have.  This could make treatments that are not currently available to others, available to you.  This can be particularly helpful if other treatments have not worked.

- You are helping others in the community by helping advance medicine.

- You often receive free medical care and treatment for study related issues.  In some cases, this can include diagnosis of a disease you think you may have.  It may also include giving you medical devices such as blood pressure monitors, thermometers, scales, etc.

Here are some of the studies we have participated in:

- I once spent 2 weeks in isolation for a study.  Isolation sounds scary, but in the age of technology, it was not so bad.  I talked to my kids via Skype a few times a day, had wireless internet and spoke to friends and family on the phone often.  I also chatted with fellow participants from our doorways.  The pay was phenomenal, and I enjoyed the short break from my routine.  It was also nice for my husband and kids.  He was out of work and it gave all of them a chance to spend time together without me.  That helped them grow closer together and increased their appreciation of what I do.

- We are currently in a study where they take cheek swabs from my daughter to test her stress levels.  We go twice a year for 3 years.  She gets to play games with the tester as well as with my husband and myself.  My husband and I have to pretend to have an argument in front of her during one of the visits each year, something we don't usually do, but it is always interesting.  The place provides someone to play with our other kids during our visit.  The pay is great and each kid gets a nice toy at each visit.

- We just ended a 4 year family flu study.  We had to go in twice a year for blood draws.  We were free to get a flu shot or not, but that would have been out of our own pocket.  During flu season, I had to report online once a week whether or not any one had any flu symptoms.  If we did have any, we would go in for nasal and throat swabs.  If they came back positive for flu, we would come back for a blood draw.  At every visit, each child received a gift card to Toys R' Us and each adult received a check.  We also received a grocery gift card at the end of reporting season and thermometers as we needed them.

- My husband has participated in studies where they need a blood draw from a healthy person.  The pay is great for the short, easy visit.

So now that you know a bit about what these studies entail, you may be wondering how to find them.  There are 2 main ways I have found them.  First, read those ads in community newspapers and magazines and second, register with a site like www.researchmatch.org.  At ResearchMatch.org, they will help find studies for you in your area.  They also have some interesting information based on the diseases/illnesses, if any, that you tell them you have.  They will contact you when they find a study that you may qualify for.

*Disclaimer*
I am a participant on ResearchMatch.org, but have not received any incentive or payment for this post.  It is simply shared in an attempt to share information with you.

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Making Money at home

I have enjoyed many opportunities to supplement my husband's income by making money from home. I belong to several survey groups and online panels where I often earn cash/PayPal/checks or gift cards. I also have had the opportunity over the years to test many products, saving us money on our grocery bill. There are also a few websites that offer incentives for reading e-mails. The amount to read 1 e-mail is usually small, but they add up quickly and it is usually worth the few seconds of my time to do it. In addition to these activities, I perform mystery shops which pays money and often reimburses me for purchases. As a family, and individually, we have participated in research studies and focus groups, which often pay very well. Those have sometimes resulted in receiving medical care that we otherwise would have had to pay for out of pocket as well as nice sums of money. Currently, my children and I are in a flu research study. We go twice a year to the hospital for a blood draw so they can study our blood for how our body's react to the flu. We also have to report weekly, during the flu season, any symptoms we experience and if we have flu symptoms, we have to go to the hospital for a nasal swab. If the swab shows we have the flu, we return again for another blood draw. The study lasts 3 years and each time we go to the hospital for a routine blood draw each child gets a $25 Toys R Us gift card and I get a $25 check. The same is given to the sick person who goes for a nasal swab and again if they have the flu and go in for the blood draw. In my house, it truly pays to get sick ;0) Of course, we do not try to get sick, but at least there is a little comfort when we do. They also gave us all digital thermometers, hand-knitted gloves and little gifts when we signed up. They entertain the kids during our visits as well so I am able to relax a bit. At our last scheduled blood draw, they also gave me a $35 gift card to Wegman's (a grocery store in the Northeast). Some research studies require you to take medications and, understandably, some people have concerns about that, especially when involving their children. I like the study we are in because we do not have to take any medicines and the flu shot is optional. Anyway, I just wanted to share so that anyone who is interested in earning some extra money while at home, knows there are ways to do so without spending a lot/anything up front. Also, be sure to check out Nicole's Nickles for a great post with links to several university research sites that offer online studies in exchange for checks, Amazon gift cards or entry into giveaways with great odds. Overall, by doing all the things I do, I am bringing in about $200 a month in cash and merchandise. Not bad, for a few hours of time each week.