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You can work at home making money either by making crafts for yourself (Crafting Home Business) or for somebody else (Home Crafting Jobs).

Crafting Home Business

For those who are creative and good at artwork and craft making, a crafting home business is a good work at home option. You can making and selling your OWN arts and crafting products.

Most people who successfully working at home doing crafting run their own crafting business. They are creative and make high quality and unique arts and crafts. The kind of crafting products you can make is just endless - greeting cards, jewelry, pottery, artwork, candle, bags and purses, clothing, bookmarks, calenders, blankets, quilt and many many others that you can ever imagine. You can sell your arts and crafts online or at local art fairs or shows. Many crafting business owners sell their products on their own website, EBay and Etsy .

Home Craft Assembly Jobs

There are companies offer home crafts assembly jobs. Usually they require you buy a start up kit which contains training instructions and basic supplies to make the first few crafts to try out.

However, many people found out that the home crafting jobs don’t work for them, simply because the crafting companies won’t pay you until your work pass their very strict inspection, and most of the time your work will NOT pass the inspection. Sure there are people who can pass the inspection but many can’t and therefore end up LOSING money doing home crafting jobs. You probably have heard lot of people complain that home craft assembly are scams mainly due to this reason.

Disciple’s Cross

Disciple Cross is a company I would recommend for those who want to make money doing home craft assembly but don’t have his/her own product line. Many people are making money with Disciple’s Cross because Disciple Cross grants you resell right and Disciple Cross’s necklaces are quite easy to sell. Some people even buy the products from wholesale and sell them to make a profit. Disciple Cross does have a buy back program but lot of people think the their inspection is very strict and difficult to pass. Of course there are people who CAN pass inspection and make money. But basically everyone agrees that the best way to make money with Disciple Cross is to make and sell the products yourself. You can sell the necklaces to local schools and churches for fundraising, you can sell them at local Christian bookstores, local craft stores, jewelry shops and beauty salons and even bakeries. Of course you can sell them online. Anywhere there is retail traffic people will take interest in these cross necklaces.  Another tip for making the Disciple Cross necklace is purchasing the pre-bent nails off the net, because bending the nails is not easy to do, and using those low cost pre-bent nails will make the job a lot easier. You can buy the pre-bent nails at http://www.angelcross.org.

Today got a letter and a brochure from the United States Postal Service, which provide with tips and steps consumers can take to deter, defect and defend against identity theft. I read through the brochure and found the information very useful. I decided to “record” almost everything in the brochure in case I lose it (or don’t know where to find it when I need it). So here we go the tips and advice that help to avoid identity theft:

DETER - Deter identity thieves by safeguarding information

1. Shred financial documents and paperwork with personal information before you discard them;

2. Protect your SS#. Don’t carry your social security card in wallet or write SS# on a check. Give it out only if absolutely necessary or ask to use another identifier;

3. Don’t give out personal information on the phone, through the mail, or over the internet unless you know who you are dealing with;

4. Never click on links sent in unsolicited emails; instead, type in a web address you know. Use firewalls, antispyware, and anti-virus software to protect your home computer, keep the update-to -date;

5. Don’t use an obvious password like your birth date, your mother’s maiden name, or the last four digits of your SS#;

6. Keep your personal information in a secure place at home, especially if you have roommate, employ outside help, or are having work done in your house.

DETECT - Detect suspicious activity by routinely monitoring your financial accounts and billing statements

1. Be alert to signs that require immediate attention:

a. Bills that don’t arrive as expected;

b. Unexpected credit cards or account statement;

c. Denials of credit for no apparent reason;

d. Calls or letters about purchases you didn’t make;

2. Inspect your credit report and review financial statement regularly, looking for charges you didn’t make.

DEFEND - Defend against ID theft as soon as you suspect it

1. Place a “Fraud Alert” on your credit reports, and review the reports carefully. The alert tells creditors to follow certain procedures before they open new accounts in your name or make changes to your existing accounts. The three national wide consumer reporting companies have toll-free numbers for placing an initial 90-day fraud alert; a call to one company is sufficient. Placing a fraud alert entitles you to free copies of your credit reports. Look for inquiries from companies you haven’t contacted, accounts you didn’t open, and debts on your accounts that you can’t explain.

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285

Experian: 1-800-Experian

TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289

2. Close any accounts that have been tampered with or established fraudulently. Call the security or fraud department of each company where an account was opened or changed without your okay. Follow up in writing, with copies of support documents. Ask for verification that the disputed account has been closed and the fraudulent debts discharged. Keep copies of documents and records of your conversation about the theft.

3. File a police report to help you with creditors who may want proof of the crime;

4. Report the theft to the Federal Trade Commission.

By Phone: 1-877-ID-THEFT

Online: ftc.gov/idtheft

Common Ways ID Theft Happens

1. Dumpster Diving: They rummage through trash looking for bills or other paper with your personal information on it;

2. Skimming: They steal credit/debt card numbers by using a special storage device when process your card;

3. Phishing: They pretend to be financial institutions or companies and send spam or pop-up messages to get you to reveal your personal information;

4. Changing your address: They divert your billing statements to another location by completing a “change of address” form;

5. “Old-Fashioned” Stealing. They steal wallets and purses, mail, including bank and credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, and new checks or tax information. They steal personnel records from their employers, or bribe employees who have access.

In the letter it says: “Your identity is valuable. If someone steals it to commit fraudulent acts, it can affect every aspect of your life - your credit standing, your ability to buy a car or a house, even get a job or medical care. And it can take years to repair to damage. Most important, it can happen to any of us, in ways we never imagined.”

This is very true. I also remembered reading somewhere (I think it’s RD) about someone even can steal your “medical identity” - use your name and SS# (and other personal information) when treating their illness. therefore a huge medial bill could show up on your door for some treatment that was not on you! Can you imagine that?!

For more detailed information on fighting back against identity theft, you can visit FTC’s webste at: ftc.gov/idtheft.

What is Medical Transcription?

When doctors see patients in hospitals, clinics and physicians? offices, they dictate important information about the patient’s history, physical examination, diseases, procedures, laboratory tests and diagnoses. The medical transcriptionists translates the oral dictation into detailed patient records that accurately communicate medical information.

Medical Transcription Job Market

There is a strong and growing demand in the medical transcription job market.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, “Demand for medical transcriptionists is expected to increase due to rapid growth in health care industries spurred by a growing and aging population.” Their report also says, “Contracting out transcription work overseas and advancements in speech-recognition technology are not expected to significantly reduce the need for well-trained medical transcriptionists domestically.”

Why choose Medical Transcription Career?

People become motivated about medical transcription for many different reasons. The most significant reason is to be able to work from home and enjoy all the benefits of working from home. Other benefits are decent income (expect to earn between $30,000 and $40,000 annually once you’re well-trained) and job security.

How to Becoming a Medical Transcriptionist

To become a qualified medical transcriptionist, formal training is required. Besides the skills required for general transcription, medical transcriptions must have strong working knowledge of medical language and terminology. Many medical transcription companies prefer to hire the experienced transcriptionists, but they will waive this requirement if the new hire are graduated from the top 3 medical transcriptions schools.

Medical Transcription Training

The TOP 3 medical transcription schools are: 1. Andrew, 2. M-Tec and 3. Career Step. All three schools offer excellent distance learning /online course. Students who successfully the their medical transcription courses from the 3 school have no problems finding a medical transcription job.

Training is critical to become medical transcriptionists, and choosing the right medical transcription training school probably is one of the most important decisions to make. Following are some basic information about the top 3 medical training schools, and you can always contact them directly to request free information.

Andrews School

Tuition of the program is $3800. Payment plan (24 months) with no interest charge is available.

M-Tec:

Tier 1 Premier Program: Cost $3495, offers approximately 1155 clock hours of optimum training; (Strongly recommended if plan to work from home for additional medical transcription practice)

Tier 1 Basic Program: Cost $1925, offers approximately 555 clock hours of optimum training;

Tier 2 Premier Program: Cost $3395, offers approximately 1119 clock hours of optimum training;(designed for the healthcare professional RN, MA, RHIA, LPN, RHIT) wanting to make a career change.)

Tier 2 Basic Program: Cost $1825, offers approximately 483 clock hours of optimum training;(designed for the healthcare professional RN, MA, RHIA, LPN, RHIT) wanting to make a career change.)

Career Step

Online Platinum-Level Enrollment - $1560
Online Gold-Level Enrollment - $1320

The Career Step Medical Transcription training program is designed to be completed in 640 hours, or full time for a period of four (4) months. Career Step provides access and services for a period of eight (8) months beyond the initial four (4) month period, providing all students with access to all materials and services for a period of twelve (12) months. (extensions are available)

The above top three schools are ACCP approved medical transcription education programs. Personally I prefer Career Step due to the cost of the program. It is significantly lower than the other two schools without sacrifice of the quality of the education. You can request free information package from them here.

Rrriiiiinnnnggg, rrriiiinnnngg,
“Hello?”

“Hi honey. This is Daddy. Is Mommy near the phone?”
“No, Daddy She’s upstairs in the bedroom with Uncle Johnnie.”

After a brief pause, Daddy says,
“But honey, you haven’t got an Uncle Johnnie.”
“Oh yes I do, and he’s upstairs in the room with Mommy, Right now.”

Brief Pause.
“Uh, okay then, this is what I want you to do
Put the phone down on the table, run upstairs and knock on the bedroom door and shout to Mommy that Daddy’s car just pulled into the driveway.”
“Okay, Daddy, Just a minute.”

A few minutes later
The little girl comes back to the phone.
“I did it, Daddy.”
“And what happened, honey?” He asked.

“Well, Mommy got all scared, jumped out of bed with no clothes on and ran around screaming. Then she tripped over the rug, hit her head on the dresser and now she isn’t moving at all!”

“Oh my God!!! What about your Uncle Johnnie?”

“He jumped out of the bed with no clothes on, too. He was all scared and he jumped out of the back window and into the swimming pool. But I guess he didn’t know that you took the water out last week to clean it. He hit the bottom of the pool and I think he’s dead.”

***Long Pause***
***Longer Pause***
***Even Longer Pause* **

Then Daddy says, “Swimming pool?
Is this 469-5575?”

“No, I think you have the wrong number…….”

I have a Bank of America MyAcess checking account, and I really like it. It is free (when there is at least one direct deposit during the month), and I specially like their online FREE bill paying feature. The only problem is If I don’t have a direct deposit during the month, a $5.95 monthly maintenance fee will be charged to my account. The good news is, recently I just found out how to waive the fee and make it truly free.

The solution is actually very simple: If you have a Bank of America MyAcess checking account, but don’t have a paycheck or any other source of direct deposit, you can avoid the fee by transferring /withdrawing money from your Paypal account to your BofA MyAccess checking account.

I actually found it out by chance. I called Bank of America customer service at the end of last year, and asked if they can waive my MyAcess account maintenance fee, since I am a long time Bank of America customer, and they have did this once for me for the last six month. The lady on the phone told me that she can’t do that, unless there is electronic money transfer to my account. Since she said “electronic transfer”, I asked her if Paypal transfer is OK? She said:”Yes, as long as it is electronic transfer.”

So I transferred/withdrawn $5.00 from my Paypal account to my Bank of America MyAccess checking account in the middle of January this year, and of course when January bank statement was available, I double checked the statement - the maintenance fee was waived!

I am so glad I found this out, now my Bank of America checking account is truly free and perfect! You can do the same to get your monthly bank maintenance fee waived with a Paypal transfer.

Please Note: right now if you open a new MyAccess checking account at Bank of America website, you can open a free MyAcess checking account, meaning it’s free even you don’t have direct deposit. (I even considered this option or opening an free checking account at Wahu) However, it is only going to be for the promotion period, first 6 - 12 months. I know this because I asked the customer service lady during the call. I asked if it’s only for a period of time, and she said yes.