The best work-from-hope programs

Working and earning cash from home can be a dream, but it can also be the real deal that changes your life. You can be cautious of the real ways of earning money by working at home, but they do exist. Here are some of them :

Working from home is awesome … right up until the cat throws up on your computer. And your neighbor, who you can only assume is building a time machine, starts firing up all sorts of power tools and noisy machinery across the street. For many modern professionals, working from home every once in a while is a luxury that our respective companies afford us. But which environment actually allows us to be more productive: the home office or the office office?

Survey Taker: There are plenty of opportunities for scams in this industry, so you have to be careful. Avoid giving companies your sensitive information or paying upfront fees, as they’re likely to be fraudulent. There are, however, opportunities to make money at home by taking job surveys from legitimate companies. Elementary school substitute teacher Andrea Spain and her mother Bonnie Alcala take online surveys for two hours a week, ringing in around $100 a month in cash, gift cards, and other prizes.

Get out of the house. Meagan French, marketing consultant with San Francisco-based Meagan French Marketing, likes to work out of coffee shops. “Leaving my house to work helps separate my work time and personal time,” she says. Make a stoplight for family members. Here’s an idea from John Meyer, CEO of Miramar, Florida-based work-at-home call center company Arise Virtual Solutions. Hang or tape colored construction paper on your office door. “Tape the red light up when you cannot be disturbed and the green light when it’s OK to come in. Yellow light means to check first,” he says. “Kids, no matter what age, understand the message and enjoy playing along.” (For more commentary on how to deal with distractions from kids, check out 3 tips for working from home with kids.) See extra details on Work-from-home Opportunities.

Work for a National Company: One of the leading databases for work at home jobs is FlexJobs. You do have to pay to use this database, but, they prescreen all the companies to only present legitimate jobs from real employers. There are over 50 different job categories to search from to find your ideal employer. For example, you can scour the listings for writing, customer support, writing, and educational categories just to name a few of the possibilities. Payment intervals can vary, but, some of the opportunities will pay weekly.