Top 10 DIY Miracles You Can Accomplish with a $1 Binder Clip

This article is just too cool-- Who knew you could do so many things with an ordinary binder clip? Thanks Lifehacker.com

When it comes to DIY projects and MacGyver tricks, the binder clip is one of the most versatile things around. Here are our top 10 favorite hacks you can pull off with the $1 office supply.

10. Make a Smartphone Stand

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You can make a smartphone stand out of just about anything these days, but it doesn't get much simpler than sticking your phone between the tabs of two binder clips. That way you can watch your movies or take your pictures without having to hold it in your hands the whole time. Of course, if you want something a bit more professional for picture-taking, you can always hack a binder clip onto your tripod for super steady smartphone shots.

9. Display Photos Without a Frame

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If you have a few small binder clips lying around, they're perfect for displaying photos or drawing attention to a note on the counter. Just close the clip, put the photo between the two arms of the binder clip, and stand it up on end. If the surface isn't stable, a bit of sticky tack or silly putty can help keep the binder clip in place, too.

8. Keep Your Sponges Dry and Grime-Free

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Sitting your sponge on the edge of the sink can set the stage for mold and mildew to build up on the wet underside, but a simple binder clip can solve all those problems. Just like the above photo trick, just put your sponge in the clip and stand it up on end. The sponge will dry much quicker and last you longer.

7. Gather Your Notes Into a Hipster PDA

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The Hipster PDA, invented by productivity guru Merlin Mann, is essentially a stack of index cards held together with a binder clip. It's a pretty cool way to keep track of your to do list and other notes, and you can make a lot of improvements on the idea with labeled binder clips or leather tabs. Check out ourintroduction to the Hipster PDA for more info.

6. Make Your Keyboard More Ergonomic

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Everyone should take a look at your office and make it a bit more ergonomic, and the first place to start is your keyboard. Lots of keyboards have feet on the ends to elevate them to a more friendly height, but if yours doesn't—or if the feet are broken—a couple of binder clips will get the job done nicely. Just take two of the metal wings off and stick them into place.

5. Close Up Toothpaste, Potato Chips, and More

Of course, don't forget the more obvious household uses for a binder clip: clipping things together. Can't find a chip clip? Keep your chips closed with a binder clip. Toothpaste tube giving you trouble? Roll it up and stick the flat end in a binder clip. And when you run out of chips and toothpaste, it can hold your grocery list on your cart, too, so you remember to buy more.

4. Neatly Wrap, Shorten, and Store Cables

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Fighting tangled cables can seem like a losing battle, but a few well-placed binder clips can do wonders for keeping everything neat and organized. Clip your cables together for storage, hang them on your desk, or evenuse them as a cable shortener for your headphones. If done right, you can avoid a lot of the tangles and knots that always seem to plague your cable collection.

3. Stack Beverages in Your Fridge

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If you have limited space in your fridge, you can usually use your vertical space to fit more things in at once. One of the best ways to do that? Stick a binder clip on the shelf. You'll be able to stack bottles and cans sideways without them sliding around, meaning you can fit more beverages into one corner of your fridge.

2. Keep Cables from Slipping Off Your Desk

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Laptop users have it rough—every time they unplug their ethernet, speakers, or power cables, the cables fall right off the desk. Sure, you could buy a really expensive docking station for your laptop, or you could just give those cables something to catch on when you unplug them, and that's where binder clips come in. Just slide the cables through the metal wings and you're good to go. Of course, you can get a slightly cleaner solution with the addition of a few magnets, too.

1. Mount Your Smartphone or GPS to Your Car's Dashboard

Why buy an expensive car dock for your smartphone when you can make one out of a binder clip? This project is a tad more involved, requiring you to bend the binder clip's arms and wrap them in yarn, but when you're done, you'll have the cheapest, most effective car mount your smartphone's ever used. Plus, if you clip it to your air conditioner vent, it'll keep your phone from overheating during long GPS-driven trips.

There you have it-- 10 awesome ways to use binder clips. Original post at http://lifehacker.com/5927857/top-10-diy-miracles-you-can-accomplish-with-a-1-binder-clip?tag=macgyver-tips 

Don't be too frugal!

Check out this post from Yahoo Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/5-ways-you-re-frugal-to-a-fault.html)-- You CAN actually be frugal to a fault.

5 Ways You're Frugal to a Fault

By Farnoosh Torabi | Yahoo!Finance – Mon, Jul 23, 2012 11:15 AM EDT
Sometimes our attempt to save money backfires. Ever drive around for miles to find the cheapest gas, but really just waste time and money in the process? It happens to the best of us. 
Here are 5 common ways we tend to be frugal to a fault.
Falling for Free
We like to think that the best price is no price. A free lunch? Sign me up! But think twice about “free” promotions since, in many cases, there may be hidden costs. Buy-two-get-one-free deals, for example, can entice us to spend more than we intend to, while "free shipping" offers may require a minimum purchase that’s still more than what we want to pay. Never forget that marketers use “free” campaigns to rake in big bucks. So, if the freebie is not a need or requires you to increase spending, you may be better off skipping the promotion.
Extreme Couponing

Cutting coupons may take more time than it's worth.

Sure you might end up with more for less, but is all that clipping, running around and stocking up paying off? After adding up all the hours and gas mileage spent hunting down deals, you may be  netting less than you think. Coupons are beneficial when used in moderation, but if they become an obsession, as they have for many Americans, you may also end up with a space issue — with more cereal and toothpaste than you have room for.  
  
Dollar Store Deals

While there are some serious deals to be had at your local dollar store, not everything there is worth its discounted price. Consumer Reports has found that some items may actually be unsafe to buy. For example, be careful when buying products like extension cords, lamps and other electrical items, as they may bear false or missing UL labels certifying their safety. In a past test, Consumer Reports also found that about half of dollar store vitamin brands had fewer nutrients than claimed.
 
Fast Food Consumption 

While fast food is quick and convenient, the long-term health and financial costs may outweigh the benefits and savings you pocket today. For example, the Cancer Project found that most items advertised on Value Menus were loaded with saturated fat, sodium and cholesterol. Many items were also linked to an increased risk of cancer.  That said, fast food chains are becoming more health-conscious and adding healthful options to their menus. Stay informed on the go. The Restaurant Nutrition app and Calorie Counter app, both free, let you look up nutritional information for food items at many restaurants and chains. 
 
DIYing

Finally, while the DIY trend has become hotly popular in recent years, Doing It Yourself can sometimes do more harm than good. Research suggests that it’s cheaper in the long run to pay a pro for some time-consuming services or projects that require serious expertise. According to CouponSherpa.com, a few services you ought to leave to the pros are re-flooring or re-carpeting your house, changing your car's oil and doing your taxes, which experts say can help you earn a heftier return — or at least save you from overpaying Uncle Sam.   

Top Dollar for Working Women

This one is for you ladies out there. (original post at http://finance.yahoo.com/news/top-20-best-paying-jobs-for-women-in-2012.html)

Best-Paying Jobs for Women in 2012

By Jenna Goudreau | Forbes – Thu, Jul 26, 2012 12:56 PM EDT

Get paid, you earned it!

Over the past three decades women’s median income has increased 63%, and now more than a third of working wives earn more than their husbands. It’s no surprise when, although they were once discouraged from pursuing higher education, women now surpass men in achievement of bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

[Related: How To Ask For A Raise]

Across sectors, women continue earning only 82 cents for every dollar earned by men, but more and more they are landing high-paying professional jobs and narrowing the gap. An analysis of the median weekly earnings of full-time American workers in 2011 by occupation and gender, as tracked by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows the top 20 jobs where women are earning the most. All require some college and most are concentrated in health care, science and technology, and business fields.

At No. 1, pharmacist is the best-paying job for women, where they earn a median of $1,898 a week or approximately $99,000 a year. Women comprise more than half (56%) of all pharmacists and earn nearly as a much as men in the job. Moreover, the field offers more than 10,000 annual openings and is expected to grow 25% by 2020.

[More from Forbes.com: Top 20 Best-Paying Cities For Women]

“Pharmacy is known for paying very well straight out of school and all the way through your career,” says Katie Bardaro, lead economist at compensation research firm PayScale. “It’s a very good return on investment in terms of money and time spent on education.”

While pharmacists must achieve a four-year professional degree and pass licensing exams, physicians and surgeons attend four years of medical school and complete three to eight years of internship and residency. Yet, for women, doctor comes in as the fourth highest paying job—behind pharmacists, lawyers (No. 2) and computer and information systems managers (No. 3)—with median weekly earnings of $1,527 or about $79,000 a year. They also earn 21% less than male doctors.

Bardaro explains that physicians face a much wider range of specialty and practice type. Men trend toward high-risk, high-paying areas like plastic and brain surgery, she says, while women are more likely to move into lower-paying specialties like general practice and pediatrics.

Even so, health-care jobs feature some of the best salaries, highest female representation and figure prominently on this list. Female nurse practitioners (No. 6) earn a median of $1,432 a week and hold 85% of positions. Women are also the majority of psychologists (No. 10), physical therapists (No. 12), occupational therapists (No. 13) and medical and health services managers (No. 16), and all earn more than $60,000 a year.

“It pays to be in a field that’s female-dominated,” says Caren Goldberg, a management professor at American University’s business school in Washington, D.C., who studies gender and pay, “because in a large group of women you’re less likely to be seen as a ‘typical’ female and thus less likely to experience discrimination.”

The STEM fields—science, technology, engineering and math—also feature strong projected growth, high salaries and narrower gender wage gaps, but women are less likely to pursue them. Female software developers (No. 7) earn a median of $1,388 a week, and female computer programmers (No. 11) earn $1,238. Yet women make up just 18% and 20%, respectively, of these workers.

“STEM fields offer a lot of job opportunities, and we should encourage more women to move into them,” says Bardaro. She speculates that extremely male-dominated fields, like technology, feel less welcoming and open to women. “It’s hard to go against the grain.”

[More from Forbes.com: The Most Unfair Cities to Be a Working Woman]

Traditionally male leadership positions have also been tougher for women to catch up in. Chief executive (No. 5) is one of the top-paying jobs for women, with median weekly earnings of $1,464, or about $76,000 a year. However, women hold just a quarter of these titles and earn 31% less than their male peers—a difference of $658 each week. Similarly, female marketing and sales managers (No. 19) make 32% less than men in the job.

In Bardaro’s research into these occupations, even when factors like education, experience, location, industry and firm size are considered there remains a large wage gap that is likely only explained by discrimination. “When there’s a boys club, women don’t have strength in numbers,” she says. “Women are also known for being less successful at salary negotiations, and that gets even more pronounced as you move up the ladder.”

The good news, says Bardaro, is women’s high educational attainment has dramatically shifted the jobs and salaries available to them. “It takes time to see major change, but I think we’re finally seeing the fruits of our mothers’ labor.”

Here's a list of the best-paying jobs for women:

No. 1: Pharmacists
Median weekly earnings: $1,898
Approximate median yearly earnings: $99,000
Women as percentage of the profession: 56%
Earnings as percentage of men's earnings: 95%

No. 2: Lawyers
Median weekly earnings: $1,631
Approximate median yearly earnings: $85,000
Women as percentage of the profession: 34%
Earnings as percentage of men's earnings: 87%

No. 3: Computer and Information Systems Managers
Median weekly earnings: $1,543
Approximate median yearly earnings: $80,000
Women as percentage of the profession: 26%
Earnings as percentage of men's earnings: 97%

No. 4: Physicians and Surgeons
Median weekly earnings: $1,527
Approximate median yearly earnings: $79,000
Women as percentage of the profession: 36%
Earnings as percentage of men's earnings: 79%

No. 5: Chief Executives
Median weekly earnings: $1,464
Approximate median yearly earnings: $76,000
Women as percentage of the profession: 25%
Earnings as percentage of men's earnings: 69%

No. 6: Nurse Practitioners
Median weekly earnings: $1,432
Approximate median yearly earnings: $74,000
Women as percentage of the profession: 85%
Earnings as percentage of men's earnings: data not available

No. 7: Software Developers*
Median weekly earnings: $1,388
Approximate median yearly earnings: $72,000
Women as percentage of the profession: 18%
Earnings as percentage of men's earnings: 86%
*Applications and systems software

No. 8: Operations Research Analysts
Median weekly earnings: $1,326
Approximate median yearly earnings: $69,000
Women as percentage of the profession: 44%
Earnings as percentage of men's earnings: 105%

No. 9: Human Resources Managers
Median weekly earnings: $1,273
Approximate median yearly earnings: $66,000
Women as percentage of the profession: 72%
Earnings as percentage of men's earnings: 86%

No. 10: Psychologists
Median weekly earnings: $1,244
Approximate median yearly earnings: $65,000
Women as percentage of the profession: 71%
Earnings as percentage of men's earnings: data not available

Click here to see the rest of the Top 20 Best-Paying Jobs for Women in 2012

More from Forbes.com:

The Most Dangerous U.S. Cities for Women
10 Happiest Jobs for Working Moms
What Women Could Afford If They Earned Equal Pay for Equal Work

5 Ways to Earn and Save Money on College Costs

Graduate with as much cash as possible in your wallet.

Hey readers, check out this quality post from www.thepennyhoarder.com about earning and saving in college.

If I’m lost in thought, odds are I’m thinking about how I can hoard a few extra pennies.
I try and monetize my whole day. I want to make money on my drive to work, while I’m brushing my teeth and even as I shop at the grocery store. I even try and find ways to make money while paying bills – and if there is one bill where there is money to be made, it’s with your college tuition.

Put it on a Rewards Card

Don’t use cash or a check this coming college semester. Instead, make sure you are paying with your rewards card. The average cost for public college tuition is $12,804. By using a credit card with 1% back, you’d earn nearly $130 every semester.
Even if you don’t have the money in your wallet to cover tuition, you can still take advantage of this opportunity. Most federal loan programs will refund tuition fees, even after you’ve paid them.

Pay Through a 529 Plan

529 plans are state-run investment plans that allow you to save money for college. Most states provide a tax advantage for participation by allowing you to deduct contributions from your state income taxes. They are a great way to save for college. However, you can also use them to make money while paying for your college tuition.

If you have money to pay your tuition, but have no 529 plan, it’s not too late to benefit. Simply open the account with your tuition payment and then make a withdrawal to pay tuition. By contributing any amount of money for any length of time – even a day – you should be able to claim the tax benefit and pocket the tax savings.

 

Rent Those Textbooks

We all know that visiting the college bookstore is a horribly overpriced adventure, so try renting your textbooks this year. Sites like CampusBookRentals.com can save you up to 90% on your textbooks. Plus, you won’t have to go through the hassle of trying to sell your books at the end of each semester. Truthfully, college bookstores seems to buy back fewer and fewer books each semester as many of the textbook companies have begun to churn out new additions on a yearly basis.

Most of these sites also offer free shipping, so there aren’t any fees to send your books back at the end of the semester.

Take a Federal Tax Credit

The American Opportunity tax credit was established in 2008 to help offset some of the high costs of attending college. It provides a reimbursement of up to $2,500 on your tax bill. It is even 40 percent refundable, should you owe no taxes. That translates into a potential to earn $1,000 for paying your tuition bill.
You don’t have to pay your bill out-of-pocket to claim the credit. Utilizing student loans, a 529 or plan or your rewards card will all qualify you to receive the credit.
There are a number of other Federal credits and deductions that may be taken instead of the American Opportunity tax credit. You can directly deduct up to $4,000 in tuition expenses from your taxable income. Also, there is the Lifetime Learning credit which reduces your tax bill by $2,000 to $4,000 so long as tuition is paid.

Use Student Loans and Invest Your College Savings

This option has plenty of risks of potential loss, so please consider cautiously before following this option. Given the low interest cost of government student loans, there is the opportunity to take advantage of interest arbitrage by investing your tuition savings in the stock market.
Government loans are currently set at 3.8 percent and interest is tax deductible, which lowers your interest rate by your tax rate. The stock market traditionally earns far more in capital gains. If you have money to pay your tuition bill, you can make money by putting that money in the stock market and paying your tuition with student loans. If you could earn 7 percent in the stock market and loans cost 3.8 percent, you can earn 3.2 percent in interest by investing, instead of paying your college tuition.
By going to college you stand to earn a much higher starting salary, but there’s no reason why you can’t start earning more money while paying for tuition.

The 7 Highest Paid Political Mistresses

Ladies this one's for you, (again, this post is from www.thepennyhoarder.com -- love their site).

Since we here at The Penny Hoarder don’t pass judgement on how people make extra money (that’s also alleged), I thought’d we share some tips on how to become a political mistress should you decide to throw your caution and morality to the wind.

Without further ado, the 7 highest paid political mistresses…
 

1.    Monica Lewinsky (Bill Clinton) – at least $1.5 Million

Lesson #1: So long as your activities fit within the definition of sexual relations, you can earn big bucks stimulating a president’s package.

From 1995 to 1997, Monica Lewinsky worked as an unpaid intern for President Bill Clinton. Unfortunately, her service to the President also involved lipstick, cigars and stained blue dresses. The details still leave me and my fellow Americans nauseated over 15 years later.

Unlike most political mistresses, Monica never did extract any money from the first wallet. However, the affair catapulted Lewinsky to celebrity status.

She raked in $1 million in Jenny Craig endorsements and $500,000 for a book advance.

2.    Rielle Hunter (John Edwards) – $1 Million

Lesson #2: The sleazier the adulterer, the more money you can make.

Yes, John Edwards’ wife had terminal cancer while he engaged in a year and a half long extramarital affair. Yes, John Edwards fathered a love-child that he initially disavowed. Based on rule #1, it seems fitting that Rielle Hunter take the crown as best paid political mistress.

Rielle Hunter was a freelance videographer for the John Edwards’ campaign. Can you see where this is going? Politician plus subordinate female staffer plus camera equals…I’ll let you do the math. Surprisingly, it is one video you can’t find on the internet.

Thanks to the nature of political sex scandals, it’s hard to arrive at an exact payout figure, but estimates in the news have Hunter receiving over a million in payments for living expenses!

3.    Carrie Fulton Phillips (Warren Harding)- $540,000 in today’s dollars

Lesson #3: Political parties tend to have more money to extort.

President Harding was more than living up to the innuendo derived from his name. He carried on a 15 year affair with Carrie Fulton Phillips.

When the Republican National Committee feared a scandal in the middle of the 1920 elections, they paid Phillips $50,000 and ushered her out to Asia for a long vacation. $50,000 may not seem like much, but in today’s dollars it’s nearly $540,000.

Not only is Carrie Fulton Phillips #3, she also held the record for highest paid mistress for more than 80 years. If you want a big payout, political parties are the group to extort.

4.    Ashley Dupre (Elliot Spitzer) – $1,720/hour

Lesson #4: Earn a better hourly rate by becoming a “professional.”

Not only did high-class prostitute Ashley Dupre end the presidential political aspirations of NY Governor Elliot Spitzer – by hourly standards, she was likely the best paid mistress of all.

In 2008, Feds caught client number nine, more commonly known as Elliot Spitzer, paying prostitute Ashley Dupre $4,300 for her services to the state of NY. That works out to an impressive $1,720 per hour.

If Ashley had spent 40 hours/week for 18 months (18 months was the duration of the Edwards/Hunter affair) “working” for Spitzer, she’d have pulled in over $5.3 million dollars.

5.    Stephen Gobie (Barney Frank) – $80 for Fun, a Shrink, a Job and a Place to Run a Prostitution Ring

Lesson #5: Even guys can be mistresses, thanks to politics.

This is definitely the type of affair that is hard to put a price tag on. We do know that former congressman Barney Frank met up with Stephen Gobie in 1985 and paid $80 for service(s). Over the next two years, Frank shelled out several thousands to pay income and expenses for Gobie.

Gobie was hired as a driver and an aid. Frank paid for Stephen to see a court-ordered shrink. He also let Gobie run a prostitution ring out of the congressional apartment.

6.    Cynthia Hampton (John Ensign)– about $30,000 for the entire Hampton Family

Lesson #6: As a mistress, you are entitled to spread payments and favors to the whole family.

2008 was a very good year for politicians and their mistresses. While Rielle Hunter and Ashley Dupre were busy working on their own political ambitions, Cynthia Hampton was improving her family’s income.

Throughout the beginning of 2008, Cynthia Hampton and her immediate family received a number of large payouts from Ensign. Cynthia received double her normal paycheck for three months. Her son earned a $5,400 payout. Cynthia’s husband banked nearly $20,000.

All-in-all, the Hampton family made over $30,000 in just a few months.

7.    Ginger White (Herman Cain) – various living expenses for 13 years

Lesson #7: Sometimes, it’s about how long the affair can last.

Last fall, Herman Cain was rapidly ascending the ranks of the Republican primary field. Discovery of his mistress, Ginger White, would send Cain home limping.

For 13 years, Herman Cain flew Mistress Ginger White out to hotels while he was out speaking or on business. In return, Cain admits to paying various living expenses according to news reports.

Seriously, is Being a Mistress Worth It?

I’d venture a guess and say that most of the women above lead less happy lives today. Exposure of their affairs has ruined many careers and reputations. While some have enjoyed celebrity status, that celebrity has a price. In 2005, Monica Lewinsky even moved to the UK to escape her notoriety.

One thing is clear though, if your going to become a mistress, politics is an industry worth focusing your efforts. Let’s face it. Politicians and paramours are more common than peanut butter and jelly. Most importantly, political offices are filled with millionaires. Millionaires who have access to trust funds, cushy jobs, taxpayer money, donor money and organizations looking to protect a legislative meal ticket.

Sure, these are also powerful people who control the CIA, FBI, DHS and every other three letter acronym ever dreamed. However, successful mistresses have not only lived to tell the tale, they’ve also made some significant gains in their net worth in the process. “Success” can be a bitter pill though.

How to Get Paid to Buy Beer!

Buy beer and make money.

That's right, earn money by buying beer. Too good to be true? Check out this article from www.thepennyhoarder.com.

Professional Beer Buyer might not look good on a resume, but I’ll tell you it’s a kick ass job. If you have ever worked at a grocery store or a gas station you might know that there are undercover auditors who try to buy beer or cigarettes just to see if you ask for their ID.

Yeah – I’m that guy.

For the last year I’ve worked as a compliance auditor trying to buy cigarettes and beer from unsuspecting cashiers at places like Wal-Mart, Winn-Dixie, Exxon Mobil, and others. My job is to observe whether the cashier asks for my ID, which most do.

Regardless of whether they ask me for my ID, I have to buy the beer, submit the receipt, and fill out a quick report in order to get paid for the audit. All of this is done with the hopes of re-training the cashiers who aren’t checking IDs before they get caught by a different kind of auditor. The kind that carries handcuffs.

How to Become an Alcohol Compliance Auditor

1. You’ve got to be between 18-30 for this job. Sorry dad.

2. Fill out an application with the following auditing companies: Corporate Research,TrendSource, & Sinclair Customer Metrics. They are the middle men. Companies like Wal-Mart hire them to audit all of their stores around the country. They hire you, collect your report, and then pass it on to the brass upstairs.

3. Each site may ask you to take a small test before getting hired. They are pretty easy, but if you can’t spell your own last name than you might consider a different job.

4. After you’ve been hired (only takes a day or two) you can starting searching for assignments. The assignments are self-assigned meaning that you get to pick which stores you want to audit. Depending on your state, there might be hundreds of locations for you to choose from. You can audit one of them or you can audit all of them.

5. Submit your report. The reports only take about 5 minutes to complete and they require that you upload a scanned copy of your receipt. Each assignment pays between $5 and $30 with the average being somewhere in the middle. However, I have had jobs pay up to $50 for locations where the company has had a tough time finding an auditor. The company will also reimburse you for any purchase that they required.

6. Drink the beer. Well, technically that’s not required in order to get paid. Consider that a bonus.

How to Make Money Watching Television

Ever wish you could make money by watching TV? Now you can! Check out this post from www.thepennyhoarder.com describing how.

At age 14, I was interested in only two professions: video game player or TV watcher.
At the time it was explained to me that you couldn’t earn money doing these things, so I went to college and got a job instead. While it’s been a long time since I started my career, a large part of me still wishes that I could just kick back with the remote and collect cash.
If you are like me and have longed to make money watching your favorite shows, you are in luck.
There is a new Apple app called Viggle where you get paid for watching TV. Finally, we couch potatoes can make money the way we’ve always wanted, with a bowl of Doritos and arm chair.

How It Works

The last time I tried making money from watching TV, it felt like a lot of work. I was a Nielsen family and had to keep a viewer journal of all the shows I watched in order to make a few bucks. Ultimately, the journal was onerous and wasn’t really worth the money. Viggle, on the other hand, is much easier to use.
There is no journal to record your watching and you don’t need to be randomly selected to participate. You download the free app and when you start watching a show, you check-in through your smart phone. The app listens for what is being said on TV and will recognize the show automatically.

You are then awarded points for how long you watch the show. Points are usually awarded by the number of minute you watch, but Viggle also has special offers. These offers promise bonus points, usually a few hundred extra points, for watching certain shows on certain dates.

How Much Can You Make?

After you’ve accumulated enough points, you can exchange the points for various awards. The rewards are mainly gift cards from retailers like Amazon, Target and CVS (The denominations depend on the retailer and the value of the gift card).
Just to give you an idea on the earning potential – I clocked in 300 points the first night I tried this (plus I got 1,500 points for signing up). The cheapest reward is a $5 gift card for 7,500 points.

App Availability

Right now, Viggle is available on only Apple products. It is compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.
No one will be quitting their day job with Viggle, but who would turn down a free gift card for something we’re doing anyway? (Side Note: Anyone who leaves a comment below claiming they don’t watch TV is not be trusted)
Here’s the link to signup for Viggle. Heads up – this link will open your App store, so you may want to click this link while on your phone.