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We've all been there: wandering through the produce aisle at the grocery store, full of hope, certain this will be the week that everything changes and you start eating like a slender rabbit.You load your cart with leafy greens and Brussels sprouts, you avoid the ice cream aisle all together. You leave the store glowing with pride, excited to start your new life as a health-guru/yoga-master who does regular face masks and drinks 8 glasses of water a day.

Flash forward two days. It's 10:30 pm on a Tuesday. You would sacrifice your first born child for a Twinkie. You search your fridge desperately, finding nothing but the relics of a past self who didn't think broccoli was an abomination. Trembling from sugar withdrawal, you tearfully dial Domino's. Later on, you drift to sleep peacefully, among a pile of greasy cardboard and shame. In the morning, you discard the wilted vegetables in your fridge with remorse, and promise yourself that you'll try again next week.

Image result for crying with junk food

If any of this sounds familiar, you aren't alone. The Guardian recently reported that Americans waste 150,000 tons of food each day, the equivalent of one pound per American. Research has found that people with diets rich in fruit and vegetables are the most wasteful, as produce is most often thrown out (obviously), followed by dairy and then meat. This means that you may end up wasting thousands of dollars a year on uneaten food.

In fact, Americans throw away around $165 billion worth of food each year, which is about $2,200 per household on average, according to a recent study by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

A lot of this waste is the result of Americans' infrequent grocery shopping. We tend to purchase a lot of food at once, and aren't able to consume it all before it goes bad. A sure fire way to avoid this is by shopping more often. By stopping by the grocery store every other day and just purchasing the necessary ingredients, you can ensure you won't buy in excess and end up wasting money.

Even more importantly, you can avoid wasting money on food by being realistic about what you buy. If you're a Kraft mac-n-cheese kind of person, don't let Whole Foods convince you that maybe this week you'll be a tilapia with roasted beets kind of person. Instead, buy foods you enjoy and throw in a few healthier ingredients to try, and then work the ones you like into your normal shopping rotation.

California Academy of Sciences

If you need a reason other than money to be more careful about wasting food, then you can always count on the environment for a guilt trip. The Guardian reports that the yearly volume of discarded food in America is equivalent to the yearly use of 30m acres of land, 780m pounds of pesticide and 4.2tn gallons of irrigated water. Additionally, rotting food clogs up landfills and releases methane into the atmosphere.

So, next time you're standing in Trader Joe's, sure that you'll finish that family size bag of spinach by yourself, consider the hole that spinach could burn in your wallet and the ozone layer.

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You've seen the offers: promises of untold riches for just a few moments spent filling out a brief online survey. You've probably never bothered to click these ads, assuming they're too good to be true. The truth is, while online surveys won't bump you into a higher tax bracket, they aren't a bad way to make a few extra bucks—as long as you make sure you sign up with trustworthy sites. To make your quest for extra cash a little bit easier, we've compiled a list of the best paid survey sites.

Swagbucks

Swagbucks is a popular site for making extra money. It offers a variety of ways to earn cash beyond taking surveys, like watching videos and playing games. The site also occasionally hands out free rewards points (they're called SBs) just for being a member. You'll get these SBs for each survey you participate in, and you can redeem them for cash via PayPal or gift cards. You also get $5 just for signing up and taking your first survey!

​VIP Voice 

VIP Voice offers a wide variety of surveys that tend not to be as time consuming as other sites, and like Swagbucks, they reward you with points you can redeem for cash or gift cards. Penny Hoarder reports that with VIP Voice, "You'll have no trouble earning an extra $30 this month with almost no work."

​Survey Junkie

Survey Junkie offers a well-designed, efficient website. The "cashout wheel" keeps you updated on your earnings and keeps you motivated to keep taking surveys. The surveys don't take long too complete and reward you with points. Once you earn 1,000 points, which is equivalent to $10, you can cash out.

Ipsos i-Say

Ipsos is one of the world's largest market research companies. They often partner with Reuters to assemble surveys about Congress, the sitting president, and other aspects of U.S. politics. Ipsos i-Say is the company's online survey rewards sector, where you can earn points for answering surveys. Unlike some of the others on this list, Ipsos i-Say only does surveys and market research.

Inbox Dollars


Inbox Dollars is a little bit different than your classic survey site, offering opportunities to earn cash (no confusing point systems) by shopping online, watching videos, answering surveys, fulfilling offers, and clicking on links in emails (you don't have to sign up for anything, but you earn more if you do).

With some paid survey sites, your earnings are as small as a penny per email clicked or a dollar per 20-minute survey, but if you routinely visit these sites—maybe while watching TV or during downtime at work — the earnings can add up and help supplement your monthly income.