Each month my blog has made me more money. Ultimate goal for 2007 is make $1000 a month from this website.
Linkworth $30
Adsense > $25
Payperpost $61
Blogvertise $5
Goal for March $100
Total for March $121
Goal for April $150
How to get there add a few more passive income links. Switch over to my own domain.
How to Make a Million Dollars. I don't make your life, I make your life better. The personal finance blog of a young professional saving 1 million dollars for retirement. This site focuses on saving money, making money, investing money, and increasing net worth.
There's a better search engine than Google
Ahh, the Age of Information. These days information is abundant and accessible, the key to surviving is being able to cut through the crap quickly to get to the good stuff. Crap meaning irrelevant, uninformed, false, drivel pouring from the minds of kids, company driven propaganda, shameless scam artists, impostors, and wannabe journalists. The faster you are able to decide and determine what is good and what isn't the faster you'll get what you want. Google is not the best search engine, you are, because you know exactly what you are looking for, Google's complex mathematical equation doesn't take into account the sum total of your experiences, thoughts, feelings, and emotions. You are better than Google, Google is just a tool to help you. Sometimes tools are helpful, sometimes your better figuring things out for yourself. Once you find some good stuff, golden truth, save it, share your find to help spread the good stuff. Example: If you are trying to improve your financial situation find the best financial sites, a few known entities and a few personal blogs, and once you got a good mix of what suits your tastes, intellect and needs, burn the feeds so you don't have to go searching around each time you have a question or need some information.
Today I tackle taxes
Taxes are due April 17th and I'll be away the week after Easter, thus it's time to deal with the necessary evil. I'll be using some online software provided by HRBlock for free and then writing it out long hand and using snail mail.
Change your perspective
Be thankful for what you have, don't focus on what you don't have and you will be much richer. Just by changing your perspective.
Electronics will always be expensive
There is no way around it, new electronics are always expensive. Soften the blow to your wallet with frugal shopping. Never pay retail. You can always save a lot of money by looking for an open box sale of new merchandise or quickly checking Ebay and other online electronics stores. I recently bought a 1 gb micro sd for my phone on Ebay for $18. The same memory would have cost around $60 in the store. If you got to shop be smart about it. Don't kick yourself about electronics either if you want the newest, smallest and fastest it'll probably be the most expensive, if you can live without if for about 6 months to a year the price will drop.
Save money on speaker wire
Don't buy Monster Cable for $55, it works no better than regular 24 gage copper wire, the kind you would find in a lamp cord. The same length would cost about $1.80 at your local hardware store. There is no difference in sound quality. Don't fall for expensive speaker wires, it is a marketing ploy.
Get free tickets for CNBC's Weatlth Summit
I got an email the other day and I thought I'd share it.
If you would like to be in the audience for CNBC's Wealth Summit
send an email to the address below
 |
 |
| David Bach - Money Coach & National Bestselling Author of “The Automatic Millionaire” |
| They are some of the country’s best money-makers. . . Have made millions . . . |
For free tickets follow the instructions:
Thank you for your interest in CNBC'S Wealth Summit where you can learn some
secrets of becoming wealthy from the country's top financial pros. There are 2
show tapings on Tuesday, April 17, 2007. The first show's arrival time is
5:30PM and the second show arrival time is 8PM.
The studio is conveniently located at CNBC's state of the art global facility in
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, minutes from the George Washington Bridge,
Palisades Parkway, and the New Jersey Turnpike.
In order for us to process your ticket request we will need your -
- Full first and last name
- E-mail address
- Phone number with area code
- Amount of tickets needed (4 ticket max)
- Which show you would like to attend (5:30PM or 8PM)
- Where did you hear about this event
If you have any further questions please call 201-735-2556 or email us at
wealthsummittickets@cnbc.com
Thank You.
Audience Services
Free business classes from Staples
If you are interested in starting your own business check out the free business classes offered by Staples. According to Marshall Brain, owner of About.com, starting your own business is the best way to make a million dollars.
An invention that should be made
A good invention gives you the possibility of making a million dollars. I would like to see someone make these this.
- A solar powered cell-phone
Can money buy Happiness?
Question of the day.
I believe money can not buy happiness. Material things can bring us pleasure for a sort time but in the end we still long for something more. What is that something more? How do we avoid falling into the trap of trying to keep up with the illusion that advertisers create? Connecting with real people in person. True friends and family to share life with, to communicate our feelings, fears, goals, etc. We are a social society and many of us want to below to a group and fit in. TV commercials brainwash us to feel inadequate. The commercials teach us to always be wanting, craving, needing more to feel "good". But after buying the products we never truly feel "good", we are not truly complete, rather we feel empty and unsatisfied. What good is all the money in the world if you have no one to share it with? That is the reason that I think money can not buy happiness, sure it can make a lot of things easier, but some of the best parts in life are when we reach deep down inside and struggle to overcome the odds.
What do you think?
Can money buy happiness?
I believe money can not buy happiness. Material things can bring us pleasure for a sort time but in the end we still long for something more. What is that something more? How do we avoid falling into the trap of trying to keep up with the illusion that advertisers create? Connecting with real people in person. True friends and family to share life with, to communicate our feelings, fears, goals, etc. We are a social society and many of us want to below to a group and fit in. TV commercials brainwash us to feel inadequate. The commercials teach us to always be wanting, craving, needing more to feel "good". But after buying the products we never truly feel "good", we are not truly complete, rather we feel empty and unsatisfied. What good is all the money in the world if you have no one to share it with? That is the reason that I think money can not buy happiness, sure it can make a lot of things easier, but some of the best parts in life are when we reach deep down inside and struggle to overcome the odds.
What do you think?
Can money buy happiness?
Career Focus
Deciding on advanced education to further my career. Right now I make about $60,000 a year as a RN. I get about a 66% of that after taxes and then only save about 20% of that. It will take a very long time at this rate to make a million dollars and save a million dollars at this rate. Not to mention the unexpected costs of fixing up my home and plans to start a family. $60,000 a year in Jersey is rough to support a family. I love my job and working 3 days a week allows me a lot of flexibility. I'm currently working two jobs and only work 4 days a week, allowing time for other interests: training for a marathon, investing, blogging, business start-up, etc. I see this track has little advancement and I look at co-workers who've been there for upwards of 20 years, and I don't want that to be me (that's my motivation). Yes I do get a modest annual 3% raise but that hardly combats interest and cost of living increases. So the decision is to invest time and money into my most valuable asset.....my brain.
Options for career advancement I'm considering:
Switching to my own domain name searching for a host server. Know a good one?
Looking for a internet brokerage to start investing in stocks. Know a good one?
Options for career advancement I'm considering:
- Go back to school and become a nurse practioner - hours vary salary (60,000-100,000)
- Go back to school and become a nurse anesthetist - hours vary (100,000-180,000)
Switching to my own domain name searching for a host server. Know a good one?
Looking for a internet brokerage to start investing in stocks. Know a good one?
What I did to lower my phone and cable bills.
Save more money by cutting bills in half
Over the past year I used Microsoft Money to budget expenses. We were spending a lot of money on the cable bill (including high speed internet, and cable TV) and the phone bill (home phone, cell phones). I use Comcast for cable and internet and Verizon for home phone and cell. Comcast cost me $112.25 a month and Verizon ran at $126.12 a month.
Total for these bills = $238.37 a month or $2,860.44 a year.
I cut my bills down to $39.40 a month for Comcast and $52.94 a month for Verizon + $6.17 a month for home phone from SunRocket.
Total of the new bills = $98.51 a month or $1,182.12 a year
That's a total savings of $140.16 a month or $1,681.92 a year. Not bad at all.
If you are still paying a lot for cable and phone bills here is what you can do to cut them in half. First find out who the accounts are under. If it is under one name, cancel and sign up for a new promo offer under your spouses name. We moved and were able to qualify for a new account because of our change of address. Take advantage of the competition for customers that Comcast and Verizon are fighting for. To save even more money sign up for an account at BountyZoo and they will pay you a $35 bonus for signing up with Comcast and a $100 bonus for signing up for SunRocket. Ditch your landline and go to Voip. Basically SunRocket is the same as Vonage, but for a lower price. Right now they are running a promotion that you get the first 3 months free. I have had this service for over 3 months and it works great.
Sign up for BountyZoo at the link provided here and sign up for you services through their website. 3 months after your purchase they will pay you your "bounty" your free money bonuses through Paypal. This works, I just got paid $110. You can also find other deals and discounts on their site.
You can also send me an email MarshallMiddle@walla.com if you want and I'll give you a referral link for SunRocket or enter the referral code 73 26 780 825. I also have ING Direst $25 dollar bonuses for opening a savings account with $250 too.
Over the past year I used Microsoft Money to budget expenses. We were spending a lot of money on the cable bill (including high speed internet, and cable TV) and the phone bill (home phone, cell phones). I use Comcast for cable and internet and Verizon for home phone and cell. Comcast cost me $112.25 a month and Verizon ran at $126.12 a month.
Total for these bills = $238.37 a month or $2,860.44 a year.
I cut my bills down to $39.40 a month for Comcast and $52.94 a month for Verizon + $6.17 a month for home phone from SunRocket.
Total of the new bills = $98.51 a month or $1,182.12 a year
That's a total savings of $140.16 a month or $1,681.92 a year. Not bad at all.
If you are still paying a lot for cable and phone bills here is what you can do to cut them in half. First find out who the accounts are under. If it is under one name, cancel and sign up for a new promo offer under your spouses name. We moved and were able to qualify for a new account because of our change of address. Take advantage of the competition for customers that Comcast and Verizon are fighting for. To save even more money sign up for an account at BountyZoo and they will pay you a $35 bonus for signing up with Comcast and a $100 bonus for signing up for SunRocket. Ditch your landline and go to Voip. Basically SunRocket is the same as Vonage, but for a lower price. Right now they are running a promotion that you get the first 3 months free. I have had this service for over 3 months and it works great.
Sign up for BountyZoo at the link provided here and sign up for you services through their website. 3 months after your purchase they will pay you your "bounty" your free money bonuses through Paypal. This works, I just got paid $110. You can also find other deals and discounts on their site.
You can also send me an email MarshallMiddle@walla.com if you want and I'll give you a referral link for SunRocket or enter the referral code 73 26 780 825. I also have ING Direst $25 dollar bonuses for opening a savings account with $250 too.
Get Interviewed! Looking for those who've made or saved a million.
If you are interested in being interviewed or having your site reviewed email me at MarshallMiddle@walla.com or post a comment. I want to focus on people who have been successful in reaching their financial goals. I will review personal finance sites, but it would be more interesting if you have a business. In return for the interview I would appreciate a linkback to the interview. This collaboration will help you get more exposure and share the knowledge with those who look to follow in your footsteps of financial independence. If you would really like an interview badly, I'll give your site a priority review if you purchase it on ReviewMe.com
Hack your cellphone, make it awesome.
I got a new cell phone when my plan with Verizon expired and took advantage of a promotional offer. Basically I got two cell phones for free after rebate and lowered my monthly cell phone bill by switching to a cheaper family plan. I got the LG 83000, I let the Verizon guy upsell me to this phone with more features and options rather than going with the basic cell phone which I intended to buy. I also was able to get a discount through work to bring down the cost a bit more. Verizon was not honoring my employee discount so I had to talk with many of their customer service reps and get things hammered out. Eventually they got it right and I got credit when they "lost my application" (always keep records, time and date things that you need to submit) Right now I pay under $60 for two phones, which is not that bad considering I used to pay around $90-$110 a month for the same thing.
I didn't opt for any of the extra features (to keep costs at a minimum, this is why I should have went with the basic) but I did find some nice features which I'm in the process of learning to use. Soon I will be unlocking the full potential of my cell phone using a bunch of tricks, and tips from the LG VX 8300 Blog
I will be purchasing a few accessories (a 1 gb memory card, a blue tooth dongle, and a USB reader for the memory card) I know these are definitely not a necessity but rather a luxury because I can survive without them. To quote U2 "what you don't have, you don't need it now.." from "A Beautiful Day".
Things that I will be able to do with my phone once it gets pumped up:
I didn't opt for any of the extra features (to keep costs at a minimum, this is why I should have went with the basic) but I did find some nice features which I'm in the process of learning to use. Soon I will be unlocking the full potential of my cell phone using a bunch of tricks, and tips from the LG VX 8300 Blog
I will be purchasing a few accessories (a 1 gb memory card, a blue tooth dongle, and a USB reader for the memory card) I know these are definitely not a necessity but rather a luxury because I can survive without them. To quote U2 "what you don't have, you don't need it now.." from "A Beautiful Day".
Things that I will be able to do with my phone once it gets pumped up:
- Play Music for free - I can transfer files directly from my computer to the phone without paying Verizon $2 per song. I have 25 downloads a month from Rhapsody - thanks Comcast. I'll be able to store about 200-400 songs, that beats the iPod shuffle, and is more than enough to help me get through tough distance runs (I'm training for a marathon).
- Surf the web for free - With the help of cell phone techies who've cracked codes and used their super computers to be able to access the web. Blogging, checking email, reading personal finance blogs, get directions, etc.
When FREE PRIZES are costly. The games companies play to get your personal info.
I took my wife to a home two weeks ago to look at some things for own home. We are going to remodel the bathroom (it's not working correctly) I may attempt the job myself, but we took a look to see what the pros have to offer. At 75% of the stands the vendors were offering some sort of FREE PRIZE. At first this looks fine, why not? who doesn't want a new 42" flat screen? But a second thought made me realize that every time you enter one of these seemingly harmless contests you are actually volunteering to give a vendor your personal information such as:
A lot of stores now ask for your phone number and address info at the checkout, many stores also have special clubs (where you earn points for spending money) they try to brainwash you and make you believe that the more you spend they more you save when the opposite is true.
This is dangerous, especially if you are trying to save money instead of spend money. Is it really worth being harassed by companies for a slim chance at a decent prize? Always be on the look out for ulterior motives, especially when there is a FREE OFFER. Always read the fine print and ask yourself if you are really getting a good deal.
- Your Name - allows an advertiser to target you directly, "Hey Jim, I have a great deal.." this gives them an advantage of developing a personal relationship with you even if you don't want new blinds
- Your Address - allow an advertiser to mail you 'coupons' and ideas for every season and holiday. These flyers can almost be bad as pornography for nesting wives who go nuts over the setup of a cottage kitchen
- Your Telephone Number - now the advertiser has made it into your home (unless you have CallerID)
- The Best Time to call - the advertiser will be relentless, calling you all the time until you tell them to leave you alone
A lot of stores now ask for your phone number and address info at the checkout, many stores also have special clubs (where you earn points for spending money) they try to brainwash you and make you believe that the more you spend they more you save when the opposite is true.
This is dangerous, especially if you are trying to save money instead of spend money. Is it really worth being harassed by companies for a slim chance at a decent prize? Always be on the look out for ulterior motives, especially when there is a FREE OFFER. Always read the fine print and ask yourself if you are really getting a good deal.
Interview with Kumiko from Kumiko's Cash Quest
>1. What got you interested in blogging? I've always had an interest in reading other people's blogs as I think that they're a fantastic way to learn about other people, cultures and lifestyles. Recently, I've been reading a lot of "information" blogs written by people who are experts in their industry. It's great to be able to contact these people easily and communicate with them. It's so much easier to contact a top blogger than a top celebrity! I became interested in blogging myself after finding some other "make money online" blogs that were generating a decent income. At first I thought, "I can do that!"...and then I thought, "I can do that better!" so I decided to 'put my money where my mouth is' and give it a go.
>2. How long have you been blogging for? Kumiko's Cash Quest is my first serious attempt at a blog and it was launched on December 31st, 2006. Just in time for the new year! I've had some other static sites in the past so it's not my first time publishing on the internet. However, blogging is definitely a greater challenge!
> 3. Where did you come up with the idea to make money online? The first site I visited on the topic was My Quest To Make Money On The http://westen30.blogspot.com/) which doesn't appear to be running anymore. That site inspired me to try out making money through online means. As I visited more sites and learned a lot about all the different programs and strategies on offer, I quickly realized that there were some severe shortages in the market that I could hopefully fill. I did about a whole month of research and reading before I started Kumiko's Cash Quest
>4. Do you have any people or blogs that inspire you? Many! I'd have to say that Finding The Money http://findingthemoney.blogspot.com/),http://www.johnchow.com) http://maddox.xmission.com) are some of the most "inspirational" as they simply don't seem to care about what people think about what they write. It's amazing the negative feedback that the blogosphere can produce if you write something that's a little controversial or against the norm. Everybody comes out and says, "that will hurt your traffic" or "your blog will get a bad reputation". The irony is that writing 'safe' posts that are carbon copies of other sites hurts you more. Sometimes you need to be thick skinned as a blogger as it's easy for commentators to write negative things about you. They can devote whole posts to how wrong they think you are! The above blogs inspire me to keep doing what *I* think is right and not worry about the negative comments!
>5. What's your ultimate goal? Are you shooting for a certain amount of money or want to blog as professional writer? I want to be ranked number one in Google for EVERY search term!!
>6. Why should people check out Kumiko's Cash Quest? There's no other site exactly like it. Or at least not as pink!! And they may learn a trick or two to make a dollar online.
>7. Do you have one blog or many? At the moment I have two main blogs. There's my biggest site, Kumiko's Cash Quest http://kumikosuzuki.blogspot.com) and my recently launched Blog http://www.bloginterview.net) that interviews bloggers from all over the blogosphere. Blog Interview Interview is still getting off the ground and growing, but I believe it's a concept that has a lot of potential.
>8. What are some tips for people who are just starting out? If you want to create a personal blog for yourself, go for it! It's fun! If you want to create a blog to be read by others, you need to read as many other blogs as you can and learn as much as you can about blogging before you even start to write. Write stuff that nobody else is writing and then promote it every respectable way that you can!
>9. How many entries do you post a day on average? I rarely post more than once a day. I try not to think about post frequency and just write whenever there is something that I want to write about. I think blogs where the author is posting because they feel obliged to update are usually not the best blogs out there. However, I make an effort to post my blog earnings every Friday!
>10. Where are most of your reader's from? Initially most of my readers from Malaysia and the Philippines. They showed me a lot of support and I thank them for it! Recently, I've managed to crack the USA market a little and now about 40% of my readers are from the USA.
>2. How long have you been blogging for? Kumiko's Cash Quest is my first serious attempt at a blog and it was launched on December 31st, 2006. Just in time for the new year! I've had some other static sites in the past so it's not my first time publishing on the internet. However, blogging is definitely a greater challenge!
> 3. Where did you come up with the idea to make money online? The first site I visited on the topic was My Quest To Make Money On The http://westen30.blogspot.com/) which doesn't appear to be running anymore. That site inspired me to try out making money through online means. As I visited more sites and learned a lot about all the different programs and strategies on offer, I quickly realized that there were some severe shortages in the market that I could hopefully fill. I did about a whole month of research and reading before I started Kumiko's Cash Quest
>4. Do you have any people or blogs that inspire you? Many! I'd have to say that Finding The Money http://findingthemoney.blogspot.com/),http://www.johnchow.com) http://maddox.xmission.com) are some of the most "inspirational" as they simply don't seem to care about what people think about what they write. It's amazing the negative feedback that the blogosphere can produce if you write something that's a little controversial or against the norm. Everybody comes out and says, "that will hurt your traffic" or "your blog will get a bad reputation". The irony is that writing 'safe' posts that are carbon copies of other sites hurts you more. Sometimes you need to be thick skinned as a blogger as it's easy for commentators to write negative things about you. They can devote whole posts to how wrong they think you are! The above blogs inspire me to keep doing what *I* think is right and not worry about the negative comments!
>5. What's your ultimate goal? Are you shooting for a certain amount of money or want to blog as professional writer? I want to be ranked number one in Google for EVERY search term!!
>6. Why should people check out Kumiko's Cash Quest? There's no other site exactly like it. Or at least not as pink!! And they may learn a trick or two to make a dollar online.
>7. Do you have one blog or many? At the moment I have two main blogs. There's my biggest site, Kumiko's Cash Quest http://kumikosuzuki.blogspot.com) and my recently launched Blog http://www.bloginterview.net) that interviews bloggers from all over the blogosphere. Blog Interview Interview is still getting off the ground and growing, but I believe it's a concept that has a lot of potential.
>8. What are some tips for people who are just starting out? If you want to create a personal blog for yourself, go for it! It's fun! If you want to create a blog to be read by others, you need to read as many other blogs as you can and learn as much as you can about blogging before you even start to write. Write stuff that nobody else is writing and then promote it every respectable way that you can!
>9. How many entries do you post a day on average? I rarely post more than once a day. I try not to think about post frequency and just write whenever there is something that I want to write about. I think blogs where the author is posting because they feel obliged to update are usually not the best blogs out there. However, I make an effort to post my blog earnings every Friday!
>10. Where are most of your reader's from? Initially most of my readers from Malaysia and the Philippines. They showed me a lot of support and I thank them for it! Recently, I've managed to crack the USA market a little and now about 40% of my readers are from the USA.
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