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Ten ways to earn extra money.

Found this gem by Rachel Zupek on cnn.com

With an abundance of job losses, salary cuts, eliminated bonuses and diminished 401(K) matching contributions, your income is shrinking — but the bills aren’t.

If your regular job isn’t earning you enough cash or you’ve lost your job altogether, these simple side gigs can help put some padding in your pockets until — maybe even after — you get back on your feet.

Here are 10 ways real people are creatively taking home some extra dough:

1. Do freelance work

Felice Premeau Devine left her lucrative, full-time job two years ago to raise her son. In the interim, she’s picked up writing and editing freelance work and started a blog, where she is able to earn a little cash from advertising.

Nowadays, almost any job can be done on a contract or freelance basis. Check out sites like Sologig, which lead job seekers to contract, consulting, freelance, temp-to-hire and part-time project opportunities in your field.

2. Sell your books
If you’re a college student or you hung on to your college textbooks thinking you might want to read them again somewhere down the line, select retailers like Barnes & Noble allow you to sell your textbooks for some quick cash. Or, take some classics from your personal library and sell them at a local second-hand bookstore.

3. Search circulating coinage

Susan Headley, the “guide to coins” on About.com, is a lifetime coin collector who has been boosting her income by searching through circulating coinage for the past six years. In 2008, she made about $2,500 and so far in 2009, she has earned approximately $500 from coins she’s found.

People who search circulating coinage successfully for a side income do so in very large numbers, she says. They buy rolls of coins from banks, typically in whole boxes, and sort through it to find stuff that just doesn’t belong, Headley says. Half dollars, for example, were no longer made from 90 percent silver after 1965, but they still had 40 percent silver in them until 1970; either of these turn a nice profit. Presidential dollar errors can be worth $50 to $5,000 each; uncirculated state quarters can sell from $10 to $50 per roll; and rare error coins can value up to $35,000.

4. Start a “business”

Turn your hobby, skills or expertise into a part-time business. Sites like Jobvana can help you do so by providing you with free tools to market your services and offer specialized skills to those looking for help.

Peter Olson says he built a profile in September 2008 offering to teach guitar lessons. He has since gained two students, earning about $240 extra dollars per month and grossing around $1,000 since he started teaching.

5. Enter local and online sweepstakes

Wendy Limauge has been entering sweepstakes since 1993 and teaching others to win through her Web site, Sweeties Sweeps, since 2002. Though winning sweepstakes rarely provides actual cash, her winnings have consistently provided her and her family with 200 to 300 prizes a year, many of them large items she and her husband couldn’t afford on their incomes alone.

Prizes she has won include three TVs, two of which are flat-screens; a home theatre system; three dishwashers, each won on separate occasions; at least $1,500 in grocery gift certificates; an $18,000 voucher for the vehicle of her choice; a trip to France valued at $25,000; and, in March 2009, she won $5,000 in an instant-win game.

“The Internet has so many options for saving money, getting something for free, winning a prize or earning money from home,” Limauge says. “You just need to find those resources that offer helpful information and point you in the right direction to get you started and keep you motivated.”

6. Give your opinion — and get paid

Linda Childers, a California-based freelance writer, says many of her friends participate in focus groups. Contributing an hour of your time can earn you up to $100, sometimes more. Online surveys, phone surveys and product trials can also earn you anywhere from $5 to $150. Check out Free Paid Surveys or FindFocusGroups.

7. Sell your junk

Terri Jay earns $2,000 - $3,000 per month just by selling junk. On eBay, Jay not only sells stuff she isn’t using; she hits up local thrift stores on 99-cent days, garage sales and tack sales, looking for things of which she knows the value. She says her best sale was for a drink tray from the 70s: She paid 25 cents for it and it sold for $87.

“The trick is to [sell] what you know,” she advises. “Therefore you can list them [at correct prices] so they will get picked up in searches [on eBay].”

8. Join a direct selling company

Direct selling is one of the easiest ways to earn some extra cash, especially if you sell products you love. Avon, for example, allows you start your own business for $10 — your take home depends on your efforts. Some full-time representatives earn six-figure salaries, others own licensed Avon Beauty Centers and many just sell Avon part time around their families schedules.

Haizel MacIntyre started her Avon business in June of 2008 to earn supplemental income to her full-time job when her husband was laid off. Since joining Avon, MacIntyre averages $1,800 a month in sales and her husband is helping her run the business. Her Avon earnings help pay the bills, provide extras for her three kids and she is hoping to earn enough to put towards her college tuition when she goes back to school to get her Masters in Social Work.

9. Be a secret shopper

Keen eyes for detail as well as a good memory are really all that it takes to succeed as a secret shopper, says Zippy Sandler, who has been mystery shopping for about 13 years. After registering with a secret shopping company, you are paid to basically go undercover and report on a company’s operation from the customer point of view.

Sandler decided to start secret shopping not only to earn money eating, traveling and shopping, but also to learn customer service skills to pass along to the employees she managed at a retail store. Depending on the clients she is shopping for, Sandler says she has earned everywhere from $100 to $2,000 per month.

10. Sell your photos to stock agencies

It doesn’t matter if you’re a hobbyist, an amateur or a seasoned photographer - anyone can submit their photos to stock photo agencies like Shutterstock.com. If your images are accepted, they will be available for download by subscribers. Each time someone downloads your photos, you get 25 cents.

Posted in Generate income, Informational, Inspirational | No Comments »

‘09 Tax year in review

This is where I’m at…

The wifey wanted to go to HR Block this year to get our taxes done because (in here words) we should be getting more back.  We’ve had a 7 year history of getting at least $2k back in refund.

NOT THIS YEAR!

We earned approximately $40k more than last years income.  This was do to me getting laid off and immediately finding a job while on severance. basically, there was a 6 month period where I was receiving 2 checks.  There was also a 2 month period I was receiving my unemployment benefits (tax- free) while receiving my severance.

Then my wife got laid off with a 4 month severance. She was also receiving unemployment benefits (tax-free). To sum it up, we had $4k+ of unemployment benefits we hadn’t had the taxes taken out on.  We also didn’t take out more taxes on the additionally income we made (which put us in another tax bracket).

I guess it’s a nice problem to have as we were really blessed in ‘08 and actually had about $80k more than last year (thanks to “the gift“).

So we’re in HR Block getting our taxes done.  To make a long enthusiastic quickly turned downright ugly story short, we owed… $2850 in taxes and $750 in tax preparation fees.:oops:

Yep! $3600 WE OWE instead of getting back.  Needless to say the Block lady was quickly rejected when she asked if we’d like to schedule next years appointment.

So here’s what wwere working with for the beginning of ‘09.  We have some medical bills to take care of, which shouldn’t be more than $1k (freaking healthcare hustlers).  The good news is we’re probably going to take advantage of the cheap travel deals go on a short 3 day family and friends cruise.

We’re expecting our 3rd child and the tattooing business will start to pick up soon.  So all in all, if I wasn’t to make a dime outside of the normal paycheck, we wouldn’t have to touch savings until July. Hopefully the tattooing will pickup to where I don’t have to touch it at all.

My plan is to hold everything down until the beginning of ‘10. By that time, we’ll know if the wifey should be a fulltime mom or start seriously looking for employment.  Only time will tell.

A side note: The picture is my latest and greatest.

Posted in Generate income, Informational, Personal debt | 1 Comment »

How to Negotiate a Mortgage Loan Modification With Your Lender

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2008 Financial goals accomplished. What’s next?

My (pre-lump sum) financial goal for 2008 was to have $13K in our savings account. Just so happens, we currently have $15.7K in our savings account. And that’s post lump sum.

HOW (you might ask)?

Well it’s not all bad. I’ve been positioning myself and my family to be more prosperous for the future (starting in ‘09). Basically I’ve invested in myself and the market. As I’ve once hinted on, I’m planning on becoming a tattoo artist and I’ve invested approximately $10K in that which will give me a lifelong trade and a chance to make some really good $ down the line.

Besides that, I’ve thrown $20K in this down market with all of this turmoil surrounding us. I dind’t buy in at the bottom but I’m comfortable where I bought in.  Because of our blessing, so far we’ve given away $3.5K ($500 left to give) to various friends and family in need. We also had to pay $2000 to our health insurance plan. To top it all off we went to Miami for Christmas which set us back about $3500.

So all in all, we have a comfortable 6+ months emergency stash saved up even while my wife & I losing our jobs at different times during the year.

Because of our investments I believe ‘09 will be a much better year despite all the negative things that are happening around us. I haven’t decided what our ‘09 financial goals will be because everything is so much up in the air right now. I have to be honest, I hate instability and now is a really unstable time for us.

My wife’s pregnant and jobless (laid off). I don’t mind it as I expect her to continue to be unemployed because I refuse to believe someone will hire a pregnant lady to do a white collar job. So I have to make things happen for us which I started working on around the time I thought I may be getting the pink slip from Sprint (which I eventually got).

I’ll let you in on more when i know more.
Roger.

Posted in Generate income, Informational, Personal debt, goals, purchases | 4 Comments »

18 Means for Living Below Your Means

Live Below Your Means

Live a comfortable life, not a wasteful one. Do not spend to impress others. Do not live life trying to fool yourself into thinking wealth is measured in material objects. Manage your money wisely so your money does not manage you. Always live well below your means.

A penny saved is a penny earned.
- Benjamin Franklin

1. Redefine your definition of “rich”. – “I remember sitting in a cubicle at my first professional job staring at a picture of an SUV I wanted to buy (and eventually did). Now, I sit in my office and look at the pictures of my kids, and just outside my window I can see the beater I drive sitting in the company parking lot. What a difference a decade makes! To sum things up, my definition of being rich is having enough money to meet my family’s basic needs, a few of our wants, and to be able to give some away to others.” – via Frugal Dad

2. Borrow and share. Everyone wins! – “We borrowed a DVD from a friend instead of renting or buying and had a little snack from our own fridge! Way cheaper than using gas to drive to the theater/rental place, paying for a movie, and paying for a snack.” – via My Dollar Plan

3. Avoid the mall. – “Going to the mall is not entertainment! We used to go when we were bored. Of course, we usually ended up spending money while we were there. If you need clothes, then shop sales or go to stores that offer name-brands at a discount. You can save a ton on these items if you are a smart shopper. Dave Ramsey says, “Never pay retail!” We probably save $15 to $30 per month by staying away from the mall.” – via My Super-Charged Life

4. Limit your intake of advertisements. – “Advertising sucks. That’s the cold, hard truth. It’s engineered to make you feel like you’re incomplete, that you have an unfulfilled need, that you’re not good enough.” – via On Simplicity

5. Buy with cash. – “You can’t spend money you don’t have. Many bank accounts provide overdraft protection, so even with a debit card, it’s easier to go over your account balance than you think.” – via Simple Mom

6. Find a better deal and actually SAVE the difference. – “Regardless of what they sell, if you’ve switched companies for price reasons, save the difference. Think of phone companies, internet access, cell phones, credit cards, and others.” – via The Wisdom Journal

7. Adhere to a long-term investment strategy. – “I’m a long-term investor. The stock portion of my portfolio is spread over several mutual funds, a few ETFs and a few individual stocks. Each and every one of these holdings was carefully chosen, after thorough research. I believe in these stocks and funds. I consider them as my best bet in growing my money - LONG TERM.” – via MomGrind

8. Curb your consumerism! – “Have you ever watched how a child can play with a cardboard box for hours, and leave the toy that came in it by the wayside? How is it that children can enjoy themselves without a lot of “stuff”, but we as adults feel the need to reward ourselves by buying more stuff?” – via Billionaire Woman

9. Stay Healthy! Medical problems drain bank accounts. – “James M. Rippe, M.D is a best-selling author, world-renowned cardiologist, and founder of the Rippe Lifestyle Institute. He explains that if you look at all the risk factors for dying, the one that is most predictive is fitness level. In addition, an older person with high cardiovascular fitness is healthier than a younger person who is physically inactive. By increasing your fitness level, you can actually roll back your biological clock.” – via Abundance Blog

10. Stay in and relax. – “So, think about it the next time you go out. Are you going for with a purpose? Maybe the solution is to not go out at all. Stay home and save! Save up for something you really want or need.” – via The Jungle of Life

11. Gradually prepare yourself for a rainy day. – “Even when things are going great, and you feel on top of the world, you must always be prepared for a change. If you take the time and patience to set yourself up properly, then when things to take a turn for the worse, you will be prepared to handle it. If you live above your means, then when the slightest change occurs, you will not be prepared to adapt. Financial flexibility is more important then keeping up with the Jones’.” – via Yin vs. Yang

12. Stop competing. Forget about the Jones’ altogether. – “If getting rich makes us happy, then why don’t countries as a whole get happier as they grow wealthier? They discovered that as a country gets wealthier there’s no overall increase in happiness. Why? We continually compare our wealth against that of others. We are competitive and envious. Add to that the fact that Western countries encourage people to strive for more and more, and you have a formula that spins many into depression.” – via Color Your Life Happy

13. Get out of the “easy street” mentality. – “I think there is too much emphasis on the quick fix or the easy option in today’s society. For example taking diet pills to lose weight instead of the “hard option” - exercising and eating well…. money is sometimes being used as a substitute for hard work. Do you think there is an increasing expectation that you can get want you want by throwing money around instead of working hard and “earning” it? – via Forever Change

14. Avoid impulse buying. Buy things you truly need. – “Don’t you just love the excitement you feel after coming home with a new TV? Driving home in a new car? Opening the box on a new pair of shoes? I sure do. But, from watching the behavior of myself and my friends I’ve found that the new quickly becomes just another item. The excitement of novelty passes quickly.” – via Think Simple Now

15. Time is money. Properly manage your time. – “The fewer tasks you have, the less you have to do to organize them. Focus only on those tasks that give you the absolute most return on your time investment, and you will become more productive and have less to do. You will need only the simplest tools and system, and you will be much less stressed. I think that’s a winning combination. Focus always on simplifying, reducing, eliminating. And keep your focus on what’s important. Everything else is easy.” – via LifeDev

16. Find ways to give without spending. – “Want a quick, easy and (almost) free way to be guaranteed that you’ll make someone’s day special? Send them a letter. Why not set aside some time this weekend to sit down and write to a few people? If you don’t enjoy writing, try buying some nice postcards of your home town. If you’ve got an artistic streak, why not design your own note cards? You don’t have to write a long letter for it to be effective. It’s the thought that counts and the personal touch that makes it special.” –via Dumb Little Man

17. Don’t let greed and deceit get the best of you. – “According to Stephen R. Covey, if you reach an admirable end through the wrong means it will ultimately turn to dust in your hands. This is due to unintended consequences that are not seen or evident at first. The example he gives in The 8th Habit is: The parent who yells at their kids to clean their rooms will accomplish the end of having a clean room. But this very means has the potential to negatively affect relationships, and it is unlikely the room will stay clean when the parent leaves town for a few days. Now, to return to the topic of wealth, I think it is possible to see much of the world’s current financial problems as stemming from people who wrongly believe the ends justify the means. My advice? It is fine to aspire to wealth, but don’t lose sight of the means to accomplishing it.” – via The Change Blog

18. Never ever pay retail. – “You can easily save hundreds of dollars a year on clothing purchases by waiting for sales or shopping at discount retailers like Marshalls. Better yet, avoid name brand clothing all together.” – via Marc and Angel Hack Life

Posted in Generate income, Inspirational, Personal debt, education | 4 Comments »

Now is the time to invest in the market.

I’ve Been away for a while and I apologize. I’ve been swamped with different projects and things. I’ve been paying really close attention to the market lately because of it’s downward spiral. It’s actually a good thing it’s like this.

Think of it this way… There’s a big sale at the moment. Instead of commodities such as clothes and other goods… It’s stocks and mutual funds.

To put things into perspective… I’ve lost 40+% from my 401k & IRA as well as other investment options. It’s horrible news for the short term but GREAT news for the long run. Not only am I will I get that 40% back down the road but with the prices I’m currently buying in at I’ll be gaining 40% on those purchases.

I’ve taken out $25000 recently and $20000 of it is going on long term investing. I’ve been really paying attention to the ticker (OIL). It’s currently REALLY low and bound to rebound once the summer rolls around for you short term investor’s.

Also at this time the ticker (FNARX) is a mutual fund I use in my Roth IRA investments and it’s bound to make a huge comeback long term as the world grows more dependent on natural resources.

Of course, I’m not a professional and you should always seek the help of one when thinking about investing. At the same time, I’m just informing you of what I’m going to jump in really soon.

I’ll keep you posted. I think I’m going to jump in on another one of these days when the market takes a huge dive Hopefully really soon. I have to admit it’s scary timing the market but considering we’re in our lower 30’s we have a lot of time to play around.

Til next time…

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Living check to check

It’s simply amazing how people sacrifice so little to sacrifice a lot.  Millions of people around the country are living the American dream and the mountain of debt that goes along with it just because they don’t want to start a (GOD forbid) budget.  Check out this story I simply had to shake my head at:

Mary earns an after-tax weekly salary of $675 and gets weekly child support of $142; her income averages $3,462 a month.

Her monthly expenses: $1,485 for rent, $175 for utilities, $275 for a car payment, $361 for car insurance, gasoline and maintenance, $415 for her son’s college tuition, $124 for cable television and Internet service, $350 for grocery bills and $100 for dining out. That’s a total of $3,285 — and it doesn’t include incidental costs for clothing, hair care, gifts or entertainment.

She’s also overdue on several bills, including $282 for medical costs, $233 for a student loan and $80 for 2-year-old phone charges.

In a nutshell, Mary spends close to or more than she earns each month, and she runs out of money before she can make payments on her existing bills. That means there’s nothing left over to pay down her growing debts.

Mary is the first to admit a lot of her financial problems are in her head. She’s always had trouble with money, so her financial woes have become part of her identity — so much so that she carries her folder of bills with her wherever she goes, like a security blanket.

She says she wants to have the means to take vacations and buy presents for her grandchildren, even have a little in the bank for emergencies. But her self-sabotage has stopped her from attacking the real problem: her attitude about money.

Mary, like most people, dreads the “B” word: budget. But budget is not a dirty word. It’s the secret to financial freedom.

Without reading the article any further I immediately so ways to improve her situation in a matter of months. Instead Mary, would rather sacrifice budgeting instead of her attitude about wasting money.

Off the top of my head, I see she could lose some cable television programming and possibly opt for cheaper internet services. She could sell the car and buy something older while at the same time being reliable.  Doing so would also lower her car insurance rates.

So lets say she creates a budget and is able to milk $200/month (on the low end) out of the deal. The $80 phone charges would be pai off the first month. That leaves $120 left over for the month. Next month add that up with the $200 and pay off the $282 medical costs. Take the rest and pay off the $233 bill the next month.

After 3 months those debt collectors are paid off and now she has $200 to spend on more debt in order to get the debt reducing snowball rolling.

Life shouldn’t be that hard people.  Sacrifice your laughing now so that you won’t be crying later. Reverse the trend!

Posted in Generate income, Informational, Personal debt, education, relapses | 1 Comment »

Different investment options.

As a follow-up to my previous entry here’s where it gets interesting. I’ve done the research for you. so here’s a list of investment options from (my opinion) best to worst.

Bust first here’s a quick dumbed down vocabulary to decipher some terms:

• Stock: A single unit of ownership of a single company.
• Mutual Fund: A collection of stocks fro different companies.
• Bond:You loan a corporation or government money and they repay you with interest at the end of the predetermined term.
• CD:You loan the bank money so that they can make money and give you some of the profit at the end of the predetermined term.

Now that you have that highly detailed explanation, lets get to it:

ROTH IRA (Individual Retirement Account): Paid into with your post tax dollars. As of 2008 you can contribute up to $5000/year. It’s an individual account that has nothing to do with an employer. You can withdraw your contributions at any time tax and penalty free. At the age of 59.5 you can withdraw contributions & earnings tax & penalty free. Before hand and you have to pay the taxes and 10% penalty on the earnings only. At the age of 70, you have to start receiving monthly distributions from the account or roll it over into something else altogether.

ROTH 401K: Paid into with you post tax dollars. As of 2008 you can contribute up to $15,500/year. It has to be offered by your company as they’ll match a percentage of your contirbution (sometmes 100%). You cannot withdraw your money without penalty (sort of). you have to take a proportionate amount of earnings with the amount of contributions you are withdrawing. So if you take 50% of your contribution out, you have to also take 50% of your earnings. The earnings are then included in your income for federal tax purposes. At the age of 59.5 you can withdraw contributions & earnings tax & penalty free. Before hand and you have to pay the taxes and 10% penalty on the earnings only. At the age of 70, you have to start receiving monthly distributions from the account or roll it over into something else altogether.

401K:Paid into with pre-taxed dollars (meaning you’ll have to pay taxes later when you withdraw). This setup through your employer and they have the option to match a percentage of your contributions (some dollar for dollar). At the age of 59.5 you can withdraw contributions & earnings tax & penalty free. Before hand and you have to pay the taxes and 10% penalty on the earnings only.

403b: Strikingly similar to a 401k plan in every way. The biggest differences are investment options which are limited to:

Mutual Funds:Paid pre or post tax depending on the account. You can purchase mutual funds by selecting them within you ROTH, 401, 403 or individual accounts. They’re the 2nd choice of investing for individuals. They’re not as volatile as individual stocks. When researching which MF’s are best for you, choose the 4 best percentage gainers over a 10-15 year period and allocate 25% in each.

1. nnuity and variable annuity contracts with insurance companies.
2. Retirement income accounts for churches.
3. A custodial account made up of mutual funds. This is known as a 403(b)(7).

CD’s (Certificate of Deposits):Safest of all investment options as there’s a contract that you’ll get a preset return at the end of a contract. The drawback is that the interest rates are usually low and is almost the same as the increase of the yearly cost of living increase. Usually, the longer the CD is held, the higher the interest rate. If you cash in the CD before the specified time, you will have to pay a penalty. CDs are also insured (up to $100,000) if the institution is federally insured.

Savings Bonds: Usually yields lower interest rates than a CD and also come without a garuantee (unless it’s government issued). Not really an option in the investment cycle (for me at this point) so I really didn’t feel like doing my full research on it. If you want to know more, read here.

Stocks: Can be good or bad depending on your research. RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH. There’s a reason you hear about day traders going postal. I’d suggest going the mutual funds option instead of the stocks route.

Note: All of these options (except for most CD’s) have risks involved. I’m a 31 year old male that can afford to take the risks at this time. Even though this is an informative blog entry that may persuade your opinion to invest one way or another, I’d advise you to seek the help of a professional. Of course, I’m always willing to give advice so if there’s something you need explained in further detail, don’t hesitate to ask.

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