When I started building websites my plan was to take the money I earned and use it to buy other income producing assets. Not a strange idea to anyone familiar with Rich Dad Poor Dad or many stories of how the rich get richer.
When the economy took a turn for the worse I had to rethink my strategy and make some adjustments.
The recent downturn will have the same effect on many entrepreneurs that were willing to put all their cash at risk to generate recurring revenue. It may not last long, but right now everyone is more concerned with paying off debt than putting their capital to risk.
I may make less money over time, but I’m more interested in paying off debt than using my supplemental income to purchase income producing assets. Once the debt it paid off I’ll be ready to purchase. In fact, it’s one of the things I look forward to the most. Right now though, debt has to be the priority.
That does not keep me from investing in small ways now. I have a few websites that make up most of my income. My plan is to take a portion of the money I earn and use it to build more traffic to those sites. I then want to start other sites that are similar and attempt to drive traffic into those new sites.
It’s best to stick with what works. When you find keywords or ideas that work well and can be duplicated you have to strike while the iron is hot.
The best way to make more money is to take the money you make now and use it to buy income producing assets. If you aren’t in a position to use money to buy assets then start putting aside small amounts that you can invest and re invest into assets that currently earn you money. Take your most successful ideas and find ways to duplicate them to increase your earnings.
My freelance writing has slowed down, but it continues to be a big part of my plan for future income. My goal to write 1000 freelance articles this year may be in jeopardy, but that won’t stop me from doing what I can.
So far I’ve written 133 eHow articles this year, but 7 of them were not published by eHow due to a technical problem that was never resolved. Here’s a tip, when you write for eHow its important that you save each article until it’s published. Its not enough to just write your article into notepad before you paste it into eHow’s format. You have to save your articles. eHow is still the best way to make money writing but their technical problems are growing daily. Save your work.
I’m making about $40 per month from my 133 eHow articles, but I believe that will increase. As the articles age and increase in page rank they will undoubtedly start to receive more traffic. More traffic means more income. Patience is the key to most online income ventures.
I’ve also written 13 articles for InforBarrel and made just over $5 in the last month. I like how InforBarrel lets you link with dofollow links to other sites. It’s very useful for website owners.
I don’t like writing, but I can make extra money doing it. Better than that, I can make recurring revenue from writing. I’m not passionate about writing, but I am passionate about paying off debt and reaching financial freedom. I hope you are too.
This picture is from a nearby park I like to visit. I like to go there to get new perspective on life and business. It’s a beautiful place not to far from home so I can go there whenever I want.
Whether its a beautiful place like the Potomac River, or your backyard, you need to have a place you can go to let your mind go blank. When you work online it’s easy to get wrapped up in the hustle. If you’ve been working online for any amount of time you know what I mean. When I first started I was so excited that I’d stay up until 3am every night working my guts out, sleep for a few hours, get up and do it again. Sometimes that’s what it takes, but that kind of lifestyle isn’t sustainable.
Along the way you make a lot of mistakes and spend time on ideas that never make any money. It’s better to focus in on your high quality ideas and cut the losers loose.
This is not easy to do when you are trying to build multiple streams of revenue. Once you find something that works it’s easy to want to find other ways to replicate that revenue stream. The problem is, not all revenue streams or ideas can be duplicated.
Staying balance in your approach is the key to consistent profits. To stay focused remember these tips:
Focus
Before you run off trying trying to build up other revenue streams, make sure you have fully developed your best ideas. Your best fully developed idea might make twice as much as a few undeveloped ideas.
Sustainable
Are your ideas sustainable? Assuming you have goals and targets for your output, write down the amount of hours you need to put into each of those targets each week to hit your goals. For example let’s say your goal is to write 1000 Infobarrel articles this year. That is a good goal that will help you make around $1000 per month. But to write 1000 articles you need to write about 85 articles a month. If each article takes you one hour to write you need to ask yourself, do you have a spare 83 hours you can dedicate to Infobarrel this month? If not, you need to reset your expectations.
Rest
Remember that you need rest. Our bodies need downtime and if we push them to the max for months in a row they will eventually crash on us. Plan to take a break and reassess your progress and plan. They is no harm in changing your goals when you find out that one of your objectives isn’t going to be worthwhile.
There is a great episode of Seinfeld where George becomes enraged with his boss over a toilet controversy and quits his job. He comes over to Jerry’s house to discuss his decision and map out a new career plan. He quickly realizes that getting a new job isn’t going to be as easy as he thought and he tries to get his old job back. Of course, he is laughed out of the office.
Just because you can survive without your current job doesn’t mean you should. When you realize that you want to quit your job, you should begin to plan your exit. Quitting without another job lined up has many negative consequences. Let’s take a look at a few of them.
The Cost
Your emergency fund is supposed to be used for emergencies. Let’s say you’ve done what all the experts recommend and you have 6 months living expenses saved up. You may feel like you have a good cushion to live off of while you have another job, but your thinking is all wrong. Each day that you are out of work you are losing money. Can you really afford to be out of work for two months or more while you find that next job? Tough it out at your current job for a few months while you find your next adventure.
Time to rebuild
If you had to live off your savings for three months, how long would it take you to rebuild that saving account to the same level it was at before you quit? People tend to overlook this calculation but it shows why you should never use your emergency fund for anything but emergencies. Let’s say your monthly expenses are $3,000. For you, six months living expenses means you have $18,000 saved up. Now let’s say that you quit and are out of a job for three months. You just spend $9,000. When you get a new job, and you are able to save $1,000 a month, it will take you 9 months to replenish your emergency fund.
Your Resume
When a employer reads your resume they will be looking for gaps in employment. You may have quit your job, but a employer will think you were fired. We all know that companies let their employees leave gracefully, and that’s exactly what it will look like.
No matter how valid your story is, this new employer will not understand your old work environment, and they won’t want to hear about it either. It would be much easier to get a new job with no gaps in your employment record. Leaving for a new job is easy to explain, it was a new opportunity. Quitting without another job lined up looks bad and costs you more than you can afford.
Times are tough. People are looking to make extra money any way they can. While your company may not be in a position to give you a raise right now, you can start investing in your future so that when the time is right you will be ready to get that big raise.
It’s no secret that moral is low in the office. A recent study showed that over 50% of Americans were unhappy with their job. If you are reading this I bet you fall within that group. The current struggles of the American business can be turned into an opportunity for the American worker.
Everyone is being asked to do more with less. The first thing we need to realize is that America has changed and for the next few years we will continue to be asked to do more with less. That’s just the way it is. The sooner we accept it the better off we will be.
Times are tough right now and they will continue to be tough. You may not be able to ask for a raise today but if you work hard for the next year you will be positioned well for a raise or promotion. You may find the low moral as an opportunity to stand out amongst your peers. Use these five tips to make more money at work.
See the real you
Don’t let your ambition confuse who you are. So many times people let their ambition blur reality. If you have three years of experience as an associate you are not ready to be a director. Even if you look at the director and think you are smarter or better suited for the job, you have to put in your time. Be ambitious but don’t think you deserve something before you are ready for it.
Work Hard
Yes it’s obvious but here in America we have this entitlement culture that says I want it so give it to me. Before you ask for a raise you have to show that you consistently work hard and make a difference.
Improve your skills
Get training, read books, and learn everything there is to know about your business. Dig into every problem you see and learn how things work. The more you know, the more valuable you are to your company. When you understand how things work you are better suited to solve problems. I can’t emphasize this enough – learn everything there is to know about your business or product.
Communication
You work hard and are constantly improving yourself, but does anyone know? You have to communicate well so that your boss knows about the value you bring. You can stay up all night solving all the company problems but if no one knows about it then you’ve wasted your time.
Look out for your boss
Help your boss be successful. If you want to impress your boss, ask him/her what you can do to help them be successful. Ask where you can help improve the team. Take initiative and show that you are ready to step up. Make your boss your priority by responding to their emails right away and finishing the tasks they give you before moving on to other projects.
Ask
This is my best tip, it’s what has helped me the most. Just ask. When you have put in the time and feel that you have good ground to stand on schedule a meeting with your boss. Review the work you’ve done and explain your case. Ask directly for a raise. I’ve found that people are afraid to ask for a raise because they don’t want to ruffle anyone’s feathers. Don’t let fear hold you back! Get in there and ask for a raise. This one simple thing can be the difference in being promoted and making more money at work.
After a year and a half of hard work I’ve finally cracked the mark of $2k per month. The one thing I’ve heard over and over again is that it takes time to build an online business. Patience and hard work will get you there.
I had a few personal things come up last month that prevented me from pursing some of my goals, but the work I’ve put in up to this point continues to earn money. I only wrote a few eHow articles this month, and I now have just 12 Infobarrel articles, but I do plan to write more. I actually pulled in $370 in Kontera earnings, but it looks like they won’t pay me for this month until February. I don’t like waiting 2 months for payment, but what can we do?
Niche Blogging with Adsense continues to be my biggest earner. Kontera and Chitika have big future potential.
| Adsense | 1679.7 |
| Chitika | 110.53 |
| eHow | 31.29 |
| Assetize | 12.52 |
| Socialoomph | 71.94 |
| Text-link-ads | 52.51 |
| Linkworth | 75 |
| Clickbank | 41.65 |
| Christian Dir | 3.58 |
| Total | 2078.7 |
There is one major obstacle that everyone will struggle with as they try to generate supplemental income. It is, the day job.
When you start a business on the side it’s easy to get into a routine and start to have certain expectations. You’ll think that you will always have your Saturdays and 3 nights a week to spend doing what you want. But what happens when your boss at work asks you to stay late or put in extra time on a project? It can make things very difficult.
I recently had that situation. Things at my day job are very busy and because my day job is still by far my primary source of income it is my top priority.
You need to have your mind made up before you get into this situation. I’ve seen so many people of the years get fired because they made the wrong choice. If you build a business in your spare time you need to remember that even though it may be more exciting and have more potential than your day job it is not your primary source of income.
Here’s a few things to watch out for when things get busy at work.
People are watching
Your coworkers are paying attention to what you do. Be proactive and dedicated to your day job while you are there. Forget about your part time business until you get home and have the time to work on it.
Doing the minimum
If you do just enough to keep your job you may not get fired, but when it comes time to lay someone off you will be first in line. Do your job and do it well. Keep the distractions at a distance.
Set goals at work
You need goals because they help you continue to advance yourself and your career. Your part time business goals are important, but until that part time business becomes a full time job you need to continue to advance your day time career.
If you live on the northern east coast like I do you are ready to get out of the house and do something fun. With this weekend being Valentine’s Day weekend, it’s going to be busy. I was out last night for my brother’s birthday and it was standing room only at our local restaurant. There’s nothing like making reservations and then having to wait 20 minutes after you arrive on time.
If you haven’t already made reservations for dinner, it might be tough out there for you. Here’s a few deals that might come in handy this weekend.
Flowers:
$15 off flowers from FTD – FTD
Seatle:
$25 for $50 Worth of Spud! Wholesome Organic Grocery Delivery Service
Washington DC:
$20 for $40 Worth of Sunday Brunch at Eventide
$27 for Soothing Foot Massage with Aromatherapy Scents at Comfort & Joy Wellness Spa ($70 Value)
Austin:
$10 for $20 Worth of Fancy Franks and Bites at Frank
Vegas:
$25 for $50 Worth of International Wines at Double Helix Wine Bar and Boutique
San Diego:
$10 for $25 Worth of Sweet and Spicy Treats at Chuao Chocolatier
San Francisco:
$15 for $30 Worth of Indian Fare at Kasa Indian Eatery
Atlanta:
$10 for $25 Worth of Breakfast, Pastries, Coffee, and More at ADios Café in No Mas! Hacienda & Cantina
Houston:
$15 for $35 Worth of Prepared Healthy Food to Take Home from My Fit Foods
Over here on the East Coast we have been getting crushed with snow lately. We had 30 inches last weekend and we are hunkering down for another 10 inches today. In honor of the wild snow storms we’ve been having I’ve made the 103rd Money Hacks Carnival the “Snowed In” edition.
There were 45 submissions to the carnival this week. Some were good, some were average, and some did not qualify for this week’s carnival. Members of the Money Hacker blog network sure do love their Thesis themes.
Favorites
Valentine’s Day is almost upon us. Ray at Financial Highway posted Frugal Valentines Day Gift Ideas posted at Financial Highway.
Intelligent Speculator gives us 2010 Stock Picks: REIT ETF’s posted at Intelligent Speculator. An important part of the collapse of the US & world economy was because of the huge real estate and debt bubble that had been created. Now, as things get back to normal, there are deals to be made in the real estate arena.
Daniel talks about The True Cost of Coffee over at Sweating The Big Stuff.
Make Money
Since we care about making money at Need Money Tips just as much as we care about saving money, I had to make a small category of posts for those that wrote on ways to make a few extra bucks…
Nicki wrote make extra money selling baked goods over at Domestic Cents.
MD at Studenomics presents How You Can Make Money in College Right Now posted at studenomics.com.
Personal Finance
Craig Ford presents 8 Tips For Knowing When To Refinance A Mortgage posted at Money Help For Christians.
Consumer Boomer presents Roth IRA Withdrawal Rules, Options, and Penalties posted at Consumer Boomer.
Paul Williams presents Frugal Tips from The Complete Tightwad Gazette: Track Your Spending for 3 Months posted at Provident Planning.
LeanLifeCoach presents Why Can’t I Save Money? posted at Eliminate The Muda!.
Frank presents Negotiate Overdraft Fees posted at Live Frugally or Die Broke.
Chris Holdheide presents 3 Refinance Tips That Will Save You A Ton Of Money posted at StumbleForward.com.
2 Cents presents Where Are Interest Rates Going? posted at Balance Junkie.
Jason presents How Healthy are Your Finances? Financial Health Calculator posted at One Money Design.
Peter presents What Is A Health Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA)? How Does It Work? posted at Bible Money Matters.
Taxes
Matt Jabs presents Turbotax – Prepare Taxes Online – Free eFile posted at Debt Free Adventure!.
freefrombroke presents The Government Appreciates That you Over Pay Your Taxes posted at Free From Broke.
Kyle gives us reasons to keep our tax returns longer than three years with – How Long to Keep Tax Returns over at Suburban Dollar
pkamp3 wrote a post titled – Revolve Debt to Fund an Emergency Fund? – over at Don’t Quit Your Day Job
FIRE Finance presents Taxes – Donating An Old Car May Not Be Deductible posted at FIRE Finance.
Investment
Bret presents Investing in a Shaky Market posted at Hope to Prosper.
FlBlogger presents Home Improvement: Adding Value With Inexpensive Projects posted at 20s Money.
D4L presents 10 Dividend Stocks Increasing Yield On Cost posted at Dividends Value.
Save Money
Tom at Canadian Finance Blog presents Reducing Your Spending While Intoxicated posted at Canadian Finance Blog.
RJ Weiss presents The Ridicously Long List of Ways to Go Green to Save Money posted at Gen Y Wealth.
Billeater presents How To Save Money At the Post Office posted at Billeater.
Bucksome presents Are Luggage Fees the Tipping Point? posted at Buck$ome Boomer’s Journey to Retirement.
Miscellaneous
Mike presents Is Law School Worth The Cost? posted at The Frugal Law Student.
The Financial Blogger shows us what he is worth with a February Net Worth Update (+0.7%) posted at The Financial Blogger.
PT presents Inexpensive Healthy Foods to Stay Slim on a Trimmed Budget posted at PT Money.
DR presents 0% APR Balance Transfer for 12 Months posted at The Dough Roller.
Free Family Finance wrote how to use a mortgage calculator posted at Free Family Finance.
People are usually motivated to lose weight to improve the way they look and feel. Few people consider the high costs of being overweight. This list has 8 reasons why being overweight costs you more money. All together you could save as much as $500 a month by losing weight and getting in shape.
Most of these points are based on the understanding that there are health consequences to being overweight. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) has a short list of these consequences and heath risks.
The risks are:
1. Heart Disease
2. Diabetes
3. Cancer
4. High Blood Pressure
5. Dyslipidemia
6. Stroke
7. Live or Gallbladder disease
8. Sleep apnea
9. Osteoarthritis
10. Gynecological problems
Understanding the health consequences of being overweight makes it easier to understand how being overweight can cost you money.
1. Frequent Dr. visits
The increase in health risks means you are more likely to go to the doctor. More visits to the doctor means more of those $10 or $25 co pays. They add up fast and make a big impact on anyone’s finances. You will also be at a higher risk of needing surgery at some point in your life. Insurance usually requires you to pay for part of the surgery out of your own pocket.
2. Higher health insurance
You should expect to pay more for health insurance if you are overweight. The Insurance company knows that you are a higher risk and they will want you to pay a higher premium. Many companies that provide insurance have considered charging their employees more for being overweight.
3. Prescriptions
This goes along with the 10 consequences of being overweight. The more likely you are to be sick, the more likely you are to need prescriptions.
4. Higher life insurance
When you go for life insurance the insurance provider will ask you a lot of questions. You feel like you were interviewed by the FBI when you are done. One of the first questions they will ask you is “what is your height and weight.” If you are overweight you will pay higher life insurance premiums.
5. Gas
Here’s one you might not have thought of before. The more you weigh, the more you will pay at the pump. How much more? You might be able to save 1% on gas by losing weight.
6. Food
Food is a big one. Junk food and extra food are the first wasteful items that get eliminated. Cutting out drinks like soda and alcohol will save you hundreds of dollars. When you eat less, you pay less.
7. Career
Like it or not, people are judged by their appearance. When you go to an interview the interviewer sums you up in their mind in the first few seconds. Your appearance has a lot to do with their judgment. It’s a hard truth, but having those extra pounds gives off the appearance that you do not manage yourself well. It also makes it more difficult to get promoted at your current job.
8. Time is money
Exercising gives you more energy while sitting around does not. Losing weight will give you more energy and make you more productive with your time. Time equals money so the point is: More time, More money.
Supplemental income what people are using today to get ahead. Having a single income isn’t enough if you want to get out of the rat race and move towards financial freedom.
What could you do with an extra $500, $1000 or even $2000 a month in income? I bet a lot of things come rushing into your mind.
Debt is what comes to my mind, but for others there will be things like buying better food for their family or have more money to go out and have fun. Here are xx ways that making supplemental income can change your life.
Pay off Debt Faster
That extra money can be used to pay off debt faster. Being able to make more than the minimum payment makes a big difference is eliminating the burden of debt.
1. Make higher credit card payments each month
2. Pay off student loans
3. Eliminate car loans
4. Get rid of the second or third mortgage
5. Start making high monthly mortgage payments on your primary mortgage
6. Pay off that home equity line of credit
7. Avoid going into new debt because you have more monthly income
Family
How would that extra money impact your family? What are the things you could do to improve your family life?
8. Save for your kids college education
9. Save for your kids wedding
10. Work less and have more time to spend with your family
11. Be able to fly family into see you/kids/grand kids
12. Mom could stay home with the kids while they are young
Personal
The number of things you could do on a personal level with that extra cash are limitless…
13. Buy more gifts for people without worrying about the cost
14. Go out to eat more often
15. Travel more, or go to that place you’ve always wanted to go
16. Give more to church
17. Give more to charities
18. Buy a nicer car
19. Buy nicer clothes
20. Help other people who are in need
21. Reduce stress
22. Meet your budget goals with ease
23. Pay for medical expenses
24. Go back to school
25. Stop fighting about money and improve your marriage
26. Provide the money you need for your hobby
Work
How would you feel about your job if you new you could take a less paying job and still break even because you have that supplemental income coming in…
27. Worry less about losing your job
28. Get a less stressful job
29. Be a part time entrepreneur
30. Turn your part time job into a full time job
31. Have a chance to build something you are passionate about
Investment/Retirement
If you are like me, your 9-5 job is not taking you on a path to reach your financial goals.
32. Invest more money in stocks
33. But assets that pay you cash (like dividend stocks)
34. Start your own company
35. Provide capital for a start up company
36. Max out your 401k
Resources
I’m just starting out in my journey to make supplemental income. You can see my earnings reports here: Supplemental Income Earnings
Check out the following posts to learn more about making supplemental income:
How to make supplemental income
How to make money blogging
30 ways to make money working online – 2010
