The Real Truth Behind 0% Apr Credit Cards

September 29th, 2010 - 
No Comments
Tags:
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Take a quick look through your wallet. How many credit cards do you have? Are you one of those credit card fanatics? Are you like one of those individuals who get hold of as many credit cards as possible? Firstly you better make sure you understand that this may get you into a serious financial bind. Sure, credit cards are a great way to deal with unforeseen expenses, and at times can save your butt. On the other hand, these tricky little plastic cards can also trick you into spending carelessly. We all know their typical spiel. Every credit card company knows exactly what you want to hear. Hence thats the reason why your mailbox is constantly filled with offers for 0 apr credit cards. They simply love to pitch that; don’t they? The truth is we all light up at the number 0. It instantly tells us that we have nothing to lose. Ha! Now thats a good one. But, while these 0 apr credit cards start out benign, they soon turn sinister. All of a sudden the apr hits the roof, and you’re shelling out loads of cash for interest rates each month.

Have you checked your mailbox today, did you notice any pitches for 0 apr credit cards? Im sure my guess is there was at least one in the box. Now, the question is; are you going to slit it open and read the whole deal, or simply tear it apart and toss it away? Now don’t get me wrong, sure we all fancy a credit card or two in our wallets and purses. At times those 0 apr credit cards can be helpful if we get in a bind. The trick is using it wisely. In other words, it basically implies not using it unless you really have to. And I mean have to! You dont need to simply stick something on your 0 apr credit cards if have the cash to pay for. No need to constantly fight the monthly credit card payment? Or perhaps, you are one of those exceptional folks who pay their credit cards off completely every single month. If you are, then hats off to you. You’re one of few. Though a lot of us, or probably the majority of us claims that this is how we will do it, we actually don’t. Trust me, the credit card companies depend on this. After a while, you’ll probably want one of the 0 apr credit cards for some emergencies. The trick is staying strong and not using it for casual shopping. There are loads of online resources for those seeking current deals on 0 apr credit cards. Its simple to pop open Google and do a quick search regarding 0 apr credit cards. Nevertheless, be prepared, because loads of them are about to pitch to you.

Posted in:
0% APR Credit Cards

How To Start Your Own Residential Cleaning Business And Make

September 29th, 2010 - 
No Comments
Tags:
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How To Start Your Own Residential Cleaning Business And Make Extra Money

With rising fuel costs it just seems like everything we buy on a daily basis is going up in price. For some people it’s becoming hard to make ends meet and getting another job on the side to work for eight dollars an hour isnt going to make a huge dent in anyones pocket book. An easy way to make extra income as your own side job or business is to pick up a few cleaning jobs. There are two types of cleaning businesses, residential and commercial. Residential cleaning is becoming a sought after skill and for some a profession. In todays busy world some people don’t have time to clean and end up coming home to a messy house night after night. For some of these people who make a little more, paying you $50 dollars a day to clean their house is a good deal. To clean and organize a home on a cleaning schedule can take as little as 1 to 2 hours after a routine is set up. With just two residential cleaning accounts you could be making an extra $3000 dollars a month for 2 to 4 hours a day of light cleaning and organizing while being your own boss. You can start your own cleaning business for as little as $500 in tools and supplies and permits. There are a few things you need when starting your own cleaning business but following the right steps can save you a lot of hassle latter.

When you first start up a cleaning business you need to create a registered company in your state. Taking in income without paying taxes is illegal and people do get caught every year by cheating the IRS, play by the rules and you’ll come out ahead. When you register your company make sure to list it as an LLC company to protect your current assets. By shielding yourself behind a limited liability company you are in fact protecting yourself from a lawsuit just in case something should happen at your cleaning account. Things that can happen at a cleaning account are you could be blamed if something turns up missing, a fire could start when youre their cleaning or you could just be blamed for something that is not your fault. It costs around $100 to set up an LLC company in most states and its well worth the money should something happen. The next thing you need is to be insured and bonded. Being insured and bonded can protect you from mistakes that you might make like ruining someones counter top, or staining their new hardwood floor by the toilet with an acid bowl cleaner. Call around your local insurance companies and ask for quotes, make sure to let them know you’re shopping around and the best price is needed.

The second thing you’re going to need when starting a cleaning business are clients. Start small and don’t get discouraged, this is the hardest part of starting your cleaning company. A great way to set up your cleaning plan is to make a list of the cleaning chores you do around your own home and type the list up neatly so you can present it to your clients as an ala carte cleaning menu that they can choose cleaning tasks from. Everyone is different and every client will expect extra detail in some cleaning task or another depending on how clean they like their house. Advertising is easier than most people think. The easiest way to advertise is to network and tell others about your cleaning company endeavors. It usually always works out that some body knows someone who is looking for a part time cleaner for their own home. Another good way to advertise is to run a small local ad in a weekly shopper newspaper or have magnetic signs made for your car, this can cost as little as $75 and is well worth the investment. If you have a computer which you should if youre reading this article you can also print up simple flyers and hand them out in a middle to upper class neighbor hood in your town (check with local ordinances on handing out flyers before you do this).

After you have gotten yourself one or two clients its time to set a price. Meet with your clients and present the list of cleaning tasks you are willing to perform. Get a good idea of how large the area is that you are cleaning and how well they want the cleaning task done. Come up with a fair price and write down their cleaning expectations for each cleaning task you are to perform. Some examples of cleaning tasks are cleaning windows, cleaning surface areas, vacuuming, sweeping and mopping, cleaning toilets, cleaning bathtubs and showers. Keep it simple to start because you can always add cleaning duties at a later date for an extra fee. Keep a record of their cleaning expectations so you can reference it if they question a duty you are performing.

After youve got your client and your list of cleaning tasks you’ll need some basic cleaning supplies. When running your own small cleaning business keep youre cleaning supplies down to the basics. You’ll probably need a vacuum cleaner, surface cleaners, cleaning towels, a mop, mop bucket, window squeegees and bathroom cleaning chemicals and utensils. Don’t buy more than you need and check your cleaning duties list to see if you really need it. When you first start out buy a run of the mill vacuum cleaner thats not fancy and will get the job done. You don’t need a commercial vacuum at this time because your watching your investment money and a two motor upright vacuum cleaner with all the bells and whistles is just overkill. If you’re unsure of what to buy don’t be afraid to ask. Most cleaning supplies companies and janitorial distributors are more than willing to steer you in the right direction and it’s alright to let them know you’re on a tight budget.

Once you’ve got your cleaning supplies and you’ve set up a schedule with your clients it’s time to go to work. With your first cleaning account you’ll want to do an extra good job. Word can spread fast if you do a good job and more accounts could come your way quickly. The same goes for if you do a bad job, word can spread quickly and you could be out of business before you know it. Be honest and always keep good communication channels open between you and your client. When it’s time to bill your client don’t get fancy, a bill written out on paper is as good as one that has been professionally typed. If you do a great job cleaning your work will speak for itself and who knows you might be able to even quit your day job and work half as much while being your own boss.

Posted in:
How to Make Money

New York Fun Freebies for the Family

September 26th, 2010 - 
No Comments
Tags:
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

New York City, other than being the city that never sleeps is also an excellent vacation destination. If you’re considering a New York Vacation but worried about the selection or availability of great family activities in which to participate, let me put your mind to rest. There are many family activities in New York City that will appeal to all ages from toddlers to teens. Some of these great activities are surprisingly easy on the pocketbook despite New York City’s reputation for being an expensive place to live and/or visit.

There are many ways the careful planner can enjoy many of this great cities attractions for little or no cost. Most museums offer free admission one night or day each week. Check around and plan your trip to that particular museum on the free days and evenings. Additionally, several of the museums offer a ‘pay what you wish’ policy, which allows you to offer a donation for entrance rather than having a set price that would exclude many from visiting. Visiting museums are a great way for everyone in your family to gain some cultural insight from their New York City visit while the free nights make this experience rather easy on the pocketbook.

In addition to these museums you can also experience the technology of tomorrow at the Sony Wonder Technology Lab at no cost or take a stroll down the boardwalk of Coney Island. In the winter, try ice-skating in Rockefeller Center. If you have the time and inclination Queens County Farm Museum offers free admission (with the exception of special events so be sure to check) and provides the family with a step back in time.

To really take a bite out of the Big Apple try the market at Union Square Green Market. In addition to fresh fruits and vegetables you will find all kinds of yummy goodies to eat and drink. There are also many walking tours some guided (these tend to cost money) and many self guided tours you can take through the neighborhoods of New York as well as some historic walking tours.

For a truly historical experience visit Federal Hall National Memorial. Admission is free and you will be able to view American History at its core. This is the place where George Washington took the oath of office and our form of democracy was born. For any American history buff or school aged child this is one of the must see freebies available in New York City. Other national parks in New York City that are of interest historically include Ellis Isle, the Statue of Liberty, Grant’s Tomb, and Fort Wadsworth. Each of these parks offer free admission to the general public and make a great place for the entire family to not only visit and enjoy but also to learn about our history.

Wave Hill is another great place to visit. This tour is free during the week otherwise is it $4 for adults and $2 for children. Regardless of whether you go during the week or on the weekend it is still an excellent value for the price of your visit.

Of course this is only a small sample of the many free and low priced things to do in this great city. You will definitely want to wear comfortable walking shoes for the many miles your feet will take you in this fascinating city. In addition to the many family activities mentioned above, New York City is home to some of the world’s finest parks, which also offer free recreational and cultural experiences to their visitors.
I highly recommend that you pay careful attention to try and plan activities that are free and activities that cost little money with those other can’t miss activities in similar areas. This will save time (a very big commodity when traveling around New York City) and the money you would pay in transportation fees. Planning your trip ahead of time is one of the most economical decisions you can make. This doesn’t mean that you can’t be flexible if you see something when you get there, just that you have a pretty good idea of the things you really want to do balanced with the reality of the budget with which you have to do them all. The most important thing to do is have fun!

Posted in:
Freebies

How To Start To Make Money From Home With The

September 26th, 2010 - 
No Comments
Tags:
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How To Start To Make Money From Home With The Internet

There are many different ways to make money online. Even if you do not have a product to sell , it is still possible to make money online. Read the article that follows to learn more

When it comes to make money from home on the Internet, there is no shortage of ways to do it. Of course if you have a product of your own that is the best place to start. What if you do not have a product of your own?

Here are a few ways you can sell stuff online with affiliate marketing to make money at home

Affiliate Programs. Getting paid to sell other people’s products is the quickest way to get going that I have found. Affiliate marketing has been around for over 10 years now and many people look at http://Amazon.com as one of the first companies to sell products this way to make money from home.

You can make money at home selling leads with affiliate programs like Max Bounty. You can make money selling products. One such way is to sell information products like you would find at ClickBank.

Another thing you can do is affiliate program directories like http://AssociatePrograms.com or Commissions Junction where they have compiled some of the best products to sell in one place.

One way to make money from home online is to sell memberships. This can be done through both affiliate marketing as well as network marketing. Getting paid over and over for making one sale is called residual income.

Certainly network marketing also offers some great residual income for repeat business on a monthly basis. Many MLM companies will set up your customers and distributors on auto-ship and the products they order go out like clock work every month. When they do you make a commission every month just like clockwork as well.

Back to paid memberships. Products that can be accessed online and offer value to your customer are great to sell. Paid memberships fit this description. Subscriptions on how to run a home business, personal development, paid newsletters on every subject imaginable, website hosting, auto-responders, and just about anything you can think of, offer you a chance to make money at home.

Two tier programs where you get paid on the sales of people you recruit work great for paid membership programs as well. Of course network marketing falls into this category and can even be better because you can make money from home every month on the sales of a large group of people.

The key with most paid subscription programs is you make a little bit of money on every sale. The first month this may not amount to much. The second month it can be more. In a year it can be quite a lot. Kind of like compound interest if you know how that works.

Your efforts and your sales compound themselves offering you a great chance to build an income that you could walk away from in a few years.

Can you say that about your current job?

Visit my website to learn more of how you could make money online step by step and to drive more targeted traffic to your website if you have a website to sell your own or affiliate products.

Posted in:
How to Make Money

How to Start a Blog and Make Money Online

September 24th, 2010 - 
No Comments
Tags:
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

If you are new to the internet and wondering what an earth this blogging craze is all about, or if you already have your own website and youre wondering why everyone keeps advising you to start your own blog, read on. Im going to explain to you what a blog is, why you need one, how to set it up, promote it and of course, make money from it.

Blog is short for web log and is similar to an online diary or journal. The craze of blogging began in the very late 1990s and has started to become more and more popular over the last couple of years. Almost everyone seems to have a blog these days, from CEOs of large companies to webmasters, from world travelers to teenagers. Even my Dad has his own blog now! A blog allows you to communicate informally with people via an online journal, but its more personal and unstructured than a website and easier and cheaper to set up than a website.

If you have your own website, but havent yet started a blog you can easily start one using a free service such as Blogger or WordPress. Try to post to your blog at least once or twice a week on topics related to your website. Blogging will help your search engine rankings and open up the communication channels between you and your visitors or customers, encouraging them to interact with you and give them a reason to return to your site in future.

If you dont have your own website and are looking to set up a blog quickly and easily I recommend opening a free account with Blogger. You can blog about anything you like, for example a hobby, a vacation, your home town, something political, a sport or your business. Just be sure to pick something that you are interested in and knowledgeable about. You can host your blog for free on Blogspot all you need to do is pick a name that is relevant to the topic of your blog. Once you have set up your profile and chosen a template, blogging is as simple as sending an email to a friend.

There are many ways to make money from your blog, but here are a few ideas to get you started:

- Google Adsense – this is free to join and easy to set up. The ads will match the content of your blog and you will get paid every time a visitor clicks on an ad.

- Affiliate Programs sign up for affiliate programs related to the topic of your blog and display links to related products on your blog. Clickbank, Trade Doubler and Commission Junction are good places to start, or do a Google search for affiliate program + the topic of your blog to find more affiliate programs. Whenever someone clicks through your affiliate link and buys a product, you will receive a commission. If you are knowledgeable about your topic you could also write product reviews to help increase your affiliate sales.

- Sell Advertising Space if you have a popular blog you can charge people to advertise on your blog. This could be in the form of a text link, a banner or a graphic.

You are not going to make money with a blog unless people can find it. As soon as you have started to post to your blog its time to start promoting it. You can get your blog noticed by

- Submitting your blog to blog directories just search for blog directories in Google

- Asking other bloggers to exchange links with you you put a link on your blog in exchange for a link from their blog.

- Writing an article related to the topic of your blog and posting it to article directories. Remember to include an authors resource box with a link to your blog.

- Pinging blog ping services every time you make a new post pingomatic.com and pingoat.com are two sites you can use to do this.

- Participating in forums related to the topic of your blog. Put a link to your blog in your forum signature.

Finally, once you have your blog monetized and you have started promoting it dont forget to post regularly. The most important aspect of every successful blog is frequent posting, so be sure not to let the virtual dust gather over your blog!

Posted in:
How to Make Money

The Big Secret Of 0 Apr Credit Cards: Debt Reduction

September 23rd, 2010 - 
No Comments
Tags:
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Big Secret Of 0 Apr Credit Cards: Debt Reduction

Americans have fallen into the debt trap to an extent that our grandparents could never have imagined. We have to have everything, and we have to have it now. As a consequence, many of us are drowning in credit card debt. Here is a possible solution.

The days of low prime rates are over now, and 0 APR credit cards are harder to find. Not impossible, though. Many companies still offer 0 APR credit cards for limited period only so that they can attract new customers. This initial period of up to 12 months can save you buckets of money if you have high interest credit cards.

This is how to you can handle it: First, transfer your balance from your high interest credit card to your new one. This will lower your monthly payments and save you money every month. Second, dont go shopping yet. Rather, take these savings and pay down the balance on your credit card. Now youre paying principal instead of interest. Do this for the entire initial period and youll be surprised at how much you can pay off your balance.

Third, dont use your new credit card to spend more money, because when the higher interest rate becomes applicable you could end up with an even higher balance that you had before. Once the 0 APR period ends, you can take advantage of the extra money provided by lower payments, right? Maybe. Since youve gotten so used to high credit card payments, why not delay your gratification a step further and continue to make payments at the same amount, thereby paying off the debt faster? In this way your new credit card can be used to motivate you to eliminate your long-term credit card debt. Note that your 0 APR credit card should never be used to spend more only to lower your debt. Once the higher interest rate kicks in, your new line of credit is a useless to you as your old one was.

What debt management offers you is freedom after all, which would you rather have, peace of mind, or more stuff that you probably dont need anyway?

Posted in:
0% APR Credit Cards

How To Really Make Money From Home

September 21st, 2010 - 
No Comments
Tags:
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I was sitting around today and I was trying to figure out what to right about in regards to my next article; its hard because the subjects remain the same but the details change daily. I sat around and decided I would share my thoughts in regards on how Ive made my website successful; Ive done this before but I think Ive figured out a way to express my true feelings in regards to home businesses. I signed a contract my mentor proposed to me, so I can never go too far, and I dont want to; hes been a huge influence on my life as an Internet Marketer and person. I consider myself lucky because its hard to find a person in this business that can truly show you the ropes. Im going to do my best to show everyone how you can make a home business work without breaking that contract.

I believe the most important aspect of making a home business work is ones mental outlook on life. You really need to be a positive person in order to make money from home. All of us who can make profits from home usually have a good outlook on all avenues of life. How you approach all areas life will be tested in the home business setting; if youre a quitter, you definitely wont make it in this field. I make mistakes all the time, but I never make the same mistake twice. Its alright to make mistakes; thats how you learn and grow. The home business market is very competitive, and it changes everyday; there are so many smart people out there who know what it takes to be successful. When you start your business youll be up against the majority of these people; as you grow in this business; youll find yourself separating from the competition; you need to separate yourself, if not, you wont make it. The initial learning stage is the most important step; youll make or break your business during that time. Try to tell yourself I CAN DO THIS The positive attitude will be the driving force behind your success. Not everyday is a holiday; how you react to the trials and tribulations will shape your future in the home business market. Its alright to fail in certain areas; its unacceptable not try. You learn from failing and trying new things; if you just copy what someone else is doing youll eventually hit a wall and you wont be able to hurdle that wall because you havent established yourself as an individual in this business.

When getting started I suggest you first latch onto someone who is successful; a lot of people in the home business field claim to be successful; guess what? A lot of them arent; they want you to think they are in order for them to make some money off of you. Its important for you to have your own definition of success when starting anything. Some people believe being successful has to do with how much money they make; others relate success to how much free time they have; the list goes on forever. Before you start, establish you own definition of success; once you define success, set your goals. I dont need to make $300 a day to be successful; I need to make enough money where Im happy working from home. Im not a person who likes to work for people; all I need to do is make enough money to support myself, thats my definition of success. I understand why people try to sell others on the aspect of being incredibly wealthy, it works sometimes. I believe in selling people on the truth of the business; if you think you can be rich overnight, youre very wrong. Working from home is very hard, and it takes a lot of time, money, and effort; if it was easy, everyone would be millionaires. This business is so competitive for one reason and one reason only; we all want to work from the comfort of our own home. I believe the best way to find a great mentor is by just being honest and aggressive. Type what youre looking to do in a search engine and youll find whos successful instantly; theyre usually the people with the highest ranking websites. Once you find those websites, contact them personally and see if they are willing to give you hand, a lot of times there too busy, but if you keep it up youll eventually find the right person. If youre reading this, Ive made your job easy; my mentor is Erich Winnecke. I cant go too far with this, like I said, I signed a contract. If your looking to start or improve a home business; I can get you in contact with him, my e-mail address is below.

I mentioned competition; if youre looking for competition you came to the right place. Home based businesses are abundant, and they will continue to be so. Its alright though; theres enough potential clients and information to spread around. The great thing about the internet is the ability to learn something new everyday. You WILL face adversity in this business; just stay positive and be willing to learn. A lot of your competitors are giving up their secrets by just advertising their businesses. All you have to do is just check out their websites, you can learn a lot from just analyzing another persons website.

Be sure to join a home business forum when you get started, and never stop using it. There are so many people you can learn from. I wouldnt have gotten to where I am today without the help from so many people; granted, were all trying to accomplish the same goals, but were always looking for the easiest and smartest ways to make it happen. Youll be surprised how many people are willing to help you out, but always remember to bring something to the table. If you just take, people will catch on; dont be afraid to share your own successful techniques; the more you share, the more youll gain.

Always be true to the game, thats my motto. If youre honest and try to help others, youll be successful. The home based business field is flooded with scam artists; you might get away with being dishonest for a little while, but it will catch up with you in the long run. No one is bigger than the game; find your place and let the rest take care of itself. The more credible you are the more followers and collogues youll have; if you have a strong supporting cast, youll be very successful. All right!! Enough of my psychology; here are some ways I can help you build your home business and make some money from home. I just had to preach for a little bit in order to give you the ethics and guidelines that can help you thrive in this market.

Without breeching the contract, Im going to guide you. Like I said, latch onto one person, and then insert yourself into a group of people who are trying to accomplish the same things as you. Try to stay away from programs that want you to sell to your friends and family; Ive always believed in separating business from pleasure. You dont need to rely on your friends and family to be successful; once you become successful, people will come to you. Build a website that will look attractive and have something credible to offer. The next thing you need to do is get people to visit your website. There are many ways to accomplish this. Submit as many articles as possible; you can do this by finding an article submission site on the internet; you write the articles and theyll distribute them for you. Article writing is one of the best ways to get people to your website; once an article is published, its on the web for a long time. Youll get visitors to your website long after you submitted it. Another thing you want to look at doing is creating a blog; a blog is a great place to share your thoughts and feelings about anything. You can even post the articles youve submitted in your blog. Once you enter a blog, PING IT!! Pinging will send your blog out to people looking for things you have to offer or say; remember, be credible; if youre credible, theyll be interested in what you have to say and offer. The next thing you want to do is trade links with other websites. Trading links will help you increase your traffic to your website.

You want to trade links with websites that get a lot of visitors; theres no point in trading links with a website that attracts a few visitors. Type in a keyword thats associated with your home business, and trade links with the top ten sites that come up. A lot of the people you associate with in your forum will also want to trade links with you; do it, it builds comradely. The next and best way to advertise is by using search engines; Im not really skilled at this sort of advertising yet; I cant really give you a lot of details here. The one thing I can tell you to do is be careful. Search engine advertising is very competitive, and if you dont know what youre doing, youll loose a lot of money quickly. I suggest you rely on the help of your comrades in your home business forum. Its unfortunate, but a lot of them have failed at search engine advertising, but they picked themselves back up, and will be willing to help you not make the same mistakes they did. Ive been able to minimize my mistakes by observing my fellow home business entrepreneurs, and theyve learned from mine. Learning from each other is the best way to learn; combining knowledge with drive, and dedication will get you very far in this business. I wish you the best of luck and remember to believe in yourself, and HAVE SOME FUN!!!!!

Posted in:
How to Make Money

The $10,000 Credit Card Challenge

September 20th, 2010 - 
No Comments
Tags:
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thinking about conquering your mountain of debt but too scared even to give your debt much thought? Read this real-world scenario of how one person erased $10,000 of credit card debt within a few years.

Ever wonder how some people deep in credit card debt manage to come out on top financially? This is the hypothetical but realistic story of Emily, one person who dug herself out of $10,000 in credit card debt in just a few years.

Never a big spender, Emily was shocked when she noticed that her two credit cards had a combined balance of $10,000. What happened?

* Emily took a lower-paying job when the economy went bust at the turn of the millennium.

* Hoping her lower income would be temporary, Emily didn’t sell her house to get one with a lower mortgage. She didn’t sell her expensive car to buy a cheaper one, since she would get much less than she had paid for it. In reality, the thought of driving a less-nice car was painful

* Emily paid only the minimum monthly credit card payment most months. She was paying interest, and interest on interest, buying the privilege of having the credit card company hold onto her debt another month.

* When one of Emily’s credit card balances got within a few hundred dollars of the credit limit, her interest rate on the card skyrocketed from 17 to 27% .

Loans: Emilys Salvation?
Emily considered taking out a loan to pay off her credit card debt. She owned a condominium whose property values had increased 40% since she bought it, so she could easily get a good low-interest second mortgage.

But a loan scared Emily: it would mean admitting her debt would not go away soon. Besides, Emily wanted to get rid of her debt, not trade (her unsecured debt for secured debt). Plus, she knew that if she ever couldn’t pay the second mortgage, she would lose her house, while failing to pay credit card bills would just mean a ruined credit rating.

For about a year, Emily argued with herself over whether to take out a loan to pay off her credit card. Then catastrophe hit: her beautiful car was totaled in an accident. While shopping for a new car with friends, Emily finally had to admit to herself that buying another car like the one she had had would be financial suicide.

Finding an Answer
Emily cried and cried as soon as she got home from the car dealership that day. It wasn’t just that she would have to admit that she wasn’t someone who could afford the car she had been driving. When Emily’s parents were her age, they had already bought a five-bedroom house; Emily’s one-bedroom condominium was already a stretch. If she ever got married to a man with the same financial picture as she had, she wasn’t sure they’d be able to afford children. Growing up, her parents had always told her she’d do better than they had. What went wrong?

Emily did not have to think hard about what went wrong. Her father had been able to pay for college with what he earned at summer jobs, and then got a manager-level job straight out of school. Between college and graduate school, Emily had accumulated $70,000 in student debt that she was still slowly paying off. Houses in Emily’s town, even adjusting for inflation, cost several times what they did when Emily’s parents bought one. Cars had leaped in price about as much. The only thing that hadn’t gone up was income.

Unable to cope with having less than her parents had, Emily had used her credit cards.

Solving the Problem
Emily knew that since her lack of financial skills had dug her into her rut, she would need outside help to dig herself back out.

She had heard about credit counseling services that took large chunks of the payments you made against your debt, so she was careful. She found a counseling agency that was a member of the Better Business Bureau, American Association of Debt Management Organizations and whose credit counselors are certified through the National Institute for Financial Counseling Education. Doing a quick search on the web, Emily verified that these were organizations with real standards and not just empty names.

Here’s what Emily got from the credit counseling service:

* Relief. Emily was relieved to learn that her $10,000 credit card debt is in fact about average for Americans. The credit counseling agency showed her that even if she didn’t have the advantages she hada decent job and home equityshe would be able to rid herself of her debt if she just faced up to it.

* Surprise. The agency urged her to put money away for a rainy day fund, even as her credit card interest mounted. But once she started saving, she felt amazing. She realized she had been under enormous stress from always being one paycheck away from poverty.

* Understanding. The counselor understood Emily’s reluctance to take out a loan, and helped her create a budget that would let her pay off her consolidated debt within a few years. Besides the car, all Emily had to give up were smaller expenses.

* Clarity. With her finances planned, Emily could think much more clearly about her financial situation. She figured out how much more money she would have to make to have her desired lifestyle, and aggressively pursued a new job. Starting fresh with her new coworkers, Emily focused on meeting people who were less materialisticand even met her fianc.

Though her fianc has no better financial prospects, Emily’s confident they can afford to give their children all the essentials she had, even if in a smaller house.

After all, Emily knows that solid finances are just as good a shelter as a roof over your head.

Posted in:
0% APR Credit Cards

How To Put A Site Online And Make Money From

September 20th, 2010 - 
No Comments
Tags:
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How To Put A Site Online And Make Money From It

Before designing your website and putting it online you have to first plan it all out. For example, you will need to think of what topic your site will be based on. For example, will it be a free stuff site like http://www.1freebieseeking.com or will it be a more larger general site like http://www.simplysearch4it.com with online games at http://games.simplysearch4it.com a product search at http://products.simplysearch4it.com and more. You will also have to think of how your site will make you money and also how competitive the market is, which you will be approaching.

Once you have done all of your planning your will then need to design your site. There are many good tutorials around on the web that will help you in designing your website. Once you have designed your website you will then need to consider, which web hosting provider you are going to use for your website. There is a large amount of different type of web hosting providers across the web. Some are very good and reliable and some are not so good or reliable.

So one of the best places to start when looking for a web hosting provider is to us a web hosting directory like http://www.1hostseeking.com just so that you can search for the best web hosting plan for your sites needs. Once you have narrowed down your search and have found a handful of web hosting providers that will be right for you, the best thing to do then is to go to an online forum associated with web hosting. You can then ask others what they think of your chosen web hosting providers so that you have other peoples opinions, which will then give you a better idea of whether they are reliable web hosting providers or not.

So now that you have chosen your web hosting provider you will then need to add something to your site, which will make you some money. One good thing to do is to sell your own products, but if you cant do this then you can always join affiliate programs and use them on some pages of your site, if not all. To easily find some affiliate programs for your sites topic it is best to use an affiliate programs directory like http://www.affiliateseeking.com . When adding the affiliate programs to your site you must incorporate them so that they look like your own content and are not just a list of affiliate programs links. Doing it this way will more likely result in clickthrus to the affiliate programs site and also result in more sales.

Now once you have done all of the above, you now need to think about your advertising. One of the best ways of getting visitors to your site is through using the major search engines. To do this you will need to work on your websites seo (search engine optimization). Once you can do seo well enough, then your site will rank a lot better in the major search engines, which will then result in you getting a lot more unique visitors to your site. If you cant do seo that entire well, then you can also get traffic to your site using other techniques. Some of these include:

1. Adding your site to free web directories and specialty directories
2. Adding your websites link to your signature in the forums that you use
3. Exchanging links with other websites that are on a similar topic to yours
4. Pay other sites so that they can include your link on theirs
5. Use Pay Per Click Search Engines include Adwords

Once you have done all of the above you will then need to keep working on improving parts of your site that is under performing and also finding out ways of doing things better to increase your sites visitors and earnings even further.

Posted in:
How to Make Money
« Older Entries