Uncategorized

Where Can The Ideas Come From?

I am no good at writing, you may say. Not to worry, if you are targeting a niche market in which you feel very strongly about and you spend a lot of time thinking about the topic at hand, believe me, you have more than enough material floating up between your ears to type in a short article (250-300 words).  Here are some helpful hints that you can use to generate an article. Once you have an article written, you can post it to your website, your blog, or even ezinearticles.com.

* Read - the more that you read on the subject, the more familiar you become with that subject and the easier it will be to write about that article. The best novel writers (and no, it is not advocating you to write one) are the ones who spend a lot of their time reading others. Surf the net and see what others are saying about your subject.

* Use a pen and paper - That may be an archaic form, but once you become so used to typing things on a keyboard, you may lose a bit of the intensity that you may otherwise have had should you first put it on paper. When I wrote my last e-book Never Surrender, I did just that, even though my handwriting is poor and I feel more comfortable at a keyboard. You can sign up for the newsletter that will notify you when the book is ready (June 14, 2009 if all goes according to plan)

* Write random thoughts - It helps to take just a half hour to write out some random thoughts on your subject and write whatever comes into your mnd about the subject. There doesn’t have to be any sort of link between ideas, the idea is to pull those ideas out of your head and on to your paper.

There is much more to write about, but this will hopefully give you a bit of a start. Have a GREAT day!

Sunday, June 7th, 2009 Uncategorized No Comments

Name Brand or Generic

When faced with the shopping choice for food, there is often the choice between name brand items or store label (in the old days, we would call those generic).  The idea for some is to save money so that they can continue in their credit card debt elimination goal.  Here are the pros and cons:
 
Pros
*  Store brands will cost less, sometimes a lot less.
*  When used as an ingredient (say in a stew or as part of a whole recipe), the taste is usually as good, if not better.
* Sometimes store brands use less packaging, so you end up with less trash, thereby making that decision to be green, or earth-friendly.
 
Cons
*  You are paying for the advertising of the name brand food (say, a Kellogs Frosted Flakes vs. a Malt-o-Meal brand)
*  You oftentimes can have a lot more packaging that you end up throwing away a filling up the landfill.
*  You will spend more for name brand items and have less for your credit card debt elimination.
 
Watch for coupons and save every chance that you get. 
Friday, April 3rd, 2009 Uncategorized No Comments

A Soda a Day…

I have had a soda habit since 1982. At first, it was a can or two in the evenings when I would sit down at my dorm desk to study. But as many habits do, it grew and it grew. No longer satisfied to grab a Diet Coke© from the dorm refridgerator, I would purchase one the local convenience store (located conveniently near campus). I would spend approximately $0.79. I have figured that in spending about $2.00 a day, if I would have invested that money instead, I would have saved $96,976.83. (I used the calculator here.). That’s enough to pay for my son’s complete college education. I have failed because I squandered a little here, a little there. Believe me when I tell you that it all adds up.

I haven’t yet (but I am pretty darn close) to completely doing without. I now spend about $0.46 per day, which means I save about $10 per week. Using that same calculator, I now will be able to free up $32,761.3 over the next 20 years. Looking at that figure, it makes me want to go cold turkey and end up with close to $40,000. When we go out to eat (no more than once a week), we now get water to drink, thereby saving $4. Believe me when I tell you that it all adds up.

Tomorrow, let’s begin discussion on ways you can save on food (and save a bundle over a lifetime).

Sunday, March 29th, 2009 Uncategorized No Comments

The “B” Word

One of the things that really kept me from succeeding financially was a lack of budget. It wasn’t like the “old days” in which people played “beat the bank” with deposits and check writing (this is where you write a check on an account that doesn’t have the money in it at the time, but you know that you will be able to deposit into your account before the check that you wrote will go through the clearinghouse), but it was similar. I used my checking account to pay the major bills like rent/mortgage, utilities, car payments, etc., but nowhere did I have a written plan to ensure that I wasn’t living beyond my means. This lifestyle gives credence to the adage that if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.

During my first round with credit card debt, I sought the help of Consumer Credit Counseling, a not-for-profit organization that negotiated terms with your credit cards. They would schedule an appointment with you for you to go over what you spend each month, and let me tell you, they were extremely thorough in expenses. When I had completed my survey of what I usually spent my money on, they worked with me to set up a budget. Included in that budget was an amount that I sent them each month to pay down my debt for me…more information can be found in future blogs.

Tags: , , , , ,

Credit Card Debt

Oftentimes, when it comes to having debt pile up on a credit card, people don’t like to recognize the problem. This is the first step.  In successful12-step programs (such as Alcoholics Anonymous), the first step is always to just acknowledge that there is a problem that you have a challenge with credit card debt. This is quite frequently the biggest  stumbling block for someone who is seeing their credit card debt begin to control their very  lives.
The credit card companies will not assist you with this dilemma. They have the agenda of assisting you to accumulate increasing amounts of debt…and at your expense. It isn’t necessarily that they nasty or evil, but large consumer debt is their way of making money. The exorbitant money that the credit card companies make for the interest that you pay for your credit card debt (not to mention all of the accumulating fees) is cash that  goes to pay  corporate executives of these credit card companies and fund their luxurious lifestyle: houses, cars, jets, extravagant vacations. The audacity of these actions could make you want to extinguish the  (allegedly legal) scam that is a disease named credit card debt.

 

Let’s not beat around the bush.  Call it what it is:  Credit card debt is a high interest loan that doesn’t require you to fill out any lengthy forms beside the initial form to get the card. Once they issue a card to you, the credit card companies are more than happy to jack up your credit limit, which allows you to purchase more thing (and they will creep up the interest rate as well). Before long the debt level is astronomical and you continue to send them hundreds of dollars which is mostly interest and fees.

 

For information on a debt settlement program that works, clink here 

 

 

 

Tags: , , , ,

Thursday, March 5th, 2009 Uncategorized 1 Comment

Money For My Life

Have you ever been caught up in living life that you haven’t been able to keep up with paying for it? Do you find that the minimum payments are getting larger and larger and you end up paying exorbitant fees that end up costing many times the cost of what you had originally charged and thought nothing about? Are you tired of living paycheck to paycheck?

Don’t worry, you are not alone. Bankruptcies are increasing as our economy gets weaker and weaker. There are many things that you can do: 1)stop using credit cards for frivolous things, 2) pay down your debt, and (ideally) 3) make more money. What I have found is that there is money to be made out there, and it isn’t that difficult to find.

I have tried to do it the hard way. I have worked two jobs at least half of my working life. This included doing jobs that others with a college degree wouldn’t have even considered doing. The jobs are out there. I have been on overnight cleaning crews, done third shift temporary work, worked nights and weekends as a cashier. These have helped in keeping my head largely above the deep waters of debt so I don’t get ahead, I just stay alive. But there are other ways. I have painstakingly researched many of the various methods that are floating out there and I believe I have found some of the best ways that aren’t difficult and you will get out of them what you put it, and then some.

Tags: , , ,

Welcome to My Money Blog

Thanks for visiting my site! I will be posting more information very soon!

Tags: , ,