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Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Staying Married is the Way to Riches


This post is for all those lovely couples who are contemplating marriage.

This is the season for such things. Rings are given during Christmas or Valentines Day and then the wedding is planned for May or June (sometimes July). That's real cute, but take some advice from an old married person who has been in a relationship for a very, very, very long time. Who has been married for a while too (over a decade or two).

If you marry and wish to become rich . . . Divorce, Separation, whatever . . is not an option. So if you are marrying, make sure you marry for life.

As I often say to my husband . . . "know this now, if it doesn't work out (our marriage) you are just going to have to live the rest of your life and die, hating me, 'cause there will be no divorce. We'll be 90-year-old-grumps throwing our false teeth at each other while we rock on the porch, but got-damn it, we will STILL be married."

I'm not giving my riches up for ANYONE. And divorce/separation is the fasted way to lose all you have worked hard for. You can recover from BANKRUPTCY faster than a divorce. Unfortunately for my poor husband, because I know this is true . . . he's stuck. (You have my permission to feel sorry for him.)

Okay, so how do you make sure you have a long-lasting marriage so you can stay rich? 'Cause everyone tells you to "stay married" but, frankly, no one tells you how to do that.

As I look back at what made my marriage work -- the only thing I can pinpoint that was different from my divorced (and poor) friends were . . . my husband and I discussed every - I MEAN EVERY - topic you can think of before we really committed.

Not that we agreed on much of them. We didn't.

But we knew where each other stood on . . .
1. In-laws and having in-laws stay with us for an extended time (more than 2 weeks).
2. What we thought of each others mother (honestly)
3. Kids - what to do with them,what we expect from them, and how to get what we expected.
4. Sex - how much, how often and what positions (that one was fun)
5. Hygiene
6. Cleanliness of the house
7. Who cooks and why
8. Money -- this one was long and varied and got us in a lot of arguments (better BEFORE than AFTER the wedding).
9. If we won the lottery what would we do?
10. If one of use died what would we do?
11. If one of us cheated on one another what would we do?
12. If we were on a sinking ship and there was room for the kid or the spouse -- which one would we pick and why?
13. If either of us was raped or violently assaulted, how would we feel, how would we handle it?
14. If either of us lost a job or experienced bankruptcy, what would we feel . . . what would we do?
15. What is the one deal-breaker for you in marriage (meaning, if it happened it means instant divorce).

These were the top 15 questions, but really the questions were nearly endless. But before we discussed them in depth, we made sure to point out to each other that it was okay not to agree. We understood that many of these questions were tough to answer and the discussion was solely to gain insight on really who you are connecting with. It also lets you know (or anticipate) what to expect when life gives you those dirty little "gotchas." Those unexpected turns in the road.

Because really, that's all divorce is a symbol of . . . there was an unexpected turn in the road and one person went one way and the other went another -- 'cause they have two different pages of the roadmap. Ask some questions before the trip. Make sure you are on the same page and keep all your riches (especially the ones that can't be counted).


Monday, December 3, 2007

The Model Millionaire by Oscar Wilde

I was re-introduced to Oscar Wilde the other day (I could not appreciate him in high school -- what kid would appreciate an old dead guy?) Anyway, this guy had some very practical advice and I've decided to read some of his stuff. Currently, I found this little anecdote of his . . .

Romance is the privilege of the rich, not the profession of the unemployed.

The poor should be practical and prosaic. It is better to have a permanent income than to be fascinating.


The Model Millionaire - Oscar Wilde



Hey, ain't Oscar cold pimpin' with his cane and fur and everything? -- sorry, couldn't help commenting on that.

 
Oscar Wilde's Wit and Wisdom: A Book of Quotations by Wilde, Oscar/ Do (Google Affiliate Ad)

Saturday, December 1, 2007

November was a bitch with a long wicked knife


SSHHH!!!
Originally uploaded by LISA M G
Okay, yeah, so I disappeared in November. Basically, for all you nosey people out there - I had my head down and my nose to the gridstone -- working. Basically, making a path for all the riches 2008 is holding for me.

There are several things I'm going to do to make my dream come true -- November was the month that I set everything up to get the ball rolling. So, I had no time to come through and discuss it with you guys. Sorry about that.

But because of my hard work, my dedication and stubborness (not to mention the many all-nighters I pulled). I feel that I am well on my way to making my dream come true - $3,000,000!

What am I doing precisely to make that grand bit of cash? Patience, patience . . . you are going to see. I am now organized and all set up to be able to blog AND do all the activities I have on board to make lots of money. I want to thank you all that came by, even when my blog seemed dead.

I plan to retroactively fill November up with posts (I had written the posts previously - it's just that blogger doesn't have an auto post feature, so I have to do it manually), so visit often and go BACK in time for some good information on telecommuting and becoming rich.

Here we go . . .

Monday, October 29, 2007

Rumors of my death . . .


Okay, folks I've been out of commission for a couple of weeks. No, I'm not dead. No, the blog is not dead. In fact I have over 100 posts ready to "become live" with a click of my finger. The problem with this is, Blogspot does not let you indicate automated future posting.

Oh Blogspot, when will you give us an "automated posting" feature? Truly, that's all I want for Christmas. I think I speak for many people using your wonderful system when I say that being able to write a blog post and indicate on what day it should go "live" would be so very wonderful. It would help busy people like me become much more consistent in our blog posting . . . thus allow you guys to hold on to your large blog audience . . . thus create more revenue for you. Please, please ole' great programmers in the sky of blog universe -- could you make this happen for us lowly bloggers?

Just for my readers, I didn't forget about you. I just couldn't lift my head from the pillow for a week. And then last week I had to catch up on work (you, know the thing that pays the bills? -- I'm not a millionaire yet). But I'm back now, so look for more help in finding telecommuting jobs, more discussion on mad schemes to make more money, and tips on how to KEEP said money.

Thanks for understanding.
Telemill

Thursday, October 11, 2007

There would have been no housing bubble if we would have followed 2 simple rules . . .

Stumbled upon a blog called Everything Finance . . . good stuff, go read. The author had a simple, yet very truthful post on the 25 ways to grow rich (actually, to live comfortably). And he/she bolded rules 3 and 4.

3. Spend no more than 2 1/2 times your income on a home. For a down payment, it's best to come up with at least 20%

4.
Your total housing payments should not exceed 28% of your gross income. Total debt payments should come in under 36%
And I thought to myself, what the hell happened to good old-fashioned common sense? The above rules make utter sense. And if we would have held FIRM to that sense (by "we", I mean the collective population) we would not be in a housing bubble (or housing deflation) right now. How did this happen? Did greed really make this happen? "Greed" is really that powerful that we will set aside good sense to follow it -- to believe that gaining 10% - 15% - 25% appreciation in one year can carry on forever? Did people REALLY and truly believe this? Or were they just bull-shitting so the next guy would jump in the game and continue the "appreciation" run?

I mean, the people that bought a house for $600,000 put $10,000 into "renovations" and turned it over the next year for $750,000 . . . did they really believe that this would continue? Or in the back of their mind they said "Whoo, got away with it. Hope this crazy "appreciation" scam holds out 'til I sell my other three houses."

The two rules above are so common sense, so "fundamental" -- how did we get into the 5 and 6 times your salary for a house purchase is okay pot? Are we the simple minded frogs that get cooked alive because the heat was slowly turned up?

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Scammer Fee #8 - Make Sure You're Serious Fee

I see this statement all the time. 'We request that you send us $25 to make sure you are a serious applicant.'

Yeah, right! Let me show you the ridiculousness of this statement.

Let's suppose you own a company, BCD Inc. You need an employee. You look at two resumes and competency test scores. One guy really fits the bill. This guy has experience, the skills and
education you need; and in addition, you see from his competency scores, he's fast and accurate too. The other applicant has the skills you require, but he's kinda slow and has a questionable
employment history (actually, he has been fired from his last two jobs). Now BCD Inc., also requires from applicants a 'make sure you're serious fee.'

Now this is the dilemma, what if the first applicant doesn't have the money? What if the second questionable applicant does have the money? Would you hire the questionable guy?

Let me answer for you . . . NO you wouldn't. You would want the better employee that will work fast, do a better job and make you lots of money. You wouldn't care about how much money an employee has to give you, because that is not where your bottom-line - your profits - come from. Your profits will come from competent and fast employees doing the business of the business. Would you actually turn down a great employee just because they don't have an admissions fee? A materials fee? A starting fee?

Yeah, when you look at the telecommuting from the employer's eyes -- all those scamming schemes become real clear don't they?

Congratulations, you have passed Scammers 101. Go out and get that work-at-home jobs with confidence that you will NOT become a victim of a scam.

Other ways scammers try to get ya':

Scammer Fee #2 - Administration Fees

Scammer Fee #3 - Software Costs

Scammer Fee #4 - Materials Fee

Scammer Fee #5 - Starting Fee

Scammer Fee #6 - Manual/Training Fee

Scammer Fee #7 - Registration Fee

Scammer Fee #8 - Make Sure You Are Serious Fee (You Are Here)


Monday, October 8, 2007

Scammer Fee #7 - Registration Fee

"We find your resume impressive and would like to offer you the job we advertised. But before we can proceed, you must pay our registration fee."

Puleeze!

The only time I've paid a registration fee is to take a college course, join a conference or drive my car. I'm not paying registration fees for a job. I don't care if your company's headquarters are in another country. If you really want my skills, my knowledge and my know-how to help you company make money -- you'll pay my registration fees, buddy.

Other ways scammers try to get ya':

Scammer Fee #2 - Administration Fees

Scammer Fee #3 - Software Costs

Scammer Fee #4 - Materials Fee

Scammer Fee #5 - Starting Fee

Scammer Fee #6 - Manual/Training Fee

Scammer Fee #7 - Registration Fee (You Are Here)

Scammer Fee #8 - Make Sure You Are Serious Fee

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Scammer Fee #6 - Manual or Training Fee

Have you heard about the new manual fee? No? How about a training fee?

If you have encountered this fee, it means you must pay for the instruction on how to do your new job. Let me say this again, in case you didn't get it. The employer is asking you to pay for your own on-the-job training! What the . . .

Let's pretend . . .
It's the first day of your new job. The office assistant shows you to your desk. The boss greets you and asks you if you are ready to get to work. You answer yes and rub your hands eagerly.

'Okay,' he says, 'I'll tell you the first few duties that's required for your job, but first you must pay me $25.00 for my time and the hand-outs I've prepared to help you understand the tasks you need to complete.'

Huh?

Don't laugh; this is not so ridiculous. This is exactly what happens when you accept the Manual and Training Fee requests of scam artist employers.

Nope. We're not falling for that one either.

Other ways scammers try to get ya':

Scammer Fee #2 - Administration Fees

Scammer Fee #3 - Software Costs

Scammer Fee #4 - Materials Fee

Scammer Fee #5 - Starting Fee

Scammer Fee #6 - Manual/Training Fee (You Are Here)

Scammer Fee #7 - Registration Fee

Scammer Fee #8 - Make Sure You Are Serious Fee


Friday, October 5, 2007

Scammer Fee #5 - Starting Fee

Starting Fee? What the heck is this? I've never had to pay an employer to start working!

Well, many scammers would gently explain to you (like you were some kind of slow-minded individual) that there are many people who want to work from home. That you are one of the fortunate few being considered. That they have been burned by those wanting to work from home in the past. So, what they want you to do is send them some money -- a starting fee. And with your first paycheck (an indicator that you are doing the work properly) they will refund that fee in full. It's just a way to protect themselves from those awful people who are scamming businesses by saying that they want to work from home. (funny!)

Whenever I've started a job, I was always concerned with how much 'I' (the employee) would be paid and when my first check would arrive. Working off a starting fee or waiting for a refund of my money is not my idea of successfully working from home.

Question: Have you ever paid an non-telecommuting, regular "brick and morter" employer a starting fee?

I don't think so.

Other ways scammers try to get ya':

Scammer Fee #2 - Administration Fees

Scammer Fee #3 - Software Costs

Scammer Fee #4 - Materials Fee

Scammer Fee #5 - Starting Fee (You Are Here)

Scammer Fee #6 - Manual/Training Fee

Scammer Fee #7 - Registration Fee

Scammer Fee #8 - Make Sure You Are Serious Fee

Tele-Jobs: VIPdesk






"VIPdesk specializes in delivering Concierge Programs, Virtual Contact Center Services, and Reward Redemption Services for national brand leaders in the travel, auto, financial services, and retail industries."

Don't worry, they are looking for "employees," so send your resume (you don't have to incorporate).

Go to "Join our Team" in the menu bar.



You May Wish to Read About:





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Please remember, dear job hunter, if your qualifications and experience do not fit the position, do us all a favor and refrain from applying. Employers do not want to be bombarded with resumes of people who can not do the job.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Scammer Fee #4 - Materials Fee

The materials fee is the excuse used typically for work-at-home crafts positions.

This one is easy to avoid. Ask them where you can purchase the materials. What third party or wholesaler do they recommend?

If they can't offer that information because they must supply the materials 'to guarantee quality of the product' then ask them:
'Why are you giving away your tax deduction?' Remember, all items purchased by a business are tax deductible, if they have you purchase it, they are gaining an income.

And believe me, these scammers have made their business income when you've send the check for the materials.

Other ways scammers try to get ya':

 Scammer Fee #2 - Administration Fee

Scammer Fee #3 - Software Costs

Scammer Fee #4 - Materials Fee (You Are Here)

Scammer Fee #5 - Starting Fee

Scammer Fee #6 - Manual/Training Fee

Scammer Fee #7 - Registration Fee

Scammer Fee #8 - Make Sure You Are Serious Fee



Scams, Schemes, and Fraud: How Not to Become a Victim by Johnson, Shir (Google Affiliate Ad)

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Tele-Jobs: Tutor.com


From their website:
Tutor.com is the world leader in live, on demand tutoring and homework help services. Every day, thousands of students come to us for help with homework, projects, essays, exam review and research. We connect each student with a real tutor, for a live, one-to-one tutoring session online. Students who use Tutor.com tell us that we've helped them complete their homework assignments, improve their grades and feel more confident about their school work.
Tutor.com seeks highly motivated contributors with the ability and desire to operate in a challenging, fast-paced environment to fill the following roles and job locations. If you would like to apply, please forward your resume, cover letter and salary requirements to hrjobs@tutor.com.
Visit their website and click on "Become an Online Tutor" - this is the category with the most home-based jobs.



You May Wish to Read About:




************************************************************************
Please remember, dear job hunter, if your qualifications and experience do not fit the position, do us all a favor and refrain from applying. Employers do not want to be bombarded with resumes of people who can not do the job.

Telecommuting Jobs, Work at home jobs, telework, hom

Scammer Fee #3 - Software Costs

All software and equipment costs so employees can get the job done are tax deductible for the business which hires the employee or independent contractor.

If you need special software to do the job, you (the job seeker) should never purchase it from the employer. Note that I did not say, 'Never buy software needed to fulfill a position.' You may purchase software, just get it from someone other than the employer. Find out if you can purchase it from a large chain
store or the actual software company instead. If the employer IS the software company then one of the perks of working for a "real" employer is -- you guessed it -- free software use at the job!

You see purchasing from the employer means they generate income from the sales of the software, not from whatever they claim to do. This especially applies to those in clerical positions. Look through the Sunday Classifieds in your local paper. Examine the clerical positions - what software are employers requiring? They usually require either WordPerfect or Microsoft Word, right? Do you see any other off-brand name software in these listings? Probably not. You see everyone is using well-known software these days, everyone has 'standardized' the skills needed. Why would this company be the only company in the nation to use a special word processing package?

Even as an independent contractor working with software companies. If the client wishes that I use their software -- they give it to me free of charge. It's just common courtesy and expected if you are going to work for them and help them make the big bucks, right?

Don't fall for the old -- you have to buy this software from us -- trick.

Want to know more ways scammers separate you from your money?  Read these blog posts too:

Scammer Fee #2 - The Administration Fee

Scammer Fee #3 - Software Costs (You Are Here)

Scammer Fee #4 - Materials Fee

Scammer Fee #5 - Starting Fee

Scammer Fee #6 - Manual/Training Fee

Scammer Fee #7 - Registration Fee

Scammer Fee #8 - Make Sure You Are Serious Fee


Scams, Schemes, and Fraud: How Not to Become a Victim by Johnson, Shir (Google Affiliate Ad)

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Scammer Fee #2 - The Administration Fee


Many scammers will send you an e-mail talking about how excited they are about your resume. How they can't wait to meet you or talk to you. But first, before you can proceed any further in the application process -- you must pay an Administration Fee. You see, there are so many people that want this job, and your would-be-employer needs to differentiate between the "serious applicants" and the "not so serious applicants."

Get real! Let me show you the silliness of this type of fee.

Have you ever encountered a regular, on-site employer that has ever asked for $10 or $20 dollars to process your application or your employee records? Have they asked for money to set you up with a desk, a phone and e-mail service for you?

If you haven't yet realized, it is unethical to ask an employee to pay for something that a business can receive a tax deduction for doing. Yes, companies receive a tax deduction for equipment, software, furniture, salaries and benefits of their employees. On the other hand, everything you (the employee) purchase from the company is considered income for that company and is taxed.

Now ask this question the next time someone asks for payment of administrative fees: 'Isn't this a tax deductible for your business? Why would you want me to pay for that?' And watch them squirm.

If they are in business to sell a product or a service, then their fees to their clients should cover all employee costs, period. If their business can not cover employee's costs then you don't want to work for them. Look, if they can't afford the costs to "look" for viable employees -- then there is great doubt that they have enough money to pay your salary. Case closed.

Don't be a sucker for the Administrative/Processing Fee line.

Other ways scammers try to get ya':

Scammer Fee #3 - Software Costs

Scammer Fee #4 - Materials Fee

Scammer Fee #5 - Starting Fee

Scammer Fee #6 - Manual/Training Fee

Scammer Fee #7 - Registration Fee

Scammer Fee #8 - Make Sure You Are Serious Fee



Scams by Bercowetz, Cynthia S. [Paperback] (Google Affiliate Ad)

Monday, October 1, 2007

Scammer Fee #1 - A True Employer Will Not Ask You For Money

It seems that there are a lot of people looking for work-at-home opportunities and are still getting scammed out there. In light of this problem, I thought I would begin October with a little lesson in how not to become a victim of work at home scams.

This is a multi-part series that will hopefully give you enough information that you can effectively look for telecommuting jobs without the fear of being ripped off by the many (and I mean tens of thousands) of people that are looking for those individuals so desperate to work from home that they will try anything . . . even things that don't sound or look right.

First of all, I want to say to those looking for telecommuting work, know that a true employer will NOT ask for your money. In a "real" work opportunity, money goes from the employer to you (not in the other direction - ever). So, if you make a pact with yourself to never give money to a potential employer than you have won 80% the battle of never getting ripped off. There is still that chance that you do work (spend valuable time and energy) and an employer neglects to pay you for it. But that does not happen very often, because the real goal of scammers is to get your money and get ghost (disappear).

I hope you benefit greatly from Scammer 101 lesson plan. Let me know if you like it and please don't hesitate to share your scam stories . . . you never know how it could help out a fellow reader of this blog.

Want to know more ways scammers seperate you from your money?  Read these blog posts too:

Scammer Fee #2 - The Administration Fee

Scammer Fee #3 - Software Costs

Scammer Fee #4 - Materials Fee

Scammer Fee #5 - Starting Fee

Scammer Fee #6 - Manual/Training Fee

Scammer Fee #7 - Registration Fee

Scammer Fee #8 - Make Sure You Are Serious Fee

I haven't seen that many fees since I last opened a bank account with Bank of America!


Scams, Schemes, and Fraud: How Not to Become a Victim by Johnson, Shir (Google Affiliate Ad)

Friday, September 28, 2007

Wow, I need some inspiration today




Everything seems to be going wrong.

Have you ever had one of those times when nothing you do is right? Everything you do seems to fail or fall flat?

Man, I've been working really hard, staying up long hours, doing lots of stuff that have amounted to "what seems like" nothing:
-- I've made only $7 on Adsense
-- I didn't get all the work done on my TO DO list
-- My tire went flat
-- My kid is expecting this wonderful birthday party and I haven't the energy to do it
-- A fraudulent charge appeared on my account, now my ATM and my bank account is frozen for 10 days
-- Visits to my blog are at an all time low

And that's just the short list . . .

I better get a bit of inspiration going here before I go out side, plop down on the curb and pull out my harmonica.

Then, I happened upon a little webpage called: Don't Give Up -- thank you Lord.

Did you know:

  • As a young man, Abraham Lincoln went to war a captain and returned a private. Afterwards, he was a failure as a businessman. As a lawyer in Springfield, he was too impractical and temperamental to be a success. He turned to politics and was defeated in his first try for the legislature, again defeated in his first attempt to be nominated for congress, defeated in his application to be commissioner of the General Land Office, defeated in the senatorial election of 1854, defeated in his efforts for the vice-presidency in 1856, and defeated in the senatorial election of 1858. At about that time, he wrote in a letter to a friend, "I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth."
  • Winston Churchill failed sixth grade. He was subsequently defeated in every election for public office until he became Prime Minister at the age of 62. He later wrote, "Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never, Never, Never, Never give up." (his capitals, mind you)
  • Albert Einstein did not speak until he was 4-years-old and did not read until he was 7. His parents thought he was "sub-normal," and one of his teachers described him as "mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in foolish dreams." He was expelled from school and was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School. He did eventually learn to speak and read. Even to do a little math.
  • Henry Ford failed and went broke five times before he succeeded.
  • R. H. Macy failed seven times before his store in New York City caught on.
  • Michael Jordan and Bob Cousy were each cut from their high school basketball teams. Jordan once observed, "I've failed over and over again in my life. That is why I succeed."
  • After Carl Lewis won the gold medal for the long jump in the 1996 Olympic games, he was asked to what he attributed his longevity, having competed for almost 20 years. He said, "Remembering that you have both wins and losses along the way. I don't take either one too seriously."
  • Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." He went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland. In fact, the proposed park was rejected by the city of Anaheim on the grounds that it would only attract riffraff.
  • 27 publishers rejected Dr. Seuss's first book, To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.
And there is so much more fascinating instances were people donned the habit of the Energizer Bunny and kept going . . . and going . . . and going. Made me feel so much better, made my problems and obstacles look so minuscule compared to mine. If you are having as bad a day as I'm having . . . go to: Don't Give Up.

In whatever you do . . . Don't give up!



Thursday, September 27, 2007

It's not about who you know, but how many people you know

Did you realize that if you knew 100,000 people (and they knew you in return) all you would have to do is ask each one of them for $10 and you would be a millionaire?

If you had a business with 100,000 customers, all you would need is an one item that cost $15.00 and you would profit $1,000,000 (because you need $500,000 for taxes, business expenses, advertising, etc.)

So, what does this tell you . . . it tells me that McDonalds who has billions and billions of people served, has billions and billions of dollars just from the sale of $2.49 Large Fries!

That's so unfair! All I want is measly million (Okay, 3 million in 2 days -- why do you have to be so technical?) [Eye roll].

I remember reading in Millionaire Blueprints Magazine that this guy called Joe Girard was recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records as the No. 1 retail car salesman in history -- all because he understood the concept of the more people you know, the more money you can make.

Basically, he developed a database of everyone he knew and met.

"Joe developed a system of staying in contact with his customers and potential clients. For every phone call or personal contact he made, Joe would write down on a file card any relevant information. He then sent everybody on his list a unique greeting card every single month. These weren't high-pressure sales letters, just friendly reminders to let people know that he was thinking about him."
Millionaire Blueprints, Jan-Feb 2006, pg 63

Joe would send people birthday cards, 12-month follow-up referral cards and monthly "howdy do?" cards. Pretty soon he was sending out tens of thousands of cards every month -- and he was getting millions in business every year.

Wow, what a simple concept that we overlook. I mean, sending notes through the mail can cost you a bundle, but sending people e-mail and e-cards and newsletters cost you nothing! Why aren't more people taking advantage of that? Why aren't "I" taking advantage of that?

A new goal for Telemill: Acquire a database of 300,000 people that regularly receive some sort of information from me monthly. So, where to start -- let me get out my Christmas List . . .

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Have you ever lost time?

Okay, I'm working -- plugging along, getting some things crossed off of my TO DO list and I'm feeling accomplished today.

Then I take a break and grab some food. While happily chowing I click on my Stumble Upon button.

Don't know what that is? Well it's an evil little thing. It sits on your tool bar and when you click on it, it just randomly takes you to some of the coolest sites that you would never find yourself in a million years. So getting back to my story -- I click the stupid button.

And I came upon a website that is (for me) like Kryptonite to Superman. I just couldn't fight it. I was caught, trapped . . . and I lost 2 hours playing with the dog-gone thing!

It's called Idea Generator and it's simple really. You press the button and crazy ideas randomly pop up and it's so darn silly . . . and amazingly simple . . . and totally enthralling to me (yeah, I'm a simple minded smoe). Anyway, I took my break at 11:45 and now it's 1:45 . . . I lost 2 hours playing with this thing.

So now, I have to make up for it. So if the next few post if you read about some crazy concepts like: "eco-friendly rural sex toys" or "wicker growing machines" or even, "inexpensive edible appliances," then you know that I continued playing with this crazy web toy and I had to write on one of its generated ideas to justify my lose of productivity.

Pray for me. [Sigh]

A big thanks [feel the sarcasm] to Insanely Great News for introducing me to the un-productivity gun that would be Idea Generator.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Bryan C Fleming's Millionaire Dollar Club


As you know, I'm always on the look out to help my readers (and myself) find ways and methods to reach the Millionaire Club. I came across Bryan C. Fleming the author of "Home of the Million Dollar Savings Club."

He has an excellent post entitled: Million Dollar Savings Club Turns 1 Year Old that outlines a really painless and easy way to save money. And the wonderful thing about this is he's taking the journey along with everyone else and he documents it right here.

He seems to be having good success with his method and it's worth a shot if you decide to do it.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Cleaning up can make you a millionaire (share what you know)


Want to know how to make millions? It's easy: Share what you know.

Yes, it's that easy. Package what you know and share it, then as the word gets out that you "know your stuff" package the information and sell it!

That's what Fly Lady did. I ought to know because I was there when she first started. Basically, she was a woman that started a website talking about how cleaning used to frazzle her -- the responsibility of keeping things clean; the clutter drowning her and her family; the sheer frustration that it seemed that she couldn't do anything "right now" because there was too much stuff in the way.

So, she started with her kitchen sink. She cleaned out her kitchen sink and made it sparkle. And the way she did it -- it just nearly choked me when I read it. Basically, she took all the dirty dishes, put them UNDER the sink. Closed the cabinet doors and cleaned her sink, put some glass cleaner on it, made it shine and sparkle . . . and instantly felt better.

She promised herself that no matter what happened in her entire house, she would keep the kitchen sink clean. And her "clean-ness" radiated from that spot. She went on to clean the surrounding area and keeping that clean . . . and ultimately devised easy ways and systems to keep everything in your house clean with very little effort.

And then, she told everyone about it.

Her friends started doing it with great success. Then they told friends and she had to find a way to package the information so she didn't have to repeat her story over and over again. And guess what? Now, she's a millionaire. Don't believe me? Read her story: Choas to Clean in 31 Baby Steps.

I personally know her methods work because I've been using them for years. I discovered her in 2002, when I was overwhelmed with my new business and writing a book. I needed to keep my house clean and someone on a discussion board recommended visiting her website. Thank you Fly Lady!

Anyway, the point is every one of us has expertise, know-how, something we know to do that others could benefit from. It's probably stuff you don't think twice about because you know it so well. But let me challenge you a bit -- next time someone says to you, "How the hell you know how to do that?" or "Wow, that's amazing you know all about this stuff." or "Can you teach me to do that?"

Perhaps that's your million dollar money sign. Maybe you should think about using that knowledge in some way: write a book, create a class, consult, etc. to create the financial abundance you've always wanted. Just like Fly Lady.


Sunday, September 23, 2007

Tele-Jobs: Palm Coast Data

Looking for a data entry job? Palm Coast Data has work from home jobs and they are very easy to find. The only problem, the jobs are offered too people in a specific region. "Palm Coast residents west of the toll bridge" to be specific.

However, they require $60.00 deposit for a "SecureID Token" to protect their servers. As usual, I will always warn potential telecommuters about fees and money requirements placed on them before they can begin working. I've done a little research and so far I have not seen any complaints or problems reported about this deposit. But, I will say to anyone considering this avenue of employment to beware -- if you can't afford to lose the required $60, don't apply.

My philosophy will always be: "Money goes from the employer to the employee, not the other way around." Be careful and good luck.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Stanley Bing on Working from Home



Article entitled: Working from home? from Bing's Blog of Fortune Magazine. Excellent advice especially numbers 5, 7, and 8 -- I live them and you should too.

But the real fun is the comments that readers left. Some of them will have you giggling out loud.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Got a New Telecommuting Job

I got a new job using a free web tool that I reviewed a week ago. The job is to promote a music entertainer on the Internet.

They needed someone to get the word out on the Internet and they were looking for a “virtual assistant” to do the job. Basically, they thought that a person who could write a PR piece and distribute it to the media was all they needed. I knew I could do better.

So, I created this proposal/resume using Qlipboard. They were so impressed with it that I got the job! Now, each week they want me to send them a Qlippit of work that I’ve done for them.

This got me to thinking, hmmm. Could this little piece of free software be the key solution to the arguments of those stubborn managers who don’t want to let people telecommute because they can’t see their work? Could this little bit of free software possibly be a solution to that argument?

There are a few other accounts I would like to get to increase my income. I think I will use Qlipboard and other web tools to convince these potential employers to use me or hire my services. And that got me to thinking again, that I should create an article on the tools that telecommuters can use to convince their boss to allow them to telecommute. I mean, it worked for me and I know there are a lot of tools on the internet that employers are not aware of, but are essential to making working from home possible, easy and down right "common sense."

So, now I must fully endorse Qlipboard as a way for telecommuters to convince employers to hire them. I invite other telecommuters to try this method. It has worked well for me. (Please note, that because of this success and some other things I’ve done last week) I’m updating my goal meters, finally. Yea!

In case you're curious, here’s the Qlippit that convinced my client to choose me.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

About your budget: GAS


Okay, today we are going to be "practical" and concern ourselves with an issue that is on our minds, daily. Gas.

Now, why would a telecommuter speak on such things? Well, even though my good fortune in finding telecommuting work helps me avoid the high cost of gas, I am still affected by the high prices. After all, my spouse commutes one hour one-way to his job. I have to take the kids to school and pick them up. They have various after-school activities that I must drive them to. Some of my clients require my attendance at important meetings periodically. So yes, I still spend money on gas. And that means I'm always looking for practical and helpful ways to offset that cost.

I found one helpful site called GasBuddy.com. It helps people find cheap prices within their city by providing the comprehensive listings of gas prices (both inexpensive and most expensive).

You simply go to your location on the map (Sorry - they only have U.S. and Canada locations), select the city closest to you. Then, they provide a list of the cheapest gas (and the most expensive gas) in that area. They even have a map to show you how far you must drive to get to that cheap gas. Excellent!

How do they do this? Well, people like you and me sign up to become a "member" (it's free) and when they purchase gas they note the price at that station. When they have access to Gasbuddy.com they enter the station, it's location and the price of gas there. GasBuddy.com tallies the results and put them in easy tables for visitor information.

Participating in GasBuddy: joining, putting in gas prices, referring friends and leaving messages in the forum gets you points that can be used to win free gas cards and other prizes.
Nice little site. I'm sorry I only just stumbled onto it recently.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Tele-Jobs: VeraFast



Verafast.com is an Ohio company that assists newspapers with their customer service needs. A description f the customer service rep, job is:

We work primarily with the newspaper industry. Our customer service representatives work from their homes making customer service calls for our newspaper clients. In most instances, we are checking on the customer’s service and reporting back to the newspaper so they can take appropriate action.

You can not send a resume to apply for these home-jobs, you must fill out the online application. They have specific needs and you must have the required equipment set-up, so please carefully read their employment page. Their application page is NOT on secured servers (no https:// designation) -- so understand that you are submitting your private information to a "public page."

I'm not trying to get in your way of finding a telecommuting job, I just thought you should be aware of this before you apply.



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Please remember, dear job hunter, if your qualifications and experience do not fit the position, do us all a favor and refrain from applying. Employers do not want to be bombarded with resumes of people who can not do the job.

Telecommuting Jobs, Work at home jobs, telework, hom

Thursday, September 13, 2007

ALMOST a Top 100 Make Money Online Blog!


Have you visited 45n5.com yet? I had this guy on my list of websites to review when low and behold, I got the notice that I am 152 on this list of Top 100 Make Money Online Blogs. I couldn't believe it! I am so honored to be listed in any location near such wonder bloggers as: ProBlogger, Shoemoney, Dosh Dosh and Emoms@Home. Thank you 45n5!

Now for the review of this site:
If you are a blogger (or thinking about blogging) and you have not read at least 10 posts at 45n5.com then you are woefully behind dear students. This website is an absolute MUST READ, even if all you do is read blogs. There is so much information here about earning money online (even lists opportunties that do not require blogging or owning a website) that it just makes me dizzy and want to kick my butt at the same time. I have missed out on so much!

Here are some of my favorite and great money making posts from this site:

How to Sell A Digital Product Online

Get Paid for Your Videos Today!
How To: Build a Content Minisite in Under 10 Minutes

And please check out his funny money-making video spoof:

The Best Make Money Online Video On Youtube

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Auction Ads and the New Deal


As I've stated before, I've been investigating all kinds of "make money" opportunities in my endeavor to successfully meet my "challenge." Well, this is the first of many posts on "creating cash" that I hope you will enjoy.

Today, I came across a new deal with AuctionAds. Anyone who signs up will receive $25.00 automatically in their account. Wow, you might say, that's $25.00 free dollars for signing up and putting Auction ads on my blog. Sweet! Well yeah and no.

Yeah, they are giving out free dough, but they don't pay out until you amass $50.00 worth of people who have clicked over to E-Bay and successfully won the auction -- so you still have to have the lots of traffic to amass $25.00 worth of advertising revenue. Which I don't have right now. But what the hay, that shouldn't stop me from telling you guys about it, right?

So, for all you crazy kids out there with over 300 visits per day, that can amass $25.00 worth a revenue in a few short weeks, if not days. Go for it! As you can see, I'm going for it too.

Try AuctionAds

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Ebay Buyers Should Not Become Ebay Sellers (Updated)


This is a public apology to my husband . . . he read my post and was upset with my rant. I was attempting to create a humorous piece -- about our misadventures with E-bay.

He didn't find it funny at all. Sorry honey.

I guess, I'll just stick to pointing out my little idiosyncrasies, it will be safer. [sigh]

Wow, trying to be a millionaire truly has it's ups and downs.

Learn this well, grasshoppers . . . keep your funny rants about your family members in your head.

Signed
Want-to-be-millionaire-still-married (maybe)

Monday, September 10, 2007

Want to meet a 21-year-old millionaire?

I am very impressed with Farrah Gray, a 21-year-old Black man that became a millionaire at 14 years old! There are many points in his story that gives clues to achieving wealth and prosperity.

1. Make use of basic resources;

2. See potential where others don't (or won't);

3. Don't be afraid to ask things from people and do be afraid to "go for it.";

4. Have confidence in your dream, your purpose -- even when no one else does;

5. Start/produce something that helps others;

6. Deal with rejection and press on;

7. Don't be afraid of new opportunities, take them and learn from them;

8. Teach others what you know how to do -- but make sure to get paid for it.

But his true motivation was to help his family (particularly, his mother). A quote from the ABC News article about him states:

Part of what motivated him to begin earning money at such a young age was watching his mother work so hard. "When I went to sleep she was up; when I woke up she was up," he said. "So I never really was sure that she did go to sleep. And I really felt that out of that feeling of struggle, my mom had a heart attack, and I said there must be something I can do to help her."

Read the entire article about him.


Millionaire by 26: Secrets to Becoming a Young, Rich Entrepreneur by H (Google Affiliate Ad)

Thursday, September 6, 2007

They're reducing the price of I-Phones, and it still doesn't matter

I was hanging out at Consumerismcommentary.com today and they are talking about the new I-Phone price. Apple dropped the price of the I-Phone by $200. Currently it stands at $399.00. And yes, I still want one!

But in reading the comments in Consumerism Commentary, I realized that the only reason I entertained the thought of buying an I-Phone in the first place is because I have AT&T as my service provider already. Not only that, but I've had my contract longer than 3 years, so I have no fees for changing my provider if I so wished. So really, I'm free.

Other people that are on other providers would have to switch (pay a fee to their current provider and then switch over to possibly higher fees and a "slave contract" with AT&T). Double punch in the ole wallet, yuck.

That's when I realized that poor Apple has dug itself into a hole, simply because it's not the price of the I-Phone necessarily (although $600 was steep for a phone) that was the problem. The problem is that Apple didn't realize something: Freedom and choice is always more valuable than gold.

I mean, isn't that why I'm ultimately taking on this millionaire challenge? Ultimately, I don't really want a million dollars for the sake of owning a million one dollar bills -- I want the freedom and choice that a million dollars (or more) can give me, right?

Poor Apple, I think they went about it the wrong way. The I-Phone would have been a SMASH HIT (even at $599) if they would have just known that having a choice of carriers would have been the cherry on top of the Sundae.

I-Phone

All the bells and whistles and the freedom to boot.

Yeah, that could have been their motto. Damn, I should have ventured into Marketing. I'm wasted here!

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Millionaire Mommy Next Door

Man, do I want to be this lady when I grow up. The first person to comment on my blog (thank you!) . . . she has a bunch of good information on her blog. You definitely need to check her out. Though a young blog (like mine), her website is packed full of practical information is value to people who are SERIOUS about hitting the millionaire status.

Now, we all know that I profess to be serious about my potential millionaire status. And I may just make it (new things have been happening to me over the Labor Day weekend -- I'll tell you about it later). But this woman has already DONE it -- and is living proof of it.

I can hang out there for hours. I'm acquiring a few good online mentors -- and she might not know it -- but she's one of them.

Mommy Millionaire Next Door
http://millionairemommynextdoor.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

The Greatest Tool for the "How-To" Writer


I love writing "how-to" articles. When one of my friends taught me how to use "screen-shoots" on the Mac . . . I was truly in love. Now, I have a new love (well it's a potential love - for reasons I will explain later).

QlipBoard

I'm tempted to just leave it at the above linked word and tell you to "just click it man, just click it." The website demonstrates this tool wonderfully. Basically, using QlipBoard (which is free by the way) you can quickly and easily make mini how-to movies and share them in your blog, myspace, craigslist and everywhere using this wonderful new web-tool!

Seriously, mini presentations with audio, text, pointer, highlighting . . . all in mere minutes.

My goodness, the possibilities boggle the mind. I can't wait to create on-line instruction manuals on how to get a telecommuting job. Or how I successfully sold designer jeans on E-bay or . . . (okay, I digress).

Here is the thing, my blog-site is about money management and and working from home. I usually don't put information about PRODUCTS or WEB TOOLS on my website, but dog-gone it this is just to "kwel" to exclude. QlipBoard is da bomb, man! You've GOT to check it out.

The downside (that's why I said it had potential above)-- you know there always has to be a downside -- QlipBoard doesn't have a tool for the Mac OS system yet. But, I checked out their jobs page and they have a listing for a Mac Developer there, so I’m sure the Mac version will come out very, very soon. Meanwhile, if you only have a Mac, grab a friend’s PC or get a Windows Emulator and try this puppy out!

Man, Chris Beal and his crew at QlipBoard thought of an excellent web-tool (and writer) solution. Kudos!

Click here to see a great demo!

Tele-Job: Unlimited Transcription


This company provides medical transcription services to the health care industry. They usually transcribe .wav files (sound files with the extension .wav). You are required to have a wave foot pedal attached to your computer to stop, slowdown and play the .wave file for proper transcription speed.

(Note: if you don't know what I'm talking about then you should not apply for this position because this is elementary transcription stuff.)

They also require 2 years of previous transcription experience, medical terminology knowledge, PC system and the use of MS Word.

If you think you have what it takes, go to: Unlimited Transcription and Choose "Go to Prospective MT" in the menu bar. Read the qualifications page carefully before you apply.

Good luck!

Unlimited Transcription
http://www.unlimitedtranscription.net



You May Wish to Read About:



************************************************************************
Please remember, dear job hunter, if your qualifications and experience do not fit the position, do us all a favor and refrain from applying. Employers do not want to be bombarded with resumes of people who can not do the job.

Telecommuting Jobs, Work at home jobs, telework, hom

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Site Review: Freelance Writing Jobs

I simply love Freelance Writing Jobs Blog because it combines what I like most. Working from home and freelance writing (my two favorite subjects besides wealth and money). This site has given me much insight in successful freelance writing and I've even gained a contract job or two from her listings. This website is packed full of information for the writer and the blogger -- yes, two variances of the same species; sort of like jaguar and leopard (if you don't understand look it up on wikipedia).

Deborah Ng (the author of the blog) describes the website best:

Freelance Writing Jobs began in May 2005 as a way to help other writers, especially Work at Home Moms, find decent paying jobs.

I got sick and tired of seeing writers settle for $2 or “exposure” gigs because they felt they had no other choice. Thanks to FWJ, hundreds of writers have found gigs. While I never expected FWJ to achieve this type of success, I’m so proud of what it’s become.

If you are a writer (or an aspiring writer) bookmark this puppy!

Freelance Writing Jobs
http://www.writersrow.com/deborahng/

Monday, August 27, 2007

Opportunity vs. Money

"I never understand the idea of limited scarcity of money."
I Will Teach You to Be Rich


In a previous post, I talked about living with the mind-set of "scarcity of money." Let's expand on that further and look at how we give up opportunity for money, when in fact, it should be the other way around. We should be giving up money for opportunities. But for some strange reason, we think that money is more valuable. Why?

Is it because we use money every day? Basically, money affords us the things we like, when we have money, we have options . . . some would say we have guarantees.

If I have money it's a guarantee that I can do this or that. But is it? Is it a guarantee?

We can lose money, money can be stolen from us, money can lose its value. People can change their price on objects we want and we can find that we "don't" have the guarantee we thought. The IRS can tax our money, banks can place "fees" on our money, governments can regulate how quickly we can get our money (Ever try to pull out over $20,000 from your bank account? It's not as easy as you think.) No, having money is not a guarantee.

But opportunity, it's so iffy. It feels like a 50/50 chance that you will be successful. Yeah, but when opportunities do bear fruit, when it is successful, opportunities afford us much bigger rewards than mere cash ever could.

So, do we disregard opportunity because we deal with money on a daily basis and are thus much more familiar with it? No, like money, the common man deals with opportunity and gain from opportunity just as much. But, for some reason banking on opportunities just feels like . . . a gamble.

Why? Why does opportunity feel like such a gamble?

Maybe because opportunity is a concept. It's not concrete. You can't hold it in your hands, you can't manufacture it . . . like money. Your opportunity (for the most part) is yours and no one else's. You can't usually trade an opportunity for something else you want -- not as easily as you can with money. Other people can not share the value of your opportunity. The advantages of an opportunity may not be clear to someone else; but everyone understands what they can do with $10,000. See?

And then there is the possibility of failure. Opportunities often produce the result of failure, and in this culture "failure" is worse than losing money. If we had a healthy view of failure, I think we could more easily see the problem with trading money for opportunity. Essentially, we should view failure as a learning process. We should expect failure and celebrate the opportunity to learn from that failure. In our minds, failure should an inevitable thing that does not stop us from trying again and this time getting it right with a large amount of success.

So, here's the question -- we know that those with wealth value opportunities over cold-hard cash. So, if we were more open to gaining more opportunities than cash, would the globs of dollars and the abundance of wealth soon follow?