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Three Ways to Earn Income Online

The following is a guest post.

There are two sides to the normal budget issues many people run into. People either don’t make enough money or spend too much money. Today I’d like to focus on ways to grow your income. In fact, I’m going to focus on a specific subset of growing your income. Let’s look into three ways to grow your income online.

Start a Website

Starting a website is a great way to earn some extra income online. Make sure you have realistic expectations though. While websites can be a very profitable way to earn some extra income it doesn’t come easy or without hard work.

Starting a website is a lot easier today than it ever has been in the past. You could start a blog, an e-commerce website, or a website that solves a problem for a certain group of people. You can earn extra income online by selling advertising or by selling your own products.

Regardless of which route you take, make sure you have a plan. Once you have a good plan in place, you can make a website with 123-reg here. Just remember, making the website is just the beginning. If you end up with a successful online business all of the hard work will be worth it in the end.

Sell on eBay

Another great way to earn income online is selling on eBay. The best thing about this method to earning extra income is you can likely get started with what you already have in your house!

Haven’t had a garage sale lately? Great news! I bet there is a ton of stuff in your house that you never use that could easily be sold to earn some extra income. Before you get started though make sure to keep the following in mind.

In order for something to sell on eBay there needs to be a market for it. Search eBay for similar items that have sold recently to get an idea of whether or not it is worth it to try to sell (and if you’d get enough money to part with your item).

The other thing to keep in mind is that you must ship whatever you sell on eBay. That means that you’re probably better of selling smaller and items that can be easily shipped on eBay and keeping the larger items that can’t be shipped as easily for future garage sales.

Freelance or Write for Blogs

The last method I’m going to mention to earn income online is freelancing or writing for blogs online. Freelancing encompasses a large range of of tasks and writing for blogs online is just one very small subset of the category.

Freelancing could be providing any type of service or product that you have an expertise in. You can freelance with your accounting skills by providing bookkeeping for online businesses or you could freelance with your graphic designing skills by creating logos for websites.

The other method of freelancing that I previously mentioned was writing for blogs online. These days there are many blogs that hire staff writers or even ghost writers to provide content on a regular basis.

While writing for blogs may not be the best paying way to earn income online in the beginning, you can start charging more as your writing portfolio gets larger and your skills become more honed. If you get lucky, you may even get picked up by a larger publication like a magazine or larger online news website.

There are a ton of ways to make money online. Just be careful what you get yourself into. There are scammers out there so you have to be careful and thoroughly investigate any and all opportunities.

What ways do you earn income online?

photo by: Johnny does

Filed Under: Grow Income

3 Steps to Win Free Stuff on Radio Contests and Giveaways

By Lance Mlandm 16 Comments

I normally listen to the radio whenever I am in my car. Occasionally I’ll hook up my phone and listen to a podcast (like the Two Guys and Your Money podcast) but I’d say about 90% of the time I’m listening to the radio. On my way to work I listen to a morning show and on the way home there is a similar evening commute show.

Step 1 – Listen During Giveaway Times

If you aren’t listening when the giveaways happen you have a zero shot at winning. Radio stations normally run contests or giveaways during the peak listening hours. Peak listening hours happen to coincide with my commutes. Over the last year I’ve been fortunate enough to win 3 of these giveaways.

I have won 4 movie tickets on an afternoon radio show while I was painting my new townhouse on a day off. Later I won a $25 Bonefish Grill gift card when commuting to the new house which was an hour and a half away at the time. Just last month I won two free rounds of mini golf at the best mini golf location in Panama City Beach, Florida. When did I win this last prize? You guessed it while I was commuting.

One way to get a leg up is to know in advance exactly when the giveaways will be happening. Sometimes you can get some inside information by following the radio station’s or radio show’s Facebook page. They often post in advance a general time to listen to try to win, especially with the bigger contests.

Step 2 – If You Don’t Call You’ll Never Win

Be honest. How many times have you tried to call into a radio station to win a contest? If the answer is zero that is the reason why you haven’t won anything yet. If you never try you can’t ever win! For a long time I would never call in to try to win radio contests and giveaways, after all what is the chance I’ll get through? The bigger the city you live in the harder it will be to get through but if you never call you’ll NEVER get through.

So now that you’ve finally decided to call in to these contests there are a couple ways you can get a leg up. Either have the phone number memorized or have it on speed dial on your phone. When these contests tell you to call in you normally have to call in pretty fast!

Each time I have won I called immediately after they announced the signal to call in and kept dialing until I got through. You’ll often get a busy signal but if the line starts ringing you have a shot to win. Sometimes you’ll be a few callers too early if they want caller #10, and other times the phone will ring forever because they already have selected their winner and you just happened to get stuck on a non winning line. If they answer the phone say anything other than your caller number chances are that you ARE caller #10 so talk like you’re on the radio! Now on to the last step to win.

Step 3 – Know the Contest/Giveaway and Know What You Need to Know to Win

There are some easy contests/giveaways where you have to only be caller #10 to win but there are many more that require you to know some random piece of knowledge to win the prize. You might have to tell the host what the last song they played was either by artist, title of song or both. You might have to finish the lyrics of a song or answer a question about something on that was said on the radio show yesterday.

Know the contest so you can make sure you have the best chance possible to win. If you are in your office write the answer down while you’re calling in so you don’t forget when you are put on the spot. The first two contests I won just required that I be caller #10 but the most recent contest required me to identify the lyrics to a song after they were recited like a poem by the host. It was quite easy because the lyrics weren’t in English and I knew that Gangam Style by PSY has been huge recently. I guessed Gangam Style and won! (Note: A big thanks to Budgets Are Sexy for having a post about the song, otherwise I may not have known the answer!)

Have you ever won anything on a radio contest? If not, have you at least tried to win? Now that you know the secrets, will you be calling in more often? Let me know in the comments below!

photo by: comedy_nose

Filed Under: Giveaways, Grow Income, Life

Is Being On Reality TV Worth the Money If You Don’t Win?

By Lance Mlandm 41 Comments

I am a pretty big fan of a few reality TV shows including Big Brother, Survivor, The Amazing Race and other shows depending on the particular season and if they can hold my interest past the first couple episodes. In fact the Big Brother finale is tonight! The winner gets $500,000 and the runner up will be award with $50,000. In addition to that, the one player who receives the most votes as America’s favorite player will be awarded with $25,000. It is easy to see how awesome it would be to win one of these shows.

How Much Do Big Brother House Guests Get Paid?

There were a total of 16 contestants Big Brother this year and there is a chance only 2 will get any serious money out of it (if America’s favorite player is the winner or runner up). The remaining 13 or 14 houseguests only get paid $750 a week according to RealityBlurred.com who has obtained a copy of the Big Brother contract from a previous season that the house guests have to agree to (check it out if you are a Big Brother fan).

The longest anyone can participate in Big Brother is approximately 11 weeks. If you were involved with the show for the entire season but did not win first or second place the most you could receive is $8,250 in weekly stipends (excluding special contracts for returning players). There are multiple other prizes that the house guests can win throughout the season including random cash prizes up to $10,000 per prize, vacations and experiences in the Big Brother house.

Is Being on Big Brother Worth the Money If You Don’t Win?

If you worked a 40 hour week and got paid $750 you would make $18.75 an hour. Big Brother contestants essentially “work” 24/7 as they are constantly being filmed for the show and are at the wrath of the producers. Sometimes the producers wake the house guests up multiple times throughout the night to make for some good TV. At 24 hours a day the house guests only receive $4.46 an hour for their time.

The good financial part about being on Big Brother is that you wouldn’t have any expenses! You get free lodging and food for as long as you’re on the show. Keep in mind that with good normally comes some bad. Some people quit their jobs for this opportunity while others probably take vacation and a leave of absence from their jobs. Most people aren’t guaranteed to have their jobs waiting for them when they get kicked off the show. On top of that they may lose their insurance coverage or have to pay the total cost out of pocket!

So Why Do People Go on Big Brother If the Money Sucks?

People go on Big Brother because they think they can win. Who wouldn’t want a shot at half of a million dollars?! In addition, many of the people who try out and make the show are huge fans and getting the opportunity to play the game, even if they don’t get very far at all, is a no brainer once in a lifetime opportunity for them.

Would you ever sign up for a reality TV show? Are there any other shows you want to know how much people get paid to be on? I could do some investigating for future posts!

photo by: AMagill

Filed Under: Grow Income, Life

Should I Get a Smartphone Update!

By Lance Mlandm 39 Comments

Two months ago I reached out to you all (or ya’ll from down here in parts of Florida), my readers, and asked the question should I get a smartphone? I later followed up with the fact that I bought a smartphone and got a crazy deal on the Samsung Galaxy Skyrocket, getting a $150 phone for free and the $36 activation fee waived.

Am I Glad I Got a Smartphone?

After about a month and a half of owning my smartphone I am extremely happy I got it! My biggest concern was the smartphone data bill, a whole $30 a month. Thing is, I rarely buy things for myself and am definitely not a big spender so now that I’ve made the commitment I realize that it isn’t really that big of a deal at all. I could afford it multiple times over and if I find enough value in the smartphone it isn’t that big of a deal.

It is a good thing I could afford it multiple times over because I’m actually paying for two smartphone data plans! My girlfriend bought her smartphone about two weeks ago and is also enjoying her phone! I paid for a year of her smartphone data plan as an early present for Christmas, her birthday and our anniversary (it is pretty expensive at $360 a year). She loves her smartphone but I use mine a lot more than she uses hers.

Why I Love My Smartphone

The biggest advantage of having my smartphone is that I can fill in time I would otherwise be doing nothing with blogging activities! I spend a lot of time blogging, commenting and keeping up in general. I can now optimize my time by filling in the dead time with reading posts and commenting on other blogs. This is a huge plus for me.

I could use my phone to check the status a home security system while I’m waiting in line at the store or riding as a passenger in the car. I use my phone while waiting for others to show up for a meeting or while I wait for the doctor to catch up their schedule, because we all know they constantly run behind. I do pay for this convenience but the time I save is well worth it just by allowing me to keep up with my blog alone!

On top of that it allows me to stay connected with all of my friends with texting. I refuse to pay for texting and have downloaded a free app (text plus) that gives me a phone number and free texting! I love it and have been able to keep up with some friends who only communicate via text message.

Another great advantage of having a smartphone is comparison shopping and looking up reviews of products while I am at the store. Before I would go look at the store but put off the purchase because I had to do more research. Recently I was shopping for a trimmer (or weed wacker as I like to call it) and I was able to look up reviews on my phone and make a decision all while I was at Home Depot! More time (and gas money!) saved for the small price of $30 a month!

Smartphone Features I Haven’t Taken Advantage of Yet

The biggest feature I haven’t really used a lot yet is the camera. I thought I’d take more pictures (I have taken a few) but I haven’t really taken a ton yet. I have a feeling this will change when I go on a couple quick vacations later this year… at least it better.

Another feature I haven’t used at all yet is streaming music. I’m still adjusting to my smartphone data plan (3 GB of data) and want to make sure to not go over. In my first full month it appears I have used 1.5 GB of data so I think I can safely stream a little bit of music every day while at work if I find some time I need to relax a bit. I might even be able to sneak in a short video or two!

My Girlfriend and Her Smartphone

My girlfriend is just getting started with her new smartphone and really loves it. She is lucky because she has wi-fi at work. She uses much less data on her smartphone than I do. If it turns out that she consistently uses less data than the smallest plan available for her smartphone we’ll downgrade her to the cheaper plan. I’ll still pay the same total amount for her smartphone data plan, she’ll just have more months that she doesn’t have to pay for!

Based on my discussion do you think I made the right decision? Do you love your smartphone too? Am I missing out on a feature I should be using on my smartphone? Have I convinced you that it is worth it for you to make the plunge? Don’t do it if you can’t afford it, but if you are just being cheap and would use it a lot give it some serious thought. I’m glad I did!

I have followed this post up with another post you may enjoy, iPhone 5: How Cell Phone Companies Can Afford to Give You a $450 Discount.

Filed Under: Grow Income, Reviews

It Pays to Ask For More – Coke Zero Commercial “And…?”

By Lance Mlandm 28 Comments

Have you seen the Coke Zero commercial where a kid asks “And…” whenever he gets something and then he gets something even better? If not, here it is!

Skip this section and head to the next headline if you watched the video! Can’t or don’t want to watch the video? Here is a quick recap but keep in mind if a picture is worth 1,000 words then a video is probably 1,000,000…

A kid gets an ice cream cone and when it is handed to him he says “And?…” and then he gets sprinkles and a cherry added on top. A dog rolls up next to the kid (now a teenager) on a skateboard and stops. The kid says “And?…” and then the dog goes into the skate park and does tricks on the skateboard. Fast forward to the now college graduate’s job interview and the interviewer says “Congratulations! You got the job.” to which the graduate responds “And?…” and the interviewer adds stock options. He then goes clothes shopping and tries on a pair of jeans. A seductive woman then says “Those are nice jeans” to which, you guessed it, he replies “And?…” and she says “I get off at 4:00.” Finally he sits down at a table (and this is the advertisement part) and gets a Coke Zero. After taking a drink fireworks go off and he looks at the can about to say “And…” and the Coke slogan Great Taste AND Zero Calories catches his eye and the word “AND” sparkles.

Well apparently it is an effective advertisement if I’m blogging about it but I’m not here to sell you Coke Zero. The advertisement has a point.

It Pays to Ask For More

I can’t count the number of times I’ve gotten something more simply because I asked for more. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t just say “and…” with no reason to back it up and have someone give me free money. You always need a reason and shouldn’t just expect a hand out.

If you have a reason it is so simple to do yet so many people are scared to ask for it. I have saved $120 off my cable bill. After asking my readers Should I Get a Smartphone I decided to go for it and negotiated a $150 Smartphone plus $36 activation fee to $0 and saved $186 in the process. All I had to do was come up with a valid argument and ask. If their first offer wasn’t good enough I asked for more.

What is the Worst Thing That Can Happen?

The sales rep might tell you no. You might end up losing one single business transaction. These results are normally worth the small risk but PLEASE use your own judgment. I don’t want you to be unreasonable or greedy but if there is more on the table I feel like you should go and get it.

Which would you rather do? Sell 6 items for $10 each and lose no sales or sell 5 items for $20 each and lose one sale? You don’t want to lose the business deal of the century because you are being greedy, but losing one $10 sale when you can land 5 other $20 sales and double your money is a clear choice to me.

PLEASE Don’t Be Greedy

What I don’t want you to do is be greedy. Please do not be greedy. Be reasonable and have backup for why you’re worth or deserve more and things should work out. Know the market and know what you, your product, or the product you’re trying to get a discount on is worth.

Do you have an example of when you asked for more and got it? What was your reasoning and was it worth it?

Filed Under: Career, Discounts, Grow Income, Large Purchases, Save Money