Make Money Shipping Christmas Cookies

Watercolor photo by Fran. Copyright by Fran http://www.francesmarywatercolors.com/.

Christmas is fast approaching and you can make money shipping Christmas cookies. There are many, many people who have no time to bake Christmas cookies.

To make money shipping Christmas cookies, start to make some of your favorite cookies. If you love making sugar cookies (a favorite of many people) get started now. Make a batch at home and decorate them as best as you can. You want to make sure your Christmas cookies are very eye appealing so people will buy them. People may be buying them for themselves or for Christmas gifts.

You can make sugar cookies that will fit types of businesses. Start with finding people shaped Christmas cookie cutters. (Purchase online.) You can bake Christmas cookie nurses, doctors, lawyers, people in yoga poses cookies, teachers and students, policemen and policewomen, dogs, cats, bowling pins/bowling balls, bats/baseball caps/baseballs and baseball players which works for other sports as well, fishermen/fisherwomen, hunters, etc.! The sky is the limit when it comes to Christmas cookies!

You can offer to personalize the Christmas cookies as well. Add an extra charge for this service.

To sell Christmas cookies make your own website. You can pay to have a website designed for you. Having someone professionally design a website for you is expensive. You may want to start with a free website like http://www.freewebs.com/. You can add photos of your Christmas cookies, the price, the description, describe you and your business and more. You can create pages on your website that you want to add. You may add a blog to keep readers interested in your cookies all year round. Don’t forget to add a shopping cart so people can buy from you.

Another place to get a lot of exposure and sell your Christmas cookies is http://www.etsy.com/. You can easily sign-up for free and list pictures, cost and a shopping cart to Etsy.com. For more
information on how to make money shipping Christmas cookies, please visit http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.

Teach Creative Writing to Make Money

Watercolor photo by Fran. Copyright by Fran http://www.francesmarywatercolors.com/.

Before you know it, summer will be here. Now is the time to plan to teach creative writing to make money in the summer time.

Many parents work and would be happy knowing that their children’s brains are still working while they are off of school for three months. Creative writing lets a person’s mind wander, be productive all the while creating a story, poem or letter.

You could have the children start with a page in their journal when they arrive at your house. This way if you have more than one child in your creative writing class, one child can get started while you both wait for the rest of the creative writing class to arrive.

You could have one big project for the children to learn. Such as a children’s book. With the children’s book do research on how many pages and lines of words the children should have. Next, let the children put the pages in order. If you have a computer you can let the children choose the type of font they want to use to type up their story.

Now let the children illustrate their book. You can give them the option of drawing the pictures or using the computer to create their pictures. If you have quite a few children, you will have to have them draw their own pictures or you won’t have time for each child to draw on one computer. You may let the kids create the pictures at their home as homework if they have a computer.

The next project could be a poem. Have the child write a poem about summer. Tell the child to write what the child feels and sees during the summer.

You can advertise by letting the school know ahead of time that you will offer a creative writing class over the summer. If the school allows, make up a lot of fliers so that the school can hand them out and send them home with the children. Advertise in the newspaper and at all local businesses.

You may want to plan on charging the same fee a babysitter in your area would. This way you will have the children for about two hours and the parents know that it is the same price as if their child or children were sitting in front of a TV at the babysitters. You will definitely get creative writing customers with this price.

Have each child bring loose leaf paper and a spiral notebook for their creative writing journal.

For more information on how to teach creative writing to make money, please visit http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.

Ways to Make Money on Twitter

Watercolor photo by Fran. Copyright by Fran http://www.francesmarywatercolors.com.

First of all, you will need to take at least a month to make friends on Twitter. So many people think you just post a comment with a link and then you will make a sale. This is not true. Think about it. In real life you will be able to sell to easier to people you know in real life because people know you and want to help you. So this is why you should take a month (or more) on Twitter and add friends. “Talk” to your friends. When they post a comment, reply to their comment. Get to know your online friends.

On Twitter you only have 140 characters for each comment you leave to your friends. The 140 characters are included in your Twitter private messages as well.

After you get to know your friends on Twitter, you can ask them to order from your business. Think of creative ways to make them look at your business link. Slowly tell them what you do. Show a picture here and there on your business.

Next, make sure you have your business online via a website. No matter what you sell, your friends are sure to check it out. Hopefully they will order from you.

If you want to, you can have discounts for friends only, sales before and after Christmas, spring sales, fall sales and anytime you choose to have a sale.

Make sure your website has a PayPal option, credit card option and list if you choose to accept checks. Your website should also include a shopping cart area. People should be able to easily order from you and pay. You do not want to make this part of your website a mystery as people are sure to cancel their order if they cannot figure out how to safely pay for the item(s).

For more information on ways to make money on Twitter, please visit http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.

Design Your Own Baby Clothes & Sell Them

Watercolor photo copyright by http://www.francesmarywatercolors.com. Design your own baby clothes & sell them.

If you know how to sew you can design your own baby clothes and sell them. If you have great taste in baby clothing--you can make a fortune.

Make baby onesies, baby fleece blankets, baby car seat covers to keep the baby extra warm and block sunlight, baby dresses, baby ribbons, baby pants, baby t-shirts, baby sweatshirts, bassinette sheets, crib sheets, baptism outfits, etc.

You will need to buy material from a discount store such as Wal-Mart, a sewing store such as JoAnne Fabrics or online. Find fun colors and patterns to make the baby clothing.

You can let family and friends know of your new business adventure. To let folks see your items create a website online. This website is free to use. You can use http://www.freewebs.com/ to get started. Post the photos of your baby clothes on your website.

You may want to take special orders. Offer to make matching outfits for boy/girl twins, boy/boy twins and girl/girl twins. Who knows, you may get an order for triplets or more!

You may want to take special orders for family members. Sometimes a family wants to have all of the same color clothing on in a photo, especially a professional photo to hang up in their home or for Christmas cards. Not necessarily where the clothing has to match perfectly, but one person has on a white shirt with a plaid tie and black pants, a little girl has on a white shirt and a plaid skirt with black tights, baby boy is wearing plaid pants with a white shirt and a black belt and black shoes, mom has on a plaid vest, white shirt and black pants, etc.

You could ask friends and family members to host parties for you. This way you can take your clothing to different homes and their friends and family members can see your adorable clothing in person. You will want to offer a free outfit per how much money is spent at the party. After all, this person is helping you to advertise your designed baby clothes and sell your baby clothing.

For more information on design your own baby clothes and sell them, please visit http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.

Teach Yoga to Make Extra Money

Watercolor photo copyright by http://www.francesmarywatercolors.com

Do you enjoy doing yoga alone? If you have been doing yoga and have knowledge in yoga, you can teach yoga to make extra money.

To get started do a little research on yoga. Find out where yoga originated, why people enjoy participating in yoga, what to wear when performing yoga, etc. Plus, this way when you are teaching the class you can give your clients interesting tidbits regarding yoga. This will help to keep your clients interested in coming back for more yoga lessons. You never know if a client will have a question about yoga as well. If you do not know the answer, let the client know you will find the information out for him or her. Then at the next lesson you can inform the client of the answer. Or if he or she really wants to know as soon as possible you can offer to call him or her.

Once you feel confident that you can teach yoga, call your local Park & Rec and school. Talk to the person in charge and ask if you can teach yoga in their building. Most likely teaching yoga to the local parents and young adults will be a welcome addition to the area you live in. When people get involved in their communities and socialize, this makes for a more enjoyable town or city to live in. People feel closer and get to know each other better. Your town or city will become safer as people know who is who and can help each other against crime.

Once you have an established class or two you may want to offer to sell comfortable yet fashionable clothing for people to wear. This is another way to make extra money teaching yoga.

For more information on how to teach yoga to make extra money, please visit http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.

So You Think You Want to be a Zookeeper

Watercolor photo copyright by FrancesMary at http://www.francesmarywatercolors.com.

Maybe it has been a child long dream to become a zookeeper. Perhaps you want to make extra money by becoming a zookeeper. If you absolutely have your heart set on it, than make a go of it. Here are some up-to-date facts on becoming a zookeeper:

The average pay is between $10.75 and $11.89 per hour. This is not a big chunk of change when you will need to go to college for two years to become a zookeeper. If the wages do not make a difference to you, than start making your college plans!

Money is not everything. As long as you can survive with shelter, food and items you and your family need you are good to go. If you think you will love your job even if it is not a high paying job, go for it.

When you become a zookeeper you will take care of wild animals in zoos and/or animal parks. You will feed the animals, clean their living spaces, and work to keep them healthy. You will look for signs and symptoms to make sure the animals are not ill. You must keep a log on the animals so you can let the animal’s veterinarian know of any changes.

Some fun things zookeepers get to do with the animals is give them safe toys to play with. You can hide the toys and food so that the animals enjoy playing and move around more. Usually a zookeeper does not get to play or pet the wild animals as it is quite dangerous.

If you have been at the zoo and watched a show, that is another part of the zookeeper’s job. The zookeeper is the person that will also answer any questions guests may have. You may also have the task to train the animals. For example, you may teach the elephants to lift their large feet. In doing so, you will immensely help the veterinarian when it is check up time.

You may be required to work weekends and/or holidays as animals still need care. When a person enjoys their job a lot, this will not matter to you. You most likely will think of the animal’s as your second family as you will come to know and love them.

Although the pay is not that high, a lot of people want to become zookeepers. This makes competition stiff. I hope this has helped you make your decision on becoming a zookeeper.

For more information on how to become a zookeeper, please visit http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.

Make Money Raking or Mulching Leaves

Watercolor photo copyright by FrancesMary at http://www.francesmarywatercolors.com.

You can make a great amount of money raking or mulching leaves. Before the winter months hit your state get out and advertise your new business. There are many people that are just too busy to rake and mulch their leaves. There are elderly people that want to stay living in their homes and cannot do their yard preparation before the winter months hit.

All you will need is a rake, a leaf blower if you prefer to use one, an extension cord if needed for the leaf blower and if you already have a riding lawnmower with the mulching option you will get through the jobs in a matter of minutes! If you have the lawnmower make sure you bring extra gasoline cans of gas in case you have acres of lawn to mulch. You do not want to be right in the middle of a job and have to run to the gas station to get more gas. It would be a huge bummer if you were out in the boonies and you ran out of gas. You would waste money having to search for the closest gas station.

You may want to offer gift certificates for people to purchase so people can get your service for birthday gifts, anniversary gifts, Christmas gifts, etc. With Christmas coming, now is the perfect time to advertise your raking and mulching of leaves.

Advertise your business by making an eye catching sign to hang up at your local grocery store, discount stores, gas stations, Laundromat, etc. Make up business cards so you can hand them out at a moments notice.

Once you land your first two jobs and do a fantastic job, before you know it you will most likely have loads of jobs from word of mouth.

For more information on how to make money raking and mulching leaves, please visit
http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.

Teach Ballet and Make Money

Water color copyright by FrancesMary at http://www.freewebs.com/francesmary/.

If you took ballet through the years you can now turn that knowledge into teaching dancing and make money. You will need to set up a studio. If you have a large spare room or basement you can use that as your studio. Or you may purchase a building or rent out an office space in business building. You will need to set up bars for the ballet students to hang onto. Mirrors that cover two entire walls will help your dance studio as well. The students can watch themselves and you will be able to see them at different angles as well. A CD player will be needed to play music with the ballet dancing.

Before you open up your ballet studio to teach ballet and make money, make sure you brush up on your ballet skills. Review the dance poses including the five steps used in ballet. Maybe you want to offer ballet for children ages four through eight. Or if you really know your ballet skills you can teach all of the way up to the adult ages.

Think of a clever ballet studio name or use your last name if you so choose.

Once you feel confident in teaching ballet to make money, start to advertise your business. You can put adds in the newspapers surrounding the area you live in, ads at local businesses and create a website for your dance studio.

On your brochures put the hours you are open as well as your studios’ phone number.

Once you get students you may want to offer contests of different sorts, get ready for a dance recital so parents can watch their children, hold Friday night dance parties for the teens in your town or city you live in (if your area is large enough to accommodate quite a few people). You could charge a small fee for the Friday night dance parties and offer $1.00 sodas and water. Possibly hand out free pretzels. Just remember not to offer too much food unless you want to clean up a huge mess and need a license to be able to serve food.

There are many possibilities for you to make money when you open your own ballet studio. For more information on how to teach ballet and make money, please visit http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.

Make Great Money Crocheting

Photo by Kelleys-Creations.com. Make money crocheting door socks. Go green!

If you know how to crochet, now is the time to get busy. You can make great money crocheting and selling Christmas gifts.

Some of the items you can make when you crochet are the usual scarves, mittens, hats but why not add some other items? You can make door socks. These are excellent for the cold winter months. You will crochet a long tube and fill a nylon stocking with rice. Seal the stocking and put the long crocheted tube around the nylon stocking. This is a perfect gift for Christmas to give family and friends. You can even call this a green gift as it helps to save heat.

You can also make adorable crocheted stockings to sell at Christmas time. You can make different styles such as Victorian Christmas stockings, small Christmas stockings for children and pets and regular size Christmas stockings for teens and adults. Use different color yarn when crocheting. Such as dark green, lime green for modern homes, red and cranberry so potential buyers have a choice of colors that will fit their Christmas décor.

You may want to crochet cute little ornaments. You could do shapes of stars, candy canes, angels, crosses, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Santa Clause, reindeers including Rudolph with a cute red nose, etc. You can also make crocheted ornaments and put a photo inside of it of the person you are giving it to for a gift. Leave some empty so you can sell them to buyers.

You can sell your crochet items at craft fairs, holiday bazaars, online and to friends and family. If you set up a website make sure you have a PayPal shopping cart area so people can easily buy items from you. You can accept major credit cards, checks or through PayPal. It is your choice which type of payment you will accept. Do not forget to charge shipping so you make money on your crocheted items.

For more information on how to make money crocheting, please visit http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.

Tools to Help You Find a Job

Photo by Kelleys-Creations. Find the job you want with online tools.

Many people dream of working from home, but do not know how they can find the jobs. While others like to work outside of the home due to the interaction with people. This blog will help you find a job inside or outside of the home with websites that you can check out jobs, get help from head hunters and post your resume/cover letter to many potential employers.

Remember when seeking an online job, check if the company is listed on the Better Business Bureau website as approved or if there are complaints. You do not want to end up paying money to some fake website or scam.

Once you do find a job you want to apply for, send a professional resume and cover letter to the company. Just because the job may be an online job, does not mean you can slack in this area. Treat this job as if you were handing in your application, resume and cover letter in person.

If you like to write, edit data, fill out surveys then check out Freelance Work Exchange at http://www.gofreelance.com/join/comfort1/indexed.php.

Maybe you prefer to work outside of the home? If you check out Vault you will find one of the top thousand jobs. You also have the opportunity to win money on this website. You will have to type in the type of job you are looking for and type in the city and state where you are looking for a job. Check out Vault at http://www.vault.com/wps/portal/na/jobsearch?AID=8767604&PID=1025876.

To get the word out that you are looking for a job at sonic speed, check out Resume Rabbit. At the click of a button you can have your resume posted on over seventy five sites. To submit your resume please click here http://www.resumerabbit.com/index.jsp?pid=c7d63b3c64a2198cfa05e529eaaf9903&AID=5835242&CJPID=1025876.

You may choose to have headhunters help you with your job search. You can submit your resume to thousands of headhunters to help land you the job in a quicker time frame. Check out Resume Zapper at http://www.resumezapper.com/index.cfm?rz=282.

For more information on using online tools to help you find a job, please visit http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.

How to Begin Your Postal Mail Newsletter to Make Money

Photo by Kelleys-Creations. Do you know a lot about dogs such as training them, etc.? You could write a monthly newsletter and sell it!

Do you know many people who like to receive a hard copy of a newsletter versus an online newsletter? I know I know a lot of people. I know a lot of older folks that do not even have a computer and miss out on a lot of news due to this fact.

You could start your own newsletter service by postal mail. First, you will need to choose a popular topic that people will be excited each month to receive in your newsletter. Do some research and see what is popular in your area or reach for a larger audience around the world. Subject is the most important part of the process.

You will need to come up with unique content. Write at a different view than others would to keep people interested. You will have to inform people with information that no one else can give or information that is very hard to get to get people interested and keep them.

Make your newsletter around seven pages or no more than ten pages. You will also have to charge a reasonable price so people will buy your newsletter. The price will need to pay for your cost of publishing and mailing out your newsletter. Since your newsletter is not large, you should be able to use a regular size envelope to mail it which will help you save money. Of course, you will also want to make a profit.

To get started start up a blog that you keep fresh and write in daily. Add friends. Write about things that will keep them coming back for more! Let your friends know you are planning on sending out a monthly newsletter. Create an area on your blog where people can sign up to buy your newsletter. You can easily add PayPal with a shopping cart to your blog. Freewebs.com is one such free blog site you can do this with.

You may decide to send out a free copy to people to get them hooked.

For more information on how to begin your postal mail newsletter, please visit http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.　

Become a Sales Agent to Sell an Offline Product

Photo by Kelleys-Creations. Love your friend's photography? Tell him/her you'll be their online sales agent!

If you do not have your own product to sell online, you can sell a product for someone else. Think of a product you truly believe in and use. This will help to make it easier for you to promote. Once you find a product you really love, check and see if this product is advertised online. If the product is not advertised online, contact the owner of the product. Let him or her know that you would like to become a sales agent for the product online.

You can let the owner of the product know that by having an online sales agent, he or she will open the doors up to many more sales. A person with a product cannot afford to not use the most popular selling area which is online.

By becoming a sales agent for a product you love, you will most likely get a percentage from every sale that you make. You may want to set up your own website regarding the product and sell the product or products for the owner. (You will have to get written permission before you do this.) Once you make a sale through your website, you will process the sale through the owner.

If you feel comfortable, you can ask the owner if you can buy some of the product(s) upfront and ship them out from your home. This is only if you feel comfortable in spending the money upfront and if the owner agrees to this.

Make sure you know exactly what profit you will make ahead of time. You will have to do research in finding if this is a product that many people will love so you are not wasting your time. Just because you love it, doesn’t mean everyone will. Plus, look at the price of the product. Make sure many people can afford the product you are trying to promote. You want to make a good profit for all of your time consuming efforts!

For more information on becoming a sales agent to sell an offline product, please visit http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.　
　
　

Start Your Own Online Store

Photo copyright by Proa Swimwear. Start your own online business selling items people will buy

I just read about an amazing online company. The company’s name is Zappo’s. When Zappo’s first started their online business they only sold shoes. Customers loved how they do business and started to recommend items they wanted to buy from Zappo’s. The customer service at Zappo’s is phenomenal. The company makes the new employees take a four week course in “how to treat customers over the phone.” Four weeks! Zappo’s even has a graduation party at the company once the employee completes the four week program.

The biggest thing I love about Zappo’s is that they offer free shipping--all of the time. Not just free shipping when you order from them, but if you need to send back items as well! I have never heard of a business doing that! Have you? Plus, you can order as many shoes as you’d like--and keep them for 365 days! Unreal!

If you think starting your own online store sounds good, take some tips from Zappo’s. Treat customers with the highest of respect. All too often businesses do not do that these days. Why? Businesses know they can get away with it. If you can keep your customers happy, they will come back to you. According to the CEO of Zappo’s, 75% of customers are repeat customers. That is a huge number!

For your business maybe you want to sell clothing? Jewelry? Scrapbook items? Whatever it is you choose to sell, do a lot of research and make sure the item or items are something people really want to buy. Don’t try to sell something that is so unique no one has even heard of it--much less want to buy it.

If you create your own website, do research on items that can sell well online, offer free shipping and have excellent customer service, you are on your way to creating your own online store just like Zappo’s.

For more information on how to start your own online store, please visit http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.　

Make Money Playing Music at Churches and Weddings

Photo by Kelleys-Creations. Make money playing music at churches and weddings.

If you know how to play the piano or organ you can make some pretty good money playing at churches and weddings.

Some churches do not have volunteers to play the piano or organ on Sunday mornings. Here is where you come in. You can leave your card with the church minister, reverend or priest. You may find yourself hired for one or two jobs each Sunday. Some church services are at 9:00 a.m. and other church services are at 11:00 a.m. Hopefully you can find two churches fairly close together and make extra money.

Remember that some churches are open on Friday nights as well. You may want to contact them so you have a steady job for Friday nights as well.

Once more and more people see you playing for churches on Sunday mornings, you may be asked to play at a wedding. This is excellent exposure for your music talents. Other ways to advertise that you play the piano or organ is to use word of mouth. Tell your friends, family members, co-workers, spouse’s co-workers, etc., that you play the piano and/or organ. You can let them know you have reasonable rates. You can also give them a cassette tape or CD so they can listen to you play the piano and/or organ.

Of course, hang signs and cards up at your local businesses and surrounding areas. Design an eye catching sign with your phone number on so people can call you for more information. You may want to burn a lot of CD’s at once so you can hand them out whenever the situation arises.

Save your receipts on the paper, computer ink, business cards and CD’s that you use for your business. Once you get hired you will want to keep track of the mileage that you drive so you can write that off on your taxes as well.

For more information on how to make money playing music at churches and weddings, please visit http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.　

Drive People to the Airport to Earn Extra Money

Photo by Kelleys-Creations. Drive people to the airport to earn extra money.

If you get the word out that you will drive people to the airport to earn extra money, before you know it you will have a full grown business.

To start, make sure your vehicle is in tip top shape. Once you have taken care of your vehicle,place ads in the newspaper, hang them up at your local grocery stores, Laundromat, restaurants, gas stations, hair salons and any businesses that will let you hang up a sign, brochure or business card.

Create a website as nowadays online is the way to advertise. Freewebs.com will allow you to create a website and put all of the information on it. Give family, friends, co-workers, etc. your business card and website address. Make sure you give everyone on your e-mail list the link to your website. Ask them to please pass the information onto their friends, family, co-workers, etc. in the area you live.

A lot of people do not want to leave their vehicle at the airport, so if you drive them to the airport this will give them peace of mind and earn you extra money. Also, people are so busy these days with work, family, commitments, etc., that it is difficult to find someone to drop off and pick up a person at the airport, thus more reason to start your own business driving people to the airport to earn extra money.

To do this job you will have to be available at all hours. Remember some people take red eye flights to save money. You may want to charge a little more for flights that are at odd times. To figure out how much to charge, add in your gas money spent and mileage to and from the person’s home and airport. Here is to a successful business driving people to and from the airport!

For more information on driving people to the airport to earn extra money, please visit http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.　
　

Can You Write?: Rewrite Poorly Written Ads to Earn Money

For Sale: Chair. $300.00. Handmade. Add your own flair to ads and make money!

If you can write well than you can rewrite poorly written ads, that others have written, to earn money. You know you have seen them in newspapers and online. An ad with poor grammar and/or just a blah ad. You can add a little pizzazz to the ad which may help to draw more customers interested in the item(s).

You can make money on poorly written ads by contacting the person trying to sell the item(s). Offer to rewrite the ad with the flair that you have and ask for a 1% commission on the sale of the item(s).

To find potential customers search CraigsList.com. For this type of job you can write the ads for people all over the United States. You do not need to only work for those that live in your area--so this opens up a HUGE territory of potential clients. When looking for people to write for search for large ticket items. People will make more and your commission will be larger. Plus, no one is going to pay you to rewrite an add for a measly $10.00 ticket item.

Another area online to search for ads written by people is eBay. Search large ticket items on there as well. Or you may want to contact a seller that has a lot of items for sale on their eBay account. This could make your newfound business thrive. People that make their living selling their items on eBay would make a fantastic customer for you. Not only will you save them time, but you will create masterful ads for them.

To help sell yourself to potential customers, create a website online and show examples of your work. At first take a poorly written ad and you can creatively rewrite the ad. This way potential customers will see your abilities and are more likely to hire you. You can also set up a PayPal account with a shopping cart on your website so your customers can easily pay you.

For more information on rewriting poorly written ads to earn money, please visit http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.
　
　
　
　

Rent Out a Room

Photo copyright by Kelleys-Creations. Rent Out a Room

If you are in need of extra money you could rent out a room in your home. As long as you have the space and are comfortable doing this, this is a perfect way to make extra money. Whether you need the money to pay your mortgage, bills, or other items renting out a room is the way to go.

If you rent out a room in your home, you may not have to get a second job. Perhaps you are laid off and are urgently in need of money and renting out a room in your home is the way to pay your monthly bills.

You can ask around to your friends and family if they know of someone who is in need of a room to rent. If you cannot find a friend of a friend, family or friend of a family member you can advertise. CraigsList.com is free to advertise on. You will put the area you live in, describe the room and for maximum results show a photo of the room you are planning on renting out.

If you know ahead of time what the rules of the house will be you may want to post them. Otherwise, when interested people start to e-mail you, you can show them the room and then go over the rules. For instance, does the renter of free access to the kitchen? Or maybe you want to limit kitchen times from 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. Then offer the kitchen again around your family dinner time. The choice is yours.

Does the room you are renting have a bathroom off of it? Or is there a bathroom near it that could just be for the renter? If so, you could charge more money for rent.

For more information on how to rent out a room in your home, please visit http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.

Sell Your Baked Goods for Extra Cash

Sell Your Baked Goods for Extra Cash

Are you always baking and everyone loves to come to your house? The smell of bread seething through the air. The following day you have warm chocolate chip cookies filling the house with the heavenly aroma.

If you love to bake and you do it well, you could contract your baked goods to people. For instance, contact businesses and drop off samples of your goodies. Give them your card and tell them you can bake for business meetings or special work luncheons.

Let your friends and families know that you will bake your goods such as fancy candies, cake, pies, strudel, etc. for parties and holidays. Ask them if they would like a sample.

Whenever you bake take a photo of your delectable’s. Make sure the photo is of the dessert up close and personal as it will look simply mouth watering. If you do a fancy cake or item make sure you get a photo of the entire thing. This way people will see how talented you really are.

You can list your items for free on CraigsList.com in your area. This will help with more advertising on your newfound business for extra cash. You may even want to create your own website. There are many websites you can set up for free. One such website is http://www.freewebs.com/. Later you may want to upgrade and pay an annual fee.

Advertise at local grocery stores, Laundromats, gas stations, schools, businesses as mentioned, etc. Give your signs and business cards to friends and family and ask them to pass out your information to people they know that are close enough to order from you.

You can sell your baked goods for extra cash and before you know it, you will have a profitable business. You could be the next Mrs. Smith and her chocolate chip cookies boom! Now is a fantastic time with the holidays just around the corner. Many people are too busy to cook or bake cookies, here is where you step in.

*Make sure you check with your city or town's laws on starting your own business and businesses related to foods.

For more information on how to sell your baked goods for extra cash, please visit http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.　

Make Money Holding a Car Wash

Photo by Fabiano Proa of Proa Swimwear. Break out the bikini and make money holding a car wash.

Do you or one of your friends and/or family member have a business in a great location traffic wise? If so, ask him or her if you can have a car wash. The car wash will be donations only. You know you have seen it before. Young people in their swimsuits and bikinis giving FREE car washes. The only request is that a donation is made to some charity that the car washers are trying to make money for. Once you get permission from your friend, family member or a business in the town/city you live in, you can make money for yourself.

Reasons you may want a car wash:

1) Maybe you need extra cash for college tuition. You could let people know that the money is being raised to help with college funding.

2) Maybe you are starting your own business and need more money upfront. You can let people know the donations are going to help start a new business to help the economy.

3) Maybe you just need some extra money so you can healthily feed your family and pay off your monthly bills. You could say the car wash is for a needy family.

Or you could ask for a few bucks right up front for the car wash. People like their cars hand washed usually better than paying a lot more money and have the machines wash it. This way people also know they are donating or paying for a helpful cause so they will get the warm fuzzies knowing they helped.

You will need a hose, a few buckets depending on how many helpers you can find to donate their time, car wash soap, sponges, soft towels and you may want to offer a car waxing for extra added money.

For more information on making money holding a car wash, please visit: http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.　　

Make Money at Etsy Bidding on Jobs

Make Money Bidding on Alchemy Jobs on Etsy: Homemade candy.

If you have a unique craft or handy service, than you may want to check out Etsy.com to make money. You see, on Etsy they have a tab that lets you bid on jobs along with posting your items on your own page. When you bid on jobs, you will go to the area of Etsy that says Alchemy. Next you will click on the tab that says custom. Under that tab, you will see that people will list what they are looking for and you will tell them how you can fulfill their order and the price.

For example: Wanted cake maker in Vail, AZ or surrounding town/city. I need a cake for a baby shower. Here are a few samples of the style of cake I am looking for. (Photos posted.)

Ideal price: $40.00

Deadline: November 15, 2009

Quantity: 1

Ship To: Vail, AZ 85641

OR

My 3 year old son loves rockets and wants to be a rocket for Halloween. I prefer a Halloween costume made out of felt. Use your imagination to create the best rocket costume. I have included a link to the rocket costume that I think he would love. You do not have to create the costume to a tea, just an idea.

Ideal price: $50.00

Deadline: October 25, 2009

Quantity: 1

Ship To: Milwaukee, WI 53222

You will find jewelry to be made, knitted scarves wanted, hand made wedding dress, unique birthday present wanted, party goodie bags for 7 year olds, purses, chocolate, candy, etc. You are sure to find something you can create and make money on Etsy’s Alchemy.

First you must join Etsy.com. It is free to join. (You only pay a minimal fee if you decide to take photos and post your own items on your own page.) Next click on Alchemy. Follow tab as mentioned above to custom. Start looking at all of the orders needed to be filled! At this time there are 149 order requests for you to choose from. You can bid on more than one job. Good luck!

For more information on how to make money at Etsy bidding on jobs, please visit: http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.　　

Ways to Set a Budget to Save Money

Ways to set up a Budget to Save Money: Know ahead of time if you can go out to dinner.

If you are living day to day and spending money without keeping track of it, before you know it, your wallet is empty. Even daily or weekly essentials can eat up your cash.

Examples:
Monday: Fill up your gas tank, buy a soda and sandwich.

Tuesday: Stop in the grocery store for a quick dinner. Pick up a boxed chicken dinner, potatoes and cole slaw. Grab a six pack of soda.

Wednesday: Go out for lunch with your co-workers. After work stop for an ice cream cone at the Ice Cream Shop.

Thursday: Buy yourself and a few co-workers a cup of coffee to treat them. Stop at the gas station and fill up your tank again. Buy a few lottery tickets to take your chance, another six pack of soda and a few candy bars.

Friday: Who cooks on Fridays? Stop for Chinese dinner to unwind after a hard week’s work. Take in some clothes shopping or window shopping that turns out to be a spending spree.

Maybe these are some of the things you do or maybe you have other habits that slowly eat your cash up. Before you know it on Saturday you are broke. If you get paid bi-weekly or monthly, this is not a good thing.

First and foremost paying your bills on time is the number one priority. Ways to set up a budget include setting money aside to pay your bills. Keep your credit score excellent. Once the bills are paid off, set money aside for gas and food. Shop for items on sale and get coupons online. The rest of the money set for fun things. Put this money in an envelop. Once that money is gone, you know you cannot afford to stop at the gas station or store for that extra soda, go out to lunch or dinner, freely spend money on clothing, etc.

If you are able, it would be wise to keep a portion of your check to invest in your future. You will need the money for retirement so you can live a comfortable life in your golden years.

For more information on ways to set a budget to save money, please visit http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.　　

Ways Blogging Pays Off

Photo by Kelleys-Creations.

If you are like thousands and thousands of people you have your own blog. There are actually ways blogging can pay off. As long as you can write decent, you can make money blogging for other people.

For instance, I have blogged for about five years. I love the interaction with others around the world. I love sharing photos of my friends and family. Also, sharing fun things we do together and reading and looking at online friends photos. You can feel like you have been on vacation in another area of the country or world when you blog.

If you love to blog, why not make money doing it? You can let others know that you blog. For instance, I found some absolutely gorgeous sweaters online on the website Etsy.com. The sweaters were expensive, but well worth it. I let the woman know that I adore her work but please let me know if she has a sale on them as they are out of my price range at this time. I also let her know I do write blogs for other businesses to keep their blog fresh and get information out there to potential customers. She told me she was interested in someone writing for her blog. I was asked to show her samples of my work. Bingo--I can now work for some one-of-a-kind breathtaking sweaters.

A former high school classmate opened up her own soap, lotions, etc. shop. They have an online shop and we talked about bartering services for product. I don’t know about you but I love handmade soaps, lotions, shampoo’s, etc. So I am looking forward to bartering these items. I may even get enough to help with my Christmas shopping and save money.

Of course, you can charge money as well when you blog. Offer to write blogs for $4.00 to $10.00 per blog. Most blogs are 300 words so they are not that difficult to write. Just keep readers interested. Use keywords in the blog to bring each one up in the Googlerank and other search engine ranks and make sure you post the link to their business at the end of the blog. Not only will the reader be able to check out the website you are promoting but the more links the website has listed online, the more important the website becomes to Google’s ranking. The goal is get to page one!

If you love writing blogs, than blog writing to barter services, products or to make money is for you. For more information on ways blogging pays off, please visit: http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.　
　

Go Green and Make Totes

Photo copyright by Danni.

Many people are trying to “go green” and save our Earth’s landfills. If you can sew even a little, you can make your own totes and sell them. Totes will work great for people to take grocery shopping. I have noticed that most totes are small. I would love it if someone made larger totes. Personally I would invest in eight larger totes when I grocery shop. I have a family of five and need to have larger bags to put all of our groceries in.

You can create totes of all different colors. Use different patterns when sewing your totes. Some people love specific dogs, cats, etc. Look and see what the market is out there on collectables. For instance, some women love shoes and totes with different colorful shoes on would make a cute tote.

Once you buy a pattern from a discount store on a normal sized tote and a larger tote (you may have to design your own size), you are ready to get material. Find material on sale at discount stores, sewing stores and online. Check if buying in bulk will save you even more money.

Next sew at least five totes. Let your friends, family, co-workers and the world online know that you are making totes to go green and save the Earth. This will get more and more people interested in purchasing a tote if you remind them of our landfills.

Take pictures of your totes to advertise. Hang up the photos at local businesses such as the grocery store, Laundromat, gas stations, etc. Make a website online. There are free websites for you to use that are all set up and you just add some pages, pictures and information yourself.

You may want to make up business cards and hand them out to advertise your tote bags even more. Before you know it you will see your 'green' totes all over grocery stores and discount stores. You will have a great feeling knowing you have made a difference in the world.

For more information on how to go green and make totes, please visit: http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.　

Going to College- How to Choose the Right Job

Photo by Kelleys-Creations. Become a restaurant owner or a chef.

As we all know, times are tough in the job industry. If you are going to college and want to know how to choose the right job, do some research. You will need to choose something that you are interested in so you will enjoy it for the long haul, a job that pays well is an added benefit and a job that has high stability of employment.

A great book loaded with information is “250 of the Best-Paying Jobs.” This book by Michael Farr and Laurence Shatkin, P.h.D., lists the highest paying jobs, the growth of jobs, openings per year for employment, education needed, area the jobs are located in, gender, the age group, industry, personality type jobs (for instant are you artistic? Types of potential jobs listed and loaded with information), part-time jobs and how many people are self-employed in each particular job.

The book is complied of information that the two authors heavily researched. This book can also be for you if you are already in the job market and want to move up the ladder in your field. Or you may want to change careers and you can research the jobs that interest you and make a well-educated choice.

The book is easy to follow as it groups jobs that are related to each other together. All healthcare jobs are listed together, investigative jobs, arts and communications, etc.

Remember that money is not everything. Many people truly enjoy their job even if they do not get paid a large salary. A lot of people are happy doing what they love to do day after day and feel rich and fulfilled in other ways.

You can survive the economy with a great job you enjoy, make fantastic money if this is important to you and know that your job is rated as highly secure.

For more information on how to choose the right job, please visit: http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.
　
　
　

Can You Sew? Halloween Costumes

Photo by Kelleys-Creations.

Now is the time to cash in if you can sew. You can start creating Halloween costumes for little ones. Trick-or-treating is just around the corner. There are so many costumes to be hand created. Many people would love a handmade Halloween costume instead of the generic store Halloween costumes.

For a peek into another Halloween sewing woman’s Etsy business and to get ideas, please visit:
http://www.etsy.com/storque/spotlight/etsy-finds-little-shop-of-handmade-horrors-5261/

Other ideas to use are popular movie characters and popular TV characters. Do some research and find out what is hot. You may even want to do a poll with your kids and your friend’s kids. Once you know the hottest characters or types of Halloween costumes for this Halloween--you are ready to get sewing.

You can let all of your friends, the elementary schools in your area and family know that you are offering one-of-a-kind handmade Halloween costumes. People may ask if you will take orders ahead of time and specific Halloween costumes. It is up to you if you choose to do so.

Find your material for Halloween costumes on sale at discount stores, online, fabric stores or craft stores. Purchase buttons, zippers, etc., on sale as well.

Advertise your sewing talent at local grocery stores, put your items on Etsy.com as the sample above is, make your own website, newspapers, etc. Once you get one phone call and order, word of mouth will spread like wildfire. People love to have their little kids in adorable or scary Halloween costumes. Parents and grandparents take many photos to save the precious memories of their children and grandchildren.

Enjoy making costumes, selling the costumes and making money. Once you get started, you may have other sewing requests besides Halloween costumes. People know fabulous work when they see it.

For more information on how to make and sell Halloween costumes, please visit: http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.

Make Money Writing Poetry

Photo copyright by Kelleys-Creations.

If you love writing poetry there are ways to make money from it. You can submit your poetry to a website called AssociatedContent.com. You will not get money upfront but as people click on your poetry, you will get paid. It is not a lot of money ($1.50 for 1,500 clicks) but if it is something you love to do, you can get published online and make a little money.

You need to write short poems for greeting card companies. How many times have you read a poem and thought you could have written that---or something even better? Now is your chance to make money writing poetry!

The easiest way to get started is to do some investigating. Go to discount stores and greeting card stores and read the greeting cards. Check which ones you think are your style. Then get out your pen and paper and write down the greeting card company’s name as well as the manufacturers and publishers.

Once you return home, do some research online on the companies you have jotted down. The companies that have information about submitting your work will have directions on how to do this. (Not all companies will have this since they do not accept freelance submissions so make sure you jot down a lot of names.) Make sure you follow the directions carefully so you submit your correctly and have a great chance at being accepted. Make sure you hand in edited work only so you look professional and your work is accepted.

Don’t give up if you are not accepted on the first, second or even third attempt. Persist!

The third way to make money writing poetry is to make your own handmade greeting cards or online greeting cards. You can make them for friends, family, coworkers and sell them at craft fairs.

For more information on how to make money writing poetry, please visit: http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.

Make Christmas Ornaments and Make Money and Save Money

Photo copyright by Nik.

A great idea to make money and save money is to make homemade Christmas ornaments. You can use a variety of items to create your ornaments.

When I was a child my aunt would buy cheap Styrofoam balls to decorate. Some of the Styrofoam balls had material on them while others did not. The ornaments with the material on were so gorgeous and I usually reached for those. Mainly they were a cranberry color.

We would use plain silver stick pins or stick pins with a white bead on the end, gold and silver sequins, plastic pony beads and strings of scrap material. The ornaments were cheap to make and turned out absolutely stunning. Most of them fit on a tree that is decorated with all different types of ornaments or a more sophisticated Christmas tree that is perhaps Victorian.

You and your family can enjoy spending time together making Christmas ornaments. These will be great to sell at upcoming holiday craft fairs or bazaars.

The Christmas ornaments will make excellent gifts for family, friends, co-workers, bosses and teachers. You will save a mint on gifts by giving your homemade Christmas ornaments as the gifts. People will appreciate your hard work and thoughtfulness in giving a handmade gift as most people do not have the time to make items these days.

1) Get started by purchasing your supplies from discount stores, craft stores or online. Check for the best deals.

2) Call local areas or check online for annual craft fairs and reserve a table now. Let your friends, co-workers and family know you are taking orders of your Christmas ornaments. Before letting them know, you may want to take a few photos of your Christmas ornaments so that they can get an idea on what your ornaments will look like and/or choose which ornament they want to purchase from you.

3) Make once or twice a week family craft night to get together and create your masterpieces to sell and give away as Christmas gifts.

For more information on how to make Christmas ornaments to make money and save money, please visit: http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.　　

Apartment Mangers--Make Money & Save Money

Become an apartment building manager to make money and save money.

Need to sell your home? Tired of paying rent? If you truly need money and you are handy you can check out the wanted pages for apartments. There are many jobs available for apartment managers.

When you become an apartment manager you will take care of small items that need fixing. For instance, if a person living in the apartment building has a problem with their kitchen sink, he or she will call you to come and take a look at it. You will be expected to fix the sink. You may have to go to a discount store or a hardware store to pick up parts. You will save the receipt for the apartment owner to pay you back.

Some apartment owners want a couple to become the apartment managers. This way the two of you can take care of all of the important managing duties. With two people instead of one, the people living inside of the apartment building will have a better chance of getting a hold of one of you sooner.

Other duties will most likely include vacuuming and sweeping the hallways. Keeping the laundry area clean. Making sure the washing machines and dryers work. If available, making sure the laundry soap machine is working. Shoveling snow if you live in an area that snows. Keeping the sidewalks shoveled and salted when snow and ice occur.

By taking care of the apartment building most owners offer free rent, free utilities and possibly some wages as well. You may be the manager of more than one apartment building and your benefits will help to determine on how much work you will have to do.

For more information on how to become an apartment manager to make money and save money, please visit: http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.

Make Money by Making Ceramic Tiles

Both photos copyright by Tinkertiles.

Just about everyone has a touch of creativity within themselves. You do not have to be the best drawer, painter or creator to make money by making ceramic tiles.

If you are not that good at drawing, your ceramic tiles will still be adorable. Your ceramic tiles will be whimsical. A lot of people decorate with the whimsical style and truly love it.
You can cut out your ceramic pieces as well. For instance, cut a fish out of the materials. Paint the fish. It would be wise to invest in a machine that will glaze your ceramic tile pieces.
The sky is the limit on what you can create with ceramic tiles. You can make cats, dogs, scenes, small signs, zoo animals, people, bikes, sport’s items, etc.! Think of items that people really enjoy and then get creating!

You create the ceramic tiles and your customers create what they will use them for. Some people may use them to make three dimensional murals on their walls, as cabinet knobs, wrapping gifts and using them for a special gift along side the tag, scrap booking, jewelry and more.

You can sell your ceramic tiles online. The best place to start selling your ceramic tiles is on Etsy.com. Etsy.com is where many people sell their handmade items. Etsy.com is very simple to sign up for and navigate. Before you know it, your items will become a hit. You may also want to create your own website. You can either create your own using free websites or websites you pay for. You can hire someone to make a website for you as well.

Make money by making ceramic tiles by giving your ceramic tiles to friends, family and co-workers for gifts. Word of mouth is a fantastic way to advertise.

For more information on how to make money by making ceramic tiles, please visit: http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.

Word of Mouth: How it Can Help You & Your Business

Photo by Kelleys-Creations. Keep your word-get more business.

Word of mouth is a very important part of business and that is why you should always do an outstanding job on any type of work you do for a living. From keeping in touch with the customer to doing fabulous work to starting and completing the job on time.

Here are two examples of word of mouth contractors I personally hired to do work around my home or cabin:

The first person I got raves about to hire ended up six months late in starting our house. This irritates my husband and I! We were going to have our home sided, a remodeled front porch, minor repairs by the back deck and new doors put on.

We waited…and waited….we missed putting out our Halloween decorations for the kids. They were disappointed but we were told that the contractor was coming to work on our house! Finally right before Christmas our home was complete!

The second word of mouth contractor I thought I’d try so he could install new carpeting and wood floors in two of the three bedrooms. I didn’t plan on having contractor number one do the work! (Although we did want an estimate from him as his prices were reasonable.)

So contractor one came in and measured the living room, stairway, hallway, and two bedrooms. He said he’d get back to us. Sure he would. Never heard from him. I even called him and left a message. When doing business with him the first time, I did immediately pay the bill--so it's not that!

Contractor 2 showed up in two days as scheduled (so I could do a little cleaning!), measured everything. He told us he could start in one week. Before hiring him, I told him it’s very important to us when you say you are coming to work that you actually DO! He assured me. He told me they’d be done in three days with everything. Contractor 2 kept his word! We were highly impressed with everything.

We just bought a cabin that needs extensive remodeling. Which word of mouth contractor do you think is going to get the job?

For more information on word of mouth and how it can help you (or hurt your future business!), please visit: http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.　　

Pay Cash to Get Deals

Photo by Kelleys-Creations. The sky is the limit -pay cash to get deals!

Who says money doesn’t talk? If you have the cash you may be able to get a bargain. If you are looking to purchase big ticket items such as a living room set or fifty inch flat screen television, take your cash to the store. In these tough economic times you may be able to wheel and deal with stores. From the stores perspective, a discounted sale is better than no sale at all.

Two years ago I tried this pay cash to get deals theory with my husband and bought a vehicle for less cash. We walked into the dealer as we knew which vehicle we wanted to purchase ahead of time. (Sundays are a great way to shop ahead of time with no salesmen around trying to get your attention.)

When the salesman met us, he asked us what we were looking for. We described the vehicle we wanted but nothing too pricey. Lo and behold he led us to the vehicle we wanted. We did not act excited but let him know that we liked the vehicle. We knew what the sticker price was ahead of time. We purposely brought a lesser amount of cash along with us. (This way we would not get sucked into falling for any sales tactics and later regret it.) When the dealing part came at the desk we told him what we could spend and we had the cash right in our wallets. Of course, the salesman went to “the boss” to discuss our situation.

The salesman actually came out and accepted our cash offer. We were elated!

Granted, not everyone will have cash to purchase a vehicle but smaller ticket items you may. It is worth a shot. Just be careful to safely keep your cash with you at all times. Now is not the time to leave your purse where someone easily can take it.

For more information on how to pay cash to get deals, please visit: http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.　　　

　

*Check your state laws to make sure it is legal to be on the car lot "window shopping" on Sundays.
　

Invest in Your Child's College Future

Invest wisely in your child's college future

It is that time of year again and many college kids are going back to school. With the state of the economy it is harder and harder for college-aged kids to get student loans. Due to this situation, college kids are asking their parents to co-sign for a loan. Do not fall into this trap! If you are a parent and co-sign for your child’s loan he or she will end up paying around 12% interest on this type of loan.

A better option is to take out a PLUS loan. You, as a parent, will take out the PLUS loan in your name or names. The PLUS loan is only averaging around 8.5% interest rate. This is a HUGE savings for your child. With the cost of books, food, school supplies, clothes, etc., you will be helping out your child immensely. The two or three of you can come up with some type of plan where your child pays you back weekly or monthly if you so choose.

If your child or children are not in college yet but will be within the next five years, make sure that you are invested in a fixed-interest option or options instead of stocks. The market is just too risky at this time.

If you have a 529 college savings plan, go over your plan with the person you hired to invest for you. Go over this plan very carefully so you do not lose any more money. The 529 college savings plan has lost a lot of money in the past few years as well as other college savings plans. You can help to prevent anymore loss by going over this with the person you hired.

For more information on how to invest in your child’s college future, please visit: http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.　　　
　
　
　

Why You Should Not Open Anymore Store Credit Cards

Photo by http://abduzeedo.com/29-great-free-textures

Most of us have done it. We take up the offer to open a new store credit card to save 10% off of the purchase we just made. I know I am guilty of it especially if I am buying a new computer or a lot of furniture. Anytime there is a big ticket item you can save a lot of money by taking up the 10% off your bill if you open a credit card.

You will find out you really are not saving money. If you keep opening up these credit cards you will find yourself paying more monthly if you cannot pay off each month’s bill. When you open a credit card that gives you a one time only 10% off your purchase, you are most likely paying a higher price on interest rate. The average rate for these types of credit cards is 21% or higher. The store makes up the money you “saved” pretty darn quick.

Or maybe you know you want to save money by opening up one of these credit cards so you try to find the products that you want to buy or think you need to buy and spend $500. Add 21%+ to that and you are in the hole.

Another reason you should not open anymore store credit cards is that the more store credit cards you have to the limit --the worse your credit rating will be. No one wants a bad credit rating or you will not be able to get loans for a home, car, etc. If you do get a loan on a home or car, you will be paying more since you have a bad credit rating.

Insurance companies will look at your credit rating and if it is not good you will pay more for insurance.

When applying for a new job it is pretty much a given that the potential employer will check your credit history. You may not get the job you really wanted or needed due to your credit history.

This holiday season stay away from stores offering you to save 10% off of a one time purchase if you open a credit card as it paints a dire picture.

For more information on why not to open anymore store credit cards, please visit: http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.
　　　

Save More Money for Your Future

Photo copyright by Nik. Save More Money for Your Future--Now

If you are looking for ways to save more money for your future, check out your profile at the company you work for. If your company offers a 401K or retirement plan and matches what you put in, put in as much money as possible. That is like free money for your future. Once you reach the maximum amount, that is enough. Do not put any more money in your 401K or other retirement account that is available to you at your place of employment.

You should not put any more money in the 401K or retirement account because interest rates are very low at this time. A better idea to save more money for your future is to put it in a Roth IRA. You will still be taxed on a Roth IRA at this time but Roth IRA’s do not get taxed as they grow. That is right tax-free money…that does not happen that often in this day and age!

After investing with the Roth IRA for five years or more and you are 59.5 years old or when you turn 59.5 years old you will not be taxed on the Roth IRA if you need to use some of the money from it.

If your situation is to keep the Roth IRA locked in for many, many years you will do excellent as you will not be at risk for higher income taxes.

By following the above steps you can save more money for your future which is very wise planning. You need to learn how to save money now for your retirement so you can live comfortably. You most likely want to keep the lifestyle you have now or even better yet, live even better than you are now.

For more information on how to save more money for your future, please visit: http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　

Update Your Insurance Policies

Photo copyright by Nik. Update Your Insurance Policies to Save Money.

Updating your insurance policies is an excellent way to save money. If you have one insurance company that takes care of your vehicles and one insurance company that takes care of your home, you need to change this. You can save big money if you insure your vehicles and home with the same insurance company. We are talking at least 10% savings plus when you combine the items you own.

Update your insurance policies by calling your insurance agent. He or she will be very happy to help you save money. If you are leery about changing your insurance policies just ask the insurance companies how much your bill would be if you combine them. Call both insurance companies to see who offers the best deal as well.

While you are speaking to your insurance agent ask him or her what you pay on your auto deductible. If it is not $1,000 than lower it to that amount. The reason is your car insurance should pay for major damage not little scratches or even dents. If you feel you want this coverage, you will be paying hundreds of dollars extra per year that you could be saving IF scratches or dents occur. If you do use this by claiming damage often you will see your insurance premiums jump sky high. Your insurance company may even drop you as a customer if they feel you are a high risk person.

If you are over the age of twenty five than make an appointment with your insurance agent. Your insurance on your vehicle should go to a lower rate as now you are looked at as a more responsible driver. Once you are married you can get a lower insurance rate especially if the two of you combine your insurance plans. You can also lower your rate if you have a safe vehicle such as a van or larger car. If you drive a sport’s car unfortunately you will pay higher premiums.

Overview: Update y our insurance policies by combining your vehicles and home insurance. Lower your vehicle deductible to $1,000. Talk to an agent to lower your rates if you are over 25 years old, married and drive a safe vehicle.

For more information on how to update your insurance policies, please visit: http://www.preparednessmentor.com/.