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/.