Money Matters

Resale Shops

2011-10-27T18:35:00.005-05:00

Purchasing clothing and other items from resale shops is a great way to save money. Resale shops are a great place to score cheap items such as household items and clothing. However, another way to stretch your money at a resale shop is to sell items to the shop for instore credit. There are many clothing resale shops that specialize in clothing that will purchase gently used clothing and give the seller an in store credit. The credit can then be used to purchase already discounted clothing. I personally utilize this practice with my children's clothes. When my kids outgrow their clothing I seperate it into season bins. I then take the clothing to the resale shop during the appropriate season and exchange the clothing for in store credit. Make sure to call the shop ahead of time and confirm the season they are buying for.

How to get cell phones cheap

2011-07-30T12:37:00.002-05:00

http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/971250/kristie_monroe.html

How many times have you wanted to have the latest cell phone on the market, but did not purchase the phone because it was too expensive? Or maybe you were not due for an upgrade yet. Here are some tips that will help you get a great cell phone at a great price.

First of all, shop around for the phone you are interested in purchasing. Look online at not just the carriers’ site, but try Radio Shack, Best Buy and even Wal-Mart. Watch the prices of the phone you are interested in and a couple of comparable models as well. Sometimes a certain color of the phone will be marked down. I have even seen AT&T mark a phone down on line to 1 cent but only for a few days. That is why it is important to watch the websites daily. Just keep one thing in mind when shopping on line, you might buy your cell from radioshack.com, but that does not mean Radio Shack sold you the phone. You are dealing with 3^rd party companies so check about return or repair policies before you purchase.

Take advantage of key sales times. Back to school, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and just before Christmas are great times to take advantage of special pricing. Keep in mind that most carriers will start clearing their inventory out in October to gear up for the new phones coming out in time for Christmas. If a model is being upgraded, chances are you can buy the older version for a fraction of the original cost.

If you are not eligible for an upgrade, but want a new phone without paying full price try calling the customer relations department. I know that AT&T will let you upgrade with a $70 dollar fee. This option is still cheaper than buying the phone at retail price. For more money saving tips see my other articles.

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Make Money Reselling Furniture

2011-07-27T16:59:00.003-05:00

I recently stumbled on a way to make some fast money doing something I enjoy from the comfort of my own homw. I discovered that I can sell furniture that I have refinished (strip and stained) for more money than I paid for the piece. The key here is to buy cheap! I scour gargage sales looking for those rare finds. That piece of furniture that is solid wood and in good condition. I don't care how ugly the piece is as long as it is real wood and not pressed board. Since I don't know how to repair wood I look for items in good condition that just need stripped and restained. I found how to videos on line showing me how to strip and stain wood. I bought a quality stain in a neutral color (not too dark and not too light) which I use on all the pieces. This will also allow you to sell pieces together as a set. You could restain a chest and headboard the same color and create a bedroom set that you can sell.
I have been lucky enough to find a chest for $10 bucks and a set of three end tables for $10 bucks as well. I was able to strip, sand and stain the pieces and turn around and sell them for twice as much as I invested. The pieces looked great and everyone benefited. I was able to make money from home and someone else got a nice piece of furniture cheap.
Follow @KRISTIEMONROE

Content Articles- Make money from home writing

2011-07-27T15:43:00.002-05:00

Content articles are a great way to earn extra cash while working from the comfort of your own home. Working from home is a dream that few people are able to realize, but with the latest technology the door is open to more and more people. Writing content articles is a great way to earn cash without having to even take off your pajamas.
Content articles are short blurbs on a specialized topic. Professional bloggers will generally sub out some of their blog posts creating an opportunity for a writer to submit articles to them for payment. There will be set guidelines to follow such as topic, key word usage and writing style. Small business owners will also hire content writers to create unique articles about their services. A quick search on the internet will lead you to the right sources to get started making money from home.
If you are interested in content writing as a work from home career or just to supplement your income, check out my other articles.

Writing From Home

2011-01-31T19:49:00.002-06:00

I am always looking for new opportunities to capitalize on working from home. I try to share what I have found with as many people as possible. Even if my findings are that an option does not work. My latest venture had been to try my hand at writing on line content. Writing is something I have always enjoyed doing so I figured why not give it a try and see if I can earn some extra cash while working from home.

The first step was to submit a sample of my work to the on line sites that I was interested in becoming a contributor. I wrote two types of articles for submittal; one review article of a cell phone and one about working from home ventures. After a couple of days of waiting, I was accepted to the sites so I could begin working. How exciting.

I have actually made some money doing this; but, not enough to make this a full time income. There are sites that will pay you a set amount for writing an article. These sites generally pay low, but you get the cash. The other types of sites that are available generate residual income. This means you get paid for each person who visits your article. The more you write and promote your writing, the more money you make. The catch is that it will take some time to get enough articles to make any kind of money. These sites also take up to a week and sometimes longer to review your articles. The waiting can be difficult.

My goal is to try both types of sites. I write for the cash as well as submit my articles for approval to the residual income sites. I hope that by next year I can generate a decent income utilizing both types of sites so I can continue to work from home. I still won’t be able to quit my day job, but I will be able to supplement my income quite nicely.

For more ideas on working from the home, check out my articles .

Utilize Your Cell Phone For Work

2011-01-24T14:19:00.001-06:00

In today's high tech cell phone market, it is easy to pick a cell phone that can help you integrate personal use with work usage. Why not let your cell phone become one more tool in your work from home endeavor? Cell phones can be used for much more than just sending and receiving emails. You can use your smart phone to download, store, view and create documents. This creates a huge advantage for those who work from home. You can access the Internet to perform research. Create a WIFI hot spot with your cell to tether your laptop. Or even utilize video chat to get your job done on the go. Now you can work from the store or the kids' ballgames without dragging your laptop with you. See my article Picking the Perfect Cell Phone for You for help with deciding which phone will best suit your needs. Working from home has never been easier.

Driving Traffic to Your Blog

2011-01-23T23:44:00.004-06:00

So you decided to take the leap into blogging to earn income while working from home and you have monetized your site, now how do you get the people to come and look at the blog?

This is where you will spend most of your time and requires the most patience. You have to build your reputation and that takes time. You also have to get your site seen over the thousands of other blogs you are competing with for attention. No matter what you see on line, there is no magic way to get rich quick and make thousands of dollars doing this. While we all want to work from home, blogging will probably not allow you this freedom. With that said, you can supplement your work from home income. So how do you accomplish this task? Here are the methods that I have used or that I am currently using.

Write Informative Articles

Write about something that people want to learn. Share your knowledge and experience with the reader. Be honest and up front about your experiences even if it is not what your reader wants to hear. I have read articles that did not agree with my preconceived ideas about what I wanted to hear and dismissed them only to realize that the author was correct. It solidified my trust in that author over the others who were just saying what I wanted to hear. (Like blogging can make you rich.)

Be Heard

Get your name out there by joining groups and forums that hold similar interests as your blog(s). Do your research on each group before joining. Again, err on the side of caution. Our human nature is to want to join every discussion, chat and forum available, but avoid that temptation. The key to this approach is to become a valued member who provides quality feedback. Don’t join an organization and then spam your blog address at every chance you get. Choose carefully and participate responsibly in the forums. Include your web URL or link on your signature so that others can visit your blog if they want to do so.

Link Backs

Make sure you link back to your articles any chance you can. Writing articles for other blogs and websites helps you gain exposure with new audiences and linking the articles back to your blog will let the new audience find you. This will help you direct traffic from an article you have posted on another source back to your blog. This is a great way to increase your awareness.

Remain Persistent

Persistence is the key to being successful in anything you do, and it is no different with your blogging efforts. Stay on focused on your goal and stay committed to doing the work needed to help your blog succeed. For more tips, see my articles Beginning Blogging and Can You Make Money Blogging?

Gigs on Craigslist

2011-01-19T20:17:00.001-06:00

If you have surfed around on Craigslist, you are sure to have noticed the Gigs sections. This is a great place for those who are self employed or those just looking for some extra spending money to check out. The idea is that Gigs is separated into categories and each category contains potential jobs or gigs that you can apply to perform. Some of them just involve manual labor or are for a special one time event. Other gigs can lead to a full time job such as those in the freelance writing area.
If you have a skilled trade, are good with computers or can write you might want to check out the Gigs on Craigslist. As always use caution when utilizing this service. Let me know if you actually get any paying jobs!

Happy Hunting!
Kristie
Associated Content Articles
Sales Support Services

The Importance of Customer Service

2011-01-17T22:29:00.001-06:00

Today more than ever customer service is of the utmost importance to business owners. If you as a business want to set yourself apart from the competition and stay afloat during these tough times then you can not be lax in this area. Customers are reluctant to spend their hard earned dollars and they certainly are not going to frequent a business that does not treat them as king. As a business owner, you have to raise the bar for customer service.

Better customer service will ensure that you retain the customers you already have. A bird in hand is worth two in the bush and that adage is especially true in business. The repeat customer is the most lucrative customer you can have. You do not have to do anything except provide excellent service to this customer.

By the same token, a business owner can attract numerous new customers usually at a high cost only to lose them due to poor customer service. You may as well throw money out the window if you are paying to attract business that you can not service. It is much more wise to make your current customer base your focus. Repeat business and word of mouth will help increase your customer support and your customer base.

For simple ideas on how your company can provide great service, see my article Keys to Great Customer Service. Then make a commitment to yourself to provide the best service you possibly can and watch your revenues increase.

Selling on Craigslist

2011-01-17T17:26:00.000-06:00

Craigslist.org., the mecca of Internet garage sales. Who doesn't love to surf the categories looking for great deals and good laughs. I personally like to search for items being sold in my geographical area and cell phones. I have made some sweet purchases on Craigslist and I have sold items as well. Craigslist can be the perfect venue to marry a buyer and seller. But can you make consistent income by selling on Craigslist?

We have all heard about people who sell on EBay and Craigslist and have made enough to quit their day job. Are these stories true or just an urban legend? I think they are probably a bit of both. Like that person who is a professional garage sale host. Ever town has one, they send their partner out to scour all the garage sales while they host a sale at their house. I just think if it were that easy everyone would be doing it.

My first issue is that most people who actually sell their goods on Craigslist sell them because they are priced to sell. They are a DEAL. That is why you email and call and hope you get the callback. With that said, if you are pricing things to sell quick, then you are not making a large profit. So the theory of buying items and reselling them on Craigslist does not really hold water for me.

The other issue I have with this way of generating income on a consistent basis is that if you are offering a large variety of items you would have to let potential buyers come to your house. I don't recommend anyone ever doing this. You have no idea who this person might be.

While I don't believe there are stay home moms making thousands reselling items on these sites; I do agree that they are great to get rid of stuff and make a little extra cash. If you have something just sitting around and collecting dust why not make a buck selling it? You will get more than if you went to a pawn shop and the other party is getting a deal (assuming you are pricing to sell and not make large profits).

So, if you need a few extra bucks go clean out that garage or basement and start listing. Just always be safe and meet in a public place. It is also a good idea to take another adult along with you to the meeting.

Making Money Selling Products

2011-01-16T13:55:00.002-06:00

There is no shortage of home based business ideas on the Internet. Some of these are legitimate opportunities and some are just scams. One opportunity that has been around for years is selling for a company such as Avon or Shaklee. These opportunities can lead to an increased income, but there are some pitfalls you need to consider.
Selling these products requires work. You have to do a lot of networking in order to build enough clientele to make money. For some, this is easy. If you work in a place with alot of employees or you have a large social circle selling products can be a great opportunity for you. The key is to make sure you are the only person selling the product. An office with 3 people selling the same product is not likely to generate much income for any of the sellers. If you are looking to start a full time work from home business, this will create a challege for you.
Also keep in mind that samples of the products usually incur up front costs. The more product you want to have on hand, the more the upfront costs. With companies like Mary Kay, you will need to do makeovers and host parties so that you can solicit new customers. For me, this is a negative but for some they may love hosting and performing parties. I am looking for not only home based businesses, but businesses I can perform from my home.
Lastly, some companies like these use a pyramid type business model. This basically means the best way to make money is to get other people selling underneath you. You then reap a percent of all that they sell. Again, if you are in the right environment and you are a natural born salesperson this could be the perfect job for you.
All jobs require time and energy. There is no such thing as making money without doing any work. The key is to find what appeals to you and matches your personality type.

Starting a Home Based Lawn Care Company

2011-01-12T17:46:00.001-06:00

Starting a Home Based Lawn Service

The first thing you want to ponder before you rush out and begin your own lawn care business is how many services you want to offer and how much time you have to spend at performing and growing your business. It is tempting to think that you will have the drive, time and ambition to make a serious business out of something that many do as a part time job. My advice to you is to start small and if you decide things are going well and this is something you may want to consider growing then proceed after you have gotten your feet wet.

Time is of course the first thing you should consider. Do you work a full time job? Or is your main income seasonal? Are you laid off and trying to start a new full time business? The answers to these questions will differ from person to person. When we decided to start our lawn care business my husband worked a full time job. We kept the services he offered simple. We had a busy life and we were not looking to be out every day cutting lawns. Our main focus was to find a few lawns in the same neighborhood. That way we maximized our earning potential while minimizing our time constraints. As well as keeping our transportation costs lower.

Next, decide on what equipment is absolutely necessary for you to perform the services you are going to offer. We all want a zero turn mower and state of the art equipment, but does it really make sense to invest that much into your venture up front? For us the answer was, no! So, we bought a used 48” John Deere walk behind mower for a great price. We took our time and located a small lawn service that was upgrading their equipment, so we purchased their old mower. We already had an industrial weed eater and blower so we were all set. Sinking a huge investment into a business that was seasonal and that we knew little about just did not seem like a wise idea. We figured if the business thrived, we could always add more equipment and customers at a future time.

So, you have decided that this sounds like a great opportunity for you. Congratulations! Now, how do you start out getting clients, acquiring equipment and setting rates? The first thing we did was talk to other smaller companies to see what they charged to mow, trim and blow sidewalks. We talked to owners that serviced our area and were slightly larger than we planned to be. From there, we set our rates just a tad lower since we were not a full service lawn business. We DID NOT approach any of the other businesses’ customers! This is crucial since you want to maintain a good working relationship with these companies. There were times when other owners needed a helping hand and paid my husband to pick up a couple of their lawns. Remember, you want to become a respected member of the lawn service community.

Next comes the purchasing of equipment. This can cost you anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars. I am going to assume that you are cost conscious and not looking for a huge tax write off. (For more on tax deductions visit www.irs.gov) With that being said, off season is the time to keep a vigilant watch for equipment sales. You can watch the sale ads, craigslist or your local paper. Even if you buy new equipment most retailers will mark down merchandise in October to make room for the winter equipment. As I mentioned before, we had forged some relationships with other small lawn business owners and we purchased a great mower really cheap from one of them. It worked out well since we knew him and could trust him.

So now that you have everything you need how do you find customers? The most obvious and cheapest way to find customers is word of mouth. My husband told all his buddies he was going to start mowing on the side and we had lawns within days. Two of our best customers were actually given to us by another company that could not service them. This is why it is crucial that you have an excellent reputation and it also illustrates the effectiveness of networking within the industry.

But what if you don’t know anyone or you really want to bring in lots of business? Vehicles magnets are an inexpensive way to advertise year round where ever you go. If you are at a job mowing and your truck is in front of the house, neighbors can just jot down your number and give you a call. You can get plain magnets from a local sign company for around $70 or you can get magnets with a high resolution image for more money. Just call sign companies and see what you need to get started.

Flyers are always an inexpensive way to advertise, but I like to use methods of dispersion that allow me to control or target certain geographical areas. We like to target subdivisions where we have existing customers so that my husband can mow all of those lawns on the same evening. This saves us time and gas money. So we printed out information sheets on our home printer and put them on some of the doors in the neighborhood. Target the neighbors who don’t have manicured lawns. We just looked for that people whose lawns looked like it could always use a cut. Chances are these people are busy and would gladly pay you to just take care of it while you are there. We did not want to target the houses with 2 feet high grass. We figured these people did not care what the lawn looked like so they would be less likely to pay to have it cut.

As your business grows, and you become savvier as an owner you can expand and buy more equipment. You can post ads in local papers or even consider doing a door to door flyer campaign. But if you start out slow and don’t get in over your head, you will have an easier time managing your business and providing good service. Remember, people WILL talk about you and your service so quality is better than quantity if you want repeat customers and a good reputation. Remember, keeping repeat customers is always easier and cheaper that finding new customers.

http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/971250/kristie_monroe.html

Domain Names For Cash

2010-12-30T14:59:00.000-06:00

I wanted to post a short blurb about an easy way to make quick cash risk free. Not only is this free to do, it is so fun it becomes addictive. It is with pickydomains.com and you help their clients choose a domain name. Basically you log on and select available jobs. There is a description about the type of service the client is offering and the keywords they want in the domain name. The client will also have a list or rules about the domain name. For instance, clients will specify there be no slang or the domain name be under 10 letters.
You submit your ideas for names and pickydomain’s system will check for availability. If available the client gets to review and tell you what names they liked, disliked and picked. If yours is picked you get $25 bucks to your PayPal account. It is that easy.
My teenage daughter and I use treat this opportunity like a game. It helps us relax and we laugh ourselves silly at some of the names we create.

Kristie Monroe
http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/971250/kristie_monroe.html

Are You Ready For Self Employment

2010-12-29T20:57:00.000-06:00

The desire to be your own boss is almost too strong to resist. The benefits can be vast ranging from setting your own hours to working from home. But are you ready for the commitment of self employment? I can tell you from personal experience that it is not for the faint of heart.

Starting Out

For me, becoming self employed just happened. I was laid off in March and in July I received a phone call from an ex co-worker asking if I were interested in helping him out. We met for lunch and I started the next day. My client had called the past employer that we had in common asking for employee referrals and my name was offered. This proves that reputation is everything. Being a dedicated worker at a 9 to 5 job is what landed me this opportunity.

In the beginning, hours were lean and so I had to do other jobs to supplement my pay. I used to babysit and clean businesses at night so we could make ends meet. But, I enjoyed the benefits of not having to pay a babysitter and being home with my children during the day. Eventually my hours increased and I was able to quit babysitting and cleaning. The key was showing my client how valuable I could be to him. Once my foot was in the door, I made sure that I offered quality work and insights I felt could help grow the business. I offered to take on additional responsibilities that others found difficult or disagreeable.

Expanding My Services

Once I found my niche, I exploited the crack I had made. I trained myself on cumbersome client systems so that I would be the resident expert. Now, all questions regarding certain systems are funneled through me which in turn means more hours for me. The goal here is to become the holding of information. Make yourself indispensable to your client. By learning his clients systems, I have made my client more effective with his customers making me more valuable to him. And, since these are national clients I can market my expertise and subcontract my services to other vendors. So it was a win-win situation for everyone. My client gained a worker with expertise to help grow his sales and I have been able to add to my skill set thus making myself more marketable.

Looking to the Future

For now, I am comfortable with the amount of hours I receive from my client. But when my youngest goes to school next year I will want to expand my availability. So I am starting to work toward that goal now. Networking, researching and finding job opportunities take time so don’t get discouraged if options don’t present themselves overnight.

For more information on home based business opportunities visit
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/6156344/home_based_businesses_that_work.html

Appointment Setting For Money

2010-12-29T14:51:00.000-06:00

Setting appointments for pay is a legitimate work from home opportunity that can help supplement your income. Overhead costs are minimal as long as you have a phone. A computer is helpful, but a few companies will do business via the mail. You will also need a quiet place from which to make your calls.

If you have small children at home, you might want to wait until they are taking a nap or another adult is home to help occupy them while you are busy. If you have pets like a dog you may want to put them outside while you are placing calls so they do not bark or cause distractions. You want to sound professional to your contacts even if you are calling from home.

You will need to be highly organized so you can track your calls. If you can invest in a database program that would be a bonus, but most companies will provide you a calling list. If they do not have a calling list for you, then you will have to determine how you will locate the numbers of your potential appointments. There are organizations that provide databases with customer information for sale. If you invest in a lead list database this could be a selling point to your potential clients.

Types of companies that can utilize this skill are charity organizations looking for donations, home improvement companies looking for appointment setters or other professionals in a selling industry. Think of businesses like mortgage, real estate or insurance brokers. These professionals might be willing to pay you per customer you can gain for them or by appointment/quote you can set for them. Use your imagination when thinking of who would benefit from this service.

Now you have to locate the jobs. Sometimes these jobs are posted on avenues such as Craigslist.org. Sometimes the only way to hear of these jobs is through word of mouth so start asking people if they know of any work opportunities. Join the local Chamber of Commerce. Cold call companies from the local phone book, or scour local ads and identify potential clients that could use your services. Then get busy calling them. Opportunities such as this usually require you searching them out.

Be prepared and research what the going rate is for an appointment setter so you don’t over price your service. You want to be competitively priced with others offering similar services. You may also want to make a flyer outlining what services you can offer and the benefits of using you to set appointments. Ask satisfied clients for referrals that you can provide to other potential clients. And consider investing in business cards if you find this is something you like to do. You can purchase business cards from local office supply stores and have the store print them very inexpensively. This gives you that extra professional touch.

While the business may be slow to start, with some hard work, good work ethics and a professional attitude you can grow this business to become a substantial income supplement.

Kristie Monroe
Freelance Writer

Making Money Taking On-Line Surveys

2010-12-28T14:46:00.001-06:00

Making extra money from home is more appealing now than ever and the convenience of the internet makes it a viable option for many people today. But can you really make money taking these online surveys?

The Lure

We have all seen the advertisements in our email, “get paid for your opinion.” It seems so easy; we want it to be true. Just tell them what you think about products you already use and you will be compensated for your time. You can work from your home at your kitchen table while the money rolls in. Why wouldn’t you take advantage of this offer?

The Reality

The reality of situation is this; you will not make over a couple of dollars a day for your efforts. Sure, you can register at multiple sites that offer payment for your time taking surveys and maximize your income. But then you are looking at hours of work for minimum pay. Despite what the advertisement says, most surveys only pay a couple of dollars at the maximum and it has been my experience they take longer to complete than is worth the pay. Most surveys I have completed have taken at least 20 to 30 minutes, not counting the time it takes to see if you even qualify for each survey. At $2.00 a survey that would earn me around $4.00 an hour. This is pretty measly pay even if you are working from your home.

The Conclusion

So, is it something you should consider doing? That depends on what you are looking to achieve from your home business efforts. I take surveys occasionally from one site and redeem my pay in amazon.com money. I use the money to download MP3 songs. I am an old fogey, so I don’t need much in the way of an MP3 allowance. One or two songs a month works for me. Heck, when I am feeling generous I even let my teen have a couple of songs. Hope she knows how hard I had to work for it.