Scratching out a living

Why most people can't make a living by just blogging

2009-07-14T11:56:00.000-07:00

The great majority of of people that start blogging for money usually give up long before they are likely to receive the fruits of their writing. My personal estimate is that most bloggers that start off with great enthusiasm have their drive wind down after 3-6 months. After about 6 months I notice that bloggers that use to write several blog posts a day now only write 1 or less blog post a day.

Foreclosures in big cities

2009-07-11T09:40:00.000-07:00

It certainly looks like the foreclosure situation in the USA is continuing it's downward spiral. Some people that have money are snapping up some great bargains in areas of the country were they believe are at or near the bottom of the real estate market. Florida in one state that is claiming to be at the bottom right now. Oregon on the other hand is worried that it has not found their bottom

What do you need to survive today?

2009-07-08T13:04:00.000-07:00

Take a good hard look at your weekly expenses and figure out how much you need just to get by. If you already make that amount then you can skip this post and read another one. If you are not making enough to get by then how much more each day do you need to make?Our family has a fixed monthly income and we just barely get by on it. On the rare occasion we might go in the red. It is by no means

Lessons learned about frugal living

2009-07-08T12:44:00.000-07:00

If I had practiced my purchasing habits that I now have just 3 years ago I would have paid off all of my medical bills, a store credit card and had a substantial savings account. Even when I was earning a low wage I could have done all of that. So now I kick myself for not living more frugally way back then. If I go back even 10 years when our family's income was over $60K a year I now wonder

Crazy and money making inventions

2009-06-30T19:34:00.000-07:00

I think that almost everyone wants to be the inventor of the next "pet rock" and become rich and famous. The real fact is that the human race has new inventions everyday. Some are mundane, some lifesaving and others just plain useless and crazy.We may laugh at the crazy inventions like chia pets, the clapper and the George Foreman grill but they have made millions for their promoters. Some of the

Starting at the bottom as a paid blogger

2009-06-28T23:02:00.000-07:00

When you start blogging for money you join one of the dozen getting paid for blogging companies there are online. I won't bother mentioning those company names because many of them last only a year or 2 then go under only to be replaced by another one.Often those smaller companies cater to low budget advertisers that want bloggers to write about gambling, best weight loss supplements, payday

Saving energy

2009-06-28T22:39:00.000-07:00

Struggling to pay even the monthly electric bill can be an ordeal when money is tight. If you can afford to change your incandescent light bulbs to the more energy efficient florescent bulbs you will notice a energy savings right away on your electric bill. We noticed a savings of $30 a month after switching just 8 bulbs in the house. The bulbs were switched from 75 watts to 13 watts.So if you

Don't get something you can't maintain

2009-06-28T10:54:00.000-07:00

Remember when you were a kid and wanted a puppy but your parents said you were too young to take care of it? That same reason should apply to adults who purchase something they can't maintain either from lack of funds or just plain ignorance. Take for example a house, everyone wants to own their own home and new buyers are often convinced by sellers and lenders that the monthly mortgage payment

Health insurance companies that get my goat

2009-06-26T18:47:00.001-07:00

If you really want to push my buttons then just let me get a call from a doctor's office about an unpaid bill. We have health insurance that covers the bill but either the medical provider either billed it incorrectly or the insurance company claims the bill as "not covered". It just makes me mad enough to want to throw a piece of furniture through a wall.I am sure that you have had the same

Taking a time out

2009-06-26T11:52:00.000-07:00

If you have your own business or just simply sell stuff on eBay, you should know when to take a time out from your work. Now I am not talking about taking a few hours off to use the pool floats lounges, no I am talking about taking a few days or a week off.Taking time off is vital to your success. I have spent many late night hours just working on blogging and networking my blog to make it a

Typing your way to a better job?

2009-06-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

Increasing your typing speed will increase your chances of a better job - or will it? Today's admin careers require much more than just being a typist. Nowadays most positions require a working knowledge of office software programs as well as fundamental computer filing systems. Just a pretty face behind the front desk with a nice phone voice will no longer get the job.If you do type, increase

Saving for that rainy day

2009-06-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

Whether we like it or not, bad things happen in life. Being financially prepared for those times is what is going to make the difference between surviving the worse or becoming it's victim. The best thing you can do is start up a savings account that you regularly contribute to every week. Even if it is just $10 a week that means you'll have $520 at the end of the year that you would not have if

Internet and computer fun

2009-06-16T19:49:00.000-07:00

As you know I signed up on Twitter just over 48 hours ago. That place is so crazy with people trying to sell you something, collecting "followers" and just regular folks trying to figure why they started to write tweets to begin with. So far I seem to be gathering followers at an alarming rate of almost 20 an hour. I have no clue why. It might be that I don't try and sell anybody anything.The

I just joined Twitter

2009-06-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

I know I am behind the rest of the crowd in joining Twitter but I finally did it. I have even added a widget to the side bar of this blog. It is at the top of the blog side bar right now, but I might change it in the future. Come on over to Twitter and follow me. Since I am always on eBay either selling something or looking for something I always run into some great bargains. I thought that

How to comment on a blog and get your comment published

2009-06-14T08:16:00.000-07:00

Commenting on blogs is one very good way to increase your backlinks to your own blog or website. Unfortunately too many people don't know how to comment correctly or fail to say something meaningful to the blog post which in turn causes their comment not to be published at all. I know that many blog owners put their comments to be approved automatically but most of those blogs are not that

Are people really cutting back on their expenses?

2009-06-12T09:12:00.000-07:00

Depending on who you talk to not everyone is cutting back on expenses. Those that have a stable income and have always been able to stash money away for a rainy day are still buying and spending the same way they always did. Those that are facing unemployment or went from a 2 income household down to 1 are defiantly cutting back. Young, single and employed seem to going on with what the rest of

Laptop problems

2009-06-10T23:00:00.000-07:00

I am currently going through a type of computer withdrawals. My own laptop had to be sent out to be repaired. Thank goodness it is under warranty and I had the forethought of backing up all my vital files before the computer decided not to turn on last week. I am now using a much older laptop that I up graded slightly last month by adding notebook computer memory but it is using the old Windows

A warning for GE Money Bank customers

2009-06-08T09:06:00.000-07:00

If you have a credit card serviced by GE Money Bank here is a heads up for you. I have a small store credit card that is serviced by GE Money Bank and this happened to me.My credit card due date is the 30th of each month. I usually pay at least 5 days before the due date and online at that. I was running a little late and went online 3 DAYS before the due date and paid liked I always do. For some

10,000 visitors in 5 days

2009-06-05T09:02:00.000-07:00

Yes you read that title correctly, this blog has had 10,000 since the beginning of June. Most of them came from Stumble but a growing percentage is coming from searches. It is a sign of the times that being frugal and "Scratching out a Living" is becoming popular. The blog is getting lots of hits on searches for "how-to's" on many subjects. The blog post about the swine flu is also getting mega

I hate computers

2009-06-03T18:45:00.000-07:00

That is a strange statement to make from someone who makes a good part time income from using one. It is because the last 2 laptops I have had only lasted 3 years or less before they had some major problems. I am typing this blog post out on an older laptop (born in the year 2000) that my husband use to have. We keep it as a back-up unit. Struggling with Windows ME and having to find a compatible

Don't remodel - declutter instead

2009-06-02T07:57:00.000-07:00

I have a contractor friend that told me once that he gets lots of requests for additions to homes for storage areas. He then goes to do the estimate for the job and finds the homeowner has plenty of room in the home but it is filled with junk. He actually told one home owner that he could add an extra room just for storage for $20K or the homeowner could rent a dumpster for $100 and accomplish

A twist on words - naturally

2009-05-31T09:42:00.000-07:00

Do you ever get sick and tired of advertisers trying to hawk something old with new lingo? Take for example "natural colon cleanse", the only "natural" way I know of to cleanse a colon (give you diarrhea) is prunes. In fact I really dislike the use of the word "natural" as an advertising ploy. They make it sound that something natural is good for you when in fact it is not. Arsenic is natural but

When will website owners ever learn?

2009-05-28T08:17:00.000-07:00

Proper SEO (search engine optimization) techniques are not known by website owners and they should be. As you know I have a blog known as The Playful Pup and it is all about dogs. I get this comment the other day on it about "we have linked to your site and require a reciprocal link back" type of comment. So I checked out the website and found out it was a page of a real estate website in New

Another way to save money

2009-05-27T10:17:00.000-07:00

Cutting back is never easy, but when you have to you have to. Here is a short video on how to cut back your grocery bill without pain.

Is the economy getting better?

2009-05-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

I have a finger on our local economy and some business owners are reporting an increase in business. One business owner deals with heavy industrial equipment such as backhoes and cement trucks. He buys and sells them. He is reporting a slight increase in sales this month.Another sector is fast food restaurants. Not only have they seen a local increase in business but 2 more are breaking ground