Financial Feng Shui

Consolidate Debt Loans

2007-12-22T12:12:00.000-08:00

Consolidate Debt Loans
Is is a debt consolidation loan right for you?

Feng Shui Tips for Wealth

2007-12-20T21:01:00.000-08:00

By Bob Kish

What is feng shui and are there any feng shui tips you can use to increase your wealth?

Feng Shui (pronounced fung shway) is a 3,000 year old Chinese process that involves adapting your surroundings or environment to help you attract more positive energy, or chi, into your life.

Feng Shui is looked upon by some as a sort of pseudo science. However, beyond the basic guiding principles is the underlying fundamental assumption that clearing away your mental and physical clutter while bringing in elements of joy, peace and harmony will help improve all aspects of your life. When looked at in that light, how can incorporating these feng shui tips not help you?

Feng Shui means the wind and the water, two of the core elements in Chinese lore. It follows the philosophy that individuals are more or less affected by the surroundings they are in. If you can improve your surroundings, you can improve various aspects of your life.

Along with the basic feng shui guidelines it is essential that you incorporate a willingness to believe that what you are doing will help you. When you decide to Feng Shui your home or office, you are declaring that you want something positive in your life, that you are looking to make a change for the better.

The main thrust of Feng Shui states that what energy you send out to the universe will come back to you. If you have positive energy and send that out, you will get positive energy back.

Creating a feng shui environment is all about creating an environment that will help you attract more positive energy. The more positive energy you attract the more positive energy you'll be inclined to project to others, helping you generate a positive feedback cycle.

In regards to wealth, there are feng shui tips you can use to attract more abundance into your life.

The idea of wealth means a lot of different things to different people. Of course, increased money flow comes instantly to mind. However, being in a state of wealth is not limited to just a financial state. Feng shui is used to increase the wealth of our non material assets as well. That includes helping to foster a calm, clear, relaxed state of mind, as well as a joy for life that is intended to be transferred to our friends, our family, our coworkers, and all we come into contact with. This is real wealth.

There are specific techniques or tips you can use to increase your wealth using feng shui methods. You can bring Feng Shui wealth into your home or office by clearing out negative energy draining elements and adding positive wealth attracting elements.

First impressions are extremely important in Feng Shui; make sure that your home is a home that is warm and inviting. Also make sure it is thoroughly cleaned, organized and clutter-free.

One of the best feng shui tips for wealth is to bring in flowing water into your home. You want the water to be clean and free flowing. This can be easily done by investing in one or more waterfall fountains. They are becoming more common and increasingly sophisticated and beautiful. Along with the beautiful appearance comes the soothing sound of the falling water when the fountain is on lending a more relaxed atmosphere to any environment.

You can also set up a fish tank to attract wealth. Place the fish tank in any room except the bedroom, bathroom, or kitchen. Some sources say that it is good to have a number of goldfish in the tank and one black colored goldfish to attract and absorb the negative energy. If one of the goldfish dies, beyond being sad for the loss, believe that the goldfish has absorbed any negative energy that has been around.

Soothing pictures of water can also be used to enhance the energy flow and attract abundance into your life. You should never have pictures of horrendous water scenes in your home. Avoid any turbulent water or storm type pictures; these can add negative energy to the surroundings as well as your thoughts!

Speaking of pictures, feel free to decorate your home with positive motivational pictures and symbols that will help reinforce the notion that you are an abundance attracting magnet and that your home is the ideal environment for maintaining a super successful attitude.

Where is you feng shui wealth corner?

Do you know which corner of your house is designated as the wealth corner according to feng shui principles?

Wealth can be found in the southeast corner of your home or office. You will need to find the southeast corner of each room. You need to include the bathroom, garage and basement if those are involved. If you have more than one floor you must locate the southeast corner of every floor. The important southeast corners of your home are the bedroom, living room, bathrooms, and kitchen. These are the places where we spend most of our time.

As a result, it might be a good idea to add some water elements in the southeast corner of your rooms. Having said that, some feng shui authorities note that certain geographical areas are better served with certain colors.

While we don't want to get bogged down in the details just know that while the feng shui wealth corner is in the southeast, that the south as a whole is often represented by the element of fire. Hence, without getting too carried away, you might want to limit the water flow to the southeast corner so as not to douse the fire element, often said to represent your own inner fire.

The use of feng shui colors is another consideration when applying feng shui principles to your home or office. For instance, red and green represent the colors of wealth. If you can, place red flowers in your home. These can be real or silk. Also, have live green plants in as many rooms as possible. Not only is this great at bringing the beauty of nature inside, but it can also increase oxygen levels in your house, contributing to your energy level. Keep bowls on your tables filled with produce and fruit; use a small bowl so that you can give the illusion of more.

Declutter your house, and bring in elements of life, light and joy. Allow your home to be a calm and peaceful place to be. The whole notion of feng shui is great as a general guideline. Keep to the spirit of feng shui and you should attract all manner of wealth into your life.

Program yourself for power with the free positive affirmations video series from Wealth Vibes, the wealth creation and abundance site. Get a great interest rate or an unsecured Prosper loan at the p2p lending site

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bob_Kish

Bad Credit Student Loans

2007-12-20T20:38:00.001-08:00

By Mark Kessler

Are you concerned that bad credit will prevent you from going to college? While it is true that finding student loans with excellent interest rates is easier if you have a sterling credit rating, bad credit student loan aid is possible. For example, the most popular US Department of Education loan, the Stafford loan, assumes that most applicants will be going to college straight from high school, and will not have a credit rating yet. Therefore, Stafford loans do not even consider the credit rating a factor when it comes to qualifications. The same holds true for Perkins loans, which are federal loans designated for the neediest students. The only reason bad credit would interfere with these kinds of student loans are if you have defaulted on a federally granted student loan in the past.

Bad credit student loans are also possible if your parents have better credit than you do. In this case, a PLUS loan, which is granted to parents and not to the student, might be the way to go. US Department of Education student loans (like Stafford and Perkins loans) assume that the parents will pay for a certain amount of their children’s schooling; PLUS loans are intended to cover the amount that the parent is obligated to contribute toward college costs.

Federal funding is a good choice for a bad credit student loan because they are specifically designed to help make college more accessible; therefore, their requirements are much looser than those of most banks and other lending companies. However, if you are unable to secure a US Department of Education student loan, you may need to turn to private loans. If you are planning to graduate in a field with a high earnings potential, like law or medicine, you might have a better chance of receiving a bad credit student loan from private lenders.

None of these choices are either/or possibilities, by the way. You may be able to put together enough money to finance college through a combination of any or all of the above types of loans. Moreover, even if your bad credit student loan is at a very high interest rate, all is not lost. Many student loans defer payment until you have finished college, giving you time to improve your credit rating. At that point, you might want to look into ways to consolidate your student loan at a better rate, lowering your payments to a more affordable level.

Mark Kessler's website offers a comprehensive free resource of college financial aid for Consolidating Student Loans, as well as... Alternative Student Loans, ACS, Bad Credit Student Loan, US Department Of Education Student Loans, including a variety student loan articles... ==>http://studentloans.seeking411.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Kessler

Financial Feng Shui

2007-12-20T19:54:00.000-08:00

By Katheryn Weber

Money is on most everyone’s mind. A couple of years ago, a man cashed in on a large load of options and became a millionaire in one day. He explained how he never realized how much he thought about money every day until he had enough that he would never have to worry about it again. Now he says he gets all kinds of work done and has had a burden lifted that he had never known how much he suffered under!

This story illustrates a common theme for many people because many people are under the yoke of money. Maybe even you worry about it, think about it, ponder over it, avoid it by ignoring the last three month’s of checking account statements and not bringing your balance up to date, or simply hope the problem (overdrawn statements, credit card balances) just go away. And even though you know it’s not the best way to handle finances, you may still do it anyway.

Fortunately, feng shui has ideas and remedies that can help create more energy (read: money) to get your finances flowing again. Try these ideas to see if you can’t stimulate more prosperity!

• What’s in your wallet?
Old scraps of paper, credit cards for accounts you closed two year ago or for accounts you never use? Toss them. And if your wallet is shot, invest in a new one. If you can, select a red wallet to really energize your finances. These are the most auspicious and excellent for generating more money.

Next, be sure your wallet is clean, neat, and organized. If it is close to the start the New Year consider buying a new wallet. Maybe you could request one as a gift every year when the holidays roll around. Make it a part of your standard gift list for holidays or birthdays.

• Clean out old financial files.
Old energy keeps new energy from coming into your life. Do you have old financial information hanging around? If you are hanging on to credit card statements from five years ago, you are probably holding on to too much old financial energy. Usually, items older than 5 years are considered safe to toss. Of course, you shouldn’t get rid of old IRS statements! Use discretion when cleaning out your files and consult your accountant if you have questions.

• Be neat and orderly.
Organize your bills and put them in one place. Make it easy and efficient to pay your bills. It’s just common sense and good feng shui. And don’t just wad money up in your wallet. Treat it with respect and put the bills in there nicely.

• Declutter.
One of the most important things you can do for your finances is simply to clean up. Throwing out junk and getting rid of things like excess paper, empty boxes, and broken items can go a long way toward energizing your home for prosperity. In particular, declutter your SE corner of your home, of your living room, and of your bedroom. This is the wealth sector and if it has piles of junk, then financial chi can't circulate.

• Enhance your prospects.
What direction is best for inviting more opportunity (read: get a better position and earn more money)? See below.

Kua NumberCareer Direction
1North
2Southwest
3East
4Southeast
5 MenNortheast
5 Women Southwest
6Northwest
7West
8South

Not sure about your Kua number? Go to The Red Lotus Letter Kua Calculator to find out what your KUA number is. Make sure you look at the directions above. If possible, make it so your desk faces the SW, is that’s your direction. Don’t put your back to it, look in this direction.

• Water, water, everywhere.
Well, not everywhere…only in certain places, really. Water equals money. No water, no money. Consider an aquarium in the North sector of your house, provided it isn’t a bathroom or bedroom. Don’t want an aquarium? Fine, put a painting or print of water, a waterfall, an ocean scene, a picture of turtles or fish….

These are all fine representations of water. Or, if the North is out your front door, paint it black. This is incredible feng shui and one of the few western-style feng shui tips that works especially well. If you paint the door black, consider painting the shutters black too!

Another good water option is to display sailing ships. Display the ships, either in paintings, prints, or figures as sailing into the front door. Those that are not in rough seas are best. Sailing ships represented commerce and were often laden with all manner of precious cargo. In the US, you can often find ship figures at craft stores such as Hobby Lobby or décor stores such as Tuesday Morning and Kirklands.

Why go to this trouble in your North sector? The north represents opportunities and career. If your career advances, most of the time, your earning power does, too. This is why you want to make sure your North sector is well cared for. Gold objects (such as brass items) in this area are also extremely auspicious. Even if your kua number says your success direction is Southwest, I would not miss an opportunity to bolster my North sector. Be sure to enhance both sectors.

• Get more green.
In the Southeast (SE) wealth sector, that is. Put a grouping of 4 plants of varying heights together in the SE corner of your home. If this is a bedroom or bathroom, put them in the SE corner of your living room. Try to select a jade plant as one of your grouping.

These plants are excellent feng shui, provided the plants are attractive, healthy, and well-cared for. If not, these are very bad luck, indeed. If you want, you can use silk plants, but real ones are best. Don’t forget to energize the SE corner of your living room with a beautiful plant. Put this plant in a basket or brass planter.

Don’t forget Dragon Power! Display a green dragon in the East and Southeast for improved income. You can usually find these online or in Chinese or Asian emporiums or markets. Wall hangings or figures of dragons are equally good.

Avoid having metal in the SE sector of your home or living room because the SE represents small wood (growing chi) and metal cuts wood. If the SE has a toilet there, put a large rock in the bathroom and tie it with a red ribbon. This will “press” down the negative energy of the toilet.

• Get financial backing.
Just like putting a mountain at your back in the form of a picture on the wall will help you get more management support from bosses or superiors, a picture of a financial institution can give you good "financial backing."

Get a picture, poster, or painting of a bank, Wall Street, or other financial institution, and hang it so that it is at your back. Even bars of gold or sheets of money would be good here. This is especially good feng shui if you own a business! Put this artwork behind your register or your desk.

• Check your financial thinking.
That’s right, how you think about money is important. There are lots of books that can help here. Some of the best for addressing the mental side of money are Suze Orman’s. Did you know couples fight more about money than they do sex or children? Money is extremely personal and people get very uncomfortable talking about it.

Do you have “poor” thinking?
Do you believe that there is never enough to go around or that you don't deserve success and financial security? You should really take a close look at your financial mindset. Consider investing in some books that address your "money mind" -- because your attitude is often the source of financial difficulty.

Maybe you just need more
Many times people think that to gain more money they have to continue to find ways to cut expenses, rather than find new sources of income. Sometimes that means finding a new job, asking for a raise, getting a rental property, or taking a small part time job to bring in more money. Consider if there is something you can do to earn more rather than cut out more from your budget.

Kathryn Weber is the publisher of the Red Lotus Letter feng shui e-zine and is dedicated to helping her readers develop successful, prosperous, and supportive environments with feng shui. To subscribe, logon to www.redlotusletter.com and receive this special report Fr*ee "16 Feng Shui Secrets for Greater Prosperity."

kweber@redlotusconsulting.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathryn_Weber

How to Get Out of Debt

2007-12-15T13:29:00.000-08:00

Getting Out of Debt
Publication from Virginia Tech

How to Get Out of Debt
Sage advice from the Get Rich Slowly blog.

How to Get Out of Credit Card Debt

Top 5 Personal Finance Tips for 2007 Year End
Harris Private Bank tells us to think ahead to the end
of 2008!

When Debt Consolidation Becomes a Problem
The Thrifty Scot has loads of information on personal
finance and debt consolidation.

You Can Get Out of Debt
About.com tells you not to pay down your minimum balance.

Consumerism got you down?

2006-10-29T18:41:00.000-08:00

Here is a FFS tip: buy water filters for you home!

The Bottled Water Lie

Extreme Advertising-Soc Philo 101Journal

2006-10-19T13:25:00.000-07:00

(Here is a quick intro to this entry. Currently I am taking an ethics class put on by a frugal instructor who's web page you can find at the right. I thought some of the content would fit nicely in the Financial Feng Shui sort of way and it is a good way for my instructor and others to easily see what I am up to during the class.)

There is quite a bit of talk about children and ethics in the Soc. Philo this week.

Simple everyday things. Should a mother receiving parental support be entitled to purchase brand name clothes?

Should one feel guilty for saying no to babysitting?

Other topics are ethics in the tabacco industry, and obesity issues.

What people don't realize is a major portion of good and bad ethics come from advertising.

My comments are that the lower and middle classes now have access to what they see as upper class trends.

The American dream of owning a home is still out of reach for many, but for others "no money down" will instantly raise you to another class level.

Is paying for day care a symbol of class? How about manicures and vacations? Clothing certainly is as well as transportation.

If a man owns a sports car he is viewed as sucessful. Is said man still successful if rents a studio apartment but drives a brand new Mercedes? It is the perception of class on borrowed money.

A low cost Gucci handbag can be purchased for around 300 dollars. Even someone on a lesser income could find a way to pay up to ratchet up the way others perceive them. Also, are knock off bags ethical or not?

Alot of adverts you see in the US are actually illegal. Yes illegal for ethical reasons. There are some strict guidelines for commercial advertising but not anyone to really enforce it. Most folks are unaware that they have any say in how products are advertised. They are the ones who are able to enforce what we see on television.

Think Joe Camel. His campain was pulled for using a cartoon character to sell cigarettes. Does a talking gecko, or catepillar have the same impact on where people bank or buy insurance? Is the cute Taco Bell chihuahua partly responsible for an obesity epidemic?

From what I have read, in the UK there are strict laws in advertising when it comes to cigarettes. This makes it tough for advertisers who need to be wildly creative in order get their brand noticed.

For instance you are not allowed to actually show the cigarettes themselves or a lifestyle which is associated with it. As in the United States you may show a group of smiling people, usually perceived as upper-middle class, enjoying life claiming to be smokers in the first place.

Right now there groups who condem advertisers for having toy and junk food commercials on at certain times of the day. They are trying to restrict commercial from being aired when the most vunerable of viewers, children under 10, are most likely to be tuning in.

A more recent look at ethics in American television was the latest of the Survivor: Cook Islands series where four different ethnic groups were forced to compete against each other.

The popular TV series Desperate Housewives has come under fire by religious groups because it does not promote family values. Rather the show mimics what the world is really like rather than how some would like it to be or how certain groups think life should be lived out.

My Name is Earl is another show in which the character goes back to undo and make up for all his unethical decisions that he has made in the past. Trying to make past due deposits into the bank of Karma so to speak.

Reality shows like Wife Swap, Supernanny, Nanny 911, and dating reality shows, test the ethics and integrity of society. It also reflects what some see as ethical, unethical or plain not knowing any better. Some of us do know better but unless someone tells us point blank we are flat out wrong, we will continue to do if it serves our purposes or we will disengage when we realize our wrong doing.

The one show that seems to be the most innocent but the most advert laden is Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Families are nominated to have an brand new home built for them based on circumstances beyond their control or how giving they are to others in their community.

They get free furniture, free cars, free building materials, all constructed and put in place by volunteers (free labor for the shows producers) and the advertising companies get Extreme Exposure of their products, with yes, a cut in the advertising budget.

It is cheaper for Dodge to look like the do-gooder and give a family in need a truck than it is to pay for three minutes of advertising on prime time.

You do have a say what as to what you see and hear on television and radio. You may write to the broadcast agency and voice your concerns or start a group of individuals who feel the same way about the issues.

If you want to be extreme about it you can also write to the stations, and advertisers and let them know why you wont be purchasing their products any longer.

Here are some articles I found on the topics.

Junk food ads to be banned from kids' TV

Swedish Consumer Ombudsman on TV advertising to children

American Cigarettes with a European feel-- an non-truth in advertising.
Parliment Cigarettes, Wikipedia

Cuban Cigars. You may not be able to purchase pre-packaged Cuban cigars in the US. But savvy businessmen buy Cuban tobacco products and hand roll them here in the US.
Cuban Trade Embargo

The 30 Minute Rule

2006-08-15T14:32:00.000-07:00

by Jordan Pearce

Time is not the enemy. Routine is.

More than a rule maker I'm a rule breaker. Is it breaking a rule to be different? Or is it conforming to what has always been?

If you read The 20 Minute Rule and benefited, you'll love: The 30 Minute Rule.

The 20 Minute Rule gets you over the humps you would rather avoid. By setting up a routine and to-do-list, you know best how to use 20 minutes here and there.

The 30 Minute Rule is different and is excellent for hardcore procrastinators.

Here is my story.

To all the cubicle jockey's in the world: how you do it?

Myself I've always avoided an office job at all costs. The irony was I frequently caroused on line and that kept me chained to the computer for half the day!

It gets worse. Computer addiction is a more serious problem than most want to believe. Searching and browsing give us the entertainment and purpose we crave and the Internet is endless.

You start to notice the little things piling up here and there. The laundry, dishes, your losing points with family and friends. The hours slip by and your exhausted from being on line.

When I had hit rock-really-close-to-the-bottom with my procrastination...

I invented The 30 Minute Rule.

The 30 Minute Rule helps to:

o Break up your routine
o Forces you to use your time more wisely
o Eliminates the monotony that ties us up in a single task
o Keeps up busy or entertained and creates the purpose that we humans crave

This works very well for boob-tube addicts, over-eaters, sofa-philosophers, space cadets, or plain over-consumers of time who like to gamble away precious moments.

Back to my story and then I will tell you how The 30 Minute Rule works and how to combine it with The 20 Minute Rule.

Forever I had been an active person and one day I got sick. Not sick-sick, but enough to shut me down for ten days.

Ten whole days of lying around!

Sounds like a vacation doesn't it? Well it wasn't.

My escape of pretending to be a busy body was gone so I needed something to replace it.

I got a lot of reading out of the way but the sad part was I did quite a bit of Internet browsing.

A good portion of the free world is on line right now. This was my turning point because I had realized that after all those years I was gaining momentum on the endless slip-n-slide of Internet addiction.

How did I find this out? Going from 60 to zero in a matter of weeks the back pain crept in and in turn I was not able to work. I surfed some more. The pain was so bad I had to create The 30 Minute Rule!

I'm a whiner when it comes to annoying constant pain. Who isn't? Okay some of you aren't but you know how it affects your quality of life.

With my pen in hand instead of my laptop, I walked away from the imaginary shackles at my desk and--

Did something different.

Some of you are gasping, others are rolling their eyes.

Don't laugh, some of us didn't realize change is good it until two seconds ago!

We are in such a rush-rush world that we don't get much done anymore and I am happy to say I eliminated my computer problem with The 30 Minute Rule.

If you agree with me keep reading. We don't stop to realize we need to take a break sometimes and do something different. We perpetuate escape to bring meaning to our lives.

What is The 30 Minute Rule?

It is a way to get your life back on track. If you can do it for a day, you'll be glad you did. If you can do it for a week, you'll be hooked. It's okay to be obsessed, make sure it's over something worthwhile that will progress you. When that doesn't work anymore you know what to do!

How does The 30 Minute Rule work?

Let's say you are like me: self-employed part-time with a family. You want to work, make your home and take care of your children, while engaging with other people in your life and I almost forgot, make time for yourself.

You can make sacrifices but when we make too many that is when the trouble begins.

What to do:

-Read The 20 Minute Rule and have your routine made out and make up a to-do-list and your priority should be: one thing at a time.

-For the day let's say you need to write and submit a work item on the computer, exercise, balance your check book and pay some bills. It's laundry day and you need to do dishes and take a nap all while you are entertaining a three-year-old.

Now you know my world!

Would you believe this can all be done in 3.5 hours or less? You don't have to be tough on yourself either. It's about mindset. Relax, ready and go:

-Get your laundry out of the way.
--while your clothes are in wash cycle (20 mins.)
---balance your check book and pay some bills (10 mins.)

Time: 30 mins

If you are like me and never do banking on laundry day (refer to your schedule) I use that time to occupy the little one. Next...

-Throw clothes in the dryer (30 mins.)
--While the clothes are drying wash the dishes (20 mins.)
---Give the kitchen a quick wipe down if needed (10 mins.)

Here is where we change things up. The trick is to go from sedentary to active.

If you are a writer this will not interrupt your flow. In fact it will help you be more clear and creative with your ideas.

The other rule is you cannot stay in the same spot for an hour. Example: computer work for 30 minutes, then read on line for another 30.

Back to the program!

-Sit down and write either at the computer or the old fashioned way and don't forget to set your timer.

Time: 30 minutes

When the timer goes off finish up and then get up. You can only fudge 5 minutes and that is if you can wrap up your task in that time.

-Fold laundry (20 mins.)
--The little one is helping so we play for 10.

Time: 30 minutes

-Go back to the computer and edit, post or send via the web 30 minutes are up, you get up!

-Exercise. No excuses, you don't need a gym. You can work your upper body with free weights or do air squats and have a gym free workout. (20 minutes)
--Put clothes away. (10 mins.)

If you are entertaining children you know that laundry can be fun time. A 30 minute video is harmless as needed. No more than twice a day!

Time: 30 minutes

-Take a nap. (30 mins.)

Your three and a half hours are up and quite a bit has been accomplished. Did you worry that you would forget or not have time to finish something? I doubt it. It was all planned out. Did you worry at all? That is an added benefit of this process. You are in a mode that there is no time to worry and you are not rushed. There is a good balance between rest and activity.

The most important step:

Reward yourself with some unmonitored free time. Heck you may like the system so much you will still use it even when you don't have to!

Summary:

o Make an active effort to put procrastination behind you.
o Make a statement that you want to change.
o Refer to The 20 Minute Rule and make your routine and make a to-do-list, and do one thing at a time.
o Set a timer for each 30 minute task.
o You may only do something for 35 minutes if you can complete it in those extra five minutes.
o You must alternate from sedentary to active and back again. You don't have to be rigid but know that doing something active before bed time may interfere with sleep.
o You must get up from your immediate area and move to another part of the house.
Example: Do not nap on the couch and then enjoy an a half hour of television or do not spend time working on the computer and then a half an hour reading or surfing on the Internet.
o If you run out of things to do, repeat tasks or make up new ones. It never hurts to exercise twice a day (in fact you should) or to clean a portion of a closet, take another nap or a second walk. Start another article or read another book.
o Give yourself a rest.
o Reward yourself!

Serious Blog Traffic: Turn Your Blog Into a Cult

2006-08-14T01:02:00.000-07:00

By Jordan Pearce

Don't rely on the same old methods of marketing your blog like pings, link swaps, RSS feeds and site submissions.

You have to hit the pavement just like you would in the off line world. So treat your blog the same way.

Try some of these unconventional ways to shout from the cyber rooftops that you don't merely exist, but you mean business!

Advertise
Whether you pay for it or not that is up to you. The first thing you want to do is get a domain name for your blog. I write dating articles and the name of my blog is different but on topic with my domain name.

Create a compelling domain name and forward it to your blog address. Remember, the more creative and shorter your domain name the better.

You would be surprised how many people who ponder the web hit a snag in their surfing and your domain they saw in a newspaper or other random thing they read that day will pop into their head.

Pop. That's what you want. Shoot for the pop!

Getting back to topic—advertise. Make business cards. No lie. Nonchalantly when a discussion turns to your blog matter don't be afraid to be a cheese ball and offer up a business card.

The guerrilla tactic would to be sneaking your card into weekly free publications, library books and tucking them into the frames of advertisements on the inside of bathroom stalls.

Do not underestimate the power of underground marketing. People actually pay to advertise in public restrooms!

Predictable Content That is On Topic
You can mix it up but keep with your blog genre at all times.

The best way to do this is to have a different focus every day. Sounds rather sporadic doesn't it?

Think of it like this: If you create a regimen your content will come so much easier to you and your audience will have something to look forward to and drive them to your site.

What will you write about on Mondays? In fact you don't have to write about anything, you can post pictures or other peoples articles that are relevant to your topic.

Digg.com has a special way to add content to your websites called “digg this story”. All you do register with the site and from there you can choose article that will automatically post to your blog or website.

Youtube.com is a good way to keep people interested. Think of Fridays as a movie night. Every Friday you post a video that is part of your blogs subject.

Ezinearticles.com allows use of their articles at no cost. You just have to give proper credit where credit is due, and that is to the author. Read their terms of service for publishers. Another great benefit to this, if you post a link to a popular subject it's possible you will get direct traffic to your blog from search engines.

Many times I have researched a subject and either the ezine article pops up or a website or blog containing the article. Contact some of the authors and see if they will do a link swap with you.

Creating predictability also helps to get your readers coming back for more, especially on certain days of the week.

Becoming an affiliate to programs that have to do with your blogs subject also make great posts. You can introduce or review a new ebook each week that you are an affiliate for and then ad your sales URL to your LINKS or BOOKSTORE portion of your blog.

Get rid of the links that don't create any revenue and be on the lookout for ones that you think might in the future.

Trust me. Entertaining or useful content on a schedule can create the cult like status you want for your blog.

Recycle
Here's a way to cheat. You don't short change anyone mind you. If you have an extensive blog, reuse some of your past articles! Especially if they are a series like How to Train Your Dog in Six Easy Steps: Step One.

Larger websites do this all the time.

How many times have you read the same articles on MSN on how millionaires all have the same traits or "The Worst Traits of the Worst Daters in the World"? It's wok to refresh someones memory if they go to your blog often, don't over do it.

One thing you must do to see which articles to recycle is to have a hit counter...which brings us to the next step...

Have a Hit Counter
The larger websites which I mention two seconds ago in step four of this article keep track of popular articles and re use them every now and then.

Why not? The saying is, if it works use it! Again and again and again until someone tells you not to anymore. Seriously. Make sure there is a significant time frame before you use the same article twice, say six months.

If you write about certain topics say around Christmas, why not use a popular revised article from last year. Its already written and all you have to do is update it. Pass the spiked eggnog because you just saved a lot of writing time AND posted current and helpful information to your readers.

Get a hit counter and if you are really serious and look at your topics for a particular day and see how many hits there are. Find out what articles are working and which ones are not.

One word: Craigslist
I never really could figure out if Craigslist was one word or two!

Number one of this article is advertise. What better way to advertise than to use a good old fashioned bulletin board.

In the real world when people are running errands, a certain type of person always checks the bulletin board a their local grocery store, coffee shop or sometimes at a privately owned restaurant or pub.

Who looks at bulletin boards? People looking to purchase information, a product or service and home based business owners wanting to know what the competition is up to.

Why should on line be any different? You want other bloggers who scope out the competition to visit your blog and those who scope often.

There are several ways you can achieve this and still stay within terms of Craigslist TOU or “Terms of Service”:

o Respond to a post

Your email should include two things. Your targeted email you@yourdomain.com or have link to your blog in the signature. Yes. People will naturally be curious and want to know what Dave does at dave@blogsthatmakeabazillion.com.

The best place to drum up subjects is in the Rant and Raves section.

Rant and Raves is a virtual showcase of opinions.

People ramble and post their thoughts on just about everything from politics, to dog parks, to religion to a favorite book they finished reading to just being happy about someone holding a door open for them when they were having a crummy day. Their opinion is important to them and guess what, if you either invite them to your blog or they seek it out on their own, they will more than likely post comments. That equals feedback for you and more content for your readers.

o Post in the small Biz Ads or Lessons category

Remember I told you I wrote dating articles? I posted in the lessons section “Learn How to Date” and got about 50 hits in a four hour period, four phone calls in the next few days begging me to teach them how to date, and about 15 emails in the next week wanting to know more. Who do you think replied with either a link to their blog or answered their question with a targeted email address.

Mind you I did not post a link because outside links are prohibited on Craigslist. You have the option to anonymize your email or not. Do not make it anonymous! A simple info@bloggityblog.com will do.

Who in their right mind would not look at bloggityblog.com?!

Watch the traffic come pouring in.

One last comment on Craigslist classifieds: Post in one city per week! That is all they allow. Posters take advantage of over posting or "top posting" which in reality is another form of SPAM. Don't be one of these annoying posters and clutter up cyberland.

If you write an effective ad in the right city you will get plenty of response without coming across as ameaturish.

o Use the forums and use them often

When you sign up for a handle, in which you will choose one that is the same subject matter of your blog and the forum you are in, you have the option to post a URL in your profile.

Craigslisters hate spam. It leaves a very bad taste in their mouths and they will do all they can to flag you and chase you away.

It is very hard to get banned in the forums so ignoring nay sayers while remaining cordial and participating in discussions is the way to go. It is not SPAM if you include a URL of your choice to be in your profile. That is putting a face to a name.

Chat Rooms
When you build rapport with people in your life, they are more willing to buy into the ideas you have to sell them.

Chat rooms work the same way. You are making Internet friends and those Internet friends will tell others about your site if they,

a) find the content an enrichment to their lives and

b) trust where the content is coming from.

How many times do you catch yourself telling someone at the office or over coffee that you “know this person” who told you about a certain blah, blah blah and you are really talking about a person you chatted with on line? You don't know them, but your on line persona does.

Here is the point of this article:

You don't have to have every single person in cyber world look at your blog all at once, although that would be nice. You want a handful of targeted prospects to go to your site on the days that interest them the most on a regular basis.

I'm going to give you my unsolicited opinion on two of the blogs that I like and participated on and tell you what they could do to get me to visit more often:

Cooking for Engineers and Mighty Optical Illusions are two totally different subject matters and both have excellent information. Now, if they had a predictable weekly topic I would probably visit more often.

-CFE has recipe for the day, but is too random for me. Now if it had weekly BBQ tips and recipes in the summer or maybe an engineered weekly meal planner year round I would have a reason to return. For now, I visit when I remember.

-MOI has more of a challenge but I do recall a poll or two they conducted. Now if they had a weekly poll that would be something.

The two things these sites do have going for them is regular content that is interesting. When do I ever look up optical illusions? Never. When do I look at cooking blogs? Never. But! I look at these two blogs. Why is that?

Say I haven't looked at their site for a month. If they have regular articles that means that I am going to look at the last three posts that they wrote on the previous Thursdays which happens to be my favorite day to read them.

Take this for example, if it is Wednesday, and I know a certain blog posts on a Monday, I will surely go to the blog to see what they had to say two days ago.

Knowing that there is new content is the security you need to provide to your readers.

See how this works? It's like television and the newspaper. Only cooler!

Summary:

o Advertise
o Predictable content that is on topic
o Recycle your articles
o Have a hit counter
o Use Craigslist
o Participate in chat rooms

Feng Shui and Community Service Part l

2006-03-28T22:43:00.000-08:00

Feng Shui or not, giving back to your community is always rewarding.

Surprisingly I have been inspired by some kind souls in the media who had severe disadvantages in life and were still able to give.

What I gained most from their stories is hope. You realize that there really are no excuses not to give.

Those who were unable still prayed for the day that they could help those who needed it most.

Eventually their prayers were answered and when they were back on there feet they were back in action...giving.

How can you correlate Feng Shui and being involved with community service?

There are three ways to give:

New or used items, time and cash.

When you give your items to those in need you do a number of things:

-you un-clutter your home of items that are no longer of use to your household
-your usable items are given or sold to those in need for free or at a reasonable price
-you recycle
-you bring quality of life to someone including your own

Talk about quadrupedal Qi points! That is putting your used items to good use!

Think about what giving your time does:

-gives hope to others and shows that they are not alone and that the community does care
-you network with others who like to give their time too--who knows either one of you may be of good use to other causes you know about
-eases the expense of having to hire man power, money that could be put to better use to serve
-you may gain a new skill or reference that you can put to good use later i.e.; organizational and leadership skills or learning a new trade
-gives you a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction
-inspires others to volunteer
-you increase the quality of life for someone as well as your own

Your positive energy goes out to others in order for them to create positive energy. In turn they can pass it on!

When you donate money:

-you take care of some of the cost for paper products either to get the word out or for collecting more cash donations. Some good examples are: mailing items like envelopes, paper, postage and printer ink and other office supplies
-not everyone can volunteer all the time. cash donations also go to those who make a living organizing and managing offices specifically for serving the community
-goes strait to the programs and people in need for supplies, food, shelter
-you boost someones quality of life and your own

When you give prosperity you receive prosperity maybe not in the form of money but in other ways to make you feel wealthy. Wealthy in energy. Wealthy in spirit and you make others feel the same way too.

Just Say No To Budgets

2004-09-26T01:19:00.000-07:00

Who says you have to budget? Fogettaboudit.

I don't like the term spending budget either, because if you have an amout to spend, buy x amount of items left over, you will spend not save the rest of the s-p-e-n-d-i-n-g-b-u-d-g-e-t.

Don't even try to conform to a budget. Don't bring up that nasty word again.

Here is what you do. Trust me, I was kicking myself when I finally learned this simple trick.

Monthy Planning

Add up all your expenses for the month:
example:

Rent/Mortgage $1000
Car Payment 200
Car Insurance 100
Telephone 20
Mobile Phone 100
Utilities 40

Total $1460.

1460 / 4 = $365 per week.

Yep. That's it. All you need is 365 dollars a week to cover your basic expenses. If you want to take it a step further, get a seperate account that you only use for your monthly expenses and write checks or may online bill payments to your debtors.

It's just way too easy! Do you feel silly now?

You can also add in food and fuel cost.

Make a shopping list before you go. Average it out and multiply it by 4. Blammo, you have a grocery spending plan. Same thing with fuel.

What I also find is a good idea is to either pay bills weekly or every other week. You make all your payments on the 5th and the 15th or you pay your bills every Tuesday. That way you always know what you have to put aside by your 'pay day' of the week.

Weird how they call payday payday. Shouldn't it be called get-paid-day?

Put It In Writing

2004-09-23T13:59:00.000-07:00

Putting it in writing is something I did steal from many who write about money.

One thing I have not seen is the "Financial Money Plan", unlike a budget, it gives you a clear direction on how, when and where the money will come from.

Put It In Writing
You need a dollar figure amount and a time that you think that financial plan will come about.

It's not enough to say "I want lots of money".

Do you want $100 in the next hour? Or do you want a million in the bank by age 45. Shoot higher if needed.

So what is your dollar figure?

Is it a dollar figure at all? Maybe it's a car, or new turntables.

Figure it out. Put it in writing.

Work Your Money Plan
The financial money plan is the second part of putting it in writing.

It is just like a business plan, for those of you who are mystified by a business plan, you are going to learn right now.

There are several ways to write a business plan, and the way I'm going to show you has more personality than it's more technical counterpart.

Do all the details on this one, do a rough draft and make it official as possible. You are the CFO of you, and his is a contract that you have with yourself, and the nice part is, you can change it when you see fit. When you have all the details, type it all out so it is an official document.

-Your name
-Your title
Homemaker, car salesman, multi-millionaire

-What your title officially does
Everything under the sun!

Write down what you do as a financial analyst, as a single mom, or what you occupation entails. This is a way to look at what you are doing and testing to see if its really what you want to do or if it is working at all.

-What is your goal?
Was your plan to get out of debt? Or to purchase a new washer and dryer for the house? Did you want to send the kids to grandma while you backpack in Europe, or are they going with?
Start with your plan destination.

-What is your money making plan?
Are you working? If you do work, list your salary and any deductions like taxes and 401k contributions and write down what you have left.

If your not working, but still want to make money, going back to your plan, now is the time to decide what you will do to make money.

This goes for anyone. If you get stuck on this part, make a list of all the skills you have. Can you cut hair? Mow lawns? Do accounting? Are you an attorney on family leave? Did you have a small business you've been meaning to start? Make your list.

Make a list of all the people that owe you money or any tax returns or rebate checks you will receive. You need to incorporate what you have coming to you.

This is the why and how of your plan.

-When does this all need to be done?
Here is your deadline.

Give yourself a reasonable amount of time or realistic amount of money you will have at a certain date.

Type this up and sign it.

This plan can change as often as you like, as our dreams and daily lift shift, you have to learn to be flexible.

If you can, maybe make it a monthly deal to look over your Money Plan and see if it is still in perspective or if you need to start all over again because something in your income has changed. Kids, lost your job, a fire, you win the lottery or get an inheritance.

Not all money issues are bad. Not having your finances in order can work against you in many ways.

Plan Your Work, and Work Your Plan

2004-09-23T01:23:00.000-07:00

How come I didn't say you needed a goal?

Goals are so limited. You say "My goal is to be a millionaire!"

Now just think if you would have made plans to be a billionaire.

Do you get it now?

Anyone can acheive Financial Feng Shui. They do not teach this in school, how did I learn? By listening and then creating it.

There is no one cure all financial guru, there are many. If there were an absolute on the matter, all you would have to do is play a Suze Orman book-on-tape in your sleep and you'd wake up knowing all the answers.

Before you get her books on tape, start here. Let me help.

I was tired of not knowing. So I learned. Now I know.

I'm not rich, but secure. There are more people out there more secure, but some that are less than I. There are also those who make more money, but are less secure than those with half their salary.

That is something to think about.

Get Planning

Today, right now in fact, not tomorrow, not in twenty minutes, at this moment...you need to think about what it is you want.

The details fall into place later.

Don't let anything hold you back from what it is that you want out of life. Most fears about money have to do with: taxes, education level, debt amount or what others think about you, obsession over your weight, your girlfriend seeing your brother. Whatever. Don't get sidetracked. Those are details that you will deal with at another time.

Live in the moment. This Moment.

What do you want for yourself? Is what you want financial at all?

A house for your family? An education? To help others in your community or abroad? A multi-million dollar corporation? A mom-and-pop business and a house with a white picket fence? To travel the world or to not have an occupation at all.

Trust me, if you don't have your finances under control, you will never get around to the endeavors you want to engage in.

You have to decide, you and only you.

If you are married, you need to separate your goals individually between family and your own personal dreams. Think about what you want, then ask your loving husband or wife to do the same. Purge your ideas. What are you two working for? Find out.

It can be done.

Plan your work, and work your plan.

What is it that you really want?