January was another great month for income.  My acquisition of Investorz Blog in December helped boost my online income.  If it continues to earn at the same rate I should have the blog purchase paid off in a few months. My sources of income are not too diversified since almost all of my income is online income.  However, my online income comes from several sites and from several different sources so the online income itself is quite diversified. I do plan on selling off some stuff this month but it won’t add much to my overall income.

I’m still not making much progress on my goals. My current weight is 223 pounds which is not much below where I started the year. I had a couple of productive days today. I’m still making decent money online despite not putting much effort into it.

To help me lose weight I’m making a goal of setting a new PR for the 5k. My current PR of 23:59 was set about 15 years and 45 pounds ago. Reaching that again will take a lot of work but I think it is possible. First, I need to be able to run 5k without stopping. I made it 2.4 miles this morning and think I will be up to running the full 5k by the end of the week.

Don’t forget that I’m having a giveaway for my five year blogoversary.

Check out these other giveaways too.

Expenses were lower in January than in December but still not quite as low as I would like. Our health expenses were high because I paid for a six-month health insurance policy upfront and we joined a fitness center.  The other area we can improve on is food.  We didn’t eat out too much but we spent over $300 in groceries.  About $60 was spent on a package of all natural meat.  It is good meat but I’m not sure if it is within our budget.  We are planning out our grocery purchases in advance this month which I hope will save us some money. It might even save us enough to continue to buy all natural meat.  Our other expenses will likely be about the same this month as before.

“Benjamin Franklin has been confined to a private apartment in the Plantation of the Unrepentant for the past two-plus centuries, and has recently received notice that his petition for final processing has at last been approved. In the company of two Intermediaries, Ben appears before a panel of examiners in the Celestial Court of Petitions to make his case. His examiners are three former arch-adversaries: John Adams, Alexander Wedderburn, and Reverend William Smith.

By the end of Ben’s examination, in which the sins of the Pater are brought devastatingly to light, Ben fully expects to be cast into the abyss. Instead, he’s invited to bear witness to what has become of America in the two-plus centuries of his absence. Ben’s odyssey of witness begins at his birth site in Boston, passes through New York (where Ben upstages a leadership conference at the Waldorf Astoria), and ends, with wrenching poignancy, at his gravesite in Philadelphia.”

You can also check out the reviews on Amazon or sample the book to get a better idea of whether you would like the book.

So — do you learn more in life, by growing up rich — or poor?

It could be good. It could be bad. Some, like Not Made of Money, say that their money-strapped upbringings actually made them more responsible adults. Nah, John Cheese argues. If you learned bad habits when you were poor, things probably won’t change. Get a better job, and you’ll still be eating crappy junk food and blowing your paycheck.

Either way, we learn by example: good or bad. (Sharon Jasper isn’t famous for nothing.) Chatting At the Sky, talking about her dad, the former alcoholic, says, ” It seems to me the people most qualified to talk about hope are the ones who have been hopeless and lived to tell about it.” Keep the good ideas, like sticking to fifty bucks a month for food, or living richly when you’re scraping bottom. (Three words: “Less is more.”) Discard the rest.

Your parents’ response to money matters is going to affect yours — whether you like it or not. (See a good overview on this, thanks to Get Rich Slowly.) If your folks were spendthrifts, you may be, too — or you may sprint across the spectrum, and become a miser. Hopefully you won’t go to either extreme. The key is understanding where you came from, and why you react the way you do.

Case in point: my parents had a tendency to choose the cheapest appliance, regardless of its track record. I did, too, until Husband pointed out that a higher quality item lasted much longer. We spent more on a refrigerator than they did — but it’s lasted for nearly a decade, so far, with more years to go.

Just living in America has given us a leg up that many others would love to have.

Yes, I Am Cheap grew up poor…to the point of shivering through the first year or so of high school, until she could afford a winter coat. (Thrift shop, I would say!) But as an immigrant herself (she moved to the U.S. at age 6), she says, “Growing up poor in the U.S. is entirely different than growing up poor in some other countries. Even some of the worse conditions here can be better than some of the best conditions elsewhere. Homeless families here can be accepted into programs where a roof will be put over their heads. In some other countries when you are homeless, you are truly homeless. There are no resources for you.”

Rich, poor — it’s all relative. If you’ve read Andy’s post on the subject, his family had cable in his teenaged years, and he owned his own computer. (An Atari — big stuff back in those days!) His mother, on the other hand, was born in a farmhouse with no running water.

As a farm girl, we had plenty to eat, including lots of steaks and roast (luxuries nowadays). But the only television I saw until 4th grade was my grandma’s, while she was in Florida for the winter. (We kept the tiny b&w tv while she was gone.) Husband and I managed to buy our first computer only because Apple offered a half-off special to students at the University of Michigan.

This all seemed incredibly fancy to my dad, whose home didn’t have electricity until he was in his late teens. (Rural South Dakota was not exactly on the cutting edge of technology.) He only went to school through eighth grade; his help was needed on the farm. And to the end of his days, he wore the same basic dark blue shirt and pants, with clodhopper work boots, throughout the week.

My viewpoint on all this changed even more when friends came to supper Saturday night. ‘Dan’ spent his childhood in a grubby apartment in ‘Alphabet City,’ a rent-controlled complex in lower east Manhattan. He vividly remembered stepping over drunks in the hallway, fighting with gang members, and begging for money in the subway with his mom and younger brother.

His life has completely changed now, but he hasn’t forgotten the many nights they spent in New York City’s homeless shelters…or his relief, when he finally felt ‘safe.’ That feeling didn’t come until his twenties.

I never had that experience. Perhaps what seemed poor was really rich, after all.

This post is by staff writer Cindy Brick. Cindy is a quilting expert with several published books on the subject and has also had many published articles on a variety of subjects. You can visit her business website at CindyBrick.com or visit her personal blog.

To celebrate five years I’m having a giveaway that consists of all the personal finance books I have that I no longer want and a $5 Amazon Gift Card. The books are Can I Retire?: How Much Money You Need to Retire and How to Manage Your Retirement Savings, Explained in 100 Pages or Less, this is a great book on retirement but it isn’t that great of a coaster so the book does have some water damage; The Vigilant Investor: A Former SEC Enforcer Reveals How to Fraud-Proof Your Investments; The Monopoly Method: An Insider’s Guide to Navigating Wall Street and Becoming a Better Investor: Make Decisions Faster, Make Them More Profitable, and Make Them with Less Risk; The Globe-Trotting Golfer’s Guide to Retirement, this book is signed to me but maybe your name is Andy too; The Digital Diet: The 4-step plan to break your tech addiction and regain balance in your life; Z.E.O.: How to Get A(Head) in Business (Zen of Zombie Series); Global Millionaire and the CreditCard.com book of Cartoons.

All you need to do to enter is leave a comment on this post. One entry per person and all other usual rules apply. The winner will be chosen at random next Wednesday,February 8,2012.

Now that the holidays are over with, it’s time to deal with the debt that’s sure to have accumulated as a result of gift buying. It’s never easy paying off holiday debt, but it’s certainly not impossible if you put your mind to it. In fact, getting that additional burden lifted from your shoulders is a little easier than you think. All it takes is a utilization of a few of the following strategies:

Eat less, exercise more: It’s a guarantee that the less you eat, the more money you’re sure to save as a result. That’s because healthy eating is all about portion, and reasonable portions are likely to be much smaller than you’re used to. But in addition, you can stand to see an improvement in your average life insurance quote due to a healthier lifestyle.

Pay triple the minimum payment: If possible, simply pay as much as possible every month. If you’re used to paying double, then go with triple the minimum payment in order to speed the process up. You’ll be paying this debt off one way or another, so the sooner, the better.

Take on a second job: This is undoubtedly the hardest method of freeing yourself from holiday debt to commit to, but if you can’t triple your minimum payments, why not take on a second job? Whether it’s tending bar, delivering pizzas, or taking online surveys, whatever gets you more income is enough to help you pay off that holiday rate debt quicker than you otherwise would be.

Negotiate better interest rates: This won’t be easy without a fierce determination to do so, as credit card agencies are certain to receive their fair amount of lowered APR requests, but it never hurts to try and get your credit card interest rates lowered after the holidays are over. If it’s the first time you’ve ever attempted such a lowering, then there’s a good chance you’ll walk away with a lower monthly payment.

Wait for your tax refund: If you can handle making minimum payments on those credit cards for a few more months, then your best bet is to wait till your tax refund in springtime. Chances are you’ll be netting around $2500 to $3500, which should be plenty to pay off holiday debt.

Whether it’s through working more hours or re-evaluating the way you spend money, paying off that holiday debt is far from impossible. The hardest part is generating the will and discipline necessary to follow through on the tactics involved. If you possess the determination to succeed in these arenas of holiday debt elimination, then there’s no doubt that you’ll prove victorious in your efforts.

On the plus side I did join the fitness center in my neighborhood this week. And I even worked out there every day since joining. The workouts aren’t too intensive yet since I am really out of shape but I plan to ramp them up quickly. I’m also planning on going on a hike for a week or so in March or April which should lead to some weight loss and increased stamina. It is good that I’m starting to exercise but I also need to eat better. I’ve been backsliding a lot and drinking soda which seems to lead to eating junk food. I’ve learned that having a soda just once leads to having another one the next day so I need to not have soda at all.

My attempts at meeting my goals this year have been half-assed. To rectify that situation I am going to develop short term goals and more detailed plans for meeting those goals. I will share those with you next week.

Finally, I would like to say hello to my new Yakezie team 7 members by linking to one of their posts below.

The Penny Hoarder shared how you can get $5 cash for signing up for Clover. I got a $5 Amazon gift card myself. If you want to sign up you can use my referral link.

Daily Money Shot shares a post about self-confidence. A lack of self-confidence kept me from doing a lot of things when I was younger and it is one of the main reasons that I didn’t fulfill my dream of becoming an attorney until I was in my 40′s.

20′s Finances shares passive income done right. I do have some passive income but I’d like more.

Everything Finance shares what to do if your identity is stolen. I had my identity stolen over a decade ago. My bad credit at that time actually helped limit the damage done from my identity being stolen.

Financially Consumed talks about the best car he ever owned. I have had a series of hooptys and they have served me well. I currently have a ’97 Camry with over 200,000 miles that I expect to drive for a couple more years. My total cost per mile for driving this car is incredibly low.

Mom’s Plans shares a post on getting food costs under control. This is an area where I need to improve. My wife and I have made plans to reduce our food costs in February and this post could help.

Sustainable Personal Finance shares a post on how to spot a work at home scam. I haven’t fallen for one of these yet but I know people that have.

Since this book is written by a psychologist I figured it would provide a good framework of the psychology needed to attain wealth. It does provide what the author considers to be the four qualities that wealthy people possess. They are self-esteem,responsibility,determination, and achievement. I agree that those qualities are good ones to have to achieve wealth but I don’t feel that the author gives much information to help you develop those qualities. He does provide lots of case studies that are interesting but not always helpful.

The author loses me when he talks about the power of positive thinking. I agree that positive thinking is a positive attribute and it can help you achieve success. But I don’t believe it has the magical power that the author gives to it. You still have to go out and do stuff and not just think about it. The author gives an example of a woman who was down to her last $5 and used it to buy a raffle ticket. She ended up winning a hot-air balloon ride which was something she always wanted. The author stated that she had a healthy sense of self-esteem and trusted her ability to create prosperity for herself. I don’t think that had anything to do with her winning. I think it was just luck. Using your last $5 to buy a raffle ticket is not a wise choice. It worked out okay for her but I guess all the other people who bought raffle tickets weren’t thinking positive. There are several instances of similar what I consider to be bad advice in the book.

I like the idea of using psychology to help achieve success and I have reviewed other books that I though did a good job of observing how psychology affects wealth. This book however, contains too much magical thinking and other bad advice for me to be able to recommend it.

Tuck the accumulating money in a higher-interest online account, like Ally Bank. Sure, interest isn’t high right now — a $1200 deposit (i.e., 12 months of $100 monthly) will only earn you a little more than $10.00, at the current rate of .84%. But that’s ten bucks you earned with no effort.

Your best asset in this process is time. Interest rates won’t be low forever; even if they hang on the tip end of nowhere for a while, your growing savings will qualify you for a higher-interest CD, instead. (Check out the best current deal at Bankrate.com.)

Other things in life benefit from compounding. Take food. Instead of a steak tonight (around $7.00/lb as of this writing), choose a steakburger or pork loin ($3/lb or less). Use the extra money saved to buy steak when it’s on sale. (Holidays like Valentine’s Day, Memorial Day and the Fourth, or Labor Day often feature fancy cuts for much less.) Or put it into fruit you crave — apples, pears and oranges are a lot cheaper in a ten-pound bag, than by the piece or pound. (Save that extra to invest in higher-quality coffee, travel mug and a coffeepot with a timer — fresh coffee when you wake every morning, and no stops for bitter coffee in a paper cup.)

Don’t forget to compound your time, too. Shovel your walk soon after the snow stops, so the sun can finish the job. (Smugly read the paper while watching your neighbor scrape ice off his porch — priceless.) Putting away tools after use means they’re ready again when you need them — and you won’t be buying unnecessary extras because you can’t find one. (Not that I’ve ever done this!)

Clean, put away clothes mean less urge to go out and buy new ones. And a little water swirled in pots and pans right after cooking (unless they’re cast iron) means less scrubbing time afterwards. It may not seem like much at the time — but it is, with these helpful tips:

*Save a bit at a time…more as you can afford it.

*Every minute counts — even if it goes to something relaxing.

Let the positive power of compounding change your life, a bit at a time.

This post is by staff writer Cindy Brick. Cindy is a quilting expert with several published books on the subject and has also had many published articles on a variety of subjects. You can visit her business website at CindyBrick.com or visit her personal blog.