Month: November 2022

Advertise Your Way to Wealth

Advertising is a multi-billion dollar industry. However, advertisers are not the only ones who can make cash from advertising. College students put themselves through school by selling ads on their cars and clothing. Race car drivers and companies sell space on cars to advertisers. Revenues from these ads can generate a nice passive income. Some enterprising individuals are also using YouTube and other spaces online to offer advertising space.

It works very simply. First, you need to determine where you will sell advertising space. You can sell space on your t-shirts, on your blog, on your websites, or on your social networking pages. Next, you need to gather information about what would make your space attractive to advertisers. For example, if you want to sell advertising space on your car or clothing, are you out for a specific number of hours each day in specific situations where a specific demographic may see you? If you want to sell space on your blog, how many visitors do you get each day and each month? Can you gather demographic details about these visitors? This information will help advertisers make their decisions.

Next, you will need to decide how much you want to make with your advertising and how much to charge. You will then need to find advertisers. This is generally quite easy to do – you can advertise available space through your blog or online space or through the “business opportunities” section of your local newspaper.…

How to be creative and solvent

We discussed yesterday why the idea of the starving artist is cliché but many creative types – artists, writers, performance artists of all kinds – wonder how to make more money doing what they love. There are many ways to get solvent while staying creative:

1) Start seeing finances as part of your creative work. Get professional financial advice if you need it, but start seeing your money management as a big part of your career success. Make time for money and devote energy to it.

2) Use your right brain as well as your left brain. Be as creative as you like, but also use the logical part of your mind to manage your finances. This means keeping track of expenses and income, paying bills on time, and budgeting.

3) Be prepared for feast and famine. For many people in the arts, money tends to come in fits and spurts, especially at the start. A good run or a sudden grant can be followed by some lean times when few new opportunities present themselves. Having a very generous emergency fund and a financial plan is a must to maintain financial balance.…

Complaining makes you a better customer

No one likes a whiner, but complaining intelligently makes you a better customer – and makes you better with money. If a product or service does not live up to your expectations, you are essentially wasting your money on it. By complaining and getting a refund or replacement, you get your money’s worth. Getting what you pay for is a good way to avoid wasting money. Complaining also offers the company important feedback, which they can use to improve their services or products.

Generally, you will want to complain starting from the bottom up. This means that you begin with the sales associate, waiter, or person who served or sold you the offending product or service. If this does not get results, complain to a manager or the director of the company. Contact your local Better Business Bureau if this does not produce results. If you used a personal loan to pay off a defective product or service, keep in mind that you need to keep pursuing this, as you are paying interest as well as the asking price on the product. However, a personal loan does give you leverage. You can threaten default on the loan, in some cases, if the company does not follow through and offer you help. If you paid with a credit card, your credit card company may allow you to dispute the charges. This can be a very effective way to get your money back or to get a replacement.…

Organizing your finances can mean more money

Getting organized often means more money. If you don’t believe that, consider this: how often have you had to pay late fees or penalty fees because you forgot to pay a bill on time? The truth is, staying organized ensures that you pay everything on time, keep your credit score good and are able to capitalize on opportunities. Here’s how to stay organized in your financial life:

1) Have one place for all your financial “stuff.” You might choose to keep everything in a box, in envelopes, or in a filing system, but it’s important to have one place to store everything to do with your finances – including receipts and bills. Make sure your system allows you to keep paid bills, unpaid bills, tax information, banking statements, and investment stuff separate, so that you can always find what you need.

2) Use a planner or organizer to remind yourself of financial dates, just like appointments. If your credit card bill is due on the 20th, mark “pay credit card” on your calendar, where you will see it, a few days before the 20th.

3) Automate what you can. Consider having bills paid automatically through your banking system or credit card. This way, you never forget. Consider having savings automatically deducted from your paycheck. The less you have to do to keep organized, the easier it will be.

4) Do a thorough sweep of your finances at least every three months. Check your credit score, calculate how much you owe in personal loans, evaluate your dependence on payday loans, decide how well you are doing at budgeting, and generally set aside time to get in shape financially.…