Today we have another awesome guest post from Grace Murphy. She is going to talk to us about lowering the costs of your rental property. This is a fascinating subject and something I personally never thought about. I am excited to hear what she has to say. Anyways, enough rambling by me. We hope you enjoy this article.
4 Ways to Lower the Cost of Your Rental Property
Renting out properties is still one of the best ways to generate a steady stream of revenue in today’s market. Despite the market uncertainties, the demand for rental properties is holding steady. As a business, renting out properties is not that easy to get into, so you don’t really see rapid growth in competitors alongside the rapid growth in demand.
To succeed in this business, managing costs is crucially important. Whether you are renting out spare rooms to short-term tenants or making apartments and houses available to long-term ones, here are the 4 ways you can lower your rental property cost.
Stack Up on Discounts
When you manage and rent out multiple properties, you cannot possibly handle every task associated with keeping those properties in good shape. Maintenance is a big part of life as a landlord, and many landlords now work with reputable contractors to get things done.
A good way to save on your maintenance cost is by working with the same contractor for all of your properties. You can begin earning bigger discounts as you add more properties to the project, which means you will end up with low maintenance costs at the end of the day.
Get a Business Account
Another way to get discounts is by making purchases as a contractor or a business instead of an individual landlord. This too will help you lower the costs associated with keeping your properties in good shape, which means you can save more in the long run.
Outlets that sell home supplies are more than happy to treat you as a contractor when you make repeat purchases. With the market being as competitive as it is today, they may even throw in additional discounts to win your business.
Watch Your Insurance Premium
Landlord insurance is a big cost factor that needs to be managed. You want to get sufficient coverage from the insurance policy, but you don’t want to be paying more on premium. To find the best deal, you need to compare landlord insurance before deciding to get one.
You can use Quotezone.co.uk to compare landlord insurance without having to contact insurance companies manually. This site automatically takes your details, finds suitable insurance plans for your specific needs, and gets you the best quotes possible for them.
Screen and Connect
Last, but certainly not least, make sure you take the extra steps to get to know your potential tenants before renting out a property. Sometimes, a simple screening can help you avoid a lot of trouble further down the line.
Good tenants will not only help keep your property in good shape but will also notify you when signs of a potential issue are seen. Instead of dealing with a catastrophic leak, for instance, you can react sooner when your tenant reports signs of mold near the basement.
Work with your tenants to further reduce your costs as a landlord. Combined with the other tips and tricks we discussed in this article, you will be able to lower your costs and increase your bottom line without going through the extra trouble.
Today we have a guest post from Kate at Money Transfer Comparison. Her website helps people get their hands on the best foreign currency accounts. Today she wrote an article for the Wallet Squirrel audience on how to get started selling on Amazon as a side hustle. Let’s read what she has to say.
How to Start Selling on Amazon as a Side Hustle
Over 30 million Americans and countless people in other countries around the world have already lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic. There might be more of them in the future as the recession becomes worse. And even if you are one of the lucky ones who are still employed, your salary might take a dip. And don’t forget that prices will likely grow fast and hard.
All in all, now is the time to get all the side hustle income you can. Amazon is one of the prime providers of such. It’s not only launching an Amazon affiliate website that can help you make money on this platform. Becoming a full-fledged seller is a much better route if you want to make substantial money.
How to Find the Best Products to Sell on Amazon Today
The first thing you need to do in order to become an Amazon seller is to choose products to sell. If you are planning this business as a side hustle, there is no point for you to develop a personal brand. Instead, you should start selling products that already exist. This will allow you to get straight to selling as you will be able to use existing listings. You also won’t have to promote the products from scratch and try to generate reviews.
When you are starting out, you should focus on products that are likely to sell well. Amazon itself will help you with its Best Sellers list.
Also, use price-tracking tools like CamelCamelCamel. They will allow you to track the volatility of the product’s price. You should always choose the most stable option you can. This will reduce your risks as you won’t have to worry about sudden price drops that will make you lose all your revenue.
As to the precise product you should sell, pick something you have easy access to. First of all, do some calculations and research. You need to determine how much money you can spare to build your initial stock. From there, see what kind of products you can afford to buy.
Do Not Fall for the Private Label Hype
Many sources recommend building a personal brand to increase your profits as an Amazon seller. It used to be a valid strategy. However, today the platform is packed with personal brands that all sell the same cheap poor-quality products.
Unless you can afford to splurge on developing a good branding package and invest in high-quality products, starting your own venture like this will be a waste. Instead, make use of a well-known third-party brand by selling its products.
If you want to succeed as a seller today, you need to think outside the borders of your own country. Of course, local sales are good. However, you have more opportunities by offering your local top brands to people from different countries. They usually don’t have access to such products, so the demand should be higher.
That said, to become a global seller on Amazon you simply need to register and list your products in chosen foreign marketplaces. Amazon offers a variety of tools that will help you through this process. You can even synchronize your listings and prices across marketplaces and translate product descriptions using built-in services.
All in all, the only work you’ll need to do yourself has to do with money management. You’ll need to research permits and taxes you’ll have to pay as a seller depending on the location. Also, you’ll need to develop a strategy for shipping the products. The cost of shipping might make selling to some countries unviable from the business point of view.
Finally, you need to decide how exactly you are going to get paid. Amazon offers some payment management options for global sellers, including the Amazon Currency Converter. However, that solution is expensive and has some hidden fees. Using third-party money transfer services will be a cheaper option for the majority of sellers.
How to Collect Revenues from Your International Amazon Sales
With the Amazon Currency Converter, you might lose as much as 4.5% of the money your customers pay. This is definitely unacceptable because the revenue margin on such sales is low by default.
Bank wire transfers are out of the question because they are even more expensive. Depending on the country, such transactions might cost up to 10% of the transfer volume. No buyer will agree to pay such a hefty extra charge on something they can buy cheaper from a different seller.
PayPal is a popular payment processing service, but it does have many cons. Those include but aren’t limited to high transfer costs and bad customer service for the sellers.
The best solution for global sellers, at the moment, is offered by money transfer platforms. Companies like TransferWise, WorldFirst, Moneycorp, and OFX, to name a few, specialize in providing cheap international transfers.
Money Transfer Companies for Online Sellers
A Global Amazon Seller will benefit most from using a service that allows one to create multiple foreign currency accounts. For example, WorldFirst, one of the leaders in the money transfer industry-renowned specifically for its multi-currency accounts, enables online sellers to open USD, EUR, and CAD accounts in nearly every part of the world. Moreover, it even allows for creating foreign currency accounts for sellers in China and Japan.
WorldFirst was recently purchased by Alibaba, so it’s not surprising why many of its services are targeted toward online sellers. With a multi-currency account, a seller will not avoid paying huge fees. They will also get a chance to exchange currencies at near mid-market rates. WorldFirst has one of the lowest FX margins on the market right now. It also has those margins fixed, similar to TransferWise, which is another good money transfer provider online sellers can use.
In the end, the choice of a money transfer company should be determined by your location. These companies offer different rates and terms in different countries. Therefore, you should choose the one that will suit your future customers best.
How to Promote Your Amazon Listings Without Spending a Fortune
Now that you’ve registered your Amazon Global Seller account and set up an international payment processing account in preparation for your first sale, you need to make sure that sale happens. To that end, you need to promote your products effectively.
This would be a challenge if you sell the same products as other sellers. In this case, you should do your best to make your specific offer stand out. Try offering the product in rare colors or add a discount coupon for future purchases.
Making your product offer unique might not be an option, but there are other online marketing tactics you can use.
Ideas for Promoting Your Amazon Products
Encourage reviews. Positive reviews sell, so your product listings must have those. Of course, they must be verified reviews. But you can use different tactics to encourage your buyers to leave those reviews. For example, offer a discount for the next purchase or include a small gift.
Make your product reviews professional. Selling on Amazon might be a side hustle for you. However, you need to make sure that your product pages look fantastic to attract attention from buyers. Optimize product descriptions for keywords using simple tools like Google Keyword Planner. But you also need to make descriptions that sound interesting and offer detailed info about the product. All the while, those keywords must be an organic part of the text. If you are no expert in creative writing, consider commissioning descriptions from a professional copywriter.
Take to social media. Promote your Amazon listings on social media, both through your account and ads. You should also post in groups popular with your targeted customers. You can also launch contests, like asking customers to share your post and offer a free product to the one chosen randomly.
Involve influencers. Any good marketer today understands the value of influencers. They do not only allow you access to a wider audience. They also increase your product’s credibility because people who follow them already trust their opinions. The only problem might be that involving influencers might be too expensive for you at the beginning. You’ll need to be sure that this would be worth the expense.
Final Thoughts
The COVID-19 pandemic has already launched a wave of at-home entrepreneurs and their number will only continue to grow in this recession. Selling on Amazon is one of the side hustles that can truly make a difference for you in this situation. In fact, this business might be able to help you stay above water if you lose your main job.
But in order for your Amazon listing to be successful, you need to treat it like a real business. Take the time necessary to market it well. Make sure that your product pages stand out among competitors by giving better product descriptions and pictures. Offer additional services and, above all, sell internationally. Reaching out to customers abroad will increase your opportunities greatly. And with modern money transfer services, you’ll be able to get revenue from these deals, instead of losing all of it in international transaction fees.
Today is a guest post from Wendy Dessler, a finance writer and collaborator with Today with Jay.
Finding new ways to make money is something most people are passionate about. Using the power of the Internet to increase the amount of revenue you generate is a wise move. While there are a number of ways to make money online, nothing quite compares to vlogging and blogging. Deciding which one of the mediums to use to build your wealth can be difficult.
Making the right decision can help you start generating revenue in no time. Are you trying to figure out whether vlogging or blogging will provide you with the fastest profit? If so, check out the helpful information below.
Making Money As a Blogger is Not Easy
Each year, over500 million blogs are published online many start with easy How To Start A Blog tutorials like this. With all of this content, new bloggers have a hard time breaking through the noise and making an impact. Instead of throwing in the towel before you really get started, take the time to figure out how to make your blog more engaging and successful. Achieving blogging success is no easy process and will require a lot of hard work.
As you start to drive more traffic to your website, you will be able to figure out the best route for monetization. Figuring out what type of blogs actually make money can help you avoid sinking money into a website that won’t be profitable. Websites like Wallet Squirrel and Today With Jay provide up and coming bloggers with advice and strategies regarding how to monetize a blog. Below, we will discuss the types of blogs that actually generate revenue consistently.
Selling Digital Products on Your Blog
Modern consumers are hungry for information. If you are well-versed in things like digital or social media marketing, you can make a hefty profit by selling digital products on your website. These products will typically include things like printable graphs, checklists, and eBooks. The key to making money with these digital products is showcasing your skills in your chosen industry.
The only drawback to creating and selling these digital items is the time it takes. Unless you have an unlimited amount of time to focus on writing and editing a new eBook, you will struggle to get one completed in a timely manner. Outsourcing this work to a content marketing professional can be helpful. If you can contract out these services for cheap, you can still turn a profit from the sale of your digital products.
Selling Display Ads Can Be Lucrative
Monetizing your blog is a multi-step process. The first step in the blog monetization process is increasing the amount oftraffic your website gets. As you start to grow your audience, you will be able to take advantage of a number of monetization methods. Selling display ads is one of the most common and lucrative ways to monetize a blog. Businesses will pay good money to have their ads featured on a popular blogging website.
Programs like Google’s AdSense (Google AdSense Review) is designed to make finding ad opportunities easy. Rather than trying to learn and master the AdSense system on your own, you need to think about hiring professionals to lend you a hand. Most experienced marketing professionals will have no problem setting up and maintaining the ads on your blog website. The money paid to a marketing company for their help will be worth it considering the revenue they can help you generate.
Selling Memberships to Consumers
If you have a blog in place that provides useful information to the general public on an ongoing basis, selling memberships may be a good idea. Most consumers would rather pay a one-time fee for the content on a website rather than buying eBook after eBook. Building a following for your website is imperative when trying to drum up some buzz about your membership offerings.
Before you start offering these memberships to your website, do some market research. If you have competitors offering memberships, take a look at what it includes. Looking at this information can help you figure out how to make your membership offering more enticing to consumers. With a simple Google search, you should be able to find all of the information you need about the current membership market.
There is Power in Vlogging
Now that you have an understanding of how to monetize a blog, we will move onto the power of vlogging. In the past few years, video-sharing platforms like YouTube have seen substantial growth. These days, there are vloggers making millions of dollars each year with the help of ads and product endorsements.
However, the vlogging space is littered with competition. This is why you can’t copy the recipe other vloggers are using to make content. Your goal needs to be producing content that is both original and engaging. While this may sound relatively easy, it is anything but. Achieving vlogging success is possible if you follow some of the tips mentioned here.
Vloggers Commonly Use Affiliate Marketing
There are a number of well-known brands that use affiliate marketing to sell products/services. Many vloggers direct traffic to popular websites in the hopes of one of their followers making a purchase.
When these purchases are made with the affiliate link from a vlogger’s page, they are compensated. Generally, companies that use affiliate marketing will not pay huge sums for one sale. You have to focus on providing a consistent flow of quality leads if you want to make money with this method.
Sponsorships and Endorsements
Another way to make money as a vlogger is with the help of endorsements and sponsorships. Many product manufacturers use influencers to advertise the benefits of their items. If your channel is popular and family-friendly, you may be able to land one of these endorsements. Generally, it will take both time and a lot of followers to get lucrative sponsorships and endorsements.
The Bottom Line
If you are trying to generate income in a hurry, blogging is probably your best bet. It is easier to gain a foothold with written content and you can always add a video to your website later on if you want to pursue your passion for vlogging.
Today we have a guest post from Logan who is a CPA, personal finance expert, and founder of the finance blog Money Done Right, which he launched in July 2017. After spending nearly a decade in the corporate world helping big businesses save money, he launched his blog with the goal of helping everyday Americans earn, save, and invest more money. Let’s get to it.
It’s usually best to pay for purchases with savings whenever possible, but using credit is sometimes unavoidable. Personal loans and lines of credit are two of the most common ways in which people finance items they can’t currently afford to buy in cash.
This article will cover the most important differences between personal loans and lines of credit. Keep in mind that each one may be the best option in certain situations—it’s important to consider your unique financial circumstances when deciding between different types of credit.
Personal Loans
Personal loans offer cash upfront which you pay back according to a schedule detailed in the terms of the loan. You’ll be responsible for payments regardless of when or how you use the money, and lenders expect you to pay off the entire balance within the term of the loan.
Personal loans also come with a set interest rate, so you’ll know exactly how much you’ll pay in total based on the details of the agreement. Although they require you to make at least a minimum payment, you may be able to become debt-free sooner by contributing more than the minimum each month.
Lines of Credit
Unlike personal loans, lines of credit give you access to credit up to a limit, so you can continue to use a line of credit after paying down the balance. You only receive funds when you need them, so you won’t be responsible for interest until you start paying for items with your line of credit.
Lines of credit are often more convenient than personal loans since you won’t have to pay interest on any money you don’t need. With a personal loan, you’ll have to pay interest on the entire principal even if you find yourself spending less than expected.
Your ability to qualify for both personal loans and lines of credit depends on your credit report. You could pay a much higher interest rate if you don’t have a good or excellent credit score. Consider waiting until your credit improves if you’re rejected for several personal loans or lines of credit.
Benefits of Personal Loans
Personal loans may not be the right choice in all circumstances, but they provide some important advantages relative to lines of credit. These are a few of the best reasons to consider a personal loan over a line of credit.
Lower Interest Rates
Personal loans come with a set interest rate and total interest cost, and rates are typically lower than those available with lines of credit. Even a small reduction in your interest rate can save you a lot of money, especially if you need a large amount of cash.
If you know exactly how much money you’ll need, personal loans are the best way to increase cash flow while minimizing interests. On the other hand, you could end up paying more interest than is necessary if you overestimated your needs.
Predictability
It’s difficult to budget for the financial impact of a line of credit, but you can easily account for the cost of regular loan payments. This also makes it much easier to compare different loans side by side before committing to a single option.
That said, a personal loan doesn’t provide the same access to funds over time as a line of credit. If your income is unpredictable, for example, a line of credit may help you manage fluctuations in your earnings as long as you pay the balance off quickly.
Line of Credit Benefits
Personal loans are sometimes the best way to get credit, but you should also think about applying for a line of credit. These factors are why so many people use lines of credit rather than personal loans or other forms of credit.
Flexibility
Like credit cards, lines of credit don’t go away once you use up the credit limit. Instead, you’ll be able to draw on credit again once you finish paying off the current balance. With that in mind, they’re a more flexible option if you need credit for more than a one-off expense.
This is also an important advantage if you don’t know in advance how much credit you’ll need. Personal loans are typically offered for specific projects or expenses, so you’ll need to take out another loan if you underestimate your need for credit.
Once you’re approved for a line of credit, you can lean on as much or as little of your credit limit as you need. You won’t need to pay interest until you start making purchases, so the timing is less important for lines of credit relative to personal loans.
Smaller Payments
Required payments vary wildly from one lender to another, but lines of credit usually have lower minimum payments than personal loans. While making just the minimum payment could lead to higher interest payments, it also helps you increase short-term cash flow.
Most experts recommend paying off your balance as soon as possible, and this is generally the most financially responsible plan. That said, smaller minimum payments prevent lines of credit from having as much of an impact on your monthly budget.
Personal loans and lines of credit are two of the best ways to access money quickly, and each is good for different reasons. These considerations will help you use your money more effectively by identifying the best option for your unique situation.
Avoiding Interest
Like credit cards, lines of credit often come with substantially higher interest rates than personal loans and other forms of credit. On the other hand, you can avoid interest entirely by simply paying off the entire balance each month.
With a line of credit, you’ll only be charged interest on balances carried over from one month to the next. You won’t have to pay interest at all if you pay off the entire debt before the next closing date.
If you have enough cash to cover the payment, a line of credit gives you the opportunity to access money now without worrying about interest. Of course, the downside to this plan is that you’ll pay much more in interest if you end up carrying a balance. Lines of credit are therefore better for situations in which you know you’ll be able to make the payment before incurring interest.
The following is a guest post by Grace Murphy, with News and Review Guru.
When starting a business from home – whether that’s providing a service to clients or running a few useful side hustles – it gets complicated quite fast. And that can be surprising to many people, as they think it will remain simplistic forever. Chance would be a fine thing!
At a certain point in every business, using software to do more, be better organized, and flat out avoid serious blunders, becomes almost a necessity. In this article, we look at which software might be beneficial for a home business and how to decide between them.
Are You Doing the Accounting Yourself?
Whether you’re doing it on paper, on a couple of Excel spreadsheets, or another way, managing the financial side of things is necessary. Otherwise, you won’t know how well you’re doing in your business e.g. which projects are profitable and which you should ditch in short order and pivot to something else.
At a certain stage, adopting an accounting package or cloud-based solution is required to get a full picture of the financials. Then it becomes a choice, and confusion often sets in over which accounting package to adopt. In a battle between QuickBooks and FreshBooks, for depth, QuickBooks easily wins out, but for simplicity and when freelancing rather than selling products, then FreshBooks is worth a look.
Also, sites like PieSync offer cloud solutions to help businesses sync data between different applications. This avoids some information being invalid because it was only changed in one app and not in all of them. Their solution links up the data to find new changes and updates them in multiple apps at the same time. It’s like having an extra pair of hands! Furthermore, their team have provided a detailed comparison between QuickBooks and FreshBooks, and you can read more at piesync.com.
Try Google Sheets to Share Spreadsheets
When you choose to start outsourcing tasks through freelancers to extend your reach, projects get harder to manage. Sometimes, there’s a need to put up information in a spreadsheet and share access to it. Rather than emailing the Excel spreadsheet to the freelancer directly, just use Google Sheets. It has a live feature that allows you to manage the sheet and make changes as required. Those changes can be seen by the hired freelancer almost in real-time. They can even be given editing rights (and you can remove them when the project is over).
Trello for Project Management
When managing multiple projects and dealing with different people on each project, it gets complicated fast. Staying organized by using written To-Do lists only goes so far, even if you’re following David Allen’s GTD system. Eventually, the sheer number of projects, tasks and people becomes too much for any manual system. Even a digital To-Do list is too basic once the number of projects grows.
Instead, try out Trello. It uses a system of multiple boards. Virtual cards get pinned to a board with each card representing a task. The card is pinned to indicate its status (To Do, Doing, Done). By using this virtual system which runs within a browser and as a mobile app, it’s possible to manage multiple projects and numerous tasks for them without any confusion. Once you start using it, you won’t know how you ever managed without it.
Embracing software is necessary to get your business to a level of sophistication. Even if you find new apps difficult to learn at first, persevere because the sooner you get up to speed, the better off your business will be.
The following is a guest post by Jacob Matthew, with the finance blog Money Connexion. He reached out about this post and it looked good!
Weekends are something most people look forward to. It’s time for rest and relaxation after a hectic week. But if you’re among those people that believe in working over weekends to get rich, welcome to the club. There’re several best weekend jobs from home that pay very well.
What are these weekend jobs from home and how to find them? Read further.
Weekend Jobs from Home
Some of these weekend jobs from home require special skills. However, the pay will definitely be worth working for a few hours during weekends.
Culinary Coach
If you know how to churn up mouth-watering dishes and cook food from various foreign cuisines, take this best weekend job from home as a culinary coach. You can make as much as $25 per hour per learner. The higher the number of students, greater your income.
Of course, there’re expenses too on food ingredients and other overheads. And your efforts also matter. Therefore, try and ensure you have the maximum number of learners on any weekend. Usually, a culinary class is of two-hour duration. This should earn you a fairly sizeable weekend income.
Babysitting
Now, who would want to babysit on a weekend after a busy, tiring week? But at $18 or higher on weekends, you might find it to be the best weekend job from home. Actually, the median pay of $18 per hour is during weekdays, when moms attend office. For weekends, the rate is about $25 per hour.
Usually, most parents require babysitters for about three to five hours on weekends. That’s because they go shopping or to watch movies or games. These activities usually take at least five hours. Meaning, you’ll get paid $125 per child for five-hour babysitting during weekends.
Gardening Coach
Do you have those proverbial green fingers? Meaning, do you have that special knowledge and skills necessary to handle plants, shrubs, and herbs of all sorts? Work as a gardening coach during weekends. It’s an enjoyable, relaxing job that would take away the stress of the week and give you some extra money.
A gardening coach makes $20 per hour if they’re training on own garden. The fee can go as high as $30 per hour if they’ve to visit someone’s garden for inspection and training. You’ll need excellent knowledge about the correct use of fertilizer, weeding techniques, potting money plants and other gardening tasks to coach learners.
Pet Sitter
Do you love dogs, cats, birds and an occasional snake or monkey? Because working as a pet sitter over the weekend can fetch you as much as $20 per hour per pet. That’s if your pet is a regular canine or feline. However, if you need pet sitters to care for exotic animals such as your favorite cobra or python, monkey or rabbit, the charges can go spiraling to $75 per hour.
Usually, most pet sitting jobs are overnight. Meaning, you can earn a really huge amount of money. Pet sitters can charge up to $150 to $200 for leaving their cat or dog overnight at your place. Most pet owners usually throw in a can or two of pet food. Or they can add a bonus for you if you feed their pets.
Digital Marketer
Digital marketing is a collection of various processes. It is useful to promote a company or brand, product or service or even individuals. This promotion occurs using various resources available on the Internet. On average, a digital marketer can expect $15 per hour as pay during weekends. On weekdays it’s slightly lower at $12.75 per hour, on average.
As a digital marketer, you’ll be conducting various processes such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Marketing (SMM) and email marketing on your employer’s website. That way, you’re actually helping promote their business. Since the Internet never sleeps and is always available, you can perform this task from home anytime during the weekend.
Online Remote Assistance
Have adequate knowledge about computers and how they work? Offer online remote assistance services to computer owners. A lot of them face software related issues or lose data for any reason. Others face hardware or drivers related problems. Since computer service isn’t easily available on weekends, they look for online remote assistance.
There’s plenty of money to earn by providing online remote assistance. You can earn $50 or more per hour if you’re able to fix the problem to the client’s satisfaction. Generally, remote assistants work through various organizations. This is a good job for the weekend if you have the necessary skills and a computer with a high-speed Internet connection at home.
Content Writer
For those having excellent writing skills, working as a content writer is the best weekend job from home. You’ll get about $20 per hour or more, depending upon the topic and volume of research a content involves. Generally, company websites and bloggers, as well as affiliate marketers, look for content writers.
You can also create content about something to do with your hobbies and passions. Or you can create articles for people within your professional field. Website owners and bloggers willingly pay content writers for excellent, engaging articles.
Online Tutor
The trend of online tutoring is gathering momentum worldwide. Indeed, China is emerging as the favorite destination for American online tutors. Because Chinese students wish to learn English, Math, Science and other subjects form the US school and college curriculum. Then we also have students in America who are willing to pay private online tutors.
Depending upon which website you register as an online tutor and nature, of course, it’s possible to earn about $35 per hour per student. For specialized courses such as engineering and medicine, the fee can go as high as $50 per hour of online tutoring. The higher the skills, the more your pay. You’ll need excellent teaching skills for this weekend job.
In Conclusion
Giving up your weekend isn’t all that bad. Think about how many hours would you really spend relaxing on a Saturday or Sunday? Very few. Instead, you can utilize these spare hours to earn good amount of money online and from home, with these best weekend jobs.
The following is a guest post by Lyuthar Jacob, a log editor at Dealslands UK. He is the type of geek who loves to write about Marketing, Money Saving, and Finance.
Who doesn’t like to have easy cash? You can earn money online with ease. There are many ways to achieve your set target to gain money without belabour. When it comes to making money online, there are certainly thousands of ways to earn easy money within the comfort of your home. So, if you are interested to earn money online, knowing the right kind of platform in accordance to your interest and passion is always crucial.
Following are some of the quick and easy tactics which you can start using today itself to make money online fast.
Join Affiliate programs
If you started a website or blog out of passion, you can earn a significant amount of money from it by joining some of the best affiliate programs. In this, all that you need to do is market other brands within your site’s pages. When you partner with such business, you have to mention their product or service and link those using a unique affiliate code received from the brand. Whenever someone buys a product or service through your link, you will make extra money.
It is advisable to partner with the companies that are related to your content. For instance, if you are a financial advisor, join an affiliate for financial products like credit cards, investment account, insurance, etc.
Use your skill to teach online
Everybody has some skill. If teaching is the one in your case then it can help you make money online. You can go for tutorials regarding anything that you like starting from cooking, dancing, freelance writing or sketching and what not!
Moreover, for this, you can find many platforms like Udemy, Teachable, or Skillshare where you can upload your course learning through videos, images, text, etc. Next, use your content to build customers and accept payments. You can also build one of your own with the help of the software like ClickFunnels and other platforms. Make sure to deliver valuable content to others and in turn people will happily pay you to learn it.
Sell old books on Amazon
You can buy old books from various sellers or other online platforms. After having a potential book to sell, navigate to Amazon and look for its actual price. You have to then decide what price you expect with respect to the condition of book. Make sure you don’t end up incurring any loss as you also have to pay Amazon’s fees of $2.35 + 15% of the sales price . If you are making money now with such old books, list them in your seller account. This is something lucrative which can be done part-time or in the weekends to make extra money. There are other platforms also such as Bookscouter, eBay, Half Price Books, etc which can help you sell old books and earn money.
Earn through freelance writing
If you have the creative talent of writing, you can earn money online by creating content for other websites or blogs. The income of bloggers and influencers vary widely. A report from Glassdoor shows that a blogger’s average income ranges from $19K to $79K.
Another survey of 1,000 bloggers interpreted by Blogging.com found that 17% of bloggers are able to maintain their lifestyle with the money that they earn. However, in this competitive world,you need to deliver 100% quality content to reach up to such a high level. Moreover, content writing has really built its importance. So, with tons of writing jobs available, it is easy to start writing, develop your skill and earn money.
Income online through photography
Photography is something which many people love to do. So, if you have such a passion for photography and you can capture eye-catching images, you can use this skill to make money online. You can list these images on stock-photography websites like Adobe Stock and Shutterstock. Then, you will receive payment when somebody purchase the right to use your image.
You don’t need to capture pretty snaps always. Remember, what you require to be unique is just original content. Also, it is crucial to edit the photographs professionally and store into certain file formats. Apart from photography, you can use other skill like sketching or painting, photoshop, etc. to make extra money.
Make social media your business
If you like to post your pictures or love blogging about the food that you taste, travel scenes etc., you can make money out of it now. If you have a decent number of followers on Facebook or Instagram, just approach companies in your niche and they will be happy to advertise with you. This is a win-win situation for both of you as you will be earning from your passion and the brand gets to tap a new audience and potential customers through something unique.
Build an online community
You can also monetize your online community to earn money online. Build a community through blogs and social media platforms where similar-interest people are gathered. Also, you can build an online forum and ask people to pay for membership. You can use such mediums to promote and sell yours or other’s products and services. If you are passionate about something and also like to engage with people that have the same passion, this is something you should certainly consider for earning well.
Take an advantage of Google Adsense
When you visit any website, there are always Google ads popping up here and there. You can also add these to your site’s page. Moreover, it is very simple to set them up on any basic website. If you have a website or blog, you can create a free Google AdSense account. After that, Google will provide you with a unique code which you can paste onto your website. Google can then track your page algorithm, traffic, and the visitors directing from your page, etc. Once your website start attracting a decent amount of traffic, it can be a very lucrative way to make money online.
Avail sponsorship on your posts
If you have large social media audience or a website, you can make money online fast through pursuing sponsored posts and ads.
How does it work?
Companies (like Viglink) are always looking for bloggers and website owners to advertise their product or service. So, if you have a huge following, don’t miss this opportunity to make money online in very convenient way. Moreover, the figures in which you will be earning depends on your popularity. So, don’t compromise on the quality of the content that you are creating for your audience. It will eventually let you earn huge.
Manage SEO and social media ads for clients
Another great idea to make money now is managing ads for the clients. Due to the increasing demand of digital marketing, each and every business needs SEO for popularity.
If you’ve a decent extent of knowledge in this regard then you can manage the social media accounts of brands or run Facebook ads, paid ads on YouTube or Google, etc. to make money now. If you master this art and start attaining huge conversion rates, you can make money online fast and that too in a hefty amount.
If you are thinking to make money online, the aforementioned tricks are easy to tap. Moreover, they need negligible or very less amount of investment. So, what are you waiting for?
Start earning money with these quick and effective approaches now!
Today’s post is contributed by Amy Nickson, a passionate writer on finance. Amy is a professional blogger who has started her own blog and also works as a contributor for the Oak View Law Group. Please share your opinions by commenting below.
In my last post in WalletSquirrel, I said that I was a reckless spender. My irresponsible spending habit and lavish lifestyle invited $88,000 debt in my life. After an intense financial struggle, I got out of the debt trouble.
Getting out of the debt was tough, but resisting the urge of spending money was tougher for me.
A person who wants to get out of debt fast has to resist the shopping temptation.
Today, I will share how I battled the temptation of spending money during my debt payoff journey.
I hope you can get a bit of motivation with this story.
There was a time when I couldn’t leave home without my credit card. I choose my favorite item and swipe the credit card to buy it. I never checked the price tag.
So the first battle was to give up the plastic (credit card).
I started carrying cash instead of the credit card
It is quite difficult to resist the urge of spending money temptation when you carry a credit card. You know that you can buy whatever you want by swiping your card.
So, I started carrying cash when I have to buy supplies like groceries or clothes.
It helped me to stop buying unnecessary things.
When my cash exhausted, I had to stop buying. It really helped me to curb excessive shopping.
Tip: Do you feel that something is missing if you step out of your home without a credit card? This shows that you’re totally dependent on plastic money. So, be aware!
Start carrying cash instead of credit cards.
Check your credit card bills.
Pay the outstanding bills as soon as possible.
Check your credit limit.
I started asking myself before buying an item
When I couldn’t resist myself from buying an item, I started asking myself whether or not I really need the item. It helped me to think about the items that I already have. It helped me to avoid buying unnecessarily.
I stopped window shopping in my leisure time
Shopping malls were my favorite destinations to visit in my leisure time. I loved following latest fashion. I loved buying dresses, jewelry, shoes, and bags that are latest in fashion.
When I was deep in debt, I totally stopped visiting the shopping zones.
I started reading books especially financial books or magazine. It helped me to gather knowledge on debt payoff strategies.
Also, I was not in the mood to have fun because I had lost my mother at the beginning of my debt journey.
I ditched Starbucks
Starbucks was the all-time favorite place for me and my ex-boyfriend to chill out.
Every time it costed me dearly, but I never say “No” to the Starbucks. After getting the debt shock, I decided to ditch Starbucks. It really helped me to save a lot of money that I spent on those morning lattes and sandwiches.
I love coffee, who doesn’t “smile”.
Trust me, I make my own coffee now. It is such a bliss than those freaking credit card bills.
I stopped eating out
After Starbucks, I ditched all the nice restaurants where I went for dinner either with my friends or my ex-boyfriend.
Well, even not I can’t cook like a pro, but I had to stop eating out to curb expenses.
I struggled a lot to prepare the meals since my mom was no more with me. But gradually, I learned how to cook, bake a nice cake, and make coffee.
Now, I visit the restaurants rarely. In case, I visit twice a month, I skip the next gathering for sure.
Well, I have to keep ready an excuse to avoid the friends meeting. Do this, you can save a decent amount of money every month.
I started living a frugal lifestyle
I started living a frugal lifestyle; it helped me to think differently. When you are living a frugal life, the first thing that you have to accept is less is more.
It forced me to shop less. Thus, I started saving money. The interesting thing is, living a frugal life doesn’t mean being cheap. The rule is to buy a quality item that you truly need. Spend money on a thing, which you need and is worthy.
Also, when I researched about frugal lifestyle, I learned that eating homegrown food, going eco-friendly, and living on less are actually make our lives simple and peaceful.
Since, I live in a big house, which has a front yard, I started growing veggies, flowers, and things that are basic for the kitchen.
I sold my car
I was obsessed with the long drive; I used to plan multiple trips in a year.
Well, I had to sell my car to pay off the car loan.
But after getting rid of that car, I was able to save a big amount.
Well, even now I love traveling. But I remain happy with 1 or 2 weekend trip. Now I plan beforehand so that I can save money for the trip. It also helps me to avoid credit card to fund the trip.
Tip: Don’t use credit cards to fund your trips. Remember, travel reward points, sign up bonus, miles are the baits credit card company uses to entice users.
I started tracking my monthly bills
I was not serious about financial matters like monthly bills, credit card bills, and other household costs. My mom used to deal with these. When she passed away, I had to learn about all these financial matters.
Soon I learned how important to get a clear idea about credit card terms.
When you don’t have a clear idea regarding your total outstanding balance, you may be sure that your credit card spending is out of control without you even realizing it. You may have a vague idea regarding how much you need to pay but you don’t know how much you owe on each of your cards.
I started paying all the monthly bills on time including credit card bills.
For a certain time, I used the credit card as a debit card. It helped me to stay regular on bills.
Tip: Don’t miss credit card bills. You have to pay the bills in full and within the time.
I started following a budget
Honestly speaking, due to the debt burden, I was not in the financial condition to create a budget.
When I started avoiding credit card and excessive shopping, I was able to save some money.
I started doing a job as well.
Thus, I started following a budget so that I can make debt payments and other monthly bills on time.
The budget helped me to understand where my money was going. It helped me to list the necessary expenses and eliminate junk expenses.
Once I had successfully get out of debts, I started saving money more.
Now I have 3 months of savings in an emergency fund and all because of the personal budget that I follow every month.
Lastly, remember, living debt free is awesome; also living on less is amazing. Experience it and see the changes in the quality of your life.
You can sleep peacefully, you can laugh wholeheartedly, and you can enjoy your life in your own way.
So, if you think you are spending more than you earn, then stop yourself. If you think, you are making a wrong financial decision, then think twice.
Remember self-realization is the best help.
Ask yourself these type of questions; you will get the right answers.
Are you using credit cards responsibly?
Are you able to pay off the outstanding balances at every billing cycle?
Are you regular on other monthly bill payments?
Do you really need the item now?
Which one is more important for planning a vacation or fixing the roof?
I should agree that resisting the urge of spending money was not easy for me. I learned the importance of good money habits when I had to. Otherwise, I had only one option- filing bankruptcy that means losing my home.
Thanks to the Almighty who helped me to overcome the credit temptation.
You can also resist the urge of getting spending spree. Give yourself a chance.
Today’s post is contributed by Marc, who runs the personal finance blog Vital Dollar. Marc has been working online full-time since 2008, running blogs and sites in a variety of different industries like web design, photography, and travel.
When it comes to money and financial topics there is no shortage of advice and available reading material. You could easily spend years devoted to learning more about managing your money and investing.
While there are plenty of in-depth, complicated financial topics that you can study, there are also some very simple and basic concepts that can have a massive impact.
In this article, we’ll look at a few of these simple concepts that are easy to grasp. If you make the effort to implement them you’ll see a huge payoff.
1. Pay Yourself First
This is pretty common financial advice, but most people ignore it. The typical approach to managing money involves paying bills, buying the stuff that you want, and then saving whatever happens to be left over. The problem is, with this approach there is almost never anything left to save.
In order to be effective at saving and building your nest egg, you need to make it a priority. Most of us are good at finding excuses, and there’s always a reason why saving isn’t convenient. But if you pay yourself first and then create a budget around the amount that you want to save or invest, you’ll find that it’s possible to make progress even when things seem tight.
When I was in my mid 20’s I was living on my own and getting by, but I didn’t have a lot left over after paying bills and necessities. I had a 401(k) available to me at my job, but for a while I wasn’t contributing anything because I was afraid of not having enough money to pay bills.
Looking back, there weren’t a whole lot of expenses I could have cut. I was living very frugally, but one thing I could have done to free up some money was live with a roommate. Living with a roommate probably would have saved me about $300 a month (even if Andrew doesn’t like the idea).
If I had paid myself first, in terms of contributing to my 401(k), and built my budget around what was left, I would have been able to make it work. That $300 per month would have been $3,600 into my 401(k) in one year, and that doesn’t even factor in the company match or the savings from reducing my taxable income.
2. Power of Compound Interest
I wish students would learn more about the power of compound interest in school. The combination of compound interest and a long period of time to let it work its magic is shocking.
Many young people don’t feel the need to save or invest because they think they’ll do those things when they’re older. But the reality is, the younger years are the best time to save because of compound interest.
That $3,600 that I could have contributed to a 401(k) in my mid 20’s could turn into more than $78,000 in 40 years, assuming an 8% return.
But if you invest the same $3,600 and only have 10 years to let it grow, it will only amount to $7,772 at the same 8% interest rate.
Those numbers are based on only one year of conservative saving. Image what could happen with several years of an aggressive commitment to save in your 20’s or 30’s.
3. Track Your Expenses
In order to manage your money effectively you will need to know where it’s going. Creating a budget is a guessing game if you don’t know how much you’re currently spending in different categories.
Budgeting can be a really helpful way to take better care of your money, but from my experience, tracking expenses has been even more helpful than budgeting.
When I was fresh out of college and getting by on a very low salary, I would track every dollar I spent in a spreadsheet. Each night when I got home I would record any purchases I made that day. I remember even entering $1 when I bought something from a vending machine.
At the end of the month I would total it up and see how much I spent in different categories. For me, knowing that I was going to record and track the expenses made me extremely careful about how I spent money.
By tracking expenses you are holding yourself accountable, and that can be a very powerful motivator for spending wisely.
4. Invest in Yourself
This is another one that you hear a lot. It sounds great, but what does it really mean?
Investing in yourself can involve a lot of different things, like getting an education, paying for training or coaching, improving your skills, starting a business, and many other things.
The purpose of investing in yourself is that it will pay off in the long run by way of more money, more freedom, or more happiness.
For me, investing in myself meant dedicating time and effort (and a little money) to start my own business back in 2007. By late 2008 my income from my online business allowed me to leave my full-time job. In my case it also involved a sacrifice and risk on my wife’s part, as her income would have needed to support us if my business failed.
If you were to look at our financial situation before that time and compare it to now, it’s drastically better now. Putting in the effort and taking the chance on my own business paid huge dividends for our family.
5. Live Below Your Means
What do most people do when they get a raise or promotion? Typically, the response is to spend the extra money that they’re making. It could be a one-time purchase, or it could be something like a new car that comes with a bigger payment each and every month.
If you want to get ahead financially, the key is to live below your means. And when you get a pay increase, don’t wipe out that increase by adjusting your lifestyle and spending more money.
Living below your means will allow you to save and invest month after month, year after year. If you do this consistently, you’ll be able to enjoy the rewards later.
This Dave Ramsey quote is very applicable here: “Live like no one else now so later you can live like no one else.”
6. Save More When Times Are Good
Although we should be saving and investing for the future all the time, it’s especially important to make an extra effort when things are going well and you have the money to spare.
Being self-employed, my income has been inconsistent for the past 10 years. We’ve learned to live with unpredictability, for the most part. But what has made it possible is saving up significantly more when the income is good.
Instead of buying expensive things when we have the money, we’ve typically saved because we might need that money later. This approach, along with living below our means, allowed us to build up our retirement savings pretty quickly, and it’s helped us to avoid trouble when my income isn’t as high as we would like. Just this year I sold a website that had been my primary source of income for the past year. That meant reduced income going forward without the website. Fortunately, planning ahead made it possible because we had saved leading up to it.
7. Prepare for Emergencies
Most financial advisors will tell you that an emergency fund should be one of your top priorities. Without an emergency fund you could be in trouble if something unexpected happens, like a job loss or major health issue.
Emergency funds aren’t exciting or sexy. All of us have plenty of other things we would rather do with our money than build up an emergency fund. But it’s one of those fundamental financial principles that you should follow, or you could regret it later.
8. Set Financial Goals
Setting financial goals can be extremely powerful. Yet, most of us don’t take the time to set specific, measurable goals. If you have goals you’ll have something specific to be working towards, rather than just a general goal of saving money.
Goals can be especially helpful if you’re a competitive person. Almost 5 years ago I set specific net worth goals for 5, 10, and 20 years. So far I’ve hit my 5 year goal, I’m not too far away from my 10 year goal, and I still have a long way to go for my 20 year goal. But I’m on track, and thanks to having goals I’m motivated to do what’s necessary to reach those milestones.
Setting goals isn’t hard, and it doesn’t take a lot of time. Simply think about your end goal and then work backwards and set a few smaller goals that will put you on the right pace to hit your ultimate goal.
9. Money Matters Less Than the Opportunities it Provides
Most of us think about money a lot (especially those of us who write on the topic). But it’s not really the money that’s important. What’s much more importance is what you can do with the money.
Money makes a lot of things possible.
Over the years I’ve worked to increase my income and net worth. But the most important things resulting from my business haven’t been related to money, although they are possible because of the money.
My favorite thing about being self employed and working online is the flexibility that it provides. I’m able to take a 20 minute break in the afternoon and pick my daughter up from kindergarten. I’m able to take days off on short notice when the weather is nice and we want to go somewhere as a family.
Don’t chase money for the sake of having money. Think about what’s important to you and how money can help you in that way.
10. Give to Others
One of the most rewarding things you can with your money is share it with others. There are countless worthy causes out there, and none of us can give to them all. Pick one (or more) that are of particular importance to you. We all connect to something different, and giving to something that truly matters to you is a great way to use your money.
My parents taught me the importance of giving from an early age. I always gave some of my money, but I mostly did it because it was what I was supposed to do and seemed like an obligation.
Within the past couple of years I’ve become more aware of a few causes that really resonate with me. Giving to these causes is fun and rewarding. It motivates me to increase my giving and have a greater impact.
What About You?
Which of these simple financial concepts have had a big impact on your life? If you have any others that weren’t mentioned here, please feel free to share in the comments.
This is a guest post by Clara Decker of CouponsMonk.com, a deals and discounts provider company. She is passionate about money savings, investment and finance industry. In addition, Clara also supports non-profit agencies that provide healthcare solutions to handicapped and disabled people.
Managing one’s finance, sticking to the budget, and handling investment decisions are easier than ever before now. All thanks go to the today’s crop of personal finance apps which are getting popular with each passing day.
They are effective enough to help you strategize and manage your finance in the best possible way. In fact, these apps are taking the world by storm. Especially, it is expected that millennials are going to get benefited with the largest amount of personal wealth of any generation through these apps.
Undoubtedly, there is happening an explosion of brand-new consumer finance brands which are certainly changing the way how people spend, save, and manage their money.
Howbeit, it is even true that not all such personal finance apps are worth downloading and using both. There is a myriad of options available out there which are not incorporated with enough smart technologies to help you plan your financial life in a better way. Hence it is always recommended to avoid them.
Which are the good ones then?
This piece of writing will actually help you out to get the right answer to this question.
It can be considered as one of the best apps to manage your precious bucks. It comes as a powerful all-in-one resource which is perfect for curating a budget and tracking the same. All that you need to do is just connect all your bank and credit card accounts, monthly bills and so on. Hence, you can be assured of all your finances to be in a convenient place. You don’t have to access multiple sites to access your financial data. You may notice that even Wallet Squirrel’s own Andrew uses this daily.
With the amazing perks like letting you know the due time for your bills, how much you owe etc., Mint has become immensely popular nowadays. Also, this app is technically sound enough to give you specific advice on budgeting. This is not the end! You can even enjoy the exhilarating feature of free credit score.
If you’re someone who believes in tracking your finance to attain the best results, this app is definitely your cup of tea. If you use this it, you don’t have to manually log-in to your expenses at the end of the day. This free app is such a user-friendly one which can even take a snap of your receipts. Above that, if you are someone who is using geo-location on your smartphone, this app can further help you in saving that information. In the end, the process will end up being pretty fast for you while saving the time for several steps.
Hence, if you want to have a clear insight of where your bucks are going, you can simply trust on Wally.
If you want to spend some money on trading, Acorns is the best way of doing that. It is such an interesting app that even if there is a spare change from any of your purchases, you can invest that into stocks and bonds. If you are new to the market and you want to figure out frugal ways to make an entry, this app can definitely help you out.
All that you need to do is just make a log-in to your bank account. You will be able to choose an account to make an investment. Next, it needs a little bit of more details like your employee status, net worth, annual income, and decision to invest. That’s it!
Acorns will automatically suggest you a portfolio of stocks and bonds which will match your investment goals rightly. With Acorns, you can choose to start at just $ 5 or in bulk, in the blink of an eye, you will become an investor.
If you want to excel in saving money, you can go for Digit. This app is able enough to analyze various information starting from your income to spending habits while syncing with your checking account. It smartly pulls out the money that seems to be extra in your bank account! Within a significant duration of time, you will end up saving huge. You can download Digit from both Android and iOS apps.
It’s true that we often earn enough but it doesn’t suffice our needs. There are many such big responsibilities like putting our kids through college or buying a house which seems to be quite scary! Isn’t it?
However, if you download the Rize app, it will create a specific roadmap for you to help you accomplish all the aforementioned objectives. You just have to enter your plans and the app will do the rest. It will help you to get ready for all such big plans while saving your bucks. Whether it is iOS or Android, you can download this app from anywhere.
Clarity can let you have your own personal financial advisor always with you. This app effectively monitors and analyses your income and spending. Also, it keeps a track of all the transactions which happen in your bank account. Further, Clarity can even alert you if it figures out that you’re spending over the budget. It will also suggest you enough ways to reduce your spending.
Also, Clarity often does some more essential tasks for you like canceling subscriptions, looking for discounts and so on.
How thrilling is this?
Just try their little AI from any one of the Android stores now!
Every one of you have some debt in some or other way. If you want to keep away some extra money for that but don’t have time to go for a part-time job, you can take help from Fivver. It is a global online marketplace based app which offers various tasks and services starting at the cost of $5 when you complete each gig.
Do you think the amount is too less?
Well, the upsell potency for each gig that you will deal with is really huge! There are even some of such expert Fivver sellers who charge almost $45 upcharge to deliver the gig within the duration of 24 hours. So, you can become one among them and earn huge to upgrade your personal finance.
Aren’t these personal finance apps seem to be worth enough? Don’t wait anymore! If you want to become financially stable in your personal life, try them soon. There can’t be any better way to manage your finance in the right way.
