Archive for July, 2009

Mining for Gold in Neighborhood Newsletters

By Kevin M

This is a weekly open forum dedicated to increasing income, cash flow and customer base, for anybody who needs to increase business or supplement a paycheck. Salaried employees, homemakers, small business owners, commissioned sales people, entrepreneurs, retirees—this is FOR you, and we’d like to hear FROM you. What works in one household or business may not work in another, but then again it might. Or it might be modified and adapted to different situations.

As a small business owner or sales person, one of your biggest jobs is marketing your product or service, and doing it in the least expensive ways possible. This is especially important if you’re starting a new business, or struggling to keep cash flow in a difficult economy!

One way to do this is through home owners association (HOA) newsletters.

Do You Have a Bad Attitude, or Does Your Job Really Stink?

By Kevin M

Now might not seem like a good time to open up a discussion that might lead to quitting a job, but given that many employees are currently being squeezed by shrinking staffs and increased workloads, now is as good a time as any to blow off a little steam, would you agree?

The reality of the current economy is that even if you have no intention of leaving your job, your job could very well leave you! Am I advocating that you quit your job, in the middle of this economy? No, certainly not. However, bad news be damned, now is a good time to be intentional about preparing for something new, especially if you find yourself sitting in a job that’s wearing you out and taking the spark out of your life.

Cash Is a Strategic Asset Class

The following is a guest post by Rob Bennett of A Rich Life. While it is not the intention of this site to present and offer investment advice to visitors, Rob offers a conservative approach that may be of value to anyone who is in a career change, debt reduction, or other type of financial transition, and represents a refreshing approach that offers a counter to the prevailing financial culture that recommends heavy and permanent positions in stocks—an investment class which is more risky than most people commonly understand.–Kevin Mercadante

Many people believe that stocks are always the best asset class for middle-class investors. It’s not so and I can show this with numbers.

The price that you pay for stocks obviously affects the long-term return you obtain from them. But have you ever gone to the trouble to check how much overpricing affects the return obtained? I have, and the results of my investigation were eye-opening for me.

Is Now A Good Time To Go On A Diet?

By Kevin M

We’re taking on this weekly forum as a way of exchanging ideas to help lower the cost of living. This includes expense reduction and elimination, but goes beyond, even to include lifestyle changes that may bring savings on a number of fronts. Ideas on ways to cut personal, household or business expenses are welcome!

This weeks suggestions:

Is it time to go on a diet? It’s unfortunate that most diet plans require that we buy food that’s actually more expensive than the kind we eat when we’re not dieting. On some plans, where you have to purchase prepared foods directly from the plan sponsor, it can be dramatically higher. At a minimum, most diets require that you change your food consumption to include more lean meats, fish, fresh produce and other food types that may be good for the waistline, but a disaster for the household budget.

Friday Income & Cash Flow Forum–EARN EXTRA MONEY SELLING FOR YOUR COMPANY

By Kevin M

Volunteer to be a part time sales rep for your company. Right now there’s a lot of anxiety out there over whether or not jobs will last; layoffs and the threat of layoffs are everywhere. It may be time to stop worrying, and volunteer for (paid) duty on the front lines.

Every company needs sales to stay in business; you may not view yourself as a “sales type”, but you may still be able to help in different ways. I can think of three ways to accomplish this:

A Chicken in Every Yard?

By Kevin M

A news story on CNN last weekend caught my interest. “Backyard Chickens”. You just have to stop and watch a segment like that, if only to answer the nagging question, what’s up with that?

Now in typical TV news fashion, the segment moved quickly, from one bullet point to another, spending not a whole lot of time on any. The story focused on a humble looking gentleman by the name of Andy Schneider, chicken farmer-at-large (or so it appeared) and a vocal advocate of chicken farming everywhere. And I mean everywhere.

What Are We Doing to Lower Our Cost of Living?

By Kevin M

The cost of living has been rising relentlessly for decades, and while we tend to notice it less during the good times, it all hits home hard in times like these. Forget the official numbers that deny the existence of inflation, if you’re middle class, working class, a struggling business owner, and especially if you’re retired, you know the real story from the trenches on the front lines.

Sure food costs have been bouncing up and down in a range, and gas prices are about 40% lower than they were a year ago at this time, but what about everything else? What about property taxes, utilities, health insurance and all things education related? What about movie tickets, theme parks, medical co-pays and car repairs? Our auto insurance just increased by more than 20% because of state mandated add-ons to cover uninsured motorists. 20%–in 2009—how’s that for timing?

Wednesday Income & Cash Flow Forum

By Kevin M

We’re going to start a weekly open forum here, dedicated to increasing income, cash flow and customer base. Salaried employees, homemakers, small business owners, commissioned sales people, entrepreneurs, retirees—this is FOR you, and we’d like to hear FROM you. We’re in a recession and it’s no secret that income and cash flow are major areas of concern. Salaries have been frozen or reduced, bonus programs canceled, customers are buying less or not buying at all, or disappearing completely. How do we deal with that?

The purpose of this forum will be to provide ideas which may be of help to increase income, cash flow and customer base for anyone who needs to increase business or supplement a paycheck. What works in one household or business may not work in another, but then again it might. Or it might be adapted to different situations.

Simplify Life, Improve Security with PayPal

By Kevin M

I’ve been a PayPal customer for a few years, and have become so accustomed to its advantages that I hardly notice anymore. But by definition, a service is outstanding when it is so efficient that you use it and never think about it. Perhaps that’s because you never need to think about it!

After all, it’s the squeaky wheel that gets the grease, not the one that’s functioning efficiently.

My wife and I signed up with PayPal a few years back when we wanted to begin selling our kids old toys on Ebay. It’s been a pleasant ride since.

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Archive for July, 2009

Mining for Gold in Neighborhood Newsletters

Do You Have a Bad Attitude, or Does Your Job Really Stink?

Cash Is a Strategic Asset Class

Is Now A Good Time To Go On A Diet?

Friday Income & Cash Flow Forum–EARN EXTRA MONEY SELLING FOR YOUR COMPANY

A Chicken in Every Yard?

What Are We Doing to Lower Our Cost of Living?

Wednesday Income & Cash Flow Forum

Simplify Life, Improve Security with PayPal

Financial Management