June Recap - NSJS, Tax Time, Blog Conferences

This month has been a big one with a nospend just sell challenge as well as some great new opportunities coming my way.

To start with, my no spend just sell challenge has gone pretty well, it finishes in 2 days and while I was not 100% true to the challenge I held to it pretty strictly. I listed a bunch of stuff on Facebook and eBay, with most items selling on Facebook. I had said to myself that whatever didn’t sell by the end of the month was going to get donated. I am pretty excited about getting rid of anything that hasn’t sold.

I feel like all the extra stuff, even though I was listing and planning on selling it, was holding me back. I am sick of moving it around, storing it or trying to find time to sell it. That was part of the idea behind the no spend just sell challenge, to make me finally list the last of it all and get rid of it either way.

I’m happy with how much I have sold and how much I have made. I didn’t sell everything, but sold enough to make a difference.

This month also saw me decide to complete 5 things from my bucket list this year. The day after I decided this and posted it on my other blog I was told about a UK financial blogger conferences and now I am running a workshop at it. Going to the UK was an item on my bucket list I did not expect to mark off this year, but now I will be. I am so excited.

I have also been booked to run some workshops for Blacktown Council which I am excited about, all about ways to make money. They’ll be happening in September and October as well. September is going to be a busy month with me going to the USA, the UK and working here in Australia, but it is worth it.

The end of this month also marks the end of the financial year in Australia aka TAX TIME! I kept meaning to sort my stuff out and organize my tax before now, but didn’t get to. I like to lodge in the 3^rd week of July. I know many people who lodge in the first 2 weeks then end up waiting a long time to get their refunds back. I won’t be getting a refund as such because I have a business it’s different, but I do get a payment from Centrelink for my kids.

How about you, have you thought about tax yet? Did you do a no spend month with me?

Make money from blogging - think outside the square

Most bloggers want to make money from blogging. The usual things people think of are selling adspace, affiliate links, adsense or creating something like an eBook to sell.  Another popular one is sponsorship.

Sponsorship is a pretty hot topic because bloggers are either for or against it. Some bloggers feel you should pay your own way to conferences etc, where others feel if you can get sponsorship it is much better for you.

Aside from selling space on your blog, hoping people click on adsense or buy from affiliate links, there are other ways to make money blogging.

I started off blogging without an end plan in mind. I had no plan as to how I would monetize my blog etc, but it evolved so much over time that I now have a few streams of income because of my blog.

Aside from ads, sponsorship etc. there is freelance writing, blog make over or designs which can come from your blog. Review products, then selling the product as well. This works really well with things like books. Every book I have reviewed I have then sold online.

Public speaking happened for me because of my blog and I know more and more bloggers who are doing this, and more who are becoming authors because of their blog. It is a great platform to launch a book.

Some bloggers start an online shop to sell downloadable products, printables, eBooks etc or to make and sell things if they are crafty.

All the monetizing ideas mean nothing if you don't have the traffic to warrant someone to advertise with you. There are loads of articles out there on how to get traffic, more on how to monetize your blog, but often we get tunnel vision and forget to think outside the square.

For example, instead of just contact businesses online, get out there and do it in your local area or for anywhere you visit. I was recently in Melbourne and mentioned to a stall owner I am a blogger and would love to work with them. They were excited because they didn't even know where to start when it came to approaching bloggers and we worked out a great partnership.

Don't just contact businesses/potential advertisers within your niche. I am a financial blogger, but I deal with all sorts of businesses, bloggers and sponsors. Most of my readers are females aged 25 - 45, so any business/product that would like to target that age group, particularly mums, is a good fit for my blog.

Guest post on blogs outside your niche. Many of us tend to stick in our own areas and post on each others blogs etc. There are only so many blogs in a niche readers will reader. Of course, there are millions of people reading blogs, but to get a wider range of readers, increase your exposure and increase possible advertising opportunities, think outside your niche.

To make money from your blog, think outside the square. Once you have some ideas ACT ON THEM!! Ideas are nothing if you don't do anything to make them happen.

Juggling the money

It is all well and good to have a budget, but as we all know, sometimes things come up which mean you have to juggle the money. The last few months have been rather crazy here and a lot of juggling has been going on. Rather than just move money from one account to another, or take money from one are of the budget to cover another area I have been juggling in other ways.

Basically, instead of just moving money around, I have reassessed all areas of the budget and cut back where possible. I have done comparisons for virtually everything from which accounts I have, to electricity (I recently switched to Red Energy as they offered me 10% off every bill paid on time, which means every bill for me!) and been asking for discounts.

I've been entering competitions, mainly blog giveaways and have won 6 in the last 3 months, which is pretty good. I have been focusing on increasing my income as well, with 2 projects set to launch next week.

I have negotiated discounts in a few instances and have worked out a 3 month plan to increase my overall net worth, reduce my expenses and still live the life I want.

While at times juggling money can be stressful, if you create a plan to help prevent the juggling, continually seek out the best deal and compare all your bills and things on a regular basis (for example every 6 months) you won't need to juggle as much.

What are your tips for handling your money when you seem to have to juggle it?

Finding $500 extra a fortnight

3 weeks ago I wrote about my expenses exceeding my income and how I planned to find an extra $500 a fortnight. Within 1 week I had my extra $500 for that fortnight. I am happy to say I now have another regular $114 a fortnight die to a government payment for my daughters care (she is deemed to have a disability and I am now eligible for carers allowance to help cover her extra costs).

I have sold more things on Facebook and have listed some on eBay and picked up a little more writing work, so I have found my extra $500 for this fortnight too. So far so good!

I plan on selling off a lot more stuff. I keep on finding stuff I would happily get rid of. Obviously I used to spend way too much and be much more attached to my things.

I have also completed my latest eBook on going from Blog to Book which I will be launching very soon, once I finalize some guest posts and the bloggy tour to launch it.

I was almost going to buy some more things to resell as I found some things at a great price but decided I really need to focus on getting rid of what I already have before I get anything else and ultimately my aim is to move away from reselling anyway as I would like more passive income.

How are your finances going?

Paying off my mortgage before my children go to college

When you started searching for the best mortgage rates to finance your current home, there’s a good chance that you were thinking of all the other financial obligations that you have to juggle -- including retirement saving and your children’s college educations. Luckily, you don’t have to stick to the expected payment date that the bank gives you. If you want to pay off your mortgage before your kids become scholars, here’s how you can do it.

Bi-weekly payments. Making payments every other week is a brilliant way to trick yourself into paying off your mortgage faster. This is because the years has 52 weeks, meaning that you’d be making 26 payments, each for half the amount of your monthly payment, each year. By the end of the year, you will have made 13 full payments on your mortgage instead of 12, and your pockets won’t feel the impact. Homeowners should tread lightly in this territory, however. It is much better to set the terms of your biweekly payment plan at the beginning of your mortgage so that you don’t have to pay hundreds of dollars in fees. Or simply set aside the money yourself and make it in one big payment each month so that you remain in control of your finances.

Up your monthly payments to put more toward interest. When you make your mortgage payments, you’re covering some of the cost of your home, but some of that payment goes toward interest, as well. A faster way to chip away at your home loan is to add a bit extra to your payments each month that should be applied only to the principal (you should specify this with a note or memo whenever you send your payment). For example, we bought our home for $200,000 and put a 20 percent down payment of $40,000 on it, meaning we had $160,000 left to pay. We covered that with a 30-year mortgage with an average rate of six percent, so our monthly payments were $960. But we calculated that if we were to round that payment to an even $1,000 each month, we knocked three entire years off of our mortgage.

Make as many extra payments as you can as early as you can. This is the golden rule when it comes to paying of your mortgage early. The biggest concern for homeowners is how to wrangle the interest on their home loans, which the majority of their first payments will go towards. If you use our logic, you can do it early on by making as many extra payments up front. Even if you can only afford to make an extra payment during tax time, like we did each year, you can knock years off of your mortgage term. By putting an extra payment of $1,000 (combined with the extra $40 we were paying each month), we paid our mortgage seven years earlier than we had originally planned.

Refinance to a lower interest rate. Whether you have an adjustable rate or a fixed rate, if you see interest rates in the market taking a downward turn, it may be time to move on it. We locked in our mortgage rate at six percent, so we had no need to worry, but this advice is crucial if you have a high fixed rate or an adjustable rate that can change at any time. If you current rate is a half a point to two points higher than what is currently being offered, and if you plan on staying in your home long enough to absorb the closing costs from refinancing and still save money on interest, talk to your loan provider to see if it’s possible for you to take advantage of a lower rate.

Remember to advise your loan officer ahead of time whenever you plan to make extra payments so that he or she will know exactly what to do with it. Because before you take control of your financial future, you have to take control of your home financing terms.

*Sponsored post

How to sell on Facebook

I have been selling more and more on Facebook because it is really easy, there is no waiting for people to bid, I set the price and we arrange pick up and cash payment.

If you want to clear some of your stuff there are a few ways you can sell on Facebook.

1.) A garage sale page/group - Difference areas have their own garage sale group you can ask to join. Then it is simply a matter of listing your items via a photograph in the albums and people can comment on the photo if they want to buy it then you arrange pick up through direct/personal messages instead of on the garage sale page.

2.) Your own album - You can create a photo album of things you want to sell on your private profile. Of course, this means only friends and family will see if they look, but you can also email the link to friends and family so they can pass it on. You never know if they might know someone who is looking for something you are selling.

3.) Create a page to sell - You can set up a page to sell things on Facebook. The hardest part of this is getting people to like the page so your stuff actually sells.

While Facebook was originally intended to just be a social media, you can use it to help your finances and sell your stuff as well as keep in contact with friends and family.

Travelling overseas

I am scheduled to speak at The Financial Blogger Conference in September. Last year when I went I had a few issues with my card, so when I saw this post on Moneyhound today it really caught my attention.

Last year I didn't notify my bank I had gone overseas so the second I withdrew cash they locked my account. I had a debit card which the hotel I was staying got confused with and didn't process like a normal credit card causing many issues on check out (thankfully they got sorted and the hotel staff were amazing and really apologetic and offered beverages while they sorted it out.)

This year I have been looking into my options more and was leaning towards a credit card, so to have my options listed for me made things so much easier.

Last year I checked with my bank and they were going to charge me significantly to get USD out before I went, so I decided to just use my card over there. The fees were minimal so I decided that was my best option.

You can get a card from the post office to preload it with cash, but like cash, if you lose the card, it's gone.

Another option I have considered is just getting an international account, since I will be travelling a lot and possible living overseas later.

For me, I think a credit card is the best option for travelling provided you are disciplined with it and stick to your budget. I have my budget, now I just need to select my card!

What is your preferred method when travelling for dealing with payments?

A movie wedding

On Saturday I went to the wedding of my life I think. It was like something out of a TV show like Revenge or a movie where everyone lives in The Hamptons. It was amazing. Being a full formal affair I needed a full length dress.

I had made a dress, but due to many reasons I didn't feel it was up to scratch. On Friday I even went out looking for something else, found it, but couldn't bear to part with the $400 to buy it. Right up until 30minutes before we left, all I could think about was that dress and going to get it.

Instead, I stuck with the dress I had made.

Jac from All Yours Styling and I, she made her skirt too!

I made it from a sheet Jac had, which was unused. Then we added a little sash from a dress I had never worn and Jac made the peacock embellishment.

I started with this, which was all my 'fancy fabrics' and the sheet.

Then the end result was my dress. The peacock embellishment came from a mask and Jac refashioned it

My hair and make-up was done by me. My accessories were $9 (earrings and headpiece), add $2 for the zip I needed for the dress and my total look cost $11!

I was really happy with how it all came together. This wedding was a very expensive, formal affair and I felt fine in my dress. If you want to read more about the actual wedding I have posted about it here.

Wedding of the year...

Today I am off to a wedding. I am really interested to see what it is like since they have spared absolutely no expense and it is completely formal.

Most weddings I have been to have either been relatively small or there has been a budget kept in mind. I am not sure there was a budget discussed for this wedding, but I know it will be beautiful.

As I have been getting ready for the wedding I have gotten a little anxious about what I am wearing. You see, I had made my dress, but the closer we got the more I haven't wanted to wear it. So much so, that last night we went looking for a dress. I did find one I love, but I am also stingy and do not want to part with $400. My own wedding dress only cost $300.

This is the dress...

It looked amazing on, but we forgot to take a photo with it on. I tried on quite a few dresses and while some were lovely, it was this one that my sister and I both thought was 'the one'.

The wedding is this afternoon. I either have to adjust the dress I made a little or go buy something. The frugal part of me doesn't want to spend any money, especially since I am doing a no spend, just sell challenge. I did allow myself to possibly have to buy for this wedding. The prideful part of me wants the white and black dress.

Decisions, decisions!

Ways I am making money now

Life has changed a lot over the course of my journey to be a millionaire by 30. I have achieved things I did not even contemplate 2 years ago and have had things happen I never expected. Throughout it all, I have always looked for ways to make money.

Currently I am doing a variety of things at once, to create various income streams instead of just one.

- I have a couple of websites now which I make money from thought advertising, affiliate links and sponsorship.
- I have my book 365 Ways To Make Money as well as an eBook 26 Ingredients and another eBook will be launched soon (just waiting on the cover work).
- I now do public speaking which I am really enjoying. I am particularly looking forward to September because I am speaking in Denver (I love the USA) and I have some local events happening to teach people here about ways to make money and things. I live in a low income area, with many people not even having an internet connection at home, so this opportunity is really exciting to me.
- I still buy and resell items such as books and brand name clothing or accessories. I find it really easy and I have the space to keep items I am selling separate to everything else.
- Hairdressing I still do a little, but for a very limited number of people as it is not really something I enjoy, but I do like doing it for the people I know.
- Freelance writing is something I am really enjoying. I have a real passion for writing and I have had some great opportunities with freelance writing.

These are the main things I do to make money now. What are you doing to make money?

I found my extra $500 this fortnight!

Last week I posted about how my expenses were exceeding my income and I decided to find an extra $500 a fortnight, as in make more money instead of trying to cut back my expenses even further. I am happy to say within 24 hours I had already achieved $300 and within 3 days I had over $500 for this fortnight.

How did I do it?

The first part was an unexpected payment from the government which went straight into my account. I had heard about it, but was unsure if I was eligible. The next was a refund of $30 for switching insurance. I will also be saving $30 a month by switching which is great.

I sold a book and a DVD for $30 and was contacted about placing a couple of links on this blog. Some of this money may take up to 2 weeks to actually hit my account, but the goal of $500 for the fortnight was reached pretty quickly after setting.

While these things are not regular (other than the $30 monthly saving on insurance), it has helped motivate me and made me see it is possible to make more money and that there is money out there, if you just set your mind to it you can make more.

My total just in those 3 days was $555. I am actually considering bumping the amount to $1,000 for this fortnight, seeing as though some of that money wont hit my account within this fortnight.

I have more things to sell, which is a big aim of mine for this month with my No Spend Just Sell Challenge. I know I won't be able to rely on selling my old things forever, but I figure for this month it is a good start, until I have a few other things in place to help me make more money.

How have you gone with making more money?