Completed challenges and progress on Money Making Challenge

I am excited to have completed my Sell 1,000 Things Challenge. It was fun at the start, finding things to sell and getting rid of my clutter. Then I got caught up in other things. Towards the end of it, I began to feel like it was holding me back from other things I wanted to do.

I was going to end it on June 30th whether I had completed it or not. I was close, but com June 30 I had not finished it. My plan was to donate everything Monday July 2nd, but on the evening of the 30th I slipped and sprained my ankle.

This meant I couldn't do anything so my stuff sat there. Amazingly, at the end of that week I ended up selling a bunch of it from pictures I had posted on Facebook and managed to finish my sell 1,000 things challenge properly.

So now that is over and done with properly, I am focusing my efforts on my money making challenge. This is there one where you find money, then double it repeatedly until you have $1,000,000. I am sitting at over $400 and am waiting on a few more payments to come through which will push me up to the next step.

This has been a lot of fun. I started with finding money on the ground; used it to buy some items and resell them. I did that a couple of times over then worked on an eBook which I have now launched. I paid someone else to do the cover for it, and the covers of a couple of other eBooks I have planned.

I try not to think too far ahead, and instead just focus on each step as it comes. I am sitting on step 15, so am doing well so far, but I expect it will slow down from here on in, as the amounts I need to double are much larger.

One of the things I would like to do throughout the challenge and hopefully on each step is to do at least one thing that will be a more long term thing. By this I mean instead of buying stuff to resell, the Ebook I just launched provides an income every time I sell one, and it can go on for years. With reselling, I can only make money from it once.

I want to set up different income streams through this challenge, so the money will continue to double, even after I have reached the next step. Ebooks are just one option, but there will be more things I do later on.

What are your ideas for the money making challenge?

Owning a home can be expensive

You often hear about the rent vs own debate. Right now I wish I was renting. I bought back in 2006 and have wanted to sell this house for the past few years. For various reasons that has not been possible.

This week we had a gas leak, then issues with our water. The pipes under our house were old and this was not terrible unexpected. It has, however been terribly expensive.

All the gas pipes needed to be redone with copper, the water pipes need to be flushed as some were clogged and overflowing to under our house. The slope of our land was causing the front of our house to act as a retaining wall. With the water overflowing whenever we washed clothes or did the dishes, we have a nice little swamp thing happening under there. The next issue with so much damp under the house was the will shift. These were repairs we could not put off, as we did not want our foundations to shift and cause all sorts of problems.

Repairs like this are disheartening because they cost a lot. Thankfully we have savings so it was simply a matter of booking in the repairs, instead of having to save up or try and get one of those quick loans.

Last year I added up the cost of various things we have had to do to this home compared to if we had rented. It pretty much broke even, because for almost 3 years this house was a rental and we were renting elsewhere for less than we charged. We had the house valued earlier this year and it is worth a lot more than we paid in 2005, so overall, the cost of owning the home is less than renting for my situation.

I still want to sell this home and since we had to have the gas pipes done anyway, we have now had gas heating installed too which is way cheaper than electric and good for selling the home. If/when this house is sold and I move, I will be renting for a while.

It will be interesting to compare home ownership to renting again. There are more pros for ownership than there are for renting, in my opinion, but it can be very expensive.

Make Money With Your Tax Return

The financial year ended a couple if weeks ago here in Australia which means many people have either lodged their tax or are preparing to. If you are getting or expecting a refund, have you given any thought as to how to make that money work best for you?

It is very easy to spend lump sums on things you want, especially when it can be seen as 'free money', but if you can think about it and put it to good use, then it will work for you for much longer.

I realise for many, the tax return is spent on necessities before it even gets to your bank account. What if you decided to put aside $100 or even $200 of the tax money to use to make more money. Most of your return would go to your bills and things, but you would also be setting up your future.

Shares and property are not the only way to invest and while it might seem crazy starting your own business with the worldwide economy all over the place, there are ways to invest your money and make more money right now.

I’ve been reading The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future. There are so many opportunities out there, it is just a matter of deciding what you want to do, creating a plan and doing it.

I have written various posts on ways to make money, so why not pick a way or 2 you want to start making more money and if it requires some money to start it (most of my idea’s don’t), or you need some money to market it better, do it with this tax return.

So what will you do with your tax return (if you get one)?

If you don't ask, the answer is always no

The other week I came across a quote with 3 simple rules:
1.) If you do not go after what you want, you will never have it.
2.) If you do not ask, the answer will always be NO
3.) If you do not step forward, you will always be in the same place.

I decided to take the plunge and contact some large bloggers about doing some guest posts. I had some great ideas, and of course, the exposure would be great. I have hesitated doing it for so long. It was on the 'to do list', but was never actually getting done.

So I decided to go after what I want and emailed them. The worst they could do is say no, and without asking, that was the answer anyway.

I got back a couple of positive replies and one nice reply, but a no to the idea I pitched, did I have any others. I immediately crafted a response with a few other suggestions, interlinking them with posts from their blog and points as to why my post would work and I got a YES! Not only that, but a "we want to post it soon' response, which is way better than I could have hoped. I was expecting 6 - 9 months before it would be posted.

Another thing I want is to move. I always thought it would not be possible until my daughter finished speech therapy, I finished my therapy and my kids were a little older. But recently I started asking, what if? Then I narrowed down areas to move to and asked more questions and did a lot of research.

Now it looks like I may be moving to an area that can cater better for my daughter with the help she needs, my mortgage will drop drastically and other expenses we currently have will drop to about half what we currently spend.

I had actually begun to give up on moving but this quote, an article on cheaper areas around Australia and comments from those close to me helped push to look at it now instead of later.

I am so amazed at the things which are happening in my life, all because I decided to go after what I want.

What is in your life you should go after, but are afraid or just haven't done it?

Blog to Book eBook launch

It’s finally here, my eBook – Blog to Book. I will be guest posting a bit around the place to coincide with the launch of my eBook, so you might see it mentioned on different blogs.

  I speak at different conferences on going from blog to book a fair bit now. If you are a blogger and want to take things to the next level and become an author, then this is the eBook you need! I cover everything about the process from getting your blog ready and pitching your book, right through to the contract process and marketing it once it is published. I also touch on mainstream vs self publishing. Blog to Book has everything you need to know about going form blog to book.

My book 365 Ways To Make Money came from my blog and more and more bloggers are becoming authors as well through posts they have written on their blogs. 

Blogs are a fantastic platform to launch a book with and publishers know this. You have an audience already. You are on social media such as Facebook and twitter, you have a following and a connection with the people who follow you. This makes marketing a book so much easier. 

So what is in Blog to Book that you can’t get elsewhere? Aside from personal experience and advice, I have resources such as the publishers who are working with bloggers now and exactly what you need to do. 

Here’s the contents outlined for you. 

Overview 

Getting started (getting your blog ready) 

Starting the book 

Pitching your book 

Handling the contract 

Royalties and advances 

Who you will work with 

Marketing - What you can do - What your publicist will do 

Mainstream vs Self Publishing 

Self-Publishing 

Different ways to self publish and their pros and cons 

Things to consider (distributor, getting it into book stores, printing) 

Promotions 

Cost 

 Extra resources - contact details for some publishers - recommended eBooks to help your blog and for marketing 

As you can see, Blog To Book covers everything and is the tool you need to help you get a book contract and go from blog to book. So what are you waiting for? Check it out now.

  If you are interested in becoming an affiliate, you can do so through ejunkie and get 50% of the sale price! Click here to sign up.

What to do when injured to ease boredom

Saturday night I managed to slip and sprain my ankle badly. I am pretty accident-prone and have been in plenty of pain with sprains and strains before, but this time it really felt like my ankle had snapped. It’s now Tuesday and it is still excruciating and horribly fat. I am now dependent on others for most things. I can hop of course, but the Dr glared at me and told me I have to rest it, elevate and ice it for a week at least.

Previously, when I hurt myself I would just lay in bed and watch TV. This time I have decided there is a lot I can do. For instance:
- Finalize all the details for my trip to the Financial Blogger Conference 
- Enter loads of competitions. One Sunday I always check out Three Lil Princesses and her link up. 
- Get ahead on blog posts and schedule a bunch 
- List stuff to sell (already managed to sell a couple of things)
- Do up a new budget and set new goals for this financial new year 
- Read. I have a bunch of books I want to read, but ‘never get the time’. I have a week of nothing, so all the time to read. 


What do you do when you are sick or injured aside from watching TV?