My iPad

Last month was my birthday and I decided I wanted to get myself an iPad as I have recently developed an interest in developing applications.

I planned ahead two months in advance, here is what I did;

1. I took $10 from every weekly paycheck I got from two different affiliate companies per week, so $20 a week for 8 weeks, totaling $160 when my birthday rolled round.

2. I started a fun new website, Fail File, which has had a good amount of interest and traffic, which made around $10 a week for those two months as well, which added up to $80, plus the $160 from my affiliates, bringing the total up to $240.

3. I wrote several articles that were of good quality and sold them off cheap, making me another $350 or so, so I was up to $610.

It was easy all in all, just a little bit of work – I hope this inspires and motivates all of you! Anything is possible when you put an effort in.

Save Money

Here are 10 ways to save money which will hopefully come in handy for many of my readers; after all the easiest way to make money is to have money to invest – but not everyone earns enough in their current jobs to put away a few hundred a month to invest down the line.

These tips should help you save money without changing your life or missing out on the things that you enjoy.

1. Watch a movie at home with a date rather than going out.

This might sound tacky but in fact, it can be far nicer (and cheaper!) than going out to the cinema. At home you can snuggle up together without an arm rest digging into anyone’s side, you can have a glass or two of wine and you can pause when one of you wants to use the restroom. Also, if like my partner and I you happen to smoke, you wont be forced to choose between a cigarette and the last twenty minutes of the film.

2. Buy groceries that are on special and ignore the brand names.

While this might sound obvious to most of us, many people still don’t do it. We naturally stick to a certain brand that we are familiar with rather than picking an item that is on special, despite the fact that most of the time the two products are identical with different packaging.

3. Get and use a reward card with your local supermarket.

Even though it takes a long time to accumulate enough points, reward dollars, bonuses, etc. depending on what your local store chooses to call them, a reward card is a great way to save some money. As there are only two of us and we don’t spend a lot on groceries we take some time to accumulate points; and yet we still manage to get a $50 credit at least once a month. It all adds up!

4. Pay yours bills on time.

If you put off a bill until it is overdue you end up wasting huge amounts of money on late fees. If your phone is late you will regularly be charged a minimum of $25 where I come from, as well as $40 on your power and if you have a website and rent a server you could be out another $20 when you fail to pay it on time. Staying on top of your bills can save you around $100 a month you’d otherwise be paying in late fees.

5. Rent it, return it.

Another late fee situation – renting DVDs. Back in the day my partner and I rented two overnight movies and returned them several days late. We wound up owing the store $45. If you are going to rent a movie be sure that you will return it on time, particularly if it is a new release – the penalty for not doing so may well be more costly than the original rental price. If you can’t stick to this but have cable, pay per view may be a better option for you.

6. Give it up or cut it down.

We all have at least one habit that costs us a fair chunk of money each month. For me, I used to smoke a lot and only drink Pepsi Max from cans, not bottles. I’ve cut my smoking down by half and now drink whatever kind of Pepsi Max is on special – this is saving me around $400 per month.

7. It’s the thought that counts!

We all love to buy people we care about expensive gifts, that is just human nature – but when we are trying to save money a nicely worded card and a thoughtful gift will mean just a much to the recipient without breaking the bank. For example, when we were poor I bought my partner a $5 pair of plain dog tags then spent $20 to have them engraved – it is to date his favorite gift ever.

8. Don’t run up the power bill.

Everyone knows that turning off a light when you leave a room is a good idea; but what about in Winter when you need the heater running? We had a terrible winter last year and as a result our power bill was up $300 for that year. This year I’ll be using a hot water bottle – it works just as well and can be nice on your back after a long day. Sure – run the heater – but don’t have it on full all day every day for three months.

9. Never leave the house hungry.

Whether you are going grocery shopping or to the beach, when you are hungry you will constantly spend more money than you need to on food and frequently buy things that will not get eaten. Take it from someone who once spent $30 at McDonalds after not eating for 36 hours. Big mistake.

10. Legal Downloads.

We all download and watch TV shows, movies and music online – it is just easier that way. My only word of advice here is do it legally; plenty of big TV networks allow you to watch their shows online for free and YouTube has many new and official music videos up. The cost of getting caught if insane – so be safe. Your savings will mean nothing if you get whacked with a $100k bill for watching the Lost finale on an illegal sharing site.

Free

To celebrate the launch of GPTHQ I’m giving away a short ebook written by a friend of mine.

The ebook teaches you how to make money online for free using GPT sites.

To download, click here.

It is easy to be lazy and do nothing with your life- just sitting there and expecting to somehow get rich online and make money in your sleep without actually doing anything at all. But the reality is that you have to work for money.

You can either work hard for 40 years in a regular job or you can work smart online; but no one is going to just hand you a pile of money.

People often ask me for money – last week I had someone randomly approach me on a forum and ask; “I heard you made $12,000 last week – is that true?” I thought for awhile and then realized that it wouldn’t be too hard for him to find out if I lied to him as I regularly discuss how much I make; so I told him yes, yes I did. He asks; “Well could I have $6,200 please?”

When I said no he was actually outraged – “You have so much money, you make money online all the time, I don’t. Why wont you give me anything? PLEASE?”

You see, begging gets you no where. You need to get your ass into gear and make money happen for you. Four years ago I was so poor that my fridge contained nothing but an empty jar of peanut butter and an expired bottle of multivitamins.

One night, stomach growling, I decided to make money online. I wrote books, I made websites, I joined GPT sites.

Do the same, and I promise you’ll get there. Just don’t write to me begging for money.

Enjoy your free ebook and good luck making money online today!

Money

That’s right – GPTHQ has finally launched!

A brand new GPT website aimed to revolutionize the world of making money online launched in the early hours of this morning!

The website is slick and attractive and I’ve had a peak at the offers; all of them are free and no credit card is required except for one GPT offer where you need your mobile phone, but there are so many GPT options that you can ignore this one altogether.

GPTHQ accepts members from all over the word and has several offers for most countries, but even if it doesn’t you can make some easy free money fast by referring your friends.

Personally I’m very excited about this whole thing, and I’m off to complete some offers myself!

I encourage you to sign up at http://www.gpthq.com and get in early.

Good luck everyone!

Keyboard

So many people seem to be falling for scams lately, it’s just plain crazy – but that is what happens when someone is so desperate to make money online that they are willing to take risks. I’m here to prevent that.

I should warn you in advance that although this method is a completely real way to make money online for free and work from home either full or part time, that it is just as demanding as a regular job.

What I am talking about is writing for money. Writing articles for money is one of the best ways to get started online. You might not think so, or you might have a whole lot of questions and doubts – I don’t blame you. In the past I’d signed up for a bunch of websites offering to pay me for writing articles – they sucked.

The truth is the only way you are going to make money online for free legitimately is by doing things for yourself – this method isn’t going to cost you anything at all financially, you just have to be willing to invest time and effort.

This is the exact way that I personally started out making money online – at first I was working four hours a day, five days a week, for $600 a month. That isn’t great money but considering I was flat broke at the time it was enough to put food in the fridge and cigarettes in my hands. Of course I also bought a lot of wine, but hey, I’m a writer.

I’m going to answer some questions I’ve been asked over the past few months about how you can make money online by writing articles below.

How much money can I make online by writing articles?

That really depends on how much time you put in. The last month that I was writing full time from home I made $2200 writing for several different clients. You can make more than that of course, but I was still taking time off regularly to work on other projects.

What should I write about to make the most money?

It seems to me that health articles, money articles and insurance articles are worth the most money right now – however I personally made most of my money writing about mobile phones, holiday destinations and articles for adult websites; it really depends on your clients.

Where can I find clients?

This is one of the easiest things to do when you know how – just go and sign up for a webmaster forum such as Digital Point or Answernode (both come up in Google) and go to the Content/Content Creation sections. It is completely free and the best way to make money online.

Should I sign up for writing sites too, like Associated Content or Helium?

I’d say no. It is a waste of time when you could be getting paid instantly for work completed with regular clients.

I hope these tips have helped you and if you have any questions feel free to leave me a comment and I will be sure to get back to you.

As always good luck and don’t give up – making money online is possible – you just have to work hard at and find a method that works for you.

If you need some motivation you might be interested in:
Motivation To Make Money Online
10 Reasons To Earn Money Online

Money Online

If you’re feeling bored tonight and want to make money online for free, I’m going to list 10 ways that you can use to get started right now with zero investment – Enjoy.

1. Sign Up With A Good PTC/GPT Site

There are a few good GPT/PTC websites out there but the most trustworthy is Cashcrate. Sign up and you can make a few dollars here and there for free, and you can start right away! In a week GPT HQ will also be launching, as unfortunately it was delayed. (Refer to this post.) If you want bigger payouts then GPT HQ will be the way to go once it launches. (You can register your interest now.)

2. Create An AutoBlog With AdSense

Creating an Auto Blog will take you all of five minutes if you already know how, or alternatively if you don’t you can always grab the AutoBlog Guide – it’s only $5, or you can get it for free by completing a free offer (details on the site.) Adding Google AdSense is quick and easy, and with an Autoblog you constantly get fresh, new content – so you will earn money while you sleep. (You wont get rich unless you make 100 blogs all on popular topics, but it can be done. I know a guy making $100 a day from it currently.)

3. Write Or Rewrite A Few Articles

Writing articles for money is easy when you know how – all you have to do to find work is go to DP or Answernode and make a post in the forums to let everyone know you are looking for work. It’s free, fast, and relatively easy. You can make $12 to $20 an hour depending on how well you write and how fast you can get a job done.

4. Sell Old Accounts

People are often willing to pay money for different kinds of accounts – whether or not they are on forums, games, e-commerce, etc – there is always a market. A great way to start out is by selling a Torn City account or alternatively a Neopets account. (If you want a Neopets account you can get a good amount of money for, try using the Ultimate Neopets Guide – it does cost $5 – but you don’t need it, it just helps you get there fast. (It is worth the investment if you plan on doing this full time, or seriously, but if you just want some extra cash for the short term then don’t worry about it.)

5. Post In Rewarding Forums

Places like Answernode regularly give their members cash prizes for contributions to the forum. Lots of other forums do it, mostly without advertising it. (This way all members are still legitimate.) It is a great way to make money online if you are poor and have a few hours.

Keep all these in mind and good luck!

Money Online

Setting realistic and achievable goals for yourself when it comes to making money online can be a great way to stay motivated, which is very important when you want to work at home.

Some of your money making goals should be easy to achieve, some of moderate difficulty and one or two hard ones; nothing extreme though, not when you are just starting out. These goals will motivate you, and each time you accomplish one your optimism and drive will be renewed and strengthened.

Here is an example list of goals;

1. Make enough money online to order 5 take out meals a week.

2. Earn enough money to buy a new mobile phone or netbook.

3. Make enough money to buy a new laptop to use when working from home.

4. Be able to afford flowers/chocolates/dinner out once a week/fortnight/month for/with a loved one.

5. Save at least $500 for Christmas time.

These are just some examples – my own personal first goal was never to look in my fridge again and see only a bottle of tomato sauce and an empty jar of peanut butter.

Make a list, keep it visible, work towards your online money making goals – it [b]WILL[/b] pay off.

Stay motivated, and get stuck in!

Keyboard

When it comes to making money online and working from home, one of the most important things you can do is to build up a network of contacts. Working at home you don’t have “colleagues” – at least not until you are very successful; then you have employees – so every contact counts.

This might sound a little confronting, and leave you wondering where you start, what skills you need and how you are supposed to find these people and get them interested in being your friend, mentor, sounding board, etc.

In my experience the best way to network online is via forums, (or “fora” if you want to use the correct word,) because unlike social networking websites the people on webmaster forums and money making forums all have the same goals, and many will be willing to share their experiences with you.

Digital Point webmaster forums is wildly popular and I’ve been a member there for a long time, however while I would definitely recommend joining it, it is already established and because of this new members will never feel particularly involved. (I’ve been there a year, made some money, but still feel like a noob.)

This is why I am suggesting that any of you who make money online, (or aspire to work from home in the future,) go and sign up at the Answernode Webmaster Forum – it is a new site but has just undergone a big make over, and it looks like it could be a very successful and busy site in the coming months.

When you join a forum from the start your networking options are considerably better, and you will often get the opportunity to become a Moderator or Senior Member, meaning that others will be more interested in getting to know you and talking shop.

Contacts can provide you with valuable services, often with a discount, help you network with others, give you review copies of great products for free and partake in joint ventures and projects together.

I hope to see you there!

Google AdWords

Last night my partner was creating his first AdWords account, and when he had to enter his credit card details for post pay his card was declined without any clear reason.

The Google AdWords advice center suggests that you should call your bank and make sure your card is working correctly, but this is rarely the case. AdWords has been declining cards without reason since 2004 that I am aware of.

Out of interest we decided to try using the Internet Explorer browser rather than Firefox – and upon log in it showed that his credit card had actually been approved.

It seems that Firefox has some issue with cookies or the cache – we cant pin point exactly where the issue lies, but I can tell you that if you sign in using IE after getting repeated declined messages when signing up for AdWords with a working credit or debit card that it does seem to fix the problem.

I appreciate that this post doesn’t strictly relate to making money online, however I know for the past (almost) 6 years many people have had this issue, and no one has suggested this, including Google themselves, as being a solution. I will be back to regular money making posts shortly, so check back in – but please remember this advice as it seems to be a frequent problem and I hope this could save a whole lot of people a whole lot of trouble.

Alexa Rank

Good afternoon everyone!

While checking how many people had linked back to this blog today I decided it was probably about time I checked my Alexa rating – which is currently sitting at 1,776,509 – now this isn’t great by any means, the goal of anyone who is focused on their Alexa ranking is to get it at least below 300,000 – but it still isn’t too bad for a small blog about how to make money online.

I realized that a lot of people don’t actually know what an Alexa rating is, so I thought I’d offer a brief description here.

Firstly, the lower your ranking the better – Google currently has an Alexa rank of 1, while Yahoo has a rating of 2.

The fact that this blog is rated 1,776,509 means that it is in the top 5.712% of websites currently on the internet in terms of traffic.

Overall however an Alexa rating, like a page rank, is not the be all and end all – but if you want to get a feel for how your website is going traffic wise you should check it out, or visit websitegrader.com – it gives you an SEO report of your website, plus it will tell you your Alexa ranking, both as a number and as a percentage.

This post was really just to help try and clear things up for those of you still in the dark, and I hope I did it.

Until next time, keep making money online!