At the end of each month I am going to highlight a few of my favorite posts from The Buck List. Here is the July batch.
Three Blogging Lessons I Have Learned By Example
Best Sweepstakes Sites
Food Banks, Pantries and Soup Kitchens: How to Find Food in Times of Need
Best Free Movie and TV Sites
Eat Out on the Cheap
How to Make Money With a Booth
Wednesday
Focus On: Get Rich Slowly
This is eighth in a series of brief reviews of personal finance and frugal websites and blogs.
That Get Rich Slowly is not devoted to get-rich-quick schemes might be apparent by the title of this personal finance blog. After finding himself deep in debt J.D. Roth began educating himself on personal finance issues by reading books and discovered “few people get rich quickly, but almost anyone can get rich slowly by patiently following some simple rules.”
This is easily one of the most in-depth and well written PF blogs out there. Subscribe and take some time to look around the archives and the forum. While you are there make sure to check out J.D.’s twelve basic tenets of the Get Rich Slowly philosophy.
Send me an email (BuckWeber at gmail.com) if you have a frugal or PF site you would like to see included in this series. If it belongs to you include a few lines about it and yourself.
That Get Rich Slowly is not devoted to get-rich-quick schemes might be apparent by the title of this personal finance blog. After finding himself deep in debt J.D. Roth began educating himself on personal finance issues by reading books and discovered “few people get rich quickly, but almost anyone can get rich slowly by patiently following some simple rules.”
This is easily one of the most in-depth and well written PF blogs out there. Subscribe and take some time to look around the archives and the forum. While you are there make sure to check out J.D.’s twelve basic tenets of the Get Rich Slowly philosophy.
Send me an email (BuckWeber at gmail.com) if you have a frugal or PF site you would like to see included in this series. If it belongs to you include a few lines about it and yourself.
Monday
What Do You Do With Your Change?
As far back as I can remember I have always kept my change. As a kid it was kept in a weird little flowery yellow turtle bank and later a much cooler hinged pirate chest with a tiny key lock on it. Now as an adult I keep my change in mugs I collect, scattered around the house. Once a few fill up I pour it all into a coin bag and head up to the bank to turn it in.
A few weeks ago I walked into my bank at the same time a couple of women both were carrying in two large containers of change. The bank clerk emptied the containers one after the other into the change counter. After around five minutes she finished and announced the grand total to them: $762. The clerk asked how long it took them to accumulate that much and they said about a year.
The most I have ever cashed in was under $100. I usually don’t do anything special with the cash I get back; it just goes into the general fund. I am wondering what was the most you got when cashing in your change and what do you do with it?
A few weeks ago I walked into my bank at the same time a couple of women both were carrying in two large containers of change. The bank clerk emptied the containers one after the other into the change counter. After around five minutes she finished and announced the grand total to them: $762. The clerk asked how long it took them to accumulate that much and they said about a year.
The most I have ever cashed in was under $100. I usually don’t do anything special with the cash I get back; it just goes into the general fund. I am wondering what was the most you got when cashing in your change and what do you do with it?
Saturday
Weekly Roundup
The Buck List participated in two carnivals recently. Check them out for articles about almost every kind of personal finance topic you can imagine.
Carnival of Everything About Personal Finance – 6th Edition
Carnival of Pecuniary Delights #17 – “Online Slang” Edition
Retired Brains – This site connects older workers with employers looking to hire them.
Target Barter – This clearinghouse site allows you to trade items using Target Barter Dollars. Services and items are purchased and sold at current market rates while they keep track of your account.
Travel Muse – Plan, create and organize your trips using this site. If you don’t know where to go use the "Inspire Me" button.
In the comment section of a recent post I wrote about how to eat out cheaply a reader suggested the site Ueatcheap, which offers to find places to eat in your area for $10 or less.
Carnival of Everything About Personal Finance – 6th Edition
Carnival of Pecuniary Delights #17 – “Online Slang” Edition
Retired Brains – This site connects older workers with employers looking to hire them.
Target Barter – This clearinghouse site allows you to trade items using Target Barter Dollars. Services and items are purchased and sold at current market rates while they keep track of your account.
Travel Muse – Plan, create and organize your trips using this site. If you don’t know where to go use the "Inspire Me" button.
In the comment section of a recent post I wrote about how to eat out cheaply a reader suggested the site Ueatcheap, which offers to find places to eat in your area for $10 or less.
Friday
How to Make Money With a Booth
If you have ever wondered about opening a booth at an antique mall as a way to make some side money, or even as a full time occupation, but didn’t know where to start or how it works, look no further. I went looking for someone knowledgeable that has been in the business for awhile and came across a kindly old gent who agreed to be interviewed on the subject; namely, my Dad.
Buck: How long have you been a booth operator and why did you get into it to begin with?
Dad: I have had my own booth space for 13 years but prior to that helped my wife with her space at another location for about 10 years. Originally we wanted an outlet for some of the extra items we had accumulated in our many years of collecting. We would end up with duplicates as we upgraded our collections or, as interests changed, we might want to sell an entire collection. We would also come across bargain merchandise we were not interested in collecting but knew we could resell at a profit. So, to make our many trips to antique shops, malls, shows, flea markets, garage sales and auctions more productive we started buying to resell as well as to collect.
Buck: Are there fees or commissions involved with operating a booth?
Dad: It’s important to be very thoughtful when pricing items for sale in a mall. They have to be competitively priced or they won’t sell. Most malls offer a 10% discount to other dealers to encourage sales. Malls charge their dealers a commission on sales of around 10% and sometimes there may be credit card or advertising fees charged too. So, all those charges have to be considered in pricing. The two biggest costs are booth rent and cost of merchandise. In order to make a profit, items under fifty dollars should carry a 100% mark up or even more. I deal mostly in lower priced items and use a sliding scale for markup of higher priced items, but in no case do I mark up less than 25%. When you are not on site to negotiate with prospective buyers your prices must be right.
Buck: How much time during an average week do you spend buying and pricing your items and tending to your booth?
Dad: Most operators of mall booths also work full time at other jobs. Some are retirees and use the experience as a social event and to earn a little extra income. Others are full time dealers who garner the bulk of their income from antique and collectable sales. There does seem to be a direct relationship between the amount of time spent and the amount of income you can expect. Buying can be time consuming as an entire day or weekend can be spent at an auction or prowling one of the huge flea markets. To be successful fresh merchandise must be brought to your booth on a regular basis. If your merchandise consists of mostly “smalls” you will spend more time pricing. If your merchandise is larger, like furniture, you will spend more time cleaning, restoring and refinishing and very little time pricing. Regardless of your type of merchandise your booth sales will benefit if it is clean and fresh looking and items are easy to view.
Buck: What are the tax implications of operating an antique booth?
Dad: A word of caution to working individuals or couples about income tax consequences if you score a good year profit wise because that could push you to a higher tax bracket. Most malls collect and pay state sales tax for you so a sales tax permit is not necessary. However, if you sell direct then you must collect and remit the tax as required by state regulations. Also, most malls require you to have a sales tax permit to qualify for their dealer discount. The permit is free in Iowa.
Buck: Any final advice or encouragement for those interested in getting into the business?
Dad: Buying and selling antiques and collectables can be a fun and profitable adventure. You need to continually increase your knowledge of what is collectable and what the current values are. With this knowledge you will be able to identify profitable merchandise when you come across it and keep fresh items in your booth. Otherwise your booth will most likely become a very expensive storage area. Happy Hunting!
Buck: Thanks Dad.
Buck: How long have you been a booth operator and why did you get into it to begin with?
Dad: I have had my own booth space for 13 years but prior to that helped my wife with her space at another location for about 10 years. Originally we wanted an outlet for some of the extra items we had accumulated in our many years of collecting. We would end up with duplicates as we upgraded our collections or, as interests changed, we might want to sell an entire collection. We would also come across bargain merchandise we were not interested in collecting but knew we could resell at a profit. So, to make our many trips to antique shops, malls, shows, flea markets, garage sales and auctions more productive we started buying to resell as well as to collect.
Buck: Are there fees or commissions involved with operating a booth?
Dad: It’s important to be very thoughtful when pricing items for sale in a mall. They have to be competitively priced or they won’t sell. Most malls offer a 10% discount to other dealers to encourage sales. Malls charge their dealers a commission on sales of around 10% and sometimes there may be credit card or advertising fees charged too. So, all those charges have to be considered in pricing. The two biggest costs are booth rent and cost of merchandise. In order to make a profit, items under fifty dollars should carry a 100% mark up or even more. I deal mostly in lower priced items and use a sliding scale for markup of higher priced items, but in no case do I mark up less than 25%. When you are not on site to negotiate with prospective buyers your prices must be right.
Buck: How much time during an average week do you spend buying and pricing your items and tending to your booth?
Dad: Most operators of mall booths also work full time at other jobs. Some are retirees and use the experience as a social event and to earn a little extra income. Others are full time dealers who garner the bulk of their income from antique and collectable sales. There does seem to be a direct relationship between the amount of time spent and the amount of income you can expect. Buying can be time consuming as an entire day or weekend can be spent at an auction or prowling one of the huge flea markets. To be successful fresh merchandise must be brought to your booth on a regular basis. If your merchandise consists of mostly “smalls” you will spend more time pricing. If your merchandise is larger, like furniture, you will spend more time cleaning, restoring and refinishing and very little time pricing. Regardless of your type of merchandise your booth sales will benefit if it is clean and fresh looking and items are easy to view.
Buck: What are the tax implications of operating an antique booth?
Dad: A word of caution to working individuals or couples about income tax consequences if you score a good year profit wise because that could push you to a higher tax bracket. Most malls collect and pay state sales tax for you so a sales tax permit is not necessary. However, if you sell direct then you must collect and remit the tax as required by state regulations. Also, most malls require you to have a sales tax permit to qualify for their dealer discount. The permit is free in Iowa.
Buck: Any final advice or encouragement for those interested in getting into the business?
Dad: Buying and selling antiques and collectables can be a fun and profitable adventure. You need to continually increase your knowledge of what is collectable and what the current values are. With this knowledge you will be able to identify profitable merchandise when you come across it and keep fresh items in your booth. Otherwise your booth will most likely become a very expensive storage area. Happy Hunting!
Buck: Thanks Dad.
Wednesday
Focus On: The Motley Fool
This is seventh in a series of brief reviews of personal finance and frugal websites and blogs.
The Motley Fool promises to “educate, amuse and enrich” their readers on topics from investing to personal finance, and they have delivered consistently year after year. While they offer premium fee based services they also publish thousands of articles for free every year analyzing earnings reports, finding great investment opportunities and offering commentary on every personal finance topic imaginable. Sign up for their free e-mail newsletter and take some time to poke around in their extensive discussion boards.
Send me an email (BuckWeber at gmail.com) if you have a frugal or PF site you would like to see included in this series. If it belongs to you include a few lines about it and yourself.
The Motley Fool promises to “educate, amuse and enrich” their readers on topics from investing to personal finance, and they have delivered consistently year after year. While they offer premium fee based services they also publish thousands of articles for free every year analyzing earnings reports, finding great investment opportunities and offering commentary on every personal finance topic imaginable. Sign up for their free e-mail newsletter and take some time to poke around in their extensive discussion boards.
Send me an email (BuckWeber at gmail.com) if you have a frugal or PF site you would like to see included in this series. If it belongs to you include a few lines about it and yourself.
Monday
Eat Out on the Cheap
My wife and I have never been much for eating out, the two main reasons being we are infected with severe cases of frugality and we enjoy cooking. The three main reasons for us to go out to eat are for special occasions, if one of us gets a gift card or certificate to a restaurant, or when we come across a coupon or a deal that is just too good to pass up. The following ideas are some frugal alternatives to the usual restaurant options.
Culinary schools many times will have onsite cafeterias that serve dinner.
Fire station fundraisers offer up anything from bake sales to grill outs.
Try a local university or college cafeteria. They are open to the public and most offer a low flat fee all you can eat buffet.
Boy Scout fundraisers could include anything from a pancake breakfast to a fish fry.
Many Vocational and Tech schools offer cafeterias that serve dinner the culinary students have prepared.
VFW Posts offer generous dinner or supper plate deals.
Visit your local churches for breakfast and supper meals held as fundraisers.
Larger hospitals have cafeterias that usually serve inexpensive generous portions and offer daily dinner deals.
Fundraisers are inexpensive because the food is donated and they don’t want any leftovers, so the food is priced to move. Showing up toward the end could get you a serious price cut. The schools mark up their food enough to make a small profit, with the main focus on keeping waste to a minimum. All of it adds up to good eating for little money.
Related Articles:
Coupons!
Don’t Eat Out, Find a New Recipe
Food Banks, Pantries and Soup Kitchens: How to Find Food in Times of Need
Culinary schools many times will have onsite cafeterias that serve dinner.
Fire station fundraisers offer up anything from bake sales to grill outs.
Try a local university or college cafeteria. They are open to the public and most offer a low flat fee all you can eat buffet.
Boy Scout fundraisers could include anything from a pancake breakfast to a fish fry.
Many Vocational and Tech schools offer cafeterias that serve dinner the culinary students have prepared.
VFW Posts offer generous dinner or supper plate deals.
Visit your local churches for breakfast and supper meals held as fundraisers.
Larger hospitals have cafeterias that usually serve inexpensive generous portions and offer daily dinner deals.
Fundraisers are inexpensive because the food is donated and they don’t want any leftovers, so the food is priced to move. Showing up toward the end could get you a serious price cut. The schools mark up their food enough to make a small profit, with the main focus on keeping waste to a minimum. All of it adds up to good eating for little money.
Related Articles:
Coupons!
Don’t Eat Out, Find a New Recipe
Food Banks, Pantries and Soup Kitchens: How to Find Food in Times of Need
Saturday
Weekly Roundup
The Buck List participated in two carnivals recently, The Carnival of Savings 1st Edition and Carnival of Pecuniary Delights: Sweet 16 Edition. The excellent articles between these two carnivals could keep you busy reading for hours.
VIPdesk – Check them out for the opportunity to become a Brand Ambassador.
Free Campgrounds – This site is geared for finding RVers a place to camp for $10 or less but many of the campgrounds I looked at also offered tent camping as well. Worth a look.
Alice – Choose from 1000’s of products and Alice finds coupons and deals for you and ships it all to you for free.
VIPdesk – Check them out for the opportunity to become a Brand Ambassador.
Free Campgrounds – This site is geared for finding RVers a place to camp for $10 or less but many of the campgrounds I looked at also offered tent camping as well. Worth a look.
Alice – Choose from 1000’s of products and Alice finds coupons and deals for you and ships it all to you for free.
Friday
Best Free Movie and TV Sites
When I was a kid my parents were offered a promotional deal on something called “Cable TV.” We didn’t have it for long, and my parents never subscribed again. The only standout memory I have of the experience is of the infant HBO showing one movie, The Towering Inferno, over and over.
My generation (40’s) grew up going to the theater to watch movies, and if you wanted to see it again you went back. When a movie finished its run in theaters it could be several years before it made it to TV, billed as the “Network Premier.”
A few network TV channels offered series reruns, usually during the late afternoon for school kids and again late at night for the sleepless. The networks would sign off at midnight after playing the national anthem while showing the flag blowing in the breeze.
The only thing that has not changed is most movies still premier in theaters. Entire seasons of almost every TV show can be bought. Cable & satellite TV are considered a must have by many. From the VHS to Blu-ray formats, movies have been owned by individuals for well over 25 years.
And then there is the Internet. It seems that practically anything ever commercially filmed can be found out there among the myriad of sites available. I have put together the following list of sites offering the widest range of free content I could find. I’m sure there are good ones I missed, so feel free to add your favorites to the comments.
ABC – Over 30 TV shows to choose from. You have to download and install their plug-in, but it’s all free.
Blinkx – Seems like a kind of a clearinghouse for other sites. Hundreds of TV shows offered.
CBS – Well over 40 TV shows available, and no plug-in needed as far as I could tell.
Fancast – Another clearinghouse, with different offerings.
Hulu – One of my favorites, a huge variety of…you name it.
Joost – A large selection of music, TV and movies.
MTV – Lots of music videos and reality TV shows.
NBC – Over thirty of their shows are offered here. You will need to register and download their free HD player.
TVChannelsFree – A giant directory of 3,648 online TV Channels from 60+ countries. Some of them require plugins.
Truveo – A search engine for news, sports, TV shows and music videos.
TBS – Full versions of some of their shows.
TVU – Another site featuring channels from around the world. You will need to install their player.
Tidal TV – Lots of shows here provided by channels such as Discovery, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated and The CW among dozens of others.
TV Land – Full episodes of several older shows.
wwiTV – Watch live local TV from all over the world, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.
Watch Movies Links – A portal to watch what looks like a lot of bootlegged movies.
My generation (40’s) grew up going to the theater to watch movies, and if you wanted to see it again you went back. When a movie finished its run in theaters it could be several years before it made it to TV, billed as the “Network Premier.”
A few network TV channels offered series reruns, usually during the late afternoon for school kids and again late at night for the sleepless. The networks would sign off at midnight after playing the national anthem while showing the flag blowing in the breeze.
The only thing that has not changed is most movies still premier in theaters. Entire seasons of almost every TV show can be bought. Cable & satellite TV are considered a must have by many. From the VHS to Blu-ray formats, movies have been owned by individuals for well over 25 years.
And then there is the Internet. It seems that practically anything ever commercially filmed can be found out there among the myriad of sites available. I have put together the following list of sites offering the widest range of free content I could find. I’m sure there are good ones I missed, so feel free to add your favorites to the comments.
ABC – Over 30 TV shows to choose from. You have to download and install their plug-in, but it’s all free.
Blinkx – Seems like a kind of a clearinghouse for other sites. Hundreds of TV shows offered.
CBS – Well over 40 TV shows available, and no plug-in needed as far as I could tell.
Fancast – Another clearinghouse, with different offerings.
Hulu – One of my favorites, a huge variety of…you name it.
Joost – A large selection of music, TV and movies.
MTV – Lots of music videos and reality TV shows.
NBC – Over thirty of their shows are offered here. You will need to register and download their free HD player.
TVChannelsFree – A giant directory of 3,648 online TV Channels from 60+ countries. Some of them require plugins.
Truveo – A search engine for news, sports, TV shows and music videos.
TBS – Full versions of some of their shows.
TVU – Another site featuring channels from around the world. You will need to install their player.
Tidal TV – Lots of shows here provided by channels such as Discovery, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated and The CW among dozens of others.
TV Land – Full episodes of several older shows.
wwiTV – Watch live local TV from all over the world, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.
Watch Movies Links – A portal to watch what looks like a lot of bootlegged movies.
Wednesday
Focus On: Five Cent Nickel
This is sixth in a series of brief reviews of personal finance and frugal websites and blogs.
Since 2005 “Nickel” has been blogging about personal finance topics, with a particular focus on saving, investing and taxes. Inspired to pay closer attention to his financial situation after starting a family Nickel educated himself about money and investing by reading books and websites, and with the hands on experiences that comes with raising a family and buying a house.
Head on over to Five Cent Nickel for some thoughtful, concise personal finance articles, and make sure you dig around in the archives a bit.
Send me an email (BuckWeber at gmail.com) if you have a frugal or PF site you would like to see included in this series. If it belongs to you include a few lines about it and yourself.
Since 2005 “Nickel” has been blogging about personal finance topics, with a particular focus on saving, investing and taxes. Inspired to pay closer attention to his financial situation after starting a family Nickel educated himself about money and investing by reading books and websites, and with the hands on experiences that comes with raising a family and buying a house.
Head on over to Five Cent Nickel for some thoughtful, concise personal finance articles, and make sure you dig around in the archives a bit.
Send me an email (BuckWeber at gmail.com) if you have a frugal or PF site you would like to see included in this series. If it belongs to you include a few lines about it and yourself.
Monday
Food Banks, Pantries and Soup Kitchens: How to Find Food in Times of Need
The loss of a job, home or the main breadwinner in a family can all lead to a sudden lack of money for essentials, such as food. Extremely valuable resources for those times of need are soup kitchens, food banks and pantries. They are operated by religious and secular non-profit organizations and local government agencies, and can be found in many smaller towns and most medium size and larger cities. With some you have to prove a need, while others ask no questions; some charge a flat fee for a set amount of food and others are entirely free. Many are open every day, year round.
If you belong to a church, synagogue or mosque you probably already know what resources are available to you as a member.
Check your local phone directory under Food Banks and Social Service Organizations.
Perform an internet search using the keywords of the title of this article along with your town, city, county and state names.
Ask friends, family and neighbors if they know of any local resources.
Also make sure to check the following sites:
Feeding America
Angel Food Ministries
Soup Kitchen Directory
Hunger Relief Resources
Further Reading and Resources:
Food Rescue
Society of St. Andrew
If you belong to a church, synagogue or mosque you probably already know what resources are available to you as a member.
Check your local phone directory under Food Banks and Social Service Organizations.
Perform an internet search using the keywords of the title of this article along with your town, city, county and state names.
Ask friends, family and neighbors if they know of any local resources.
Also make sure to check the following sites:
Feeding America
Angel Food Ministries
Soup Kitchen Directory
Hunger Relief Resources
Further Reading and Resources:
Food Rescue
Society of St. Andrew
Saturday
Weekly Roundup
The Buck list participated in one carnival this week, the Just Write Blog Carnival July 10, 2009 Edition. Thanks to the host for including my post.
You might not have heard of Stateless Systems, but it is likely you know a few of their sites, such as Retail Me Not, Beat My Price and Jungle Crazy, among several others.
Wi-Fi Free Spot is a directory of locations that offer free Wi-Fi all over the world, including a state by state breakdown of the USA.
If you are all about the freebies make sure to check out Hey, Its Free!
Don’t forget to keep up on your credit history with Annual Credit Report.
Check out trovix for a free personalized job search.
You might not have heard of Stateless Systems, but it is likely you know a few of their sites, such as Retail Me Not, Beat My Price and Jungle Crazy, among several others.
Wi-Fi Free Spot is a directory of locations that offer free Wi-Fi all over the world, including a state by state breakdown of the USA.
If you are all about the freebies make sure to check out Hey, Its Free!
Don’t forget to keep up on your credit history with Annual Credit Report.
Check out trovix for a free personalized job search.
Friday
Best Sweepstakes Sites
I have had sort of an off and on relationship with online sweepstakes over the years. The daily entry sweeps can hook me for a week or so, while I prefer the single entries so I never have to return. I subscribe to the site email newsletters only to cancel after awhile when I feel I am wasting my time. After some time passes there I am, entering sweepstakes again.
I have read that the key to winning sweepstakes is to enter as many as possible.
When I do get on a sweeps jag I use RoboForm to quickly fill out the forms. One other tip is to use an email address exclusively for your sweepstake entries because you could end up with a lot of spam. While I have not won anything substantial yet, you never know. And unlike the lottery, they are free to enter. In no particular order here are my top five favorite sweepstakes sites. Good luck!
CashNet Sweepstakes – A huge directory of contests and sweepstakes.
Sweepstakes Advantage – They offer a free newsletter. Become a member and you can participate in their referral rewards program.
Online-Sweepstakes – This site has a large directory as well as an extensive forum for members.
Sweepstakes Today – Visit Mr. Sweepy and his Lucky List, among other features on this list.
About.com Contests & Sweepstakes – Sign up for the free newsletter and check out the articles on how to avoid scams and their tips on how to win more prizes.
I have read that the key to winning sweepstakes is to enter as many as possible.
When I do get on a sweeps jag I use RoboForm to quickly fill out the forms. One other tip is to use an email address exclusively for your sweepstake entries because you could end up with a lot of spam. While I have not won anything substantial yet, you never know. And unlike the lottery, they are free to enter. In no particular order here are my top five favorite sweepstakes sites. Good luck!
CashNet Sweepstakes – A huge directory of contests and sweepstakes.
Sweepstakes Advantage – They offer a free newsletter. Become a member and you can participate in their referral rewards program.
Online-Sweepstakes – This site has a large directory as well as an extensive forum for members.
Sweepstakes Today – Visit Mr. Sweepy and his Lucky List, among other features on this list.
About.com Contests & Sweepstakes – Sign up for the free newsletter and check out the articles on how to avoid scams and their tips on how to win more prizes.
Wednesday
Ten Months Out: Confession of a Lazy Blogger
When I started this blog last September all I wanted to accomplish was to exercise my writing skills by posting about my attempts at making and saving money. I have really enjoyed keeping a regular posting schedule, which has forced a steady writing discipline. As for blogging money; I have made very little, which is entirely my fault.
CONFESSION (How NOT To Make Money Blogging)
My biggest problem is my half-assed approach to promotion. While I joined Blogged and Blog Catalog and a few others, I don’t have anything to do with My Space or Facebook, and I don’t tweet. I know, I know. The thing is I can’t bring myself to do it. I’m sure it’s money down the drain, but I just don’t want to devote the time to keep up with it all.
However, my Google analytics account tells me I am almost doubling my traffic every month, which is due to steady content and the few referring sites I do belong to. I know what I could do to bump up that traffic; I just don’t want to mess with it.
I have participated in dozens of blog carnivals, which can bring a brief surge of hits, usually lasting a couple of days. My first few months of blogging I would enter every post on up to three different carnivals, but now will enter maybe one or two a week, if I remember to.
Specific to my blog subject niche are Tip’d and PF Buzz, which I usually still submit posts to every week. I enjoy reading others articles on those sites, and it only takes half a minute to submit mine.
Another of my big no-no’s is I don’t usually leave comments on other blogs, and I don’t participate in forums. Like most internet readers I skim content first, and if something catches my attention I will go back to the beginning and read it. If not, I’m gone. While most of the personal finance blogs I read and subscribe to are useful, they are not particularly interesting enough for me to leave a comment. Looking at the lack of comments on The Buck List would lead me to conclude the same about my blog. As for forums, I guess they fall into the “don’t want to take the time” category.
So there you have it, my confession; contradictory but true. I will keep blogging for now (you have been warned) and hopefully will present something useful once in a while. And if you really want to know how to do it right, go visit ProBlogger.
CONFESSION (How NOT To Make Money Blogging)
My biggest problem is my half-assed approach to promotion. While I joined Blogged and Blog Catalog and a few others, I don’t have anything to do with My Space or Facebook, and I don’t tweet. I know, I know. The thing is I can’t bring myself to do it. I’m sure it’s money down the drain, but I just don’t want to devote the time to keep up with it all.
However, my Google analytics account tells me I am almost doubling my traffic every month, which is due to steady content and the few referring sites I do belong to. I know what I could do to bump up that traffic; I just don’t want to mess with it.
I have participated in dozens of blog carnivals, which can bring a brief surge of hits, usually lasting a couple of days. My first few months of blogging I would enter every post on up to three different carnivals, but now will enter maybe one or two a week, if I remember to.
Specific to my blog subject niche are Tip’d and PF Buzz, which I usually still submit posts to every week. I enjoy reading others articles on those sites, and it only takes half a minute to submit mine.
Another of my big no-no’s is I don’t usually leave comments on other blogs, and I don’t participate in forums. Like most internet readers I skim content first, and if something catches my attention I will go back to the beginning and read it. If not, I’m gone. While most of the personal finance blogs I read and subscribe to are useful, they are not particularly interesting enough for me to leave a comment. Looking at the lack of comments on The Buck List would lead me to conclude the same about my blog. As for forums, I guess they fall into the “don’t want to take the time” category.
So there you have it, my confession; contradictory but true. I will keep blogging for now (you have been warned) and hopefully will present something useful once in a while. And if you really want to know how to do it right, go visit ProBlogger.
Monday
Focus On: Bankrate
This is fifth in a series of brief reviews of personal finance and frugal websites and blogs.
Online since 1996, Bankrate offers free rate information on mortgages, credit cards, automobile loans, money market accounts, CD’s and home equity loans among many other financial products. There are countless personal finance stories and advice articles, a calculator section, small business guide and plenty of frugal tips. This is definitely a site to bookmark and return to often. Make sure to sign up for their free newsletter, too.
Send me an email (BuckWeber at gmail.com) if you have a frugal or PF site you would like to see included in this series. If it belongs to you include a few lines about it and yourself.
Online since 1996, Bankrate offers free rate information on mortgages, credit cards, automobile loans, money market accounts, CD’s and home equity loans among many other financial products. There are countless personal finance stories and advice articles, a calculator section, small business guide and plenty of frugal tips. This is definitely a site to bookmark and return to often. Make sure to sign up for their free newsletter, too.
Send me an email (BuckWeber at gmail.com) if you have a frugal or PF site you would like to see included in this series. If it belongs to you include a few lines about it and yourself.
Saturday
Weekly Roundup
The Buck List participated in two carnivals recently, the Carnival of Money Stories - Declaration of Independence Edition and Festival of Frugality #184. (The site would not open for me to link to) Check them out for a wide variety of personal finance articles, and thanks to the hosts for including my posts.
Try free, instant, confirmed restaurant reservations from Open Table.
Visit “The Lighter Side of Unemployment” at The Canned.
There are a mountain of coupons at Coupon Mountain.
Finally, don’t forget what the Fourth of July commemorates.
Try free, instant, confirmed restaurant reservations from Open Table.
Visit “The Lighter Side of Unemployment” at The Canned.
There are a mountain of coupons at Coupon Mountain.
Finally, don’t forget what the Fourth of July commemorates.
Friday
Is AAA Worth It?
That my membership card reads “Member Since 1995” probably belies my answer to that question. The two reasons my wife and I first signed up was because our used cars were not always reliable and we had small kids at the time. While the kids are now grown, we still have it because we still drive used cars, as do most of the people we know. Since the card covers the holder, rather than any particular vehicles, we have also helped friends and family with car breakdowns.
According to the AAA website members saved more than $2.1 billion by using discounts and offers. In addition to roadside service they offer wireless service, insurance coverage, discounts on prescription drugs and car rental. They also offer hotel discounts, currency exchange, entertainment discounts and travel agents that can help you plan a customized vacation.
I suppose AAA membership could be classified as more of a “want” than a “need” but it is a card I won’t go without.
Are you an AAA member? Do you think it is worth it?
According to the AAA website members saved more than $2.1 billion by using discounts and offers. In addition to roadside service they offer wireless service, insurance coverage, discounts on prescription drugs and car rental. They also offer hotel discounts, currency exchange, entertainment discounts and travel agents that can help you plan a customized vacation.
I suppose AAA membership could be classified as more of a “want” than a “need” but it is a card I won’t go without.
Are you an AAA member? Do you think it is worth it?
Wednesday
Three Blogging Lessons I Have Learned By Example
LESSON ONE
A few months ago a prominent personal finance blogger, who also happens to live here in Iowa, decided he would begin infusing his political views and opinions into his posts. He is a good writer and writes thoroughly about his subjects, but once he went down the political road he had his head handed to him. His last post on the subject described the unkind emails and comments he was receiving and his decision to give up the political commentary and return to his previous format.
Lesson learned: Stick to your niche. Many of the most successful blogs stick to their niche and excel at it, as did my fellow Iowan. People visited his site and subscribed to his newsletter because he offered useful personal finance ideas they enjoyed reading, not to hear about his political leanings. Starting a new, politically focused blog might have been a better direction for him to go.
LESSON TWO
Last year a personal finance blogger I subscribed to received a comment on one of her posts nitpicking about her grammar usage. Rather than saying thank you, ignoring it or deleting the comment she ended up loosing her temper and writing a scathing post entirely about that one comment, cussing out “the Grammar Police.” It was an online meltdown.
Lesson learned: Don’t let the turkeys get you down. That comment crawled under her skin and into her head. There will always be those that disagree with you, or are just disagreeing for the sake of argument. Be prepared, and ignore as needed.
LESSON THREE
Not too long ago another personal finance blogger asked his readers if he should continue writing while at the same time tearing down the majority of his fellow PF bloggers as writing recycled, uninteresting and useless drivel. I left a positive comment to the post, offering him encouragement, as did several others. Another post followed that was a scathing indictment of the victims of a scam for being so gullible. I read it thinking he had some valid points, but they were buried in a post that seethed with a hissing and bubbling anger.
Lesson learned: Know when to go. There were three big reasons why this guy needed to move on: he viewed his fellow niche bloggers with contempt while seriously doubting his own self worth, and he offered nothing of value to his readers.
Those three lessons by much more experienced bloggers were much appreciated and noted, even if they were unintended.
A few months ago a prominent personal finance blogger, who also happens to live here in Iowa, decided he would begin infusing his political views and opinions into his posts. He is a good writer and writes thoroughly about his subjects, but once he went down the political road he had his head handed to him. His last post on the subject described the unkind emails and comments he was receiving and his decision to give up the political commentary and return to his previous format.
Lesson learned: Stick to your niche. Many of the most successful blogs stick to their niche and excel at it, as did my fellow Iowan. People visited his site and subscribed to his newsletter because he offered useful personal finance ideas they enjoyed reading, not to hear about his political leanings. Starting a new, politically focused blog might have been a better direction for him to go.
LESSON TWO
Last year a personal finance blogger I subscribed to received a comment on one of her posts nitpicking about her grammar usage. Rather than saying thank you, ignoring it or deleting the comment she ended up loosing her temper and writing a scathing post entirely about that one comment, cussing out “the Grammar Police.” It was an online meltdown.
Lesson learned: Don’t let the turkeys get you down. That comment crawled under her skin and into her head. There will always be those that disagree with you, or are just disagreeing for the sake of argument. Be prepared, and ignore as needed.
LESSON THREE
Not too long ago another personal finance blogger asked his readers if he should continue writing while at the same time tearing down the majority of his fellow PF bloggers as writing recycled, uninteresting and useless drivel. I left a positive comment to the post, offering him encouragement, as did several others. Another post followed that was a scathing indictment of the victims of a scam for being so gullible. I read it thinking he had some valid points, but they were buried in a post that seethed with a hissing and bubbling anger.
Lesson learned: Know when to go. There were three big reasons why this guy needed to move on: he viewed his fellow niche bloggers with contempt while seriously doubting his own self worth, and he offered nothing of value to his readers.
Those three lessons by much more experienced bloggers were much appreciated and noted, even if they were unintended.
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