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7 Work From Home Mistakes to Avoid

By
Mike King
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0

Have you started your own business? Have you been sent to work from home during the pandemic? For some, it’s a dream come true. For others, it could be a difficult transition. 

Today we are going to discuss 7 mistakes to avoid that can cause your work to suffer. This should keep you from falling into the pit of unproductivity. Let’s get started!

Not Treating it Like a Job – If you are getting paid, it’s a job. You need to take it seriously. Don’t take advantage of the situation. If you were working in an office, you wouldn’t stop midday to go and get brunch with your friends for three hours. You’d be there all day. You would get your 2 breaks and lunch. You need to work during a certain set of hours. Just because you CAN leave your house and come back later, it doesn’t mean you should. Sure you can always come back and finish it, but that’s a terrible habit to get into. I mean having your night free is way better than finishing up your work at night. Doing this will extend your workday. Your productivity will be less since you are going to be tired. Not to mention your work may get sloppy. Treat your business like a job. Set work hours and follow through with them.

All Work No Play – Because you are working from home doesn’t mean you have to sit there and stare at your email inbox. You can take breaks. You can take a lunch break.  Taking breaks boosts your productivity. So if your eyes are getting tired, get up and walk around. If you have a manager, you might want to set up a schedule in case they are curious about not being able to get a hold of you.

Not Setting Boundaries – Working and living in the same place can make things challenging. You could be working and see that your dishes need to be washed. You may have a ton of laundry you are eyeing. You may have a roommate or spouse that may be home and can distract you from your duties. You need to set boundaries. Have an area you can work from where you won’t be disturbed. Make sure it’s set aside from anything you may get distracted from. A good idea to prevent you from cleaning or doing chores is set a certain time to do chores. You can do them before or after work. I don’t know about you, but when I start cleaning I get sucked in time-wise. Before you know it, 2 hours have passed. So keep these things separate from your work time.

Child Care –  I know some of us have kids. Kids can be a distraction. I know in times like this it can be hard. They are all up in your hair wanting snacks, arguing, and wanting to play outside. I know it’s hard, but without school what can you do? See if you can have friends who may be offering daycare services to help out. Ask your parents or other family members for help. The other side of this is when we are not on quarantine, there are public daycare and school. We all love our children, but work is work. You need to be able to focus and not worry about your house burning down.

Not Investing in Yourself – I was talking about this earlier about creating a home office. You are working from home so you need to be comfortable. Your company will more than likely provide the basics. Comfort is a huge part of work. Invest in yourself. If you have the opportunity to continue working from home, invest in some comforts. Get a better chair than one from your kitchen. Some companies actually will reimburse you for these. Don’t be afraid to ask. If not, remember it is an investment for you. The more comfortable you are the more productive you will be.

Not Having a Routine – Don’t let the working from home mess up your routine. Everyone has a morning routine. You may not realize it, but you do. It can be from the order you clean yourself in the shower. Do you stop at a gas station every morning for coffee? You do these things unconsciously. Keep your routine regular. Do everything as you would normally do it. Go get your coffee at the same store. I mean you can also brew it at home. Keep it during the same time frame you would if you were driving to work. Keeping your routine as close to as it was when you were driving to work is very helpful. You can still have that same feeling and experience. It will help you still keep the same routine and let it feel like you are still going into work.

Don’t Be Radio Silent – This is important. You may be doing work by yourself. You need to keep in contact with your managers and team. Keep them updated on how your projects are coming along. You may be using Zoom and having meetings. If not, there are a couple of ways to do this. We use Slack. It’s like a chat room but it’s an app. The other way is to make a group text chat. I know they can be irritating especially when you are not working, but it’s effective.

There you go. Avoiding those 7 steps will make your work life easier. I hope this helps you. ‘Till next time!

10 Top Niches for Affiliate Marketing in 2020

By
Mike King
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0

You may be here because you are new to affiliate marketing. You may be here because you are struggling to find affiliate offers. I am here to help alleviate this issue for you today.

If you are new, there are two main strategies you can choose from. You can choose a niche where there is money. The other is you can choose one where you hope is money. Proven niches have more money in them than the ones that are untested for sure.

If you have the time and resources you can try to find one that hasn’t been discovered and tapped into. The wise decision is to use a niche that is proven to be profitable. 

Let’s get started!

Golf

This is a very lucrative market. The global golf industry is worth around $12.5 billion a year. The average golfer spends almost $300 a month. It doesn’t matter whether you are rich or poor. Everyone who golfs spends money on trying to make their game better. You can gain traction by creating tips and training content in this field. There is a high demand for technical knowledge in this field.

Home Security

I don’t know if you have ever had your home broken into. If you have, you know it’s a terrible feeling. 1.24 million homes are broken into yearly. When this happens, people tend to invest a lot of money in protecting their homes and families. There are a lot of people looking for home protection. This is a hot niche and you can feel good about helping people as well as make money doing it as well.

Online Dating

This is a huge one.. It’s grown and expanded in leaps and bounds over the past 20 years. It’s been around since the beginning of affiliate marketing. The online dating industry is estimated at $2 billion a year. It grows around 6% every year. The crazy part is 24% of the population use or have used them. Helping people find love is very lucrative. 

Travel

Travel is a major market in these times. Never before in human history has the travel market seen such a boom. Travel is a $7 trillion a year industry at the moment. This is the largest affiliate niche right now. You can market for airlines, travel agencies, hotels, and even car rental services. You can also even add clothing and luggage as well. There are tons of sub-niches here. There is a ton of freedom and direction with this one.

Gaming

I have been a gamer since the atari 2600. I never thought that esports and streaming could end up being a profession for most. I never thought mobile gaming would be larger than console gaming. Times have changed. Affiliate marketing for mobile gaming is huge. There are roughly 2.5 billion gamers worldwide. Like golf, people are always buying something to take their gaming to the next level. This could go from a new GPU or video card to a new chair or headphones. Think about people that are streaming, they could need a new mic or camera. Keep in mind this a very competitive niche.

Home Decor

This niche is great. It’s evergreen also. If you don’t know what this means, it means that is a niche that is always going to be around. People are always buying home decor. The average price of spending is between $500 and $5000 on decorating and home renovations. This could be to buy stuff to stage a house if you are selling or just changing things up to look nicer. There is always something needing to be done. This could be painting your walls. You may need a new couch or other living room furniture. This could even be narrowed down to power tools in a sub-niche.

Financial

Despite what people may think, it is not oversaturated. It is competitive, yet there is still money to be made. People are always getting in debt or may need money loans for help. The issue here is you just need to have your own angle and work harder than you would in any other niche.  This is a great niche but is only recommended for veterans.

Cruises

26 million people go on cruises yearly. Each package is normally averaged at $3,600 a pop. I know it’s a lot of math, but it adds up to close to $125 billion dollars a year. There are tons of types of cruises. Family, singles, and even rock music cruises. This can be very lucrative with the right approach. You may want to look up sub-niches here. 

Fitness

This is an evergreen niche as well. Fitness is always going to be around. This could be equipment, training, clothing, or dietary needs. Trends may change, but the idea and need will always be here. In the US this niche is valued at around $3.7 Trillion. Depending on how you approach this niche, it can be very lucrative. There are a lot of sub-niches here.

Music

Millions of musicians are born every year. By the age of 6, 28% of children are learning to play an instrument. That number jumps up to 40% by the age of 14. Also, think about the number of people that pick up learning and instrument later in life. This is an extremely lucrative niche. In all honesty, this is an easy one to make money off of. You just need to provide an offer in front of someone’s eyes. You just need to find an offer that can be profitable. This may take some digging. Once you find the offers you should be set.

As you can see this is a giant rabbit hole. There are tons of other niches. Here are some more examples for you. 

–Weight Loss

-Real Estate

-Debt Settlement

-Sports

-Yoga

-Airlines

-Coffee

-Makeup

-Photography

-Supplements

-Insurance 

-Jewelry

-Automotive

-Baby Products

-Bitcoin/Crypto

-Casino

-CBD/Marijuana

-Christian (Religion)

-Investing

-Luxury

-Organic Products

-Pets

-Solar

-Nutrition/Veganism

-Personal Development

-Essential Oils

-Vaping

-Restaurants

-Education

-Books

There are way more out there, but that should keep you busy for a bit. I hope you can find something you are passionate about on this list. You should be able to figure something out and start making money with your list. ‘Till next time.

Stop Being Scared

By
Mike King
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0

Fear is a natural occurrence. Like the pandemic, when bad things happen you are naturally afraid. Losing your job is another thing that may cause fear. The other side of this is good things can trigger fear. Getting married and starting a new job are examples of this. The underlying cause for this generally is the fear of not knowing the certainty of your future.

Fear can happen when you try things that are new. It can also be triggered by doing things outside of your comfort zone. Not believing in yourself can also cause fear. 

It doesn’t matter how afraid you are, you have to push through the negativity to start overcoming your fears. 

How do you do this? That’s what we are going to talk about today! Let’s get started!

Don’t Be Afraid of Discomfort – Many of the best things in life happen by stepping out of your comfort zone. Staying in that zone isn’t always a good thing. It can hold you back from success and relationships. Stepping out of your comfort zone will allow yourself for self-discovery. You may find out selling your house and going to travel will make you happier than living in that suburbia bubble. So take a chance! 

Don’t Be Afraid of What People Think – Do not let what someone thinks to stop you from doing something. You should not care. Do not let someone else’s opinion influence your decisions. Remember everyone is different, and no one is right 100 percent of the time.

Don’t Be Afraid of The Unknown – Trying to do new things can be scary sometimes. The unknowing of wondering how things will work out can sometimes impede your life. You can never tell how things will work out unless you try it. So embrace the unknown and instead of looking at it as the unknown, treat the opportunity as an adventure! Enjoy the journey!

Don’t Be Afraid to Make Plans – The only way to reach a goal is by planning. “Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail.” That’s a common phrase used in my field of work. It’s true. One of the top reasons people don’t meet their goals is because they failed to make a plan. The reason they didn’t make a plan is that they were afraid to fail. Make a plan and regardless of what may happen, you will learn. You may have to tweak something to reach the goal, but at least you have a map to reach it.

Don’t Be Afraid of Failure – There is always a chance of failure when you are trying new things. Keep in mind failure isn’t always a bad thing. You learn more by failing than you do by succeeding. This is where you figure out what not to do. That knowledge is invaluable. Knowing what not to do guarantees your success more times than not. Don’t be afraid to fail. Treat it as a learning experience.

Don’t Be Afraid of Your Past Self –  Don’t let your past control your present and future. Because you failed something in the past, it doesn’t mean you’ll fail at it in the future. I know it’s frustrating. If you had failed at the same thing multiple times it is easy to throw in the towel. We have all been there. Don’t let those failures stop you. Keep going. Remember to welcome the failure as a learning experience

Don’t Be Afraid to Invest – This is very common. Investing money can be stressful. The hardest part is getting started. Once you start, investing there is a chance you may lose money. If the market takes a dive, don’t be afraid. The initial panic is what causes that. It will always go back up. If you take your money out you will miss out on the chance of the returns. So here is where most people make the biggest mistake. You need to make sure your investments are diversified. Stocks may go down but bonds can increase in value. Remember, don’t be afraid of investing. Great risk yields greater rewards.

Don’t Be Afraid of Your Age – Young or old. It doesn’t matter. You can still have goals. Because your 45 doesn’t mean your life is over. You can still invest. You can still travel. You can still start a business. You can still end up living a rich and happy life.

Don’t Be Afraid to Reach Your Goals – Yeah, it sounds crazy. But, it is true. Some people are actually afraid of reaching their goals. If you set goals, you are more likely to succeed than those who don’t. Remember, without a goal you have zero direction.  Make sure to set up goals correctly. This will keep you from being afraid to complete them. You can use different resources to help streamline the process. Google SMART Goals. This is how I set up my goals.

Don’t Be Afraid to Have a Budget – Almost 60% of American households do not have a budget. Everyone needs a budget. I know it can be a daunting task. Don’t be afraid of it. Embrace it. The reason for the budget is this. This is to help you work towards your financial goals. This could help you pay off your debt. It can also be used for something like helping to factor in planning for a trip or getting a new car. You will want to balance your expenses with your income. The end goal here is to make sure your income is more than your expenses. Don’t be afraid of the numbers, This could save your life.

Don’t Be Afraid to Talk About Money –  This is a big fear a lot of us have. I mean the topic can be taboo. Being able to talk to someone about this is great stress relief. If you need help with finances find someone to help you. It could be your parents or best friend. Is your wife good at these things? I would suggest if you can afford one to get a financial advisor. This way you can keep the convos private and still get the end result.

Don’t Be Afraid of Hard Work – Unless you are an heir to a fortune you are not going to get rich from sitting around. You can’t be afraid to get your hands dirty! I know it’s not fun, but you may have to get a second job to help catch up on bills. It may be a job to help with your retirement savings. It could be to get debt-free. You may have to work long hours.Because you may have to work long hours and exhaust yourself, doesn’t mean to give up. Don’t be afraid to work hard. It will help you meet your goals in the long run.

Don’t Be Afraid of Your Debt – We are all going to have some debt. Whether it is good or bad, you owe someone money. The end is you are going to need to pay it off regardless. So don’t be afraid of trying to tackle this. It may take a year or 6 depending on how much you owe. So the first thing you need to do is go to a place like CreditKarma.com. They will have a list of all your debtors and how much you owe. So add that all up. There are a couple of ways to go about doing this. First is you can save up and pay one off in total. Always start with the lowest one. Because it’s less doesn’t mean it doesn’t have the same effect on your score. The second way is to call up one or all of your debtors and work out a payment plan. You’d be surprised about how much they are willing to work with you. Their companies just want their money. You can set up payments for $25-50 dollars minimum. Like my grandmother once said, “You can not milk blood from a turnip.” Don’t be afraid to deal with your debt. It may take a while, but you will have to deal with it sooner than later.

Don’t Be Afraid to Negotiate – This is a skill I had a hard time with. It’s something common that people are afraid to do. The most common causes are being shy, feeling cheap, not knowing how, or are afraid to cause an argument and lose the deal. Negotiations can save you a ton of money monthly Like I was talking about, you can negotiate with your creditors. This applies to a ton of different types of buying. Job offers are a big one. Know your worth. Companies like to low ball you to save their money. You can always negotiate a salary. You can negotiate your cell phone and cable bills. You can get them lowered by downgrading packages. You can even threaten to leave for a competitor. They will lower your bill tremendously. The same goes with your cell phone bill. Buying a vehicle or home is another example. You can always negotiate a lower price which will lower your monthly payments. So as you can see, never be afraid to negotiate. It can save you a lot of money in the long run.

Don’t Be Afraid of Taking Risks – This is the final and the most important one. This is the main thing. High risk equals high reward. Think about gambling. You put a large bet down and that gets your heart pumping. This could mean the difference between success and mediocrity. Sometimes you have to take a risk. It could be an investment. It could be quitting your job to start your own business. There are plenty of risks to take. I have been there. It can be overwhelming and stressful, but the end result is satisfying. You could be free. You could be happy. Sometimes you have to take a chance.

There you go. I hope this helps you and makes your life less stressful. Crunch some numbers, call some debtors, and start organizing your life. ‘Till next time!

Make Money Designing Simple Graphics

By
Mike King
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0

Are you a creative individual? Well If you have some free time, this is perfect for you. If you are artistic and can use a computer, you can make a good living being a graphic designer. As long as you are visually creative and can design an image, you can make between $20-30 an hour. That’s what we are going to go over today.

Let’s get started!

First Thing You Need

I am no stranger to this type of work. You need to have the proper tools before you can get started. I use Photoshop. However, there are cheaper alternatives that you can get the same result with. Here are a couple for you to check out.

Canva – This is a good one. The reason being it’s free. There is a “Pro” version. It has some great extra features. You do not need it to get started though. The free version comes with a lot of free templates. This makes things easier especially if you are just getting started. You can also upload pictures, fonts, and elements to it. 

PicMonkey – This is a big step up from Canva. It’s great for styling text how you want it exactly. You can also do shadowing better. It’s easier to do than on Canva. The downside of this is there is a small monthly fee to use it. It is worth it though.

Learn How to Use Them

These programs aren’t overall difficult to use. Learning to layer, change fonts, add shading and gradient, and other things aren’t easy to figure out. There are a bunch of ways to learn.

The cheap and easy way is by learning on YouTube. If you know the terminology and what you are trying to do, you can find it on YouTube. For example, you can search how to make letters look metallic. You will find tutorials on using shading and the gradient effect.

This may cost a little cash, but go get a course on Udemy. This will take you through a step by step course on how to use all the features. You will get more out of the program in the long run. 

Graphics That Make Money

You should officially know how to be able to basically work the program you are wanting to work with. What do you make to monetize off this skill? Here are some ideas of the most common graphics companies need.

Pinterest Pins – Pinterest is a massive business right now. They have over 334 million users. There are a lot of companies large and small that utilize this platform. It’s a great way to drive traffic to your site and products. The huge thing here is Pinterest requires the creation of Pins. This is where you come in. Companies normally don’t have the time to do this. So they outsource this to individuals like yourself. Creating pins is time-consuming. Keep in mind they need a ton of pins made. There is always someone out there that will need you.

Printables – This is a hard one to get your foot in the door. If you can land a job doing this for a company, you can help make logos for their promotional items. If not you are going to have to try your luck on Amazon. You can create images for things like journals and book covers for individuals. You make the image and Amazon will print them. If you keep up with trends this is something you can monopolize on.

Social Media and Product Graphics – Once again it goes along with the printables concept. You will be responsible for those things. You will also be responsible for making graphics showcasing their products and services. These will be used for social media as well as websites.

Digital Downloads – Have you ever gotten a PDF download? It was nothing but plain text and boring? This where you come in. You will help add life to these files. You can make a cover and images to make the document look better.

Finding Clients

To simplify this process, find one or two types of graphics you can do with ease. Keep in mind they also have to look good. Once you are pumping these out it’s time for you to make a portfolio. Showcase your best work for potential clients. So where do you find the clients?

Fiverr is a great place for this. This is a good place to find freelance work. If your work is good, you should be able to land a gig. You can 

There are tons of freelance job boards out there. You just need to find them. Find social media managers and pitch your ideas to them. You also can find people on Facebook and LinkedIn.

My suggestion would be this. Look up local businesses in your area. See if they need help. They need help just as much as the larger businesses. The best part of this is the local networking. If you do a good job for one business, they could know someone that needs you. Pick a niche, and start calling people.

So there you have it. That’s all it takes. The largest part of this is connecting with people and getting gigs. Let your work speak for you. Get out there and get it. ‘Till next time!

How Much to Save for Retirement

By
Mike King
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0

Studies show that 48% of Americans have no retirement savings. Since $0 is not enough, how much actually is? There isn’t a specific answer here. There are specific concepts to adopt for saving though. The major one is the discipline to follow through with a strategy.

Today, we are going to discuss how to save up for retirement. Let’s get started!

Calculating Your Retirement Horizon

What is a retirement horizon? A retirement horizon is the number of years you have until you plan on retiring. Here is an example. If you are 45 and you want to retire at 65, that is 20 years. 20 years is the retirement horizon.

Don’t listen to the people that say you need to have a certain amount of money saved by a certain age. In fact, you can retire in any timeline. It just depends on how much you can save over a certain amount of time. That is where your retirement horizon comes into play.

Figure this out, and then you can start figuring out a savings plan for this.

Savings Rate and Retirement Horizon Relationship

Your savings rate is the amount of money you save from your income. You put this money towards savings, investments, and debt repayment. The more you save and invest, the faster you’ll create a cash flow due to passive income.  

You will then either invest money from your paycheck or from the passive income. Once you figure out where your retirement savings is going to come from, this is where the retirement horizon you chose comes into play.

Here is an example of how much you’ll need to save to reach certain goals. Keep in mind that compounding takes place over time. The longer you spend investing in a retirement fund, the less money you’ll have to invest monthly. 

Retirement Horizon10 Years20 Years30 Years40 Years
$500,000$2,734$849$336$144
$1 Million$5,467$1,698$671$287
$2 Million$10,934$3,396$1,342$574
$3 Million$16,401$5,094$2,014$861

As you can see, the compounding really does make a difference in the amount you will need to put in.

How Much Do You Actually Need?

This is the number one question you need to ask yourself. You need to have a target number. The way to do this is by working backward. How much do you plan to spend yearly? 

Don’t base this off of your current income. This number can change depending on where you are living. If you decide to move to a different country, you could live like a king for $2,000 a month,

Once you have an ideal place and target number in mind, it’s time to start doing some math. Here is an example of how. Let’s say your target is $24,000 dollars. You will be getting social security. Currently, social security is around $1,500 a month. That is ¾  of the way there.

How are you going to come up with the rest you may be asking? Well, that’s where your investments or passive income will come into play. It should cover the rest and more. You should be living comfortably.

Safe Withdrawal Rates 

  This is also known as the 4% Rule. It answers the question of how you can spend yearly from your nest egg before you die. The goal here is to be able to only spend 4% yearly until you die. It depends on when you retire. It could be 30 years or it could be 50. It honestly depends on how long you intend to work till. Some people work until they are 75.

Your goal here is to make your money last. 5% is the max. 4% is ideal. 3.5% is your primary target. This will preserve your nest egg as long as you live. The reason is that your nest egg is compounding faster than you are taking money out. This brings us to our next topic.

Calculating Your Nest Egg

Now that you have chosen your withdrawal rate, you can now calculate your nest egg. This is the easy part.

Let us say your goal to spend yearly is going to be $12,000 a year. That is 4% of your investment withdrawal. Your multiplier is calculated as 100 divided by your withdrawal rate. 100 / 4 is 25. $12,000 multiplied by 25. So to survive your nest egg will need to be $300,000 dollars.

Toy around with that formula. This will give you the specific number needed to offset your social security. This will then give you the number needed so that you can live comfortably wherever you are.

How to Reach Your Retirement Target Faster

Now that we have gone over how to figure out how much you will need, let’s go over ways to help you reach that target number as soon as possible.

Tax-Sheltered Accounts – We all know how much the government likes taking taxes. I believe the average household pays around $14,000. I mean it’s obvious the less you pay in taxes the more money you can put toward your nest egg. So to save money on taxes, invest in a 401k plan through your work or through a broker. If you invest through your work, your paycheck will be less, but less money means less taxes taken out. 

Employer Matching – Some companies offer this option through investments. If you buy stock or increase the investment through your 401k, they will match what you purchased. It’s kind of a sweet deal. Free money is the best kind!

Lifestyle Inflation – This is a huge thing to keep in mind. I am not sure what your mindset is. When people get a raise or get more money, they want to spend the extra income. They go out and get a new place, a new car, or in turn spend money on things they shouldn’t. Don’t fall into that trap. Spend that extra money investing or putting it into your nest egg fund. You have survived this long and are probably living decently. You want to focus on the future, not on the present.

House Hack – This is a good way to save money. If you buy a property to live in, you can try and buy a duplex or multi-family home. If you rent it, you could cover your mortgage. You can get a roommate to cut your expenses in half. If you are out of town and live in a happening place, you can Airbnb your place. Or if you have a spare bedroom you can still do the same thing if you don’t mind strangers. Regardless it’s a great way to have extra money for saving and investing.

Automate Your Savings and Investments – I don’t know about you, but having to put money in your savings account is hard. The mental issue of having to put away money is hard. Because you see it come and go. The mental state of losing money that you can use is hard to deal with. There is a phrase that is popular that rings true. Out of sight out of mind. If you never had it in the first place it’s less painful of a task. So ask your employer to transfer some of your paychecks to your savings account. You can also do the same with investments. Your employer can automatically deduct money from your paychecks to be put in your 401k. There are also brokerage apps that you can automatically pay into stocks and bonds.

Diversify Your Investments – This is mandatory. If you have all your money wrapped up in stocks, and the market tanks you are in trouble. That’s why 401k’s are great. It spreads your money through different markets. If you are using a brokerage firm, spread your money around. Invest in ETFs, Bonds, Stocks, and if you are feeling adventurous you can get involved in the currency exchange market.

Side Hustle – Extra money is always a good thing. It can be used to help you or for saving and investments. These are perfect post-retirement gigs. You can turn a hobby into profit. If you are a good fisherman, give tours. If you like video games, stream on twitch. If you are crafty do tutorials on youtube. If you like to drive and like people drive for Uber and Lyft. Extra income is an extra income. 

So there you go. You have learned the basics of how to set up a game plan for retirement. You also have learned ways on how to save money to invest in your savings. Grab a pen and paper and start working some numbers around. It’s better to do it now, then later. Remember we won’t live forever. Go ahead and get started. ‘Till next time.

How to Become a Bookkeeper and make $70/Hour

By
Mike King
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0

Are you looking for a new career? Are you good with numbers? Would you like to work from home? Well, you are in the correct place today!

Bookkeeping. It may not sound glamourous. You can make good money doing it though. You can get up to $70 an hour. Depending on your clientele you can scale it to even more!

How do you get started? Well, let’s dive into the details.

Why Should I Become One?

There are so many types of businesses out there that need Bookkeepers. They may be good at what their craft is, but may be terrible with numbers. They may not have time to do their books as well. 

This is where you come into play. You are saving them time and stress. In return, you are going to get paid for your help. Doesn’t sound too bad, does it?

How to Get Started

The first step is making sure you have the proper training and education. You may already have had the experience. If you have experience in retail, restaurant, or grocery store management then you may have the basics.

If you don’t have any experience with any of this then you will need some education. You can take some online college courses for the basics. This will take time and could cost you a lot of money.

There are some free courses out there as well. 

I recommend Bookkeepers.com. This is a great program. It is like a college course. You get all the information you will need to get started. This course will cover all the basics of accounting. 

Bookkeepers.com will cover subjects on the business side. It will cover how to help business owners achieve their financial goals. How to market yourself to clients. It will also cover how to the systems and processes on how to run and keep your bookkeeping in compliance. It is a good investment of your time.

The best part about all of these courses is you can learn at your own pace. Make sure you take your time. You will need to make sure you know all the in’s and out’s before you start. Remember, the more knowledgeable you are, the more likely you will get hired.

Certification

Honestly, there are no necessary certifications needed. This may vary depending on where you live. That’s the great part about software like Bookkeepers.com.

Most of these paid programs actually have certification programs. Think of it as a Microsoft training course. You take the course and take a test. After, you get a certification. This way you can show you are proficient and backup your knowledge and skills.

A great course to take, to help you out, is Quickbooks. Getting a pro-advisor certification is a great certification to have. It shows you are proficient in using their software. This is a tool you will be using for sure.

Get Clients

Time has passed. You should be full of knowledge and have some certifications under your belt. Now it is time to get some clients. If you are asking how, I have some methods for you.

If you look through local Facebook groups, you can find networking meet-ups in your area. These are where you can go meet up with local business owners and rub some elbows. If you want to look more professional, I suggest you have some business cards on hand. 

When you are mingling, you will be asked what you do. Once they know what you do, they may ask for your card because they need help. All you have to do here is be social. They will come to you, if and when they need your services. 

You may hook a fish, you may not. Keep going to these events. It’s a great time to get your name out there. They may not need you. They may know someone who may need you. Keep your name out there. Be the person they think of when the subject pops up.

Another way to get clients through match-up services.  Para.io is a great service for this. They act as a matchmaking service and will pair you up with a small business that needs your help.

Once you have been accepted you will be given some tests. I read it can take up to 5 hours to complete them all. After you pass these tests, you are in. The sales team will work with you to find the perfect match and introduce you. It’s a sweet deal.

There are other services like Quickbooks Live. These are less involved to get started, but you can find clients as well. It might take a little longer. You can land a client eventually.

Website

You have business cards, you should build a website also. A website is handy to have. Not only does it look good from a professional standpoint, but people can also find you on the internet through a search.

I suggest wordpress.com. You can set up a website easily. You do not have to make an elaborate page. They have plenty of templates you can use, 

This is a good place to tell people about you and your services. You can showcase your accolades. This is a good place to have people contact you for services also. Websites are a valuable resource to have. With proper SEO, you can also have your page boosted to the top page of google. The more eyes on it, the better chances you have of getting clients.

How Much You Can Earn

This varies. It depends on the client. Are they going to need a lot of help? Are they going to only need up once a month? How many clients do you have? These are the questions you need to factor in when deciding your price.

You can do $20 an hour. Some clients may be a higher profile. You can charge up to $70 an hour. This depends on what they need or want. You can use your judgment here. 

There is also going the route of charging a monthly fee. This may seem like more of a bargain. They save money and can get as much access to you as they need. You can do that to make sure you are at an average of $70 an hour.

So there you have it. That’s how you become a bookkeeper and make $70 an hour. Like anything, it will take some work and some time. It is doable though. If this seems like a good fit for you, get started now. ‘Till next time!

11 Jobs That Make a Lot of Money

By
Mike King
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0

I know sometimes people are dissatisfied with their jobs. You feel like you are stuck in a rut. You just want a change.

During this time of quarantine, I am sure you have had plenty of time for reflection. Maybe you decided to pursue a new avenue of work. Maybe you decided you want to go back to school.

I know what you may be thinking. I am too old to go back. There isn’t an age limit to go back. My best friend is 40 and getting his second masters. My younger brother got his MBA and is going back for his Doctorate. He is 37.

So there you go! If you desire to go this route, let me at least throw out the options of the highest paying jobs. I mean you are going to need to pay those loans back somehow. 

Let’s get started!

Accountant

Your job will be to do financial calculations for businesses and corporations. Examining financial forms will be one of your primary duties. You will help these companies remain compliant with laws and regulations. You will also be responsible for helping them with their taxes. 

To get this job you will need to have a Bachelor’s Degree. If you have a Master’s Degree you will obviously get paid more. There are some certifications that you will need to get.

The average salary is $70,000. The top earners make over $500,000 a year. Reaching a 7 figure salary is rare in this field. 

Business Executive

If you are business savvy, then this job is for you. This could be anything in the business world as being upper management. This could be being a CEO, CFO, COO, or other jobs of a company.

You will more than likely get bonuses in this field. You will need a Master’s Degree to get into this field. If you can get into this field the average salary is $142,000 a year. The earning potential here is great. There will be long hours and lots of continual education. That is the price of success.

Computer System and IT Manager

This is great for people who are good with computers. You will handle all computer systems and issues in a company. There will be tasks that you will be responsible for.

You and your team will be responsible for software upgrades and purchases. Installing and managing networks. You do need a lot of education and or experience. A lot of these skills you can learn in a trade school. 

The key here is ongoing education. Technology is always changing and advancing. If you can land one of these jobs, you will be averaging $142,500 a year. 

Engineer

This job is important to the world. There are different types of engineers. There are mechanical, chemical, and medical are the first ones that come to mind. You will be designing and creating things from bridges to vaccines depending on what field you are in.

You will need a Bachelor’s Degree minimum to get one of these jobs. You will need to be proficient in math, physics, chemistry, and even biology. 

The average pay for an engineer is $80,170. There is a lot of earning potential here. There will be continual certifications and education.

Entertainment Professional

This is a hit or miss. It is hard to make a break in this industry. If you do you are set. Jobs would include actor, producer, radio host, or even being a professional musician. The downside is there isn’t a lot of stability in this industry.

You will need a manager who costs money. You will be a contract employee. There will be lots of contract negotiations. There is schooling for this. Talent is a major factor here also.

The average salary for this industry is around $40,000 a year. If you get a good break it could lead to a 6-7 figure salary.

Investment Banker

This is a job that isn’t very glamorous. You can make a great living doing this. If you are wondering what the job entails, it is this. You are in charge of brokering deals between companies. You will be in charge of mergers and acquisitions.

The education required here is a Bachelor’s Degree at least. You will need to get FINRA licensing as well.

The average salary is around $64,000 + bonuses. Here is the catch here. The larger the clients and deals you land, the more money you will receive. This is a career where you can get up to 7 figures a year. That should give you the motivation to work harder.

Lawyer

I am sure you know what a lawyer is. There isn’t much to touch on here. Lawyers don’t spend much time in the courtroom if you didn’t know. They spend a lot of time researching. They review tons of paperwork. They also spend time filing motions. Lawyers do have an easier time entering the political world.

You will need a ton of education here. You will need a 4-year degree. You will need to graduate from law school. Finally, you will need to pass the Bar Exam.

Once you get out and start working, you should do very well for yourself. The average salary for a lawyer is $120,000 a year. The more success, the more you can charge. If you get some high profile cases and you are popular, you can earn up to 7 figures a year.

Pharmacists

Pharmacists are in charge of medicine distribution. They work in hospitals, grocery stores, or pharmacies. I am sure you have dealt with one at some point in your life. If you haven’t, then you are the healthiest person ever.

The qualifications are the same as the lawyer. You will need a Bachelor’s Degree and graduate from pharmacy school. Then you will need to get licensed in the state you will practice in.

The average salary for a pharmacist is $126,000 a year. There isn’t a lot of room for growth here. The only way to really increase your money is by opening up your own chain of pharmacies here. Regardless, a six-figure salary isn’t too shabby.

Physician/ Surgeon

No explanation needed here. We all know the qualifications needed here are a Bachelor’s Degree. Then if you get accepted into Medical school, that is another 4 years. After that, you have a residency. So it will take around 10 years of schooling.

The average salary is $208,000 a year.  Depending on your specialty, you can get up to $5 million a year. 

It’s not too shabby. I have a friend that started college at 30 and is just now starting his residency. If you have the time, this is not impossible to do.

Real Estate Developer

If you have the finances or the financial backing, this is a great way to make money.  You will be purchasing property and developing it with commercial and residential properties.

This job is awesome.  You do not need any formal education. You need to be knowledgeable in real estate and laws. You can learn this through a lot of self-education.

The average salary here is $53,000 a year. Depending on the size of projects and what the projects are you could make up to $10 Million a year. Remember this is a high-risk high reward game. Make the wrong decision and you could lose a lot of money.

Software Development

As a software developer, you will create programs and write code. These programs will control computer functions as well as other personal electronic devices. This brings up another area. App creation. If you can make an app that sells, you can make millions.

The requirements to get in this field are a vast knowledge of coding and programming. You can take college courses as well to learn. It isn’t necessary though.

The average salary in this field is over $105,000. Like I said, create something that sells you can make over $5 Million a year.

There you have it. The top-paying jobs around. If you are going back to school, keep these in mind. They could give you the life you want! You can never stop learning. ‘Till next time!





Flipping Books for Profit

By
Mike King
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0

Books are used for a lot of things. They can be for entertainment. They can be for learning. What if I told you they can be for making money?

Books can be a great source of income. The reasoning here is you can buy them at a low price. Then resell them for a higher price. Like anything collectible, some books are worth more than others.

You can get started with a couple of dollars a month. You can find them at yard sales, thrift shops, and sometimes people are getting rid of them for free on craigslist. Once you have the books, you flip them on Amazon.

That’s what we are going to talk about today. By the end of this article, you will know the ins and outs. So let’s get started!

Tools and Startup Costs

The first thing you need is an Amazon account. This is where you are going to do your reselling. This is free to set up if you don’t have one. If you get a pro-account it will cost you $40 a month.

The second thing you need is an app called Scout IQ. This is the app you will use to scan books and find their value. You can find the UPC on the book and it will tell you how much it is selling for on Amazon. There is a live version that is always up to date and is $14 dollars a month. Or you can download the whole database and it will be $44 dollars total. The live version is better because it’s always up to date. I recommend paying the extra money and getting an FBA account. You will need it. 

Places to Find Books

There are many places to find books for sale. You can always find deals. This is where you will use your Scout IQ. So let’s go over a few.

Library Sales are a good place. No one thinks about this one. Libraries are getting new books all the time. But as you can see, they only have so much room. So they periodically have sales to get rid of their old inventory.

Yard Sales can be a gold mine. You can buy books for pennies. You can find them on Craigslist or in your local newspaper.

Facebook Marketplace is a good place to browse as well. I know you can physically hold the books to scan. The trick here is this. View the marketplace from your laptop or desktop. If you can see a UPC code on the book, you can scan it with your phone.

Thrift Stores are a decent place as well. It’s kind of a hit or miss here. Either you will find gold or you will find firewood.

The more time you spend searching, the more inventory you will have. The more inventory the more money you can make. 1-2 hours a day for 4-5 days a week is an ideal time to spend doing this. You can do this while you are watching Netflix or TV. 

Best Type of Books

Like most collectibles, some are worth more than others. This will help save you time by letting you know what to look for. So here are the most valuable types:

– Educational Books or Textbooks (College textbooks always sell.)

– Religion (Bibles hold their value well.)

– Arts and Crafts (People are always looking for new things to create.)

– Sheetmusic (Musicians like learning new songs, plus if it’s old it could be worth money)

– Non-Fiction Books (Self-Help and How-To Books are great.)

These should be good enough to save you time. This should also give you the most bang for your buck.

Dealing with Competitors

This is almost done for you. Scout IQ will tell you how much your book is selling for. You are making a profit on the book. Try and match the lowest Prime offer. 

This should put your book at the top of the list. You can also use the app price. It will be put in the buy box. The bad thing is that this box rotates. Your book may not be in that box at all times.

So figure out what strategy works best for you!

Which Books to Buy?

I know I mentioned what types of books to buy already. Now your question should be which books should I get? Well, good thing you have Scout IQ.

Scout IQ has a bunch of built-in features. They are called “triggers”. You’ll eventually tailor these to your needs. This is a good starting point to figure this problem out.

The app will tell you whether to accept or reject the book itself. It does it based on these factors.

– Escore: Shows how many copies of a book are sold over a 6 month period. 

– Sales Rank: Shows where the book is in the ranking with the #1 seller in a category.

– Profit: Shows the estimated profit you will make after paying the fees.

The easiest way to do this is with volume and speed. You want to find as many as possible and as quickly as possible that the app says accept. Pretty easy, right?

Amazon FBA

Remember my earlier recommendation? This is where it comes in. I know its extra money upfront. This is where you will save time, money, space, and energy.

If you go on a book buying spree, you will need a place to store these books. You will need to have them organized as well. After you list it and it sells, you will have to find it. Then you will have to ship it to the customer. That is a lot of time. Also, those shipping fees add up.

Having an FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) account is worth everything they offer. Instead of needing storage space, pack your books in a box. Then mail it to the distribution center. Once ordered, Amazon will ship them to the proper location. The benefits are worth the money you will save.

         There you have it. Flipping books is easy and lucrative. It just takes a bit of time and some start-up money. You can easily have this setup and running in a week or two. The bigger the initial inventory, the more money you can make and invest. Wash, rinse, and repeat and you will have a lucrative business in no time. Thanks for reading. ‘Till next time!

Financial Protective Tips During Hard Times

By
Mike King
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0

I am sure everyone is affected by the pandemic that has happened. Some of you still have your jobs. What if you lost your job?What if you have an emergency come up which the result leaves you in a financial bind?

It is hard to predict the economy’s ebb and flow. It is even harder to predict your own personal future. It is better to be safe than sorry. So let’s go over some tips that can help during these times.

So let’s get started!

Review Your Spending Plan and Cut Expenses

The first thing to do is to go through your spending plan. You can adjust to any situation. 

Go through your bank statements. If you use a spreadsheet to keep track of your spending, see what you can cut out. 

Order less take out. Buy less junk food and non-essential items at the store. Cancel Netflix for a month. As you can see there are plenty of random expenses that add up.

These small changes can save you from some overdrafts. They also can free up some space for emergency food.

Get a Hold on Your Debt and Call Your Debtors

Regardless of where you are in life, you have accrued good or bad debt of some sort. If you have bad credit you still need to make sure it’s getting handled.

The first thing you need to do is write down your debt. Your interest rates need to be included. Last write down how long you have to pay it off.

The next step is seeing where your debt is held. You can use Credit Karma or any other credit report agency to check this out. If you have money in collections, it will show it here.

Finally, if you are making payments to any of these contact them. If you are going through a rough time they are willing to work with you. They may let you skip a month, or lower your payment a lot. 

In the end, all they care about is getting their money. 

Keep an Eye on Your Credit Score

This is a big one. I read a good analogy of your credit report. It’s like checking your body weight while you are working out. The only way to see your progress is measurements.

This is the same here. Your credit improves the same way. I am not saying check it daily. It’s more of a once a month thing. This is where you can keep track of your progress.

Sign up for a free credit report at CreditKarma.com. It updates every 10 days. So once you pay your bills, check it a few days later. You’d be surprised about how those small payments help out over time.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help

You lose your job or find yourself in a bind. Your funds are running low. You are about ready to dip into your emergency fund. You are running out of options. What do you do?

A support system is a great thing to have. Don’t be afraid to talk about your financial situation. Especially to your friends.

If you ask, some people have connections and can help find you work or side hustles. They may also be generous and give you some money. 

Regardless of your situation there is always a solution. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. I am not saying make it seem like you are begging by any means. Friends and family are there to talk to. You can’t get help if you don’t ask for it.

There you go. Some basic tips to get you through hard times. ‘Till next time!

The 6 Biggest Financial Mistakes Make When Everyone is Panicking

By
Mike King
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0

The whole world has seen what would happen if the world just shut down. Panic hit everywhere. Markets crashed. Kids couldn’t even attend their high school graduations.

You were one of two types of people. You either kept your job. You either lost your job. Regardless of either position. Were you prepared? Or did you make one of these 6 major financial mistakes?

Not Having an Emergency Fund

This is one that should be common sense. You have one or you didn’t. If you don’t, then you will want to make one. You can find out how-to here. Everyone needs a sense of security. 

You never know when you may get laid off. There could be a medical emergency. What if your car broke down?  There are many reasons to have one. $1,000 is a good starting point. That could bail you out or at least help out.

Not Having a Budget

Not having a budget can lead to a disaster in general. If you do have a budget and don’t adjust for these situations it can be as bad. So you need to have one set in place.

Think of your budget as a museum guide.  It guides you through the world of finances. It’s there to prevent you from spending money on things you don’t need to spend money on. The less you spend the more you save. 

Make sure to adjust your budget toward your situation. With everyone on lockdown, you may be spending less money on gas. You may be eating more and using more electricity though. 

Something always is coming up. Make sure you adjust for any changes that may happen. Keep track of what you are spending money on at all times.

Going at it Alone

Sometimes it’s uncomfortable talking about your finances. I mean not everyone can afford a financial advisor. It’s always good to have someone hold you accountable.

Do you have a good friend or family member that is good with finances? Ask them and see if they can help. I needed help at one point in my life. My best friend stepped in and saved me.

If you need help, never be afraid to ask. It’s less painful than that feeling of financial drowning.

401k Plans

So a recession or a pandemic of some sort happens. The stock market crashes. What is your first instinct? To check your 401K. 

I know it’s kind of hard to do, but don’t. You’ll make yourself sick doing this. Remember, the market goes up and down. It always recovers. 

Constantly checking your brokerage is going to put yourself into a frenzy. You may make the next huge mistake if you do.

Selling Your Stocks

It’s true there have been some of the largest dips in the stock market in recent history.  The other side is there have been some of the largest climbs. So HODL (Hold On for Dear Life).

If you panic and sell when they are done, you will miss out on the gains after it climbs back up. Unless you are a day trader, you are more than likely in it for the long haul. 

So don’t panic and sell. No one is psychic and can tell when the market will soar or crash. If it does crash and you have the spare you should buy more. If you need the cash, there is no shame in selling.

This also applies to the cryptocurrency markets and ETFs. If you don’t know what ETFs click here to learn about them.

Non-Diverse Portfolio

The idea behind having diversity in your portfolio is this. You want to have a mixture of different types of investments. These would be ETFs, Cash Investments, Bonds, and Stocks. 

Here is the reason why they need to be diversified. All investments have a direct effect on others. An example is if the market takes a dip, Bonds and Cash Investments can go up. You aren’t taking a hit here.

If all of your money is solely invested in the stock market, you could be in some trouble. Spreading out the types of investments you own is vital. Diversity is where it is at.

There you go. The 6 mistakes most people make. Remember the idea here is to remain calm if something does happen here. Have an Emergency Fund. Diversify your investments and HODL. ‘Till next time!!!


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