We want to make money!

The first one might not be a mansion, but if you want to retire rich, you will have a much better shot at it if you own a home. Now owning multiple homes can be a lofty and inspiring vision - Who wouldn’t want to have a summer cottage on the coast of Maine, a ski chalet in Aspen, a penthouse apartment in New York, and a villa in Sorrento? I know I would, but you’ve got to start somewhere. And you’ve got to start! Look up the statistics, ask the experts, it is a hard cold fact that those who own a home have a significantly better retirement income on average than those who don’t. Will owning a home guarantee you a snug retirement nest egg? Unfortunately there are no guarantees, you still have to work hard, plan and save, but owning a home can be a step in the right direction.

For an interesting look at some data about wealth, retirement and the financial fitness of the typical American, check out this interesting article in BusinessWeek.

So you want to make money and control your own financial future? Well, why not start your own business? I would hazard to guess that Jeff and Rich Sloan would advise you to consider the possibility. And who wouldn’t trust the advice of a guy named “Rich” when it comes to making money? Seriously starting a business is probably both easier and harder than you might think, but one thing is for sure, they don’t start by themselves. If you want to learn more about being an entrepreneur, and you want to get excited and inspired about launching your owns startup, then you might want to read Jeff and Rich Sloan’s book, StartupNation. It is a very well-reviewed book and is loaded with useful insights and inspirations for the budding entrepreneur.

Believe it or not, the government wants to help you make money. No, really, they do. Think about it: the more money you make the more money you have to pay in taxes. It is what we in the money business call a win-win. Okay, I should point out for the benefit of any global citizens that might be reading this entry that this is a true-blue, stars and stripes forever, all-American blog. It is capitalism at its finest and Uncle Sam wants you… to make a buck. I don’t know about other governments, but here in the U.S.A. we have government agencies whose sole purpose is to help our citizens get smarter about money. You don’t believe me? Well just check out MyMoney.gov. They have information on all kinds of important topics from starting a business, to owning a home, to planning for retirement, and a whole lot more. They even have information en Espagnol, and a recently updated section for hurricane victims.

Electronic books, or ebooks as they are often called, are another Internet fad embraced by many who are looking to make money online. The advice is simple enough - find a subject area that people are interested in; then either write a book on the subject or purchase a resellable ebook on the topic. The rest is then a matter of site promotion, careful use of e-marketing tools and cultivating your customer base. There are several interesting articles on the topic. Here is a recent one from Daily India.

Well I got estimates on a handful of names and of course the estimates are lower than what I think the names are worth. I told myself that I would take the estimates at face value and put the names on the market and not become one of these sad cases that develops a big ego about what I think the names should go for and never ends up turning a profit. Acccording to the estimate I have come up with the right combination of timing, luck and cleverness to have a few names worth a couple of hundred bucks and one worth a couple of thousand. Unfortunately it just doesn’t feel like enough — sort of that same feeling like when you put some prized possession on sale at eBay and it sells, but not for nearly the price you thought it would or should. Oh well, I’m in no hurry so I can mull this over some more. I really should put at least a couple of them on the market to get familiar with the process. Maybe if they sell at close to or better than the estimate price I won’t feel so attached. I’m sure there is some entrepreneur out there who just buys and sells domains. It would take a lot of creativity, but I’m sure it is out there.

Maybe I’m going about this the wrong way.  Maybe wealth and security are just an elusive mirage on the net.  Sometimes you have to deal with the hard cold facts of the real world.  Yes, you can still make a buck by doing something tangible, something sloppy, dirty, messy and tangible.  Just ask my plumber.

It has been a tough few days, water was backing up into the basement of my condo, and it didn’t smell nice.  One of my neighbors was having the same problem.  Fortunately the ordeal seems to be over, but it involved 3 plumbing companies, 4 trucks, hundreds of feet of rooter coil, the replacement of two industrial sized sump pumps and an extra guy just to dredge the standing water out of a massive tank under the sidewalk.  All told someone took in about $7000 in revenue and that ain’t hay.  So while you chart out your real estate empire, or sharpen your magic ad placement skills, you might want to think about picking up a trade and starting your own plumbing company.  Unfortunately for me, I’m not good with my hands so tonight I’m just going to stare at the fresh gaping hole in my bank account while the last of the moisture evaporates away in my basement.