We want to make money!

Save money, yadda yadda yadda - but how do you do it? Well one thing you can do is hunt for bargains, and there ain’t no bargain better than free. So if you’re looking for some free swag, and don’t mind squeezing your shampoo out of a mylar packet, you might want to check out Freebie Finder. This site from Absurdly Cool scours the Internet looking for free stuff and doing the best job it can of screening out trash and scams. Now if you really want to get ahead, every time you get something free start putting aside the money that you would have spent - you’ll be surprised how fast it can build up. Happy Savings!

Thank goodness for computers and all the great software out there to help people get a handle on their finances. The number one way to get yourself on the road to financial freedom is to first understand where the money you have today is going. It can be a real eye-opener, and it is the foundation of good financial planning. Fortunately, it is also not nearly the chore that it used to be thanks to the plethora of great tools available for your home computer. Titles like Quicken, Money, Quickbooks, Quaranta and others are amazing for the power they can give an individual: what used to take an accounting team can now be done by one person. Here is a great article from Sci Tech Today giving a nice overview of some of the more popular packages: Use Your Computer To Retire Rich.

I realized that the link I had to the Startup Nation press release was getting a bit stale so I decided to reuse that real estate on the Make-Money main page to feature books that have influenced me and that may be useful to my readers. The first is by Tom Peters. Check it out.

In case you haven’t noticed, it is my hope that this blog will generate a little income. That’s why there are ads from Amazon and Google, duh. I don’t actually expect this to be a huge money maker, but I’m hoping to net positive eventually. Emphasis on eventually.

Like most things in life, to mature takes time, and this blog still needs plenty of maturing. The style and tone are beginning to settle down, but I need to do a better job of categorizing and I absolutely need to post more frequently. Nothing makes a blog look lifeless like coming back a few days later and seeing that the same old post is at the top of the sheet. Just like you wouldn’t spend a lot on stale bread, I’m not going to earn your clicks with stale content.

So is it possible to make money from a blog? I think yes, but it is difficult and it requires a lot of care and dedication. The bigger question is can you make enough off a blog to support yourself? I’m not trying to do that (at least not yet), but there are some folks taking their best shot at it. Check out www.cyberwyre.com they’re all about making money and sharing info on how they go about it. Also check out John Gruber’s www.daringfireball.net - he just quit his job to dedicate all his time to being a fulltime professional blogger on the subject of Macs. Good luck John!

One last link today - an article from the venerable Wall Street Journal debating Can Bloggers Make Money? Happy reading.

Quote for the day (maybe for the year):

“This is so simple it sounds stupid, but it is amazing how few oil people really understand that you only find oil if you drill wells. You may think you’re finding it when you’re drawing maps and studying logs, but you have to drill.” Source: The Hunters, by John Masters, Canadian O & G wildcatter

Planning is important, but so is doing. Inspiration can make the difference. I get inspired by folks like Tom Peters. Want to get revved up? Go to his web site, www.tompeters.com and download one of his powerpoint presentations. Read. Then go do something remarkable!

As I’ve mentioned before, starting your own business can be a shrewd move if you are looking to make some money. There are definitely risks and no business is foolproof, but there are also some serious benefits to having a profit motive. One that I haven’t mentioned before is the fact that you may be able to save some money at tax time if you own your own business. Many items that you may normally purchase may be declarable as legitimate business expenses. Keeping good records and receipts is very important, and you have to be able to show that you are running a legitimate business with the intent of making profits (starting a non-profit is a whole ‘nother animal), and seeking out the advice of a professional accountant and/or lawyer is never a bad idea. If you want to know more, here is a great article from MSN Money.