Online Surveys – Are they worth it?
March 23, 2012 by Alexandra Kerr · Leave a Comment
Online surveys seem to becoming more and more popular with posters on forums like Money Saving Expert and IVA.co.uk. Many posters use survey sites to earn points that then turn into vouchers.
How do they work?
They work by using a simple format: you register with a survey site and enter details about yourself. These details will then allow the sites database to send you relevant surveys. Once a survey is available to you, you will be asked a series of questions to answer; with the survey times varying but it will usually state how long it should take at the beginning.
How do you get paid?
Each survey site is different, as some give a monetary value for each completed survey, while others give a points score. Each site will have a threshold for when you can redeem your completed surveys into vouchers.
From Financial Advisor to Financial Comparison Site Owner: How To Quit Your Job and Support a Dream Lifestyle
March 21, 2012 by Jackson Beirne · Leave a Comment
This is the story of how I went from being a bored financial advisor to owning a financial comparison website that lets me travel the world on the profits.
I’m usually not comfortable telling people how to make money online but I wanted to share my story because if I can do it then you can do it. I’ll also give you some tips on what NOT to do when starting a niche site like this. If you avoid the mistakes I’ve made then you’ll save yourself a lot of wasted time and energy, and you’ll probably start making money a lot more quickly too.
I am a qualified independent financial advisor, and although I had a decent job in the UK financial services industry, like many other people I found myself dreaming of making money online and living by the beach. I tried a bunch of things and nothing seemed to work until I started Compare Logbook Loans, a financial comparison site in the obscure niche of logbook loans that I’d never even heard of before.
It wasn’t an easy ride, and I’ve made lots of mistakes along the way, but it now earns me and my business partner a basic living each month, and since it really took off I spent most of 2011 in Thailand and Vietnam living by the beach. The site won’t make me rich it now makes around $8,500 net profit per month between two of us but because I get paid in UK pounds it allows me to live an excellent lifestyle in exotic places where I benefit from the great exchange rate.
There are many different online business models but the one I have managed to get working is a cross between affiliate marketing and lead generation. Put simply, this mean
How to Move Long-Term Liabilities to Short-Term Liabilities
March 20, 2012 by Annabelle Rowan · Leave a Comment
Long-term debt is a difficult burden to carry. The reason many carry debt for long periods of time is the inability to satisfy the obligation short term. As your financial situation improves, you may find it cost-effective to transfer long-term liabilities to short-term ones. Short-term liabilities are those payable in one year or less. While your payments will be higher, you will save on interest long term. More importantly, you will be closer to paying off your debt and attaining financial freedom.
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Reduce the principal owed on the liabilities. Run an amortization schedule (see Resource), or request one from the creditor.
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The Rich Are Shopping Much More Like the Middle Class, Thanks to Recession.
March 14, 2012 by Alexandra Kerr · Leave a Comment
According to the Wall Street Journal, the rich are changing the way they think about shopping and spending money. Instead of simply buying items based on brand name, they are considering the price per wear first.
In one Harrison Group survey, done in the first quarter of 2011, consumers with an income of $275,000 were 7% more likely to wait for items to go on sale than they were in 2010 38% in 2011 compared with 31% in 2010.
Whats showing up in the latest research is a broad-based caution a sudden aversion to salespeople, a tepid response to ads focused on brand images, and a new interest in price-shopping.
It seems the rich are shopping more like most Americans these days, thanks to the recession.
Heres an infographic of the Harrison Group survey:
Of course, affluent consumers cant just be like average consumers because, well that would make them average.
Does new debit card rule mean more bank fees?
March 11, 2012 by Jackson Beirne · Leave a Comment
The effect of a new debit card rule that reduces the “swipe fees” that merchants have to pay banks (nice for them!), may trickle down to you… and increase your fees to banks (not so nice for you!), whether you use your debit card or not.
Here’s life before the rule: Let’s say you’re buying lunch. Every time you swiped your debit card to pay for a turkey wrap, the deli paid your bank a “swipe fee” of about 44 cents per transaction. To help pay for those fees, the deli owner may have hiked sandwich prices to cover his expense.
But on October 1st, the new rule, which is part of the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act, kicked in: “Swipe fees” for the deli and any other merchant will be capped at 21 to 24 cents per transaction—half the old cost. So Jo