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Mention the “b” word, as in BUDGET, to a friend and they’ll look at you like you have a third eye growing from the middle of your forehead. For most people the word budget too often carries negative meanings such as limits, restrictions, living on an allowance, giving things up, no shopping, no fun.
Unfortunately, the point they’re missing is that a budget doesn’t limit you but instead gives you freedom. That’s right - FREEDOM. The words “budget” and “freedom” are not mutually exclusive, once you understand what a budget can do for you.
Having and using a budget will give you direction. Your budget is your personal map of how you’re going to move financially from “point A” to “point B” and so on. Would you like to pay off your credit card debt? Buy a new house or car? Save for retirement? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then let me ask you one more - how are you going to do it? What’s your plan?
Let’s take a look at paying off your credit card debt. You’ve decided to lower your debt by adding an extra $20 to your monthly payments. Great idea - as long as you can afford it and you stop using your credit cards. However, you won’t know if you have the extra $20 if you don’t know what your monthly expenses are from the start. With a budget you may find that you can actually afford more and pay off your debts faster. You’ll have the freedom to use your money more wisely and achieve your goal.
What about buying a new house or car? If you don’t have a budget, you won’t know how much you can pay for a house or a car payment. Make that mistake and you’ll get a visit from the repo man or you’ll find yourself in foreclosure. Your budget gives you the freedom to make an informed decision.
How about saving for retirement? Unfortunately most of us don’t consider retirement savings until we’re into our forties or even fifties. Imagine if only we’d been smarter, had a budget, and started contributing toward our retirement when we were 10, 20, or 30 years younger?
Having a budget doesn’t limit you. It gives you the freedom to make informed financial decisions, allows you to use your money more wisely, and achieve your financial goals more quickly and easily.
Copyright 2005, http://www.yourfreecreditreportnow.com
About the Author: James is editor of "TO YOUR CREDIT", a free weekly newsletter with tips to help you manage your personal finances. Subscribe today and receive his e-book “IDENTITY THEFT- How To Avoid Becoming the Next Victim!” and other bonuses by visiting http://www.yourfreecreditreportnow.com
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The first time I heard about an old couple that went diamond hunting in parking lots, I knew there were more ways to make money than my scheming mind could imagine. By twelve years old I was taking Playboy magazines out of newspaper recycling bins to sell for a dollar each in school. I also sold ammunition to both sides in my brother's paper-wad war, so I had a taste for the more unusual ways to make money. I still do. Here are some of the stranger money making stories I've collected.Treasure Hunting
The old couple mentioned above can recognize the sparkle of a diamond amidst pieces of glass, from a hundred feet away! Parking lots are where most diamonds pop out of there settings, due to the temperature changes when people get out of their cars. Wandering mall parking lots has become their second retirement income. Treasure hunting obviously goes beyond the common conception.
A man in California took the shag carpet from a large theater being remodeled, saving the owners the cost of disposal. During the thirties the theater was a place where the wealthy went, and the wealthy, like all of us, lose things, but more valuable things perhaps. When the man cut up and carefully shook out the old carpet, it was found to contain over $2,000 worth of precious stones, rings, and rare coins.
Selling Things
At a campfire near a desert hot spring one winter, my wife and I met a man who sells stuffed animals on the side of the highway. When we saw him again, in his van full of stuffed animals, I pressed him for details. He buys used stuffed animals at thrift stores in bulk and then sells them alongside the highway. Early on, he even got the stores to give him the animals, with the agreement that he would return with the money or the animals the next week.
In some small towns he can get a vendor's permit cheaply ($18/year, for example). Otherwise he just sells until they chase him out of the county. He says he hasn't been fined yet, and he claims he sold $4,000 worth his first month. I think he was exagerating, but because of him we include used stuffed animals in our flea market stands with some success.
Beating The Casino
I worked at a casino for years and I saw a lot of people foolishly writing down the numbers that came up on the roulette wheel. Foolishly, I say, because their their theories were nonsense. Casinos will always welcome these players and even hand them the pen and paper.
One player, however, was actually scientific about it. By finding a bias in the wheel, after "charting" it for 5,000 spins, he made thousands betting on just one or two numbers. When a number comes up, it pays 35 to 1. One of the numbers, because of manufacturing imperfections or whatever reason, was coming up 1 in 27 spins, instead of the average 1 in 38 spins.
He bet $10 a spin, and he profited $80 for every 27 spins of the wheel in the long run. That's about $100 per hour. The ups and downs were dramatic though, so this is not for the faint-hearted. I saw this player lose as much as $700 in a night, but he later confided that he profitted over $80,000 before the casino changed the wheel.
Making Money With Real Estate
Making money with real estate isn't unusual, of course, but there are less common ways to do it. There was a man, for example, who went around optioning hilltops. If the owner wanted $30,000 for the land, this invester might offer $300 for an option to buy the property at full price ($30,000) within six months. The sellers liked the idea of getting full price, or just keeping the $300.
Next, he contacted radio stations, police departments, and cell phone companies that might need a hill to put a radio tower on. It is common practice to lease the properties on ten-year or longer leases, for tax reasons. Once the investor got a lease signed, it was relatively simple to get a bank to lend the money for the purchase.
He might have payments of $200 per month until the loan is paid. The radio station puts up the tower, and rents the hilltop for $350 per month. Total risk? If he doesn't find an interested party, he walks away, losing the $300 option fee. He succeeded often enough to afford a few losses.
More Strange Ways To Make Money
You can, of course have a strange job as a way to make money. I wouldn't want to be an "Odor Judger," who gets to smell armpits all day to help make deodorants that work. Being a "Chicken Sexer," isn't as bad as it sounds, however. This jobs just involves sorting through baby chicks to determine if they are male or female. Now, being a recliner tester for the Lazy Boy Company - that sounds like a great job.
Steve Gillman has had an interest in all the many ways to make money since childhood. You can read about more strange businesses and jobs at his website: http://www.UnusualWaysToMakeMoney.com Reprinted from Valuablecontent.com Distributed by:www.webmasterinfoandcontent.com