Childcare in our area has just went through the roof, probably your area also. There are many parents besides us who are making the decision to stay at home with their children. In most cases, it is the mother that chooses to be the fulltime parent. If this situation sounds alto familiar, you may be experiencing a problem that many others also are. That problem is limited income. Unfortunately, it is difficult for many families to adjust to having only one income, especially when both parents were working. Instead of relying on only one income, the stay at home Mom is encouraged to search for easy ways to make money.

When searching for easy ways to make money from home, there are a number of things that you have to be on the lookout for. There are a large number of internet scams. These scams often entice you to pay money to learn the secrets of making money. These offers are not business opportunities, instead most are scams. If you are interested in participating in a real business opportunity, you are urged to examine private label resell rights, especially those for e-books. You may very well find that this is the opportunity that you were looking for. You may also want to look at my articke, 9 Quick Ways to Make Extra Money On the Internet. You’ll also get some good ideas for businesses you can start at home.

In the United States and all around the world, there are a number of individuals who have a knack for writing. Many of these individuals become professional freelance writers. Professional freelance writers create content and then try and sell it to prospective clients. However, many writers have a talent for writing, but not all have a talent for marketing. In fact, many freelance writers end up creating content, such as e-books, and then keeping them because they couldn’t find a buyer. This not only wastes their time, but it also causes them to lose money. This is where you could come in.

To prevent themselves from losing money, many freelance writers are making the decision to offer their e-books available for sale. This sale is not a traditional sale. Instead, they are selling the resell rights. This means that they are looking for someone to sell their e-book for them. In addition to selling their own creation, there are many freelance writers that will allow you to claim rights to their e-books. In a way, that means that you will be listed as the author. However, to do this, you may need to make a few changes. These changes will be stipulated by the writer, but most only require the changing of a few sentences.

If you are able to obtain the resell rights to a quality e-book, especially one that is on an in-demand topic, you may be able to make a fairly large amount of money. Each time you successful sell the e-book, you be able to pocket the money yourself. The cost of obtaining e-book resell rights will vary. Many professional freelance writers have their own ways for determining how much their resell rights will cost. Despite the varied costs, you may find that the resell rights pay for themselves. The more e-books you are able to sell, the more money you will make.

The amount of time and effort you put into selling the e-book, which you acquired the resell rights to, will vary. That is what is nice about this type of business opportunity. You could work as little or as much as you would like. You do not have to have a set schedule. As a stay at home mom, you may find this to be an amazing opportunity. Most of the other business opportunities available require long hours and loads of work. By purchasing private label resell rights to an e-book, you will be able to work when you want and where you want. This will not only allow you to control how much money you will make, but also how much time you are able to spend with your children.

As previously mentioned, you can make money by selling the e-book, which you required the rights to, anyway that you want. Many stay at home moms have found success by creating their own websites, by advertising in online classifieds, by partnering with an existing website, or by placing their e-books for sale on online auction websites. Whether you choose one of these methods or all of them, you should be able to make a decent, full or part-time income. You can easily achieve this just by purchasing the private label resell rights to an interesting and well written e-book.

Once you have your first ebook selling, you’ll just repeat the processs. Wash, rinse and repeat. That’s the real secret to making money on the Internet. Find something you can make money at, then keep repeating it until you have the income your looking for. There’s nothing hard about learning how to make money from home selling ebooks, you just have to be patient and persistent.

I’ve been using several ways to make extra money on the Internet for the last several years. It has really helped my family out plus I’ve been able to stay at home with my kids.

Here are 9 quick ways to make extra money on the Internet

1. Squiddo and Hubpages - Both of these places offer profit sharing on affiliate commissions. You basically will be creating a web page and once published, you receive a portion of the commissions that your page generates. I’ll be hones with you and tell you that it takes a lot of pages to generate a decent amount of money. But if you don’t have anything to do, you can make 5 or more pages a day. Affiliate commissions come from Adsense, eBay and Amazon.
2. Project Payday - This is an online business where you sign up for free and “go green” on offers from other members. Project Payday has great training video’s and help. Sign up was very easy for me and it took me about a day to get the hang of it. I will warn you though, the work is very tedious. Not hard and you won’t get rich quick, but if you need a quick way to make money on the Internet, this is it. The first full day I used Project Payday, I made about $175 in 5 hours. The next day I only “worked” about 3 hours and made $65. I found the work too boring though. I have a friend in Kentucky who still uses Project Payday to make extra money for food and feul in her spare time. Click here to find out more and sign up for free.
3. AssociatedContent.Com - This is a website where you’ll sign up for free and write articles or produce video’s. People looking for content post what subjects they want an article, or articles for and you can claim that job and be paid for it. Typically articles will pay $4 to $10, sometimes more depending on the subject matter and the length.
4. iStockPhoto.Com - If you’re good with a camera, check into iStockPhoto. Here you can post your pictures and publishers can search through the website using keywords. When a publisher buys one of your pictures, you get a percentage. The nice thing about iStockPhoto is that the same picture is sold over and over so you keep making quick money on the same pictures!
5. DigitalPoint Forums - DigitalPoint forums has a marketplace where you can advertise your skills. There are people there looking for web designers, coders, article writers, etc. You may also want to check out SitePoint. These are very large forums and I know several people who make their entire income from advertising their skills on these two forums.
6. eBay - Let’s face it. Ebay has provided many people a way to make money at home who would otherwise not have a means of income. You can cruise Garage sales looking for bargains to sell on eBay. I did this for several months and would make between $600 and $1000 per month. But beware, make sure the stuff you buy will actually sell on ebay! You don’t want to fill your Garage up with a bunch of stuff that won’t sell. There are even people who go to Sam’s and Cosco and buy in bulk then resell on eBay and make quick money on the Internet.
7. Craigslist - When we were moving, we watched Craigslist for free moving boxes. The problem as we found out later, was that other people watch Craigslist also and snatch up the moving boxes..and resell them! There is a whole industry of people who do nothing other than watch Craigslist for the free stuff or the low cost stuff and then resell it either on ebay or through classifieds and turn a quick profit online.
8. Start a local blog - Bloggers are making big profits on the Internet by blogging about events and news in their community. You don’t have to live in a Metro area to be a profitable blogger. Some of the rural areas have bloggers keeping people posted on what is going on. The way you get paid is by accepting advertising from local businesses. If you’ve got any traffic at all, you can write reviews for local businesses and put banner advertising up on your blog.
9. Become an Internet Consultant - Are you good at finding things on the Internet? Do you know your way around the Information Super Highway? If so, there are people out there willing to pay you for your time and help. I know people who help FSBO’s find places on the Internet to advertise their homes. Others teach basic Internet skills to others for a fee. Many of these people advertise their skills on Craigslist and in the classfieds of local papers. Find what you’re good at and see if there is a market for it. I bet there is!

None of the methods above are likely to make you a millionaire, however people all over the country are making extra money on the internet with each method listed. The thing to keep remembering is that you have to put time and effort into each of these techniques to make them work. It’s not easy, in fact you could call them your part time job.

The above 9 methods of quick ways to make extra money on the Internet won’t make you rich. But hopefully it will put enough in your pocket to help you pay some bills or maybe a nice night on the town.

The big problem with “fast” food is that it slows down
when it hits your stomach.
And it just parks there…and lets the fat have time
to get off and apply for citizenship.

SHE LIED ON THE CO WORKING DESK AFTER SHE DRINKED
STAFF TOLD HER SHE NEED TO GET OFF THE DESK
SHE REFUSED TO GET OFF AND STAFF TOLD SHE NEED TO GET OFF AND THERE ARE THREE COACHES OR SOFA CLOSE THE DESK FOR HER REST

SHE FINALLY GET OFF THE WORKING DESK FINALLY BUT SHE THROW SOMETHING TOWARDS STAFF
OUR STAFF REPORTED TO ME AND LET HER LEAVE THE GATE
SHE LIED ON THE GROUND CRYING AND TALKING TO HERSELF VERY LOUDLY AND TRUN OVER AND OVER
WHEN FLGIHT START BOARDING SO I CAME TO HER AND TOLD HER AND ASK HER WHAT I CAN DO FOR HER
SHE SAID HER FOOT ANKLE WAS PAINFUL SO I CALLED AIRPORT DOCOTOR RIGHT AWAY FOR HER AND THE DOCOTORS DID CAME TO THE AIRPORT MANY CUSTOMERS REQUIRED NOT TO BOARD THIS CUSTOMER WHEN THEY SAW THIS SITUATION

I DENY HER BOARDING AFTER CHECKED WITH SOCC /CAPTAIN
SHE WAS VERY ANGRY AFTER I TOLD HER OUR DECISION
SHE WANTS TO RUN TO THE JETWAY BUT PROHIBITTED BY POLICE
SHE INSULTED ME AND POINTED AT ME WITH HER MIDDLE FINGER
I EXPLANINE MANY TIMES FOR THE REASON WHY I DENIED HER
SHE IS JUST CONTINUESLY SCREAMING AT ME AND SAY SEND ME TO THE JAIL SEND ME TO THE JAIL
THE POLICE ALSO SMELL THE HEABY SMELL OF WINE FROM HER
SHE SUDDNELY TOOK OFF HER UNDERWEAR AND THREW IT ON THE GROUND AND SAY FUCKY YOU EVERYBODY
I TOLD HER I WILL DENY HER BOARDING TOMORROW IF SHE CAN NOT BE CALM DOWN AND NOT BEHAVE LIKE TODAY
WE CALL THE US EMBASSY SINCE POLICE AND CUSTOMER HERSELF REQUIRE ONE EMBASSY REPRESENTATIVE TO COME TO THE AIRPORT BUT THE DUTY MANGER OF THE EMBASSY REFUSED TO COME

FINALLY SHE ACCEPT FLY ON TOMORRW FLIGHT WITH COOPERATE ATTITUDE AND WILL NOT BEHAVE LIKE TODAY
IMMIGRATION NOT ALLOW HER TO LEAVE THE AIRPORT ASSIGNED TWO IMMIGRATION OFFICER TO BE WITH HER TONIGHT

Simply amazing that anyone would act like that in public! Many airline passengers think that a ticket gives them a right to be jerks I guess!

Death is certain but the Bible speaks about untimely death!

Make a personal reflection about this…..

Very interesting, read until the end…..

It is written in the Bible (Galatians 6:7):

‘Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sow,that shall he also reap.’

Here are some men and women who mocked God :

John Lennon (Singer):

Some years before, during his interview with an American Magazine, he said:

‘Christianity will end, it will disappear. I do not have to argue about that. I am certain.

Jesus was ok, but his subjects were too simple, today we are more famous than Him’ (1966).

Lennon, after saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, was shot six times.

Tancredo Neves (President of Brazil ):

During the Presidential campaign, he said if he got 500,000 votes from his party, not even God would remove him from Presidency.

Sure he got the votes, but he got sick a day before being made President, then he died.

Cazuza (Bi-sexual Brazilian composer, singer and poet):

During A show in Canecio ( Rio de Janeiro ), while smoking his cigarette, he puffed out some smoke into the air and said:’God, that’s for you.’

He died at the age of 32 of LUNG CANCER in a horrible manner.

The man who built the Titanic.

After the construction of Titanic, a reporter asked him how safe the Titanic would be.

With an ironic tone he said: ‘Not even God can sink it’

The result: I think you all know what happened to the Titanic

Marilyn Monroe (Actress)

She was visited by Billy Graham during a presentation of a show. He said the Spirit of God had sent him to preach to her.

After hearing what the Preacher had to say, she said: ‘I don’t need your Jesus’.

A week later, she was found dead in her apartment

Bon Scott (Singer)

The ex-vocalist of the AC/DC. On one of his 1979 songs he sang: ‘Don’t stop me; I’m going down all the way, down the highway to hell’.

On the 19th of February 1980, Bon Scott was found dead, he had been choked by his own vomit.

Campinas (IN 2005)

In Campinas, Brazil a group of friends, drunk, went to pick up a friend…..

The mother accompanied her to the car and was so worried about the drunkenness of her friends and she said to the daughter holding her hand, who was already seated in the car: ‘My Daughter, Go With God And May He Protect You.’

She responded: ‘Only If He (God) Travels In The Trunk, Cause Inside Here…..It’s Already Full ‘

Hours later, news came by that they had been involved in a fatal accident, everyone had died, the car could not be recognized what type of car it had been, but surprisingly, the trunk was intact. The police said there was no way the trunk could have remained intact. To their surprise, inside the trunk was a crate of eggs, none was broken

Christine Hewitt (Jamaican Journalist and entertainer)

said the Bible (Word of God) was the worst book ever written.

In June 2006 she was found burnt beyond recognition in her motor vehicle.

Many more important people have forgotten that there is no other name that was given so much authority as the name of Jesus.

Many have died, but only Jesus died and rose again, and he is still alive.

‘Jesus’

PS: If it was a joke, you would have sent it to everyone. So are you going to have courage to send this?.

I have done my part, Jesus said

‘If you are embarrassed about me, I will also be embarrassed about you before my father.’

You are my 8 in 8 seconds. I am not breaking this. No way!

I’M TOLD THIS WORKS!!!!! Bishop T.D. Jakes ‘8 Second Prayer.’ Just repeat this prayer and see how God moves!!

‘Lord, I love you and I need you, come into my heart, and bless me, my family, my home, and my friends, in Jesus’ name. Amen.’

Pass this message to 8 people.You will receive a miracle tomorrow. I Hope that you don’t ignore and let God bless you.

-Okay, there you have it. Pretty interesting huh? I hope you’ve enjoyed this email and got a little something out of it!

5 Tips To Reduce Your Grocery Bill

Make a grocery list and check it twice

No, we’re not talking about Christmas here, I’m talking about a grocery list. Most shoppers just go into the store with their “list” in their heads. Everyone comes out of the store with more items than what they thought they needed. Many times, these items are impulsle buys and were not really needed to begin with. Look, you’re not going to be the Supermarkets at their game, stop trying!

Supermarkets spend millions each year on Consumer research. They know what the average Consumer wants, how they will react to certain stimulus and what will and will not catch your eye and make you buy a certain product over another.

This is one reason that the highest profit margin foods are placed at eye level. They make it easy for you to reach out and throw it in your basket.

Time and Time again, studies have show that people who make out grocery list and spend as little time as possible in a Supermarket spend less money on groceries.

Why? Not only do these people have a list, many will also put the list in order of their location in the grocery store. The more time you spend “window shopping” in a Supermarket, the more likely you are to buy something you didn’t need.

In the book “Millionaires MInd”, one of the common traits that Millionaires had were that a majority of them not only made a grocery list, but they also drew maps of their favorite store. On this map each isle was drawn and labled as to what food was on that isle. This way, they started at one end and worked their way down each isle. They never forgot anything so they didn’t have to go back. They spend the least amount of time possible in the Supermarket. These people know how the Supermarket marketing game is played and they know how to beat it.

Coupons, Coupons and more Coupons

Sure, you can save money by cutting coupons out of the Sunday paper. Many people do that and save some big dollars.

Before we make a major purchase on anything, we always use the Internet to search for coupons. Many retailers put Internet coupons only out there and many people never think about looking for them.

You can also browse coupon forums and exchange coupons with other people. This saves us hundreds of dollars each year on our grocery bill.

However, the best way to utilize coupons is to join a site like The Grocery Game. I knew that I saved a lot of money using The Grocery Game, but had never sit down and figured up how much. Recently, a local TV reporter did a test between two shoppers. She gave each a similar list of groceries and sent them into the store to purchase the items. One believed that using coupons would only save her a few dollars and was not worth the trouble while the other used The Grocery Game to buy her items.

When it came time to ring up the goods, the shopper not using The Grocery Game had a bill for $93. The shopper who used The Grocery Game had a bill of $41. The other shopper was quite amazed and said she would certainly start using The Grocery Game in the future. It works if you’ll take the time to use it!

Angel Food Ministries

When I first heard about Angel Food Ministries, I thought it was only for people down on their luck. But I knew the lady who was telling me about it and she is anything but down on her luck. In fact, her and her family are one of the most diligent in budgeting and saving money that I’ve ever seen.

So I questioned her about the program. She answered all my questions and assured me that Angel Food Ministries was for everyone. She then sent me to the website and I read it over several times. The website says that anyone can use Angel Food Ministries, but I still wasn’t convinced, so I called my local Church where the food will be delivered. The assured me also that the program was for everyone, not only those down on their luck. They went on to say that they receive $1 for every unit sold.

The way Angel Food Ministires works is that you pay up front for a “unit” of food. Each month the unit of food changes, but they say that a unit of food can feed one person for a month. They also have what they call “Specialty Boxes” which are generally meat you can buy in addition to your regular “unit” of food. For example, last month we bought the “Grill Special” which had something like 6 Top Sirloin steaks, a package of pre-formed burgers and something like 4 or 6 ribeye steaks..all for $20!

The cost of each unit is $30 and the cost of a Specialty Box is $20. This food is purchased in bulk from major supplies so you’ll recognize many of the names on the food. Most of the beef comes vacuum packed so it will last a long time in your freezer.

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and quantity of food I received with my box. Now, whenever there is a month with a lot of stuff we like, we buy several “units” and “specialty” boxes and stock up. This program has been the biggest single factor in us reducing our food bill!

Buy in Bulk

Only if you’ve lived under a rock would you not know what a Costco or Sam’s Club is. These are places that sell to business’s at wholesale prices. You buy items in bulk at discount prices. Most of these places require a membership and are not open to the general public. However, it’s reallys simple to get a membership and start saving. Many employers now have memberships to these type of stores as a benefit.

If you don’t have access to one of these membership stores, just go down and open a DBA and then fill out the application at your local membership store. In Texas, it cost $8 at the County Clerks office to open a DBA. A small price to pay for access to all the bulk food and household goods at Sam’s or Costco! Remember, where there’s a will, there’s a way!

The way my family buys in bulk is that we’ll go in together with other family members and compare list. If there are several items we need, then we’ll buy in bulk and split the package up. This further reduces our cost.

One of the favorite things I buy in bulk are styrofoam cups. For $11 i get a huge box of cups and split them with family members. Then when someone wants something to drink, they use a styrofoam cup and do not dirty any dishes. Also, I prefer the styrofaom cups because they keep cold drinks colder and hot drinks hotter!

You can also buy meat and produce from these membership sites, but sink we started using Angel Food Ministries, we haven’t had to buy meat from any place else.

Buy Locally

Just about every city has a Farmers Market. If not, then I bet there’s one not too far down the road. We love going to the farmers market and buying fresh produce. This past weekend we came home with a box of homegrown tomatoes and cucumbers!

We spent most of the weekend canning pickles and all sorts of tomatoe products like Salsa, Pasta Sauce and homemade Tomatoe soup.

Not only can you save money by buying locally, some local farms will actually sell you a membership to their produce. Then, each week you’ll get a box of fresh produce of whatever is in season on the farm. The downside is that you normally have to pay upfront, but with a little budgeting, that is something that can be accomplished.

You’ll also be helping to support local farmers. They raise better products for you and your family than what you can buy at the Supermarket. Most use all natural or Organic practices so you’re not taking in all the chemicals and pesticides like you do when buying Supermarket produce!

You can probably find a local farm in your area by going to LocalHarvest.

We can a lot of food each year. This also helps cut down my grocery bill, especially in the fall and winter when fresh produce is not available locally.

Canning is not as hard as many will have you to believe. As long as you follow some simple instructions, you can enjoy fresh food year round. There’s nothing like sitting down in Januarary to fresh Salsa made from homegrown tomatoes!

Take the time to learn how to can. Get the family involved and it can be a fun family project.

So how much do I save on my grocery bill? Well, I feed a family of 6 and when I sit down last year and calculated up our food cost and then divided by 12 months, it came out to slightly less than $150 per month…and that’s eating good wholesome food like Steaks and fresh produce!

These tips to reduce your grocery bill are simple. All it takes is planning and commitment! You can do it!

SHERIFF JOE IS AT IT AGAIN

Maricopa County was spending approx. $18 million dollars a year on stray animals, like cats and dogs. Sheriff Joe offered to take the department over, and the County Supervisors said okay. The animal shelters are now all staffed and operated by prisoners. They feed and care for the strays. Every animal in his care is taken out and walked twice daily. He now has prisoners who are experts in animal nutrition and behavior. They give great classes for anyone who’d like to adopt an animal. He has literally taken stray dogs off the street, given them to the care of prisoners, and had them place in dog shows. The best part? His budget for the entire department is now under $3 million. Teresa and I adopted a Weimaraner from a Maricopa County shelter two years ago. He was neutered, and current on all shots, in great health, and even had a microchip inserted the day we got him. Cost us $78.

The prisoners get the benefit of about $0.28 an hour for working, but most would work for free, just to be out of their cells for the day. Most of his budget is for utilities, building maintenance, etc. He pays the prisoners out of the fees collected for adopted animals. I have long wondered when the rest of the country would take a look at the way he runs the jail system, and copy some of his ideas. He has a huge farm, donated to the county years ago, where inmates can work, and they grow most of their own fresh vegetables and food, doing all the work and harvesting by hand. He has a pretty good sized hog farm, which provides meat, and fertilizer. It fertilizes the Christmas tree nursery, where prisoners work, and you can buy a living Christmas tree for $6 - $8 for the Holidays, and plant it later. We have six trees in our yard from the Prison.

Yup, he was reelected last year with 83% of the vote. Now he’s in trouble with the ACLU again.. He painted all his buses and vehicles with a mural, that has a special hotline phone number painted on it, where you can call and report suspected illegal aliens. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement wasn’t doing enough in his eyes, so he had 40 deputies trained specifically for enforcing immigration laws, started up his hotline, and bought 4 new buses just for hauling folks back to the border. He’s kind of a ‘Git-R Dun’ kind of Sheriff.

Update on Joe Arpaio

TO THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH JOE ARPAIO

HE IS THE MARICOPA ARIZONA COUNTY SHERIFF AND HE KEEPS GETTING ELECTED OVER AND OVER

THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY:

Sheriff Joe Arpaio (In Arizona)

Who created the ‘Tent City Jail’: He has jail meals down to 40 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them.

He stopped smoking and porno magazines in the jails. Took away their weights Cut off all but ‘G’ movies.

He started chain gangs so the inmates could do free work on county and city projects.

Then He Started Chain Gangs For Women So He Wouldn’t Get Sued For Discrimination.

He took away cable TV Until he found out there was A Federal Court Order That Required Cable TV For Jails So He Hooked Up The Cable TV Again. Only Let In The Disney Channel And The Weather Channel.

When asked why the weather channel He replied, So They Will Know How Hot It’s Gonna Be While They Are Working ON My Chain Gangs.

He Cut Off Coffee Since It Has Zero Nutritional Value.

When the inmates complained, he told them, ‘This Isn’t The Ritz/Carlton..If You Don’t Like It, Don’t Come Back.’

He bought Newt Gingrich’s lecture series on videotape that he pipes into the jails.

When asked by a reporter if he had any lecture series by a Democrat, he replied that a democratic lecture series might explain why a lot of the inmates were in his jails in the first place.

More On The Arizona Sheriff:

With Temperatures Being Even Hotter Than Usual In Phoenix (116 Degrees Just Set A New Record), The Associated Press Reports: About 2,000 Inmates Living In A Barbed-Wire-Surrounded Tent Encampment At The Maricopa County Jail Have Been Given Permission To Strip Down To Their Government-Issued Pink Boxer Shorts.

On Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing boxers were either curled up on their bunk beds or chatted in the tents, which reached 138 Degrees Inside The Week Before.

Many Were Also Swathed In Wet, Pink Towels As Sweat Collected On Their Chests And Dripped Down To Their PINK SOCKS.

‘It Feels Like We Are In A Furnace,’ Said James Zanzot, An Inmate Who Has Lived In The TENTS for 1 year. ‘It’s Inhumane.’

Joe Arpaio, the tough-guy sheriff who created the tent city and long ago started making his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic. He said Wednesday that he told all of the inmates: ‘It’s 120 Degrees In Iraq And Our Soldiers Are Living In Tents Too, And They Have To Wear Full Battle Gear, But They Didn’t Commit Any Crimes, So Shut Your Damned Mouths!’

Way To Go, Sheriff!

Maybe if all prisons were like this one there would be a lot less crime and/or repeat offenders. Criminals should be punished for their crimes - not live in luxury until it’s time for their parole, only to go out and commit another crime so they can get back in to live on taxpayers money and enjoy things taxpayers can’t afford to have for themselves. Thank you Sheriff Joe Arpaio

It’s no secret that credit card interest rates can go through the roof. I’ll also bet that many of you have no idea how much the interest rate on your credit card is.

Of course, the best way to reduce your credit card interest rate is to just pay them off and cut the card up. I’ve been without a credit card for two years now and I’m loving it. It was strange at first not having a credit card, but what was stranger was not receiving a statement every month. Now I can’t see myself ever having another credit card! My family does have one debit card, which has nearly all the benefits of a credit card should I find myself in an emergency.

How To Get The Credit Card Company To Reduce Your Interest Rate

The easiest and simplest way to get a credit card company to reduce your interest rate is to just call them and ask. Normally, you can find the toll free number on the back of the card or on your credit card statement.

Depending on which Customer Service rep you get, getting them to reduce your interest rate may be easy or difficult. If you’ve been paying your bill on time, you’ll find it a lot easier to deal with these people than if you’re habitually late in making your payment.

Here is a script I found that will work very well. The script is from Jean Chatzky.

 “I have [name of card] with you and my interest rate is [X] percent. I received another offer in the mail from [other bank’s name] for [X] percent, but before I take it, I want to see if you can lower my interest rate instead.”

If the representative says they’re not authorized to do that, you say:

“Look, you and I both know that if I transfer my balance today, next week your bank is going to send me an offer to come back at an even lower rate. Why don’t you just save the bank the cost of that effort by giving me several points today?”

If the rep says it’s not possible because your credit card is at a fixed interest rate, you say:

“Actually, that doesn’t have anything to do with whether or not you have the ability to lower my interest rate. A fixed interest rate only means that my rate doesn’t vary with fluctuations in the prime rate. In fact, the bank can raise it on my account at any time by just giving me 15 days written notice. And the bank can, if it chooses, lower the rate today.”

If the rep still says they’re not authorized to do that, you say:

“I’d like to speak to your supervisor.”

Then speak to a supervisor and follow the above script again.

If the first Customer Service rep will not lower your interest rate, then the Supervisor will nearly always do it (unless you’ve been late or missed payments).

If your credit card company does not lower your interest rate on your credit card, then by all means shop around for a lower interest rate and switch the balance over to them. This takes a little time, but it can add up to huge savings over the long run.

Also remember that the Supervisor you speak to also has a Supervisor. But after talking to two Supervisor’s, you’re probably wasting more time than it’s worth to continually purse a rate reduction with this company. Your better off switching to another credit card company.

If you have a low, or no, balance on your credit card, you may find that it’s difficult to get the company to reduce your credit card interest also. If you haven’t guessed, credit card companies love customers with high balances! You’ll just have to be more persistent in your negotiations with the company to get your interest rate reduced.

This the most popular, and most successful way I’ve found on how to reduce your credit card interest rates. Other methods may work, but you’ll have more success with this one!

There is, and probably always will be, a market for customized t-shirts. Personalization is one thing that keeps the t-shirt printing business alive and well. But starting a t-shirt business from home can be intemidating. Here are a few tips and some timely advice to help you get started.

One of the easiest ways to get started in t-shirt printing is a place called CafePress.Com. CafePress is an online service where you can design your t-shirts online and then either print them off in bulk or just advertise the links to your t-shirt designs. When someone buys from your online store, you’ll receive commissions on that sale. CafePress is probably one of the easiest ways to get started. Although probably not the most profitable because you split a commission with them.

Before running out and buying bulk loads of t-shirts, you want to be sure this is something you are willing to spend the time to learn and money to expand the business. One of the biggest factors in whether or not you’re successful in the t-shirt business is coming up with unique designs. If you’re talented in designing creative looking t-shirts, then you may have the creativeness to succeed.

You want to be unique and creative and come up with something nobody else has thought of. Simply copying others designs won’t cut it for long. You’re local market may buy a few shirts from you, but over time to make really good profit from your business, you’re going to have to be creative and unique.

Where to Get Ideas for T-Shirt Designs

Ideas for t-shirt designs are all around you. Here are a few ideas to help you get started.

• CafePress - Go there and look at what other people have designed. You may see some design you can improve on or find a design that gives you new ideas
• Bumper stickers - I can’t tell you how many ideas came to me when I saw a bumper sticker!
• Local Attractions - Does your local area have something special that makes it unique? Remember the t-shirts that said “Where in the hell is {your town})? Just make sure your local attraction does not have a Copyright on the name or logo!
• Kids - Your kids, especially teenagers, usually know what is hot in your local area. See if they have any ideas for t-shirt designs

Like I said, places for ideas are all around you. You should have no problem with keeping new design ideas flowing.

Other Sources of Customers for your T-Shirts

You want to remember that people order from tee shirt printing businesses every day. Some of these people include fraternities, churches, athletic teams, sororities, businesses, and many more. With this in mind, you want to be sure you have enough inventory to meet the needs of these demanding services. All tee shirt printing businesses have their own niche so you want to be sure to find yours. Whether it is the selection of your shirts, your design, your services, whatever the case, you want to have your own.

You can gain access to many of these potential customers and many more by joining your local Chamber of Commerce. Never underestimate the power of Networking through your local Chamber of Commerce. It has made the difference between success and failure for many businesses.

The Nuts & Bolts of T-shirt Printing

Before starting your t-shirt printing business, make sure you have a business plan. Every business needs a business plan, no matter how small! Remember the old saying “Plan to succeed or you’ll be planning to fail” Business plans help keep you focused and keep your goals in sight. You can find many free business plans on the Internet or you can buy software at many of the Office supply stores like Staples and Office Depot.

The basics of starting your own tee shirt printing business from your home is having the right equipment and supplies. Many of these supplies can be had for pennies on the dollar by searching sites like ebay and craigslist. You will need a computer, a type of graphics program, inkjet printer, high-quality heat transfer paper, and a heat press.

Not all heat presses are created equal. There are several types of heat presses so be sure to do your research and choose the one that best fits your business and budget.

There are generally 5 different types of heat transfer presses.

• Very Small - These are normally called Label Presses and are used for baby clothes and other items where heat is needed in a small area.
• Small - These are great for iron on stickers and badges. They’re very portable which makes them appealing to many people. The downside is that they’re usually a lot smaller than most sheets of transfer paper for t-shirts.
• Medium - This size is just right for t-shirts. Obviously more bulky than the other two. Medium size heat presses also come with more power, which is important for doing large orders (doesn’t cool off as easly)
• Large - This is the size if you plan on doing a log of 11×17 tranfers or large numbers or letters on t-shirts like jerseys. This is a large heat press, so make sure this is what you need before running out and buying one
• Very Large - You’ll normally not find these in a home ran business. These are giants of the t-shirt printing world and only large volume printers buy this type of heat press.

Buy quality heat transfer paper. Make sure to do the research to get the best quality because the better quality your products, the more customers will keep returning and recommending your services to others. There is heat transfer paper for dark and light t-shirts. This is where your planning will pay off. Don’t go buying heat transfer paper for dark t-shirts if all you plan to print are white t-shirts! I know that seems obvious, but it happens!

I’d recommend the commercial grade heat transfer paper. It’s not necessary, but it just seems to turn out longer lasting t-shirts than the cheaper heat transfer paper.

Advertising Your T-Shirt Printing Business

A major factor in making your tee shirt printing business a success is your advertising. Every company needs to advertise their services if they expect to have steady and reliable customers returning time after time placing orders for your t-shirts.

As I said earlier, the Chamber of Commerce in your area is a great place to start. You might even want to take some sample to show off during one of the Network meetings.

Other places to consider advertising your t-shirt printing business

• Flea Markets - No, not the little ones beside the road. I’m talking the huge flea markets. Most major cities have huge flea markets on the weekends. Make up several of each type and rent a booth. Make sure you have plenty of business cards out and promotional material for the people to take home.
• State Fairs - People come to state fairs to have fun and to look around. Our local state fair has a huge tent that people have to walk through to get into and back out of the fair itself. This gives you two chances for them to see your work! (see if your local state fair has something like this)
• Donations - Think about donating some of your t-shirts to non-profitable charitable organizations or events. You’ll be surprised at how much PR you can get out of donating a few shirts!
• Internet - In this day and age, I wouldn’t think of starting a business without a website! If you’re reading this, then you should already know the power of the Internet!
• Direct Mail - Direct mail can be a money producer for you. Instead of direct mailing residents, obtain a direct mail list of business’s in your area. You’d be surprised at how many business’s buy t-shirts for employees for all types of events from safety programs to the yearly company picnic.

Why didn’t I mention the Yellow Pages or Newspaper for advertising. It’s been my experience that both of these are going the way of the dinosaur. Most Yellow Page advertising is overpriced and I’ve always been able to get better results elsewhere for the same amount of money. When is the last time you picked up a phone book? See, I told you so!

There are limitless possibilities to starting your own tee shirt printing business. You just have to do your homework and if you want to be successful, you will want to be sure you have everything you need. No use in mortgaging the home, getting started in the t-shirt printing business can be done on a part time basis and started with a small amount of money.

DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, splattering it against that freshly-stained heirloom piece you were drying.

WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned guitar calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, ‘You ____….’

ELECTRIC HAND DRILL: Normally used for spinning pop rivets in their holes until you die of old age.

SKIL SAW: A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters. The most often tool used by all women.

BELT SANDER: An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle. It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

VISE-GRIPS: Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

WELDING GLOVES: Heavy duty leather gloves used to prolong the conduction of intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub you want the bearing race out of.

WHITWORTH SOCKETS: Once used for working on older British cars and motorcycles, they are now used mainly for impersonating that 9/16 or ½ socket you’ve been searching for the last 45 minutes.

TABLE SAW: A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity.

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes, trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper.

EIGHT-FOOT LONG YELLOW PINE 2X4: Used for levering an automobile upward off of a trapped hydraulic jack handle.

TWEEZERS: A tool for removing wood splinters and wire wheel wires.

E-Z OUT BOLT AND STUD EXTRACTOR: A tool ten times harder than any known drill bit that snaps neatly off in bolt holes thereby ending any possible future use.

RADIAL ARM SAW: A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to scare neophytes into choosing another line of work.

TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST: A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect.

CRAFTSMAN 1/2 x 24-INCH SCREWDRIVER: A very large pry bar that inexplicably has an accurately machined screwdriver tip on the end opposite the handle.

AVIATION METAL SNIPS: See hacksaw.

TROUBLE LIGHT: The home mechanic’s own tanning booth. Sometimes called a drop light, it is a good source of vitamin D, ‘the sunshine vitamin,’ which is not otherwise found under cars at night. Health benefits aside, its main purpose is to consume 40-watt light bulbs at about the same rate that
105mm howitzer shells might be used during, say, the first few hours of the Battle of the Bulge. More often dark than light, its name is somewhat misleading.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids and for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads. Women excel at using this tool.

STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER: A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws.

AIR COMPRESSOR: A machine that takes energy produced in a coal- burning power plant 200 miles away and transforms it into compressed air that travels by hose to a Chicago Pneumatic impact wrench that grips rusty bolts, which were last over-tightened 30 years ago by someone at Ford, and instantly rounds off their heads. Also used to quickly snap off lug nuts.

PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to make hoses too short.

HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent to the object we are trying to hit. Women primarily use it to make gaping holes in walls when hanging pictures.

MECHANIC’S KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as seats, vinyl, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only while in use.

DAMMIT TOOL: Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the garage while yelling ‘DAMMIT’ at the top of your lungs. It is also the next tool that you will need.

WD-40: If it doesn’t move and it should.

Duct Tape: If it moves and it shouldn’t.

Perhaps I expected too much from this book or maybe I thought it really did contain some “secret” that few others knew. But it didn’t. It was a ho hum book. All the information in the book can be easily found on the Internet, most of it on the ProBlogger blog.

I actually felt like this was one of those $29.99 ebooks you buy off of the Internet and find yourself thinking “I already know this stuff, where is the “secret”. I’m not saying it was totally worthless. Not at all. If you’re new to the Internet and blogging, then this book would be helpful. However, if you’ve been around a while and know what a blog is, know how to drive traffic to a website and know what Social Networks are, then you pretty much have the knowledge that is given in the ProBlogger book.

The ProBlogger book covers the basics such as choosing a niche, starting a blog, setting the blog up and making the blog grow. It also talks ways to get traffic, social-media, marketing, monetization of your blog, link baiting and what type of post you should be making to satisfy your readers. Pretty simple stuff.

The ProBlogger book has 10 Chapters. The Chapter headings include:

1. Blogging For Money
2. Niche Blogging
3. Setting Up Your Blog
4. Blog Writing
5. Blog Income and Earning Strategies
6. Buying and Selling Blogs
7. Blog Networks
8. Blog Promotion and Marketing
9. Secrets of Successful Blogs
10. Creating Something Worthwhile

As you can see, pretty basic stuff. I would have liked to see them go into more details on many of the subjects but they didn’t. This book seems to be aimed at the beginner and just lightly touches many of the subjects. For example, in Chapter 1, Blogging For Money, there is a section title “How Much Could You Earn”.  This section does’t really give a range of what a blogger could expect to make. It’s full of generalizations such as

Although there are some bloggers like Darren and I do make a full time living from blogging, and there are bloggers who make way more than eithe of us do, there are many more bloggers who use their income to subsidize gadget purchases or as a way to offset some Internet cost.

Ummm, yeah…could you be a little more detailed? Of course, if you’re familiar with some of the articles about Darren and his ProBlogger blog, you know he makes over $100,000 per year blogging. Likely it’s way more than that now.

The exerpt above just gives you a feeling for the way the rest of the book reads. Basic, kinda boring and full of generalizations.

On the plus side, it is an easy and quick read. It’s not hard to understand. I think even your Grandma or Aunt could read this book and start a blog. This may be just the book for them!

So is the ProBlogger book worth the $16.49 asking price? Yeah probably, especially if you’ve never started a blog or have any idea of how to start one and make some money out of it.

Will you wake up one morning to a 6 figure income from blogging? If the ProBlogger book was the only one you read, I doubt you’d make 6 figures any time soon.

I think we all know that the title, “ProBlogger: Secrets to Blogging Your Way To A Six Figure Income” was designed to catch the reader’s wallet more so than to offer anything but basic advice on blogging.

To summarize this ProBlogger Book Review, if you’re new to blogging and have no idea how to start, this book may be for you. It will help you get started and answer many of your questions. If you’re a more advanced blogger, this book is just good bathroom material while you’re taking care of business. Not much in the way of substance, advanced tips or strategies. If you’re in the latter boat, save your money.

So for this Mothers Day, I’ve decided on a little history lesson.

How Mother’s Day Started In The Ancient Times

The practice of honoring of motherhood is rooted in antiquity, and past traditional often had strong symbolic and religious overtones. Adoration was bestowed upon female deities or the Church. It has only been the last several centuries that honoring motherhood has become popular for the individual women.

One of the earliest recorded instances of honoring mothers was in ancient Egypt, where people held an annual festival to honor the goddess Isis. She was thought of as the mother of the Pharaohs.

In ancient Greece it was the Goddess Rhea who was thought to be the mother to the major deities. The Goddess Rhea was celebrated with a festival that took place around the time of the vernal equinox.

In ancient Rome and Asia Minor the Phrygian goddess Cybele, or Magna Mater (great mother), who stems from Rhea, was honored with a celebration between March 15-22 each year.

Mother’s Day In the Modern Ages

In the 1600s, a church decree in England broadened the celebration of Lent (which celebrated the place where they were baptized, their home Church) to include humanly mothers, giving this day the name “Mothering Day.”

For this day, servants and trade workers were allowed to travel to their hometowns to visit family where their Mother was the guest of honor. The Mom’s were given delicacies such as cakes and flowers and special gifts. They also received a visit from their beloved and distant children. (I wonder if the Children back then called their Mom’s?)

The first North American Mother’s Day was started by a lady named Julia Ward Howe in 1870. Julia Howe was so distraught by the death and carnage that she saw during the Civil War that she called on mother’s to come together and protest what she saw as the futility of their sons killing the sons of other mothers. She called for an international Mother’s Day celebrating peace and motherhood.

In 1885 a lady by the name of Mary Towles Sasseen wrote stories and poems for students to recite on her mother’s birthday. (Mary Towles was a school teacher in Henderson Kentucky) She called the April 20th observance, “Mother’s Day Celebration,” and invited the mothers of the students to attend.

To reunite families that had been divided between the Union and Confederate sides of the Civil War, a group led by Anna Reeves Jarvis held a Mother’s Friendship Day, an adaptation of Julia Howe’s holiday. After Anna R. Jarvis died, her daughter Anna Marie Jarvis campaigned for the creation of an official Mother’s Day in remembrance of her mother and in honor of peace. Her request was honored, and on May 10, 1908, the first official Mother’s Day celebration took place at Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, and a church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

By 1909, parts of Canada and Mexico and 46 states were holding Mother’s Day services. Anna Jarvis quit working and devoted herself full time to the creation of Mother’s Day, endlessly petitioning state governments, business leaders, and other institutions and organizations. She finally convinced the World’s Sunday School Association to back her, a key influence over congress. In 1912, West Virginia became the first state to officially recognize Mother’s Day, and in 1914, Woodrow Wilson signed it into national observance, declaring the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

So there you have it. A brief history of Mothers Day and how it came about. Now we need a “stay at home Mom day!”

A teacher in Lafayette, Tennessee asked her 6th grade class how many of them were Obama fans.

Not really knowing what an Obama fan is, but wanting to be liked by the teacher, all the kids raised their hands except for Little Johnny.

The teacher asked Little Johnny why he has decided to be different…again.

Little Johnny said, “Because I’m not an Obama fan.”

The teacher asked, “Why aren’t you an Obama fan?”

Johnny said, “Because I’m a Republican.”

The teacher asked him why he’s a Republican.

Little Johnny answered, “Well, my Mom’s a Republican and my Dad’s a Republican, so I’m a Republican.”

Annoyed by this answer, the teacher asked,

“If your mom was a moron and your dad was an idiot, what would that make you?”

With a big smile, Little Johnny replied, “That would make me an Obama fan

The thought of cooking a month’s worth of meals in one or two days kinda scared me! Heck, I have trouble thinking up something different from day to day it seems! Cooking your food for a month in advance can also keep you within budget. This comes in handy when you need to buy gas just to make it to the store!

How many of you have resorted to picking up fast food meals simply because you were too tired to prepare a meal or you didn’t have time to run to town to pick up an ingrediant or two for your favorite recipe?

Tips For Cooking Meals Once A Month

Here are some important tips to keep in mind if you’re considering once a month cooking as a way of life for your family.

• Planning your meals is the most important thing you need to do. You will need to set aside a day (or two) for the cooking when nothing else is on the calendar. It is simply too difficult to see to all the details if you are planning your cooking event around car pools, soccer games, or dance practices. You need a full day that will be relatively uninterrupted. It’s very difficult to remain focused with a house full of screaming kids or the phone ringing off the wall. Once the kiddo’s get older, look for ways to enlist their help with any cutting, chopping, slicing, dicing, or peeling that may need to be done.
• You should also create a thorough menu followed by a list of each and every ingredient you will need. Don’t try and go shopping on the same day you plan on cooking. Make out your grocery list in advance and check it twice. Take you time at the grocery store so that you’re not likely to rush through the shopping trip and forget something. Bring your menu and your list and get everything you need in one trip whenever possible. You can also save money by planning your meals for the month according to the sales circulars and coupons you have for the week in order to stretch your budget a little further.
• Next, make sure that you have all the supplies, dishes, and containers you need to prepare and store the meals you’ve prepared properly. You should also make sure that the recipes you are using for your once a month cooking marathon are recipes that freeze well. It is even better if you have recipes that double well so that you can get twice the results from the same effort.
• Keep your Kitchen and food preparation area clean. Folding card tables are great for storing things out of the way and freeing up valuable counter space for preparing and assembling the foods that will be prepared. Clean cooking and assembling spaces also help eliminate the potential of food contamination.
• Put all your Kitchen appliances to work. They’re there to make your life easier, use them. Don’t limit all cooking to the oven. Find dishes that freeze well and can be prepared in the crock pot or on the range top.

You should also make sure you are mentally prepared for your marathon cooking session. If preparing a months worth of meals in a day or two seems a mammoth task, try preparing two weeks worth of food first. You’ll soon learn that it gets easier and easier every time you do it.

Once a month cooking will give you a great feeling on those nights when the thought of cooking seems unbearable and the wallet has been stretched to its limit.

CAPITAL GAINS TAX