The Debt Dance

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Posts Tagged how to make extra money

10 Ways to Make Money for the Holidays Now

Oct 29

Posted by Morgan in How To Get Out Of Debt, How to Earn Extra Money, More Money | No Comments

Every year I think I’m going to put money aside for the holidays and then the holidays roll around I have some change in peanut butter jar. Good intentions shot to hell.

So if the holidays are quickly approaching, and you’re looking at a few dusty pennies, here are some tips that might help:

1. Sell your stuff on eBay or Craig’s List. Not certain you have anything to sell? How about books? Bundle similar books (like old cookbooks, science fiction, how to’s, etc.) and you may get a tidy sum. Have some clothes in very good shape? Bundle them by size and usage. Make sure you search eBay to see if these kinds of  items are selling (search for “vintage cook books”, click on “advanced search,” and then check “completed sales” to see what these types of items are selling for.)

2. Make things to sell that aren’t normally found in stores, (advertise in local papers, church bulletins, Craig’s List, ebay) e.g.:bigstockphoto_Chives_1699549

  • Personalized herb gardens (start growing now.)
  • Personalized fleece blankets. Super easy to make and something people can place orders for. Great for college kids, tweens, and little ones.
  • Custom shadow boxes. (buy the shadow box and you design the display)

3. Sometimes the easiest way to make money is to Read the rest of this entry »

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More Money: How I Made $800 Today

Sep 7

Posted by Morgan in How to Earn Extra Money, How to Start a Business, More Money | No Comments

I was sooooo excited when I opened my mail to discover a contract for $800. I had sold a short story to a magazine. We went out and celebrated.

Now this is probably of minor interest to you. You may be thinking that you don’t write, so how does this affect where you are now? Your current need for more money?

Because HOW I sold this short story will tell you how YOU can make an extra pot of money tomorrow. Just follow these steps.

1. Figure out what you love to do.
In all likelihood what you love to do is what you’re pretty good at doing.

2. Match your skill or product to a venue or market that already exists.
Determine who is holding the purse strings for the money You Want.

3. Once you have identified the purse holding person (your customer) research and research and research what this person spends his or her money on.
What product or service that connects with what you love to do, is being successful. What are they hungry for?

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4. Analyze every aspect of that service or product.
Can you top it? Can you make it better? Bring an aspect to it that isn’t currently available?

5. And the last step–do it.
You must take action. And you must accept that you will fail at first in all probability. (I submitted about 10 stories before I hit on the right formula for this particular market.)

Here are three examples of how this might work: Read the rest of this entry »

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The How to Make Extra Money Course: Part 1: Lessons from a Very Old Woman

Jul 10

Posted by Morgan in How to Earn Extra Money | No Comments

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Everyone I’ve ever known (I don’t know too many very, very rich people) has, at some point or time, wanted or needed, extra money. Take, for example, Sarah.

She was the oldest woman I ever met.

Sarah, a patient of mine at a nursing home I worked with, was ninety-eight. She was a very small African-American woman with a beautiful braid that went down past her waist.

She told me an amazing story. She never married yet she bought her own house for cash. And she sent her nieces and nephews to college.

How?

She had a little side job, she said.

She worked in a flour factory during the day. As soon as she clocked out from that job she went to the steel mills. For another eight hours she hauled steel scrap, in a wheelbarrow, from one end of the factory to the other. Back and forth. Back and forth. While most folks were at home resting before the fire.

“Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Sometimes on Sundays if I could get it.”

She retired at age eighty-two (she had many jobs after the steel mill, she said, but she “always kept busy. I liked it thata way.”)

There are perhaps three important lessons with Sarah’s story as pertains to this series on how to make extra money:

    One was that Read the rest of this entry »

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How to Start an Online Business Part 4: Creating your website

Jun 26

Posted by Morgan in How to Start an Online Business | No Comments

In Part 1–because you are brilliant–you came up with the idea for your online business.
In Part 2–because you are dedicated to this endeavor–you came up with a good, functional name you can live with for a long time.
In Part 3–because you are looking at the bottom line–you designed a plan of how to make money, either selling a product, selling information, or selling advertising while providing information, OR, a combination of the above.

Before I go onto Part 4 I had a thought I wanted to share. You may have noticed that this website is called “The Debt Dance,” and the focus of most of the postings are how to get out of debt, make money, bring sanity to your life, etc.

So, why a series on starting a business?

It’s obvious to me but may not be to you. The Debt Dance method is about living your dream, making your dream a reality. It is my strong belief that once you “align” your sights on the target that you want the rest of your life will fall into place. See: Then the Magic Begins.)

For example, if your desire is to quit your job, be your own boss, define your own destiny and you begin to take REAL steps (like in Parts 1-3 of this series) you will start making choices that bring control into your life. With control (e.g. cutting up those damn credit cards) you can achieve any goal you set your mind to. It’s very difficult to re-design your life with the weight of debt on your shoulders. Seeing your dream helps you create change in your behaviors and your life.

So that’s why this get-out-of-debt website focuses more on goals and dreams than on budgeting and clipping coupons.

Now, to the business of Part 4: how to actually put your website together. I am no tech-y, but I can tell you that creating a website today is miles easier than it was even ten years ago.

If you are not a technologically trained person I do HIGHLY recommend taking a course or two. Even if you’re going to hire someone to design and launch it for you I still recommend education. “Sharpen the saw” is one of the best pieces of advice I have to guarantee entrepreneurial success.

First Step: take a considerable amount of time Read the rest of this entry »

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How to Start an Online Business-Part 3: SHOW ME THE MONEY

Jun 19

Posted by Morgan in How to Start an Online Business | 2 Comments

In Part 1 of this series you were, hopefully, able to decide on your idea. It’s not as simple as it sounds, is it?

And, in Part 2 you developed your critically important business/domain name (I hope they are the same or very similar.)

Now, in Part 3, you will decide how you will make money. That may seem like a silly question but it can be a critical decision in your success.

Think of your website as a billboard standing above your fruit stand. Your fruit stand is a special one because it has discovered its niche: it only sells grapes.

Everyone sees the billboard. On the Internet this is comparable to all those search engines (like Google and Yahoo) looking at you. The billboard draws people (and search engines) to you. The fruit stand simply sells fruit. The fruit stand represents your retail activity.

Read the rest of this entry »

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