Welcome! It looks like you're new here. Be sure to subscribe to my RSS feed so you don't miss a thing! Thanks for visiting!

Debt reduction is on the mind of (nearly) every college graduate – from credit card debt, to repaying student loans; even monthly bills. Heck, it’s one of the main topics on this blog. And what’s one of the best ways to pay off debt a little more quickly? Increase your cash flow; especially if you’re in the pitfall of currently having to spend as much or more than you make.

I know that sounds pretty obvious, but I’ve read before that 90% of people don’t generate any income from anywhere other than their day jobs – at all. While taking on a second part-time job is always an option, it’s one that sucks up what little down time is left after a full-time job pretty quickly. But there are some things you can do during that down time to earn a little extra each month to help pay the bills, and all you need is an Internet connection. Think about how helpful just an extra $100 would be every month when it came time to pay the bills!

Some things to try:

1. Sell your left over text books on amazon.com. Have text books left over from last semester? List them all in the Amazon.com Seller’s Marketplace and watch the money come pouring in. I know that sounds a little trite and you’re probably thinking that the books won’t make you any money because when you went to the campus bookstore to sell them back, you were only offered $7 a book.

   But the truth is you can turn your text books – especially the really big, expensive ones – into quite a bit of cold, hard cash. I know; I did it every semester of my college career (and even profited – earning more at the end of the semester than I spent at the beginning – once or twice).

2. Sell stuff on eBay. Again, it sounds trite and I’m not suggesting turning into your day job – although it can be done; but that’s another post for another day. I’m merely suggesting rummaging through your closet and selling the clothes and shoes you no longer want. Sell things in your old bedroom that you’re not taking to your apartment with you.

   If you find success there, offer to go through your parent’s basement or attic and clean for them, in exchange for getting to sell what you find (or offer to split the profits with them).

   It may sound crazy but I made more from eBay a few summers ago than I did from my part-time retail job, doing exactly what I just described. Don’t have an eBay account? Click here to sign up.

3. Take surveys online. I’ve tried this out and never really had much luck with it. I did make a few dollars here and there but I just didn’t have the patience to sit in one place and fill out surveys for 20 minutes a piece. If you do, however, this is a great and (relatively) easy way to make a little extra money.

   My biggest piece of advice here — if paid surveys are the way you want to go — is to set up a separate free email account on yahoo or gmail or something just for your surveys and use it for every survey site you sign up with – that way your day-to-day email address isn’t flooded with survey offers.

   Also remember that each site will only offer you a few surveys a week (and you’ll qualify for even less than that), so the more you can sign up with, the better your chances of actually making some money (some examples of where to start can be found here and here).

4. Start a blog. Last but certainly not least – starting a blog is a great way to make a little cash on the side. While chances are you’re never going to reach the income levels of Darren Rowse, John Chow, or Perez Hilton – all of whom make six or seven figures a year from their full-time blogging – with a little work and perseverance, blogging is a great and fun way to make a few dollars a day. If you have a hobby you’re knowledgeable and passionate about… anything at all, really… you can blog about it.

   While some niches will be more widely read (and thus will make you more money) than others, it is theoretically possible to set up a free blog through sites such as www.blogger.com and www.wordpress.com (or to pay a monthly fee for your own dot com through someone like bluehost.com), install Google AdSense and some affiliate banners, and be making money tomorrow.

   For more on how to become a good blogger, click here.

There are certainly many more ways to make a little money on the side – try something old fashioned like walking the neighbor’s dog or shoveling their front steps if Internet riches isn’t for you – so do what works best for you. But supplementing your income is by far the best and easiest method for reducing your debt and boosting your net worth.

(image by rmwhittaker1012000)

Technorati Tags: debt, supplemental income, making money, making money online, blog, ebay, college, graduation

Popularity: 23% [?]

It’s long been stressed that creating a budget is the cornerstone of personal finance and the key to climbing out of debt. While I do think that having an idea of the amount of money you do spend (or can spend) each month in a certain category is important — and thus why signing up for a program like Mint.com is such a good idea — I don’t think a budget is necessarily the best route to take.

What do I mean? Well for me, if it’s nearing the end of a month — like it is right now — and I were to look at my budget and noticed that I was say… $40 under the amount I had allowed myself to spend on going out to eat for the month, I would be very tempted to go out for a big dinner that week and blow $40 because I had told myself I could and would still be financially okay.

While I might have been “okay” spending that $40, the reality is that I wouldn’t be doing myself any good. That is $40 I could have saved instead to put towards paying off debt, or a bigger ticket item I was saving up for. So instead of budgeting and then spending up to that budget each month, I have found it much more practical to set financial goals for myself.

For instance, I have about $3,000 in credit card debt built up, mostly due to the expenses which racked up during my move to a new apartment after college, buying a new car, and building a work-appropriate wardrobe. While I know what I make each month — and thus what I can afford to spend each month — and could budget out that allowance per category of expenses, if I had been $10 under my shopping budget yesterday when I went to Best Buy to ogle over flat screen T.V.s, I would have bought the copy of Wedding Crashers that was on sale.

However, I wasn’t $10 under my “shopping budget” because I don’t have a shopping budget. Instead, I know that I want to have my credit card debt paid down far enough by this summer that it could shoulder the weight of a new computer — since mine is slowly on its way out — and paid off completely by the end of the year. So I put the DVD back, saved the $10 and put it towards larger dreams. I wouldn’t have done this with a budget.

These are goals I’ve set for myself and ones I’m likely to try and stick to; goals that I am more likely to achieve, ten dollars at a time, without a budget than with.

(image via personal-financial-plan.com)

Technorati Tags: personal finance, budget, goals, debt, college, graduation, Real World

Popularity: 37% [?]

Don’t make the mistake of lots (and lots, and lots) of job seekers and put all of your eggs in the online job basket. As popular online financial site bankrate.com says,

“Job seeking isn’t just about finding the ads. Rather, a job search is about getting hired for meaningful, rewarding work, preferably for years at a time. That means finding the right position with the right company at the right time and then doing the right things to get noticed.”

So, here’s what you can do to set yourself apart from the crowd.

1. Instead of the be-all and end-all, use the Internet as a research tool. First, find the companies you think are the best fit for you and eliminate the rest of the clutter; becoming a much more efficient job seeker. Secondly, Go online to research prospective employers; learn about their company and see if you can make connections with the people who are involved in hiring (or someone who can sing your praises to the person doing the hiring).
2. Look beyond the big job boards. While sites like Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com can boast thousands of job listings, they can also boast tens of thousands of people vying for those jobs - the odds of landing one would be like winning the lottery. Instead, turn to job aggregators such as Indeed and Jobster or regional job sites — such as those belonging to jobsintheus.com or those in the JobThread widget to your right — and niche job sites which target just one industry or profession.
3. Lastly, have the Internet search for you. If your initial job search comes up short, some sites allow you to sign up for a job agent or subscribe to an RSS feed, then outline what sort of job you’re looking for and receive automatic alerts when a job is posted which meets your criteria.

Whatever route you take (which ideally should be a combination of all of the above) just remember that simply posting a resume online won’t land you a job. Do whatever you can to separate yourself from the heard and be creative.

“Just posting online won’t likely land a job” [Bankrate]
(image by grimjaw)

Technorati Tags: job search, resume, hiring, college, graduation

Popularity: 41% [?]

Did college really prepare me for the Real World? No. Did college prepare me for my job? No. I know that if my parents, who – thankfully – funded my college education, just read that, they’re probably pretty sick to their stomachs right now but it really is true.

Don’t get me wrong, college wasn’t a waste by any means. Without my diploma, I never would have gotten the job I did (I know because my boss has told me that, point blank) so that alone makes it worth it. I did also cultivate many life skills while at school (living off-campus my senior year, I taught myself how to cook, for instance), as well as leadership experience, socialization skills, and plenty of resume-building experiences. But college itself (I’m talking about classes) did virtually nothing to prepare me for what was to come.

It might be largely because of my majors (Communications & film double-major), which were very “liberal arts” majors and not very applicable; who knows, if I had been a business major, for instance, I might not be writing this now. But, as it turned out, what I learned in class has proven very ineffective. Therefore, I’ve had to teach myself most everything I know about the two ways I make money — my day-job and blogging — and managing the money I do have. While this has been very enlightening, it’s also been very time consuming and has made the Real World transition that much harder.

What can you do to not fall into the same trap?

1. If you’re still in school (and aren’t a business major), take some business courses. While Art History and Existentialism were certainly fun courses, they didn’t teach me a whole lot about the corporate world (well, Existentialism might have, but that’s a topic for another post…). If I could do it all over again, I definitely would have taken more business, marketing economics & personal finance courses in college. While I have begun to teach myself as much as I can about these topics, it would have been hugely helpful if I had known some of these things ahead of time.
2. Start preparing early. Along the same lines as number one; if you cannot take any more classes, at least begin to prepare yourself for what you’ll have to go through after college as early as possible. Read books about what a Real World job is like, set as much money aside in a high-yield savings account as you can to cover unexpected expenses associated with starting your life anew (rather than having to put them on a credit card like I did) and start looking for apartments in your new city as early as you can. This way you’re not stuck somewhere you don’t want to be because you had to move by a certain date and hadn’t planned enough ahead of time.
3. Network. The number one thing that can save you from being ill prepared is networking; both professionally and personally. From a professional stand-point networking is vital for getting a job. Did you have an internship last summer? Make sure and call your boss; even if he or she cannot offer you a job, maybe they know someone who can (I’m now working full-time for the company I interned with during the summer between my junior & senior year and got the job by making a phone call before graduation).Or maybe some old family friend is hiring, or knows someone who is. The point is – cover all your bases. Send emails, make phone calls – connect with every adult in your life you’re on a first-name basis with (or heck, connect with the ones you barely know); you never know where that vital connection can come from.From a personal stand-point, networking is also important. Connect with peers you know who are already in the town you’re moving to. They’ll be able to show you the best places to go out, the best deals in town and the best ways to save money. They’ll be able to offer Real World advice because they’ve already been through the trials & tribulations. And maybe they’ll even be looking for a new roommate. Again, you’ll never know until you make the phone call or send the IM.

What have you done to avoid the “Liberal Arts Trap”? Please, share your wisdom!

(image via www.epartyunlimited.com)

Technorati Tags: Real World, College, Graduation, Business, Networking

Popularity: 35% [?]

As second semester gets underway and you current seniors begin to think about not only what you want to do (professionally) after graduation but where you want to do it here are some things to think about:

According to CareerBuilder.com — a leading online job search engine — hiring activity is expected to remain strongest in the South and West.

The big winner will be the Mountain states, with a projected job growth of 2.8 percent, a rate twice that of the projected 1.3 percent national average, according to estimates from NPA Data Services in Arlington, Va. The southern part of the East Coast, from Washington, D.C. to Florida, is expected to post the second highest growth rate at 1.9 percent, according to NPA numbers.

While the job market on average will be slightly slower than it was in ‘07, solid growth remains in areas such as health care, IT, education, sales and professional & business services; with health care and education seeing,

a disproportionate share of job growth.

So what does this mean for the jobs in 2008 (and beyond)?

The service industry is the place to be! Says Nestor Terleckyj, president of NPA Data Services in Arlington, Va. , which calculates employment projections,

“When you look at where jobs are created and growing, it’s all services.”

While “services” can mean anything from health care, to consulting, to legal services - in 2007 demand for computer systems design services was up almost 40% and the need for scientific and technical consulting went up almost 66% (according to Bureau statistics).

“What is the job outlook for 2008?” [bankrate]

(image by Futski)

Technorati Tags: finding job, employment, career, college, graduation

Popularity: 24% [?]

Collegerecruiter.com, a RealWorldReally.com sponsor, has announced the creation of a Facebook group focusing on internship & entry-level job discussion. The group is already up to 120 members and there appears to be some good discussion brewing, so check it out.

Technorati Tags: Facebook, entry-level job, collegerecruiter.com, college, graduation

Popularity: 25% [?]

If you play basketball, baseball, football, soccer, or any other ball sport in your spare time, here’s a big piece of news and advice for you: Learn how to JUGGLE! More than just a unique trick to impress your friends, co-workers or any potential lady friends (and it will), juggling is a neuromuscular skill that can have a profound impact on your sport. Studies also show that taking just a few minutes out of your work day each day to juggle will drastically reduce work-place stress; juggling is believed to curb common symptoms of ADHD and studies have shown that it even increases your brain power (something previously thought impossible)!

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 68% [?]

Do you remember what the fine print on the checking account you signed up for 4 years ago during Freshman orientation said? No? Of course not. And, believe it or not, not all banks remind students that their free accounts are about to change to fee-bearing accounts – often times with minimum balance requirements to boot — after graduation.

To help jog your memory as to exactly what was in the fine print, FiLife compliled a list of bank policies from most major institutions for your assistance. If your bank is on the list to start charging you fees, do some further research. Some banks will waive the fees if you set up direct deposit of your paychecks, or maintain a minimum balance. If your bank still won’t waive fees, find a local bank that will and either switch, or call your current bank’s customer service and threaten (to a supervisor) that you’re about to switch; I bet they’ll waive the fees to keep you around.

“How to Avoid Student Checking Account Heartbreak” [FiLife]
 (image by audreyassad)

Technorati Tags: college, graduation, checking account, banks, student checking, personal finance

Popularity: 22% [?]

In a word: Yes. I’ve mentioned a number of times on RealWorldReally.com (although it bears repeating) that the average college student graduates with almost $20,000 in student loans. While this is a daunting sum, it is still possible to build wealth even while paying off student debt. it can be (and has been) argued that, unlike most types of debt, student loans are usually best when paid as slowly as possible. Someone who saves diligently and generally pays attention to their money and how it’s being spent can actually use student loan debt to their advantage.

David John Marotta and Beth Anderson Nedelisky, financial planners from Marotta Asset Management, Inc., write that,

Students often assume the best thing to do is to pay off student loans as quickly as possible. The sooner you pay off your loans, the sooner you can start building wealth, or so the thinking goes. But, given the opportunity, which answer should you choose: A) Make extra principle payments on your loan each month, or B) Pay the minimum amount due and save and invest the difference?

In reality, the lower the interest rate on your loans, the better off you’ll be just paying the minimum monthly payment and nothing more, than taking the extra money you were going to pay on your loan and invest it instead.

According to Marotta and Nedelisky,

The lower the rate of interest on your loan and the higher the average market return, the more it makes sense to invest your extra dollars instead of paying down on your loan. The difference between these two rates is known as the “spread.” If market rate of return is 11% and the interest on your student loan is 4%, then, the “spread” is 7% (11% minus 5%).

And remember, as stated before, the interest on your student loans is tax deductible (up to $2,500), helping to subsidize the cost of your loan. The faster you pay off your loans, the faster you lose that deduction.

Remember, though, that in order to benefit from this loan repayment strategy, you must save and invest your money. If you don’t invest the extra money, this type of repayment plan is worthless.

“Student Loans: How to Pay Them Off & Build Wealth” [SavingAdvice.com]
[image by Lowry Lou]

Technorati Tags: Student Loans, Debt, financial planning, college, graduation

Popularity: 24% [?]

It’s times like these I wish there was a reason for me to go back to school… It was announced yesterday that Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine is eliminating all of their student loans and replacing them with grants for all incoming and current students receiving financial aid beginning next fall. The Associated Press reports,

Bowdoin is the latest liberal arts college — including several Ivy League schools — to adopt a no-loan policy in an effort to attract more students who otherwise can’t afford the high cost of college.

Students are now graduating college encumbered by an average of $20,000 in student loan debt. Bowdoin is trying to help alleviate that, at least for their students.

Bowdoin President Barry Mills said that by converting loans to grants, Bowdoin will eliminate a heavy debt burden for students who are eligible. Forty percent of Bowdoin’s students receive some form of finanical aid.

Technorati Tags: Bowdoin College, college, Student Loans, Graduate

Popularity: 24% [?]