A Buck A Day!

It can be done!

First... Start with a budget, $20 for stocking stuffers, $20 for Aunt Liz...etc.... Stick with it... Add up your entire budget for Christmas... Say $500?

Now try to look for deals, lets say you we're going to buy a book for Aunt Liz that is $20... You decide to look on Half.com and see that the book is only .75 cents + $3 shipping.... So, instead of spending $20, you only spend $3.75.... The left over $16.25 needs to go into your savings account! Your Aunt Liz is still getting a $20 gift!

Christmas doesn't have to break the bank!

If your budget is $500 for this Christmas, you should be able to put up at least $100 for yourself in the bank....

Use half.com, Amazon.com, eBay.com and of course coupons to save that money!

Send me some of your favorite money saving tricks!

I don't mean travel sites and the lot, everyone foes that already. I travel a lot for my company(s) and am always looking for ways to save on my expenses!

Pack your own drinks.... When I go on a trip I pack a few bottles of water because when I get to my hotel, they are usually 1.50-2.25 each, but at the grocery store they are only .20 cents each. Most hotels have a fridge for you to put them in.

It's a small amount of money, but if you travel for 20% of the year like I do, it adds up quick!

Also, don't pay for the $9.99 Internet in your hotel room. Most lobbies have free wifi or even a business office for guest to use.

If you are the average investor that has a day job, the answer is simple....NO!

From Investopedia.com:

Forex - FX -
The market in which currencies are traded. The forex market is the largest, most liquid market in the world with an average traded value that exceeds $1.9 trillion per day and includes all of the currencies in the world.
There is no central marketplace for currency exchange; trade is conducted over the counter. The forex market is open 24 hours a day, five days a week and currencies are traded worldwide among the major financial centers of London, New York, Tokyo, Zürich, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Singapore, Paris and Sydney.
The forex is the largest market in the world in terms of the total cash value traded, and any person, firm or country may participate in this market.

Basically you exchange one type of currency for another currency Ex: Dollars to Dinars.  You then hope that the price of a Dinar rises so that you can trade it back in for more Dollars than you first bought the Dinars with in the first place.
The Problem:  Most FX trading platforms wont let you open an account for less than $10,000-$50,000.  FX is a game of hair-thin margins.  If a Dollar is currently worth 82.442 Algerian Dinars, you have to hold the Dinars until your investment increases enough that when you trade them back into Dollars that you are able to make a profit AND cover your fees!  This is great for the Large investor because he can turn $100,000 into $101,000 if Dinars raise to 82.452, if you did this with an small $10,000 investment you would only clear $100 before fees.  Do you really want to invest $10,000 for $100.  That is why you must have the time to watch FX prices like a hawk and always have your finger on the "Sell" button! 

I tried this the hillbilly way buy purchasing the New Iraqi Dinars on eBay.  I purchased over $250,000 Iraqi Dinars for under $300.  I thought I was going to get rich.  Turns out that is worth about $215 today.  I have had these for about 8 years now!  I've lost money at this point, but as a lesson, I still have all of the Dinars in my desk drawer as a reminder to do my research first!

Quote of the Day:
I cant remember where I heard this quote but it still works....  The best way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back into your pocket!

Have you had success in FX or had a bad experience?  Let me know... on twitter at www.Twitter.com/TeeJayToday and on facebook at www.Facebook.com/TeeJayToday

I have some updates... I sold my vending machines, so I need to get all of my receipts and see if I made any money.... I think I did!

Coming in a week or two!

I just want to let you know about some of my failures and some of my successes over the last few months.

The Vending Machines... I had two of them at an event that lasted about 6 hours... In those 6 hours they took in $14.25 in revenue.  Not bad, I just wish I had them out all the time, but I am working on that.

Gold Prospecting...  I told you that I had some 'pay dirt' from TN, AZ, and TX.  I FOUND some GOLD, but not enough to make it worthwhile.  It costs be about $80 for all of the supplies and I only found about $15 in gold.  I decided to keep the gold flakes that I found instead of selling it to a smelter.

I am thinking about getting back into the stock market... I did so good when the market crashed a few years ago...  (I really did, some of my picks tripled!)

I am also thinking about getting into retail/catalogue sales again.  I failed miserably last time I did, but I have some new ideas that may prove the lynch pin for success.

If you have something that you want me try, just let me know!

I am working on a few new projects (all at the same time!)

In the morning I will be attending a storage unit auction, just like the ones on TV. I have actually got a background in this so I should come out on top, I am taking my video camera.

I am also going to be panning for gold on my next day off, I have finally received all of the supplies, watched enough of 'GoldRush' on TV and YouTube, that I think I can pull some gold. I ordered 'paydirt' from Tennessee, Arizona, and I live in one of the only counties in Texas that has proven gold deposits.

I also have started a gourmet dog treat business, I now have one store that has a few boxes of my treats, more updates coming!

Back on July 1st, 2011, I told you I was interested in a P.I.G. (Passive Income Generator)

I went out and purchased two used vending machines...one is the Vendstar 3000 that holds 3 types of candy and generated .25 cents per vend. It was a nice used machine but you could start to see the wear....so I just finished giving it a new paint job with paint I have and gave it a red/white/blue motif. (pic coming soon)

I also bought a tabletop basketball skill machine... I don't have to pay out anything, the customer just tries to make their coin in the winning circle. If they do, the establishment it is in gives a prize. I just gave it a new paint job too with a black and orange motif to try and make it look like a basketball.

Expenses so far:

Vendstar 3000 =$50
Tabletop Skill Machine =$10
Paint I already had =$0

So far I have spend $80! More updates when available..... If you want to see more about this venture just click on the 'Vending' tab to the right!