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!

I just opened my statement from my bank for the month of November. One thing stood out more than anything is the amount that I eat out in a month.

For the month of November I ate out for a total of 14 times for a total of $130.04 and an average of $9.28 per time out. So if I cut the amount that I eat out in half, to only 7 times per month, not only will I probably be healthier, but I will save about $65 per month! That's almost $800 per YEAR!

If you quit a bad habit or two you can save some serious CASH!

The New Year is almost here and everyone makes a New Year's Resolution.

So here is a little extra push to help you quit those nasty habits, just crunch the numbers!

Smoking:
On average a pack of Smokes cost $5, if you are on a one pack a day habit you can save $1800 a year by quitting! If you smoke 2 packs a day, you could save over $3600 per year! That could be an AWESOME Vacation! There is also the added side affect that you will be healthier too!

Drinking:
The average cost of a 6-pack of beer is $4.50. If you could stop drinking just one 6-pack PER WEEK, you could save over $230 per year! Over 20 years that's nearly $5000, and when you add in a paltry Savings Account Compound Interest, you will get to have one heck of a retirement party!

The same could be said for many habits, don't get that fast food dinner once per week, skip the coffee shop in the morning and save $5 per day, Go to the movies only once per month instead of twice per month and save over $100 per year (more if you buy refreshments!)

Always keep your eye open for a good deal. This blog is not only to help you make money but to save you money too!

There are a bunch of great deal websites out there to help you save money....the one that I am a big fan of is woot.com and I also like living social.com.

From woot.com I bought a digital camera for only $5!

Also check out your favorite stores, I bought 2 pounds of rock crab legs today to only $8! $8 TOTAL! (I will posting a video of how I cook these up)

Warning.... If you join a few deal sites...you do not have to buy every deal posted...only buy the ones that you were going to buy anyway at regular price.

If you are like me you look for investments that have nearly no risk but a lot of upside. Until now my money has been in 3 different Savings accounts (earning .8-1%), a 401K (earning just under 6%), and some select high dividend paying stocks. I knew there had to be a better way to protect and increase my money.

Believe it or not my breakthrough came from watching videos on youtube. I saw a video called Coin Roll Hunting. When I clicked on the link and watched the video, a light bulb went off and I was dumbfounded that I hadn’t thought of this before. The guy in the video went to the bank and bought $1000 in half dollar coinage and sorted through it to find the ones with Silver content.

I decided to give this a try and see how much of a profit I could make. The worst I could do is break even, because I can just deposit the non-silver coins right back into my account.
I went to the bank and bought all of the half dollar coinage that they had ($113). I sorted through the coins and found some Silver Coins! WOW! I deposited the non-silver coins back into my account, sold the Coins with Silver content on ebay and made a profit of over $20 after all fees and shipping! That is almost a 20% return!

Think of it this way, if you found only one 40% Silver half every month for the last five years, you would have profited over $300! With the economic turmoil that we are in now and the rising price of silver, just think how much you could make in the next 5 years.

Watch me sort through some Kennedy Halves at http://youtu.be/bmjJUGIt6gg

If you like this article you can find me blog at www.abuckadayblog.com or you can subscribe to it via the Kindle and Kindle App by searching for “A Buck A Day Blog”

Tips:
All Barber, Frankin, and Walking Liberty Halves are 90% Silver.

The 1964 Kennedy Half is 90% Silver and the 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, and 1970 Kennedy halves are 40% Silver.

Dimes and Quarters made before 1965 are 90% Silver, if you would rather sort through them.

Some people are search through pennies; pennies made before 1982 are mostly copper and are currently worth nearly 3 cents each in melt value, also keep an eye out for wheat and indian head cents.

A while ago I promised I would post a few pictures of the homemade paper that I make by recycling junk mail and scrap paper....

Well, hopefully I did one better, I made a video of how I do it!

Here is the link...


http://youtu.be/6QmJm0qTBH4

Let me know how you would do it differently...

I am working on a few articles that I am excited about:

Investing in Silver with NO RISK! What? Yeah, I am still testing it and currently making a video about it!

Vending Machines...Do they make money? I bought 2 vending machines and am in the process of getting them set.

I am still trying to sell all of the items that I purchased at the garage sales that I attended earlier this summer.

and finally...

Selling Stamps for a profit.....I have been working on this one for a while and it is starting to show promise...

Just a quick update on the garage sale items...

I sold a book and 2 old liquor bottles....keeping the profit secret until everything sells.

Okay, I am trying to think of a P.I.G. (Passive Income Generating) Company.

I have a day job but am always wanting to have something else going that is making me more money.

What I have now:

Currently I run a few websites/blogs :

www.Duperoo.com
This is an online information portal. I have also included a Free Online Classifieds Section for anyone to use.

www.ABuckaDayBlog.com
A website that helps put financial and business articles in plain speech. There are no big fancy words here to confuse anyone. This blog is also available for download on the Kindle from Amazon.

www.MyEarthShare.com
A website that gives ideas and tips on recycling, reusing, and reducing your carbon footprint. It helps people go green that don't know where to start. This blog is available for download on the Kindle from Amazon.

www.TheFoodieWithin.com
Love cooking? Want tips on cooking and recipes to try? Check out my website called The Foodie Within and begin your trip into my Culinary World. This blog is available for download on the Kindle from Amazon.

I make money by showing ads next to the content on these pages, these require minimal work on my part. I just have to write a post for these every so often So far these sites have shown OVER 400,000 ads and they are still going!

I also have stocks that pay dividends, they are stable companies that appreciate in value and pay me to hold them, I am counting these as P.I.G.'s

What I am thinking for a new P.I.G.

I used to have a vending machine in my house and I would get about $3 per week from friends and family. It was just a novelty for us to talk about, but I have since sold it. I am thinking about trying this out as a new money maker. I want to start with one machine, once it is profitable, use the money it makes to buy another machine, and so on. I know I can get one online for about $60 shipped. I like the vendstar 3000 models.

What are your questions/concerns/comments? Do you have a better idea for me to try? Remember, all ideas must require little effort on my part aside from initial set up. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think. Thank you!

Well, one item so far has sold, but I haven't put anything up for sale except the books on half.com. I recently took the remaining balance and went on another garage sale binge, this time to Tuscola TX. I spent a total of $15.30. Here is what I got...

Canon Camera Lens
Perfume bottle made of milk glass
Bag of Candy molds
crystal S&P shaker
Silver S&P shaker
3 blue willow plates
3 antique perfume bottles

These items are being added to the items I already have to be put on ebay when I get a chance to test my question, "Is it still profitable to sell items on ebay"

Okay, back from the trip. I didn't spend my whole $100, not even close actually.

I spent $18.20 on:

(2) Gold Spoon Sets
(5) Books
(1) Box of Rumber Stamps (approx 25 stamps)
(1) 5 gallon bucket of old miniture alcohol bottles
(1) Antique milk glass compote
(1) Cream colored Vase (looks like McCoy)
(1) Kiln Slumped Art Glass Dish
(1) Box of miniture Amber Glasses (approx 4 dozen)

None of the items are listed for sale yet, but in a few minutes I will at least have the books listed on Half.com (it is owned by eBay) the link is here:

http://shops.half.ebay.com/buygreatonline_W0QQmZbooks

I am currently deciding how to ship these items the most efficient way possible for both me and the potential buyer!

I have heard less and less about people selling items on eBay and making a fortune. I want to see if this is still a viable way to turn a profit. So...here is the plan:

This Saturday a small neighboring town is having a CITY WIDE GARAGE SALE. I am going to pack up and go to see what items I can find but I need to set some Ground Rules:

RULES:

1. Can only spend $100

2. Everything purchased must be listed for sale online on eBay

3. Must log how much everything cost

4. Must log how much in fees I pay for listing on eBay

5. Must log how much in fees I pay for using PayPal

6. How Much I charged for shipping for each item

7. How much shipping actually was for each item

8. How long did everything take, from listing to shopping etc...


Things I will need:

1. Paper/Tissure for wrapping delicate items

2. Paper and Pen to record how much I paid for items

3. iPhone so I can quickly see how much items are going for while on location to see if I should buy it (using the eBay app)

4. $100 in small bills

5. Box/Reusable bag to keep everything in


When everything is sold...I must list all numbers for everyone to see if this was profitable or not.

Since I actually agreed to take my grandmother, I am not going to count gas or food, this little experiment is a BONUS !


Check back Sunday for a short listing of what I found and a link to the eBay auctions.

Thanks and wish me luck!