Superbowl Party Tips & Links

El Carino and I were visiting San Francisco the day of the division playoffs between the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers. We ventured into a Marriott and were caught off guard by the abundance of NY Giants fans. This gaggle of folks spawned an interesting conversation about the finances of football fans. First, a little background, we are die hard football fans and have watched every single NY Giants game for years, on

SUPERBOWL PARTY - GO GIANTS

television. We have never been to a live game, although we did venture up to Albany, New York one summer to check out Giants training camp.

In the hotel lobby, we struck up a conversation with a girl dressed head to toe in Giants attire in town to see the game with her dad. They have season tickets and planned to go to the super bowl as well. El Carino and I decided to figure out how middle income folks can afford to attend live football games. We understand how the wealthy and corporations can afford the tickets, but what about those fans who are middle class. How do they do it?

How to Afford Live Football on a Middle Class Income

This is all conjecture, as we don’t know anyone personally who has season tickets to the NY Giants. Although my uncle did have tickets to the Bengals, but he was wealthy, so that doesn’t count. But for arguments sake, I have to believe the middle class can afford to attend live football.

Season Football Tickets (estimated)

NY Giants Season Tickets: $850.00 to $7,000.00

Parking: $200.00

Food: $300.00

Playoff game (including travel, hotel, tickets): $1,500.00

Total: $2,850.00 on Up

I am pleasantly surprised at the results of this calculation. For a single guy, making $55,000.00 per year, it is certainly possible to afford $2,850.00 for a season of football fun. (I’m not counting a superbowl visit) Granted, it’s 5%  of your gross pay. But if football is really important to you and you prioritize going to live games, it’s doable.

I’ve talked a lot about spending on what matters. In short, living in accord with your personal values. For a die hard fan, the majority of your entertainment spending can go towards football.  Skimp on other expenses, and it can work! Forgo an annual vacation and eating at expensive restaurants and a football fan could afford season tickets.

For the rest of us, here are some tips and thoughts for celebrating the Superbowl on the cheap.

Barb Recommends

How to Host a Superbowl Party on the Cheap at Personal Finance Journey

Superbowl Party Trays; Can You Save Money by Making Your Own? at Frugal Confessions

5 Ideas to Save on Superbowl Party Food, Recipes, and Supplies at Money Crashers

50 Party Recipes for the Big Game at iVillage

Superbowl and the Stock Market at Squirrelers

Score Big with a Superbowl Party at Blogging for Change

 Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance Across the Blogosphere

Be sure to visit these sites who published and promoted my work.

• Free Money Finance-Star Money Articles
• Young Adult Finance-What are Your Goals for 2012?
• My University Money-Carnival of Financial Camraderie
• Control Your Cash-Carnival of Wealth
• Carnival of Passive Investing-Afford Anything
• Totally Money Blog Carnival-Canadian Personal Finance
• Yakezie Carnival-Amateur Financier

 image credit; xboxaddict80

 & LINKS

“As a break,” I head over to twitter to see what’s going on. I retweet a few tweets and click through on a few more. Before I know it, 20 minutes has elapsed. What I hoped to accomplish was 3 fold:

Is social media worth it?

1. Take a break from what I was doing.

2. Work on building my online presence.

3. Drive more folks to my blog.

Did I accomplish any of those goals? Well, I took a break; check. Did I improve my online presence or drive more people to visit my blog? I’m not sure. Although I get a fair amount of traffic referrals from twitter and retweets from fellow bloggers, “Is it worth the amount of time spent on the twitter site?” Although I measure twitter referrals to my site, I don’t keep track of the amount of time I spend on twitter. So it’s difficult to determine whether the amount of time spent on twitter improves my blog in a substantial way or not.

The question, “Is it worth the time spent?” could be elaborated to include almost anything we do. Is the time spent on any activity worth the reward. Now, with your paid employment, the answer is quite clear. You do your job in exchange for a paycheck. Hobbies and part time activities raise different questions. Did I have enough fun at the movies to justify the $14.00 ticket, or was the movie and money spent a waste?

While watching the Giants-49ers playoff game, I decided to check the #Giants twitter feed. My family asked why I was going online when we were all watching the game and cheering together. Actually, I don’t have an answer to that question. What is the sociological explanation for tweeting during a football game?

Back to the initial question, “Is Twitter a Time Waster?”  I learned from Optify that you can actually build a Twitter Strategy. Does this stuff really work? I copied this tweet from my twitter feed;

Wondering how to build a #Twitter strategy for your business? Download The Ultimate Twitter for Business Guide. http:// blah blah blah / #b2b

Barb Recommends

 7 Financial Lies People Tell Their Spouses at Moneyrates.com. I just might have committed one of these, but I’m not telling.

FREE eBook, 6 Ways to Improve Your Wealth Right Now at Money Cactus. Who doesn’t like wealth and free?

What Buddhism Teaches us about Personal Finance at Prairie Eco Thrifter appeals to the Zen in me. I’m always trying to find that balance. What about you?

The Teacher Man wrote at Young and Thrifty, Germany and It’s European Family. It is an informative read about the ongoing economic trials and tribulations in Europe. I’m following the events with great interest. After all, we live in a globally interdependent world.

Krantcents gives you the Three Bs of Success. You can always count on great wisdom from Krantcents.

Real Estate Investing Resources from Family Money Values. Thinking about investing in real estate? Don’t miss this excellent read.

Get your free eBook, Student Loan Debt-Getting in Smart, Getting Out Painlessly from The College Investor. Read it or pass it along to someone who can use it!

Narrow Bridge disclosed some dirty secrets in How I Ripped People off With Store Credit Cards.

Everything Finance published a guest post by Newlyweds on a Budget entitled, How to Manage Money in a Marriage. Personally, I believe you and your partner have to decide what approach works for you. There’s no one size fits all!

Financial Highway hits on Extreme Penny Pinching. Personally, I consider these tips more practical than extreme. What do you think?

Are you nosey? Interested in how others spend? I certainly am. Check out Financial Samurai‘s latest credit card bill.

Young Adult Finances blogged about How to Write a Job Getting Resume. Excellent tips, if you are looking to update your resume, check out this article.

April Dykman wrote How to Negotiate your Salary at Get Rich Slowly. After you write an awesome resume, get a great job, read this one to up your pay! Lot’s of actionable tips.

 eMoneymakingonline offers some excellent blogging resources in 8 Plugins to Monetize Your Blog

Beating Broke writes how Frugality Will Change You. This article reminds you how practice makes permanent.

Canadian Finance Blog reminds readers to Upgrade Instead of Replace

Barb Across the Blogosphere

Be sure to visit these sites who published and promoted my work.

• Yakezie.com-Featured article, Patience and Persistence; The Path to Unlimited Success
• FindtheBest-PNC Cash Builder Visa, Is it For You?
• Are Facebook Ads a Fad or a Trend at Benzinga
• Family Money Values-Real estate investing resources
• Totally Money Blog Carnival at Family Money Values
• Self-directed Investing for Retirement Carnival; Ratings Downgrade Edition at Arbor Investment Planner
• Len Penzo.com Black Coffee; Why I Don’t Tweet Suze Orman or Have too Many Facebook Friends
• Yakezie Carnival-Credit Card Edition at Prairie eco Thrifter
• Carnival of Financial Camaraderie at My University Money
• Dividend Ninja-the Yakezie Challenge

What do you think, is twitter a time waster?

image credit; linkedmedia grp

a version of this article was published in March, 2010

Enjoy Life First

“Buy what thou hast no need of and ‘ere long thou shalt sell thy necessities.” Benjamin Franklin

There is a ton of junk online and in print. I spent a good part of this morning reading a book called Millionaire Fastlane which proclaimed that the traditional “get rich slowly advice” is false and that anyone can get rich fast.

Get Rich Quick is a Fallacy

I’ve had the good fortune to know many very wealthy individuals. They include large real estate developers, business owners, even the CEO of a fortune 500 company. I’ve also read extensively of others experiences and it is the rare individual that gets rich fast. Sure, it can happen, you make a groundbreaking invention, you sell your company to google, you hit the lottery, you become a professional athelete; it is possible to get rich fast. But it is rare.

If you are interested in developing financial wealth, it will take some time. If you want to get rich overnight, you can stop reading right now, because I don’t have a clue about getting rich fast!

Pure Fun

That said, I have some ideas about how to get wealthy over time, and how to enjoy the journey. My personal experience is that the process is more fun than the outcome!

A Dilemma and A Solution

One of the great challenges today is balancing your present needs and wants with those of the future. It requires quite a bit of introspection.  While almost every Ben Franklin quote oozes wisdom, this one in particular, speaks to the reality that if you go overboard consuming recklessly, you will run out of money, fall into debt, and end up in a bad way!

There is much said about saving for this and saving for that and a lot about sacrificing and giving up something today so you have money for tomorrow. And of course, you all know that in order to have money to buy stuff later, a car, a home, a vacation, etc.; you have to save. But, who has actually sat down and figured out; EXACTLY what you will want in the future and just how much IT WILL COST?

Before you even think about how much money you need later, there is an important step to take first.

Life is Uncertain; What to do?

Figure out what makes you happy.

Simply put, spending time and money on things that improve your life is the way to have a better life!

Trent, from The Simple Dollar site wrote a fascinating post on February 5, 2010 about change called, “What’s Coming Next?” He surveyed his life over the past several years and compared his LIFE EXPECTATIONS (take some college classes and work in a factory; work at Microsoft; remain in debt, unmarried, and childless) with his REALITY (work in a genetics lab, a non-profit, become a full time writer, get some books published, get married, get out of debt, and have 3 kids). His post reminded me that life is uncertain. And this two year old article still holds important wisdom. Trent has gone on to grow his website and work on writing fiction as well. He certainly was not an overnight success yet he is an inspiration to those who want to follow their dreams.

Plan for the Unexpected

Yet, in spite of this uncertainty, it is important to plan and set some goals.

Because, if you don’t figure out what you enjoy, and make some effort to get more of those pleasurable activities in your life, it just won’t happen.

Life is best led striving to do what you love.

By becoming a full time writer and published author, Trent turned his passion into cash. And that is a life lesson for all!

Figure Out What Fulfills You        

If you don’t already know what you are passionate about, take some action to figure it out! Life is much better when you spend time on activities which are important to you. Having a job you like is fabulous, because it doesn’t feel so much like work! So if you aren’t sure what you are passionate about, check out What Color is Your Parachute by Richard Bolles. Also, think about the times in life when you lost yourself in what you were doing? Ask yourself, “Can I do more of those types of activities?”

Spending more time on satisfying activities equals more pleasure!

You may discover that some of your passions cost money or even more schooling or training. Maybe you want to transition into another career, learn to sky dive, take an art class, or explore Asia. And of course, most of us realize that we want the option to have some cash when we retire to enjoy our potential longevity. But if you don’t consciously explore your passions and set some goals, you are left with little possibility of achieving them.

I went back to graduate school in my 40′s and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It set the stage for my life today.

Wealth is an Attitude

There are those with millions, unsatisfied with their lot and looking at those who have more. Turn your glance inside for a minute or two. Take some time to determine what you value, and then set on a course to get what you want. After you know what direction to head, figure out the dollars and cents of your aspirations.

In part 2 of Enjoy Life and Make Money, learn about the abundant ways to increase your income and net worth. But, while you are pursuing your financial  goals, remember to drink in the enjoyment of the wealth and good fortune you already have.

Action Steps:

Get a notebook label it: “(your name) Personal Finance” and keep it by the computer. Use it for all of your personal finance goals, thoughts, activities, and plans.

1. List 25 activities you enjoy.

2. Practice one from the list daily.

 Which activities give you the most wealth in your life?

Quick Money Tips to Increase Your Wealth in Time and Money

& Links

Small and steady steps lead to great success. Today, get some inspiration to make those small life changes to boost your overall well being and happiness. Implement these ideas in small bits for lasting success.

In reading Money Magazine’s, Get Happy in 2012, I was intrigued by the research based money tips to improve well being. The following suggestions are shamelessly borrowed from that article.

I found it incredible that in a survey of 28,000 Americans, from the University of Georgia, having an emergency fund is the greatest predictor of financial satisfaction. I wasn’t surprised that having a rainy day fund was important, I’ve been stressing that for eons. But, that is was the largest predictor of financial satisfaction, even greater than paying off credit cards or owning a home was a surprise.

For financial satisfaction, make saving for that emergency fund PRIORITY NUMBER ONE.

It’s not news that having credit card debt causes stress. But here’s an easier way to eliminate it according to State College, Pa. financial planner Jeff McClarren. Choose a monthly amount to pay off (make sure it is much bigger than the minimum payment) and focus only on that amount! Worry less about the total amount of the debt, which can be overwhelming and scary and keep paying that monthly amount and the debt will decline before you know it. Of course, do not charge anything else. Apparently, it’s overwhelming to look at the aggregate amount of debt. You can handle tackling that payment every month.

Frequent little splurges, yield greater happiness than infrequent big indulgences. The result, more happiness at less cost. So get that special bottle of nail polish, spring for a CD or DVD at the used media store, or indulge in a gourmet box of cookies. You’ll feel rewarded and satisfied, on a budget.

Next, check out what I’ve been reading. Lots of money and happiness articles .

BARB RECOMMENDS

Time Magazine reported about happiness and money in a study which found that you need to earn $75,000.00 per year to be happy. I don’t claim to know whether this is true or not, but if you need a benchmark to shoot for, here it is. Read about what others have to say on this money and happiness topic.

Arthur Brooks from The American Magazine also asks, Can Money Buy Happiness? The response is no, but success can! So here’s another take, become successful and increase happiness, of course I bet money will also follow.

Ben Edwards writes, 5 Reasons Money Can Buy Happiness for Wise Bread.

Can Money Buy Happiness? Yes it Can, according to Suba at Wealthinformatics. What are your thoughts?

Happiness and Money; How Much Money do You Really Need? asks KNS Financial? Are you one of those folk who reaches one financial level and then raises the bar? Well what do you think is the limit?

Money and Happiness; What Say You? at the Millionaire Nurse Blog. More thoughts on this age old question.

PT Money says You Need to be Happy to build wealth. I’m not so sure. What about you?

Krantcents asks, Will Money Make Me Happy? Certainly having no money will not make one happy.

Narrow Bridge want to know If Money will Make You Happy? There certainly is a lot of discussion on this topic.

Money Reasons has a new solution to happiness: Multitasking and Making My Family Happy.

5 Reasons Money Can Buy Happiness at the humorous Cracked.com.

Jeff Rose’s guest article on Smart Passive Income is a must read for anyone with a dream! He maps out how his persistence led to both blogging and personal business success.

Barbara Friedberg Across the Blogosphere

Take some time to visit these excellent sites which recently featured my work.

The Yakezi.com; Featured article, Patience and Persistence-The Path to Unlimited Success

FindtheBest; TD Ameritrade Research Tools

Len Penzo Black Coffee

Totally Money Blog Carnival at Mother Miser

Carnival of Personal Finance-Ask the Right Questions at Wealth Pilgrim

Tax Carnival #95 at Don’t Mess with Taxes

The Frugal Toad Weekly Round up-Playoff Edition

Carnival of Financial Planning at Credit Cards Canada

Do you think money can buy happiness?

image credit; Princ Arora

I have a confession, I hate negative feedback. Constructive criticism is awful, and figuring out what you did wrong is a pain. I hated those red marks on my college papers. Receiving feedback goes in the category of stuff I need to do, even if I don’t want to. This category is a big one including brush my teeth, tidy the house, do the dishes, cook, and the list goes on.

When someone starts out a comment with, “You may not like what I have to say, but……”, I know I definitely will not like it!

WHY I PUSH MYSELF TO GET OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE

There’s a mysterious phenomenon, when one does something difficult or scary, and overcomes their hesitation, they feel great and their life improves.

In order to prevail and succeed in life you must be fearless and do that which you avoid.

My dad, one of the most disciplined and successful people I know, had a saying when he was drinking one of his disgusting “health” drinks, “I don’t care how it tastes because it will keep me healthy.”

Practically, there is something that Ramit Sethi mentioned in a talk at the Personal Finance Bloggers Convention (2011) that hammered this point home. He said he measures everything he does to determine if it is working or not. When he sends out an email letter, he compares the success rate to determine if he is improving. Adam, from Man vs. Debt did the same thing.

The TAKEAWAY

The only way to determine if you are meeting your goals is to keep track.

Many bloggers write about net worth as a way to hold themselves accountable. Others publish their financial picture, debt, goals, progress etc. and use it as motivation for improvement; Life and My Finances, Debt Sucks Blog, Retire by Forty, PT Money, Budgeting in the Fun Stuff and others.

If you are trying to lose weight, you must step on the scale regularly to check your progress. Want to get rich? There’s no way around keeping track of how much money you have going in and going out. You must monitor your expenses, spending, saving, and investing.

I started writing this article in October, and picked it up again to revise in January. As I put on the finishing touches, I am cringing. I do not like the message. I like positive feedback! As I embark on my Finance Class teaching assignment at a local university, I am well aware that at the end of the class, I will be evaluated. Even though that is my least favorite part of the teaching experience, I am working to make my lectures and activities the absolute best I can- and the expectation of feedback is pushing me to improve.

This article is written both for you and me. Push yourself to do the difficult. Seek out feedback. Focus on the tough “big picture” activities and don’t delude yourself that checking email 20 times per day is really accomplishing anything.

As I write this article, I sent out a Wealth Tips Newsletter (sign up; top right of site) to my subscribers. Aweber makes it really easy to check statistics to see if readers are opening the message and following up by visiting this site for more informaton. But if I don’t use the data they offer, then I’m just being a coward. In order to propel myself forward to reaching my goals, I set up a spreadsheet to analyze my initiatives and determine whether they are growing my readership and subscribers. I know in the long run, I will benefit, in spite of the temporary discomfort.

ACTION STEP

Get a notebook and label it: “(your name) Personal Finance” and keep it by the computer. Use it for all of your personal finance thoughts, activities, and plans.

1. Challenge yourself to get feedback. Ask someone for their honest opinion. Compare the results with your expectations.
2. Use the information to improve.

How do you check your progress?

image credit; Karl Horton

FRIDAY THE 13th

Are You Superstitions?

“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” Helen Keller

Wealth in money and life requires risk. Like it or not, there is no substitute for jumping in the ring. In my youth, I had lots of fears. I didn’t think I was capable and thus avoided trying. In high school, I was afraid to try out for the tennis team, even though I was a “good enough” player. As an Economics major in college, I was afraid to strive for a professional job, because I didn’t think I’d measure up. I went for a clerical job upon graduation instead. Fortutnately, I’ve come a long way since those fearful days of my youth and gone on to confront my insecurities whenever they crop up.

That doesn’t mean I’m without some superstitious behavior. I avoid getting too excited about successes, for fear they will fade. I wear my NY Giants sweatshirt during a game, to help the team win. When playing a tennis match or other game, I keep my mind on the present and avoid thinking of the outcome. Actually, that behavior has worked out quite well for my competitive performances. And who doesn’t knock on wood on occasion?

In life, there is no substite for EFFORT. My mom and dad never quit and because of that tenacity, have overcome tremendous obstacles. I believe that by putting one foot in front of the other, success will follow.

I accept my superstitions, but never let them deter me from my goals.

Please enjoy some great reads on this Friday the 13th!

Barb Recommends

The Simple Rules for Success at The Financial Blogger. I’m a sucker for motivational self improvement writing. From the time I was a teen, I devoured these writings, and I’m still at it. Enjoy!

The Business of Blogging and Bootstrapping an Online Venture at The Digerati Life. Take a peek into goals of one of the top personal finance bloggers on line.

Lindsey Knerl on 1099 Mom Blog wrote an article about the new law in the works to stop trademark piracy, SOPA. If you do ANYTHING on line, you must get educated.

Retire by Forty asks What’s Your Motivation. Another thoughtful end of year post looking at the past and requesting you ponder why you are doing what you are doing. Similar questions have been asked this year, I think I spot a trend.

Reflecting Back on 2011 at Sweating the Big Stuff. A new marriage and cross country move are some of the biggies in Daniels 2011, let’s see what’s on tap for 2012.

Turning My Resolutions Into Smart Goals at Tight Fisted Miser. Buying another blog is keeping Andy on track to up his income in 2012.

Atypical Tips for Writing Awesome Blog Posts at Smart Passive Income. Now this isn’t a New Years Resolution type post, it is very useful for those bloggers reading who are seeking to improve their blogs in the New Year! There’s a graphic in this one too which is really useful for any writer.

We’re Gonna Rock 2012 at Yes I am Cheap. Sandy is doing quite well with her goals and letting us in on her futur plans.

Do Your Commitments Match Your Convictions? at Wealth Informatics I think this one qualifies as an epic post, with charts and all.

20s Finances; What to do When You are Behind in Debt?

You Have More Than You Think; A Cool New Way to Make Living with Family Members Work for You

Novel Investor; Good-bye 2011; Best & Worst Market Awards

Tax Deductions and Year End Tax Planning Tips; The Frugal Toad

Did We Meet Our Goal of Saving 50% of Our Income?; Frugal Confessions

Analyzing the Perception of the 1%; My Journey to Millions

Home Security-To Spend or Not to Spend; Money Reasons

Barb Friedberg Across the Blogosphere

Carnival of Passive Investing at Boomer and Echo;  My article, Investing Rule 1: Know Thyself was chosen as an editors pick.

Roshawn from Watson Inc. focused on my “Sunk Costs” article in his well researched, Home Mortgage Leverage Sucks!

Carnival of Financial Planning #217 at The Skilled Investor; Best Articles this Week From Financial Blogs.

Yakezie Carnival-New Years Eve Edition at The Ultimate Juggle

Self-Directed Investing For Retirement Carnival – New Year’s Edition at Arbor Investment Blog

What are your superstitions?

image credit; betta design

You must subscribe to my WEALTH TIPS newsletter on the right. You get invaluable information and a FREE e-copy of my award winning 20 Minute Guide to Investing. Do not hesitate!

Stop back for 2012 Foolproof New Years Resolutions (part 2) to learn about my blogging goals for next year.

“Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination and disregard for obstacles and other people’s criticisms, carry out your plan.” Paul J. Meyer

American businessman Paul Meyer succinctly included the key components to goal setting, including setting a deadline, in his concise quote. Personal confession, I occasionally get way laid by others comments and criticisms. Sometimes that’s great when the recommendations motivate and present better ideas. When the ideas are distracting and demotivating it’s not so good.

This annual New Year post will extend the discussion about why ongoing goal setting is far superior to Annual New Years Resolutions.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Goal Setting

Last years New Years Goals post discussed my plans for the start of the year. As an “anti-New Year’s Resolution” maker, I distinguished between goal setting and annual resolutions. I am a complete success at New Year’s Resolutions because I set ongoing goals instead. The goals are:

• Specific
• Quantifiable
• Attainable

Why Goals Instead of Annual Resolutions?

Annual resolutions are too long term. Empirical research suggests that to accomplish a task, break it down into small manageable steps. Make a small effort daily towards the task and ultimately you will succeed. Encounter difficulty? Readjust and revise along the way.

That approach is counter to the grand year plan. What if you complete a New Year’s Resolution by March? Then where are you? Are you free of doing anything else for the next nine months. What if you mess up by January 15th? Does that mean you will just quit for the entire year? Let my journey influence your 2012 financial goals.

 Last Year’s Short Term Blogging Goals

Here’s how I fared with the public blogging goals I set last January, 2011. Although these examples of goals were not long term, some took a bit more time than anticipated, and others, a bit less.

• Create another eBook in the 20 Minute Series entitled: 20 Minute Guide to Personal Finance for New College Graduates. Due: March, 2011.

I completed a very good draft by June (three months behind schedule). Then I spent the entire summer trying to move across country. By Fall, 2011 I began shopping the newly titled book to publishers. This one is taking quite a bit longer than expected. By the way, any publishers interested in reviewing the manuscript?

• Make some new (and better) YOUTUBE  videos. I did my first video on Holiday Spending with no script with one take. I decided to overcome my perfectionism and just got it done. I know subsequent videos will be higher quality. Fortunately, I set the bar nice and low . Due: One video per month.

Over the summer, while temporarily living with the ‘rents, El Carino and I made a few more videos. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for a glimpse of them all. I came up with five new videos, and got a bit better with each one.

• Reach a certain monthly blog income goal. (Sorry readers, money details are private here)

Here’s a true confession, I don’t know where I wrote down my income goal, so I’m not sure if I met it or not. Regardless, my readership and income are growing exponentially and I realize I need to find a central location to keep my goal setting information!

• Write an article three times per week and upload a week in advance.

I’m doing great with the three times per week writing plan. Uploading a week in advance? Not too great. I got ahead at one point, but I failed at keeping ahead.

• Guest write for at least two mainstream websites. Due: December, 2011.

I am very pleased with the results of this important one. Since June, I wrote 13 articles as a featured writer and Brain Trust member at Benzinga.com. At Findthebest, I am an Expert Blogger and have written 6 articles since November. Marketplace at American Media has included several of my articles as a Featured Blogger.

• Continue to regularly and selflessly promote other personal finance bloggers in the Yakezie, best personal finance network.

This one is my personal pleasure. As an active member of the premier personal finance network, I have an opportunity to interact with the top personal finance bloggers on line. I regularly promote many of the member sites with enthusiasm. Additionally, I contribute to the Yakezie website, scholarship initiatives, and am a member of the product review committee.

Just like crossing an item off the “to do” list, there’s something cathartic about reviewing my goals. It’s a wonderful reminder that although I experience the normal ups and downs of life, my overall trend is forward. My successes propel me forward and the goals I failed to meet, give me reason to take stock and reevaluate.

Stop back for 2012 Foolproof New Years Resolutions (part 2) to learn about my blogging goals for next year.

What are your biggest goals for 2012?

image credit; fireworks.uk.co

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This article is a revision of a guest article I wrote last April at Everyday Tips and Thoughts

There’s a plethora of writing about how more stuff leads to more work. Get something new, first figure out how it works, then maintain it, and finally, fix it when it breaks.

Who wants more work?

In a previous article I wrote a controversial piece about Why I Don’t Want an IPad. In that article, I compared the

MORE TECHNOLOGY PLEASE?

functionality of my laptop with an IPad and proved how superior the laptop is for my purposes.

MY CONFESSION:

My phone is a cheap old LG model. My plan, a $20.00 per month, no annual contract, Virgin bare bones with 400 minutes per month. And guess what, I use my phone to make and receive calls and an occasional text. That’s it. No internet surfing, game playing, movie watching etc. In fact, my work and blogging requires an inordinate amount of time on-line. For blogging, portfolio management, and everything else, I have a laptop and a desktop. Additionally, I’ve got video and digital cameras. And that’s enough for me.

RECENT VISIT TO BIG BOX ELECTRONICS RETAILER

In preparation for a conference call with Jason, of LiveRealNow, I purchased a webcam and speakers for my “bottom of the line” desktop computer. While in the store, I decided to get behind the buzz on the Amazon Fire eReader and the tablet computers. I was toying with the idea of putting one on my holiday gift list.

Here’s my Synopsis

The Amazon Fire is reasonably priced and good if you want an eReader that can also surf the net. With no USB port or word processing software, it’s of no use to me as I wanted a tool to do a bit of online writing and editing. Additionally, I’m so old shool, I read actual magazines and books!

On to the tablet computers. I checked out an Acer, due to the low price and recommendation of the sales person. What do you expect from a personal finance geek? It had a USB port and the availability to do some word processing along with all the other content viewing, game playing, and internet surfing options. But when I went to type on the keyboard, the sales person said you really need to type with only one or two fingers. Now that’s some slow typing.

The games I play are usually actual games like scrabble, rummykub, and trivial pursuit! I watch a real television. My computer work is done on computers. And, I don’t need access to any more technology when I’m out and about.

I actually try to experience life through real not virtual experiences!

I don’t need to be on-line with my phone either. I don’t need to check my email when I’m away from the computer. NOTHING IS THAT IMPORTANT!

This is one area where I’m going to be behind the curve.

TIME VERSUS MONEY

Look, I like technology as much as the next; can you say 2 Facebook pages (please LIKE me), twitter, LinkedIn, Quora, and all the other social media accounts. But when it comes down to my time and money, I weigh my options.

TIME-As I said before, I’m online too much as it is. Don’t need a phone, eReader, or tablet for that!

MONEY-Why should I pay upwards of $75.00 a month or more for a phone service that isn’t ultimately of value to me? I don’t need to shell out several hundred bucks for one more electronic gadget, that won’t improve my life and may up my stress level.

What do you think? Am I just a dinosaur or am I missing something really valuable from the new technology offerings?

& Holiday Links

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With drunk drivers on the loose, and the crazies out and about, here are some ideas for a really fun New Years Eve at home. Try these out with the family, a few friends, or a big group.

FOOD

Pot luck is the way to go. If your guests bring some grub, they are automatically invested in the event! Set a theme for even more fun. Try hors’doerves, sandwiches, dips, international, or any theme you can come up with. Finger foods are recommended. Also, pot luck cuts down on costs!

New Years Eve Times Square NYC

DRINKS

Create some fun drinks; it’s New Years after all! You can make alcohol punch, Sangria, mixed drinks, beer, wine, or whatever combination you prefer. To keep the costs in check, keep it to a few choices! For those teetotalers, soda, mock-tails, or punch keep the fun rolling.

ACTIVITIES

The older El Carino and I get, the less we like (most) parties. Unfortunately, many of our contemporaries aren’t as much fun as when we were younger. When you come to our house, you are not going to be relegated to sitting around and talking – boring. We have had every type of ”activity” party. Get active, plan some events and invite the crowd. Pick and choose what seems fun for you.

• Charades
• Taboo
• Pictionary
• Balderdash
• Wii games- Tennis, bowling, and boxing tournaments
• Newlywed game with any sorts of couples (don’t have to be married or opposite gender!)
• Dance parties
• Improv games
• Trivial Pursuit
• Musical Chairs (too much fun with adults )
• Cookie decorating

MUSIC

The music sets the mood. Make it eclectic, lively and fun.

BARB RECOMMENDS

This ones for you bloggers out there. eMoneyMakingOnline published a superb explanation of Google’s latest update in Writing for web-What has changed with the Panda Update? I don’t usually worry too much about trying to write for anyone other than the personal finance readers, yet I know lots of my readers are also bloggers and this one will keep your site going in the right direction.

Blog Tyrant gives 13 excellent tasks For When You Can’t be Bothered Writing. Ever heard the term “epic article”. I’m not completely sure what qualifies, but the information covered in this post promises to move your blog on to bigger and better opportunities.

Budgets are Sexy reminds readers that It’s My Birthday and I Can Shop if I Want to! I sometimes imply that spending money is bad. J. Money reminded me that money is a tool, and not an end in and of itself. If you don’t enjoy the fruits of your efforts and over focus on the future, you are missing out.

Rich Beautiful and Single and I Wonder Why was a guilty pleasure read over at Financial Samuai. Sam shared an encounter with a beautiful (on the outside) woman; not so much on the inside. And she wondered why no suitors were beating her door down. I don’t get these type of women.

Ask Liz Weston responded to a reader who asked, Will Stocks Ever Return 8% Again? Although neither Liz Weston nor I are fortune tellers, and history does not predict the future, take a glance at a long term chart of the US stock market. The long term trend has been upward ever since the birth of the US stock exchange. If you think American companies and International Companies as well will continue to grow and prosper, then stock market returns will rise.

Miranda Marquit, writing for Bargaineering writes about an important investing activity, portfolio rebalancing, in End of Year; Time to Rethink Your Investment Strategy. She offers up some excellent questions to ponder while you prepare your investments for the coming year.

Mike piper at Oblivious Investor writes an  article explaining muni bonds. If you’re in a high tax bracket, you do not want to miss this one.

Don’t be Perfect is awesome advice from Canadian Personal Finance. Although Alan was referring to investing, the applications are much broader. Perfectionism is a success killer. Focus on the important, don’t be afraid to make mistakes, take some calculated risks and success will follow.

Follow up from Bloggers Making $1000.00 per Month at Cash Flow Mantra will keep you motivated. My readers and myself are always interested in inspiring money making articles! I’m going to be watching closely as Cash Flow Mantra ramps up his money making plans!

Square Pennies offers up more tips for Entertaining for Less & Keeping the Fun.

BARB ACROSS THE BLOGOSPHERE

Please support these fine sites who published my work.

Charles Schwab Investment Research Tools at Findthebest.

What’s up with Europe? Should I Avoid Investing There? at Benzinga.com

Carnival of Personal Finance at Money Cactus

Carnival of Financial Camraderie at My University Money

 What are your best New Years Eve ideas?

image credit LeSimonPix

How You Turned Your Passion Into Cash

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Welcome to Part 3 of this series.

If you are just joining us, don’t miss Part 1; “Why I Freelance”

And Part 2 of this series; How to Live Well if You Work in a Low Paying Field

A commenter from part 1 asked this question:

I’d love to hear stories of folks who monetize passions that people think “don’t pay.”  It might be a great “part 2″ (or 3 or 4).

Nick from Step Away From the Mall

The integration of “doing what you love” and making money is a popular topic. There’s lots of advice about doing what you love and the money will follow. Is this always true? What if the money doesn’t follow?

What if you are doing what you love and the money isn’t following. Need some motivation? Read on about how others are are making money from their passions.

Readers, let’s hear about your experiences about “doing what you love, and making money as well.”

We are particularly interested in those experiences which started without monetary expectation, and turned into a cash flow stream.

I’ll begin by talking about my story. I began blogging to educate others with my decades of personal finance and investing experience. I had no idea there was a possibility to make money from a blog. Initially, I assumed if enough people liked my work, I would get a book contract, and then I would make money.

Well, I’m still working on the book contract…. Any publishers out there?

In the meantime, I found a love of blogging, educating, interacting with others and lo and behold, I’m making some money. The income streams come from ads, freelance writing, and hosted content. I’m lucky, as my passion and work in the investing field is lucrative and my money habits have allowed our family to grow our net worth.

Yet, there are many stories of folks with average salaries who amass great sums through their passions.

What are your stories? Write in and inspire and learn from others.

Here are a few more success stories to get you started:

I’m currently in Seattle for a work trip. While strolling along the waterfront at Pike’s Market I met Pixie, an inventive vendor. She and her husband have taken a love of creating art and crafted a full time cottage industry. They make large artwork and sell it at their booth along the water. After sold, they shrink the image, encase it in plexiglass and create smaller pieces to be used as wall art, magnets, coasters or other. Their business is simple, creative, and supports their family of 3 (without a website).  Jr. Carino and I bought 4 small pieces to use as magnets and other decoration. Her shop is on the side of the water (west). Stop by when you’re in Seattle. The art is affordable, one of a kind, and really cool!

Pixie-Pikes Market, Seattle

Mark Riddix is studying the on line world and building quite an empire. He has a wealth of resources for you. Mark is a perfect example of determination.

Crystal of Budgeting in the Fun Stuff was so determined to become a full time blogger she quit her salaried job months ahead of schedule. Read about her strategies at How I Make Money Blogging.

Jessica Streit wrote about a fascinating opportunity as a “Sample Passer Outer”, over at Budgets are Sexy. She’s one of those friendly folks who gives out free yummy samples at supermarkets; and gets PAID FOR IT! It sounds fun and diverting. Maybe this could be your passion!

Need some ideas about how to find your passion? Check out LifeHack’s Susan Baroncini Moe’s article, How to Find Your Entrepreneurial Passion and Purpose.

Ordinary Traveler talks about his big break came, in spite of the naysayers. He never believed photography, surfing, traveling, and writing could become his livelihood.

Don’t miss Part 1 of this series; “Why I Freelance“

And Part 2; How to Live Well if You Work in a Low Paying Field

image credit; Ayham Al-Hamwi

Now, it’s your turn, write in and share HOW YOU MAKE MONEY FROM YOUR PASSION.

Forward this link to others for their input!! Let’s make the comments a huge list of SUCCESS RESOURCES.