Monday, February 28, 2011

The Best Time to Buy a Home

Recently, I was in a conversation in which someone stated that they and their spouse had set a goal to buy a home within a year. When I asked why a year, the reason was given "because house prices are so low". Another person in the conversation immediately launched into a complexity of theories about the perfect time to buy a house, based on market analysis and economic direction. It was a confusing spurt of information to the listeners.

Wondering when is absolutely the best time to buy a house? I will tell you.

Gather 'round.

Lean in close.

Closer.

The best time to buy a house is... when... you... are... ready.

TAH-DAH!

Yes, it doesn't really matter what the market is doing. (Did you hear that? That was the sound of a group of Type A personalities consulting their calculators and bookmarked news sites.) If you are ready, it doesn't matter if the market is high. If you are not ready, it will not matter if prices are low; it will only make it a better deal for someone else later when the bank resells your foreclosed property.

What is "ready"?
  • You have a steady income.
  • You are planning to stay in the house for several years (or forever-ish).
  • You have no debt (or very little and will be paid off within a year).
  • You have an Emergency Safety Net that can carry you for several months.
  • If married, you have a healthy marriage.
  • You can afford the type of mortgage I will mention tomorrow.
Where I live, there are a few billboard ads along the freeway sponsored by homebuilders. One in particular hosts a photo of a pleasant-looking fellow in his mid-50's wearing wire-rimmed glasses slightly settled on his nose and a knowing-but-loving smile. Above this man's face is the phrase "Dad says it's time to buy."

What is Dad's experience in real estate? More importantly, what is Dad's role in your finances? I cringe knowing there are a lot of young, unexperienced families out there with well-meaning parents asking them "Why don't you buy a house while prices are so low?" without taking into consideration that their adult kids' available funds may also be "so low" at this particular point of their journey through life. It isn't fair or ethical to pressure someone to do anything based on external circumstances (house prices) when the internal commitments (saving, budgeting, avoiding debt) are not yet in place.

For years, LDS Church leaders have counseled us often from the pulpit to live within our means and buy a modest home.

President Gordon B. Hinckley:
"When I was a young man, my father counseled me to build a modest home, sufficient for the needs of my family, and make it beautiful and attractive and pleasant and secure. He counseled me to pay off the mortgage as quickly as I could so that, come what may, there would be a roof over the heads of my wife and children. I was reared on that kind of doctrine. I urge you as members of this Church to get free of debt where possible and to have a little laid aside against a rainy day." (The Times in Which We Live, General Conference, October 2001)
Some people allow "within your means" to be defined by banks who are eager to lend money. A lender may state with a smile and a handshake that you are qualified to buy a home priced at one gajillion dollars! (Well, maybe not that high.) The bank doesn't take into account that you give 10% of your income to a church. They also don't take into account that your savings account is for emergencies and not for making routine house payments. They do not take into account that you may add children to your family. They also do not take into account that you want money leftover each month to contribute toward retirement funds or eat food on a daily basis.

Tomorrow, I'll cover the best mortgage to take on when buying a home. Then, you'll know if you are ready.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Scripture Sunday - Matthew 6: 26, 28-29, 31-33

Behold the fowls of the air:
for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns:
yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.
Are ye not much better than they?

And why take ye thought for raiment?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow;
they toil not, neither do they spin:

And yet I say unto you,
That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Therefore take no thought, saying,
What shall we eat?
or, What shall we drink?
or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:)
for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you.


Matthew 6: 26, 28-29, 31-33

Saturday, February 26, 2011

And the winner of the food rotation organizer is...

Thank you to all of you for sharing your goals with me. I got a lot of great ideas for future topics to cover!

THANKYOU-THANKYOU to those who posted my blog button around the interwebs!

Now, for the big announcement...

The winner of the FIFO food rotation organizer is:

Kelly Tillotson
 
Congratulations, Kelly!
Please, claim your prize by Monday.
Email me at AdhisBlog@ gmail . com with your mailing address and your choice of organizer!

Friday, February 25, 2011

Frugal Friday: Avoid the Store

There was a time when I went to the grocery store 3-4 times a week. I needed bread, or spinach, or something quick for dinner. Do you think I ever left with just the bread, the spinach, and the pizza? There was always something on sale or on clearance that was too enticing to not bring home. And, of course, I'd throw a candy car onto the conveyor belt as an occasional (read: every time) treat. Every time I went to the store, I came home with something not on the list. I won't share just how bad it revealed itself to be the month I finally sat down and looked over the bank statement. (Can you say "equaled a mortgage payment"?)

I remember the day I walked into our grocery store and realized I had just been there the day before and the day before that and the day before that. The greeter looked at me with way too much familiarity. We were one more consecutive shopping trip away from being on a first-name basis and exchanging phone numbers. "This is ridiculous," I said aloud.

Right then and there, I decided to cut my shopping trips down to one day a week. We survived.

I eventually cut it down to one day every two weeks. We survived again, and I learned how to plan for two weeks of meals out of necessity.

I cut my trips down to one day out of the month. That did not go well. No one was really excited about eating brown bananas. I went back to grocery shopping once every two weeks.

Can you cut down the frequency of your shopping trips? If you go five times a week, cut down to twice a week. If you go twice a week, go once a week.


"Oh my gosh! What if I run out of milk???"

Trust me, you will survive. Plan a different snack, use a substitution, borrow from a neighbor. And then, write "milk" on a list.

Avoiding the stores will save you so much money in the long run, not counting the money saved in gasoline use and car maintenance. And you may even get to know your neighbors.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Check your credit report for free!

In response to the growing frequency of identity theft, federal law mandated a few years ago that each major credit reporting agency allow Americans to check their credit report for FREE once a year. When was the last time you checked yours?

Go to annualcreditreport.com to get your copies. They are free and let you see what lenders, potential employers, landlords, and car insurance companies see about you before determining whether to lend to you, hire you, rent to you, or insure you.


Annualcreditreport.com is the ONLY website guaranteed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act to give you a free credit report every year from each of the three main reporting agencies, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Any other website offering "free" credit reports is a knock-off that will lead you into a paying subscription.

Some people check all three reports at once; others spread out their reports by checking one from each agency every 4 months. I look at all three of mine once a year for simplicity's sake, but you might want to space the reports out to keep an eye on your credit history throughout the year.


Monday, February 21, 2011

Living Without Television

Ten years ago, my husband brought a television into our new marriage. The marriage was brand new; the television was, too... about 20 or so years earlier. It was a heavy, wood-paneled honking thing, and the power knob was missing, so we needed pliers to turn it on. Then, we had to let it "warm up" for the picture to come in. Changing channels took a bit of hand strength and the knob made a "chunk" sound with each turn. In our little apartment, flipping channels sounded something like this:

(chunk!) ... (chunk!)... (chunk!)

"Wait! What channel is that? Oh, never mind."

(chunk!)... (chunk!)

Obviously, the TV set was a hand-me-down, but it didn't matter to us. We were newlyweds embarking on our exciting world together, so we didn't watch television except for General Conference; we stuck the set on a rolling cart and rolled it into the coat closet.
Our TV looked a lot like this one
but with the antenna broken off.

Within a year, we had rolled the television out of the closet twice for non-Conference reasons: once on a tragic September Tuesday morning when a friend called to tell us to turn on the news, and another time when we wondered what was on prime time "now-a-days". Neither instance proved fruitful, so we got rid of the TV.

Do you know what happens when you don't have a television? Everyone thinks you're poor! As soon as a friend, neighbor, relative, or ward member heard we did not have a television, they offered us a spare one they had stashed somewhere. (Everybody seemed to have a "spare" TV.) After several offers, we finally accepted a 13" screen from my father-in-law. I want to say it had a 13" screen, but it may have been smaller. I am pretty sure there are cell phones today bigger than that television screen.

You know the notice that comes on your screen before a DVD movie begins?


Whenever we were settled in our couch and that notice came on, my husband would make the clicking sound and hand gesture of someone applying a hole puncher to a filmstrip so the movie would fit our little screen.


I chuckled every time.

Do you know what happens when you have a 13" television? Friends tease you, but mainly, people still think you are poor. So, people still kept offering us their spare TVs. We declined each time. Until...

My dad offered us this one:


I will admit it was a lot of fun watching movies, conference, and television programs on it. But less than a year later, and me expecting our first child, I realized regardless of the size or resolution of the screen, there still wasn't really much worth watching on TV and not worth my time. I was also in the "nesting" phase, had realized how easy it would be to plop my child in front of the TV, and refused to make it simple for me to do that. I decided it was time for the thing to go.

You should have seen the expressions on the faces of our home teachers, both ex-football players and big sports fans, the first time they came to our house after we sold the TV! The one from Texas came in, said hello, sat on our couch, and then let out a panicked "WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TV?!?"

I laughed and laughed. Something tragic MUST have happened to it, right?

Getting rid of such a big and beautiful television set was the first external sign in our lives that confirmed to everyone "Adhis is weird." It was no longer that we were poor. We were (are) weird.

Have you ever chosen to do something good for your family, only to find that even your closest friends didn't "get" it? Or have you ever wanted to do something drastic to improve your situation but worried what the neighbors might think? There comes a time in life when one must decide for whom are they living life.

Are you living a life that serves you and your purpose?
Or are you living a life that serves others' opinions?

When we sold that 50" television, I honestly thought we would buy a smaller set some time after the baby was born, but here we are, that baby almost 3 years old and my second baby cruising around the furniture. We don't really miss TV. Being without it has actually been refreshing; we are not bombarded by commercials, sloppy storylines, and sensational news coverage. I don't really feel like I am missing out on anything. Asides the obvious savings from reduced electricity costs and not paying for cable and television accessories, being TV-less has eliminated our impulse and media-influenced we-gotta-have/gotta-do purchases.

Other perks: My husband and I are more aware of each other; we chat more. My kids play with us and each other more. The house is quiet, making time for rest or reflection easy to come by. It is loud when we choose music and dance. I hear the spontaneous little utterances of my baby discovering her voice. I catch the sweet moments when my toddler, who has speech delays, decides to ask me for something. These are experiences and relationships money cannot buy, and, interestingly, we have more money because we make space for them.

These trade-offs make it easy for me to shrug off the are-you-crazy looks I get after I tell an acquaintance or a door-to-door cable salesman that we don't own a TV. I am not bothered when my internet provider's representative changes his tone of voice to you-poor-thing sympathy after I reject his attempt to upsell me to cable service by stating "we don't watch TV." Living without television has also increased my confidence in being "weird" in many other ways that benefit me and my little family.

In his October 2007 General Conference "Good, Better, Best" talk, Elder Dallin H. Oaks said:
"We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families."
There are a lot of good and exciting options in this world. What "good" thing or habit will you exchange for something better?

I'd like to say we still do not own a TV, but two weeks ago my dad moved, and knowing that we didn't own a TV, he offered us a little one he was leaving behind. I accepted. Currently, it sits in front of my treadmill, its purpose being to keep me walking longer. I haven't yet plugged it in or connected it to a DVD player. Eventually, I will. Probably.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Scripture Sunday - Ecclesiastes 5:19


Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth,
and hath given him power to eat thereof,
and to take his portion,
and to rejoice in his labour;
this is the gift of God.



Ecclesiastes 5:19

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Giveaway: Food Storage Can Rotation Organizer

A common occurrence in American households that stirs up for me remorse every time I witness it is throwing away food that has gone unused. What good is it to stock up on food sales if the food expires or rots before being able to use it? For this reason, one of my favorite food organizing ideas is the first-in-first-out can rotation rack! This is an easy way to use up food in the order in which you bring it home.


These can rotation shelf units are by the FIFO Storage company. These were my first additions to my basement that made the statement, "I'm serious about food storage!" I have several of these, and one lucky person will get to pick out one from my storage room. To clarify, out-of-state readers can also enter. The winner will have a choice between two styles, so you can receive the prize that works best for you!


Measures: approx. 12" h/ 16" d/ 16" w (width depends on what cans you put in)
Holds: 45-54 cans (45 regular canned veggies size; 54 soup size)
Great for: soups, vegetables, tomato paste
More info found here: http://www.fifostorage.com/shop/can-tracker-p-1472.html


SECOND CHOICE:
The Mini Can Tracker

Measures: approx. 10.25" h/ 15.5" d/ 16.75"w (width is adjustable based on which cans you store)
Holds: 24-30 cans
Great for: large soup cans, canned pumpkin, fatter fruit cans, soda cans, etc.)
More info found here: http://www.fifostorage.com/shop/mini-tracker-p-1641.html


I love both types for different reasons. I've given you the measurements, so you can figure out which one fits your storage or shelf space and accommodates the types of cans you will be storing.

How do you enter the giveaway?
You can enter by doing one or both of the following:
1) Tell me in the comments a SPECIFIC financial goal you have for this year. (an item you want to save up for, wanting to learn how to invest extra money, paying off certain debts, etc.)

2) Place my blog button (seen at right) on your blog or in an online forum, then comment again and tell me the address of where you placed it, so I can see it! (To add a blog button, copy the code text found in the box under the blog button and paste it as a widget in your blog.)

That's it! You decide if you want one or two entries.
You have until noon (Mountain Time) on Friday, February 25th to enter. I will announce the winner on Saturday, February 26th (sometime after I rub the crusties off my eyes and fill my belly).

OK, get rolling!

Friday, February 18, 2011

Frugal Friday: Price-Matching

(Remember to check in tomorrow for a fun giveaway!)

Last month, Monica in Utah submitted this frugal tip:

"When shopping I HIGHLY recommend PRICE MATCHING AT WALMART!
... You can bring a grocery ad from any competitors ad in the area and price match ANYTHING! ... This is a good alternative if you don't use coupons or if you tend to buy a lot of fresh produce items like I do!"

I distinctly remember the day I was in Walmart's oral hygiene department and bumped into my neighbor Marcella. She was alternating between scanning the toothpaste shelves and reading a newspaper.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm price-matching this Colgate toothpaste!"

"I've heard of price-matching. What is it?"

Marcella enthusiastically explained to me how price-matching worked, and I immediately implemented it in the following shopping trip. It has been a couple years since, and I haven't looked back!

What is price-matching?
(A few stores do this. Find out if your favorite grocer does it and get a copy of their price-matching policy. Walmart's policy seems to be the most liberal in my area.)

Say you receive the sales flyer from Albertson's and you see that their chicken breasts are on sale for $1.49/lb, but you typically shop at Walmart because it is closer to your house and everything else you usually buy is cheaper there. When you get to Walmart, you notice they have their chicken breasts priced at $1.97/lb. You throw a couple packages in your shopping cart and continue shopping as usual. When you get to the register, you pull out the Albertson's ad and point out to the cashier the sale price of $1.49/lb. The cashier immediately changes the price of your Walmart chicken breasts to match the price in Albertson's flyer. You save 48¢ per pound without using coupons!

Price-matching allows you to get all of the best advertised prices in town without having to drive to different stores, saving you money, hassle, and time. All you need to do is go through the store fliers you receive in the mail, circle the items with the best prices, and take the ads with you on your shopping trip.

My favorite part about price-matching is being able to act like you have coupons for fresh fruits and vegetables. You can also price-match generic store brands! Just a week ago, I saw that a local grocer was advertising organic spinach for $2.50. Walmart did not carry the same brand as advertised, but I grabbed their store brand organic spinach and had that rung up at the lower price from the other store. No coupon needed, and I got fresh vegetables at a sale price!

I will always be grateful to Marcella for getting me started on stretching my grocery and household shopping allowances in a new way!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Scripture Sunday - Proverbs 22:7



The rich ruleth over the poor,
and the borrower is servant to the lender.



Proverbs 22:7

Friday, February 11, 2011

Frugal Friday: Free Valentine's Day Music

Dear You,

For Valentine's Day, I am giving you
14 FREE love songs!


Love,

Amazon

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Stop Credit Card Offers

Elder Hartman Rector, Jr., of the Seventy, taught an important principle for overcoming temptation:
“In my experience, I have found that it is very, very dangerous to fly just high enough to miss the treetops. I spent twenty-six years flying the navy’s airplanes. It was very exciting to see how close I could fly to the trees … , and it is extremely dangerous. When you are flying just high enough to miss the trees and your engine coughs once, you are in the trees" (Conference Report, Oct. 1972, p. 172; or Ensign, Jan. 1973, p. 131).

Are credit card offers tempting to you? Would you like to "fly" as far away from them as possible? How would you like to stop receiving them in the mail?

There was a time in my early 20's when I got a LOT of credit cards offer in the mail and opened every single one to see where I could next float my debt. Nowadays, I get one every so often. Is it because the credit card companies decided I'm too old for credit cards? (Don't you answer that!)

Credit card offers get in the way, they make a mess in your kitchen/car/office, waste your time having to handle them, can become a temptation to incur debt, and can expose you to identity theft. Did you know that credit card offers are one of the ways identity thieves get your information? You may not be interested in opening a new account, but a thief who steals your mail can use the blank application addressed to you to open an account.

Let me share some simple things you can do in less than 10 minutes to dramatically reduce credit card offers from filling up your mailbox and wasting your time.


Credit Bureaus Opt-Out Line
Call 888-567-8688 (888-5-OPT-OUT) from your home telephone (so it can be checked against an address database) or visit www.optoutprescreen.com to stop pre-approved credit card and insurance offers from reaching you by mail or phone.


Do Not Call Registry
If you haven't done so already, by all means, register your phone number with the "National Do Not Call Registry" maintained by the Federal Trade Commission. Once you have registered your telephone numbers at www.donotcall.gov or by calling 888-382-1222, most telemarketers are barred from calling you.


Interrupt Telemarketers
It takes some time for the "National Do Not Call Registry" to be updated in all companies' databases, so you may still receive some phone calls. You may simply interrupt the telemarketer by saying, "Please, put me on your DO NOT CALL list." They must comply immediately and end the phone call. If the same company calls, they are violating federal law. Ask for their company name, supervisor name, and telephone number. Report this to the Federal Trade Commission.


You already have so many things you are trying to keep out of your home, why not simplify financial matters a little more by keeping out debt temptations? Reducing the amount of credit card offers coming to your home is just another way to confirm to yourself that you vow to live a debt-free life!

“Debt can be a terrible thing. It is so easy to incur and so difficult to repay. Borrowed money is had only at a price, and that price can be burdensome” (President Gordon B. Hinckley, "Thou Shalt Not Covet", Ensign, Mar. 1990, 4).

Friday, February 4, 2011

Frugal Friday: Shop with Back-Up

I don't mean shopping with an army of police, though you will want to be "packing".

Angela of Massachusetts read my mind this week when she offered this simple frugal tip:

" Grocery shop on a full stomach! :) "


We have all heard it: Don't go shopping when you're hungry.

But what's the plan when you are in the middle of your shopping trip and you start getting hungry?

Painfully recent, I went to the store with my two kiddos for what was supposed to be a short trip with a short list. Mayhem joined us in the dairy section when the 2-year-old began loudly "proclaiming" newfound hunger and thirst. I was steadily losing my wits as the crying crescendoed with every aisle. Fortunately, I bumped into an old friend who graciously offered an "emergency lolli" from her purse.

"I always grab a handful at the bank for emergencies like this," she explained.

"num-num-num..."

That satiated the toddler for a time. Meanwhile, the baby decided to take a turn. Though her next feeding wasn't for another hour, her little body refused to acknowledge the clock. Long story short, I ended up grabbing ready-mixed formula (which we never buy) and Gerber juice (which we never buy) off the shelves and opening them right there in the baby aisle to feed my chunker. That was an unplanned extra $12 and 45 minutes spent. (Thank goodness I happened to have in my coupon binder some baby coupons I had received in the mail, which spared me $4! )

Even without children, we adults sometimes find ourselves in similar scenarios. Have you ever been at the store longer than you had planned and began getting hungry? (Guilty!) My husband and I have in the past bought sandwiches at the deli to eat during our shopping, or worse, bought half a grocery cart of things that sounded delicious at the time of our hunger pangs.

Here's a better plan. When you go shopping, stick an energy bar in your pocket. Or a bottle of water in your purse. Or a Thanksgiving turkey in your diaper bag. Whatever works for you.

After that last shopping trip with the kiddos, I learned my lesson. The diaper bag now contains a mini-bottle of ready-made formula, a small bottle of juice (both left over from the spontaneous purchase on that last trip), one container of baby food, a spoon, a little tub of toddler snacks, and for Mom, some specialty chocolates designed to curb cravings and lift moods. This is not counting the goodies stashed in the car!

What's going in your purse?

Thursday, February 3, 2011

And the winners of the 72-hr-kit hygiene sets are...

Thank you, everyone, for your frugal tips! I will be contacting a few of you to get your cute little faces for future blog posts. Remember to tune in for the giveaway near the end of the month. I will be giving away one of my favorite things when it comes to food storage! (And, incidentally, my toddler's fave "toy" to play with these days.)

On to the winners' circle...
My husband drew names from my toddler's toy cup. It was a cute moment.

1. The winner of the Bath & Body Aromatherapy set is:

Bennet


2. The winner of the Green Valley/La Source set is:

Melissa


3. The winner of the Purity: Basics set is:

Angela


Congratulations, ladies! May all your emergency personal hygiene dreams come true.
Please, email me your mailing address at AdhisBlog@ gmail . com to receive your prize!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Ideas for Generating Income from Home

It's the new year! What are your financial goals? Save up for a car or house? Pay off a personal loan? Prepare for a big life event coming your way?

What paths are you considering to reach these goals? You already know about selling or donating things you no longer need or love. And you've probably thought about accepting a part-time job, such as delivering pizzas, serving at a restaurant, or substitute teaching at a school or gym. Have you considered creating an income from home?

For women raising small children or who have limited transportation resources, working from home is sometimes the only option left for bringing in an income. This is where I currently find myself.

I've worked based from home most of my adult life, but I have always mixed it with generous helpings of networking and training that occurred outside of home. Now, with two kids age 2 and under, I find that I want to stay AT home for this phase, and I am finding it a challenge to reprogram my habits to work mostly, if not completely, at home. Also in play, I am finding a desire to shift gears from what I have done in the past to doing something with a different result in mind. (Vague much, Adhis?)

So... ... I've been brainstorming. Maybe my little storm may inspire in you an idea to run with toward your goals. Here are some ideas for generating an extra income, big or small, from home:

* Auction business from home - I did this in the early years of my marriage, mainly dealing in electronics I bought by the pallet off the same auction site I then sold the items on individually. I have a neighbor who mainly deals with name-brand children's clothes she buys off clearance racks from nearby malls.

* Affiliate marketing - A lot of companies have affiliate programs that will pay you a small percentage of any purchases a customer makes through a link you post on a website, forum, or blog.

* Virtual service - Examples of virtual services you might consider are proofreading, writing articles, web designing, graphic design, online tutoring, being a virtual assistant, or providing an answering service for a small business or independent contractor. If you like teaching, you can teach via video conferences or online forums.

* Product-selling business -
You could create your own product from scratch, create one through a private label company, or choose an existing product provided by a reliable drop-ship company. The last one frees you from dealing with inventory!

* Telecommuting - Many companies today hire reliable employees to work from home and provide telephone customer service or take reservations. Most of these companies do require that you go through training at their facility for a few weeks before allowing you to work from home. If you can get help from family or friends regarding your small kids or providing transportation for the duration of the training, this might be a good option for you.

* Direct sales/network marketing - I did this for several years and made tens of thousands of dollars on a less-than-part-time basis. The industry is profitable for those who enter it with realistic expectations.

* Blog - Google AdSense or BlogHer Network are just two companies that compensate you for allowing ads on your blog.

* Create an information product -
What do you know that others want to know? Create an eBook or tutorial video series.

* In-home service -
Massage, hair styling, pet boarding, and babysitting are some services that can be provided in-home if you have the know-how and the proper equipment.

* Invent something or a better way of doing something - If you don't have the resources or desire to manufacture an invention, you can sell the idea for someone else to create.

* Sales and marketing -
Do you like communicating by phone and email? Are you good at getting the word out? You may be able to assist an event planner or schedule appointments or speakers for an organization.


Some words of warning... When looking to work from home, tread carefully. People who are looking for "work from home" opportunities sometimes let emotion (usually excitement or desperation) keep them from doing proper research and noticing red flags. Researching on- and off-line (calling around and asking people about ideas you are considering), will help you avoid scams.
  • If you are applying for a job, do not pay money. You should not pay anyone money to give you a job!
  • If you are starting a business, research the industry and the demand for your service or product. Ask questions of people who work in your line of desired work; read books, sites, and articles about your business model.
  • If you are applying to become an affiliate or distributor, make sure the company is stable and reputable. Read the contract and understand exactly how the program works and what is expected of you. Check the Better Business Bureau for complaints.

There is an infinite supply of ideas for those who need or would like to create an income from home. Let your mind wander to discover what meshes with your interests and your strengths. What are you good at? What do you enjoy? What do you have an interest in? Research your interests online and with people who already do what you are interested in to figure out the next step for you in your specific situation. Your mind with your experiences and your interests can come up with ideas that I would never think up on my own.

Working outside of home is not always possible, whether it's due to a stage of life or a unique challenge. However, there are so many different ways to generate income from home that each person is likely to find something that fits their unique scenario and personality.

What ideas do you have for creating a cash flow based at home?