I hate to say this out loud, but I am 30 years old. It is only in the past year I have begun to actually learn how to run my finances properly. I just never learned how and always thought I could figure it out later.

When I was a kid, I loved math. Anything to do with numbers, and I was curious about it all. I remember trying to sit in one night while my mom was paying bills and what not. So me being me I started to ask a bunch of questions.

How much money do you have?
How much do you make?
Why do you pay taxes and how much?
How much is rent?
How much are the rest of the bills?

The answer to these questions? “None of your business, you don’t have to worry about it”. No matter how often I asked, I would always get the same answers. So I got it in my head that my mom would always handle any money issues or problems. I didn’t bother to try and learn more.

I am paying for it now. I didn’t learn what credit was. I didn’t leanr how to use credit properly. I did not know what credit rating was, or what it was used for. I did not know how to tell if I was getting ripped off or over charged.

So when I was younger, I got lots of credit. I basically lived off credit cards and loans. Once they were full, I would consolidate and do it all over again. It is only now that it is all paid off and my credit score is back to normal. All because I was never shown how to use money and credit properly.

So now comes the advice. When your kid asks about money, please tell them everything they want to know. Tell them how much you make. Tell them how much you pay on the mortgage, the card and everything else. Give them a spreadsheet if they need it.

Really, what is the harm in telling them how much you make? Or how much the mortgage payment is? Let them know as soon as you can the valuse of a dollar. Show them your credit card bill and show them the interest charge. When they ask you what that is for, tell them that it’s the cost of borrowing money.

My oldest son is 12. I tell him everything about my finances. He thinks I make loads of money until I tell him to fill up the truck with gas and it comes to $70 for 4 days of gas. It takes him 7 weeks to save that much up.

In short, be honest with your kids when it comes to money. Teach them everything you can, and then encourage them to learn more. Or else later on, they will be knocking on your door looking for a downpayment on a house, or a co-signature for a car, or something else. Then you will have no-one to blame but yourself.

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So you’ve been working on your blog for a while now and just don’t have the motivation that you had in the beginning. When you started your blog, you were going to make millions in your first year. You were gonna be a star! Now that the initial surge of excitement has warn off, all you can think about when it’s time to write another article is how hard it’s been to get to where you are now.

One thing to keep in mind is that there will always be hardships and disappointments. You will have failures along the way. Even the most successful people in the world have disappointments and will tell you that the key to “getting there” is to never give up. Even when you fail.

Give up the negativity

When you start thinking about how hard it is to “make it”, you may have thoughts like “I’m not good enough, interesting enough, or internet savvy enough”. A lot of people talk themselves down from chasing their dreams by thinking this way.

There are probably a large number of negative things that you tell yourself on a regular basis, without even noticing it. These thoughts can drain any excitement you once had for a project. This may be holding you back from doing the things that need to be done to make your blog a success.

Your hesitation is not there because you’re lazy, or boring, or bad with computers. It’s because you’re telling yourself that you are!

The next time you catch yourself thinking a negative thought, notice it, evaluate it, and dismiss if it’s holding you back. Remind yourself that you need to ignore those thoughts if you’re going to be successful and happy which is I think what we are all striving for.

I’m not saying that you should go into denial, if there are things that you need to fix, then fix them. Otherwise don’t worry so much and remember that there is always room for improvement.

That is my pep talk for the day.

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So what other methods can you use to save yourself some money. Penny saved is a penny earned sorta thing. Well I’ve been trying out some points/loyalty programs at the places I normally shop anyway to see if they do anything. I really never wanted to go through the hassle of carrying and having to dig out the cards when I go shopping, but it really is no big deal.

So what are points programs?

It’s really very simple. You apply for membership at whatever store or offer you happen to want to take part in and they will usually give you a card right then and there. Otherwise you can apply for some on-line and it will come in the mail. You then collects ‘points’ on the card for every dollar you spend and can redeem them later for rebates or free items depending on the program.

Which point programs are the best?

While I cannot claim to have tried every program out there, I have tried a few and read up on a lot of others. Below are the top 3 that I am currently using, although I will keep trying others as they come up. Also, feel free to suggest any that you may have tried and liked. Or let us know about any that you didn’t like or feel don’t do anything.

AIR MILES

AIR MILES has been around quite a long time. Unlike the other two in this list, you can collect them for shopping at a bunch of different places from groceries to gas stations. You can redeem them for everything from trips and hotels, to gift certificates. My favorite is the $20 grocery gift certificate for 140 point.

Petro Canada - PETRO-POINTS

I just started this one, but seeing as I usually buy my gas at Petro Canada anyway I thought I might as well give it a try. There are quite a few things you can get with the points, but anytime you can get some free gas or a car wash it’s a good thing.

Shoppers drug mart - Optimum Club

This one is probably the best one out there. There are always deals that will get you a ton of extra points, sometimes you get more back in points than you actually spend. Also, there are some deals that are only offered to Optimum card holders.

Quick math breakdown: 1000 points will result in a rebate of $2.00 (75,000 points = $150 rebate). Find a product around $2.00 that can provide 1000 bonus points then essentially you can get the product for free. There are plenty of products available for under two dollars and are eligible for a bonus point coupon reward. Now obviously you don’t just get it for free, but eventually you get the money back in rewards rebates.

Again this is one I just started so I’ll let you all know how it works out after using it for awhile.

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One of the biggest problems that people face when trying to build a nest egg for themselves is the temptation to buy luxuries that they don’t need. This habit holds them back from having the things that they’ve always dreamed about. They really don’t think about how much they’re giving up in exchange for the instant gratification of buying something new.

This is definitely one of my problems. When I hear that I can have my own infrared sauna for only $3000 (I know its crazy!), or when I’m walking through Future Shop looking at all of the shiny new laptops that are on display; it’s all to easy to forget about my goals. Those laptops are so tempting; some of them actually call my name.

Normally I know that these are things that I really don’t need. If I bought a laptop I would make money with it, but I already have a desktop computer that I am already making money with so it’s really not necessary. Also, who really needs an in-home sauna? (I do!) I would rather hold out for a time when I’ve reached my goals and I can afford to spend money the way I want to. For now, I know that I need to stay focused on the plan.

Unfortunately, when that adrenaline hits me, I forget my senses and suddenly I’m standing in front of something that will instantly make my life as happy as I’ve always dreamed it could be. I must have it!

I’m sure this kind of thing happens to most people. That is why it’s such a bad idea to carry a credit card around with you. To have easy access to money that is not yours and that you will have to pay interest on is a bad idea. Having your money in a debit account is also a bad idea; it shouldn’t be as easy as typing in a pin number to access your savings.

Luckily I keep all of the money that I don’t need for any given pay period in a separate savings account that takes 24 hours for me to access. Usually that’s enough time for me to snap out of it (Most of the time it only takes a few minutes after walking out of the store). I also only have one credit card that is set to the lowest possible limit and that I try to leave at home as much as possible.

Before I learned these valuable tricks, I wasn’t able to save even a cent of my paycheck. I spent everything that I had every month, and usually a little more. I eventually got myself into so much debt that it took me years to get out of. I thought I was just not one of those people who could save their money. When I finally figured it out, a whole new world of possibilities opened up for me. It’s a great feeling to know that I have money set aside for when I need it and that I actually CAN save for my future.

The moral of the story is that you shouldn’t trust yourself with money, especially if you’re already in a lot of debt. No matter how much you think you know yourself; that shoppers high can hit you at any moment and it will put your dreams in jeopardy if you’re not protected.

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I am about to reveal a secret here eveyone. This is something a lot of other people do not want you to know. This information will save you so much time and frustration when starting out that you will want to give me your first born in thanks.

First, think about why you want to start making money on-line. You heard all kinds of storeys that others are doing it. You read a ton of the blogs about people like John Chow and Shoemoney and you know you can do it too. You read the latest tip about how they are making a ton with this new program, or that new method. You dream of how you are going to do the same thing and spend hours every day reading every word they write and view pictures of every meal they eat.

You really need to stop that. Seriously.

You are wasting your time if you are just starting out. Those are established blogs, and they already have the traffic to make money. You do not. You need traffic. Take all those hours you spend reading other blogs and put it into creating content for yours. Stop worrying about adsense and where you are going to put it. Stop thinking about selling any type of advertising period.

Write. Write your content. Write to your niche or chosen topic*. Keep writing, and find your voice. Write some more. Thats it. Do not try anything else yet, just create a writing schedule and stick to it. Do this for weeks or even months if you have to.

Nothing else really matters. If you cannot consistantly produce content, there really is no point. If you are writing about something that bores you, again, no point. No one is going to buy any advertising on a site with no content, and no one is going to visit a site with no passion.

So get started, I’ll let you know what to do next with tip #2 a little later.

*Please don’t start another ‘how to make money online’ blog unless that is truly your passion and you are not expecting to make any money from it.

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An endowment policy is a long term insurance policy where investments are made by the insurer on behalf of the person with the policy over a long period of time. When the term of the insurance policy ends, a lump sum payment is made to either the insured or the successor if the policy holder dies before the term ends.

If you’ve had an endowment policy for a few years, you probably have a lof of money tied up with an insurance company that you may not ever get to use for yourself. What if you need that money early? What if you want to pay off your mortgage or even retire early? Maybe you’ve found a better way of investing and want more control over the way your money is invested.

So if you want to get rid of your endowment policy, who do you sell it to? If you are looking to get out early, how do you find buyers?

When you’re trying to get rid of an insurance policy you need to find someone who knows what they’re doing when it comes to Selling Endowments. The best thing to do is to go through a company who specializes in selling these policies and has access to multiple buyers so that you get the best possible price. Endowment Express is one such company. They will give you a free quote, and promise to get you up to 35% more than your surrender value. Sounds like it might be worth a try.

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Every time you turn on the TV, look through a magazine or lay eyes on a billboard these days it seems that there are ads for 0% credit cards. The offers seem really good at first glance but when you look at the terms and conditions, it’s usually a different matter entirely. They all have so many clauses and exclusions, as well as the limited time period you have to transfer other debts, that it sees virtually impossible to catch a break and find the right deal.

Internet comparison sites can help some, but only if they include all of the big financial players in the 0% credit cards market. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but the majority of them do not. I found a great one that does though. About Your Money has a comparison table filled with the best possible deals, from the period of the interest free balance transfer right through to the overall interest rate and provider rating. There is also a 0% credit cards buyers guide to help you out with any other information you need to know.

If one of the 0% credit cards doesn’t appeal though, you could always check out the cheap loans instead. There is a whole page devoted to that as well as other financial products. Mortgages, home insurance, car insurance – it’s all here, so save yourself time, money and heartache in one go.

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Seeing as we are in the middle of tax season, I think it’s only appropriate to get you as much info as I can. In this article, John Chow talks about how he runs his blog as a corporation and what tax benefits he gets because of it.

Now that we’re in the middle of tax season, I’m getting emails on how I structured the blog for income tax purposes. In my last post about blogging and income tax, I stated that if you make money online, you must pay taxes on it. While legal deductions can help lower the tax you pay, structuring your blog properly can have an even bigger impact on the tax bill.

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Well, it’s finally happening! People are beginning to create high-quality television shows independant of television networks and broadcasting them online. It’s very exciting to see this begin to happen.

Here is the first episode of a show called Sanctuary that looks really interesting. It’s not as high quality as you would get on the website but it will give you a preview of what the show is all about. You will have to purchase the other Webisodes for around $2 each. Well worth it I think. I will be posting a list of online TV shows and will update it whenever I find a new one.

Description: While tracking a young boy with dangerous powers, Dr. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping) encounters Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne), a psychiatric resident who may have what it takes to become her new protege… Downloads Available in Quicktime and WMV

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Peruvian Riot Police getting ready to kick ass. Don’t get in the way.
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