Can You Make It Instead of Buy It?


Surprisingly, YES

Once or twice a week, after my dogs are done, I break out the old cookbook I got from my mom and bake our bread.



Big deal, right? Well, when you are talking 8 to 10 loaves a week, at a savings of about a dollar a loaf, it can add up over time. I like to bake 4 loaves at a time, both to save on energy and my back! I found an old recipe for mayonnaise. Our family goes through mayonnaise fairly quickly, so it is cost effective to make my own. I had never thought of doing it before, but it is much cheaper. Easier on the environment, too.



We get our eggs from a local farmer at a substantial savings, and you don't have to use the most expensive oil, so it is quite cost effective. To buy in the store, costs probably 3.50 a jar. The same amount home made is about 1.00 a jar. Again, if its something you use a lot of, why not try making it yourself? It doesn't take long.
 
Hmmmm, To Bulk or Not To Bulk?


What an ODD Question

A word about bulk purchases. I find that this can be good, but also bad. Some things, like toilet paper, can be purchased in bulk at a substantial savings. Non-perishable, always needed. Good idea. If you are like us, though, purchasing food in bulk is NOT always a good idea. Canned goods are not only expensive for what you get, they are often not as nutritious. Frozen food can get forgotten in the bottom of the deep freeze, and then it is no saving at all. That's one thing we found was happening. We also realized that we were paying for electricity that was not being used effectively. When we turned off the freezer, our KWH (kilowatt hours) went down by 3 per day
 
My Cooking Confession


No Gourmet Zone

If you like frozen fish, like fish sticks (my kids loved them and it was about the only kind of fish they'd eat) a package that will last 2 or three suppers will keep in the small freezer section of the fridge until they are all gone. I find we don't need 4 or 5 different meats. We have one or two, and mix them around. We alternate cooked veggies with salads and potatoes with rice. I find that waste is substantially reduced this way



Again, a big savings can be had when you make your own, homemade salad dressing. Those store bought ones are outrageously expensive. You don't have to be restricted to oil and vinegar, either. Remember, you're making mayonnaise now and you can make stuff like "Thousand Island" (which is sort of a kid dressing). (I'm sure there is a gourmet out there who may one day read this and and roll their eyes), but I find many folks just don't know how to do much basic cooking anymore. Or it just never occurred to them that they could make it themselves.



Hey, lets face it. I have to face it. Ok, here's my confession. Wait for it: Cooking was just never my thing. I can do it, but it is pretty much a necessity. I like things that are easy, and I know I'm not the only one. Trick is to find things that are:



1.easy

2.inexpensive

3.nutritious (not necessarily in that order).



My dad makes some wonderful homemade soups. I have asked him to post his own lens with some of his best recipes. Now he is the king of living on a shoestring.His soups are very nutritious, not expensive to make, but best of all DEEELICIOUS! When he gets his lens done, IF HE DOES, I'll post a link!
 
Wonder of Modern Technology


And How to Use it To Your Advantage

This brings me to another item that can be a financial drain, but used well can save you money. The cell phone.



Ah, the cell phone, not just a luxury item any more. Do I really need all the bells and whistles? No. Do I need to chat for hours a day on one? No.



Now that we have those two things established, what is needed? We live in a rural area. We try not to make unnecessary trips. We feel its wise to have a way of contacting each other in case of emergency, considering the large distances. Besides this, my husband needs to be available for his clients at a moments notice.



Enter the cell phone. Pay as you go. No contracts. A low cost phone and 15 bucks every two months. Fortunately, we can also claim a portion as a business expense! Bonus!



Now, how can having a cell phone have to do with not having a freezer and not buying in bulk? I call hubby on his way home if I discover I'm running out of milk or we need a fresh lettuce for supper.
 
The Small Blanket Principle


Or, How To Juggle

Small purchases of everyday needs, such as the milk or lettuce brings me to another vital way of "making" money.



We all know, well at least anyone who has gotten this far in my lens will know, that dealing with money is often a case of managing what we have at this minute and juggling things around to make ends meet.



Sort of like sharing a small blanket with two people. There will likely NEVER be enough to cover everything. Sometimes, your toes will be cold, sometimes his elbow. By moving that blanket skillfully, you can ensure that nobody's butt is exposed!
 
 
 
Balance is hard to maintain, even IF you attain it!


The Piggy Bank Principle

Little Things Mean A Lot

Some people hold onto their bills, thinking, "I don't have enough to pay that this week." So they wait. They try to pay off large amounts.



This rarely works. Usually, if there is money in your pocket, it will be spent on whatever is needed and the bills get bigger and bigger.



Here's where the blanket analogy comes in. Instead of buying in bulk, or getting a large grocery order once a week, much of which may well be wasted, buy just what you need for a day or two, and spend the difference keeping all your bills at a manageable size. Its an awful lot easier to part with 50 dollars on your electricity bill than 200. Keep moving the "blanket" around so that most "parts" are kept warm, and you never expose yourself to a really bad or unmanageable situation.



This is, simply put, the principle applied in a credit counselling service.Its all about management. Hey, bet you'd never thought you'd be in management?!
 
Ever Find Money In The Wash?


Did You Know Your Dryer Wasn't Eating Just Your Socks?

Back to money "making" suggestions.



When our dryer died, we decided not to replace it. (We haven't actually given it a decent burial yet) Let me tell you, it didn't owe us a penny. We bought it nearly 6 years earlier for 50 bucks!



Anyway, we dry stuff on the line outside and in the winter, in the house near the woodstove. My husband rigged up a special line.



Yes, it is a bit of a nuisance when you are used to a dryer, but it doesn't take long to get used to the savings.



Just a word. I draw the line at washing machines. I INSIST on having one. My husband goes through a lot of work clothes, so hand washing is just not cost effective or efficient. So there!



We got a high efficiency unit, and it ain't going anywhere! We noticed a drop in electricity consumption at this point too. Yeah for the environment, as well.
 
A Little "Sock" Joke (Pun Definitely Intended)


Question: Ever wonder what happens to socks when they disappear in the laundry?



Answer: I don't know about in your house, but in mine, they are re-incarnated as

plastic grocery bags!!!

Pay To Click?


How About - Get Paid to Pick (up)?

One final idea that I want to share comes from these pay to click sites.



Yeah okay, go ahead and click and make a few pennies when you are online. Better than sitting in front of a TV set and making nothing.



I have a better idea though.



For 5 or 10 cents each, you can pick up refundable bottles and cans you find. It is also great for the environment, and good for your health when you are out in the fresh air getting your exercise!
 
 
My daily routine


Actually, "pseudo-routine" would be more accurate.

The marvellous thing about working at home, whether at a business, or making it your business to "make" money by making it go further, is the FLEXIBILITY. You have complete control over your schedule. (well, maybe mommies not so much when kids are little or in school). I don't go by someone else's clock or schedule. (Come to think of it, I don't go by a clock or schedule of my own. That's why I like having appointments, so I have a client to answer to!)



What energy I do have, I tend to have early in the day and like to make my client bookings in the morning. Of course, at some times of the year, I don't have much choice, but when business is a little slower, I like take advantage of my natural energy cycle,or rather, my naturally low energy reserves. Sorry, no supermom here.



I can set my own hours, and a lot of my money MAKING work can be done AROUND my money SAVING work. I am at home.That means a savings of time. Wheels within wheels!



It means that I besides making it my business to save money, I can spend a little time in volunteering work. This gets you out of the house, if you are getting a little stir crazy and you can take your little ones, (if you still have them) to play groups.
 
 
My tips for keeping a good work-life balance from home


Work life balance, for me, is a moot point. It sort of works itself out, simply because of the control I have over my work and my hours of business.



This year, I was thrilled to be able to volunteer to help my daughter's cosmetology class raise funds for their annual field trip. It felt so good to be a part of her life like that. There was no way I ever had the time or flexibililty to do that when I worked for companies. Yes, I made good money, but the balance was NOT there. My kids were growing up without me.



Combining a work at home opportunity with a more "traditional" lifestyle, has been working for me now for 3 years. Its great, and I hope many others, especially moms find just the right situation so they can be there for their children.

Hold the Presses!

My last blog entry,  I mentioned that I thought I was going to have to build my site from the ground up. I thought there were no administrative pages or options, like on Blogger and I would have to learn coding!
A scary thought indeed.

Here though, is an example of learning the ropes as  you go along. I tend to try to do as much as I can on my own. I hate to bother anyone. However, it occurred to me that I am paying a fee to the hosting company and that's part of what the fee is for. SUPPORT.

I contacted them about my problem. I couldn't access the administrative page. I was coming in as if I were a visitor with no ability to change or add anything! What good was that?

In a fluster, I contacted support and explained the problem. They looked and it turns out that I was right, there was a problem. In a few minutes, they had me up and running and my website is well on its way. I have quite a bit of work to do with it, but at least I've got a good start!

Want to take a peek? Here's the link: Groom Your Dog - Tips

Hey, if you've got a critique, I'd be delighted to hear it!

Web Sites, Domains and Hosting - YIKES!

If you've ever embarked on a journey or an endeavour, you will likely understand that as you go along, you realize how little you understood at the beginning about what you were undertaking.

If you want to work from home as a serious blogger, webmaster, you will need to move from a free blogging site, like this one, to a self-owned domain and hosted by one of many companies.

Some free blogging sites such as this one, limit the kind of advertising that may be done, so if you are trying to make an income, trying to really work from home as a business, the next step will take you into a small investment in domains and hosts.

Once you set up a domain, get it hosted, you will need to download a web building program. However, unlike Blogger or other program hosted by Google or Yahoo, the site will need to be built from the ground up. It is becoming apparent to me that the user friendly set up here is only available because it has been set up by experts in the field. Your own site is not that easy! I'm getting into an area now of having to build elements into my site, which are already pre-programmed into Blogger. Like the edit feature, settings designs and the ability to monetize a site.

So, here I am stuck at a point which I think happens to a lot of us. What is the answer? Fortunately, the programs have tutorials. So its read read read, for me.

Be aware though, as I was not, of the masses of work ahead of you before you start on a site building, web marketing enterprise. Hmmmm, babysitting is starting to look pretty good!

Back Links - Powerful Guides To Showcase Your Work

I have been reading scads of information over the last couple of days that talk about the importance of backlinks. It really cannot be stressed enough that backlinks are a major tool that any successful SEO optimizer must understand and utilize.

I even found an article on Squidoo that explains how to make backlinks with html coding! Now, it seemed to work on my Word program, but it didn't work on the Squidoo lens I was trying to make! I don't know at this point what I was doing incorrectly, but it may be that parts of the Squidoo program don't allow linking in the body of your article. That was true in the case of an Ezine article I was writing. You had to find the appropriate place for your links, and place them in it.

When I find that little gem, I will post it.

In the meantime, I am practising with backlinking on Blogger, and you may find this Article On Saving Money (heh heh, like my linking?) enjoyable.

In addition, here is the link to the excellent Squidoo article that I was referring to How To Create Backlinks
I guarantee, if you are a newbie, you will want to put this article in your "favourites".

While you're visiting, set up an account at Squidoo. It can play importantly in your backlinking efforts.

It is considered a "Web 2.0 property". What is that, you well may ask? It's not easy to get a definition, because apparently its meaning is a little nebulous, but I think it means the popular sites that are easy to use, interactive and are "do follow" as far as search engines are concerned.

From what I understand at this stage of the game, is that there are sites that Google simply looks at, there are others it checks for links and follows them, hopefully to your site, and therefore, the process can boost your web presence and ultimately your SERP (search engine ranking p) I think the acronym should actually be SEPR (search engine page ranking) but SERP sounds better when you say it, doesn't it!?

Now, if you are on a Web 2.0 site, and you have an account, you want to put links on your articles that point back to your blog or site. What used to be called reciprocal links is easier when you are technically reciprocating to yourself. I think it could be compared to the Hansel and Gretel story, leaving behind breadcrumbs to follow.

Visit these sites, produce and post good quality, relevant articles that can refer to your monetized site.

Squidoo has the added benefit of being able to be monetized too, so you may be pleasantly surprised to find it makes a little cash. This is what one blogger found. Read what she says. Update on Earnings

Working From Home - Quality Should Come First

Naturally, when you are online, reading about all those money making opportunities that "anyone" can do, and are so easy, it is tempting to get impatient for something to start happening.

There is no doubt about it - if you want to work at home by blogging and web marketing, you are going to have to do a lot of reading and researching before you do any writing, well, you can do plenty of writing, but the money making, that may take a while.

You will hear the ones that say easy, quick, blah blah, but there are many more saying, "quality content" "quality work".  I, for one, am really glad. I remember the days of junky links! It was a real pain! Surfing was just that, skimming over the surface, because there wasn't much in the way of depth.

I'd much rather take the time and build for the long term, than try to get it done quickly and let quality suffer.

So, it is going to take time, if you want to do a good job. Take the time. It will be worth it in the long run.
I guess I can't really say that at this point in my own journey, but based on what I'm learning from others, it is truly the case.

I'd like to give a nod to some of the fabulous sites I've been visiting lately Biz Chick Blogs ,  Flippa Chick. Try also, and this is one I REALLY identify with, Passive Income Online

Work From Home - Other Ideas

I should say, that though I'm attempting this new venture, it isn't the first of my jobs from home.
There are lots of work at home opportunities that you can try.

Several years ago, I trained as a dog groomer. I worked at that from home for over 3 years. It is something you can work at from your own home, and the start up costs are quite reasonable. If you love animals, it is an excellent work at home opportunity.

I found that my business grew not just with grooming clientele, but also dog daycare requests. I was surprised how many people are on the look out for someone to take their pet in for a few days, in a home environment.

You should be located in a high traffic area. We are rather rural and out of the way, so my business was limited largely due to the distances involved. However, I know, that had I been in a position to move to town, I would have had a busy, full time business.

Of course, we are talking here about home based business or work from home ideas and opportunities. You could open a separate location, but that would require that you are not actually working from home.

One of the big draws of working from home, is the much lower overhead. You can work your business right out of your own premises, and that cuts down dramatically on your up front costs.

Posting or Optimizing - The Chicken and Egg Question of Online Marketing

I've said before on this blog that web marketing is hard, tedious work. It takes a lot of time.  I came across a site yesterday, and it is one of many programs, that claims to provide you with a way of setting up your web based, work from home business, without having to understand a lot of the technical stuff that goes with it.

Now, I know there's a lot to learn. I'm pretty sure that plunking down some money to some web hosting company, whose programs have all the "bells and whistles", would be easier. That may give me an edge on getting my blog or web page out there. But if you don't have the money, you have to do the slogging and the legwork. That is precisely what this blog is about. The slogging, the false starts, the frustration, the learning curve. I hope it will eventually be about the victory.

I find it gets discouraging when you listen to these presentations and think, "Boy, I'd sure like to just do the fun stuff" or "I had no idea about "metatags" or "links? what links? How do I get links?" You think you've gotten a handle on the process, but then you realize how little you actually know. And the bills keep piling up. Ever notice they seem BIGGER when you don't have a steady income stream!?!

Of course, I hope to understand all this stuff eventually, and to pass on what I've learned to others. Maybe, for you, the way to go is to buy they programs that the hosters offer. Whatever you choose to do, I hope it makes your work at home dreams come true!

The question of what to do first, as stated in my title, is kind of circular, just like the debate of the chicken and the egg. In reality, though, since life was created, the chicken came first, and reproduced after its kind, so I need a "chicken", a content rich blog or website. Then, with some "meat" to work with, I build the other stuff around it.

I have been busy in the background, building relationships, inviting people I 'meet' online, to check out my blog, offer feedback. I do the same for them. I think its only fair. "Do unto others, as you would have them do to you." Excellent principle. Help others and they will do the same for you.

I have, as a result, some "followers" some comments and a feeling of reaching some sort of goal.

The goal of all sites is TRAFFIC. Ultimately, your goal is to make a living. Traffic translates eventually into business.