Before going into how I plan to make $5,000 in side income this year, I thought I would mention why. Why not just focus on making more at work? $5,000 doesn’t seem like much, why not $50,000 or enough to replace the income from my job?

First, I wanted to make non-job income so that it would be independent of whether I was working. Working hard and getting a big raise is nice, but what happens when you move? I want to find ways to make money that work regardless of where I am or what I do from 9-5.

Second, I chose $5,000 precisely because it was a more attainable figure than “make as much as I do at work” or “make $50 grand”. I didn’t want to give myself the excuse that “Well, it’s OK to fail at this goal because it’s so big. Really, I have so little chance that it’s hardly worth trying.” $5,000 in a year is less than $2 per day. On the other hand, investing an extra $5,000 annually adds up to $250,000 or so over 20 years (at 8% return). Not bad at all!

OK, that’s all well and good but first I have to actually make the money! I’ve decided on a two pronged approach. Prong 1 is the old standby of credit card arbitrage. A bit late to the party for me, but there are still 0% balance transfers out there, and since I have good credit I intend to take advantage of this. Projected income: $500-1000

Prong #2 is the real meat of the plan: I will start an affiliate marketing business with an initial budget of $250. I chose affiliate marketing because I’ve been interested in marketing and copy-writing for years, and it’s finally time to do something more than read about it! I will establish the business as it’d own entity (more on selecting and setting up a business structure later in the week), with periodic updates on progress and any helpful tidbits I learn along the way. Projected income: $4,000+

It’s going to be an interesting (and hopefully profitable) year!

Business, income | 1 Comment »

Wow, super busy week at work to start the new year, so I have to confess I’m behind in my reading of blogs. Thus, the links are a bit abbreviated this week, but I promise I’ll be back on top of things soon!

• As you may have noticed, the New Year started on Tuesday (and if you didn’t notice…wow. Just…wow). Most of the blogs in the blogroll posted resolutions, both financial and otherwise. Personally, I’m not a big resolution guy, but I did resolve to make $5,000 in side income in 2008. Monday I’ll start outlining just how I plan to make that happen.

• Oil hit $100 per barrel for the first time this week, and gas prices are back above $3/gallon here in Wisconsin. At Gen X Finance, Jeremy had a great article on how to invest to help offset increasing gasoline costs. Check it out and maybe next time everyone else is complaining about the increased cost of filling up, you can be chortling about the

• The start of a new year also means another chance to max out your retirement savings. But how do you decide which investment vehicle is the best place for your limited dollars? Free Money Finance chimed in on investing in a Roth IRA vs a traditional IRA or non-matched 401(k). I fall squarely in the middle on this one: I think there are enough advantages to investing pre-tax money (401k & trad IRA) and after-tax money (Roth) that you should have have both types, and invest based on your current tax rate and projected future needs. Have your cake and eat it too!

• Finally, Madison at My Dollar Plan had a great little collection of financial calculators. Don’t just guess about your savings, investing, retirement, or insurance needs, take advantage of these free tools and refine your figures!

Well, I hope everyone had a safe and happy first week of 2008. Don’t forget to check back Monday for the first outline of my 2008 extra income project!

Miscellaneous | 5 Comments »

Wow, hard to believe it’s already 2008. Time once again to see if my Michigan Wolverines can lose another bowl game (7-7 tie with Florida right now, so at least it’s not yet inevitable!) and start thinking about the year to come.

I’ve never been big on new years resolutions, but I did decide to make a financial one this year. I resolve to make at least $5,000 this year from sources other than my job. To some people this might not be much, but hey, ya gotta start somewhere! Over the next week I will be going into much more detail of how I plan to reach this goal, following each step I will be taking to find a business opportunity, select an appropriate business structure, and get started. Stay tuned!

Edit: Final score Michigan 41 Florida 35, Go Blue!

Miscellaneous | No Comments »