Friday, May 21, 2010
3 (low-cost) income-generators...
Owing money is an integral part of life for most people. Whether its a home-loan, car finance or a credit card balance hanging over your head like the Sword of Damocles, there's always a way to reduce debt, without major lifestyle changes. Starting a low start-up cost home-based business that doesnt take up too much of your time is a good way to earn a second income and get back in the black. Here are three great debt-killers... 1. Rubber swings Theyre hard to find and not everyone can make their own rubber tyre swings for kids. If you can make and sell 10 swings a day at R100 each from a roadside stall and to shops, nurseries, garages etc. you could make a gross profit of R30,000. Deduct salaries for two staff members, the cost of nylon rope and fuel and you could easily be pocketing R20,000 per month clear! TIP: A law is about to be passed on scrap tyres where anyone recycling old tyres receives a subsidy. Bonus you get your tyres for free from a tyre dealer or fleet owner! Call the SA Tyre Recycling Process Co: (011) 792-0359 to get more info on forthcoming subsidies and where to get old tyres. 2. Airtime voucher printers Cell phones are probably the most universally used tech gadget in South Africa. And most of them are on pay-as-you-go vouchers. You can become an airtime mogul supplying airtime vouchers to the public. The machines look like a credit card swipe machine and are powered by cell technology so they can work anywhere, wirelessly. Call Afropay on (021) 421-5094 (or www.afropay.co.za) to rent a fully mobile machine for R275 per month (excl VAT). Your profit will come from discounts offered to you buy the tel/cell phone companies on air time sales. These discounts vary, but 10% is the average you rent one machine, put it in a high traffic zone with an operator and sell 100 x R55 Vodacom vouchers per day, youll gross R550. Deduct salary of R150 per day plus machine rental and youre looking at a net profit of R11,685.50 per month... 3. Kids on DVD Most parents work and never get to see their kids progressing at their extramural activities, be it ballet, soccer, tennis etc. This is where you can help. Hire a student with a motorbike or car to be your cameraman. Equip him with a DVD Handycam (available at Makro or HiFi Corporation for approx R3,000) and get him to film match days, coaching sessions, swimming galas, concerts, etc. In the meantime, you contact the school office to introduce your video production services. Ask for parents contact details, put up posters in the school and advertise in the school newsletter. Supply your cameraman with business cards to hand to the kids. If you can record five events a week, capturing a total of 60 kids, thats 60 DVD sales per week at R75 per DVD = R18,000 per month gross profit. Deduct the cameramans salary (R5,000), DVDs (R2,000), marketing/phone (R1,000) and youre R10,000 the richer! To beat debt you need a plan. These three part time business ideas, if managed with enthusiasm and discipline, will not only get you out of the red, but will help you build a growing asset base. Good luck!Save the world in 9 minutes (just by visiting these 3 websites)
Let's face it: Who has time to become a full-time humanitarian? I don't. And I'm sure you don't too. But I know you're a good person. And I know you want to make a difference. (You wouldn't have signed up for this e-letter if you didn't!) That's why I wanted to find some clever ways for you to "save the world" in less than 10 minutes. And the best thing is you don't even have to leave your PC to help!1. How to help children worldwideUnicef points out that over 10 million children worldwide are exploited because of poverty and lack of education. Lend a hand by becoming a family member of Serving Our World at: www.servingourworld.org. With a few clicks of the mouse, you can give a once-off donation equivalent to $30, or sign up for a monthly donation on the site. Donations help with the provision of homes, meals, education and skill training around the world. 2. How to help children closer to home...Help Cotlands to continue its good work among orphaned children by visiting: www.cotlands.org. Your sponsorship achieves the following:* R40 per month pays for sterilising agent for their bottles.* R50 buys a baby grow.* R75 can buy a tin of milk formula, which provides two weeks of three hourly feeds.* R420 pays for a childs funeral.Make a direct donation online or add a bequest to Cotlands in your Will. Forms are available from the website and can be faxed to (011) 683-6688 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (011) 683-6688 end_of_the_skype_highlighting. And if youd like to get more personally involved, Cotlands has a volunteer programme, which allows you to spend Saturday mornings with the children. 3. Soft spot for animals? Open a Nedbank Green Affinity account, which supports the World Wide Fund for Nature.Or lend the NSPCA a hand. The NSPCA is not just about dogs and cats, but also deals with farm animals, wildlife and education for pet owners in poor areas, with the goal of preventing cruelty. Banking details for your local NSPCA are available from: www.nspca.co.za. Also, click on the tag that says tell a friend, which generates an email encouraging others to get involved.You don't have to give up your job and back pack into Zimbabwe to make a difference. I really believe that the smallest things can make make a big difference. And isn't that an empowering thought?
Theres no denying that the property market is... tough right now.
But you still want to get the best possible price for your property right? Of course!
Well, before you put your house on the property market theres a scam an insider estate agent recently revealed to me...
Theres a sneaky trick that some unscrupulous estate agents use to make you think your house is worth a lot less than you think. This way you will quickly accept an "okay" offer when it comes along, instead of holding out for the big money you deserve.You see, all offers should be confirmed in writing to both the vendor and the potential buyer. But this does not always happen. The reason is that some agents like to influence the seller into taking a LOWER offer by creating the impression that the property is actually worth less.
Here's what they do. They submit a series of low offers to the vendor. These aren't ACTUAL offers. They're bogus. If you asked to see all the paperwork, you'd be regaled with excuses by a lot of red-faced agents.Now, when you get a reasonable, but still low offer, you are more likely to accept it.
For example, say the "guide price" is R500,000. The agent will submit a series of bogus offers of around R420,000. When you talk to them about what price you'd like to get, they'll always give you a slightly pessimistic view of achieving the maximum. After a while, when a low offer of around R450,000 comes in, it's easier to persuade you to accept. You'll be relieved. As will the estate agency when it chalks up another fast sell. Nice!If you are being informed of offers without written confirmation, ASK FOR IT. This gives you a paper trail of evidence if you suspect foul play. If investigated, your file should also show names, addresses and copies of the letters sent to the bidder.
TIP: When choosing an estate agent, ensure they are part of the "Estate Agency Affairs Board".
Website: www.eaab.org.za.
Tel: (011) 731-5600
2 Free tools to make your computer run faster
Let me tell you about two nifty little tools that you can use to clean up your computer and make it run a bit faster. Theyre both free to download and simple to use... For a while now, my own computer at home has been getting slower and slower.I use the Internet all the time. I download a ton of music. Sound familiar? Problem is, every time you use the computer to these ends the computer produces what are known as Temporary Internet Files. They dont take up much room; theyre just specks of dust in the bigger picture. But all that dust adds up...Imagine not vacuuming your lounge for over a year. Well I havent vacuumed my computer for much longer and during that time those unnecessary Temporary Internet Files have built up so much that theyve been slowing my computer down. It could well be the same case with your computer! Seeing how slow my computer was my friend L declared he could sort it out and set to work. He went through a number of programs but the main two he used were something called CCleaner and Spyware Blaster. A vacuum and a bouncer inside your computer Now these arent programs to replace anti-virus software but they can certainly help improve how your computer runs and speed it up a treat... As far as vacuuming up those Temporary Internet Files, you can think of CCleaner as a hoover. It quickly zips around your computer and sweeps away all the unnecessary little dust files that have built up over time. You can download CCleaner for free here: www.ccleaner.com. The other problem your computer might encounter with a lot of Internet usage is infections from whats known as spyware. Spyware refers to unwanted programs that essentially sneak on to your computer whilst youre on the Internet. Its unnerving to think such programs can get on your computer without you even knowing about it but thankfully Spyware Blaster goes a long way to solving the problem. It acts like a bouncer guarding entry to your computer. Any programs that havent got their name down on the list arent coming in. Simple as that! Download it for free and as youll see, its easy to use its just a case of following the on-screen instructions. You can download it here for free here: www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html.If you want to inject a little life back into your computer it is well worth giving these two programs a go.3 Internet freebies you wont to pay a cent for
Fabulous freebie #1: Who says you need to BUY a good book! Looking for something good to read? But dont want to spend extra on the expensive books you find in the shops... Well then these websites are perfect for you.
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