Craigslist.org has fast become an Internet favorite for buying and selling new and used items. It can be a gold mine when you need to get rid of unused items or make some extra cash. As with most markets, there is a standard and some guidelines to selling things. Here is a guide review before selling on Craigslist.

Preparing to Post Your Item

Before posting your item you should prep it. If it is an article of clothing, give it a quick wash. If you have an old cellular phone or laptop, clear the contacts and history of all personal information. Vacuum and clean out furniture if you are trying to sell that. Sprucing up your item just a little can make it look buyer-ready.

Do a little research. Search craigslist for similar items to see what the going price is. Also, check the price against sites like eBay or Amazon.com. You want to price your item competitively but not too low just to make the sale.

Take great pictures. Most buyers on craigslist tend to skip over an ad that does not have a photo attached to it. Since the majority of items are used, buyers want to see what they are going to be purchasing and to see for themselves what condition it is in. Set up your item in natural light to show the item as close to real life as possible.

Be detailed. When you craft your post, provide details regarding the item you are selling. You do not have to include the entire product listing, but do highlight the best features of the item.  For example, if you are selling a camera, include the specs and how many megapixels it is.

Be honest. You want to make your item look good, but you should also be honest. If there is something wrong with the item, or if something is missing, mention it in your ad. You do not want to mislead anyone and end up wasting both the buyer and your own time. also,  if your time does have damage  or is missing something, make sure that your asking price reflects that.

During  and After the Sale

Communicate. If the item you posted is a hot item at a great price, be prepared for a bunch or replies. If you choose to go with the anonymous email address provided by Craigslist, buyers will not know your personal email address until you reply to their inquiry. To be fair, it is best to reply to the emails in the order you received them. At this point if you feel comfortable giving out your phone number, you can reply with your number or just continue to do business via email.

Use cash only. Like a garage sale, stick to just cash. There are many scammers out there and you can never really trust anyone you deal with on Craigslist. Never accept a personal check, you never know if it will bounce once the buyer has the item.

If your item is not selling, consider dropping your rate. If your item has been listed for a while and is not selling, you can start dropping your price. If that still does not work, consider giving it away or trading it. Craigslist has a free stuff section where you can post it and have someone come pick it up for free. If you want to trade it, alter your post to state that you are taking trades for your item. If you have certain items in mind that you might like, you can also list them as a wish list.

Consider donating your item. If you itemize your taxes, instead of posting it in the free section, you may want to donate it to Goodwill or another organization. You will get a receipt that you can use when you file your taxes to deduct your charity contributions.

Remove your post. Once you have sold the item, delete your posting to save other buyers the hassle of emailing you for nothing. Simply click on your account and look for your posting and click the Delete tab.

Craigslist.org is a great online community where you can sell your unused and unwanted items.  Before listing your items, make sure that you have it cleaned and looking nice. Take great pictures that represent your item well and craft a descriptive listing. When dealing with buyers, stick to cash and your sale will go smoothly.

When you have kids, you begin to worry about how you will pay for their college education. It is best to start early so that you can build their college fund as they get older. Here are some options for college savings and some other ways to save for your kids’ college.

Qualified Tuition Program A Qualified Tuition Program (QTP) or 529 plan is a savings plan with tax advantages. While contributions to your Qualified Tuition Program are not tax deductible federally, some qualified distributions are. Certain states will offer programs where parents can prepay tuition or use the money to invest in their kids’ education expenses.

Contributions to a 529 plan cannot exceed the necessary amount that will provide the college expenses of the beneficiary. The college student will not have to list it as income on their taxes unless the amount they receive from the QTP is higher than their total college expenses.

Coverdell Education Savings Account

An Education Savings Account, or ESA, is another option for saving for college. The main difference between this account and a 529 plan is that there is a contribution limit on the Education Savings Account. According to the IRS, total contributions cannot exceed $2,000 in a given calendar year, no matter how many Savings accounts you open. In addition, the contributions to the ESA are not tax deductible, but will be tax free until the funds are distributed. Also, the beneficiary will not be taxed on the distributions of the funds as long as the amount is less than the beneficiary’s expense at a qualified college institution.

There are some limits on the contributions based on the contributor’s gross income. The contributions can be made until the contributor’s return due date, however extensions are not allowed. Also, tax laws tend to change from calendar year to calendar year so you should periodically check the IRS website to stay up to date with laws.

Other Ways to Save For College

Investing in stocks is a good way to save money for your childrens’ college education. They are a great way to keep your savings on pace for the long run. A disadvantage to investing in stocks is that as your child gets closer to college age, the risk of losing money becomes greater simply because colleges will not defer your tuition bills just because you may have lost money in a stock market crash.

As you child nears school age, you can start thinking about investing your money in bonds and mutual funds. Keep your accounts simple and invest in bonds and mutual funds that have low expenses and a three to five year track record. These accounts are good because you can have your bank make automatic contributions from another account you have each month. Most financial investors will recommend basing the amount you contribute on the age of your child. If your child is younger than eight, you should invest anywhere from 60%-95% of your funds in stocks. If you choose to invest in a balanced fund where you have a predetermined ratio of money in your stocks and bonds, 60/40 is a prudent number.

As your child gets a little older, between nine and 13, you should be a bit more conservative with your investment portfolio. Start putting more money into your bonds and less in your stock funds. Once you child hits high school, you will want to conserve the money you have earned already. To do this, you can move your assets into a savings or money market account, or a short-term bond account for the next four years  so that you can cash it out when you child finished high school.

If the amount you have accumulated exceeds $10,000, you may want to consider putting them in a Treasury bill so you can gain interest and not worry about having to pay any fees to the fund company. Saving for your kids’ college tuition can seem like a daunting task. Luckily, there are many options for you to invest your money in so that it will grow as your child gets older. Some accounts will allow you to deduct the earnings from your taxes, and other accounts will let you be as aggressive or as mild as you want to be.

Many lotions that can be purchased at a drugstore contain chemicals and are costly. Homemade lotions can be just as effective but are cheaper to make and safer for your skin. By making your own lotions, you will know exactly what is in them and you will be able to control the ingredients and the price. Here are some tips on how to make homemade lotions, and a couple of basic recipes that use many items you have at home already.

All lotions are essentially made up of the same parts. They all contain oil, some water and an emulsifier that acts as a natural preservative to keep the oil and water from separating. You use liquid oils for a thinner lotion, or solid ones like butters for a thicker one. Using water in the lotion makes it easier for bacteria to breed in the lotion so any lotions you make should be made in small amounts and used up quickly. Left over lotion should be kept in the refrigeration to hinder bacteria growth.

You may also want to add essential oils or extracts for added benefits. For example, tea tree oil is antibacterial and good for healing pimples and other cuts. Fennel is antiseptic and also good for stimulating circulation. Lavender is good for relaxation, and also has antibacterial properties. Essential oils and extracts can be added one at a time or mixed together.

Some lotion ingredients that you may have already include carrier oils such as olive oil, coconut oil, kukui nut oil and sesame oil. Other items that are commonly found in the house that are good for lotions are honey, green tea, fennel seed and orange juice. Other ingredients that you may need to purchase are borax for preserving, rose water for hydration, aloe vera gel for healing, beeswax for thickening and hardening and essential oils for their additional properties.

A basic but effective recipe for homemade facial lotion includes one to two tablespoons of beeswax, about 1/3 cup of a carrier oil of your choice, ½ cup distilled, filtered or rose water, one teaspoon of vitamin oil and about ten drops of grapefruit seed extract. You may choose to add glycerin to make it more emollient if you have dry skin or essential oils if you want other benefits.

Using a boiler, slowly warm the oils and wax together. Remove the mixture from the heat and pour in the vitamin E. Warm your water in a separate pot until it is lukewarm; your lotion will separate if the water is too cold so make sure you do not overlook this step. Next, pour the warm water into the oil and wax mix and stir with a whisk until the mixture is uniform in color. Add in the grapefruit seed extract and any essential oils. Put your lotion into a clean plastic or glass jar and let it cool before covering. If the water and oils separate, give it a shake before using.

To make an easy hand lotion, use 1 and ¼ cups of hot water, ¼ cup beeswax, ¼ cup olive oil and 24-36 drops of an essential oil of your choice. Combine the olive oil and wax and heat in the microwave about one minute until the wax is melted. The temperature should read 155 degrees. Heat the water to about 120 degrees in the microwave. While you are doing this you can add any essential oils to your wax and oil mixture. Pour the hot water into the mixture and the pour the whole thing into smaller jars for storing and let it cool overnight.

These recipes are very easy to add to. You can add more essential oils or herbs to make the lotion more suited for your skin type. If you do not want to use beeswax because it is too hard, you can also make your own emulsifying beeswax lotion. Use one cup of olive oil, half a cup of coconut oil, half a cup of beeswax pastilles or two ounces of solid beeswax, ½ teaspoon of vitamin E oil and about 20 drops of an essential oil if you wish to add one.  Mix together the olive oil, coconut oil and wax in a jar. Put the jar into a saucepan and fill the saucepan with water until it goes about ¾ of the way up the jar. Make sure you do not get water into the jar. Turn the stove on to a medium low heat and stir the mixture occasionally until it is all melted. Allow it to cool in the refrigerator or at room temperature. While it is cooling, stir the lotion every 15 minutes using a fork. Once it has cooled, add the vitamin E and any other oils.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkCr9KQMQpw

We all make efforts to save money, but the cost of living still makes a dent in our wallets. From food and home repair to transportation and entertainment, there are some things that we must spend money on. Luckily, there are ways to save money. Here are some tips to help you live on less.

Save on Food

1.       Purchase your food in bulk. If you shop at a health food store, purchase dry ingredients from the bulk bins rather than those that are packaged. Also, look for mail-order companies that will let you order your food supplies in bulk.

2.       Skip the prepackaged foods. Buying your ingredients separate is typically cheaper than buying food that is already packaged. You will have to cook more, but you will save on food costs.

3.       Pick produce that is in season. Fruit and vegetables that are in season tend to be cheaper, just because they are more abundant. Stock up on produce when they are at their cheapest and freeze them to preserve them for later.

Building Your Dream Home

1.       Search through local realtor’s listings to find property that is selling for cheap. Many states have penny papers where you can find homes listed for less.

2.       Save on building material. If you need to do some renovations, search your area for someone who is renovating as well and ask if you can buy unused or unneeded material from them. You can also check your local yellow pages for used building supplies.

3.       Barter for services. If you have a skill that is useful, see if you can make a deal to trade services with carpenters, painters, electricians or plumbers.

Keep Utilities Down

1.       Turn off appliances. Many appliances use electricity even when they are not in use. Unplug cell phone chargers and turn off computers when you do not need them.

2.       Utilize weather. Rather than running the air conditioner all the time, take advantage of the winds. Open up all the windows to allow maximum air flow. When you want to heat your home, take advantage of any sunlight before turning on the heat.

3.       Switch your light bulbs. Change your light bulbs to energy-saving bulbs. They last longer and burn less energy.

Save on Transportation

1.       Plan to carpool. If you have friends that work nearby, or happen to live close to co-workers, start a carpool. Some cities also have services that can help link you with other carpoolers in your area.

2.       Monitor your mileage. Keep track of how much gas you use, and try to improve on it. Make sure that your tires are inflated, do not speed and watch harsh braking and revving.

3.       Consolidate your errands. Plan your day so that your errands can be done with one trip rather than multiple ones. If you need to visit a few stores in one area, make plans to shop at all of them on the same day so you will not be driving back and forth.

4.       Consider converting your car. You can convert your car to run on vegetable oil rather than diesel fuel. This will cost you money upfront, but you will save in the long run one gas. Simply, contact restaurants in your area and ask if they can give you their used oil rather than throwing it away.

Shopping for Cheap

1.       Shop end of season sales. Many items will go on sale at the close of the season. Winter jackets loose value at the end of the cold season and swimsuits are marked down at the end of the summer. Hit the sales and purchase your clothes for the upcoming season ahead of time.

2.       Check out garage sales and consignment stores. Drive around looking for garage sales, or check craigslist.org for listing of garage sales. You can also check consignment stores for slightly used clothes at great prices.

3.       Look for quality. If you are going to buy new clothes, look for something that will last. You may pay a little more for the item, but you will get many years worth of wear out of it.

4.     Hold a clothes swap. Gather your friends and family members and have a clothes swapping party. Have everyone bring clothes that are in good condition that they no longer wear and everyone can sift through and go home with new-to-them items.

5. Shop online – Most of the times, shopping online is a cheaper alternative to buying from retail stores. In addition, you can use online coupon codes to make saving even better.

Entertainment on the Cheap

1.       Visit the library. Most public libraries have thousands of books, but they also have CDs and DVDs that you can rent for either fee for cheap.

2.       Volunteer your services. If you frequent concerts or shows, see if you can volunteer to work at the venue in exchange for free shows.

3.       Take turns playing host. If you and your friends like to entertain, alternate whose home the gathering is at. This will alleviate the costs of hosting every now and then.

4.       Vacation for cheap. If you cannot afford to fly somewhere, consider having a stay-cation and vacationing somewhere local. You can also go camping or rent a beach house or cabin.

With so many gifts to buy, many people tend to use credit cards during the holiday season. Unfortunately, this leaves us with high credit card bills that need to be paid soon or they will start to accumulate high interest rates very quickly. Here are solutions to help you pay off holiday debt quickly and easily.

Start by making a budget for yourself. This will help you identify if you are currently spending more than you need to. Divide your expenses into necessities and extras and compare the total amount to your income. Out of the extras, determine if you really need everything in that category. Purge your monthly spending to jus the necessities in order to save money to pay off your debt.

Return any unused purchases. If you bought in bulk for friends and family but did not use all the gifts, return what you can. Unused purchases are basically money sitting around. Take them back to the store and have the amount out back on your credit cards. If you paid with cash, take the cash back and apply it to a credit card bill.

Prioritize your debts from most important to least dire. Mortgage, rent and car payments should be on the top of the list. Next, list the rest of your debt such as loans and credit cards. Make a plan to pay the minimum amount due on all of the debts except for the highest one. Use whatever monies are you now saving to pay off as much as you can on the highest debt. Continue doing this until you have paid off one debt. Then recycle the money you were paying on that card to the next card to be paid off.

If you find you are having a hard time making your minimum monthly payments, contact you creditors and request a hardship status. This means they can put your account on hold for a short amount of time. You can also try to work out a payment schedule with your creditors. They may be able to provide you with a longer payment term with lesser minimum payment amounts.

You may also want to contact a debt solution firm, which can help you by negotiating with your creditors on your behalf. A debt solution firm can work with creditors to lower your principal amount due and earn you better repayment terms saving you money. Be careful when making the decision to use a debt solution firm because it will be reflected on your credit report and as you needed help getting out of debt.

If your debt problem does not require debt solution but you do feel like you need assistance, consider credit counseling. These companies will work with creditors to reduce interest rates only. They cannot reduce principal amounts owed like a debt solution firm can. A credit counselor can still help you lower your monthly payments, however, you may end up stretching the term out for a longer period of time.  Your credit report will also show that you enrolled in a credit counseling program, which new creditors view as a negative.

In the most extreme cases, you can file for bankruptcy. Chapter 7 bankruptcy will wipe out all your debt, but is difficult to get approved for. Chapter 13 will help reduce debt, but you will still need to pay back the debt via a repayment plan. The state will determine if you have enough funds to pay back at least part of the debt. A bankruptcy ruling remains on your credit report for ten years.

Keep track of all your progress. One of the best ways to keep yourself motivated is to actually see the progress you are making. Treat yourself to a little treat every time you pay off a credit card or bring down your balance considerably. By seeing that you are getting somewhere will encourage you and keep you on track.

Holiday debt can put a damper on the good feeling the Christmas season left you. Start getting rid of your debt by creating a budget, returning unused purchases and paying off your credit cards one by one. If you need to, do not hesitate to seek help with your debt.

The holiday season is still in our memories, especially the amount of money we needed to spend. Every year, the Christmas season brings good food, family and empty pocketbooks. Luckily, there are many little things you can do to start saving for Christmas starting early in the year. Follow these tips and you can save money for Christmas this year.

Start by making a list of the people you will need to shop for this year. Then, take a look at what you spent last year and compare it to your budget. Is the amount you spent too high or too low? Figure out how you would like to adjust it this year.

Going off the amount of people you have to buy gifts for and what your budget it, determine how much you want to spend for Christmas this year. Take that number and divide that by 12. Make sure the amount you get is manageable each month. If not, you may want to go back and reevaluate your Christmas list and spending limit.

If you find that the monthly amount is one that you can live with, you may want open a separate Christmas bank account, and set up  automatic transfers once a month.  That way, you will have your Christmas money set aside and you will never need to worry about saving the money because it’s automatically done for you.

If you are not able to save throughout the year, do not worry. There are other things you can do to make sure your Christmas will not be an extremely expensive one. Sign up at your favorite supermarkets for their loyalty cards. Some stores may offer seasonal giveaways or rebate offers.

Designate a large change jar for your Christmas fund. Whenever you have loose change, put it into the jar. This can be just a few cents when you have some in your pocket or wallet, or you can choose to use nothing but even dollars during the day and empty all the change into the change jar in the evening.

If you are in charge of the family finances, you round amounts down when you balance the checkbook. If your ending balance is $321, round down to $300 and write yourself a check for $21. Do not cash the check, but hold on to it until the holiday season. By then, your extra funds will have added up and you will have a nice holiday fund.

Another way to save money is to give up one thing a day. If you indulge in gourmet coffee each day, switch to the coffee that’s brewed in your company coffee pot. You will save yourself about five dollars a day. If you substitute the coffee five days a week, you could save $100 a month just by giving up one small luxury.

If saving money is not the best route for you, you can talk to the people on your gift list to see if you figure out something for the upcoming holiday that can help everyone save money.  Implement a secret Santa gift exchange so that you will only need to purchase one gift.

If your family does not want to do a secret Santa exchange, you can suggest a dollar amount cap for gifts. This can make it easier for you to not spend too much, but also not feel bad if others tend to spend a lot on gifts.

You can consider starting a family tradition where instead of gifts you all spend quality time together. It can be a family stay-cation , seeing a Christmas show together, volunteering at a homeless shelter together or just taking a drive to see the holiday sites in the neighborhood.

If you are crafty, you can make this year a handmade holiday. There are many quality gifts that you can make yourself. It you knit or crochet, you can make everyone scarves, sweaters or mittens. If you sew, you can make families matching pajama pants or shirts. If your forte is cooking and baking, then homemade cookies and other treats are always good gifts. Also, if you have your own garden, homemade salsa can make a great gift as well.

Christmas tends to be a season for love and cheer, but also for spending a lot of money. By follow these tips you can start saving money for Christmas this year.

Everyone loves getting new clothes. But shopping often can get pricey. Here are some tips that can help you get new clothes, but still save money and stay within your budget.

-Look through the clothes you have. Go through your closet, storage, boxes, anywhere you may have stashed clothes. You may surprise yourself and find clothes you completely forgot about, some may still even have tags on them. Not only does this allow you to rediscover clothes you hardly wear, you will also be able to evaluate your clothes and decide if you really need to purchase more.

-Check prices online before going to the store. Often times, online retailers will sell the same item at a reduced rate. Also, the site may have a newsletter that you can sign up for that will give you a discount or coupon to use on your purchase.

-If you do shop online, look for coupon codes. Check webcouponcodes.com for any codes for that particular store. Coupon codes combined with online store savings can really get you a great deal.

-Buy out of season. If you buy clothes just as they are coming out of season, chances are you will find some great sales. Stores need to clear out clothes these clothes, and sell them at discounted prices. Look for winter clothes in the spring time, and summer clothes just as autumn hits. You may have to store your clothes until next season, but you would have saved quite a bit on them.

-Wait to buy the newest clothes in the store. After an item stays in the store for a month or two, they usually get moved to the sale or discount racks. Try holding off as long as you can to purchase the item, and get it once it becomes discounted.

-Take advantage of buy one get one sales. This does not necessarily mean that you need to get more than one for yourself. Go shopping with a friend and split the deal.

-Ask if there is a sale coming up. When you see an item that you really want, inquire with the sales person if it might go on sale anytime soon before buying it. If it scheduled to go on sale the next day, they might let you take the item at the discounted price the day before.

-Look at discount chain stores. Chain stores such as T.J. Maxx,Saks   Fifth Avenue, Ross, Walmart, and Target do carry some designer clothes at discounted prices. They also carry shoes and hand bags at much lower prices then retail stores.

-Look at outlet stores too. Many of your favorites stores have sister outlet stores. Some of the clothes sold there may be a season behind, but you will save yourself money clothes from the brand that you like.

-Check out vintage stores. Old clothes come back in style. Trends come and go, but there are some that seem to creep back up again. Look at vintage or thrift stores for some old clothes that are fashionable again.

-Shop consignment stores. Consignment stores are great for shopping for discounted designer clothes for you or your kids. The stores will only take in clothes that are re-sellable and in good condition, so you know you will not have to wade through a ton of unusable clothing.

-Look for yard sales. These will not be new clothes, but like with shopping vintage or consignment, they will be new to you clothes. Look on craigslist.org or your neighborhood grocery store bulletin board for yard sale notices. You may get lucky and find clothes that were never worn that people forgot they had and either outgrew or just did not want it by the time they rediscovered it.

-Trade clothes with friends or family. Do you know someone who is the same size as you? See if they are interested in swapping clothes. This can actually be fun. It will be like getting a whole new wardrobe without having to spend any money.

-For children’s clothes, accept hand me downs. Ask friends and family to save their older kids’ clothes for you. Be sure to do the same for others. Save clothes your little ones have outgrown. You never know who might have a baby next and you can pass on your old clothes to them.

-Use gift cards if you have them. Keep them in your wallet, your purse, anywhere that will help you remember to bring them along. If you have some that were gifts and you do not shop at that particular store, you can swap them for someone else’s gift cards on cardavenue.com.

New clothes are fun and make you feel good about yourself. But shopping for them can put a hole in your wallet and ruin your budget. By looking through your old clothes, shopping sales, and even trading clothes, you can have new clothes without breaking the bank.

You spend a lot of time surfing the web and playing around on the Internet. Have you ever thought of using that time you spend online to make some extra money? There are ways to make legitimate money online, you just need to know how to do it and how to avoid scams.

When you start looking for ways to make money on the Internet, you will come across websites that will try to sell you books, CDs, or DVDs on how to make money at home. These may seem like a great deal, but in reality, you should never have to pay for information on how to make money. There are many free websites that will teach you how to go about earning revenue online.

One way to make legitimate money online is to write articles. If you can do some research and know how to write, you can easily earn extra money this way. You can sign up on job bidding sites such as getafreelancer.com or elance.com and bid on jobs that are posted. The job poster then chooses a person to complete the job out of the bidders he or she received. There are hundreds of jobs posted on sites like these, but there are also hundreds of people willing to bid on these jobs. The downside to sites like this is that you can be competing against many other writers, some of whom are willing to work for very little.

You can also write and submit your own articles to sites such as squidoo.com, or hubpages.com. Depending on the site, you may either earn a flat fee for your article, or you will earn revenue based on the amount of ads that viewers click on.

Sometimes you can make money rewriting articles as well. You may be able to find jobs on bidding sites or other writing sites. Rewriting an article basically is taking an article and rewriting the content in your own words, but maintaining the same meaning to the article. This can be easier than writing your own article, however, it usually earns less than an original article would.

If article writing does not interest you, but you do want to write, you can start your own blog. You can set up a free blog on sites such as blogger.com or wordpress.com. These offer free blogging software and will walk you through setting up and designing your own blog. You will need to pick a topic that you know well so that you can keep your blog updated and interesting. Adding affiliate programs to your blog, such as Google AdSense or Amazon.com Associates will bring in commission when reader click on the ads displayed on your blog. You can bring in some money through these programs, but it will take a lot of traffic on your site.

If you are more interested in taking photos than writing, you can also market your photography online. Websites like fotolia.com, shutterstock.com, and bigstockphoto.com allow you to upload your photos for people to purchase.

If you have office assistant experience you can earn an income being a virtual assistant. You may be asked to do anything from writing correspondence, responding to emails, making phone calls, or booking travel arrangements. Some employers may even want you to handle some bills and reimbursements for the company. You can search bidding sites for jobs, or search virtualassistantjobs.com or virtualassistants.com for posted jobs. In most cases, you will be required to have a quiet work environment, so this may not be the best option for a parent trying to work at home.

Another great idea is to sell your personal skills. If you are good with promoting ideas for people, you can create advertisements for people who are willing to “buy” the type of skills you sell. The site for this is fiverr.com. It is a very nifty site that lets users sell all kinds of weird and talented skills. You can find users that are willing to be your facebook girlfriend for a week for $5, or people willing to make a dancing video of themselves for the same price.

Selling goods is another way to make money on the Internet. If you are crafty, you can make your own products to sell. Websites such as etsy.com, hyenacart.com, and even ebay.com will let you set up your own online store and sell your goods.

Even if you aren’t the crafty type, you can still make money selling on the Internet. You can buy and turn goods on ebay.com. To make a profit this way, you will have to find goods for cheap and get them to sell at a higher price. Keep in mind that you will need to pay fees to ebay as well, which will take away from your earnings.

Making money online is a legitimate business and can bring in substantial income. Stick to something you know you are good at and have the skills for. It may take some time and a little work, but there is real money to be made on the Internet.

Debt is one of the most unpopular words in the universe.  It implies slavery, drudgery, low self-esteem, and futility in earning money (since whatever money earned is no longer freely available to spend or enjoy, at least not at this time).  Debt is a black hole, a sad state of affairs; a have not in a sea of have’s.  In spite of worldwide economic crisis, the debtor and the homeless person are nearly in the same pool of unfortunates – down and out with little hope of redemption.

 Of course this wasn’t always the case.  Buying on the margin, charging whatever possible tin order to hold on to one’s cash and maximizing credit card debt to finance a trip used to be very fashionable. Low interest student loans – why not!  Home loans – stretch it out to the maximum, after all we are young today – were the order of the day.   During the prosperous 1980s  a la Reaganomics, not to mention the whoop it up 2000-2010 21st century birthday decade.  The party’s over, folks and someone needs to pick up the tab.

 After massive layoffs, homeowner loan defaults and sinking real estate assessments due to a hyped up economy, a debt level of 115% is not uncommon.  This tight spot leaves consumers in a “damned if I do, damned if I don’t” predicament where they can only pay the minimum charges on the damned credit card.  Paying only the interest results in the ultimate in credit card slavery:  The debtor remains cash poor and nothing to show for his diligence in paying, the principal remains.

 An approximate 20% of American homeowners are drowning in debt.  Since the recent recessionary crisis, the house is no longer worth the paper it’s written on or greatly reduced in value.  Recessionary job layoffs put homeowners in a new trap of both losing their income and their health insurance.  All it takes is one serious illness increases to create medical costs to the point of bankruptcy.

 Those wishing to pay off debt need to write a list in order to identify to whom they are indebted to and in which amount.  Once it is in black and white it is definitely easier to tackle, objectively and without guilt.

 One at a Time

Debt counselors like Dave Ramsey often recommend paying off the smallest debt first to give the psychological accomplishment of having one less bill to pay.  Although a large debt may be more serious, joy of obliterating one debt is often motivational enough to keep the process of debt payment running smoothly.  A debt may satisfactorily be paid in two or three installments, based on agreements with the creditor.  The main thing is to start paying and modestly but persistently continue while allowing reasonable money to survive during the debt payment process.

 Loan Consolidation for Credit Card Debts

For those who struggle with high credit card rates, there is help. Consolidated Credit Counseling offers help through consolidation loans.  Debtors pay a lump sum, once a month, which pays off their various debts.  Other debt programs designed to help consumers in trouble include Green Path, and Debtors’ Anonymous, both of which are non-profit organizations.

 Medical Bills may be Negotiable

When it comes to paying off medical bills, talk to your insurance company (if you are insured) or to the hospital or medical provider who treated you.  Many professionals are willing to negotiate.  A partial payment is certainly better than no payment at all, and the longer the bill stays unpaid, the less likely it will be paid off.  Consumer Assistance is also available for those who are not in a position to pay their medical bills.  Don’t forget that medical bills are deductible on your tax return to the extent that they exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (A.G.I.).  Consult IRS Publication 502 Medical and Dental Expenses for more details.

 Dealing with Student Loan

For those will student loans to repay, the Department of Education online calculators can help you determine how much you are capable of repaying before you borrow funds for your education.  Some forgiveness programs are possible, check the noted website for more details.

Frequent flier miles have become a popular perk in the credit card wars for your business.  Those who travel regularly may accumulate more bonus travel miles, and those who don’t would always like to have a reason to cash in their miles for a family or romantic vacation.  It’s definitely a great perk, but because of the high variance in rewards, it pays to read the small print.  

 For example, the Asiana card offers $2 per point earned, allowing the hopeful gratis traveler the option of travelling to Europe or another desired destination with very little relative effort in finding compatible flight and providing travelers with multiple combinations.  Asiana features a maximum allowance of four cities per trip for travel up to 10,000 miles.  As you might guess, you can stretch out your travel buck by hopping and stopping at layover cities along your route, effectively getting more bang for your travel buck. A NY-Rome flight could be padded by stopovers in both London and Paris, for example.

 How to choose a good card based on travel miles

Travel rewards greatly vary, so avoid those that offer only 1 cent per point.  There are cards that offer 2-4 cents per point, and may be redeemable on flights of 25,000 but these are far and few between.  Generally speaking, if you purchase a European flight worth $1,000 to $2,000 (depending on the seasonal and/ or special offers) it will probably be redeemable at the 50,000 point level at the lowest.

 A good card for frequent flyers is the American Express Premier Reward Gold Card.  Here, you can earn triple points on airfare, and double points on gas and groceries, helping you earn on the land and in the air.  With the double miles redemption, the value for the points comes to an astonishing 8 to 16 cents per value compared to each dollar spent.

 When it comes to choosing a credit card offering travel bonus points, shop around and take your time.  What’s being offered today is not always the final best offer.  If you do find an ideal combination for your needs, be sure to grab it while you can because the banks and credit card companies don’t wait around when it comes to a great combination.

 Do be prepared to pay annual fees of $69 – $99 per year, which is most usually waived on the first year.

Here are a few cards to consider:

 There is the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards card giving you bonus points and discounts for literally every ticket available to purchase.  This is a definite advantage – no need to compare availability for rewards based tickets. 25,000 travel bonus points are worth $400 in air travel redemption.

 With an out-the-gate 50,000 bonus miles sign up bonus on the Chase Sapphire card, you’ll get a $625 bonus worth of travel towards a Chase agency-booked flight. Cardholders must bill $3,000 on their Chase credit cards within the first three months of card ownership in order to be eligible.

 Chase also offers a British Airways card with a 50,000 mile sign up bonus, and occasionally a 100,000 mile sign up bonus for its customers.  (This is the one you would want to snap up right away!)  The card holder must charge $30,000 per year in order to win a real lottery of a travel bonus prize – they can essentially double their bonus miles!  This card is really the jackpot for those who want to play the pay and travel game.  $1.25 per dollar spent is provided. The only foreseeable pitfall is a fuel surcharge which may greatly increase the ticket prices – so beware when booking your flight.  Chase has begun implementing the AVIOS travel program which may also alter rewards packages in the future, more information will be provided at a later time when this changeover process is completed.

 If you’ve managed to accumulate travel miles from credit card usage, beware.  If a gift item appeals to you, it may translate to travel miles of only .25 per mile, depending upon its retail value.  In most cases, travel benefits are too good to redeem on anything else but airfare.  It’s much better to see if you can cash in on a flight worth 4 or 5 cents per mile on an overseas business and first class flight.