Jude’s Eclectic Resources

As you know I started Entrecard a week or so ago and I really like the traffic and the whole idea behind this program. I am learning about power dropping which is cool to rack up credits, but not so cool if you actually want to enjoy the blogs you visit and leave comments. I will soon start to favorite the blogs that I want to visit more than once after I figure out all the dos and do nots.

I actually used some credits today to sponsor some other sites and I’ll also figure out some of the programs that you can use those credits for. I can really see this program work, but I can see how it can be abused just like everything else and regardless of what goes on in the blogosphere everyone has their own ideas of what is right and wrong and no one should have the monopoly on how to make money using the net and that includes Google. 

I just viewed some remarks from some Entrecard members concerning PPP or SocialSparks as it is now the offshoot new company under the wing of PayPerPost and many are not pleased with the sponsored ad bar that will be located at the bottom of the page. The program is in Alpha and a couple handful of special posties are testing it and trying to work out the bugs for everyone else.

I will probably never use that concept because I don’t like the idea of someone else taking over my blog that far, regardless of the price. I do however like writing paid post for that company because it is easy money for anyone trying to make a few extra bucks and I have no problem with anyone trying to make a few extra dollars unless the whole blog is simply geared for ads and they post the total amount of 3 ad reviews a day plus a few intermediate post in-between plus all the other pay to post site links.

 As far as I’m concerned that is way to much in your face ads and regardless of how natural it may sound it just comes off as trying to make as much money as possible and that really is an easy thing to get caught up in especially if you need the money. I think I have written 2 in one day on this blog, but that actually results in 4 and that is alot of words to put forth for many and make it sound interesting.

I like when you have several different blogs and you can take 1 a day on several that would fit in instead of having good ones that will only fit one blog, but that doesn’t always happen. I like making money and I have made it without having a page rank even though I had a 3 on this  blog before and even though there is no rank now it still leaks juice which was tested awhile back with a Google bomb.

I would personally rather go to a blog that has a paid review and the page will load fairly fast than to go to a blog that is only AdSense ads and full of widgets and graphics and flash and music and God knows what else that slows my browser down and makes everything freeze and I have to reboot and start all over again. I care not how someone else makes money just stop loading your blog up with everything that slows me down in my daily perusing.

I would appreciate any comments that let me know that my blog is slowing them down, that’s why I use as few graphics, videos, music, and widgets as possible. Don’t hesitate to let me know if something bothers you.

Regardless of your experience with blogging there are many ways to monetize a blog, but of course we don’t want to turn it into a splog with nothing but ads. We want to make it as interesting as possible so we will have return visititors, but that isn’t always easy.

The internet is full of valuable information that someone is seeking and if you do research and find what people are searching for then you can provide that information. If you can generate enough traffic to your website and you’re a good blogger, you can make money out of it.

Advertisers look for blogs that are appealing and have page rank, most will pay a premium price to be able to get some of your traffic to their site and they also like the page rank juice that is leaked to their site unless they are mostly interested in the buzz you can create for them and let you use the rel= nofollow attribute.

Since the Google smack down people that sold links on their blog got demoted to 0 pr and many are very leary of posting for places like PayPerPost, ReviewMe, and SponsoredReviews. Many have deleted all paid post and asked for reinclusion some got their pr back and others didn’t. The majority decided they didn’t care and continue to make extra money even now with their blog.

Some bloggers that did paid posting didn’t lose their pr, but most did and some that are still doing paid reviews have recently had their pr restored without begging for it. I continue to make money from PPP and have let the pr slid from my mind. With the approaching unveiling of SocialSpark on the horizon bloggers are still clinging to the hope of doing these reviews using nofollow and hopefully getting their rank restored.

If you’re a beginner blogger and want to make money you can experiment with advertisements including adsense, writing reviews, and getting paid for blogging because these are the three most popular ways of earning money through blogging. I personally only use one, but many bloggers use many. I consider myself still in the learning stages.

If you want, you can combine any of the three so that you can increase your earnings. However, this may be difficult to achieve especially if you’re a beginner and it may take some time through trial and error. As you get more familiar with the way the blogosphere works you will be able to determine the right money making option that will work for you.

You can try them one by one and see which one works for you and lets you earn money. I have tried lots of different programs and if you check through this blog you will find many that hasn’t worked for me.

One thing to remember is that you must have a plan of action so that you will know when you’re on the right track. Give yourself enough time for testing the different avenues that are open. Remember, you will need to get experience to become an excellent blogger in order to make good money online through blogs.

I just started Entrecard on this site after trying it on my other 2 blogs and I really like it. As far as I’m concerned it’s a great way to get unique visitors plus lower your Alexa rating and I have also found some great blogs out there.

So I am now working on dropping for 3 blogs and today with this one was the first time I did a 300 drop. Of course it took me a long time and I really didn’t get very much else done, but today I really didn’t care because I am learning.

I had no idea this was so popular or addictive. I have to go visit the forum and read so I can better understand what I should really be aiming for. I am accumulating credits right now so I will have a way to advertise on other blogs for a day at the rate their blog is going for.

I will get around to reading more entries on blogs when I figure out what I am really suppose to be doing with this. The first time I used Entrecard I didn’t understand about all the cards being dropped for advertising so I was approving everything.

I am sorry to say that after I realized what was going on I had to go back and decline some sites that I had previously approved because I really had no idea since I was a newbie with the program, but everyone starts somewhere and learns or perishes.

I can’t wait till I learn more about the shopping and advertising aspects of this whole process. If you are new to this then welcome to the club and happy learning about who to drop your cards on to help your website niche. When I figure it out I will be happy to help anyone else.

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Family budgeting is not just about budgeting to the last cent and flying by the seat of your pants. It offers structure, wisdom, decision making and reward for the serious and tenacious amongst us. Taking it on as a major and regular task and priority will change your quality of life, sometimes without you even realizing it.

You are in it for the long haul! Take responsibility for spending. If this means laying down some ground-rules in your household and cutting back on a couple of luxury items, that needs to be discussed, agreed upon and stuck to, to make your budget work and have an impact over time.

In family budgeting, don’t be hesitant to set stretch-goals. Whether you get there by cost cutting, taking a second, part-time or seasonal job or find another source of supplemental income, it helps you raise the bar even higher.

Family budgeting is about minimizing and totally avoiding if possible any unexpected and deemed unnecessary spending. Spell out the realities and consequences of these purchases to others – short on cash, family tension, unnecessary stress and complications,  hardship and more. Openly discussing it builds fiscal responsibilities on all fronts. This does not mean rigidity or inflexibility. Need, merit, means and circumstance will obviously dictate.

Family budgeting is also about shared responsibility. All members can participate – even the kids. Taking responsibility for the grocery bill for example. Mom is responsible mainly for the weekly outing to the store, but when it comes to the staples like milk, bread, eggs and cheese, one of the teenagers can be entrusted with the budget funds and task, help shop for bargain, check flyers and more.

Setting house-rules about who gets to pay for what and when is also important when you have young adults still living in the house or have boarders. Family budgeting allows the channel for discussion and eventually mutual agreement on financial goals and priorities.

Perhaps the most important part of all, is that family budgeting helps us all learn where the money actually goes, as opposed to where we think it does or should go. Normally very different things!

The initial realization of the amounts (usually larger than we think!), involved on incidental, discretionary and impulse buying is an eye-opener for most and ends up saving families all kinds of money they never knew they had. Just brining that into the awareness and our conscious mind tends to put a stop to unnecessary expenditure.

Mall crawling and hanging out in retail stores to kill time, is counter-productive and part of the reason we spend frivolously. From bookstores, to lottery tickets, gourmet coffee, food-court lunch, and a quick movie, items you do not really need, but think you or your spouse or kids would like leads to hasty, flawed and almost distorted decision making.

The thought, actions and actually purchases are not budget-driven and money conscious at all. All these things add up over time. Smoking, daily coffee (or two), buying candy,  chocolates, pop,  magazines and more to ‘kill time’ are all money-guzzlers that should be avoided.

Other examples of incidental money-guzzlers are parking meters, donuts, shoe repair, ,raffle tickets, fund-raising, car wash, pay phone. Avoid it is probably unrealistic, but family budgeting, logging and tracking at least makes us more aware of these categories and ‘traps’. Have a category in your budget for Miscellaneous and track it for say 3-6-12 months and see how it adds up!

Beware of the flyers, advertisements,  special discounted sales and other retail or sales tricks of the trade that tempt, entice and lure you in to spend your precious dough!

Keep on tracking spending and income no matter what. A good tip for family budgeting is, at least initially, get a notebook and a pen and write things down as opposed to going to high-tech, spending money to get it done etc. Avoid this being or becoming just another unexpected and unplanned expense! It is supposed to help you, not hurt you. Tools are great, but process and results are better.

Family budgeting helps you focus on the different types of expense you and your family and household face. The annual ones are the hardest, we tend to put them on the back burner and they tend to be larger amounts too. Having them in your budget assist us not forgetting there major expenses like school fees, judo or gym memberships, dance classes, Christmas and birthday gifts, babysitting or nanny-salaries and more.

Fiscal restraint, wise decisions, weighing options, informed choice, planned set and formulated goals and projection estimates and steps to get there, all work together in the family budget, to get you back on track and on the road to enjoying your dollar-earnings.