Not too long ago, we conducted a brief survey for our website visitors here at FTMDaily.com to determine what types of financial education materials and information that they were looking for. As I have often said, there are really four kinds of people when it comes to financial matters.
1. Those with more money than time.
2. Those with more time than money.
3. Those with plenty of both.
4. Those with neither time or money.
Which one would you say best fits you?
The results of our recent survey indicated that more than half of our readers find themselves in the second option: More time than money.
In fact, here's how the statistics broke down.
- 59% said that they had more time than money.
- 29% said they had more money than time.
- 10% said they had plenty of time and money.
- And the remaining 2% said that they had neither time or money.
While the overall results did not exactly surprise me, I was surprised at how many people are looking for more income in our audience. This is actually very exciting to me because as you know I am currently in the midst of writing my new book on the 18 potential income streams that can be created both now, and in retirement. So it's good to know that plenty of our readers will benefit from this upcoming book.
However, since we are still several weeks away from the book's release, I wanted to write a quick article covering a few basic ideas for each of the four types of people listed above.
I believe that it is vital in this current economy for you to cultivate multiple streams of income. Life is filled with uncertainties. People lose their jobs all the time. Government and corporate pension plans are under increasing amounts of pressure and some have simply imploded due to poor fiscal management. And anyone who can read between the lines knows that the entire Social Security system is a ticking timebomb.
So, whether you need more time or more income, you should find some good ideas below. I will be adding to this list often so be sure to check back in occasionally.
Some people may find it difficult to sympathize with those who have more money than time. However, it is a mistake to think that people in this category actually have plenty of money. Instead, it is usually closer to the truth to say that they are trading their time in order to maintain a lifestyle. This is actually a problem that plagues many executives, professionals, and especially small business owners. People in this category often love their work. The problem is that their work requires the majority of their time which leaves them with very little free time to pursue outside income streams. Others in this category may not particularly care for their work, but it pays the bills. And besides, leaving a good-paying job in this economy can be a very uncomfortable thought.
So what can you do if you find yourself in this situation of having very little time to devote to creating multiple streams of income?
Focus on becoming a good (or a better) investor. One of the best things you can do if you are wanting to create more financial security without a lot of free time, is to commit yourself to gaining an education on investing. One of the best decisions I made early in own career was to learn the basics of investing. There are many good books and websites on the topic. Years ago, when I had a "real job," I would always turn my car ride to and from the workplace into a financial university. I would go the public library and check out a financial audio book and listen during my commute. Take advantage of the many free resources available. One of my favorite websites on the basics of investing is Investopedia.com. Check out some of their free investing tutorials here.
Consider Stock and/or Option Trading. While you may not have time to sit around watching and trading the stock market all day long, you could certainly consider doing some swing trading. What is swing trading? A swing trader is someone who buys a stock (or any financial instrument for that matter) and holds it anywhere from four days to four months before selling for a profit. Unlike a day trader, swing traders learn how to read the markets and attempt to exploit market trends. We do a lot of swing trading in the membership area our website. All of our FTM Insiders receive a daily update from me on what I am doing in the markets. Swing trading is a really great (and fun) way to earn some extra income when you don't have a lot of time. I have been doing it for years and love sharing my knowledge in our FTM Insider membership area. To see my trading results from last month, click here.
I often get asked what services I use when it comes to online stock and option trading. I have used almost all of the major online stock brokerages. I used to like Scottrade a lot, but then Etrade made some updates and made trading in global markets very easy. So I switched to Etrade.
As far as trading education, I have always loved the educational and trading tools over at INO's Marketclub. They have a great and in-depth charting software. And they use something known as trade triangles which literally shows you when to buy and when to sell. The green triangle means "Buy" and the red triangle means… you guessed it, "Sell." If you are new to trading, or just want some great trading tools, I recommend Marketclub. I made their annual fee back on my first trade after joining.
If you are looking for a good trading tool, I would start by checking out all of their freebies. You can get their free trading e-course here. You can also see how cool their analysis of a stock is by clicking here. Just enter a ticker symbol and they will send you a free analysis. Or just go check out their website here and do your own research.
Consider Currency Trading. Trading foreign currencies can be a wild ride. The currency markets are far and away the most liquid with over $2 trillion trading hands each day. You don't need much money to get started and the leverage of 50 to 1 means that you can control a large amount of currency for very little money. Additionally, the markets are open 24 hours a day so you can trade after work, extremely early in the morning before you have to go into work. Currencies are also interesting in that there are really only a handful of them, compared to thousands of stocks in the stock market. This helps speed up the learning process in some ways, especially if you want to specialize in trading a particular currency pair, like the U.S. Dollar/Euro.
However, be warned that the currency markets are akin to a casino with an astounding 75% of people who trade currencies online losing money every year. Don't be suckered in by the promises of instant wealth as it rarely happens for newbies. But, with a lot of hard work and education, anyone can become a great currency trader. My favorite place to trade currencies is with EToro. They have a really nice website and offer lots of great tutorials and education. If you are interested in learning more about currency trading, I would recommend starting with this free e-course.
Let Someone Else Invest For You. If your time constraints are such that you can't take on the required education for becoming an investor, or just feel that investing is just not "your thing," then I totally understand. There are a lot of great financial professionals out there that can help you (for a fee, of course). Whether you want to start an investment plan, grow your current assets, or improve your retirement plan, you can find someone within our free financial advisor referral service. We started our Christian Financial Advisor Network with the mission of putting people like you in touch with great financial professionals. We have strict requirements for all financial advisors seeking entry into our network, but you should still do your own due diligence. You can use our free service to find a financial advisor in your area by clicking here.
Start an online business. I love working from home. I started my first company over 15 years ago and have been running my own businesses ever since. Today, it is easier than ever for someone to start their own online business. To get started, you will need your own website. To create your own website, you have at least three options.
1) Have someone build the website for you. (Cost: $500 – $5,000)
2) Create your own website with Wordpress and pay for hosting. (Cost: Around $10/month)
3) Create your own website with Site Build It (Cost: $29/month)
Since I have done all of the above, I can tell you that option 2 or option 3 are the only two ways that I would ever recommend to someone just starting out with a new internet business.
To create your own website with Wordpress, you will first need to select your own website name. These are known as domain names. Let's say that you decide to start a website called www.tshirtstore.com. You will need to buy that domain name. I have bought over 50 domain names over the years and I buy all of my domain names through Godaddy.com.
Next, you will need to buy a web hosting plan so that the world can find your new website. I used to use Godaddy.com for web hosting. However, I recently switched to Hostgator because I find them to be much more reliable.
Then, you will need to install Wordpress through Hostgator and select a free website template. Then you are ready to start writing articles and creating content.
Again, this method will cost you around $10 per month. While this may seem cheap, you will inevitably need to buy some tools and services to grow your online business. The idea of "build it and they will come," may have worked in the past. But today, there is stiff competition online and without investing time and money into gaining certain skills and knowledge, it is unlikely you will succeed.
That is why I strongly suggest that if you are really interested in starting your own website or your own blog, and your purpose is to make money online, spend a little bit extra and invest in a web building service like Site Build It.
To create your own website with Site Build It, you will simply go to their homepage and sign up. Their monthly fee of $29 is all-inclusive. You will not need to spend a penny more and you will be well on your way to building a successful online business.
I have built many websites and online businesses over the years and I have not found a better service for someone who is wanting to build a website to make money. They offer a full money back guarantee so there is no risk.
I am currently working on a new online video tutorial on how to start your own money making website or blog. So if this is an income stream that you are interested in, there will be more to come. We will be offering this video tutorial series at a discounted price to those who are signed up on our email list. If you are not currently subscribed to our email list, click here to sign up now.
Become an Affiliate Marketer. One of the most powerful ways to earn income online is to partner with a company and promote their products and services. In exchange, you will receive a commission. Thousands of people all over the world are making a good living through affiliate marketing. For example, here is a link to a website that I own called www.kitchenapplianceproductreviews.com. This site is called a "mini-site." It is called a mini-site because it is devoted to a very small niche: kitchen appliances. Any time someone stumbles across this website online while searching for a product review on this Kitchenaid mixer and then clicks the link, they are sent to Amazon.com. Because I am an Amazon affiliate partner, I will receive a percentage of the sale as a commission if one of my visitors clicks through to Amazon from my site and buys the mixer.
Pretty simple, eh?
So the goal with affiliate marketing is to create lots of little mini-sites, each devoted to specific niche topic.
This is a very big topic. And it can be quite lucrative if you know what you are doing.
If affiliate marketing sounds interesting to you, then click here to download this free 150 page PDF on affiliate marketing. Again, I have to recommend Site Build It here as they actually make building mini affiliate sites extremely simple. Most affiliate marketers earn less than $500 per month because they aren't willing to learn how to succeed. From my experience with Site Build It, you can begin making money quickly by focusing on the right niche. And they will show you exactly how to do that.
I will post some other money making ideas in this section next week.
