update

It's a while since I updated and I am still really busy with the day-job, it's been pretty relentless for just about 2 years now. I am quoting for a regular cassette to digital job at the moment, it could possibly provide a small regular supplementary income - we'll see how that pans out...
I am still looking to reinstate everything since my two PC's packed up over Christmas, we are definitely back and working now, it's just a case of making sure the old software still works on the new operating system and all the backup files are reinstated - I still have yet to start backing up the new stuff yet, but am still waiting to find a suitable housing for 1.5TB of 'spare' hard disks that I now have and plan to use as backup.. I really want a NAS, but they are not cheap, so will have to sell some stuff on eBay first - I have quite a bit of stuff to flog off, but I have been tardy in getting it listed. I am happy enough with the current Windows 7 set-up, but am aware that I should probably think about getting a motherboard that can take more RAM to get the best out of the 64 bit operating system - can't see how I can get it without spending a couple of hundred pounds though, so not going to happen imminently...
The new Virgin router is working well, I am hoping to see the benefit of our newly negotiated monthly charges kicking in next month- have also signed up to a new energy tariff - actually turned out to be lower monthly payments which was a surprise.
So all-in-all everything is looking pretty good at the moment although I am aware that I have not kept my earnings spreadsheet up to date and the end of the tax year is a comfortable distance but will no doubt be looming large soon enough...!

Easter

Happy Easter!
We have had a busy weekend with a wedding and a christening to attend. Today we went on an Easter Egg hunt in the glorious sunshine (although it was a bit cold), and are recovering ready to undertake a trip to see family and friends on Easter Monday.
I have lots of blog work to be getting on with, which should hopefully be reflected in my final earnings of the financial year, although it may end up in next years earnings. I still haven't looked at income and outgoings for online work for the last few months, but hope to be able to do that soon. I am not expecting much from this years earnings although I am experiencing something of a late flurry, so I may have clawed back some of the lost ground.
Of course with online work ANY income is welcome, and having very few 'costs' as such, there is really nothing to lose. I do have a few fixed costs for web-hosting and domain registration, but they are quickly covered. I am looking forward to seeing what my March earnings actually are, but at the moment there is a good amount that has yet to be paid out.

Autumn is coming..

Uk weather remains undecided as the summer holidays are well behind us and everybody barring the students are back at the grind-stone. We leave a remarkable summer of Olympics in our wake as we face the mundane challenges of life in the vague hope of an 'Indian Summer' starting in the next few weeks.
The economy as a whole is in back-pedal or treading-water mode with little hope af any dramtic change any time soon. The general concensus is that the summer of sport in the UK has been a great success, and that gives us a positive attitude that we can take into our family and business lives, engendering a sense of satisfaction despite the uncertain economic future.
On-line earnings remain possible but it is getting harder to justify the effort needed to pull in the few dollars that are available. Having said that I have had a good result with my currently favourite affiliate - I often get a few payouts sometimes of around £2 or thereabouts every month or so, but I have just received notification of an impending £20 payout coming my way soon. The only issue I have with this is that the affiliate scheme doesn't have any tracking, so I am not even sure where the clicks are coming from... £20 will be a nice boost to earnings, and with another Adsense payment just around the corner, I will have some decent figures to add to my earnings.
I have just completed my tax return for the year just gone, but suspect that this mught be a 'plateau' year or even a dip year for me in terms of annual earnings.

Bargains..

Really happy with myself today!
I have been looking for additional RAM for my laptop recently - it's quite an old laptop and the going rate on eBay for a 1GB stick is anything between about £12 to £20, I have bid on a few sticks but won nothing as yet.... I don't want to pay very much because I bought the laptop cheap and don't want to waste money on it. There is already a 1GB stick of RAM in my laptop, it takes 2GB, so ideally I could do with another 1GB.

I was in Staples stationary store today and there was a 'bargain' table - imagine my astonishment when I spotted a 1GB stick of laptop RAM reduced to £3.99... I picked it up and checked all the specifications, and although I wasn't 100% sure, I bought it because I figured I could sell it on eBay even if it wasn't right for my machine. As it happens, it worked fine and my little old laptop now soprts a mighty 2Gig of RAM...

I am still pinching myself that I managed to spot such a random bargain without even getting it from eBay, and I suppose the moral of the story is that it is always worth sniffing out a bargain and maybe I shouldn't restrict my bargain hunting to eBay alone.

Online Earnings

I have yet to complete my tax return this year - mostly because I am still waiting for my P11D from my 'day job' employers. Last year I completed most of my tax return whilst waiting impatiently for my P11D - this year I have done nothing yet as my paperwork has been tied up while I was redecorating. No excuses now, I can catch up with the revenue that I haven't recorded over the last two months, and I have my P60, although I am still waiting for the P11D.
I am less anxious this year because I know the P11D won't come very quickly, and the fact that I was delayed by redecorating has not bothered me at all. I have been really lax in recording income and expenditure since I closed the books for the financial year 2011-2012, in fact I don't think I have recorded anything since the start of April. It's time to dig out the paypal account and start recording all the transactions for the new financial year, although whether I shall get back into the habit of recording monthly income remains to be seen...

Organisation

Quite honestly, I have been rather disorganised lately due to my home office being in turmoil. This has given me the chance to have a think about how I am going to rectify things when I have a flash new office to work out of. My plan is to set one night aside per week to devote to updating sites and building new traffic. This means setting aside time to post updates to my several blogs and also to place comments on other blogs - maybe even find a forum or two - place sites into some online directories - nothing spectacular, just time set aside to get all the 'daily grind' work done. There is a lot of 'footslogging' involved in maintenance of websites whether they be blogs or  info/trading sites - it isn't really possible to leave a static site in the vague hope that traffic will arrive without any background work being done..
Time will tell whether my plan will come to fruition, but I certainly have solid intentions to devote at least the one night a week to keeping on top of my online activities.

January 2012

January has not been a particularly busy month for internet earnings, I have done a few cassettes and that has yielded about £70, plus a few affiliates and blog posts giving a gross income of around £90, I paid out a little over £6 on postage and paypal fees, hence a total income of £84.52.
I have also had a refund of £120 from the water company for overpayment of our direct debit, but in other news, I have lost about £140 on a savings plan (cheque for £120 and statement showing a loss both arrived today in the post..).
I have also had to spend £110 on a new circuit board for my central heating boiler this week, but as it all works so much better now, I feel like it was money well spent. More about how eBay solved my heating problems in a later post I think...

Earnings May 2001

A definite improvement this month, largely helped by an Adsense payment dropping in on the last day of the month... Without this boost, turnover would have been around £85, profit around £70. Some improvement in passive income signalling a return of the payments for fixed adverts that I thought had ceased, and a couple of small but welcome affiliate payments.
Major expense this month was a domain renewal, I thought I might sell a domain, but the offer I got was so low I may as well hold onto the domain and get some earnings from it.
I am looking a buying another domain or two for new projects and am still trying to find time to get 'into' Wordpress. I have another project using a different CMS at the moment, so I am hoping that this experience will inform my journey into Wordpress when I finally embark on it!
I have just submitted my figures for last year to the taxman, I don't think he will get overly excited about my earnings, but I am pleased with the improvements over the last 12 months and hope to be even more profitable this coming tax year...

The truth about making money...

It's worth mentioning (in case you hadn't realised) that although the Internet is always banging on about making money, maximising profits and working your mailing lists blah blah blah..., life is not ALL about money. In fact the truth is that, those who are focusing JUST on making money, will probably fall by the wayside fairly early on in the adventure.
The reality is that it is a LOT easier to make money with a regular job then it is to make money online, and if you pour the required level of energy into online projects, you may forget to actually have a life.
It pays every so often just to take a look at the 'cost' of online earnings, and if family life is suffering, or your health, then the real cost of making a few extra dollars may be too high. This is why I am always looking for passive income that can be left to build itself, although even passive income can be high maintenance at the start.
'Success' is illusory, as is 'failure' - both of these terms are relative rather than absolute. In fact I would go as far to say that success means nothing without failure. I heard a story about a famous Hollywood star who was addressing graduates of an expensive educational establishment. It was acknowledged that these privileged individuals were bound for 'success' because of their background as long as they put a little effort in. However, the point was also made that there is a difference between 'success' and making a positive impact on the world. From one who has demonstrable 'success' in worldly terms, it is poignant that 'positivity' is now regarded (at least by this ONE successful individual) as being far more valuable.
This is true of almost anyone who has apparently 'made it' and explains why there are so many troubled (but apparently successful) souls out there. I firmly believe that the Internet is a good for making money, but I also believe that there are plenty of things that are far more important.

Pureprofile pays out

Finally, I have been able to collect from one of the two remaining survey companies that I use. Pureprofile actually paid me the day after I last wrote about them - they said to allow 30 days for payout, but actually only took about 10.
I won't recommend survey as a good way to earn online, they do give you an additional string to your earnings 'bow', but are only just a bit more profitable than paid to read or paid to click as far as I can see.
It would be easier and more fun to reach payout in MyLot, which is another scheme that I no longer participate in. Having said that some surveys pay reasonably well, and sometimes there are other benefits such as vouchers etc..
When compared with time spent writing paid posts, I can get $5 for 60 words with PayU2Blog, so there is no real comparison...
On another track, I have been doing more cassette conversions lately and expect a few more jobs in this line of work over the coming weeks. I have some definite plans to develop these earnings, but am finding that there is little time to devote to development.

Reached survey payout!

At last I have reached payout in one of my two remaining survey schemes... I am looking forward to getting £25.55 paid directly to my bank in the next few weeks. I have been doing PureProfile suerveys for nearly four years! This is very much a 'long game' - I have parted company with plenty of other survey schemes, but have kept true to this one and YouGov - YouGov have a higher payout, but I seem to be making money faster with YouGov.

My view is that in general, surveys are not a great way to earn online, but of all those that I have used, YouGov are probably the best - assuming they will pay out...
I will post on the blog to let you know when the payment from Pure Profile comes in - rather annoyingly, after 4 years of doing surveys - have to wait another 30 days for payment....

Affiliates

More affiliate news... I love affiliates because they are part of my favourite online earnings group: 'passive' earnings - you stick 'em up and just wait for the money to come rolling in.

Of course, it's not that simple, your affiliate banner needs to be well-placed - on a relevant site with relevant content that your 'punter' can easily find. You need to be working your niche, and find ways to drive traffic...but that's it in a nutshell. I don't pretend that traffic is easy to find, but there are a myriad of ways to get traffic - but of course I am not going to give away too much.

The reason that I am not giving tactics away is that I have been moderately successful promoting one of my domain registrant services 1and1 internet (see the banner below). Since putting this banner up (not the one below, another one elsewhere) I have had about 4 small payouts which probably covers the cost of the domains that I have registered with 1and1...
The reason it is so easy is that 1and1 actually offer great deals (honestly) I don't have to try and persuade anyone, this is an affiliate that sells itself. To my mind, the best affiliates are ones that you have signed up to yourself.

Make money online

The phrase to make money online can mean a variety of things depending on your perspective and your expectations. I am by nature probably slightly pessimistic with relatively low expectations, so for me, I am quite happy with the level of earnings I can make online. I am also not reliant on this income stream, it is just extra money for treats (munny4hunny...).
So, the question 'can you make money online' can elicit a number of different answers depending on who you ask.

• At level 1, you will find those who have tried the 'get paid to click' or 'get paid to read emails' and discovered that only paltry amounts are available. [earning maybe $2-$5 a week]
• At level 2, you may find those who have invested a little more time and set up a blog for 'get paid to post' and maybe even affiliate marketing etc. [earning maybe $10-$20 a week]
• At level 3, you may find those who have set up websites to sell something directly or via a drop-shipper, or even have an eBay shop.[earning maybe $25 to $100 a week]
• Beyond that (I don't regard myself as beyond level 3 yet), you will find those with a bit more entrepreneurial spirit who have developed services that are accessed by hundreds or even thousands of online users.

Earning via the internet is undoubtedly one of those activities where the more you put in, the more you can get out of it. You can certainly make a living at it, but you would probably have to work longer hours than if you had a regular office job - even quite a menial one... However, if you set your sights high enough, you may reach a plateau where little more effort is needed (passive income).
The beauty of earning online is that it can be a voyage of discovery, and everybody takes a different path. You can't really discuss online earnings without referring to schemes that are 'packaged' to appeal to those who want to make a quick buck - my advice would be to ignore all those schemes, they will just charge you for information which is freely available (a lot of it on this blog!). Paradoxically, charging money for selling information of this kind is in itself quite a big online money spinner, but most of those doing it are pulling the wool over their customers eyes by not telling them that they don't need to pay for it. There is a certain irony in a scheme that promises you income, but actually only guarantees income for the one selling it.

Earnings December 2010

Although the financial year runs from April to March, I usually account for my earnings in calendar years and am reporting a profit of a little over £1250 this year.

Since I have started making significant amounts, it is all reported for tax too.

An Adsense payment and some affiliate income has boosted December to become the second best month of the year.

The steadiest income is from paid posting, the majority of which comes from PayU2blog, although every so often, I do get the odd opp from others companies.

Profitability for December was helped by a practically nil-spend. I am trying hard to limit spending, but it is very tempting when most payments arrive via 'Paypal' to then go onto eBay and buy lots of little things for myself and the family. In a way, this spending prevents me from feeling the need to spend hard-earned 'real' cash from my 'day-job' so I allow myself the indulgences. However, every so often I need to remind myself that the money could be better used paying off credit card bills, and am worried that the enjoyment of spending Paypal money is counter to the 'thrifty-living' philosophy that I have being living by since I became the only earner in the house.

At least my spending is relatively moderate, and this year we have once more paid a chunk off the mortgage by overpaying whilst the rates are so low. I have a feeling that interest rates are due to rise over the next 12 months, so the overpaying will have to be trimmed accordingly. Nevertheless, since the onset of the financial crisis, I think we have managed to pay off an extra £3000 off our mortgage due to the ridiculously low rates (we have a tracker mortgage which is only a fraction of a percent above base rate). Even if we have to stop the overpayments, the benefits of this boost to the mortgage should be significant in the longer run.

I am already churning over some new projects in my head and would like to create some quick and easy websites using some of my internet knowledge and experience which could turn into passive earners. With any luck, I will be reporting improved passive earnings next year - passive earnings are my favourite!

Last post of 2010

This will probably be the final post of 2010 as there are some payments due on the very last day of the year, it will probably be January by the time I am ready to total up December earnings.
I have reached almost 950 posts on the Munny4Hunny blog, and will have to do something special for the 1000th post next year. Admittedly, many of those entries are paid posts, but that is what this blog is all about after all. In total, I have posted over 1760 posts on blogger-hosted blogs over the last four years. I have also built a couple of websites to fill out my online 'portfolio' of money-making projects.
So far, I have failed to locate a goose that lays golden eggs, but I have both earned and learned during this time. It's probably fair to say I have learned more than I have earned, and my ultimate online project has yet to come to fruition. Using the adage 'do what you do best' I have formulated and nurtured ideas over the last 12 months - If only I can find the time, I have plans to create a group of websites that should give me increased 'active' and passive revenue streams - just that elusive resource of 'time' that seems to be missing...

All that remains to be said is 'HAPPY NEW YEAR' - I hope your new year will be fruitful, rewarding and joyful.

Earnings Update

I am not far off finishing another year of internet earnings supplementing my normal wage, and I am going to make a slight change to my earnings report.

I have added another column giving me three distinct income streams and three distinct outgoing streams. I have added 'passive earnings' to my income, this is to cover contextual ads and fixed ads plus any affiliates that come in during the year. I have a few payments that didn't really fit into my previously rather 'narrow' descriptions of 'blogging income' and ' cassette to Cd conversions' - this additional column covers all other income including eBay Partnership which paid me recently, and Google Adsense which should pay me at the end of this month.

Outgoings remain as before

1. PC equipment and web hosting costs
2. paypal fees
3. postage

...make up the three basic outgoing streams - an amended graphic with the new column will appear by the end of December - I have taken the new column as far back as April the start of the financial year.

Affiliate payout!

I have spent a lot of time sowing internet 'seeds' that have not yeilded any fruit, as anyone else that has attempted to make some online cash will have done.
Every so often, these can suddenly deliver a huge unexpected bonus as has happened this month with 'linkworth'. Linkworth is a comprehensive package which caters for all type of web site monetisation systems. From simple paid posts to fixed banner adverts and imbedded keyword linking - Linkworth offers a whole host of monetisation tools.
I had taken a few paid posts, but had not yet reached payout and had more or less forgotten about my balance. However, I have also added some affiliate links in my 'Livewyre.NET' website and unbeknown to me, a few users have signed up via this method. When sign ups reach a certain level of activity, I get a payout $50... this took me straight over the minimum payout level and I scooped $74... which is a very nice bonus this close to Christmas... with any luck, I will get an Adsense payout at the end of December too...

Earnings November 2010

This months earnings were heavily supplemented by paid to post income that was completed in the closing week of last month, and was paid at the start of this month - so despite the healthy(ish) profit, things have been quite quiet. Added to this, I had a £22 pay out from eBay partnership, even though they are supposed to pay out at £25... ( I added this to the 'blogs' total, but the earnings were not related to blogs, so maybe I am going to have to add a new column...)

Earnings from placing eBay adverts on one of my sites have not been great, but this site costs me very little now it has been built, so any income is good... Added to this, I am due an Adsense payout at the end of next month...

I bought some headphones, so that accounts for most of the outgoings this month. As you can see, my total profit for the (calendar) year has just tipped over the £1000 mark with a month yet to run - I think declared earnings for last (financial) year were about £800, so I think we are going in the right direction...

I have a spare 'pay as you go' mobile phone that I use as a contact number for various internet projects, I am thinking of moving this to a cheap contract and funding it from earnings - this would get me a much funkier phone, so I am quite tempted... maybe I'll treat myself after Christmas...

Affiliates

Affiliates is one of the ways that anybody can make money online with their own website. I have dabbled a little, and can say that the surest way to make money with affiliates is to have a good niche and know how to be able to promote a site within your niche.

There are general affiliate sites that run schemes from all types of affiliates, and there are specialised services, such as offered by www.sharewealth.com.

Sharewealth specialise in the Health & Beauty sector, so if you have a site or are thinking of creating a site on this theme, maybe you should be hooking up with them.

Whatever your niche, it is going to be more productive to hook up with an affiliate program that is specifically suited to your chosen industry than to use one of the more wide-ranging affiliates.

Slow November

This month has not been as active as I would have liked, mainly because I have not had many cassette to CD conversions to do this month. Ironic as I built up stocks of CD's last month and have enough to do quite a number of conversions.

I have been working on a website for a local business and am re-thinking my Wordpress strategy. I had thought that I would use WP as my standard website building tool - but having had some work commissioned, I very quickly found that it was far easier to get what I wanted by using Dreamweaver rather than using the WP platform.

For the future, I want to be be able to build sites quickly using WP so I think I need to keep pushing the learning curve in this direction for a while - it is clear to me that although I have had some success with WP, I am nowhere near being able to quickly adapt it to my specific needs. At least with a WYSIWYG like Dreamweaver, I get the functionality that I want even though I don't get the aesthetically pleasing design...

I have completely reworked my 'WebSiteTastic' website (using Dreamweaver!) and gone for a much simpler look altogether - it is about as 'spartan' as it could possibly be now, and I will keep it like that until I am ready to promote the site properly.

Paid-to-blog has been sporadic, but I have had a couple of extra posts this month from one of those sources that occasionally sends in a worthwhile opp., however, the mainstay paid-to-blog remains 'PU2B'...