How to survive winter

Everybody has misgivings about the onset of winter, however for some, the lack of light during winter has serious depressive effects. However, modern civilisation is fortunate in that it can provide us with summer produce even in the depths of winter. There are a couple of ways in which we can bring the summer into our homes:

• Placing fresh flowers or floral centerpieces around the home.
• Having plenty of fruit on show and available to eat.

Supermarkets are full of this stuff all through the year regardless of season, and you can fool your senses into ignoring the winter effects by surreptitiously promoting summer.

Heated Mattress Pads

Heated pads are big favourite in our house, we have several types, beginning with the ones you can put in the microwave to the sort of heated mattress pads that you plug in to the mains.

They can be great for those who suffer with chest problems, or those that easily feel the cold. The one we have has an automatic shut-off so that if you fall asleep, it will turn itself off after about 15 minutes. It also has three levels of heat, and is generally a bit more sophisticated that the 'electric blankets' of old...

I have often been known to 'borrow' the various devices littered around our house to ease my bad back, or to ease my chest if I have a cold.

Monthly progress

This month has been busy in some ways, but earnings are likely to be down. However, I am getting quite a few enquiries for cassette to CD conversions, and have bought some stock to cover projected needs based on the enquiries. This is a big turn around compared to the first half of the year when pickings were meagre and enquiries where scarce. Some of the investments made this month will (hopefully) come to fruition in the next month or two. Added to this, there will be another Adsense pay day on the way soon (again, mostly from the cassette to CD site).

Acne

In formative years, acne can be a real problem for some youngsters causing discomfort and embarrassment. However what may be considered just acne on chin in youth, may turn into skin problems that persist into adult life. In some cases, corrective procedures are offered to adults in order to remove marks from the face caused by acne whilst growing up.

Acne is so common that virtually everyone will suffer to some degree or other during their youth, usually young males suffer more acutely than females since it is a male hormone that triggers the reaction.

Gadgets

I remember that my first ever digital mobile phone was a Samsung. I think that was probably the first time I had come across the brand, but yesterday I was browsing for cheap netbooks and the brand cropped up again. We are thinking of offering a netbook with some products that we sell at work. The netbook would need to be inexpensive, but at the same time, it would have to be a recognisable quality brand. Samsung is one of those brands that is reliable and offers every-day usable no-nonsense quality - that phone I had was certainly well constructed. At the same time, it is not one of those brands that has 'fashion' value, where the manufacturer relies on the goodwill associated with the brand to charge extra. Apple is certainly one company that is not frightened to charge extra because of the strength of the brand image. Personally, I do not buy 'image' as it has no real value, I prefer to buy 'functionality' and 'quality' where it is on offer...

Back problems

I have found that my back problems can be considerably eased by changing the type of mattress that you use. For years, we just had a standard cheap mattress, but a few years ago, we went to a mattress sale and got an orthopaedic mattress. I am now thinking of going again and looking for one of those memory foam mattresses this time. I am not sure I can afford a complete mattress, so I may look just for a mattress 'topper' so we can take advantage of a layer of foam on top of our existing mattress.
Whatever we end up spending, if it gets me night after night of undisturbed sleep, I don't care how much it costs!

Backup update

Well, it's just as well that I have my backup system in place as my main hard-drive has disappeared from 'My Computer' today... I have one 500GB SATA drive on one of my PC's which holds the data files from my cassette to CD conversions. This is no longer showing, but fortunately everything is backed up using my new system, so I am not too concerned.

There is every chance that the power cable has come out as the SATA cables on this system have a tendency to drop out, and yesterday I disconnected a floppy drive - I am assuming that I have been a bit clumsy during this process... I don't have to worry either way as I am quite safe in the knowledge that I have lost no data (as long as nothing has gone wrong with my backup drives!).

Forex

I have looked at all sorts of money-making schemes on the internet, but tend to avoid anything that involves financial risks. Nevertheless, the fact remains that the biggest rewards often involve the largest risks of losing your capital.

Of course, the 'good' gamblers minimise risks by watching Forex charts and reading up on the markets. In some cases, one might even regard the risks as minimal once the markets are fully researched and understood. For me, I am happy with the smaller, safe rewards - if you are tempted to take these types of risks, then you should gather all the tools that you can to help you, and do a lot of research until you understand the markets inside out.

Money Makers

Today, I thought I might just list all the different schemes I use that make me money even if just in small amounts..

• Google Adsense - Contextual adverts, I am not allowed to say how much, but it's definitely worth it for me..
• PayU2Blog - sponsored posts at $5 a time maintains a regular small income which is not to be sniffed at..
• TheAdnetwork - fixed ads that run and run on your website, £5 every month for a batch of three adverts..
• eBay partnership - user-definable eBay auctions displayed on your site - seems a bit 'hit and miss', but limited degrees of success nonetheless..
• Surveys - these won't be part of my long-term strategy after I have reached payout..
• Affiliates - very much hit and miss, and I haven't had a hit for a very long time..

These are my purely web-based activities, I do also run a service converting cassettes to CD's which is often at the leading edge of my earnings - this is a bit more 'hands on' than simply posting ads and completing surveys, so in a bit of a different league to some of these other activities. I will go into a bit more detail about some of these services over the coming days...

Hoodia

The plant extract with the weird name hoodia is actually derived from a plant from the Kalahari Desert called Hoodia Gordonii. It has been used for centuries as a short-term appetite suppressant in these tribal regions.

I would not advocate it as a longer-term remedy to weight problems, as simply repressing appetite may not address the real problem behind a weight problem.

Artificially changing eating habits may not have any long term beneficial effects. The best way to address weight problems is to establish a healthy lifestyle for the longer-term. A healthy exercise regime and a good balanced diet is easier to maintain than a dietary supplement, after all you don't want to be buying the supplement for the rest of your life...

The winter cold creeps in..

We are just starting to get those really crisp cold mornings, indicating that winter is certainly creeping up on us. After one false start with the central heating, I fear it has been switched on now for the duration - I even had to buy a new timer for our boiler as the old one kept forgetting the time...

Now is the time to buy vitamins and ingredients for soups, a time for thinking about warm woolly clothing and extra blankets on the duvet. On the whole I quite like winter, at least in it's early stages - I even like snow, although we get little enough of it. It's the freezing winds and lashing rain that I can't really get to grips with. However, until we can afford a permanent home in the Caribbean, or some other warmer clime, I'm afraid we're stuck with UK weather...

New backup system

I mentioned some time ago about some great free (for home use) software by '2 bright sparks' called 'Syncback' - a really excellent backup/synchronise utility. Originally I used it with a small (160GB) external drive that I bought, but inevitably I have outgrown this and the other 250GB drive that I have.

I tried a cheap NAS (Network attached storage) system, but it proved unreliable, so I now have another external drive, this time a 'dual' caddy with 2 x 400GB hard drives installed. (400GB seem to be better value on eBay, probably because people do not search for them so much!). The new caddy (which has a built in fan) seems a little noisy, so I have devised a cunning new system...

I have two PC's in my home office which are 'semi-networked', one of them has the older 160 GB drive and 250GB drive attached, the other has the newer 800 GB device, a total of 1.2TB... (purely for backup). I have all of these drives plugged into a multi-plug which has a timer set to come on just for four hours every day. I have timed my backups to take place within this time-frame, so that I am not powering up these external devices unnecessarily. I was telling someone last week how many sockets were in use in my home office - it came to a total of 16 sockets to run two PC's and associated devices, and another 6 for the sound system....

Every so often I change the plugs and sockets around a bit, but one day I plan to have a system that will make it easy for me to switch off devices that are not needed all the time in order to save a little electricity.

Getting in Early

I have decided to put my internet earnings to good use this year by seeing how many presents I can get online using PayPal. Using this method could ensure that the financial impact of Christmas will be minimal come December. We have already 'invested' in a games console for the 'family' Christmas gift using online payments, and I am now looking around for a bargain ipod touch for another gift. I do like the idea of a hand held device that includes so much functionality. I am especially intrigued by web browsing facilities, as well as the emerging arena of applications that could make life so much easier including features such as calendar and phone book.
The beauty of using internet earnings for presents is that the money never quite seems 'real', also buying stuff for presents on websites fulfills the 'shopping desire' to a degree and prevents me spending so much on my own 'toys'...
I have to acknowledge, that even as a male, I do experience pleasure from making purchases, there is a danger that this can become in itself a reason to buy. At least if I am buying presents, then I am less likely to make frivolous purchases (If I say that enough times, I may even start to believe it!).

Diet Supplements

I have to say I am a bit wary of supplements because even too much of a 'good' thing can be bad for you. If I were tempted to partake of anything of this nature, I would certainly want to study the latest available diet supplement review to ensure that there were no nasty side-effects.
Healthy living should ideally comprise some rigorous and regular exercise, along with a healthy diet. Supplements may be required for short-term dietary imbalance corrections, but for the longer-term, a balanced diet should provide all that your body requires.

In the groove

The current furrow of internet earnings that I am ploughing has not changed much over the last 12 months or so. It consists of a smattering of tape to CD conversions which are supplemented by earnings from PayU2blog. I have a small recurring revenue from fixed adverts on a website, and every three or four months, there is the Adsense payout.

That more or less sums up where the money comes from. It doesn't pay to keep ploughing the same furrow for too long on the internet because the sands are always shifting. I want to open up new revenue streams, but as ever , the time to put everything into place just isn't there. More and more I am finding commitments in the 'real' world have a big impact on progress in the internet world.

This reiterates what I have always said about internet earnings, ie. you CAN make a small income, but you will have to work harder than you would at your 'day job' to get far less rewards. However, if you hit a rich stream of revenue, you may be in a position to be one of the few exceptions to this rule.

I am still looking for that rich stream....

Giving the right impression

There are a number of ways in which a small business can present itself in a way that can bring parity with some of it's larger competitors. Having a good web presence is a great way to project a 'big' company image even though the truth may be a somewhat more humble reality. Another great way to project a professional image is through company branded products and literature that you produce in-house. The literature comes in two formats:

• Portable Document Format (PDF), easily compiled in Open Office and exported straight into PDF to place on the web and email to your clients.
• Hard Copy literature to hand over face to face and at exhibitions- these should always be well-presented and finished with Velo binding if more than about a dozen pages or so.

Using these simple devices, a small company can project itself as equal with the bigger industry players. The first step is a small investment in some 'big-player' tools - a good logo, a good website (Wordpress or other CMS is ideal for this) and some quality paper, printer and other office accoutrements.

The Wedding

I for one have been won over by the idea of getting married on foreign shores, although we organised everything ourselves (I am not the sort of guy who would employ a 'wedding planner'!), it actually is less hard work than organising a wedding at home in my opinion (plus it was a lot cheaper!).

Of course, this has been an increasing trend over recent decades and has led to a whole new wedding couture including the idea of destination wedding dresses specifically suited to getting married on exotic shores in higher than 'normal' temperatures.

Naturally, the traditional heavy dress with train and veil may not be ideal for tripping along the beach in the Caribbean... equally it is now not uncommon to have the groom dressed in Bermuda shorts (even if the formal top-half is retained as is so often the case).

Earnings Sept 2010

Things are looking up this month, mainly due to some repeat custom for cassette to CD conversions and continued opportunities from payU2blog.
I am also just a few weeks away from reaching payout threshold for Google Adsense again by my estimation. I am also slowly closing in on payout for the two remaining survey services that I am signed up with.
Not all I have earned has gone on eBay, but I confess to having bought a few early Christmas presents... I gave not been very disciplined in frugal living lately, and will have to take some drastic action if I really want to clear off all my debts. There is plenty to be getting on with including house improvements leaving very little time for personal project developments. Nevertheless, I can't help but be happy with this months income. I also have a growing pile of stuff that I need to flog on eBay - it won't be considered 'income', but it will mean more paypal funds, which means more eBay purchases!!

The total for this month is probably as much as I have ever earned in a month at £240, which is around $380. No major purchases this month other than costs associated with CD conversions, so most of this months earnings have been pure profit.

Fashion

Fashion is an elusive idea that by it's very nature changes rapidly, not just in the ways that trends come and go, but in the way which it affects groups of people. This stems from the 1960's and the emergence of young people as a commercially influential group. Through the 80's and 90's, this group became younger as fashions started to encompass goods such as mobile phones and games consoles.

As someone who grew up in the 70's and 80's, it is interesting to see how my generation are confused about appropriate clothing. Our parents wore the uniform of middle age, cardigans, suits and the like, our peers seem happiest wearing hoodies and urban clothing instead. Nevertheless some conform to the archetypal middle-age dressing habits, and some who feel the Peter Pan urge still think that jeans and a T-shirt do not look incongruous on a fifty-year old....

Life Insurance

Even when times are hard financially, it does not do to skimp on insurance. Insurance may be a cost that we are often unwilling to contemplate, yet being under-insured may add to your woes, or in the case of life insurance, the woes of your family. A term life insurance quote is worth considering if you are concerned about costs that will befall your family on your death. Someone told me recently that you could get a plan with a funeral home where you can pay for your funeral now, and even if costs go up many-fold in the intervening period, your funeral can be covered at today's rates. If you don't have a similar plan, then your life insurance needs to take into account not only your family's needs, but the costs of a funeral and 'winding up' your estate.
Nobody likes to contemplate their demise, but 'burying your head in the sand' [no pun intended!] when it comes to insurance might mean some real problems for the family you leave behind.