10. You are not interested in money

You think that when you make enough money at work all your money related problems will take care of themselves

Actually the opposite is true – over 90% of people winning a multi million dollar lottery end up with less money just after 5 years of winning.

Getting rich takes effort and planning. If you are not interested in money then chances are that money is not interested in you.

9. You are afraid to lose your money

You are so afraid to lose your money that you keep it in an ordinary bank account with a terribly small interest rate. You are afraid to invest your money because you think that the risk of losing everything is too great.

By keeping your money on a savings account, it generates less interest than the inflation. This means that by keeping your money in a safe place you are actually losing it to inflation.

8. You invest in what you don’t know

After reading a story about a new high tech invention you decide to invest all your money into this startup company. If it’s high tech and complicated it must be a great invention, right?

Wrong!

Investing your money in what you don’t understand is the fastest way to losing everything. Something that looks like a good idea doesn’t have to be one. Stick to what you know and you will be able to keep yourself from the dumb ideas and go along with the great ones.

7. You hope that other people will take care of your money

You give professional money managers free will to take care of your money as they wish. Everyone wants to have more money so they will just end up making a lot of “necessary transactions” – of course you are the one paying the transaction fees.

Take care of your own money – always have the last say in what to invest and what to buy.

6. You want too much too fast

You want to get a lot of money fast and with little or no effort. This makes you go along with tens of get rich quick schemes that always end up losing money.  Your decisions are affected by the need to get a lot of money fast, which makes you take unnecessary and stupid risks.

You need to remember that there is no such thing as easy money.

5. You don’t have an emergency fund

You spend everything you make and don’t keep an emergency fund for unexpected things. If you are not covered by insurance an accident can set you back tens of thousands of dollars.

Without an emergency fund you would need to borrow to come up with the money. This also means that you will have to pay interest – not having an emergency fund can end up loosing you a lot of money.

4. Your goals suck

You don’t have any goals and even if you have one – its awful.

Just about every 10-year-old wants to be rich and famous but only a few will actually get there.
You need a goal that says what you want to achieve, how you are going to achieve it and by what time will it be achieved.

After coming up with a goal you will also need to make a plan on how to achieve it. You must be able to measure your progress at any point to get feedback on how you are doing.

3. You have bad habits

You smoke, drink and watch TV all day long. You spend money on the things that will never bring you anything back. In the long run you need to spend even more money on health in order to get back to your best drinking shape!

A bad and devastating habit can also be negative thinking. Research has shown that people who are more willing to keep their mind open and positive to new ideas are wealthier than pessimists.

2. You are impatient

You want to have everything now and are not willing to wait in order to buy it later. The concept of saving money for something you want to buy is not known to you – instead you use one of your many credit cards.

You probably haven’t heard that using a credit card makes other people rich (owners of credit companies) and keeps you poor.

1. You buy everything your neighbors and friends have

Trying to impress your neighbors and friends by buying all the stuff they have plus everything they would like to have? Don’t do it – spending money on things that you really have no need for is the number 1 reason why people have less money than they want to. Having a lot of things and having a lot of money are 2 things that contradict each other – you need to give money away in order to get stuff.

True wealth and money comes to those who are willing to wait – the 1000 dollars you choose not to spend on a new plasma TV with a giant screen can turn into 100 000 dollars in 20 years. Think of how much TV-s this money would get you then (as opposed to how much you would get when selling your TV after 20 years).

• Insights to money and how to get rich
• What does being rich mean for you?
• The Rule of 72
• Anyone can make money
• What do you want money for?

Here are the income stats for www.financialjesus.com in October 2009.

Google Adsense - $74.86
Direct Links – $10
TopEuro.biz – $2.2

Total Income – $87,06

What happened

The total income for October 2009 was a bit down from September – $87 vs $89. In spite of growing traffic the total Google Adsense revenue was down 5 bucks.

I didn’t have a lot of time to work on the site, but just as I feared on my income post for september – people got used to the new design and ad blindness started to kick in. We showed more ads but got less money.

An average monetized site getting about 1000 visitors per day can except an advertising income of 200-400 dollars per month so I started thinking about ways to better monetize the site.

I asked around in forums and got some nice feedback in WickedFire, DigitalPoint and the Cheating Network. (click on the links for the threads I started and the great information I got back – specially the first 2 forums).

I signed up for CPM ads at TopEuro.biz. I only had them for a couple of days – that’s why the low income(2.2 dollars). These ads only show to people coming from USA and Canada and I don’t need people to click on them – I get money for just showing them! I’ll see on November how they perform!

Traffic is Growing

Traffic was up 20.3% in October – going from 25 000 to 30 430.

With the last 2 months the total traffic to Financial Jesus has grown 60%.

Goal for November

This month I will try to put into practice all monetization advice I got from the forums – my goal is blog income of $200 dollars.
In October I also happened onto a blog post in German that talks about 19 websites and how they make money- I intend to go through it again to find some great advertising programs.

I am also in the process of launching at least 3 new websites – I will let you guys know what they are when I launch!

• Blog Income Report – September 2009
• How Much Money a Website Can Make?
• Blog Income Report – January 2009
• How to Get Rich Online Without Bullshit! The Secret That Has Made Millions $$$.
• In Depth Analysis of Getting Traffic From Stumbleupon

Attention is the new currency of the world.

Large companies are willing to pay what ever it takes to get your attention. Their life or death depends on the fact that you know about their latest gizmo.
It is very difficult to get you to buy something without you taking a look first – that is what advertisements are for. They give you a sneak peek and are designed specially to make you interested in the product.

Ads are Everywhere

Unfortunately the world is getting saturated with ads.
Scientists have estimated that if you live in New York City you will see over 100 000 advertisements every day. It is increasingly difficult for an ad to stand out among others.

Advertising on Flies

As you’ll see yourself in the video – a German company has attached banners on flies for an awesome advertising campaign!

The flies are so small, that it would be difficult to notice them, but thanks to the attached banners they don’t fly as high and get tired quicker – this means that they frequently land and can’t fly higher than humans. This way they are always in sight for a prospective buyer!

The banners themselves are just a few centimeters big but once you see them flying you can’t take your eyes off them!

The Video

Via Wired

• You are a money magnet
• Always Do Your Very Best
• Day 1 – traffic from JohnChow.com ?
• Probably the Best Political Commercial in the World
• Putin doesn’t like candy

10. Vietnam, Hanoi

For most people Vietnam is known for the Vietnam War that took place over 40 years ago but it is also becoming a more popular tourist attraction by the year. As one of the poorest countries in the world Vietnam and its capital city Hanoi are home to a growing number of pickpockets who are on the watch for your money.
Most tourist attractions in Hanoi are located outside in crowded areas so it is very easy to become an unsuspecting target for a pickpocketing master who has probably pickpocketed thousands of people.

Check out the video below to see just how brave some pickpocketers can be in Vietnam.

Technique used to steal your money in Hanoi:
Brute force. A thief can use a moped or a motorbike to steal your handbag while driving. When in Vietnam or other Asian countries  make sure that your handbag is not too easy to snatch. A good idea is to carry your bag on the side where there is less people and traffic.

9. Greece, Athens

Greece and its capital Athens are one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. In addition to a blooming tourist sector the city is also facing a rapid growth in pickpockets who make a living off of unsuspecting tourists.
It doesn’t matter if you are visiting the Parthenon or the Acropolis – make sure you never lose sight of your bags when you are admiring the countless ancient monuments. Someone who seems just like another tourist can be on the hunt for your wallet.

Technique used to steal your money in Athens:
A number of Gypsy children surround you and shamelessly start robbing your things. This boldness will take you by surprise – in the mean time the children pass your things quickly between each other and run in different directions. Your wallet, mobile phone and camera will most probably all go in different directions. Sometimes the children pass your belongings to older women who hide them beneath their clothes. The police won’t look under a skirt!

8. The Netherlands, Amsterdam

The night life in Amsterdam, legal marijuana and the red light district with its countless women are all great but only as long as you still have your money to pay for it all!
The pickpocketers in Amsterdam’s red light district take advantage of the “No camera policy”. No one is allowed to take pictures in the infamous area – this means that there are also no surveillance cameras that could help fight the crime.

A graffiti in Amsterdam

Technique used to steal your money in Amsterdam:
Someone pushes you from behind or from the side making it look like he just wanted to get past you on a busy street.
In reality there is another person on the opposite side who takes advantage of the fact that you are looking the other way to see who pushed you and steals your wallet and belongings.

7. Argentina, Buones Aires

Buenos Aires is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Latin America but it is also a heaven for pickpockets and thieves. Be on the lookout for groups of children following tourists and of course the usual running purse snatchers.

Technique used to steal your money in Buones Aires:
A group of children approach you with a piece of paper or a card with some writing on it. Their leader places the card under your chin to read and while you are focused on the text the other kids go through your belongings.

Below is a video of a pickpocket in action in Argentina

6. Italy, Florence

This renaissance pearl is facing major trouble with pickpockets. As people are losing jobs in the economic downturn more and more are counting on stealing as their primary source of income.

The reason pickpocketing is gathering popularity in Italy is that it is relatively easy to start – if you are beginning your career and get caught, just run away. It is almost certain that no one will follow you – people will be happy that they got to keep their things. After escaping successfully, just try to steal someone else’s wallet – this time you will be a bit smarter and there is a higher chance that you will get away with it!

Pickpocket warning sign in Italy

Technique used to steal your money in Florence:
While you are looking around in the local shops you will focus all your attention towards the goods on sale. A careful pickpocket notices that and gently opens your bag or purse to go through its contents.

5. France, Paris

France and Paris with its elegant Eiffel tower are one of the number 1 tourist attractions in the world. People from all over the world flock up to try out the famous French cuisine and meet the friendly locals. As it turns out – some people can be too friendly!

Technique used to steal your money in Paris:
Attractive young men walk around trying to find female tourists in order to give them a red rose as a present. This will make the lady happy and unsuspecting and she will be an easy target for pickpockets who are teaming up with the handsome young man giving away flowers.

If the thieves don’t find something valuable they might ask you money for the flower. Both ways you are in for an unpleasant surprise.

4. Spain, Madrid

Spain is another European tourist destination that is overpopulated with tourists. In addition to Barcelona holding the top position in our list, the capital Madrid is flooded with pickpockets.

When on your way to a bull fight you better look out – what seems like an ordinary crowd can be a crowd full of people hungry for your wallet!

Technique used to steal your money in Madrid:
Someone with a camera approaches you and asks to take a photo of them. You will drop your bag for a minute in order to take the picture – at the same time someone from behind snatches your bag and runs away

3. Czech Republic, Prague

Czech Republic – the home of cheap beer and all night partying! The capital Prague is known for its popularity among British lads who wish to enjoy the weekend but it is no place to be when you are too drunk and have lost all your friends.

In 2005 the city of Prague ran an ad campaign to notify tourists of pickpockets. Here is what 1 ad looked like:

Here is what a victim had to say about how he lost his money in Prague:

Technique used to steal your money in Prague:
A young women makes eye contact with you on the street. This temporarily gets your attention while you are being robbed by the beautiful girl’s accomplice.

2. Italy, Rome

Pickpockets are an increasing problem in Italy. In addition to Florence (number 6 in our list), Rome is the countries busiest tourist center. But that is not all it is – it is also a heaven for pickpockets. The pickpocketing problem in Rome is so big that it is mentioned in almost all materials intended for tourists. The thieves however are almost never local – they are poor immigrants looking for a way to make a living.

The pickpocketing problem is especially big in public transport. The inner city bus number 64 is known as “the wallet express” – it is the best way to get rid of your money.

Below is a video of pickpockets in action in Italy:

Technique used to steal your money in Rome:
A young gypsy girl or a woman near you will appear to trip and accidentally drop her baby – it almost seems that she throws the baby into your arms.
You reach to save it from falling and in the process drop whatever is currently in your hands. The accomplices quickly pick up whatever you dropped, go through your things and leave.
You will of course realize that instead of a baby you are holding a doll.

1. Spain, Barcelona

Barcelona is the number 1 tourist attraction in Spain! In addition to a number of sights it also has a dozen or so pickpockets for every attraction. If pickpocketing would be on the Olympics, Barcelona would be the definite gold medalist!

When you disregard pickpocketing, Barcelona is a relatively safe place to be. Spanish people are not very fond of drinking, they much more prefer smoking pot – and that makes people sleepy and friendly.

When walking on the famous pedestrian street La Rambla be sure to wear your backpacks in your front. Pickpockets work in teams – 1 person distracts you and another one opens your bag or goes through your pockets. They don’t hesitate to use scissors or a razor to cut their way in!

Technique used to steal your money in Barcelona:
A friendly local notices that your clothes are dirty and offers to provide you with a napkin so that you can clean yourself.
What really happens is that the local himself or his partner in crime has secretly spilled something on you to get your attention. After accepting the napkin and starting to clean yourself your mind is occupied and it becomes easy to go through your bag or your pockets.

What Google Thinks

Below is a screenshot of the places that Google thinks have the most pickpockets! Here is what people usually search for:

It looks that our list is dead on – 8 out of 10 places searched in Google are all somewhat featured in our list. As you can see – pickpocketing tends to be a larger problem in Europe than in anywhere else!

• Top 10 richest countries of the world – Page 2
• Make a Not To Do List
• Who are the biggest competitors to Financial Jesus?
• 10 Most Expensive Streets in the World
• World Problems for Future Hedge Fund Managers

As you know from my previous post – happy people have more money than pessimists.
So if you want to be wealthier but your down emotions are keeping you back – you should take a look at this video. It made me smile and hopefully will make you too!

• Don’t be too happy if you want to be rich
• 10 reasons why you are still poor
• You are a money magnet
• 10 Ways to Go Bankrupt
• I should never post this video

Research shows that income rises with happiness, but being too happy can be bad for you.

University of Illinois psychology professor Ed Diener is the author of numerous studies that show the relationships between happiness and money.

Money can’t buy happiness

Ed Diener’s various studies have shown that money can’t buy happiness, but happy people tend to make more money. His studies show that happiness is not the consequence of having more money – just the opposite is true – having more money is the consequence of being happy.

Too much happiness can be a bad thing

In his latest study professor Diener and his team studied the income levels of people who had previously rated their happiness with a score from 1 to 10.

The results were somewhat surprising.

The amount of money a person made grew with their happiness but not all the way to the top level. The 10s (happiest people) made significantly less money than people who rated their happiness with an 8 or 9. The people whose “happy levels” were a bit less than 10 were also more likely to attend college and save money!

Happy people are strivers

Diener’s conclusion was that people who are happy but understand that it is possible to be even more satisfied with their life are strivers (people who rated their happiness with 8 or 9). These people understand that whatever their current situation, it is possible to be better off.

This insight seems to make people tick. They know that there is something to strive for.

Don’t be too happy

The top happy people who rated their happiness level with a 10 were money wise a lot worse off than the people who rated their happiness with an 8 or 9.

The explanation to this is also quite logical.

Tremendously happy people are always happy – whatever happens. If you work in McDonalds and you are happy with it, why look for a better job? If you get fired but you are still happy, why look for a job at all?

Overly happy people make bad decisions

According to a study done in Duke University the people who rate their happiness level with the maximum grade tend to overestimate their lifespan by more than 20 years. They also found that extreme optimists can have problems with controlling their urges – but they are happy with it.

It was found that extreme optimists tended to overspend and accumulate debt. They were happy to take a loan, because they were mistakenly positive that they could pay it back.

• Top 10 happiest countries in the world
• 8 Steps to Help Cure Financial Insanity
• Understand your beliefs about money
• An Easy Way To Make People Happy
• The Difference Between Good Debt and Bad Debt

Reuters is writing that the ongoing economic crisis has had a large impact for millionaires around the world. For the first time in more than 10 years the total wealth of the world has declined!

In 2009 the total number of millionaires in the world has fallen 17% compared to 2008 – currently there are only 9 000 000 millionaires left in the world.
Hardest hit are the millionaires in USA and Europe – both regions have 22% less millionaires than they had a year ago.
Don’t be alarmed however if you live in the States – with 3.9 million millionaires it is still the country with the largest number of millionaires in the world.

Do You Want a Friend Who is a Millionaire?

Following are Switzerland with 6.6 per cent of the population being millionaires, Kuwait with 5.1% and United Arab Emirates with 4.5% of people having more than a million dollars!
USA is lagging behind with 3.5% of its population being millionaires!

The Only Place In The World With Growing Wealth

If you are pessimistic about getting your first million then don’t worry – there is still hope.
It is projected that the world’s total wealth will be back to the 2007 levels by 2013 or later. This seems like a long time to wait but there is still a place in the world were more people get rich than lose their money.
This place is called Latin America – in 2008 they had 3% more millionaires than in 2007.

• Top 10 richest countries of the world – Page 2
• 10 Countries with Cheapest Gas Prices in the World
• Top 10 richest countries of the world
• Top Fastest Growing Economies in 2009
• 10 most read articles in 2008 at FinancialJesus.com

1. Take Out as Much Loans as You Can

Never lose an opportunity to borrow money. If a relative just got a hefty inheritance – be sure to borrow some money! If the bank is having a special deal with interests next to nothing – borrow some money! You will never know when you’ll need more money. Borrow as much as possible – that way you will always have it when you need it!
Better safe than sorry!

2. Buy Your Kids Everything They Want

The neighbor’s 5-year old kid Johnny just got a new Iphone with a 2 year contract so that he could better keep in touch with his family! Your son Michael is already 6 and wants to change his Iphone 3G for the newest 3GS.
Of course it will cost $2000 to end the old contract prematurely but anything to make the kids happy, right?
Children are the future!

3. Lend Your Friends Some money

Your friend Frank just came to talk to you with another great business idea? Super! Loan him all the money you can! You don’t want to miss the opportunity of lifetime, do you?
In fact – Frank seems like such a great bloke – why not borrow some money from your parents to help him get started? You can always pay them back next year! Oh boy, oh boy – just imagine how happy they will be when they find out that you got 10 times more back than you invested!
Your wife says that you are a “down on your feet kind of guy”, so you also consider what the worst that can happen is.
Well, when things don’t play out as planned Frank will just give you your money back! At least the two of you will be better friends than ever, right?

4. Get as Many Credit Cards as You Can

Remember your friend Cindy? She has 13 different credit cards and all your girlfriends just adore her! She used to be a nobody but after getting as many credit cards as possible she is able to buy anything!
Neither she, nor her husband has a job but Cindy has a different Gucci bag every week – surely she must know what she is doing!

5. Go to a Casino

Casino is the best place to quickly make more money. Enter with 1000 dollars and leave an hour later with $5000. You are not stupid, so you know that there are some dangers associated with casinos – it is best to consult your horoscope or a fortune teller before visiting!

6. Borrow Money To Buy Stocks

Did you hear about this new company and their product MakeMoneyFast2000? This is going to be a clear winner! There is no way it will flop like their previous product UltraMoneyMaker1000 did!
Just take all your retirement money and invest it into their stock. This will be the best decision you have ever made! Time to start planning for retirement!

7. Buy A New Car

Noticed the Mercedes-Benz your neighbor John bought last week? What a beauty!
In a few months time your BMW X5 will already be 2 years old! This means you should better start shopping for a new car! Always remember what your wife told you – when your car is older than a few years your friends will stop liking you and tell bad things about you behind your back!
Don’t want that to happen, do you?

8. Never Skip a Sale

Wow, this lawn mower is 50% off! We’d better get it since it is just too good to be true!
What about the 2 lawn mowers you already have? Don’t worry! Just sell them on eBay! They were too expensive anyway…

9. Never Save Any Money

You have a job, right? And you get your pay check every week, right?
Then what’s the point of saving money? However much you will spend you will get more money next week, so there really is no point of saving! You will have more money whether you save or not!
Live life to the fullest!

10. Pay Your Debt with New Debt

Having too much debt to deal with? No problem! Just take out a new loan to pay for your old ones.
This is a fool proof system – since you will always get a new and a better loan you will be able to pay back your previous loans.
Teach your friends how to do this as well! After all – this is how millionaires get to be billionaires.

• The Difference Between Good Debt and Bad Debt
• The difference between men and women
• Don’t be too happy if you want to be rich
• How to Calculate Your Net Worth? With Examples!
• Money is your friend, not an enemy

Wednesday the 23rd of September will forever stay in history as one of the largest robberies in history.

An unknown group of men armed with automatic weapons and bombs used a helicopter to rob the largest cash storing facility in Sweden. The building that was robbed was used to hold and transport money to all the banks and ATM’s in Stockholm.

The Robbery

The robbery was pulled off truly Hollywood style.
The men flew a helicopter above the cash depot, descended on the roof using ropes and used explosives to blow a hole in the roof of the building.
Bombs were also used inside the facility to get to the money.

Getting the loot only took about 20 minutes – afterwards the mysterious men left the same way they entered – using ropes and the helicopter.

It is thought that the pilot of the helicopter was a true pro – he flew the machine very low to the ground in total darkness in order to evade radars. No lights were used because the commando team wanted to stay completely hidden – from the radars but also from the naked eye.

Flying a helicopter close to the ground in total darkness is an ability that only 1 in a thousand pilots are able to do.

The Getaway

Just like the robbery the getaway was planned to the smallest detail.

The fact that the explosive devices were fake only came out later when the burglars were long gone. Unable to use their own choppers, police in Stockholm had to order air support from over 400 km (250 miles) away. The burglars were already long gone when the police helicopter finally arrived to the scene.

The team behind the robbery also made sure that it was impossible to follow them from the ground – they scattered a large number of metal spikes on the streets of South Stockholm in order to stop police cars from following.

The helicopter used to escape was found 3 hours after the heist in a small county near Stockholm. Finding it was pure luck – a local man called the police to notify finding a chopper from the woods.
Remember – the police was unable to follow the helicopter from the ground or using radars – it would have taken them very long time to find the machine on their own.

The Men Behind the Robbery

The Swedish police have no real clues about who were behind the robbery. The heist men are thought to be true professionals with military or special ops training. It is not known how many men are behind the robbery – the biggest clue is the helicopter driver who is known to be a real professional. The Swedish police is doing backup checks to all licensed pilots in the country.

It looks that this time the men behind the robbery are getting away with it!

Sometimes crime does pay!

• How to get out of a traffic ticket
• 1 Simple Idea That Can Revolutionize Banking
• Things I’ve Learned from Putting Together a Personal Finance Program
• 8 Steps to Help Cure Financial Insanity
• I’ll be away, but you will still be amused

Here are the income stats for www.financialjesus.com in September 2009

Google Adsense - $79.23

Direct Links – $10

Total Income – $89,23

What happened in September?

1. I redesigned the website using the premium Thesis Wordpress theme. I have to say that using Thesis is the best decision I have ever done. It has an insanely huge number of tweaking options – you can change everything without writing a line of code.

2. I also decided to use ads on every blog post that is older than 7 days. That way I will spear my usual readers from seeing ads but at the same time cash in from the people who find their way here from Google or other search engines.

3. I discontinued textlink ads. It was a great program that brought me in more than Google Adsense does but for some reason Google has dropped my pagerank from 3 to 0. I don’t know the exact cause but I suspect that using textlinkads.com can be behind it. So I am discontinuing the program for a few months to see if my pagerank will change back up!

Changes in Traffic

There were 25 216 visitors to Financial Jesus in September 2009. That is a 32.1% rise from August 2009.

The daily average visitor count went from 615 the month earlier to 840.

Goal for October

My minimum income goal for Financial Jesus in October is $100 dollars. I expect the income from Adsense to decline a bit since the initial effect of a new design is going to wear down and people are starting to get ad blindness.
At the same time I will most probably break the 1000 readers a day on average mark which will also mean larger earnings.

If time allows – I will also try some new money making sources – I am getting more and more into affiliate marketing and I am thinking of leveraging the traffic here to get more money

• Blog Income Report – October 2009
• How Much Money a Website Can Make?
• Blog Income Report – February 2009
• Blog Income Report – January 2009
• A Guy is Making Millions with Google Adsense