I've just made yet another change to the site!

Starting today (actually yesterday, but it's official today), you will get a free ebook on Adsense and Adwords when you join my mailing list!

It's automatic, and I'm not selling  you anything. There aren't any additional special offers once you get the ebook. That's it. Just free knowledge.

Just think of it like this: I'm giving away power. For free. Free power. Free information on things you can do to make money online.

I also sent a copy to everyone that is already on the list (so they didn't feel left out).

Get it now! Tell your friends about this site!

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I am so excited about this! I'm getting ready to dive into another home business opportunity. This one should be easy to set up and run.

What, you think I'm going to tell you what it is?

Yes. You know I will. My first priority though is getting the money to start up the venture. I'm already over half-way there. And actually, I'm helping out my mother with this. We found an opportunity that has potential, is safe, and I personally know a person making money from it.

And the best part is that it's going to help everyone out. It's a win-win situation! But hey, that's what you've got to do to make money online, find situations that benefit people and hit them hard.

We are working as fast as possible to get that launched soon. I'm totally stoked about this, and you should be, too. If you want to find out more, I'd recommend joining my mailing list. As soon as it goes live, I will be sending out information, so if you aren't on board, you need to get there!

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Well, I finally got around to setting up an actual savings account (the first one I've ever had). Not bad, actually. And for the first time I've paid myself first...by putting 1% of my paycheck directly into the savings account.

Granted, that's not a lot, but I don't have a lot of wiggle room to work with. My paycheck was about 15-20 hours shorter than it should have been thanks to a slowdown at work. But, it should pick up again soon, and with my second stream of income (the karaoke gig), I should be able to survive the week...if I'm careful and don't blow money that I don't need to.

So far, I've set an initial goal of $500 in my savings account. I'd like to do that by the end of the year. Four months to go! I'm hoping that I can make that happen somehow.

The income breakdown in my head (because it's not on paper yet) is like this:

- 1% from Paycheck goes to savings.
- 25% of any web income goes to savings.

Now, that's not a lot of money, especially since I've stopped pursuing the make money online strategy. Of course, that doesn't mean that it won't emerge in the future as a significant source of income. Ok, I haven't completely given up on it, but I've shifted my focus to dealing with my personal life rather than trying to make a passive income source. It'll happen soon enough. But for now, I'm just setting small goals and making sure that my fundamentals are in place.

Do you have any savings goals? What would you recommend that I do about mine? What changes would you make?

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Well, here's just another in a long line of setbacks. Yesterday, I had to go to court to set up my child support payments.

When Jen and I split up, we decided to use arbitration (which is definitely the cheaper, more peaceful way to go). They have the full force of law behind them, and can make legally binding decisions.

We agreed that child support would be 25% of my net income, which I have been paying. I would get a check, figure what I owed, and write a check.

Unfortunately the office of the Attorney General doesn't do the math the same way. They base it on 25% of your projected total income for the year. A number which is total crap, because if you have a slow period at work or get laid off, you are just screwed. It doesn't fluctuate. It keeps going until the court decides to let you adjust it.

And that, my friends, is total garbage. Not to mention, I'm required to pay 50% of the children's insurance. Right now, that's about $80, give or take.

The problem is that this is on top of the child support.

Which means I'm not paying 25%. No sir. I'm paying closer to 1/3 of my "we-pulled-this-figure-up-by-magic" income.

The funny part is that the OAG really doesn't have the authority to override the decision of the arbitrators from what I understand. I'm thinking about seeing if I can set up an alternate method of payment. I doubt that I can do that, but I'd rather deal with the hassle of doing it myself rather than be screwed by fuzzy logic.

But there is good news this week! I finally, FINALLY set up an online savings account. I figured that if I was going to be completely beaten down by my finances, then I would have to act if I wanted to make it in the future. No more apathy. It's time to live how I want...or at least start working for that.

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I've decided that it's about time that I did something about a few situations.

I've picked up a second gig as a part-time karaoke DJ for a while. I love karaoke! And I love getting paid! So the two just naturally fell in place (and having a background in music and radio helped a bit).

I've started buying foods that are lower in fat. As in, yogurt, fruit and light meals. I've been overweight most of my life, and I need to do something about that. Honestly, I don't even mind if I don't lose all of the weight, but I'd love to lose at least 30 lbs. Honestly, I could stand to lose about 100 lbs...I'm a big dude. Heh.

I've been trying to sleep a little better. So far, that's a little harder than it sounds.

I kind of like feeling like this blog and putting this stuff in public gives me a sense of accountability, because if I fail, I fail publicly.

What kind of goals do you set for yourself?

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I was just playing around with some .me domains. Wow. There are so many great ones that nobody has yet...what, you think I'm gonna tell you?

Anyway, this weekend would normally be one that I'd spend with my kids, but I'm afraid that I need to take a break and stop putting things off and really look around and take stock of myself.

My financial state is dismal. My emotional state is worse. My sanity...let's say it's not there.

The plan is to find a way to make it where I can not just scrape by, but to survive and possibly even thrive. So I will be looking over my past debts, my current income and bills, and my future projections, setting some new goals (both personal and financial), and trying to figure out who I am and where I'm going.

Should be a fun experience.

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I hear a lot of talk about how a blog will not be successful if you aren't blogging about something you are passionate about. I've struggled to find a niche that I would feel comfortable in, as well as be motivated enough to keep doing it.

I think I've found that niche.

I've just set up my new blog, The Magic Gatherer - a Collector's Blog. Yes, I know it's nerdy to play Magic: the Gathering, but I just don't care. I love the game. It's my favorite game ever.

Come check it out and tell me what you think. I have big plans for it, and it's still in the early stages.

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