Archive for the ‘Question of the month’ Category
How can you use internet to earn or save money?
Question of the Month:
Question of the Month is yet another effort by the debtcc team to enhance the community knowledge bank. It’s a monthly contest and every month a challenging question will be thrown before the members for responses. The best answer will be chosen collectively at the end of the month by the debtcc members and the admin panel of the site. The winner of this contest will receive a handsome reward of a $50.
The purpose behind this idea is to encourage the members to share their real life experiences in dealing with the financial challenges.
Though different financial issues are being discussed across the debtcc board, but it doesn’t leave much scope to the members to share their personal experiences. Here is the place where it can be done, and also that the new members can get the innovative ideas to deal with their debts along with the conventional ones.
Question 8: How can you use internet to earn or save money?
We are finding it tough to maintain our livelihood during this ongoing financial crisis. Can internet be used to earn or save some extra bucks so that it can sail us through these troubled times? How? Share your experiences and knowledge with us to win $50.
Winner Post
Answer 1: There are countless ways to earn money and also save money on the internet. Lets start with earning. There are the obvious ways like Ebay. But there are also more specialized sites where you can sell items such as Etsy, who specializes in handmade items and vintage and Bonanzle. There is, of course, Amazon and Cash4Books where you can sell used books. The latter will even pay your shipping. The only drawback is you need to find what they are buying. Go to a thrift store and copy the codes from books that you think will sell and go put them in their site. They will immediately return a price to you if they are interested. You can even get a scanner that will tell you from where you are looking at books but they are expensive. There is a link to Cash4Books on my blog at www.myfrogpatch.blogspot.com.
Another way to make money off the internet is with affiliate marketing. That is selling products for others by posting links or ads on a blog, website, article or signature in your email or forum posts. Successful affiliate marketing takes some hard of work in the beginning but it keeps on producing. Say you write an article on Squidoo about training rabbits. It may only earn you 10.00 per month in adsense from Google but it will keep doing it for years. Now lets say you have one hundred articles out there. That is a residual income of 1000.00 per month for years to come. That is a very conservative figure, providing you write good content and learn how to effectively market. Once again there is a link on my blog for a book called Affiliate Marketing Blueprint. It costs 7.00 but is worth every penny and much more. My advice however is do not pay for a system that promises to make you 5000.00 per week working only a couple hours per day. Guess who is making that kind of money? Right, the one you just gave your 39.95 to. Stay away from MLM (multi level marketing) that requires you to recruit a downline but has no tangible product. Also shy away from any program that requires you to purchase inventory. You will wind up with a whole garage full of vitamins or cosmetics that you cant sell. A few years ago my wife was insisting that this new powder that you mix in bottled water to fortify it vitamins was the next biggest thing. I ordered a sample and it tasted like diet Kool Aid. A few months later Vitamin Water hit the markets and flew off the shelves as it was marketed by Coke or Pepsi. All the others like Snapple soon followed. Am I glad I do not have boxes of that "next biggest thing" in my closet.
Regarding saving money on the internet. Coupons, coupons and more coupons can be printed from Val Pak and dozens of sites like it. Do a Google search and you will run out of printer paper in no time. Couple those with your stores sales and you a a big winner. My wife slashes our bill each week with internet and newspaper coupons. You can also save money on travel by working Travelocity, Price Club, AAA and several others against each other. Also one of the best ways to save money on the internet is by taking the advice of the people who are right here on this site whose personal financial experiences and solutions are priceless!
Answer Posted by |frogpatch
The other answers worth mentioning are:
Answer 2: Yes. The Internet can definitely be used to earn and save us some extra bucks. You have those affiliate programmes, eBay, get-paid-to sites or simply set up your own website and sell your stuffs. Theres too many methods out there thats yet to be explored. Creativity added with a good marketing strategy will definitely earn you some extra bucks off the Internet.
Ive known of some people who dont just sail through. They are even making a living off the Internet.
Get-paid-to sites are probably the most popular way to earn some extra cash off the Internet. Why not? Most, if not all, are free to join and they even pay you for doing things you normally do. Examples includes Paid-to-click, Paid-to-read and Paid-to-post sites, just to name a few of the popular ones. Of course, this get-paid-to sites mostly earn you paltry sums but thats where the power of referrals comes in. The sites pay you to refer people to their website. But even with enough referrals, I dont think youll be able to sail through. At most, youll just be able to start the ship(have enough to pay the bills etc..).
The second method Ive mentioned is affiliate marketing. This method is free for the affiliates but costly for the consumers. The job of an affiliate is to help companies to sell their products. The companies will, in turn pay the affiliates a certain agreed-upon amount of commision. In other words, affiliates are what I would call "online salespeople". This is a better method than get paid to as it earns you more for each sale transaction youve made. One of the most popular affiliate website has to be Clickbank. Theres so many products for the salespeople to choose from. And as with real-life sales people, successful affiliates are really smooth-talkers who knows how to play around with words.
The 3rd method Ill cover is setting up your own website and selling your own products. This is almost similar to affiliate marketing. The only difference is you are the salesperson. You decide what you sell and how you sell it. Basically, you are the boss. This is the best method to sail through economic times and maybe even earn a living off the Internet. But, of course, your product must be beyond superb and your marketing tactics have to be excellent. This method has mostly been successful for people that already have a real physical shop and a strong customer base. They set up the websites so that its easier for customers to simply order products online and saves the hassle of going to their shops.
So, those Ive mentioned are just 3 of the common methods people use to earn that extra money.
In terms of saving through the Internet, theres eBay whose array of products sold are normally cheaper than outside market. Then, theres those get cash back websites where you get your cash back on items that youve bought. Not the whole amount but a certain percentage. These are the methods to save online. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention blogshops are also on the rise nowadays and if youre great at searching the net, youll find items with huge discounts at blogshops.
Thus, these are the methods of earning and saving online. Of course, theres many other methods such as freebies trading and becoming a realtor.
All in all, Ill wrap up by saying "A creative mind and excellent marketing tactics are the keys to online success".
Answer Posted by |Zaf
Answer 3: Considering the economic times, many people are going to the net for answers and how to supliment thier incomes. Frankly it is harder than most people think to make a living online but it can be done. Not only can you make money, there are great ways to save money outside the normal ways. Just in the last few months this is how i saved and made money on the internet to supplement us through these tough times.
1. I have a ebay store were i am decluttering myself plus making a little extra money. killing 2 birds with one stone and the fact that im crafty helps!!
2. I spend alot of time helping people with thier debt and show them ways that i save (thanks to the internet) even though this does not make me money, its rewarding in its own way.
3. I have found so many new ways to save me money thanks to the internet that i normally would never have thought of such as making my own cleaning supplies, online coupons and discounts, purchasing items through mypoints which pays me to do the shopping that i normally would have anyhow.
4. I am finding ways to grow my own erbs, gardens, and fruit and veggies, and learned how to can thanks to the internet. I would have had to purchase hundreds of dollars worth of books for the information that i got for free, saving me both the money in how to books, and saving me money on my groceries and saving on our belts too.
5. Found out how to make certain craft items that i did not know how to do to sell for income.
These are just the tip of the iceburg as to how i have earned and saved money the last few months. After going through my debt settlement program i thought i had gotten myself to were i could do no more, when in fact i was wrong i am finding new things all the time that help me save a dollar or two or earn a few dollars here and there. Most people would not think that this makes much of a difference but by the end of the month i have saved myself hundreds of dollars just by saving a dollar here and there.
Every little bit adds up, and if you are careful you will find ways were you will make the ends meet to get through these tough times. Its not always how much you make, but how much you save or spend.
Answer Posted by |love_my_things
Answer 4: I am a mother of 7 and I use the internet to make $$ and save money for diapers, gas and Chuck E Cheese for my kids. I complete surveys online (1 company has paid me since 5/20/2008 -$121.90 less than 1 yr. NICE! – 2nd highest TOTAL REWARD PAYMENTS TO DATE $44.00 since 4/13/2008), I complete PAID product evaluations for companies, also I belong to MyPoints which earns you points for various activities (i.e. reading emails, shopping online, printing & redeeming coupons, playing games online, etc.) to date in less than 5 yrs. I have cashed in points for gift cards totalling $675.00- over $125 yr. NICE! Also I complete secret shops for various companies online which has been very lucrative for me (BEWARE-dont pay to become a secret shopper!!!). Get my username and PM/email me if interested & I will share all (permission granted for those who ask Vikas, HA,HA). Also there are Several freebie links that you sign up for samples for things you use everyday (i.e. shampoos, toothpastes, pledge wipes, dog food, OTC medicines, etc). I also sign up for email newsletters to places I shop frequently (Kohls sent me $5 gift card for signing up for e-newsltr., Joanns sends 40-60% off coupons, Chilis, TGI Fridays, Wendys all send coupons for free food, Wal-Mart has free sample link on site, etc.) So if you ask me if you can make & save money from internet -YES!!! -Dont expect to make millions but you can have a nice stash cash amount from it. This forum has been such a great asset of knowledge to me I thought I would try the QOM & be an asset in an area that I have knowledge in. God Bless all and remember knowledge is power and strength. The strong can assist the weak which gives them more power in turn knowledge.
Answer Posted by |cjohnson67
Answer 5: I believe the internet can make and save you tons of money!! You can go through your stuff and what you dont need or want anymore you can put up for sale on sites like e-bay and craigs list. But you can always get great deals from these sites also. There is also a site for places in my area called rtownshopper and you can go there and get certificates for dinner or almost anything for up to 50% off regular price just by using that site. Then there is this site 
Where you can find out if your overpaying on your payday loans!!
I made over $400 selling stuff on craigslist in Feb. But I have also saved a TON of money buying hubby a new wedding ring off of e-bay. I paid $110 and it appraised for $1200 and the jewler was VERY suprised that I got it off of e-bay. I have also saved tons of money buying my kids clothes from e-bay. It also saved me gas, because I could look at it on the computer instead of driving around to garage sales and not finding things they liked or their size. I have saved hunders of dollars in interest fees to the illegal payday lenders thanks to this site.
So in my mind the internet is a good tool to use for earning AND saving money. But you do have to weed through the scams that are advertised on some sites, where you have to pay something like $40 for a booklet for work at home jobs. If you have to pay for information then you know its a scam.
Answer Posted by |puddlejmpr
Answer 6: THERE ARE LOTS OF WAYS THE INTERNET CN SAVE YOU MONEY OR MAKE YOU MONEY, THERE CRAIGS LIST YOU CAN POST THINGS THAT YOU MANY WANT TO SELL, AND YOU CAN FIND REALLY GOODS DEALS TO I MYSELF NEEDED A NEW GAS DRYER, BUT A FREIND OF MY GAVE ME AN ELECTRIC ONE, SO I WENT ON GRAIGS LIST AND FOUND A LADY THAT HAD A GAS DYRER BUT SHE NEEDED AN ELECTRIC SO WE SWITCHED DRYERS, I ALSO HAVE SOLDED STUFF ON GRAIGS LIST I SOLD A WASHER FOR A 100.00 DOLLARS U JUST HAVE TO POST THINGS AND PEOPLE WILL ANSWER
Answer Posted by |MSPACK31
Answer 7: Yes it can, you can find several websites that will tell you how to save money and to cut costs. Thriftyfun.com will give you all kinds of advice to save money of all things from cooking to cleaning products. I also use websites such as allrecipes.com to cook my own food rather then spend the extra money on premade stuff. If you shop on overstock, ebay and craiglist you can also find things for a lot less then in stores as well as ads for yard sales and people selling used items and things for trade also.
Answer Posted by |KellyP
Answer 8: Use the internet to research information regarding banks offering the highest savings rates-checking accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, health savings accounts, & IRA accounts. Research online business ventures, buying items like prescription drugs, and take virtual tours of places without traveling. Enjoy your home by staying home & going online & discovering a wealth of information to challenge your mind-Focus on the Family, Max Lucados website, CNN, MSNBC, if further education needed-Take an online class!
Answer Posted by |Sherry1238883980
Answer 9: hELLO THE INTERNET CAN HELP YOU ACESS ALL FORMS OF PEOPLE TO HELP, YOU CAN ALSO CHECK TO SEE IF THEY ARE REALY TRUE TO WHAT THEY SAY, I AHVE BEEN ON MANY DIFFERENT SITES TO FIND THE BEST SOLUTION FOR ME, I AHVE JUST LOGGED ON TO AND FILLED OUT THE FORM TO THE COMPANY I FEEL WILL HELP THE MOST, THUS PUTTING MORE MONEY INTO MY POCKET AND KEEPING THE CREDITORS OFF MY BACK, I WOULD ENCOURGE ANY ONE TO SERACH THE INTERNENT FOR VERY HELPHFUL INFORMATION.
Answer Posted by |k.conrad
Answer 10: This site was reviewed, among several others, on www.infowars.com. So, it is number one of the few legitimate sites going out there. The infowars staff actually bought the different pkgs, and tried them out. It is Shelly Ryans instant profit machine.
www.instantprofitmachine.com
It is a click bank return, and it is very, very simple to do!
Quote from the site:
I have found a foolproof method how anyone can easily make a big additional income every week with 15 minutes of their time and create a substantial monthly income. This method has never been released to the public before. Very few, if anyone has implemented this. I have decided to share my idea with you. The only thing I ask is you do not share this information with anyone.
Now you can pump out HUGE profits in just 5 minutes everyday using an embarrassingly simple, proven, plug-in-and-profit software that will zap quick, easy cash into your accounts at will…
These are just a few of the benefits:
NO Advertising required
NO Affiliate Marketing
NO Selling required
NO Additional Costs involved
There is a one time fee, and it comes with a 60 day guarantee. I do not remember if it was $50 or $67?
Answer Posted by |alan rush
How do you think the tax rebates in Obama’s Economic Stimulus Plan can help you?
Question of the Month:
Question of the Month is yet another effort by the debtcc team to enhance the community knowledge bank. It’s a monthly contest and every month a challenging question will be thrown before the members for responses. The best answer will be chosen collectively at the end of the month by the debtcc members and the admin panel of the site. The winner of this contest will receive a handsome reward of a $50.
The purpose behind this idea is to encourage the members to share their real life experiences in dealing with the financial challenges.
Though different financial issues are being discussed across the debtcc board, but it doesn’t leave much scope to the members to share their personal experiences. Here is the place where it can be done, and also that the new members can get the innovative ideas to deal with their debts along with the conventional ones.
Question 7: How do you think the tax rebates in Obama’s Economic Stimulus Plan can help you?
Obama’s Economic Stimulus Plan has announced $168 billion in tax rebates and tax breaks for both taxpayers and businesses. According to the plan an individual can get a tax rebate of up to $600 and a couple filing jointly can expect a rebate of up to $1200. Do you think it is going to help you? How?
Winner Post
Answer 1: Yes indeed! Because it will keep my hard earned money, which I obtained through my own sweat and diligent labors, in my pocket where it belongs. How will Americans ever learn how to manage their finances properly if they dont have any money to manage? Instead, we are constantly giving our money away to the government to manage on many programs that we dont agree with nor know anything about. We dont give of our own free will, but will actually be put into jail if we do not hand over our money to the government.
I get paid bi-weekly. I bring home a gross pay check of about $1200 every two weeks. The the federal government, not even counting taxes that are taken out by my state, takes about $150 from the $1200 every pay check (im rounding off with my numbers here). One hundred and fifty dollars! Real honestly im sitting here thinking about all of the ways that i could use this money and the list is endless. Not merely wishful things (i.e. new MP3 player, new toys, clothes, GPS, camping stuff, computer game, WHATEVER). Yet, there are many, many useful things, long term beneficial things that i could do with the money. Put the money away into savings for starts…Yeah but we need to get the money back into the economy you say. Part of saving is so that more money can be spend later down the road. For instance, if i had more money on hand i would be more apt to by a car, or brand new computer system, or even make a down payment on a house. Then there are also things more immediate that i could use the money for: bills, food, some debt that ive been trying to pay off. Who knows, i might even feel led to give some money away to a non profit more often, pour back into my local community, or even global outreach, if of course i had more money to work with.
Its obvious our government doesnt know how to handle our money properly. That cant even bail out AIG without first making sure the money is going to be used properly before they start up the printing presses.
Really i think you guys are asking a rhetorical question. Of course this extra money will help us, the issue remains that i do not need anyone to withhold my money until i can give them a suitable answer, one that will appease them, in order for them to decide that i get my money back. My money helps my no matter what my agenda is, the question then remains, what help do i really need? Do i need a government agency to decided that they are the only ones who know how to manage my money, or a "user friendly" agency, that educates me, the user, on the wisest, most prudent uses of my money thereby making me a better person, who makes wise decisions, and a benefit to those around me and on society as a whole.
Answer Posted by |True Freedom
The other answers worth mentioning are:
Answer 2: What I plan to do is take the amount of the stimulus tax cut and use that to increase my % of pay into my retirement. I am a state employee and they match up to 4%. The extra money (about 14.00 a week) will just about take me to the max of the 4% match in my retirement account. This also lowers my taxes as we are taxed on amount after the % goes into the deferred retirement account. If you dont put the max match in, you are throwing away free money!!!! I am not sure how much it will lower my tax burden for the year.
Answer Posted by |dell hughes
Answer 3: I certainly think the new "Stimulus" plan is something that will help millions of people, including myself. Before this plan was ever signed into law, it was scrtinized by many across these great states, but what these people failed to realize is that, looking at a grand scale, todays ecomony is struggling to stay afloat and to stay in competition with other global economies. Thus, giving this economy some sort of stimulus to encourage "at home" buying will help the betterment of our society.
When focusing on the small scale, it becomes quite evident that anyone would benefit from an additional $600 to $1200 of income during these trying times. Personally, I am overjoyed at the thought of having some additional income. I just recently purchased a new home, opened a business and refinanced my truck. Consequently, my pockets are being drained faster than I can fill them up and my sons birthday is this Saturday. So, I look at that question, "Do you think it is going to help you? How?," and I say, "YES!" I can take time to relax, at least for one month, and not be up in arms about bills and due dates, I can save some, I can buy some much needed articles of clothing or go over budget on food for one month…whatever it is I should choose to do with the money, it is a true blessing indeed to have a President that understands these harsh times and wants to do something about it instead of looking down on those less fortunate.
Way to go Obama, way to go!
Answer Posted by |Synamon Pennington1238005
Answer 4: I was under the impression that the relief would come to about 15.00 a week and not in a lump sum which really would not help us much. But if something has changed were we will be recieving a rebate check in one lump sure it would help! If that would be the case, I would use the money to pay off my lowes card that i used to replace my furnace last summer! Then i would be back to no cc again!!!!!YEA!!
If its just 15.00 a week, I plan to pretend that i still get the same amount so that we can save to pay off that card and have it automaticly withdrawn from my checking to my savings and forget about it.
As much as i dont like obamas stimulus plan, it is what it is and every little bit helps and adds up. Every dollar counts in our household and it would be put to the best use possible as the money that we currently have comming in does. every dollar is accounted for around here. So to say that it wouldnt help at all is not true, but i feel it would be better in one lump sum to put twards something.
but even if i didnt put it away this is enough money that i could use for my gas everyweek. i dont go very many places but it would be enough to cover picking my son up from pre-k everyday!!
Answer Posted by |love_my_things
Answer 5: The tax rebate will not help me in any way. Ooohhhh we get and extra $14 in our paychecks. Well thats only "IF" you are working. We make too much money to get any of his credits. Cant buy a house because credit sucks and the banks are not lending. Dont need a new car so cant get that credit either, banks wont lend for those either. Plus if any of the credits would hit home to us, it would just get eaten up by our state. They are raising taxes on EVERYTHING!!! So no matter what, we all will get shafted one way or another. If not this year, the years in where we have to repay all of this stimulus crap. Wish I could have gotten a bailout to go take a lavish vacation, oh wait, I wouldnt have taken the vacation. I would have paid my medical bills.
Answer Posted by |puddlejmpr
Answer 6: The economic stimulus plan that President-Elect Obama is working is estimated to be between $675 and $775 Billion. The stimulus plan will be geared towards job growth and infrastructure. Some have argued that work should be done to increase short-term spending but Obama’s economic stimulus plan looks to have long-term effects. This sounds reasonable as short-term spending would only be a small band-aid at best. We have to move away from this idea that we can spend our way out of trouble!
The administration will look to give money to projects that have a plan to move us away from being energy dependent on other countries as well as projects to help build up schools. If done correctly this could be similar to what was achieved under FDR where many buildings and schools were built during the depression that are in use today.
Answer Posted by |Sudam Chakraborty
Answer 7: Yes, it will help me. However:
The rebates will not be in the form of a paper check or electronic deposit using your direct deposit information from your 2008 taxes.
The tax rebates will be seen in your monthly paycheck as the federal income tax withheld from your earnings will be less. You can expect to see maybe 30 plus dollars more in your net pay. Use that extra cash for necessities and not luxuries as this economic downturn seems to go further down. Thank you….
Answer Posted by |Gerardo Romero
Answer 8: I am not sure that it will actually help anyone in particular, but any type of "rebate" given by the federal government is a boost to my personal economy. Perhaps I would be willing to pay a little more for work clothes – instead of going to Goodwill or WalMart I would go to Pennys or Sears. I dont get to take my grandchildren out for treats much right now, or buy them trinkets to have on hand when they do something special. I guess I would buy a few things to have on hand for them, since their parents are struggling with lost jobs and unemployment. I would love to take my husband on a honeymoon – since we got married on January 17 this year and have not been able to afford some time alone and away – That would be nice!
Answer Posted by |go4pack54
Answer 9: Yes i think it will help me because i can pay off some more debt in which i did with my tax return. If all people used their money wisely instead of just wasting it the rebate will help them too. This rebate is just like the one we recieved with bush and i felt it helped me last year just as this one is going to help me this year. Its all in the way you use your money instead of throwing your hard earned money to this clothing store and this shoe store. What about opening an cd when you get your stimulus if there is no back bills to pay?
Answer Posted by |KIMBERLY1237322621
Answer 10: WE are not getting stimuless checks! We pay less taxes while we are working the w2 forms. We do not get it all at once. And only those with jobs get it, get it. How is that going to help anyone? When you work at a company and they complain things are bad and so you dont even get a .25cent raise an hour and they cut your health care off all together or charge a lot in deductables before you can benefit from any of That either! That means your income is going down down down . And the media announces an increase in the minimum wage so thats like saying olly olly olly time to raise your prices on goods and services and give your CEO millions for doing it and the Government will look the other way and politions know a trickle down affect will find its way into their bank accounts. The little people will keep us afloat.
Thas my take on it. If only Regan never took away our credit card interest deductions, we may have staved off such a melt down and the banks too. But they are always taking from us with out thinking for one minute hey if we take away their income how are they going to buy the things we pay a pitence for them to slave over? Pay them more money for working and they can spend and hopefully have enough left over to save for retirement and wsend the kids to school.
Thats how it is going to help us. Too little spread out over time is never seen or felt,. Give it too us all at once and We can choose to spend it( most will ) or invest it ( anyone that invests in anything less than a mere savings account will eventuall have it stolen from them by wall street) or hide it! ( thats my choice on all my disposable invcome!
Answer Posted by |Debbie Lockard
How are you going to celebrate Valentine Day with your loved one during this cash-strapped season?
Question of the Month:
Question of the Month is yet another effort by the debtcc team to enhance the community knowledge bank. It’s a monthly contest and every month a challenging question will be thrown before the members for responses. The best answer will be chosen collectively at the end of the month by the debtcc members and the admin panel of the site. The winner of this contest will receive a handsome reward of a $50.
The purpose behind this idea is to encourage the members to share their real life experiences in dealing with the financial challenges.
Though different financial issues are being discussed across the debtcc board, but it doesn’t leave much scope to the members to share their personal experiences. Here is the place where it can be done, and also that the new members can get the innovative ideas to deal with their debts along with the conventional ones.
Question 6: How are you going to celebrate Valentine Day with your loved one during this cash-strapped season?
Valentine’s Day is the most exciting and romantic day of the year for most couples. Every one of us tries to make this day memorable by offering our love to our beloved through gifts. According to a survey by CNNMoney, an average American spends $120 on Valentine’s Day. But during this cash-strapped time can’t we become innovative and balance all the aspects? Share your wisdom with us on the ways you’re going to take during this Valentine’s Day to shower your Love and Affection on your The Loved One.
Winner Post
Answer 1: I really believe it is simple. The best way to spend V Day without the worry of money involved is to take the evening and commit it only to each other. When you want to show your true love for each other, Money should never be a factor. It is the heart. Leave the problems behind and focus on your love instead of the problems knocking on your door. Cuddle up on the couch or lay in bed with only you and your loved one talking of your love for each, passions, and hobbies. Leave all issues behind for the evening. Focus on your love and make sure that the other one feels that no matter what may lie outside your door, you have always got the most important thing that money can not buy. Each others love. Each others heart. Youre in it completely together. When I was diagnosed with a disease that prevents me from doing a lots of things, you realize that the most important thing is the love you have. Not what you can buy. With sharing your love, you can accomplish anything. Show that love. It means more then the gifts and things that may just end up stressing you out in the end. Hold them, remind them each day (not only special occasions) what it means to have them in your life. This Valentines Day, leave everything aside for a while and build on that love.
I know all of this is not exactly what you have asked. But the gift of love is the most priceless thing that you could ever give or receive. Everyone wants to do something really special with their loved ones or be able to buy them something unforgettable. But in these hard times stop and think of the last time you gave 100% attention only to the love you share. Several years after you will still remember how it felt. Money? What does it all mean and what do you really have if you do not feel and give your love. Be it with your kids, parents, husbands and wives, or even someone in need of a helping hand. Let them know you care. Money cant buy that. But you sure can give it. The most expensive gift of all. LOVE
Answer Posted by |Allie
The other answers worth mentioning are:
Answer 2: Valentines Day 2009 will be low key and wonderful at the same time. Love is truely free and there is no need to buy presents to represent that. Far more important than spending money is spending time and giving full attention. It is a pretty scary world right now and that sometimes takes away from whats most important in this world and that is love.
This year make sure the people you love know how much they mean to you and give them all the time and attention that you can. If you would like to buy something, put more effort into something that has meaning.
Answer Posted by |bea2ls
Answer 3: Valentines Day is a day you should spending with your loved ones. It doesnt necessarily mean you have to spend money. My son is MY WORLD!….I dont have to spend money everytime a special day comes up. Your loved ones want your TIME ( thats how it should be), not just the money you spend on them.
Answer Posted by |sdchargers_63
Answer 4: What money cant buy- attention, a soft touch, a high degree of communication mostly listening you asking a simple thing like would you like can I get you a cup of coffee. Maybe we should make ever day Valentine ‘s Day .simple consideration, listening and a soft touch goes a long way. Flowers fade and candy goes stale but a relationship built on consideration and communication will make love last forever.
Answer Posted by |MIKE1234412905
Answer 5: First, I plan on making cards I will make one for my husband of just over 13 years and also for my boys. Cards are so expensive to buy and i can also write my true feelings.
Also I plan on staying in and making a nice home cooked meal, that we rarely get to enjoy as a family. I plan on going all out and buying nice steaks, YUMMY and way cheaper than going a restaurant. I plan on having an awesome dessert to finish it off.
Most couples spend the day or evening together without their kids, but myself Our kids are part of Valentines Day and we should celebrate together, and with it being on a Saturday, even though we have basketball and indoor soccor that day, we will spend the evening as a family with a nice dinner/dessert and a good family movie that we can enjoy together~as a Family
Happy Valentines Day to ALL!!!
Answer Posted by |wendylynn93
Answer 6: My Husband I have celebrated 26 Valentines Days together. Some of these have been quite extravagent while we were dating and included roses being delivered to my work, a gourmet dinner out and a room at a 4 star resort complete with breakfast in bed. The amount of money we spent is more than what we currently spend on our monthly groceries for our family of 4.
This year we will do our “holiday” breakfast of eggs benedict with our children. We are going to take them ice skating, only $5 each and then take them to Grandmas for a sleep over. My Husband and I are going to return home, make a steak dinner together, drink too much wine and enjoy each others company without the children. We agree that this low budget celebration and inclusion of the children is the conservative way to go this year.
Answer Posted by |Michelle1235403967
Answer 7: We have already decided to stay in and forego the gifts and flowers etc. – no sense in spending a ton of money we shouldnt be spending. Instead, we will be making some recipes we havent tried before from the new cookbook we got for Christmas (its always fun cooking together!) and watching some movies on DVD weve been wanting to see. Since we rarely get to spend time together because of work schedules, thats whats most important anyway.
Answer Posted by |SusieQ
Answer 8: Well if your lucky to have a loved one, then I say everyday should be Valentines day. You should have to wait for one day a year to show your loved that you care. You should do that everyday. With kindness, helpfulness and thoughtfulnes all the time. I will spend no money on this day. I beleive that this day is over commericalized.
Answer Posted by |mariewoodson1354
Answer 9: We are going to go to our cabin and have a nice dinner there. I have already picked up a tenderloin when the store had them really cheap and put it in the freezer. Better than paying $22 for 1 16oz steak dinner. I got a whole 4lb tenderloin for $13. The rest of the dinner will cost a few dollars. Then we are going to curl up by the fire and watch some movies. The video store has a special going on 3 movies for 5 days for $5. So our whole V-day will cost us about $40 that includes dinner,movies and gas to get to the cabin. We dont do presents or cards on V-day because #1 the cards usually get thrown away so that would be like throwing $4 in the trash #2 being able to have the cabin is a gift in itself these days #3 flowers die, true love doesnt.
Answer Posted by |puddlejmpr
Answer 10: This Valentines Day I am going to “Act in Love”. I will do special things for my loved ones. I will make each one a handmade card. Inside will be a special message for them expressing how much they mean to me and what I love about them. Also inside will be what their special “Act of Love” from me will be. For my husband, I will give him that back massage hes always been begging for. For my teenage son, I will cook his favorite dinner, Spaghetti. For my 6 year old daughter, I will paint her finger and toe nails with any of my nail polishes she chooses. And for my 4 year old son, I will take him to our local playground and play WITH him. He loves going down the slide together. I am going to just to show them how much I love them. No gift can really express love…only YOU can express how much you love someone. Make sure you always tell your loved ones that you love them, no one is promised tomorrow.
Answer Posted by |mamamerel
If you win some contest and get some extra cash from prize money then what will you do with it?
Question of the Month:
Question of the Month is yet another effort by the debtcc team to enhance the community knowledge bank. It’s a monthly contest and every month a challenging question will be thrown before the members for responses. The best answer will be chosen collectively at the end of the month by the debtcc members and the admin panel of the site. The winner of this contest will receive a handsome reward of a $50.
The purpose behind this idea is to encourage the members to share their real life experiences in dealing with the financial challenges.
Though different financial issues are being discussed across the debtcc board, but it doesn’t leave much scope to the members to share their personal experiences. Here is the place where it can be done, and also that the new members can get the innovative ideas to deal with their debts along with the conventional ones.
Question 5: If you win some contest and get some extra cash from prize money then what will you do with it?
Many a times we participate in contests. Suppose youve won such a contest and got the prize money. How productively can you use this extra money during this current economic crisis? Share your plans.
Winner Post
Answer 1: It would depend on the amount won. However, I would first make sure that I had a roof over my head, utilities on, and food in the house. Then, I would use the amount to start my emergency fund. I have learned from this website that it is important to have an emergency fund so that I would not have to make bad financial borrowing decisions when something comes up like a medical expense or car repair. I want to set myself up for a bright financial future.
Answer Posted by |1susan1111
The other answers worth mentioning are:
Answer 2: I would divide the amount won into 3 equal parts.
With the first part I would put it towards paying off old debt.
With the second part I would put it towards a personal purchase, something I would like/need right now.
With the third part I would put it into savings for a contingency fund.
Answer Posted by |Tru Thissell
Answer 3: If my prize was a very large sum of money, then I would definitely pay off my major bills. This would help my monthly financial situation by giving me more money to work with. I would also put some in a savings account (that kind like a Christmas Club, that cant be touched for a certain period of time). I would also give some money to my mother who is on a very limited income and doesnt ever have a lot of extra money.
If the prize was a smaller amount of money, then I would maybe pay off one of my smaller debts or buy something new for myself (which I never seem to do). I would definitely do something like take my mom and I out to a fancy dinner.
I always get the most pleasure from a “win” or a gift when I can share it with my loved ones.
Answer Posted by |Lorri
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What is your New Year resolution regarding debt?
Question of the Month:
Question of the Month is yet another effort by the debtcc team to enhance the community knowledge bank. It’s a monthly contest and every month a challenging question will be thrown before the members for responses. The best answer will be chosen collectively at the end of the month by the debtcc members and the admin panel of the site. The winner of this contest will receive a handsome reward of a $50.
The purpose behind this idea is to encourage the members to share their real life experiences in dealing with the financial challenges.
Though different financial issues are being discussed across the debtcc board, but it doesn’t leave much scope to the members to share their personal experiences. Here is the place where it can be done, and also that the new members can get the innovative ideas to deal with their debts along with the conventional ones.
Question 4: What is your New Year resolution regarding debt?
Managing Debt is one of the priorities for all of us. How do you plan to get out of debt in the coming year 2009?
Winner Post
Well I have learned quite the contrary in 2008 and will continue to apply what I learned in 2009. The first thing that everyone who is in debt needs to do immediately (if they have not done so already) is to get a checking account and a savings account. Earlier this year I thought that was impossible for me, especially since I was black-listed on the ever popular (yet not so likable) chexsystems. Then in the later part of the year I joined this bank mentioned on here numerous times…Transportation Alliance Bank. This was the key for me to start savings. They have both an interest-bearing checking and savings account. As of today the checking account yields 0.75% apr and the savings yields 3% (That APR is one of the highest in the country). ANYWAYS…with these accounts I can monitor my spending and stop spending haphazardly. With my paychecks I am able to put about $300 into savings a month. Of course Christmas this year killed that…but thats why Im looking forward to 2009
Now back to the question…with the money I put away in Savings I can tackle my debt a little at a time. My goal for 2009 is to get out of debt. I have monitored my spending in 2008 and have cut back on the things that arent necessary for me and now I can approach 2009 and put my money to use! I want to put some money into savings and also apply some of that money to my debts. After the holidays are over and I have made use of 2 checks (in other words refilled my savings account after the holidays have passed) I will send letters to my creditors via certified mail return receipt requested. I will offer a settlement of 10% of any balance owed (this is after I have validated the debts with the leaches…I mean creditors). If a certain debtor does not accept 10% then Ill move on to someone who will! After I settle with the creditors who accepted 10% then I will come BACK to the ones who didnt the first time and reoffer the 10%. Maybe I will get lucky, with the ones that I dont get lucky with I will offer 11% (hey they annoy me so why cant I annoy them). In the end I will keep offering settlement after settlement until I either annoy them until they just cave in or they give me a fair settlement that is feasible to me and my paycheck. Hey I work for my money so you know that these debt collectors are going to have to make my money work for my “debt” in a way that doesnt burn my pockets!
Lets face it the economy sucks right now. Im very lucky to have a job. But think about it. Economists and politicians are predicting the economy is going to worsen in 2009 (yes they do tend to lie, but Ill take their word for it in this case). My interpretation of an economy that is going to continue to fall downhill is that more and more people than EVER are going to be falling into debt. This means that these 3rd Party Scum Sucking Agencies are going to be BLOWN AWAY with new accounts. People are losing their jobs and their homes so I doubt their credit scores will even be better. As long as I have a job and an income I will take advantage of the fact that these collection agencies are going to be inundated with more accounts than ever and lets face it these people who work for the Collection Agencies are not exactly the brightest stars in the evening sky (another plus for me who actually has some intelligence…I think).
The way I will take advantage is that with all these new accounts these agencies will have more than they can handle. If I offer them any amount of money as far as settlement, they may be more likely to take it because there are going to be so many newer debts that will be expending their energy on. My debts are old…they have cobwebs on them, theyre taking up too much space int he RAM of their debt collection computer memories and they need the space for these newer debts which they may actually see as being collectible. I see it happening already!
Ill give you an example. My sister has an American Express Card. She is 2 days past due. That is not a typo…two days. Today (Sunday) at 10 AM (Breakfast), they called wanting her money and saying she is past due. This is happening with other creditors as well.
For me, it has been over 5 years since I had an American Express card or any credit card for that matter. But back then they did not even attempt to call me until I was 30 days past due. I could be wrong, but this is my experience.
Now by the end of 2009 I plan to be completely out of debt. If (God willing) I have my job I will put all my extra money into savings. I will collect interest and then the final part of my “debt resolution” will fall into place…and that is STAYING OUT OF DEBT!
No credit cards, no payday loans…NOTHING! If I cant afford it, I wont buy it!
This is my resolution regarding debt and I plan to stick to it. If you are still reading this then God bless you! You have more patience than me
Answer Posted by |brian446fsu
The other answers worth mentioning are:
Answer 2: My New Year Resolution will not be too much different than I am already doing. Under no circumstances will I purchase anything that I can not afford or I do not need When I do go to the store, I will use a list and stick to only what is on my list. I have also learned to say NO to my children when they come to the store with me. I also tell them, No it is too expensive, I am not paying that price for that, we cant afford that right now, you do not need that. I am hoping that this instills the value of not just buying things and working for what you want in them. For me, the hardest thing has been telling people I work with or my friends, No I cant go out to lunch/dinner. All these little things add up to alot. So, with every little bit of extra money I can save by doing all these things, I then put that into paying extra on my debts. I believe that if anything positive comes out of these economic times we face today, it is that people will go back to living on what they can afford. It is not easy to tell people, “I dont have the money or I cant afford that” but I have to ask myself why? Success is not what you have or how much money you make – sucess is how you live your life.
Answer Posted by |spatterson_40
Answer 3: First plan on getting a budget set up. I dont do New Years resolutions, I do goals. I set down before the end of the uear and write down what goals I would like to see accomplished. I set short term goals like getting five or ten dollars, or more if I can afford it, extra when I buy groceries. At the end of the month, I put it in a savings. I also try to add a little more here and there. At the end of the year I have a little extra money, whether it is to pay toward a bill, Christmas, etc.
I next will only pay cash in the comming year. If I dont have it, it doesnt get charged on a credit card.
The long term goal being, that not only out of debt, but have a comfortable nest egg for emergencies. That is the one goal I am shooting for. If I have a nest egg, then if something financially comes along, I wont be tempted to charge, get loans,etc.
Answer Posted by |Bossy4455
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