How to build a successful site in 12 months.

While wandering through the forums at Webmasterworld, I came across a great article on how to build a successful site in 12 months.

The author Brett Tabke talks about domain names, site design, the perfect page size, links, seo, and has a step by step way of building a successful website. He claims that if you do what he says, you should expect 10-15K page views per day.

Best of all, it's free advice.

Millennium Bullion Fund

The Millennium Bullion Fund is the world's first open-ended mutual fund that invests in physical gold, silver, and platinum and is RRSP eligible. The fund also qualifies for RESPs, RRIFs and LIFs.

- It's a safe place to put your money if you want to avoid future stock market of fund turmoil.

- You can have the gold sent to you if you wish! Or you can leave it in the Bank of Nova Scotia vault.

- Year to date return : 4.5%

- Asset consists of real physical silver, platinum and gold.

- Factors that will drive this fund: investors' speculation that gold's value will increase, India's increasing demand on gold jewelry, China's increasing gold reserve, etc.

Wanted: 55 People with $1.00 Each

Wanted: 55 People with $1.00 Each

In my previous posting about the Rich Jerk, a lot of people expressed that they have heard of the Rich Jerk, but have not bought any of his products because they just have a bad feeling about him.

I have NEVER bought anything from him, and I have to admit that I am curious. Under normal circumstances, the chance of purchasing anything from him is remote. Then, I thought that I can't very well judge him without actually reading his e-book. I know I am NOT alone in this, as many readers don't want to spend $50-100 on something that's a scam....so here is my proposal.

I need 55 people who are willing to share the cost of purchasing. What we need is $1.00 from each person. The e-book can then be circulated to the group. I am not sure if this is legal, but I can't see the difference between this and....say....sharing the cost of purchasing a book with a friend. Here is how this will work:

1) If you are interested, leave a comment, and make sure I have a way of getting back to you.
2) Once we have 55 people signed up, I will add a PayPal donate button on this website and let you know. You can then proceed to pay $1.00 for your e-book.

3) Then, I will purchase the e-book and circulate it to the group

Regarding the issue of trust.....

You will just have to trust me that I am not going to run away with your $1.00. I will purchase the product, distribute it, and that's that. $55.00 US is not going to get me any further in life.

What I want is to provide a way for everyone to learn without spending a lot of money. If this is a success, we can do this again, as there is a lot of useful webmaster information out there buried in the junk. We just have to sift through it. Also, I want any future purchases to be exclusive to the 55 people who sign up....as long as the cost remains $1.00 for each person.

If this is worth $1.00 to you, please start by leaving a comment.

P.S. If you have any other thoughts and suggestions, please also leave a comment!

Disclaimer:

The total cost of the e-book may change. Today, the Rich Jerk website has a special of $49.99 for the e-book. This may change. If it does change, I will recruit a few more people or cover the difference myself...whichever maybe more suitable at that time.

If you have purchased the e-book before, and can see obstacles with circulating this book, please take a moment and leave a comment.

It may take us a while to find 55 people, and I will not purchase anything until the full cost is covered. So...bear with me. If it takes too long, and you want to opt out, by all means, go ahead.

Does Paradise Exist?

Does Paradise Exist?

Warm azure waters, swaying coconut trees, miles and miles of green pasture as far as the eye can see, low taxes, stable political system, peaceful local residents, ultra low cost of living, English speaking, great healthcare system, and has no natural disasters.....

Does such a place exist? A place that is the perfect amalgamation of everything that's perfect and peaceful?

In finding the perfect place to kick up your feet and retire, you may have come across countless countries that have a few of the characteristics above. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find the perfect retirement haven.

For a long time, Belize has been a great place for expats from North America. It is an English speaking country, which is rare for retirement havens. The temperature is great, and the living cost is inexpensive compared to other Carribbean countries. The political system is fairly stable, and it's commonwealth. While there is no medicare, it is cheap to get a root canal and its proximity to North America makes it convenient to travel to a major US city for treatment. The problem with Belize is that it is still on the hurricane belt. The weather is becoming more and more unpredictable lately, and although the barrier reef and Belize's location minimizes the damages of hurricanes, it does not completely avoid them.

Fiji is a tropical paradise for travelers. It is also commonwealth, and there are no hurricanes. The land value is still decent compared to Carribean countries. A 500 acre freehold land with a couple of houses and a private island can be found for $400,000 US. The people in Fiji are also friendly and will not be hostile towards foreigners. The problem with Fiji is that there have been coups arising in Suva over the last few decades. Recently, there is fear of another coup as the natives are becoming increasing uncomfortable with their situation with Fijians. Fortunately, the coup is concentrated in Suva, and the neighbouring islands are not affected as much. Also, I have not heard of anyone losing their house due to the coup. But, it is still a factor that weighs heavily on people's minds when choosing the perfect retirement location. Also, geographically, Fiji is further from North America than the Carribean or Latin America, so airfare is costly.

Other retirement havens are Equador, Mexico, tons and tons of Carribean countries, of which I prefer the ABCs (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) because they are below the hurricane belt. Of course, the problem with being below the belt is that Bonaire is quite dry and for retirees who want to have a little organic garden, it may not be the best choice. There is also Margarita Island in Venezuela, but there was rumours of robberies and hijackings of expat residents, it is disturbing.

There are so many choices, and each choice has pros and cons. I would suggest taking the following steps.

Narrow your choices down to four locations. Visit all four locations more than once and during different seasons. It can also be helpful to rent a place first and live there for a month to test out the environment; during the month, you may discover more pros and cons that can help you to make a decision. Be friendly to the locals, as they are always your best source of information. It is unwise to take a North American or European attitude to some of these places, and the local people may not appreciate it. Soon, you may find yourself in trouble.

Then, create a spreadsheet and think about your needs, what you are willing to sacrifice (or not willing to sacrifice) and what each four locations offer. List some of the most important factors of what you are looking for, and rank each location on a scale of 1-10 (ten being perfect). Here is a sample below:



Fiji Bonaire Belize Equador Etc Etc
Temperature 6 2 5 5
Natural Diasters 7 6 9 9
Cost of living 8 4 6 9
Tax Benefits 3 5 5 2
Health Care 5 8 7 2
Friendly Locals 8 8 6 5
Etc
Etc
Total 37 35 35 32



While the scores may not reflect how you feel, you can get the general idea. You can insert whatever is important to you, for example, diving, hiking trails, house prices,etc. If you think diving is crucial for your retirement, by all means, don't sacrifice that! So, according to my chart, Fiji comes out on top.

Finding the perfect retirement haven is a combination of sacrificing what you are willing to give up and knowing what you can't give up. As long as you have clear thinking in outlining these factors, you will not be disappointed with the location you choose. You should do a lot of research beforehand to find the ideal place for you. It will all pay off in the end, because your retirement haven will be your sanctuary for many years to come!

Good Bye to Blog Explosion, Blog Clickers, Blog Advance, etc, etc

If you want to learn everything there is to learn about building a successful site, then go to Webmasterworld and read as much as you can from the forums. The Google Adsense section alone is worth the time.

In the end, you will learn that gimicks, scams and free traffic tools can make you a few quick bucks, but original content and lots (I mean LOTS) of it is one of the keys to long-term lasting success.

It's interesting that bloggers or webmasters like myself can read this from other sites, but we still don't believe it. I have been blogging since December 31, 2005, and now I am a believer!

I have learnt some things in these two months, and also have some observations.

Why did I even bother with Blog Explosion, Blog Advance, Blog Clicker, etc, etc ???
After creating this site on Blogger.com, I immediately thought about the next challenge: how to generate traffic? At that time, it did not occur to me that what I want is targeted traffic. So, after searching the web, I registered with Blog Explosion, Blog Clicker, Blog Advance, and Blog Soldiers. Basically, they are traffic exchange sites, where I can view other blogs, and get traffic in return.

The problem

- Virtually all the blogs on these exchange sites are after the same goal. There is a few opinion sites, but most of the blogs have Google Adsense or other pay-per-click ads, and some are clearly article sites geared towards making Adsense money. So, I am swimming with sharks! I have NEVER clicked on someone else's Google Adsense ads, so why would I expect any of the bloggers to click mine?

- Since the key is to get targeted traffic, the chance of someone on Blog Explosion or other traffic exchange sites to find my content valuable is slim to none. I am only basing this on what I think of other people's sites. I have no real interest in political opinions, information on gadgets, or stay-at-home mommy blogs, so how can these bloggers find a financial blog useful?

- Take one look at my referrals and site stats, anyone can figure out that such traffic exchange sites do not work. Not a lot of people stay for longer than 25 secs, which is the required length of time for Blog Explosion. You may get the odd one, but it's just not worth the effort.

Why is Hitsntraffic.com working for me???

Even though I am bashing traffic exchange sites, I am puzzled over my stats with Hitsntraffic.com. Unlike BlogClikers and other blog traffic exchange sites, Hitsntraffic.com allows not only blog sites, but other commerce sites as well. It is still not a great place to generate targeted traffic, but for some bizarre reason, it is doing quite well for me. My stats show that most of the hits from Hitsntraffic.com stay on my site for longer than 10 minutes, and view at least two or three pages. Since I registered with them, I have been receiving more clicks as well. So, for now, I will keep Hitsntraffic.com.

Possible Reasons for the Success

- Hitsntraffic.com does not have a lot of blog sites being circulated. So perhaps my site is an oddity!

- To be honest, I am not sure why it's being good to me. The surfing is automatic, so you don't even have to be at the computer. Then, it should actually backfire in terms of generating traffic. My assumption was that these people were not even looking at my sites (because really, I am not looking at theirs), but apparently this was the wrong assumption!

- If someone knows why this is and has had similar experiences with Hitsntraffic.com, please let me know.

I Am Finally Gitting Hits from Search Engines

This site does not have a lot of content yet, but recently, I have been receiving a few hits from Google search engine. I am excited, and it is motivation to actually write original content on a daily basis. For example:

Some one searched "Investing $4000" on Netscape, and Full Change Jar is ranked #4

Some one searched "E-wealthology" on Google, and Full Change Jar is also ranked #4

There were others, including one from some one who also has a "weakness for Starbucks Coffee". These are small victories!

Google Adsense TOS Rules Bother Me

We are not allowed to reveal Google Adsense revenue figures, and also not allowed to reveal the nature of our sites. I am okay with this. However, these rules help scam artists to cheat people. Typically, this is what I see on some scam sites "I can't tell you what my sites are or how much I make, but you can make the same amount of money or more if you buy my product." If I will spend money on your products, I want to see your books.

Link Swap Does Help (at least for me)

One of the best linkbacks to my site is from Retire Young and Wealthy. What I need is more linkbacks from other quality sites.

More "Unknown" Referrals

I am also getting a few "unknown" referrals. This is great news. This means that some people have bookmarked or remembered my site, and are arriving here directly without any help from search engines. It's always good to have groupies :)

So, with the increase in Google Search Engine hits and what I've learnt in the last two months, my goal now is to commit to writing at least one original entry each day. I will circulate this blog on Blog Explosion and other blog traffic exchange sites for a little longer to get some feedback on what others think, but after that I will no longer participate. I will remain loyal to Hitsntraffic.com, as it is working for me, but I have to find out why it is working (it really shouldn't).

Valentines Day Flowers!

It is Valentines' day, and the most popular and simple gift is a dozen red roses.

While I was still going to university, I used to work at a fairly large flower shop part-time. It was the most eye-opening experience, and it has helped me to be more aware of purchasing flowers. Valentines' day is the most busy day, and also one of the most profitable days for a flower business. I remember preparing the shop for the day, and making 7,000 water picks for the roses. Needless to say, by the end of the day, the skin on my hands was peeling, and my shoulders were sore.

On Valentines' day, we sold our roses for $10.00 per stem, whereas regularly, a long stem rose can go for $4.50 or $5.00. So, a bouquet of a dozen red roses can cost in excess of $150.00. This will include 12 roses, some greens, and wrapping, which all cost extra. The reason that the flowers are so much more expensive on Valentines' day is because they cost more from wholesalers.

In my city, a flower business (or anyone with a GST number) can go to the flower auction and purchase flowers at wholesale prices. Sometimes, a stem of red rose costs $0.15-$0.25, depending on how the auction goes. Of course, on Valentines' Day or other holidays, a stem can cost $1.00-2.00. So, it's not that the stores raise their prices to make a buck, they are really just adjusting for the extra cost.

I find that it's better to buy roses from street venders, as they get a fresh supply, and often charge a lower price. Sometimes, they buy directly from the growers, and the savings can be passed to you because the middle men (auctions, wholesalers) are eliminated. It may surprise you that it does not cost very much to start a little business selling flowers on street corners.

1) Buy a cart
2) Get a permit
3) Buy flowers from auctions or growers
4) Buy the essentials, such as flower food, water picks, ribbons, etc from wholesalers
5) Find a location, put up a sign, and start selling!

Some supermarkets sell dozens of roses at a huge discount. I like discounts, but I also like good quality. I have not been able to find good quality flowers at supermarkets. A dozen red roses may be as inexpensive as $15.00, but when you look at the stem where the cut was made, you can will see black or grey, which means that the roses are not fresh. Supermarkets buy large quantities of roses at wholesale, and they are kept in the cooler for as long as possible. I can't imagine that you can get fresh roses this way. In fact, most of the roses I buy from supermarkets die in less then 3 days, and roses should at least last one week. You are definitely NOT paying for quality.

On the other hand, I also dislike some tactics flower shops use to make a profit. Have you heard of Teleflora? You can see the dove symbol everywhere on doors, windows, brochures of flower shops. Here is a typical scenerio. You live in New York, and you want to send flowers to someone in Las Vagas. So, you walk into a flower shop and see the sign "We will send flowers to anywhere in the world". You think "this is wonderful!". The nice sales girl show you a thick book full of pictures of beautiful arrangements and bouquets, and you pick one. She tells you that the recipient will receive exactly what's shown on the picture, or maybe with a few differences.

The truth is most people who buy flowers are people who don't know anything about flowers. It is also true that most people are just plain happy to receive flowers, regardless of the types of flowers they receive. So, you will pay say $90 to send these flowers to someone, and the New York store tells you that it has affiliates all over the world. Then you think "Great! It is pretty much one company that has many franchises." Your friend will receive the flowers; she tells you they are great. By this time, you don't remember the flowers in the pictures, and probably don't care because she loves them.

What you don't know is that you may have paid $90.00 for flowers that should only cost $30.00.

This is how Teleflora works. It is a business that provides software, websites, ideas, and a way of linking flower shops worldwide. If I start a flower business, I will pay Teleflora commission and probably a monthly fee to use their services. Without them, I will lose profit, because people can't come to me to send flowers worldwide. Teleflora even sets up credit card processing systems for merchants for a fee. When you purchase flowers from a Teleflora shop, you are NOT buying flowers from that shop. You may like the decor, the feel, the look of the store you are sitting in, but where your flowers are being sent from may be something COMPLETELY different.

Furthermore, your $90.00 doesn't mean $90.00 worth of flowers. The flower shop in New York will keep some of that money. As I mentioned before, because you are not an expert in flowers and will not be present when your friend receives the flowers, it is very easy to put cheap flowers in a bouquet and add a rose or stargazer lily here and there to impress someone. Either way, you have no control as to how your flowers will look. To be honest, there is no way that every flower shop will have all the flowers in stock, so there is always some degree of substitution. It's just that some flower shops abuse the system completely.

Here is an idea....if you are in New York and want to send flowers to someone in Las Vagas, why don't you look up flower shops located in Las Vagas on the internet and call the shop directly? You can pay with a credit card, and actually save $10.00 or more on ordering from New York (commission fees for Teleflora services). Better yet, don't go with a Teleflora shop at all, because most solid flower shops do not even want to make a living through Teleflora. Shops with great designers have a theme of their own, and Teleflora designs are very generic.

Here are some designers I love, and I would have no problem spending this kind of money on great flowers and great designs for someone I love.

Jane Carroll Floral Artistry
Thomas Hobbs Florist
Winston Flowers
Jaco Maarse Florists

Happy Valentines' Day and good luck with your flower purchases!

What to do with your tax refund?

Tax season is upon us! Once again, it's time to dig up receipts stained by coffee, T4s, and any RRSP contribution receipts. I am not a very organized person, so my receipts and any tax related slips are never in the best condition. However, I don't lose them very often, because my strategy is to just put whatever I receive in my purse. You may think "Yikes! What will you do if you lose your purse?". That is a genuine concern on my part as well, but it seems to be the only way I can keep track of important financial documents.

At this point, I have all my pay stubs, my palm pilot, and donation receipts in my purse; in addition, I have a lipstick and lip balm, which come in handy if I can't find a pen.

Most likely, I will be receiving a small tax refund this year, and I have begun to think what to do with that money.

I can....

Re-invest in RRSPs

Spend the tax refund on a distance education course that can increase my web skills

Pay for my fiance's Open Water Certificate scuba diving course in March

Purchase additional stocks or mutual funds

Put the refund in a GIC (term deposit) for 5 years

Pay for our trip to Fiji in April

Do absolutely nothing and leave it in our savings account

Donate 10% to a charity

Purchase gold bullion bars since they are now eligible investments for RRSP

I like the idea of reinvesting the money back into RRSPs, either in mutual funds or gold bullion bars. The US deficits is growing, and the economy is at a slowdown, and teh US dollar is weakening and all these factors will push up the market value of gold. The Millenium Bullion Fund is Canada's first and only mutual fund that holds physical silver, platinum, and gold bullion. Even better, it is the only one that is RRSP eligible. I will have to look more into this.

I have also taken the action of contributing more into taxes next year. With two full-time jobs, I am doomed at tax seasons. Then, I started to think about the opposite end of the spectrum. What if I do the opposite and pay less in taxes?

The idea behind this thinking is giving taxes to the government is like giving the government an interest free loan for the year. They hold the money and then give back what is owed to me after tax season. If one is good at financial management, the otherwise withheld taxes can actually be invested early in the year. A tax refund is basically your overpayment to the government, and it's money that should have been yours in the first place. If you are interested in a tax reduction, you can fill out a request to the Canada Revenue Agency and have less taxes deducted from your pay cheques, so you can have money earlier to reinvest. As far as I know, this can also be done through the IRA,

Professional Development Plan

This morning at a work meeting, the subject of completing a professional/personal development plan came up. A few months ago, all the employees completed a survey administered by an independent third party regarding employee satisfaction. The scores were low from professional development type questions.

So, after several meetings with the board of directors and other human resources, each faculty decided to tackle this program in its own way, and my faculty came up with the solution of completing a professional development plan. While it is not mandatory, it is a great idea for people who want to put their goals on paper.

I really liked this idea, because I love putting things down on paper (or computer). This way, I will be accountable for it and will not forget. It also helps me to really re-examine my life and find out what I need to accomplish. I have already posted my financial goals here. Since I have to work on my professional development plan anyhow, I might as well start gathering my thoughts here.

3 Months Goals (by May 7)

• - Register for the online Dreamweaver course at BCIT and apply for union funds to cover the cost.
• - Research and decide on a post graduate or Masters program
• - Acquire Advanced Open Water Diver (Drysuit) Certificate
• - Go to an Orthodox Christian church at least twice and get information on its beliefs

6 Months Goals

• - Join 2 work related committees
• - Apply for a post graduate or Masters program
• - Acquire Emergency First Repsonse Certificate
• - Register for another on-line webmaster course

1 Year Goals

• - Be registered in a post graduate/Masters program
• - Complete 50% of the requirement of the webmaster associate program
• - Complete 80%-100% of the PADI Divemaster program
• - Join North Vancouver Mountain Bike Club, and ride or get out there at least 2 times a month

A Million Little Pieces

I am going to stray a little from the usual financial post this time.

Recently, everyone is talking about the book "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey. I read the book a few months ago, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Regardless of the severity of James' drug and alcohol addition and criminal past, I believe that anyone who can overcome any kind of addition is strong. The book is published as a non-fiction, and that is where the trouble starts.

"A Million Little Pieces" is about a man's life on drugs and alcohol and his determination to overcome his demons without going through the regular detox programs. The details are graphic, and that's why it was such an interesting read. James Frey always claimed that the story was true...until now.

The Smoking Gun website exposed his lies in this article. After reading six pages of it, I am not sure whether it was important that he lied or embellished the truth. At least it was not important for me. After Oprah promoted his book, now she feels duped, so she invited him back to uncover the truth. On the show, she questioned him how his ex-girlfriend died. In the book, James Frey said she hung herself, but now he says that she actually slit her wrist. Maybe it's just me, but I didn't see why how she died is so important.

Some social workers were recommending this book to other drug/alcohol addicts, saying that if he overcame the additions, then they can too. Now they are very upset and want to sue.....argh... Addicts are also upset, because they feel betrayed.

In the end, he is still an ex-addict who cleaned up. Isn't that the story?

Does it really matter that he lied about the number of times he was arrested, whether he rejected Novacain when he had root canal procedures, or who he was friends with?

I am not an addict in the sense that James Frey was, and I still can't remember what I did last week. Can we really expect a non-fiction to be completed non-fiction? Should we now go back and do investigative work on every non-fiction book out there? Why do we have such high expectations for others when we can't uphold the same expectations for ourselves?

If the goal is to be clean, then read the book, take away the good and apply it to your life. A lot of energy is wasted by people who want to hear this man apologize and confess to his lies. What bothers me is that people act so shocked and say things like

"You of all people know how serious the truth is when it comes to addiction. I think that's why I'm so disappointed and betrayed. I mean, the story was great. The book was great, but, you know, it's troubling. I don't trust memoirs anymore." (Amy, a reader, source Oprah).

To be honest, I really enjoyed a good lie. There can be so much truth!