Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money

How do you measure your financial success?

2009-07-03T16:21:00Z

This guest post comes from J. Money at Budgets are Sexy.

A question stood out in an e-mail I got from AskMen.com asking if I wanted to participate in a survey.

Now, normally I just glance over and then delete/archive, as my ADD brain can only take so much. But seeing how it was the "Great Male Survey of 2009," who am I to turn it down? OK, in reality they were smart enough to bold some of the financial questions in the e-mail. While most of them got my brain thinking, there was one question that really got my attention:

How do you measure your own financial success?

Good one! First, each of us should probably define what "financial success" is. Is it money? Job title? How big your house is (better not be)? Everybody has their own thoughts on it.

The first things that come to my mind are net worth and my budget (naturally). Net worth because it gives me an overall financial snapshot of how we're financially holding up in life. It's something I can track on a monthly basis and see how successful (or not) we are. I think of my budget next because if I'm sticking to it and it's working, then I've had a successful month.

OK, keeping in mind what you think financial success is, here are some of the possible answers listed in the survey for the question (along with my own experience):

Against that of my friends. No way! Well, maybe partial way. What they do doesn't affect me financially by any means, but I do notice that whenever one buys a new car or a bigger house, I tend to analyze how exactly they were able to do that. Stupid, but true.
Against that of my industry colleagues. Hmmm, nah. I don't really compare anything here. I probably get paid more for what I do at my current job than similar positions in my industry, but that's just because I lucked out and found a perfect fit.
Against that of my father. Wow, good question. I feel like I would, maybe down the road when I get into my late 30s or 40s, or probably even when I have kids, but at this moment of time it's not a thought for me. I do, however, totally listen to his thoughts on personal finance and investing.
Against my own financial goals. Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner! I 100% believe this is where we should all fall. I say "should" because most of us still keep those previous people in mind whether we want to or not, but that's just human nature.

Overall, it's a good idea to track your success through the goals you set up for yourself, not anyone else's. At least in theory. As long as you're working on bettering your situation, though, I say you're moving in the right direction. Maybe one day the Joneses will follow you.

Related reading at Budgets are Sexy:

My No. 1 financial goal each year: Max out my 401(k)

Do you need a ‘story' to be respected as a blogger?

All financial books from the past 10 years should be burned

Co-insurance, co-pays and deductibles explained

2009-07-03T14:19:00Z

This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller.

Individual health insurance plans can be costly, complex and downright confusing. Navigating the world of co-insurance, co-pays and deductibles becomes a difficult task when it comes to choosing insurance plans that are not prepackaged and backed by an employer.

Many self-employed individuals and those who work for employers that do not provide health insurance spend hours trying to decipher the language of the industry and find the best coverage for the lowest premiums.

All health insurance plans are not created equal. Health insurance companies use a variety of different approaches when developing products and services for individual buyers. Low premiums might not necessarily mean that individuals are getting the type of coverage they need. The first step in exploring the many different types of individual health insurance plans is to learn all about the basic terminology and common features.

What is co-insurance?

Co-insurance is a method that health insurance providers use to split the cost of your health care needs. The insurance company pays for part of the cost and the individual pays the remaining balance due out-of-pocket. Insurance companies determine in advance a percentage of the cost they will cover, and the individual is also responsible for a predetermined percentage. This is often referred to as the "percentage participation" rate.

Some standard percentage participation rates for co-insurance are 70/30, 80/20 and 90/10. On a 70/30 plan, the insurance company pays for 70% of costs incurred, while the individual is responsible for the remaining 30%. We learned about the cost of co-insurance the hard way when my wife spent nine days in a hospital early last year.

As an added measure of protection, most major health insurance companies will limit the amount of money that an individual is responsible for paying out-of-pocket on a yearly basis. This is called a "co-insurance cap," and it protects those on the plan in the event of a catastrophic medical problem, such as a debilitating car accident or terminal illness. A typical co-insurance cap is limited to $2,000 or $3,000. Once the co-insurance cap is reached, the insurance company will assume responsibility for 100% of any charges incurred thereafter.

Typically, a health insurance plan with a high percentage participation rate for the consumer -- such as 70/30 -- has a much lower monthly premium, while plans with lower percentages will feature higher monthly premiums.

What is a co-pay?

A co-pay is commonly confused with co-insurance. The two are similar, but there is one key difference. With a co-pay, the dollar amount that an individual will pay for health care services is fixed. There are absolutely no percentage participation rates with a co-pay. Different services are assigned a dollar amount that will be paid by the individual receiving services. For example, a standard co-pay for a visit to a family doctor might be $25. This means that each time the insured individual walks into the family doctor's office, that person can expect to remit a payment of $25 at the time of service.

When it comes to health care, a "service" might be a doctor's office visit, a trip to the emergency room, or prescription medications. Co-payments may vary for different services, but the dollar amount will always be fixed. The services that insurance companies cover also vary; for instance, certain providers might not offer coverage for dental procedures or eye exams as part of their health insurance plan.

Typically, a health insurance plan with higher co-pay rates for various health care services has a much lower monthly premium, while plans with lower co-pay rates will feature higher monthly premiums.

What is a deductible?

Some insurance plans include a deductible. The deductible is a fixed dollar amount that an individual must pay out of pocket before the insurance company will begin to cover the costs of any health care services. For example, if a plan has a deductible of $500, then the insured party must spend $500 on services out-of-pocket. After that $500 mark has been reached, the insurance company will begin to assume responsibility for health care costs, usually either via co-insurance or a co-pay, depending on the type of plan.

Typically, a health insurance plan with a high deductible has a much lower monthly premium, while plans with lower deductibles have higher monthly premiums.

Unfortunately, there is no simple solution or one-size-fits-all answer for choosing an individual health insurance plan. As evidenced by the terms, conditions and numbers above, a plan with a low premium will not necessarily be the very best choice. It is important to weigh the costs associated with co-insurance percentage participation rates, co-payment amounts and the services that are covered, as well as deductible rates.

Related reading at The Dough Roller:

99 painless ways to save serious money

How to find affordable health insurance online

5 ways to reduce your car insurance bill

Toys, watches, hiking boots, flatware sets, netbooks

2009-07-03T13:58:00Z

Here are today's hot deals from dealnews.com:

Toys from $1.99, all at lowest-we-could-find prices. Each carries free shipping.

Dolce and Gabbana men's chronograph stainless steel watch for $88. With free shipping, that's $10 under our mention from two weeks ago and the lowest total price we could find by $112.

Rockport men's Trailvision XCS Hikers for $19.97. Apply coupon code SH985 to cut the price to $14.97. With $8.49 for shipping, that's $5 under our April mention and the lowest total price we've seen.

J.A. Henckels Premier Series Opus 45-piece flatware set for $59.99 with free shipping. That's the lowest total price we could find by $40.

Acer Aspire One AOD250-1165 Intel Atom 1.6GHz 10.1-inch wide-screen netbook for $299.98 with free shipping. Pad your order over $300 and apply coupon code 82578 to drop it to $239.98 (not including the cost of the padding item). That's the lowest total price we could find by $16.

How Bridezilla has saved $8,300 so far on her wedding

2009-07-03T01:46:00Z

"MoneyMate Kate" is thoroughly impressed by the frugality employed by her sister as she plans her upcoming wedding. Then why does Kate call her "Bridezilla"? That doesn't seem fair.

So far, Kate estimates that Bridezilla's clever planning has saved $8,300, compared with the average wedding expenses in the New Jersey suburbs where they grew up. If she had compared her sister's spending with the cost of weddings in Aspen, Colo., where the wedding will take place, the savings would be in the stratosphere.

To make her cost comparisons, Kate used the Cost of Wedding Web site provided by The Wedding Report, which tells you what weddings and their various components cost broken down by ZIP code.

(We digressed to check out this wedding cost search tool. It says that couples generally spend $12,239 to $20,398 where we live. Judging from weddings we've attended, that sounds about right.)

Several examples of her sister's frugality from Kate's post, called "Bridezilla's latest frugal wedding ideas":

Excluding corsages and bouquets, she's growing the flowers for the wedding and reception from seeds in planters she purchased. Her cost: $300. Average cost (minus corsages and bouquets): $1,400 to $2,200.
She's providing free personal training in exchange for help from a friend with limited wedding planning activities, plus assistance during the big event if it's required. Similar services from a professional would have cost $1,800 to $3,100.
She got a wedding dress that normally retails for $1,700 on eBay for $500. It was "an unworn bridal salon sample."
The venue is free, because a friend's boyfriend has a Christmas tree farm/ranch. Bridezilla and her fiance will have to pay for a bus to take guests there and back to town, plus rent a tent. Kate said that "the ranch owner wants a commitment to absolutely no chance of drunken driving." That's frugal too.

Related reading:

Your fantasy wedding for less cash

Help? Can we afford our wedding?

Kill ‘Zill

Fake wedding cake: Frugal or cheap?

Companies offer more shopping incentives to the jobless

2009-07-02T22:53:00Z

More corporations are recognizing that there's plenty of good will to be had if they extend a helping hand to the unemployed. Plus they're building customer loyalty and boosting sales.

Is this a win-win?

The latest offers of assistance come from the chains owned by the Sears Holdings Corp. -- Kmart and Sears.

Kmart is offering a Smart Assist savings card to those who've signed up for unemployment benefits in Michigan, the state with the highest unemployment rate, according to Financial Times. (Kmart was born in Michigan and headquartered there until it joined up with Sears in 2005.) The card provides a 20% discount on regularly priced private-label food and drugstore items and is good for up to six months.

Before you use the card, make sure you comparison shop. You might find a better deal somewhere else. But overall this seems like a win-win. Douglas McIntyre wrote at our sister blog, Top Stocks, that "Kmart has probably lost many of its customers completely and believes that the new incentives will bring these people back." But, he adds, "Sears and Kmart get a gold star for outstanding behavior."

Sears, the nation's biggest seller of appliances, is testing a one-month program nationwide for Sears customers who are laid off after making a big purchase. To be eligible, the Chicago Tribune reports:

You must spend at least $399 on appliances at Sears between July 6 and Aug. 1.
You must charge it on a Sears card issued by Citibank.
The Sears Web site says that "if you lose your full-time job after 60 days and up to one year from date of purchase, one-twelfth of your entire purchase price will be credited to your account each month until you are back at work or your appliance is paid off."

The Chicago Tribune added, "The full debt will be forgiven for customers who find themselves jobless for more than a year, and they will be able to keep the appliance."

Win-win? This program may be the tipping point for buying a new appliance you don't really need. The frugal approach would be not to spring for a new appliance until the old one gives out and/or you've saved up cash for the replacement.

Among other help for the jobless mentioned by Financial Times:

Pfizer will give free prescription drugs for up to a year to people who've lost their job in 2009, don't have prescription drug coverage, and were taking a Pfizer product for at least three months before their job disappeared. The offer covers more than 70 Pfizer medications, including Viagra. Catherine Holahan explained here at Smart Spending, "Customers are more likely to stay loyal to Pfizer's name-brand drugs if they can continue taking their medications at the company's expense when they can't afford it and not need to take cheaper generic drugs or go without."
This next offer has fewer conditions attached: Spartan Stores Inc., which owns 99 Michigan grocery stores and supplies several hundred independent grocers, is helping General Motors workers who were laid off due to plant closures. Progressive Grocer says:

In early June, Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Spartan provided 850 Michigan Proud bar-coded cards offering a 10% discount on groceries and 3% on fuel now through July 12, 2009, to the UAW Region 1D office for distribution to the auto workers affected by the (GM metal fabricating) plant closure for use at any D&W Fresh Market, Family Fare, Felpausch, Glen's Markets, Glen's Fresh Marketplace or VG's Michigan location. (Other locals have been included.)

This one sounds downright neighborly: Green Hills, a family-owned grocery store in Syracuse, N.Y., is offering 10% off on weekly shopping orders from loyalty-card customers who are unemployed. Customers can re-enroll in the program every four weeks, Syracuse.com reported, adding: "During the Great Depression, the store extended credit to customers so they could feed their families, according to Heather Hawkins, whose family owns the business."

Here's help to find the best deals on prescriptions

Lose your job, get a refund

The new marketing trend: Job-loss protection

Congress fumes over credit card rate hikes

2009-07-02T17:28:00Z

This post comes from Mark Huffman at partner site ConsumerAffairs.com.

Consumers have been hit with huge interest rate hikes and increases in their minimum monthly payments, and now complaints about America's credit card industry are reverberating through the halls of Congress.

CitiGroup, Bank of America and Capital One in recent days have all begun raising customers' interest rates, in many cases saying it has nothing to do with the customers' performance and everything to do with making up for losses before new laws and regulations tie their hands early next year.

Chase has singled out its customers with the lowest interest rates -- raising their minimum monthly payment from 2% of the balance to 5%. In many cases this action turns the credit card bill into the size of a monthly mortgage payment.

"This is what many of us feared about a law that didn't take effect right away," Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told The Washington Post. "It was never going to take this long for the credit card companies to get ready for the new reforms. Instead, issuers are using the delay in the effective date to wring more dollars out of their customers. It is against the spirit of the law, and it is just plain wrong."

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., who authored the Credit Card Holder Bill of Rights legislation signed into law in May, has been besieged with complaints from angry consumers.

"Rate hikes on existing balances being reported by news media and consumers, even when consumers pay on time and follow the rules, are unfair and deceptive and must be stopped," she said. "Capricious actions like these are why Congress overwhelmingly passed, and President Obama signed, my credit card reform bill: to level the playing field on behalf of consumers."

Maloney's protests notwithstanding, Congress is pretty much powerless to stop credit card companies from raising rates and adjusting minimum payments, because they are allowed to do so under current laws and regulations. Most of the changes do not take effect until February.

Maloney notes that in another few weeks, a new rule will take effect requiring banks to provide a 45-day notice of any rate hikes. She and other Democrats on the Hill are using the consumer outcry over credit card company behavior to press for still more legislation.

"All of this flurry of news is another example of why we need President Obama's (Consumer Financial Protection Agency) -- which the House will be considering in the weeks ahead," Maloney said.

In the Senate, Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., also threw his support behind creation of the new agency.

"The administration is addressing the colossal failures that led to the economic crisis with a bold and aggressive plan," Dodd said. "Creating an independent agency whose sole focus is protecting consumers -- be it credit card holders, anyone with a bank account, or families with mortgages or student loans -- is really the key to creating the foundations for a stronger economy."

Dodd said banks that harm consumers with their policies do so at their own peril.

"It is unbelievable that some of the same irresponsible actors that helped create the current financial mess would argue that we are doing too much for consumers," he said. "Don't they realize that they need a healthy customer base if they want to continue to be successful?"

But the American Bankers Association essentially is saying "I told you so," maintaining that passage of the Credit Card Holders Bill of Rights in May is bringing about the changes.

"The new legislation restricts the ability of credit card companies to price based on the individual risk of the customer," the ABA said in a statement. "As a result, the system becomes a one-size-fits-all model, meaning that interest rates will likely increase for nearly everyone, including those with a good credit history, as those who successfully manage their credit will be subsidizing those who have not."

In this new environment, the bankers say, "card limits will be lowered since lenders will be limited in managing risk going forward. Even customers that have a good credit score or have never missed a payment will likely see less credit available to them."

Related reading at ConsumerAffairs.com:

Banks prepare for assault on Obama's proposed financial protection agency

Credit cards giving consumers heartburn

Don't give out credit information in a job hunt

Frugality cubed -- creative ways with ice cube trays

2009-07-02T17:15:00Z

A friend of mine pours leftover coffee into ice-cube trays. The caffeinated cubes make first-rate iced coffee because they chill the beverage without diluting it.

That got me thinking about other ways to use ice cube trays -- and no, Jell-O shots don't count.

For example, you can save a lot of money by making your own baby food. Steam and puree vegetables (which you can mix with meat and/or rice or other grains if you like), or puree soft fresh fruits. As the baby gets older you can transition to leftovers from the grownups' table, chopping them a little more coarsely in a food mill and, eventually, with just a fork. If necessary, thin these foods with a little of the cooking water from vegetables. Freeze in ice cube trays and store the chunks o' grub in freezer bags or in repurposed plastic bags. Hint: Unless the bags are greasy with meat residue, they're easy to wash and reuse.

Speaking of that veggie cooking water: Even people without babies should save those nutrients. Freeze the liquid for use in homemade soups. If you do have kids, freeze some of the cubes extra-small and add one or two to a toddler's soup to cool it off.

A few other suggestions:
•   Freeze iced tea, lemonade or fruit juices for use in summertime drinks.
•   When a recipe calls for just a tablespoon of tomato paste, don't leave the rest of the can in the fridge to grow hair. Freeze it for future meals.
•   Don't think you can finish the milk before it goes bad? Freeze some or all of it, then thaw a couple of cubes at a time for morning oatmeal or coffee.
•   Freeze homemade pesto: It's easy to pull out just a couple of cubes for appetizers or to brighten up a jar of store-bought spaghetti sauce.
•   A brown-bagging reader freezes cookie dough in lumps, then bakes two each morning in her toaster oven. Why not freeze it in an ice cube tray?
•   Bananas, strawberries or other fresh fruit getting a little old? Puree and freeze, then add the cubes to smoothies (or thaw them for baby's dessert).
•   Don't rule out non-food uses. Crafters and DIYers have always known that ice cube trays are good for organizing beads and hardware. And with a handful of dried beans and an ice cube tray you're ready for a hot game of mancala, an African strategy game.

How about it, readers: Any other ideas for saving money this way?

Related reading:

Overcoming your cooking obstacles

Bargain shopping 101

I share my bedroom with a freezer

15 ways to make freelancing/self-employment successful

2009-07-02T12:23:00Z

This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar:

An acquaintance from my previous career wrote to me recently asking about the steps I took when I made the switch to working at home:

It's official: I'm ready to get out of here. I'm tired of working here and I have a lot of people lined up to hire me for home catering and cooking. I'm sure you did a bunch of planning before you made the leap. What exactly did you plan?

I know at least one other former co-worker who is contemplating a similar move into a freelancing gig, though his plans are decidedly less clear at this point.

What exactly did I do during that transition period? I started making a list and soon realized that there were several things I wish I had done. Before I knew it, the e-mail had ballooned into a guide that I thought might be useful to other people.

Here are 15 things I did (or wish I had done) during the months leading up to my transition to working for myself.

Learn to live on less. One of the biggest challenges of freelancing/self-employment is the uneven pay. Gone are the steady paychecks of a typical job. Gone is the idea that you'll make roughly the same amount next month that you will this month. In some months this year I've earned 25% of what I earned in other months, and I anticipate a single month later in the year when several projects come to fruition and I'll have by far the best month of the year.

If you allow your spending to match your income, you're not going to be able to survive during the lean months. Instead, you need to adapt to a consistently lower level of spending. Start looking now for fat to trim from your life. Every expenditure you have that's not necessary for your basic living standards should come under very careful scrutiny.

Many people balk at this, but the truth is this: Your first several months as an independent worker are going to be a real shock in a lot of ways. The last thing you need is a bunch of unnecessary expenditures. If things go well, you can always add some expenses back into your life -- but you may find, surprisingly, that you're quite happy without most of them.

Create a budget, both personal and business. As I've written before, I'm not a believer in the "one-budget-fits-all" approach. Trying to make your budget or spending match an example provided by someone else is doomed for failure because that example doesn't match your life.

I argue that the real value provided by a budget is that it reveals, loud and clear, how you actually spend your money and it can provide some clear pointers to where you need to make changes. Prepare a budget by keeping careful track of what you spend for a month -- make a giant list of every dime you spend -- then organize all of that spending into categories that make sense to you. When you have that in place, look not only at the total amount you spend (you're going to need an income level that on average exceeds that by at least a little), but also at the various categories. Are there areas that you can cut?

A similar exercise for business expenses is also useful, though it can be more difficult. Seek advice on the expenses that people typically have freelancing in your area of interest and use that for a basis.

Build up a big emergency fund. If you've followed the first two steps and made serious cuts in your spending, you've now got a nice surplus of money coming in each month. Don't be tempted to spend it. Instead, sock it away into a savings account. In fact, do it automatically. Instruct your bank to automatically transfer a healthy amount each week into a savings account.

If you've done your budget, you have a good idea of what your monthly expenses are. I recommend having at least six months' worth of living expenses in your emergency fund before making the leap. This will help you survive the lean months, particularly those early on in your freelancing experience.

Now make it bigger. People often go light on the emergency fund before they make the leap. They have a bit of cash saved up, but they've convinced themselves that they're ready -- they have plenty of clients and opportunities lined up.

Don't make that mistake.

The big problem is that freelancers and self-employed folks, especially early on, can have a tendency to count their chickens before they hatch. No deal, no matter how good it is, is a sure thing until contracts are signed and products are delivered. You might have 10 potential clients who talk big about what they want to do, but when push comes to shove, all of them could vanish -- and many of them will.

Be prepared for that. Don't leave yourself in a desperate situation if a conversation doesn't pan out. Cover your bases -- and the best way to do that is with a healthy emergency fund. Build it now, build it later, and keep it nice and fat.

Start reaching out to your audience and client base now. There is no better time than right now to start digging for opportunities, even if your leap is far into the future. Get out there and start seeking out the people you want to know and the people you want to sell to.

In a nutshell, this is market research. You need to find out if there are people who will buy what you do and figure out how to connect with them. Obviously, the Internet and social media (like Twitter and Facebook) are good places to start, but they're just a start. You should also go where people who might be potential clients -- or potential competition -- congregate.

Start finding the people now. Join message boards. Start Twittering. Start a blog. Pound the pavement in your community. Dig through freelancing boards and other job boards. If you're passionate about the field you're leaping into -- and you must be if you want freelancing to work -- you have plenty to talk about. Let the passion flow.

Eliminate as many regular bills as you can. Back on the money side of the coin, start whacking your regular bills, particularly any related to entertainment. Ditch Netflix. If you want to watch a movie, use Redbox or a similar service. Ditch your cable bill entirely. Use a digital converter box and Hulu to get your television fix. Sell your car. If you can use public transportation or ride a bike to work, do you really need one?

For the ones you can't eliminate, trim. Make your living quarters as energy efficient as you can, with programmable thermostats and the like. Cut your cellular plan. Do you really need that much data, those minutes, or that many text messages? If you decided to keep cable or satellite, whack some premium channels you don't watch.

The more monthly bills you can eliminate or reduce, the more room you have to breathe when you make the transition.

Write a business plan. Don't worry about being too formal when you do this. The purpose of a business plan is to make you think about all of the details of what you're about to leap into. Have you really thought things through?

Areas to include:

Market analysis. Is there actually a need or a market for what you're doing?
Product or service development. What kind of service or product will you actually offer?
Marketing. How will you draw attention to what you're doing?
Financial organization -- the money.
Risk factors. What problems might crop up and how will you handle them?

Spend some time on this. Include everything that comes to mind, and flesh out details on every point. Don't sweat the formality -- just focus on ideas. The more effort you put in here, the easier it will be to make this all work when things get rolling.

Now rewrite that business plan. Many freelancers put only minimal effort into a business plan, if they bother at all. Big mistake.

I suggest using a self-imposed deadline of sorts. Arrange to show your business plan to someone you trust on a certain date to gather input. Putting that deadline in place will keep you focused on the project, as you'll want to present something reasonable.

Then, when you deliver it, ask for feedback of all kinds. What you're really asking for is advice on the work you intend to do. This is a double-check to make sure you've thought everything through.

When you get the suggestions, use them to rewrite your plan. Then repeat, perhaps with another person who might read it and offer suggestions. A few such repetitions will go a long way toward creating a plan that works.

A good business plan isn't a boring waste of your time. It's a great way to make sure all of your bases are covered, and often the revision process is the most powerful part.

Find a mentor. Who can you take that business plan to? A mentor, that's who.

Seek out someone who knows what he or she is talking about and who isn't a potential competitor. Look for someone experienced at freelancing in a tangential field. Be specific in your questions and don't take criticism personally. It's offered with the goal of making you better, not cutting you down.

Recognize that the person is probably busy and contribute some value to the relationship by promoting that person's work or offering something of value. For example, if you're a nascent blogger and would like to attract a professional blogger as a mentor, spend time promoting the blogger's best stuff. Write about it on your own blog and talk about it on Twitter. Buy the blogger's book and write a review. Participate in that person's comments and other conversations online.

Actions like these make a mentoring relationship a fair value exchange instead of a "gimme gimme gimme" relationship.

I wrote a detailed guide on finding a mentor that can be useful.

Make it easy for people to see the good stuff you can do. Create an online presence that makes it very easy for people to find your best work. Regardless of whether you're doing online work or not, have a Web site with an easy-to-remember URL that contains links to examples of the best stuff you've created. Join social-networking services (Facebook and LinkedIn) and make professional pages about yourself that clearly show off your best side.

If people hear about you, they're going to Google you. You want the first things they find to be good, positive and impressive. Never take the attitude that you can appear antisocial and that if they don't like it, they can walk. That attitude will push many potential clients away because you'll seem unreliable from the get-go. There is never a downside to appearing friendly and accessible.

Communicate, communicate, communicate. The more you talk, the more likely people are to discover you. Share your thoughts and ideas and comments as much as you can, as widely as you can.

Start a blog. Join social media sites (Twitter and Facebook, for starters). Most importantly, join conversations. Link to interesting people and ideas on your blog and offer your take. Follow interesting people on Twitter and respond to the things they say. Comment on interesting blogs (with a link back to your own, of course) and make worthwhile comments.

Most important, stick generally to your area of expertise, but don't be afraid to jump into topics that are at best tangentially related. The goal is to make people interested in what you're doing, and the best way to do that is to always speak from your heart and your mind. Be positive, put your voice out there, and good things will happen.

Build connections with local small business/entrepreneurship groups. Even if your work is outside of your community -- online work, for example, or freelancing work for remote enterprises -- it's worthwhile to engage with local small businesses and entrepreneurs. After all, that's what you are. Such groups are almost always sources of good ideas and leads for areas where you might improve, and they're also places where you can float new ideas and gauge them. Even better, leadership in such groups provides ways to connect with others via conferences, meetings and so forth.

Get involved in peer groups, both in your own physical community and in your professional community, and don't be afraid to dive right in and participate, even before you've made the leap. The number of valuable connections you'll make there will pay off time and time again.

Have a place where you can focus on work -- and only work. Many freelancers start off working at the desk in the corner of the living room, the same one that houses lots of personal material. What often happens is that the personal material begins to interfere with the professional work and the lines begin to blur. You find yourself working when you should be engaged in personal activity, and doing personal things when you need to be working.

Find a location that you can devote solely to your work. For example, a room in our home serves as my office. When I need to work, I go in there and close the door and I'm in work" mode. When I leave that room, I'm no longer in work mode (unless I'm headed out to do some research).

Without that barrier, it would be incredibly easy for me to constantly take my eye off the ball, and if I did that, I would constantly find myself falling behind on my work.

Build your current bridges as strong as you can -- and don't burn them when you leave. Many people, as they begin to transition mentally into freelancing, let their current work relationships slide, deciding that they don't matter. Actually, they matter more now than they did before.

Here's why: The strong connections you have now will continue to serve you well after your transition. The connections may provide you with new clients and interesting angles to pursue. Plus, if freelancing doesn't work out, you have a strong foot in the door for returning.

On the other hand, if you let those relationships burn out, you'll miss out on those opportunities -- and that safety net.

Practice, practice, practice. This is perhaps the most useful lesson of all. If you want to be a real standout in your area of expertise, keep practicing at it. Study it. Try new things, and work to get better at the things you already do. In short, practice every single day.

If you're a writer, write (and share it, via a blog). If you're a graphic designer, make designs and share them (via Flickr or other avenues). If you're a musician, practice daily and share demos with the world. Doing this not only makes you better, but it shows that you're a hard worker and helps you get a better grasp on what people like and what they don't like.

As time goes on, you'll get better and better at what you do, and you'll have a long track record that shows how diligent you are at your work.

A final tip: Dig into freelancing/self-employment resources and communities. Here are five Web sites I visit all the time for advice and thoughts on being self-employed and accepting freelance work.

FreelanceSwitch is my Web site of choice for thoughtful and insightful conversation on freelancing and self-employment issues. It's a daily read for me.
Elance is a clearinghouse of freelancing opportunities of all stripes. I like to keep an eye on freelancing opportunities in several areas.
Guru.com is a similar clearinghouse for freelancing opportunities.
Web Worker Daily is a must-read If you do computer-based freelancing. Again, I read this one almost daily.
Freelance Folder offers a ton of widely varied and interesting advice on freelancing topics.

Good luck!

Related reading at The Simple Dollar:

Everything you ever really needed to know about personal finance

The best money advice in 10 words or less

Blending work and family: How we do it

Furniture, car-washing kits, watches, video games, T-shirts

2009-07-02T12:17:00Z

Here are today's hot deals from dealnews.com:

Loveseat, chair and table set for $129.88. Shipping adds $20.97, or choose free in-store pickup. Even with shipping, that's $9 under our mention from March and the lowest total price we could find.

Mr. Clean AutoDry Carwash System for $2.99. With $5 for shipping, it's the lowest total price we could find by $7.

Bulova men's Marine Star chronograph watch for $99.99. With $6.95 for shipping, it's the lowest total price we could find by $132.

Xbox 360 games for $9.99 or less. With free shipping, all are at the lowest total price we could find.

Instant Genius (Just Add Beer) T-shirt for $5.99. With $1.99 for shipping, we couldn't find a similar shirt for less elsewhere.

Career advice -- in 10 words or less

2009-07-02T00:02:00Z

A contest by "Shadox" at Money and Such reminds us of the "your life story in six words" contest that spawned the book of tiny memoirs called "Not Quite What I Was Planning" and Lizzie Widdicombe's subsequent clever write-up in The New Yorker (as well as a post by "Madame X" that was featured here).

Shadox challenged readers to submit career advice, expressed in a mere 10 words or less. To their credit, several bloggers came in way under the limit without sacrificing content. The winner was randomly selected.

Here are some samples, categorized somewhat by us:

Job selection:

From Julie Bestry: "Perform no task you'd be ashamed to tell your mom."
From "Cat": "Do something you like."

Path to success:

From "Frugal Zeitgeist": "Who you know is as important as what you know." (She won.)
From "Money Dieter": "Do a good job, even when nobody is looking. It builds character and discipline." (A bit over the limit, or maybe Money Dieter intended that only the first sentence count.)
From "One Frugal Girl," that old but solid "Under-promise and over-deliver."
From Amber: "What you do lets the world know who you are."

Path to higher pay:

From "guinness416": "Be humble day to day, but aggressive at appraisal time."

Working well with others:

From "Garnishments": "Focus on your own success, not on someone else's demise."
We'll toss out: Burn few bridges. (Feel free to submit your own advice in the comments below.)

The award for shortest, if there was one, would go to Emily Lauren for "Perform." Most cynical would be a tie between "Kiss (derriere) and don't tell" from "Finance Phi" and "Always look out for yourself. No one else will" from Bill.

Career advice: Do you -- um -- talk like this?

How not to use e-mail at work

Step up to the plate when co-workers are laid off

Here’s help to find the best deals on prescriptions

2009-07-01T20:33:00Z

Online searches for affordable prescription drugs may be easier than you think. Our thanks to Silicon Valley Blogger at The Digerati Life for putting the spotlight on a Web site called Medtipster.

At this site, you can search your town or region for pharmacies that offer low-cost generics of drugs you're taking, as well as low-cost therapeutic alternatives -- plus health screenings, mini clinics and immunizations available near you.

Specifically, the site says on its FAQs page: "You can search our database and find $4 generic equivalents to your prescription drugs. If there is no generic, we'll also suggest $4 drugs that might be able to be substituted with your doctor's advice."

We gave it a try and it worked pretty well, but not without a few hitches. It correctly directed us to two pharmacies within 50 miles of our ZIP code that offer a discount program that includes the generic drug we take. However, it said both stores are 22.5 miles away. Actually, they're within five miles of our home.

But, most importantly, the prices were correct. The addresses were too, although a map at the site put one of the stores in a wrong location.

Note: We live in the boonies. We suspect that if you live in a larger city, you may have better luck -- something we've noticed when trying national search sites like this.

We also learned:

Right now only health screenings, mini clinics and immunizations held in pharmacies are available at the site. But it promises a bigger database in the future.
Want to talk with others about health care issues? Forums are available.
"PharmaSueAnn," a registered pharmacist, blogs about money-saving generics and other ways to reduce health care costs. You can also e-mail questions to her and, on Tuesday afternoons, call her on the phone. (Reminder: Your local pharmacist also will likely be happy to answer your questions.) Among her suggestions:

To help you get through the "doughnut hole" dreaded by every Medicare Part D recipient, she says, "Many brand-name medications have therapeutic alternatives that have generics on the $4 type generic discount lists. Do not hesitate to talk with your doctor about it."
Organizations called "co-payment foundations" help underinsured people with treatment costs not covered by their insurance. She provides a list.

Bonus: Silicon Valley Blogger includes Medtipster among her "10 ways to cut costs on prescription medication."

Related reading:

13 ways to save on prescriptions

15 things you need to know about insurance

How to get prescription drugs for less

Same drugs, better prices

The FIFO rule can save you money on groceries

2009-07-01T16:05:00Z

Grocery stockers, unless they're slackers, live by the FIFO rule -- first in, first out. What does that mean to you?

When new inventory comes in and it's time to refill the grocery displays, the new product is placed in the back. Thus, the grocery store has less waste because most people grab the item that's closest to them. (Smart shoppers sometimes dig a little deeper.)

Why not apply FIFO at home and do as the professionals do? It's a good way to save money on groceries, says Charlie at Pay Less for Food.

Here's how this works:

Charlie says, "The other day I realized that after grocery shopping I tend to shove items in my refrigerator to the back to make room for newly purchased groceries."

We all know what happens. The leftovers get moldy. The parsley wilts. The broccoli turns yellow and sags. Some items are no longer recognizable, and they stink.

Rotate, Charlie says. (That's another grocery store term.) Bring the older items to the front and put the new food in back. Do the same with your canned and boxed goods in the pantry.

The same practice works for your coupons, if you collect them. Put the new ones in the back of your envelope or coupon box, and use the older ones first. These efforts take little time and will save you money.

The leftover calendar: Getting more from food dollars

Are you new to bakery outlets?

Got leftovers? Here's what to do

47 simple ways to waste money

2009-07-01T13:24:00Z

This post comes from Paul Michael at partner blog Wise Bread.

How are you doing with your money? Do you have everything under control, or are you spending a little more than you should?

Well, if you'd like to blow even more of your money, this list will help you empty your bank account in half the time you usually do. Enjoy.

Gamble in Vegas. Sure, some people get lucky. But most of us blow a wad and leave feeling like reckless morons.
Spend your spare time surfing the bargain sites. It doesn't matter if you don't actually need anything. You'll find something to buy.
Shop hungry. It's amazing how much extra food you'll throw in your cart.
Draw more money out of the ATM than you need. If you get $20, you'll spend $20. If you get $40, it will disappear just as quickly.
Become an impulse buyer. See something in a shop window, grab it immediately and worry about the cost later.
Pay bills late. That will eat up some serious cash in the form of late fees and interest rate hikes, and sometimes will damage your credit rating.
Lend money to people who won't pay you back, even when they say it will be different this time.
Don't shop around. The first place you look is almost certainly not the best price available.
Don't buy online. Those High Street retailers have lots of extra overhead, and they pass it on to you by marking up products.
Go to a state fair or carnival and buy lunch from a concession stand for your family: $8 for a hot dog, $4 for a can of Coke. Multiply by number of family members.
Feed $1 bills into those crane machines that tempt you with stuffed animals. You may get lucky, but only after you've paid twice what the crappy toy is worth.
Buy complete albums instead of cherry-picking the songs you want from a music download site. (Unless, of course, you always buy albums that are 100% brilliant from beginning to end.)
Never double-check your measurements on a DIY project. You'll make at least one big mistake and have to buy another round of materials.
Forget to take back movie rentals on time. Red Box may be only a buck a night, but rent two and leave them behind the sofa, and that can add up quickly.
That goes for library books, or any other type of rental that fines tardiness.
Buy food, throw it in the back of the fridge or in the vegetable crisper and forget about it. Then, a few weeks later, you can throw it away. Cash in the trash.
Become completely disorganized and forgetful. You have no idea how quickly you'll spend money if you are buying things that you already have, or can't find the library books that were due three months ago.
Ignore special offers and coupons. Why pay $3 for an item when you can just as easily pay $5?
Take your car in for an oil change and proceed to get every single recommended repair. I just took my car in for an oil change; they wanted to change all four brake pads. Little did they know my car has a warning light that tells me when my brake pads need replacing. I also have a mechanic for a father-in-law.
And speaking of oil changes, get yours done every 3,000 miles. True, modern engines and synthetic oils mean most vehicles can do 5,000 to 7,000 miles between changes, but so what.
Use credit cards without paying off the balance in full each month. You will rack up some delicious interest.
Fly first class. You'll get to your destination at the same time as the folks a few rows behind you, but you'll pay substantially more for some legroom and a nicer meal.
Never read a contract. Ever. You will later be taken by surprise with all sorts of fees and penalties. And legally, you signed on the dotted line so you're obligated to pay them all -- or in some cases, like a secured loan, lose your house.
Buy an extended warranty, especially on a car. Most of the time, you'll be paying a huge percentage of the cost of the item and when it comes time to make a claim you'll be battling with legal eagles who will do anything to make sure you don't get any money.
Don't take advantage of your company's 401(k) match, because another great way to waste money is to decline free money.
Buy a monthly gym membership, work out once, then sit at home for the next year and watch TV.
Buy in bulk stuff you'll never be able to use or consume before the sell-by-date.
Smoke. If you go through one pack per day, you'll literally burn more than $2,000 per year.
Walk past the perfectly functional coffee machine at home, drive to work and pick up a grande half-caf, double-mocha-vanilla-chai-peppermint cream coffee from Starbucks or any other "premium" coffee chain. That's an easy way to blow up to $5 on something that should cost you only pennies.
Buy books, DVDs and CDs at bookstores like Borders and Barnes & Noble. Last time I checked, the regular price for a new DVD averaged $25 to $30 in one of those stores. Even when they're on sale, they're more expensive than the same copy at Target.
Throw away your leftovers. Whether they're from a home-cooked meal or from dining out, just put them in the fridge covered in cling wrap and then pop them in the garbage a week later.
Buy bottled water. It's dollars for a bottle, pennies from the faucet. And let's not forget the environmental costs of bottled water either.
Use 411 instead of (800) GOOG-411. The first costs you a hefty fee each time you dial, the second is free. Both offer the same service.
Buy the high-octane gas. Modern computer-controlled cars will alter ignition and timing profiles to allow the use of low-grade gas, but why bother taking advantage of that?
Purchase bags of baby carrots. In actuality, they're large carrots shaped into smaller, bite-sized pieces, but you're way too busy to cut carrots to size.
Don't take the time to read street signs. I got myself a lovely $25 parking ticket recently because I thought the road was meter-free. It wasn't. The meters had been replaced by one parking fee booth about 20 feet down the road.
Oh, and why not speed as well? You'll get a big fine and a few points on your license just to get somewhere a few minutes quicker.
Rent from Blockbuster instead of RedBox -- $4 vs. $1 per night. And never remember to return it so you get charged a big fat fee to keep the disc.
Never monitor your bank account(s). That way, you can occasionally overdraw an account and get charged a lovely big fee.
Don't take care of your teeth, and avoid dental checkups and cleanings. You'll save a little money at first, but worry not: The dentist's fees will come pouring in when your mouth looks and smells like the inside of a garbage dump.
Don't haggle. Whether it's a small bag of apples at a farmers market or the purchase of a new home, just accept the first price and call it good.
Play the lottery. Sure, there's a roughly 1-in-120 million chance you could bag the jackpot, but it's a slim chance. Even the odds of winning just a lousy $10 are about 1 in 35. Imagine closing your eyes and picking one white ball out of a bag containing 34 red balls. Yep, doubtful.
Never question a dubious charge or bill. If in doubt, let the restaurant, grocery store, cable company, phone company or any other mega-corporation keep the money. They need it for all the lawsuits.
Buy brand-name everything. Yes, many of the store-brand products are repackaged brand names at lower prices, but why pay less?
Buy a new car. It loses about 20% of its value the second you drive it off the lot.
Don't turn off the lights or appliances. Keep them all going, even when you're out of the house. That should push your electricity bill way up.
Don't read Wise Bread or our personal-finance book. But as you're reading this, maybe you will end up saving some money today.

Don't worry. Follow the rest of the advice here and you can soon spend way more than you need to.

Related reading at Wise Bread:

Can't afford a home alarm system? You probably already have one

Ultimate credit card guide: How to use credit wisely

How to buy better poultry

Dog toys, clock radios, tool sets, laptops, TV antennas

2009-07-01T12:32:00Z

Here are today's hot deals from dealnews.com:

Kyjen Hide-A-Squirrel large dog toy for $6 plus $5.75 for shipping. That's the lowest total price we could find by $6.

Sony Automatic Time Set AM/FM clock radio for $11 with free shipping. That ties a deal from last year for the lowest total price we've seen for this clock.

Craftsman 95-piece mechanics tool set for $39.99. Add it to your cart and the price falls to $35.99. Shipping adds $7.50, or opt for free in-store pickup. Even with shipping, it ties our mention last week as the lowest total price we could find by $6.

Lenovo IdeaPad S12 VIA Nano 1.3GHz 12.1-inch wide-screen notebook for $395.12 with free shipping. That's a $54 savings and the lowest total price we could find.

Winegard HD-1080 outdoor HDTV antenna for $31.99. With free shipping, that ties our mention from two weeks ago as the lowest total price we could find by $9.

Jackson fans angered by choice of refund or 'keepsake' ticket

2009-06-30T20:48:00Z

The concert promoter that organized the 50 sold-out "This is It" London performances that Michael Jackson will never give is offering disappointed fans a choice: A refund of the $125 or so they paid -- or the actual ticket, which the promoter says was designed by Jackson himself as a keepsake.

"Since he loved his fans in life, it is incumbent upon us to treat them with the same reverence and respect after his death," Randy Phillips, president and CEO of AEG Live, said in a statement. In fact, AEG suggested in an article in TheWrap that thousands of people are clamoring for the tickets.

Other fans are more than skeptical.

"Yes, I would like the ticket, but I will not pay more than £10 for it ...," wrote "Whimzeekat" in a comment at The Hip Hop Chronicle UK. "This is just the way I feel and unfortunately some fans will want the ticket but I hope they see sense and not buy into this moneymaking scheme."

The Telegraph reported that another fan wrote, "If they really wanted to treat us with 'reverence and respect' then they would offer the refund AND the tickets, and not make this blatant attempt to cover their financial losses."

Isabelle, in a post at I Am So Annoyed called "Cashing in on Michael Jackson's death," commented:

Very clever. With tickets costing a minimum of $105 each, the promoters stand to retain a substantial amount of the money since many ticket holders will view this as an eBay opportunity. ... I am sure that there are some true fans out there who want a piece of MJ to remember the artist he was but my guess is most are just in it for the money.

Lots of money is at stake here on both sides of the equation: About 750,000 tickets were sold (but not yet delivered), most for $82 or $125 (VIP tickets cost $1,300 or more) for the 50 concerts Jackson had planned at London's O2 Arena. That's about $85 million in sales.

The Los Angeles Times says AEG Live had already spent more than $20 million on the concerts, and -- depending on the cause of death -- might be on the hook for the full cost of refunding the tickets. Fewer refunds mean more money for AEG. (Another potential moneymaker for AEG is a recording the promoter made of Jackson's final rehearsal at the Staples Center. "According to those familiar with the recording, it would be releasable both as a CD, DVD and Blu-(ray) and high-definition DVD," TheWrap story says.)

Meanwhile, sales of all-things-Jackson have soared on eBay. The Oregonian reports:

According to Smartmoney.com, after his death, the amount of Jackson merchandise listed on eBay surged 275%. Related items up for sale include a street copy of the June 25, 2009, Los Angeles Times (buy it now for $10!), a 1973 yearbook from Jackson's prep school (starting bid: $5,000), and a signed original black felt fedora offered by Chuck Palmer of Portland. As of Tuesday morning, bids for the iconic hat reached $7,600.

Among the items offered on eBay are some of those keepsake tickets, the Telegraph reports.

10 dysfunctional family businesses

Turning garage sale junk into eBay gold