Making REAL Money Blog

This is the 26th edition of the Carnival of Making REAL Money Online. I’m proud to offer this limited list of top quality articles that are vetted from the original list of submissions. It’s always a pleasure to read through these submissions.

Top Bloggers In the Carnival

• Jim presents The 50-50 Mutual Fund Rule on Blueprint for Financial Prosperity posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. Jim offers some insight on how to choose more efficient and cost effective funds.
• KCLau presents Procrastinator, plucker, plotter, and prober posted at KCLau’s Money Tips, saying, “Recently I was reading the book titled “The Number: What do you need for the rest of your life and what will it cost?” A rundown on what the book has to offer”
• MoneyNing presents 50 Ways to Budget Travel and Save Money on Vacations posted at Money Ning, saying, “Being a frugal traveler can save you so much money!”
• nickel presents Social Security Taxes in 2009 posted at fivecentnickel.com, saying, “Did you know that, if you’re making real money, you can get out of paying social security taxes on at least a portion of your earnings.”

These four bloggers have all had articles in previous editions of the Carnival and maintain excellent blogs. Do check out the blogs and don’t forget to subscribe to their feeds.

In The Biz

This section introduces business building tips for bloggers and business people everywhere.

1. Heather Jumah presents Market Plan Checklist for Small Business posted at Wealth Success and Women, saying, “While it can be exciting to try to get your small business off the ground, it’s important to slow down and take things step by step.”
2. james presents Opt-In List Building: Grow a List, Grow Your Business posted at Blog promotion tips | Blog promotion, saying, “building your biz list”
3. Joshua Seth presents How To Make More Money This Year posted at Joshua Seth Blog, saying, “What is your income goal for this year? Don’t know? Then how will you achieve it? If you don’t target a specific goal then how will you ever be able to hit it? Take a minute right now and figure it out. What do you want to earn this year? And here’s a little secret… that number is almost entirely based on your self-esteem.”
4. P.L. Frederick presents You’re On My Mind, For $1,000 posted at Small and Big, saying, “Advertising ain’t for the faint of heart. It’s for the big of head.”
5. Kevin Dawson presents Case Study: Controversy in Marketing Part 1 posted at Kevin Dawson’s Copywriting & Traffic, saying, “Using controversy in marketing”

On the Web

Making money online is still a challenge for us. So these three bloggers present some useful advice on doing it successfully.

1. BlogMeTheMoney presents Money Making Bloggers posted at Blog Me The Money, saying, “Inspiration for those wanting to make money online or those wanting to make more. Everyone loves success stories. These are some of the big money making bloggers who earn real money and what they do.”
2. Jesse presents Why You Shouldn’t Flip Blogs When Starting Out posted at insideWebmaster, saying, “How to successfully get into the business of website flipping.”
3. millionaireblog presents Making Money On Your Blog By Selling Ad Space posted at millionaire blog.co.uk, saying, “If you want to monetize your blog you can use several different strategies including: Google Adsense Ads, Affiliate Programs (such as Amazon, Ebay and MarketLeverage), Text Link Ads (such as Inlinks or TNX), Sell your own Product (such as ebooks, software or a service), Donations from readers (via a donate link on your blog), Sell your own Ad Space (Banners or Advertiser Blog Posts / Product Reviews)”

In The Market

It’s a disaster in the markets: portfolios are down by many tens of percent, markets are uncertain, businesses are laying off staff, cutting orders and closing down. What can you do? Read these blogs for ideas.

1. Heather presents 14 ETFs to Keep in Mind for 2009 posted at ETF Trends, saying, “Which ETFs are poised to outperform in 2009?”
2. Bill Spohnholtz presents Stock Market 101 posted at Learn The Stock Market And How to Trade, saying, “Sometimes when I review the basics I think of my best new strategies. Whether refreshing or learning for the first time I challenge you to not have at least one “ah ha” moment while reading through these.”
3. Doug Ragan presents How YOU Can Help Save The Economy posted at I’m A Pundit Too, saying, “Who’s going to save us from our failing economy? Do you really think that Congress can save both big business and you at the same time? It is obvious to everyone that the economy is in big time trouble. But what everyone doesn’t understand is how to put it back together. There is much debate about fixing the economy, bank bailouts (thanks Paulson), auto manufacturer bailouts (thanks Bush), freezing foreclosures (thanks Fannie), expansion of government programs that take jobs from the private sector(thanks Obama), the list goes on. One of the interesting things about this very long list is that it mostly seems to be about what the government can do to fix the economy, instead of what the individual can do. The government has a habit of trying to tell business what to do, then trying to prop business up to keep it from failing. This has created problems that won’t be fixed by more of the same. If you really want to talk about “Change” then you need to talk about what individuals can do to put the US economy back on track instead.
4. Jed Norwood presents Important Points about Trading Systems posted at Forex Strategy, saying, “Forex trading is a unique way to invest because you get more control then ever before. Learn what you need to have in a trading system in order to be successful”
5. PatrickCML presents free stock trades – a review of Zecco Discount Brokerage posted at Cash Money Life, saying, “A comprehensive review of Zecco Discount Brokerage.”
6. Roshawn Watson presents Thrift Paradox – Is Frugality Hurting Economy? posted at Watson Inc, saying, “Many “families hope their new found frugality will see them through the economic downturn. But this same thriftiness, embraced by families across the U.S., is also a major reason the downturn may not soon end”"
7. Silicon Valley Blogger presents Learn How To Invest: Steps For The New Stock Investor posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Thank you!”
8. Patrick @ Military Money presents 2009 Retirement Plan Contribution Limits posted at Military Finance Network, saying, “Information on 2009 Retirement Plan Contribution Limits for those who plan on maxing out their retirement accounts this year.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of making real money using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: carnival of making real money, blog carnival.
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of making real money using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: carnival of making real money, blog carnival.

Update: In an effort to create something more useful, I’m reducing the number of articles in each issue by providing as much variety of content. With so many articles on “making money online blogs”, sales and letter writing, I’m now reducing the number presented to balance the other content. So make sure your writing is sharp and to the point if you want to submit! Articles on how to blog, how to sales copy, etc. are best suited for other carnivals.

Notes on Submitting Articles

It seems that a number of people don’t bother to follow the policy. Oh, well, that’s a pity because I left out some great articles this time around! The policy is still enforced. If you have any questions, just see the most recent Carnival for what’s accepted. So hurry! get your submissions in!

I’m definitely looking for articles that are readable, inspiring, and well-written for readers who may or may not have much investing or financial knowledge. Articles will cover making money in the real world, as well as online; being in business; making investments; making money through smart decisions; and aspects of personal finance. It is NOT about dieting, surveys, drugs, selling things, what you ate last night or any of a myriad of irrelevant topics. If you are not sure what is accepted, read the previous carnivals.

As such, …

• Your article must be original and previously unpublished in this carnival. I like to maintain a variety of sources and topics, I will only accept one article per person per blog. — If you submit MORE THAN TWO articles to any edition of this carnival, ALL your submissions will be eliminated without hesitation. Repeated multiple submissions to this carnival will mean that your articles and/or your behavior are spam-enough to blacklist your blog from this carnival.
• In short, submit ONE article from one blog once only.
• Spam: Articles must be unique, ideally hosted on a full-blog (not on a subdomain of blogspot, blogger, etc.), and cannot have been published in more than two other carnivals. If you are serious enough about your blog, then find a real blog host on a real domain.
• Comments MUST be enabled on any post submitted to the carnival and registration must NOT be required: I’m hoping that we generate interest in the submissions and that traffic generates comments. Let’s not frustrate our readers.
• Additional reasons for not inclusion: popup/popover/popunder windows, URLs that time-out, missing articles or moved pages, articles that make NO sense, any music/tracks/voice-overs that auto-play, articles that REQUIRE registration before reading and/or commenting.
• All editorial decisions are final. I will not answer questions about why a particular article was or was not included. If you didn’t get in, submit again for the next issue. Articles that are rejected twice will be excluded.

In short, I run this blog carnival in my free time, I receive no money for this activity, so I’d appreciate as much consideration as possible. It would be nice if you acknowledge the blog carnival somewhere on your website! Anywhere, it doesn’t matter: in a post, in the post you submitted, in the blogroll, etc.. or you can do a separate post when the post is published. This helps to drive traffic to the carnival, where people can find your posts!

Best Wishes

Kenneth from Carnival of Making REAL Money