The Internet Advantage

In a recent post, I talked in detail about creating multiple streams of income to develop financial redundancy and how it is an often overlooked part of prepping.

And while there are many ways you can earn extra income and develop financial redundancy, I feel the internet is hands down the best option. Nothing compares to the internet’s low cost of entry, speed, and ability to set up multiple streams of income that bring in money even while you are sleeping.

I’m definitely no online money-making guru but what I have learned and continue to apply has helped me consistently make over $1000/month in extra income — with some months over $3000. This is all from purely online sources (this site as well as other sites).

The best part about it is the income comes in without any direct involvement on my part — meaning I don’t have to “man” a store or process orders. It’s all done through automatic systems. In other words the money comes in regardless of whether I’m awake, at my regular job, asleep, or on vacation with my family.

But can I make a website too? Yes you can..

Most people know for the most part if you want to make money online then you’ need to have some type of website and in most cases that is true.

The problem is many people think it is a difficult or expensive thing. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

The fact is, setting up a website that can make you money is not only easy to do but it’s very affordable (around $6 month).

How to build your own website in under 5 minutes (and in 5 easy steps)

1. Choose a webhosting service

When it comes to choosing a webhosting service the one I highly recommend (for reasons you will see later on) is Bluehost.

In the past I used to use GoDaddy (the hosting service this site runs on) which is a good service but for a beginner setting up a first-time blog/site it can be a bit complicated.

But for ease and speed of setup, and what I now use and recommend, Bluehost is the clear winner.

For the rest of the instructions, I’ll be demonstrating the setups using the Bluehost service.

Disclaimer: I do earn a commission if you purchase a hosting plan through my Bluehost link. You are free to choose any company you wish but if you do end up purchasing through my affiliate link thank you so much for your support!

Now that you’ve hopefully decided to go with Bluehost, registering your domain name and continuing with the rest of the process is very easy:

2. Register your domain

Registering your domain is basically the process where you pick a name for your website and associate that name to a location in cyberspace. To register your domain, here are the steps:

1. Navigate to bluehost and click on the Sign Up Now button.

2. Enter your desired website name

3. If the site name is not taken than you’ll be prompted to put in your personal information.

4. In this picture it’s best to deselect the SiteLock and Site Backup options, but you probably want to ensure that domain privacy is selected (see arrow). Domain privacy basically shields any personal information (name, home address etc) from users doing a reverse “WHOIS” lookup on your site name.

3. Create and install your website

At this point you now have a domain name but no website content to associate that name with.

1. After you’ve paid by credit card, click on the CPanel link to get to the main administration panel. In here, click on the WordPress installation button.

2. Click on the install button

3. Choose your installation preferences ensuring that the Smallbiz option is selected and click on the “Complete” button.

4. On the next screen be sure to make note of your user name and password. This will be what you will use to login to your site (to create content, make updates etc).

4. Choose your design

Now that you have installed WordPress you essentially have a working website. Congratulations! Now it’s time to choose a design and create some content. Here are the steps:

1. Log into WordPress using the username and password that you took note of in a previous step.

2. After logging in, click on the “Appearence” link. This controls the look and feel of your website.

3. If you selected the SmallBiz option during the initial installation like I told you to, you should see the option to activate the SmallBiz theme. This theme is great since it can be used as a small/personal business website or a blog if that’s your desire.

4. Once you’ve activated this theme, your site now becomes the default look and feel of the SmallBiz theme. In this screen you can make some changes to that theme if you desire (the free version allows you only limited changes).

5. Now, if you go to your webpage (in this case it’s http://www.paracordhq.net) in a browser, you should see your newly associated theme.

6. If you don’t like the look of that theme, you can do a search for many other free themes out there.

7. Once you’ve found a theme you like, click on the install button and just like before, simply click on the Activate link to activate it. Now if you go to your site in a web browser you’ll see your new theme.

8. If you’re looking for a more professional look to your site you can pick up some really beautiful wordpress themes for under $100 at Woo Themes. This is very cheap in comparison to having a designer/developer do a custom one for you.

9. You would just purchase a theme, download it to your computer and then upload it in the themes section in your WordPress Adminstration area.

5. Write your first post/page

At this point you should have yourself a beautiful webpage that’s all yours. Now it’s time to add some content. In this example your going to add a new blog post:

1. Navigate to the “Posts” link and click on the “Add New” button.

2. Put in a title, add some content and when you feel it’s all good, click the “Publish” button.

3. Now when you navigate to your website, you should see your new content!

Now it’s your turn!

Wasn’t that easy? By following the previous steps you should be able to get a new site up and running in under 5 minutes.

If you’ve always wanted a website but never thought you could get one up an running due to the extraordinary costs or technical difficulties, there’s no excuse for you now.

So what are you waiting for? Go on over to Bluehost and build yourself a website!

Next steps

Now that you’ve got a site, the next steps are building it up to the point where you can make some money online.

Although I’d like to go into more detail here on TI on how you can do this, I don’t feel that it fits with the purpose I’ve laid out for this blog.

However, I know that many of you will want to know what to do next. So for those of you who are interested, I’ve decided to create a newsletter that will go into detail (like this post did) on what I’ve done to create online income. This way you’ll still get some valuable information and I can keep it separate from my blog.

If you’re interested in joining the TI Financial Redundancy Newsletter (this is different from my main newsletter), sign up in the form below:

The answer is through economic redundancy.

There are many of you reading this blog that know of someone that is experiencing economic hardship. That person may even be you.

I’m sure that most — if not all — of you that read my blog are not among the uber wealthy. Given that, I would bet that in some way or another the majority of you have been affected by the current economic crisis.

My story is that even though I am blessed to have a good job, over the last few years I have not had the yearly increases I used to get that would keep up with the inflation happening around me (fuel, groceries, property taxes, etc).

This, combined with some unforeseen medical expenses after the birth of our second child, has led to us struggling to keep up with the monthly bills. We are now living paycheck to paycheck and unable to pay down our debt.

It’s not the best of situations.

However, being the self-reliant, preparedness-minded person that I am, I am currently seeking to create economic redundancy much like I have food, water, shelter, security and energy redundancy.

Economic redundancy: defining what it is

Redundancy is a well-known concept among the survivalist community. In a nutshell it can be boiled down to the concept of “two is one and one is none”.

Let’s take your bug-out bag for example. If you have one (and I hope you do) you probably have packed some means/method of fire making. In this example, redundancy would dictate that you’d want to ensure you have more than one method of creating fire. This could be a lighter as well as a firesteel. Or even better yet — a lighter, a firesteel,as well as the skills to make fire from the environment around you.

By not depending on only one source of fire, you have created an insurance plan for that key pillar of survival.

Economic redundancy follows the same principle.

By including economic redundancy in your preparation planning, you are safeguarding yourself financially by not becoming dependent on only one income and wealth-preservation source.

Economic redundancy: why every prepper needs to have it

1. Times have changed

During my grandfather’s days (the World War II generation), having a job meant security.

Back then, loyalty mattered — for the employer as well as the employee. You could stay with one company for 40 years and expect a nice pension package at the end.

This is no longer the case.

There is no company loyalty any more. Retirement pensions are no longer a guarantee (Enron anyone?) and even after working 40 years with a company you could be just as likely to get laid off as anyone else.

2. Having a job is not economic security

The idea that having a job is a secure way to produce income is just ridiculous. Without control, there is no security.

I mean, how can you be financially secure when your entire source of income could be wiped out with just these two words, “You’re fired”?

3. Depending on the government is not economic security

If your definition of economic security includes depending on the government, it’s time to wake up.

When an overspending, overpromising, in-debt-up-to-its-eyeballs behemoth is your major income source, you are counting on a ticking time bomb and you need to seriously consider supplementing it with other sources.

4. The economy is unpredictable

As of the time of writing of this article (2011), the economy is in one of the worst states it has ever been in history (in many cases worst than the Great Depression). And it’s going to get worse.

Given the amount of market volatility, your current “low risk” retirement plan (401K, IRA, etc) could be worthless tomorrow.

Even gold, the great bastion of every preppers wealth-preservation plan, is not a guarantee.

Governments have and do put restrictions on transacting and owning gold. For example, from 1933 – 1973 in the US it was illegal to own and transact in gold. Stores wouldn’t take it, and you couldn’t sell it.

Who’s to say this won’t happen again.

Economic redundancy: how you can achieve it

Are you seeing a pattern here? Like any other prep, depending on a single source whether it’s for fire, water purification, energy needs, food or in this case income/wealth-preservation is not a sure thing.

Remember what I said in the beginning of this article, “two is one and one is none”? There’s a lot of wisdom in that saying.

So where do you go from here? How can you establish economic redundancy in your plans?

Here are four recommendations that will help you achieve it:

1. Seek to give value not time

As an employee, you only get paid a percentage of the true value you generate. For example my company bills me out at $250/hr but I only see a fraction of that. The rest goes straight into other people’s pockets.

This is akin to being a wage slave.

How to break yourself free from being a wage slave

To free yourself from slavery you first need to change your mindset.

This mindset shift happens when you realize that you earn income by providing value, not time. So look for ways to provide the most value to others, and charge a fair price for it.

One of the best ways is to start your own business. Whatever work you’re doing now in your employment, find a way to provide that same value directly to those who are benefiting from it. This way you get paid to the full level of the value you are offering.

It may take a bit of up-front investment in time and perhaps capital, but the freedom gained will be well worth it.

2. Seek to create additional streams of income

Additional revenue sources could come in the form of part-time jobs, consulting (if your expertise warrants that), to starting a small home-based business.

With the internet age, we have more opportunities to create income than at any other time since the entire world has become an available market.

Here are some suggestions on possible internet income streams:

Sell other people’s products:

With such a large market, the internet is a perfect venue to sell other people’s products. Here are some examples:

• Buy low, sell high:

  If you have a knack for finding good deals (yardsales etc), or better yet have access to wholesalers or other “at-cost” sources, then you could do well selling from your own site or on online marketplaces like eBay, Craigslist, Amazon et al.

  The disadvantage to this business model is that you need to handle all the warehousing, shipping, and inventory management. Which, depending on the amount of products you move, can take a substantial amount of time and cost.

• Dropshipping:

  Dropshipping is a retail method where the product you sell (from your site or through eBay for example) is shipped to the customer directly from the supplier or warehouse instead of directly from you. When a purchase is made, you fulfill the order, send it to the dropshipper and they ship it to the customer. Whatever the difference in your selling price and the dropshipper’s buying price is your profit.

  The benefit of this business model is that your risk is minimized since you don’t have to buy the product until it is sold. The dropshipper takes care of all the warehousing, packaging, and shipping of products, saving you a bunch of money.

  The downside is you still need to spend time fulfilling the orders as well as dealing with the hassle of refunds.

  If dropshipping is something that might be a good fit for you, here are two of the more well known dropshippers: Doba.com and Simplx.com.

• Affiliate sales:

  If you have a website or a good-sized social network (like facebook or twitter), a great way to make money online is promoting affiliate products that you like or have experience with.

  As an affiliate, you promote a product or service via a link on your site or a social network. If someone clicks on that link and makes a purchase you receive a percentage of the profits. For example, some of the links such as the Amazon store links and the ads under the “Blog Affiliates” section on my site are affiliates.

  It’s real simple to sign up as an affiliate and once you get their links you can be up and running very quickly.

  I find this business model even better than dropshipping since you don’t have to be concerned with any portion of the order-fulfillment process. Everything is done for you allowing you to literally make money while you sleep!

Sell your own products:

If you like to create things, you could turn those creations into profits.

For example, my wife has a friend who makes good money selling fancy children’s necklaces that she makes herself. Another woman I know sells wonderful homemade soap online.

Sites like Etsy.com, Artfire.com, and BuyHandMade.org are some good examples of where you can sell your own products online.

Sell information (sell your passion):

One of my passions is all things survival and preparedness related. This site you are reading from is a result of that passion.

Even though I am not replacing my normal income by any means, this site does bring in some extra revenue that goes a long way in helping out with the monthly bills. The best thing about it is that since it is such a passion of mine, it doesn’t feel like a part-time job (I just wish I had more time to focus on it).

You can make some good money teaching others about things you are experienced with and are passionate about.

There are people making money teaching others about how to drywall, do carpentry work, garden, sew, paint portraits, raise children, find a mate and so on.

With this type of business, you are selling information (in the forms of ebooks, physical books, downloadable videos, DVDs, CDs etc).

If you are interested in this form of online business, and are clueless as to where you should start, I highly recommend becoming a member of Sterling and Jay’s Internet Business Mastery Academy (of which I’m a member).

These guys will take you step-by-step through the process showing in detail how to turn your passion into a profitable online business. And if you don’t know what your passion is, they will help you discover it.

3. Seek to build economic systems

Creating economic redundancy through multiple streams of income is very difficult if those income sources are directly related to the time you actually work. Since there are a limited number of hours in the day, trading your time for money limits the amount of money you can make.

In other words, just how many part-time jobs can you take?

Your ultimate goal when ensuring economic redundancy is to setup systems that generate income 24/7 — especially passive income. This could include starting and building a business (like joining a MLM company), building a web site as described above that runs itself or other people run, owning commercial or rental property, building dividend income through investments, or generating royalty income from things you’ve created (music, books, patents etc).

Once set up, the system will continually deliver the value to people and generate income from it — whether you are actively looking after it or not. This frees up your time to generate more income either through building up and fine tuning your existing system or creating new ones.

4. Seek to protect your wealth through diversification

The final recommendation is to protect your existing wealth through diversification.

No, this does not mean spreading your money across different funds in your 401k as your fund manager might have you believe. Diversification means to spread your money across different asset classes altogether.

This includes market assets which are things like equities (stocks), fixed-income (bonds) and cash equivalents (T-Bills etc) as well as real estate (land/property) and commodities (precious metals).

For the prepper you might also want to consider barterable items such as seeds, ammo, fuels, sugar/salt and so on.

Conclusion

Just as you would include redundancies for security, fire, water, shelter and food – redundancy in your economic preparations are just as important.To survive and ultimately thrive in these tough economic times, you cannot rely upon a single income source or wealth-preservation method to carry you through.

So with this in mind, start implementing these recommendations today. Go out and start looking for other sources of income — the internet being one of the best ways. If you’re interested, but worried about not being technically savvy enough, I could do a post on how to set your own blog in under 10 minutes.

If you haven’t yet, I also recommend you sign up for my newsletter (sidebar top right). From time to time I’ll point you to specific products/services that will help you achieve economic redundancy.

Katrina is a perfect example. Many families who were otherwise prepared failed to follow this advice and ran into a host of issues.

When the waters receded, some residents tried to return to their homes. The national guard and police, who were guarding against looting, prevented people from entering their homes unless they could provide proper identification and proof of ownership.

There were also difficulties in getting families back together after becoming separated following the disaster. Children were often put in a secure location and would only be released to parents/guardians if they could prove their identities.

Even trying to file insurance claims were frustrating since most did not have their policy numbers available.

Having access to your important documents is absolutely essential if you were required to rebuild your life following a disaster.

What Documents Should You Have Backups Of?

Here’s a list of documents that you should have a copy of for each family member (where applicable):

• drivers license (front and back)
• passports
• insurance cards
• social security cards
• credit cards (front and back)
• proof of ownership or lease of your residence
• vehicle, boats etc. proof of ownership (copy of title, bill of sale etc)
• bank account numbers and other financial information
• legal documents and wills
• a recent family photo with names
• phone and address information for in and out-of-state emergency contacts
• birth, death, marriage, divorce certificates
• important business documents
• photos of valuables for documentation of insurance claims
• medical records (immunization etc.)

Where You Should Store These Backups?

Having more than one backup for these important documents is essential. For example, if you choose to put your emergency docs only in your bug-out bag, it may be that a disaster prevents you from getting to that bag.

Here are some options for you:

In Your Bug-Out Bag

Besides food, water and gear, your bug-out bags (72 hour kits) should also contain these important documents. I prefer to put them in Ziplock brand (they’re more durable) freezer bags. This keeps them completely waterproof and prevents damage.

With Trusted Friends/Family

Another option where you can store your emergency documents is with a trusted friend or relative who lives outside of your area. This provides another failsafe in case your area is completely destroyed. You obviously don’t want these documents to fall in the wrong hands so it’s of primary importance that you can trust that individual and that they take the necessary precautions.

Safe-Deposit Box

For around $15-$20 a year you can store copies of your important documents in a safe deposit box. Again, I would recommend keeping them in a bank outside your immediate area. If your a customer of a national bank this gives you many options.

Keeping Electronic Copies

This is one of my favorite methods. Basically you create digital copies of your important documents and then upload them to a remote server (like Gmail, Google Docs, or Hotmail). By keeping a copy on various remote servers you benefit from the fact that your document is safe from disaster. Many large companies like Google and Microsoft have disaster-recovery servers that if one server location were to be completely destroyed another would take its place without any data loss.

As a graduate of computer science I am well aware of the importance and vulnerabilities of digital security. But transferring digital files across the net and keeping digital copies need not be risky. In my next article, I’ll be sharing with you how you can securely keep copies of these documents on the web. Read it here.

photo © Lamar Alexander - www.simplesolarhomesteading.com

Lamar Alexander over at Simple Solar Homesteading has managed to build a completely self-sufficient solar cabin for under $4000 and with his $5 ebook, he shows you how you can do it too.

Being curious, I bought his ebook last week to check it out and you get a wealth of information that I think is well worth the 5 bucks. Even if you don’t plan on building a retreat, or don’t have the land yet to do it, many of the tips he shares can be applied to your own residence. And the instructions are really simple to follow.

Here’s what he teaches you:

• How to build a cabin for under $2000
• How to build a cabin addition for under $1500
• How to build a solar panel and generator system for under $1000
• How to build a solar composting toilet under $50
• How to build a solarium porch and solar air heater
• How to build a solar methane generator
• How to build a rain water and gray water harvesting system
• How to build a batch water heater under $50
• How to build a solar clothes washer, dryer, and dishwasher
• How to build a tipi greenhouse
• How to build a solar oven under $50
• How to build a root and/or storm shelter
• How to build a great garden cart under $50
• How to build a garden compost tumbler
• How to install a wood stove in your cabin
• How to build a portable chicken tractor for under $50
• How to dig your own water well
• How and where to find cheap homestead property

Granted, what he teaches you how to build is not some 3000 square foot log cabin but rather something that more resembles a glorified utility shed. But for the cheap cost and especially if you want to build something quick, it’s pretty cool.

And remember, if we were in an extended grid-down situation right now, then I’m sure you’d much rather be like Lamar living in a completely paid-off self-sufficient “shed” then in your dependent-on-the-grid in-debt-up-to-your-eyeballs McMansion. What he teaches here is a cheap way to self sufficiency and economic freedom. Not bad eh?

Here’s a video of Lamar giving you a tour of his place:

And here’s a video of the interior:

As a test, I took 30 min of my time today to see how much free stuff I could order online. Here’s the list:

• Slim-Fast® 100 Calorie Snack Bar – Peanut Butter Crunchtime
• Nature Valley Trail Mix Bar & Nut Clusters
• Kashi TLC Chewy Granola Bar
• Raw Organic Bee Pollen
• Organic & Raw Honey Sample
• Special K Cereal Sample
• Free Beyond Seven Latex Condom – beyond the standard use, condoms make great ‘survival’ water containers.
• Prilosec heart-burn medicine
• Enfamil – we’ve got a new baby coming
• Diapers
• Nivea for Men Active shower, shampoo, shave gel
• Snuggie – The Blanket with Sleeves – not sure if this one will come, it seemed too good to be true.

There are many sites that keep an eye out for you as to what free samples are available. Here are some:

• StartSampling.com
• MySavings.com
• The Free Site
• Cool Freebie Links
• Walmart Free Samples

Most sites require that you sign up for the promotion by giving them your email. Instead of using your own email and getting all the accompanying junk that goes along with submitting it, simply set up a free account used specifically for this purpose. I’ve got one called junkmail75@hotmail.com (feel free to spam me if you like  ).

If you’ve got the time or are just sitting in front of the TV with a laptop, why not work on getting some free stuff to add to your stash. Happy hunting!

If this doesn’t spurn you on to get out of debt, and get some real assets (such as gold to save your wealth), then nothing will. Thanks Jimmy for keying me in to this vid!

“Interest never sleeps nor sickens nor dies; it never goes to the hospital; it works on Sundays and holidays; it never takes a vacation; it never visits nor travels; it takes no pleasure; it is never laid off work nor discharged from employment; it never works on reduced hours. . . . Once in debt, interest is your companion every minute of the day and night; you cannot shun it or slip away from it; you cannot dismiss it; it yields neither to entreaties, demands, or orders; and whenever you get in its way or cross its course or fail to meet its demands, it crushes you.”

 – J. Reuben Clark

The average American household is living in a similar manner to our government — off of borrowed money. We are replacing our future needs for our present wants. With the average consumer debt reaching around $10,000 per household, it has become an epidemic in the United States.

There are many good sources on the internet and elsewhere for how to get out of debt. Such as performing “plastic surgery” on your credit cards by cutting them up; paying off the higher-interest credit cards first; or getting a second job and using that income only to pay off your debts. This is all good advice, but if we get out of debt what’s to say we won’t jump right back in?

There is a good friend of mine who at the young age of 18 got caught up in wanting to have the best things that life had to offer. This is not a bad thing in itself. However, he wanted these things now without making the required effort to work and save for them.

The idea that he at 18 could get credit cards to support his lifestyle was the perfect solution. He progressively charged more and more on his various cards until they were all maxed out. It got to the point where he had to seek help from his family in order to get out of his situation. It took him nearly 10 years to pay off his debts using many of the tips and techniques that are offered by financial advisers.

Not long after, he got married, bought a home and began to fall in the same trap again. He figured that since he was older, had a home, and made significantly more money than he did as a kid, that he was entitled now to some of the nicer things – again without saving up for them. After about two years, he was mired down in debt again – over $20,000 this time. This young couple was literally living paycheck-by-paycheck causing considerable strain on their relationship.

After consolidating most of his debts, as well as paying some off with a home-equity loan, he continued in the same pattern until they were $50,000 in debt. Stretched to the limit and nowhere to turn, they declared bankruptcy a few months ago. Occasionally I still hear him talk about the “latest” thing he’d seen that he wants. Will this pattern end?

Many share the same burdens that my friend shares. It is only after they are in a dire situation do they seek, out of desperation, to temporarily change their patterns. But these are only band-aid solutions. What they need is to live by principles – economic constants that are true no matter what the situation of the economy or their income may be.

Here is a list of them:

• Live on less than you earn. There is no way that you can earn more than you could potentially spend. If you look around you’ll notice it’s not the amount of money that one earns that brings peace of mind, rather the ability to control it. It is said that “money can be an obedient servant but a harsh taskmaster”. The key to spending less than we earn is simple – it’s called self-discipline. Are you in control of your circumstances or do your circumstances control you? Those who structure their standard of living to allow for a little surplus are in control.
• Learn to identify your needs from your wants. We live in a wonderful free-market society which allows us the opportunity to purchase so many different things. Part of the challenge is making the sacrifice to temporarily put off what we want now to what we need later. This means making decisions for the long term. Oftentimes, when we decide to hold-off on a particular purchase, we realize that it is not something that we want anyways.
• Develop and live within a budget. Budgeting and financial management don’t have to be overly complicated. However be sure that the four bases are covered: First, allocate enough to cover the basic provisions (food, clothing, etc.); Second, for home equity (ie. the mortgage); Third, for savings and various health and life insurances (ideally you should have an emergency fund of at least 6-months worth of expenses). And finally fourth, for investments. Only after if there is money left over should you buy those wants.
• Show integrity in all of your financial dealings. Financial integrity is a dying principle. Whether it’s “stuffing” your time sheets to make an extra buck to lying about one’s profits (in the case of the Enron scandal), ethical economics needs to become a priority. There are so many now seeking the easy way out by declaring bankruptcy and thereby placing their debts on someone else. There are others who are living off of the system when they’re entirely capable of working. These seemingly ‘small’ decisions multiplied over a number of people can impact the entire nation. It’s up to every individual to learn and teach others about the need for integrity.

Each of us has the power within us to make the decision to live these principles. I know that as we seek the courage to get our own financial house in order that our lives will be blessed with security and happiness.

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