In today’s economy it’s a very good idea to generate passive income to supplement or better yet replace your existing salary.  Passive income is usually defined as income received on a regular basis, with little effort required to maintain it.  However, let’s be clear, creating “systems” to generate passive income takes work and is not a get rich system. Sometimes it involves trial and error and some financial investment.

The Internet is a great place to generate passive income because it can easily be automated.  There are two types of people who use the Internet.  There are the “Users” and “Providers”.  The Users make money for the Providers.  Users browse the Web by making purchases, viewing ads, clicking on ads and even creating content for the Providers.  Sites like MySpace, YouTube, Facebook and forums are created with content by Users which create value for the Providers.  

In order for you to make money online you have to be a Provider.  You must offer some type of product or service that Users find valuable.  With computers and the Internet this process can be completely automated.    Most websites are automated, so once a provider creates a website, it can run on auto pilot with the provider doing little work to maintain it.  This is where the passive income comes in place.

One strategy for passive income is affiliate marketing. Affiliate Marketing is promoting products/services that you don’t own or provide for a commission.  You register with an Affiliate Company to get an account, which gives you access to hyper-links (via text or banners) to products/services.  You take the link and place it out in the Internet world (via e-mail, website / landing page, paid advertising) to send traffic to your affiliate.  When an action is taken (sale or lead generation), you get a commission. People have become millionaires doing this!

There are many free resources on the Internet to learn about Affiliate Market.  However, if you are seeking an inexpensive training seminar, consider Secret Affiliate Weapon 2.0 – Passive Income Secrets! by Ewen Chia.  The course costs only $27.00 and provides a wealth of information in one place.

Related Articles:

• How I Made $125K in Commission via Affiliate Marketing
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To be successful at many things in life requires a good start.  Whether its school, health, money, career, relationships, raising children, starting a business, etc.  Just like a sprinter running a race, he or she must have a good start to win, even if he or she is the fastest sprinter.
 
I often tell teenagers heading off to college to not “screw-up” their first two years of college.  Many teens party their first two years of college and end up with low GPAs.  By the time they realize their mistake it’s very difficult to raise their GPAs.  The first 2 years of college is easier than the last 2 years.  They screwed up the easy courses and now they have to work harder to get good grades in tougher courses.  If they did well the first 2 years and didn’t do as well the last 2 years, their GPAs would not suffer as much.  I explain to them that it’s imperative to have a good start!

The same goes with health.  Maintaining your weight, exercising, eating right and not smoking early in life will benefit you in the long term.  If you eat poorly, don’t exercise, smoke, gain excess weight early in life it will be more difficult later in life to reverse it than maintaining it earlier in life.

Money is also an area where it’s imperative to get a good start early in life.  Once you are on your own, manage your money correctly from the start.  Save to buy things and do not finance purchases using a credit card. Live below your means.  Pay 0ff your bills on time to maintain a good credit score.  Develop and follow a budget.  Have an emergency fund.  Put money in your company’s 401K plan.  If you have a good financial start, you will reap the rewards later in life.  Managing your money poorly early in your adult life will cost your dearly in the long-term.  If your credit is low, you will end up paying much higher interest rates when purchasing a home or a car.  Or you may be simply denied loans.  Financing things with a credit card will cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars in unnecessary interest fees.  If you have no money saved, when hard times hit (loss of job, illness, divorce, etc,) you may end up filing bankruptcy or losing your home.

There are many more situations in life that it’s imperative to have a good start.  Starting off poorly quickly leads down the road of failure where it becomes hard to reverse.

Related Article: Do You Have the 3 D’s for Success?

Back in the days of no-money-down lending most people bypassed using a government-insured Federal Housing Authority (FHA) loan, which allows borrowers to purchase a home for as little as 3.5% down payment.  

With today’s real estate market, FHAs are the only alternative for buyers who cannot afford the minimum down payment of 10% that many banks now require for a conventional loan.

According to a Zillow.com survey, about one-third of buyers have 10% or less saved for a down payment.  As a result, FHA loans have increased dramically from 3% to 25% of the loan market.

Below are some facts about FHA loans:

• FHA loans are not only for low-income borrowers.  There is no cap on what a borrower earns.
• The max loan is $271,050 in areas where real estate is cheap, $729,750 in expensive markets such as California and New York.
• Thorough appraisals are required for FHA loans by the government.  Sellers must fix all issues before a buyer can close on a FHA loan.
• Nominal interest rates for FHA mortgages are comparable to conventional loans; however, there is a 1.75% upfront charge and a 0.5% annual insurance premium for 5 years and until the principal balance hits 78% of the sales price or the home’s appraised value.
• FHA mortgages now only takes a few days longer that conventional loans to close.
• FHA loans require written documentation of income which includes pay stubs and tax returns.

Very interesting video below of how quickly the world is changing especially because of technology.  Enjoy!

Bank of America new promotion states, “Now that you’ve moved to a new neighborhood, maybe it’s time to move to a new bank.”  Hence the picture above with the woman moving boxes. 

Bank of America is offering $100 to open a new checking account.  That’s not bad! This offer is only available to new customers who open a qualifying personal checking account with a minimum balance of $500.  That’s an immediate 20% return in you deposit the minimum $500.  

Additionally, the new checking account must be open for at least 30 days and you must make a minimum of one transaction with the newly assigned check card.  That’s easy enough!  

To open a new checking account, apply online or go to a banking center and reference offer code AOU261009.

A Bank of America checking account offers you:

• Free MyAccess Checking with no monthly maintenance fee when opened online. Special online only offer
• Banking near home, work or school with over 6,100 banking centers
• Access to your money at over 18,000 ATMs
• Check balances, pay bills, and transfer funds with Online and Mobile Banking
• Effortless savings with Keep the Change

For more information visit BankofAmerica.com.

Keith Olbermann of MSNBC has been tirelessly supporting the public health insurance option and tonight’s show is bound to be powerful. Keith Olbermann has a goal of getting 50,000 people to take his pledge to watch his hour-long Special Comment on health care reform this Wednesday and to tell 5 of my friends to take this pledge.” Click here to take the Olbermann Pledge.

See the interesting video below of Keith Olbermann stance on the healthcare debate.

Related Articles:

• What is the Public Option Per Healthcare Reform?
• Why Aren’t Americans Mad About their Healthcare System?
• It’s Time to Fix the American Healthcare Crisis

Royal Banks of Missouri is offering 4.30% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) earned on daily collected balances up to $24,999.  Of course there is a catch.

You will have to complete 10 Point of Sale Debit Card Transactions, 1 Direct Deposit and/or ACH Debit/Credit and receive your statements via e-mail each statement cycle.  There is a $100.00 minimum to open an account; however, there is no minimum balance once opened and no monthly service fee.

If you meet the stated requirements each statement cycle, you will be refunded up to $25.00 in Foreign ATM service charges at the end of the current statement cycle.  If you fail to meet the above requirements, all Foreign ATM fees incurred will not be refunded.

The 4.30% APY will be paid on balances up to $24,999.  For balances over $25,000, a rate of 1.40% APY will be applied to the portion of the balance that exceeds $25,000.  In addition, if you fail to meet the above requirements, the interest rate will drop to .15% APY for the current statement cycle.

For more information visit RoyalBanksofMO.com.