[Video] How to Get Better Gas Mileage

[Video] How to Get Better Gas Mileage

by | Apr 26, 2012

I’m pretty irritated with the high gas price. What is really going on?!?! Fortunately there are ways to save money with better gas mileage. This week’s video shows us how.

Lauren Fix, The Car Coach, Automotive Expert

  • Last year, 147 million gallons of gasoline evaporated because of loose, missing or broken gas caps.  Make sure your gas cap is securely fastened.  Turn it until you hear the clicking sound.
  • Keeping your tires properly inflated can improve your fuel economy by 1 to 2 miles to a gallon.  Check your tire pressure once a month using a digital tire gauge.  You will find the proper PSI for your vehicle on the inside of your driver-side door or in your owner’s manual. Check your tire pressure in the morning, when tires are cool, to get the most accurate reading.
  • Get the extra junk out of your trunk!  Reducing the weight your car has to carry can save you a lot of money at the pump.
  • Allowing your car to idle burns a lot of fuel. Instead of using the drive-thru, park and walk inside.
  • Take car of your engine:
  1. Replace your air filter every 6 months.  If your car can’t “breathe” properly, it will use too much fuel.
  2. Maintain your spark plugs.
  3. Using a full synthetic oil will lower your emissions and will improve your fuel economy by 2-3%.
Quick Guide For How to Choose a Side Hustle or Business

Quick Guide For How to Choose a Side Hustle or Business

by | Apr 15, 2012

Did you pick up the Single Mom Survival and Success Kit? If so you know part of the kit includes 200 side hustles to make extra money, because, let’s face it, sometimes you just need extra money. That sounds great at first but how do you choose the right side hustle or method for you?

To choose the best business for you I’ve put together a quick guide for choosing the right business for you. Download the Side Hustle Business Worksheet to come up with the right business for you.

1. Look at Your Past Jobs

In looking at your past jobs decide if you want to continue doing that kind of work. My professional career was technical writing so I decided to use my writing skills to make extra money on the side.

2. Take a Second Look at Your Hobbies

Is it something you can turn into a business? Do people rave about your knitting, cooking, photography? One of the things I enjoyed doing was baking. My mom taught me how to bake when I was 10 years old. I turned that hobby into a cake business at a young age.

3. Take Inventory of Your Skills

Make a list of all the skill you have learned over the years. You could have learned these skill on the job or in school. That skill is the thing that could bring in $1,000 or more in extra income per month.

4. Make a List of the Results

Once you think about all the jobs, hobbies, skills and natural talents, make a list and pick the top three things that appeals to you the most. Next do an informal survey of your family, friends, and network to determine if they would pay for the service you are thinking of offering.

5. See if There is a Market for Your Side Hustle

Another way to determine if the service you might offer will be profitable is to see if there are many people looking for the service online. Use Google keyword tool to do an exact search for phrases related to your service. For example, if you plan to offer dog grooming service enter the phrase “dog grooming service in [your city]” into the keyword tool. Be sure to click the exact phrase option on the left side of the screen. Your search results should be at least 10-20K or more searches for your phrase.

6. Do the $100 Side Hustle Business Test

Finally, place an ad on Craigslist or other free classified ad for your service. If you make at least $100 you may have a good service to offer. If not choose the next thing on the list and repeat the process. You will find the right business for you.

Additional Side Hustle Business Advice for Moms

Do you need more help deciding what business to start. I can help you come up with at least 5 profitable businesses to choose from. I offer Business Start-up Coaching for Moms in a 45 minute conversation. Click the link above to find out more and start making extra money now!

[Video] How to Start a Business

[Video] How to Start a Business

by | Apr 12, 2012

Maggie Mistal, Career Coach, Martha Stewart Living Radio

Here are Maggie Mistal’s insights and tips to help make the decision about starting your own business a little easier:

How to decide whether you’re too old to start a business:

No matter what your age, if starting your own business is something you want to do you can do it. Once you have an idea you can do a couple of things to get started. You can tap into your friends to see if they want to get involved or have ideas for starting a business. You can also access local resources like your chamber of commerce where you can actually go to some meetings and see other entrepreneurs making it happen and begin to network.

Resources to help you decide what kind of business to start:

If you want to start a business but you aren’t sure what kind of business to start there is a great web site you can access called www.vocationvacations.com. Once on the site, you can test out lots of entrepreneurial adventures and really see what kind of jobs suit you best. You can try being a bed and breakfast owner, a spa owner, or a wine bar owner. You can even test out being a private investigator. Before starting your own business you can “try it on”.

Determining whether you’re suited to be an entrepreneur:

It’s important to assess your skills and lifestyle to determine whether you are cut out to be an entrepreneur; to be your own boss. You need to think about whether you are a quick learner and if you like to learn, because when starting your own business you’ll be learning a lot of new things almost every day. Ask yourself if your lifestyle allows you the time on weeknights and weekends to devote to starting/owning your own business. Another good “how to start a business” resource you can access is the Small Business Administration’s web site www.sba.gov. Their web site provides lots of examples where you can see what it really takes to be an entrepreneur.

How to know whether the business you’re considering is a good fit for you:

There are a few really great ways to investigate if a business idea or a new career is right for you. One way to learn about a business is to job shadow someone, where you can physically follow someone around and work side by side with them. The great thing about a job shadow is that you can actually see if doing that kind of work or owning that kind of business suits you. If you can’t participate in a job shadow you can do an informational interview, in which you talk to someone to learn about the business. This talk can take place on the phone or in person and can provide excellent insight into how to start your own business. Throughout the interview you can ask them questions like: What do you love about your job? What do you hate about your job? If you were going to do it all over again, what would you do differently?

Keep in mind you don’t need to recreate the wheel, especially in the age of the Internet. Everybody is doing interesting and creative things. If you just do a little bit of research you can get a lot of insights and avoid the pitfalls yourself.

How to match passion with career:

Some people are at a point in their lives when they don’t have to work to support their family and instead can create a business or find a new career that they are passionate about. For many the biggest question around how to start a business is figuring out what to do. To help yourself figure out what kind of business to start or what kind of career to get involved in, you should ask yourself this question: What would I do if I knew I couldn’t fail? Or, think back to what you enjoyed doing as a child. Often those childhood activities that were fun for you (that you weren’t paid to do) such as conducting science experiments or doing arts and crafts will inspire you to find a new career that’s right for you.

Additional Resources:

Vocation Vacations

Small Business Administration

Manage Your Money With Less Stress

Manage Your Money With Less Stress

by | Apr 5, 2012

It’s no secret that, while beautiful, raising a family can be a financial nightmare. From mortgage payments and utility bills to food costs and school supplies, sometimes the money you owe can far exceed the money you earn. Plus, with the possibility of unforeseen charges draining your savings always looming, maintaining a solid budget and remaining debt free can feel a bit too daunting.

While bringing in a secondary income helps pad your pockets, there are also a number of ways you can save on expenses that will help you both manage your money with a little less stress and allow you to put a little extra away in the bank. For example, what you spend on school supplies doesn’t necessarily have to run in the hundreds. In addition to finding sales, a great way to save on costs on required items for young students is by shopping at discount shops or dollar retailers, such as Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, or Dollar General. At these stores, you can find generic or store-brand versions of the basics like notebooks, writing instruments, and glue for $1 each, and still walk away with quality products. If your budget is particularly tight, check around the house for good condition items that your children can reuse and look into local non-profits with programs that issue free supplies and other necessities to low-income families.

Of course, living in the Internet age also means you may have to shop for laptops or other electronics for your school-bound children, and those costs can run higher than you’d like. In this case, many online retailers like Amazon.com and NewEgg.com offer great discounts on new and refurbished electronics that can cost far less than chain stores. Additionally, look into economic laptops, like the Toshiba Satellite Series. These types of durable laptops offer all the fundamentals your child would need for school, like the latest word processing software and a respectable amount of memory, while not putting that big of a dent in your wallet.

Knowing how to spend less and save more is an essential and valuable tool in raising a family, one that you can pass on to your children when they are ready to start their own. That financial freedom starts with the little things, like using Internet research and comparison tools, which will help you find the best discounts for your budget. Many sites offer, for example, auto insurance comparison tools, that search rates from multiple vendors in seconds. This can help you save money, so you can spend more on your children’s clothes and school supplies.

If you follow these guidelines, you can keep a bit more of your hard earned cash every month so you can pay down debt and save for the family vacation of your dreams.