Make Money on Valentines Day!

In honor of Valentine's day, I thought I would share 13 great ways to make money on Valentine's day. The original post is from WiseBread.com and can be found here. Enjoy!

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13 Ways to Make Money From Valentine's Day

While Valentine's Day is traditionally for lovers, it's also for savvy entrepreneurs. Instead of emptying your wallet to buy your special someone something special (aka "expensive"), you can actually turn a profit by setting up a side gig. Take advantage of the Hallmark holiday by raking in cold, hard cash with these 13 ways to earn extra money from Valentine's Day.

1. Create Handmade Valentine's Cards

If you're crafty or have decent graphic design skills, create your own line of heartfelt or funny Valentine's greeting cards. They're relatively easy to make — keeping them clever will probably be the hardest part — and you can sell them on Etsy, Bonanza, and a host of other sites that cater to handmade items. You'll can find colored envelopes at your local office-supply or craft store, and be sure to account for the cost of materials and shipping when pricing so you can make a decent profit.

2. Deliver Stuff

Not all local companies have the resources to offer delivery services, and that's where you come in. Identify some of the businesses that are particularly relevant around Valentine's Day and contact them to see what their delivery needs are. Places like florists, gift shops, and bakeries may be able to use an extra hand.

Bear in mind that this gig will likely be under-the-table because of insurance restrictions, so consider that before deciding if this is right for you. Even better, you may be able to score private gigs from, say, a guy who wants to send his girlfriend flowers last minute so he can save on the high shipping and delivery costs. One man's procrastination is your extra cash.

3. Play Chef for a Couple's Romantic Dinner

Are you a whiz in the kitchen? Offer to cook a multi-course meal for family, friends, co-workers, or even strangers who want to enjoy a relaxing Valentine's Day at home without all the hassle of cooking a romantic dinner. Plan a special menu of the couple's favorite dishes — complete with candles, ambient lighting, and mood-setting music — and set your fee to accommodate for the ingredients, travel, and time spent setting up, cooking, and cleaning after the meal.

4. Write Love Letters for Would-Be Casanovas

Most people aren't very slick when it comes to writing poetry or love letters, but if you're a gifted writer who can make people swoon in just a few sentences, putting sweet nothings on paper might be your money maker. (See also: 11 Life Skills That Are Now Completely Obsolete)

5. Plan Exciting Date Experiences

Everybody has their strengths, but men aren't always the best at planning special, exciting, or romantic dates. There are some creative dudes out there, for sure, but for the most part, the male of the species needs help in this area. If you happen to excel in this department, put together a few itineraries that are too good to pass up, and then do the due diligence so you can get paid by setting up the date to ensure that it goes off without a hitch.

6. Babysit or Pet Sit

All those parents you know — both of human and fur babies — deserve a break, too. And you can cash in big if you have the skills, certifications, and patience to babysit or pet sit while Mom and Dad enjoy a night out on the town.

According to UrbanSitter's 2015 Babysitting and Nanny Rates Survey, you're looking at about $15 per hour for one child and upwards of $20 per hour for three children. Add in a 15%-20% tip plus pizza money and you could take home a legit payday, albeit with a few more gray hairs. For pet sitting, you can expect between $10 and $15 per hour, as estimated by Care.com's pet care rate calculator.

7. Bake Valentine-Themed Goodies

What's Valentine's Day without dessert? That's the best part! Whip up your famous cookies, cakes, and pastries, and shop them around to local eateries (you'll fare better if you establish yourself as a small business with well-packaged goods and a business card; both of which are easy to do), or offer them up to your private network of friends, family, and co-workers.

8. Unload Unwanted Jewelry

If you have a collection of jewelry with which you're willing to part, you may be able to find interested buyers in your area. Instant-list apps like Wallapop, VarageSale, and OfferUp have made it simpler than ever to unload your items by snapping a photo, writing a short description, and naming a price.

9. Promote Your Party-Planning Skills

There may not be a huge market for amateur party planners, but it's worth a shot. If you're known for throwing memorable shindigs, you might be able to drum up some business. Shop the dollar stores for decorations to keep costs down.

10. Busk, or Serenade Couples

Throw a hat or instrument case on the ground in a well-traveled area and belt out love songs all day. If you want to be more proactive about it, take your show on the road and wander up to lovey-dovey couples for a serenading session. That dude would be a dummy if he didn't at least reach in his pocket for a dollar.

11. Photograph Couples' Special Moments

Valentine's Day, with all the sentiment that surrounds it, is prime time for weddings, engagements, and other relationship-specific photo ops. If you're handy with a camera, offer to snap shots of the special moments that the happy couple will cherish forever.

12. Draw or Paint Couples' Portraits

You don't have to be a well-established or recognized artist to sell your work. Some couples may enjoy the prospect of being drawn or painted, not only as a Valentine's Day activity, but also a gift to themselves that they can hang in the home as a reminder of their love.

13. Host a Singles Party for All Your Lonely Friends

Planning on spending Valentine's Day alone? Not anymore. Host a party at home for singles, if you have a large and diverse network of friends. Charge a few bucks admission to cover the cost of food, décor, drinks, and so you can walk away with a reasonable wage.

Now Offering Free Trials!

It's not about how much you make, but how much you keep! A dollar saved is a dollar earned. I have start posting links to free trials for all my readers to take advantage of! Various Amazon Services (Kindle, Music, etc.) and viewing services (HBO, Showtime, etc.) are available to you for free on the right hand side of my website. Enjoy!

Also - I have removed ads from my site to improve reader experience :)

Educate yourself! Learn THEN earn!

Tim Ferris has come out with a life changing book, where he shares his key takeaways from conversations with Billionaires, Titans, and World Leaders! Order the ebook summary today for only 99 cents, no need to waste your time reading the entire book.

Summary: Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Tim Ferriss

Cash for Sperm, Easy Money for Men

Check out Bruce Watson's Article from DailyFinance.com, about how to sell your sperm for cash!

Selling Sperm for Money

"When I was in college, I once visited a friend at another university. As with many such visits, I spent much of my time in an alcoholic haze, wandering from apartment to apartment, meeting my friend's friends, drinking odd beverages, and generally getting down Hunter S. Thompson-style. Good times.

In one apartment, I remember watching some90210 on the occupants' big screen TV. Over the course of the show, I noticed that they kept referring to it as "the TV that sperm bought." Finally, unable to contain my curiosity, I asked about the nickname. Laughing, one of them told me that the roommates had pooled their resources from selling sperm and had used the proceeds to purchase a TV. Since then, my research has shown me that, regardless of the the truth of the roommates' claims, it certainly could be true. Advertised sperm donation rates vary from $1 to $200 per week; most donors can expect somewhere around $40 per donation. Given that you can only deposit sperm every five days, your career as a sperm donor will probably only net you enough money to eat at McDonald's. Although, if you save carefully, your genetic material could translate into a sweet home theater system.

When I was a college student, sperm donation seemed like an interesting idea. After all, I'd be paid for doing something that I usually did pro bono, would be able to make some poor ladies really happy, and would pick up a little bit of dough on the side. In the meantime, I was legally protected; there was no way that the little Brucies and Brucinias that were wandering the earth could track their way back to me. Then I read the small print.

To begin with, sperm donation isn't a quick and easy, drop in, drop off, pick-up-your-cash type of deal. Among other minor irritations, it requires months of tests, a six-month to three-year commitment to a sperm bank, and no "liberation" of sperm when you're off the clock. Added to this is the fact that you will probably never know what happened to your children, although recent events are conspiring to strip away the cloak of anonymity under which many sperm donors have made their contributions to society. In other words, regardless of your position on the whole anonymity thing, sperm donation could end up being a little awkward.

That having been said, there is a desire for healthy sperm donors and the money is nothing to sneeze at, particularly if you're currently working your way through your ramen and tuna fish years. Unlike egg donation or surrogacy, the comparable options that are available to women, sperm donation is relatively non-invasive, albeit a lot less lucrative. Frankly, if I had it all to do over again...well, there were a couple of years in the mid-1990's when I could have used a little more cash..."

Thanks for reading, comments encouraged.

How to Make Money Buying Virtual Real Estate

by John Preston 

For Sale: Luxurious, seaside bungalow. We guarantee that the structure will never need re-shingling, re-siding, a new furnace, a new water heater or foundation repair. Appliances will never break; you’ll die before they do. Property’s unique arrangement makes it so that you will never need homeowner’s insurance, gas and electric, garbage pickup, property taxes or water.

Best of all this real estate is so cheap, there’s no need to start Googling refinance rates and mortgage brokers. So, who’s ready to buy?

This is not a deal that is too good to be true. Anyone can go out and make a real estate purchase like the one listed. Although, did I forget to mention that the house doesn’t technically exist except in a computer game that you play online?

I’ll stop my sales pitch, because I just lost many of you. While you may not be interested in spending money on virtual real estate, there are hundreds of thousands who play online video games and would jump at the opportunity.

Today’s weird business might be about pretend products, but the money earned is very spendable and just as green as any bills found in physical cash registers.

Anshe Chung, the First Virtual Real Estate Tycoon

For Ailin Graef, the game Second Life wasn’t just a virtual world where she’d escape the doldrums of reality through an alter ego. The game was a place for her to use her computer and design talents to build and develop virtual real estate for other players. Those talents were worth millions.

The game Second Life created a complete virtual world for players. Kind of like a more realistic and open-ended Sims game. One of the game’s features was the use of an online currency called Linden Dollars that could be converted into actual money. Since the game currency had real value, astute players could use their unique game talents to earn real income.

With a mere $10, Ailin Graef created an avatar named Anshe Chung who came to control 36 square kilometers of virtual land in Second Life, worth over a million in real dollars. Chung’s empire started with small virtual real estate purchases which were subdivided and redesigned with chic landscaping and architecture, then sold to other resident avatars. Virtual real estate success gave birth to a real company staffed with 20 to 25 employees. (Source)

What We Can Learn from Ailin Graef

Lesson #1: Your Talents are Worth Money

You might have goofy talents, but those talents can be worth millions. For Ailin Graef, she was proficient in her use of the Second Life platform and had an artistic eye for virtual architecture. I’m confident that neither of these talents would have impressed a crowd at any given cocktail party, but who cares? Technology opened a worldwide market for her talents.

Since the beginning of time, entrepreneurs have battled basic business constraints: how do I reach my market and how will my market reach me. Technology is reducing the difficulty of both these constraints. When you think about these basics you can see how traditional commerce made selling your talents difficult.

If you had really amazing Rubik’s Cube skills and wanted to give lessons, how would you reach the thousands of interested trainees spread across the world 30 years ago? You might be able to write a book if you could find a publisher. Today, there is any number of ways to sell your talent. You can create You Tube videos with advertising, a virtual class, an eBook, etc.

Lesson #2: Solving a Consumer Problem is All the Reality You Need

Although Ailin Graef’s talents were virtual, she fulfilled a vital role for Second Life players. Building your own property in Second Life required a great deal of time and effort from new players. Players could spend a small amount of money and receive a pre-built virtual home instantly.

Consumers have an endless supply of problems and they are just waiting to pay someone to arrive at a reasonable solution. It’s your mission as penny hoarders to find those answers. Succeed in this process and earning money won’t just be a dream, but a reality.

Original Post: http://www.thepennyhoarder.com/2012/01/how-to-make-money-buying-virtual-real-estate

A Student's Guide to Investing

Invest and follow the market from your dorm room.

College student investing is one of the easiest ways to jumpstart your financial future. And if you think you're too young to invest, or that you don't have enough money, think again. Because online investing has made the process so simple and accessible that almost anyone can do it. And you don't need a ton of money to get started. You just need to know how. That's where Student Finance Domain comes in.

Getting Ahead with Your Personal Finance Investing

First of all, you should know that as a college student you have a big advantage over other investors. You have time – and plenty of it. And with the almost magical powers of compound interest, time really is money. Even investing a modest amount of money today can mean big returns down the road. So you owe it to yourself to at least consider personal finance investing while you’re in school. You can find a great deal of information about investing resources online, as well as receive a free personal investment guide, by reading Forbes Magazine.

You no longer have to call a stockbroker on his time and pay hefty commissions to buy and sell on your behalf because with online investing you can do it yourself any time of dayOnline discount stock brokerages and other financial services companies have made college student investing easier and cheaper than ever. Here are a couple of reasons why:

• These companies provide you with 24/7 access to your investment accounts and a host of tracking tools that allow you to monitor the stock market and manage your personal investments in real-time
• Many companies provide low commission structures and inexpensive trade fees, opening up the door for first time investors
• Some have low or no minimum balance requirements and offer dollar-based investing options that allow you to purchase fractions of a stock for a specific dollar amount (That means if you have $100 to invest and your favorite beer's stock is at $55 per share, you could potentially buy 1.81 shares)

How To Get Started with Online Investing

To get started you'll need to assess your options and create a plan. Figure out how much money you can realistically set aside for college student investing, whether it's a weekly, monthly or annual figure. Then follow these guidelines towards creating your online investments:

• Start with a small amount like $25 and increase your online investing contributions over time
• Next, because personal finance investing comes with some risk, calculate how much risk you are willing to take with your money -and take your time (The answer often depends as much on your personality as it does anything else
• If you're traditionally a risk-taker, then the prospect of losing money would probably be outweighed by the prospect of making money. If you avoid risk like the plague, you'll need to really think about how much of your money you'd be willing to put on the line
• If you decide to invest all of your money in guaranteed investments like FDIC insured student savings accounts, money market mutual funds, or federal savings bonds, you are assuming some level of risk, and you should know that those types of investments deliver the lowest rates of return and won't let your money work as hard for you as it could
• If you're willing to part with your money for longer, you can get your feet wet with mutual funds that are comprised of stocks, bonds and other types of securities (These funds are operated by investment companies that pool investor contributions to buy and sell securities for the entire group and come in all shapes and sizes)
• Mutual funds can be very concentrated in one business sector, like the telecommunications industry, or they can be diversified with stocks or bonds representing a variety of business sectors. How well those companies do will directly affect how well the mutual fund does. And because time is your friend, even a fund that doesn't perform well initially can pay out big over time

As you become more adept at college student investing, you can begin to dabble in individual stocks and bonds through an online discount stock brokerage. These types of investments will take a little more of your personal effort to monitor them, but tracking tools make it very simple to do so any time of day. And because many companies have lowered the barriers to entry by offering free online accounts and low or no minimum balances, personal finance investing can be a reality for you. You can learn more about stock brokerage by reading The Wall Street Journal Online.

Original post from http://www.studentfinancedomain.com/investing/college_student_investing.aspx

Save Money in a Recession

It's not always about what you make, but more about what you keep. Check out this article from Lifehacker.com with 10 tips on saving money in a lame economy.

Top 10 Ways to Save Money in a Recession

10. Get better at re-using your stuff

It's the kind of stuff that fueled your grandparents' stories about hard times: Stretching supposedly disposable, used items further than most consumer companies want you to; Using your mind—and your hands—to solve problems without jumping in the car and busting out the wallet. We suggest finding inspiration from how Lifehacker readers creatively reuse disposable items. Re-purposing isn't all about balled-up tinfoil and grimacing, of course. Our most popular re-purposing posts of 2008 show that a little thought and some creative tinkering usually pays off with a one-of-a-kind solution to household needs.

9. Cut your food costs

Full size

Other than shelter (rent) and water (also rent, or municipal bills), food is the one thing you have to spend money on every day. If you really want to hack down your bills, carnivores can save money by buying whole animals—a process that's easier than they might think. For a weekend kick, you can make your favorite chain restaurant recipe at home. Stay away from the high-fat cruft on dollar menus and switch to a cheaper, healthier Mediterranean diet or these twenty health foods for $1 or less. And for those nights when cooking a full, healthy meal just isn't in the cards, a "Microwave Diet" is a surprisingly nutritious fall-back.

8. Dress and look sharp with less cash

Full size

Let's not pretend you can look like a million bucks with $7 and change. What you can do is focus on taking a clean, elegant style and maintain and extend it without hitting the malls at all. The thrift-conscious J.D. at theGet Rich Slowly blog has 18 tips on smarter used clothing buys, whether as a staple or just a complement to your wardrobe. And, while the political hook is a bit, er, dated, we did consult with style-conscious types tohelp dress like a honcho with humble means. For everything else that isn't soap and a haircut, try taking on easy ways to look sharp, like de-cheap-ifying a suit, shaving with a straight razor, and using coat hangers to prove to yourself that, yes, you really do have something to wear. Photo bybrooklyn.

7. Start working for yourself (crazy as it sounds)

Even if you've invested in your paid-by-someone-else career, the layoffs just keep happening, leaving hard workers looking for their next gig. Assuming one's money is locked down, it can be surprising how much cheaper it is to start working for yourself—if the conditions are right. The self-employed route is one of the most common suggestions from our readers in response topost-layoff confusion, and if you don't have to pay for a commute, parking, lunch-on-the-go, daycare, or many other costs, freelance work might help you stem the losses, at least until you can land back on your feet. Everyone's situation is different, of course, and self-secured healthcare isn't getting cheaper, but we happen to know at least one certain blogger/developer who's taking a chance on working totally off the grid for 2009.

6. Cut the cable and get your TV free

When the nation-wide transition to all-digital, over-the-air television happens (be it Feb. 17 or later), anyone with an antenna will get digital channels for free (in fact, you may even get more channels than you were before). If you don't get great reception, or you like your television a bit more on-demand, there's never been more free programming on the web. Start with our six ways to catch your favorite TV shows, which covers the free market in all its forms, from official sites to BitTorrent. Next, check out Lifehacker readers' five favorite sites to stream TV for more inspiration. Looking for something that doesn't tie up your computer? Our ooh-shiny-savvy sibling Gizmodo has posted a great tutorial on taking a relatively cheap Apple cast-off, the AppleTV, and using the free Boxee software to spin it into a TV-streaming, download-playing, multi-media powerhouse.

5. Trim your cell phone costs

The economy stinks for you, but it reallystinks for providers of services that can easily be scaled back—like cell phone providers. On the one hand, they may fight harder to keep you paying for data plans, text messages, and other "value added" items, but they really, truly don't want to lose you as a customer. If you can't re-negotiate a better deal, though, take a tip from PC Magazine columnist Sascha Segan and cut your phone bill by actually jumping ship (to a pay-as-you-go phone), then let them come crawling back with a package pitch. Stuck in a contract with a huge cancellation fee? Check out contract-swapping sites like CellTradeUSA.com and CellSwapper.com, which make use of (legal!) trade clauses and might just help you escape your monthly vig.

4. Invest in your career

Financial guru Warren Buffett, as he so often does, said it best back in April, before the market fell: Unless you're going to make investment analysis a nearly full-time gig, you're better off spending your discretionary time in furthering your main career and honing your skills than surrounded by earnings reports and endlessly changing charts. It's the same reasoning SmartMoney's Jack Hough uses in explaining why renting might make more sense than buying, especially if you're not partial to putting work, time, and money into a place right now. Neither is a call to yank all your hard investments out and start a blacksmith shop (as appealing as some might find the idea), but they reason that the revenue-generating asset you might have the most control over is your career.

3. Trick yourself into spending less, saving more

Curbing spending, like cutting back on calories, is something any self-help-ish expert can and will tell you to do, with few details given. So you're left, just as with dieting, to come up with your tricks and techniques for teaching yourself to do and not do certain things. When it comes totricking yourself into saving money, we like the kind that you don't need much to start out doing, like Merlin Mann's Crap I Just Don't Need.txt file, in which he captures all his do-wants and must-haves, as if it were a wish list, but ends up checking it every so often to see just how well he's gotten along without all those things. High-speed, low-drag spending psychology. Photo by Darren Hester.

2. Get serious about Craigslist

Craigslist is a website built for an economy that's scaling back to basics. People looking for extra cash divest themselves of stuff they don't really need, and those who need to spend less snatch up their stuff. If you're on either side, it helps to have the right tools. Get savvy with your selling by digesting Adam's seller's guide to Craigslist, and on the flip side with our Craigslist tips for power users. Hone down on exactly what you're looking for (time is money, after all) with thepreviously mentioned Craigslist Image Preview extension, or the image mashupMyWiseBunny.com (formerly CLHack.com). It can feel harsh grabbing up deals when you know times are tough, but to many sellers, the buyer who actually pays is worth more than some future ideal of better times.

1. Reduce your bills by simply asking

Full size

One of the most effective means of shaving money off your monthly costs doesn't involve a website, coupon code, or any kind of hack, unless you count working up the small courage required to just, well, ask. Our weekend editor Jason found deals on his internet package, gas bills, household insurance, and even trash disposal, just by being persistent and, in most cases, simply asking if there was a deal he didn't know about. Read his tips on reducing by asking, then down the last of your coffee and get on the horn. Photo by WoodleyWonderworks.

Where have you found unexpected savings or earnings in recent months? What's your plan for cutting back or cashing in if the downturn continues? Share your story in the comments.

Times are tough, money's tight, and nobody should be spending more than they need. If you think you've exhausted all avenues for saving a buck, check out our ten suggestions for saving money in a recession.

10. Get better at re-using your stuff

It's the kind of stuff that fueled your grandparents' stories about hard times: Stretching supposedly disposable, used items further than most consumer companies want you to; Using your mind—and your hands—to solve problems without jumping in the car and busting out the wallet. We suggest finding inspiration from how Lifehacker readers creatively reuse disposable items. Re-purposing isn't all about balled-up tinfoil and grimacing, of course. Our most popular re-purposing posts of 2008 show that a little thought and some creative tinkering usually pays off with a one-of-a-kind solution to household needs.

9. Cut your food costs

Full size

Other than shelter (rent) and water (also rent, or municipal bills), food is the one thing you have to spend money on every day. If you really want to hack down your bills, carnivores can save money by buying whole animals—a process that's easier than they might think. For a weekend kick, you can make your favorite chain restaurant recipe at home. Stay away from the high-fat cruft on dollar menus and switch to a cheaper, healthier Mediterranean diet or these twenty health foods for $1 or less. And for those nights when cooking a full, healthy meal just isn't in the cards, a "Microwave Diet" is a surprisingly nutritious fall-back.

8. Dress and look sharp with less cash

Full size

Let's not pretend you can look like a million bucks with $7 and change. What you can do is focus on taking a clean, elegant style and maintain and extend it without hitting the malls at all. The thrift-conscious J.D. at theGet Rich Slowly blog has 18 tips on smarter used clothing buys, whether as a staple or just a complement to your wardrobe. And, while the political hook is a bit, er, dated, we did consult with style-conscious types to help dress like a honcho with humble means. For everything else that isn't soap and a haircut, try taking on easy ways to look sharp, like de-cheap-ifying a suit, shaving with a straight razor, and using coat hangers to prove to yourself that, yes, you really do have something to wear. Photo bybrooklyn.

7. Start working for yourself (crazy as it sounds)

Even if you've invested in your paid-by-someone-else career, the layoffs just keep happening, leaving hard workers looking for their next gig. Assuming one's money is locked down, it can be surprising how much cheaper it is to start working for yourself—if the conditions are right. The self-employed route is one of the most common suggestions from our readers in response topost-layoff confusion, and if you don't have to pay for a commute, parking, lunch-on-the-go, daycare, or many other costs, freelance work might help you stem the losses, at least until you can land back on your feet. Everyone's situation is different, of course, and self-secured healthcare isn't getting cheaper, but we happen to know at least one certain blogger/developer who's taking a chance on working totally off the grid for 2009.

6. Cut the cable and get your TV free

When the nation-wide transition to all-digital, over-the-air television happens (be it Feb. 17 or later), anyone with an antenna will get digital channels for free (in fact, you may even get more channels than you were before). If you don't get great reception, or you like your television a bit more on-demand, there's never been more free programming on the web. Start with our six ways to catch your favorite TV shows, which covers the free market in all its forms, from official sites to BitTorrent. Next, check out Lifehacker readers' five favorite sites to stream TV for more inspiration. Looking for something that doesn't tie up your computer? Our ooh-shiny-savvy sibling Gizmodo has posted a great tutorial on taking a relatively cheap Apple cast-off, the AppleTV, and using the free Boxee software to spin it into a TV-streaming, download-playing, multi-media powerhouse.

5. Trim your cell phone costs

The economy stinks for you, but it reallystinks for providers of services that can easily be scaled back—like cell phone providers. On the one hand, they may fight harder to keep you paying for data plans, text messages, and other "value added" items, but they really, truly don't want to lose you as a customer. If you can't re-negotiate a better deal, though, take a tip from PC Magazine columnist Sascha Segan and cut your phone bill by actually jumping ship (to a pay-as-you-go phone), then let them come crawling back with a package pitch. Stuck in a contract with a huge cancellation fee? Check out contract-swapping sites like CellTradeUSA.com and CellSwapper.com, which make use of (legal!) trade clauses and might just help you escape your monthly vig.

4. Invest in your career

Financial guru Warren Buffett, as he so often does, said it best back in April, before the market fell: Unless you're going to make investment analysis a nearly full-time gig, you're better off spending your discretionary time in furthering your main career and honing your skills than surrounded by earnings reports and endlessly changing charts. It's the same reasoning SmartMoney's Jack Hough uses in explaining why renting might make more sense than buying, especially if you're not partial to putting work, time, and money into a place right now. Neither is a call to yank all your hard investments out and start a blacksmith shop (as appealing as some might find the idea), but they reason that the revenue-generating asset you might have the most control over is your career.

3. Trick yourself into spending less, saving more

Curbing spending, like cutting back on calories, is something any self-help-ish expert can and will tell you to do, with few details given. So you're left, just as with dieting, to come up with your tricks and techniques for teaching yourself to do and not do certain things. When it comes totricking yourself into saving money, we like the kind that you don't need much to start out doing, like Merlin Mann's Crap I Just Don't Need.txt file, in which he captures all his do-wants and must-haves, as if it were a wish list, but ends up checking it every so often to see just how well he's gotten along without all those things. High-speed, low-drag spending psychology. Photo by Darren Hester.

2. Get serious about Craigslist

Craigslist is a website built for an economy that's scaling back to basics. People looking for extra cash divest themselves of stuff they don't really need, and those who need to spend less snatch up their stuff. If you're on either side, it helps to have the right tools. Get savvy with your selling by digesting Adam's seller's guide to Craigslist, and on the flip side with our Craigslist tips for power users. Hone down on exactly what you're looking for (time is money, after all) with thepreviously mentioned Craigslist Image Preview extension, or the image mashupMyWiseBunny.com (formerly CLHack.com). It can feel harsh grabbing up deals when you know times are tough, but to many sellers, the buyer who actually pays is worth more than some future ideal of better times.

1. Reduce your bills by simply asking

Full size

One of the most effective means of shaving money off your monthly costs doesn't involve a website, coupon code, or any kind of hack, unless you count working up the small courage required to just, well, ask. Our weekend editor Jason found deals on his internet package, gas bills, household insurance, and even trash disposal, just by being persistent and, in most cases, simply asking if there was a deal he didn't know about. Read his tips on reducing by asking, then down the last of your coffee and get on the horn. Photo by WoodleyWonderworks.

Where have you found unexpected savings or earnings in recent months? What's your plan for cutting back or cashing in if the downturn continues? Share your story in the comments.