14Bucks.com: An Abandoned Try?
14Bucks.com starts with a good idea: how to turn $14 to $1,000 in one year. Even though the 70-fold annual return in one year is too aggressive, this idea could still make 14Bucks.com a good showcase of how to use a very small capital base to make (small) money.
However, the attempt seems to be abandoned. No more entries have been written since the last post on June 10.
Anyway, pick up one idea or two from this final post on how to make some small profits. If you happen to have teen-aged kids, you might want to let them try these, and, in the process, make more sense of money:
Check out garage sales. Most everything at a garage sale is priced to sell and sell fast. If you can drag yourself out of bed early enough on the weekend to be one of the first to arrive, you'll have the best shot at finding underpriced items and collectibles. More helpful tips may be found here.
Go to book signings. By buying a book and getting it signed by the author, you've immediately increased its value. The same goes for CDs and LPs. If you have an opportunity to get them signed by band members, go for it. It's money in your pocket.
Buy in bulk. I guess Legos are a hot commodity these days. If you can find a large box full, they can be repackaged into smaller lots and resold for more money. Along the same lines, two months ago I saw a 257-count Avon decanter collection for sale in the classifieds for $500/obo. Not really knowing what they were, I checked eBay and found they were going for $3-$10 a piece. Considering there were probably a few valuable ones in the collection, a 300% return was pretty much guaranteed. Sadly, I only had $14 to spend.
Exploit your local university. The city of Madison is home to the University of Wisconsin, thus nearly always in a state of drunken revelry. These people buy water, beer, soda, hot dogs, bratwurst, t-shirts and practically anything else they see on their way to the game. Ask someone who lives near a stadium to let you set up shop and give them a small cut of your profit. Also, if you can figure out what the freshmen need for their dorms, their parents will probably buy it from you – at a very high price – on move-in day.
Finally, SmartMoney brought online this cover story of the August issue. I have always been eager to recommend this (long) article since the moment I read it. It is, indeed, a very good reference on how to save big, and -- as the title mentioned ... Read
When you open a savings account, you will probably notice a line in the disclosure saying interest is compounding daily, weekly or monthly. Besides the interest rate, the frequency of compounding also drives the actual yield of the saving. If a financial institution offers continuous ... Read
Most people know the principal deposited into a financial institution is safe as long as it is FDIC-insured. Why? FDIC, or Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, is a government agency that is "backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government." It protects ... Read
While I usually take so-called "expert opinion" with a grain of salt, this nicely written piece from CNN Money on a laundry list of tips for millions-to-be still aroused my curiosity and I cannot help but draw a comparison between my comparison and what is ... Read
