ClickFact: Money

Showing posts with label Money. Show all posts

Friday, December 20, 2013

Kiva Microfunds

Kiva Microfunds is a non-profit organization that collects funds to provide microfinancing to entrepreneurs and students around the world. People can lend money by sending funds to Kiva in small amounts such as $25. The Kiva website states that the repayment rate is somewhere around 99%. As with any loan, there is risk that the loan will not be repaid for various reasons. Field partners distribute the funds and collect payments from the recipients. As the funds are repaid, the money can be lent to other entrepreneurs.

Kiva Entrepreneurs

The Kiva website allows contributors to read stories about entrepreneurs and select which will receive funding. The details on the Kiva website explain that the entrepreneurs shown on the website have already received loans from field partners. The funds that are provided to Kiva are used to fund the field partner.

Kiva Microloans

The Kiva concept is to use microloans to help small businesses and individual entrepreneurs get business started, which helps the entire community. Kiva also provides an easy way for people to learn about opportunities to help people all over the world. A unique aspect is that the funds get paid back, and you can re-invest in other entrepreneurs. The International Bank of Bob: Connecting Our Worlds One $25 Kiva Loan at a Time tells the story of how loaning and re-loaning funds has helped thousands of people all over the world.

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Monday, December 9, 2013

Where to Sell Photos Online?

Best Sites to Sell Digital Photos Online

There are several stock photo sites where you can sell your digital photos online and make money. These sites will sell your photos to be published on blogs, websites, and even print publications. You can make anywhere from a few cents to a few dollars each time your photo is purchased.

Some stock photo sites are more selective than others about what photos they will accept into their stock. The list below is sorted roughly from least selective to most selective.

List of Sites that Buy Digital Photos

If you want to sell prints of your photos, you can sell photos on Etsy.

If you are getting started, you can try submitting some photos for free. This will help build your name and reputation and gives you a way to get your work published.

List of Sites to Publish Free Digital Photos

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Sunday, December 8, 2013

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a way to make money from your blog or website. Once approved and registered in an affiliate program, you can show advertisements and links to products for sale. The affiliate gets a commission on each product sale that is generated from the marketing effort.

For example, I am an Amazon.com affiliate. I can show ads and links to products for sale on amazon.com. If a visitor to one of my blogs clicks on one of my ads or links and ends up buying a product at amazon.com, then I get paid a commission, which is a percentage of the product value.

Affiliate marketing is an example of CPA (Cost Per Action) marketing- you don't get paid unless someone actually buys something. Some forms of advertising pay for impressions- you get an advertising fee every time your ad is shown. Some forms of advertising pay for clicks- every time a visitor clicks on an ad, you get an advertising fee. However with affiliate marketing, you only get paid if someone 1) views your ad or link, 2) clicks on your ad or link, and 3) buys a product.

How Do You Make Money with Affiliate Marketing?

In order to make money with affiliate marketing, you need a blog or website where you can post affiliate marketing ads and links. The more traffic you have, the more earning potential from affiliate marketing.

The next step is to apply for acceptance into an affiliate marketing program. Amazon, eBay, and FlexOffers are popular programs. After acceptance, you can create ads and links to include on your site. The ads are typically HTML or scripts that you insert on your website or in your blog posts.

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Saturday, December 7, 2013

How Much are Car Payments?

What is a Car Payment?

A car payment is the monthly payment on a loan to buy a car. The monthly payment depends on 1) the cost of the car, 2) the interest rate, and 3) the term, or length of the loan. The term of a car loan can be short, such as 3 years (36 months), or long such as 5 years (60 months). The monthly payment will be much lower on a loan with a longer term.

How Much is a Car Payment?

Typical car payments on an older used car can be as low as $200 per month. Car payments on a new car typically start at about $300 per month and can be as much as $700 per month or more for SUVs or luxury vehicles.

Recommended Reading:
How to Turn Your Car Payment into 1 Million Dollars

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How Much Does Satellite TV Cost?

Cost of Satellite TV

There are not a lot of low cost options available for satellite TV. The leading providers of satellite TV are Dish Network and DirecTV. Satellite TV packages start at about $70 per month. You can get packages with more channels for around $110 per month. Movie channels like HBO and Showtime move the cost up further.

Introductory rates are sometimes advertised- for example, you might be able to get a satellite TV package with lots of channels for $50 per month for a while, but you have to sign a 2 year contract and will have to pay full price after the introductory rate ends.

Lowest Cost TV Service

If you are looking for lower cost TV service, you can find basic cable service for about $30 per month. Even lower cost is to receive free TV using an antenna.

Recommended Reading:
How to Save $1200 per Year using Alternatives to Cable TV
Dish vs DirecTV vs Cable TV- Which is the Better Deal?

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How Much Does Cable TV Cost?

Cable TV Cost

The cost of cable TV service depends on 1) which package of channels you get, 2) whether you are paying the introductory rate or promotional rate or the regular price, and 3) where you live.

You can get a basic cable TV package with about 20 channels starting at about $30 per month in most areas. The cost of a cable TV package with 100 channels runs about $100 per month.

Introductory Rates for Cable TV

Some cable companies offer promotional rates at as low as $20 per month. These introductory rates expire after a few months or up to one year. After the promotional rates expire, cable customers are charged full price.

Recommended Reading:
How to Save $1200 per Year using Alternatives to Cable TV
Dish vs DirecTV vs Cable TV- Which is the Better Deal?

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What does ARM mean?

Definition of ARM

ARM is an acronym that means "Adjustable Rate Mortgage". This is a loan for buying a home that has an interest rate that can be adjusted during the loan period. This type of loan is also known as a variable-rate mortgage.

An ARM is an alternative to a fixed-rate mortgage that has a constant interest rate for the entire loan period. ARMs generally have a lower interest rate that a fixed-rate mortgage, so an ARM can be advantageous if you are planning to sell your house before the ARM rate will adjust, typically after 5 years.

The disadvantage of an ARM is that the interest rate may be adjusted up, resulting in higher mortgage payments.

Recommended Reading:
The 3 Ways to Get Rich

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Friday, December 6, 2013

What is a Loss Leader?

Definition of Loss Leader

A Loss Leader is a sale item that a store offers for sale at a loss in order to attract a large number of people to the store. The store stands to benefit from the increased amount of traffic at the store by selling other items at a profit.

For example, a grocery store could run ads that offer a box of cereal that normally sells for $4 for only $1. The store will lose money on each box of cereal at this price, but people who come in for the cheap cereal are likely to buy other things as well, or even do all of their grocery shopping while they are there.

Loss leaders may be used to stimulate interest in Doorbuster sale events.

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What is a Doorbuster?

Definition of Doorbuster

A doorbuster is a sale event that is designed to attract a large number of people to a store. The store offers a few items at very low sale prices. The sale is scheduled to start at a specific time, and people line up outside the store waiting for the doorbuster sale to start. Doorbusters are often held on Black Friday- the day after Thanksgiving to kick-off the Christmas holiday shopping season.

Here are tips on how to survive the crowd at a doorbuster, and pictures of the crowds at doorbuster sales.

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