If you have been a reader of this blog for any time, you know that I have a HUGE PROBLEM with ANYTHING that seems like a scam.  I’ve questioned Quicken Loans…Capital One Financial…Astonish Results and others. 

Several of the things we’ve looked into and asked for input on still seem scam-like today, while others seem more legitimate after getting comments and feedback from people who support their company or cause.

TEAM CCM may be a scam that I brought on myself. 

Sadly to say, over a year ago, I paid to be a part of Consumer Choice Marketing.  I was paying to become a broker of natual gas service to business customers in Ohio and Michigan.  This seemed like an incredible opportunity for a guy who loves to sell and loves to save people money.  I trusted the gentleman who SOLD ME on the service…but today that same guy is no longer with the company. 

Anyways, things never really played out like I was sold.  While I was selling, we were not able to sell gas against Michigan Gas Utilities in SE Michigan.  This was a big problem for me and others. 

Well, what do you think?  I would love to hear different views.  I’m sure there are folks out there who have made millions selling natural gas…but not me.  There was never enough consistency in the process, and I was never able to build the sales organization that I needed to gain critical mass.  Also, it was very strange to me that the executive who introduced me to the company was simply gone several months after I paid my “utility broker fees.”

Thanks for the input…let’s find out if I was duped!

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How do I make money with a Blog?  That was the first question that I asked when I was first introduced to the concept of a “web-log”.  I’ve spent the last couple of years, through trial and error, answering that very question. 

Simple rule #1 

All that a blog really is is CONTENT…and content has value because there are hundreds of millions of people a day searching for ANSWERS to their questions or solutions to their problems.  I produce content about once a month, and I try to deliver that content as answers to questions.  I consider myself the average joe, and when I google, I ask a questions.  For Example: “What is a good pizza recipe?”

Simple rule #2

It is OK to include advertisements and sponsors near your content!  Google is so good at delivery of relevant advertisments, including adsense ads on your site actually ENHANCES your readers experiences by making it even easier for them to find what they need. 

Simple Ruly #3

Blogging must be fun before it will be profitable.  From day one I was excited about the challenge of making money online!  With the skills that you can acquire online, come economic meltdowns or high water, it is truly possible to make a darn good living by providing content and selling “value” on the Internet…not that is fun to me.

Simple Rule #4

Keep evolving your online strategy.  I believe that the best blog is the one that gets your “feet wet” to the world of online revenue.  For me, this blog has led to full blown e-commerce, iPhone applications, distribution businesses, and my newest venture into the service world of Local Logic.  The world wide web is changing daily, and it is critical to stay on top of the wave!

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Well, I’m about to find out if a good idea and great partners is enough of a foundation in the iPhone Application development world to make for a good investment.

This week, I’ve funded the development of an exciting new iPhone app.  The app is a productivity tool for moms and dads, and is “top secret”!

I admit, I know little to nothing about iPhone applications, but when a good idea rips you out of bed at 4:00 in the morning, the entrepreneur in me has to pay attention.  I’m truly excited to keep you all informed, and to consistently blog about the progress and performance of developing and marketing a new idea for the iPhone App Store…and please don’t hesitate to pipe in if you have some insight or perspective!

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If you have been hanging around at this Personal Finance Blog very long, you may remember my 2009 Top 10 Personal Finance Tips posted in Jan. of last year. 

Personally, I thought that was one of my finest posts (if I do say so myself).  But alas, I only received 18 comments…not nearly as many as the 65 comments that have been exchanged on the Quicken Loans post.

Anyways, here are my thoughts for 2010, in no particular order:

1.)  Save as much of your income as you UNCOMFORTABLY can!  I know this seem like an impossible and crazy goal, but I took some time last week to plug some family budget numbers for my team of 5, and surpisingly, it appears that if we made some marginal sacrifices, we could save ALOT more money every month than we currently do.  Now I haven’t discussed it with my wife yet, but I believe she will be on board, and that it makes sense to hunker down and become “uncomfortable savers”.  No doubt, we will thank our “younger” selves in the future!

2.)  Place a bet on US stocks.  I believe that over the next 20 years, investing in strong US based companies is going to provide significantly better financial returns than CD’s or Money Market accounts.  Make it a point this year to talk to your financial advisor or stock broker about some potential investment opportunities.

3.)  Study IRS tax laws!  I feel like a significant path to wealth is to be wise and strategic with your money.  One step in the right direction in 2010 will be to actually do TAX PLANNING.  Hire a good CPA and really invest your time into understanding your options within the US tax systems, then take the steps necessary to take advantage of every tax deduction or credit that you are legally entitled to…the IRS is not going to do it for you!  If you don’t educate yourself, and take advantage of good things like Electric Vehicle Tax Credits, or Energy Efficiency tax savings, no one is to blame but yourself!

4.) Work Harder!  This one is a carryover from 2009, but is still a timeless truth!  Times are STILL tough and many great people are losing their jobs.  My suggestion to you is to work that much harder at whatever it is you do to bring home the bacon.  Become the “we cannot lose, period” employee at your job.  This is often thankless extra effort, but it is worth it in the long run.  I believe great effort is always richly rewarded over the long haul!

5.)  Strive to become debt free!  Easy advice, enough said!  Too many people WAY smarter than me have preached on the debt topic!

6.)  Be Generous and Be Thankful!  Life is a gift, and is way too short to not take full advantage of it!

7.)   “Have fun, love people, and drink great coffee!”

HERE IS TO A HAPPY AND HEALTHY 2010! -TAM

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I’m in the process of researching any and all unique or alternative methods for using text messages (SMS) as a local marketing tool.

If any of my friends or readers have some input, please post a comment pointing me in the right direction.  Fell free to leave a link in the body of your message to where I can get more information on any cool text programs you have come accross.

Thanks much!

TAM

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Links and websites can be forged. So when you click a link in an email that claims to be from a bank or credit card company, how do you know it’s taking you where says it’s taking you? Well, you don’t, that’s why you should always be careful.

A link in an email can be part of a phishing scam or linked to a virus. So even if it seems to link to a well known organisation, you should still double check. This is especially true when it comes to organisations that are expected to take your payment details, like eBay, Amazon, banks and even supermarkets.

To check if it’s the real McCoy, right click on the link and choose “properties” to reveal the link’s actual destination. Then see if the address makes sense. If it’s different to the organisation’s normal web address, then it’s almost certainly bogus – even if it’s just one character out. So get into the habit of looking at web addresses very carefully indeed. If you’re providing personal details of any kind you need to make sure the site is real and secure. Identity theft is common online, but is totally avoidable and all internet users should know certain facts to avoid their bank accounts being accessed.

How do you know if a site is secure? Well, if you’re a regular online shopper or use a range of personal finance tools, or if you receive your bank statements and access your bank account online, you should know to check for two key things:

1.      A padlock in the browser window to signify that the site has a security certificate

2.      An address that starts ‘https://’ – rather than the usual ‘http://’

If you’re asked to enter bank details or private information and these two key features are missing, you are doing so in a site that is not secure. And remember, if you’re ever asked for full details of personal information like your user name or password, when you are normally only asked for some of it, something isn’t right.

A further word of caution – just because these features appear in an email before you click on the link, don’t assume they are real. Furthermore, when you double click the padlock, the security certificate for the site should be displayed. So if you ever get a warning that the address of the site does not match the certificate, do not continue.

That’s why it’s good to get into the habit of entering the address of any banking, shopping, auction, money management or financial transaction website into your browser yourself – don’t just depend on the email links, no matter how convenient that might seem.

Finally, make sure you’ve installed the latest version of your web browser – Internet Explorer version 7 and Firefox version 2 have built in filters to detect fake sites – and check your credit card statements and online bank accounts regularly, to make sure nothing is amiss.

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I’ve been doing alot of research lately on the prospects for the “online” insurance sales channel. 

I personally bought my first online insurance policy from esurance.com about 3 years ago.  The rates were OK, but I’ve since changed to a local insurance agent who represents several insurance companies.  I was able to get superior coverage and a cost about 4% less than esurance.  I was really surprised that a regular old company like Auto Owners Insurance would be able to beat the “online insurance giant”

I think the difference was, believe it or not, the Local Insurance Agent. 

I believe the savings that I was able to take advantage of was a direct result of a “real person” doing the hard work of comparing policy options and building me a insurance plan that was taylor fitted to my particiular circumstances. 

All that being said, I still believe that there is tremendous opportunity to sell insurance products online.  The trick is going to be a significant “service differentiators” to make a company stand above the rest of the online space.  The problem with esurance.com was that no one was truly servicing my account…so I had no one looking out for my best interests and annually analyzing my insurance coverage needs. 

Have any of you, my readers and friends, purchased an insurance product online?  Please let me know how it went, and if you plan to continue down that road for your insurance needs in the future.

Thanks in advance for the feedback!  I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, we sure did here in Michigan!

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So I was visiting one of my favorite blogs…GetMoneyEnergy and my eyes were immediately drawn to information on the site about GoldLine.  Once on the GoldLine site, I was able to pursue through amazing amounts of information on rare coins and precious metals investing. 

Most interesting to me was a chart that showed current Gold, Silver, Platinum, etc. prices today (at record highs) and then compare them to “inflation adjusted” 1980 prices.

What the chart leads you to believe is that when you take inflation into consideration, precious metals may still have significantly more upside potential, especially if you believe that the current economic environment is similar to the environment in 1980.

I’m extremely intrigued by precious metals…and rare coins for that matter.  I’ve written quite extensively about Silver Investing as you may know, and have recently invested a significant amount of money into Natural Gas when it was around $3 a MCF.

Anywho…please pipe in on Gold, your opinions do matter to me…as in the case of Natural Gas, your feedback helps direct my actions.  That is what this blog is all about!

And BTW, I still have not decided on a vehicle.  I’m leaning towards the Ford Taurus, but am waiting until they are available with about $2500 in rebates that I can take advantage of.  They currently DO offer $2500 in rebates, but you can only get access to $1500 of those dollars if you have a competitors lease.  Unfortunatly, I own competitior vehicles, but OWN them, don’t lease them at this time.  I will keep you posted.

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So, I need a new car, which would normally be an exciting time for me…but each of the three cars that I want are newer and really cool models…and thus are currently expensive and don’t come with any good financing incentives or rebates. 

I really do need a nice new car though, because I am, once again, getting tired of paying $2.75 a gallon for vehicles that only get 10-14 miles per gallon.  (Why do I buy big trucks all the time?)

Anyways, I’m looking at the 2010 Buick LaCross, the 2010 Ford Taurus, and the 2010 Lexus ES 350.  Each are beautiful vehicles with great Consumers Report ratings…but this comes at a price. 

I wish I liked the Chevy Impala…I believe you can get rebates and 72 month, interest free financing…BUT IT IS SO UGLY! 

Any of my blogging buddies bought a vehicle out there, I would love some advice and input on which vehicle you picked, why you picked it, and if it appears to be a good deal.  All input is greatly appreciated as always!  Believe it or not, I want my next car to be nice, but to actually be a decent long term investment…I realize that is a tough task to accomplish.

Peace and blessings to YOU, my online friends!

-TAM

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For reasons many of you may know, I’ve been following the NYMEX price of Natural Gas very closely for the past year or so.  I’ve seen multi-years highs that made little sense to me…and as recent as yesterday we are seeing 7 year lows in the price of this “clean” fuel.  SO WHAT IS THE DEAL, WHY THE BIG UPS AND DOWNS?

It seems like most commodities, the laws of supply and demand are determining the price of Natty Gas.  I’m currently reading that stockpiles are nearly 19% above their 5 year average, and that demand is down.  BUT WHY SUCH A DRAMATIC FALL?

That is where I see opportunity.  I believe that the stick has swung WAY too bearish on natural gas, and that these current depressed levels create a buying opportunity.  Yesterday I took a bit of IRA money and pumped it into the natural gas market, hoping that over the next 18 months we are able to see a much more historically normal spread between the price of oil and natural gas.  Oil traditionally and historically trades around 8 times the price of natural gas (give or take a bit).  CURRENTLY OIL IT IS TRADING AT 24 TIMES THE PRICE OF NATURAL GAS, and I don’t believe this will be sustained. 

With the current President being bent towards this idea of “cap & trade” I believe that more and more producers of electricity and going to turn to natural gas more and more as a way to offset their coal fired plants.  We will see though!

Just my two cents, I would love someone with some knowledge or a strong opinion on the subject to weigh in!  Hopefully soon, before I commit more hard dollars to my Natural Gas theories!

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