As You Go...

Problem: Messy Kitchen after Meal Prep

Solution: Clean As You Go

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I cook dinner at our house about six days out of seven. I also do all our baking from scratch and often hosts guests. My kitchen gets a workout daily, but I can honestly say it never takes much time to clean up my kitchen after cooking an entire meal. 

Why?

I clean as I go.

I always have a bowl or some other vessel for collecting garbage as I cook. All my onion and garlic peelings can go right into the vessel and be dealt with later. I have a garbage disposal, too, so I can quickly take care of most vegetable peels immediately by simply throwing them in the sink. 

I either measure out milk or any other refrigerated liquid, then put the container right back in the refrigerator. I throw egg shells into the sink for the garbage disposal, etc.

Cleaning as you go is free, takes much less effort than everything cleaning up afterward and brings a surprising efficiency to your cooking.

Clean as you go: your kitchen will thank you.

~Tricia~

Delegation Power

Problem: Overwhelming laundry

Solution: Delegate

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As the Mom of eight kids, I know exactly how overwhelming unending laundry and housework can be. 

How could it not be overwhelming?

Everyone I know wears their clothes more than one time, creating laundry, sheds dirt and dust in the same spaces, creating the need to clean and uses the same dishes again and again, requiring them to be washed again and again. As long as we're alive, we're creating work for ourselves and our families are creating work for us.

Let me tell you a laundry story. 

(The laundry room at Freedom Hill.)

When my oldest son was about 10 years old, I had five kids and was pregnant with the sixth. 

There were times I got behind on the laundry. 

One such time, said son came to me and said he wanted his laundry sooner than I was getting it done and asked if he could do his own.

Glory be!

Yep! Son, you can do your own anytime you want!

So, I taught him how, assigned him a day and he's been doing his own laundry ever since.

Delegation was born in the laundry room.

I had delegated other jobs before, but this one was a game changer. They all had chores such as setting the table, doing the dishes, vacuuming the floors, etc., but this was different. 

This was a personal responsibility that would not end.

As each child reached age 10, I turned their laundry over to them, taught them how to do it and assigned them a day. I saw my workload decrease a little more each year.....well, sort of....I kept having babies, creating more work. 

(But, for the record, they are worth it.)

Delegate for an easier time.

Delegate to get more done.

Delegate even if it means they don't do it just like you.

Delegate and let them develop their own style and systems.

Happy delegating!

~Tricia

The Anatomy of a Day Trade

Problem: Need Money

Solution: The Stock Market has Money

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I'm a Day Trader in the stock market. I day trade penny stocks only, however, and regular day traders who trade the bigger stocks might not consider me a legitimate Day Trader. But, my brokerage calls me a Day Trader, so I'm going to stick with that however naive it might seem to experienced Day Traders.

I am a nervous Day Trader. 

No one ever knows what a stock is going to do, so you can buy it thinking it will go up and it can plunge in the next second.

Because of this, I get super nervous when making a trade because I don't want to give all my money to other traders. There are ways to minimize your chance of losing and make trading penny stocks less of a risk. There are some who will tell you that it's a risk no matter what, and they are right, but stocks follow consistent patterns. Learning to spot these patterns is key.

In this blog post, I'm going to walk you through a trade I made today so you will see my thought process throughout the entire trade.

I bought 50 shares of $ABIL (Ability) for $7.60 a share.

This is a "big" buy for me because I rarely buy anything over $3.00 a share, so this was out of my comfort zone from the start. 

I got the tip for this stock from Benzinga, who gives a daily chart for the lowest and highest penny stocks for the day. It indicated that $ABIL was growing fast. 

I went into my brokerage account at Robinhood and read articles about $ABIL to see what was up and why it was growing.  

I discovered it had just announced entry into a stock purchase agreement in Tel Aviv, and this was driving the price up. 

Of course it would! 

As soon as I bought the shares, it began to go up and I was excited. I didn't buy it on a market share, I bought it on a limit buy. The difference is, a limit buy will buy it at the lowest price I'm willing to pay, which, in this case, I was $7.60 per share. When I set that limit order, it was selling for $7.74 per share.

But it had been going up and down for hours. 

I gauged how far the dips were and they were generally 15 to 20 cents each. 

I watched the stock for about half an hour, as it climbed. It climbed up to $7.98 while I was watching, but dipped back to $7.74, then dipped sharply to $7.55, then immediately to $7.65. I decided to buy if it dipped to $7.60 because it had shown it was going to dip and rise. 

I set my limit buy and went about other business, keeping a close eye. 

I was delighted to find my limit buy had been executed while I prepared creamy mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner.

Once the limit buy executed, I was glued to the app on my phone.

It shot up to $7.90 out of nowhere!

Should i sell? Should I wait?

While I asked myself these questions, I dropped to $7.53!

Just that fast! 

I've lost! Should I set a stop loss order? What if it goes back up?

It dropped to $7.44!! 

Oh, no! It's tanking! 

As fast as I could think that, it shot up to $7.60.

Whew! A break-even. I can do that if needed.

But it shot up to $7.84!

I should sell now! Don't get greedy, I told myself.

Before I could take any action, it fell to $7.65. 

I didn't want to sell at $7.65, but decided I was willing to sell at $7.80.

So, I set a limit sell at $7.80 and put the mashed potatoes in the refrigerator.

When I came back to my phone, my shares had sold at the limit sell price of $7.80 and I was $10 richer!

This is a small profit but small profits add up.

As you can see from the picture above, the rise did not last and the stock ended up at $4.98. I bought on the dip and sold on the rise, keeping a close eye on how it was doing while I owned some of it. This one was a quick $10.

To learn Day Trading, I've been studying Timothy Sykes' trading courses, particularly this book, The Complete Penny Stock Course by Jamal Ben Alluch. Jamal is a student of Timothy Sykes and took his lessons and put them in this book, creating a comprehensive course that anyone can buy and learn from.

I highly recommend you get this book if you have any interest in trading penny stocks. Timothy Sykes is a multi-millionaire who made his money on penny stocks. It can be done and anyone can do it! 

Happy Trading.

Trade cautiously.

Trade wisely.

~Tricia

The Top 7 Ways I Make Money Online

Problem: Need Money

Solution: Make Money from Home

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Can Anyone Make a Living from Home?

Making a living from home has become more popular with each year and the internet has allowed home businesses to boom.

Here, I'm listing my real-life money-making internet gigs. 

You can do any or all of these things, too.

These are in no particular order.

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1. FIVERR.COM gives users the opportunity to sell a service or information starting at $5 a gig. Your gigs are not limited to the $5 price point and you can also add gig extras.

I have steady work on Fiverr as an editor and have gained some regular, repeat clients. 

Pro: You will find clients you would not have found otherwise.

Con: Fiverr takes 20% of all sales, so your profits are reduced.

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2. FREELANCE WORK. In addition to my work on Fiverr, I also do freelance editing and writing. Editing and writing are my specialties, but there is a huge variety of options.

There are freelance opportunities in photography, graphic design, website creation, illustrations, etc. Anything you can offer on Fiverr, you can offer in the private sector.

Pros: You get to keep all the money. 

You get to be a published author.

You can charge more than you can on Fiverr.

Con: Marketing yourself is more challenging.

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3. E-BOOKS. I have several e-books up on Amazon and not one month goes by that some of them don't sell. I've written e-books on writing, protecting children, patriarchy, potty training and even put together one containing articles I've had published but are out of print. E-books are easy to write and can go live within a day of uploading via Kindle Direct Publishing. 

If you have knowledge to share on any topic, put it in an e-book and start making money today!

Pro: You will be a published author and make money.

Con: You have to do the actual writing and I advise hiring an editor.

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4. ETSY  Opening an Etsy shop is quick and easy and allows you to offer an endless variety of things for sale. Etsy started out being more for handmade items, but has grown to include printables, collections, planners, as well as handmade items and much, much more. I offer a variety of die cuts, unique, one-of-a-kind pillow covers, zipper pouches, drawstring bags, baby items and even a printable poster. 

Pro: Selling is quick and easy and their fees are low.

Con: There are fees.

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5. EBAY. I have been selling on Ebay off and on for about 20 years. I have worked it full-time and helped pay the bills and I have worked it part-time just to have spending money. Ebay is fabulous and they've streamlined the selling process over the years, making it one of the easiest selling forums to use. It's quick and easy to sell and you can make hefty profits on items you pick up at a thrift store or garage sale. 

I find that my home school books sold for catalog prices on Ebay, even after we'd used them. 

My best-ever sale on Ebay was when I bought a pair of leg braces at a thrift shop for 99 cents and sold them for $300.

As far as selling forums, I have to mention apps like LetGo, Facebook Marketplace, 5Miles and many others.

Do a search and find one that works for you.

Also, you can sell more than just books on Amazon.

Online selling is an excellent way to make money.

Pro: You can even print your postage and have your postal carrier pick up your packages. 

Ebay has protections in place.

Con: There are fees (but they are low.)

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6. DAY TRADING Day trading in the stock market is another way I make money from home. This used to be something just for big, long-term investments, but I have found profits in penny stocks through studying and learning from those who have had success. I use the Robinhood appto make my trades and they have no fees, so each trade is free. Robinhood gives you a free stock worth up to $5 when you sign up and you can sell it or buy more.

I suggest following Tim Sykes for education and information to help you get started. A great blog to follow is Taking Charge, a great resource for beginners.

The stock market is risky! Do not trade without education!

There are ways to lessen your losses....I have a small account and I only trade 10 - 20% of my account at a time. This means my gains are smaller than some, but my losses are also smaller. 

Pro: There is no limit to the amount of money you can make.

Con: You will lose some money along the way; losses are part of the process.

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7. BLOGGING Blogging is another great way to make money online. I have several blogs, here and here are two of them. Monetizing your blog is easy and can start generating revenue quickly. If you have something to say, say it in a blog and get paid while you're at it. 

Some bloggers make a full-time income through blogging. 

Pro: You control all the content and can post as often as you like.

Con: You might have to pay an editor.

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As you can see, I have a lot of irons in the fire. I like variety and get bored with just one or two things. Tailor your online earnings to what works best for you. There is no right or wrong way. You decide what's right for you and what works for you.

I'm currently working on ramping up my YouTube channel so it can monetized. That will be number 8!

~Tricia