Money Tips Network

One of the most common requests I get from readers is for detailed information on how to start a side business of some kind. With minimal equipment and ample time, how can a person construct a side business in order to earn a little extra money?

This is the first in a series of articles describing exactly how to do this. In each article, I’m going to discuss exactly how to build an income stream on the side, what effort goes into it, and (approximately) what kind of income you can expect from it.

These articles will naturally be spaced out so that I have time to actually construct each side business and keep it going until it earns a respectable income. However, with blogging, I’ve already done this and due to a lot of luck and hard work, it became successful beyond my wildest dreams. You’re reading that blog, in fact – it’s The Simple Dollar.

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best Money Tips Roundup! Today we found some awesome articles on things to do on your lunch break, money tips for new grads, and turning a cheap vacation into a first-class getaway.

Top 5 Articles

11 Things to Do on Your Lunch Break — On your lunch break, consider mailing your packages or reading a book. [POPSUGAR Smart Living]

Essential Money Tips for New Grads — New grads should create a budget and borrow a book or two on finance. [Five Cent Nickel]

In the old apartment Sarah and I used to live in, I had one whole wall filled with books. The bookshelf stretched from the floor to the ceiling and from wall to wall and, frankly, it was overstuffed.

That bookshelf wasn’t too surprising, though. I’ve been a voracious reader since my early childhood, reading more than a book a week for as far back as I can remember. Reading has been a big part of my entire life, progressing from Judy Blume and Roald Dahl to Margaret Atwood and George R. R. Martin.

Yet, sadly, that overstuffed bookshelf was mostly full of books that I had not even bothered to read. It was all sunk money, money that could have been working for me by paying off debts or sitting in an investment.

Why? How could that happen?

I hadn’t stopped reading. I still read at least a book a week.

This article is by editor Linda Vergon.

In honor of Independence Day, I thought it would be fun to see if we could come up with 1,776 ways to get rich slowly. After all, reaching “financial independence” these days does require some of the spirit our founding fathers had when they stood up to a tyrannical king and announced to the world that they were going to create a new nation.

Freedom is worth the struggle.

It may be difficult to properly understand the oppression that existed in colonial America in 1776, but a lot of us know what it’s like to live under the tyranny of debt; and in some measure, when we commit ourselves to tackling it, it’s like making our own declaration of “financial” independence. To free ourselves of debt requires sacrifice and struggle, but freedom is worth the struggle. Coming together to offer our own ways to get rich slowly could help someone else in their struggle for freedom.

A meat thermometer is a very important tool to have in the kitchen. By keeping an eye on the temperature, you avoid the risk of undercooking your food, leading to the possibility of food poisoning, salmonella, or E. coli. Conversely, you also avoid overcooking your food which would lead to a sad, dry, tasteless piece of meat.

Meat thermometers have come a long way since the traditional dials with a needle, so here is our list for the top 5 modern meat thermometers.

What Is a Meat Thermometer?

A meat thermometer is a thermometer that is used to measure the internal temperature of meat and other foods. Meat thermometers are used especially in  roasting or grilling, where the level of "doneness" plays an integral role to the quality of the final dish.

Personal finance, and the difference between good and bad deals, are always a matter of context.  What could be a great deal in one context could be a lousy deal in another.  Sometimes spending more money is better than spending less; other times, it’s the opposite.

When I read this article on Money Talk News which listed ten “dumb deals” that people fall for, I disagreed with most of them on the basis that these “dumb deals” were actually false economies in disguise.  As in, you feel like you’ve gotten a deal, but it actually ended up costing quite a bit more than whatever money wasn’t spent.

There were several themes to these ten items.  The premises of three of these themes were questionable, which I’ll discuss below.  (That, and ultimatums such as “There’s no excuse for paying to download e-books” just encourage me to say: “Challenge accepted.”)

As we age, there are many benefits to look forward to, including retirement, time for travel and hobbies, wisdom, and the joy of being a grandparent. Sometimes, however, retirement means a decrease in income and spending. Many businesses recognize this fact and offer discounts to senior citizens. (See also: Big List of Senior Discounts)

Below is a list of 40 restaurants that may offer customers (some starting at age 55) a discount for their business.

Fast Food

Many fast food restaurants will offer a discount, which ranges from 5%-15% as well as a reduced price coffee or soft drink. Discounts may vary from location to location, be sure to ask before you order.

Arby's

10% discount for those over 55.

Over the years, I’ve read more personal finance and career books than I can possibly count. For the first several years of The Simple Dollar, I actually reviewed a book each week on the site. Yet, for all of those books, there were really only a few that had something inside the covers that stuck with me.

Of the hundreds of books related to personal finance, careers, professional growth, and other related topics that I’ve looked at over the past decade, only fourteen have retained a place on my bookshelf. I keep these on a shelf next to the desk where I write and actually refer to them now and again, because I find all of them to be treasure troves of inspiration when it comes to money issues, career issues, and career-life balance issues.

Note: This article is from J.D. Roth, who founded Get Rich Slowly in 2006. J.D. recently launched the Get Rich Slowly course, a year-long guide on how to master your money. His non-financial writing lives at More Than Money.

When I was young, my father got audited by the IRS. I can’t remember the details — I was young, and my father died long ago — but I do remember how he fumed and fussed for weeks as he tried to gather the paperwork and make his case to the auditor. The experience made an impression on me. I vowed that when I got older, I wouldn’t be as messy and disorganized as he’d been, and that I’d always do a good job of documenting my taxes.