Announcements

Dropping Google Adsense

by

Google search
photo credit: adria.richards
As you may have noticed I have dropped Google Adsense from this blog. This was making me about $30 a month but I’ve decided to drop it for a couple of reasons. The first is that I don’t like the amount of dependence my blog has on Google. This blog actually makes more from other income sources than it does from Google Adsense. Overall though, my online income is about 50% Adsense, 50% everything else. Google is my main source of traffic as well.

The second reason is because I can’t control what ads are displayed. I want you to be able to trust the ads that appear here. Any ads or links that I put in my sidebar will be for products or services that I have personal experience with and personally recommend. I plan to have my own products for sale here later this year and I want readers to trust what I offer them.

This doesn’t mean that I don’t want to make money. It just isn’t my primary purpose for writing this blog. I still have Adsense on my other blog Bank Bonuses which is all about making money. This blog is my personal blog though and I feel that its content reflects on me as a person. I will try to make up the $30 a month I’m losing by dropping Adsense. Perhaps having my affiliate links featured in the Adsense spot will lead to more conversions. I’ll also experiment with other affiliate products that I think would be a good fit for this site.

Becoming a Nomad Blogger or ?

by

XelaPeristyle
photo credit: Infrogmation

After discovering the site JetSetCitizen a couple days ago and reading all the “nomad” bloggers he linked to I have decided that I too could become a nomad blogger. It doesn’t take too much money to live abroad. My blog doesn’t quite make enough money to cover what my living expenses would be while living abroad but it comes fairly close. If I were to work in the U.S. a few months of the year and live abroad the rest of the year I should be able to cover all my living expenses and even get ahead a little.

After thinking this over for a very short time I made a rash decision and purchased a plane ticket to Guatemala for a three-month stay. I probably should have thought this over a little longer but I had only slept three hours the night before and that often leads to me making hasty decisions. Hopefully, this one will turn out all right.

I’m already having second thoughts because I keep thinking of the other things I want to do like buying a house or van. It is possible to do both I just need to come up with a plan. Now that I’m out of school I’m having a hard time deciding what to do next. My plan for now is to hike for about a month and a half and then go to Guatemala for three months. After that I’ll decide on a more permanent plan. Fortunately, I have the money to be wishy-washy for a while.

Another post that inspired me was Nora Dunn’s post on how to travel full-time for less than $14,00 a year.

The picture at the top isn’t mine but I used to visit that park almost every day when I lived in Xela, Guatemala. It is a beautiful little park.

What do You Want to Read?

by

To improve this blog I am considering having several days of the week dedicated to a specific subject. This would also make it easier for me to decide what to write about and maybe make me less lazy since one step of the writing process would be partially completed. For example, I used to reserve Saturdays for writing about law school and now plan to use them for posting about good deals. I would like to expand that concept and have Mondays be for frugal tips, Tuesdays be for extra income ideas, etc. I would like to leave at least a couple days open though to give me flexibility on what to write about and to just not post when I’m not feeling creative. Just let me know what you would like to read and I will try to implement your ideas. Of course, this system will go out the window when I’m hiking but I’d like to get it established now and I’ll resume it when I return from hiking.

$500 Weight-Loss Challenge

by

Your weight indicates your health
photo credit: sylvar
As I have done terrible so far this year on my weight-loss goal I have decided to try something different. My original weight-loss goal for this year was to lose 30 pounds. I’ve gained weight since setting that goal so I now need to lose 40 pounds and am aiming for a weight of 180 pounds.

In order to meet this goal I’m asking you, my readers, to hold me accountable. I need some extra motivation and since I am money motivated I’ve decided that if I don’t meet this goal I will give $500 to my readers. The prospect of losing $500 should motivate me to lose weight. I’m not sure how I will distribute the $500 but it will go to readers of this blog. You will somewhat have to take my word for whether I meet my goal. I will post before and after pictures as a form of proof though. If I haven’t posted by the end of December that I’ve met my goal contact me and remind me of this challenge. To be eligible to receive part of the $500 you need to leave a comment on this post. Thanks.

***I have turned off the comments and closed the challenge to new entrants. Thanks to everyone who entered for all the support and encouragement. I will keep you updated on my progress.

Delaying My Hike

by

My Appalachian Trail hike will be delayed. I’m starting a two month medical study that will pay me $7000. That is too good of money for me to pass up. I still plan to hike once the study is over. Since there won’t be as much time before cold weather sets in I’ll probably just do the part of the trail I haven’t done rather than the whole trail.

The study will usually only take a couple hours a day. That will give me plenty of time to work on my web sites and explore other opportunities to make money.