Realm of Prosperity

Many people know of the switch to digital television in February of 2009. Ever since my father knew this news, he has been planning to purchase the converter boxes for our TVs. Luckily, he didn't jump on buying on so fast.

He was reading the Chinese newspaper and discovered a notice to everyone of the coupons being distributed by the government that were used exclusively towards the purchase of the converter boxes. He immediately told me to sign up for those coupons at www.dtv2009.gov. So this is a reminder to all those who need to buy the converter boxes to get the coupons to save some money.

Each household can receive up to (2) $40 coupons for the converter boxes. They cannot be combined towards a single purchase nor can they be used for any other items.

If you have more questions about the switch, visit www.dtvanswers.com.

Paying for a college education is a financial burden that is continuously becoming more and more expensive to handle. Aside from college tuition, living expenses increase the monetary responsibilities of the typical college student.

Residing in school dormitories is pretty expensive. I pay around $3000 per semester for a single room in my university's residence apartments. Other choose to rent out rooms in nearby homes, but travel time and expenses are added to the cost.

Recently, I received a letter from my school saying that I was charged $33 for the cleaning of the refrigerator and removal of items in the kitchen. This amount was also charged to each of my five suitemates. I know that I'm a very tidy individual and that I left nothing in the kitchen. Thus, it was a stupid thing to get charged for.

A friend of mine, who rented a home with some of his friends ,was charged $1800 by the landlord for a water heater that needed repairing.

These are really silly charged that could be avoided with little maintenance. College students should treat their dorms as their own homes because it IS their home during school. It isn't a hotel room, which many college students treat it as.

This coming semester, I'd be living in the dorm apartment with mostly friends and that would make it easier to communicate and cooperate to keep the dorm a clean and comfortable living environment. And also... to avoid the ridiculous charges!

Debt reduction seems to be the hottest topic in personal finance. That is because it is one of the most difficult thing to do and debt is the easiest thing to accumulate. The credit card is the prime tool for the submergence in debt for millions of Americans. Ever since, I've gotten my credit card, I have racked up a large balance from just the occasional spending on small purchases. Recently, it has caught my attention and has become a concern to my financial stability. Thus, I'm seeking to remove this debt soon.

From reading many other great personal finance blogs, I've looked into the many ways that people have successfully rid themselves of their credit card balances. I don't want to transfer the balance to a new card nor would I want to cut up the card. So the most reasonable debt reduction method would be to pay more than just the minimum in multiple payments per billing cycle.

My credit card balance is currently around $900, which mostly went to my little side gig for making money. I just made payment for $300. In a few days, after Amazon.com transfers my money to my bank account, I'll make another payment of $300.

Hopefully, I'll have the balance close to nothing by the end of the summer because that's when the promotional 0% APR offer would end. If I can prove to myself that I can stick to a plan for reducing my debt, I'd develop a good habit for paying back my college loans in the future.

Anyone running a business seeks to run it with as much efficiency as possible, while still being able to maximize profits and to satisfy customers. My college course classes for the Business Management minor has taught me many ways to streamline a business and to make it more profitable.

In my situation, the one thing I can do to make a drastic change in the way I spend money to make money. Reducing expenses is a common business practice but it is very efficient way of making a larger profit.

HOW I'M DOING IT

The PSP mod kits that I sell consist of a battery and a memory stick. The cost of the battery is already very cheap ($25) and I cannot find a better alternative. As for the memory stick, I've been purchasing 512mb memory sticks for $7.99 each. After some thorough research, I've found that 256mb memory sticks could be used and they were available in a store for only $4.99 each.

Next, I've given a detailed look at the listing fees on Amazon.com. Apparently, I've been selling in the wrong category, which charges 15% commission while the mroe appropriate category charges only 8% commission. That is almost HALF and that's a BIG difference!

Finally, I'll be reducing the cost of shipping. Firstly, I'm using USPS Priority Mail with delivery confirmation. The shipping boxes, I order online so they're free. I typically make the effort to trek to the post office and pay for postage there. After looking around USPS.com, online postage is cheaper and tracking is free. So now, I'll be paying for and printing postage labels at home. It saves money and I can just drop off the packages without waiting on line, thus also saving me time.

THE RESULTS

The total cost of goods, including taxes and shipping fees, was originally $40.55 for a profit of $13.15 per unit. A reduction in expenses would yield a cost of goods of $36.60 for a profit of $17.10. Decreasing expenses by about 10% will increase profits by 30%. A few dollars and cents may not seem like much but as multiple units are sold, there is a big difference in profits.

Following up on my vent post regarding my discontent with the policies on eBay, I've resorted to another method of selling PSP mod kits. Thanks to the glorious creation of Amazon.com, I've been able to sell my inventory of kits in just 3 days.

No wonder Amazon was able to grow to its currently dominant Internet status. Although the fees for selling on Amazon.com are higher compared to eBay, transactions are completed much quicker. Everything is laid out for potential buyers, like in a store. I don't have to wait for buyers to bid/pay nor do I have to go through Paypal to collect my money. They see what they want and pay. Then I ship the next day. The feedback on Amazon.com is of no major concern to me since I provide the best service possible.

Now I'll be ordering starting materials in larger quantities. In a future post, I'd be describing what steps I am taking to make this side gig more profitable!

Here are some links back to some carnivals in which Realm of Prosperity was cited.

• Carnival of Personal Finance #157: Third Anniversary Edition at Consumerism Commentary
• The Carnival of Twenty Something Finances at Poorer Than You
• Carnival of Money Stories #64 - Time to Listen to Others Edition at Money Ning