Step 20 - Real Life is the SUCK!

<sarcasm>Hey! So my renewed commitment is doing soooo well! </sarcasm> But it is not my fault, really! What had happened was... no! the sun was in my eyes!

Ok, in all seriousness, I have been moving forward but have yet to see any results. This is due to that thing called Real Life that loves to jump in the way of anyone doing anything worthwhile. Let me give you a recap on why I have yet to realize any significant gains in the last bit.

My puppy broke her leg. They want to fix it to the tune of $3500. 10 TIMES the cost of the puppy originally.

My car decided to break, and since I use it for work and not just to and from, I needed that to be fixed. Yumm $400.

Oh and my friend I loaned $500 (which I was expecting it back this week) has run into payback trouble. Apparently he owes some BIG people BIG money (ie. US government, and they ain't playing) so I have to get in line behind them for the money he owes. yay...

Other than that, things are great. :)

I did a partial money pickup on one of my vending locations: $365.00 Yay money!
My losses include a dollar I lost in the currency market. Could be a lot worse

So for now, that is my report. It sucks I know and is nowhere near what I wanted to be able to report.

Renewed commitment

While checking out my progress, I have decided that it could be much faster. I am renewing my commitment to the experiment in order to accomplish the goal faster. I have decided to focus instead on assets that will help me build a monthly income.

While my dream goal is $1M per year, I decided my first long term goal is to make $100k a year. I am currently working on defining the steps along the way, much like the 28 steps I am now following for my million dollars.

The doctrine of the experiment will be on increasing monthly income as well. I will still track the million dollar value as always, but will also track monthly income. I believe the two goals go together perfectly.

By giving more focus on the project I should be posting a lot more often about opportunities seen, missed, taken, and the results of my actions.

Here goes!

Step 20 - The Beginning

So Step 20 has begun. This could be a very fun and interesting step because of the opportunities that could begin to open up for me. While not a large amount of money, there is potential to begin to grab hold of some better deals that could result in better money.

This step is a bit shorter due to an adjustment of the goal total. This is for simplicity and nothing more. I have to say I am extremely excited to have reached this step. I hope to be able to et some neat and interesting deals going on the way to $5000!

Step 19 - May 6 2009

This day marks my first collection of the vending machines down on the beachfront. The tourist season will begin soon and that means more money from this route. All in all it is not a ton of money for the year, but enough to be excited about collecting. My first haul of the year brought me $212.50. Not a bad start.

As far as other monies go, I have made another $60 from loaning to co-workers, and the currency market has yielded $4 back to me.

So all in all, $276. this time around. (I did net some more money from my prize vending location, but I spent that and some of my savings on a new computer, so I guess I loaned myself some money. $240 total.

$212.50 - beachfront vending location
$240.00 - prize vending location
$60 - interest
$4 - currency market
-$240 - loan to myself
-----------------------
+ $276.50 total

Grand total: $2690.50

WOW! Step 20 has arrived! Alright!

Step 19 - Spring has sprung!

Wow, been a while, huh? I hate winter. My money slows down in winter. Yuck.
So where was I with all this fun money stuff?

Well, as spring is coming, I spent a little time collecting dormant vending machine money. $100 from my largest location, $32 from another, and yet another $125 from my machine with the giveaway prize.

I also have been playing bank to co-workers, netting $124 in profits from 'payday loans.'

I have some money also invested in the currency market, but at the time, it is at a loss of $9. Ah well, I'm hoping it turns around soon.

So lets get a new tally on this springs totals so we can push onward and upward!

$257 from various vending machines, $124 from loans and -$9 from the markets. That totals $372.

The new total is: $2414!

Step 19 - Another day another quarter (or more)

Well this week saw me add a few more dollars to the pot. Nothing exciting happened, Im afraid. I simply went to my largest vending route and collected from it. Now that the summer is over and all the beach tourists are gone, I don't expect as much money as I was getting. It will all return in the spring when the weather warms up and the tourists return.

This collection yielded $112.50, so adding that to the pot. This brings me to over $2000! a nice milestone in my journey.

New total is: $2042.50

So here is the little chart for this post.

Step 19 - Gumballs and Shiny things

Been a while since I posted, but don't think I've given up. Things are changing for certain, but still I push ever forward.

I went in mid September and got my last large collection from my vending location down at the beach. This haul was $297. No inventory was purchased as I merged a few of the machines together and have already gotten the fish food for the winter months for that particular machine. I went and collected from the other couple of slower machines, giving me another $43. My 'prize machine' has given a total of $75 towards the purchase of he PlayStation 3 I will give away. I suck at any kind of graphical design, so the sign isn't up yet. I did get one of the girls at work to make me one yesterday while she was bored, so that will go up and then it should make money faster.

All in all, a total of $405 more dollars towards the stake.

I purchased some more silver coins and my first gold piece. The gold piece is a 1/10 oz, not quite the 1oz I truly want, but hey, Gold and silver had taken a dip in price, so I jumped on it.

I have also taken a big interest in the FOREX market. That is the market where you buy and sell foreign currencies. I have been playing with demo accounts for the last couple of months and think I have enough confidence to try a small amount. If I can make some money with it, GREAT!

So here is the little chart for this post.

Step 19 - Another $350 for an hour and a half

Wow, well, this season is doing well at the beach. I went down to the arcade where my vending machines are and collected another $350. This took an hour and a half. I haven't refilled them yet, so some of the profits will be put back into that, but no more than $30 this time as I bought a 50lb bag of fish food last time. That's my money maker there, the fish food vending machine, who woulda thunk?

Edit: I went to another vending machine and used that money ($40) for inventory, so my total profits stay at $350 this month so far, woot!

Step 19 - Three HundredThirty Dollars in an hour!

Well, I have become to love my vending machines. I went to my largest location and took just over an hour to collect $330 in an hour! That was after I paid my commissions. I had to go and spend $85 on more inventory afterwards, but hey, not bad for an hours work. Man, if I could build 5 of those hours per week on a steady 4 week schedule, I'd be sitting good.

My little soda selling thing at work is making me money with no effort. So far I've sold three cases of sodas, netting me $24 profit. I would have made more by now, but I have been lazy about replacing the sodas when they ran out. Anyway, another $15 for more soda inventory and lets see if I can get some more.

So I get to add another $254 to the pot.

Vending Income - $330
Soda Income - $24
----------------------
Total $354
Inventory - $100 (candies and soda)
-----------------------
Net increase $254

Happy Independence Day

Independence Day is a national holiday, but I decided to make it my own personal holiday as well.

I had first made a goal of January 1 2009 as the day I begin to bank my entire paycheck. I have moved that day to July 4th 2009 merely to coincide with the national holiday.

This is one of the goals of my doubling project. So lets go one more year and have my own Independence Day! ;)

Step 19 - A few more bucks!

Ok, now that my sad news is out of the way, I have discovered a new way to make a few bucks. At this point it looks like about $40-50 a month.

I manage a small takeout/delivery restaurant. In that restaurant we sell 20oz sodas for $1.49. My employees simply steal them at that price as they figure they deserve a discount and the corporation does not allow discounts on sodas. I was in the Sam's club the other day and discovered I could buy 24oz sodas (same brand as I carry in my store) for .10 cheaper than my store pays for the 20oz directly from the company.

I bought a case and took it back to my store, my employees now buy my 24oz sodas for $1 each. When the entire case is gone, I make $8 profit. Thwy went through the first case in three days. If they keep that pace up, I could feasibly make $80 a month, with no shrinkage. I figure for a bit of shrinkage and some slow days to make me $40-50.

Hey, every little bit helps!

I also collected another $20 profit from one of my smaller vending machines.

Step 19 - Bad Karma strikes again

Well, remember that car that was towed away? It seems that there is a process they go through to get rid of the car. After all was said and done, the car sold for $700 less than the storage fees it incurred sitting on the lot. Therefore, I am now liable for those fees. $700! Ouch, what a lesson this whole fiasco is turning out to be. Sooo... guess my stake just took a $700 dive. I sold my silver and paid the rest.

Another step back and another lesson learned, oh well...

Article: Vending Machines

Flip over at The Double Challenge asked a few questions about vending on my comments. They were very good questions for anyone thinking about vending.

Vending is a great starter business. It is cheap, easy to maintain, easy to build upon, and an all cash business. Finding a location is the hardest part, you can either hire a professional locater or go out and find them yourself. There is one more option but it tends to be more expensive. That is buying existing routes already set up on location.

When buying an existing route you might think they are being sold because they are not making any money. Usually, that is not the case. They are usually sold because the owner needs quick cash, is moving, is starting another business venture and doesnt want to deal with it anymore, or any other number of reasons. As with any other business, ask for proof of what the route makes and try not to pay any more than what it brings in in a year.

Filling the machines yourself is the easiest and most profitable way to run the route. You can pay someone if you like, but you have to pay them and trust is a very important factor in vending as the cash is very accessible.

I hope that helps, I'm not an expert, as I just started out myself not long ago. This post is a result of my own research from both the net and other vendors I have talked to. Have fun!

Step 19 - part 2 -

Well, looks like my vending route will do decently well.

This time, I pocketed $197.

Cash: $693
Assets: $924 ($600 in machines, 18oz silver $324)
Total: $1617

Step 19

Wow, looks like its been a bit since I posted. Well, it isn't from lack of activity, I can tell you.

Let's see, I had $1584 at last count. I bought another car to flip quickly, but it kinda got towed away. It needed a small bit of money put into it but I had to wait to find a part. My ex-roommate was ticked for kicking him out (long sad story, choose roomies very carefully!) and had it towed from my friend's work for a violation (no sticker.) I couldn't house it at my apartment complex for that very same reason, and they look frequently.

Anyway, by the time I found out about it over a week later, the recovery fee was too high for me to profit off of, so I let it go. That knocked me back $500.

1584 - $500 = 1084. ouch!!!

The good news is, the vending routes I had purchased with stake money ($600 worth.) made me $300! A rarity I'm certain, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless.

$1084 - $600 + $300 = $784

I also bought some silver, since I think it is going to do fairly well. They were at $16 an ounce. I bought 18 of them. $288 total.

$784 - $288 = $496

Now, I think I may show my stake a bit differently now...

Cash: $496
Assets: $888
Total: $1384

Almost back up to what I was before my loss. Hey, thats business!

Step 14-19 - Brokering a deal

February 8, 2008: Brokered a deal that shot me ahead a few steps.

Amount: $1584.65

I had the opportunity to put together a seller and a buyer for a car. I know a lot about these cars, as I've owned four of them. I know the market a little bit as I'm always looking for a good deal, even when I can't afford one. Call it a hobby. Anyway, I had an acquaintance that needed money fast and had one of these cars for sale, a convertible at that. Given the weather lately has been so warm, it was a good opportunity to raise the asking price and appeal to someone's emotions. I used my network of friends and found a buyer for the car. The purchase price wasn't that unusual, $2500 for a car that is 20 years old, but destined to be a classic (Its a 5.0 mustang convertible.) In this area they are particularly popular and difficult to come by at anywhere near the blue book price, which is around $1500. So no worries. I got the seller to agree that I get anything above his asking price (which was $1000, thats where the value of the deal came, he was asking way too little.) no matter what. He agreed.

I got the two together and actually handled the money (I have to protect my interests, yes?) and title for the two folks. Now I am the owner of 1500 brand new dollars, woot!

That gets to go into my stake, making it a whopping $1584.25, a good bit into Step 19. Nice, huh?

Now, I have to find a place to put that money to make it grow some more.

Step 14 - Part 1

Step: Turn $80 into $160

January 28, 2008: Carryover of $4.65 from the sale of two gift cards.

Amount: $84.65

Step 13 - $40 to $80 - Complete

January 28, 2008: The carryover from the sale of the two gift cards makes this step complete with additional carryover.
Amount: $80.00

Carryover to next step: $4.65

Step 12 - Turn $20 into $40

January 28, 2008: Sold a couple of $40 circuit city gift cards for $60 total.$40.00


Carryover to the next step = $44.65

Article - Why Don't People Finish?

This was a previous 'thought' in one of my Step 12 posts, but I feel the need to expand on this. Mr Goldsmith created a nice little frenzy with his report. People still find it every day and get on the bandwagon. They start blogs, much like this one, and excitedly climb the first few steps. The excitement build when they quickly blow through the first 4 or 5 steps. "This is easy" they think. True enough at the beginning levels. Something starts to happen around step 10 or 11, however. Simply finding a penny on the street no longer moves them significantly towards their goal. The goal at step 10 is to turn $5 into $10. Seemingly an easy enough task. But while finding a penny at step 1 moves you instantly to step 2. you would need to find some 500 pennies to move you from step 10 to 11. 500 times the effort. So that particular way of adding to the pot is no longer efficient. From there, it is up to the doubler to discover or create a new way to double their cash. From here, its sign up to read emails, or pay to click on ads or something of that nature. While this may get you to the next step or so, it quickly runs out of efficiency. Most people give up around this point. Is it any harder to turn $20 into $40 than it is to turn a nickel into a dime? Sure it is. But then again it isn't. The complexity comes not from doubling the money, but from the effort and energy involved in doing it.

People do not mind doing something if it means not changing routine or putting any serious effort into it. It takes brain power and some time to turn $20 into $40. When it comes to putting effort into the project, people begin to question the effort/payoff ratio. If I spend 20 hours turning $20 into $40, I made a dollar an hour. Given they had to take time out of their normal routine and spend 20 of their precious freetime hours doing something that only returned a dollar per hour, most people say 'screw it' and drop the project.

Keep in mind as you work on your project, that what seems inefficient now is still helping you. The middle steps deal with a small amount of money, and its hard to find good real investments that will help you. You are also already past the step where you can panhandle a significant amount of a step too. Stick with it and you will find money all over.

Step 12 - Turn $20 into $40

January 27, 2008: Added another 1.67 I had of pocket change.
Amount: $24.65

Step 12 - Turn $20 into $40

January 8, 2008: The last $1 carried over from the last step is now added to the pot, this will bring my new total to $21.
Amount: $21.00


January 9, 2008: Added .84 to the pot. .12 found money and .72 pocket change.
Amount: $21.84


January 11, 2008: Found .55 on the apt floor after guests left. Maybe I should invite them over more often.
Amount: $22.39

January 12, 2008: Added .49 pocket change.
Amount: $22.88

January 13, 2008: Found .10 on the ground.
Amount: $22.98


Thoughts:
Now, in addition to adding pocket change and found money, it is time to start figuring out how to invest the money and let it double.

Lets look at our options. We can invest it, loan it out for interest, purchase something and resell it.

Option 1: Invest - probably the safest way, but then not the most efficient at doubling as it takes a while. Unless we can find some great investment. My goal is to double this in a week or two.

Option 2: Loan it out - possibly a faster doubling than investing, but higher risk. Without collateral, you need a lot of trust in the person.

Option 3: Purchase and resell. The most likely way to double efficiently. I'll look into that.


How to do it: still grabbing loose change and adding pocket change.

Step 11 Turn $10 into $20

January 5, 2008:
The rest of the coin jar I found is now added to the stake, giving me $16.63 total.

Amount: $16.63


January 8, 2008:
The rest of my pocket change translates to another $4.37

I will add the $3.37 to complete the step and carryover the last $1 to the next step.

Amount: $20.00

How to do it: add pocket change periodically.

Step 9 - Step 10

January 4, 2008: Found a quarter at work.

Amount: $3.06

January 5, 2008: During a hefty apartment cleaning discovered a jar of coins. The amount in the jar will send me into step 11. Inside was $13.57. Nice find. I will first scale the stake down to the max for step 10 for the blog's sake and readd the rest in the next step.

Amount: $10.00






How to do it: Still keeping an eye out for change wherever it may be.

Step 5 - Step 8 - Up to $2.80

December 27, 2007:
Found a dime on the ground while at work.

Amount: .20


December 30, 2007:
Found another dime on the ground in the apartment, since I have roommates, I figure its most likely not mine, so I added it to the pot.

Amount: .30

January 4, 2008
Was given a small bag of change by my friend. Inside was 2.77 of various dimes, nickels, and pennies. This brings me to step 9.

Amount: 2.81


How to do it: still scanning the ground and pocketing loose change.

Step 4 - .04 to .08

Found a penny and a nickel. This puts me into step 4.

Amount: .10

How to do it: Look on the ground.

Steps 2 and 3 - up to .04

Found three pennies on the ground. This completes steps 2 and 3.

Total amount: .04

How to do it: Keep scanning the ground for loose change. There is more than you think lying around.

Step 1 - The first penny

I found a penny while sweeping the floor. So it begins...

Amount: .01

How to do it: Simply find or ask for a penny.

Thin Air Millionaire

This blog is about making a million dollars from scratch! This is my blog about an interesting 28-step concept that I read about. You must start by finding or getting a penny from someone. I removed many of the original rules to increase the efficiency of the plan. If you want those rules, just Google 'Double your way to a million'. Anyway, here are my rules:

The Rules:

1. Your million may include both cash and assets, as long as it gets to a million


2. You may add your pocket change to the pot.


3. You graduate through the 28 steps by doubling your money at each step. Unlike the original, carryover is allowed from one step to the next.


4. You may make as many transactions as necessary to complete a step.
5. There is no time limit to any step.


6. Do not remove money to do anything other than further your game to the next step.
   


7. You may use loans or debt to increase your assets to earn your million as long as the payments for the debt are made from the money the pot earns.


8. You may also accept any charity or free items to grow your pot. This is anything anyone wants to give you. If you can use it, sell it, or trade it, do so.


9. You may sell items you already own to help you, as needed.

The steps are as follows:

1. .01
2. .02
3. .04
4. .08
5. .16
6. .32
7. .64
8. 1.28
9. 2.56
10. 5.00 (for simplicity's sake)
11. 10.00
12. 20.00
13. 40.00
14. 80.00
15. 160.00
16. 320.00
17. 640.00
18. 1,280.00
19. 2,560.00
20. 5,000.00 (again, for simplicity)
21. 10,000.00
22. 20,000.00
23. 40,000.00
24. 80,000.00
25. 160,000.00
26. 320,000.00
27. 640,000.00
28. 1,280,000.00

Let the game begin!

UPDATE: I decided to implement this nifty little thermometer for the million dollar goal...