Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Economizing, Monetizing and Georgie too

What a pleasant treat to sleep in until 8am. That's the upside of getting laid off. I could have slept even longer too but some contractor came to the door insisting he had a counter to install here. It took several times for him to understand that we own the building so he must have the wrong address. I figure he made the old East and West mixup. We live on a long street that stretches both East and West of downtown so there are matching addresses on either side of city hall.

I was thinking about how to make money from blogging. I saw this article about a BC blogger who is making forty grand a month from his blog. He started it just like most of us, to keep in touch with friends and family but then it morphed into a blog about "monetizing blogs". I don't think Sticky Crows has a big potential for making money (maybe for poop related products ha) but what about something else I know about - how to scrimp and save and make chump change for a living but still be able to travel the world. Hell you can live for a month off of a large bag of rice and beans that'll cost you less than a dollar a day. Dull, but doable. I'll let you know if I start a different blog.

There was a good chuckle on Facebook yesterday when my cousin posted about looking for Thanksgiving centerpieces for the table. Apparently, and I checked to make sure, if you google thanksgiving turkey centerpiece, the first site that comes up is a site that shows you how to make such a thing from tampons. And no, not used. Actually the site is hilarious - tampon crafts dot com. Hey Rox, there's some new crafting ideas for you there. Now I can't help wonder if the owner of that site is making any money. Surely if she (gotta be a she) can, then I can.

I'm off today but it's rainy. We can go to the Biodome and the Planetarium for free this month as part of our "friends of the botanical gardens" membership. Maybe I'll take a tour of the indoor zoo. If I do, you'll see those pics here. In the meantime, have a look at Georgie and cookie time. Ain't he the cutest?

18 comments:

My adventures said...

I could do rice and beans for a lifetime if it meant traveling the world! I need a vacation soon, very very soon.

Greg said...

Oh, Cookie Time!! I just LOVE that tail.

Sorry to hear about the lay-off.

GayProf said...

Georgie likes to play with his food.

Anonymous said...

Georgie's a cute little guy who obviously enjoys his new home and is well cared for and loved.

You do know that you can teach English in the comfort of your own home, yes? I'm a freelancer and have done so via telephone, and online using web cam. I've taught people from all over the world. The pay can vary, it's not great but you'll find it would equal out to about what you make now, given you don't have to factor in a commute, lunches out, transport etc. Google "teach english from home" and search some of the ESL teaching sites. I've meant to tell you this before!

Anonymous said...

P.S. And there's more you can do from home. Recently on some of the sites for freelance writers I have seen job postings for those who are bilingual (Canadian French) to translate recipes and other we content. There's a lot to be had to fill in the gaps when you have some downtime and want to earn a chunk of change. Like yourself I'd toyed w/ the idea of monetizing my blog after I'd heard about others in my niche earning crazy money from doing what they do anyway, which is post. I've come to the conclusion though, that some have horseshoes up their asses and just lucked out. I've seen other blogs equally as good and in many cases far superior, to those raking in the bucks and they do not generate cash. The social networking to drive traffic to your blog is a pain. That said, you write well, you have experience teaching, you're bilingual...there's a lot you can do. Why do I feel as though I'm getting up in your business? :) I'll cease now and hope you don't take offence.

CoffeeDog said...

Georgie est francais? Tu parles a Georgie en francais :-)

A Lewis said...

Man oh man, he does the same thing that Mason does with his toys and food....THROWS IT! Plays with it, tosses it in the air and hits furniture and the fireplace glass and the walls.......

What a good boy, he is!

sageweb said...

Oh how sweet he is!..

Rox said...

The little tampon ghosts are adorable! OMG! I so don't need another craft site, but this tampon thing could really inpire a person! :o)

I wish we lived closer, we could go for coffee in the mornings until you find work.

Mark My Words said...

Imho, you're really good at finding the humour in the ordinary things that happen in your life. Maybe you could monetize something along those lines.

P.S. I love scrimping too.

Anonymous said...

If you learn how to make money from blogging, I'd be all ears.

And speaking of ears, Georgie is adorable!

Birdie said...

There has to be a way to make money from Georgie pictures. I grin every time I see them.

LSL said...

Georgie's markings are so beautiful. That is a great video.

I say monetize the hell out of anything you can. You have a good reader base. And I think your idea of travel on the cheap is a great one. I think that has potential.

Devo said...

What a cute little boy you have there-I LOVE him!!!! He's so lucky to have you.

AL? said...

Noisette, our little Black/caramel Doxie was sitting on my lap as I watched the video of Georgie and she began to wag her tale and try to sniff the screen - it was very cute. Love muffin indeed!

The Wisdom of Wislon said...

Hello so is H1 ...like swine flu? oh no hope things get better quickly.

Snooze said...

Sucks about your layoff. The remote teaching sounds good. Hey, I'll hire you to speak French to me over the phone. I actually tried to find a Montreal phone French lesson because all the French lessons in Toronto are generally given by people from France, and I don't want to speak that sort of French. It seems as idiotic to me to learn 'france french' in Canada as it would to teach Canadian children to speak with a British accent and use words like lift, tram, etc.

Blobby said...

Sticky Crows - brought to you by Charmain.

...and he is SO cute!