Inspiration -- Madam C. J. Walker: "I Promoted Myself Into Business..."

Madam C. J. Walker

You cannot get debt relief if you do not have a money strategy.

This post was presented to inspire you to promote yourself into a make money online from home business.

Therefore, Madam C. J. Walker is a woman that all single moms should study.

In 1993, I attended broadcasting school in Indiana, where I saw a documentary about her, and visited her factory that has become a renown museum and mixed-use center that spans a city block.

To me, she is the pure essence of a single mother who chose to blaze her own trail to business success and debt freedom.

She started out doing menial jobs, but she decided to "promote herself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparations... I have built my own factory on my own ground."

Talk about breaking through economic barriers.

Can you imagine the difficulty she faced and endured pulling herself up out of poverty?

I cannot pretend to think that she did not need debt relief as well.

When I start to feel that things are not going right or, not happening fast enough, I think about Madam C. J. Walker for a reality check.

Then, my courage is renewed to walk through fire and on water to reach my goals.

If you have never heard of Madam C. J. Walker, I would like to introduce her to you through a New York Times Obituary, which briefly tells her life story:

May 26, 1919

Wealthiest Negress Dead

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

In 1917 Madame Walker completed at Irvington, on the banks of the Hudson, a mansion which cost $250,000, and since then had made her home there. The house, which is one of the show places in the vicinity, is three stories high and consists of thirty or more rooms. She had installed in this home an $8,000 organ with furnishings, including bronze and marble statuary, cut glass candelabra, tapestries, and paintings, said to be of intrinsic beauty and value.

OBITUARY

Mrs. C. J. Walker, known as New York's wealthiest negress, having accumulated a fortune from the sale of so-called anti-kink hair tonic and from real estate investments in the last fourteen years, died yesterday morning at her country estate at Irvington-on-Hudson. She was proprietor of the Madame Walker hair dressing parlors at 108 West 136th Street and other places in the city. Her death recalled the unusual story of how she rose in twelve years from a washerwoman making only $1.50 a day to a position of wealth and influence among members of her race.

Estimates of Mrs. Walker's fortune had run up to $1,000,000. She said herself two years ago that she was not yet a millionaire, but hoped to be some time, not that she wanted the money for herself, but for the good she could do with it. She spent $10,000 every year for the education of young negro men and women in Southern colleges and sent six  youths to Tuskegee Institute every year. She recently gave $5,000 to the National Conference on Lynching.

Born fifty-one years ago, she was married at 14, and was left a widow at 20 with a little girl to support. She worked as a cook, washerwoman, and the like until she had reached the age of about 37. One morning while bending over her wash she suddenly realized that there was no prospect on her meager wage of laying away anything for old age.

She had often said that one night shortly afterward she had a dream and something told her to start a hair tonic business, which she did, in Denver, Col., on a capital of $1.25.

In a few years she had accumulated a large sum, and invested in real estate in the West and South and in New York State, nearly all the property greatly increasing in value. She then owned a $50,000 home in the northern part of this city, which some years ago she gave to her daughter, Mrs. Lelia Walker Robinson, associated with her in business.

Thanks for reading. Please leave a comment and share this post.

Tonza Borden

Single Mom 101 by +Anita Sands Hernandez

SingleMomDebtTalk.com Contributing Author +Anita Sands Hernandez

You were abandoned by a pitiless,  oligarch-run White House.

You are  jobless, chained with unpaid student loans, compound interest that triples which they tell you cannot be escaped.

You are unable to graduate with a degree,  unable to find a job, unable to pay rent, marry or have children.
We're going to fix all that.

GUERRILLA CAPITALISM and entrepreneurial moxie is taught here by an OLD-Timer, skilled in cottage industries, frugal living, QUALIFIED TO TEACH THE RUTHLESS RULES OF REALITY so that YOU WILL achieve wealth and success, family and love without slaving for massah or hoeing anybody else's row.

Commercial Brands Need Single Mom Blogs Worldwide

Commercial Brands Need Single Mom Blogs Worldwide

Commercial brands realize that single moms are not necessarily broke, but are influential social media savvy women who still have buying power, and can rally a personal network of other moms into a buying frenzy.

That power alone is why commercial brands are reaching out to single mom bloggers to help them spread the word about their products and services.

If you are a single mom blogger, it's not a matter of do you want to get paid, you do!

From my experience, it doesn't take a high-traffic blog to get monetized through commercial brands such as Kohls, iKea, Wal-Mart, Lowes... Why?

The following statistics are the leading reasons why they want to establish a relationship within the single mom / mommy blogger market:

• Women account for 85% of all consumer purchases including homes to healthcare
• Women represent the majority of the online market

• 22% shop online at least once a day and by mobile phone

• 60% of moms used coupons in the last 24 months

• 92% pass along information about product deals to their friends and family through social media platforms

• 76% want to be part of a special or select panel

• Nearly 50% of women say they want “greener” choices

• Single moms want help to get out of debt

• Single moms are very passionate about causes or events to foster awareness

• Single moms love to blog and create their own little communities.

Monetize your blog by offering promotional blog posts and sidebar space for them to market to single moms, in the U.S., Germany, Sweden, Australia...

So why not create a blog relations page to partner with commercial brands on the launch or creation of new products?

As we all know, most products from soup to nuts and everything in between target moms and women in general.

Let your blog relations or blog sponsorship page create a marketing relationship with them to help ”get the word out” for their new or existing product or service.

For those corporations that want to produce their own carefully written content instead of a spontaneous blog post by the blogger, either way, interesting posts will appeal to blog readers.

+SingleMomDebtTalk.com would also love to create partnerships with commercial brands that I use faithfully.

Thank you for reading. Please leave a comment and share this post.

Tonza Borden

Start Your Own Blog To Make Money Online

Many of you already have a blog with lots of steady, targeted traffic because it’s a blog about a specific niche or topic, but is it making money?

You have thought about monetizing your blog, but you don’t know how to do it, right?

There are several ways to monetize a blog and pay-per-click (PPC) ad programs are just one solution.

Whether you are a single mom, single parent, married or otherwise, you want to be compensated for your blog, traffic and hard work, right?

Well, here's what put me on the right path to making money online from home, in my pajamas!

Warning:  Patience is required.

According to statistics, out of 180 million bloggers, only a tiny percentage make money.

In my opinion, bloggers who are not making cash flow are unnecessarily worried about making their blog look commercial with advertising, instead of making their blog make money.

I have proven that a small blog can make money, and you don’t have to look for advertisers, they will come calling.

After you establish your blog on Blogger.com, which is owned by Google (sweet!), it will take you about six months before you start making money by offering affordable blog sponsorship.

Advertisers choose your blog because they can relate to your blog’s purpose (reason for blogging), good price, and a professional and friendly relationship, which is why it’s called blog relations.

I blog because I enjoy helping people find solutions to every day problems; so my niche topics are primarily targeted to women, single moms-dads, and stay-at-home mothers who are entrepreneurs or want to work from home.

You can be sure that I follow the advice that I give to others and I’m willing to do it for free!

Here’s how I do it:

• Since Blogger.com is already monetized with Adsense, providing you already have an account, pay-per-click (PPC) is a no-brainer.

• Amazon.com affiliate program advertising is another method I use to monetize my blogs.

• Affiliate offers still drive sales for large and small businesses across the Internet, so don’t leave this money on the table. Pat Flynn doesn’t, which is how his blogs earn most of its income every month.

• My own finance books (see example below), eBooks, and Kindle information products accounts for some income as well.

Those are the ways I’m making money online with my blogs because multiple sources of income, no matter how large or small, is cash flowing. My blogging sites help to offset expenses for our non-profit organization for self empowerment of severely disabled women—DEOM, Inc.

Think of multiple streams of income like a river that feeds multiple small lakes and streams.

Is your blog one of them?

Final thoughts, other blog monetization methods I plan to pursue are invitation only ad networks and freelancing.

If you have an existing blog, there is no need to create ‘new’ content.

Create your own “viral blog with built-in monetization” and drive traffic to it!

If you don’t have an existing blog, then you will need to select a problem-solving niche topic that has a mass market interested in it, as well as you.

Google Adsense and Adwords have mastered the technical details of making money online so don’t try to reinvent the wheel.

Just go with their cash flow and start your own blog to make money online.

Many so-called Internet marketing gurus would advise you to start a blog from scratch and buy their software products that will deliver instant results, but I won’t.

I’m advising you to spend $0 to start a blog that will instantly become your online business for you to produce relevant content for a vast, hungry audience, and make money online, using Blogger.com.

I don’t make any money for endorsing Blogger.com; I just love it because it works!

The benefit of having an existing blog to start your own blog business is:

• The content is already available.

• All you need to do is transfer it to your Blogger.com blog that promotes problem-solving products, and start earning money.

Tired of the debt lifestyle?

Thanks for reading. Please leave a comment and share the post.

Tonza Borden

Why And How You Should Check Your Credit Report

It's the key to qualifying for a loan, and the secret to lower interest rates and get better deals on insurance.

It can be the difference that tips the scales in your favor when you're looking for a job.
The information in your credit report is gathered and sold by Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs), which includes:

• Personal identification and employment

• Credit payment history

• Requests for your credit report in the last one to two years

• Matters of public record, like bankruptcies and foreclosures

• You’re unemployed and plan to be job hunting within 60 days

• You’re receiving government assistance

• Your report is wrong because of fraud

• Circle disputed items on your report

• Explain what you believe is wrong, and ask them to correct or delete those items

• Attach copies, not originals, of documents that support your claim

• Make two copies of the entire package. Mail one set to the CRA and one to the company that provided the incorrect information. Save a copy for your files

• Send everything by certified mail, return receipt requested, and keep the receipts

• Expect a fix. The CRA will send you the results of their investigation and a new, improved credit report

The most important financial move you can make this year is check your credit report.

Take immediate action to dispute incorrect information, which includes:

How Often to Check Your Credit Report and How to Dispute It?

The best-known national credit bureaus are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

No one should be more interested in your credit report than you.

Check your credit report once a year, or before you seek a loan or make a major purchase; and make sure it's accurate and up-to-date.

Thankfully, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is there to help.

It makes sure you have easy access to check your credit report and provide you with a way to correct any mistakes you may find.

Each CRA can charge up to $15 for your credit report, although some states require they give you a free copy or two every year.

Calls to the national credit bureaus are automated, so if you live in a state whose laws allow a free report, there won't be any mention of a fee.

Otherwise, be ready with your credit card.

You're entitled to a free credit report regardless of where you live if, for instance, you're denied credit, insurance, or a job because of information in your credit report.

However, you must make your request for the report within 60 days of receiving notice of the denial.

CRAs will also send you a free credit report if you can prove that you were denied credit.

Repair and Check Credit Report from Home

Study your credit reports carefully.

Be sure everything is accurate and complete.

If there is a mistake, don't panic.

The CRAs and companies that provide information used in your credit report have to correct errors.

The CRAs even send a dispute form with your credit report.

The final step is to ask the CRAs to notify anyone who has received your old, incorrect credit report in the past six months.

Now, you have learned how to check your credit report for free!

Tired of the debt lifestyle?

Thanks for reading. Please leave a comment and share this post.

Little Known Ways To Help Single Mothers Pick A Good Credit Card

Consider Your Credit Card Budgeting Habits First

Television ads entice you with carefree lifestyles with a credit card.

Sales letters flatter you with pre-approved applications and tropical island destinations.

However, is this really how you should choose a credit card?

Someone who pays the balance in full every month is looking for entirely different features than someone who carries a balance, and is looking to reduce their interest charges.

If you carry a balance, interest rates and fees are most important.

Find a credit card with a low interest rate, and keep in mind that an annual fee is not automatically a deterrent.

Read the Small Print About the Credit Card and Look Beyond the Brand Name Credit Card

They look beyond the big bold letters advertising the interest rate and study the disclosure agreement.

And, if you are doing a cash advance or balance transfer, how do those policies differ from that of a purchase?

Be especially alert for policies that punish certain actions.

Will one late payment throw you into a much higher rate cycle?

The disclosure agreement is more important than the annual percentage rate (APR).

The smaller the print is on agreements, the more important the words.

Look at day-to-day procedures.

What kind of billing cycle do they have?

How much of a grace period do you have to get the payment in?

Compare the Perks of a Good Credit Card

Rewards and rebates really only benefit those who pay the balance in full every month.

If you're carrying a balance, you should not be looking at these types of credit cards.

Remember that rewards are not confined to frequent flyer miles or cash back anymore, so shop around.

Other differences in credit card features include insurance and warranties.

Again, check the fine print for protection against rental car damage and flawed merchandise.

It varies from credit card to credit card.

If there's something of value to you, make it a point to investigate the specifics of it.

As long as the other terms are similar, the name on the credit card doesn't make a difference.

MasterCard and Visa are credit card networks that license individual banks to issue cards.

Discover is both a network and a credit card issuer.

You have to pay your bill in full every month, although they are beginning to add some credit options.

It's the terms that really matter when you're comparison-shopping for a credit card.

Things such as interest rate, fees, grace period, and perks earned on rebate or reward cards.

Tired of the debt lifestyle?

Thanks for reading. Please leave a comment and share this post.

Tonza Borden

How To Save Money For Your Financial Success No Matter How Much You Earn

According to statistics, most single mothers don't save money.

Therefore, the average single mom owes more than $8,000-$10,000 in credit card debt.

If you are hoping for an improved financial outlook without saving money, you are clearly headed for failure.

You will not achieve financial success apart from the mindset and practice to save money.

Let me state in the clearest terms possible:  WHEN you become financially successful, it does not mean that saving is over.

You can think of any excuse when do don't want to save money such as, "I'm rich," "I have too many bills," "I don't make enough money,"...

I'm going to share with you a principle that is applicable to every single mom who WANTS TO SAVE MONEY to achieve financial success.

You must save money to achieve financial success for the rest of your life.

Don't wait until you get old to realize that you will need more money as you get older than you do as a young person.

You must begin to save money now and make it a key priority in your financial life.

The key principle component of wealth building is:  Pay yourself after taxes and tithes.

It's easy for people with "new wealth," "lottery wealth," even "Internet wealth" to think that there is no need to save money.

This is a common mistake among those who achieve "new money."

In the last decade, many people earned more money than they had in their entire life, and when the economy turned downward, as it always does eventually, most of them did not have the foresight to save money for those inevitable rainy days.

How to Save Money by Paying Yourself?

Proverbs state, "The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get."

To save money for your financial success, you must pay yourself with 10-15 percent of your income.

You spend time and effort furthering the mission and profit of the company where you are employed, therefore, you must reward yourself for that effort by paying yourself.

Use Single Mom Debt Talk community to discover how you can:

1. Make money
2. Get out of debt
3. Save money and build your future by paying yourself.

Without a purposeful commitment to pay yourself (first) to save money, it is possible to work hard all of your life and end up with nothing, but debt.

However, by adopting the pay yourself to save money practice, you will be well ahead of the majority of single moms, and on the road to financial success.

One of the best ways to save money is to pay yourself after the government takes it share, and you've tithed 10% to your church or favorite charity.

Tip:  After you start earning a nice income online, you can legally "pay yourself" before the government by participating in a pre-tax retirement account.

Generally speaking, the government, through various taxes, takes at least 15-30 percent of every dollar.

This happens before you even see your hard-earned money.

The good news is:  When you contribute to a tax-deferred retirement plan, you save those dollars BEFORE the government has a chance to take its 15-30 percent.

Ask your tax expert or certified financial planner about how to enroll in a tax-deferred plan.

Decide Now to Pay Yourself First and Save Money

Here is one proven method that is helpful to save money: Keep a record of every cent you spend for several weeks.

I can hear your excuses, but this is necessary to see where your money is going.

You will find that a Star Bucks coffee here, a lunch there, and an assortment of other seemingly small expenses are robbing you of a sound financial future (and the start up money you need for your online business).

If saving 10-15 percent seems impossible, then start with a lower percentage and build from there.

This important save-money-strategy can help you "find the money" to invest in creating your online business, thus possibly build wealth.

Finally, it is important for every single mom to get a realistic picture of where you are in terms of financial health.

Another way to find money in your personal budget is by charting out your equity.

Take the time to create a personal budget worksheet, which will list those items that are assets with positive financial impact such as, savings and retirement accounts.

It is not appropriate for me to assume that all single moms are broke.

However, Single Mom Debt Talk is purely for those who are.

After you finish your personal budget worksheet, you will see on what side of the equation your finances and savings fall.

It may be startling or it may be encouraging.

Either way, you must come to grips with where you are, and where you are headed--if you don't start to save money for your financial success.

Tired of the debt lifestyle?

Thanks for reading. Please leave a comment and share this post.

Tonza Borden

How To Create A Personal Budget And Spend Money On Purpose

A good personal budget plan and hard work lead to prosperity when you prioritize expenses.

Expenses come in several forms:

Fixed expenses that occur every month at the same amount, such as mortgage, rent, car payment, insurance

Variable expenses that occur regularly, but are subject to fluctuation, such as groceries, gas, utilities

Discretionary expenses that determine your particular lifestyle, such as clothing entertainment and vacations.

After you have looked at current receipts and determined your total expenses each month, compare that to your total income.

If your balance is in the red, you will have no money to set aside for reserves ready for future emergencies, and no preparation for retirement or college for your children.

Perhaps you are like most single moms who, when they hear the word "personal budget," imagine all sorts of constraints and end to the good life.

However, a personal budget is not an arbitrary set of prohibitions; a budget is simply a personal plan, your plan, which leads to prosperity.

It's your own personal road map that tells you exactly where your money is going.

Again, this is your personal budget.

If you love to order take out pizza, put it in your personal budget.

If you like going out to Burger King with your kids, put it in your personal budget.

A personal budget doesn't mean you stop doing the things you love.

A personal budget means that you are now spending your money on purpose, and you've chosen how you are going to spend it.

The Process of Arriving at Your Personal Budget Plan is a Relatively Simple One

Plan your personal budget and work your plan by using the budget worksheet you created to develop your own plan.

This is a simple way to project your monthly expenses and compare that projection to the reality of your income.

If you are spending all you earn, the inevitable result of your lifestyle will be debt.

Remember, when calculating your total income to include all current sources:  Salaries, bonuses, interest, alimony, royalties, rents, cash gifts, social security, etc.

Now, subtract your expenses, your "out go," from your income.

Is Your Personal Budget in the Red or Black?

The previous simple math step will reveal if your plan is operating in the red or has positive cash flow.

If this is the case, go back to your expenses and rework your personal budget.

You must find a way to either increase your income or decrease your expenses.

Once you've determined your plan, or personal budget, employ a method of dividing your money into your pre-determined accounts.

Some single mothers use envelopes; some go online and use an electronic envelope system.

Whether it's an accordion file or a well-disciplined checkbook, use some form of accountability and organize your personal budget.

Now that you know how to create a personal budget and spend your money, support your decisions and follow through.

Tired of the debt lifestyle?

Thank you for reading. Please leave a comment and share this post.

Tonza Borden