Category: Cash

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What is Ethical Investing?

My aim with each blog post is to help you move to a better financial future. I believe that there is not enough financial education in the national curriculum and I intend to share anything helpful that I have learned along the way. I am by no means a financial expert. None of the information on this website constitutes financial advice and is provided as general information only. This is my personal finance blog; my marketing blog is over here and I have been blogging there since 2010. I hope you have found this information useful. Thank you for reading.

Best regards,

Mike

Image credit: pexels.com

How to get Started with Index Fund Investing

This post may contain affiliate links please read our disclosure for more info.

Regular readers of this website will remember this post that I wrote, Investments: Why Saving is not Enough . You cannot simply save your way to financial freedom, if you are to be successful and achieve your financial goals, you will need to grow your finances exponentially. In today’s post I want to return to investment as a topic and discuss one particular type of investment namely Index Fund Investing.

What is an Index Fund?

An index fund is a type of mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF) with a portfolio constructed to match or track the components of a financial market index, such as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (S&P 500) in the United States or the FTSE 100 in the United Kingdom.

What are the Benefits of Index Fund Investing?

Lower Risk

If you were to invest directly in a company via stocks or shares your level of risk is quite high. The company’s fortunes could change for the worse and your investment could literally be worth nothing through no fault of your own. An index fund lowers your risk considerably by investing your money in the top performing companies in a particular financial market. If one company underperforms, they will drop out of the index and be replaced by another. Your investment is likely to benefit from the good performance of the best companies within the index.

Low Operating Costs

Compared to other investment vehicles, Index Funds have relatively low operating costs that manifest themselves in terms of fees for individual investors.

Investment Performance

The primary investment objective for an index fund is to match the risk and return of the market. When investing for the long term, the market will usually outperform any one single investment. This is why index fund investing is an excellent approach for retirement accounts.

How to Get Started with Index Funds

You can invest in an Index Fund via a brokerage account or directly via a mutual fund company. If you are relatively new to investing, a visit to an independent financial adviser would be a sensible first step.

To review some of the best performing index funds click here and remember that past performance is no guarantee of future performance.

Next Steps

Are you interested in index fund investing ? Have you invested in one already? Let me know in the comments section below. Also, get in touch if you would like my help. My email address is mike@learnmoney.io

If you have enjoyed this post you will also like the following posts:

How to get Brand Deals as a Micro Influencer

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Best regards,

Mike

Image credit: pexels.com

How to get Brand Deals as a Micro Influencer

This post may contain affiliate links please read our disclosure for more info. This video was first published on my YouTube channel; you can subscribe to my channel here http://bit.ly/1BuKsoM .

Influencers

In recent years, the widespread adoption of Social Media has led to the emergence of individuals who have amassed large followings on Social Media. People with large followings on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok or a combination of all of these, are known as Influencers.

Kylie Jenner and Cristiano Ronaldo are both great examples of influencers. Every week, Influencers are approached by brands who are willing to pay them to endorse their products or services.

Micro Influencers

Micro influencers are similar to influencers except they have a smaller following, this makes them more accessible to their followers. Recognised as experts in their field, Micro influencers enjoy the support of a engaged community who choose to follow them because they appreciate their authority and expertise.

I have been described as a micro influencer and have received new financial opportunities as a result. Generally, it is harder for micro influencers to secure brand deals but the website that I discuss in the video makes it easier for brands to connect with micro influencers and for micro influencers to earn additional income. Is this something you have considered? You may be micro influencer too, have a look at the diagram below.

Image credit – socialbluebook.com

In the video, I discuss a website that has commercial opportunities for micro influencers. There are opportunities for you to secure brand deals and complete tasks for payment via the website. When you have completed the task, the brand or company will pay you via the website. I explain the whole process in the video.

Next Steps

Are you a micro influencer? Are you going to explore new opportunities as a micro influencer? Let me know in the comments section below. .

Also, get in touch if you would like my help. My email address is mike@learnmoney.io

If you have enjoyed this post you will also like the following posts:

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Best regards,

Mike

What is Ethical Investing ?

This post may contain affiliate links please read our disclosure for more info.

Ethical Investing

Ethical investing is an approach to investing where the investor filters potential investments according to their own values and moral principles. For example, it would be entirely understandable for someone to decide that they do not want to invest in companies that manufacture missiles or tobacco.

The earliest recorded instance of ethical investing in America was the 18th century Quakers who banned their members from spending their time or money in the slave trade. Indeed, historically religion was often a motivation for ethical investment. Today, in addition to religious motivations for ethical investing there there are also concerns for environmental issues, racial equality, gender equity and inclusion.

Do Ethical Investments Perform Well?

There is absolutely no guarantee that ethical investments will perform well over any time period or when compared to index funds. A prudent approach would be select firstly based on your values and then once you have done so assess all of these with performance based criteria. An investment portfolio comprised exclusively of ethical investments will look very different to one focused solely on maximising potential returns for an investor. In practice, ethical investing requires a lot of research, you must go deeper than the corporate brochures and mission statements to discover whether a company’s actions match their words. Unfortunately lots of companies claim to be more ethical than they really are.

If you are interested in investigating ethical investment funds in the United Kingdom, check out this resource. It’s a great starting point for building an ethical investment portfolio. Please remember that this information does not constitute financial advice.

Next Steps

Are you interested in ethical investments? Will your next investment be an ethical one? Let me know in the comments section below. Also, get in touch if you would like my help. My email address is mike@learnmoney.io

If you have enjoyed this post you will also like the following posts:

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Best regards,

Mike

Image credit: pexels.com

What are the Coronavirus Job Opportunities?

This post may contain affiliate links please read our disclosure for more info. This video was first published on my YouTube channel; you can subscribe to my channel here http://bit.ly/1BuKsoM .

Coronavirus Job Opportunities

It will not have escaped your attention that we are in the midst of a Coronavirus pandemic. It is a global health crisis and it is also an economic crisis. As governments around the world struggle to contain the coronavirus outbreak, many have lost their jobs because their places of work have been forcibly shutdown as part of lockdown restrictions.

Despite this bleak outlook there are some industries that are benefitting from the crisis. In this video, I discuss 4 industries that are recruiting right now as a response to the coronavirus crisis. There are quite a lot of coronavirus job opportunities. If you find yourself newly out of work, this post will help you. All of the links that I refer to in the video are in the video’s description box.

Next Steps

If you are interested in any of the job opportunities that I mentioned in the video, click on the links in the description and follow the instructions to make an application. Once you have applied, let me know how you get on via the comments section below.

Also, get in touch if you would like my help. My email address is mike@learnmoney.io

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Best regards,

Mike

How to Make Money Giving Blood

This post may contain affiliate links please read our disclosure for more info. This video was first published on my YouTube channel; you can subscribe to my channel here http://bit.ly/1BuKsoM .

Make Money Giving Blood

Following on from my earlier video about making money selling your own hair, here is another more unusual way of making money. This time the focus is on making money by giving blood. This is not an opportunity for those of you who are squeamish about needles of course. If you have no issue with having a needle inserted into your arm, this will be a straightforward way for you to make some extra cash.

How Does it Work?

In this video, I discuss two websites that offer individuals the chance to earn money by giving blood. One of these websites is relevant for the United Kingdom and the other is for those in the United States. If you live outside of these two countries, a local Google search will no doubt find alternatives relevant for your country.

Next Steps

Does the idea of having a making money by giving blood appeal to you? Do you have experience of giving blood? Let me know in the comments section below. Also, get in touch if you would like my help. My email address is mike@learnmoney.io

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Best regards,

Mike

How to Make Money Selling Your Hair

This post may contain affiliate links please read our disclosure for more info. This video was first published on my YouTube channel; you can subscribe to my channel here subscribe .

Selling Your Hair

When I started this Learnmoney.io website never did I think that I would record a video and write an article telling my subscribers and community members how they can make money selling their hair!

The world is amazing and this opportunity is amazing too. Believe it or not, there is an opportunity to make up to $1500 USD (£1140.00 approx) by selling your own hair.

In this video, I discuss two websites that enable you to do this. I should point out that not everyone will be able to make $1500, watch the video for full details.

How Does it Work?

The websites mentioned in the video are portals that bring together buyers and sellers of hair. In short, they act as marketplaces and facilitate business between the two groups. If you are interested in the opportunity, take time to explore the different types of hair available and how best to market your own hair. Pay special attention to the type of photos you should take to achieve the optimum price for your hair.

Next Steps

Does the idea of selling your own hair appeal to you? Have you heard of this opportunity before? Let me know in the comments section below. Also, get in touch if you would like my help. My email address is mike@learnmoney.io

If you have enjoyed this post you will also like the following posts:

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Best regards,

Mike

Are you Missing out on Compound Interest?

This post may contain affiliate links please read our disclosure for more info.

What is Compound Interest?

The thought of saving money is not exciting to many people, they would rather buy things with the money that comes into their hands or wallets. Compound interest makes the prospect of saving money more exciting.

Compound interest is when you earn interest on the interest that you accrued as well as the initial sum invested.

How Does it Work?

For example, if you saved £1000 at an interest rate of 5%, at the end of year 1 you would have £1050, with a compound interest account you would then earn 5% interest on £1050 by the end of year 2.

This would mean that your total going into year three would be £1102.50 instead of £1100.00 if you had earned 5% each year. Over the long term, the increases to your savings total become very significant so much so that Albert Einstein reputedly said of compound interest,

“Compound Interest is the most powerful force in the universe. Compound interest is the 8^th wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it; he who doesn’t, pays it.”

Albert Einstein

Savings Accounts & Compound Interest

Given how beneficial Compound Interest is to the individual saver, you would expect all savings accounts to offer Compound Interest to their account holders but that is not the case. There is every possibility that your savings accounts are not paying you compound interest, please check with your bank or building society. Your bank may be only paying you simple interest, which is interest paid annually on the principal sum only.

If they are not, study the example below and open a new account that will pay you compound interest from any provider you choose. Remember that to really benefit from compound interest you will need to save for the long term.

This is an example of a UK savings account that pays compound interest. International readers, you may need to do some investigative work to find comparable savings accounts in your country.

Next Steps

Hopefully this post has made you re-consider the savings accounts that you have; now is the time to open an account that will pay you compound interest. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Also, get in touch if you would like my help. My email address is mike@learnmoney.io

If you have enjoyed this post you will also like the following posts:

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Best regards,

Mike

Image credit: pexels.com

Make Money with the Amazon Influencer Program

This post may contain affiliate links please read our disclosure for more info. This video was first published on my YouTube channel; you can subscribe to my channel here http://bit.ly/1BuKsoM .

Amazon Influencer Program

The Amazon Influencer Program is one of the more straightforward ways of making money online based on Affiliate Marketing. It is a method that would be accurately described as intermediate level rather than beginner. This is because you will need to have built an audience on at least one Social Media platform to be accepted into the Amazon Influencer Program. The full list of requirements is here.

How Does it Work?

The Amazon Influencer Program is an extension of the Amazon Affiliates Program. The Amazon Affiliates Program is virtually open to all; once accepted, into the program, affiliates are able to promote Amazon products via affiliate links and earn a commission when purchases are made within 24 hours of their links being clicked.

The Amazon Influencer Program has two key differences from the Affiliates Program. First of all, you need to meet more stringent criteria before you are accepted, you must have a Social Media audience. Secondly, instead of promoting lots of different affiliate links Amazon gives you your own Amazon Shop Page to send your audience to.

Purchases that follow clicks on your dedicated Influencer page earn you commissions ranging from 1-10% dependent on the product category.

In the video, I demonstrate my Amazon Shop Page and explain how to take the opportunity presented to you by Amazon.

Next Steps

Does the idea of having a Amazon Influencer page appeal to you? Are you already part of the Amazon Affiliates Program? Let me know in the comments section below. Also, get in touch if you would like my help. My email address is mike@learnmoney.io

If you have enjoyed this post you will also like the following posts:

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Best regards,

Mike

What are the Best Sectors for a High Adsense CPM?

This post may contain affiliate links please read our disclosure for more info. This video was first published on my YouTube channel; you can subscribe to my channel here http://bit.ly/1BuKsoM .

YouTube

For those who are creative, committed and willing to work for long periods without reward, YouTube is a possible way to make additional income. You will need to be all of those and more to be successful on YouTube. By successful I mean able to generate an income from the platform. Please note that only 5% of those who have a channel and upload to it make any money from the platform, well known YouTubers Pewdiepie or KSI are the exceptions rather than the norm.

There is a common misconception about YouTubers, people assume that they make money based on the number of subscribers that they have, this is incorrect. You could have 400K subscribers and make less money than someone with only 20K subscribers. Others believe that YouTubers are paid for the number of views their videos generates. This is not true either although it is connected to how YouTubers are paid; they are paid for the views of the ads surrounding their videos, either before, during or after their videos play.

As a YouTuber, once you have amassed 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours, you can apply to join the YouTube Partner Program. If you are accepted, YouTube will then place ads on your YouTube channel. The more your viewers watch the ads on your channel, the more you will be paid. You will generate income via YouTube Adsense. Please click here for a full explanation from YouTube.

YouTube Adsense CPM

All YouTube channels are not equal in the minds of advertisers, they will pay more to advertise on channels that focus on some sectors or interests than others. In the video, I discuss some sectors or niches that generate a high Adsense CPM. I demonstrate these sectors by showing the channels of very popular YouTubers.

CPM stands for Cost Per Thousand using the Latin word Mille for thousand. This is the rate advertisers pay to advertise on a channel per thousand views; this CPM is split between YouTube and the YouTube channel owner. Watch the video to understand how much variety there is amongst YouTubers when it comes to their CPM rate.

Please note, in addition to Adsense, there are other ways that YouTubers can make money and these include; merchandise, patreon, live-streaming, brand deals and selling their own courses or products. I may explore these other revenue streams in a later blog post.

Next Steps

Does the idea of having a YouTube channel appeal to you? Do you have the consistency and dedication to keep making, editing and uploading new videos? Let me know in the comments section below. Also, get in touch if you would like my help to grow your channel. My email address is mike@learnmoney.io

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