TIPS: Creative Ways to Earn Money from Your Home

It’s always a great idea to look for additional sources of income, but if your full-time job makes it difficult for you to get a part-time job, then your options for added revenue seem to be limited at best. It’s a fortunate thing that, given the connectivity provided to us by the Internet and other resources available nowadays, we can actually achieve a lot of things professionally without having to leave your home. These potential jobs are arguably more enjoyable than typical employment, which means that aside from earning additional money, you can also develop a potentially fulfilling pastime to help you mentally and socially. Here are some creative ideas you may want to consider if you want to work out of your own home:

Freelance Writer

With online marketing and content writing, as well as search engine optimisation (SEO) skills being more in demand, freelance writing has become a rather lucrative side job. With only a stable internet connection and a willingness to unleash your creative side mixed in with a mind for business, it’s easy to make freelance writing a financially sound part-time career that can potentially become full-time, depending on your skills.

Trainer

If you’ve made it a point to take care of your health and even have a knack when it comes to teaching and motivating others, then maybe you’d want to explore the possibilities of working as a personal trainer on the side. Many people desire to work out and generally improve their health and looks but have reservations about actually going to the gym. After all, it’s a little hard to go to the gym and see all the healthy and buff people working out. Personal trainers that can provide training at home is the usual preference for those who still have a long way to go to becoming fit.

Product Tester

Being a product tester is a really cool job particularly because you get to try out new products even before they hit the market. Companies are always looking for input from the general public when it comes to launching new products, and that’s why product testers exist. These jobs pay a decent amount of money (depending on the company producing the product for testing) and a lot of times, you get to keep the product for yourself. Most of all, you really don’t need to exert that much effort into it. Just use the product as instructed. When it comes to part-time jobs you can do in your home, product testing is perhaps on top of the list of easiest jobs to do.

Tutor

Not as lucrative as freelance writing, nor as glamorous as a personal trainer position and not quite as fun as product testing, but being a tutor is definitely the most rewarding job you can do out of your own home. While the pay is usually dependent on the number of students you have, imparting knowledge is emotionally fulfilling and mentality stimulating. Essentially, teaching keeps you sharp, and this kind of mental sharpness can help you with your main job as well.

Medical Transcriptionist

Albeit not as exciting as the other jobs mentioned, if you’re a budding med student or someone who has a knack for—and a genuine interest in—medicine, then being a medical transcriptionist will work for you. A medical transcriptionist transcribes the recordings doctors make, as they interact with patients.  What’s cool about this job is that not only do you get some extra money in your pocket, but you also get a chance to expand your network if ever you are on the lookout for a career in the medical industry.

There are always more ways to make more money. All it takes is a little extra effort and creativity, and, even if you do have a limited amount of free time, you can make it work. Working from your own home is ideal because it allows you to earn money on the terms of your existing schedule and even opens up the door to new, more rewarding employment opportunities. Let these jobs help you become a generally better professional and your career and finances will certainly flourish.

CompareHero is the leading Malaysian financial comparison platform, aimed at helping Malaysians save time and money. Visit CompareHero here.

TIPS FINANCIAL: This is Why You’ll Never Be Rich

While the title seems kind of harsh, maybe it’s time for a little brutal honesty. If you’re at a certain age and you’re not rich yet, then chances are, if all things remain constant, you’ll never be rich. The operative phrase there is “if all things remain constant.” Have you ever had those days when you’d look at yourself in the mirror and see you for who you are: a smart, talented individual who should be rich but isn’t? Don’t fret, because everyone has had those days. The thing here to keep in mind is that there are things you need to change if you do want to be rich. If you’re happy with your finances the way they are, then by all means, keep on doing what you’ve been doing, but remember, things can always get better.

There are plenty of things you could improve on in order to achieve that next financial level, and here are some of them:

Horrendous Spending Habits

If you spend impulsively as though you’re already rolling in the big bucks, then chances are, you’re going to be stuck in a financial rut for a long time. Personal finance management is what separates the financially successful from the monetarily mediocre, and it’s high time you took a good, long, hard look at your spending habits. If you spend more money than you make on a regular basis, then chances are you’ll be living from paycheck to paycheck for a very long time. Wisening up and controlling your spending would go a long way in determining whether or not the possibility of you ever becoming rich.

Lack of Financial Goals/ Planning

A plan always has two integral parts: a goal and the steps to be taken to achieve that goal. It’s hard to craft any workable plan without a specific goal, and it’s impossible to achieve any goal without a logical plan. If you claim to be sick and tired of waiting for your next paycheck, a salary that’s going to be spent almost entirely on bills and debt payments, then what specifically do you want instead? And don’t just say you want to be rich? Vague goals are impossible to plan for. Think about the specific state you want your financial life to be (be it being debt-free, or having a promising retirement fund, or just being able to afford that new car that’s coming out next year) and then work towards getting it. What’s the most effective way of reaching that goal? Is that course of action possible given your current circumstances? If so, go for it. If not, revise the plan. Basically, a plan gives you direction. Not having a plan means you’re directionless, and in personal finances, a lack of direction means either your finances stay in place, or they just get worse.

Prioritising the Image of Being Rich to Actually Getting Rich

Putting up the image of success is indeed required to actually attaining success, particularly if you have a business or investment and you’re looking for people to back you. However, there’s a big difference in conveying an image of success to creating the illusion of being wealthy—the biggest one being that the latter is actually going to stop you from being rich. Maintaining an image of wealth is going to take a whole lot of money. Ditch the need to look rich, roll up your sleeves and start working harder and smarter for your wealth, and with consistency, prudence and a minimal amount of luck, you wouldn’t need to put up an image of being rich at all.

Choosing Easy Over Right

Financial success is always tied into professional success, unless you win the lottery. If you don’t have that kind of luck, then you might have to have a more focused look on your career. People who tend to do things the easy way (taking shortcuts, procrastinating, putting in the bare minimum of effort) are going to have to get used to getting by on their basic wages. Drive yourself to be better at your job in order for you to be truly successful. Always strive to be the best at what you do. Constantly improve yourself. Set a higher standard for yourself and your employers would find it difficult not to notice you.

Summing all of this up, the reason you’re not rich, and the possible reason you’ll never be rich, lies with you. It all begins with a distinct choice of improving yourself and your life, followed up by action consistent to those goals, and your dreams of financial supremacy would become a glaring reality.

CompareHero is the leading Malaysian financial comparison platform, aimed at helping Malaysians save time and money. Visit CompareHero here.

TIPS FINANCIAL: 10 Steps to Making Better Financial Decisions

In everything we do, there are always consequences. The gravity of these consequences usually rests on the kind of decisions we make. If we make the right ones, we get the right consequences. The thing is, decision-making is a fairly common thing. We are all faced with countless decisions every day, from the potentially life-changing to the downright arbitrary. In order for us to ensure a certain quality of life, we have to make decisions of a certain quality. How do we do it? Here are a few pieces of advice.

Keep emotions out of it.

No good can ever come from a decision made under emotional duress. If ever you are in a state wherein you are extremely emotional, avoid making decisions that carry really heavy ramifications. These are decisions that involve your finances, your career, your personal relationships, or even your physical health. Unless you are sure you can be completely objective about a major decision, then just forego the decision-making until you have calmed down.

Take some time.

No matter how certain you may think you are about a particular decision, always take some time to think about it. Sleeping on it is a very effective way of taking a step back and ensuring you have a clear head when you ultimately make your choice. Resting up before making a decision prevents the possibility of making choices influenced by fatigue. Fatigue makes people rush through the decision-making process in order to just put the discussion to an end. A fresh mind in the morning has a better shot at making a rational, informed decision.

Practice some conviction.

When making decisions, especially ones that involve your finances, it is important to prevent wavering whenever anything challenges that decision. Let us say you have decided upon a budget that you plan on using in order to improve your financial situation. A lack of conviction makes it hard, impossible even, for you to follow through on any of your plans or decisions, preventing you from achieving any of your goals.

Understand how much control you actually have.

Rational decisions are ones made with a full understanding on the scope of control one has over any given situation. Let us say you are out to fix your credit card debt. What are the specific factors you can control? What are the ones you absolutely have no control over? You cannot control the addition of interest towards the money you owe, but you can control paying that debt, how much you pay, how often you pay, how often you use the card, and others that can improve your credit record. The point is, your decisions should revolve around things you have a direct influence on and leave very little, if any, to chance.

Be willing to adjust your decisions.

If you pursue a course of action and it turns out to be wrong beyond any doubt, be willing to accept that and then make a better one. Allow yourself the luxury to change your mind so you can properly adapt to new information and changes in your situation.

Embrace silence.

Take the time to make your decision free from any distraction. Amidst quiet, whatever form it may take for you, is the ideal setting for you to make important decisions. A place, time and state of mind, wherein you can emotionally free yourself from bias and mentally free yourself from uncertainty, is highly recommended when you are planning to make a major decision. Distractions lead to clouded judgment and hasty choices, two things that may give your more problems than solutions.

Consider everything.

When you are making a crucial financial decision, be sure to take every detail into consideration. From every ringgit you make down to the last ringgit you spent, to all of your transactions involving money and obligations that require you to pay, everything. When you are trying to make a decision that would solve your money problems, it is best to make an informed decision, and an informed decision is one wherein every angle has been covered.

Keep your eye on the prize.

Whatever decision you make, it has to be in line with whatever you claim you want to achieve. Whether it is getting a promotion or just clearing yourself of debt, a singular focus on your intended goal goes a long way into helping you achieve it.

Prioritise.

Determining where every aspect of your finances stand in the hierarchy of importance to you helps you make a decision that effectively takes on your bigger problems first.

Do it for you.

Lastly, in any decision involving your improvement, do not do it for anyone but yourself. Whether it is financial or otherwise, do it for you alone.

CompareHero is the leading Malaysian financial comparison platform, aimed at helping Malaysians save time and money. Visit CompareHero here.