It's Time to Make Some Extra Money Publishing Articles...

Make Extra Money Publishing Articles

It's Time to Make Some Extra Money!
Dr. Penny Pincher on the cover of Time magazine

OK, so this Time magazine cover featuring my picture is obviously fake, but I am excited that I got an article published on Time.com today!  The article is about 21 times you can spend money to save money.  You can read it here on Time.com.

If you read my newsletter, you know that I am planning on making some extra income this year in addition to pinching pennies as usual.

Last summer I decided to move beyond posting articles on my blog and see if I could get paid to publish articles on other sites.

Having my own blog is great.  Here are some things I like about publishing articles myself on my blog or on HubPages:

1) I can write about anything on my blog
Sometimes I write about my dog.  One time I wrote a fictionalized account of an interaction with my editor just for fun.  I started a blog about coffee because I like coffee.  One time, I even thought of an article topic just so I could show a giant picture of my face on a fake Time magazine cover!

There is no adult supervision at all, I can write whatever I want and it gets published immediately.

2) I own the articles and can make passive income forever
I like the idea of owning something that has value.  When I write articles and publish them myself on my blog, I retain all rights to the articles.  I can make money for years from advertising.

3) No schedule constraints or deadlines
Sometimes I post new articles on my blog every day, or sometimes only a couple times per month.  It is up to me, and no one seems to get upset if I don't post for awhile.

4) Easy money
Who doesn't like making some extra money for doing something really easy?  From my family's perspective, it probably doesn't look like I am working very hard.  They see my relaxing in my chair, looking out at the lake and messing around on my computer.  Not a bad way to work if you ask me.

However there are some limitations to publishing on my own blog, and this is why I was open to trying something new and publishing articles on other sites:

1) I don't have enough readers... yet...
Thousands of people read my blog, and that results in some nice income.  But there are sites around that have MILLIONS of readers.  I took some advice from Jon Morrow to go where the audience is gathered instead of waiting for them to find me.

Publishing on an established site can be a quick way to reach a large audience.

2) It is nice to get an instant paycheck
Selling an article gets you money up front, right away instead of waiting for money to come in over a long period of time from advertising revenue.  It is not unusual for a blog to take many months to make the first few cents.  Selling articles can bring in extra money much faster than that.

3) Build name recognition
Being published on popular sites that people know and trust helps build credibility with readers.  You can check out my About Penny Pincher Journal page to see some of the places my articles have been published.  Some of my articles are syndicated, so you can find them on a lot of popular sites around the internet.

4) Become a better writer
I have learned a lot working with editors as they suggest topics and work with me to refine my ideas for articles.  I l review my articles after they are published to see what edits the professionals made to tune them up.

The "Write" Way to Start Publishing Articles to Make Extra Money

You can find lots of advice around the internet on how to start a blog to make money.  Most of this advice comes with links to sign up for web hosting and domain registration and courses, which all cost money.

I ignored most of the advice and have gone with 100% free web hosting from Google on blogspot.com and use a free domain name as well.  I might be able to make more revenue from my blogs if I were willing to spend more, but it sure is nice to have no bills to worry about paying for hosting my content.

Publishing articles at HubPages is also free in the sense that you do not have to pay them, although they take a 40% cut of your advertising earnings.  I think this is fair since there are expenses involved with running servers and promoting the site.  Here's how to get started publishing articles on HubPages for free.

After starting my blog, I have also published a few books.  It is fun to get a check in the mail once in a while, and my free book generates interest in my blog.  Here is an article I wrote on making money by publishing ebooks:  Can You Get Rich Writing eBooks?

Selling articles to other sites to publish is probably the fastest way to make money, but you will likely need to have some published articles as a portfolio in order to get hired to write articles.  This is a catch-22.  You can work around this problem by starting a blog, publishing some interesting articles, and then approaching other sites about writing for them.

If you enjoy writing and have some patience, selling articles is a great way to do something interesting and make some extra money.

Is it time for you to start writing articles and finding paychecks in your mailbox?  Sign up for my newsletter- sometimes I share details about my writing projects and making money with my subscribers.

Penny Pincher Journal

Copyright © 2016 by Dr. Penny Pincher.  All Rights Reserved.  Privacy Policy

Cheap Ways to Deal with Peeling Paint on an Old House

Peeling Paint, Old Siding, What To Do?

Is There A Better Way?

My latest article on Wise Bread triggered a great question from a reader:

"Dr Penny Pincher,

Read your article on the hidden costs of buying an old house.  Very informative, practical, and interesting.  Anyone buying an older house should consider all of the potential costs you mention when buying an older property.

We live in an older home and have for some time.  One of the potential problems we are considering is the painting and upkeep on the outside of the house.  Our home has the original cedar shake siding and requires maintenance every year in addition to periodic painting of the entire house which is two stories. We are reaching an age where using a ladder probably is not a good idea. 

Do you have suggestions for an inexpensive way to maintain the house without the expense of siding??

Thank you,

A Penny Pincher Follower"


Thank you PPF for your question!

A few years ago while painting my 2+ story house, I realized that I have a mild sensitivity to heights.  I had nightmares about falling off of a ladder, and my palms were sweating and my hands shaking when I got much above one story high.  I can understand why you don't want to go up on a ladder to paint!

Unfortunately, going up on a ladder is probably the least expensive way to deal with old siding.  It seems like old wood gets moisture in it and has trouble keeping a good coat of paint more than a few years.  Even a really great paint job might only last a few years.

Here are things you can do to deal with peeling paint on wood siding, in order of cost:

1.  Paint the house yourself
This may cost a few hundred dollars for the paint.  You can reuse paint brushes and ladders for many years.  The drawbacks of painting yourself are that you have to go up on a ladder and spend a lot of time scraping off the peeling paint and repainting.

2.  Hire someone to paint your house
This may cost several hundred to a couple thousand dollars depending on the size of your house and who you hire.  As with hiring someone to do anything, you have to worry about the quality of the work and deal with having strangers around on your property.

3.  Move to a newer house with vinyl siding
Most newer houses have vinyl siding or other zero maintenance siding.  I ended up moving to a newer house after I painted my old house.  The cost to move varies with how much stuff you have and whether you need to hire movers.  My last move cost about $2,000.  It may sound extreme, but moving to a newer house will get you out of painting...

4.  Replace old wood siding with zero maintenance siding
Before I painted my old house, I looked at going over the old wood siding with new vinyl siding.  The estimates to install vinyl siding were in the range of about $30,000 to $40,000.  This was a large house with lots of windows, so these numbers may be higher than for a typical house.  In any case, replacing siding is a major expense.

I hope one of these options works for you.  Go with option 2, 3, or 4 to avoid going up on a ladder.  Best of luck!

Penny Pincher Journal

Copyright © 2016 by Dr. Penny Pincher.  All Rights Reserved.  Privacy Policy