Did I happen to mention I’ve got the best wife ever? Monday was my birthday, and in celebration, Mrs MMD surprised me last weekend with a surprise trip to a bed and breakfast along the Michigan coast. What a great gift! It was a beautiful little place with a fireplace, hot-tub, champagne, and – of course - oven cooked French toast in the morning! Needless to say, I had a great birthday weekend and really enjoyed this getaway. Here are a few pictures if anyone would like to check it out: … [Read more...] about My Awesome Birthday Weekend and Finally a Google PageRank Increase!
mentions
Overestimating the Ideal Keyword Density and How I May Have Sabotaged My Own Blog
Probably one of the biggest challenges I’ve had to blogging is that there isn’t really someone to tell you when you’re messing up. You can ask your friends, you can read articles, but even sometimes that’s not always accurate. Ultimately there’s a lot of trial and error, and you don’t really know you’ve blown it until you actually are. It’s quite possible I may have done that very thing with trying to follow the myth of the ideal keyword density. … [Read more...] about Overestimating the Ideal Keyword Density and How I May Have Sabotaged My Own Blog
How I Made $1,200 with One Phone Call
Ask and you shall receive, right? Anyone who has never experimented with this mantra is missing out. It never ceases to amaze me how often I receive things at a discount simply because I asked for it. (Making deals with customers at my job has taught me that pretty much the price on anything is negotiable). Well … this one has got to be up there as a shinning example of why you need to try this. … [Read more...] about How I Made $1,200 with One Phone Call
Doing a Better Job Tracking My Passive Income Streams and Retirement Savings
I’ve got to admit: 2012 was not a bad year as far as my passive income streams go! Before blogging and investing, I was relying on sign-up bonuses, credit card rewards, and small stuff like online surveys to make a little side cash. A lot can change in a year and half … Since taking a leap of faith on blogging and investing, I’ve made a lot more money than I ever thought I would from passive income. Blogging has by far been the front-runner with its endless possibilities of advertising, affiliate sales, writing, etc. After a lot of research, I also laid the first brick of my soon-to-be castle of dividend paying stocks – an effort I expect to cross $100 per month mark in no time. But one thing I regret not doing since the beginning of … [Read more...] about Doing a Better Job Tracking My Passive Income Streams and Retirement Savings
Welcome Back to Work – Did You Notice Your Paycheck is Lower?
If you haven’t already, it’s back to work! It was such a great and enjoyable break. Sometimes I think having a week off is worse than having one day off because you get far too comfortable waking up at your leisure, reading a book, drinking coffee, etc. If that wasn’t bad enough, it gets worse: Your paycheck is lower! That’s right - the take-home from your paycheck is going to be lower because as part of the Fiscal Cliff, the payroll-tax cut didn’t get extended. That means the Social Security deduction for your Federal taxes went back to 6.2% from 4.2%. It was a nice two years at the lower rate, but it was always just a temporary band-aid as part of the Stimulus. Now it’s back to reality! … [Read more...] about Welcome Back to Work – Did You Notice Your Paycheck is Lower?