It’s been two months since I’ve done an update on local real estate in the Bay Area. One of the reasons I track the real estate market so closely is that most people simply aren’t aware of the magnitude of the price drops that are occurring right now. I’m still hearing quotes like “It’s a good time to buy”. I write these posts to create a larger awareness of the real state of the real estate market here in the Bay Area.

The main thing I want to point out is that the magnitude of the price drops is increasing, not decreasing. Prices are dropping faster than they were 6 months ago. While this means you’re likely to get a better “deal” if you shop for real estate now, it’s also likely that you’ll save a lot more money by waiting…even if you choose to only wait 6 months. (more…)

I’ve had “write the results of my ‘no complaining’ week” on my to-do list for a few days now, since it officially ended midnight between Tuesday and Wednesday. Today is Thursday, so I’m a bit behind in writing it. I knew there was a reason I hadn’t written it yet, and now I know why — I hadn’t learned the lesson behind the week yet. Tonight, just a few minutes ago, I finally got it. (more…)

One of the great bonuses of “temporarily retiring” is that I have had a lot of time to think about where I want to be in life, where I am now, and how to get from here to there.

Really, I wouldn’t trade this period of reflection for anything. I have come up with great business ideas. I have learned Internet marketing and blog-writing skills that have helped me to grow this blog from 2000 unique visitors per month a few months ago to nearly 10,000 this month. I have been able to commit serious time to writing about beliefs I am really passionate about.

The one thing I want to do before I jump back into the business world, though, is to do something seriously personally challenging. I did start working out three times a week, which is good, but not challenging enough by itself. I wanted something that made me cringe to do it… and would have significant opportunities for my personal growth, as well. (more…)

“grandma’s decreipt house”
by tatterh00d
Licensed under Creative Commons

I did the math, and I think our society has been sold a pile of crap that we’ve bitten on hook, line, and sinker. I’m not going to mince words or try to make this sound nice, because we’ve been duped, and we have every right to be upset about it. (more…)

I recently started an affiliate website in order to understand how I could build the most awesome affiliate system in the world. My new membership site, Hardworking Millionaire, will be sold mostly by affiliates, so a key step before I opened the site was to become an affiliate of something. I needed to know features to look for if I decided to sell Hardworking Millionaire subscriptions through an affiliate marketplace.

After reading Steven Wagenheim’s Honest Income Program ebook, I signed up for ClickBank. ClickBank is essentially a marketplace for ebook authors and companies to advertise their products. It means you as a publisher don’t have to set up complicated affiliate referral scripts and manage billing of your product — it does it all for you and sends you checks in the mail, minus a small percentage cut.

While I certainly understand the draw of ClickBank to product sellers, it leaves a significant amount to be desired on the affiliate end. (more…)