Dear money-making friends. Today we would be focusing on the ten most often asked money questions online and some short answers or points for each of them.
Many of those questions will probably be no surprise for you, and it is interesting what people are looking for and what their needs are in terms of financial information and queries online.
So here we go with the top money questions list
1. How can I make money online?
It is obvious the majority of the population nowadays read stories about people getting rich online every day. And it is understandable that people don’t want to work for somebody and try their luck in the online business.
The straightforward answer is -> you can make money online, the same way you make money everywhere else. You need knowledge, skills and good business sense in order to get rich and out-compete the others. It doesn’t matter if you do e-com, marketing, ads, affiliate or simply sell products and services online – the foundation of making money online is to create a niche, difficult to penetrate by the competitors, and to serve your users better and more efficiently. Then you can charge percentage of the volume and make money.
2. How to invest in stocks?
The second question is also obvious. The majority of the people are just lazy and would like to simply put their money ‘somewhere’ and start earning – easy, with small hassle.
Investing in stocks is not difficult. But if you are going to win or lose out of it depends entirely on the timing. Did you know that, in order to be successful with stocks, in the last 10 years, there are about 20-30 days which you wouldn’t miss in order to make money (remember those March days in 2020, do you?). All the other days are close to irrelevant. If you missed trading on those ‘special’ days – your investment will barely make you any money (in the best possible case scenario). So, the answer is – to be successful on the stock market you need to learn and keep a close eye on your investments. Analyze, calculate, and look at the trends daily, not to miss the ‘special’ days.
3. What sort of a house can I afford?
A very reasonable question, as people intend to borrow money from the banks in order to buy their homes.
Let us give you a different perspective. What if we tell you that it is not a good idea to borrow money from the bank, unless you already have most of the funds to cover for your home. Let’s say you would like to purchase a $200 000 house. The worst thing that could happen is to go to the bank with your savings of $10 000 and ask for $190 000 mortgage plan. The bank will offer you an expensive and lengthy plan, and the risk for something bad happening and for you losing your home is big. Instead, you should be aiming to have at least $110 000 or even close to $150 000 before borrowing the rest of the money.
Now, I know what you are thinking. Are you crazy? There is no way I can save $110 000, and besides even if I am able to – the house will be more expensive by time I manage to come up with the savings. On the first point – how then you expect to repay the bank – and keep in mind you would probably need to pay twice as much (if not more) than what you borrowed? On the second point - well, the housing market also has it’s ‘special moments’ (years). Do you remember 2007 – all the markets are cyclic, which means that when the market goes up, you should be saving money (and avoid buying), only to buy when the market crashes. Smart renting while you wait, and low mortgage are usually the better decisions.
4. How to pay for my college without going broke?
Another very important question. Nowadays the college costs have risen dramatically, and many students are either left out of the system or broke with enormous debt.
The other perspective is not to be in a hurry with your college degree. It is perfectly fine, and often advisable to skip college in your teenage years and go for some experience gathering, e.g. working in an area you would like to specialize and learn the trait from a master and make some invaluable connections. This would usually be much more beneficial, and also let you save some money for the future to get your degree.
5. Should I pay off my credit card or save money?
This is a very good question. As a general rule – you would like to get rid of any debt as quickly as possible in order to stop generating interest on it and pay much more in the future.
As a general rule of thumb, always try to have savings enough to endure 6 months without income. Those would help you survive, without going broke in case anything bad happen to you or (God forbid) your family.
6. How to get my student loan forgiven?
Student loan could be an enormous burden. In some cases, people might qualify for their loan being forgiven. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program forgives the remaining balance on your direct loans after you have made 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer.
7. What is the best bank for college students?
Before committing to a bank, analyze well. Many of the banks offer quite good offers, especially for students, and special discounts and low rates on all services and loans for students. So, don’t be shy – dedicate a couple of days and research all the banks in the area, do all those calls and gather the information. This will also test and improve your soft and negotiations skills to try and find the best offers for you and your financial needs.
8. How much do YouTubers make?
Another topic, which shows that many people are after quick money in the entertainment business.
Do you know that less than 1% of the YouTubers actually make some meaningful amount of money from their channels? It again, depends on the niche, on your style, experience, and most importantly on the timing. In order to be a successful YouTuber you would need a terrific amount of traffic in an area easy to monetize. If you would like to be one of those successful and rich people – start analyzing niches, and start thinking ‘what problems can you solve for your audience?’ and ‘is there anybody who would pay for you to solve those problems?’
9. When should I retire?
Retirement stories of young chaps living in luxury at their late 20s or early 30s are all over the net.
The reality is there is no better source of income than ‘the active source’ of income, where you actively solve problems to users and customers and charge for it. Nevertheless, a good formula is to multiply your monthly spending by the number of months (years) you expect to live up to, to check if you have enough money. Then add at least 30% on top of that for any emergency or family needs, etc...
10. How much should I spend for my wedding?
It’s an understandable question, for all of you with traditional relationship.
Keep in mind, though, nowadays a lot of couples prefer to just stay in relationship, without getting married to save on all those wedding costs, rings, etc… And there is a good point in it. Statistically, most of the marriages end up in a divorce anyway, so why spending huge amount of money getting married on the first place, then spend thousands of dollars in a divorce trials, etc… it’s much better to have a contract with your partner, related to rising your kids and move forward, without the unnecessary complications and spending.
