David Bartels

The idea of financial independence is something I've been thinking about a lot lately. I recall coming across the term several years ago, before I paid too much attention to personal finance. I figured it sounded nice but was something reserved for the very wealthy. Either you inherited a lot of money or easily made six figures. A person in that situation, I thought, would then be able to save so much money in a short period of time that they would not longer need a job, therefore becoming financially independent. Since I had not inherited a large sum of money and didn't see myself making over 100k anytime soon, I wrote it off as unattainable for someone like me. Now, while an inheritance & large salary can certainly help in the path to financial independence, what I have come to learn is that they are not requirements, In fact, I don't even think either of those would be considered the number one contributor to achieving such a goal. At the end of the day I think it...

I've been thinking a bit lately about what direction to head with this blog. As I mentioned in my first post, I'm committing one of the bigger blogging "no-nos" here by not having a focused topic. But I'm still okay with that for now. For the most part this is mainly a place for me to experiment with writing and maintaining a blog. Other than a few Gmail contacts who get this emailed to them and a few twitter followers, the audience here is really just me. By the way, I'm finding out that html, while not necessarily difficult, can be very time consuming. The layout here is pretty bare bones but a few things I've experimented with have been a pain. I can't imagine the time that goes into some of the better looking blogs out there and can see why it's so worth it to hire design people. So, what keeps me coming back? I think part of me just wants to prove to myself that I can keep a blog going beyond 5-10 posts, that this won't end up just...

In my last post at the beginning of April, I mentioned a few of the ways I’ve been making extra cash online. Since then, I’ve had more time to research, explore, and test out different options. I also understand that different people are looking for different things, so what I find to be the most beneficial may not apply to you. It really does seem that the options are limitless, and in this post I hope to provide a more varied and comprehensive list. Because these types of things are frequently changing and new opportunities popping up, I plan to use this post as sort of a “home base” for everything I’m utilizing.  I will also try and categorize the methods as best I can. Leave a comment below, fill out the contact form in the upper right, or drop me a line on twitter if you have questions, comments, or would like an invite to one of the apps/programs that require a unique code. This list was list updated on June 25, 2016. Like Venmo, But Better Circle App – S...