Of course, that is pure stupidity if you do the spending more while earning less. But in reality, we do something like that if we expect for a recurring income every payday. And then there’s the credit card that can be used to defer cash payment, which of course, tempt the weak and use it for unnecessary spending.

We have been taught over and over again that spending more is a doing of man going for broke unless the wealth is considerable enough that even on his death he can’t get a bank statement with zero balance. But for typical men or women who depend on paycheck by paycheck, tightening the finances is not just a practice of financial discipline. It is imperative.

To get you a perspective on how to spend less in the modern days where you are tempted to buy every gadget that comes out in the market, here are the 8 easy steps to get you, at least, for a good start in the road to financial freedom.

1. Make a list

I suggest to do a physical list where you use the good old paper to jot down the things to buy for groceries. You can also include in the list the weekly schedule for buying items for household uses.

Make a filter of what to buy first and what to buy next based on priorities in the list.

A mental listing of items is not the best way to do even if you think you can help the environment by not using the paper. However, the best alternative, perhaps, is using the smartphone apps in Android or Iphone to make a digital list of the necessary items for household uses and also for personal use for you and your family, if you have one.

2. Stick to the weekly plan.

Plan out how much you have to withdraw every Sunday or on the day where you can have time to shop. But make the shopping a weekly thing instead of daily. If you need to shop for urgent items, then at least, have another day besides Sunday an exception. But don’t also make it a weekly thing.

3. Compare prices.

Making comparison of prices can take time; but it is the time worth spending if you want to be a smart buyer. But don’t just go after the price, consider also the quality as well as the volume. If an item last longer than another item of cheaper price, compare the volume of the items versus the price. You might not incur a saving on your shopping day now, but perhaps, in the later date, where you don’t need to buy the same item next week.

4. Don’t fall for tricks.

In these times that the “daily deals” sites have become increasingly common, you are impulsed to buy what you think is cheap now and then perhaps suffer later because you think you’ve been cheated.

The daily deals site is a good thing. Yes, I think it is, not just because I know of a few companies that deliver good items at an inexpensive price but it can also incur savings. However, don’t make it a daily deal thing. Just pick items where you think you really need first and then consider other items in the offer as you think might be a reward for you.

5. Splurge yourself with rewards but don’t overdo it.

Cutting back on cost does not really bring long-term advantage. It may even bring an emotional decline especially if you deprive yourself of good things that you really want for long.

Prioritize first the need and then the wants. But then, spare an amount for savings, even if just a little to add on your emergency fund.

6. Use it or lose it.

Do you really want to use it? Then, go fo it. But you also have to check the volume of the item for purchasing consideration. For instance, an item that may last a month can save you going for the same item in your next shopping next week. But you also have to consider the amount of money you have now and other items that you need to buy aside from that item.

The important thing here is on what you can afford now based on the money you bring versus what you want to buy because you think you can save it for the next shopping date. If you can afford that item now and then still can purchase all other important items in the list, then go for it.

7. Subscribe for the best daily deals

Daily deals sites can be among the best digital marketing innovations these days. It helps you to save. Businesses with products or services offered on daily deals site offer discounts for they agree to cut down the prices of their offers in exchange for advertising.

Before, to advertise yourself in the community was deemed a way for you to experience spending less money. I don’t know if this is a good practice but I was surprised when I read a book with an advice to advertise oneself and the personal details in the community with the inclusion of items for groceries. Is this stupid? It is for you to judge.

Nowadays, getting your personal details exposed is not a smart move. That’s why permissive marketing has been conceptualized so the consumers can have the option to opt-in or opt-out from the offers bombarded almost daily when new updates come in.

And when you allow yourself to receive notification from Daily Deals site, subsribe for one or even two. It will also give you chance to make comparisons in prices. But my suggestion is to allow your email received notification at least once a week. Receiving daily notifications might distract you from doing other important things and could tempt you to make impulsive purchasing even if you think it’s worth it. Doing so permits yourself to commit irresponsible spending in lieu of saving.

8. Item swapping.

Do you have other items you want to trash out?

The junk of one may be a gold of another.

Have a garage sale for items you think you need to clear out in your closet to make room for new ones. I’ve done this before and it’s really rewarding. You don’t know how much you can earn from an item you bought months ago and then you decided to sell it for a reasonable price.

What is Ebay for?

You might also try Multiply and sell your items there.

Selling junk items is obviously a way for you spend less money because, logically, you earn money from it. Practically, you swap the items for cash.

You might also experience swapping items on Craigslist. You may not know it but it is possible for you to swap homes using the popular classified ads site. This saves you from the hotel booking charges and accommodation rates. Of course, while you’re at it, consider also the safety and security concerns.

Procrastination is the biggest hurdle that I am experiencing right now. It has brought clout in the way I do my work and it is the main factor that makes success seems difficult to attain.

I can really say that procrastination can kill somebody, anybody. But the problem with this problem is that it is a self-inflicting one. It is rather an improved version of sloth, though the latter may be the worst of its kind. However, procrastination is the cause of unexpected, unwanted, undesirable and disgusting effects of failure.

I have to correct what I have stated in the second paragraph—procrastination being an experience. Actually, procrastination is a habit—a manana habit—if I have to add the Spanish/Filipino version of the term. And right now, it is killing me bit by bit.

Losing focus is the primary motivator for procrastination. When you divert your attention from the most important priority, you tend to catch in to the web that can trap you until you drop into the hole or engulf you to a monster. The sad thing here is that the ‘monster’ is a personal creation and it could exist subconsciously. And I have to clear that the ‘monster’ here is a metaphor of something, a force, maybe, that pulls you to failure.

And what should be done to ward you off from the ill effects of procrastination. I think the better cure, if not the mere prevention is FOCUS.

• Focus on priorities;
• Focus on what is important.
• Focus on the goals.
• Focus on success.

That means, sacrifice is the key here.

Anyway, my being pragmatic has to do with my upbringing. Although, there might be irony on this but somehow I have learned to balance things out.

Now, after reading some blogs about minimalism, I have come to embrace the concept although there are some points about it which I find impractical at all. As I said, I balanced things out. What works for me is what I follow.

Minimalism is synonymous to simplicity. And I always admire things which are simple in my taste. Although I can’t seem to find the original proponent of minimalism, I would regard Leo Babauta to have initiated the best impact about this in the blogosphere.

And where do I extract this principle?

I always choose minimalist theme. And after going through a lot of minimalist themes, this one still works for me. I’ve even regretted why I often shifted from one minimalist theme to another. Doing that way hurt the SEO ranking of this blog. But anyway, there is still time to make up.

Aside from this theme, I now consider a minimalist lifestyle. But this does not mean that I have to go barenaked. Nada.

It is still the same as being pragmatic. I only wear what is good for me or so I thought sans the flashy clothes. I wear clothes fit for certain occasions, nevertheless.

 However, I still look forward to the time in which I can have my own room in my own house. And yes, I will always go for a simple design with a touch of elegance for a comfortable abode.

There are many ways in which one can live a minimalist lifestyle. However, please take into mind that this lifestyle does not work for everyone. Those who have already gone through a simple living can follow this lifestyle with less hassle. But those who have been into a world filled with material complications might find difficulty to adjust.

As I ponder through the minimalism lifestyle, I always think about Adam and Eve. Getting into this is like going back to basics. However, it is important to integrate modernity so as to have a sense of equilibrium.

If you like the concept of minimalism or is curious about it, why not read Leo Babauta’s The Simple Guide to A Minimalist Life.

 I was reintroduced to that term after reading a book in marketing. And the third time I encountered that term, I researched it on the Net.

Somehow, guerilla marketing may still have a correlation with warfare. Just like a guerilla, a guerilla marketer uses tactics surprising his prospects and his target markets that might have the tendency to buy from the marketer after making a short notice of a product or service. Although the probability for conversion rate is not fixed, the possibility of making a sale is not entirely remote.

 A guerilla takes surprise tactics to attack his opponent. A guerilla marketer, on the other hand, utilizes surprises in marketing a product but at a least cost possible. However, the thing about this is the haphazard approach. Without a final marketing plan on hand, a guerilla marketer uses intuition to sell products. And in most cases, the ways are done in trial and error.

But keep into mind that a guerilla marketer utilizes a few resources to market his product and so even if there is a loss, it might not be a big loss in amount. The gain, perhaps, is in the learning experience as this helps a guerilla marketer in knowing the best effective strategies based on the applied tactics.

 Now, taking the guerilla thing in blogging is somewhat obscure to think of. However, there are many bloggers that utilize this concept, this strategy to, perhaps, increase the traffic of their blogs.

 However, in using this strategy, the blogger only thinks of the traffic on his blogging system. To drive traffic to a blog is one of the foremost concerns of bloggers. And using this strategy may do wonders to a blog. But this must be done cautiously. Why?

 There are factors to consider in blogging:

1. Building credibility

2. Building a brand

3. Becoming a magnet to readers and advertisers.

It is like BBB although these factors are not restricted to only three. There are others but these three are important to point out particularly if you utilize guerilla marketing strategy in blogging.

I’d say there is nothing wrong with guerilla blogging. But it is important to do this cautiously especially if your intention is to be among the recognized bloggers in the Internet world.

It is not just about owning a blog.

It is not just about writing stuffs you want to personally share to.

Blogging can be about something you want to become; you want to impart; and you want to help some people about a certain topic, issue. For the business-minded people, blogging is a tool to bring information to people about a certain business and its offering or a certain item and how it can be utilized to its maximum.

Blogging has evolved from just being an online diary to a portal of information that can bring great changes to people.

And I think, being a blogger, there are practices which I can apply to provide beneficial results to a me, as a blogger as well as to my audience– the readers.

1. Create contents that can provide impact to readers.

Yes, content is king in blogging but many bloggers fail to deliver contents that work. I admit, I’ve also done it but have made reconciliation on this.

Content should be integrated in a blog to bring certain changes to the blog’s readers.

That is why many sites offering How-to’s, lists, the do’s and the dont’s attract traffic from readers. Readers turn on blogs to help them get information about some things– be them remedies, solutions, or just information-gathering.

And readers also turn to blogs for entertainment. That is why there are many gossip blogs, blogs with embedded videos and podcasts.

Many also turn to blogs for educational purpose. If I want to read more about Internet marketing and social media, I turn to Problogger for information.

Content really is king but creating content requires the thinking of others, not only the blog owner’s perspectives. In short, provide relevant contents.

2. Clean Blog site; less clutter

The loading time in viewing a blog is something that many bloggers, particularly newbie bloggers fail to account. In my own perspective, as a blog reader aside from being a blog owner, I usually take into consideration the time I’ve spent starting from the moment I click the link to a blog site. If it takes too much time to download, I tend to close that blog and seek for another one.

Time is valuable to many readers seeking for immediate answers to questions. And this kind of readers does not like slow loading as they are in a hurry and are hungry for information. And mind this: the competition in the blogosphere is stiff and even hungry readers can have a wide selection of blogs to read for a similar kind of topic they earnestly seek for.

And what does a clean, less-cluttered site have something to do with the loading time for a blog?

Flash player plug-ins and too many ads can slow down the loading time in opening the blog fully. Having less of these plug-ins can help your blog site in a big way. Too many clutters hurt the loading time.

Your readers visit your blog because of your contents, on what you offer, not on the glitters in your sidebar or in the background of your site.

There is a Firefox extension that can help in measuring your loading time. Google Webmaster Tool can also help me gage the loading time of my blogs.

3. Connect your blog.

Even if you have the killer content, but no other people aside from you read it, then it is still as good as the files queueing to the paper shredder.

The concept of blog marketing is the marriage of content and marketing. If you want your blog to be known, then promote it. If you are a starter, practice SEO techniques to help save you the big cost. Perhaps, the cost you exhaust is the time exerted in doing the SEO as the result takes time.

For many bloggers, SEO is an integral aspect. And bloggers don’t just stick on their blogs, they connect with others through social networking sites, social bookmarking and blog commenting. And then, the social media comes into play forming a great part in practicing and attaining blogging success.

There are many practices in blogging worth mentioning. But the above three are, what I seem, the most relevant and basic.

“…my disdain for Chef Gusteau’s famous motto: Anyone can cook. But I realize only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere. It is difficult to imagine more humble origins that those of the genius….”

- excerpts from the quotes of Anton Ego, the food critic,

- Ratatouille movie from Disney @2007

While I was taking a break from updating my blog, Bjorn Cebuano and after transferring it to a main domain server-hosted by Bluehost from Blogger.com, I went to the living room and, just to take a brief escape from exhaustion, delightfully watched an animated movie in the Disney channel about a talented “little chef” with a highly-developed olfactory perception.

The movie conveys the oddity of a working relationship between the bearer of a great talent and the heir of the deceased great talent who has no talent at all. I like the absurdity of the main character and the entire movie per se. While viewing it, it occurred to me that the quotes from the movie and, likewise, the lesson, could be my subjects for another blog post. For a fact, the movie has something that supplements my views on a topic: Talent.

I admire the food critic of the movie upon hearing his judgment and altered perception on the view and talent of the defunct Chef Gustea and the new “little chef” of the Gusteau restaurant. It adds up something of the notion that great talents are rare, just relatively few and, with no reliable measure, some of the bearers of the great talents may seem absurd and unconventional. They may be sometimes classified in a different genre of characters. And without bias and intentional prejudice, these few individuals possessing great talents have been ostracized in their origins. They’ve become lauded upon breaking some walls to the conventional world and oftentimes, it takes an outsider to recognize their talents and be commended.

The supposed heir to the restaurant business of illegitimate origin is somebody that I can bring a metaphor to. He may be deemed as a lewd opportunity-grappler, albeit self-recognized limitations and naivety. However, his character is something that I can have a correlation to in the entrepreneurial realm.

It does not mean that I have no talent leading me to take a level beyond my capability, risking my self and my reputation in the long term. But somehow, I find myself having the attribute of seeking and sometimes taking what has been presented randomly with less expectation of the likelihood of occurrence. If I can’t do something in which I seem to conclude as very relevant, then, it is likely for me to grab somebody by the arm and take him or her to a subject that needs getting done, even literally.

I can’t really speak for most of the entrepreneurs but it is a great probability for entrepreneurs to explore great talents, bringing those talents to their suits and pursuits and profit from those talents. Though it may be deemed as exploitation, there is still the win-win strategy and aftermath of the situation.

Great talents are rare. And I don’t really base on general statistics but I can infer that most of those with great talents need someone to guide them to the top and even someone to help them be recognized. If I take something from the movie about the discovery and exploitation of the great talent, it would be the case of the rat and the faux chef of Ratatouille.

I’ve read an anecdote of a woman who asked for a product at a small convenience store and she uttered the brand instead of the specified product. The funny thing on that story is that instead of seeking for the product with that brand as she asked, she wanted the same product of another brand name. To make this clearer, the lady asked this, “Can you give me a sachet of Colgate that is Close-up?” to the vendor. If one has to analyse this, the lady asked for two brands and if I was the vendor, I could give her two sachets of both brands. But then, the lady only asked for one sachet. The product here is the toothpaste and the two brand names: Colgate and Close-up are competing brands of the same product in the Philippines. Nevertheless, if I have to make a conclusion on that example situation, it would appear that Colgate is the stronger brand than Close-up. However the lady asked for another brand beating the stronger brand in the process. This situation has also been known to occur with other buyers, particularly children, for purchase other products and it so happened that I have heard a child doing this similar scenario, asking for a product using a brand name but preferring another brand. And just to clarify, I don’t endorse these brands here. They just fit as an analogical example about branding.

To make a clearer picture of that transaction, in the Philippines, it is ubiquitous to see smaller convenience stores that utilize the over-the-counter concept in selling similar to pharmacies. But these stores are small-time players and some of these stores need restructuring to become attractive. However, they are effective in delivering the products even to the remotest areas in the island-country. Most of these stores are just a cubicle and a part of the section of the vendors’ houses. An image below can provide a good example.

Branding: The Strong vs. the other brand

Although there is a stronger brand in the hierarchy of branding, some consumers may choose another brand of the same product. This puts the competitive advantage of the stronger brand to be of a greater force but other brands may also beat the stronger competitor when they build their branding scheme to a great progress and that the marketers have been successful in their branding strategies.

This article can be seen as a prelude for a topic that I like in marketing, which is Branding. Subsequent articles will show how branding can make a blogger and his blog the stronger forces in the blogoshere and how other bloggers have achieved to reach that height in competition with the use of branding by branding their names and their blogs, even their domain names.

Note: Even if there is a competition that exists in the blogoshere, benchmarking and networking are the most effective strategies to survive in this environment of webmasters, bloggers, Internet marketers and entrepreneurs. Generosity counts more than greed although a little bit of greed is good.

Long ago, before the creation of web log that is now known as blog, sites utilized the concept of collateral marketing

But not all bloggers have the same thing in mind.

However, what if a blog creator and owner known as blogger doesn’t have a product to sell. What is there to market and gain revenues from.

With the advancement of technology and of course, innovation, bloggers don’t necessarily have to create something to sell. They can become the agents without having to approach the sellers for introduction, qualification and even interviews. Being an affiliate can be done in just a few minutes after signing some online forms and getting approved in the process. However, not all sites selling products have to have the same process as there are those requiring some

A blog can become a product for a blogger and it could become profitable in the long run, if the blog has gained tremendous traffic, a substantial source of income for the blogger and a worth so high that flipping it for a high price could be a possibility, that is if the blogger puts his or her blog in the marketplace.

But I may have to contest that claim. I still say content still reigns supreme in the blogging realm, but in the game of getting known and (hoarding benefits from it), I think, something must have to partner with it.

Surely, having well-written articles, posting a podcast, embedding tubes for posts and dangling an image or the whole album can get attention, even if you sit your blog and just do the primary things.

Moreover, if a blogger places ad widgets on the blog, then something must be done to make those widgets purposeful unless the blogger just wants them for decoration or to accessorize his or her blog.

One of the primary reasons why weblog that is now popularly known as blog comes to existence is because of the simplified technology where anybody can tweak and just follow coherent procedures with less knowledge to none in programming and then the web pages are created in just clicks and a few typed entries here and there. Blog registrants can have the option to input entries of life accounts, opinions or whatever his or her heart desires to supplement a blank template.

Blogging is a simplified technology and I say, there is pragmatism and simplicity to it.

But now, transition in blogging happens fast and at pace with technology. If blogging is just simply for use as journal and with no benefits on the side, then, perhaps, just less than a million would have ever maintained their blogs. I am not certain about this aspect though and it may seem unreliable, but taking pragmatism to it, I think it wouldn’t come to a point where there are new blogs coming every now and then. And again, I don’t have correct figures nor have researched enough to know how many blogs in a minute, hour or day are born.

I know blogging is the high-tech version of diary that is why it called online diary. However, blogging has evolved from just an online diary into a moneymaking tool. Sure, there are bloggers who never put ads on their blogs but even if they’ve opted to do so, they’ve benefited something directly or indirectly from their blogs.

I don’t know if my headline works to get attention, but my purpose for having that title is that I want to make a point that content in blogging won’t make a blog successful if a blogger does not want to open up to the world.

I know for a fact that there is an option for bloggers to post their blogs publicly or privately. But if they are a pragmatic and have an idea of what blogging can bring in the long run- I say, in the long run because making money from blogging does not happen overnight – then, it is imperative that they do something with it for it to work its purpose.

If you want to create a blog to contain informative blogs, then it can be a good example of charity if you want to impart it.

If you put long hours making a video and posting it on your blog, then practically you want somebody to see what show you’ve got.

If you create graphics or pictures or are an amateur photographer and you want to showcase your work and to do that you place them on your blog, then it is imperative that you find a way for you to get known and probably gain revenue from your postings.

The point I’m making here is that content in blogging does not work alone nor is never as effective if it is displayed and showcased for the world to see. A king must have a queen on his side to build a realm and that may also apply metaphorically in blogging.

Marketing is as important as content in blogging. The two should be at par. Though having great attention-grabbing content brings a great deal to the blog and to the blogger and must be in the first if there would be a blogging hierarchy – that is under the blogger’s downline, of course – marketing plays a very significant role in bringing the content to life.

Content and marketing should be partners in making the blogging realm of a blogger hit the GOLD.

2. Blogging is also another form for relaying information, advice and tips to users of those tips, advices and information.

3. Blogging helps in announcing certain events making it as a social tool for networking.

4. Blogging requires technology for it to work. Bloggers, the practitioners of blogging, use formats and templates and publishing services so they can input entries.

5. Blogging requires bloggers to know and use the basics in techie stuffs especially in the entry of words and in the publication. There is the constant practice of tweaking, typing and hitting the Enter key.

6. Blogging is an instrument that can help writers in improving their skill or their talents in forming ideas into properly constructed words and syntaxes.

7. Blogging is a useful tool for writers in launching their career as it has presented an opportunity for writers to become published and recognized and to some extent become best-selling authors.

8. Blogging encourages marketing so it is good for business.

9. To some extent, blogging becomes a business. Many affiliate marketers and businessmen use this platform to make money online. And many bloggers make a transition from writers to entrepreneurs.

10. Blogging is a therapy. It has a therapeutic effect for bloggers, like me. It allows me to vent my emotion and share my knowledge and to help people who are hungry for knowledge.