I have had a lot of e-mails requesting some ideas for folks to look at for self-employment.  As such, I’ve come up with a list of ideas and companies that have caught my eye over the past decade that I would certainly feel good about recommending. Please note, some of these are just ideas. Some of these are companies that I have elected to be involved with, if for no other reason that I hate to pay full price for anything if I can avoid it (yup—but I’m sure you knew that about me already). Please note that these ideas aren’t necessarily original in any way, shape or form. They are simply my opinion that has been formed over the last 10 years of having various ideas thrown at me. Obviously this is not an all-inclusive list. That would take forever and a whole lot of Peanut M&Ms for me to write. But my goal today is to give you some directions which may lead you to what you’re looking for or at least give you the springboard for better ideas. (more…)

Remember folks, today is the last day to enter to win (as many times as you can) one of our 65 GREAT Preparedness Giveaway prizes! We will be holding the drawing this week to determine who will win the prizes!  Read more…

Chocolate Buttermilk Pudding

This is one of those recipes that is so easy, yet so memorable for those who you share it with. It’s also definitely a comfort food for me! Don’t be put off by the “chilling” or the “cool whip” ingredients in the recipe as the chilling isn’t absolutely necessary and the cool whip can easily be substituted with Spiff-E-Whip.

Enjoy!

A Preparedness Pro reader whom I’ve become friends with, recently wrote me to tell me that she and her husband have bit the bullet and moved out of the city into a more rural setting.  Why in the world would she do this when it requires a whole lot of work, fixing up a property, and a significantly longer commute?  It has to do with her “WHY.”

Several months ago I was teaching a class on the Ten Principles of Preparedness. Just before we got started, a mother and father entered

“Profit is not about what you make, it’s about what you keep.”

Author’s Note: Before I finish this particular series, I want to emphatically remind everyone that there is only 1 week left for you to increase your chances for winning one of SIXTY-FIVE prizes we have  for the $1,500 Preparedness Pro Giveaway!  To enter, all you need to do is comment on our blog or our Facebook page, register for upcoming webinars, or send us an e-mail that tells us what you think about Preparedness Pro. It’s that easy one folks. And you can enter to win as many times as you want to increase your chances of having your name drawn! We’ve got plenty of prizes, so have at it!

“Learning to Say Yes, and No”

When I say that self-employment equals independence, I’m referring to an independence which applies to many areas of our lives. Self-employment is not only “job security”, but it also gives you the time to be with your family, to determine who you will or won’t work with, etc. I know there are a lot of self-employed individuals who may take exception to this assertion, but I’m 100% positive that I’m correct in this regard. I suspect that those who are slaves to their self-employment have simply established their customers’ expectations in such a manner in which they are slaves to the customers more than they want to be.  To help you maximize your independence in your self-employment choice, I suggest that you start out right. To do so, consider the following suggestions when determining what self-employment path you are willing to take. I’ll save the “how to do what you want, when you want, at the price you want” for another article in the future. So today, we’re going to give you the list of considerations, and then tomorrow we’re going to finish this series with the direct financial benefits that self-employed persons can enjoy.

Today’s recipe comes from one of my favorite regular dishes.  It’s hearty, pleasing to the eye, and one of the simplest ones to make from long-term pantry items.  This recipe is a very, very simple “Open, dump, and mix” one.

Note that I do store the Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice in its original box in a bucket with an oxygen absorber in order to ensure that it gives me the maximum amount of shelf-life.

Oh, the choices we make…

Today we continue in our Self-Employment Equals Independence series by addressing what types of criteria one should consider when electing to add a facet of self-employment to their life.

First of all, allow me to reiterate that I understand that it isn’t realistic for someone to just instantly switch from working for someone else to working for themselves.  To such persons I would implore that they at least commit to adding a facet of self-employment to their life.  Add a way