1. Figure out how much you will need on a monthly basis. Gone are the days of experts who tell you that you will only need 80% of your current income to retire. With rising costs, especially medical costs, you will most likely need the equivalent of 100% of your current income.

Hypothetically speaking if you are living comfortably on $5,000 a month today, then you will need a minimum equivalent of $5,000 a month in retirement.

I use the word “equivalent” because you have to adjust for inflation, which is on average 4% a year. The equivalent of $5,000 a month 18 years from now at average of 4% inflation would be $10,000. Another 18 years and that would make it $15,000.

So if you were 24 years old and making $5,000 a month, you will need $15,000 a month when you turn 60 years old just to keep your current lifestyle.

2. Figure out how long you will need this income. Most people call it quits once they hit 60 years old, unfortunately that number is on a upward trend. Some people are waiting longer before they retire for a bunch of reason but mostly because they have not saved enough. But lets take the example of retiring at 60. The average life expectancy is now hovering around 90 years old. Age 60 to 90 will give you a nice long 30 years of retirement. Not bad, if you have enough saved.

Let’s use the example from Step 1: If you need $15,000 a month for 30 years how much would that add up to?

$15,000 a month x 12 months x 30 years = $5,400,000 that’s $5.4 million dollars

3. Monthly Contribution to freedom. Now let’s figure out how much time you have to save and how much you should be saving. Age 24 to age 60 gives you 36 years to save. If your retirement vehicle is averaging 8% annually then in those 36 years you should be saving a minimum $2,100 a month to hit $5.4 million. Now that’s a stretch, but mathematically possible.

4. Discipline. Would you be able to save and invest $2,100 a month for 36 straight years? It’s doable, but are you willing to do it? Mathematically speaking taking into account the annual 4% inflation against your money and with an average 8% annual interest working for your money, a disciplined 24 year old can start her path to retirement.

*This calculation does not take into account fees or expenses or taxes associated with any particular investment vehicle or savings plan.

Time is priceless, yet it cost us nothing. You can do anything you want with it, but own it. You can spend it, but you can’t keep it. Once you’ve lost it, there no getting it back… it’s just gone. – From the TV Series Medium

Most people do not have time for anything nowadays. It seems like everyone is busy doing everything and nothing at the same time. They are too busy for their dreams. They have the time to do the things that ultimately does not help them move forward like prioritizing errands, watching TV, Facebook updates, parties etc, over the steps they need to do to reach their goals. And that is why the majority of people never become the person they want to be.

Unfortunately we live in a society where everything seems to take up most of our time. When it comes to birthday parties, we plan for weeks. For a vacation we plan for months. For a wedding we plan for years. But when it comes to planning out how to get out of debt, or planning for retirement, most people do not want to take a few hours to talk it over. When it comes to taking a few months to get the education they need to get out of a dead end job, they don’t want to hear it. When it comes to taking  a few minutes to set up an appointment to meet with their primary physician to get better, they don’t have the time.

Time is lost every single day, and there is no way to get it back. What are the goals you are trying to achieve? Are you making the time to reach them or are you making excuses? Everyone who does not make it did not plan to fail in life, they just failed to plan. The questions now is, which person are you?

Enjoy this video about How to make more time for yourself:

“If you are not making money, you are making excuses. Making excuses does not make you money. So stop making excuses and start making money.”

Regardless of what revenue stream you have going on, may it be Internet Marketing, Freelance Photography, a Restaurant, please do us a favor and STOP making excuses. And it does not even have to be about business, whatever you are going through, STOP making excuses and DO something that will help you move on.

Let’s take Kyle Maynard for instance, author of the book No Excuses, he was born with a condition known as “congenital amputation” where his limbs stopped short of his elbows and knees. Kyle is the owner of Crossfit gym in Georgia. He is also a Mixed Martial Arts fighter. And he has a picture with Hugh Hefner as shown on his MySpace page. Follow Kyle on Twitter: http://twitter.com/kylemaynard.

I had the chance to hear him speak at a convention in California. It was a very moving afternoon. All that I could really remember was that he asked us “Whats your excuse?” and the crowd responded with silence, like a few minutes of silence.

If you really think about it, this guy could have strolled through life accepting the way “things” are. If your limbs stopped short of your elbows and knees, would you be where you are now? Would you have bothered to learn how to write or type? Would you even try mixed martial arts? How about starting your own business?

Let’s take Kyle’s example and put it to work. Set a goal, and go for it. If you want to read more about Kyle Maynard you can purchase his book No Excuses, here.

Let’s make history today. Right now, let’s throw away all our excuses to the side and focus on our goals. Take a piece of paper and write down your top three reasons ‘why’ you want to achieve your goal.

If your goal is to lose 30 lbs, write down why losing those 30 lbs is important to you. If your goal is to make the money to pay off all your debt, write down the reasons why being debt free is important to you.

“If your goals are important enough, you will find a way to make it happen without any excuses.”

I don’t want to end on a negative note but since we are on the of excuses, below is a collection of footage for a sorry excuse of a human being. Watch at your own risk:

We were given an activity book  and there were 32 couples with us from 9:00am to 4:30 pm on a Saturday. The fee for each couple was $190.

All we did was mingle with the couples who were sitting with us at the table. We talked about the activity at hand and had a morning and afternoon snack, which was provided. Lunch was separate, we had to go out for that. The day was not boring, but it was not exciting either. All I can say is that there are a lot of topics to think about as a couple that we would not have thought to talk about if we did not attend the Pre Cana.

One thought I did have was how much revenue that one session accumulated. With 32 couples at $190 each, that’s $6,080 in 6 hours (we had an hour and a half for lunch). This Saturday session is equivalent to $1,013.33 an hour. Most people don’t even make that in a month. With four Saturday sessions in a month that’s $24,320.

Now the questions is how much goes to the Church and how much goes to the presenters? I know I could have presented the different activities better than the couple that hosted it. I mean, all they did was read from the book and pressed play on some videos.

What if you can host your own Pre Cana session? Obviously you have to be connected with a Church somehow, OR maybe you can even create your own church or nondenominational church and simply host this kind of activity. The possibilities are endless, I’m checking out the archdiocese web site now…

As much as we find ways to make money online, I thought I would take a page from Benjamin Franklin’s book and share how we can save a few bucks on our meals on a recurring basis (just like your online passive income).

A penny saved is a penny earned.

1. Subscribe to your favorite restaurants e-newsletter.

Your favorite restaurant will most probably have a website, especially if its a franchise. These websites are used not just to show you their menu or their address, but its also an outlet for that establishment to send you promotional materials. If they have a website, chances are their marketing is handled by a restaurant solutions company like Fishbowl.com, whose sole purpose is to distribute and market the restaurant’s brand.

Let’s take my favorite restaurant for example: Texas de Brazil (TdB), a Brazillian Steakhouse where you can have unlimited portions of your favorite cut of meat. From the very first time we went there, I signed up for their e-newsletter online. Every year for my birthday I get a complimentary dinner valued at $48 (with a purchase of another dinner). Throughout the rest of the year I also get discounted dinners and lunches.

I decided to use the same strategy at Flattop Grill and had the same yummy result! Flattop Grill is the ultimate “create your own stir fry” place, and they send me a complimentary dinner for my birthday as well, a $15 dollar value with no purchase necessary. I also got a free $8 (value) Ice Cream Creation at Cold Stone Creamery this way.

2. Use Rewards Programs

You can use Opentable.com to make reservations at your favorite restaurant. For every reservation I honor, I receive 100 points. They also have restaurants that are categorized as 1,000 point reservations. When you accumulate 2,000 points you get a $20 gift certificate towards any Opentable.com restaurant. With 5,000 points you get $50 and for 10,000 points you get $100. The list of restaurants is pretty extensive, covering the USA, Canada and 11 other countries.

I also like the GiveMeMoreStripes reward card from TGI Friday’s. It’s free to sign up and you get $8 gift certificate for every $100 spent (before taxes). I use it when I have visitor’s from work. This way the bill is on the company and I get the points – it only seems fair don’t you think.

3. Follow your favorite restaurant’s Social Media efforts

As more and more businesses (inlcuding restaurants) use Social Media for promotions, you can win free meals that are only offered either through Twitter, Facebook or other social media platform. Just check out TGI Friday’s free burger promo: facebook.com/fanwoody, I know I got my free burger ($5 value).

I’m still waiting on @flattopgrill to give something away. =)

Add it up!

Here is a sample calculation of what you could get for free:

• $48 (value) Complimentary dinner from Texas de Brazil, with purchse of another dinner.
• $50 Gift Certificate to any OpenTable.com Restaurant.
• $15 (value) Complimentary dinner from Flattop Grill no purchase necessary.
• $10 Gift Certificate from Stonewood Alehouse with a $20 tab.
• $8 (value) Free Ice Cream Creation at Cold Stone Creamery.
• $8 Gift Certificate from TGI Friday’s, for every $100 spent.
• $5 (value) Burger from TGI Friday’s Facebook promo.

That’s $144 bucks that I won’t be pulling out of my pocket.

Kick it up a Notch!

If you want be evil/creative/resourceful, you can even get these free meals every month (or every week). All you would have to do is open 12 email accounts and subscribe to your favorite places with a different birthday (or anniversary) for every month (or week) of the year. This way, every month (or week) you will get all sorts of free meals and discounted promotions.

Your Turn.

These are my tips on how to get free meals online. I hope that some, if not all, will work for you. I am sure there are other ways to get free meals, if you know of any I would like to know how you do it and your experience. Please enlighten us in the comment section below.

The ceremony went by pretty quick, it only took less than 5 minutes including picture taking and all that jazz. So if you think about it,  so at  at $10 every 5 minutes… that is $120 an hour. And there were two judge chambers that day, so that court made $240 an hour for 3 hours (9 to 12) gives a revenue of $720 that day. That is more than what most people make in a week.

During the week days, they have this service from 9am – 5pm. That’s $1,920 per day. I think that’s pretty good revenue. Also, considering the fact that each couple had to pay $40 for the marriage license before they can get married. Now I’m wondering why the State of Illinois always has a budget problem.

The concept is quite interesting actually:

1. Junk Mail is sent to me.
2. I get paid for receiving it.

Easy as one and two… I thought about it and weighed my options: If I do not do this I will get unsolicited Junk Mail anyway. If I do this, I’ll get paid for going through my mail which I am already doing anyway. I saw it as a WiN-WIN situation.

On top of the above reasons, to register for this program is “no-strings-attached-free”. There are multiple offers out there that claim to be free but have strings attached like the offers where their product is free only if you complete certain other offers that are not free etc etc.

If you are still thinking about it, please do so… If you are ready then click here today to register and follow the simple steps below.

1. Once you are registered, Log in and scroll down to the middle of the page.
2. Click on Mailbox-Cashbox
3. Fill out  the Survey to figure out how often and how much postal mail you are willing to receive. (its really up to you)
4. Wait for the card that will be sent to your mailing address to confirm your address. (usually 7-15 business days)
5. Once you get the card, log back in and enter the code that’s on the card to complete address verification.
6. Receive the mail you selected and get paid.

Just like that.

I urge you to subscribe to my newsletter to receive  future Online Income System streams that the internet will offer us. Also, learn how to integrate this posts money making opportunity with other Online Income Systems.

If you have any other questions please direct message me on twitter @EricJohnTan

First off, the place was an open outdoor facility, probably five to six thousand square feet. There were eight batting cages all with different pitch speed from slow pitch softball to 65 mph baseball pitch. Pitching machine were on one side and the cages on the other with nets everywhere to enclose the perimeter. The ground between the cages and the pitch machines was on a grade so that wherever the balls would land they would roll into the machines that would pick up the balls automatically.

It cost $1.25 for one token, which gives you 12 pitches. Each pitch had an interval of 10 seconds. So each cage earns $1.25 every 120 seconds or 2 minutes. That’s $37.5 per hour. If the place had all eight cages occupied for a full 8 hours a day that would generate 37.5 x 8 x 8 = $2,400 a day of revenue. If they are open every day of the year under those conditions, then they would make $876,000 a year.

Of course we do not live in the perfect world. Unfortunately for this business model the Illinois weather will only have it operating for maybe six months out of the year. Your initial capital would of course have to take care of the mortgage or lease, the cost of the pitching, harvesting and coin machines.

If it was me I would have this model in an indoor facility. Also I would add a ‘Heckler Box’ for the faster pitch cages. The Heckler Box would be like a juke box only smaller and for another token, this machine will heckle you out of the field (or cage) and try to distract you just like the fans in the major leagues. Also I would make the place have multiple floors or levels to maximize the square footage.

All in all, the Coin Operated Batting Cage Business Model can be really profitable with almost no need for a human staff. But I’m curious, How would you improve on this business model?

This Twitter income system is very, very, very simple to duplicate. Just follow the steps below:

1. You have a twitter account. (If you don’t have one, register now twitter.com)
2. You register with an ad company. (More on this below.)
3. You pick the sponsored text ads you want to tweet. (eenie-meenie-mynie-moe)
4. You tweet the sponsored text ads. (TWEET!)
5. You get paid. (ka-ching!)

Now let’s talk strategy:

The three companies I picked for this income system are Ad.ly, RevTweet and SponsoredTweets.

When you use RevTweet, you can choose the ads you want to Tweet from a directory of ads. You get paid whenever someone clicks on the link of the ad on your Tweets – No purchase necessary. The more followers who click on your links, the more money you make.  And it’s free to register!

What you should do now: Click here to register with RevTweet – http://revtwt.com/index.php?id=32181

When you use Ad.ly & SponsoredTweets, the sponsors choose you, then you get to choose the ads you want to Tweet. Here is the best part: You get paid when you Tweet the ad. No clicks or purchases necessary! The more followers you have, the more the sponsors will pick you. The sponsors know they can leverage your Social Media Reach to spread their ads. So, the more followers that you have the better chance of a sponsor choosing you. And it’s free to register! Your Twitter account should be active for at least four months and at least have 100 followers before any sponsor will be able to pick you.

What you should do now: Click here to register with SponsoredTweets – http://bit.ly/qXJH7
What you should do now: Click here to register with Ad.ly – http://ad.ly/refer/1229233764

How to get more Followers:

You can interact with other Twitter users and hopefully make a connection for them to follow you, which may take a long time. OR You can give an incentive for them to follow you, but they can Unfollow you after they get their prize. OR you can just use TwitterFollower. This database of Twitter users will follow you if you follow them. TwitterFollower currently has more than 2,500 twitter users listed. It’s like a “Scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” kinda deal. This will get your follower count in the upper 2,000 almost instantaneously. Then you can work on the other ways to get followers.

What you should do now: Click here to register with TwitterFollower – http://twitterfollower.com

The basic formula for a Twitter Income System is simple:

Some Followers = Some Income. | More Followers = More Income. | No Followers = No Income.

Please feel free to tweet and ReTweet this to your Followers:

I learned how to get (& keep) more followers & make money tweeting with these 5 simple steps http://ericjohntan.com/5