Posts Tagged ‘Kim Isaac Greenblatt’

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Antique Collecting In Today’s Market

Sunday, November 23rd, 2008

At Arianna’s last AYSO soccer practice I was talking with one of the players who had at a very early age discovered the joys of antique collecting. She wasn’t talking about collecting furniture, large pianos, tramp art or anything like that.  She was talking about small, older items that she found at swap meets that touched her.

That is a great way to collect things.

People should collect things that they like or appeal to them. I have a friend who loves (when she has the discretionary income) to collect heron art.  She has heron plaques, heron statues, a heron sign and if she could find a way to have them live in her backyard and not migrate would collect herons herself.

The take-away from all of this is there is a joy that you can’t put a price on for things that appeal to you.  When I watch the antique shows on cable, you generally find that a lot of people are curious of the value of something but if it is a family heirloom or the garage sale knick-knack that they scored for US $1, they generally won’t part with it.  Well, at least they say they won’t part with it while on camera.  For all I know they are racing over to collect a check once the digital video has stopped recording.

 

I’ve talked about this before on the site that there are certain things that you won’t want to give away or sell. Others, if there isn’t anything genuinely antique and you might want to sell, well, business is business.

When I sold my Watchmen first edition comic books it wasn’t that I didn’t like them, it was just that I didn’t feel a need to hold onto them as much as my Shadow comic from the 1940s.  The Watchmen comics fetched over $300 or so dollars.  The Shadow comic might get me $50 or so but in terms of scarcity, I just treat it like it was a museum piece.  There are a lot less comic books around from the 1940s than from the 1980s-90s.  I remember buying that book for $3 at a thrift store in Cleveland Heights Ohio years ago as well.  I was a lot of money in the 1970s but I also picked up a Dollman comic and a Captain Marvel Junior comic as part of the deal.  It was a nice score.  Would I part with the books anytime?

If I really needed the cash, sure, but the nostalgia value and sense that there is more room for appreciation since they are scarce books is what makes me want to hold onto them.

If you are antique collecting for truly nice antiques, be prepared for keeping them stored and preserved.  Wood needs to be protected not only from the elements (wind, fire, rain) but from critters like termites and the family cat that jumps on the table and starts clawing with her back claws on the surface because it feels so good.

Glass objects need to be secured if you are in an earthquake zone.  If you are in a child zone and your children of all ages are running through the house and not adverse to the occasional rough housing, you may want to think twice about putting the rare china or glass that you found out in public or on the mantle except for holidays or special occasions.

Paintings and anything made of paper has to be protected from being ruined by light.  When I saw the Declaration of Independence in Washington D.C. you can see that compared to some of the other documents that the years hadn’t been kind to it – especially since it was on display outdoors for a long time.  You could tell from other documents, like the Magna Carta, that some documents were preserved better than others based on the information and money that was available at the time.  Learn from others mistakes!

People need money these days and you can find some great deals at swap meets, garage sales and some auctions.  Just a reminder that you shouldn’t get caught up in the missionary zeal for over-bidding or spending more than you should for your goodies.  Part of the fun for antique collecting is bragging rights that you got the object dirt cheap!

My best thoughts to you with whatever it is you decide and congratulations on taking the time to actually ENJOY whatever it is that you are purchasing.

   Practical Money Making-Surviving Recession, Layoffs, Credit Problems, Generating Passive Income Streams, Working Full Time or Part Time and Retirement

 

NOTE:  To the readers who wanted to see my no-frills book cover for my book from my first few blogs, here you go.  It should be up on the Internet where my book is available within a few more weeks. Give it time, I promise you will see the image elsewhere.  Thanks for asking!  All of you truly rock.

Didn’t I warn you that green on white looks funny on white pages?  Maybe I shouldn’t be in such a rush to get the cover up.  That is the price one pays for demonstrating generic no-frill book covers.

 

Kim Isaac Greenblatt 

Talking today about antique collecting in today’s market.

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Married Filing Separately Question

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

A question from a reader:”Why is Married Filing Separately such a bad thing?  What happens if the marriage just isn’t working out?”

 

 

 

My answer is that this question gives me the perfect opportunity to get my comic strip chops working again. Okay, the drawings are bad but the content is funny. I have already been told that I have a bleak outlook on the institution of marriage. Not at all. I just see the humor of it in my own life and in others who are getting their taxes done. My wife laughed at it. She is one of my biggest critics so I might be onto something getting in shape for my graphic novel.

Back to the question…

Married Filing Separately does not allow the person (or persons) filing to maximize the deductions, credits, etc that they could get by either trying to see if they can put aside their differences one last time for tax purposes by filing Married Filing Jointly (MFJ). Don’t get me wrong, there may be very valid reasons for people to want to avoid filing with a spouse – they have left him/her, the spouse was discovered doing something illegal, etc. The unfortunate thing is that in community property states you may have problems that filing Married Filing Separately (MFS) won’t help with.

You start getting into “first strike” tax filing where whoever files first gets to call the shots for the other spouse.  What does that mean?  If the first spouse files and itemizes, that forces the other spouse to itemize even if that spouse didn’t have enough deductions and was better off taking the standard deduction.  In California because of it’s particular community property laws, you divide the Schedule A items in half evenly unless there were separate items brought into the marriage beforehand, etc. A lot of credits get thrown out of the window immediately and by virtue of filing MFS you throw yourself into a tax bracket that ends up paying more money.  Ugh.

Shared property or community property is a very big issue to take into account as well.  What factors should you consider to determine if community property rules apply? 

The three primary factors that IRS examiners look at are: 

1. Is there a legal marriage?
2. Are the spouses domiciled in a community property state?
3. Was the property acquired before (or after) the spouses were subject to community property laws?

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Where people live or domicle comes into play as well. 
Why is domicile so important?  

Whether you have community property and community income depends on the law in the state where you maintain your domicile.  For example, if you earn a pension while domiciled in Texas, future distributions from the pension will be community income.  The pension is community property to the extent it was earned while your domicile was in Texas. If you earned the pension while domiciled in Oregon, distributions will be separate income.

For now, as of this post, you also have to mail in Married Filing Separtely returns in the state of California. You cannot electronically file them so that would delay getting a refund.

To answer your second question, if the marriage isn’t working out, the couple (or at least one party in the relationship) is probably trying very hard to get out of the situation similar to a coyote gnawing off his or her leg to escape a trap. There may be financial reasons or social-family reasons that the divorce just can’t happen yet. It isn’t from lack of trying from one or both of the parties, it is just that the realities of the situation may not allow it to happen yet for whatever reason.

It is also a good idea to not listen to bad advice about MFS.  There seems to be a great deal of it out there. If you take away nothing else from this article, make sure that you talk about money, relationships, your spending habits and everything else with your potential soulmate before you get married.  It will save you time, aggrevation, alimony, child support, restraining orders and perhaps a felony charge or two.

Practical Money Making-Surviving Recession, Layoffs, Credit Problems, Generating Passive Income Streams, Working Full Time or Part Time and Retirement

 

Kim Isaac Greenblatt

Married Filing Separately and the first Taxing Funnies comic.

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If You Are Drowning Financially Here is Some Cash Floatation Advice

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

Question for Kim:”I am dying here financially.  I don’t have a lot of money in savings and I am out of work.  Kim, help me.  I am burning through my savings and freaking out.  I am drowning and need help.”

You are not alone.

My answer is the first priority is to not freak out.  Easier said than done, I know, I know.  If you stop and think about it though, the same advice holds true in real water as in financial waters.  If you lose your head, you drown.  I’ve been in that situation, most of us these days are in it or getting into it and you have to keep your head during these dismal financial times. 

If there is anything that you can do to renegotiate debt terms with your creditors and bill collectors try and do that.  If you are dealing with utilities that are providing you with heat, water, sanitation services, call them and try to work out some sort of payments.  You don’t want to be in a dark, cold house.  Like being stuck in the real ocean, you need to do what you can for now to surface and start treading water.

During the Great Depression, banks didn’t bother foreclosing and they let former homeowners squat because so many homes went under.  Too many people defaulted on their home loans.  I don’t think that will be the case these days but I also think that there are a lot of houses on the market that will not be sold in the immediate future (with immediate being 2-4 years away barring any changes to mortgage contracts).

My mother was a survivor of concentration camps and one of the things that she had drilled into us was survival.  So getting to the basics you need to have food, clothing and shelter. 

Do what you can to keep a roof over your head.  Work with your landlord, bank, or whoever you need to.  If you are being forced out, please check with friends, family or city/state shelters for help.  If you are in parts of the United States where it is cold, you need warm shelter.  Time to swallow your pride and ask for help if you need it.  Start searching the Internet for local agencies or groups that might be able to help you.  Food banks are running out of food so don’t waste time.

Snow or bad weather can make your clothes wet.  Keep whatever clothes you can and keep them dry.  Have changes of clothing so if you are wet, you can get into dry clothing so you don’t get sick.

Look for inexpensive places to get food.  Unless you have special dietary restrictions, go for something that can fill you up, keep you warm and doesn’t cost a lot.

If you have specific medical requirements or are caring for special needs situations, contact social workers if you feel comfortable doing so.  I realize that the levels of service and help vary from state-to-state and from city-to-city.
If you have some savings, time to cut out everything but essentials.  I mean cut it to the bone for the time being.  Everybody is waiting for the inauguration but it may take months or even years till our President can get commerce and cash flowing comfortably so people can get some sort of handle on their finances and lifestyles.

 

 

For those of you who are well off, please be generous with help to charities and even more directly, if you see a family that is cold and hungry, please try to do something to help them.
To my readers, try to hold onto your money, keep your faith and don’t be afraid to ask clergy or counselors for help if you need to.

My daugther, Arianna, is going in for surgery to have her VNS removed.  Thank you for your kind thoughts and prayers and like I’ve stated in my Practical Money Making book, we ARE all in this together.  A lot of people have lost their homes in fires out here in California and it will be interesting to see how insurance companies and emergency funding comes through to help us.

We will make it through this.

  Practical Money Making-Surviving Recession, Layoffs, Credit Problems, Generating Passive Income Streams, Working Full Time or Part Time and Retirement

Kim Isaac Greenblatt

 

Floatation Advice If You Are Drowning Financially

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Does Art Suffer or Thrive In a Depression?

Monday, November 17th, 2008

Question from a reader:”Does art suffer or thrive in a financial depression?”

My answer is that art is art.  When times are good and times are bad, creative souls will always try to express what is going on in their lives.  If they touch a chord with somebody they get a fan.  If they touch a chord with a lot of people they develop a following.  Hopefully this happens before the artist dies. 

There are creative people who through their gifts can speak for what is happening all around them.  They may do this through the written word, movies, television, dance, song, sculpture and anything else that I missed in covering forms of creative expression.  Did they do this because they calculated that their work was at the right place, at the right time and that they knew they’d be representing their generation, their age group or what have you?  Of course not.

What it means is that if you have something that you want to do creatively, just do it. Don’t try and figure out whether you are doing something that will change humanity forever.  You are doing art for your sake of expression.  I’ve often said that the reason that I write is because I feel the need to express myself through writing.  For some people, they do it with music (I love to sing and dance too but I don’t feel the need to do it all the time).  If you are trying to make some money from it, I would suggest that you do it for the joy that it gives you and don’t worry about making money.

If you are good enough at it, you will make money.

The large movie theaters, concert and opera halls were built in the Great Depression in the United States because people wanted to go somewhere to escape their economic situations.  People have the Internet and all sorts of methods of escape now.  They still will turn to the arts for the forms of escape.  If you are fortunate to be creative at a time where people want to be your fans, you might make money.

 

I’ve been trying to determine if the Picasso in Chicago, Illinois managed to get a lot of tourists to visit Downtown to see it and then stick around and go shopping, have some dinner, maybe take in a movie.  Here is a picture of it and you tell me if it would be enough to make a person want to stick around after watching it. Maybe people would have wanted to go to the Museum of Science and Industry or the Art Institute afterwards.

 

I remember when the city first put it up.   People said that it looked like a bird.  Some said it looked Egyptian.  I think it looked like a great artistic piece that turned out to be a great draw for tourists!

Good luck with all of your artistic endeavors!

   Practical Money Making-Surviving Recession, Layoffs, Credit Problems, Generating Passive Income Streams, Working Full Time or Part Time and Retirement

Kim Isaac Greenblatt

Do artistic things because you want to.

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Refund Anticipation Loans

Sunday, November 16th, 2008

Question from a reader:”I think I understand the concept but what is a refund anticipation loan?”

My answer is that they are loans given from a lender, usually at a high interest rate and with fees with the collateral being your anticipated tax refund.  The lender controls the release of the money and you authorize him (with him being a company, generally a commercial bank) to collect your tax refund when it is paid by the Federal government.  State refund anticipation loans are also in the works. Many large tax preparation firms and small ones offer this service.

My thoughts on the matter are that if you can wait it is ALWAYS better to have the money go into your checking or savings account as a direct deposit.  If you are anticipating a refund, you can get it as a direct deposit generally in ten business days barring any money that you owe a government agency that is levied.

Each year, the IRS and state agencies try (or have gone on record as saying that they are trying)  harder to get the money back to you faster.

 

The refund anticipation loans (also known as RALS, etc) carry a high interest rate and fees in relation to the money that you are receiving.  If you absolutely, positively are dying for the cash or need it for an emergency then do what you have to do.  Generally you are paying a high premium for getting your money ten days earlier.  In some cases instant money is offered but the fees get higher still.  For large companies that offer this service it use to be profitable, in the current economic environment it still may be since they can always refuse to advance money to high risk customers. 

If you have waited this long for the money, my suggestion is to save yourself some of your money (because a refund is YOUR money being returned back to YOU) and wait the ten days till you get the money into your account.  If you don’t have a checking account, wait for the check.  Beware of debit cards that have high service charge or transaction fees.  You can have your refund money eaten away there just as quickly if you aren’t careful.

There is some talk that the ability to get refund anticipation loans may be outlawed by Congress in the next few years. Some people feel that the interest rates are too high and it promotes people getting and staying in debt.

Thanks for asking the question! 

   Practical Money Making-Surviving Recession, Layoffs, Credit Problems, Generating Passive Income Streams, Working Full Time or Part Time and Retirement

Kim Isaac Greenblatt

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Amended Tax Returns Question

Saturday, November 15th, 2008

Question from a reader:”Can I amend back as many tax returns that I want to?”

My answer is: No.  You can only amend back three years for the Federal government.  Four for the state of California.  The extra year is to allow for catch up, I suppose.  If the IRS or any state authority asks for more years, you obviously have to provide the return for whatever it is they are looking for.  If software isn’t available, you need to get copies of the forms for the specific years and file manually.  If you were expecting a refund, you need to refresh yourself with the rules for amended returns and geting a refund. The place to start for looking for older forms would be the irs website and after that, search engines.  If you can find old copies of the tax software you might try and get them from vendors but please make sure they are the finalized forms.  You won’t be able to have anything to compare them to so double check that any software sources for forms is the most recent for that year.

Form 1040X must be filed within 3 years from the date of your original return or within 2 years from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later.  If you are looking to get a refund from five years ago and you have exceeded the time limit, you won’t get your refund.  There are situations as well that you may be capped on the amount of the refund that you will be getting despite the fact that you at the time may have been entitled to more cash. 

For now, amended tax returns need to be sent by mail and signed manually.  In a few years they may be electronic but we are concerned about the present now.  That means that you may need to wait several months as of the writing of this blog before you can get any refunds from an amended return.

Are amended returns audited more or less than normal returns?  I don’t think so but they are reviewed and received by people so pay attention to details.  Take your time or have your tax professional double check everything before you send in your amended return.  I just taught my tax students how to do amended returns and everybody – and I mean everybody – makes mistakes at least the first time they try to do an amended return.

If you are doing your own using tax software be careful and double check everything for resonableness.  Make sure that you include changes for everything and watch for the cascade affect where adding or subtracting income or dependents changes credits, deductions and the overall complextion of your return – you may go from a refund to an amount due – or vice versa.

The important thing is to be accurate and thorough. So, if there are any new schedules or changes to existing ones, make sure that they are included in the amended return package.  The IRS doesn’t want to see every form unless they ask for it. 

Double check with your state regulations as well.

When you are writing your explanations, go into detail.  The IRS is training a lot of new hires and they get OTJ-On The Job Training.  That means they give them the amended returns to review and look for errors.  Explain clearly what was amended so there will be no reason for the return to get kicked back to you.

Don’t balk if you discover that you need to amend a tax return and that there is an amount due.  Take care of it as soon as possible and pay any penalties that may need to be taken care of.  It is better if you catch the error than the taxing authority.  If the error is a large one they will catch it sooner or later.

I could post a picture of a form 1040X but since it is close to the weekend and we are all burnt out from roller coaster finanial news I will show you something to take your mind off of taxes.   If all goes well with your amended return you (and in the case of our photo, your partner)  will be happier.  How much happier?  A LOT happier! 

 

 Practical Money Making-Surviving Recession, Layoffs, Credit Problems, Generating Passive Income Streams, Working Full Time or Part Time and Retirement

 

Kim Isaac Greenblatt

 

Amending tax returns can be profitable or costly but they still should be done if you need to do them .

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profitable

Friday, November 14th, 2008

My book of my first fifty or so blogs is out.  If you enjoy my whimsical and informative posts about starting your own business, dealing with savings, dealing with our current recession/depression, coping with special needs situations, please check out my book. Priced affordably with a no-frills, basic money-saving cover for these rough economic times, the information inside is fun, informative and hopefully will save you money and your sanity. By the way, the book is white on white and that is why the green letters would just kind of float here on the page – that is why the way to reach it is by the text :) .

 
profitable

 

The particulars:
Paperback: 108 pages
Publisher: Kim Greenblatt
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1606220020
ISBN-13: 978-1606220023

 

Want something else to sweeten the deal? 

Part of the proceeds of all my sales go to research for finding a cure for Rett Syndrome.  Rett Syndrome affects a girl born every fifteen minutes.  Boys born with the Rett gene die at birth. In these trying economic times, research for Rett Syndrome has been tough because of competition for money from other projects. Your purchase of this or any of my books will help funding to improve the quality of life for millions of people.

Kim Isaac Greenblatt

The profitable book culled from the great blog is out!

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Are pet stores a good business?

Thursday, November 13th, 2008

Question from a reader: “Are pet stores a good business to get into?”

My answer: In this current economic market I would say no. While people can say that dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish are man’s (and woman’s) best friend, the financial realities have not been kind to our animal friends.  There have been a lot of cases where people have lost their houses and as part of leaving their debt behind they have also left behind their dogs and cats because they cannot afford to take care of them anymore.

Leaving animals alone outside to fend for themselves after they’ve been domesticated isn’t a good idea.  Wild dogs and cats forage for food and are hungry like any other living creature and it isn’t fair to them.  Here in Southern California, the wild dogs join packs and it is not unusual to see half-dog, half-coyote packs running around late at night or very early in the morning.  There isn’t enough food in the mountains for the critters so they come down to feed wherever they can.

If you are already in the pet store business?   If you already are in an established pet store, my guess is that some business is doing steady – like specialized pet foods and certain seasonal items (cat and dog sweaters?) but a lot of novelty items probably aren’t selling.  Maybe you have had to trim store hours or staff. 

As a reminder (which isn’t lost on store owners), people who have a hard time taking care of themselves or their children shouldn’t be allowed to have a pet!  A clear example also of people not knowing what they are getting into is when the Dalmatian movies came out and everybody wanted Dalmy pups.  The problem is the pups are kind of nutso and skittish and a lot of them got returned the day after a birthday.  Parents should research what they are buying to prevent anguish for both the kids and the animals later on.  But I am getting off topic here…

For specialized markets like pet stores that only sell purebred beagles, etc there may be a steady market but like everything else I suggest that they are having problems with sales like you and I are.

Like any other business that has a storefront, if you do decide to go into business, even though the economy isn’t great, see if you can get some decent terms and a few months (if not a years) rent for free or at a lower cost. 

Remember that some suppliers have minimum orders as well and you may not be able to afford to keep your store stocked in everything that you might have wanted to in your planning stages.

Just use caution if you decide to go ahead with the pet store business. If you love animals it might be fun but remember that both you and your four-legged friends, winged and finny pals have to eat and they can’t eat if you don’t have the money to feed them.  Having critters go belly up on you just isn’t profitable.

 Practical Money Making-Surviving Recession, Layoffs, Credit Problems, Generating Passive Income Streams, Working Full Time or Part Time and Retirement

Kim Isaac Greenblatt

Are pet stores a good business?

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What sells on the web?-prelude

Wednesday, November 12th, 2008

Question for Kim:”In your experience, what sells on the web?”

My answer:   Anything and everything can sell on the Internet if there is a market for what you are selling, the price is right and people are aware that you have products to sell.  I can tell you what doesn’t sell:

1.   Books or seminars about how to get rich off of the Internet.

2.   The same type of books and seminars (or videos) except they talk about making millions blogging.

3.   Any kind of short term investment system with day trading.  A lot of people have lost their life savings trying to make money shorting or betting that their stocks will recover and go up.

4.   Pyramid schemes or Ponzi schemes where the way you are suppose to make money is to get people to sign up and you make a commission off of things they sell.  People don’t have the money for experimenting or risking that they are on the “ground floor” of these schemes and frankly, a lot of them are illegal.

Things that do sell:

1.   Anything to do with people’s hobbies.  People always find money for their hobbies.  There will be a contraction with the depression/recession we are in but people still will find cash to get things they really, really want.  It may be collecting model cars, comic books, certain types of trading cards, it doesn’t matter.  People find money for things they want.

2.  Self-help books or videos that actually teach you something.  Word-of-mouth helps get the product information out and people do listen to their friends and relatives if they like the same things that they do.

3.  Things that have to do with pets.  That could be a subset of item one but pet products sell very well over the internet.

4.   Baby or children’s clothes if they are priced right sell well.  Parents are always looking for inexpensive fashionable items for their kids.

5.  Things that can really save money or labor for a person.   The profitable things that sell are things that can add minutes or hours to a person’s day so they can do the things that they want for items one thru four.

6.   Anything that you are passionate about that somebody else share’s the same passion.  You may not make a lot of money selling books on worm farming but for people who are into conservation with their gardens or the environment, you may make some sales.

My suggestion though is to be different and get involved on the manufacturing side as well.  You will be helping out the economy and actually providing something for the economy if you can.

If you are doing well selling on the web – and please no instant fortune scams or schemes, drop me an email and share your success story and I will post it on my blog.

I will try and get an occasional series going with this if there is interest in it. I am trying to prove a point that even in down economic times people can still sell goods and services and make a profit and even a living at it. If you can help prove my theory one way or another, let me know!

 Practical Money Making-Surviving Recession, Layoffs, Credit Problems, Generating Passive Income Streams, Working Full Time or Part Time and Retirement

Kim Isaac Greenblatt

What sells on the web-prelude?

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Most Writers Don’t Make A Lot Of Money But They May Make A Living

Tuesday, November 11th, 2008

Question from a reader:”Do writers make a lot of money?”

My answer is: No, most don’t.  Some, if they are good, original and work very hard at it can make a living at it.  Writing generally falls into two categories-non-fiction and fiction.

Fiction tends to be a popular market for aspiring writers and thanks to new technologies and the internet you can get your product out into the virtual ethers faster. The problem is so can anybody else.  Unless you have something that you can market differently you will have a long haul on getting your fiction seen by anybody leave alone out there to be purchased or receive any cash for.

Non-fiction can sell but it usually is in a niche market.  If you are lucky, you will write for a niche that is having a popular up cycle and your book will sell.  Same problems apply as for fiction.  You need to get your work out there so people will buy it.

What sells?   Ahhh, that is up to you as the writer to figure out and trying to write for markets that are popular or hot is a tricky business.  My advice to writers is to write what you know and what you like to write.  It will be easier to sell if you believe in what you are writing.

A lot of excellent fiction writers pointed out to me that back in the 1980s, 1990s and in some markets, today, if you can write women’s romances you can make a lot of money. The reality is that even though they were good if not great writers, they couldn’t stomach writing that type of novel.   In the cut-throat 2000′s, there are all sorts of people writing women’s romance stories and most of them are not selling.  That should tell you something about markets changing and markets being glutted.

There are too many articles on writing, blogging, getting sponsors, etc and they are sending the wrong impression out into the universe.  Books are a money losing business for most people.

If you want to write, you should write.  Keep a day job and just write.  I write because I am good at it and I have to.  The same holds true for when I appear in videos.  I am able to express myself through writing.  I enjoy what I am doing and I have fun with it.  If you stick with what you like to do and are patient, you can make money.  

You shouldn’t plan on going into writing though with the thoughts of being a mega success story overnight.  If it happens, you were at the right place, at the right time and got the right amount of luck.  What happens to most of us is that if you stick with it and are patient, you can make a living at it.  You will need to eat and pay bills in the meantime so make sure you have a good day job (or several day jobs).

If you are good, people like your style, are informative and entertaining, you can keep their attention and they might be inclined to actually buy something from you! 

There are other easier ways to make money.  If you are writing to try and get rich quick, I suggest trying to manufacture something instead.  People will pay, regardless of the economy, for goods that they perceive they need or really want.

Speaking of right now, I want to get some sleep.  Thanks for the question!

 Practical Money Making-Surviving Recession, Layoffs, Credit Problems, Generating Passive Income Streams, Working Full Time or Part Time and Retirement

Kim Isaac Greenblatt

 

Most writers don’t make a lot of money. Some might make a living at it though.

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