I spend a lot of time here talking about ow to make money online, the tools required to do so, and what it takes to make those things work together to give you a measure of success.  For me, these are the tools that pay my bills and their use is nearly second nature to me, but let’s face it; there are people who have absolutely no interest in using the Internet to make a living.

If you are one of those people, you may consider a regular brick and mortar business as your method of gaining independence.  One of the easiest way to get into the world of owning your own business is through franchising.  A franchise may limit what you are able to do, but it also comes with the security of a known brand, marketing and respect that a new start up business just does not have.

If this sounds good o you and you love people, why not think of working with children, families and weeing parties by opening your very own Partyland franchise in your town?

There is always a need for party supplies.  They are needed for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, you name it.  It’s one business you can be sure will be around for a long time to come.

If you’re a people person and love seeing satisfied looks on the faces of others, this one may just be perfect for you.

Coming into the beginning of the year, I was the guy who told everyone that I saw a check deposited in my account every single day of the month.  That’s still true, but the amount of those checks has dwindled appreciably.  It isn’t as easy to make $100 to $200 dollars per day as it was then.  There are days when I’m happy to have made $30.  The money keeps rolling in, just not as quickly as I would like it to.

Of course the money keeps rolling out, too.  Hosting fees, rent, utilities, expenses, fuel, food, these things don’t stop needing to be paid.  Neither do my loan payments and my credit card statements.  Each requires my attention monthly, but the current state of the economy hasn’t bounced back enough to make it simple. For a while we just used credit to fund some of the extras, but those days are gone as well, we’re maxed, but still moving.

My wife and I have considered many options, from consolidation loans to credit management over the past few months.  For now we’re hanging on, but if times get slimmer before they get fatter, we may have to take one of these routes to keep ends meeting while we wait for her promotion to go through. (She’s Military.  Ranking up can take some time.)

For now there will be less steak and more hamburger.  Ramen has found it’s way back onto my menu as well, but there is no option to stop trying.  I’ll still make money each and every day and diversify sources until that happens.

And I’m putting the credit cards into forced retirement for a bit.

Has it really been over a month since I last posted here? With all that’s been going on, is doesn’t feel like it.  Then again, date stamps don’t lie, do they?  It really has been over thirty days.  What in the world could possibly keep me from updating for so long?

In short, anything and everything. It’s been a very hectic month for the Russell family in many ways, all of which conspired to keep me from getting much in the way of work done here, or on any of my other blogs and if you will indulge me for a moment, I’ll fill you in on some of the highlights.

Firstly, for those of you who aren’t aware through twitter or my food and recipe blog, we’re gearing up for a move. This is a military move, and one of the more complicated types.  My wife is moving to Incirlik Air force Base in Turkey and my son and I are moving to northern California to be close to family.

The logistics of a move like this are staggering, not only from a family standpoint, but from a paperwork standpoint.  Much of my time has been spent making sure that everything I can do to help my wife get things in order has been done.  After that it’s taking care of my son. In what little free time I have left, I’ve been handling the paperwork for the home we’re buying.

If there’s anything left after all of that, I’m usually content to spend my time mowing down hordes of parasitic alien beings in Resistance and Resistance II: Fall of Man, or creating and destroying cities in Civilization IV. Getting all technical minded just hasn’t been on my high priority list after a day of pushing to get things done.

I’m happy to announce that almost al of the paperwork side of the move is done.  On my side at least, there is little to be done now except wait for the movers to come and pack our things.  We should get word on the house sometime today or tomorrow.  If we got it, great!  If not, I’ll rent in California.  Either way, there won’t be much to worry about.

Now I can get back to work. I’ve been looking forward to it for weeks.

Over the course of the next month much of my blogging will be done from locations other than my trusty Mac, which will be packed for moving by Father’s Day. I can’t promise that I’ll be posting in great length, but blogging from a hotel room or while I watch the kid play in the park will pretty much guarantee a heavy posting frequency.

In any event, this station is now resuming its regularly scheduled programming.  We apologize for any inconvenience that our technical difficulties may have caused our viewers.

Peace. I’m out.