You Will Not Get Rich From This Blog

First.. I’d like to thank everyone for all the wonderful comments from my previous post. Opening up and being an honest type of guy was my intention when I started this blog; even if it meant sharing embarrassing details about my life. Then again, most of us have a less than perfect life, so Hey, when you start your own blog, don’t be afraid to be a real person. Your readers will connect better with you.

Anyways… Moving and Moving “In” to the new house was my focus last month so I really didn’t find the time to reply to any of the comments. Which really is pathetic since I found the time to re-discover “Hulu” and watch old UFC fights for an hour or so before bed every night this month. Since I’ve lost my office I’ve rediscovered my big super comfy recliner and have been melting in it with my lap top every night. A great way to end the night but not very productive.

Back to the topic of today’s post.

PTC Box has finally launched!!

For those of you not in the know. The long respected MatrixMails has promised us a new site for over a year now. MatrixMails is one of the few PTC sites that have stood the test of time and thrived since 2002. I don’t join most of the new PTC sites these days, but MatrixMails was one of my first many years ago. Although they have had problems with paypal and now only pay through AlertPay, I’ve never had an issue and still consider MatrixMails one of my favorites.

PTC Box. First off, I love the name. When I first saw it a couple days ago I had to do a double take. I’m so used to “Bux” sites being all the rage that I almost slapped my self in the head in disbelief…”Did they really just create another “Bux” site?” Nope. Not that I’m against Bux sites ( although I don’t join 99% of them ), I just wanted to be refreshed with a new idea.

PTC Box has a few new ideas. Including the “Chat with your Referral when they are online” feature.

Another feature that I like is the custom upgrade option. I think it’s very important to upgrade in a program that your serious about and plan to promote. Most importantly though I think it’s even more important to not be pressured into spending money beyond your budget in hopes of making more money. Don’t be pressured into would of, could of’s, should of’s. Stick with what you can afford and move in a positive direction.

Of course being a Free member is fine as well and with the minimum $2 cash out it’s nice to see that everyone has a realistic chance of seeing some extra dough in the not so distant future.

So what is my upgrade level going to be? Honestly, I really didn’t plan for any new upgrades this month. Although I have been anticipating the launch of PTC Box, for some time now, I think I’m going to customize my upgrade with less personal click earnings and focus more on getting another level of downline earning. Haven’t quite decided but my budget is going to be in the $30 to $40 dollar range. For a year that’s pretty darn reasonable. Most importantly, the money I’m spending is money I’m already making online and what I can comfortably afford to lose. Sure I’ll probably lose out on some potential earnings by not upgrading higher, but it’s what I can afford this month and my earnings will increase without overextending my budget.

Once again, PTC Box as with all programs I talk about here, are Free to Join, Earn and Cash Out. Oh and yes, you do have the option of paypal for your cash outs.

So first impressions are pretty good. A much anticipated site with a few twists should make for a fun new program.

Of course I’ll expect some growing pains as PTC Box evolves in the next couple months; but that’s normal when a new site launches.

In the meantime. It’s cold outside and I’m not happy about it! At all!! So with that said my signature will remain

Phil ( is it Summer yet ) Ames

I thought I’d break away from my life for a few minutes to write another “Where the Hell has Phil been?” post.

Well for the most part of last week we were without internet. Not because there was a glitch in the system, or our computers broke down or anything. Simply put, we couldn’t pay our bill. That’s not true. Actually we could pay our internet bill on say Tuesday, it’s just when we went to pay it, two other bills or financial thingy’s came up.

Yup.. we’ve been playing the “first bill to get to the bank gets paid that day” game for the last couple years.

So since I was without internet ( not counting my Droid ), I found the time to read a short book I started a year ago called “Rich Dad Poor Dad”. I remember the first time I attempted to read it I don’t think my attention was on what the book was telling me. I think I might have been looking for tips or insights on how to make more money. I don’t know, I just didn’t absorb what I was reading and half way through I stopped reading.

This time around, absorb it I did! Well at least the first half.

Assets Vs’ Liability. Of course. It doesn’t matter how much money we make, it’s how we manage, use it and grow it. We can make all the money in the world, but if we constantly live beyond our means without creating “Assets” to cover our “Liabilities” then we are just in this constant cycle of trying to keep up.

Here’s my example.

A couple years ago I lost my job of ten years. At the time my wife and I were bringing home over $7000 a month after tax’s. A few years before losing my job we bought a house that we could afford and filled it full of furniture. We were on top of the world and spending money because we had it. We had great credit and lots of credit to spend if we needed to, or didn’t need to. Our house doubled in value and we refinanced the first time to buy a new 4Runner for me ( which I still have ) a new computer for me ( which I still have ), and to pay off all our debt. We then had no debt, no car payments, and if I remember correctly an extra $500 per month after all was said and done.

Yet we didn’t take advantage of that opportunity to save money. We just kept on going with no financial safety net. We just kept spending money because we had it. Not building asset’s and assuming that we were secure. Until I lost my secure well paying job.

Losing my job was crushing to me. Being part of our recession was even more crushing since I couldn’t find a job for seven months. Holy Crap! I’ve been working since I was 15.. how could “I” not find a job.

The good and bad news is that I had enough credit built up to keep us afloat for almost a year. Yet during that time we didn’t really change our spending habits. We had money so we spent it!!

Until the money ran out and reality hit. We couldn’t pay our mortgage. We had no more credit and no savings.

We lost our home through “short sale”. We rented a larger home for $1000 less per month and thought we were safe.

Damn those “Liabilities”!! They just kept creeping up. All those bills and accounts we could no longer pay for. Which is why a simple $50 internet bill didn’t get paid for three months. It’s really humbling and embarrassing and I know that I’m not the only one that is going through this tough time.

Ya know though, I’m only blaming myself. I think back on that first refinance and how we could have made better choices. I think back on my naive days of internet marketing and how I could have made better choices.. I think back a lot.

But today is today and I can keep dwelling on the past and losing sleep, or I can move forward.

Moving forward. We’re Moving Again!! Too a smaller house with a fantastic backyard. Lot’s of gardening space for me, and a large lawn for the kids to play. Cheaper rent of course. It really sucks to move and to move into a place that is half the size, but part of our recovery is to make sacrifices and to move “forward”.

In my absence over the last year I’ve come to realize what an asset this blog has become. Even though I haven’t written much I still get referrals for various programs almost daily. Although I’m not making $1000′s per month, it’s comforting to know that my past efforts have helped buy food, gas, and the occasional beer. My blog pays for itself and then some. Even when I’m not writing for a month or two.

After our move into the new house I want to make it even more of an asset. Even though I’ve been firmly against sponsored advertising ( google, yahoo, etc.. ), I’m seriously reconsidering. Revenue is revenue and who am I do deny someone from finding an opportunity that fits their needs and possibly improving there lifestyle while increasing my financial well being as well. Fighting myself on this one.

Anyways, just thought I’d break my silence by sharing and venting. I’m off of work tomorrow to move into the new house. Looking forward to my new back yard and listening to SF Giants games while I garden next spring and summer.

Talk to you soon

Phil ( philsfault ) Ames

Okay, so a lot of you daily clickers won’t like the new ClixSense feature at all. Your used to opening two or three browser windows and a couple tabs in each window. You then spend a half hour or so clicking your ads for the day without a care as to what advertisement your clicking on.

Although, I do this as well. I really don’t feel guilty about not paying much attention to “most” of the advertising out there. I do pay attention to ads that catch my attention or ads ( and FACES! ) that I see consistently. I’ll often click through and hope to find a new blog or check out a new opportunity.

Mostly though I just click my ads and earn my few cents for the day.

Some might think this is unfair to the advertiser or the program owner who places the ads. As an advertiser myself I don’t think it’s unfair at all. It’s the nature of the beast and it’s up to me to get people to stop and pay attention to what I have to say or promote; which is why “branding” is so damn important.

Like I mentioned above, most of us will click an ad, move on to the next tab or window and click the next ad. This is really good time management and allows us to earn a bit of extra cash in a short amount of time. Lets face it, we are dealing with pennies here, so it makes “cents” to earn as much as we can while spending the least amount of time doing it. Then of course moving on to our other tasks and daily goals.

Today ClixSense introduce the new “View the Ad or don’t get Paid” feature. Meaning, when you click an ad on ClixSense, you have to stay and until the timer runs out. If you click on another window or tab the timer will start over. Forcing you to stay put and view the ad that you’ve clicked on for the duration of the exposure time the advertiser has paid for.

As an advertiser, I think this is an innovative and awesome idea.

As an ad clicker it sucks!

At the end of the day, it really benefits the advertiser more.

The clicker is forced to do what he ( or she ) is supposed to do; entertain the advertisers offer and not be distracted by ten other pages and get paid for viewing that advertisement.

As an advertiser, it makes sure that your ad is seen and not just clicked. Awesome!!

I believe that other sites will follow and the PTC industry will continue to evolve.

After all, it is all about Advertising, isn’t it.

Phil ( Philfault ) Ames