Author

Net worth update: January 2018 (294,927.20€)

My current net worth is €294,927.20 (44.01% of my first goal – €670K).

The first month of 2018.

Shit, time flies. Even when you’re not having fun…

2017 was a unique year in my life, and 2018 is the turnaround year for me! In 2017 I was dizzy for the most part, struggled hard with CFS, but managed to grow my portfolio like never before!

This year, I focus on my health, on my company and on growing my net worth. I really want to escalate my real estate portfolio to a huge one.

My state of mind

I am quite OK with the growth rate of my net worth, but now my mind shifted to my company. We’re working hard to bring it up. In fact, I have no time for this blog, and given that the amount of money I make with it is very low, I may discontinue this project… 🙁

At the same time, I understood that my state of mind and type A personality has been the root cause of my adrenal fatigue.

I want to focus on my health above all and have enough energy to focus on my projects, including my company and my career. I do hope that 2018 will be the best year of my life, the year in which I reverse my illness! I promise to work hard and do my best towards that goal.

Rental income

RP#1 is still my Primary Property (PP).

The rental income in January was (unexpectedly) €1,225. I’ve been saying it should have been close to €2,000, but the renovation works in RP#3 took way longer than I expected. Also, as I sold RP#4, which means €200 less in the total rental income.

Next month, I know I will hit €1,700, and I will have another unit to rent out. Ideally, the portfolio as it is, should yield €2,000 every month.

During 2018, I expect to hit €3,500/mo at some point and I am positive I will do that.

Online income

My online income in January was low. As I said before, I either increment my SEO quality badly or it will be difficult to reach an amount that makes it a real business (at the very least €15,000/yr). Because I have very limited time to the blog, I don’t think it will grow in the next year.

As I also said before, I don’t think that I can make a lot of money on my blog if I don’t push it or I start displaying ads, which is something I am not particularly keen on doing. The strategy to my blog will definitely have to be carefully planned, but for now, I am not desperate to make money with it, so I will just stick to the original plan (no ads, no monetization, focus on growing the blog organically as much as possible).

If you want to have instant cash do NOT replicate my strategy; this one is for the long haul although I started to realize that I may actually terminate this project.

My Real Estate business

My Real Estate business is still growing. This year, I will try to make about €100,000 and cash out a part of that in dividends and mostly buy real estate through the company.

Goals for January

Stick to my perfect routine (I will write a post on this on January 8th). ALMOST DONE. Made some progress but I am still far from having perfect execution.
Finish my second book. DONE! I am excited about this one.
Take 1 week 100% off (and do this for the next 6 months!). FAIL. However, I understood how this is impacting my recovery and I will change gears soon.
Write 8 posts on the blog. DONE… but probably the last month I did so.
Write at least 1 guest post. DONE… but probably the last month I did so.
Take at least 7 cold showers. FAIL. One is too cold. Two I fear this may tax my adrenals too much.
Go to bed before 10.30pm every day (I will actually try 9:45 to create a safety buffer). FAIL. Argghhh, I regret this one. I am now at 11pm, but I will follow this in the next month for sure.
Follow the nofap protocol aggressively (for health reasons, not social phobia or anything like that). DONE! I ejaculated twice.
Increase my page authority beyond 50. FAIL. And honestly I don’t know what is going on…

Goals for February

Stick to my perfect routine.
Go for a walk every single day.
Take 1 week 100% off (and do this for the next 6 months!)
Go to bed before 10.30pm every day (I will actually try 9:45 to create a safety buffer).
Learn about bio-identical hormone modulation and start doing that.
Follow the nofap protocol aggressively (for health reasons, not social phobia or anything like that).
Be happy.

Enjoy life guys!

Ben

Blog,

Donate Button – supporting From Cents To Retirement

Hi guys,

If you have been following my online income reports you know that:

This blog doesn’t make much money, especially if we consider the amount of time I spend with it.
I don’t consider using ads because I want to keep it clean and turn it into something big.
It is true that some many readers that come to me through From Cents To Retirement but I could get clients from other sources and that doesn’t really justify the incredible amount of time I spend writing content.

The bottom line is that From cents to retirement is still a one guy show and I do everything from content creation to social media. I was asked many times to write a book, and I did. Many readers eventually became clients. I do get money from affiliate links and sponsored posts if they actually provide value.

But does all this justify the amount of time I put on the blog? The reality is I really don’t earn much from the blog (especially now that I have even more costs with a dedicated server and a Mailchimp paid account) so you know by now that this blog is way more of a labor of love than anything else…

Dude, you still make more money than 70% of the bloggers out there…

Financially wise, I’d actually be much better off if I invested this time into consulting, writing books or, more effectively, at my real estate company.

Since the beginning, my focus has always been entirely on content creation as opposed to monetization, and I am actually quite proud of that. I didn’t want the blog to be a cash machine but rather become something so big that it would attract people from all over the world. My intention was always to share knowledge and inspire people. I also wanted to become the number 1 reference for early retirement in Europe, at the same time I compared thing with the US and Canada, as I know both countries fairly well.

I think I have slowly met those goals. The blog is still growing (after all it is less than 2 years old yet!) and I am here for the long haul. My businesses, my job and even my CFS won’t prevent me from writing awesome content because I am one committed cookie and committed cookies go wherever it takes to deliver.

However, I still have to think financially. This can’t just be my hobby, I should have some return on my time. I won’t make From Cents to Retirement a selling machine, just like many blogs are becoming, but just to put this into perspective, if this was a business I couldn’t live off of it.

How hard is it to maintain a blog?

I can tell you this:

If this was my only job, it would be “easy”. Yet, I’d starve to death.

I can also tell you this:

There were many posts that I wrote with a huge sacrifice, in 2017, as I delt with permanent dizziness. CFS is a monster and I need to deal with it every single day. I can tell you that I’ve been under big stress sometimes, just because I had to deliver. I wanted to guys to have regular posts and learn as much as possible. Posts like “flipping houses with no money“, “geographic arbitrage“, “mastering lines of credit” or “investing in small towns vs big towns” are good examples of posts that took me hours to write, as they average 2400 words! Plus I did a lot of research to write these, and I bought infographics at $10/piece from Fiverr. All of this to please my readers and grow my blog.

I do feel like I put in a lot of effort into producing high-quality content for readers. And sometimes it is not easy…

Sadly, I can’t do this full time because I haven’t retired yet. I do also need to eat and grow my portfolio so I do need to make money. I considered a paid subscription service, but I would not have the time to produce high-quality newsletters at the same time I wrote big, informative posts on From Cents To Retirement. One would end up being dismissed.

The idea

Based on what I said above, I want to have a better return on my time. I also want to continue delivering great content and growing the blog. So I came up with the idea of a donate button, which gives everyone the chance to contribute as much as they can and want. I will be totally open about the donations, which I will report on my Online income reports and I will guarantee that the first $100/mo will be given back to the From Cents To Retirement community in the form of infographics, sponsored Facebook ads (which will bring more people -> more money -> better and better content -> happiness), etc. Most likely I will actually spend the donations entirely, mostly on Facebook ads, to grow the blog.

I feel that this can be a temporary idea until the blog grows to the point of making enough money. Enough money would mean covering the fixed expenses of the blog, hiring a VA full time to manage social media, editing posts, etc and put some money on my pocket every month (say $500). At this point, I’d fell it is worth to invest so much time into the blog.

Any donation you want to make is welcomed – even $1 is good! If you consider donating more than $1, please break it down into multiples of $12 and donate monthly… I’d actually get $1/mo than $12 right away. This would help me predict donations much better and plan accordingly as to hire a VA and spend money on infographics, etc.

Either way, don’t feel pressured to donate. Although I feel that some donations would come in handy now, I will continue producing the same content regardless of how much I get!

Toodles!

Ben

Daily life, Planning,

2018Q1 Goals

This year, I plan on reporting on my goals every quarter. I will keep you guys updated regarding not only the goals of each quarter but my accomplishments on each quarter.

As I said before, my number one goal this year is rebuilding my health, so it is also likely that these report posts will start off with my health goals. However, I still want to grow about 100k in my net worth, so I need to keep up with those high expectations as well.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I am a very goal-oriented guy, and so these goals should come at no surprise.

These are the goals for the first quarter of 2018:

Health (my no. one goal this year)

Improve my health tremendously by treating my gut, my adrenals, doing physical and mental detoxes.
1. Fix my gut. If you’re not aware of this, all disease begins and ends in the gut.
2. Resolve my dizziness. I’ve been dealing with this for a long time now.
3. Improve my energy and strength. I complain that I don’t have enough time, but I really don’t have enough energy.
4. Follow my “resting plan”. That is, I work on Tuesdays and Thursdays on 2018Q1 and stop on Wednesdays and Sundays in the rest of the year (check this out here).
Go to bed until 10:30 every single day.
1. This will help me fix my circadian rhythm.
Meditate and visualize every single day.
Follow my routine 95% of the time.

Be featured in a major newspaper.
Write at least 3 guest posts.
Write 2 posts every week without fail.
Increase the number of views steadily.
Be scheduled out until the end of the second quarter.
Increase my authority beyond 50.

minimalism save money

Company (co-owned by a partner)

Generate about 15k through my real estate company.
Have 150 high-quality backlinks to my companies site.
1. Write about 15 guest posts and 15 blog posts.
Have 3-5 products ready to be sold (my company will sell books, courses and what not).
1. Have our primary book (on Real Estate) rock and rollin’ hard.
2. On top of that, have our 6 main products (market studies) up and selling.
3. Have 3 agreements for books.
Hit 1000 likes on Facebook.

money

Net worth

Sell my primary property for a profit, and buy a primary property that is better (aka more valuable) for 75% of whatever I make on my property.
Finish my part-time job and move to a new one.
1. Save 3k.
Write another book.
Buy at least 2 properties.
1. I am truly excited about this!

Uncategorized,

5 Tricks for Direct Sales Success

Direct sales is a marketing approach that involves selling products directly to consumers, bypassing the middleman. Sales typically occur outside of the retail environment, often in people’s homes or workplaces.

You can use direct sales to earn extra income or turn your business into a full-time career. Whatever your goal is, be patient with yourself as you hone your skills. As with any profession, it takes time to learn and perfect the techniques necessary for success.

If you’re ready to give direct sales a try, follow the tips below to get started.

Build Strong Relationships

In today’s busy digital society, people crave human interaction. Direct sales provide an avenue for you to give people the interaction they desire while growing your business. Through your presentations and conversations, you’ll build rapport with your customers in ways that only direct selling allows.

Consumers tend to buy from people they trust, so work on developing a friendly, enthusiastic attitude. Following-up with customers will cement your relationship and is the backbone of good customer service. On-going contact is the best way to build repeat business.

Strive to build personal, meaningful relationships. It’s the most effective way to get referrals and build a team.

Set Reasonable Goals

Set reasonable goals for yourself. Without concrete objectives, you can easily overthink instead of act.

Figure out what you want to accomplish, divide large goals into small tasks, set a timeline, and record everything. For example, if your goal is to make enough money to quit your full-time job, determine what achievable tasks you need to complete to attain it.

Set a deadline for making your first sale, presentation, thousand dollars, and so on, but give yourself a reasonable length of time for each. Regularly accomplishing tasks will give you confidence that will propel you forward.

Take Advantage of the Built-in Support Network

One of the most important advantages direct sales professionals have over other entrepreneurs is their access to a built-in support network. Amway, a leading direct sales company that specializes in health, beauty, and home care products, provides these networks so that you can seek advice from experienced independent business owners who were once in your position. Using and applying what you learn will prevent you from making common mistakes, save you time, and allow you to reach your goals more quickly.

Reach out, ask questions, and build relationships with your colleagues. Those activities will benefit you now and for years to come.

Identify Your Target Market

Figure out who wants your product and concentrate on targeting them. This approach is the most efficient use of your time; don’t waste your energy marketing to people who don’t want what you’re selling.

After you’ve determined who needs your product, figure out where to find them. Learn about what websites they frequent, social media groups they use, magazines they read, and organizations they belong to. Focus your marketing efforts in these areas.

Differentiate Yourself from Others in Your Network

Give people a reason to buy from you. The best way to achieve this goal is to offer exceptional service. Word-of-mouth referrals are an easy, inexpensive, and effective way to grow your business.

To set yourself apart, consider handing out freebies, giving discounts, writing thank-you notes, and maintaining a blog or website. Anything you can do to offer a higher level of service than your business counterparts will give you an advantage.

Takeaway

Direct sales opportunities are feasible, worthwhile, and rewarding ways to start a business. Like any profession, it takes time to hone the skills necessary for success, but the structure of the industry gives you a head start. You don’t need any formal qualifications. The built-in support network provides encouragement and assistance, and its flexibility allows you to earn extra income without quitting your day job.

If you’re ready to jump into the world of entrepreneurship, direct sales can provide a good avenue for you to do so.

Interviews,

Interview #8 – Angry Retail Banker from AngryRetailBanker.com

This is the eighth interview of my interview series, where I interview bloggers blogging about Early Retirement, Personal Finance, and related topics. After publishing my first book, I am writing my second book, which will be on what I learned interviewing millionaires. As you can see, I love interviewing people.

ARB actually gave me this interview in mid-2017 so this is why there is a leg in terms of timespan. Either way, it is a great interview, I hope you guys like it.

Q1 – Who is ARB?

Classified. Next?

[Ben: Too bad you can’t say anything about yourself ;)]

Q2 – What do you do for a living and what do you like the most about it?

As the Angry Retail Banker, I make a living being an angry retail banker. Specifically, I work as a licensed banker in a bank branch, selling insurance and annuities along with your standard banking products. As for what I like the most, I’d really have to say the benefits. The benefits for even a part-time teller straight out of high school with no work experience are absolutely amazing. Honestly, there’s not much past that to like. It’s a great job if you love meeting new people day in and day out. I hate the general public. As well as the nonsensical regulations, the tight leash we’re all kept on, the office politics, the low pay, and all the other hallmarks of being an employee of Corporate America.

[Ben: Corporate America and Corporate rest-of-the-word suck. FIRE is the way to go, especially if you have the general public. I also hate stress and dealing with people who I don’t really like. I feel your pain man!]

Q3 – Why did you start your blog and what is your main goal with it?

I started my blog as part of a plan to earn passive retirement for financial freedom. I’ve seen bloggers earn four to five figures monthly from blogging, and I thought “Why not me? Why not now?” Well, I’ve only earned about three figures in as many years, so that. But I also started a blog on banking (rather than something like cars, which I have zero interest in) for the purposes of venting my frustration with retail customer service, learning more about banking than I would during my forty hours per week and learning things that I wouldn’t know otherwise, and to help others with a part of personal finance that is so prevalent in our lives yet so misunderstood. Eventually, I would like to be earning a decent income from my blog (be it through Google Adsense, affiliate marketing, or sponsored guest posts) while becoming one of the bigger names in the finance blogging community.

[Ben: My experience tells me that if you do it for the money, you should have a well-tuned selling machine from day 1. Otherwise, you’ll only make a few bucks. Going the other way, as I did, will take you to much higher figures but will take you infinitely longer to get there.]

Q4 – Any big plans for your blog for the near future?

Other than not running it more into the ground than it already is? I have a few things that I’m looking to have happen by the end of this year, but I’m keeping that stuff close to the vest. Wait, “close to the vest”, no that’s not the term. What’s the expression? I swear I’m a native English speaker.

[Ben: Ahaha, not sure you ran it to the ground. Keep hustling!]

Q5 – What was the main reason for you to think about early retirement?

I hate working.

That’s really the number 1 reason. I know it’s the “wrong” reason, but it really is the case. I want to live the life I want to live. I don’t want to spend my days fighting customers over the verification requirements for their business accounts. I don’t want to spend my days worrying about neverending sales quotas. I have other things I want to do with my life, so early retirement to me doesn’t involve sitting around and doing nothing all day. But to simply not have to worry about work-related stuff–stuff that’s not even really important–and to have that stress off me is reason enough to shoot for financial freedom regardless of what I do or don’t do afterwards.

[Ben: I would not say that is the wrong motivation. If do you have working, then FIRE up!]

Q6 – At what age are you most likely to retire from your day job?

172

[Ben: Make sure you get some beers then, you’ll likely want to enjoy them!]

Q7 – What do you plan on doing after retirement?

Blogging full time. Running my side business full time. Traveling more (or rather, traveling in the first place). Volunteering my time to teach financial literacy (me and another banker are already considering doing that now, but other obligations have pretty much put the kibosh on that). Devoting more time to keeping my body healthy. Maybe starting another blog devoted to anime/manga reviews (“One Piece”=best manga EVER). Doing Youtube/Twitch Let’s Play’s.

I’ll tell you what I won’t do after retirement. Deal with customers.

[Ben: Angry customers. I see the problem.]

Q8 – What investments do you like the best, and why?

Income producing assets are the best, and I’m specifically a fan of dividend growth investing. If you buy dividend stocks across a spectrum of industries, geographies, and market caps, then you have a diversified portfolio of assets that can be nearly recession-proof even if you are only in one “asset class”. Being in one asset class is only a problem when all the assets are the same. With dividend stocks, you are investing in so many quality businesses all over the world. Plus, isn’t it wonderful to earn money while having ZERO obligations? Even a landlord has to fix a toilet or deal with a rowdy tenant every now and again; a shareholder collects his dividends and there is NOTHING expected of him.

[Ben: I agree that dividend stocks are AWESOME when it comes to obligations. In my company, I am trying to invest the surplus in stocks rather than RE. But I still think RE is the best investment vehicle to go with.]

Q9 – How about eleven places you love that you’ve visited or have lived in?

I haven’t been to eleven places.

[Ben: Dude! Traveling doesn’t have to be expensive!]

Q10 – What are your goals for the rest of 2017?

Become a homeowner, leave retail banking, and not lock anybody in a room and set them on fire. All three goals are looking iffy.

[Ben: I am curious – how many have you achieved?]

Daily life, Health, Lifestyle, Planning,

My morning and evening routine for success (started January 1st)

My morning and evening routines – what I will do for my health in 2018

Given that I need to resolve a few health issues, especially related to dizziness, I need to come up with a morning and day routine that is really powerful against disease in general. I will be combining this with a fine-tuned diet, acupuncture and a few other things.

Waking up

Thank God for the day and promise Him and myself I will live to its fullest, as well as be generous, kind and happy.
Use positive affirmations.
Motivate myself, including convincing myself of my natural ability to heal.
Meditate for 5 minutes.
Visualize for 5 minutes.
Stand up and stretch.

Start the day with a vegetable juice (possibly with beets¹) with ionic minerals. Alternatively, I may have these ionic minerals with a citrus (mostly lemon) juice, or I will drink a ginger tea. Every quarter, I will do 1-month cycles of bromelain on empty stomach, to lower inflammation in the body.

During the day

30 minutes a day of infra-red therapy.
30 minutes of deep meditation.
Strech my neck (seems to work well against a stiff neck, like mine).
Do lymph drainage massages whenever possible.
Go for a run whenever energy allows and there is sun out there. Do that as close to noon as possible.

As for the lymph massage, I will go with this one:

Now, there are a few things that I will make a priority throughout the year because I am positive they will help me:

Detox at the very least 2 in the year, but probably once (meaning 7 days) every quarter and one day in the week (Sunday).
Drink bone broth² at least once a month. This is hard because we need to prepare it, and it takes a long time to cook. I don’t care, it heals a leaky gut 😉
Eat tons (I mean at least 20% of my food intake) of fermented foods and bring my gut to a whole new level.
Avoid ejaculation as much as possible, and at least for 60 days every quarter.
Massage my own body in a way that I work on the fascia of my stomach, back, and neck.
Put the computer away on Sundays (all of a sudden it feels that I have a lot of time).
Take care of my gut so that my bowels move at least once a day, minimum. Ideally, I will get to 2x/day.
Drink tons of water throughout the year.
Continue to learn about health, detoxing and gut health.
Learn how to do awesome bone broths, and fermented foods such as kombucha, water kefir and fermented vegetables and fruits.

Going to bed (always before 10:30!)

Thank God for the day and the great things that I had.
Thank God for all the good things that I have in my life. Being grateful is praying for real.
Meditate for 5 minutes;
Visualize for 5 minutes;
Use ho’oponoopono for the bad things that happened in the day or things that bother me.

Is there anything else you’d recommend me to do? 🙂 Go ahead and let me know in the comments down below. 😉

Ben

¹ – beets have betaine – a powerful cancer fighter and liver supporter, and nitrates – which relax blood vessels and improve the blood flow, plus it has a lot of iron which is great to fight anemia and fights inflammation.

² – bone broth is super healthy, especially if you’ve got leaky gut. Check out this presentation by Dr. Kaayla Daniel, who researched bone broth for over 20 years.

Uncategorized,

Why You Shouldn’t Represent Yourself to the IRS

Whether you are expecting a refund this year, or you anticipate owing on your taxes, submitting and completing all necessary forms can be overwhelming. You may find yourself second-guessing on what is required or what forms you might need and making an amateur mistake on your taxes can lead to a tax audit.

Although less than 1% of taxpayers are audited by the IRS, it is important to retain a registered agent or attorney if you are summoned to an audit. There are several advantages of retaining an expert. An attorney or registered agent can help you understand the process of an audit, understand tax laws in relation to your specific case, help you avoid penalties, and begin potential negotiation plans between you and the IRS. If you are having a difficult time handling your tax problems, you are more likely to have all of your tax issues resolved by getting expert help.

Understanding the Audit Process

Image via Flickr by Free For Commercial Use (FFC)

If you have received a 90-day notice from the IRS, you will be required to respond within those 90 days to appeal your case. A lot of times issues with the IRS can be resolved without stepping foot into a courtroom, but this doesn’t mean an attorney won’t be necessary.

Once the process begins, your appeal will be sent to the Office of Appeals where you can work out a settlement. There are several options your attorney can take, including an Installment Agreement or an Offer in Compromise. It is important to exhaust all options before resorting to tax court. By having an expert on your side, you can align all of your documents and defend your case properly to receive the best outcome.

Tax Law and Your Case

Once you receive a letter from the IRS, most people tend to act quickly. It is important to review what the IRS is claiming and be prepared to make corrections or challenge their claims. The IRS is not always right, and there may be a miscommunication or potential clerical errors in your case. By obtaining a tax attorney who knows the law, it will make your case easier to manage, and tax attorneys can catch errors and challenge incorrect claims from the IRS because of their expert knowledge and familiarity with IRS cases.

Avoiding Penalties and Repayment Plans

Severe tax penalties can impact your livelihood. Proper representation can help you avoid paying high penalties and even assist you with getting on a payment plan that doesn’t place a financial burden on your family. Attorneys are there to ensure their clients receive the best possible outcome. Your advocate will make it easier to justify simple mistakes and negotiate payment plans that won’t leave you in a bind. The main goal of a tax attorney is to limit the amount of money you will owe and help you understand your taxes.

Facing the IRS can be intimidating, but if you hire someone to represent you, it will be much easier to digest the information you are receiving. It is also another way to learn from your mistakes and understand your financial situation a little better for the following year.

Planning,

Goals for 2018

Hi guys,

As I’ve been saying, I am very excited about 2018 because I have many goals and I deeply believe I will be able to reach them. This year will probably be the most important year towards achieving financial independence.

Don’t get me wrong. 2017 was awesome, from several different angles. It was also bad in the sense that struggled with dizziness and sickness the entire year.

Health (my no. 1 goal)

Resolve my dizziness and brain fog for good.
- By following my naturopath’s treatment, doing a lot of acupuncture sessions and having a healthy diet and routine.
Resolve my CFS.
- By following the plan above.
Go for a run whenever there is sunlight out there.
- Luckily I live in Portugal, where you vacation. 🙂
Get my circadian rhythm fixed.
- I will write an article called “the perfect routine”, which I’ve been following, and you’ll learn about this.
Do at least 2-4 detoxes in the year.
- Everyone should do this, but for me they are particularly important.
Eat tons of sauerkraut and start drinking kombucha. Eat tons of fermented fruits.
- Gotta move my lazy ass and start making sauerkraut.
Get bloodwork done every quarter (March, June, September, December).
- I will actually take 2 weeks at the end of each quarter to take care of lots of stuff, including this.

From Cents To Retirement

Grow my Facebook page to, at least, 5,000 likes.
- I will have to hire some FB ninja because my skills suck and I don’t have the time to do this.
Grow my subscriber list to, at least, 5,000 subscribers (currently at about 2,000).
- Start to foster subscribers to participate often in the “cult”.
Hit Domain authority >50, Page authority >60 and Spam score 0.
- Currently at 34, 45, 5.
- Create the FCTR-network, which will be a network of bloggers who help each other.
Hit at least 1,000 sessions a day from organic searches (I am currently at 120-150).
- Rank TOP3 for 200-300 keywords (currently at 30).
Grow monthly traffic to at least 50,000-75,000 readers often (organic searches should be a third at the very least).
- The goal is to have always at least 50,000 readers/mo even if I don’t drive additional traffic.
Post over 100 articles.
- This is roughly 2 posts/week.
Be scheduled out for 3 months all the time.
- And publish an interview/guest post every month.
Publish at least 10 guest posts.
- This year I will aim for the biggest blogs out there.
Hit $300/mo on truly passive income.
- This means without pushing a single sale.
Post a lot on psychology, business, and efficient spending.
- Because I got more interested in these topics as time went by and I want FCTR to be a reference for all this, not only ER.
Optimize the heck out of this site in terms of speed, resources, and UX.
- I have a specialist working on this already. Hopefully, we’ll have tremendous results. I want to have a very clean, easy to use, fast website.
Be featured on two global major sites.
- I managed to be featured in Business Insider last year, as a result of a post that I wrote for BudgetsAreSexy.
Publish 2-4 books.
- One is already written and the other one is already planned.

Finances

Hit a total net worth of €400,000-€450,000 (currently at 300k).
- And be ready to hit €750,000-€800,000 in 2019 so that I can retire.
Scale my RE portfolio as projected here, with lines of credit, as announced here.
- In theory, this should allow me to grow my assets’ value to $798,000 (this will come from deep-value deals).
Get way more exposed to dividend stocks and the stock market in general, even if I predict it will crash in the next 2 years.
- I always liked stocks but holding on to cash is SO boring… plus, I want to enjoy compound interest.
Increase my truly passive income (excluding rental income) to $700/mo.
- This will come from the stock market, royalties and stuff.
Be able to retire if I go with extreme minimalism.
- which I won’t, but this will provide a mental shift and an emotional comfort…

RE company

Bring at the very least 50k in revenue.
- In 2017, it brought in about €25,000 with a practically inexistent structure.
Hit 3k/mo (conservative goal) or 5k/mo (aggressive goal) on fixed-income (through contracts and investments).
- Currently at 0/mo.
- This is really what will enable me to jump to the next level, because I will be able to hire 1/2 full-time employees.
Keep costs below 10k, so that it makes 40k at the end of the year (which will be enough to buy a property).
- The main goal is to keep on acquiring properties for the company so that I am able to bring in 5,000€/mo on fixed income.
Be featured in at least one major newspaper.
- This will help me with exposure. I already have the contacts in place, it will simply be a question of time.
Publish 2 e-products (which will be big in the future of the company).
- I will probably publish 1 or 2 books in the first year.
- After that, I want to move into online courses, small e-books and what not. This is when I will capitalize on all the content I’ve been creating, e.g. articles like “invest in small towns or big towns“.

Personal development

Continue to learn about health and test what works for me.
- This is actually a big goal that I have in my life. I’ve been learning a LOT about health and next year I plan to keep it that way.
Being able to enjoy life every single day, being able to relax and not feel pressured to make money/whatever.
- The truth is that, since I started to execute my plan to retire early, I am obsessed with making money. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I want to ease this feeling.
Follow a success routine that I carefully put together.
- I will write a post this month on a wonderful routine that will put my self-discipline to the test.
Not let other people influence me negatively.
- This is something I struggle with for a long time – this is the year to really make it happen.
Do a people and technology fast every quarter.
- I am so doing this!

As time goes by, I plan to talk release quarterly reports on these goals (both for what I have accomplished and what are the goals for the following quarter).

If you think I am forgetting something, please let me know in the comments down below.

Ben

Health, Lifestyle, Planning,

Relection on 2017 and a brief look at 2018 in terms of health, work and finances

Happy new year guys!

I am so very excited about the new year. 2017 was probably one of the most special years of my life and I learned a lot. It is scaring that 2017 is already over. Time flies even when you’re not having fun!

There were a few things that happened in 2017 that make me consider it very peculiar:

I moved to Portugal and I started living alone, in one of my beautiful rental properties. Living alone on this property is freaking awesome!
I felt dizzy/nauseous for the most part of the year, and my CFS/adrenal fatigue was exacerbated in specific parts of the year. This was so relevant and debilitating for me, that 2017 was marked by my dizziness.
Although I first considered doing a gap year, being off of work for 12 months, I ended up getting a part-time, reasonably well-paying job, which allowed me to focus on other projects in my life. This enabled me to grow wiser.
My real estate business took off and brought home some decent income. I realized I can retire earlier than I expected at first, especially if my projections for 2018 are met.
I was able to re-structure my real estate portfolio and hit €1,800/mo in rental income (with about €400/mo in liabilities).
…among many other things.

You can also check out the entire list of my goals I had for the year. Overall, I did pretty well:

Post at least 3 times a week. ALMOST DONE. There was a period where I clearly published less often but I was able to keep 2 posts/week for most of the time. Sadly, anything above this is not realistic (unless I do like 90% of the bloggers – who hire ghostwriters – which I don’t want). In fact, many great blogs, such as Backlinko only have a few articles published and yet they get a ton of traffic.
I hope to complete the task of re-reading 100 books, and provide summaries and reviews for all of them. FAIL. This is more like “I changed the plans for the year. Entirely.” I do hope to read some books this year (and publish reviews and summaries) but it won’t be close to 100 for sure. I have plenty of things that I could do with my time beyond that.
Grow the number of subscribers of the blog to 6000 (I was at 650 last year), and 25.000 likes on Facebook. FAIL. This was also pretty unrealistic without spending more money on Facebook ads and what not. I am not disappointed though. This year, I hope to double the number of Facebook likes. Not sure if this is totally realistic, but I hope it is.
Find a fully flexible (probably freelancing or consultancy) job, which permits me to live in one of my units and make $25k for the year. DONE. I worked part-time at a Portuguese university and got a pretty nice salary for the Portuguese standards. I used most of it to fund the renovation of RP#3 so I definitely feel I put the money to work!
Rent out all my units and make $20k from that. DONE. Fortunately, the demand for apartments in my markets is pretty high, and so I don’t have many troubles in renting them out. I feel this will be the case in the following years, but I plan to rent out many or my properties to companies anyways.
Make $40k on my investments and businesses. ALMOST DONE. I only made 50-60% of that but I am still happy with this.
The ultimate goal was to make $85k, net $50k. DONE. I didn’t net $50k in cash, but I was able to grow my portfolio by LINK LINK.
I wanted to dominate the Portuguese fiscal code. ALMOST DONE. I sure learned a lot but mastering it like an accountant would retire me way more attention than I am willing to put into this.
I wanted to participate a lot on Quora. ALMOST DONE. I missed the stats that I aimed for, but I was able to reach more than 10k followers.
I wanted to publish 3 books. ALMOST DONE. The first one is published, the second one is written and the third one is planned. Good enough?
Not letting other people affect me in a negative way. FAIL. This is also why I wanted to fast from people during Christmas time LINK.
Cultivate all my friendships and create at least 10 new great relationships. ALMOST DONE. I was able to make 3 or 4 new great friends.
Learn a lot about renovating homes (and doing it myself). FAIL. I swear I tried, but feeling exhausted and dizzy all the time was a killer.
I wanted to regain the shape I had in 2011. FAIL. Again, I swear I tried, but feeling exhausted and dizzy all the time was a killer.
Do one or two 7-day juice cleanse with organic juicing. ALMOST DONE. I did at least 3 different detoxes so this is done.
Move to my dream home, and live alone. DONE. Just not the home I initially thought I was going to move to.

Why am I so excited about 2018

2018 will be big for me because I feel that although this may take a while, I am moving towards the right direction with my health, at the same time I am taking my company to a whole new level. The big thing for my company will be hiring 1 or 2 full-time employees and grow the fixed income to €5,000/mo.

In other words, I can now see the dream a few miles away from me. And the dream is to be healthy and set up an efficient real estate company that has a few employees and runs pretty much automatically.

I also feel that 2018 will be big for From Cents To Retirement. I will work badly to grow it to a reference blog in early retirement. I do hope to hit 3x more the traffic I currently have, by the end of the year.

As for my health, I have a few plans as well. And this year I will be sticking to them badly! I will write a complete article on my perfect morning and evening routines and I will cover all the plans for my health in 2018.

Later this week I will be publishing an article on the goals for 2018 and you can scrutinize them thoroughly. 😉

Let me know how 2017 was for you.

Ben

online income report income diary report how to make money online

Reports,

December 2017 (Online Income: $317.49)

My online income and blog stats in December 2017

Welcome to my income diary. If you wonder how do websites make money and how to make money with a website, you may find my reports useful.

I release reports on my online income every month.

I’ve received many e-mails concerning this matter. Most people ask me “What can I do to start a side online business?” or “What can I do to make a few hundred bucks at the end of the month”? First, know that I offer consulting services for this, on 1:1 consultations. Either way, let me hash out a general recipe here:

0) Choose a niche. Many people choose niches based on keyword search. I highly recommend people to blog about what they are passionate about instead. If you add value, any niche will work out for you.

1) Set up a website. I host my website on Bluehost, which I highly recommend. For one, its cheap, two is highly reliable. If you are interested in starting a blog of your own, I created a tutorial here, to help you start off.

2) Blog. A lot. You may have noticed that I’ve posted twice in the month, on specific months when I started From cents to Retirement. Doesn’t work. It won’t tie people in, it won’t please search engines and your blog will rapidly be forgotten. Note that I am not saying “publish crap”. Do not, if you expect to have loyal fans and grow. But do not forget to publish.

3) Promote your blog. A big part of having your blog out there for people to see is through high-quality posts – eventually, people will share. Promoting your blog will not only get it out there faster but deeper. Promoting your blog can be very hard, but its necessary.

4) Monetize. Adsense is an option. I like Amazon a lot. If you offer consultancy services, as I do, you need to show you can do it yourself first, but clients will pop up eventually.

So, how did I make $317.49 this month? First, the breakdown:

Bluehost : $0 (vs $0 in November)
Affiliate marketing : $31.05 (vs $29.26 in November)
My book : $36.34 (vs $49.10 in November)
Consultancy fees : $0 (vs $0 in November)
Sponsored posts on other sites : $300 (vs $0 in November)
Produts to review: $250

Total : $317.49

Disclaimer: the BlueHost and the Amazon links are affiliate links, which means that I get commissions if you buy products or services through them. The amounts reported above are before any fees, taxes or expenses. I can’t say exactly how much I will net from this.

This month, I haven’t consulted as I am still sick and I don’t feel like consulting. I feel dizzy and overwhelmed, and I experience nausea throughout the day.

Note that although I am committed to release my income diary and help those who want to know how to make money with a blog, if they and blogging for money, my primary focus is not to make money with the blog, but create a very valuable platform that people love.

Expenses

I had no expenses this month.

Views

Still dizzy and nauseous (for one year now!), I’ve been able to post as often as I wanted. I haven’t posted as much on Quora – I actually prefer to invest my time on awesome posts for From Cents To Retirement. I have been targeting posts with at least 2000 words, that are really comprehensive on the topic I post on.

Unlike what I thought, I haven’t been featured in another big newspaper again and so the views came down to “normal”, plus December is a really bad month in terms of traffic:

And the number of sessions:

Something odd happened with regards to this! I have been able to steadily increase the number of organic searches I have every month, and they finally surpassed 30% of the total number of visits. Yet, this month they came down aggressively – I hope I wasn’t penalized. I am still up with my goal to be at 1,000 views per day exclusively from organic searches until July 2018, and 25,000 likes on Facebook. If I am able to do this, my blog will have enough views to build the basis for a reference for early retirement. This is why I am so focused on hitting these two numbers!

My authority has increased: the domain authority is now at 34 and the page authority is 45. I actually thought I would have a higher increase based on last month’s acquired links, but this hasn’t been the case. Therefore, I am onto SEO once again.

My Alexa rank is now stable at 294,500!

Social Media

My Facebook page grew from 2059 likes to 2100. This is an increase of about 2%, which, compounded, would make me hit roughly 2400 likes by July 2018. Of course this is not good and I need to dramatically enhance what I am doing with my Facebook account. 🙂

As I said before, I am not keeping track of Pinterest anymore.

As for the subscriber count, I was able to grow it from 1726 to 1739, which means an increase of less than 1%. This is because I lost some subscribers as I sent too many newsletters (as I predicted before).

Goals for December 2017:

Increase the number of likes on my Facebook page to 2200. FAIL.
Maintain the number of blog subscribers, as I will clean up some that don’t open newsletters. DONE.
Write at least 1 guest post. DONE.
Make about $250 online. DONE.

Goals for January 2018:

Increase the number of likes on my Facebook page to 2200.
Maintain the number of blog subscribers, as I will clean up some that don’t open newsletters.
Write at least 1 guest post.
Make about $250 online.

In the meantime, let me know if this information is useful to you by commenting down below.

Your biggest fan,
Ben Davis