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Alright, I did say I would spill the beans on this last Friday, and I didn’t, so shoot me. You know how it is.
Yes, yes, I bought a website. That’s why my net worth numbers weren’t as good as they could have been, that’s why my budget is a bit wonky now, that’s why (a lot of things). So now, the “why that.”
Why did Jake drop a wad of cash on a website?
Well, because sometimes Jake does some pretty silly things, that’s why! I’ve been keeping my eye on Flippa for quite some time now, looking for anything that could be a good buy. Unfortunately, there are very, very few real blogs floating around in their listings. 90% of them are auto-blogs, 5% of them are “turn-key” junk, and the other 5% are highly successful sites that are also highly out of my price range.
Given those percentages, guess what I ended up buying? Yeah. A freakin auto-blog. I’m not going to link to it from here, ever, because I don’t want to taint this website with such an association. The traffic stats offered were legit in every way, the Alexa rank didn’t really matter (but has actually improved quite a bit since I acquired the site), and the AdSense revenue is pretty difficult no matter what to verify due to Google’s own ToS and the way their interface displays such information.
However, I did about as much digging and due diligence as I possibly could, and I sat on it for a couple of days as well before I did anything stupid. After only a couple of pretty hefty bids put the price at half of the ‘buy it now’ price, my only real choice was to do exactly that, otherwise I would’ve bid 75% of it and my bidding competitor would’ve scooped it up.
That buying price was a cool grand. For claimed earnings of $150/mo, that’s actually a damn good price. A too good to be true price, even, but I had considered that possibility as well, and decided I’d be quite happy with only half that performance. Seven months to break even is awesome, 14 would be comfy too.
The one thing that really irks me is that two days later, I found out I missed out on an auction for a real, legit blog, with an absolute mess of organic traffic still flowing in despite being inactive for two years. That one ended up selling for $2,500 in only three bids, and I could’ve made at least twice that much on it in a year. Instead, I’ve got this… thing. This… abomination.
The Good
The good thing is that this new site really is pulling in a steady stream of search traffic (3-4 times as much as total traffic here), and it ranks pretty highly for quite a number of keywords thanks to the SEO efforts of the seller. On top of that, the clicks started flowing in as soon as I replaced the old AdSense code with my own.
The Bad
Ad revenue, ad revenue, ad revenue. Definitely not what was claimed, and I’ve a pretty good idea as to why. The simplest method for differentiating ad performance between multiple sites on AdSense is of course with custom channels. What I figure is that this fellow had all four of his current sites under the channel named for the one I bought. It really wouldn’t surprise me if he had four custom channels, all named for the different sites, but all really comprised of, well, all the sites.
Oh well. I expected a ‘too good to be true’ factor would play in here somewhere. It was a risk I was willing to take.
The other bad is that the Google Gods generally frown on auto-blogs, and should they happen to notice little old me (highly unlikely, but it definitely happens), they have a couple of nasty tools at their disposal. For starters, they could shut down my AdSense account, and I’d be waving goodbye to all unpaid earnings sitting in it, and probably be unable to use AdSense ever again. That’s not a death sentence, though, there are plenty of other ad networks available. What would be a death sentence would be removing the site from the search listings. The site depends on search traffic – that’s the whole point. If that goes away, there’s nothing left. No traffic. Nada. Nothing. Dead. Also highly unlikely, but hey – if you don’t consider all of the risks, you’ll just end up shooting yourself in the foot, right?
The Opportunity
While it’s not performing anywhere near expectations, the site definitely has potential. I can do my own home-brew SEO on more up-to-date keywords and potentially multiply the traffic coming in, as well as the revenues. I could also go ahead and list it again on Flippa, which is what I kinda-sorta wanted to do in the first place (given what appeared to be a verrrry low P/E ratio). I’ve still got another 45 days or so before I can do that, unfortunately. In the 5 or 6 years since I last had a domain name transferred to me, ICANN implemented some crazy 60-day rule to help prevent domain theft. Fine and swell, but it also prevents me from quickly flipping this site. Where I could have listed it right away, the next day, and still based it off of the previous owner’s claimed revenue (and probably doubled my money on the spot), after two months I’d have to list the *real* revenue, and I’d be lucky to break even.
So, as it stands, it’s not a total loss right now. It’s been averaging about 20 months to break even in the short time span that I’ve had it, which is of course within the 12-24 month norm. A 20 month turnaround is not, however, what I was looking for, so I’ve got some work to do to turn things around – at the very least, for the purposes of selling it off.
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This article is a guest post by UK money writer Les Mitchell, who regularly writes about finance topics across the web.
The possibility of identity theft has been all over the news recently with the Playstation network, run by giant Sony, hacked into with relative ease, exposing the data of users all around the world. Even banks are not immune to the threat, with Citigroup admitting that 360,000 of its North American account holders could have been compromised in the latest hacking attack, although it also said that no sensitive data was held on the server that was accessed.
According to statistics from the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, in 2005, around 9.3 million people in the US fell foul of identity thieves, an issue the world is only just coming to grips with. With society increasingly turning towards internet transactions – with shopping, banking and even applying for credit available online; click here for examples of the types of credit available electronically. It is therefore more important than ever to be vigilant about how and where personal information is kept.
Despite the growing risk of online fraud, there are a number of steps which can be taken that will help prevent you from becoming the latest victim of the digital identity threat. It may seem like an obvious statement, but ensure that any financial transactions are only conducted via a trusted site. It is all too easy to be seduced by the promise of a great deal, only to find that is really was too good to be true. For smaller sites that are unknown, or auction sites, pay via a secure processing provider such as Paypal. This ensures that sites which do not have systems that are not sufficiently secure do not compromise your details.
When accessing the internet at home, ensure that the network is protected. An unsecured network is an open invitation to a hacker who will be able to retrieve all of your information and use it for fraudulent means. If using a public computer such as in a cyber cafe, library or gym to go online, make sure that you do not accidentally save login details. Once your transactions have been completed, make sure you log out and wait to make sure the browser has fully closed your session before dashing off.
Use the technology available from your providers, including spam filters on email. A phishing email that arrives safely to the inbox can carry a nasty virus called a Trojan, which can sneak into the computer’s database and send back information to its originator. It can be a pain to have different passwords for every site and one of the biggest online faux pas that people make is to reuse the same information on each site. This means if a hacker is able to retrieve your details from just one site, they will be given a free pass to all your accounts.
An extra step which is frequently offered but not always taken up, is the facility to add an extra layer of security. Many sites offer users the chance to add extra security questions and this should always be taken advantage of. However, it is important to pick security questions where the answer could not be found out with a little research. For example, a question about a favourite color is far more secure than asking for your mother’s maiden name.
Finally, use the safety checks which are available for free. The credit bureaus are required by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act to provide all US residents with an annual copy of their credit file at no cost. This service not only helps individuals to manage their credit score, it also means that any fraudulent accounts opened can be spotted and closed down quickly.
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From July 1 to August 1, my net worth increased an average of $33.06 per day, or $1024.85 overall, to -$34,953.36. This is a 2.93% increase, and results in a projected zero net worth on 5/22/2014.
Hah! I told you this month was going to be better!
Loan paid off
Okay, it wasn’t really a loan, but just plain balance outstanding. However, after staring at that $122 figure all month long, I finally paid off Ellis College! It peaked at $3,061 way back in April 2007, and I didn’t bother paying anything on it until July 2009. It’s not quite as awesome as dumping a huge monthly payment, but it’s pretty damn good nonetheless.
Budget changes
Since February 2011 was the only month in two years or so that I’ve actually come in under budget in my miscellaneous spending category, I’ve decided I’m long overdue for a change. From here on, instead of budgeting an arbitrary number on that line like I’ve been doing, I’ll now be using YNAB’s handy average feature. It allows me not only to quickly budget for the average I actually spent over the last three months, but also to have a more realistic picture of my finances going forward. There’s really no sense in budgeting $300 there month in and month out when I tend to spend $450. Is it an invitation to myself to spend more? Of course not, but fooling myself only hurts myself.
Could’ve been double
I mentioned in last month’s net worth update that July was a 3-pay month for me. So why did the net worth increase only come in at a little over a grand, which is what I expect of myself any other month? The short answer is that I bought something. A good something, though, as long as it pays off. Something that I expect to make more money for me. As for the long answer, well… you’ll just have to wait until Friday for that 
Sidebars updated, and my magic number has gone down from $1173.94 to $1151.28.
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On one of my recent rides to get in to shape, I was fixing to make it longer than all others before it. I can be inpatient, you know. Results! Must have them faster! The problem with this plan, however, was a lack of water. Of all things. I knew that on my last ride, I was dying of thirst, and I had no desire to do that again.
Obvious answer is obvious. Late night run to WalMart, and I’m good to go. Unfortunately, their website sucks and never shows what they really have in the store. In this particular case, they show no such products in the store, and while I’ve gotten lucky on this point before, I didn’t want to waste time – I wanted to ride.
BING! An idea. It is in my head. Earlier this year, when I ventured out yonder to get a cup holder for my scooter (my golly, I never showed you guys, did I?), I was dismayed that they only come in packs of four. Granted, it was only $2 for said quad, but still – all I need is one, dammit. As with everything else, in the drawer they go. I’m sure I’ll find a use for them some day, right? Righto!
As was obvious from the picture up top, which you looked at and figured out where I was going with this before even reading anything I’ve written so eloquently for your eyeballs, my bike sits in a corner. It’s been a naughty little bike and needs to be taught a lesson. Oh, and uhhh… yeah, I totally made a bottle holder for my bike with a cup holder and a bunch of wire ties. Hot shit, if I do say so myself. And before anyone asks about it – yes, that one zip tie is not attached to anything, and yes, there is a reason for it.
Should you do this? Hell no! Go spend the $8 at WalMart or the $15 at your local bike shop for a real bottle holder. However, if you happen to find yourself in the unfortunate position of having three cheapass cup holders and a bunch of wire ties and nowhere to go with them while also having the need for a bottle holder on your bike, then by all means pull a MacGyver and make use of the materials you have available to you. And have fun scraping your knee on it when climbing hills while checking out some sweet moonlit cows at three in the morning. It’s a small price to pay for frugality. Or maybe it’s just being cheap. Either way, I’m pretty sure it’s one step ahead of the aluminum foil toilet fix.
P.S. I nearly forgot – the real purpose of that wire tie up top is for added stability, so your full bottle doesn’t just fall the hell out. It takes a lot of trial and error to get the fit just right, as you need to be able to slip it off the top to get the bottle out – with one hand – while riding. A good way to make the bottle fit nicely is to use koozies inside the holder. Your container should fit well, and it helps keep the water cool. Ideally, with a good one handed effort, the koozie will clutch the bottle snugly. If you make it too tight, then here’s hoping you have a cutting implement handy, because I sure as hell didn’t, and it was no less than a total bitch to get it off again.
That is all.
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Every once in a while, purely as a matter of curiosity, I update my faux credit report and score for free at Credit Karma. Now of course, I don’t put too much stock in my credit report because I already know it’s horrible, and I’m trying to get out of debt, not in it. However, I recently updated it again, and something amazing happened.
For the first time in just about three years (the longest history I have), my credit score started with a six! First, it was 600, and then a few days later when I checked again, it bounced up to 604! Obviously, since I’m doing everything right, something must be amiss. Because that’s how it works, right?
An investigation was in order. I headed on over to TrueCredit (which I only do every once in a blue moon when something like this happens because it’s a bitch to cancel) because they keep your past reports hanging around over there, making it super easy to see what exactly changed. After shelling out $15 for it (which I have a week now to cancel… who wants to call for me?), I found quite easily that, of all things, I have no collection accounts on my report any more. The Capital One account never showed as a collection account, so what disappeared? The electric bill. Excited as I was, I figure three possibilities here:
- Very good – They gave up, wrote it off, and said “fuhggedaboutit.” Well, hey, that would be just super, eh? Not only would it save me a grand, but I didn’t feel as if I owed it in the first place – my landlord did. That, and I still think I was heating the whole damn building instead of just my apartment.
- Good – The electric company decided that the collections agency sucked – which they did, as they only really tried to contact me for about three weeks – and now they’re going to handle it themselves. I classify this as “good” because it would mean no collectors to deal with, and no collections account on my credit report.
- Very bad – The electric company decided to sue me. I highly doubt this one, but hey, I’ve been sued before (see link above), so really the worst that would happen there is it would bump my balance up a smidge. If I paid it, anyway. Maybe. Some day. Possibly.
Until I know exactly what is happening, though, I’m not writing it off myself just yet. And no, I’m not going to risk calling anybody about it and reminding them. I’ll play the waiting game, and give it a few months.
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