Retire In The Philippines Now

A domain name  is basically what identifies your blog or website. The domain name for this site is retireinthephillipinesnow.com. If you plan on making money on the internet most likely you will need a domain and one that will fit what the content is on your site. You wouldn’t want a site called smokeasalmon.com  if you were running a website on Paintball. Most likely the search engines wouldn’t send the right traffic to you and customers looking for smoked salmon would be a little mad when they got a paintball website. You need to come up with a name that will draw people to your site. When you pick that name I advise you come up with some alternatives, many alternatives because it seems these days everyone has a website. Every company that offers domain names for sale has a search engine that you can check the name you pick and see if it is available or for sale.

Once you get an idea on what website you want it is time to pick a company to register that website with. My favorite is www.GoDaddy.com simply because they were the first company I dealt with, their prices are very competative, and their site is very easy to get around. They also offer hosting which you also must have to run your website and it all comes in a neat little package. There are other hosting services out there and I’ve heard good and bad about most of them so try whoever you think is best and go with it. I have listed below a few companies that offer domain registration and hosting service. My advice would to be get your list of possible names together go to these sites and check if the name is available and choose what you think is best for you.

GoDaddy.com Discount Domain Club

Professional Web Hosting $6.95

Save 10% Off Your Yearly Website Hosting from ProNetHosting – Coupon Code: may10year

If you google the words “how to” you come up with a total of 1,050,000,000 results. Thats over 1 billion articles, posts, or websites containing those words. There are articles written about any subject or topic from such things as How to get free food at McDonalds to How to Add Pay per Click Advertising to a Blog. There are websites that you can get paid for your own How to advice such as ehow.com where I found an article I guarantee is getting big hits and that is How to Survive the Swine Flu. If getting paid to write articles sounds like something you’d be interested in then ehow.com  is one of the best.

If you are interested in increasing traffic to your website, as I am then you should by all means use posts with the words “How to” in them. Many people searching on websites usually use these two words because that basically is the reason people surf the web, to learn how to do something.

Being retired in the Philippines gives you an advantage in the how to department as you probably learned alot while making the transition from one country to another. Some suggestions are: How to ship a car overseas, How to speak tagalog, How to retire early, How to Find a Place to Retire and the list is endless. Even if you are only thinking of retiring in the Philippines the experience you gained through your research will be good information for a “How To” article or post. In these days of a struggling economy and every Tom, Dick, and Harry trying make a living online, you have to be aware of these things which I have hopefully brought to your attention.  By the way that number I started with at the beginning of the article has now risen 10 million to approx 1,060,000,000. What are you waiting for?

When I started this journey of making a living online a couple of years ago I read everything I could on the subject even taking time from my corporate America job to research. I have built up quite a library of information and in  the process put lots of money in Amazon’s pocket. I believe that knowledge is power and before you jump into something it is best to know as much as you can about it.

One of the first books that really taught me alot about making money from the internet and making money from websites was Moonlighting on the Internet: 5 World-Class Experts Reveal Proven Ways to Make Extra Cash by Yanik Silver. Yanik Silver is known as the leading expert on creating automatic, moneymaking websites. He has sold more than $10,000,000 of information products online, despite minimal knowledge of web design and HTML.

Guys, this book is a must read if you want to make money on the internet. If you are like me and want to be able to work and make money on your own time and not answer to a boss. If you want to work from anywhere in the world, such as the Philippines (flash to drinking a cold one on the beach), this book will give you the information on how to get started. You are not going to get rich overnight from this book but the information is there to get you an extra $1000+ per month online.

Topics covered include Selling Digitally Delivered Information, building websites, Ebay, Affiliate Marketing, E-Commerce Stores and Blogging. Yanik, through his book, has been one of my teachers and if you notice I am doing all of these things to make money right now. Look at my earlier posts and see what I’m doing with these subjects. Again respect my experience here and pick up this important piece of reading material. Salamat Po!

Other books in my library:

WordPress For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

Blogging For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

In a previous post I told you that I build niche sites for profit and it will be one of the ways I make money while retiring in the Philippines. It costs very little to get started, basically you use free Wordpress themes and software coupled with a hosting plan from a provider. I use www.GoDaddy.com which is an inexpensive but very well managed hosting provider. I also buy my domain names from this company and have been very satisfied.

Anyway, I am in the process of building a couple of niche sites and wanted to provide a link to show you what a site looks like in the beginning stage. The links I provided previously have been in existence for awhile and look a little different from a new site. The new site I’m linking you to, combines pay per click and affiliate marketing. This is a combination I don’t normally try but I’m always up for experiments so go ahead over to Swing Set Information  and check it out!

In the introduction to the series of how I make money online I noted that my top source of income was selling on Ebay. Along with Ebay being the top source of my income it is also the top time consumer. If you think you are going to make enough money on Ebay to live on by spending a couple hours per week listing items you will be disappointed. If I didn’t keep my time in check on Ebay I could probably spend more time working at that than at a regular job except that I wouldn’t have to leave the house. It all depends on what you want and as I’ve stated I don’t want to spend all of my time in the house when I live in the Philippines. There are so many places to visit and things to do and that’s what retirement is all about.

Before I go too far I’d like to introduce Ebay to all you who have been living in a cave for the last 10 years or so. Ebay is an online auction marketplace where people buy and sell millions of items and millions of dollars are passed everyday. Since Ebay is an online business it is open 24 hours a day every day of the year. It is a global marketplace so you could be buying or selling from or to any country in the world while sleeping. Ebay makes it simple to sign up and begin buying or selling. Just go to Ebay.com and sign up for an account. With it’s sister company Paypal all monetary transactions will be handled online in a safe and convenient manner. Thats why Ebay will probably still be my top income source when I move to the Philippines. All the money I make from working on Ebay goes to an account and I have a debit card which I can take to an ATM and withdrawl and either spend or deposit into another account.

After you get an Ebay account your first problem will be what to sell. I suggest that you look around your house and find things that you don’t want anymore. Clean out your garage and attic and list these items because believe it or not someone will want to buy your junk. For some people this will keep them busy enough for a few months. Believe me, I have been selling on Ebay for almost ten years and I still have stuff that I list from around the house.

When you are finished cleaning out your house start looking for other things to sell. Some people turn to companies who will sell you items below retail and drop ship them to your bidders. Dropshipping simply means you list items in Ebay  that the dropshipping company stocks and sell them for a price above what the dropship company charges and you keep the profit and they ship the item to your winning bidders. Let me warn you though that when doing this you are at the mercy of the dropshipping company and the profit margin is not that great. The one company I use and probably will depend on more when I move to the Philippines is Doba. They are a Ebay approved company and many people use them. They have a free trial to check them out so I would suggest doing that and see if it will work for you. Remember that dropshipping isn’t for everybody.

A third way to find things to sell is visit garage sales, liquidation sales, and yard sales for items that will sell on Ebay and getting them at a low price and sell them for a higher price. Clothing, collectibles, and other items sell very well on Ebay, in fact this and one other way is where I get my items to sell. I’m going to share a secret with you on finding the right items to sell. I have a coach that I have adopted as my expert on Ebay items and it has been very profitable for me. Her name is Suzanne Wells and she operates a site called Ebay Selling Coach. Suzanne is an expert on Ebay and has many ideas which she shares for free. This is where I would suggest you start if you are interested in Ebay for a profit. She has ebooks and podcasts and videos that will just open the world of selling to you.

This post has run a little longer than most of my posts but Ebay is just a vast marketplace with much to learn but the ability to earn so much money. Please go to Ebay and check it out and visit Suzannes Site. I’ve listed a couple of books below that have helped me along the way.

Three Weeks to eBay Profits: Go from Beginner to Successful Seller in Less than a Month
Stay-At-Home Mom’s Guide to Successful eBay^® Selling
eBay PowerSeller Secrets: Insider Tips from eBay’s Most Successful Sellers (2nd Edition) (v. 2)

As promised, this week I am starting a series on making money while living in the Philippines. I will be posting quite frequently throughout the coming days, weeks, and months and all the posts won’t be just on this subject. Quite frankly as I have admitted, I’ve dropped out of corporate America and I don’t plan on making this site a place just for money grabbing people who want to spend all their time accumulating wealth. As the saying goes “You can’t take it with you” so kick back and enjoy life. There is so much more about the Philippines I want to tell besides spending all your time behind a computer. Right now I’m living in the states and making enough money to live above the proverty level and still allow me to do what I want to do everyday which includes spending a couple hours at a small coffee shop talking about life and philosophy with an old Chinese man I met there. But soon when I’m in the Philippines those hours will be spent with my nieces and nephews who have been teaching me Tagalog and Bisaya. I have a neighbor there in Laguna that I call tatay who will take the place of the Chinese man so I will still get my fill of philosophy.

So lets get down to what I will be doing to provide my wife and I with fish and rice. All of these things I have been doing for awhile but have really turned up the heat on since I dropped out of the rat race.
I will intorduce the ways I am making my living now and also let you in on my plans on what else I will be doing to provide. Below is the listing of what I am currently doing and plan on being my biggest income producers while living there but remember this world and the Internet is ever changing so if you plan on using these ideas you must be able to adjust.

My number one income producer currently is good old Ebay. I have been buying and selling on Ebay for about 10 years. I was there in what Ebayers call the Wild Wild West where you could throw something up for sell and double your money easily. Back in those days I could go to the Dollar Store and buy little figurines and list them on Ebay for $2 or $3 starting and get as much as $10 for them. Those days are gone now but there is still the opportunity to make good money on Ebay. Later on in the series I will offer some suggestions and introduce you to a couple of sources for information that will get you on the fast track to selling and making money on Ebay.

My second source of income comes through blogging and developing small niche websites and advertising on them. When I cover this I will touch on how I get traffic to my sites and how I sell through different types of advertising as well using ecommerce to make money. This topic will probably take more time than the others so I will probably split it up into more than one post. I will offer some great sources of information such as videos, blogs, and ebooks on making money while blogging.

The third source I will cover will be on writing articles for money. Much of this is still new to me because I haven’t been doing it for long but I have mentors and coaches that are helping me along with this and I’ll share my info with you.

Lastly I am just getting into an exciting hobby or whatever you call it of learing how to teach English as a second language. This seems exciting to me and may not be for everyone but this will be more of a fun thing than a money maker. Stay tuned Part II will be along soon. Salamat Po!

The mission of Retire In The Philippines Now has always been to prepare people living in countries other than the Philippines to prepare for retirement there. Retirement means different things to different people but I believe that for most it is the escape from the rat race of the Western World and all the stress and such of working for a living. Retirement used to mean kicking back in your old age and waiting to die. This is not the case these days due to companies laying off so many people and essentially getting rid of the older folks. But whatever age you are it helps to have something to keep you busy during your time after your career.

At Retire In The Philippines Now we want to provide information and resources that will let you make money while living in the Philippines and enjoying your beautiful piece of paradise. I am currently living solely on money earned through several business ventures online and plan on making this my income while living in the Philippines. I have dropped out of corporate America and am living fine while preparing for my final move to the Philippines.

With that being said I am beginning a series dedicated to making money online that will provide information on how I am doing it. I am not proposing a get rich scheme of any kind but ideas on how to work the hours you want and still be able to visit and enjoy the Philippines. All information I will lay out to you will work in any country you wish to move to because it will be online.

Of course I will give many references to other people who have made the move and are making a living while in the Philippines. Much of this series has been inspired by my friend Bob Martin of Live in the Philippines Web Magazine and his book 49 Ways to Make a Living In the Philippines which was the first book I read when researching on what I wanted to do after my move to the Philippines. But I only used his book for research, a starting point as such and continued in a direction which has led to me finding my place in this vast world of online business. I will delve much deeper into some of the subjects he has covered and research my own ways of doing things. Bob’s book is a very good place to start your own search for your niche in life. If you are interested in learning more please check back in the coming days and weeks for this new series. Salamat Po!