Tuesday, March 27, 2007

My Friends are Gems!

I cannot express how great my friends and associates are!! They are so supportive and helpful that I have had to make a conscious decision to really limit what they do for me. I have gotten to Step 14 with their enthusiastic assistance.

Step 13 (con't)

This weekend friend of mine was determined to give me $5 even though I told her that a dollar was more than enough. I sold a movie pass for $3.50 and a waitress gave me a quarter to go toward my project.At a meeting on Monday, they pooled $4.44. This put me over by $0.10 so I removed it. Woohoo!! I have my $40 so this step is completed!!

Step 14

This is the point where I need to get my brain working! $40 can't be "panhandled" so creativity has to be utilized. I say for because I need $80 and I have $40 of it.

I was given a $10 gift certificate for a local restaurant so I will be able to trade someone for the face value. If I can sell the hair cut coupon and do the income tax preparation that was asked of me, I should get through this step this week. I still have the cans and the copper pipes, as well as a few dollars from the PTC programs that I intended to use to get through the lower steps. I ended up not needing them so, when I get to $5, I will withdraw the funds and add them to whatever step I am on. Clixncash lowered their payout to $0.05 so it should help those just starting their journey.

Oh the things we do for this undertaking!!

A friend of mine gave me a handful of change that totalled $1.96 and I found $0.25 in a vending machine. I am inching my way along.

Total for past few days - $15.40 - $0.10 = $15.30

Grand total - $42.21

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Little Steps Cover Ground

Step 13 (con'd)

Today someone gave me a $7 coupon toward a haircut. Since it is not a place I would normally go, I will tuck it away for now.

I met with a couple of other people tonight and "panhandled" $1.88.

The stake is growing albeit slowly...but surely.

Total today - $1.88

Grand total - $26.91

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

A Life of Its Own

Step 10 (con't)

I found a penny outside of the corner store and added it to my envelope.

On March 21, ClixNcash paid me $0.13. The fee egold charged me was $0.01 and I charged a 5% exchange fee ($0.01) to turn it into cash in my pocket. I was left with a net profit of $0.11. There is no exchange to consider because the amount is a fraction of a cent. Two more pennies and I'm on to Step 11.

I arrived at a meeting and asked someone there for $0.02. She tried to give me more and, at first, was not very pleased that I wouldn't take it. Once I explained that I was undertaking a journey that encourages divergent thinking and has a lockstep process that I need to adhere to, she was a bit more understanding.

I have to add that the people that I associate with are incredibly supportive. I appreciate all of them.



Step 11

As I was explaining to the woman that gave me the $0.02 some of the lessons that I have been learning, the project got taken out of my hands. All they wanted to know was how much I needed. I said my next step was getting from $5 to $10. I had a movie pass and one Tim Horton's certificate sooooo the pass was sold for $2.00 and the other $3.00 rapidly accumulated in front of me. Then it was on to Step 12.

Step 12

Well, to say that Step 12 was completed in record time would be an understatement. Within about 10 minutes, the Tim Horton's certificate was sold for $1.75 and $8.25 was collected which propelled me into Step 13. I should add that this was a small meeting with myself and five other people.

Step 13

There was a further $1.45 given to me at the meeting. Then, on my way home, I ran into someone I know at the store and, without question, he gave me $1.50.

A friend sent me $2.00 in egold. Egold fees took $0.10 and I charged 5%($0.09) which left me with $1.81. I then used 1.15% as the exchange rate to convert USD to CDN which gave me $0.27 in additional money. The total for the egold is $2.08.

Absolutely incredible people! I did not expect to be on Step 13 until next week so I am going to try to make arrangements to do the income tax prepation before the weekend if possible. What I get paid for that will help me to complete this step.

I am now past the point that I planned to "panhandle" my way through the steps. I'm fortunate that I have contact with so many great people in the course of a day. From this point on, I will have to apply myself.

A HUGE thank you to everyone that has pitched in to help!!

I still have the pop cans, copper pipe and one movie pass. The movie pass is spoken for and I will be selling it for $3.50 this weekend. This person buying the movie pass will be embarking on her journey very shortly. We will be be brainstorming, using each other as a sounding board, and forging some entrepreneurial partnerships to help move us forward.

Total today - $20.17

Grand total - $25.03

Monday, March 19, 2007

Step After Step

Step 8 (con'd)

Woohoo! I have the best friends and associates. Someone gave me the dime I needed to complete this step! Step 9 is now underway.


Step 9

Again, people were great. I said I needed $1.28 for my "project" and within about a half an hour, I had collected the necessary coins. Step 10 here I come.


Step 10

One of the movie passes brought me in $2.00 (about 25% of a movie ticket) and I collect another $0.25 from a friend. For simplicity, I am rounding to $5 as suggested. Another $0.19 and I am off to Step 11.


Thank you my friends!!

I forgot to add that I dropped my pen when I was at the store. I bent down to pick it up and there was a lonely nickel sitting tucked up against the kick plate of the counter. I picked it up and tucked it into my ever handy envelope.


Total today - $3.68

Grand total - $4.86

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Moving Right Along

My really great news is that the person that gave me the movie passes called to say that they have another one for me. They thought that, because I was so pleased to get the two they gave me yesterday, they might as well pass on any extra ones that they get to me. I went to get it after my brunch and tucked it away. They also gave me a $2 Tim Horton’s coupon that I can trade for money with someone. I suspect that they are getting a kick out of thinking up little things to give me that I can turn into cash for my stake.

Step 5 & 6

I went out to brunch today with a friend and her mother. I asked the friend’s mother to gift me $0.08. She asked why and I explained that I was working on a project that encouraged divergent thinking and incorporated creative problem solving. She gave me a dime and I gave her two of my pennies back. When she said to keep it, I explained that it was a lockstep process, with very specific parameters for each step, and that I would not be able to use the two pennies since it would cause me to have a surplus on that particular step. When I asked my friend to gift me $0.16, her mother asked why she couldn’t give me more. She seemed a bit insulted that I was very firm that her gift be $0.08 and no more. Step 5 is now completed. With the gift of $0.16 from my friend, Step 6 is done.

My friend will also buy the movie passes from me because her kids go to the show quite often. Now I have a trickle of passes coming in and someone that will purchase them from me for a very discounted price ($2 or $3 each). The price will vary according to the step that I am on.

In addition, my friend’s mother has asked me to do her income tax and she will pay me whatever I need. I tried to explain that I might need considerably more than it was worth but that I would do it. We will decide out how much she will pay me when I do it. I figure that, since the coming week is busy for me, I will do it the week after. I'll likely be up to step 12 or 13 by then so her payment for my service will not end up being surpluss.

Total - $0.32

Step 7

After brunch, I ran some errands and stopped at my parents place. I traded both of my father and my mother $0.16 for $0.32. My dad just put some coins in his hand and indicated that I should take what I needed. He had no pennies so I took two dimes and gave him back four of the pennies from my stake envelope. I am carrying it everywhere. Step 7 is finished.

I am really grateful that they just accept my explanation that I am working on a project and that I can’t use any of my own money except what I am able to find, trade or is given to me.

My mother wanted to give me two dimes and I told her that I needed exactly $0.16. She dug out the exact amount I had requested. Once the trade with my mom completed, Step 7 was finished and I was onto Step 8.

Total - $0.64

Step 8

I asked my mom if I could have the four pennies back. I need $0.64 to get to the next step so I figured those four pennies were a good place to start. With her giving me $0.04, although she wondered why I was so fussy about not taking the initial two dimes she offered since it came out to the same thing, I just need one coin from three people. It is easier to ask people to part with a single coin, like a quarter or a dime than to have them dig.

I am sure they think that I am turning into the family eccentric!

At another stop in my travels, the couple I went to see gave me $0.25 each. I just need another $0.10 to complete Step 8. In addition to the money, I was sent home with more pop cans. I will call the scrap yard tomorrow to see how much they pay per pound. They have agreed to collect more cans for me over the next few weeks.


Today was a good day. Not only is everyone being really helpful but, on my way home, I saw that someone had a pile of building debris to the side of their driveway. Since there was a sink in it, I wondered if there might be any copper pipe in the pile. I turned around and went back. Knocking on their door, I explained that I needed old copper pipe for a project and asked if there was any in the pile that I could scavenge. They said there was a bit & the gentleman went to get it for me. He also said if I waited, he had some small pieces in the basement. That little treasure trove will reside in my basement until I go to the scrap yard.

I will have to open an e-gold account for the misc pennies that I am earning from ClixnCash and any other source that I can find. Although it is small amounts, it will be very helpful in pushing me into another step. Someone had a good idea, which was buying the e-gold from themselves and deducting a standard exchange fee.

Total today - $1.10

Grand total - $1.18

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Life is Good!!

Woohoo! I now have a bag of pop cans & 2 movie tickets. A friend of mine offered me two movie passes. Since I already get them from time to time, I asked if they would be insulted if I traded them with someone else. They laughed & said they didn't mind. Soooo...I will save them until I am at a higher step and then trade them for some money. Whoever I trade with will still get a bargain because I think I will ask $1.50 each.

Isn't it amazing how some empty aluminum pop cans and a couple of movie passes can brighten up a day?

A Little Forward Progress

Step 3 & 4

This could take on a life of its own. I already recognize that, as I reach Step 12, my creativity will have to kick in. I'm making a list of ideas that I can implement down the road as my stake grows and I can use it to purchase the tools needed to achieve the higher levels.

Yesterday I attended a meeting today with several other people. I asked if anyone was willing to give me 2 pennies. Someone did. I decided to push my luck and ask if someone would give me 4 pennies. No one had 4 pennies so one person gave me 2 pennies and two other people gave me 1 penny each.

I had a family dinner to go to on Friday evening and I walked away with a bag of recylable pop cans. I have put these away until I gather enough to take them to the scrapyard. They won't earn much but every little bit counts.

With the snow melting rapidly, I will have to keep my eyes on the ground where ever I go, especially in parking lots. There may be a copper mine out there waiting to be discovered.

While browsing the Net, I came across this free report that pays to distribute it. Anything that I earn from this, I will add to my “stake”. The report, called The Rockefeller Files, is presenteded by Keith Wellman and Eric Rockefeller and it may put you on a new earning path.

In addition to that, I found this site, Clixncash, that pays to view ads. You will not get rich but it will help on the lower steps to add pennies to the total. They pay by PayPal and e-gold with very low minimums. Membership is free and there are no fees to withdraw. Just click, sign up and make sure that, once you view the ad, you click on the number that timer says to click on.

NOTE:

There seems to be a contradiction in the rules. Rule 1 states that "Any money you find after this 1 cent(during any stage of using this system) can be added to the stake money. However Rule 4 states that "If your current step results in more than doubling, then you must spend the surplus on yourself". For the purpose of my journey, I am going to assume that (for excess money only) found money is added to the stake but traded or earned money must be spent on yourself. It would seem that rule 4 has the unintended purpose of being a detriment to progress.


Total today - $.06

Grand total - $0.08

Friday, March 16, 2007

And so it Begins...

Steps 1 & 2

March 15, 2007

Recently I read the blog of a friend of mine, Xinfinitium, on his Double to a Million journey. I found it intriguing so I asked a few questions and got the free report How to Double Your way to a Million by Stuart Goldsmith. After glancing through the report, I had some errands to run so off I went.

One of the errands was to send a note to Xinfinitium so I headed into the post office. At this point, I hadn’t decided if I would embark on the journey. Coming out of the post office, much to my amazement, I found a penny poking out of the rapidly melting snow on the walkway. Taking it as an omen that my journey had begun, I picked up the penny and dried it off. Remembering that the first step was to turn $0.01 into $0.02, I reversed directions and walked back into the post office.

There were 3 people (2 women and 1 man) in the post office so I piped up and asked if anyone would be willing to trade my penny for $0.02. One of the women looked at me like I was from another planet and the other ignored me completely. However, a gentleman promptly dug into his pocket and produced the requested trade. I don’t know the individual and he asked no questions so I thanked him for his help and we both went on our way.

When I arrived back home, I emailed X to let him know what happened and then I dug out a jar and created a little label for it entitled “My Journey”. Dropping the pennies in, I pondered the path that I had inadvertently embarked upon. Realizing that this journey would require a change in thinking, I began to realize that it would not be a journey of happenstance. Luck would play a small part but ingenuity would be the key to completing the journey.

Sitting down and reading the report thoroughly, I realized that I had to journalize my endeavors. Pulling out a notebook, I recorded Step 1 and how I achieved it. While doing this, I began to plan a website that would achieve a number of goals. A website would help me chronicle my journey and keep me focused, offer encouragement to others that are on the same path, help grow the stake and provide a personal challenge as, at the moment, I am seriously website challenged. I will have to be creative in how I resolve this hurdle.



Total today - $0.02

Grand total - $0.02