In a world where everybody else makes New Year’s resolutions – I just don’t. I find it rather annoying that I have to read or hear about everybody else’s goals on their blogs during this particular time of year. So… if you were hoping to see my goal’s or resolutions for 2020 in this post – sorry. I don’t do New Year’s resolutions.
However – I do have ‘plans’ for 2020. Totally different than a resolution or a goal. I have a sort of roadmap that I intend to follow and it started with my update post from last week announcing my new ‘Dumb Ass’ branding. Here are some of my plans according to the roadmap in my head…
- I do plan to blog regularly (again) here on Dumb Passive Income
- I plan to create a nice stream of passive income from THIS blog
- I plan to continue to grow and improve and market my software product – AmaLinks Pro
- I plan to go on a Spring Break vacation with my family this year
- I plan to have a breakout year this year as far as income derived from my online activities
- I plan to make some serious freaking money in 2020
The Featured Image
The picture at the top of this post is me and my beautiful wife, Susie – just outside the Creston Brewery last Friday night where we attended a concert. Our neighbor is one of the lead singers in the band. This was our 2nd time seeing his band, Deep Greens & Blues. It was a much needed night ‘out on the town’ that Susie and I rarely get to experience without our children.
Matt’s Dumb Ass Weekend Update
Welp… I did not get this update published during this past Saturday/Sunday weekend like I wanted to. Let’s just say I had a little issue with my laptop.
You see – my family owns a property ‘up north’ from where we live in Grand Rapids, MI. We have a small house on the property that we call ‘The Shack’. It’s kind of our little weekend getaway place. On weekends that we stay at The Shack – I use my laptop computer with my cell phone WiFi hotspot for internet access. I’m actually usually quite a bit more productive online when I’m at The Shack as compared to weekends that we stay home.
Anyhow, I got up early Sunday morning this past weekend with plans to blog for several hours (including the writing of this post). I got out my laptop and tried to plug in the power cord and there were literally sparks shooting out of the cord. It’s an old cord that has seen a lot of travel and abuse over the years – and last Sunday it completely died. My laptop has it’s original 5+ year old battery and it sucks. I get maybe 30 minutes at most when it’s fully charged and not plugged in. Needless to say – I couldn’t use my laptop at all on Sunday and I got nothing done online.
So, here I am… New Year’s day, 2020, writing out this update post. With New Year’s eve and New Year’s day off from my day job… it sort of feels like an extra weekend anyway – so, you’re getting my ‘weekend update’ post today.
Not to worry – I already purchased a new cord for my laptop from Amazon and I’m good to go for next time we are up at The Shack for a weekend.
The Words Written in Red
If my Christian faith and thoughts about my beliefs might offend you – then you may want to skip this section. #justsayin
While driving around in my rig last week – the idea came to me to add this section to my ‘weekend update’ posts. If you didn’t know – some versions of the Christian Bible use red text for the words that Jesus actually said. So I’m entitling this subheading, The Words Written in Red. Here’s an example of a ‘red-letter Bible’ available on Amazon.
Here’s my first ever Bible update on the Dumb Passive Income blog…
“What sorrow awaits you who are rich,
for you have your only happiness now.
What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now,
for a time of awful hunger awaits you.”Luke 6:24-25 (NLT)
It would be very easy for a common, middle-class, down-on-their-luck type of person to be able to relate to this quote from Jesus. You know who I’m talking about… The person who thinks they can never get ahead because the rich man is holding them down. “The rich get richer,” they say, as they roll their eyes in disgust. This type of person delights in, what they perceive to be, the fact that rich people have something coming. They’re like… Ha! You might be rich and prosperous now – but you’re time of sorrow is coming.
Well, I’m not that type of person. I do consider myself middle-class (probably even upper-middle-class) – but I’m working extremely hard to move my family closer to that upper-class threshold. I just can’t relate to notion of being envious of people who are more fortunate than me.
But Jesus seems to warn us here about what will happen to us if we become rich and fat and prosperous. Does this mean that we shouldn’t even try to become rich and prosperous?
I don’t think so. He doesn’t elaborate or go into detail – but, instead, I think this is more of a warning of what could happen to us if we become rich and prosperous. Or, perhaps it’s a warning of what it’s like for non-Christians who are rich and prosperous – because after this life there is another life and you only get to go to one of two places. I think you know which two places I am referring to.
I don’t know for sure – but I think Jesus was addressing non-believers when he was speaking here. He was foretelling the sorrow that awaits them – despite their economic situation here on Earth.
[amalinkspro type=”showcase” asin=”0718096991″ apilink=”https://www.amazon.com/dp/0718096991?tag=&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1″ new-window=”true” addtocart=”false” nofollow=”true” sc-id=”4″ imgs=”LargeImage” link-imgs=”false” specs=”The words of Jesus—red letter words—are the most important and life changing ever spoken.~~~Discover the things Jesus thought were most important.~~~What He says about how to live, His relationship with God and the Holy Spirit, and His overwhelming love for you.~~~More than 100 passages from the Bible are considered with illuminating explanation and background facts.~~~Discovering Jesus’ words will breathe life into your relationship with Him and help you draw close to the One who knows you fully and loves you completely.” btn-color=”#ff9900″ btn-text=”Buy Now on Amazon” alignment=”aligncenter” hide-prime=”0″ hide-image=”0″ hide-reviews=”0″ hide-price=”0″ hide-button=”0″ width=”750″]The Red Letter Words of Jesus[/amalinkspro]
Well… This is a ‘Passive Income’ Blog
Did you over spend on the holidays this year, maybe just a little bit, like I did? Perhaps you’re looking for a way to generate some extra money to pay off some of those holiday expenditures (or replenish the savings that you dwindled down to almost nothing)? Renting out your garage is one unique way to create some passive income, that I came across last year. Really, you can rent out any extra storage space that you have. A corner in the basement, a spare room in your house, even a piece of dirt that you own could be rentable for storage.
Neighbor.com is a fairly new peer-to-peer platform that connects people with space to rent with people looking to rent space for storage. It’s really slick! If you’ve got some extra space and you want to make some nice monthly passive income by renting it out to somebody else for storage – check out neighbor.com.
I Can’t Stop Buying Stuff on Amazon
This week’s featured product is actually something we purchased for one of our kids for Christmas this year. Over this past weekend, I found myself playing around with these things and I couldn’t stop! Who knew that tiny magnetic balls could be so much fun to play with?! I’m an adult male in my early 40’s and I’m not afraid to admit it.. but these magnetic ball thingies are really fun to play with. Lol.
[amalinkspro type=”showcase” asin=”B081Q13XC8″ apilink=”https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081Q13XC8?tag=&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1″ new-window=”true” addtocart=”false” nofollow=”true” sc-id=”4″ imgs=”1″ link-imgs=”false” specs=”Diameter: 512 pcs. Build and engineer limitless shapes and structures.~~~Creative and hot puzzle for enhancing assembly ability. Improve intelligence and imagination.~~~Suitable for office use, used for creativity and craft decoration on your desktop.~~~Endless combinations. It is up to your patience and creativeness.~~~WARNING: Keep away from all children. AGE 14+ recommendation.” btn-color=”#ff9900″ btn-text=”View on Amazon” alignment=”aligncenter” hide-prime=”0″ hide-image=”0″ hide-reviews=”0″ hide-price=”0″ hide-button=”0″ width=”750″]Lijue Magnetic Sculpture Building Blocks – Toys for Stress Relief, Office and Home Desk Toys for Adults (512 Pieces)[/amalinkspro]
Your Book Report is Due
FAKE – that is the title of the book. I listened to this entire book on my Audible app and I liked it so much that I put it on my Amazon wish list. Low and behold – I received the hard copy of this book for Christmas!
FAKE, by Robert Kiyosaki – is sort of his follow-up book to Rich Dad, Poor Dad. The subtitle is, “Fake Money – Fake Teachers – Fake Assets” – and it is 100% fitting. I loved this book, mostly because Robert tears into the status quo and society in general for the way it teaches (or doesn’t teach) future generations. If you loved Rich Dad, Poor Dad – like I did – then you will also love FAKE just as much as I did as well.
[amalinkspro type=”cta-btn-css” ctabtn-id=”0″ asin=”1612680844″ apilink=”https://www.amazon.com/dp/1612680844?tag=&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1″ addtocart=”false” new-window=”true” nofollow=”true” alignment=”aligncenter”]Buy Now on Amazon[/amalinkspro]
It’s definitely not a replacement for Rich Dad, Poor Dad. That book is still a MUST READ for every single person who doesn’t want to be a total loser in life. But FAKE is a phenomenal follow-up and I highly recommend it.
McDonald’s – I’m Lovin’ It!
Did you know that McDonald’s has an app? I have it. Why wouldn’t I? I do consider myself one of McDonalds’s biggest super fans. You can access discounts and coupons via the app. Heck – you can even order food somehow via the app. I’ve never done that. I’m still old fashioned in the sense that I like to order my food from an actual person.
Fake News!
Democrats in America are trying to impeach Donald Trump.
And that’s all I have to say about that for right now. One of these days, this section of the ‘weekend update’ post will get more attention.
Products That Don’t Compare
Hi. My name is Matt and I like watches.
A nice watch, to me, is man jewelry. I like nice watches. I like having a watch on my arm because I just like the way it looks. In fact, I sort of feel naked if I ever accidentally leave my house without wearing a watch. The time-telling aspect isn’t even important these days. But there’s just something about having a nice watch. Here’s a little comparison table I created to show the vast differences among three different name brands: Rolex, Kenneth Cole, and Casio.
[amalinkspro_table id=”7939″ aff-id=”” new-window=”on” nofollow=”on” addtocart=”off” /]
If I Had a Billion Dollars
I would likely own one of those Rolex watches! I don’t have a billion dollars yet and I don’t have a Rolex watch yet. I do intend to get one or the other one day. Maybe I’ll take both. We’ll see…
Fortnite, Fortnite – Let’s Go!
Let’s just say that when it comes to the adults in the room… I’m usually the best Fortnite player. My kids got me sucked into the game a little over a year ago. I’m still not very good. My kids are ridiculously good at the game. Particularly my 9-year-old son, Eli. He has dedicated many hours of his life to sharpening his Fortnite skills. He plays on an Xbox console and he gets wins all the time. His older brother, Ethan (12) has not dedicated nearly as much time – but he’s getting pretty good as well playing on his brand new Nintendo Switch that he just got for Christmas.
Image Credit: BagoGames via Flickr
As for me… I’ve gotten 2nd place probably 5 or 6 times and I’ve taken 3rd place I don’t even know how many times. I can just never seem to kill that last guy. My 40-something-year-old brain just can’t handle all of the controls. The game moves way too fast at the end and there are too many buttons that do too many different things. I get all flustered at the end and lose control and always get killed. It’s frustrating to watch my kids handle the same situations with ease while I struggle so much with it. I can still kick their asses at Super Mario Bros. or Pac-Man though. Just sayin!
AmaLinks Pro is Cool – Just Trust Me on This ????
All of the links in this post that lead to Amazon were created and inserted using AmaLinks Pro – a premium WordPress plugin for Amazon affiliates. Full disclosure… I am the co-founder of AmaLinks Pro.
If you like the elements on this page that link to Amazon and want to be able to create them super fast and easy on your own WordPress site – check out AmaLinks Pro.
The End
This concludes this mid-week ‘weekend update’. Thanks for checking in and I hope to see you back real soon.
Matthew Allen
Matthew Allen
