Samza Round-Up - 10/27/2022

This Week's Round-Up

Enjoy these articles and ideas below! This round-up might feel a little more "market-focused" with an article about the economy, a podcast about the stock market, and a money-making opportunity utilizing banks. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy the content, and look forward to hearing the feedback!

US Business Activity Keeps Shrinking With Low Demand, High Inflation

It should be little surprise that things are not great in the economy. Pairing high inflation and shrinking demand is a classic recipe for a decrease in demand and general business activity. The chief economic strategist at S&P Global remarked that “[t]he US economic downturn gathered significant momentum in October, while confidence in the outlook also deteriorated sharply.” Not great news. 63% of consumers in the U.S. are currently living paycheck-to-paycheck, up 6% from this time last year.

While this is an ominous sign for the general market in the next 1-3 years, there is an important takeaway from this. Now is a great time to set yourself apart from the rest. You might be in the majority at this moment, living paycheck-to-paycheck. But you can prioritize your time, start something that will make you some extra money, and begin piling up the savings to buy the deflated assets available throughout the stock and real estate markets. The one positive thing about recessions is this: there are still a lot of people with high discretionary income (they might even be making more money than in a normal market), and these people will spend that money on a whim if you can provide value to them.

15 Best Bank Bonuses and Promotions of October 2022

If you're loyal to one bank; why? If you've only had or opened one bank account in the past 2-3 years; why? There are a multitude of bonus offers banks offer to get new customers in the door, and they are available with a simply account application (I only open accounts online) and sometimes a transfer of a certain dollar amount into the account. I pulled in close to $4K last year in bank bonuses, all without any negative effects on my credit score or ability to open new accounts. Nerd Wallet puts out a monthly breakdown of the best offers in the market (linked below), which is fantastic value for free. 

Banks are snakes. Bite them back.

I make up to $17K a month on Amazon KDP by self-publishing 'low-content books'

More on this below...

Idea of the Week - Amazon KDP

The opportunities that surround us today are truly astounding. I stumbled upon this idea a couple of months ago and immediately filed it away as something to pursue when I inevitably get bored next.

Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) is the best way to bypass the normal publication process associated when most people think about writing their own books. You can upload your writing in the form of full books, but the money is often easier to make in the "no-content" KDP publishing. This category consists of journals, coloring books, and planners (i.e. anything that doesn't actually take a talented writer to come up with). If you have a streak of creativity, this is such an easy method of publishing. I've even seen people "contract" out the creative side of things with Fiverr, simply putting together the journal designs they pay for into publishable form and upload to Amazon.

Bottom line: every time someone pays for your book off Amazon, you collect a royalty on that download. This is one of the few truly passive income sources after origination; you seriously have nothing to do after you upload. Check it out.

Podcast of the Week - Wall Street Unplugged

Frank is one of my favorite analysts on the market. He was one of the few who told his followers to pull out of the market in early 2020, and continues to provide solid advice surrounding the current market. He doesn't have an issue saying things like they are, and hands out stock pikcs 

This week's content is sponsored by Kickflips. Kickflips is your one-stop-shop for all things reselling; get access to hot leads, flipping guides, drop dates/times for sneakers, consoles, tickets, etc., and much more. All this for just $30 a month. I made my subscription cost back in profit within 5 minutes of joining the channel, and you can too. Check out Kickflips here.

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