Cash must flow or every business will fall.
I’m using this my designed table (click here to download the OpenOffice .ODS file) to track my own CashFlow.

CashFlow picture, click for the full-size version

Blue – incomes.
Red – expenses.

First part of the table are NOT passive incomes for which i must work myself. Second table are passive incomes (dividend stocks, sold hardlinks, returned state tax).

Circle graph showing the distribution of the CashFlow to the profit (green) and expenses (red). The goal is to have the biggest “green” profit as it may be and invest it to the stocks, real estate properties, which will grow your passive income…

The second graph showing how you going in the time (blue is total income, red are total expenses and fat green is your profit).

I’m updating this graph each day, to see how my incomes growing and it motivating me.

If you wanna read a czech version of the my article Cut a card, I wrote it for the czech server Měšec.cz and it was published today. Feel free to read it and criticize:

Proč raději přestřihnout platební kartu? http://www.mesec.cz/clanky/proc-radeji-prestrihnout-platebni-kartu-nazor/

How to work at home? This are my advices from the 10+ years practice with working at home.

Firstly you need to wake-up. It looking as a stupid advice (every child know, how to wake up), but when you working for yourself it’s not a “problem” to sleep to the lunch and go to sleep in 4am. To wake-up:

• plane something what you like so much to do at the beginning of the day
• I’m checking the revenue stats !!! I like to watch, how the bucks, euros, swiss francs and czech crowns rising in my accounts.
• Plus I’m making excellent breakfast!!! BREAKFAST it’s the MOST important meal of the day, enjoy it!
• try to develop your daily routine - wake-up, eat every meal and go sleep at the same hour each day! It will satisfy your body. Body don’t like the randomness which causing stress…

Next you need to do work – what a surprise haha

• Buy a good diary and plane your life goals (don’t waste whole life) which going to tasks/projects which going to year/month/week/day planning – organize your life, you will be more productive and happy and you will at least save time to NOT to do not important things
• Do your work which you do not like so much (accounting, repetitive tasks…) at the beginning of the day!
  
• Learn to say “No” to family and friends which wanna talk to you including via ICQ/Skype/mobile when you are ” in work”. Set your working schedule and tell everyone, that for example from the 7 – 15 you are “at work” so they must NOT disturb you. If you will receive a NOT business message/talk say: “Excuse me, please contact me in afternoon, right now I’m working”. This is very important. That you are in home doesn’t mean, that you have a free time to waste. You must WORK and not chat with friend which is sick and don’t have whole day what to do!!! It’s ruthless, but true, if you will not set this barriers for the your family and friends, you will waste your time, they will disturb you and you business (and money) will go to septic…

Rest!!!

• Don’t forget to rest – after lunch do a long walk (I’m walking for 30 – 90 mins) after it I’m taking shower and extra long nap (one hour or more). Without rest you will burn out !!!
• After a work do something for your body (I’m training Wing-tsun, going to swimming pool, …). Be fit, you will feel better ! The brain need a body …
  
• Socialize - You working alone! It’s the main advantage – you may focus on work in the quiet place, but it’s the biggest disadvantage too – peoples need to socialize or you will be a freak which will lost touch with reality, and without touch to reality you will lost your business (you will set bad price, bad conditions or create useless products). Almost all business ideas going from the “out there” when someone other saying something ordinary, you think about it and BANG YOU GOT A IDEA… Go to the concerts, to the pub, to your friends, make a fun! Enjoy your life , it’s a good for business to be relaxed, satisfied and “up” the things.

Improve your business everyday.

1…2…3…4…5…6…7…

Everyday do some small improvement the “small step” in your business.

• lower expenses
• take profit high by a few bucks
• organize better your life
• optimize your SQL database
• automatize everything
• control backups if they working
• improve your working place
• learn something new (new language)
• write new piece of program
• propagate your business
• start new activity
• do something not expected
• take a rest
• enjoy your life
• socialize

Goal is NOT to do big steps, goal is to do many minor improvements each day!

Do you using credit card?

Advantages

• you using “the banks money” – big advantage, especially for the business which growing fast to help own cash flow
  
• 1-2% money back, fly miles, points,… – excellent especially for business if you buying for some other ones (assisted shopping,…), or you paying expenses which you must pay in any way (fuel, computers, office equipment…). There are many good credit card, which returning more (5 – 10%) for the fuel, food, office equipment. Good is too, that you clam your point if you buy over the Internet – you must pay for hosting and domains in any way…

Disadvantages

• high interest rate – it’s so high, that some banks using to fool you the MONTH interest rate. They wrote “Only 2% per month”, but its 1.02^12 = 26,8% per year!!! Do NOT count is as 2*12!!! Big disadvantage! If you need a loan do NOT, again DO NOT use credit card, use some standard loan with normal 8 – 12% interest rate!
  
• year fee - if you don’t fulfill requirements
• high penalties for everything – overdraw, later payment, … – which may destroy you, if you are little lazy or slovenly person

Catch

• you forget to pay once in the grace free period and they have you! You are doomed and paying high interest rate for next year!
• they sending statements too late, so is easy to forget or don’t manage to pay in time! They wanna force you to pass the grace free period and to fall into high interest rate!

Secrets

• Money back are not free – you think that you will “save” 2% if you have a money-back. You will NOT. It’s NOT a bank money! In reality the shop giving to the bank 3-4% of his income! Example, if you buy something for a 100€, the bank pay to shop only 97€! So fact is, that the shop must increase the price by the 3-4% (on the Internet 3-10%). So you paying MORE! If you have 2% cash back, you are still 1% in minus, because shop rise the price by the 3%!
• Bad exchange rate – If you buying something on the Internet or in foreign countries in different currency, most banks will add 1.8-2.5% up the exchange rate. The biggest bastards ordered VISA/ECMC to add other 2% more, so the bank get 3% from the shop plus 2 – 4.5% by the exchange rate = 5 – 7.5%!!! Isn’t it nice? You get your 1% money back, and they got other 6.5%!!!
• Psychology 1 – debt is heavy - Each debt is a big steal ball on a chain, it will hold you back. You wil think about it everyday and it will hurt you. You may not decide in any minute to go to the other side of the Earth, you must simply pay your debts…
• Psychology 2 – paying via cards not pain – Do you wanna know, why every shop accepting cards? They must pay to banks, so why they doing it? It’s because when you paying via coins and banknotes it HURT you, so you controlling your expenses. But if you paying via debit card you spending psychologically NOT your money, but some “freaky” numbers in the bank and you buying MORE, you have lover barrier to buy expensive good. And with credit card you internally think,  that you spending “banks” money, this barrier is almost zero! This is proved by serious researchs, trust it! It’s in your subconscious mind, you can’t change it! You may only decide to have or not to have credit card!