Get a bloody job

The point of SmarterSaving is to identify areas in which a motivated individual can (legally) earn a few quid on the side, or cut back on spending, to make life's earnings go that little bit further. Obviously, they are written from the perspective of an entrepreneur funding his first venture and thus full time 'employment' never really comes into it.

That said, one of the easiest ways to save money is to get a job. Obviously, if you're working, you can't be spending (unless you're online shopping, in which case you aren't actually doing what you're being paid to do).

SmarterCareers doesn't launch until 2009 and, when it does, it will be focussed on only the most lucrative careers: in terms of career advancement, pay structure, benefits and so on. In the meantime you would be wise to check out Milkround, who have information on a huge selection of graduate jobs. You will need to register, but the process is completely free.

Take what you're given

For some reason, in my university days I rarely used coupons and I can put this down to a mix of the stigma associated with using them (Open All Hours anyone?) and the fact I never used to carry a wallet.

On top of this, I never once used a storecard.

Looking back, I must have wasted £1000's in discounts, given I would shop every single day at the local Sainsbury's as well as stopping into CostCutter on campus between lectures. Please don't assume I eat all the pies - I simply have a total inability to plan ahead when culinary skills are involved. Therefore, I would shop daily for fresh meat, pre-bagged salad leaves, innocent juice and some kind of after dinner munch. My shopping trips were planned, only on a much smaller scale than for most people.

Now, I regularly use Tesco (I still prefer Sainsburys, but Tesco is closer to where I live now) and have signed up to a store card. Despite having three online accounts, none of which tie into the card number of my Tesco Clubcard, I do seem to get regular postal offers. For the third month in a row I have three separate £5 off vouchers for £50+ shops and a £10 voucher to use against any single purchase.

My wife takes care of the shopping list and eventual cooking, so thankfully I am able to negotiate the minefield of large shopping trips and take advantage of these discounts. Not doing so would simply be throwing money away.

Internet research doesn't mean looking at porn

If you're able to write short yet detailed responses to random questions and can use Google, then a job as an internet researcher is a sure way to bring in £20-£30 for a few hours on an evening. I had a short spell with Any Question Answered ('AQA') whilst I set-up SmarterHousing, which helped fund some sundry expenses like business cards and web hosting.

AQA is a fairly simple concept - users of the service can text any question to 63336. Questions are displayed in a forum style to the internet researchers, who can then click on any anwer and offer a response.

For every question answered, internet researchers recieve a percentage of the £1 paid by the user. Earnings are limited by the fact there are times in the day when researchers outstrip questions, and there is no point waiting around to earn a few pence. However, when questions are stacked up it is possible to rattle out £50-75 in an evening and this happens twice per day as the service is also live in Australia.

Obviously, with questions limited this isn't a full time job from home, unless you choose to replicate the service and strive to generate greater demand! If I were to replicate this under the Smarter brand, I would want to offer researchers a higher amount of money per response, to maintain higher service levels (i.e. better answers).

What's it all about?

We've all seen the sites proclaiming an ability to make £14,757 per week sat in the bar of a private yacht, drifting aimlessly through the med.

I too would like extreme wealth, private islands, diamond, gold and art collections, stables of exotic sportscars ... the list goes on. However, I do not think it is possible sat around doing squat.

Since graduating with around £17,000 of student debt, I don't think I have done too badly: my personal debt is falling, I'm supporting a wife (sporting an obscene diamond (tips on diamond purchases to follow!)) and young baby and have been away on a decent holiday each of the past two years.

You may be fooled into thinking my business SmarterHousing is the foundation of my income but unfortunately this is not the case: I've only paid myself the minimum taxable allowance for the first three years of operation. As a new business, it is inherant that the 'boss comes last' and any money that I could draw, I tend to reinvest in winning new clients and improving our website.

So then, where is this money coming from? It's the old cliche I'm afraid - sat around at home! I will stress again, I've not been sat around doing nothing, but I have found one or two internet businesses that do bring in sufficient income to live off and if you're prepared to work hard, separate incomes soon mount up.

I'll be bringing tips on genuine internet businesses and other opportunities for the budding entrepreneur, as well as ways to save when you can't help but spend (food and petrol amongst others). I may throw in the odd shameless plug about cheap hotels or holidays, but you can hardly blame me.

Without doubt, if I do amass a significant wealth, this blog should provide a pretty good step by step guide on how it happenned!