Have you ever earned from an online Hobby?

The title of the post may appear to be funny but it is true that you can earn through an online hobby. I am not talking about playing online rummy or online lottery games. It is all about your writing skills and common sense guided by an experienced blogger. As the curtain is going to fall on the year 2017 in just next 91 days when the hour and minute hands of the clock will overlap each other at midnight of 31st December 2017 to usher in New Year 2018 with bursting of crackers, twinkling lights and rockets going up in the sky, I thought it fit to write a post for the fresh and new bloggers who might be ready to join us in 2018 with an intention that they may earn through their online hobby of content writing and undertaking surveys. Most of the bloggers cheat and template the new bloggers by making them believe that they can earn thousands of $$ dollars through blogging and advertising either through AdSense or other advertising networks. But it is a mirage and distant dream as I was also lured by the so-called money making machines while sitting in the comfort of your bedroom. Frankly speaking, it is very very difficult to earn through online content writing as you need to market your content also. Hereby marketing I do not mean that you are to sell your online content through payment gateways. By the way, why the online audience should buy your content if they do not want to even read it. First of all, make your online content worth its value to be read by millions of people and that is possible only if you optimize your content to be displayed by major search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo and Ask. To start with your online hobby I would like to share my performance since 2012 by honestly telling you my income and expenditure details during 2012-2017 and my investment in terms of hours of work during 2012-2017 and now I have ended up setting us by big commercial enterprise at CIBIL Consultants where I am making thousands of dollars per month to be distributed to my team members:

Expenditure:

Domain Registrations and Renewals	29,287-00 *See Popular Domains Below
Hosting Plans and Renewals 2012-2022	44,913-00
Developer Console from Google	1,578-00
Google Application for Business	Free Courtesy Google Inc
Google Ad-words Advertising	2,482-00
Facebook Advertising	12,624-00
Other Miscl Expense	9,116-00
GlobalTestMarket
Total 2012-2017 (5 years)	1,00,000-00

*[My popular domains are www.webquestionanswers.com, www.moneymultiplierindia.com, www.mycloudlinks.com, www.expertreviewchannel.com, www.myeveryminutediary.com, www.xpertconsultants.in, www.samadhankender.com, www.cibilconsultants.in and matching domains]

Income:

Remuneration received from Global Test Market	12,356-00
Earning from IndiaStudyChannel where I have contributed More than 30 content articles	5,810-00
Income from Advertising through Google Adsense	19,288-00
Income from HubPages	1,988-00
Other Income from online Consultancy Hobby during 2012-2017	69,558-00
Total 2012-2017 (5 years)	1,09,000-00

Out of the total earned an income of Rs.9000-00, I have paid Rs.9000/- to the developer for helping me to make my upcoming Global Website, a successful venture. I plan to increase my earnings to Rs.50000/- in the year 2018 and not to pocket even a single pie as my online hobby keeps me busy and also meets with the internet expenditure to make it a "No Profit No Loss" venture.

The tricky, smart and experienced technocrat bloggers will put screenshots and images of cheques altered in Photoshop to make them look alike that they earned thousands of $$ dollars from AdSense or online content whereas Adsense clearly bans the publishing of AdSense accounts and sharing these accounts on the web. It is just to lure you to click their ads or advertisements just to find that the smart advertiser will ask for money in US $$ dollars to let you know the secret of earning thousands of dollars $$ online in the comfort of your bedroom. But I have published my balance sheet in the most transparent way so that you can also Learn to Earn, Online or Offline by Ethical Means.

What are Benefits of Pre Mature Voluntarily Retirement?

In the year 2000, the Special VRS scheme was introduced in the banking industry and was made very attractive and lucrative. The bank employees opted for the VRS without applying any mind or without calculating the Breakeven point to arrive at an age which will be best suitable for taking the VRS. At that time interest rates on deposits were at the rate of 12% per annum and the VRS optees got a 1% staff rate extra. The VRS optees never imagined that interest rates on deposits will get reduced to a low of 8 to 8.50 % and that depreciating rupees will erode the purchasing power of the VRS amount encashed by the VRS optees. [The Rate of Interest has been further reduced to a mere 6.25 % as on October 2017 when this article is being updated by the author] At that time I calculated that if one had remaining service of 5 to 6 years then it may sound feasible to opt for VRS in 2000 when extra emoluments in lieu of the remaining service were being offered. Anyhow the VRS 2000 was a one-time option and after that, the VRS optees were deprived of extra emoluments in lieu of remaining service. Had the IBA and the Banks kept the VRS open even after 2000 to date then I am sure that the whole banking industry would have undergone change with new and young faces replacing the old and senior bankers.

Due to certain personal circumstances, I had to opt for VRS in the year 2012 without expecting any extra emoluments for my remaining service of around 60 months. But before opting for Voluntary Retirement I made my own calculations so that I had not had to repent afterwards. Though I am not in favour of early voluntary retirement and remaining active till the date of superannuation at the age of 58 or 60, I want to share the few benefits of the early VRS (say 5 years before the date of superannuation and after completing service of more than 30 years) for those members who might be planning for their retired life:

1. The gratuity of Rs.Ten lac [which is now enhanced from Rs.10 lacs to Rs. Twenty Lacs now in 2017] which was payable on superannuation will be encashed by the retiree 5 years in advance as there will be no change in gratuity due to a ceiling amount of Rs.10 lac and if we calculate the future value of Rs.10 lac (received prematurely) as on date of superannuation it will work out to Rs.16 lac approx if invested in the Bank FD at the rate of 10% inclusive of staff rate. The visible undisputed benefit of Rs.6 Lacs [Loss of Rs.4 Lac for those who are eligible to get a Gratuity of Rs.20 Lac].
2. If VRS is taken early then the commutation factor is higher and the retiree gets a higher commutation pension value. Now check the future value of the total commuted value of the pension by adding compounded interest at the rate of 10% (compounded quarterly) for the remaining number of years of service and deduct from it the actual commuted pension payable at the age of 60 or 58 years. The difference is a clean profit for getting retirement at an early age.
3. If VRS is taken 3-5 years in advance the individual can also look after the family affairs especially marriages and settlements of children. An individual can also look forward to an alternative at a younger age, keeping in view the average age of bankers, as per the latest study report, is estimated at 65 years.
4. As the Pension amount is very less as compared to Salary, the incidence of Income Tax will also reduce from 30% or 20% to 20% or 10%.
5. [I think the cumulative effect of items at Serial Number 1, 2 and 3 will be almost "No Profit No Loss in the current scenario when the Gratuity is increased to Rs.20 Lacs.]
6. Now you will laugh at my calculations. The commuted basic pay gets restored after 15 years and if you took the normal retirement it would have been restored at the age of 75 whereas longevity of life is reduced due to the ageing process. But in case you took the VRS at the age of 55 then your full pension will get restored 5 years in advance at the age of 70 and as per the latest study report, the average age of bankers is estimated at 65 years. Now hypothetically invest the increased amount of pension on account of the restoration of the full amount into a Recurring Deposit account for 5 years and you will be richer by the amount of maturity value of this recurring deposit.
7. Due to early retirement, your monthly pension will be much less than the monthly salary on which you might be paying TDS salary ranging from Rs.4000 to Rs.7000 per month and this amount of loss of TDS will be to the Income Tax Department as your pension account will not attract TDS after normal investments U/s 80CC.
8. You might be having accumulated P.Leave or Earned Leave for a maximum period of 240 days and the bank never gives interest on this intangible asset but when you opt for VRS you have the opportunity to get it cashed similarly as you would have done on the date of superannuation. This means that you will be getting a Leave Encashment amount 5 years in advance making you richer by the interest in monetary terms getting added to the leave encashed amount 5 years in advance.  
9. Last but not least, by taking early retirement you can shout "Hello Pension, Bye Bye Tension" to plan for a tension-free retired life. Medical studies have revealed that the average age of a pensioner increases by 5 to 10 years as compared to that of any person in active service.

The above calculations are made on certain assumptions and one must check his or her conditions before opting for VRS. We provide free counselling to persons thinking to opt for VRS. What are you thinking now? To ask further questions on the issue you are welcome to Register at our Main Site where our Experts and Super Specialists are waiting to answer your questions free of cost.

This article was originally written in May 2012 by the author and it has been reviewed or updated in October 2017 for any material changes in assumptions.