By Cheryl Rushing

At the end of last year I applied for a super secret agent position at I’ve Tried That to check out a money-making opportunity called Project PayDay.

The article has been written, and it’s posted here. Please drop by and take a look.

A Deeper Look Into Project PayDay.

I’ll be writing a follow-up article next week, so stay tuned!

Last year I decided that I was going to write for pay, something I have never done.  This is not because I didn’t want to be paid for my writing, but because I wasn’t sure how to make that happen.

I’ve often felt that perhaps I needed to know the secret handshake, or know the right people, or be willing to follow a certain set of rules.  I made freelance writing this unattainable goal for myself.

I decided to change all that, and set a modest monetary goal for myself for 2008.  I exceeded that goal by about 50% by doing paid blog posts on my personal site.  Sure, it’s not high art or The New Yorker, but it’s writing, and it pays.

I’ve set a much higher goal for 2009, some of which I expect to come from paid blog entries.  I also want to write articles for Helium and Associated Content.

I’ve figured out that people don’t hand out writing work.  Freelance jobs don’t show up in your doorstep.  You’ve got to beg, borrow and steal to get them.  You’ve got to stick your foot in the door and then force your way in, jumping up and down and yelling “Pick me! Pick me!”

OK, maybe that’s just my way, but it works.  I’m currently working an article (possibly two) for I’ve Tried That (click that link to see what I’m writing about).

I’m not technically getting paid for the writing in the strictest sense, but it will be a writing credit, and something I can point to and say “I did that for them, now what can I do for you?”.

I guess what I’m trying to say is this:  if you want it, go for it.  Don’t let anything stop you.  I let everything stop me, for far too long.

This is an article I wrote on my personal blog on June 13, 2008.

On the Today Show this morning Matt Lauer interviewed a woman with 9 kids about their flood experience in Iowa. They were renting a home that is now flooded up to the roof.

Matt asked what she had lost and she said “everything” and he said something like “to make matters worse you didn’t have flood insurance.” She said no, she had tried to get some because they are in a flood plain, but they were told that they couldn’t get it because they were renting.

Renters CAN get flood insurance. I know, because I’m a renter. And an insurance agent.

Here is some information I hope will be helpful:

1. If I rent, can I get flood insurance coverage for my contents? Yes. The National Flood Insurance Program offers contents coverage up to $100,000 for both homeowners AND renters. Additional coverage over $100,000 may be purchased through an excess flood policy. Contact your homeowners insurance agent for more information.

2. If I rent, can I get flood coverage on the house I live in? No, but your landlord can and should. Your financial interest as a renter is only in your contents, not in the home itself. If your lease requires you to maintain coverage on the structure, you should contact your homeowners insurance agent with a copy of your lease.

3. My agent says I need an elevation certificate. What is that? An Elevation Certificate is a detailed survey of a structure’s elevation to see if it is above or below the base flood elevation. If you rent, you should get a copy of this from your landlord.

4. I’m not in a flood zone, so I can’t get flood insurance, right? Wrong. You can get flood insurance, even if you aren’t in a high hazard area. If you are in a low hazard, or preferred risk, area, you can get flood insurance quite inexpensively.

5. So what is a high hazard zone, anyway? A high hazard zone is one designated by FEMA as beginning with A or V. So if your zone is AE, then you’re in a high hazard flood zone. Low hazard or “preferred risk” zones are usually designated B, C and X. Contact your agent to find out what your flood zone is.

6. We’re having a big storm right now, and the creek near my house is getting high. Where can I get flood insurance quickly? You can’t get flood insurance quickly. The NFIP will not bind coverage in area where flood conditions are currently occurring. In fact, the typical flood insurance policy has a 30 day waiting period once coverage is accepted before it is in force. If you are involved in a bank closing, that waiting period can be waived. The best time to buy flood insurance is either 30 days before the flood rains come, or now.

Flood insurance is really pretty easy to get, and not as expensive as you might think. If your insurance agent isn’t offering it to you, ASK for it.

For more information about flood insurance, go here: The National Flood Insurance Program.