Archives for February 2013

Staff Writing is the Perfect Side Hustle

Last Updated: September 21, 2020 BY Jordann - 36 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Growing up, I always had a job. In the beginning, it was making manuals at my father’s manufacturing company for a measly $4 per hour.

Then, as I got older and was able to accept more responsibility, I boarded horses at our family farm and did some training. Then came the gas station, then the drug store, and then several jobs throughout University. I’ve always maintained some kind of extra employment throughout my life.

They’ve all come with their own perks. At the drug store I was able buy anything I wanted at cost, one job in university allowed me to work from home, but the best side job I’ve ever come across is staff writing.

Michelle has written about how she makes extra income on this blog before, she’s a whiz at it. While I’m not a prodigy like her, I have managed to secure a staff writing job, and I love it.

Please read How To Start A Blog On Bluehost if you are interested in starting your own blog (which can then help you find freelance writing jobs). There is also a way to earn a free domain through that blog post and you will receive a discounted price through my tutorial! 🙂

Staff Writing is The Best Part Time Job

When I think back to all of the part time jobs I’ve had over the years, this one is hands down the best. I get to pick my own hours. If I work best in the morning, I’ll write in the morning, if I want to write my posts a month in advance, I can do that too. I get to earn money while sitting next to my fiance on the couch, and since I’m always trying to find ways to spend more time with him, staff writing satisfies this like no other part time job could. [Read more…]

Saving Money on Food

Last Updated: July 18, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 39 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I love sushi, but it’s just too expensive!

It’s no secret that I’m really trying to save as much money as I can so that I can pay off my student loans as quickly as possible.

The thought of still having them in the summer time would make me sad (and a little mad), so I’m trying as hard as I can to keep with the goal of having them gone by March or April of this year.

On a side note, Sharon over at Midlife Mom Musings switched from Blogger to WP and wants you all to follow her on over there. I know what it was like when I switched from Blogger to WP, and I hated losing so many readers because they couldn’t find my link. I thought I’d make it a little easier for her 🙂 And if you haven’t yet, please read my post about how to start a blog!

Anyways, my $38,000 Student Loan Payoff Plan is going well and I’ve already knocked out a big chunk. The other day I also completely knocked out a private student loan that I’ve had since 2007 that was almost up to $6,000!

I’ve been ramping up the ways that I make extra income and this has helped me a lot with paying down my student loan debt. I’m all about increasing my income!

However, even with all of our increases in extra income, we have been spending way too much on food. I know that if we didn’t eat out so much, then we would be saving even more.

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How To Start A Blog – Tips for a Beginner

Last Updated: March 18, 2022 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 186 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Today, you will learn all about easily creating a blog on your own. Blogging is what changed my life and allowed me to make thousands of dollars a month, all by doing something that I love. Plus, you can start a money-making blog for just a few dollars a month! Below, I have included discounted pricing that I personally negotiated with Bluehost so that all of you can start a blog for cheap. You will also receive a free blog domain through my link too. Act quick though because I’m not sure how long these low prices will last!

Blogging has been one of the best things ever for me. As you can tell from my business income reports, I now make over $70,000 a month from my blogging-related services. I earned over $300,000 in 2015 through blogging and I am expecting to double my income in 2016.

I am able to work from home, I can travel whenever I want, I have a flexible schedule and more. I am absolutely loving life and I can’t believe how much my life has improved in just the past few years.

Anyone can make money with a blog, and I was able to make the money back that I paid for blog hosting very quickly. It is well worth it to pay for blog hosting and I’m sure you will be able to make your money back quickly as well. [Read more…]

I don’t care about the Super Bowl

Last Updated: August 19, 2013 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 21 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Happy weekend everyone! Or to some/most of you, Happy Super Bowl weekend! I’m not a huge football fan, so don’t chop my head off. I am from St. Louis so baseball is my life (and the St. Louis Rams suck so I just don’t pay attention to football).

I definitely have a long to do list for this weekend. Need to take my dogs to the groomer. This doesn’t sound like a large task, but my smaller dog HATES people that he doesn’t know, so going to the groomer is usually a very long experience and very time consuming. I also have a ton of other errands to run, and then tomorrow is also W’s birthday. He’s getting so old 😛

I know last week I said my How to Start a Blog post would be published this past week, but instead it will be published this upcoming week. If you have any questions that you would like me to cover, please ask away in the comments below or email me.

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$6,523 in January Extra Income and GOALS

Last Updated: July 21, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 69 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Hey everyone! I can’t believe it’s February already. Felt like it was 2012 just the other day 🙂 2013 has been off to a great start and I don’t think I’ve been this happy in a long time. Things seem to be going well so far this year and everything is falling directly in place.

Yes, you read that correctly, I beat my goal that I made in December, and I made $6,523 in extra income in the month of January! After expenses, I made $5,823 for the month of January. I thought the goal that I set was pretty high since I made $5,570 in December (and thought that was hard). I still can’t believe that I am doing so well, when just one year ago my extra income was at around $100 per month.

EDIT: I finally made my post on How To Start A Blog – Tips for a Beginner, so check it out! This will be another multiple post series.

I will say that this is not all super easy. Well, none of it is. I spend enough time to make this a full-time job on top of my already full-time job. Luckily, I do enjoy what I’m doing so it’s not like I’m dreading anything. My goals that I have are also a great motivator. I just keep thinking about how badly I want my student loans gone, and also how badly we want a new house next year. Read further on my Extra Income page to check out my other extra income updates.

This is proof on my extra income since some of you have asked (I did edit the image to make it smaller). This is for the month of January and before some fees and expenses (expenses were around $700 and included a major giveaway that I hosted, PayPal fees, etc.) being taken out. The other income categories that are listed below were mainly just cash I received from my sister for rent. $6,198 plus $325 in rent equals $6,523.

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