Ask Me Anything

I am lucky that my husband is at home with me, but it is still difficult to find the time since he does have to manage our boat full-time (and is constantly fixing things, checking weather, being our captain, etc by himself).

This is an area that I am struggling with still and I have hardly worked since last year before the baby came. Writing a bunch of content before the baby came really helped me. I also have a virtual assistant and an editor.

Do you have a blog? That’s a great way to add affiliate links.

Starting with your own niche is great because more of the advice that you receive will be applicable to you. Plus, you’ll more likely secure guest posts, interviews, and so on from those in your niche because they will be writing about the same topic.

1) My top tip would be to find ways to make extra money. That’s what I did to pay off mine. You can learn more here – https://www.makingsenseofcents.com/2017/01/how-to-pay-off-student-loans-repayment.html

2) Yes, you will want to make sure they are legitimate. For legal templates, I recommend reading this – https://www.makingsenseofcents.com/2019/07/3-super-common-legal-mistakes-bloggers-make-and-how-to-fix-them.html

3) Hmm I don’t know of any templates. Everyone has a different style.

4) I either delete them (if they are especially negative, inappropriate or creepy), or respond to them. If it starts to get to me, I will simply delete and move on because I don’t need crazy people in my life, haha.

It took me 6 months to make my first $100. But, I could have made money sooner. I didn’t know that blogs could make money when I started mine so it was not a goal.

I have a long list of blog topics to write about. I gathered this list from topics that I’m personally interested in or have come across, as well as things like reader questions.

I recommend reading this to learn more about how I started – https://www.makingsenseofcents.com/2017/04/how-to-make-money-blogging-online.html

I don’t feel comfortable giving legal or tax advice for Canadian blogs as it’s not my expertise. You may want to reach out to a Canadian blogger and seeing what or who they recommend, or doing a Google search.

Jason?

Hello!

1) I spend less than 10 hours a week on my blog right now.

2) In the beginning when I first was full-time with my blog, I was spending anywhere from 40 to 100 hours a week on my blog.

3) Yes, I have a virtual assistant, an editor, and I outsource other tasks such as technical management and occasionally graphic design.

I was blogging pretty much every single day, I believe. I don’t recommend that – I had no idea what I was doing.

It took me 6 months to make my first $100 blogging. But, like I’ve said, I didn’t know blogs could make money and I wasn’t trying to make money with my blog.

I did some research and here are some articles you may enjoy:

1) https://www.thebalancecareers.com/career-change-resume-writing-tips-4134292
2) https://www.themuse.com/advice/this-is-how-you-spin-1-resume-for-5-different-industries

Nope, I did not have a business plan. I did not start my blog to make money or anything like that – so I had no plan with it for anything. I don’t know of any tools that will help you with this, but I’m sure it exists if you search online for it. Sorry, I don’t have any personal recommendations. I simply just write down what I want to work on.

Hey Dixie!

Thank you so much for your comment.

The only somewhat related blog post I have on this subject is https://www.makingsenseofcents.com/2021/08/how-to-sell-stickers-on-etsy.html

Hello!

Thanks for your comment and for being a reader.

1) I think this is just up to you, and there’s no ideal ratio. The question instead you should be asking is “Do you want a blog that reaches local readers?” Or, do you want it to be more general and reach more people around the world? Neither answer is “correct” – it’s more just about the type of blog you want to run.

2) Nope, not really. I simply write content that I am interested in 🙂

Thank you! Yes, Escapees is another option.

No, I don’t outsource my writing. I do have an editor, though, who helps a TON with my blog posts and that saves me a lot of time.

Have you tried starting out by perhaps doing some of the following such as:

1) Commenting on blogs
2) Writing roundups for your blog where you include other bloggers (this is a more simple ask and most bloggers would take part in this)
3) Sharing other people’s blog posts on social media

This is a long story, haha.

During the summer, when we were off the boat, I had a doctor in Colorado. I was actually on a waitlist for a doctor in Florida (where our boat was). I was on the waitlist very early in my pregnancy, as they were already full with pregnant moms when I was only about 12 weeks pregnant. I had heard that a LOT of doctors offices were experiencing this as well due to the baby boom that is currently happening. Due to that, we tried to sit still during my pregnancy because no one had room anywhere. But, when I was about 20 weeks pregnant, the doctor’s office in Florida called me and said they had room as one of their patients had moved. So, we made the journey down to Florida and moved back into our boat when I was around 32 weeks pregnant. I stayed there for the rest of my pregnancy as I wanted to be close to my doctor.

I don’t think this situation is normal, but I found it very difficult to find prenatal care due to the current baby boom. I have heard that it’s normally easier to find care as you travel. But, right now it seems like many doctors have very long waits and aren’t accepting new patients. I have talked to a few others and this seems to be somewhat common around the US right now. I was told by doctors’ offices that this is because a doctor can only realistically accept so many deliveries in a single month, and because my due date was at the end of the month, I was fighting for a spot with women who were 4-5 weeks further along than I was (and they already claimed all the spots as they knew they were pregnant well before I did).

What a lot of full-time travelers do is they will find a doctor and go back to that same doctor throughout their pregnancy. That means they may fly back to that same provider or drive back. Then, once they are in the third trimester, they will stick a little closer to that doctor to avoid any issues.

We are unsure of what we will do for school for her just yet. We have a few years to think about it.

We have not had any issues finding a pediatrician for her, though. That has been just fine.