Michelle Schroeder-Gardner, Author at Making Sense Of Cents

How This Couple Retired at 38 and 41

May 23, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 6 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

How This Couple Retired at 38 and 41 My monthly Extraordinary Lives series is something that I'm really enjoying doing. First up was JP Livingston, who retired with a net worth over $2,000,000 at the age of 28. Today's interview is with Tanja Hester, who retired at the end of 2017 at the age of 38.

You probably know her from the amazing blog Our Next Life. Our Next Life is one of my favorite blogs, so I'm glad Tanja said yes to this interview!

In this interview, you'll learn:

How she managed to retire so early;
How she still lives comfortably in one of the most beautiful places in the world;
Her advice for retiring early no matter what your career choice is;
How she decided how much she needed to retire on;
The sacrifices she has had to make;

And more! This interview is packed full of valuable information! [Read more…]

29 Money And Life Lessons I’ve Learned

May 21, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 20 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

29 Money And Life Lessons I've Learned

I always think it’s a good idea to reflect on any life and money lessons you’ve learned throughout the years. While it helps me see what mistakes I have made, it also reminds me that I’ve made good decisions too. Whether they have been good or bad, I’ve learned a lot of valuable life lessons.

I usually just let my birthday fly by, but I realized that my birthday would be a good time to think about the lessons I’ve learned and share them with you.

I published the first of these posts two years ago, 27 Money And Life Lessons I’ve Learned, and last year I added another for 28. That’s one lesson for every year, and now I can add one more lesson, which I plan on doing for each new year ahead of me.

I really think self-reflection is a good idea because we can learn so much from the past, both the good choices and the mistakes we’ve made.

And, I've made mistakes, but I've also made some great choices. I've learned a lot of valuable life and money lessons, and now I am happier than ever. [Read more…]

Editing And Writing Strategies That Will Take Your Content To The Next Level

May 18, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 34 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Hi, I’m Ariel, and for the past two years I have been editing nearly all of the new content on Making Sense of Cents. Along with editing this blog, I am about to graduate with a degree in English Literature from Washington University, and I’ve been accepted into their highly competitive Honors program. While the academic writing I do is very different from the posts on Making Sense of Cents, I follow the same strategies for writing and editing my papers that are discussed in today’s post. I have also sought extra writing and editing help through my university to continue growing my skills.

Professionally, not only am I an editor here, I also write knitting patterns and provide technical pattern support for other knitwear designers. You could say that I have a lot of experience in several different writing fields.

Blogs are a unique type of writing as they allow for a conversational tone, while also providing your readers with professional level advice. We’ve all read blog posts, online articles, and social media posts, where the writer makes a mistake and suddenly leaves you wondering why you should be trusting them in the first place. Editing, as the last step of the writing process, can turn the message you want to impart into a professional and cohesive piece of writing that shows your readers they can trust you. [Read more…]

The 4 Best Tools to Keep You Safe in Retirement

May 17, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 2 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

The following is a sponsored post.

Retirement is the most complicated time in your life, financially. That’s driven by many factors, including: (1) you don’t know how long your retirement will last, (2) you won’t have a traditional salary coming in the door, and (3) you might not have the same mental capacities as you do now to make financial decisions.

The complicated nature of retirement has increased over time as life expectancy has increased — from around 60 years in 1930 to closer to 80 years today — and pensions have gone away. Maybe your parent or grandparent has a pension? That pension, which might not seem like a big deal when you’re young, makes a big difference in retirement. It fixes all three issues listed above by providing you a continuation of your salary for as long as you live. Now, not only are employers not offering them, but many of us don’t have traditional jobs with benefits in the first place. [Read more…]

Tricks To Get More Done In Less Time

May 16, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 22 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I consider myself to be a time management BOSS! Here are my time management tips so that you can learn how to manage time and accomplish the things you want in life. Looking for time management tips?

You're not alone.

I've been able to reach a lot of my goals due to my time management skills. People have wondered how I was able to pay off my debt in seven months, how I graduated with two college degrees by the age of 20, and how I've been able to build this blogging business to where it is today without a huge team behind me. Well, it's due to me knowing how to get more done in less time.

Some may call me impatient (okay, it's probably my biggest flaw), but I utilize a lot of time management tips and solutions below because I know how much they can truly help.

Now, I'm not perfect either. I can watch a whole season of a TV show in one day, and I can easily spend an insane amount of hours on social media.

However, it's about balance and knowing when too much is too much. [Read more…]

37 Crazy and Creative Strategies To Pay Off Debt From Real People

May 14, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 18 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

As you know, learning to pay off your debt is one of the best ways to reach financial independence. And, there are some crazy and creative strategies to pay off debt, and I LOVE hearing stories from the people trying them!

I published the post 60+ Extreme Things People Have Done To Save Money awhile back, and there were a lot of crazy interesting things mentioned in that article. There was someone shaving their own head to save money, people taping their shoes together, dumpster diving, and more.

Since then, others have shared their own stories, and I’m excited to share all of these new, crazy and creative strategies to pay off debt. I seriously love hearing about them.

Because there are so many strategies to pay off debt, many of us have probably gone to very different lengths to do so.

And, by sharing the things that we do, maybe we can all feel a little less embarrassed about our most crazy and extreme strategies to pay off debt, and we might even learn some new tricks. [Read more…]

10 Delicious Summer Lunch Ideas

May 11, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 4 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Summer is right around the corner, which means it’s time for warmer weather, more outdoor activities, farmers markets, picnics, and more! When it’s cold outside, things like stews, soups, and other hearty meals sound good. But, in the summertime, it’s all about those fresh and easy to prepare meals for your summer lunch or dinner.

With fresh fruits and vegetables in season, the summer is a great time to take advantage of fresh produce. Who doesn’t love going to a farmer’s market and coming home with delicious fruits and vegetables to add to their meal plan?

Many of these recipes would be good for more than just summer lunches as they would make great light dinners too. Some of these recipes would be perfect dishes to bring to potlucks, easy things to prepare for picnics, or great things to prepare as a quick summer lunch before or after a hike.

Also, having a meal plan is an important step in keeping you on track with your budget. These summer lunch recipes won’t break your budget, and they can spruce up a boring weekly meal plan if you feel like you’re in a funk.

If you’re ready for summer like me, here are some tasty summer lunch ideas to get you in the mood for warmer weather by having new recipes to add to your weekly meal plan.

Other recipe roundups to check out:

Note: If you're looking for easy weekly meal plans that are full of budget recipes, I recommend $5 Meal Plan. $5 Meal Plan is a meal planning service that sends you a delicious meal plan and shopping list every week for just $5 a month.

How This Couple Retired at 38 and 41

29 Money And Life Lessons I’ve Learned

Editing And Writing Strategies That Will Take Your Content To The Next Level

The 4 Best Tools to Keep You Safe in Retirement

Tricks To Get More Done In Less Time

37 Crazy and Creative Strategies To Pay Off Debt From Real People

10 Delicious Summer Lunch Ideas

Here are 10 summer lunch ideas.

[Read more…]

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