Michelle Schroeder-Gardner, Author at Making Sense Of Cents

How I Earned Up to $4,000 Per Month Baking Dog Treats (With Zero Baking Experience!)

Last Updated: January 22, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 5 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.

Hello! Are you interested in starting a dog treat bakery business? Well, good news, this article will tell you what you need to know. Plus, you can sign up for this free training workshop that will teach you how to start your own side hustle baking and selling dog treats.

Hi! My name is Kristin Larsen, and I run Believe in a Budget, a blog about personal finance and my experience with various side hustles. (It feels like I’ve tried them all over the years!)

As I’ve written about before here on Making Sense of Cents, my favorite online side hustle is working as a Pinterest virtual assistant. Managing Pinterest accounts is a great way to earn an income entirely online.

But today, I’m here to talk about a completely different side hustle, one that can be run entirely offline if you want (or entirely online, or a combination!).

While I love being able to work from home (or anywhere) on my computer, there is something to be said about stepping away from the computer and doing work that doesn’t involve the ‘virtual world’ – work that requires you to move around a little instead of being planted in front of a screen all day long!

In the case of this side hustle, it involves moving around the kitchen baking up beautiful and delicious dog treats. [Read more…]

Energy Ogre Review – How To Save $800+ A Year On Your Electricity Bill

Last Updated: January 20, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 1 Comment

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 have partnered with Energy Ogre in this Energy Ogre review. All opinions are 100% my own. You can use Energy Ogre promo code MSOC to receive a free month of Energy Ogre service (the 13th month free).

Do you want to save money on your electricity bill?

If you live in Texas, then this article is for you!

Unfortunately, many households in Texas overpay for their monthly electricity bill.

But, that doesn’t mean you can’t change that.

There are plenty of ways to save money on electricity, and one of them is to use Energy Ogre.

Energy Ogre saves members $800 to $1,200 each year on average, so people are actually excited to get their electricity bill, instead of dreading it.

Energy Ogre shops the market for their members, and analyzes the available electricity plans from hundreds of providers, then selects the best one based on the member’s energy usage.

If you live in Texas, this is a really easy opportunity to save some extra money.

You can use Energy Ogre promo code MSOC to receive a free month of Energy Ogre service (the 13th month free). [Read more…]

Should You Start A Blog In 2021? 8 Things You Need To Know

Last Updated: January 18, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 6 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.

Should you start a blog in 2021? Is blogging worth it in 2021?

Are you thinking about starting a blog this year?

Perhaps you’ve been thinking about starting a blog for some time, but you’re afraid that you have waited too long.

Every year I get the same questions from people who are thinking about starting a blog but are worried that it’s too late.

In fact, when I started my blog, I had people telling me that I would be wasting my time because it was too late for new blogs.

I also have friends who have started blogs in the past year or two, and were told the same thing.

Yet, all of us are making money and working as full-time bloggers now.

I still remember the early days from when I first started my blog.

I was so clueless when I first started my blog. And, it seemed like a very random thing when I first heard about blogging, but I decided to go ahead and create a blog of my own. [Read more…]

A Beginner’s Guide to Micro-Investing in 2021

Last Updated: January 15, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 1 Comment

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.

What is micro-investing? Lately, I have been hearing a ton about micro-investing, so I thought an article on the topic would be great. My sister-in-law and editor, Ariel Gardner, has been using micro-investing apps for over a year, and today she is going to teach you all about this topic.

I heard about micro-investing for the first time a few years ago, and I was immediately intrigued.

The idea is that you’re investing on a small scale, and it’s meant to appeal to new investors who feel intimidated by traditional investing.

Maybe you feel like you don’t have enough money to start investing or investing just seems too difficult. There’s also the reality that the market goes up and down on a regular basis — also scary for anyone who’s new to investing.

Micro-investing aims to remove all of those barriers and teach you that investing is more accessible than you may have thought.

About a year after I learned about micro-investing, I decided to try it out and invest through a couple of different apps — Stash and Acorns.

Today, I’m going to tell you what I’ve learned through the process and about some of the best micro-investing apps available now. [Read more…]

50+ Of The Best Money Saving Ideas For 2021

Last Updated: January 15, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 3 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.

Looking for money saving ideas for 2021?

I love to help people find new and realistic ways to save money. Learning how to save money helped me pay off my nearly $40,000 student loan debt, and I practiced many of the money saving ideas you’re going to learn about today. I budgeted, cut my bills, started side hustling, and more.

There are so many different money saving ideas you can try — over 50 ways to save money each month on this list alone.

Finding new money saving ideas can be a life changing thing. I know it can be hard at times, especially if you are already living frugally. But, this list includes many ways to save money on a tight budget too.

Learning how to save money, no matter what your situation is, can help you:

Stop living paycheck to paycheck
Pay off your debt
Go down to one income
Save for a vacation
Put more in your emergency fund
Start investing more
Have more flexibility in your budget

No matter what your reason is, this post has money saving ideas for everyone. You can get out of a bad cycle and start living the life you want. [Read more…]

How This Former Zookeeper Paid Off Over $40,000 In Debt

Last Updated: January 8, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 1 Comment

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! Today, I have a great debt payoff story to share from Steffa Mantilla. She paid off $40,000 in debt so that she could be a stay at home mom and start a business. Enjoy!

My husband CJ and I have been married for over a decade. You’d think with all that time married would come wisdom but it wasn’t until year 10 of our marriage before we really took stock in figuring out our financial life.

Like most people, we got into a routine and didn’t question what we thought was working. We had surrounded ourselves with other couples who were living the same way we were.

There was no impetus to change because we had created a comfortable echo chamber with a “Keeping up with the Jones’ mentality.”

Fast forward to today and we’ve paid off $100,000 in debt and are on track to pay off our mortgage within the next 3 years.

While there’s no “easy button” on debt payoff, I hope that our story can help others see what’s possible and the steps we took to get there.

More debt payoff stories:

[Read more…]

2020 Business and Life Review

Last Updated: January 6, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 55 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.

Welcome to my 2020 Business and Life Review!

Usually, I separate my travel and business annual review content into two separate blog posts, but this year I’ve decided to combine it into one.

2020 was a different kind of year, and I’m sure nearly everyone would agree with that statement.

It was a tough year for a lot of people, and I completely understand.

I feel very grateful for the life that I get to live, but it was a hard year for me as well. I lost two important family members in my life, my grandma as well as my dog who was my best friend for almost 14 years.

[Read more…]

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