Blog - Making Sense Of Cents

My 8 Year Blogiversary: How I Made Money Blogging In July 2019

August 23, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 4 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 July 2019's business report where I show you how I made money online and traveled full-time last month. It's time to look at this month's update and see how I did.

If you're new to Making Sense of Cents, you may be wondering why I would want to publish my business report each month.

This all started out as my extra income report because, in the beginning, it was all about the money I was earning from my side jobs. In my side income reports from the beginning, I included all of the income I made except for what I made at my day job.

However, I left my day job as a financial analyst in October of 2013 and now my monthly business reports consist of the many ways I earn a living with my business. [Read more…]

12 Passive Income Ideas That Will Let You Enjoy Life More

August 19, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 17 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.

Are you looking for passive income ideas so that you can start making more money? Learning how to make passive income streams can significantly change your life by helping you earn more money and diversifying your income.

Looking for passive income ideas so that you can start making more money? Learning how to make passive income streams can significantly change your life. #passiveincomeideas #makeextramoney #passiveincomestreams

Building passive income is something that I’ve been working on for the past several years. See, I want to continue to bring in an income while being able to focus on other goals of mine, like doing more hiking or biking (which will most likely never generate income). I also want to diversify my income so that I’m not too reliant on one source.

For me, finding passive income ideas is great because I can focus more on life instead of business, and I can do it while continuing to earn a great income.

Unfortunately, many people think that passive income simply isn’t real, that it must be luck and not work, that you’re a trust fund kid, or something else.

But, that’s not true at all! All of the passive income ideas in this article are real ways to make money.

Now, that doesn't mean that earning passive income takes literally no effort (it's not a get rich quick scheme) – there's probably going to be some effort to get the passive income stream started, and perhaps some effort to maintain it for years to come. [Read more…]

10 Easy And Delicious Lunch Ideas For Work

August 16, 2019 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.

Finding exciting lunch ideas for work is one of the best ways to start saving money on your food spending. That’s because buying lunch at work can really add up if you do it too often.

When I worked as a financial analyst, I tried to bring my lunch as much as possible. But, it was easy to get caught up with others who were going out to grab a quick lunch. The leftovers or sandwich I packed never sounded as exciting as going out.

Sure, it’s fun to go out to lunch from time to time, but it adds up quickly.

I would find myself spending anywhere from $10-$15 when I did go out for lunch. Even just $5 for lunch here and there can add up to a lot of money when you’re trying to cut your budget.

So, to help you save money on lunch, I have some delicious and healthy lunch ideas for work that will get you excited about packing your lunch.

This list is full of healthy lunch ideas for work, including a great vegetarian quinoa bowl with beans, corn, and a lime vinaigrette. There are low carb options like chicken fajita bowls and an avocado chicken salad (this one looks so pretty in the pictures!). [Read more…]

21 Ways You Can Learn How To Save Money In College

August 12, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 4 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 to learn how to save money in college? With ever rising college costs, it can really help your current and future finances if you learn how to save money.

Tuition for an in-state public college averages around $25,290. Private college tuition costs twice as much, at an average of $50,900, according to Value Penguin. If you want to go to an elite, four-year university, the cost jumps to $68,000 per year.

And, if you're going to college for something like medicine or law, you may end up paying hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years that you are in school.

As you can see, college can be very expensive.

However, I want you to know that you can learn how to save money in college so you can get a valuable college degree on a realistic budget. [Read more…]

How And Why My Husband And I Keep Separate Finances

August 9, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 41 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! Today, I have a great guest post from Stephanie Schill. Stephanie is the creator of the personal finance blog WynningInLife.com. A lifetime saver and self-proclaimed shameless couponer, she is passionate about spending consciously and saving intentionally. When not writing she enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband Nick and their daughter Wynn. Below is her story of how her and her husband keep separate finances.

My husband, Nick, and I have been married for 7 years. We are successful in managing our finances happily and relatively stress-free by keeping them separate. In talking with our circle of friends and reading financial advice from experts, I get the feeling this may not be the norm.

But it works for us.

I want to share with you our experience of managing money independently, as a couple. You may be inspired to separate your finances if they are currently joined.

Or it may give you a perspective on how you can be in a relationship but keep your financials separate.

Other content you may be interested in:

[Read more…]

Ask Me Anything

August 5, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 128 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.

Almost two years ago, I published my first Ask Me Anything here on Making Sense of Cents. That went super well, so I decided to make it more of a regular thing!

Ask Me Anything is literally that – you can ask me anything. If you’re struggling to figure out what to ask, here are a few of the topics you may want to know more about:

Personal finance
Blogging
My life
Travel
RVing
Sailing
Being location independent
Business
Making extra money
Questions about my dogs

And so on, and so on.

Seriously, ask me anything in the comments below, and I will take the time to answer every single one. Of course, please nothing inappropriate or creepy. I'll let you be the judge of what is creepy, I guess, haha!

All right, go for it, ask away!

P.S. If you're looking to see all of the comments and questions, make sure to hit “Older Comments” or “Newer Comments” below. The comments break apart in pages once there are over 50 comments.

How To Make $300+ Weekly As An Online Tutor With Course Hero

August 1, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 12 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.

Are you looking for a flexible side hustle as an online tutor? If so, read through this Course Hero review to find out how you can start earning around $300 a week as a Course Hero tutor, with top online tutors earning $500 a week. And, it’s all from the comfort of your home.

Course Hero is a website that helps high school and college students with course-specific questions.

Using the website, students connect with Course Hero tutors on a wide range of subjects and classes, which makes this a great side hustle for people with different educational backgrounds and experience.

Tutors earn an average of $3 for each question they answer on Course Hero. Earning between $12-$20 per hour, Course Hero tutors earn an average of $300/week. [Read more…]

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