Blog - Making Sense Of Cents

How Amanda Paid Off $133,763 In Debt in 43 Months

April 24, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 11 Comments

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How Amanda Paid Off $133,763 In Debt in 43 months #debtpayoff #payoffdebt

My monthly Extraordinary Lives series has been a lot of fun, and I’m back with another inspiring interview. 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 Amanda, who is now living debt free after paying off $133,000 in three years and seven months.

I've been following Amanda – @debtfreeinsunnyca – on Instagram for quite some time, and I'm so happy that I was finally able to interview her!

In this interview, you'll learn:

How Amanda got into debt.
Why she decided to get out of debt fast.
The expenses she cut so that she could pay off her debt quickly.
What she thinks about the cash envelope method.
The sacrifices she made to reach her goal.
What she did to stay motivated.

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

Is Full-Time Traveling As Good As It Sounds?

April 22, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 22 Comments

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

Do you want to travel long-term? In this article, I talk about the downsides of full-time traveling, and whether full-time travel is for you. #fulltimetravel #travel I know that traveling full-time sounds fascinating – you get to explore new places, bring your home everywhere you go, try new foods, meet new people, and more.

But, it's not always beaches, mountains, and other beautiful landscapes.

I’m definitely not complaining and I am very thankful for the life I get to live. However, while I once believed that full-time travel was the greatest thing ever, lately I have been feeling oh so tired!

Over the last few months, I have seen countless friends and travelers that I know stop traveling full-time, all for various reasons. And, each time someone quits, I have stopped and thought about my own life and full-time traveling journey. [Read more…]

Why All Bloggers Need An Email List

April 20, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 9 Comments

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

Why All Bloggers Need An Email List My biggest blogging mistake is that I waited years to start an email list, and then even longer to take it seriously. I finally started taking my email list seriously around 2016.

I was about to launch my course, Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing, and realized that I really needed an email list. I was collecting the occasional email address about a year before then, but I was doing absolutely nothing with it, and I don't think I even had any email optins on Making Sense of Cents – there was no way for people to subscribe!

So, when I was creating my first course, I realized that I really needed to learn anything and everything about building an email list.

I had no clue how anything worked. I didn't know how to send a newsletter, I didn't know how to get people to join my email list, and so on and so on. [Read more…]

The Most Important Money Lessons I Learned From My Dad

April 18, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 19 Comments

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

On April 18, 2008, my father passed away from cancer. It’s always a sad day to remember, but as each year passes, I strive to honor him by making each day better than the last. I know that's what he would have wanted, and I would like to dedicate today's post to him. I wrote this blog post years ago, but I have updated it for this year, and it still makes me very happy when I read it and think about him. Enjoy!

Hardly a day goes by when I don't think of my dad. The littlest thing will remind me of him, and I am both sad and grateful when that happens.

My dad was a huge part of my life, and it only makes sense to talk about him today. This is especially true because he taught me so many important financial lessons that have helped me become the person I am today. [Read more…]

How We Made the Switch to Full-Time Travelers and Planning a Life of Adventure

April 17, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 3 Comments

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Hello! I had the pleasure of hanging out with Steve and Courtney several times while we were all in Tucson with our RVs. Steve and Courtney retired from full-time work at the ages of 35 and 33 and travel the country for a living in their 30′ Airstream travel trailer, named Charlie. They blog about financial independence and early retirement at ThinkSaveRetire.com and publish travel videos on a growing YouTube channel, A Streamin' Life.

How We Made the Switch to Full-Time Travelers and Planning a Life of Adventure Listening to the birds and the rush of the creek behind us, we sit beside a morning campfire.

We are watching the sun rise over the mountains in the distance as we sip on our morning coffee. The conversation turns to what hike we are going to attempt this morning and the local brewery we want to try out this afternoon as a reward.

Did I mention this is a typical Tuesday?

My husband and I live and travel full-time in a 30’ ft Airstream travel trailer and try to make mornings like this one more of our norm than the exception.

But three years ago, our life was anything but adventurous.

I had barely stepped inside an RV, had never camped in my life, and if you had asked me where to go for a morning campfire, I would have looked at you blankly! [Read more…]

Is Paying Off Your Debt Worth It?

April 15, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 16 Comments

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

Is Paying Off Your Debt Worth It? #payoffyourdebt #debt Paying off debt is hard work. If it weren’t so hard, then it would be no problem for people to do. But, that isn’t the case at all.

Once you decide to pay off your debt, there will challenges along the way. There will be times that you feel tired and even defeated. Paying off debt takes making sacrifices, it takes time, and you may feeling like you are the only one working towards being debt free.

There are many things that may weigh you down as you pay off your debt, and the ones I bring up are all going to feel very negative. But, I want to talk about them because they are all things that I have felt while paying off my nearly $40,000 of student loan debt. By knowing that these feelings are common, my hope is that today’s post can help you overcome difficulties that you may experience along the way.

Instead of letting these feelings or challenges completely stop you from moving forward as you pay off your debt, you should know that many of the obstacles you come across are things that you can push past and move on from. [Read more…]

How To Make Money Selling Your Old Cell Phone

April 13, 2019 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 with SellCell.com.

Did you know that there are items that you may have that you can sell to make some extra money?

The average household has a lot of extra stuff laying around and taking up space. Too many clothes, old electronics that have been tossed to the side, useless furniture, books you're never going to read again, and more.

And, your cell phone is one of them.

Whether you are looking to make extra cash or if your primary objective is to declutter your home, there are many items around your home that you may be able to sell.

This extra money can be used to pay off debt, save more money, go on a vacation, and more. [Read more…]

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