Blog - Page 2 of 244 - Making Sense Of Cents

Here Are 8 Of My Best Tax Return Tips For 2020

March 9, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 9 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 tax return tips for 2020?

Tax time is a stressful time for many people, and it’s right around the corner — tax returns for 2020 have been extended to Wednesday, July 15, 2020!

Because I run a business, my taxes are much more complicated than they used to be. But, I still remember how stressful it was to prepare for and file my taxes each year when I wasn’t running my own business. I remember gathering W-2s, school documents, etc. Mine were fairly simple compared to some people’s taxes, but it was still stressful.

The way I felt was not uncommon, as the average person can become very overwhelmed during tax season. So today, I have several helpful tax return tips so you can take the necessary steps in order to prepare for tax season.

And, if you’re brand new to filing your tax return, then you may be even more confused. Filing tax returns comes annually, but it’s still something that pretty much everyone dreads, even if they are getting money back. [Read more…]

Are Wedding Loans A Crazy Idea? 10 Things To Think About For Your Big Day

March 2, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 13 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.

Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of talk about wedding loans. And as a personal finance blogger, this worries me a bit.

Getting married is very exciting, and in the beginning, you’re probably thinking about what your wedding will be like. All of your favorite family and friends, good food, dancing, and whatever else your heart desires.

But then, reality hits – how will you pay for it all?

Shockingly, many couples take out wedding loans to finance their big day.

It seems like more and more people around me are getting wedding loans in order to afford their wedding, and there’s a big industry growing that is trying to normalize marriage loans as well. I’ve even seen advertisements for wedding loans for bad credit!

I’ve also noticed more people putting their weddings on credit cards, which is very dangerous when you consider that the average credit card interest rate is now over 21%. [Read more…]

I taught English in China to pay off my student loans

February 28, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 2 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! Here’s a guest post from a reader, Nick. Nick was feeling stuck a few years ago and wasn’t making progress on his student loans. He ended up researching a lot about salaries and the cost of living for English teachers in China and realized that he would be able to save far more money in China than back home. Even without teaching experience, and still living very comfortably, including taking vacations, it has been easy for him to save $20,000 in a year. For him, it had a huge impact on his life and financial freedom. Enjoy his story on how to teach English in China below!

It must have been about 4.5 years ago. I remember walking out of an interview in Chicago feeling completely dejected.

The interviewer mentioned the salary, and along with it, how most new hires take on a second job during the weekend.

I wasn’t expecting to find an amazing job, but this was just too much. None of my past decisions looked particularly good on a resume. I had just returned from a 3.5-year stint traveling around Latin America while earning a very modest living playing online poker.

But, I was burnt out, making no progress on my student loans, and realizing it was time to get a normal job. I was actually really excited to do so but job hunting was incredibly frustrating and when I realized how little money I’d be earning, I began looking for alternative options. [Read more…]

16 Ideas That Will Teach You How To Find Time To Make Extra Money

February 24, 2020 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.

Would you like to learn how to find time to make extra money? Do you work a full-time job and feel like there isn’t enough time in the day to make more money?

For several years, I worked full-time and found different ways to make extra money, such as starting and building my blog Making Sense of Cents. Before that, I was working full-time while also attending college full-time.

Working 100 hour weeks was a regular thing for me for many, many years.

I won’t lie – working that many hours a week at both my regular job and school or side hustles was exhausting at times. I found every extra bit of time I could during the day and used it to make extra money. I took online surveys, did mystery shops, and more.

The reason I was working so much was because I was focused on paying off my student loan debt. I knew that I didn’t want that debt hanging over me, especially if I was able to make extra money to pay it off sooner.

Fortunately, learning how to find time to make extra money paid off, literally – it allowed me to pay off my $40,000 student loan debt in just 7 months. [Read more…]

Make Extra Cash By Learning How To Sell Your Stuff!

February 19, 2020 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 wondering how to sell your stuff?

Learning how to sell your stuff online or in person is a great way to declutter, make some extra money, and reduce your stress.

I’m sure everyone has extra things laying around their home that they don’t need. If you are trying to pay off debt or reach some sort of financial goal, I highly recommend you read today’s post so that you can learn how to sell your stuff to make money.

I have a lot of experience when it comes to learning how to sell your stuff.

I had to get rid of almost all of my belongings before we started traveling full-time, and I also used to work at a used clothing store for several years when I was younger. So, I have experience on both sides – both selling my old items as well as buying items from customers who were cleaning out their closets.

I was always shocked by the number of things people brought into my store. People brought in bags and bags of stuff, and it was a great way for them to make some extra money. [Read more…]

10 Quick Lunch Recipes That Will Make Your Day Easier

February 17, 2020 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.

Are you looking for some quick lunch recipes that are healthy, easy, and delicious?

If you’re like me, you probably forget about lunch most days. You might wind up eating leftovers, a simple sandwich, snacking, or not eating anything for lunch at all.

Living on a boat sometimes makes it hard to cook food like we normally would. These days, we’re so busy with things on the boat and more active than ever. But, it’s even more important than ever for us to eat healthy, filling meals.

That’s why I’m so excited about these quick lunch recipes! These are meals that are easy to cook in our tiny kitchen – they don’t take a lot of prep time or space. We can cook them quickly before heading out for a day sail or while exploring a new island.

Best of all, these recipes taste great! [Read more…]

Ask Me Anything

February 12, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 174 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.

It’s been a long time since my last Ask Me Anything here on Making Sense of Cents.

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.

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