Blog - Page 3 of 241 - Making Sense Of Cents

How We Paid Off $100,000 of Debt on a Single Income

November 1, 2019 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! Today, I have a great debt payoff story from Sarah. Sarah is a Southern California mom of 3. She blogs over at Let's Talk Mom Business about the budgeting and frugal living strategies she and her husband used to crush $100,000 in debt while living on one income.

Shortly after having our second child 6 years ago, my husband and I decided that we wanted to get serious about paying off our debt.

We had been making our monthly payments, but we weren’t really making any progress. Some months we were even adding to our total debt by paying for unanticipated expenses on our credit card.

I am a stay-at-home mom so we were living on one income, and we knew that carrying such a large amount of debt was dangerous, especially without much of a savings.

We outlined a strategy to budget by paycheck using a zero-based budget, and I created a budget binder to help us track our finances.

This strategy helped us pay off $100,000 in 4 years on a single income while growing our family (and we’re NOT rich!). [Read more…]

How Sarah Earns $5,000,000 A Year With Shopify

October 30, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 11 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.

Today, I have a fun interview to share with you that will show you how to start an online store. I recently had the chance to interview Sarah Titus of Million Dollar Shop and SarahTitus.com, who explains exactly how to start an online store and make extra income. If you want to learn how to make passive income, this is a great option!

Here's her easy-to-understand definition of what she does:

“An online store is the same thing as your local grocery store, except that it’s online. So you go to your grocery store, you see a bunch of products and you buy them. Same thing here. It’s a digital store. So instead of buying celery, you’re buying printables that help you organize your entire life, that create calm in the chaos for you.”

If you are looking for a new business or even just a side hustle, learning how to start an online store may be something that you want to look into.

Check out the interview below for more information. She answers questions such as:

How much money she currently earns
How much time this takes her
What exactly an online store is
What you can sell with an online store
How she finds customers

And much, much more! [Read more…]

How To Get Rid Of A Timeshare – Stop Wasting Your Money!

October 28, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 58 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.

Every once in a while I get a question from a reader about how to get rid of a timeshare. Sometimes the person is asking for themselves, but other times, they are trying to help a friend or family member.

The problem is that timeshares aren’t as amazing as the salesperson claims they are. They are expensive, you probably won’t use them as much as you think, timeshare resale values are incredibly low making them hard to sell, and more.

So, if you have been thinking about purchasing a timeshare or if you are wondering how to get rid of a timeshare, today's article is for you.

Many adults have attended a timeshare presentation, and even more have been asked to attend one. You are usually offered something if you stay the whole time, such as a free vacation, an iPad, a cruise, or something else that is quite enticing. And, that's how they get you interested.

All you have to do is listen to the presentation and get your free gift. Sounds simple enough, right? [Read more…]

Do You Need To Have “The Talk?” – 4 Powerful Reasons To Talk About Money

October 24, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 15 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.

Every so often, I hear from someone who says that I shouldn't talk about money so openly, as they believe it is rude, distasteful, vulgar… I could go on and on.

Every so often, I hear from someone who says that I shouldn't talk about money so openly, as they believe it is rude, distasteful, vulgar… I could go on and on. #talkaboutmoney #moneymanagementtips Sadly, many people think that talking about money is tacky and even more taboo than talking about politics or even sex.

For someone like me who is comfortable talking about how much I earn, the amount I save, and more, I make a lot of people uncomfortable, haha.

But, that's not what I'm trying to do.

I'm not trying to show off, make people feel less than they are, be rude, or anything like that.

Instead, I believe that being more open about money is better for everyone!

However, I regularly see people being shamed for talking about money, and I see it more and more on social media. [Read more…]

The Airbnb For Cars: Your Guide To Making Money On Turo

October 22, 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.

Did you know that you can share your car with travelers on a daily, weekly, or even on a long-term basis and make extra money? I’m talking about listing your car and making money on Turo, which is like Airbnb for cars.

It takes as little as 10 minutes to list your car, and you can earn up to 90% of the trip price.

Sharing your car and making money on Turo has many benefits, such as:

You can use the money to pay for your car expenses. With the average Turo Host earning $500 each month, most people generate enough money to completely offset their car payments.
If you don’t have a car payment, the extra money you make with Turo can be used for retirement savings, paying off debt, and more.
You can make extra money passively. This is a no brainer!
The average car sits idle in driveways 95% of the time. If your car goes unused a lot, then this can be a way to offset a depreciating asset.

But, what is Turo exactly? [Read more…]

How I Made Money Blogging In September 2019 + Best Ways To Grow A Loyal Audience

October 15, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 21 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 September 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 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…]

How I Paid Off $30,000 of Student Loans in 2 Years by Paying the Minimum Balance

October 11, 2019 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.

Hello! Today, I have a debt payoff story from Alyssa Hunt. Alyssa is the creator of TheLifeHunt.com a blog that helps busy hustlers work towards business success and financial freedom all while managing full-time jobs. She is currently working towards a Master’s degree in English Literature and she teaches writing composition to university freshmen.

When I graduated college in 2014 with my undergraduate degree, I had racked up $30,000 in student loan debt. During my four years of college, I didn’t think much of taking out a loan here and there.

After all, I needed a way to pay for tuition.

Once the excitement and celebrations of graduation ended, I felt a mound of debt on my shoulders.

It was then that I decided to focus all my attention on paying off my debt as fast as I could. And by fast, I meant that I wanted to have all $30,000 paid off in exactly 2 years after receiving my first bill.

Setting my goal of 2 years felt entirely achievable to me, but to everyone else, it was crazy and impossible. I don’t believe a single person thought it could be done. So many people tried to convince me that student loan debt is “good debt” and that it’s “normal” to have debt. [Read more…]

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