Blog Archives - Page 2 of 34 - Making Sense Of Cents

11 Years & $5 Million Later: What I Love & Have Learned About Blogging

Last Updated: October 10, 2022 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 14 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 11 years since I started Making Sense of Cents, and I am still completely amazed that this is what I get to do for a living!

In August of 2011, when I opened my laptop and started this blog, I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t even know that blogs could make money.

This blog started as a hobby because I enjoyed reading other personal finance blogs and figured why not start my own.

11 years ago, I had no real dreams or goals for my blog. I was completely anonymous – I wrote with a fake name, and I didn’t even tell my friends or family about my blog.

For the entire first year of blogging, only Wes and my sister knew what I was doing.

A lot has changed since then!

What started as a fun way to share my story has turned into millions of annual readers and lifelong friendships. And, I’ve earned a great income that allows me to retire whenever I want, and I love what I do.

11 years ago, I never would have guessed this for myself!

And, I have never been more grateful, especially lately.

Running my own business and being able to work minimal hours means I can spend as much free time as I want with my husband and our baby girl.

It’s a dream come true. [Read more…]

This 33-year-old mom makes $760,000 a year in passive income

Last Updated: January 1, 2023 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 20 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,

Today, I have been featured on CNBC!

You can read it here – This 33-year-old mom makes $760,000 a year in passive income—and lives on a sailboat: ‘I work just 10 hours a week’

If you are a new visitor from CNBC – welcome to Making Sense of Cents!

Here are some blog posts that you may find helpful and enjoy:

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below or send me an email.

Thanks for stopping by.

-Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

10 Best Things I Did To Build A $5 Million Dollar Blog

Last Updated: February 25, 2023 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 32 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.

One question I receive over and over again is exactly what I’ve done to build a successful blog.

I love sharing this information, but I also want to remind you before we begin that everyone has a different starting place and path to success. Plus, we all have different versions of what success means to us.

Starting a blog, no matter what direction you want to take it, is a lot of hard work! Still, it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done.

I started Making Sense of Cents entirely as a hobby, and I had no idea that blogs could make money or that this could turn into my full-time job. I actually didn’t even understand what a blog was or how it worked.

Eventually, I learned that you could make money blogging, and because it sounded like a fun way to make extra money, I tried my hardest to make it happen.

The more time I spent on my blog, the more I wanted to pursue making money with it. But honestly, I never had plans of it turning into my full-time career.

When I started, I was simply looking for something to help me pay off my student loans and stop living paycheck to paycheck.

I came to realize that blogging was exactly what I wanted to do with my life and that it was possible for me to make a full-time income from it.

As soon as I committed to working as hard at my blog as I did my full-time job, everything just grew crazily from there!

I have now earned over $5,000,000 blogging over the years, which still seems so unimaginable to me. I never would have expected this for myself all those years ago. [Read more…]

How To Monetize A Blog: How I Grew A $5 Million Blog

Last Updated: July 18, 2022 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.

Want to learn how to monetize a blog?

What started as just a hobby turned into one of the most life-changing things I’ve ever done – that’s starting my blog, and learning how to make money with it.

Since learning how to monetize a blog over 10 years ago, I have now earned over $5,000,000 from my site. This is still hard for me to believe, and I’m the one who’s lived it!

I started Making Sense of Cents around 10 years ago, entirely as a hobby.

In the beginning, all I was doing was tracking my own personal finance progress as I finished school and started paying off my student loans. Blogging was a very new concept to me at the time – I heard about it from a magazine – and people were just learning how to monetize blogs back in 2011.

Most bloggers started back then with display ads and sponsored posts, but the options have only increased.

Because of all of the new ways to make money blogging, like affiliate income and selling your own products, you can make somewhat passive income as a blogger.

Passive income is my favorite way to make money because it makes blogging even more flexible and something I can do as I work from home, travel, and work whenever I want.

Blogging has changed my life for the better, and I’m now earning thousands of dollars a month doing something I love.

Learning how to monetize a blog takes work and time, but it’s 100% possible to do. I started earning money after just six months of blogging, and I didn’t even set out to make money when I created Making Sense of Cents. Just think of the potential if you start out knowing that making money blogging is possible!

Starting my blog is one of the best things I’ve ever done for my work, personal, and financial life. And, I urge anyone who is interested to start a blog and learn how to monetize it.

Today, I’m sharing how I built a blog that has earned me over $5,000,000 over the years and my tips so that you can create a successful blog that you enjoy. [Read more…]

How I Make $110,000 A Year As A Food Blogger

Last Updated: July 18, 2022 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 a foodie? Do you want to start a food blog? Today, you will learn how to become a food blogger.

Today, I am sharing an interview I did with Sarah and Laura from Wandercooks, a food blog with over 5,000,000 annual views. They created their blog to inspire readers with fresh new food ideas gathered from their favorite Asian, European and Australian cuisines.

Wandercooks is a food blog that currently earns $150,000AU (around $110,000 US Dollars), with just part-time hours.

In today’s interview, questions answered include:

What is a food blogger?
How much money can a food blogger make?
Do food bloggers make money?
What are the positives of becoming a food blogger?
Where do food bloggers get their recipes from?
Where do food bloggers get their traffic and visitors from?
What equipment is needed to become a food blogger?
What makes a food blog successful?

Plus more!

Today’s interview will help you get started and perhaps even introduce you to a new way to make money from home.

If you want to start your own food blog and learn how to become a food blogger and get paid, this is a great article to help you get started. [Read more…]

How I Reached 70,000 Page Views On My Blog In Only 7 Months With Zero Experience (And Make $2,200 A Month!)

Last Updated: July 18, 2022 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 25 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.

Here’s how a reader, Lisa, started a new blog and in just 7 months already has over 140,000 social media followers and sees over 70,000 page views each month. Enjoy!

Building a website and driving traffic to it is no walk in the park, especially for people with no experience. There is an endless amount of information to learn, skills to adopt, and creative strategies to uphold.

I am Lisa from The Financial Cookbook. I am here today to share how I drove 70,000 pageviews to my blog in only 7 months with zero experience, while also working a full time job.

I am sharing the exact steps I took to reach that milestone, what helped me along the way, and what I recommend in terms of the most value for your time.

Related content:

[Read more…]

10 Best Reasons To Start A Blog in 2023– Start Yours Now!

Last Updated: December 24, 2022 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.

Are you thinking about starting a blog? If so, this article is full of great reasons to start a blog in 2023!

Whenever I talk to people who are interested in blogging, one of the main things that stops them is whether or not it’s a good time to start a blog.

My response is – yes, I definitely think it’s a great time to start a blog!

I personally know several people who have recently started their blogs and have seen great success. In fact, I know of quite a few bloggers who have grown their blogs much bigger than mine in just the past year or so.

So, if you’ve been thinking about starting a blog, I recommend hopping on it.

Luckily, there are many reasons to start a blog. First of all, starting a blog is very affordable! You can also start a blog on the side to see if you like it. The commitment is quite small in the beginning, and that’s why I always recommend simply starting one if it’s been on your mind.

After all, you won’t know unless you try.

I still remember the early days right after I started Making Sense of Cents.

I was completely clueless when I started this blog. And, blogging seemed like a very random thing when I first heard about it, but I decided to go ahead and start a blog of my own.

My reasons to start a blog were simply to keep track of my own personal finance journey. That’s it! Most people in my life didn’t even know I had a blog (I think only my husband and my sister knew).

It’s so funny to think back to when I first started Making Sense of Cents, but I’m so glad I gave blogging a chance. I can’t imagine how different my life would be if I had listened to the people who said it was too late to start a blog.

Because of how blogging changed my life, I love telling others about it. That’s exactly what I’m doing today if you are on the fence about starting a blog.

Blogging allowed me to pay off my student loans, quit my day job, travel full-time, and more. And, I enjoy what I do each day. [Read more…]