Budget Archives - Making Sense Of Cents

9 Early Retirement Stories That Will Motivate You

Last Updated: June 27, 2022 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.

I love a good early retirement or financial independence story! Everyone is so different, and it’s interesting to see how people have approached early retirement and financial independence.

Plus, everyone has a unique idea and vision of what early retirement or financial independence means to them.

If you are interested in learning about how to reach early retirement, the stories I’m going to share today will teach, motivate, and inspire you.

Early retirement may sound like a dream, but there are more and more people who are trying to retire early as part of the FIRE movement. If you haven’t heard of the concept before, FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early.

There are many different versions of FIRE, and it can mean being debt-free, retiring early, quitting your regular job to work a less stressful job, and so on.

There are many reasons why a person may want to reach early retirement or financial independence, such as:

Pursuing a passion without worrying about making an income
Having more time to travel
Having freedom
Spending more time with family and those that you love

Finding a good early retirement story may give you the boost of energy you need to keep working on your side hustles, find new ways to save, and put more money towards investments and retirement accounts.

You may also learn new tips and tricks for reaching early retirement that you would never think to try.

You may find one or two stories about reaching FIRE in this article that will really click with you – perhaps the person was in a similar situation, lives near you, has the same hobbies, or something else.

In today’s article, I am sharing 9 interviews and guest posts with people who have reached early retirement or financial independence. I ask each person to share their story, and you will learn things such as:

How much they saved for early retirement
How/if they still earn income after they quit their jobs
Their tips and tricks on how they saved money so quickly for retirement
How much they spend annually not that they’ve retired early

And more.

While some of their strategies may seem crazy or impossible to you, it shows different ways to approach financial independence. [Read more…]

How to Make Money as an Airbnb Experience Host

Last Updated: June 13, 2022 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 8 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.

Do you want to learn how to become an Airbnb experience host?

Whether you want to host cooking classes, walking tours, bike rides, pub crawls, paddleboard adventures, or something else, there are many different types of Airbnb experiences that you may be able to host and make money with.

This can be a great way to make extra money, as well as meet new people and tourists.

You could make hosting Airbnb experiences a side gig or even a full-time job. It simply depends on your availability and what your goals are.

Today, I have interviewed Martin Dasko on how to make money as an Airbnb experience host.

Martin is an Airbnb experience host and he takes guests to unique coffee shops around where he lives. He is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the topic of how to become an Airbnb experience host.

In this interview, you’ll learn answers to questions such as:

What is an Airbnb experience?
How much do Airbnb experience hosts make?
What are some examples of Airbnb experiences that I can host?
How do I start an Airbnb hosting experience?
Is hosting an Airbnb experience worth it?

And more! This interview is packed full of valuable information on how to become an Airbnb experience host.

Martin also has a book, How You Can Start Making Money With Airbnb Experiences Today, as well as a course, Experience Empire Builder, if you are interested in learning more on this topic. [Read more…]

7 Best Ways To Get Paid To Read Books in 2022

Last Updated: June 6, 2022 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 7 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 get paid to read books?

Did you know that you can get paid to read books? Yes, you can actually get paid to do something that you probably do every day and enjoy doing.

If you find yourself staying up late finishing the last chapters of a book, taking every opportunity to cozy up on the sofa with a new book, or listening to audiobooks non-stop, then this could be a great way to make money.

What most people don’t realize is that there are legitimate websites that pay for reading books aloud. There are also companies that pay you to review books.

We are talking about real jobs in this industry.

Most of these companies allow you to work from home, so it’s a flexible way to make extra money.

Can I make a career out of reading books? Yes! There are even those who get paid to read books as a full-time job, but it’s also an option if you’re simply looking for a way to make extra money on the side of your day job.

No matter what you’re looking for, there are many ways to earn money by reading books.

Whatever your favorite type of book may be, whether it be horror, romance, fiction, nonfiction, or one of the many others, you can get paid to read books.

This is one of those jobs that probably sounds too good to be true, which is why I decided to do an entire article on it.

This article will explain how you can get paid to read books, legitimate websites that you pay you to read books, as well as answer some questions that you may have about this topic. [Read more…]

How Much We Spent To Visit All 50 States In One Year

Last Updated: June 3, 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.

Today, I have a great guest post to share from Alyssa Padgett, author of RVing Across America. Four days after her wedding in 2014, Alyssa and her husband Heath set off on an unconventional honeymoon to all fifty states. They’ve been traveling ever since, now traveling the world with their two young children. You can find them on their website at HeathandAlyssa.com.

When my husband and I started planning our honeymoon, we knew we wanted to start our marriage with an adventure.

That’s when I came up with the plan to visit all 50 states in a year.

Which I realize makes me sound like I inherited a trust fund that allowed me to easily take a year off to full-time travel.

I didn’t.

I was just a broke college graduate about to marry another broke college graduate and we would both be quitting our jobs to make this crazy honeymoon happen. This was in a pre-COVID world too, when remote work existed, but wasn’t yet common.

Heath, my husband, suggested sleeping in the back seat of our car to make the trip as cost-effective as possible. I pointed out that was a great way to ensure a divorce before we actually made it across the country.

Further research determined that the best, cheapest way to travel to all 50 states was to buy an RV and take a year-long road trip.

We didn’t know how much it would cost, how to make money while traveling, or anything about RVs. But we were determined to kick off our life together by accomplishing something amazing and visiting all 50 states sounded just wild enough.

RVing across America surprised us with beauty and adventure, but also with a surprisingly low price tag. The cost to visit all 50 states in a year—and full-time RVing in general—was cheaper than we expected and even cheaper than life in our apartment.

Let’s look at your basic travel costs first, and then get into ways to make and save money while traveling. [Read more…]

14 Cheap Easy Meals On A Budget To Try Tonight

Last Updated: May 31, 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 looking for recipes that will help you make cheap, easy meals on a budget? Look no further!

Today, I’m sharing 14 recipes for delicious, home-cooked, and flavor-packed recipes that are cheap and easy to make.

As you may know, I’m a new mom. Finding meals that are easy to make is a must these days. I am fortunate to have a flexible work schedule that allows me to work when I want, but I’m usually so tired when it comes to dinner time. I need something easy to cook!

But, easy meals don’t have to be bland or boring, and they definitely don’t need to be expensive. That’s why I was so excited to put together this list of recipes for cheap, easy meals on a budget.

I’ve tried several of these recipes already, and my favorites so far are:

Vegan Broccoli Cheese Rice Casserole – This is a healthy one-pot meal that’s so easy to prep and cook. If you’re not vegan, this would be great with real cheese.
One Dish Chili Noodles – So simple and easy, and beans are always one of the cheapest things. This flavorful meal is filling and delicious.
Slow Cooker Jalapeno Popper Chicken – I love spicy food, and I definitely added more jalapenos to this one, haha! This recipe is also low-carb and keto-friendly.
5 Ingredient Baked Apricot Chicken – I wasn’t sure about apricots and chicken, but this is so good and easy. This would be delicious over rice.

If you’re trying to save money on groceries right now, you can add one or two of these into your rotation each week.

To save even more money, look through grocery store fliers and coupons before you plan your meals for the week. Because the recipes in this article are already cheap, easy meals on a budget, you can save even more with a sale or coupons.

You’ve already gotten an idea of the kinds of recipes I’m sharing with your today, and they are great for busy parents, new moms, college students, or anyone who is trying to stick to a grocery budget.

Food costs have gone up significantly this year, and these recipes will give you lots of options to save.

And, as I said earlier, easy meals don’t need to be flavorless or boring. I was shocked by how much flavor was packed into these recipes.

These meals were also easy enough to prep and make while taking care of a new baby – that’s a big deal for me these days. [Read more…]

How My Family of 4 Flies Free 6 Times Every Year

Last Updated: June 30, 2022 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 8 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 guest post to share from Lyn Mettler. Lyn is sharing how her family of 4 flies for free. You can also download her free “How to Earn the Southwest Companion Pass” eBook.

My family just got back from Kauai.

This is our second spring break in a row flying free to Hawaii. Last year, we scored an amazing deal to fly all 4 of us to Maui, and this year, we decided to return to check out the “Garden Isle” of Kauai.

But that’s only one of 4 trips we’ve taken by plane in the last 7 months. Add to the list Miami, Universal Studios Orlando and Disney World.

This is how my family rolls these days. We’ve been flying all 4 of us free 6 times a year since I learned about travel rewards back in 2015.

Back then, air travel was not even something I considered. Pay to fly 4 of us anywhere? Not in the budget, because there was no money to spare on anything besides bills.

If we got lucky, my in-laws would pay for us to meet them at Disney World every few years, and a couple times, my husband and I dipped into our credit cards to take a couples’ trip to a condo my family owned in Colorado (so no hotel expense!). Otherwise, no travel for my family.

But everything changed in 2015.

As a longtime travel writer for outlets like US News & World Report, the TODAY Show and USA Today’s 10Best, I frequently interviewed travel experts, and one day I was pitched a story about a couple who was flying around the world FREE using frequent flyer miles, but they weren’t earning their miles by flying. This blew my mind, because I thought to earn “frequent” flyer miles, you had to frequently fly, right? This is how my dad, a longtime business traveler, earned his miles, at least.

But no. They were earning travel rewards in other ways, never paying for a flight AT ALL. [Read more…]

118 Things To Do When Bored At Home

Last Updated: May 9, 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.

“I am bored what should I do?”

Are you feeling bored? Here is a list of over 100 things to do when bored at home. These ideas may help you feel better, be more productive, make money, save money, have fun, and more.

When you’re bored or procrastinating, you may usually just feel like scrolling on your phone or watching TV. But, there are many other things that you can do as well which may help to improve your life, feel more productive, or simply just relax more.

The items on this list may help you to finally tackle tasks that you have forgotten about, get things done that you normally never do, or perhaps even improve your mental health.

There are many different things that you can do when you feel bored at home.

Below, I have separated this list of things to do when bored at home into categories such as:

Learning something new
Visiting your local library
Getting outside
Ideas for self-improvement
Things you can do around your home when you’re bored
Ideas to make extra money
Finding ways to save money
Ways to improve your relationships with friends and family
Different ways you can help others around you
Creative things you can make at home

This enormous list of things to do when bored was a lot of fun to put together, and it gave me a lot of great ideas for what I can do right now as well! [Read more…]