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Ask Me Anything

Last Updated: August 22, 2022 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 144 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 is a new 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

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.

All right, go for it, ask away!

If you haven’t yet, please follow me on Instagram.

Here are links to common questions I’ve received in past Ask Me Anythings:

How To Start A Blog Free Course – With this free email course, I will show you exactly how to create a blog, from the technical side all the way to earning your first income and attracting followers. Each day for seven days, you will receive an email in your inbox that will help you create a successful and profitable blog.
10 Best Things I Did To Build A $5 Million Dollar Blog – I have earned over $5,000,000 blogging over the years, which still seems so unimaginable to me. Here are some of my best tips.
29 Best Stay At Home Jobs (#1 Is My Full Time Job!) – Do you want to work at home or work while traveling? Here’s a list to get you started.
What It’s Like Living In An RV? – We lived in an RV full-time for several years. Here’s what I loved about it!
Living On A Boat – The Good, The Bad, And The Beautiful – We have lived on our sailboat for over 4 years. Here’s what we like and don’t like about boat life.

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.

How I Started A $650,000 Per Year Litter Cleanup Business

Last Updated: August 15, 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.

Do you want to learn how to start a litter cleanup business? Here’s how you can start a parking lot litter cleanup business and earn $30 to $50 per hour.

Brian Winch makes a living (it’s a $650,000+ per year business for him) by picking up trash.

Brian has been featured here on Making Sense of Cents before in the article he wrote – Get Paid $30 – $50 Per Hour To Pick Up Trash.

I recently asked him to take part in an interview to answer some of the common questions that you’ve had about starting a litter removal business.

Are you wondering questions such as:

How much can a person earn with a parking lot litter cleanup business?
What are the pros and cons of having a litter cleanup business?
Why would businesses pay for a litter cleanup service?
How much does it cost to start a litter cleanup business?
How do you find customers for your parking lot cleanup business?

If so, please continue reading the interview below to see the answers to the questions above as well as answers to other common questions.

You can click here to learn more about Brian’s guide on how to start and run a parking lot litter cleaning business. [Read more…]

How To Simplify Your Financial Life – 12 Best Tips

Last Updated: September 12, 2022 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.

How can I make my financial life better? How do I become financially minimalist? These are excellent questions if you’re interested in learning how to simplify your financial life.

We all know that managing your financial life can be overwhelming.

Between saving for retirement, paying bills, managing your debt, saving for things in life you want, and so much more, your finances can take up a lot of your time and brain power.

Due to this, I think it’s a great idea to learn how to simplify your financial life so you can have less stress and spend more time on the things you truly enjoy doing.

Taking a minimalist approach to personal finance will mean different things to different people. Some people will want to get out of debt, while others simply want to create a better process for paying their bills.

Overall, learning how to simplify your financial life means you are reducing financial clutter.

The benefit is that you don’t feel so bogged down by money. Maybe it’s stress related to debt, being unable to keep track of when your bills are due, forgetting to actually pay bills, etc.

Money is something we all need to live, but money can be a huge stressor. Fortunately, there are ways to organize and simplify your finances so that you can reduce stress and stay on top of your money.

Of course, not every action on the list below will apply to everyone. It’s all about finding what works for you – remember, personal finance is personal, and we all make different choices.

My hope with this post is that everyone reading will be able to find a couple of tips that they can immediately apply to their financial life. [Read more…]

Best Baby Gear – 2023 Guide For New Parents

Last Updated: December 18, 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 wondering what to buy when you’re expecting your first baby? Are you looking for the best baby gear?

Whether you are currently pregnant or if you are a new parent, there are so many things to think about and research.

Marlowe, my first child, was born less than one year ago, and I am constantly researching questions about the best baby gear.

When I was pregnant, it felt like all I did was look up the top things a baby needs.

I remember looking up everything from what the best strollers were to what I could do financially to best prepare for a baby. There are so many companies to buy the best baby items from, and everyone has an opinion on what’s best.

Because I was so overwhelmed in the beginning, I decided to put together a blog post that outlines must-have baby items for first-time moms, plus the best baby gear whether it’s your first or 5th child!

My hope is that I can answer many of your questions, so you don’t have to spend nearly as much time researching things as I did.

And, I definitely think this will be helpful because I have been writing, researching, and gathering information for this article ever since I found out I was pregnant. I quickly realized that there wasn’t one easy-to-read guide for new parents, and that’s where this article comes in.

The areas we will talk about in this best baby gear guide include:

Pregnancy, birthing, and new parent courses
All about different baby registries
How to get a free baby box
Pregnancy and new mom gear
Best baby gear
Baby bath and diapering essentials
Baby sleep essentials
Breastfeeding gear
Baby clothing
What you need to financially prepare for a baby
How to take maternity leave when self-employed

Now, you definitely do not need everything on this list.

Babies don’t really need much other than food, sleep, and some clothing items. So, no matter your budget, please remember that your baby will be happy and healthy! Also, for every expensive baby item, there are also great budget-friendly baby items as well! [Read more…]

15 Delicious, Easy Freezer Meals For New Moms & Dads

Last Updated: August 1, 2022 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.

Are you looking for easy freezer meals for new moms and dads?

Having a baby is an exciting time, but between feeding and sleeping schedules, it’s hard to find time to make sure that you are well-fed and rested too.

That’s why having some easy meals on hand is one of the best things you can do for yourself.

I recently had my first child, and a month before my due date, I made sure to start thinking about meal planning. So many of my friends and bloggers I follow mentioned how helpful it was to start meal prepping for those first few weeks, and I took their advice.

The problem is that living on a boat means we have a very small amount of fridge and freezer space available, so carefully planning and prepping in advance was especially important!

I knew that I wanted to eliminate as much stress as possible once the baby came, and looking for easy freezer meals for new moms and parents helped me eliminate some of that stress.

Because I spent so much time researching different meals and freezer snacks for new moms, I decided to put together a list of the best ones I found.

My daughter is now 6 months old, and the meals I am sharing with you today were a huge help during those first couple of months.

Wes and I were learning how to take care of her and adjust to having a baby and having these meals all ready to go in the freezer meant we stayed fed.

Here are some of my favorite recipes on this list:

Freezer Oatmeal Cups – These are great for breakfast or snacks, and you can use almost any fresh or dried fruit you have. Plus, if you are breastfeeding, I’ve read that oatmeal can boost milk production.
Make-Ahead Mexican Lasagna – This combines two of my favorite types of foods: Mexican and pasta. You can also get a lot of leftovers out of this recipe.
Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches – This simple breakfast sandwich recipe can easily be made vegetarian, and the sandwiches heat up quickly in the microwave. And, this is a great one-hand meal while you’re holding your baby.

Those are just a few of the recipes I’m sharing with you today.

All of the easy freezer meals for new moms and dads on this list are easy to prepare, delicious, and turn out great once you reheat them. [Read more…]

9 Early Retirement Stories That Will Motivate You

Last Updated: July 18, 2022 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.

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: July 18, 2022 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 10 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…]