Business Income Archives - Making Sense Of Cents

10+ Of The Best Free Blogging Resources

Last Updated: February 19, 2021 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 the best free blogging resources?

If so, then you’ve come to the right place!

Maybe you are thinking about starting a blog, or maybe you want to work on growing the blog you already have.

I love to help people start and grow their blogs because starting my blog is something that truly changed my life for the better, and I now love what I do.

I started Making Sense of Cents and have built a great business with it. It has allowed me and my husband to leave the day jobs we disliked to pursue something that we love.

Now, we travel full-time, make a great living, have a flexible schedule, have more time to spend with loved ones, and we are able to retire early.

But, it definitely didn’t start out that way.

I randomly started my blog and had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t know how to make money blogging, how to get traffic to my site, what SEO was, and more. My blog started as a hobby, and I was completely clueless. [Read more…]

What Is A Blog, How Do Blogs Make Money, & More

Last Updated: November 23, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 17 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.

What is a blog and how does it work? Can you really make money blogging? How much do bloggers make?

Over the years, I have received many questions about blogging. People want to know what is a blog, how they work, is it really a way for people to make money, and so on.

I completely understand all of the questions. While blogging has now been around for more than a decade, it’s still a fairly new way to earn money. I still have people give me funny looks when I tell them what I do for a living.

But, I didn’t really know what a blog was when I first started mine. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.

I didn’t know how people made money from blogs or anything else like that.

Pretty much everything I learned about blogging was through trial and error, and I made a lot of mistakes over the years, haha! Honestly, it’s because of those mistakes that I’m where I am right now.

My life has completely changed because of blogging. I was able to quit a job I didn’t love, I travel full-time, and I can retire pretty much whenever I want.

It’s funny to think about how far I’ve come, especially since I had no idea what blogs even were. [Read more…]

9 Things I Love and Have Learned After 9 Years Of Blogging

Last Updated: December 22, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 56 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 still remember the month I started my blog. I don’t really remember the exact first day, but I remember the first month and how excited I was.

In August of 2011, I started Making Sense of Cents.

That was exactly 9 years ago!

Back then, I had no idea what I was doing, and I also had no goals for my blog.

I didn’t even really know what a blog was, or that they could make money.

I also didn’t even like to write at that time!

In the past 9 years, so much has changed for me.

It’s crazy to think that I started my blog nine years ago, especially when I consider all of the amazing things it has done for my life.

It was something I started and worked on in addition to my full-time day job as a financial analyst, and around two years after I started this blog, I quit my day job to blog full-time.

Some numbers on Making Sense of Cents:

My first blog post was published on August 10, 2011. You can read it here.
I have published 1,878 articles here on Making Sense of Cents. That number was higher about a month ago, but I recently deleted several hundred articles that I thought weren’t good enough.
I have 70,816 comments on my blog posts.
I’ve personally replied to 21,080 comments.
It took me 6 months to earn my first $100 from Making Sense of Cents.

First, a little backstory on how I began. [Read more…]

How I Made Money in 2019 With My Blog – Annual Wrap Up

Last Updated: March 8, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 40 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 2019’s annual business report where I show you how I made money online.

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 out 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.

Many have asked why I would ever want to publicly talk about what I’m working on each month. Some think I’m crazy, whereas some are glad I’m open about what I’m doing. Whatever you think, I enjoy publishing my monthly business reports and I share them publicly for three main reasons:

Before I started blogging, I knew nothing about side hustling and making money online. I didn’t think side jobs were worth the effort and I thought the only way to significantly increase your income was through raises at your full-time job. If it weren’t for others publishing their monthly income reports, I don’t know if I would have ever tried side hustling. I want to help show others the positives in side hustling and how it can change a person’s life. There are many different ways to make money online, and I like to share my story each month to help motivate others to improve their financial situation by making more money.
Secondly, I like to publish my business blogging reports because it’s a way for me to look back, learn from my mistakes and actually see what areas need improvement. I use my monthly blogging reports as a way to track how I’ve done and it helps to keep me accountable.
Lastly, I like to show others that making side money is possible and that there are many legitimate ways to make money from your home.

I know I say this every month, but it’s the truth. Life is great now that I’m my own boss and a full-time blogger. I look forward to each and every day and it’s a wonderful feeling. I truly love waking up every single morning. [Read more…]

How I Made Money Online In October 2019

Last Updated: October 18, 2020 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.

Welcome to October 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 Made Money Blogging In September 2019 + Best Ways To Grow A Loyal Audience

Last Updated: October 14, 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.

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 Made Money Blogging In August 2019 + My Top Blogging Mistakes

Last Updated: September 11, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 26 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 August 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.

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…]

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