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Is it cheaper to buy eggs or raise chickens?

Last Updated: November 8, 2020 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.

Hello! Today, I have a great article to share about raising backyard chickens for eggs, and how much it will cost you to raise chickens. I have several different family members who raise chickens for eggs, so I am familiar with the topic. When Chris approached me with the guest post idea, I had to say yes because I thought it would be interesting to learn more about the money side of it. Enjoy!

raising backyard chickens for eggsLike many, I didn’t decide to start raising chickens with a spreadsheet in front of me.

I had just returned from visiting my parents’ new retirement project, a hobby farm in northern Vermont that was bustling with chickens and ducks and all sorts of wonderful, useful livestock I had never considered keeping for myself until that moment.

After all, I grew up in the suburbs, full of cats, dogs, and the snake the “weird kid” in middle school loved to talk about, and the only “livestock” were the cows that were shipped in every summer to picturesquely dot the fields behind the local ice cream place – carefully kept too far away from customers to smell.

I was thinking about delicious, farm-fresh eggs; endless access to high-quality fertilizer and pest controls; taking control of where my food came from and developing a healthier, organic diet; and of course, just the joys of animal ownership. [Read more…]

4 Comments
Filed Under: Budget, House Tagged With: Budget, Home

Learn how to downsize your home, stress free!

Last Updated: December 17, 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.

how to downsize your home

Want to learn how to downsize your home? Here’s a downsizing home checklist so that you can downsize and declutter.

Are you ready for something simpler or smaller and wanting to know how to downsize your home? It can be big process and less and less people seem to be doing it these days.

The average home size in 1950 was less than 1,000 square feet. Fast forward to 2017, the average home size has increased to nearly 2,600 square feet, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Related posts:

  • Is Too Much House Making You House Poor?
  • Smaller Can Be Better- Maximize Your Savings With A Small House
  • Downsizing Our House Has Allowed Us To Pursue Our Dream Life

When we did live in a “normal” home, it was fairly close to that average home size. The house we owned in the St. Louis, Missouri area was around 2,500 square feet if you included our finished basement, and it was just for myself, my husband, and our two dogs. [Read more…]

11 Comments
Filed Under: Budget, House Tagged With: Budget, Home, How to downsize your home, Minimalist

Smaller Can Be Better- Maximize Your Savings With A Small House

Last Updated: July 14, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 37 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.

Smaller Can Be Better- Maximize Your Savings With A Small House. Small house decorating, small house organization, small house plans, under 1000 sq ft #smallhouseideas #smallhouseplansHi, I’m Ariel, Michelle’s sister-in-law and editor. I’ve been editing and learning from Michelle’s blog for over two years now, and if you’ve read any of the posts I’ve written for Michelle, you know I’m conscious about my savings and spending. I have a degree in English Literature, and I make a living as an editor, preschool teacher, and knitting instructor.

My husband and I were recently faced with the reality that we would have to find a new house and move. I’m not going to spend too much time on specifics, but it has to do with a retail development going smack dab on top of us.

We were only 19 and 20 years old when we bought our house and had very limited buying power. With what felt like nonexistent options, we fell in love the minute we walked into our little 900 sq ft. brick bungalow. It was the dreamhouse we never knew we wanted, and we were pretty certain we would never leave. [Read more…]

37 Comments
Filed Under: Budget, Debt, House Tagged With: Budget, Debt, Home, Minimalist

How I Paid Off My $400,000 Mortgage In 7.5 Years, Before I Was 32

Last Updated: November 2, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 60 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 article from a reader, Rob from Mustard Seed Money. Rob was able to pay off his $400,000 mortgage in just 7.5 years, all before he was 32 years old. Below is his story, enjoy!

Rob was able to pay off his $400,000 mortgage in just 7.5 years, all before he was 32 years old. Here is his mortgage payoff story.I was one of those weird kids that couldn’t wait to graduate from college.  I’ve always had a long-term focus and viewed college as a stepping stone.  One day during my freshman year, I remember walking to class with a friend saying that I couldn’t wait to graduate and start making some money.  

My friend turned to me with an incredulous look and confessed he planned to live it up while he could.

Needless to say, I probably didn’t enjoy college as much as others did.  

I had too strong of a focus on life after college to ensure that I’d reach the life goals that I had set up for myself. I wanted to obtain a good job, get married, buy a house and fill it up with some kiddos.  

Of course, what actually ended up happening did not follow the order that I had envisioned.  But, I can honestly say I love the way things turned out.   [Read more…]

60 Comments
Filed Under: Budget, Debt, House, Real Estate Tagged With: Budget, Debt, Home

20 Ways I Saved a 20% Deposit To Purchase My First Investment Property At 20

Last Updated: November 2, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 36 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.

Michelle’s quick note: Today, I have a great blog post on how to save money for a large deposit from Rachael, who is a long-time reader of Making Sense of Cents. Rachael purchased her first investment property at the age of 20 by saving for a deposit and found many great ways to save for the 20% deposit. Below is her blog post. Enjoy!

I bought my first property with a 20% deposit when I was 20. I started saving for a deposit with my money, my parents never gave me a cent. How did I do it?I bought my first investment property with a 20% deposit when I was 20 years old (admittedly I was 2 weeks shy of turning 21!). I accomplished saving for a deposit with my own money, my parents never gave me a cent. So how did I do it?

1. The first thing I did was start applying for jobs as soon as I turned old enough to get a job. I started working when I was 15 as a checkout chick at Woolworths. Not very glamorous, a bit boring and repetitive but I was earning money! I worked about 10 hours a week during my last 2 years of high school, and worked around 20 hours per week during the school holidays. I worked at Woolworths for 3 and a half years and saved a good chunk of the money I earned.

Related: 75+ Ways To Make Extra Money

2. When I worked during high school the only time I would ever say no to a shift is if I was sick or had an exam the next day. It didn’t matter if I didn’t want to go to work (does anyone ever actually want to go to work?) I hated that job but I wanted a property so I went to work. [Read more…]

36 Comments
Filed Under: Budget, House, Real Estate, Retirement Tagged With: Budget, Debt, Home, Retirement, Saving for a deposit

6 Important Questions To Ask Yourself Before Buying A Home

Last Updated: July 29, 2019 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.

The spring and summer months are usually the most popular months for buying a house. And, buying a house is probably the largest purchase a person will ever make.

Before buying a house, you should ask yourself questions. These questions are for first time homebuyers, or even those who are on their second or more!According to Zillow, the median U.S. home value is $195,300 and the median price of homes currently listed is $234,900.

Nearly everyone says that a house is a good investment. Many people will even go as far to say that doing anything other than owning a house would be a complete waste of money.

However, I don’t agree with that at all.

Buying a house isn’t for everyone. You shouldn’t jump at the opportunity to buy a house, especially any ol’ house. And, you should think about all of the factors before deciding that buying a house is the best and only decision for you.

Deciding to buy a house is a huge commitment, and problems may arise if you don’t fully think about how this big purchase will affect your life.

There are many questions to ask yourself before you buy a house, and not everyone will have the same answers. This is why it’s important to analyze your situation first.

Whether you are a first time home buyer or if this is your second or third house (or more!), you should still ask yourself these questions. [Read more…]

56 Comments
Filed Under: Budget, Debt, House Tagged With: Budget, Buying a house, Debt, Home

11 Tips For Renovating An Abandoned 115 Year Old House On A Budget

Last Updated: December 9, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 36 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.

Michelle’s quick note: Today, I have a great blog post from Elizabeth about renovating a fixer upper. She writes about designing a beautiful life on a budget, and today she is going to talk about the ways she saved money when renovating a fixer upper – an abandoned 115 year old house. Her before and after pictures are amazing. Enjoy!

Here is how to save money when renovating a fixer upper - an abandoned 115 year old house. Renovating on a budget, fixer upper homes, is possible!HGTV darlings, Chip and Joanna Gaines, have captured the hearts of millions of viewers and serendipitously inspired people across the country to go out and purchase a “Fixer Upper” of their very own.

Related readings that will help you when renovating a fixer upper:

  • 30+ Ways To Save Money Each Month
  • 75+ Ways To Make Extra Money
  • How To Live On One Income
  • 18 Ways To Simplify Your Life
  • 16 Real Work From Home Jobs That Make Up To $75,000 A Year

My husband and I fell into this camp when we inherited his late Grandmother’s 1901 cottage. With my background in interior design and my husband’s affinity for carpentry & construction, we were smitten with the romantic idea of fixing up an old family house.

We dove head first into the renovation with rose-colored glasses and an unrealistic budget.

In the end, our misguided renovation estimate QUADROUPLED over the course of the three-year project. We had inherited what you would call a “money pit“. 🙂 (If you guys haven’t seen the movie, The Money Pit, it is so good.) This forced us to get really creative when it came time to finding affordable finishes. [Read more…]

36 Comments
Filed Under: Budget, House Tagged With: Budget, Home, Renovating a fixer upper

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My name is Michelle and I'm the author/owner of Making Sense of Cents. Learning how to save money and make more money changed my life. It allowed me to pay off $40,000 in student loans, start my own business, and I now travel full-time.
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