Life Archives - Making Sense Of Cents

Setting Goals For The New Year – Set 2022 Goals You Can Keep!

Last Updated: July 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.

Have you thought about setting goals for the new year?

At the end of the year or the beginning of a new year, it’s only natural to reflect on the past year and think about your future.

Perhaps in the past year you were happy, upset, or even indifferent.

The previous year wasn’t normal for many, many people, and you can have any number of feelings about it.

But now that 2021 is almost over, if you could do anything in 2022, what would you choose? Do you want to focus on your financial life? Want to build better personal relationships? Focus on self-improvement, physical health, or your job?

There are so many different areas to focus on, and now is a great time to think about what you want for your life in the future!

Whether you want to call it a New Year’s resolution or a goal, either can be a great way to think about what’s important to you so you can create a better future.

And, setting goals for the new year is a long standing tradition. [Read more…]

How To Take Maternity Leave When Self-Employed – What You Need To Know

Last Updated: August 1, 2022 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 13 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 self-employed and pregnant? Are you wondering how to handle maternity leave when self-employed?

Big news if you haven’t heard yet – I am pregnant!

When I announced this news, I received many questions, especially ones revolving around what I am going to do for maternity leave since I am self-employed.

I am very grateful for the life that I get to live, and I realize that I run a truly amazing business that will allow me to focus a lot of time on this next exciting part of my life.

That being said, there are so many things about maternity leave when self-employed that I want to talk about!!

One of the first things I thought about when I found out that I was pregnant was what am I going to do when it comes to running my business?

As a self-employed person who is currently pregnant, I am in charge of my own maternity leave – there’s no official blogger maternity leave, haha!

Yes, the Family Medical Leave Act gives employees in the United States up to 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave.

However, that doesn’t exactly apply to me, as I want to take a self-employed maternity leave (there are a couple of states that do offer paid leave for self-employed workers, but that’s not the norm). [Read more…]

10 Ways To Stop Comparing Yourself To Others & Love Who You Are

Last Updated: October 8, 2021 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.

Comparing yourself to others is one of the easiest things to do these days. We scroll through social media and see what other people are doing with their lives, and it’s so easy to start thinking about how your life matches up to theirs.

Without even realizing it, you’re thinking about how perfect their life looks.

They’re on what has always been your dream vacation, they have a better house, they appear to be doing better financially, and so on.

Even though you have no idea what their life is actually like, you’re measuring yours against theirs, which can often lead to some really negative thoughts.

Maybe you feel you’re not good enough, not successful enough, you may feel jealous or angry, and so on. In today’s age, it can be easy to spend hours scrolling on social media and simply feel bad about yourself the whole time.

For some people, comparisons can lead to spending money to keep up with others, wasting time dwelling on others, and any number of negative behaviors. [Read more…]

We’re Pregnant!

Last Updated: August 1, 2022 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 188 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 everyone!

Big news.

We are having a baby!

We are super excited for this new adventure that we are on, and I can’t wait to share more.

I went back and forth on whether or not I wanted to share this directly on the blog, but many of you have been with me for years, and I haven’t really done a life update in a very long time.

I completely understand that a pregnancy announcement can lead to mixed feelings, and both good and bad judgment/advice/etc. Also, I do not plan on having things change around here on Making Sense of Cents, as personal finance is still what this website is all about.

Anyway, this is exciting news for us, as Baby Gardner is due in December 2021!

We are so excited to share that we will be starting our greatest adventure yet, and we can’t wait to show our new family member the world.

Pregnancy has been interesting so far, with lots of nausea (but I actually haven’t thrown up at all) for the past couple of months. Eating has been difficult, which feels crazy because I’m usually a huge eater and will eat anything. But, pregnancy has led to a lot of food aversions.

I am starting to feel better now, though, so I am hoping to get ahead in work, do as many fun things as I can, and prepare for the new family addition as best as we can.

I know that many of you are probably wondering (this is the number one question that I’ve received so far)- Our plan for right now is to live with our new family member on our boat. We plan on taking it slow but eventually doing a lot of travel with our new family member by boat, van, plane, etc.

Please leave a comment below:

If you have any books or blogs that you recommend I read about pregnancy, starting a family, work/life balance as a parent, traveling families, etc.
If you have any positive advice or kind words that you’d like to share
If you have any questions for me.

Thank you so much for following along on my journey over the years. Things are about to get even more interesting!

Have a great week!

Related content:

10 Lessons I’ve Learned From Living A Nomadic Lifestyle

Last Updated: March 19, 2022 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 13 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.

If you’ve ever wondered what the nomadic lifestyle is really like, I’ve been traveling full-time for over five years, and I’m always excited to share my experiences.

It all started back in 2013 when my husband and I left our day jobs and became location independent. We started traveling more extensively, and we loved being able to spend more time outdoors doing what we love.

Then in 2015, what feels like a lifetime ago, we started traveling full-time. First, we sold our house in Missouri that we had owned for a little over five years and moved to Colorado.

We rented a house in Colorado and bought an RV right after we moved in, but the house didn’t last for long. We were ready to move into the RV and start traveling full-time.

Traveling is always something I was interested in, even from a young age, but I never thought that I would live a nomadic lifestyle.

It was exciting and scary at first, and I’m so excited I gave it a shot as it has greatly changed my life for the better.

I’ve found many nomadic lifestyle advantages over the years — I have learned so many skills, I have met amazing people, been to countless beautiful places, and more. [Read more…]

Ask Me Anything

Last Updated: May 24, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 114 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!

It’s been a long time since my last 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
Questions about my dogs

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 or creepy. I’ll let you be the judge of what is creepy, I guess, haha!

All right, go for it, ask away!

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.

My Best Advice For Graduates – 16 Tips Every Graduate Needs To Hear

Last Updated: July 18, 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.

Are you wondering what is the best advice for graduates? Whether you or someone you know is graduating high school or college, I have some great tips and wisdom to share.

Graduating is a life changing experience.

You’ve worked incredibly hard to reach this achievement, and it’s both a stressful and exciting time.

You might be wondering what you’re going to do next with your life, or you may have a plan. There were times when I felt like I knew exactly what I wanted to do after graduation, but I was also completely clueless at times too.

Graduation means you’re moving onto the next phase of your life, which is why it’s both so scary and thrilling.

It only makes sense that you would be looking for the best advice for graduates. [Read more…]