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2020 Business and Life Review

Last Updated: January 6, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 54 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 my 2020 Business and Life Review!

Usually, I separate my travel and business annual review content into two separate blog posts, but this year I’ve decided to combine it into one.

2020 was a different kind of year, and I’m sure nearly everyone would agree with that statement.

It was a tough year for a lot of people, and I completely understand.

I feel very grateful for the life that I get to live, but it was a hard year for me as well. I lost two important family members in my life, my grandma as well as my dog who was my best friend for almost 14 years.

[Read more…]

54 Comments
Filed Under: Life, Travel Tagged With: Life, Living on a sailboat, RV, Travel

Your 2021 Goals – How To Set And Reach Goals In The New Year

Last Updated: December 31, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 6 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 plan on setting 2021 goals for yourself?

If you’re like many people around the world, the answer is probably yes.

Whether you want to call it a New Year’s resolution or a goal, having goals for yourself can be a great thing. And, the new year is the perfect time to think about what you want your future to be like.

Setting 2021 goals for yourself

Setting goals for the new year is a long standing tradition. 

However, only about 8% of people actually achieve their New Year’s goals each year. And, only 75% of those who are setting 2021 resolutions will follow through with them after the first week of the year. 

It’s crazy that 25% of people will stop working towards their resolutions after just the first week! And by June, more than half of the people who set 2021 resolutions will have forgotten about them.

So, why do so many people fail to reach their goals each new year?

There are many reasons for why goals aren’t met, and a lot of it has to do with how you set your goals.

  • Is your goal specific enough?
  • Is your goal achievable?
  • Is your goal realistic?

These factors can have a huge impact on whether or not you are able to reach your goals. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Budget, Life Tagged With: 2021 goals

Ask Me Anything

Last Updated: July 6, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 231 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.

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.

231 Comments
Filed Under: Life Tagged With: Ask me anything

12 Ways To Stay Motivated So You Can Reach Your Money Goals

Last Updated: December 14, 2020 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.

Learning how to stay motivated is incredibly important if you’re paying off debt, trying to reach a savings goal, learning a new skill, or doing anything challenging.

how to stay motivatedWhile it can be difficult, you have to learn how to get motivated and then learn how to stay motivated every day if you want to make your goals happen.

I know how hard this is because I struggled at times with motivation when I was paying off my $40,000 in student loan debt in just 7 months.

And, one of the top questions I receive about my debt payoff story is how I was able to push myself and stay motivated to pay off all of my debt.

Paying off my debt was extremely hard – I will not lie about that!

I took on several side jobs to make extra money.

I had to wake up early in the morning to work on them before I went to my regular day job, and then I stayed up late working on my side jobs too. [Read more…]

2 Comments
Filed Under: Budget, Life Tagged With: Budget, how to stay motivated

9 Tips To Wake Up Early & Why It Feels So Good

Last Updated: December 27, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - Leave a Comment

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 wake up early?

how to wake up earlySome people are early birds and others are night owls. For me, I go both ways. Sometimes I am good at going to bed early and then wake up early in the morning.

Then I go through phases when I stay up late, really late, and then wake up late in the day.

Some of the early birds I know may laugh at this because I know many who wake up at 4 a.m., and I’m definitely not one of those people. 

You don’t have to wake up at 4 a.m. to be an early bird, unless you really want to. I’m just talking about how to wake up early in the morning, maybe just an hour or two, instead of waking up in a rush for work or regularly sleeping in until the afternoon.

Now, some of you may think I’m crazy for suggesting that you even think about waking up earlier in the day. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Life Tagged With: how to wake up early, Life

15 Things To Stop Being Scared Of So You Can Be Rich, Happy, And Successful

Last Updated: December 27, 2020 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.

Being scared is a natural reaction, but a lot of good things can and will be scary.

Stop Being ScaredOften, people are scared when things are changing, like if you’re starting a new job, getting married, or any other major life event. It’s only natural to be a little scared about how things will turn out.

You might be scared when you are trying to do something that is difficult, like paying off debt. What if it takes you longer than you had hoped? What about the sacrifices you will have to make? 

Being scared happens when you do or try things that are new or outside of your comfort zone, and everyone feels scared from time to time. You may not believe that you cannot achieve what you are setting out to do.

But, you have to push through these negative moments and realize that you are holding yourself back if you want to start overcoming fear and let yourself move forward and do something new. [Read more…]

5 Comments
Filed Under: Budget, Life, Travel Tagged With: Life, Stop being scared, Travel

How will Coronavirus impact your finances, student loans, 401k, and travel plans?

Last Updated: March 17, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 22 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.

I’m sure you all have heard about what’s happening in the world currently with Coronavirus.

I have gone back and forth on whether or not to create this blog post, and have actually deleted it a few times.

But, I have received many emails, messages, and comments from many readers about how to handle everything. While I am definitely not an expert, I do want to help guide people to helpful resources.

I am not writing this to scare anyone – instead, I want to be helpful and provide educational resources on topics that may be impacting you right now.

Below, I am going to separate common questions I’ve heard and a good resource that I recommend reading to go along with it. Nothing in this blog post is an affiliate link or advertising – these are all simply resources that I think are helpful.

 

What should I be doing right now?

Many of you may be wondering what you should be doing with your time. Here are some ideas:

Stop browsing Facebook all day long. I have heard from countless people that they are just on Facebook and Instagram all day long, looking, engaging, and reading about Coronavirus.

Read about the facts. Facebook is not a good source of factual information. I recommend reading the World Health Organization’s (WHO) and the CDC‘s information on the topic to stay informed.

Find ways to diversify your income. I am a big believer in having more than one stream of income, and the events happening around the world right now prove this to be even more true. Having different forms of income can help you to not be as reliant on any one source, just in case anything were to happen.

Improve your skills. Some of you may have a lot more free time. If that is the case, I recommend using this new free time to improve your skills, learn new things, and more. A fun article I came across the other day is 24 Free Online Ivy League Courses You Can Sign Up for Today (Regardless of Your GPA) that go over computer science, environmental studies, business and finance, Health Policy, Entrepreneurship, economics, marketing, and more. These are free courses from Harvard, Columbia University, Cornell, Yale, and University of Pennsylvania.

Build your emergency fund. If you are able to, this is the perfect time to build your emergency fund if you haven’t yet. An emergency fund can help you if you lose your job or your hours are cut, for medical bills, and more. Emergency funds are always good to have because they can give you peace of mind if anything costly were to happen in your life. Instead of building onto your stress because of whatever has happened, at least you know you can afford to pay your bills and worry about more important things.

Wash your hands. Just do it.

 

How will this impact my personal finance situation?

A lot of really valuable information has been published the last few days. Instead of repeating the same content, I want to direct you to them. Here’s what I recommend checking out:

5 Essential Money Moves to Make During a Downturn – This is a free webinar on Wednesday, March 18th, 2020. This is a REAL webinar – one that will be helpful and Chelsea Brennan will be answering your questions. She is a Certified Financial Education Instructor and will be answering questions like: “Are we headed into a recession?” “What should I be doing with my retirement funds?” “How can I handle having my kids home with me for 2 weeks and potential lost income?”

The Benefits of a Bear Market by The Retirement Manifesto – Are you worried about the stock market? Here is a great article all about the “ride” we are currently on.

PrepperFI in the Face of COVID-19 by Tread Lightly Retire Early – Here’s a quick snapshot from this article: “While we are no means Doomsday Preppers type folks, we are more prepared than the average family, for a myriad of reasons. We have a large garden. We go hiking and backpacking often. My husband brews his own beer, and, as a former United States Marine, knows his way around guns and is set up to begin doing his own reloading, and he practices archery in our backyard. I’ve done quite a bit of canning and pickling (and a bit of fermenting) and bake and cook quite a bit from scratch these days. I was a park ranger for 6.5 years and know many of the edible and medicinal plants that grown in our region. So, while these hobbies and interests of ours don’t spring from a concern with preparedness, they fit in well. Our non-monetary emergency fund supports this as well.”

How will the coronavirus affect your personal finances? by Get Rich Slowly – This blog post talks about the impact on small businesses, the personal finances, and the long run.

What to Do if You’re Freaking Out About Your 401(k) Right Now by Melanie Lockert – This is another great read if you have a retirement account or other investments, or if you are thinking about it as well.

How to Prepare Financially for the Coronavirus – If you’re looking for a podcast to listen to on the subject, here is a great one.

197 Emergency Financial Assistance Resources (National & by Major City) – The organizations listed in this article help with emergencies related to housing, utilities, medical, natural disasters, and more.

 

How are my student loans being impacted?

For up to date information on student loans, I highly recommend heading over to Student Loan Planner’s article What Does the Trump Student Loan Interest Waiver Mean?

On March 13th, 2020, Trump announced that he would be waiving student loan interest on student loans held by the U.S. government.

But, there is more that goes into this. In the article mentioned, you will learn:

  • Are student loans still due?
  • What student loans are not included?
  • How long will this take to implement?

 

What if I have a trip planned?

Should I Cancel My Trip Because of The Coronavirus?

If you have travel planned in 2020, this is a good article to read from Club Thrifty. Greg talks about if you should cancel your trip that is planned for this month, next month, and for trips later in the year.

 

What are some tips for working from home?

Many people around the world are required to work from home for the next several weeks to even over a month. So, we have a lot of new people who are working from home.

I have heard a lot of questions about tips for working from home.

I know several people who have tried working from home only to find that they have a hard time getting anything done. While I’m not one of those people (I LOVE working from home), I know there are certain things that may hold you back if you’re not careful.

Here are my tips for working from home:

  • Stick to a work schedule. I recommend creating some sort of work schedule. Even if you can have the most flexible schedule in the world, it’s usually wise to still have somewhat of a work schedule. This way you can mentally get into the “work zone” each day and have fewer distractions. This may mean setting a starting and ending time, lunch break time, and so on.
  • Have a dedicated work area. Similar to sticking to a work schedule, having a dedicated work area can help you work better due to the fact that you will be in a spot in your home that is used just for work. This can help you separate work and life, be more organized, and get in the zone each day.
  • Exercise regularly. When working from home, it can be quite easy to sit in one spot all day long. Unlike with going to work where you may have to walk into work, walk to someone’s desk, and so on, you may find yourself getting a lot less movement in your day when you work from home. By exercising regularly, you can stay healthy, refresh yourself, and clear your mind.
  • Cut out distractions. While social media and TV may be great at times, you have to be careful so that it’s not impacting your work in a negative way. Working from home means that no one is watching over your shoulder, which may lead to you being more distracted. Due to this, it’s always a good idea to cut out things such as social media, TV, and so on while you are working so that you can be more efficient with your time.

I’d love to hear from you- are you working from home?

 

What online jobs are there?

One thing that I have seen over and over again is more people looking for online jobs, so that they can work from home right now and in the future once this is all over.

Some helpful articles that I recommend reading include:

  • 12 Passive Income Ideas That Will Let You Enjoy Life More
  • 80 Ways To Make Money On The Side
  • 12 Work From Home Jobs That Can Earn You $1,000+ Each Month
  • Want To Make Money From Home? Here Are 17 Of The Best Online Jobs

 

What are you doing, Michelle?

At the time of this writing (Sunday night), Puerto Rico is now on a “lockdown” as well. There is a mandatory curfew, and non-essential businesses are closed.

Because we live on a boat, we are naturally very good at social distancing. We don’t know very many people where we currently are, and are good at not having contact with anyone for a long time.

For us, things are kind of in limbo. I have heard many first-hand stories of sailors who have sailed to a new country in the past few days and didn’t have internet service due to a long passage, and were unaware of what has been happening in the world. Then, they were met with a mandatory quarantine or were turned away. This is something that we do not want to happen to us.

While on a boat, you almost always have a lot of provisions (most sailors we know have around 3-6 months of provisions on hand due to it being difficult to find groceries or it being a long trek without a car and on a small island (that probably doesn’t even have a grocery store). Due to that, we are good with food, water (and we can make our own water on our boat too), and fuel.

But, we don’t want to be stuck in transit, not being allowed to enter a country/island. With dogs, we need to be able to get on land so that we can walk them.

Due to all of this, for now, we are staying put where we currently are, which is in Puerto Rico.

I have plenty of work that I can catch up on, and there’s always something on the boat that needs work as well.

 

Questions for my readers:

  • Do you want to see content in the foreseeable future that isn’t directly related to Coronavirus? Or, is that insensitive to what is happening in the world? I’ve heard both sides recently.
  • How are you being impacted?

If you’d like to chat, please comment below. I’m here for you!

22 Comments
Filed Under: Life

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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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