Life Archives - Making Sense Of Cents

29 Money And Life Lessons I’ve Learned

May 21, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 20 Comments

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29 Money And Life Lessons I've Learned

I always think it’s a good idea to reflect on any life and money lessons you’ve learned throughout the years. While it helps me see what mistakes I have made, it also reminds me that I’ve made good decisions too. Whether they have been good or bad, I’ve learned a lot of valuable life lessons.

I usually just let my birthday fly by, but I realized that my birthday would be a good time to think about the lessons I’ve learned and share them with you.

I published the first of these posts two years ago, 27 Money And Life Lessons I’ve Learned, and last year I added another for 28. That’s one lesson for every year, and now I can add one more lesson, which I plan on doing for each new year ahead of me.

I really think self-reflection is a good idea because we can learn so much from the past, both the good choices and the mistakes we’ve made.

And, I've made mistakes, but I've also made some great choices. I've learned a lot of valuable life and money lessons, and now I am happier than ever. [Read more…]

Ask Me Anything

April 25, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 208 Comments

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In October of 2017, I published my first Ask Me Anything here on Making Sense of Cents. That went super well, so I decided to make it more of a regular thing!

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
Being location independent
Business
Making extra money
My favorite TV show
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.

4 Great Self Care Online Classes You Should Take (Plus Thousands of Other Classes to Up Your Game)

February 25, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 7 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

The following is a sponsored partnership with Skillshare. All opinions are 100% my own.

It's funny, when you're younger, I feel like you'll do anything to rush through school and not be learning all the time. I still vividly remember being in college and there being an older person in one of my classes. Everyone asked him “why are you taking this class if you're not trying to get a degree?”

No one could understand and we all thought he was crazy. He then replied that when you get older, that you will enjoy learning new things. I still remember that like it was yesterday, and now I completely understand it now. I am always wanting to learn new things now, and it's always a joy to do.

Recently, I learned about Skillshare and I am so excited to share it with you all. Skillshare is an online learning community for designers, photographers, marketers, entrepreneurs, really anyone! They have more than 18,000 classes in the broad categories of creative, business, technology, and lifestyle.

And, it's affordable. [Read more…]

Don’t Compare Your Beginning to Someone Else’s Middle

February 21, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 61 Comments

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Don't Compare Your Beginning to Someone Else's Middle

You know that feeling when you are starting on a new goal and you see someone else in a similar situation having much more success than you? Maybe it causes you to feel hopeless, defeated, or just overall depressed that you’re not on the same level.

In that moment, you are taking your beginning and comparing it to someone else’s middle.

This is something that many of us do, and when you're beginning a new goal, it can be easy to look at others and compare yourself to them.

People often do it to determine how well they are doing in life and base their personal value on that. However, that usually doesn’t lead to feeling too good about yourself. Plus, who actually wants to judge themselves in a negative way? While it can be good to spot your weaknesses to help you grow, feeling like you are inadequate, unsuccessful, unlucky, and more is the type of negativity that can cause you to lose sight of your goals, lead to depression, and more.

Comparison really is the thief of joy after all.

However, many of us are still falling into the negative mindset of comparing ourselves to others. [Read more…]

What Traveling Full-Time For 3 Years Has Taught Me

February 10, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 53 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

What Traveling Full-Time For 3 Years Has Taught Me Three years ago, we completely emptied our house, put it on the market, and drove to Colorado. We had been location independent for a couple of years at that point, and we had the travel itch. We were ready to explore, and little did we know that would be the start of our life traveling full-time.

It wasn't easy. I remember going out to eat with my close friends right before we moved. It was, literally, moments after we packed everything into a car, that I went out to eat with friends to say goodbye before continuing the drive to Colorado. I cried about selling our house and leaving my friends and family.

We found a “homebase” in Fruita, Colorado, and we used that as our jumping off point as we explored Colorado and nearby Utah.

We knew absolutely no one in the Fruita, Colorado area (or anywhere near it). We just picked it after a recent trip and liked the location, the small town feel, and all of the mountain biking, rock climbing, and hiking that it had to offer. [Read more…]

Stop Feeling Bad For Yourself: Quit Making Excuses For Why Life Isn’t Better

January 22, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 37 Comments

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He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else. ― Benjamin Franklin

Excuses are what holds a person back. I know this because I hear excuses nearly every single day, and I have made many of my own as well.

I have heard people making excuses countless times for why they don't have a good life. Instead of feeling bad for yourself, start changing your life and stop making excuses. #excuses #quote People make excuses all the time, but then claim that it's not actually an “excuse” that they are making.

But, what exactly is an excuse?

The definition of excuse (from Google) is “a reason or explanation put forward to defend or justify a fault or offense.”

People make excuses for all sorts of things. There are excuses for why a person can't get the job they want, why debt can't be paid off, why a person needs a brand new car, why a person can't improve their lives, and so on.

Now, I'm not saying that life isn't difficult or that everyone else’s life is perfect. Everyone has experienced difficulties – no matter how great you may perceive a person's life to be.

Everyone is guilty of making excuses, and I know that people will continue to make them until they realize that excuses are just that- excuses. [Read more…]

How To Reach Your 2018 Goals – Setting Goals for 2018

December 18, 2017 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 43 Comments

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Wow, can you believe that 2017 is almost over? This means that it's the time of year when people start thinking about their 2018 goals. It's only normal, a new year offers the possibility for a new you, right?

However, only about 8% of people actually achieve their resolutions each year. And, only 75% of those who set goals follow through with them after the first week of the year.

It’s crazy that 25% of people stopped working towards their goals after just the first week!

So today, I'm going to help you find ways stick to your 2018 goals and become successful with them in the new year. Let's make your 2018 goal list a reality!

Posts related to 2018 goal setting:

And, before you throw out the idea of goal setting and New Year’s resolutions, or judge people who are doing so, please keep this quote from Statistic Brain in mind: [Read more…]

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