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How We Reached Financial Independence Using Airbnb & Real Estate – Plus Strategies During The Pandemic

Last Updated: December 30, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 1 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.

Hello! Today, I have a great guest post from Boris and Susan. They purchased their first real estate property in 2017, and became Airbnb hosts. This was a 4-bedroom home that ended up generating them $120,000 in revenue in the first 12 months. They now host close to 10,000 guests per year across all of their properties and do all of this remotely. Below is their story, enjoy!

A foreword given the current state of the world

We wrote this post back in February to describe and share our experience using real estate and Airbnb over the past 3 years to build additional sources of (semi-passive) income. As everyone else, we had no idea that the world would change so dramatically in less than a month after that.

However, although it certainly did change – especially given that the travel and hospitality industry came to a grinding halt and caused a few heartburn-filled weeks – the fundamentals remained valid. 

As we’ll discuss towards the end of the article, we’ve been able to make adjustments and pivot in a way that kept our properties occupied, covering costs, and still generating a profit (albeit a smaller one than usually).

The truth is that if we’re looking at a 3-9 months horizon, things will remain challenging and uncertain. However, this was never a short-term strategy for us, as we try to plan for the next 3-10 years and make decisions based on that sort of a timeline. But first, let’s start in the beginning.

_______________________

Here’s how it all got started as Airbnb hosts.

For many years, real estate was not really on my radar.

I was happily renting, enjoying the flexibility that it offered, and generally thought of real estate in the context of owning your own home – mainly that it limited your options and didn’t really bring too many positives, other than the hassle of maintenance and doing your own lawn every Saturday.

When I met my wife, Susan, on the other hand, she grew up with a completely different mindset.

When she was growing up in China, the common wisdom was that you should always strive to own your own place as soon as you can afford it.

When she moved to the U.S., she maintained the same viewpoint that owning real estate is a key to becoming financially secure. [Read more…]

1 Comment
Filed Under: Budget, Career, Extra Income, Real Estate Tagged With: Budget, Career, Extra Money, Real Estate

How to Quit Your Job & Build An Incredible Side Income on Amazon

Last Updated: December 9, 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.

Hello! Today, I have an amazing interview to share with you that will show you how to make extra money by learning how to sell on Amazon.

If you are looking for a new job or even just a side hustle for extra income, this may be something that you want to look into.

Today, I want to introduce you to, perhaps, a new way of thinking about how you can go about building a business on Amazon.

It’s called ‘The Marketplace Model.’

I learned all about this from Stephen Somers; a friend of mine from Ireland who has built numerous multi-million dollar businesses on Amazon using this model – not to mention the 5,000+ people in his community he’s helped.

So, what is the Marketplace Model?

  1. You find products on Amazon that are already selling
  2. You then create your own, unique, branded version
  3. Then you find a supplier and test a small trial order
  4. You then sell those products on Amazon.com
  5. Finally, expand out into Amazon’s global marketplaces – which is really simple and straightforward to do!

[Read more…]

2 Comments
Filed Under: Career, Extra Income Tagged With: Career, Extra Money, How to sell on Amazon

Learning How To Work, Parent, And Teach From Home During A Crisis

Last Updated: May 3, 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.

Hi, this is Michelle’s editor and sister-in-law, Ariel! You’ve seen me here before talking about living in a small house, going full time with my side hustle, and living a low-waste lifestyle. 

As I’m sitting in my living room writing this article, my 9-year-old son is in the next room working on his laptop after a video conference call with his 3rd grade teacher. He’s already had one meltdown, and my husband had to stop working to help him out.

In another part of my house, my 11-year-old son is on a video call with his math teacher because he can’t figure out how to submit assignments on Google Classroom. And my daughter is in her room on her first of two or three Zoom meetings for the day.

My husband, a special education teacher, will spend his day creating video lessons and fielding emails from parents. 

Our youngest son will need constant help refocusing on his school work. He can go anywhere from 5-10 minutes before he gets distracted and asks about snacks or video games. On a rough day, he’ll get frustrated and teary-eyed because third graders aren’t meant for this new version of school. [Read more…]

2 Comments
Filed Under: Career Tagged With: Career

25 Of The Best Work From Home Jobs To Make $1,000+ Monthly

Last Updated: January 9, 2021 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.

Looking to see what the best work from home jobs are?

Work from home jobs are a flexible way to work and make money. This makes them a great fit for many people. And, the number of genuine work from home jobs has been growing.best work from home jobs

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 24% of employed people did some or all of their work at home in 2015. 

You can often work home based jobs along with your 9-5 job to bring in some extra income. You can also work these jobs as a full-time career, while traveling, and more. It all depends on which one you choose.

Many online jobs from home allow you to pick your own hours, the days you work, and where you work. You’re not tied to someone else’s schedule – you may be able to create your own!

While all of that sounds great, some of you might be wondering if these kinds of stay at home jobs are legitimate. I will tell you that there are some work from home jobs that aren’t. There are some scams out there.

But, the ideas I’m going to tell you about are all legitimate work from home jobs. I’m also going to tell you how to avoid these scams at the end of this article. [Read more…]

6 Comments
Filed Under: Career, Extra Income Tagged With: Career, Extra Money, Work from home jobs

How I Make $1,500 A Month As A Podcast Virtual Assistant

Last Updated: December 17, 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.

Hello! Today, I have a great guest post from Melanie. She started a business as a podcast virtual assistant and talks about how you can too. You can download her free workbook – Podcast VAs: What Services Should I Offer? Enjoy!

I’m Melanie Scroggins – voice actor and podcast producer. I currently live in Austin, TX with my husband and two fur babies.

I’ve been working in audio production for almost three years, and what started as a fun hobby, turned into a lucrative side gig that gave me the confidence to leave my last job and turn podcasting into a business.

Podcast Virtual AssistantAt this point in my journey, I work part-time on podcasts. But when I was working on podcasts full-time, I usually worked with three clients (10-12 hours a week per show) and brought in over $3,000 a month. Now that I work on podcasts part-time (about 10 hours a week) I bring in an average of $1,500 a month.

Working as a Podcast VA allowed me the flexibility to quit my full-time office job and pursue what I believe to be my calling. I have continued to work as a Podcast virtual assistant because I love the work and the industry – there is always something new to learn!

Every day at my job was the same.

Fluorescent lights buzzing. Fingers clacking on keyboards. Phones ringing. People chatting… constantly.  

I’d go in, get my work done and then I’d go home.  [Read more…]

5 Comments
Filed Under: Career, Extra Income Tagged With: Career, Extra Money, podcast virtual assistant, virtual assistant

15 Of My Best Working From Home Tips So You Can Succeed

Last Updated: November 30, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 9 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 need some working from home tips to make it easier to transition to remote work?

working from home tipsMore and more people are starting to work from home or are becoming location independent and traveling while they work, such as those who backpack, RV, or sail full-time.

If you’re new to working from home, you quickly realize that it’s not as easy as it may seem. In the beginning when you’re new it may seem like a great thing, but it can easily turn sour if you are not careful with how you use your time.

Just because you are working from home doesn’t mean that you all of a sudden have 8-10 hours a day of free time – you will still be expected to WORK!

The only thing that has changed is WHERE you are working.

I have been working from home and while traveling since 2013 – so for around 7 years now!  [Read more…]

9 Comments
Filed Under: Budget, Career, Extra Income Tagged With: Career, Extra Money, working from home tips

How To Become A Proofreader And Work From Anywhere

Last Updated: January 5, 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.

Do you want to learn how to become a proofreader?

how to become a proofreaderIf you’re interested in making extra money and you want to be able to to work from anywhere, working as a proofreader is a great way to start making more money. 

Proofreading is a flexible and detail-orientated side hustle. All you need to work as a proofreader is a laptop or tablet, an internet connection, and a good eye for pointing out mistakes. 

So, if you want to find out how to become a proofreader at home, pay attention to today’s interview with Caitlin Pyle from Proofread Anywhere! 

In 2014, Caitlin made slightly over $43,000 by being a freelance proofreader, while also going on several fun vacations.

You may actually remember Caitlin from when I first interviewed her about how to become a court transcript proofreader. She explained what transcription proofreading is, how much you can make, and what it takes to get started. [Read more…]

5 Comments
Filed Under: Career, Extra Income Tagged With: Career, Extra Money, how to become a proofreader

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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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