Extraordinary Series Archives - Making Sense Of Cents

How I Retired At Age 30 with $500,000

Last Updated: July 12, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 19 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.

My monthly Extraordinary Lives series is something that I really enjoy sharing with you all, and I’m back with another great interview. Today’s interview is with Purple, who retired at the end of 2020 at the age of 30, with $500,000 invested.

Are you interested in financial independence and/or early retirement?

If so, this interview is for you!

You probably know Purple from the popular blog APurpleLife.com. APurpleLife.com is one of my favorite blogs, so I’m excited to share this interview with you.

In this interview, you’ll learn:

How an early retirement amount of $500,000 was chosen
Why she chose to retire early
The career she had before she retired early
Whether or not she still earns income in early retirement
The sacrifices that had to be made to reach early retirement
Her choice of health insurance as an early retiree and full-time nomad

And more!

This interview is packed full of valuable information on reaching early retirement. [Read more…]

How This Family Is Overlanding And Driving Across The World In Their Jeep

Last Updated: May 19, 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.

Next up in my Extraordinary Series is Eric and Brittany from Hourless Life. They are doing something very different from the average family – they currently live and travel in their Jeep full-time with their son.

Yes, they live full-time in a Jeep!

This overlanding family is driving across the world in their Jeep. Their plans are to visit South America, Africa, Europe, and all the way to Asia. They plan to see as much of the world as they can.

They have been full-time traveling since 2014, first by RV, and have been on the road ever since. Now, they are getting ready to drive around the world in a Jeep Gladiator truck.

In this interview, you’ll learn:

How they live in a Jeep with their son
How they afford to travel
What overlanding is
Where they sleep, cook, and use the bathroom
What an average day living in a Jeep is like
How much overlanding with a family across the world will cost them
Their tips for traveling with a child

And more!

This is a great article to read whether you are interested in overlanding with your family, or if you’re more interested in RVing as well. Both are great options depending on what you are looking for.

You can find Hourless Life on Instagram.

Please enjoy this interview. I really enjoyed reading it and learned a ton – so I know you will too. Enjoy!

[Read more…]

How This Couple Reached Financial Freedom Before 40 And Live On A Sailboat

Last Updated: March 21, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 7 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 reach financial freedom and live your dream life?

In my Extraordinary Series here on Making Sense of Cents, I like to feature people who are doing things a little differently.

Today, I have a great interview with Fleur and Ronald. In only eight years, they were able to reach financial freedom and now they live on a sailboat.

They have been able to save enough money to invest in three real estate properties, buy and live on a 42 foot sailing catamaran, build a passive income stream, and more.

In this interview, you’ll learn:

How they reached financial freedom and FIRE
How they afford to travel and live on a boat
What an average day is like for them
How much living on a sailboat costs them
All about their passive income stream
How they saved money to purchase real estate properties

And more! This interview is packed full of valuable information.

I’m very excited to share this interview with you. Enjoy!

[Read more…]

How I Make Money On TikTok – How I Grew To 350,000 Followers and Made $60,000 In 6 Weeks

Last Updated: July 24, 2021 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.

Do you want to learn how to make money on TikTok and how to get paid on TikTok? Here’s how Tori grew from 0 to 350,000 TikTok followers and made $60,000 in just 6 weeks.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you have probably heard something about TikTok. TikTok is one of the most popular social media networks currently, and it is growing like crazy.

There are already over 500 million active monthly users on TikTok around the world.

So, you may be wondering if you can learn how to make money on TikTok, and any TikTok tips so that you can see success too.

That completely makes sense!

Today, I want to introduce you to Tori Dunlap.

Tori Dunlap is a nationally-recognized millennial money and career expert. After saving $100,000 at age 25, Tori quit her corporate job in marketing and founded Her First $100K. She has helped over 200,000 women negotiate salary, pay off debt, build savings, and invest. [Read more…]

How Susie Grew Her Email List By 29,000+ In 9 Months

Last Updated: December 29, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 16 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’m excited to introduce you to Susie Moore.

I had the pleasure of meeting Susie last summer and we had a great weekend in New Hampshire hiking, rock climbing, doing yoga, and more! She is so much fun to be around- seriously one of the most upbeat and positive people I have ever met in my whole life.

Her work has been featured on The Today Show, Oprah, Business Insider, The Huffington Post, Forbes, Time Inc, Marie Claire, and more.

Susie’s work and insights have been shared by celebrities and thought leaders including Arianna Huffington, Paulo Coelho, Kris Jenner, and Sara Blakely.

Recently, I shared in a blog post that I am currently taking a course on how to get more media mentions so that I can grow my page views.

This is something that I have always been a big believer in.

I’ve been featured on Forbes, The Huffington Post, Yahoo Finance, CNBC, and more.

Nearly every day I am asked how I have so many features….

Well, today, you will learn how you can make this a reality for yourself too! [Read more…]

Sailing SV Delos – Living A Beautiful Life On The Sea

Last Updated: November 11, 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.

Sailing SV Delos is what many people dream of – sailing around the world to exotic destinations in a beautiful boat with a super fun group of people, who all happen to be friendly and gorgeous. They go on amazing adventures, and they even brew moonshine on their boat. What more could you ask for?

In my Extraordinary Series here on Making Sense of Cents, I like to feature people who are doing things a little differently. So, I knew that interviewing SV Delos should be next!

As you may know, me and my husband (and our two dogs) also live on a sailboat. So, getting the opportunity to interview SV Delos was something I was really excited about doing!

Before our interview, let me give you a little backstory on the sailing vessel Delos and the crew.

It all started in May of 2008 when Brian Trautman bought SV Delos.

Brian had been sailing around the lakes of Seattle for several years, but had never really thought about living on a sailboat, much less sailing around the world. Until one day when he found a book in the library that explained how to cross the ocean on your own boat. It was an eye-opening moment for Brian.

He spent the next four years dreaming and planning for the first epic trip – sailing to New Zealand. He sold nearly everything, and bought SV Delos in May of 2008. [Read more…]

How Amanda Paid Off $133,763 In Debt in 43 Months

Last Updated: April 27, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 24 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.

My monthly Extraordinary Lives series has been a lot of fun, and I’m back with another inspiring interview. First up was JP Livingston, who retired with a net worth over $2,000,000 at the age of 28. Today’s interview is with Amanda, who is now living debt free after paying off $133,000 in three years and seven months.

I’ve been following Amanda – @debtfreeinsunnyca – on Instagram for quite some time, and I’m so happy that I was finally able to interview her!

In this interview, you’ll learn:

How Amanda got into debt.
Why she decided to get out of debt fast.
The expenses she cut so that she could pay off her debt quickly.
What she thinks about the cash envelope method.
The sacrifices she made to reach her goal.
What she did to stay motivated.

And more! This interview is packed full of valuable information! [Read more…]