Life Archives - Making Sense Of Cents

Why I Took A Year Long Blog + Social Media Semi-Sabbatical

December 9, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 46 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.

This past year I decided to do something that I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time – I took a blog and social media break.

Taking a sabbatical from social media has changed my life. I feel like I am much more intentional with the actions I take, and I am able to focus on what I truly love.

Okay, so I've still been around working a little bit, but not nearly as much as usual.

But since I’ve taken a blog and social media break, I’ve received a lot of messages, comments, and emails asking me about what’s going on.

“Is everything all right?”

“Are you not having fun traveling anymore?”

“Is your business no longer making money?”

My social media break has really confused people, and it feels like nearly everything I've heard has assumed that something bad has happened. [Read more…]

How To Be More Productive: 17 Tips To Help You Live A Better Life

November 4, 2019 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.

Are you wanting to learn how to be productive?

Are you feeling like you aren't as productive as you usually are? Or, perhaps life is really busy right now and you want to be able to manage it all better.

Many people struggle with how to be productive. We all have lots of things to do and sometimes we can accomplish them all, and other times it is very difficult.

I go through productivity spurts.

At times, I feel like I can accomplish anything and everything, and other days I don't even know what (if anything) I did all day.

This is an area that I am constantly working on, and perhaps you are too.

Sometimes I am distracted by so many different things that it has caused me to waste a huge amount of time. Therefore, I have not been able to live in the moment like I would really like to.

[Read more…]

The Honest Truth About Van Dwelling: Answers To The Most Common Van Life Questions

September 24, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 15 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.

Van dwelling, or the lifestyle of living in a van, is becoming more and more popular as a way to travel full-time. Since we bought a van a few months ago to live in, I have received a lot of questions about van dwelling.

While they seem funny to us now, I know that we had some of these same questions before we started RVing.

Some of the questions we are asked are from those who think we are crazy for living in a van. Whereas, others are from people who are interested in van dwelling but are unsure about certain things. Either way, I hope to clear up a lot of the common questions we receive about living in a van.

You never know, maybe I'll convert some of you. 🙂

Below are questions that I've been asked by friends, family, readers, and even strangers. It's always interesting trying to explain RVing/van dwelling to strangers who stop me at the store after they've seen me get out of our van.

It's a lot of fun, though. I love answering questions about what it’s like living in a van full-time and getting others hooked on this lifestyle! [Read more…]

How To Better Yourself – 23 Challenges That Will Change Your Life

August 31, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 29 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 better yourself is something we can all work on. Even small adjustments and improvements can have long-lasting effects on your life.

Improving yourself can change your financial situation, your relationships, your self-esteem, your health, and more.

But, learning how to better yourself can feel like a very difficult thing if your life isn’t going the way you want.

Maybe you had a different plan but things don’t seem to be going your way. Maybe you just want a change because anything is better than how things are currently going.

Each of those things can leave you feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or like everyone is doing better than you. Those feelings can be hard to escape, but my goal is that you’ll find at least one thing on this list that will start to change your mood and your life for the better.

No matter how you’re feeling, I do believe that everyone is in charge of their own destiny.

If you feel that things are not going the way you want them to go, then change it! [Read more…]

Ask Me Anything

August 5, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 131 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.

Almost two years ago, 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
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.

Is Full-Time Traveling As Good As It Sounds?

April 22, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 27 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 travel long-term? In this article, I talk about the downsides of full-time traveling, and whether full-time travel is for you. #fulltimetravel #travel I know that traveling full-time sounds fascinating – you get to explore new places, bring your home everywhere you go, try new foods, meet new people, and more.

But, it's not always beaches, mountains, and other beautiful landscapes.

I’m definitely not complaining and I am very thankful for the life I get to live. However, while I once believed that full-time travel was the greatest thing ever, lately I have been feeling oh so tired!

Over the last few months, I have seen countless friends and travelers that I know stop traveling full-time, all for various reasons. And, each time someone quits, I have stopped and thought about my own life and full-time traveling journey. [Read more…]

The Most Important Money Lessons I Learned From My Dad

April 18, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 20 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.

On April 18, 2008, my father passed away from cancer. It’s always a sad day to remember, but as each year passes, I strive to honor him by making each day better than the last. I know that's what he would have wanted, and I would like to dedicate today's post to him. I wrote this blog post years ago, but I have updated it for this year, and it still makes me very happy when I read it and think about him. Enjoy!

Hardly a day goes by when I don't think of my dad. The littlest thing will remind me of him, and I am both sad and grateful when that happens.

My dad was a huge part of my life, and it only makes sense to talk about him today. This is especially true because he taught me so many important financial lessons that have helped me become the person I am today. [Read more…]

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