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Saturday and a $1,149 DSLR Camera Giveaway

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 3 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.

Happy Saturday everyone! This past week definitely flew by. I guess that’s what happens when you are extremely busy. I don’t really have anything planned for the weekend (at least nothing that I can think of) except for lots of blog and planning for me and my friend’s new business.

If you have any tips on starting a new business, and also starting a new business with a partner, then throw them at me. I have a couple of blog posts in the works about that, but of course it always takes me forever to actually get around to that.

Also on Monday I will have my February extra income and goals update, so be sure to check that out. Every month, my monthly extra income update always seems to be very popular. Is there anything specific that you would like to see in my monthly extra income posts? I want to be as helpful as I can!

Posts on my blog this week:

  1. $1,121 in Extra Income and Life Updates – I did better with my income last week. So many things are going on in my life right now. It needs to calm down 🙂
  2. #Tag: Getting to Know the “Person” Behind the Personal Finance Blog – Do you want to know more about me? Maybe not but oh well. REad this post to learn further about why I blog and why I blog about personal finance.
  3. Getting Out of Debt… With a Plan – I had a guest post on my blog for the third week of my Debt Series. Do you have a plan for your debt?
  4. Is Clutter Ruining Your Productivity? – This is a post by Jordann all about clutter and productivity.

 

 Posts I loved this week:

  1. The Death of the 9-5 Work Week Young Adult Money
  2. Do you ever feel guilty for everything that you have and make? Mochi and Macarons
  3. “Oh you are SO lucky, you must be rich!” Budgets are Sexy
  4. What Bootstraps? Girl With the Red Balloon

Saturday…

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 33 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.

Happy Saturday everyone! If you were lucky/unlucky enough to be hit by the snowstorm, then this could possibly be the third day of your long, unexpected weekend. I had Thursday off, but the roads were fine where I live so I went to work on Friday.

I have a full weekend. Yesterday, our close friends got married and had a lunch reception (which we missed because the wedding was planned last second). After both W and I got out of work we went out to celebrate. The celebrations continue tonight as well. I’m SUPER excited to go out with a big group because feels like it’s been forever (it actually hasn’t but oh well). We plan on giving them their gift today and I need to put that together still. Thanks everyone for your suggestions on Twitter yesterday 🙂

However, before that, me and my friend are having a little business meeting to talk about the business that we plan on opening soon. I can’t wait until I can officially tell everyone what this new business is. Some of you already know since you guessed correctly last week 🙂 Hopefully it goes well!

Posts from my blog:

  1. $823 in Extra Income and Life Updates – Extra income was slightly down last week, but I’m still happy with it.
  2. Blogger or WordPress – Tips on How to Move – Are you still on Blogger? You should think about switching! Blogger can delete your blog whenever they want to. In this post there are tips about how to move and why you should move.
  3. How We Handled $32,000 in Student Loans – I had a guest post to kick off the second week of my debt payoff series. Read about what her and her family did to eliminate student loans.
  4. Buying a Home as a Minimalist – Jordann talks all about her and homes!

 

Posts from my sister’s blog:

  1. 10 Tips For When Eating Out – My sister is super healthy and does certain things when she goes out to eat in order to stay healthy.
  2. Typical Day Of Meals – My sister is on a new food plan! I definitely couldn’t do what she does, but it’s nice to think about 😛
  3. Prep Your Meals For The Week – Save Money! – Over the weekend my sister spent a couple of hours prepping her meals for the whole week. It’s a great idea to save money and also to save time during the week!

 

I am loving these posts this week as they relate to my life in some form:

  1. How to pay off your mortgage in 3 not so easy steps Money Master Mom
  2. Feeling Forced to Tip Even for Horrible Service? Girl Meets Debt
  3. How Much is Too Much? Live Real, Now
  4. **Rant Alert** – An Online Business is NOT a Passive Income Source Debt Roundup
  5. Traveling is more fun when you are young Retire By 40
  6. How much do your friends or family know about your money? Mochi & Macarons
  7. Taking the Plunge: Why I Love Being Self-Employed Frugal Rules

Can it just be Saturday forever?

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 17 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! Happy Saturday. This week seemed to fly by. It’s Mardi Gras weekend here in St. Louis. I won’t be going out until later, but of course nearly all of my friends are going out now. I’d rather sleep in because I’m lazy! Lots of things to do on the blog and some writing to do today. Anyone venturing out today?

I had two giveaways this week (see below). I hope you enjoyed them and one of you win. Question though: do you guys like that I have so many giveaways? Or do they get annoying? Let me know! I personally love giveaways and entering them.

I’m the Blogger of the Month over at Ready for Zero! They did a great interview on me and it went well. Go read it!

If you have any suggestions on how to improve my blog further, feel feel to comment below, send an anonymous e-mail and so on. I appreciate all opinions!

Since I am kind of close to paying off my student loans, I’m thinking about starting a debt payoff guest post series. Anyone interested? Topics can be about what you’re doing to pay off debt quickly, how you’re paying them off, whether you think your debt is good/bad, etc! 🙂

Posts this week on my blog:

  1. I spend too much money on him and GIVEAWAY – This post is a whole mix of everything in my life. At the end, enter to win some cash.
  2. How To Start A Blog – Tips for a Beginner – This post is about how you can start your own blog. I’m currently learning along with all of you, but I plan on making a post about how to transfer to WordPress from Blogger as a lot of you e-mailed and commented about it. Look for for that soon!
  3. Saving Money on Food and a GIVEAWAY – We’ve been doing a lot better with food and it’s been great. We still have many improvements though. Read about our progress and also enter to win $500 in cash.
  4. Staff Writing is the Perfect Side Hustle – Jordann talked about staff writing yesterday. A lot of you have been really interested in doing this.

 

Posts on my sister’s blog:

  1. How To Find A Good, Cost Efficient Gym Near You – Gyms can be very expensive. We just bought a home gym (picture to be posted on Monday) and I’m sure excited to use it all the time.
  2. All Natural Oatmeal Raisin Cookies – These cookies were super tasty. She made them last weekend and I pretty much ate all of them. I didn’t think they were going to be THAT good.
  3. Financial Goals for 2013 – My sister finally posted her 2013 goals, and they’re all finance related! I’m a super proud sister right now 🙂

 

Posts I LOVED:

  1. I WILL Partake in Lifestyle Inflation Plunged in Debt
  2. House Hunting Priorities My Pretty Pennies
  3. 10 Credit Card Secrets They Don’t Want You To Know Stumble Forward
  4. Frugal Ways to Say I Love You this Valentine’s Day Canadian Budget Binder
  5. Designing Your Dream Job Budget and the Beach
  6. You Didn’t Save Any Money I Heart Budgets

 

What are your plans for the weekend? Mardi Gras plans anyone? 🙂

I don’t care about the Super Bowl

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 21 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.

Happy weekend everyone!  Or to some/most of you, Happy Super Bowl weekend! I’m not a huge football fan, so don’t chop my head off. I am from St. Louis so baseball is my life (and the St. Louis Rams suck so I just don’t pay attention to football).

I definitely have a long to do list for this weekend. Need to take my dogs to the groomer. This doesn’t sound like a large task, but my smaller dog HATES people that he doesn’t know, so going to the groomer is usually a very long experience and very time consuming. I also have a ton of other errands to run, and then tomorrow is also W’s birthday. He’s getting so old 😛

I know last week I said my How to Start a Blog post would be published this past week, but instead it will be published this upcoming week. If you have any questions that you would like me to cover, please ask away in the comments below or email me.

[Read more…]

Oh Saturday

Last Updated: 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.

DogFrench Bulldog
Happy weekend everyone! This past week at work seemed to fly by, mainly because I was extremely busy the whole time. So much to do! Oh yeah, those are my wonderful pups above.

This weekend I’m hoping to get a lot done. I really need to start scheduling and writing posts ahead of time. I haven’t done this in forever. How far ahead do you write your posts? I’m hoping to get maybe 5 posts done, but I doubt that will happen. I have a long list of things that I want to write about, but I would like to knock them out beforehand.

I’m going to a bridal show on Sunday for MY wedding! First bridal show that I’ll have gone to that is focused on me. WOOHOO! Bring on the free drinks and free food 🙂 I hope to find a lot of good ideas and good vendors. Considering that I still need EVERYTHING for my wedding and nothing has really been planned, I know I will be going crazy at this thing. But that’s okay, because I love planning and just the thought of it makes me super happy!

This was a week full of whale posts. Sorry they were all so long! I obviously have a lot to say about everything. There will be some more whale posts for next week. I have at least one special post lined up for next week, a post all about how to become a virtual assistant. A lot of you have wondered what a VA does, and next week you will find out how to start and where to begin.

Also, I plan on publishing my How To Start a Blog post next week. Is there anything specific that you would like to know that I can answer in this post? I will try and include it and it’ll help me guide where the post will go. A lot of you e-mail me with your questions, but if you have any others, ask away in the comments below. I have a feeling that the How To Start a Blog will be a huge multi-post, so be on the look out!

Posts on my blog:

  1. What Does a Virtual Assistant Do? – This post details possible things you can do as a virtual assistant.
  2. Reconnecting With Family – An emotional post – I talk about about my dreams of having a normal family.
  3. Wedding Budget – Our Expected Costs – If you’re not tired of wedding talk yet, then you will be after reading this lengthy post! I’m having a lot of fun planning, so look forward to even more posts in the future.
  4. Time Management According to Strengths – This is a staff post by Jordann. All about time management!

 

Posts on my sister’s blog:

  1. Becoming a Personal Trainer – At first she wanted to go into nursing, but after working in healthcare for a couple of years, she has completely changed her mind. This is why it’s good to get a job on internship in the field you want to work in before you jump too far in! She now wants to be a personal trainer.
  2. Looking Cute When Working Out On A Budget – It can’t be only me and her who like to buy nice athletic clothes, right?
  3. Jamie Eason’s 12 Week Free Plan – My sister is too healthy for me… 🙂

 

Favorite posts of the week:

  1. Personal Finance Bloggers I Admire Evolving PF – SOMEONE ACTUALLY LIKES ME! 🙂
  2. Churning Credit Cards for Hotel and Travel Rewards on I Heart Budgets
  3. How Do You Define Success? Tackling Our Debt
  4. Benefits of a Crappy Job Eyes on the Dollar
  5. Are You Financially Ready For Kids? Prairie Eco Thrifter
  6. ….When You’re Talking in Your Sleep L Bee
  7. 5 Ways to Invest in Yourself on Young Adult Money
  8. The Sexiest Thing My Money Has Bought on Plunged In Debt
  9. Learn From Mexican Merchants – Avoid Being a Passive Blogger on Modest Money
  10. I Will Never Retire on Krant Cents

 

What are your plans for the weekend?

It’s the WEEKEND

Last Updated: 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.

Hey everyone! It’s finally Saturday. It was definitely a busy week at work so I’m glad to kind of relax. I’m getting my haircut today, which I definitely feel like I need. And then I’m doing some house shopping as well. We’re trying to price out the dining room (table, chairs, new light fixture), new curtains and a couple of other things that I’ve been putting off forever.

I have a lot planned for the rest of the weekend also. My favorite thing planned for this weekend? We’re looking at a wedding venue tomorrow! And I’m pretty sure it’s the one we’re going to choose 🙂

I’m still looking for treadmill recommendations! Has to be reliable for 3 people and preferably under $1,000. Any help?

This week I decided to dedicate my link love posts to only other posts that were about freelancing. A lot of you have been emailing me lately (especially the past couple of weeks) about tips and everything else. While I still have many more extra income posts in the works, for now you should check out the ones below! Also, please make sure to read my Ways to Make Extra Income post if you haven’t yet.

Posts from my blog:

  1. $940 in Extra Income, Life Updates and 2013 Goals
  2. So You Want to Be a Freelance Writer?
  3. Spending Less Money on Clothes and a GIVEAWAY
  4. Are Tablets Worth It?
  5. Staying Motivated After You Get Out of Debt

 

Posts from my sister’s blog that I’m helping run:

  1. Healthy Living Isn’t Expensive Living
  2. Healthy Chicken Recipe I made
  3. No Money For Gym Membership? No Problem!
  4. Saving Extra Money By Quitting Old Habits

 

Posts that are all about freelancing:

  1. 5 Ways to Score High-Paying Blogging Gigs without Advertising Housewife Empire
  2. 5 Lessons Learned from Freelancing Young Adult Money
  3. The Necessary Steps to Pursuing Your Online Income Goals Single Moms Income
  4. Is Getting a Second or Third Job Really Worth it? The Happy Homeowner
  5. 13 More Side Business Ideas – You Can Start Today Frugal Habits
  6. Do You Want To Be Self Employed? My blog 🙂
  7. 13 money resolutions for 2013: #7 Make more money! Reach Financial Independence 

 

Hope you all have a great weekend!

I started a new BLOG!

Last Updated: 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.

Hey everyone! I bet you all are very happy that it’s Saturday. I know I am! This was a long week for me considering it was my first full 5-day work week since the BEGINNING of December. Talk about having it rough, right? 😛

I finally made my Ways to Earn Extra Income Part 1 post so I hope you all enjoyed it. I have a feeling that this will be a fairly long series that will most likely last forever 🙂

I do have a question for you all: Is there something that you would like to see more of on my blog? Or is there something that you would like to see less of? Or what would you change? I’m all about growing and improving and I’m interested to hear what you all have to say. Please leave a comment below (can be either from you or anonymously).

NEW BLOG

I also started a new blog and it went live TODAY. My sister is the author and I’m just there to help her get the hang of things and to be the behind-the-scenes person 🙂 I hope you all check out the blog. There will also be a giveaway there soon, so that’s another reason to follow her!

Check out FITnancials. Follow on Twitter and you can also be one of her 2,600 Instagram followers that she has had on her fitness Instagram account for quite some time.

Here’s a little tidbit about her:

“I started attempting the ‘healthy lifestyle’ about a year and a half ago. My overall journey in trying to ‘get skinny in any way possible’ started in my Freshman year of high school. I came home from spending the summer with my dad (lounging and eating ALL day) and my mother commented on my weight. (To put it nicely). That’s where it all began.”

Recent posts from my blog:

  1. $1,193 in Extra Income, Life and Picture Updates
  2. Keeping Up With The Joneses
  3. Ways to Earn Extra Income Part 1 
  4. Dreaming of the Future
  5. $5,770 in Extra Income in December
  6. Cooking in a Minimalist Kitchen

Posts I love:

  1. On Passion for Blogging and Burnouts Thirty Six Months
  2. How to Use a Credit Card Like Cash Single Moms Income
  3. Modesty Really is the Best Policy Modest Money
  4. How to afford a vacation when you’re broke Newlyweds on a Budget
  5. Building A Dividend Portfolio For Passive Income Retire By 40
  6. Bold Move By Discover – The Discover it™ Credit Card Money Life and More

Top 5 Referrers to my blog:

  1. When I get where I’m going
  2. Shaking the Money Tree
  3. TeacHer Finance
  4. Plunged in Debt
  5. Frugal Rules

 

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