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Possible Budget Smart Girl Marketplace
We’re almost half way through summer. Maybe where you’re at it’s half way through winter. How is your year going so far? Have you met all your goals or are you planning more for the fourth quarter? As you know, I’ve been thinking about new business ideas and what I want to do next. Posting to all my sites is getting tough because it takes so much time and doesn’t really yield the results I want to see. I have a long list of ideas and ways I want to take these sites in new directions. One idea for BSG is to turn it into more of a marketplace to…
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Be Persistent This Week
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Outsourcing-Save Money or Waste Money?
Do you outsource chores and/or business related activities? Some people call me stubborn, (and yes, I am a Budget Smart Girl too), but when it comes to letting other people do the work for me, I often try to do it myself first. It’s only after I grow frustrated that I often resort to hiring someone. I’ve been spending the last month or so looking into new business ventures. I’ve come up with a few ideas that I know I can probably get set up on my own but maybe it’s wisdom that finally made me realize, it’s better off moneywise to hire someone to do it for me. An…
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Resources Available to You
This week, use these three resources to work on a goal or a dream.
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Yes, It’s Possible
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Side Gigs-An Interview with Erin Mahoney
Please welcome Erin Mahoney to Budget Smart Girl. She’s one of my private students and the author of Side Hustle Gigs, A Step by Step Guide to a Profitable Side Business. Budget Smart Girl (BSG)-Let’s start with you telling everyone about yourself and how you got interested in side gigs? Erin Mahoney (EM)-By education and training, I’m a vet technician. I’m an avid traveler at heart and realized that having a full time job didn’t allow me the time off I needed to see all the places on my list. I didn’t want to be one of those people who save money each week and then once they turn 65,…
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Best Buys for July
Another month, and can you believe that half of 2021 is now history? Time for another post about what to buy this month. Here’s the list I came up with and hold off until after the Fourth of July holiday because you always see major discounts on all the spring and summer items that haven’t sold. Summer items, think clothes, swimwear, sandals, grills, plants, especially annuals and especially if you live in an area with a short growing season. And don’t forget to check out sales on outdoor furniture too. Thinking about a home makeover…paint is often on sale in July. Computers and laptops also see some discounts At the…
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A Budget’s Only the Beginning…
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Think Outside the Box-ASAP
I’ve posted a few times about thinking outside the box. I’ve thought of it as necessity but now I think it’s vital for your survival as an entrepreneur. I’m spending many hours checking out sites where people sell things. Not physical things, but digital items. I know many of you reading this, sell digital items. Digital items are great, no keeping inventory, no going to the post office, the customer gets their product as soon as they pay. It’s win win for everyone and it’s easy to get stared. In fact, you could start with zero dollars. That’s another good thing, but let’s look at the downside of these pluses.…
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Needs Versus Wants
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Side Hustles-They’re Here to Stay
Side hustles, side gigs, earning extra income… Whatever you call trying to earn extra money, it’s a trend that continues to grow. I don’t think we’re going to see a slow down of people trying to supplement their income by doing something like coaching, selling handmade items on places like Etsy, or becoming a virtual assistant. I found this interesting article on Ecommercebytes which by the way if you run or are thinking about selling on sites like eBay you definitely want to check it out or subscribe. Here’s the link and then I’ve included a link to another article on Zapier it referenced- https://zapier.com/blog/how-to-start-a-side-hustle/ Do you already have a…
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Be Your Own Time and Money Master
How will you spend your time this week? Saving money, making money or both?
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Money Mindset Makeover Challenge-Check In Time
It’s check in time! Let’s think back to February and the Money Mindset Makeover Challenge. Did you take part? If you haven’t checked it out, you can find all the posts-28 days of ideas to challenge your money mindset. At the end of the challenge, I mentioned that we’d do a June check in as we enter the third quarter of the year. If you’ve been using the makeover as a blueprint to make and save money, how are things going? Did you give up after the first month? If so, why? What did you find the hardest thing to change with regards to prior money mindset? Was it on…
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Money’s Value
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Best Buys for June
It’s June and time to look at some of the month’s best bargain buys- June means Father’s Day so look for things like power tools going on sale before and maybe even after too. Wedding season is in full swing as well. And who wants to be inside working out when the weather’s near perfect which means gyms and health clubs lower their membership fees this time of the year. So, if you really want to join one, now’s the time. Also, look for post Memorial Day sales. Burgers, buns, hot dogs and pickles…perfect for the upcoming Fourth of July holiday too. Some garden items might be discounted, especially annual…
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Goal Setting in Quarters
Getting everything you want to achieve, done, can be overwhelming. I often take on more than I can achieve and end up getting more frustrated. This year, I’ve switching things up a little and I think it’s working. I thought I’d share it with you just in case you want to give it a try. This can work for just about any goal, be it making money, saving money or just one goal, like exercising more. I’ve started to divide goals by quarters. 1st quarter (Jan, Feb, March), etc. I use an overall statement at the top of the page, sort of like the ones you use in a business…
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Spend Your Time and Money Wisely
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Entrepreneurs=Opportunity
Afraid you’re competing with too many entrepreneurs? There’s a silver lining… We’ve talked about possible future ideas for businesses. We’re going to see lots more people start businesses or at least look for side hustles. It’s easy to think, everyone’s doing that and I can’t compete but there’s a plus to so many people suddenly being self employed. I speak from experience when I say we can’t possibly do it all. We need help, even if it’s not on a daily basis, there are times when our time is short or our expertise doesn’t match up to the skill we need to get the job done. That’s where you come…
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Put on Your Future Thinking Hat
Getting ahead with both your money and business always comes down to thinking ahead. Let’s jump back just ten years and think about all the things that weren’t around then but are commonplace today. The people who made money from them put on their future thinking hat and now it’s your turn to do that too. Sit down, brainstorm for 15 minutes or more and think about where you think culture, society, and technology is heading in the next decade. What are people going to need? Maybe people have gotten used to spending more time at home and looking to upgrade their home and yard. Could be that they now…
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Monday Motivation-Financial Freedom
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Friday Round Up-Chores
So far, how is the month of May treating you? Mine’s been busy and the reason for lack of posts this week. So many chores and things that need doing that I lost track of time. It’s a reminder that our lives besides being self employed and entrepreneurs sometime invades on our work week. It’s also a nudge that we have to figure out what has to be done and what can wait. One thing I’m getting much better at is not working on weekends. These days I don’t even look at e-mails until Monday morning. For many years, I worked 7 days a week and didn’t quit till around…
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The CCC Toolbox is Back!
I’m excited to announce that you’re getting a second chance to grab a collaboration of 48 product creators to help you with your content – training, done-for-you products, tools, and resources. It includes my Self Publishing Toolkit Grab the Content Creation Collection for the low cost of $39.95 here’s the link, and yes, it’s my affiliate one and I will be compensated for your purchase- https://warriorplus.com/o2/a/zd9zt/0 Here are the other contributors and their products: Amanda Myers at Create Meow is offering the Sunflower Inspirational Quote Photos valued at $20.00 Angela Hobbs at Color My Agenda is offering the CMA Spring 2021 Special Bundle valued at $41.95 Lady Rayven Monique at…
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Life is Precious
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Inflation-Be Budget Smart
You can’t get away from the talk about inflation. How high will it go and how long it will last? Whatever the answer, bottom line is that goods and services cost more and therefore you have less money to spend on other things like maybe a vacation or putting money aside for that rainy day fund. Being budget smart is always about ways to get around obstacles, especially money related ones, so here are some tips to help take the sting off of inflation- Think Ahead Right now I’m trying to think one year, even two years ahead and figure out what I’ll need. Next question, is the product likely…
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Best Buys for May
It’s May, warmer temps and flowers and trees are in bloom and here’s a list of items that are best buys for the month- Home furnishings and most home goods….think pillows and vases. Pre Memorial Day, hotdogs and buns, paper plates and cups. Fridges, chest freezers. Mattresses Office furniture Any remaining winter clothes and winter related items In the supermarket look for lettuce, radishes, and rhubarb, Swiss chard and zucchini. You might also find strawberries and other berries being offered on buy one, get one free deals as a way to introduce the first crops of the season. (And on Thursday, (and somewhat related to this), the topic of my…
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Take Charge of Your Money
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Friday and April Round Up-What’s Ahead in May?
t’s the last day in April. Can you believe how quickly the month flew by? Did you get everything on your to do list done? I’m way behind on mine and one of the reasons for lack of posts here at BSG. I’m in the planning stages of a money mindset course I want to create and it’s taking longer than I thought. If you didn’t see my post about the change in e-mails, a reminder that if you signed up Feedburner which would have been between 2005-2013, that platform is going away. I’m trying to import everyone on the list to the new Mailchimp one but I think I…
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Money Mindset Makeover April Check In
It’s almost the end of April. Two months since the February Money Mindset Makeover Challenge. Did you follow along? Did you set yourself some goals? In June, we’ll do a three month check in to gauge how well we’ve done but as we move into that third month after the conclusion of the challenge, let’s do a mini review. Did you work on figuring out your assets and liablities? Figure out what some of your budget downfalls are? Look at ways to shave costs off your monthly expenses? Explore ways to bring in extra income? Is there anything you’re struggling with? If so, what resources do you need to access…
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Make Your Money Work For You
Is your money ‘sleeping’? Think about ways you can ‘wake up’ your money and getting working for you and not vice versa.
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E-Mail List Update
If you’ve been a subscriber of Budget Smart Girl since 2005 you probably signed up via Feedburner and receive posts via their delivery system. After the end of the month (April), this service will no longer be available which means you’ll no longer receive notifications and posts of anything that appears on the site. I do have the subscriber list and I’m hoping to import them to the system I now use which is Mailchimp via the Popup Builder but as you know techy stuff isn’t always easy for Ms. Non-Techy here so if you still want to continue receiving posts and notifications can you use the PopUp builder on…
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Monday Motivation-How You Live Your Life
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Time = Money
Something money can’t buy is time. We all have the same 24 hours a day so spend it wisely because time equals money. Time is an investment. I’ve been going through my to do list. I often take on more than I know I can achieve but this week I’m taking a new approach. I’m assigning a dollar value to each thing on that list. I’ve also done the same thing for my long term goal list. I’ve realized that while there are some things that I love and enjoy doing they’re not netting me much in the way of a return on my investment of time. I’m spending hours…
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Monday Motivation-Money Freedom
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Friday Round Up-Lots of Chores
How did your first full week of April turn out? Got everything on your to do list done? If it’s anything like mine, it grows every day. This week I’ve been working on more writing classes and uploaded a new one for Skillshare. It’s a short one about improving your writing in 15 easy tips. Here’s the link if you want to check it out- https://skl.sh/3dEvojx Also, check out last week’s post to find a link to try Skillshare free for 14 days. Angela Wills also has a new class, Service Business Switch, starting soon with a launch price of just $25 and it’s all about switching from a service…
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Buy Now to Protect Your Purchasing Power?
Inflation, hyperinflation, deflation which one is going to be? I listen to lots of economic podcasts and the buzzwords are those three words above that all end in tion. No one economist or financial expert agrees which one is going to happen but all of them are in agreement, that it’s time to think about your financial future and if you’ll take a proactive stand against whichever one comes our way. Lots of people have been saying that food prices are going up, others say prices are the same but content is getting smaller. I’ve heard talk about building supplies going up by as much as 150%. Also think about…
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Money Doesn’t Equal Happiness but…
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Friday Round Up-Hello April
It’s April. Three months behind us, nine more to go. What are you plans? Set any news goals? The end of one quarter and the beginning of the next is a great time to sit down and go through your list of things you want to achieve whether it’s losing weight or launching a business. Are you thinking about taking a class to learn a new skill maybe? You’ve heard me mention Skillshare many times. I’ve been teaching writing classes there for about four years. And it’s not just writing classes they offer but topics like design, blogging, photography, entrepreneurship, and I could go on and on about all the…
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Best Buys in April
It’s April and time to look at some of the best buys for the month- Anything snow and cold, snow blowers, shovels, winter clothing…jackets, boots, scarves. Winter sports items like snowboards. St. Patrick Day items…you can save them from year to year. Easter Items-after Sunday things are going to be discounted. Once again you can save them from year to year. Candy and chocolates can be used during the rest of the year too! Ham can be frozen or made into dishes that can be frozen. Things like split pea soup ready for fall and winter. Eggs will also be on sale. It’s National Car Care Month so all things…
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Making Money with Art and Design
Love to design or paint? Have a great idea for a t-shirt design? During our Money Mindset Makeover Challenge, we briefly touched upon one way to make money and that’s with using your art and design skills. Lots of people are doing it. And making a statement like that often makes we cautious about recommending it as a way for you to earn some extra cash or even turn it into a main stream of income. Let’s look at the pros and cons and then dig deeper into how you can get stand out from the crowd. Pros Most art and design sites are now print on demand so you…
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Sticking with a Budget is About Willpower
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Friday Round-Up-Translations and a New Book
Hard to believe it’s almost April. Do you feel that some weeks fly by faster than others? I think if you’re busy then the week is gone before you realize it. I got more of my books translated and they’re now in the process of being published and sent to various platforms. I also got my complete manuscript checklist product finished and loaded to my store. It’s a run down of checklists that apply to all things writing a novel, character, plot, dialogue… and takes you through a series of questions to ask yourself. I like to think of it as having a writing mentor go through your manuscript with…
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Knowledge Is King
The old saying is that cash is king but I think knowledge is the new monarch. Many of you already know the story about how my late farther was an avid reader and got me hooked on books and visiting the library when I was just five years old. He’d never leave the house until he’d read the newspaper cover to cover. The radio in his car was always tuned not to music, but to a station with people talking about this and that. Even attempting to try and change the station when you rode with him, got a sideways glance that told you that was a bad idea and…
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Solopreneur
I’m guessing, like me, you wear many hats while running your business. We’re solopreneurs who are in charge of the budget and bottom line. Many years ago, I decided to invest in buying domain names with the idea of creating web sites, growing them, making them turn a profit and then selecting a few to sell. While I’m still in the process of doing that, paying for the yearly registration for all the domain names was getting expensive. Most of them weren’t making me any money so I knew I had to cut the budget. I went looking for other companies to switch them to but then got busy so…
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Monday Motivation-Roadblocks are Good
Don’t see struggles and roadblocks as negative things. Instead see them as a necessary part of the road to living your dream life.
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Friday Round Up-First Quarter Check In
It’s almost spring, almost the end of the first quarter and a great time to look back at the first three months. What have you done to move one step closer to your dream life? This weekend sit down and do some journaling, write down what you what to achieve in the next nine months? I got most of my to do list taken care of this week. Currently being published is the Spanish edition of Fabulously Frugal-A 30 Day Money Makeover. I’ll let you know when it goes on sale. And would any of you like to know how you can get your books translated? Send me an e-mail…
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Don’t Throw Them Away
I love getting as much use out of stuff I buy as I can. My motto is nothing’s a waste of money if you use it wisely. You wouldn’t think vegetables fit into that category but they do. Each time I prepare a vegetable I keep the trimmings and pieces I don’t use in the recipe or meal. I use a freezer bag to put things like carrot peelings, onion roots, ‘ribs’ of kale, and anything that’s a little bruised into it. At the end of the week, I put them into a large pan, add water, a couple of bay leaves, some peppercorns and bring it to boil, then…
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Last Day To Buy Your Content Creation Collection Toolbox and More Ways to Use the Content
Yesterday, I posed three tips on using the content you’ll find in the spring version of the Toolbox that’s currently on sale. Here are a few more ideas- Create a Class People love learning new skills and gaining knowledge and it’s also a great way to pull in an audience. Problem is what do you teach? Putting together a class can also be time consuming…believe me when I say I speak from experience. But what if you could sort through a bunch of content and pull similar topics together and have ‘sort of’ a ready made class? Looking through the list of content in this toolbox, I see lots of…
- affiliate marketing, FIRE Financial Independence, Retire Early, Online Stores, Side Gigs, working from home, writing
Tips for Using PLR and Purchased Content
Did you buy the spring toolkit last week and wondering what you can do with all the wonderful products you’ve downloaded? Here are three ideas for putting them to good use- Combine Them Have a bunch of planners and like pages from both product one and product two? How about merging the two to create a planner just for you (or if both products have PLR), selling them to your customers. Customize it to your own needs or those of your customers. For things like articles, how about combining them and even creating a giveaway for your audience. Your Own Take I often take a basic idea and then put…
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Start Your Journey Today
This week where will your journey take you?
- FIRE Financial Independence, Retire Early, Side Gigs, Teaching and Coachig, What's On Sale, working from home
Master Content Creation & Increasing Your Content Output
Yes, it’s that exciting time of the year again? It’s the spring toolbox kit deal. Once again April has put together…I think it’s the best one yet, a toolkit that contains some of the best products I’ve seen. Lots of PLR content for your site or to help you grow your mailing list. Coloring pages, journals, courses, and even some gift cards. I can’t wait to check them all out. The best thing is if you bought them individually, you’d break the budget but starting today and ending on March 17th, you can get a whole bunch of these goodies for just $39,95. Here’s a small sampling of what you’ll…
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Homemade TV Dinners
I’ve had lots of requests to bring back posts with money saving tips and as everyone’s talking about rising food prices, I thought we’d make that the focus of this one. I’ve always hated wasting food. One way I use dinner leftovers is to eat them for lunch the following day. That’s one tip, but sometimes seeing the same food from one day to the next, makes it seems like your sacrificing something. Feel that way too often and it’s the quickest route to straying off your budget. Last year, I came up with something new and it’s to make your own homemade TV dinners. Not only are you using…
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It Shouldn’t Be About Just Selling…
Last week, we talked about affiliate marketing and the best way to pick and choose which products and services to sell to our list and subscribers. Today, let’s focus on one important aspect and that’s the subtle art of selling. In the ideal world everyone of your subscribers would click on the link you provide them and purchase something. It seldom happens but there are some ways you can at least up the odds of earning some affiliate income. Know Your Audience We also touched on this last week too. The better you know your audience, the better you can pick a product or service that your audience needs or…
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Monday Motivation-What Do You Want to Achieve?
Give this quote some serious thought. What is it you want to achieve? Write it down and read it every day.
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Picking the Right Affiliate For You
Affiliate marketing, is it for you and how do you pick the right product to promote? If you have a web site or an e-mail list, one way to make extra income and our favorite type, passive income, is sign up to become an affiliate for a company, entrepreneur etc. It sounds easy, looks easy, and yes, it is, but the skill is in picking the right one. Here are three tips to help you decide which ones might be the best match for you- Don’t Go With the Big Bucks Some companies pay their affiliates lots of money while others offer just a dollar or less. Instinct tells us…
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March Preview-PLR Sale
March already, spring (or maybe for you, fall), is around the corner. A new feature here at BSG is to give you a preview of things I have planned each month. We’ll be focusing on lots of topics that were covered in the Money Mindset Makeover Challenge including running a business and ways to make extra income. I’m hoping to post something at least four times a week but I’m currently working on putting together new classes so some weeks that might be reduced to three. One of the classes is an expanded version of the money challenge so stay tuned. This month I’m also taking part in April’s bundle…
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What’s on Sale?-March
I thought we’d bring back an old feature that used to be here on Budget Smart Girl. At the beginning of each Month, I’ll be posting a list of things that are usually on sale that month. I say ‘usually’ because things can change. For example, maybe there’s an oversupply of something and it will go on sale every month. Here’s the list I came up with for this month- March means St. Patrick Day so think foods like potatoes, corned beef and cabbage and also soda bread. These items are on sale all month but I think you’ll find bigger discounts after March 17th March is also frozen food…
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Monday Motivation-Growth and Change
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Money Mindset Makeover Challenge-Day 28-Setting Goals
We’re at the end of our 28 day Money Mindset Makeover Challenge. How did you do? Did you follow along with all 28 days? If you did, congratulations. We’ll be revisiting the challenge in June by doing a three month check in where you can access how well you’ve done and what you achieved and what you didn’t. So, for this last day, write down your goals for March, April and May. What do you want to achieve? What do you need to work on? Is it the saving side or the making money side of the equation? Are you going to even set an actual dollar amount…for example, I…
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Money Mindset Makeover Challenge-Day 27-Your Future
Where do you see yourself financially in five years time, even ten? We’re almost at the end of this challenge so today, let’s write about our future self. What will your money situation look like in the future? Will you be spending less? Buying only things that fit into the need category rather than the want? Will you be a business owner? Will you have multiple streams of income? Will you have a nest egg or that rainy day fund? Start with the words I am and write about how you see your future financial life playing out.
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Money Mindset Makeover Challenge-Day 26- 5 Sites Worth Checking Out
Yesterday, I told you about five books I think are worth checking out and today it’s web sites- The Dollar Stretcher I’ve been receiving e-mails from this site for…well, I can’t remember. It’s full of money saving tips- https://thedollarstretcher.com Wisebread Here’s another site I often check out https://www.wisebread.com/ Budget Girl This next one I discovered through YouTube (which by the way has lots of great videos from people who show you how to save money). https://budgetgirl.com/ Frugal Fit Mom And this is another one I stumbled upon through YouTube. https://frugalfitmom.net/ Rich Dad, Poor Dad And Rich Dad, Poor Dad was on my list of books and it also is on…
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Money Mindset Makeover Challenge-Day 25-Five Money Related Books
One way to gain knowledge about money, both saving and making it, is through the pages of a book. I’ve read many over the years, some I’ve liked, some I didn’t think offered doable plans, but the five titles I’m about to share with you are have been on my bookshelf for many years and will probably remain there. In fact, I re-read them once year as a refresher course. Here they are and I hope you’ll check them out- Your Money or Your Life-Vicki Robin This one focus on changing the way you look at money and how when we buy things we’re really trading our life (hours, days…
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Money Mindset Makeover Challenge-Day 24- 5 Money Saving Sites
Continuing with our money saving week. Here are five sites to check out that should help you with most of your money savings goals- This first one is an online calculator you can use to figure out all sorts of budget related things like savings, gas mileage…you name it. https://www.calculator.net/financial-calculator.html This next one is similar to the above but specifically keys in on mortgages. It lets you plug in the numbers and see how much you’ll pay for your mortgage and also how long it will take to pay for your home- https://www.amortization-calc.com/mortgage-calculator/ Ever wonder what’s the difference between accounts at certain banks or who is offering you the best…
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Money Mindset Makeover Challenge-Day 23-Five Tips for Saving Money
We’re in the homestretch of this money challenge. Last week we focused on ways to make money and in this final week, it’s all about saving money. Yes, the reason I started this site way back in 2005. A lot has changed but saving money is more important than ever before. Whenever I was interviewed, one question I always got asked was do you have any money saving tips to share? Here are five of my favorites- Don’t Believe the Words Discount, Sale… Just because a company or store says something is on sale or deeply discounted, don’t take their word for it. Always check yourself. These days it’s easier…
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Money Mindset Makeover Challenge-Day 22-Time Well Spent
How will you spend your time this week? Will it be focusing on making money or saving money or both?
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Money Mindset Makeover Challenge-Day 21-Passive Income
My favorite income is passive income. Income that continues to travel into your bank account week after week, month after month, year after year without you doing anything. Well, I say anything, but that’s not quite the case. Passive income is about putting the work in first, sort of like upfront payment and then netting the rewards. It’s not often easy, in fact, it’s sometimes hard and you put in long hours. However, what keeps you going is the knowledge that once done, this piece of work is going to (hopefully), bring you money in the future. It could be a piece of artwork you sell on places like Etsy.…
- FIRE Financial Independence, Retire Early, Side Gigs, Teaching and Coachig, working from home, writing
Money Mindset Makeover Challenge-Day 20-Multiple Streams of Income
You’ve heard the saying about not putting all your eggs in one basket. Some people apply that to their investments which is a great idea. Diversifying where your hard earned money is placed. For some that’s stocks, bonds, real estate, and commodities. If one market goes down, chances are the others will be strong and protect a portion of your assets. Another thing this saying can be applied to is how you make money. If all your money is coming from your full time job and you lose it, then what happens? 2020 taught us that things can change and change quickly. Sometimes we have no control over the change…
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Money Mindset Makeover Challenge-Day 18-More Side Gigs
Do you have some expertise or like to do research? While the three sites I’m giving you links to won’t earn you passive income, I think they’re still worth checking out. The first one is how to become a notary. If you’re wondering what that is they’re the people who witness signatures, documents, and someone’s identity and are used for everything from financial documents to closing on the purchase of property. Each state has its own requirements and regulations. Some require you take a test while others don’t. I’m not sure how much they make and I’m thinking that maybe notaries set their own prices. Find out more at- https://www.asnnotary.org/…
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Money Mindset Makeover Challenge-Day 17-Apps
Have you ever thought about creating an app? Today, I thought we’d focus on something that lots of people over look in their search for side gigs and ways to make money, and that’s creating an app. I’ve heard about people who do just that and make lots of money. Once it’s made it’s also passive income. Like everything else, the key is to come up with an app for something just about everyone will need or want. The one thing that’s prevented me from creating one is I’m not that tech savvy and to make an app you need to know how to code. I do know a few…
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Money Mindset Makeover Challenge-Day 16-Five Platforms for Potential Side Gigs
We’re in the home stretch for our February Money Mindset Makeover. How are you doing? So far we’ve looked at net worth, money that flows into our accounts each month, and money that goes out. We also figured out things that can be cut from our budgets and finally thought about putting our talents and skills to good use by starting a business or engaging in some side gigs. This week, it’s all about resources to help you decide on the perfect side gig. And remember that a side gig or a bunch of side gigs might eventually turn into a business, whether it be part or full time. Today,…
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Money Mindset Makeover Challenge-Day 15-Doing Something Worthwhile
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Money Mindset Makeover Challenge Day 14-More Chores
Let’s round out the weekend and also the second week of the challenge with more things on the to do list. You have a name, purchased a domain, looked for a hosting company and planned out the logo now there’s some more work to do. Do you want to go with an LLC for your business? Some people like to go that route. Look into all business structures and figure out what works best for your situation. Open a bank account for your side gig or business so you can keep the money separate from your other accounts. Will you be selling on someone else’s platform as well as your…
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Money Mindset Makeover Challenge-Step One
This weekend, let’s work on setting up your side gig, business, ways to make more money. No more looking at words on a page or just thinking…let’s start doing. Today take the first step, here are some things to do and tomorrow we’ll continue. Decide on a name for your business. Buy a domain. Buy web hosting. Plan your logo and think about whether you’ll design it or get someone else to do it. You can use a site like Canva or even go to sites like Fiverr. There you’ll find lots of people who will work on logos and website headers. Check their reviews and make sure you’re both…
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Money Mindset Makeover Challenge-Day 12-What’s Your Passion?
What’s your passion? What is it you love doing and could turn into earning extra money each month? Let’s head back to the list you made during the first half of the challenge. Your skills, your expertise, things you love to do. Did you narrow down your list? Do you have your idea ready? If you haven’t, then now is the time to put that on your to do list. Over the weekend, the next two challenges are going to focus on a set of tasks for you to get started on making this actually happen. As we move into the second half this month long challenge, we’ll start to…
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Money Mindset Makeover Challenge-Day 11-What Makes You Break Your Budget?
How did you do with yesterday’s challenge? Did you figure out what triggers you to break your budget? A few years ago, I realized e-mails from certain companies always tempted me to make a purchase. They always convinced me it was something I really needed at this very point in my life. Many of us are entrepreneurs ourselves who need mailing lists so I’m in no way saying what they’re doing is wrong. We all need to persuade and sell things but be aware of how many you receive per day and how often you’re buying things. And be aware it could be items and services you wouldn’t have gone…
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Money Mindset Makeover Challenge-Day 10-Your Three Month Budget
Are you ready to commit to a three month budget plan? We’ve got a lot of things now in place. We’ve looked at money coming in and money going out. We’ve also looked at temptations and things that might trigger them. So, now it’s time to put all this information to good use. We’re going to set up a three month budget plan. Why three months? Why not a year? I think three months is the ideal way to give a budget a test run. To see what works, what doesn’t and figure out any adjustments that need to be made. We’ll do a monthly check in and then an…
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Places to Learn New Skills
Are you ready for the Learn Something New Every Day challenge that kicks off November 1st? By now you should have some idea of some of the new skills you want to attain over the course of 30 days. It could be something that saves you money like learning to sew or can. Or makes you money, like learning how to write more engaging blog posts. In case you’re still haven’t figured out what you wan to learn, or even where to go to learn your new skill, here are my top five favorites sites I use all the time when I need to figure out how to do something.…
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Friday Ramblings-Would You Like $20 in Free Groceries?
Another work week drawing to a close. I got three paperback books ready and published this week. Two are from one of my fiction series, and the other, a daily schedule planner. Next week I plan to work on the Black Friday challenge. That is creating three new products ready to be on sale the day after Thanksgiving. Are you taking part? If so, I’d love to hear from you, feature you here and yes, even feature the products you make during the challenge. E-mail me at budgetsmartqueries@gmail.com Not sure what I’ll create yet, but brainstorming will begin next week. Before I close out the week, I joined Imperfect Foods…
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What Are You Waiting For?
Have you purchased the CCC Toolbox yet? No, you’re still thinking about it? I often put off buying something until the very last minute and when I do, I wonder why I waited so long. I know you’re going to love this deal but thought I’d highlight some of the great products you’ll find in it- Anne Elizabeth Perez How to Repurpose Your Blog Posts for Maximum Impact training I’m always looking for ways to give older posts, yes, those from 2005, a new life, so I’m looking forward to diving into this training Kelly McCausey Affiliate Beginner’s Challenge training  If you’re new to affiliate programs, Kelly knows her…
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$2,103 Worth of Products For Only $39.95
Need quality content for your site or blog? I probably don’t have to tell you that finding not only content but great content takes up most of your time. If only we could get someone else to do it but sometimes that takes a big chunk out of your budget. And now there’s an easy solution and one of the reasons I decided to take part in this great promotion that offers you $2,103 worth of high quality content for just $39.95. April Lemarr is hosting a huge bundle with 53 online business people offering you products that are going to help you create content quicker and easier than…
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Five Reasons To Write a Non-Fiction Book
Have you been thinking about writing a book? Publishing used to be for the select few but with self publishing platforms like Amazon, Nook, Kobo, and let’s no forget Smashwords, there’s never been a better or easier time to pen a non-fiction book. If I haven’t convinced you, then here are my top five reasons why you should get started today- Shows You As An Expert People listen to and buy from people who they consider experts. I’m not just talking about people with advanced degrees in topics, but anyone who has knowledge and the expertise they feel can help them solve a problem. It could be their home or…
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Check Us Out Sale
$5 is all you need to pick up some great bargains… Starting today, Angela over at Laptop Lifestyle YOUniversity is offering a check us out sale. Members of her community have gathered together to offer premium content for just $5 a piece. Everything from classes, organizing and clearing the clutter, planners with PLR rights, to live courses on topics like health and wellness. Here’s a sampling- How to start an online business from scratch Autumn Social Media Templates Inspirational Graphics Thanks 100 Pack Marketing Your Business Bundle Journal Printables And yes, I’ve offering my Write a Non-Fiction Book in 30 Days Don’t miss this opportunity to pick up some great…
- Business Talk, FIRE Financial Independence, Retire Early, Online Stores, Side Gigs, working from home
How to Launch a Planner and Journal Side Gig
Looking for something quick and easy for your side gig? Look no further than the planner and journal business. Yes, I know that market is getting saturated but as I always say, brainstorm new ideas, find a niche that’s untapped, and I think you’ll be on your way to a steady side gig that could turn into full time business. I know lots of people who have done just that. What if you don’t have any graphic design skills or don’t know how to put them together? Remember last week we talked about PLR? While the majority of PLR is in the form of articles, e-books and courses, some journals,…
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Feel Like Taking Control of Your Life?
If 2020 has shown us anything, it’s how an unexpected event can change our world, disrupt out lives, and even take away our jobs and income. I think it’s been a wake-up call for lots of people and if starting a business and being more financially independent is now on your must do list then you’re in the right place. This week I want you to think about the following- The kind of business you want The kind of life you want And don’t worry if you still can’t figure it all out because my friend Angela Wills has a program that will help you focus on what type of…
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- affiliate marketing, Business Talk, FIRE Financial Independence, Retire Early, Side Gigs, working from home
PLR-Private Label Rights
Want a quick way to add content to your site or put together a quick publication to give to clients or subscribers? If you create content, I probably don’t have to tell you it’s a lot of work. It’s time consuming and to be perfectly honest, some days you draw a blank about what to share with your audience. You could hire someone to do the writing for you but that can get expensive. An another alternative is PLR. It stands for Private Label Rights. It can be anything from an already written blog post, an e-book or even a journal or planner. The creator sells you PLR rights which…
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Planning Ahead
Fall is still a little over a month away but with an early morning chill in the air, I’ve begun planning. Fall not only ushers in beautiful colors and more comfortable temps, but the realization that there’s only four more months left in the year. Time to take a look back at what you’ve done, what you promised to do, and what you can still do in those four remaining months. Yesterday, I sat down and began my fall planning and thought I’d share it with you. Bundle Contributions I’m taking part in two bundle contributions this fall. I’m excited about it because earlier contributions helped me grow my list.…
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New Skills-Faster Financial Independence
Is there a new skill you’ve been eager to learn? I guess you’d call me lucky because I’ve always been eager to learn new things and acquire new skills. In fact, I think I’d be bored if I didn’t. It’s served me well, not only for hobbies but for business too. From writing to self publishing and beyond, I’ve adapted to the ever changing world. It’s not always been easy. Some things have might a huge learning curve for me to climb and conquer but once you get over that mountain, things get a whole lot easier and clearer. I like to think that learning new skills is essential for…
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Friday Ramblings-There’s Another $7 Flash Sale
This week, I began writing the 14th book in one of my continuing fiction series. I usually write fiction after I’ve finished my coaching and writing. Some days it was hard. Some days I wanted to shut my eyes and take a rest, some days I wanted to read the mystery I’m in the middle of. Yet, on others, do some artwork while I watched a movie. Temptation was there but I managed to push it away and I got 5,000 words written in about four days. I’m telling you this because I know you’ll have days where you know you should be doing something and it takes all your…
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MEconomy Is Coming Back
Want to set your own rules? Want to be on your way to creating a business that can lead to financial freedom? When I read Angela’s latest e-mail, I was excited to see that starting on September 8th, she’s running her MEconomy Revolution program again. The cost is just $190 but if you become a member of Laptop YOUniversity you’ll only pay $95. More good news is Angela will be including personal coaching with the program which usually costs $400 but it’s included in the cost of the program. She’s limiting MEconomy registration to only 100 people and quite a few have already signed up so I wouldn’t waste any…
- Business Talk, FIRE Financial Independence, Retire Early, Side Gigs, Teaching and Coachig, working from home
Business Ideas For 2020 and Beyond
Want to start a business but lost for ideas? Many of you have contacted me saying you’d love to start a business but haven’t got a clue as to what sort of business to launch. Rather than respond to each of you, I thought I’d write a post about it. In fact, I sat and brainstormed what ideas I think will work for 2020 and probably beyond. To say this year is a strange one, well, that’s an understatement. We’ve seen a shift from what less than a year ago was considered normal. People getting up and going to work, kids heading off to school but now our lives look…
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Friday Ramblings-$7 Sale, Today Only
The first week of August comes to a close. What did you achieve this week? For me, Fridays are all about getting ready for the following week and looking back to see what I’ve achieved. I published a new fiction title, created a new classes and got everything ready to record this fall. I also kept up with posting to this site even though I got busy this week. Yes, it can be done! If you signed up for Angela’s webinar, you might know that she had to postpone it. She’s going to run it again and also make it one of her evergreen products so don’t worry if you…
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One Piece of the Financial Freedom Pie-Cutting Expenses
There’s earning more money, saving more money, and another piece of the financial freedom pie is all about cutting expenses. I probably don’t have to tell you that things have gotten more expensive this year. Don’t know about you, but each time I open a bill, like one from a utility company, a piece of paper drifts to the floor. It’s the one saying they’ll be raising their rates later this year. And it’s not just energy costs. Just the other day, I went online to order some of my favorite green tea (it’s my mid-morning pick me up), and had to blink three times just to make sure I…
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Thinking About Being a Virtual Assistant?
Have you ever considered offering your services or skills as a virtual assistant? I can’t think of a better time than during a downturn in the economy. Lots of companies have trimmed their staff but during busy times, (and yes, they get those even during recessions), they need to outsource work. Be it data entry, writing, uploading content, managing their social media platforms, or even just handling customer service. That’s where you enter the picture, budding entrepreneur with so much to offer them in their hour of need. Need some advice from someone who’s been there and knows what works and what doesn’t? Angela Willis and her Overnight VA Success…
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Writing a Non-Fiction Book To Gain Authority, Grow Your E-Mail List…
I should add to the title of this post and earn passive income. I’ve lost count how many I’ve written and self published but it’s one of my streams of income. Even if passive income isn’t your top priority there are lots of other reasons why you might want to pen a non-fiction title. Some entrepreneurs like to give them away to clients or as part of a coaching program. Others use them to give away to potential e-mail list subscribers. Some want to gain authority in their given niche, maybe pick up a speaking gig or two, or even build a author platform before they pitch to an agent…
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Meet Maria Silvo Founder of Artsy Challenge
I’d like to introduce you to a fellow entrepreneur who just launched a new business. Please say hello to Maria Silvo. She kindly agreed to an interview and has shared so many wonderful tips for running a business that I know you’re going to learn a lot from her. Budget Smart Girl (BSG)-Tell us about yourself and what prompted you to work from home. Maria Silvo (MS)-I am a creative entrepreneur who stayed home since 2007 when my three kids then aged 2, 5, and 7 were better off with me taking care of them. In Canada, day care services is expensive, and so is hiring a nanny. Working to…
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Friday Ramblings-The Great Thing About Online Grocery Shopping
Another heat advisory today! It’s hard to believe that just two days ago it was in the 60’s and I had to go grab a sweater. Now it’s not much fun stepping outside. One thing I’m loving that not only saves time, but I think money too, is online grocery shopping. Supermarkets are in the business of making you buy more than you intended but if you don’t see the can of gourmet this and that, the artisan bread or the cupcakes that are on sale, they don’t find a way into your cart. Another thing I love about shopping for groceries on my laptop is I can see the…
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Emergency Funds-Do You Have One?
Do you have enough money set aside should some major happen like losing your job, or even a everyday thing like needing a new set of tires for your car? My maternal grandmother (one of my money mentors), always had a rainy day fund and she taught me the importance of having one too. I’ve always set money aside for the just in case scenarios that always seem to happen when you least expect it. Take for example something that happened this week. Sunday lunch time I was eating leftover pizza and bit down and knew something wasn’t quite right. I realized I’d lost part of the filling in one…
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Should Your Business Come Before Your Life?
I have a friend, Angela Wills, who started a services-based business and quit her job to pursue it. Within a few months she was overwhelmed, overworked and just plain burnt out. Angela told me she had actually been sitting at her computer for so many hours per day that her muscles had started to atrophy. It was embarrassing and she knew she needed to change. That was in 2007. Angela stopped working for clients in 2012. She declared total lifestyle freedom at that time! She has spent the last 8 years working entirely on what she wants, for who she wants, where she wants and when she wants. Her whims…
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Deciding Why You Want to Gain Financial Freedom
Financial freedom is the end goal but why do you want it? Last week we talked about FIRE. I know many of you read and follow these posts because financial freedom is your end goal. Let’s talk about the many ways you can get there. And yes, sorry financial freedom seekers, there’s some sacrifice and hardship along the way. When I coach writing students I always begin with this question… Why do you want to write a book? Each person’s answer is unique to them. We all have different reasons and motives for wanting to do something. So, take a few minutes and think about why you want to achieve…
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Friday Ramblings-Free Book Covers
I’m using my ‘outside office’ to write this. Outside office translates into deck. I’m making the most of the just right temperature before tomorrow when there’s a heat advisory. High heat combined with humidity isn’t my thing so I make the most of the great outdoors while I can. It’s been a week of doing this and doing that. I’m taking part in a few more upcoming bundle giveaways, so I’ve been planning out those. I’m also close to finishing a new product for the BSG store. I’ll give you a hint, it’s for bloggers. I just signed up to become an affiliate for Maria Silvo’s newly created site Artsy…
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What’s Your Relationship With Money?
This week we’ve been talking about FIRE. Sometimes achieving financial independence involves changing the way you think about money. Sometimes we don’t know about the bad relationship we have with our money until some major setback happens and we realize we’ve been spending more than we earn or the savings account has just a few pennies in it. What better time to look at your how you view money than to take part in Angela of Laptop YOUniversity’s upcoming Money Master Challenge. Recently I asked her some questions about it and here’s what she had to say- BSG-How did you come up with the idea of the Money Master Challenge?…
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Let’s Start Talking About FIRE
Fire, no, not the type you use to keep warm or start to cook food, but FIRE otherwise know as Financial Independence, Retire Early. One or both of those things might sound good to you. I’m probably not going to go with the Retire Early part, but I’ve always loved the idea of financial independence. Yes, even before it became a catchphrase. The having enough money as not to be dependent on something else be it a person or otherwise for your everyday needs and long term survival. Never having to worry about losing your job because you’ve got enough saved to tide you over until another one comes along.…
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Friday Ramblings-Freelance Survival
It’s been a hot and humid week which has meant that I’ve spent more time inside. I’d generally see this as a bad thing as I’m an outdoors sort of person, but it’s allowed me to finish one of my products for BSG. In fact, I uploaded it the other day and it’s the Freelance Survival Pack. It’s something I wish I’d gotten my hands on when I launched my freelance writing business. Whether, like me, you’re a writer, or a coach, artist, graphic designer, whatever, you’ll find 30 checklists, templates, planners, and tips to help you either get started as a freelancer or if you’re already freelancing, help make…
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Money Master Challenge and a Free Gift
The key to financial freedom is being smart with your money. We all have our Achilles’ heel when it comes to budgets and managing our financial future. I was excited to see that Angela over at Laptop YOUniversity is offering another Money Master Challenge starting on August 3rd. Over the course of 21 days you can take the money challenge which will help put you on the right track with regards to your money, your relationship with it, not only today but in the future too. I took the first challenge and have to admit, I raised my hand and said, yes, that’s me, I’m making those mistakes to many…
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Budget Smart Girl-Budget Planner
Have you wanted to keep track of where your money goes? What bills need paying and when? Can’t figure out how much is in that rainy day fund? While I consider myself pretty good with keeping track of my money, I’m lousy at keeping all the information in one place. I’ve been known to have slips of paper with how much I need to invoice a client, jotted on it. How much royalty I just got paid scribbled on another. Sticky pad notes stuck on the fridge, reminding me the car tabs need paying this month. I see you shaking your head and thinking ‘me too’. So, last week, while…
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Monday Motivation-Difficulty Leads to Opportunity
No one said starting and running a business was going to be easy. Even taking a step toward financial freedom can be a challenge. However, this quote reminds us that there’s opportunity in every difficult situation.
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Friday Ramblings-All Work and No Play
I t’s a holiday weekend which means it’s time to take a rest. When you work for yourself it’s all too easy to watch others go play while you’re stuck in front of a computer screen. Even waving to everyone splashing around in the water while you balance a laptop on your knees. I’m a self confessed workalcoholic and sometimes that leads to burnout when you actually become less productive. So, let’s use this holiday weekend, to relax. Learn to take a step back from work and promise yourself you’ll do it at least once a month. I promise you you’ll feel better and more focused when you get back…
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Monday Motivation-Live Your Own Dream
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Friday Ramblings-Last Call for Free Goodies
A quick reminder that today’s your last chance to get lots of free goodies to put you on the road to financial freedom. Lots of you have told me you’re loving all the resources in this bundle. Let me know what you do with it and how it helped you launch your own business or even take that first tiny step to being your own boss. Here’s the link (full disclosure you’ll be using my affiliate link) https://laptoplifestyleyouniversity.com/amember/aff/go/susiep?i=5 Thank you to everyone who did use the link and a big thank you to everyone who signed up to Budget Smart Girl this week. I appreciate each and every one of…
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The Road to Financial Freedom Starts Here…
Did you see my email the other day about this great big bundle of awesome business and life products from digital marketers? These are marketers who are all members of the Laptop Lifestyle YOUniversity and they ROCK. Seriously. These people are focused on building their own lifestyle freedom and they have skills and talents and offers to help you improve your business and life in many unique areas and ways. I’m talking about products on things like: Geek in Your Pocket’s Guide to Upleveling Your WordPress Site by Renee Schupe of GetaGeekinYourPocket.com ($27 Value – FREE) 1,000 Ideas for Entrepreneurs and Creatives Ebook by Gael Wood of fengshuielevation.com ($19.95 Value…
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It’s Ready! This will help you create business freedom
Wow! It’s time for the 2nd Annual Lifestyle Freedom Giveaway from members of the Laptop Lifestyle YOUniversity and I’m blown away by the variety of products and value that is included. Grab your shopping bag and pick up over 50 REAL offers from some very awesome online teachers. They’re all real products included and they’re all free. Angela has truly done something special here. She’s brought together an event where her people are willing to give away true paid products (not freebies) at one low price. There are over 50 contributors, over $3000 worth of products and so much value. You can grab this for absolutely no cost. I’m so…
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Friday Ramblings-Hello Summer
When I was a child summer was my favorite season. The end of school, playing in the backyard, reading, and then going on vacation. The days seemed to be longer than 24 hours and the weeks seemed to go on forever. Summer begins tomorrow which means half the year is almost over so it’s time to look at what you’ve done and what is still on your to do list. Weather permitting, sit outside, enjoy the season, and take stock of everything you need to do to put you on the road to financial freedom. Think about the security of having a rainy day fund for those times when emergencies…
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50 Products Worth Over $3000
Next Monday won’t just be Motivation Monday, it will also be the day you can have access to over 50 products worth over $3,000. I’m excited to be taking part in the Laptop Lifestyle YOUniversity bundle giveaway. You’ve heard me mention Laptop many times…I even have an interview with owner, Angela Wills on this site so be sure to check it out. I love being a member and having access to all sorts of training to help me run my business, and on Monday you’ll have a chance to buy the new List building training at 50% off if you join the giveaway. If you’re wondering what my product is…let’s…
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Friday Ramblings-New Feature?
Hope you’ve had a wonderful week. It’s certainly flown by. Lots of you have asked if I’m going to feature money saving tips again. While the new focus of the site leans toward ways you can make money, along with products that can help you do that, that’s not to say I won’t throw in the odd post or two. One thing I’m considering is a worth it or not, feature. Sort of like reviews on things I’ve purchased and offering you an honest opinion on whether or not you should spend your money. I buy lots of things I wish I hadn’t because they didn’t taste good, or didn’t…
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Monday Motivation-Only You Can Do It
There’s only one person that stands in the way of your achieving your dreams, and that’s you. This week, each morning when you first wake up, say this affirmation. Whatever goal or dream you’re chasing, you can do it!
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Affiliate Marketing For Passive Income
I I’m a huge fan of passive income, work on it once, reap the rewards (aka money), later…sometimes forever! Affiliate marketing is one of the easiest ways to make passive income. You know I love anything that Angela of Laptop University creates and this time, she’s come up with Affiliate Marketing Profit-Boosters to show you how she’s made money through affiliate marketing and easy ways for you to be successful too. It’s usually $47 but with the coupon she’s provided, it’s just $17. I hope you’ll check it out, here’s the link (and yes, full disclosure, if you sign up I get affiliate commission… see how easy affiliate marketing works?)…
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Monday Motivation-What’s Your Gift?
This week, think about a skill you have that you can share with others. It could be something you can turn into a class or even the basis for a business.
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Monday Motivation-Let’s Make Plans
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Friday Ramblings-First Week of a Boot Camp
My apologies for not posting anything else besides the Monday Motivation and Friday Ramblings. A new boot camp kicked off, I got my private students settled into their May schedule. and worked on projects that have been on my to do list. If you work for yourself, you know how overwhelming it can be to be a one man (woman) show. And it’s spring, so there’s outside work with cleaning up the mess that the winter left. I also tried to work on my old web site with its new name, and yes, I did something wrong and relied on Nicole over at Amaraq websites to help me out yet…
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Affiliate Marketing Business Pack
Just a quick post to let you know I’ve just added a new product to the BSG store which is the Affiliate Marketing Business Pack. 14 digital products that will help you get started and make the most of your affiliate marketing efforts and even a chart in Excel format to keep track of all your marketing efforts and record how much money you’re making from each vendor. I’ve also included e-mail swipe templates and also suggestions for ways to use your posts to draw in customers so they click on the links and buy products and make you money. We’ll be talking lots more about affiliate marketing in the…
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Become a Millionaire…start investing at age 15
I’m in the middle of working on some new products for you so this week’s posts are going to be brief. I saw this interesting fact and thought I’d share it with you…. While most of us focus on ways to make money, another route to becoming rich is by investing and the money you earn. I know for the majority of us, it’s been a long time since we turned 15 but look at this study done by MarketWatch.com, saving $2,000 per year for seven years, a 15-year-old is capable of becoming a millionaire at the age of 65. And it gets even better because that same teenager doesn’t…
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Monday Motivation-Small Businesses, Small Ideas Always Welcome
Think your business idea won’t take off or the million of other excuses we make to not take that first step. Your business could be the next huge hit and give someone who’s looking for a job their next paycheck.
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Friday Ramblings-Relaunching Old Things
How was your week? I hope you’ve made progress in doing something that took you one step closer to financial security, and of course, living your dream life. I worked on updating a class that I hope to record soon. I’m also working on reformatting two books that I’ll be getting rights back to in the coming months. Speaking of which, more people have asked me about self publishing. I’ve been self publishing my books, both new ones and back titles, for about six years now. Everything has changed so fast and I thought it was about time that I revamped my self publishing site. To be honest, I haven’t…
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Trends For Making Money
Thinking about ways to make money in the next few months or even the next year and beyond? During these times of change and uncertainty, I’ve been reading a lot more than usual. For me, that’s means a lot of reading. I’ve always looked for trends, what people are talking about, their fears and wants. It’s something we all need to get a feel for trends. It’s these trends and future needs that can put you ahead of the curve (and also, you could come up with something that’s really valuable to lots of people). Based on my reading of the last few weeks, here’s what I’ve seen and these…
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Monday Motivation-Pick Yourself Up
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Friday Ramblings-Self Publishing Entrepreneurs
It’s spring but yesterday we had snow…big change from the 70 degree temps earlier in the week. How is everyone doing? I hope you’re well and doing something fun besides working. Taking time off is something I’ve always found hard to do. I’ve told myself that this weekend I’m going to do some artwork. My self publishing class began on Monday and I’m seeing more people want to go that route. (More people have told me now they have the time, they’re finally writing a book). Five years ago I launched a site dedicated to self publishing because I knew it was going to be the new big thing. I…
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Recession Proof Yourself, Your Business and Your Life
What’s happening in the world reminds me of the old saying about not putting all your eggs into one basket. I work in the creative field and every day I’m hearing about people losing contracts, clients canceling projects, and people generally not knowing how they’re going to make it through the months ahead. Proactive measures are always better than reactive ones so now is the time to think about businesses that are sort of polar opposites of one another. It’s the way successful entrepreneurs have always done it. If one business gets hit during a downturn, you have one or more other ‘different’ businesses to keep you afloat. Say you…
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Monday Motivation-Inspiration
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Friday Ramblings-A Week of This and That
Hope you’re all safe and well as these difficult times continue. I’ve had a week’s break from teaching and it looks like my synopsis boot camp class might need to be canceled due to low enrollment. Even the other class on self publishing doesn’t have the usual amount and it’s normally a popular topic. I thought this might happen as people are going to be watching their budgets. My classes over at Skillshare, have however, gotten more students enrolled. Another case in point, to diversify and not rely on one revenue stream. I have been reading up on the topic of number of times you should post to blogs and…
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Free Online Retreat, MEconomy and a new product
I know it’s Monday and this post was scheduled for Tuesday but Angela has a midnight deadline for her new MEconomy program. I know lots of you are looking for ways to work online and make money so thought this might be valuable to you. Here’s the link, and the second link is for her create your online business blog post (and full disclosure these are my affiliate links) MEconomy: https://laptoplifestyleyouniversity.com/amember/aff/go/susiep?i=24 10 Steps to Create Your Online Business blog post: https://laptoplifestyleyouniversity.com/amember/aff/go/susiep?i=26 And something else I wanted to share with you, Beachpreneurs have cancelled their get together and are taking it online… and wait for this, it’s free. Here’s the link…
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Monday Motivation-Be Brave
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Friday Ramblings-One For the History Books
Hope you are all safe and well on this last Friday of March. It’s been quite a month, hasn’t it? I think it will definitely be one for the history books. So, craziness in our world aside, what did you achieve this March? I’ve been reading about people in my local area who have had to close their stores, calls from potential clients aren’t coming in like they’d hope, and lots of people wonder if they have enough savings to last until things go back to normal. These are all reminders that everyone needs a rainy day fund and something to fall back onto because we never know when something…
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Friday Ramblings-Hang In There
Last week seemed tough for everyone, but I think this week’s been even more of a challenge for just about everyone in the world. Health crisis, financial crisis, businesses being shut, and unfortunately, the list goes on. Lots of entrepreneurs have felt like they’ve been walking a fine line between offering their services more during these times but at the same time not wanting it to appear like they’re taking advantage of these tough times. I’m glad to see lots of people, sites, and companies have been offering what is usually paid for content for free. Everything from online cooking and art classes to online live concerts. It’s times like…
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Working From Home-Tips on Being Productive
Working from home…I know it’s sometimes a scary thought when you’ve been used to being in an office most of your life. Lots of people are now working from home this week, many not by choice, but it’s probably the new reality for a few weeks or maybe more, so I thought I’d put together some tips on ways I’ve found to be most productive over my 20 years of working from home. Plan Out Your Day There’s nothing worse than waking up, turning on the computer and then sitting wondering what to do next. Some of you might have work planned out by your company while others might be…
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Happy St. Patrick’s Day and Last Day to Grab a Great Deal
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all of you, who like me, have Irish heritage…even if you don’t, hope it’s a great day for you. Just want to remind you that the Content Creator’s Collection Toolbox sale finishes today, Tuesday March 17th, at midnight (PST). If you haven’t already grabbed it, the clock is ticking down. Once again, here’s all the information. And in the coming months, I’ll be showing you how you can put all these goodies to good use and ways to turn the content into some money making opportunities. Grab the Toolbox For a Limited Time: https://nichestarterpacks.com/amember/aff/go/susiep?i=352 This toolbox was specifically themed to help you in the content creation…
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Monday Motivation-Showing Up
Sometimes it’s the getting started part that’s the hardest. We think about every excuse not to do something. Sometimes that’s due to lack of knowledge. Oftentimes, we’re afraid we might fail. Just like this quote reminds us, simply showing up is the first step to achieving your dream. This week, go for it!
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$2,178.95 Worth of Products For Only $27
When you’re in business creating content is one of the most important tasks that we do as business owners, but sometimes trying to think of ideas for blog posts, social media posts, products, emails and reports can be time consuming. But don’t worry I’ve got a solution for you. April Lemarr is hosting a HUGE bundle with over 40+ online business people collaborating with products that are going to help you create content quicker and easier than ever before with done-for-you content, templates, planners and training that is going to help you step up your game. All of these products are worth$2,178.95! Take a look at everything that is included:…
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What Teaching Platform Is Right For You?
Do you have a teaching platform in mind or do you need some help narrowing down the choices? When I began teaching online, the platforms were few so picking one wasn’t that hard. However, now it seems like everyone offers you the opportunity to share your skills with the world. Here are some tips that should help you narrow it down. What Are You Teaching? Do you already know what you’d like to teach? Is it English as a second language, graphic design or even cooking? Each platform has its niche (something we’ll be getting more into in the coming months). Check out the classes on the platform and see…
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Friday Ramblings-Hello March
One week into March. It’s been a busy one but there are signs of spring in the air. One thing I love to do is take my work outside on the first warm day. One of the perks of running your own business and living the life you desire. How about you? What is your favorite thing about spring? I mentioned I began looking at RVs, well, small motorhomes to be exact. I’ve visited lots of web sites and one thing that struck me is how great some are and some just don’t want you to stick around. I’m not talking about fancy graphics and sites that have been put…
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Don’t Panic-Have a Plan
Tired of hearing all the bad things that are happening in the world? Lots of people panic when stocks start to fall, interest rates take a nose dive and businesses report loses but if you’re prepared things like this should never scare you. Stocks will bounce back, interest rates will rise again but while we wait for that to happen here are some things we all need to do- Have a Road Map I’m not talking literally, but this weekend or this month, sit down and take note of where you want to be in a year, five years, ten years. Remember the popular interview question where do you see…
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Blogging-About Me Page
Did you know that the About Me page on sites and blogs is one of the most viewed? I said I’d be honest about my own struggles with keeping this site up to date. I’d hoped by the time I’d written this post I would have revamped my own about me page. What can I say, it’s the first week of the month which is usually the busiest for me and it didn’t get done. No excuses, I know. In the meantime, here are some things that I’ll be focusing on when I do get around to redoing that page and I hope these tips will help you. Set the…
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Monday Motivation-Take That First Step
Thinking about living your dream life is one thing, actually taking that first step to making it happen is another. It’s a new month. What’s the first step you need to take in order to live your dream life?
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Choosing Your Side Gig
Do you know which type of side gig is right for you? It’s the fourth Tuesday of the month, which means it’s side gig, side hustle time. Many of the other things we’ve already talked about like blogging, teaching or running an online store could be considered side gigs. It all depends on whether or not you’re doing it as a second job or if it’s your full time business and main focus. I remember when it used to be called Moonlighting and I’ve had lots of those jobs, especially when I had to quit my job…you can read about that in an previous post. The first thing to decide…
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Monday Motivation-Nothing Holding Me Back
This week remember that there’s nothing stopping you from realizing your dream. Whether it be starting a business, finally moving to your favorite destination, traveling…and the list goes on. Dream on and take that one important step, your first one to living the life you love.
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Friday Ramblings-New Product Release
This week, have you taken one more step toward living the life you love? Over at my writing blog, I write an article about living your dream and gave my readers a gentle nudge…you can also read about my lifelong desire to learn to play the piano at www.thiswriterslife.com This week, I finally finished, well 99% finished, the lessons and workbooks for the summer retreat I’m teaching in June, July and August. Remember me telling you about my new technique of block working…going all out on one project and not switching until it was done? I didn’t like it at first but I hate to admit it, but I’m getting…
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Make Money From Your Site…not someone else’s
Should you sell your products and services on someone else site? Less than a year ago, I would have told you, yes, but now I’m thinking the smartest entrepreneur puts their wares on their own site first, builds up traffic, grows the mailing list and then and only then, thinks about other people’s sites. Take e-books for example. Five years ago, I would never have thought about trying to sell any of my books on my own writing site. Okay, call me a lazy writer, but online stores like Amazon were bringing me in sales so I didn’t see the point of spending more time building a store. Even some…
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Monday Motivation-Build Your Dream
They say when you work for someone else you’re helping them live their dream and not your own. This week, think about what type of business you can launch. Could it be one that starts out as a side gig or something you do for a few hours every night when you come home from the job you’ll leave when you become your own boss? This week, let’s dream BIG.
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Friday Ramblings-Happy Valentine’s Day
Wishing you all a Happy Valentine’s Day. How was your week? What plans have you put in place to start a business or take your current one to the next level? I’ve been working on upcoming classes I’ll be teaching this summer and also my first digital product for you, the Budget Smart Girl audience. I hope to launch it next Thursday. It will also be part of a bundle sale that April Lemarr (hope you checked out her interview with me), is hosting in March. In fact, knowing I wanted to be part of it, gave me the kick up the you know what to actually get something created.…
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Passive Income-Everybody’s Dream
Imagine if you could put earning money on some sort of cruise control… You’ve probably seen no end of books, YouTube videos, podcasts, well, you name it on the topic of passive income. We’re going to explore the topic here at BSG continually. Lots of side gigs and many business pursuits involve passive income, so let’s talk about what it is and what it’s not. Passive income, as I mentioned in my intro is sort of like putting your car on cruise control. You do the work of starting the car, driving it onto the freeway and then getting it up to freeway speed, and then you press a button,…
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Wednesday Interview with April Lemarr
This week’s guest is April Lemarr. I’m on April’s mailing list and I’ve bought products from her and I strongly encourage you to sign up to her mailing list and check out all the wonderful products she provides content creators. We’re going to talk more about PLR and how you can use it to add content to your site but for now, enjoy my interview with April. Tell us about yourself and your business. Hi my name is April Lemarr and I own Niche Starter Packs. My business provides done-for-you content to small business, bloggers, entrepreneuers and coaches. There are three easy steps — Download. Personalize. Use as your own.…
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Making Money by Sharing Your Skills
Teaching, coaching, tutoring, so many names for the ways you share your skill with others. One thing they all have in common is it’s a great way to make some extra money or even turn it into your full time business. I turned to tutoring during the Great Recession when more freelance assignments were far and few between, and more work was getting outsourced. I enjoyed it so much that I actually started to drop some of my freelance writing gigs and switched more to teaching others how to write. I began teaching classes through some of the chapters of the Romance Writers of America. About four years ago, I…
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Monday Motivation-Be Happy
I saw this quote by John Lennon and thought it would be perfect for this week’s Monday Motivation. Pursue things that make you happy and surround yourself with people that make you smile.
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Friday Ramblings-Tackling the To Do List
February is under way and how are you doing with your to do list? This week I finished creating lessons for a promotion boot camp I’ll be teaching next month. I’d been working on them and the workbook for about two or three weeks so I was happy to have that project completed. I thought about switching to something completely different but then decided I might as well stick with lessons and workbooks. I’ve opted to get started on creating the lessons for the upcoming summer writing retreat. For the last month or so, (if you add up the lessons, the blog posts, my other writing projects), I’m probably averaging…
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Domain Name and Hosting
Domain name, hosting WordPress.com versus WordPress.org….. Lots of people have their own views on web sites, platforms to use, where to register domains, but as promised, I’ll share with you, what’s worked, and what’s not worked for me. I’ve always been loyal to WordPress and I should add initially I used their .com version. Anything too technical isn’t for me. In fact, ask anyone who know me and they’ll tell you, I get into a panic! Someone suggested WordPress and it’s the only platform I’ve ever used because even for someone like me, it’s easy to use and enables you to use have a site up and running in no…
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Monday Motivation-
I love this quote because it reminds us that no matter what we’ve done in the past, businesses that didn’t take off as planned, savings that got drained, a project that got sidelined, none of that matters. What lies ahead is what counts. This week, put away all negative thoughts, moments when you dwell on the past and those times when you catch yourself saying if I’d only you’d done this or not. Let it go and look to the future. It’s there where you success awaits you.
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An Entrepreneur’s Journey
This week, I’ve been creating the lessons for the how to promote your book boot camp I’m teaching in March. Today, I worked on a lesson on social media and realized that I hadn’t worked in public relations for twenty years. Twenty years, I thought, had it been that long? It’s what actually gave me the topic idea for this post. It was back in 2000, yes, the beginning of the new century that I decided to venture out on my own. It wasn’t something I’d intended to do. I’d been working for a publishing company as a publicist. During my third year there, I got a sense that things…
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Monday Motivation-Keep Your Dream
Each of us has a dream that’s unique. What’s yours? Think about it often. Don’t let anyone tell you it can’t be achieved. The one and only thing that can prevent you from living your dream is you.
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Business Talk Thursday-Let’s Focus On Why
The difference between success and failure is often due to lack of motivation. When things get hard like when you’re freelancing, running a business, or just simply trying to make some extra money, it’s often lack of knowing your true why that puts an end to your plan. Get a sheet of paper and write down why you want to pursue whatever it is you dream about. Are you saving to buy your first home? A comfortable retirement? An early retirement? The once in a lifetime trip around the world? Living the life you love is different for each of us so simply writing down I want to make more…
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Thursday-Business Talk
It’s Thursday and beginning next week, that’s the day we talk business here at Budget Smart Girl. Some weeks the focus will be on promotion and marketing you and your business. Other weeks, growing an e-mail list and getting people to buy whatever it is your selling. We’ll also focus on money, how to run your business the budget smart way, and how to manage it once you’ve made it. We’ll even talk about things like passive income and maybe even a review of products and apps that are supposed to help us run our business and manage our time more effectively. Is there anything you’d like to see discussed…
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Blogging Tuesday
This week I’m giving you a preview of what each Tuesday will feature here at BSG. The first Tuesday in each month will focus on blogs and blogging. It’s a popular way for people to make money, promote a business, or even set up a web site if you freelance or sell products. I thought I’d kick things off with my own blogging story and how Budget Smart Girl actually came to be. I was writing for a site called Hearth and Home and had a column there called Eating Well on a Budget and then had a second column called The Budget Smart Girl’s Guide to the Universe. I…
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Monday Motivation-Keep Your Vision
Happy 2020. Welcome to the first Monday Motivation. Each week I’ll post an image with a quote that I hope will guide you through the week. A motivating thought that will help you when you feel like giving up your dream of making money or just simply living the live you love. Let’s begin this debut post with this quote about sticking to your vision. And if you’d like to see another Monday Motivation quote or have an interest in writing, check out my other site at www.thiswriterslife.com Enjoy your week and remember to live the life you love.
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What’s Ahead in 2020?
As 2019 slowly draws to a close, it’s time to begin thinking about 2020. Do you already know what’s on your to do list, or what goals you’re going to tackle? As you know, I’m giving Budget Smart Girl a makeover. I’ve been brainstorming things I’d like to feature on the site and what sort of content I’d like to provide. I can’t promise that we’ll have the full week’s line up straight away but here’s what I’d eventually like to feature each week. Monday-it’s all about getting motivated. Lots of us have ideas for earning money and launching a business but what separates the just thinking about it from…
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E-Book Giveaways
2020 is just around the corner. BSG going in a new direction, and maybe you are too. I’m giving away a copy of each of my new planners (you’ll get the e-book versions). The first one is the goal planner perfect for writing down everything you plan to do (and get done!) in 2020. If you have a blog or starting a blog is on your list then you might like to win the blog planner. I’m eager to get working on filling in mine so I can plan out great content for this site…more about that next week. One person will win the goal planner, one, the blog planner.…
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Two New Planners for the Entrepreneur
I have two new planners I created with the budding or established entrepreneur in mind. One is a blog planner and the other a goal planner. The print versions are available at Amazon and cost $5.99 each. The digital versions are on my Etsy store and are $4.99 each but I’m running a Thanksgiving sale with 20% off which makes them $3.99. Here are the links to both sites. I got my print copies of these two planners and have to say I’m pleased with the product and I’ll be putting them to good use in 2020. If you’ve signed up for the free mini-retreat, ‘see’ you on Monday. Have…
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Free Mini-Retreat
Many of you know that I’m an author and also teach and tutor aspiring writers. I’ve been teaching for various chapters of the Romance Writers of America for a decade. Together we’re always trying to come up with something new and we decided in 2020, I’d teach an online summer writing retreat. We also came up with the idea to offer a free mini-retreat next month to give prospective students a glimpse into what the main event will be like…it’s going to be fun! Some of you might be aspiring authors so I thought I’d share this information with the BSG community. In the holiday spirit, I’m going to give…
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Do You Know How You’re Going to Make Money?
I’ve been putting together ideas for the direction of this site and where I want to take it in 2020 and who my target audience will be. I want to help people make money, help people with businesses and side gigs make more money. I also want to help people find their passion, find their calling, and make money doing what they love. I’ve got a long list of ideas for posts, people I want to interview, people just like you who now run a business and it all started one day when they simply had a dream about making more money. There are classes I want to teach…well, the…
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Multiple Streams of Income
I’ve been working for myself for twenty years, dappling in some sort of work that brings in extra income for close 25 years. One thing I’ve learned from fellow entrepreneurs is you need to have multiple streams of income for those just in case times. Trends come and go, businesses take off then fail, recession hits and all three can take their toll on your bottom line. I’ve always followed the multiple income stream theory and I think it has kept me afloat many times. However, recently I’ve been wondering if it’s such a great thing. Besides my writing, teaching and coaching, I have t-shirts I sell on Merch by…
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Making Money Has Never Been Easier…
Selling on Etsy, running a store on Shopify, eBay, Amazon, creating t-shirts, offering gigs on Fiverr, teaching on Udemy… The list could go on and while making money has never been easier, that’s what’s making it so hard. The ease at which anyone, anywhere in the world can make earn income has actually made it harder to make money. Taking blogging for example, ten years ago a handful of people were running blogs and now it seems just about everyone has one that flash ads galore, selling this and selling that in order to earn themselves some commission. Do you know anyone who doesn’t have an Etsy store? Resells stuff…
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Catching Up…
I know I said I was going to start posting to the site on a regular basis again, but as you guessed, it didn’t happen. I’ve been thinking about the direction I want to take this site. When I started it back in 2005, there were only a handful of other money minded blogs. These days just about everyone has a money blog. I’d like to do something completely different. Over the summer, I even thought about selling the domain name and site but something deep in my heart couldn’t let it go. Budgetsmartgirl will always be my baby. With that in mind, I’m going to keep it up and…
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