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October 9, 2011, at 6:00 am If you're new to BFS, please subscribe to my RSS feed. It shows me a vote of support and keeps me motivated to keep your attention. If you have any questions or comments for me, please contact me and I'll get back to you asap. Thanks for visiting! The Saved Quarter Challenge Update
I joined The Saved Quarter Challenge this year and was aiming to save at least $21,000 by the end of 2011, but we hit that goal in mid-June!!! My new goal is to save a cool $42,000 by the end of 2011 instead! That would be a tiny bit more than 50% of our GROSS pay from our two full time jobs (my husband’s and the one I had before I quit in mid-July)!
Well, I’ve hit that $42,000 goal and then some as of last week!!! WOOT for a successful Saved Quarter Challenge!!!
From here on out, Sundays will be focused on newsletter updates. 
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Newsletter Update
Remember, if you haven’t yet, you can subscribe to my weekly newsletter with exclusive, subscriber-only giveaways by using the subscription form in the right sidebar! ———>
My current goal is to reach 150 subscribers by October 31st, so please spread the word as you see fit! I appreciate it.
Just for kicks, here are the current newsletter stats from last week’s subscriptions:
- Number of Subscribers: 89 (Thank you!!!)
- Open rate (how many subscribers ended up opening the third newsletter): 39 of 89 (43.8%), which is 27.6% higher than industry standard, woot!
- Clicks (how many people have clicked a link inside the last newsletter): 9 (10.1%)
- Countries Reached: United States and Canada
Thank you so much to my subscribers!!! I appreciate the vote of confidence and Jesse and I will make sure they don’t get boring!
Additonal Info
I will continue posting monthly and yearly blog statistics and income updates, so stay tuned at the beginning of every month!
In case you didn’t know, Alexa traffic rankings are determined by the numbers of hits a site gets by people with the Alexa toolbar. If you want to be part of this ranking community, you can download the Alexa toolbar here.
If you don’t already, you can follow me via RSS, Twitter, or like my Facebook page by following those links.
To learn more about the Yakezie, the blogging group that has helped me in SO many ways, check out my Yakezie page! Feel free to email me if you are a Yakezie member or challenger and don’t see yourself on the list!
If you are interested in seeing how I went from an 8 million plus Alexa rank and 3 readers to where I am today, you can see My Blogging Checklists, which breaks down everything I do related to blogging. If you want to see how I have started bringing in more than $6000 a month in less than 18 months, you can check out How I Make Money Blogging.
I have also started a new site, http://howimakemoneyblogging.com/, which will cover how I currently make money blogging and my transition to a work-from-home blogger!
THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING THE BEST READERS EVER!!!
September 29, 2011, at 6:00 am
The following is a guest post by Kyle James, who owns and operates a website called Rather-Be-Shopping.com which lists and organizes online coupon codes for over 700 stores, organized in 25 shopping categories.
According to the National Consumer Council, 40% of all retail sales happen in November and December every year. What an incredible number. Personally, I really look forward to the Holidays, and with three young children, it’s a true blessing to be able to see and experience Christmas through their eyes. But in all reality, it can often be a very stressful time for parents. Fighting the crowds and making sure not to overspend can be quite trying. But it doesn’t have to be. Here are a few tips to make this holiday shopping season easier, both on you and on your wallet.
~ Real Black Friday Opportunities – People get crazy when Black Friday deals come out. The problem is most stores have a very limited number of these incredible deals, and unless you want to stand in line all night long, you’re not going to be able to take advantage. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of Black Friday, especially when it comes to clothing. For the most part, consumers go ga-ga over the electronic deals, not the clothing deals. Because of this, my wife and I regularly go out on Friday afternoon and buy clothes for our kid’s at some really low prices. Try it this year, I think you will be blown away with the deals, and the stores won’t be nearly as crazy.
~ Check eBay.com – Perhaps my favorite holiday shopping tip is to check eBay.com the weekend of Black Friday. You will be amazed how many people buy stuff really cheap on Black Friday, only to turn around and try and make a quick profit by selling it on eBay. The best part is you get to sleep in on Black Friday, then check eBay later that weekend. It has been my experience that you will only pay a fraction more than if you had stood in line at 4am.
~ Go Social This Year – This year, more than ever, retailers will be using their Facebook pages and Twitter feeds to inform consumers of upcoming sales and coupons. So before you do any holiday shopping this year be sure to log-on to social networking sites and find the best deal possible. JCPenney.com actually announced that they will have exclusive Facebook Christmas coupons available this year. Make sure you don’t pay full price on anything.
Crystal’s Comments: I try to keep an eye out year round for holiday gifts for my loved ones, but usually end up buying 99% of them from Amazon.com and Ebay.com in November and December anyway, lol.
To give you an idea of the savings available, here is a small sampling of coupons from my website. Thanks Crystal for letting me contribute once again to your terrific blog.
American Eagle Outfitters.com
Save 20% Off your entire online purchase
Coupon Code: 20493061
Expiration: 10/04/11
See All Coupons For: American Eagle
Barnes & Noble.com
Save 15% Off Any 1 Item in your order
Coupon Code: X9F9N8C
Expiration: 9/30/11
See All Coupons For: Barnes & Noble
PetSmart.com
Save 15% off your entire online purchase
Coupon Code: 6FF15
Expiration: 9/30/11
See All Coupons For: PetSmart.com
September 22, 2011, at 6:00 am
We still have years left in our house, cars, and appliances, but we are saving up for their inevitable death.
Our Home and Cars
My husband and I bought our house in 2007, but it was built in 2004. That means that in house years, it’s a brazen young thang. But in appliance years, I am just waiting to see what goes first. We also bought my brand new Chevy Aveo in 2005 and his 2007 Prius in 2008. My Aveo is barely at 55,000 miles since I hate driving and the Prius is already closing in on 60,000 miles. But I figure we both have at least 5 more years with our current vehicles. Then I want my Mazda Miata darn it…
Our Appliances
Our air conditioner and water heater are 7 years old and seem to be doing very well. I don’t know how long they usually last, but I was expecting at least 10 years or so. When they do go, it’ll be interesting to see how much electricity we save on a newer, more efficient models since our entire house is electric only, no gas. For now though, I am perfectly happy with our $100-$150 electricity bills and won’t mess with a good thing.
We bought the rest of our appliances in 2007, so the refrigerator, dishwasher, stove/oven, above-the-stove microwave, and the washer and dryer set are all 4 years old. How long do these things last? I’m expecting quite a while out of everything but the washer and dryer (we are pretty mean to those two). I think dog hair may end up doing in everything earlier than expected anyway.
There are other things to prepare for – the security of your home and family is always a good idea. One way of achieving this is by looking into obtaining one of the many home security camera systems attainable today. For additional details, check out this websites security cameras.
Home and Auto Account
So, in preparation for something dying on us, we have a Home and Auto Maintenance account at ING. Right now it is only receiving $500 a month from us, which is our car payments to ourselves now that both of our vehicles are paid off. I am seriously considering raising this amount so that we can hit $30,000 faster. That would be able to cover a new car (worst case scenario) and any appliances that poop out on us. Right now it is sitting at about $7000.
How do you prepare for the inevitable death of your stuff?
September 18, 2011, at 6:00 am
The Saved Quarter Challenge Update
I joined The Saved Quarter Challenge this year and was aiming to save at least $21,000 by the end of 2011, but we hit that goal in mid-June!!! My new goal is to save a cool $42,000 by the end of 2011 instead! That would be a tiny bit more than 50% of our GROSS pay from our two full time jobs (my husband’s and the one I had before I quit in mid-July)!!!
Here’s how I’ve done this week for the Saved Quarter Challenge:
- Emergency Fund/Savings – $1268.75
- Home and Auto Maintenance – $500
- Cash for Investments – $1406.25
I received my last regular paycheck on August 3rd, so my blogging income is not considered savings automatically anymore. I’ll know after the 14th of every month how much of it can be socked away like it was this week.
The new $42,000 goal is hopefully going to be reached solely through 100% true savings – 401(k), Roth IRA, emergency fund/savings, home and auto maintenance account, extra cash for investments, and blogging income up to August 6, 2011.
Total This Week: $3175
We can save what we do because we live off of a little more than my husband’s salary as a school librarian ($38,000 take home pay). That means we save most of what I make blogging from home and what my husband makes from his hobby job of reffing. Reffing usually brings in $2000-$3000 a year and blogging is bringing in $50,000 or more a year (we’ve already hit more than $35,000 for January-September 2011), and I get to keep about two-thirds after taxes.
Total to date: $39,188 guaranteed, $2,812 to go.
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Newsletter Update
You can also subscribe to my weekly newsletter with exclusive, subscriber-only giveaways by using the subscription form in the right sidebar! ———>
My current goal is to reach 150 subscribers by September 30th, so please spread the word as you see fit! I appreciate it.
Just for kicks, here are the current newsletter stats:
- Number of Subscribers: 84 (Thank you!!!)
- Open rate (how many subscribers ended up opening the third newsletter): 42 of 76 (55.3%), which is 39.1% higher than industry standard, woot!
- Clicks (how many people have clicked a link inside the last newsletter): 16 (21.1%), which is 18% higher than industry standard, woot again!
- Countries Reached: United States, Canada, and New Zealand
Thank you so much to my subscribers!!! I appreciate the vote of confidence and Jesse and I will make sure they don’t get boring!
Additonal Info
I will continue posting monthly and yearly blog statistics and income updates, so stay tuned at the beginning of every month!
In case you didn’t know, Alexa traffic rankings are determined by the numbers of hits a site gets by people with the Alexa toolbar. If you want to be part of this ranking community, you can download the Alexa toolbar here.
If you don’t already, you can follow me via RSS, Twitter, or like my Facebook page by following those links.
To learn more about the Yakezie, the blogging group that has helped me in SO many ways, check out my Yakezie page! Feel free to email me if you are a Yakezie member or challenger and don’t see yourself on the list!
If you are interested in seeing how I went from an 8 million plus Alexa rank and 3 readers to where I am today, you can see My Blogging Checklists, which breaks down everything I do related to blogging. If you want to see how I have started bringing in more than $6000 a month in less than 18 months, you can check out How I Make Money Blogging.
I have also started a new site, http://howimakemoneyblogging.com/, which will cover how I currently make money blogging and my transition to a work-from-home blogger!
THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING THE BEST READERS EVER!!!
September 11, 2011, at 6:00 am
The Saved Quarter Challenge Update
I joined The Saved Quarter Challenge this year and was aiming to save at least $21,000 by the end of 2011, but we hit that goal in mid-June!!! My new goal is to save a cool $42,000 by the end of 2011 instead! That would be a tiny bit more than 50% of our GROSS pay from our two full time jobs (my husband’s and the one I had before I quit in mid-July)!!!
Here’s how I’ve done this week for the Saved Quarter Challenge:
I received my last regular paycheck on August 3rd, so my blogging income is not considered savings automatically anymore. I’ll know after the 14th of every month how much of it can be socked away like it was this week.
The new $42,000 goal is hopefully going to be reached solely through 100% true savings – 401(k), Roth IRA, emergency fund/savings, home and auto maintenance account, extra cash for investments, and blogging income up to August 6, 2011.
Total This Week: $300
We can save what we do because we live off of a little more than my husband’s salary as a school librarian ($38,000 take home pay). That means we save most of what I make blogging from home and what my husband makes from his hobby job of reffing. Reffing usually brings in $2000-$3000 a year and blogging is bringing in $50,000 or more a year (we’ve already hit more than $30,000 for January-August 2011), and I get to keep about two-thirds after taxes.
Total to date: $36,013 guaranteed, $5,987 to go.
——————
Newsletter Update
You can also subscribe to my weekly newsletter with exclusive, subscriber-only giveaways by using the subscription form in the right sidebar! ———>
My current goal is to reach 150 subscribers by September 30th, so please spread the word as you see fit! I appreciate it.
Just for kicks, here are the current newsletter stats:
- Number of Subscribers: 77 (Thank you!!!)
- Open rate (how many subscribers ended up opening the third newsletter): 38 of 70 (54.3%), which is 38% higher than industry standard, woot!
- Clicks (how many people have clicked a link inside the last newsletter): 11 (15.7%), which is 12.5% higher than industry standard, woot again!
- Countries Reached: United States, Canada, and New Zealand
Thank you so much to my subscribers!!! I appreciate the vote of confidence and Jesse and I will make sure they don’t get boring!
Additonal Info
I will continue posting monthly and yearly blog statistics and income updates, so stay tuned at the beginning of every month!
In case you didn’t know, Alexa traffic rankings are determined by the numbers of hits a site gets by people with the Alexa toolbar. If you want to be part of this ranking community, you can download the Alexa toolbar here.
If you don’t already, you can follow me via RSS, Twitter, or like my Facebook page by following those links.
To learn more about the Yakezie, the blogging group that has helped me in SO many ways, check out my Yakezie page! Feel free to email me if you are a Yakezie member or challenger and don’t see yourself on the list!
If you are interested in seeing how I went from an 8 million plus Alexa rank and 3 readers to where I am today, you can see My Blogging Checklists, which breaks down everything I do related to blogging. If you want to see how I have started bringing in more than $6000 a month in less than 18 months, you can check out How I Make Money Blogging.
I have also started a new site, http://howimakemoneyblogging.com/, which will cover how I currently make money blogging and my transition to a work-from-home blogger!
THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING THE BEST READERS EVER!!!
September 4, 2011, at 6:00 am
The Saved Quarter Challenge Update
I joined The Saved Quarter Challenge this year and was aiming to save at least $21,000 by the end of 2011, but we hit that goal in mid-June!!! My new goal is to save a cool $42,000 by the end of 2011 instead! That would be a tiny bit more than 50% of our GROSS pay from our two full time jobs (my husband’s and the one I had before I quit in mid-July)!!!
Here’s how I’ve done this week for the Saved Quarter Challenge:
- I made about $2500 last week from blogging, but none of it is technically saved yet.
I received my last regular paycheck on August 3rd, so my blogging income is not considered savings automatically anymore. I’ll know after the 14th of every month how much of it can be socked away like it was this week.
The new $42,000 goal is hopefully going to be reached solely through 100% true savings – 401(k), Roth IRA, emergency fund/savings, home and auto maintenance account, extra cash for investments, and blogging income up to August 6, 2011.
Total This Week: $0
We can save what we do because we live off of a little more than my husband’s salary as a school librarian ($38,000 take home pay). That means we save most of what I make blogging from home and what my husband makes from his hobby job of reffing. Reffing usually brings in $2000-$3000 a year and blogging is bringing in $35,000 or more a year (we’ve already hit more than $24,000 for January-July 2011), and I get to keep about two-thirds after taxes.
Total to date: $35,713 guaranteed, $6,287 to go.
——————
Newsletter Update
You can also subscribe to my weekly newsletter with exclusive, subscriber-only giveaways by using the subscription form in the right sidebar! ———>
My current goal is to reach 150 subscribers by September 30th, so please spread the word as you see fit! I appreciate it.
Just for kicks, here are the current newsletter stats:
- Number of Subscribers: 71 (Thank you!!!)
- Open rate (how many subscribers ended up opening the second newsletter): 31 of 58 (53.4%), which is 37.1% higher than industry standard, woot!
- Clicks (how many people have clicked a link inside the last newsletter): 12 (20.7%), which is 17.5% higher than industry standard, woot again!
- Countries Reached: United States, Canada, and Japan
Thank you so much to my subscribers!!! I appreciate the vote of confidence and Jesse and I will make sure they don’t get boring!
Additonal Info
I will continue posting monthly and yearly blog statistics and income updates, so stay tuned at the beginning of every month!
In case you didn’t know, Alexa traffic rankings are determined by the numbers of hits a site gets by people with the Alexa toolbar. If you want to be part of this ranking community, you can download the Alexa toolbar here.
If you don’t already, you can follow me via RSS, Twitter, or like my Facebook page by following those links.
To learn more about the Yakezie, the blogging group that has helped me in SO many ways, check out my Yakezie page! Feel free to email me if you are a Yakezie member or challenger and don’t see yourself on the list!
If you are interested in seeing how I went from an 8 million plus Alexa rank and 3 readers to where I am today, you can see My Blogging Checklists, which breaks down everything I do related to blogging. If you want to see how I have started bringing in more than $6000 a month in less than 18 months, you can check out How I Make Money Blogging.
I have also started a new site, http://howimakemoneyblogging.com/, which will cover how I currently make money blogging and my transition to a work-from-home blogger!
THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING THE BEST READERS EVER!!!
August 28, 2011, at 6:00 am
The Saved Quarter Challenge Update
I joined The Saved Quarter Challenge this year and was aiming to save at least $21,000 by the end of 2011, but we hit that goal in mid-June!!! My new goal is to save a cool $42,000 by the end of 2011 instead! That would be a tiny bit more than 50% of our GROSS pay from our two full time jobs (my husband’s and the one I had before I quit in mid-July)!!!
Here’s how I’ve done this week for the Saved Quarter Challenge:
- Ummm…I made a lot of money, but none of it is technically saved yet…sorry.
I received my last regular paycheck on August 3rd, so my blogging income is not considered savings automatically anymore. I’ll know after the 14th of every month how much of it can be socked away like it was this week.
The new $42,000 goal is hopefully going to be reached solely through 100% true savings – 401(k), Roth IRA, emergency fund/savings, home and auto maintenance account, extra cash for investments, and blogging income up to August 6, 2011.
Total This Week: $0
We can save what we do because we live off of a little more than my husband’s salary as a school librarian ($38,000 take home pay). That means we save most of what I make blogging from home and what my husband makes from his hobby job of reffing. Reffing usually brings in $2000-$3000 a year and blogging is bringing in $35,000 or more a year (we’ve already hit more than $24,000 for January-July 2011), and I get to keep about two-thirds after taxes.
Total to date: $35,713 guaranteed, $6,287 to go.
——————
Newsletter Update
You can also subscribe to my weekly newsletter with exclusive, subscriber-only giveaways by using the subscription form in the right sidebar! ———>
My current goal is to reach 150 subscribers by September 30th, so please spread the word as you see fit! I appreciate it.
Just for kicks, here are the current newsletter stats:
- Number of Subscribers: 61
- Open rate (how many subscribers have opened the first newsletter): 33 (58.9%), which is 42.6% higher than industry standard, woot!
- Clicks (how many people have clicked a link inside the newsletter): 18 (32.1%), which is 28.9% higher than industry standard, woot again!
- Countries Reached: United States, Canada, and India
Thank you so much to my subscribers!!! I appreciate the vote of confidence and Jesse and I will make sure they don’t get boring!
Additonal Info
I will continue posting monthly and yearly blog statistics and income updates, so stay tuned at the beginning of every month!
In case you didn’t know, Alexa traffic rankings are determined by the numbers of hits a site gets by people with the Alexa toolbar. If you want to be part of this ranking community, you can download the Alexa toolbar here.
If you don’t already, you can follow me via RSS, Twitter, or like my Facebook page by following those links.
To learn more about the Yakezie, the blogging group that has helped me in SO many ways, check out my Yakezie page! Feel free to email me if you are a Yakezie member or challenger and don’t see yourself on the list!
If you are interested in seeing how I went from an 8 million plus Alexa rank and 3 readers to where I am today, you can see My Blogging Checklists, which breaks down everything I do related to blogging. If you want to see how I have started bringing in more than $3000 a month in less than 18 months, you can check out How I Make Money Blogging.
I have also started a new site, http://howimakemoneyblogging.com/, which will cover how I currently make money blogging and my transition to a work-from-home blogger!
THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING THE BEST READERS EVER!!!
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DISCLAIMER I am not a professional or a financial advisor. BFS posts are informational opinions only. Please make your own financial decisions based on personal research or see a financial advisor.
Also, there are paid links on this site. There is no obligation on your part to purchase any products advertised on this website.
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