McKinzie Bean, Author at Moms Make Cents

woman sitting on bed reading journal with laptop

15 Ways To Boost Productivity As A Mommy Blogger

Leave a Comment / Blogging / By McKinzie Bean

Imagine you are working from home. You’re sitting in your comfy chair, reaching over your desk to grab your acai bowl. You are still in your jammies and you stare at a blank screen on your laptop as you listen to your kids playing outside your cozy home office. Sounds good, doesn’t it? But if your days are remotely close to mine you know this is FAR from reality.

Running things from home has some advantages of course, but just like a field job, you shouldtreat it exactly as it is…a job! Being a work at home mom can be challenging. You have so many distractions and temptations around you. You have laundry, playgroup, playing with your kiddos…and all the sudden it is five o’clock and you haven’t even started dinner yet! It is not easy. Being a work at home mom requires a lot of patience not just from yourself, but from your kids as well.

Here are 15 ways that you can boost your productivity and help make your mommy blog a success.

Laptop, journal, bouquet, pen, clips and tape

Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing Review: How Michelle Makes $50,000 a Month Blogging.

2 Comments / Make Money Blogging / By McKinzie Bean

This weekend I finished the course Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing by Michelle of Making Sense of Cents. Michelle consistently makes $50,000 a month with affiliate marketing.

I have been reading Michelle’s blog for years and have been so inspired by her income reports. Like this one where she made over $72,000 in one month! Her blog is one of the few that gave me enough courage to start this website.

I am so excited (and slightly fan girling) that today Michelle has agreed to an exclusive interview about affiliate marketing and her new class Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing! I’ll give you an overview of my thoughts on the course and then turn the rest of the post over to Michelle.

One Month Recap: Zero to 4,900 Pageviews in 30 Days

15 Comments / Blogging / By McKinzie Bean

Phew! We made it through our first month on Moms Make Cents. It has seriously been such a whirlwind and I am so grateful for all of the friends I have already made.

The last month has been a little insane at our house. The day after I launched the blog my little boy and I got super sick. I was down, off and on for about three weeks (getting up in the middle of the night multiple times with your sick baby leads to a slow recovery).

July 1st we got the keys to our new place and my hubby started renovating it every night after work. He would leave at 6:00 and get home around 9:00 so there wasn’t a ton of time for me to work in the evenings. Finally, on the 15th we were all boxed up and ready to move in.

Make Extra $ As A SAHM With These 10 Freelance Services

7 Comments / Make Money / By McKinzie Bean

You have talent! It could be in art, finance, crafts, cooking…you name it. There is something that YOU are great at and you can earn a living from it. It’s amazing how many job ideas you can come up with that you can do around your neighborhood and locale. It’s even more amazing how many more jobs you can do online!

Online jobs are the most convenient and inexpensive way to work from home. All you need is the internet and a laptop or desktop. If you browse through online job sites, you will be astounded by the number of jobs posted and with so much variety.

Flatlay with laptop, journals, bracelet and macaroons

How to Make a Big Impression With a Tiny Pinterest Following

27 Comments / Pinterest / By McKinzie Bean

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Ready? You don’t need thousands of followers to make a HUGE impression on Pinterest.

One of the Pinterest accounts I manage has a teeny tiny following. Right now there are 258 followers. There is a good chance you already have that many followers on your own account.

The difference between your account and this account is that with only 258 followers I am averaging over 20,000 impressions A DAY!

That means this little account is getting 8000% more impressions than it has followers. That means this little Pinterest board has over 600,000 impressions each month.

How To Set A Budget As A Freelancer

14 Comments / Entrepreneurship / By McKinzie Bean

“A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.”-Dave Ramsey

Have you ever wondered where your income has gone? Where did you spend it or what did you spend it on? Almost all of us have gone through this at some point in our lives, but there comes a time when we have to stop spending carelessly and start budgeting.

It’s time to grow up! Gone are the days of not having to worry about paying bills and other necessities yourself. Budgeting takes time, responsibility and a lot of patience. It’s not as simple as just putting money in the bank, there is a lot of planning and prioritizing that needs to be done by you and/or your family.

Some may have a steady income, but there are many who don’t. Either way, you have to learn how to budget your money wisely. There are freelancers and those who earn based on commission have additional budgeting challenges as you are never sure how much you will be earning or when you will be paid.

The Seven Retirement Accounts You Need To Know About

1 Comment / Uncategorized / By McKinzie Bean

Hey girl want to hear two scary words? Retirement Planning. Why does it have to be so dang intimidating? We all know that we are supposed to save for retirement, but where do we start? There are multiple vehicles for retirement funding. Today the financial planner in me is coming out and I’m going to show you the different retirement accounts that will fit YOU!

Self-employed? Check! Work for a non-profit? Check. Still working for the boss man? I’ve got you covered. In this article we will show you the seven types of retirement accounts and help you determine which is the best fit for your family.

20+ Free Blog Stock Photo Sites

13 Comments / Blogging / By McKinzie Bean

Does your website feel a bit blah? When I started my first blog over four years ago, it was a pretty sad sight. And my Pinterest images? Yikes! I’m surprised I got a single repin. Moms Make Cents is definitely an upgrade from that blog! Want to know one of my biggest keys to success? Free feminine stock photos!

Today I am going to share my favorite FREE stock photo resources + a bonus guide on how to style them! These are perfect for creating Pinterest images, headers to your blog posts, social media images etc.

Woman holding smartphone while sitting at her laptop

The Ultimate Guide To Amazon FBA

4 Comments / Make Money / By McKinzie Bean

Becoming an Amazon Seller is one of the easiest businesses you can start. Overall, there is a relatively small investment upfront, you have the backing of a big brand like Amazon and you can literally get started today. Here are some commonly asked questions and products that will help you get started.

WHAT IS AN AMAZON FBA BUSINESS?

Ultimately, you have an online store that is run by Amazon. You find products at a discounted rate (clearance, stacking sales, thrifting, ect.), ship them to Amazon and mark them up to the prices they are currently selling for. When a customer purchases one of your items Amazon ships your item from their warehouse. Amazon then takes a cut for storing, shipping and marketing your product. You receive the remaining profit.

This really is a super easy business model, and can be really rewarding to run! It is much easier to start than an independent e-commerce site because you have the traffic and credibility of Amazon.

woman's hands on keyboard typing with notebook and pencil nearby

How I Started 3 Businesses My First Year As A Stay At Home Mom

8 Comments / Entrepreneurship / By McKinzie Bean

Today I am giving you a little background on how I started three profitable businesses my first year as a SAHM. I want you to know that YOU can do this too. Turn your passion into paychecks!

My sweet boy Tyler was born in April of 2015. During this period, I was going to school full-time and adjusting to motherhood. I now was one busy mama. After finals ended things began to feel quiet. I had become used to the hustle. I loved my baby, but I needed something more. I felt the stir crazy sinking in.

McKinzie Bean