Looking for some inspiration on your Starting Simply, Starting Now journey? Check here for some of my favorite tools and products to start working toward your dreams!
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links and I may receive a commission if you purchase something through the links. It doesn’t cost you any extra to use these links. These products and services are things I recommend and have personal experience using. Please see my affiliate disclaimer for additional details.
Essential Oils & Healthy Living
These are some of my favorite tools for using my essential oils. Click the images to check out the details and purchase them for yourself!
Saving Money
Digital Money Counting Jar
Ebates
Get cash back whenever you shop online at participating online retailers. Just search for the retailer in the Ebate site, click the link to go to the retailer’s website, and you earn a certain percentage back after completing your purchase. You get cash in your PayPal account or in the form of a check four times per year if you meet the minimum threshold of $10. Sign up for a free Ebates account to start getting cash back.
Swagbucks
Another way to earn cash back is by creating a free Swagbucks account. Just like Ebates, Swagbucks offers money back when you shop online. You earn Swagbucks, which you can redeem for gift cards to a number of stores. You can also redeem them for PayPal cash. Plus, you can earn extra Swagbucks without shopping online by taking surveys, watching videos and completing other qualifying tasks.
$5 Meal Plan
Tired of spending too much at the grocery store? Always wondering what to make for dinner? $5 Meal Plan takes the work out of planning meals. You get a weekly menu full of fresh, exciting recipes to keep things exciting. The menu is printable. And best of all, it includes a grocery shopping list that includes everything you need for the week’s meals. Plus, you can customize your own menu using recipes from the archives if you don’t like what’s for dinner on the weekly menu. Once you add all of your meals to your customized menu, the site generates a printable copy with the shopping list. You can try it for free to see if you like it before you commit to the $5 monthly rate.
Blogging Resources
Siteground
I use Siteground for my Wordpress blog hosting. It’s affordable (as low as $3.95 per month) and it’s reliable. If you want to monetize your blog, you really do need your own domain and hosting instead of using a free blogging platform. I did a lot of research before I decided where to host my WordPress blog. Bluehost is a popular choice, but a lot of the recommendations I read said that Siteground was a little more reliable with better customer service. That’s why I went with it over Bluehost. I think either option is a good one, though. Especially when you’re first starting your blog.
Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing
If you’re at all interested in learning about affiliate marketing, I highly recommend the Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing course. It was created by Michelle of Making Sense of Cents, a blogger who regularly makes over $100,000 per MONTH blogging. Now, let’s be realistic. You won’t make anywhere near that much out of the gate. Most bloggers will never reach six figures every month. But it is possible to make a living from blog income, and affiliate marketing can help you get there. This course is an affordable way to learn all about using affiliate links to monetize your blog, from the basics of what it is to how to use it effectively.