Analytics & Performance Tracking I Thought My Website Was Doing Great… Until I Looked at These 3 Google Analytics Reports My blog’s visitor numbers were climbing steadily; I felt successful! But then I dove deeper into Google Analytics. The Behavior > Site Content > Exit Pages report showed users fleeing from key service pages. The … Read more
TaxSlayer TaxSlayer Review: The Underdog Tax Software That Surprised Me This Year Looking for tax software beyond the usual big names? I decided to try TaxSlayer, and honestly, it surprised me! It felt like discovering a scrappy underdog fighter who could really hold their own! It handled my deductions and credits accurately, the interface was … Read more
Credit Card Churning/Bonus Hacking (Ethically) Strategic Spending for Travel Rewards Credit card churning, done responsibly, involves strategically opening credit cards to earn lucrative sign-up bonuses, primarily for travel rewards. My first success came from a Chase Sapphire Preferred card. By carefully shifting my regular spending onto it to meet the minimum spend requirement, I earned … Read more
Building & Selling Starter Kits/Templates How My $50 DIY Calligraphy Kit Made $300 in its First Month on Etsy I loved calligraphy and noticed beginners struggled to find the right supplies. I spent about $50 buying quality nibs, ink pots, practice paper, and guide sheets in small bulk quantities. I assembled these into simple kits, … Read more
Mystery Shopping (Advanced/Focused) Beyond Basic Shops: Earning More Advanced mystery shopping moves beyond simple fast-food checks into more complex assignments like evaluating car dealerships, hotels, or financial institutions. My friend David initially did quick restaurant shops for free meals. Seeking better pay, he applied for a car dealership shop. It required detailed observation of the … Read more
Newsletter Monetization How My First Paid Substack Subscriber Made Me $5 (And Validated My Idea) Launching my paid Substack tier felt daunting. I poured hours into crafting exclusive content, unsure if anyone would pay. Then, the notification popped up: “New Paid Subscriber – $5.” It wasn’t the amount, but the validation that hit hardest. Someone … Read more
IRS Free File How I Used IRS Free File to File My Federal Taxes Free (Even Though I Make Over the Limit for Some Options!) Think you make too much money to file taxes for free? Surprise! The IRS Free File program has options for everyone! If your income is below a certain limit (around … Read more
Podcast Monetization How My First $50 Podcast Sponsorship Deal Happened (With 1000 Downloads/Ep) My niche podcast about urban gardening hit around one thousand downloads per episode. I hadn’t actively sought sponsors yet. A small, organic fertilizer company, whose product I’d genuinely mentioned positively before, emailed me. They loved the listener engagement in my social media … Read more
How I Found Inspiration That Got 2 Million Views Can you believe the idea for my most popular video came from just watching squirrels play outside my window? I felt so stuck, like my brain was totally empty, with zero ideas for a new video. It was frustrating! Then, watching those silly squirrels chase each … Read more
FreeTaxUSA (Second Round – New Angles) FreeTaxUSA vs. Cash App Taxes: Which FREE Federal Filer is Superior? Two amazing free federal tax heroes, FreeTaxUSA and Cash App Taxes – which one wins? Cash App is totally free for state too, often via mobile app! FreeTaxUSA charges a small fee ($15ish) for state but feels slightly … Read more