StudentAid.gov How I Used StudentAid.gov to Lower My Monthly Payments with the SAVE Plan Feeling crushed by huge student loan payments felt like carrying rocks uphill! Then I logged into the official StudentAid.gov website and learned about the SAVE plan! Filling out the application right there online felt surprisingly easy! Seeing my estimated new, much … Read more
Making Money on TikTok How My First “Viral” TikTok (100k Views) Made Me $50 (Creator Fund) I posted a simple time-lapse video of organizing my bookshelf, using a trending sound. Overnight, views exploded past 100,000! Since I met the criteria (10k followers, 100k views in 30 days, etc.), I was eligible for the TikTok Creator … Read more
How I Used Analytics to Double My Views Can you believe looking at some secret numbers made twice as many people watch my videos? I felt like I was guessing, making videos nobody saw, which made me kinda sad. Then, I peeked at my video analytics – like looking at clues left behind by viewers! … Read more
E-commerce Empires (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.) I Launched My Shopify Store in 24 Hours and Made My First Sale – Here’s How Inspired by a niche hobby (custom keycaps), I challenged myself: launch on Shopify within a day. I chose a clean free theme, wrote snappy product descriptions, and took decent phone photos. I connected Stripe … Read more
Smart Savings with a Tap Sarah diligently uses the Kroger app before every shopping trip. She browses the “Digital Coupons” section, clipping offers for items on her list – from yogurt to laundry detergent. Last week, she found coupons for twenty-five cents off bread, one dollar off her favorite coffee, and even a five-dollar off … Read more
LendingClub How I Got My Personal Loan Funded by Strangers (My LendingClub P2P Experience) Imagine needing money and asking a big crowd of friendly people online if they could each chip in a little! That’s how LendingClub used to work (peer-to-peer, or P2P)! My loan request was shown to individual investors who funded it! It … Read more
Renting Assets (Equipment, RVs, etc.) How I Make $300/Month Renting Out My Camera Gear on Weekends As a photography hobbyist, my expensive camera gear mostly sat idle during the week. I decided to try renting it out. I listed my main camera body, two popular lenses, and basic lighting kit on rental platforms like Fat … Read more
WordPress Wonders (Deep Dive) I Built a $10,000-Looking WordPress Site for Under $100 My client wanted a high-end look but had a tiny budget. Challenge accepted! Instead of expensive custom development, I started with WordPress.org (free software). I chose a highly-rated, flexible free theme (Astra) and added their affordable Pro addon for about fifty-nine dollars. … Read more
Smart Shopping for Signature Styles Emily loves Southern designer fashion but watches her budget. Using the Belk app, she added several pieces from her favorite brands, like a classic Lauren James dress, to her wish list. The app notified her when a site-wide sale started, and she found an additional app-exclusive coupon for fifteen percent … Read more
Upstart How Upstart Approved My Personal Loan Using AI (When My Bank Said No!) Feeling rejected by banks for a loan, even with okay credit, felt awful! Then I found Upstart. They use smart AI (like a robot brain!) that looks beyond just credit scores, considering things like education and job history! It felt like … Read more