Best Online Blogging Course For A Beginner Blogger

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Start your profitable blog this year with the Blog by Number course.

The only blogging course you need to learn how to start a profitable blog from scratch.

I hate to admit it but I started blogging on a whim and I did not take any course or anything prior.

I pretty much bootstrapped by doing my own little research and spent a lot of time on that.

I even launched my website even though I only have one blog post. Man, I should have known better.

I spent a lot of sleepless nights setting my blog up. Not to mention, work breaks I took just to take care of my blog. I was confused with everything.

It was not until I came across Suzi Whitford’s Blog by Number e-course, that everything made sense.

As a new blogger and only testing the waters, I did not want to spend a lot. I was barely making anything in the first place. And of course, I was on a budget.


Fortunately, Suzi’s course was affordable and was within my budget. After a lot of contemplation, I finally took the plunge and enrolled.

Boy, I was glad I did. It was when I started the course that everything made more sense to me. There was a lot of, “Oh yeah, why didn’t I think of that”, “Oh that’s how it is, “Oh, that’s what it does” and so on.

Want to know the best part? I was able to earn my investment back in just a few months.

Why Am I Promoting This Online Blogging Course

I know how hard it is to start a blog when you do not have any idea on what you are doing. Been there done that.

I am not saying you cannot do it on your own. Of course, you can. But that is after long hours of research, frustrations, trials, and errors.

With a course like this, which guides you from the start, you will be on your way to creating quality contents and promoting your blog. You will be more productive.

I love the course so much because I learned a lot from it and it helped me in so many ways. So I decided to give it a review.

If it helped a new blogger like me, it would help you too. Suzi Whitford is serious in helping her students.

So here we go.

What Does This Online Blogging Course Cover

The Blog by Number course covers a lot of things and the topics are laid out exactly in the steps you need to follow to set up a blog.

  • How to start a blog

On this section, she talks about how to decide on the profitable blog niche, choosing the perfect blog name and the clear step by step guide on how to start a blog video tutorial.

  • How to create images

In this section, she will walk you through on how to make an optimized Pinterest image using FREE tools.

  • How to install plugins

In here, she will talk about the essential plugin you need to optimize your blog.

  • How to set up a theme?

In order for your blog to be beautiful and noticeable, you need a theme. Suzi will help you set up your theme using a FREE professional and clean theme.

  • How to create content?

Now that your blog is set up, it is time to create contents. Suzi shares her tips and tricks on how to create engaging contents including headlines, topics and oh she will also help you perfect your “About Me” page.

  • How to get traffic?

A blog is nothing without traffic so in this section, Suzi will teach you the many ways to bring traffic to your website.

  • How to make money?

And of course last but not the least, she will reveal her ways on how to make an income out of your blog.

What Do I Love About This Blogging Course

I could go on all day telling you what I love about this course and why I love this course but I know you do not have that kind of time so here are some of the reasons I recommend this course.

  • Actionable worksheets
  • Clear and Easy to follow step-by-step video tutorials
  • Pretty and Colorful materials
  • Useful Hacks
  • Words of encouragement
  • Google docs and spreadsheets ready to use templates
  • FREE Stock Images
  • …..Affordable
  • A lot of bonuses!

Who Should Purchase The Blog By Number Course

I think this course is for you if you are someone who wants to start a blog, someone who just started a blog and someone who has been blogging for a while but needs some brush-up.

Although it is specially designed for moms who want to start a blog, I think that it is for everyone and for all niches. It works really well with me who is not a mom yet and who is even working full-time.

Who Doesn’t Need The Blog By Number Course

I couldn’t think of anyone who cannot benefit from this course aside from someone who is not interested in blogging or someone who is an established blogger and making a ton of money already.

Final Thought

If you’ve been wanting to start a blog but you always say you don’t have the time, this course is for you. It is the only super actionable, no fluff course that will help you get your blog up at a price you can afford.

But don’t just take my word on it, go ahead and check it out yourself.

You can check out the course here.

Start a profitable blog this year using the best online blogging course, the Blog by Number course.

Best Online Blogging Course For A Beginner Blogger

How To Stick To A Budget (Master A Budget Series)

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How To Stick To A Budget

Welcome back to Day 10 of the Master A Budget Series! We are now wrapping up this series. Yesterday, I have shared Best Budgeting Practices For A Healthy Budget; today, we will take a look at tips On How To Stick To A Budget.

If you haven’t yet, download the Master A Budget Workbook to practice what you will learn from this series.

Let’s dive in.

Creating a family budget is within everyone’s reach, but creating a successful one is a whole new ball game. Here are some tips on how to stick to a budget.

How To Stick To A Budget

Constantly blowing your budget? Here are the best tips on how to stick to a budget.

1) Get Everyone on Board

The more inclusive your budget is, the more likely it is to work well for your family. Include every family member who is old enough to understand.

A budget affects everyone, and it’s a good idea to listen to input from other members of the family.

Tips On How To Get Everyone On Board

You’ve probably heard that getting everyone involved is important to the success of your family budget. But you may be wondering if that’s really necessary, or how to even do it.

Here are some ideas and tips for getting everyone on board with your family budget. 

Be Open

Sometimes parents try to hide their financial situation from their kids and/or each other.

While this may seem like “sparing” the ones you love, in actuality, it can cause undue stress on the one family member who does know how bad things are, or how things work financially. 

It’s true that you don’t want to overburden your kids with responsibilities that aren’t theirs, but including them in a frank discussion of your financial situation can go a long way toward easing your burden and garnering their willing participation.

Set Up Family Meeting

Call a family meeting to discuss finances. If you’ve never done a family meeting before, this is a good place to start.

It may not be everyone’s favorite topic, but it’s an important one.

Ultimately, your kids and spouse will be glad you included them in the discussion.

Another tip on the meeting – try to call it at a time when it doesn’t cut into other plans. This should help reduce resentment.

Be Transparent

Give them a clear picture of your finances. Explain how your family finances affect everyone in the household.

Be clear and specific, citing fees, tuition, allowances, groceries, etc. and how they all cost money.

There’s no need to beat everyone over the head with this information, so to speak; but it gets family members to think a bit about where the money comes from.

It’s easy to take things for granted.

Cut back On Areas that That Affect the Whole Family

If the budget involves cutting back, it’s probably a good idea to cut back in areas that affect the whole family rather than just one member.

Otherwise, that one person may resent what seems to be preferential treatment of the others, and you’ve lost your whole-family approach to the budget.

Looking for ways to improve your budgeting skills? Here are the best ways on how to stick to a budget.
Set Goals Together

As you work to formulate your budget, work on common goals. What would your youngest child like to see as part of the budget? She might say toys.

Your oldest child might point to electronic devices as something to include; your spouse may say a nice vacation.

Consider everyone’s wishes and come up with some realistic, common goals. Not everything is doable, of course; but finding creative ways to get everyone’s needs met is what family life is all about. 

2) Leave Room for Luxuries

Some budgets are so tight that it may seem there’s no room for any luxury. But if you get a bit creative about what constitutes a luxury, you will probably find you can in fact afford some kind of privilege or luxury.

It could be something like buying your favorite brand name item at the store instead of settling for the store brand, or maybe buying fresh fish instead of frozen once a month.

Maybe ordering a pizza or Chinese food is a luxury for your family that you can include in your budget. 

If you are budgeting with more money, your luxury could be a family vacation or a new piece of electronic equipment.

The point is to include some kind of luxury in your budget. This helps keep family members motivated and makes the budget easier to deal with. 

3) Get a Good Estimation

To do this, it’s a good idea to take your last three months’ worth of income and create an average. When in doubt, round down so that surprises will be more likely to be on the plus side.

The same is true for expenses – include at least three months of expenses to get a true picture.

4) Be Patient

It takes a few months for a budget to sort itself out and become a habit. There will be bugs that need to be worked out.

Understanding this can help you stick with it as it needs tweaking and adjusting.

5) Use A Software or A Budgeting App

For some, using software to lay out the family budget can be very helpful. Software that is designed for the purpose may make creating the budget easier.

You can check out The best Budgeting Tools You Need For An Organized Budget for more information.

6) Celebrate Quick Wins

My favorite tip on how to stick to a budget is celebrating quick wins. Budgeting requires hard work, so it is imperative to pat yourself on the back every time you’ve reached a part of your goal.

It can be something small like, no spend days for one week, or you were able to stick to your budget for a month, or you were able to negotiate a lower rate on your cable.

Celebrating quick wins will give you motivation by giving you something to look forward to.

7) Distinguish between Needs and Wants

This distinction is harder to make for some people than others, and it’s tougher in some family dynamics than others. What one person thinks of as a “necessity” might be looked at as a luxury by someone else.

If you’re in doubt, ask yourself, “Will my family suffer without it?”. If yes, then that item is a NEED. 

8) Keep Looking Back At Your Goals

Sticking to a budget can be hard, there will be times when you run into a temptation that is hard to resist. There will be times when you get tired of tracking your expenses.

There will be plenty of times that you will want to just give up. But if you will take the time to look back on your goals, they will give you the motivation that you need to keep going.

There you have it!

Those are some of the tips on how to stick to a budget that you can start to incorporate in your budgeting journey.

No matter what you do, keep your eyes on your goals. Your hard work now will pay off in the end.

This article wraps up the Master A Budget Series. Thank you for sticking with me to the end. I hope you got something out of this series. If you haven’t yet, sign up for my email list to get more updates on money tips.

Any other tips on how to stick to a budget? Let me know in the comments.

Sticking to a budget can be a struggle. Here are some of the best tips on how to stick to a budget.

How To Stick To A Budget (Master A Budget Series)

Best Budgeting Practices For A Healthy Budget (Master A Budget Series)

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What Makes A Healthy Budget

Welcome back to the Master A Budget Series! We are almost at the end of the series, we are now on Day 9. Yesterday, I have shared the Basic Steps Of Budgeting; today, we will take a look at The Best Budgeting Practices For A Healthy Budget.

Let’s dive in.

Having a family budget means, for some people, whipping out the calculator at every purchase, or viewing the budget on their mobile device in the grocery store. 

For others, a family budget is just a formality and they never really glance at it. 

Between these extremes are those who sort of use their family budget with moments of obsessive adherence, or those who try but give up altogether because they go crazy trying to keep track of all the details. 

Where’s the balance? How can you maintain a healthy outlook without obsessing or ignoring your family budget?

Best Budgeting Practices For A Healthy Budget

1) Flexibility

For those who tend to err on the obsessive side, it is a good idea to remember to be flexible with your budget. Of course, flexibility does not mean ignoring your parameters.

But it does mean you can take a little from one area and cut back in another when necessary. Learn how to move your money around your categories.

2) Every Member Of The Family Is On Board

Nothing can make you frustrated with a budget like lack of family participation.

Family members might just rack up expenses without giving the budget a second thought, leaving you to tear your hair out trying to balance it and cover the expenses. 

Get your family involved, even the kids. Sit them all down and show them the numbers. Be creative and make it more fun for everyone.

If the whole family is included and on board with the budget, it can improve everyone’s outlook.

3) You Don’t Have to Keep Track of Every Penny

Some people avoid a budget because they don’t want the stress of keeping track of every cent spent. They’re right – that is stressful. But it’s not the only way.

Look into budgeting in a general way, or simply work out a list of expenses, income, and how much you have in the bank right now. 

You can also use the cash envelope system. withdraw the budgeted amount and put it in a cash envelope. Use the cash whenever you make a purchase.

At the end of the month, when the cash is gone, then you know how much you have spent in that category.

You can learn more about the cash envelope system by checking out What You Need To Know About Budgeting With The Cash Envelope System.

4) Customizable

Don’t be afraid to get creative with your budget, and customize it for your family’s needs.

Your outlook is likely to be a lot healthier if your budget is suited for your income, expenses, and personality. Your family dynamic should be taken into consideration when you form your budget. 

5) Forgiving

Everyone makes mistakes and breaks the budget now and then. Beating yourself up over a budget mess-up is not conducive to a healthy outlook, and neither is nagging and punishing family members.

If it’s a chronic “mistake,” it may need to be addressed in a civil family meeting. But to keep a healthy outlook, let the minor offenses go. 

6) Know When It’s a Real Emergency

What constitutes an “emergency” can differ between family members. Dipping into the emergency fund for non-emergency expenses can deplete the money pretty fast.

Make sure everyone knows what a real financial emergency looks like for your family. 

There you have it!

Those are the best budgeting practices for a healthy budget. If your budget has all those characteristic then there is no reason for your budget to fail.

Our budget learned the hard way but along the way, we stuck with it. We learned how to have a strict budget, but at the same time, we also learned how to prepare for change.

Do you have a healthy budget?

Now that you know the best budgeting practices, the last part of the Master A Budget Series is How To Stick To A Budget.

If you haven’t yet, download the Master A Budget Workbook to practice what you will learn from this series.

What Makes A Healthy Budget

Best Budgeting Practices For A Healthy Budget (Master A Budget Series)

Basic Steps Of Budgeting

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Basic Steps To Create Budget

Welcome back to the Master A Budget Series! We are now on Day 8. Yesterday, we talked about The Best Apps For Better Budgeting; today, you will learn about The Basic Steps Of Budgeting.

Let’s dive in.

Are you ready to start and create a budget? Are you overwhelmed? It can seem complicated at first – how do you categorize everything? What about expenses that fluctuate or aren’t monthly? 

The best thing to do is to take a step back and start from the basics. Budgeting can be simple and also can be complex.

The earlier you start, the sooner you will be able to understand your family’s finances. Don’t worry if you mess up the first or the second time; the most important thing is you are learning. 

No two budgets are alike, but they both start with the basics. As you continue budgeting, your family budget will evolve.

Now, download this basic budget template (no opt-in required) and follow along to create a budget.

MY MONTHLY BUDGET TEMPLATE

Basic Steps Of Budgeting

1) Figure Out Your Net Income

First, figure out your net income for each month. This means your income minus taxes, insurance, 401K deductions, and so forth. If you are self-employed, subtract estimated taxes, insurance costs, retirement account savings, etc. At this point, you just need predicted numbers. 

Don’t forget your spouse’s income as well if you are married. Also, if you have earnings from side hustles, include it in your income.

Example:

MY MONTHLY BUDGET

2) Find Out Your Expenses

Next, figure out your monthly expenses. If they vary, figure out an average by looking at the last three to six months’ worth of expenses. For instance, if your electric bill was $150 last month, $140 the month before, and $175 the month before that, then you can estimate a monthly expense of around $155 for electricity. Alternatively, you could take the highest amount, $175, and go with that. 

It’s a good idea to keep your categories as general as possible while still preserving clarity. Otherwise, you might get confused or overwhelmed by all the “hair-splitting.” 

For example, instead of having “food, paper products, drug items, etc.” as categories, you can lump all those expenses under “groceries.” Items like “pet supplies” can be their own category, but you might want to include vet bills in that category. 

In this table, apply what you learn on the series Fixed and Variable Expenses, start with your fixed expenses and then followed by the variable expenses.

Example:

Savings

In this table, you will put in your savings plan on an emergency fund, retirement plans and other savings plan that you have.

Example:

Sinking Funds

This table will house all your sinking funds. Go back to the series Emergency Fund and Sinking Funds to get an idea on what should be included in your sinking funds.

Example:

Debt Payment

You will fill in this table with all the debts that you have except your mortgage. It can be a credit card, student loan, personal loan, etc.

Example:

Summary

The summary will give you a clear view of how the month went, if you overspent, you stayed on your budget or you saved some money. You will simply deduct the total expenses from the income.

Example:

3) Track Your Expenses

Now that you have your budget completely filled in, it’s time to get to work. Every dollar that you spend, you have to write it down. Keep your receipt. At the end of the week, categorize them.

Doing it every week will make it easier for you at the end of the month. This task can really be tedious so this is where your budgeting apps come in. Budgeting apps make tracking your expenses. 

I use EveryDollar for tracking my expenses. My husband has it also on his phone which makes it easier when we are not together and he needs to run errands. 

Actual Expenses

The actual expenses are the real number that you spent on that category that month. Every time you make a payment of a bill, fill in the box. Some of the categories like grocery or dining out, you will have to wait until the month is over until you can put in your actual expenses. If you plan to use budgeting apps, it will track your expenses for you as long as you are putting in your numbers.

I am a pen and paper kind of girl so although I use EveryDollar, I still go in at the end of the month, copy the total of my expenses from each category and put it on my budget template.

4) Stop and Look

At this point, stop and take a look at what you’ve got so far. Are your expenses greater than your income? It’s time to cut back significantly or find another source of income (or both). 

5) Set Goals

Now that you have an idea of your finances look like, it is time to set goals. Do you want to pay off debt? Do you need to save for an emergency fund?

6) Update You Budget

Budgeting is not set-it-forget-it. One of the budgeting skills you need to develop is to evaluate your budget every month and make adjustments.

There you have it! Now you’re well on your way to a workable budget!

As I have mentioned earlier, you are going to make mistakes and it’s ok. No one got it the first time. Budgeting is a learning process, the more you do it, the better you get at it.

Do you have a budget yet?

Now that you know the Basics Steps Of Budgeting, come back tomorrow and I will share with you What Makes  Budget Healthy.

If you haven’t yet, download the Master A Budget Workbook to practice what you will learn from this series.

Basic Steps To Create A Budget

Basic Steps Of Budgeting (Master A Budget Series)

Best Apps For Better Budgeting (Master A Budget Series)

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Best Budgeting Apps

Welcome back to the Master A Budget Series! Yesterday, we talked about Emergency Fund and Sinking Funds; today, you will learn the best apps for better budgeting out there.

Let’s dive in.

In the world that we live in nowadays, everything is taken over by technology. And budgeting is not an exception.

As with everything else that has an app, the budgeting world has its own, not one but a bunch of apps. 

Don’t get me wrong, budgeting with the cash envelope still exists but today you will learn more about budgeting apps.

These budgeting apps can help you budget and save money. The only problem is which is the best one.

In this post, you will learn some of the best budgeting apps out there that can make budgeting as easy as pie.

Here is a list of the best budgeting apps out there.

Best Apps For Better Budgeting

Each of the apps below has its own pros and cons, choose the one that will best suit you. I would recommend using only one so that you can maintain your focus.

EveryDollar

This app is based on Dave’s Ramsey’s principles of “Baby Steps”. You can set unlimited budgets and track all your spending.

This app follows the zero-based budgeting, meaning every dollar in your income has a job. The app allows you to see it in real-time if all your income is budgeted, if not, you will be able to make adjustments easily.

The best thing about the EveryDollar app is it is accessible on your smartphone, therefore making tracking your expenses manageable.

It is also FREE, although if you want to connect it with your bank accounts, you will need to upgrade to the paid version. I have used the free version and it works really well.

Mint

Mint has been around for a long time and they have made a lot of improvements on it. This app automatically tracks all your transactions and categorizes them when you connect your bank accounts.

Unlike EverDollar, connecting your bank accounts with Mint is FREE.

The best thing about the Mint is it alerts you when you are spending more than your budget amount.

It also gives you free access to your credit score with tips and strategies for improvement.

Budgeting can help you to be more efficient with your monthly budget. Here are the best budgeting apps that you should check out.

Personal Capital

Personal Capital is more of an investment management service but they also have budgeting features.

It allows you to see all your cash flow, where your money coming from and where are you spending it.

Also, it allows you to set a budget, shows you how much you’ve spent in the last 30 days and compares your spending to the previous month.

Personal Capital does not have the fancy features of a budgeting app but the best thing about it is the retirement planner.

It gives you an idea if you are saving enough for retirement and if not, it gives you tips for improvement.

What I love about this app is the personal net worth feature. You will be able to track your assets and liabilities through this app for FREE.

Honey Money

Honey Money is an app that aims to raise awareness and gain control of your money. This app simply tracks all your income and expenses without unnecessary features.

It is a cash-flow based app so you have a visual on how much you have and how much you need to save. It is best for those who have irregular incomes.

The best thing about Honey Money is the clean and user-friendly interface. It’s actually a fun and interesting app.

The only downside is it is NOT FREE. However, you can try it for FREE for 30 days.

You Need A Budget

You Need A Budget is also a paid app but this app makes the subscription worth it by having a lot of features that make a comprehensive budget. Its envelope-based system puts every dollar to work.

It also uses the approach that makes last month’s income take care of the current month’s expenses, which allows you to get ahead in your budget and not live paycheck to paycheck.

The best thing about YNAB is its debt pay off feature which allows you to focus on paying off your debt and gives you motivation by tracking your progress.

Although it is not free, you can also try them for FREE for 34 days.

You can learn more budgeting tools by checking out The Best Tools You Need For An Organized Budget.

Are Budget Apps Safe?

You might be already wondering if budget apps are safe when I mentioned connecting your bank accounts to the apps.

As with anything in life, nothing is certain and that’s including the cyber world.

Although these apps are made with the safety of customers in mind, things can happen and hackers can have their way in.

These reputable institutions are continuously working on safeguarding their customers.

Moreover, you as a customer can help safeguard your account by using unique passwords and also by changing them periodically.

There you have it!

There is no perfect budgeting app but you can make any app perfect for you if you stick with your budget.

Now that you have learned about the best budgeting apps for better budgeting, next up on the series is you will learn the basics of How To Create A Budget.

If you haven’t yet, download the Master A Budget Workbook to practice what you will learn from this series.

What are the best apps for better budgeting on your list? Let me know in the comments.

Looking for the best budgeting app? Here is a list of the best budgeting apps that you should check out.

Best Apps For Better Budgeting (Master A Budget Series)