A few years ago I was dealing with debilitating single mom stress, well just plain stress, to the point that I started having hot flash and night sweats on an hourly basis. It was really bad! I couldn’t think straight because my mind was foggy. I was dealing with depression, doing the model mommy thing, and working through dissolving a toxic relationship. This went on for a year or so when I finally decided to get help. I went to the doctor and they put me on anti-depressants and start me on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) because I was entering menopause. I was only 32 years old! Ugh!
I did the anti-depressants for a couple of months and I refused to go on HRT. The meds I was taking was making me feel like my head was detached from my body. I really couldn’t function and I was afraid I was not going to be alert enough to take care of my kids. I was also scared to drive even though I hadn’t taken medicine for a couple of days. The affects of the medicine was still in my system making me feel drowsy and crazy in my head. I had to do something so I researched a few natural therapies I could use to deal with the stress.
I found out about lavender, meditation, EFT, and Valerian root. I used a combination of these things to finally get stress relief.
I use Valerian Root first. I heard about it when I was younger so I knew it had a calming affect. I could take it everyday without it making me drowsy and disconnected. It was not addictive so I started taking it daily. I felt better within a week. I slept better at night and didn’t feel jittery or nervous.
The next thing I tried was EFT or emotional freedom technique. I was researching ways to deal with the emotional issues I was having and came across this new method of treating them. I learned how to do the technique and got some results. It wasn’t until years later that I really started using it and got unbelievable results. I’ll have to do a different post on just this method alone.
Stress Relief Tip #3
Finally, I started using lavender. I bought sachets to put under my pillow at night and found spray products that had the fragrance in it. I really like it because of the smell and the calming affects. Recently I bought a product off Amazon called Tranquility by Phytopia. It’s a massage oil that has a very nice lavender fragrance. It’s strong but not overwhelming so I can use it at night, which is how they recommend you use it. I slept for eight hours and felt great the next morning.
I don’t know what kind of stress you are dealing with personally. If it’s anything like mine was I recommend that you run to the health food store or Amazon (free 2-day shipping is awesome) and pick up the items I used. You can go to the EFT website and read more about it or search for it on YouTube.
Being on anti-depressants wasn’t the answer for me. I could not function and I did not know what kind of damage it was doing to my body. I just didn’t want to risk addiction. Dealing with the issues was the best thing for me because I wanted to be completely healed from the stress, depression, anxiety, and other emotional issues.
Watch the video, 3 Quick Single Mom Stress Relief Tips, if you don’t want to read it
Get Help and Get Healthy!
If you are dealing with dark thoughts, feel like you can’t get yourself together, or want to harm yourself (or your kids) please get help. Do not suffer alone!
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
A girl in her midtwenties who wore a peasant shirt arrived for a simple checkup of her sprained right wrist. She’d been
wearing a brace and managing within her work restrictions. Blonde-haired and doe-eyed, she appeared reserved but polite. I proceeded to examine the wrist and check the fit of the brace. I also offered her a different medication and asked about physical therapy.
We then chitchatted a bit, during which she told me she was working an assembly line job and raising her sons, but she’d just graduated from acting school and was very excited to audition the next day for a commercial in Cincinnati. She thought it was important to show her sons the importance of following a dream by following her own. She said she’d always wanted to portray characters that brought out emotions in those watching. I commended her for this and wished her the best for the audition.
I encouraged her to show the joy in what she was doing, even if it was an awkward tryout, as though the time on stage would truly be what she’d be doing for a living; projecting her comfort would allow the producers to feel more relaxed and happy to hire her for the part. I asked her if there was anything else about her health that we should talk about, and she stated she’d had migraines since childhood.
I felt a sense of properness while in the room with her; a sense of calmness that was more like forced tranquility than genuine peace. So, I brought to her attention that allowing her true feelings to come out, such as anger, would not only help with her migraines but also with her performance on stage. I felt that somewhere during this young adult’s upbringing, she’d learned to turn off any anger, having judged and condemned it as improper.
“As a matter of fact,” I told her, “anger can be very helpful.”
I recommended that she join a self-defense class where she could strike out, kick, and punch, and with each one of these offensive moves, assign with it something that happened to her that caused her to feel angry. She was to channel that feeling and event into every strike.
I told her that if she did that, she would not only help her migraines but also be able to channel that emotion in the human characters she played. I explained that the suppression of this emotion doesn’t get rid of it but instead just chains it up for a while and builds inner pressure that can result in all sorts of destructive influence on the body. Emotions are vibrations, and the body, under poor vibrations, can develop disease and be unwell, exhibiting symptoms such as migraines, ulcers, and stomach issues.
She nodded in agreement and said that in her final exam at acting school, she’d had to deliver part of a monologue of a very angry woman, standing alone on stage. She said she had done very poorly because she hadn’t been able to get in touch with the anger. I’d told her that it made a lot of sense because she’d never given herself permission to access it. While she worked through this, I recommended that she try butterbur, an herb showing promise in treating migraines, embraced by large neurology clinics for its effectiveness and low side effect profile.
I then asked if I could say a prayer with her for her audition and new dream career. She agreed, and I held in my mind the portrait of her as an actress who was so in touch with each of her emotions that she could portray any character, and the genuineness of this would be felt by all the audience members, who would be in turn inspired to find the genuine nature in their own lives. I saw this so clearly for her and asked that she be guided to this, as she felt comfortable in allowing it to happen. She’d been an inspiration, and I was blessed with a new realization about prayer from our visit.
In having prayed and seen the young actress so sharply in my mind’s eye doing and loving what she wanted so much to do, I felt what true prayer is. True prayer is holding a deeply felt, detailed image of someone’s best self, when he or she isn’t yet able to do so. I was reminded of Jesus among the sick. He saw his fellow beings in their full state of radiant health, walking with their beds instead of focusing on their lameness and skin lesions. He held so strongly the vibration of their well-being that they all let go of their own beliefs of sickness in his presence. We can all do this for each other by focusing on each other’s best selves and holding that in our hearts as our image of them.
——–
About the author
Dr. Amy E. Coleman is the CEO and founder of Wellsmart, a company that cultivates technologies and healthcare strategies that strengthen the patient/doctor relationship. She served as a United States Air Force flight surgeon, and was appointed the youngest and first female Commander of the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Clinic. There, she helped guide global medical missions and build creative clinic systems, including those employing complementary care methods still employed today throughout the Air Force.
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
As parents, there are plenty of lessons we need to impart to our children – like learning how to say “please” and “thank you”, apologizing when you hurt someone, and the importance of flossing. But for some parents, there’s one more valuable lesson they often neglect to teach their children about: managing money.
It’s never easy to talk about money–especially to kids. But sheltering your children from the grown-up realities of money will not help them make sound financial decisions in the future. This could put their financial wellness, and even yours, at risk.
So how can you avoid such fate? Pass on good financial habits to your children! Try these tips to raise money-savvy kids.
Some parents are often reluctant to talk to their kids about money, often entirely avoiding the subject as much as possible. But this could do more harm than good. Children who grow up without a clear understanding of the value of money and how to use it may experience financial troubles in the future. That’s why it’s vital to be open about the subject as early as possible. And you can start by simply answering your kids’ questions.
You may be surprised at what they already know and the concepts you think they know but actually are still unfamiliar with.
Sometimes the best way for kids to learn about money is by letting them handle it themselves. You can do this by giving an allowance that corresponds to your child’s age. You can also choose to give them money in exchange for doing household chores, such as washing the dishes, cleaning their rooms, or contributing to other family duties. This is a great way to teach kids that money doesn’t simply pop out of nowhere, but is earned.
As your kids receive their allowance, give them full control over how they use their money. If he or she chooses to spend the entire allowance on one day, let your child be. The goal here is to let your child make mistakes and learn from them. Kids will learn a lot from the decisions they make, instead of being constantly lectured or reprimanded by parents.
Even if you’ve had hours-long conversations about money management with your kids, your efforts are still bound to fail miserably if your children don’t see you practice what you preach. So it’s important that you set a good example.
For example, if you’re explaining the importance of saving to your children, make sure that you have a rainy day fund to show for it. Or if you want your kids to be smarter about their spending, share your past spending mistakes and the consequences and lessons you gained from them. Use every opportunity to be a good role model to your kids and demonstrate the benefits of becoming money-savvy.
Remember, financially confident kids turn out to be financially responsible adults. So make sure to keep these tips in mind to help your children enjoy healthy financial futures.
Author Bio:
Mari writes for Loansolutions to help educate people in making informed-decisions on taking out loans and becoming responsible borrowers. Being the COO, she feels it is her social responsibility to do so. Learn more from her as she shares tips, advises and stories on finance. Also, she’s fond of 9GAG, so you might read some random stuff over here.
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
This little guide is an introduction to the 13 money lessons that will bring you peace, prosperity, and a brand new outlook on money. I have learned these lessons my life as a single mom. Being financially responsible for my children basically forced me to learn these lessons because I did not want to be a welfare mom statistic.
The tips in this booklet range from ways to control your financial life to a plethora of savings strategies for your big and small dreams.
Managing money as a single mom (or anyone) can be challenging when the income source is deficient. The secrets discussed here will show you how to use what you have, heal from your disappointments, and learn how to magnetize more money.
Let’s dive in!
1. Controlled Spending = More Freedom
To turbo charge your financial life begin by developing a spending plan to avoid overspending. If the word budget conjures up feelings of restriction and lack; call it a spending plan.
Understand that when you develop a spending plan you feel more in control and it’s easier to stop overspending.
The first thing to do is think about and list everything you need, and then assign a dollar amount to each item.
Review your past spending trends to get an accurate look of how much you spend for bills, food, clothing, car/ transportation, and entertainment.
Review your bank account online for a ready source for seeing where your money goes.
2. Give a Kid a Dime He’s Happy for a Day Teach Him About a Dollar He’s Set for Life (Kids & Money)
Kids should know how the money is spent so that they can be more sensitive to money limitations.
When kids know approximately how much money is coming in and how much has to go out to maintain a life they will be more sensitive to your role as provider.
Knowledge about financial obligations might encourage kids to find ways to earn money on their own.
3. Hedge off Disaster or Head to Vacation (Rainy Day Funds)
Have a savings plan to prepare for emergencies? It is hard to predict when an emergency will happen that requires a large chunk of cash.
Putting away money for a rainy day is very empowering (I’m speaking to myself here).
If you have money saved, that is specifically for these times, your stress level will go way down.
A stash of cash can relieve feelings of desperation and resorting to uncharacteristic behaviors.
Most financial gurus recommend that you have $1k-3k in savings. If you can manage to save at least $500 that is better than nothing.
Open up a separate account for your rainy day fund. Use your tax refund, raises, or other windfalls of cash to fund this account.
4. Get Smart About Child Support
Get child support payments direct deposited if possible. There is nothing worse than waiting for a check to arrive in the mail from your ex.
If you are getting support through the state, you should have the direct deposit option.
If you have an agreement with your ex, insist on having the funds automatically transferred to your account. The money will be taken out automatically so you won’t have to worry about getting the funds on time.
5. Keep More of Your Money in Banking Transactions
Join a Credit Union to avoid outrageous bank fees. Your money will earn interest over time.
If you are eligible to join, you can easily become a member by completing a membership application, depositing and maintaining the minimum par value of a share (generally ranging from $5 to $25), and paying a one-time membership fee if the credit union charges such a fee.
As a member, you will have the right to vote at the credit union’s annual membership meeting for the credit union’s board of directors and its other officials. All of the officials are comprised of members, like yourself, from its field of membership. (MyCreditUnion.gov)
Banks are notorious for nickel and diming people to death. There is a fee for everything from checks to account balances below a certain amount. A credit union may be available through your employer, your state, or your school. Find a credit union near you.
An alternative is an insurance-run financial institution like USAA or PenFed. These types of banks
6. Knowledge is Power for Purchases (Research, Research)
Research products or services online for quality and price before purchasing. Before you go out and buy a product or hire someone to do a job for you please, please check online.
When you research prices and quality of service you can same much time, effort and possible frustration.
Take a class on starting a business through the local Chamber of Commerce or SCORE. You don’t have to have an MBA to run a business but you can take a class.
8. Master Your Mindset About Money as You Think So Your Will Money Be
Change your thinking about money. For many people, especially single moms, money has many negative connotations. You don’t have it, there is not enough of it, and you don’t know where the next batch is coming from. We have a tendency to think that it is out of reach so we struggle with it.
Money is simply a tool to get the things we need and want. Of course not having it and thinking about your lack will not make it come to you any faster.
When you change your thinking about money, see its true purpose, and realize it’s abundance, you will have more of it.
Remember that there is more money available for you. Whenever I have to pay a bill, write a check, or spend money I keep that thought in mind. I will have more, not because I am doing anything special but because I just know that it will come again.
Let the money go to receive more. Think of it as a Money Cycle. Sometimes we get so caught up in holding on to money with such tight fists that we fail to realize that, “a closed hand cannot receive more”.
9. Creative Ways to Get Anything You Want with Little to No Money
When you look around the world it seems like everything requires money, but I want to share a little secret with you. It doesn’t.
There are ways to get anything you want out of life with little to no money. All it takes a bit of outside the box thinking and a little creativity. Read on to find out how to get more out of life with less money.
Discover other ways to get what you really want (money may not be the bottom line). With money constantly on the brain we forget that it is not what we really want.
The true needs are:
A roof over our heads
food to eat
clothes to wear
a problem solved
If you can look past money and see the true need or want, it’s easier to release the tension and negative thoughts about money and your situation.
Open your creative eyes and you find ways to get what you need without being burdened by the “not enough money” syndrome.
Bartering with Family/Friends
Barter with others including moms, small businesses, your health providers, etc.
Bartering was the first form of exchanging goods for services.
The basic idea is to give something to get something. You may have something that others need or want. It may be a product, service, or personal item.
Others may have what you want so you come to an agreement to exchange things or time instead of money.
The barter system is a temporary way to get what you need when money is flowing in slower than you want.
Join a Barter Club
There are bartering clubs all over the world. I belong to a club called TradeBank, and organized bartering club. I get what I need from members of the club using trade dollars. The value of a trade dollar is just like a real dollar.
You earn trade dollars by performing a service or delivering a product. Your trade account grows and give you more trade power. You can get medical, dental, contractor, retail, and other services. The Tradebank network is currently in cities across the US.
Join or Organize a Swap Meet/ Trade/ Exchange Group
Look for local swap meets with a regular schedule. You can connect with other women who have clothes, shoes, kids’ items, baby equipment, etc. that they want to swap with you. If you do not find one in your area you can start your own with ladies in your neighborhood, church, or community center. You can find out about swap meets on Facebook, Craigslist, and other community newspaper or classified ad sites.
Check out Freecycle Groups
People are always giving away free stuff in these groups. They’d rather give away stuff they don’t need to people who can really use it and appreciate it. There are hundreds around the country so you should be able to find one in your area. I’ve seen (and given away) furniture, equipment, clothing, and so much more. Here is the Freecycle link to check it out and find one in your city.
10. Truth About Being Need-y vs. Want-y
Learn to separate your wants and needs
Sometimes it is hard to separate our needs from our wants. Air, water, food, and shelter are really the only things we need to survive. Okay we need clothes too, but the basics are few. The rest of the stuff is optional.
Plan your purchases
When you see that you need (or want) a new thing it is very important to plan the purchase.
Write down what you need/want, do the research, save the money, and then make the purchase.
Make the wanted item a reward for doing certain challenging tasks that you may be procrastinating about.
11. The Giving and Gratitude Cycle is Huge for Prosperity
Your attitude about money plays a big role in how prosperous you become (and remain).
There is a saying, “the more you give, the more you get”. I’d like to add my own twist to it; “the attitude of your giving determines the altitude of your getting”.
The more grateful or thankful about the money in your life the more you will get. The more grateful for the things you have in your life the more you have. The more grateful for the people who help you the more people want to help you.
The same goes with the way you give. Give more (with gratitude) and you get more.
The interesting thing is you will rarely receive from the same place you gave. In other words, you will most likely not get anything from the homeless man on the street or the person you give a bag of clothes. You will get from a completely different source and often you will get back double what you gave.
Here are a few ways to practice giving with gratitude to increase your prosperity:
Pay your bills with a grateful heart. The services you receive in exchange for your money are essential for living.
Be grateful because you have the benefit of using the services provided by the city, phone company, car finance company, and on and on.
Allow the changed perspective to change your attitude about paying bills. You could be in a homeless shelter, unemployed, or living with your parents
Lights, water, a car, gasoline, food, and many other necessary services are reasons to be grateful. Paying the bills is a blessing so pay with a happy heart!
12. Get Obsessive-Compulsive About Saving
Get creative with your savings techniques. Piggy bank, change jar, online interest bearing account, PayPal, or mattresses. All of these items and location are places to save your money.
Where Will You Save?
It really isn’t about where you save it but how you save it. Here are a few ideas to get your saving juices flowing:
Savings can come out in addition to tithe or other charitable donations.
Savings may come out before taxes on the payroll into a 401K account.
Still others save all their loose change and deposit it when it overflows the container they are using.
The key to the savings method you decide to use, is to be consistent.
Saving $5 or $10 per pay period or per month is better than saving nothing at all.
Keeping it safe from your prying hands may be a challenge but when you commit to saving, and you have a purpose behind it, you will leave it alone.
The Big Savings “Why”
Decide why you are saving your money, find a picture to keep prominently on your bathroom mirror, and start saving.
Tape a picture to the fridge, go to online and look at the features, and plan how you are going to use item you want.
Save or invest your windfall (tax returns, student loan refunds, stimulus checks, monetary gifts).
Windfall Savings Method
The tax season is prime time for a money windfall especially for single moms. The child tax credit and earned income credit is the reason we get a fat tax refund.
Commit to saving at least half of your refund. Use the other half to pay down debt or may annual purchases such as car registration, insurance, or other yearly expense.
When you get that stimulus check put that in the pot too, along with your student loan refund, and that birthday gift money.
If you play the lottery, put your winnings in there too! 😉
13. Embrace True Independence and Make Awesome Financial Decisions
Too often we are focused on the loneliness of single motherhood so we can’t see the blessing it is to be independent. If you can see past the negative you will discover that your independence is a ticket to an amazing financial life. Change your mindset so you can change your life. Here are seven perspective shifts you can make to embrace your financial independence:
Relish the thought of not having to answer to anyone for your financial decisions. As a single mom you have such autonomy.
Every purchase you make for the benefit of you and your kids is worry free.
To save or spend; get in debt or get out of debt is all up to you.
There is no one to question you or blame you if there is no money in the bank and you don’t have to fight with anyone about balancing the checkbook or taking money out without letting you know.
Money is one of the major reasons for divorce so there is something to be said about separate accounts and a house account.
Resolve any money issue you have and get settled before embarking on a new relationship.
Just promise me that you will check out his financial history and habits first before committing to a long-term relationship or marriage with him.
Now that you know these 13 powerful money lessons, pass them on to your kids so they will have the best financial start in life. You are their best teacher not because of what you say but because of what you do.
Which of these lessons will you apply to your life first?
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
We are living in a time when anyone can become an entrepreneur and make money on the web. Blogging is one of many ways to do this and is one of the easiest ways to bring in some mad money. I get asked all the time, “What is a blog and how do I start one?” The next question is, “how can I make money just writing about my life on a website?” or “how can I setup a profitable niche blog?”
The most important question is, “what will I talk or write about?” For single moms the topics are endless. You can talk about your struggles and triumphs. You can discuss your finances like Emma Johnson does over at Wealthy Single Mommy. If you have a pet project or pets you can blog about them. If you have goals that you are trying to reach blog, about it. If it’s about your quest to buy a house, a car, or start or finish college, write about that. If you are recovering from an abusive relationship, blog about your journey or, if you just got engaged blog about the wedding plans.
It’s best that your topic stays pretty focused so that your readers know what to expect and so that potential sponsors can target its advertising on your site. Focusing the content of your site also helps you in creating new posts and makes you something of an expert in your subject matter. Planning your content around a focal point gives you a lot of ideas to work with and expand on. It also cuts down on confusion and writer’s block.
Adding different elements to your blog to make it interactive is essential for getting people to come back. So is updating your blog regularly (at least once a week).
After you have written a few entries on your blog you will want the world to know about it. There are several ways to accomplish this goal.
Submit your blog to blog directories, more specifically directories that fall within your topic range.
Promote your post on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media channels.
Add metadata to your blog template (it’s not hard) so that the search engines can find it.
Speaking of search engines, be sure to add tags to your post each time and use keywords within your post that people normally search.
There is a lot more to blogging but with these basics, you can have one up and running in no time.
If you have been contemplating starting a blog or website your timing couldn’t be better. Blogs are a perfect way to share your passion with the world and make money too.
But how do you start a blog?
That is one of the biggest questions I get when I tell people that I’ve been blogging for years. Here is how to set your blog/ website up in four steps:
The first step is to decide what you want to share with the world. Is it a hobby, your experience as a single mom, specialty cooking, your profession, or how much you love travel, dogs, or playing darts.
A blog can be about anything you want it to be about. With that being said you also want to decide if your topic is something other people want to read about or are researching.
Even though you have a blog, it is not guaranteed that if you build it they will come. Your topic does need to have some appeal so people will visit. Those visitors can turn into clients or customers.
Now that you know what you are going to blog about the next step is to get it set up. You will need a place for your blog to live.
You can create a blog pretty easily on a free site like blogger or WordPress.com and be up and running, but you will have a few limitations.
If you plan to make money I recommend setting up your blog so you own it outright. It is like you own the property instead of having to pay to play.
The first thing you need is a domain name. With a Blogger or WordPress.com site, your blog name will be something like yourblogname.blogspot.com or yourblogname.wordpress.com. Very different from yourblogname.com.
Go for originality and get your own domain name. I love GoDaddy.com because they always have special and discounts. You can get a domain name for $.99 sometimes. When it’s time to renew you will have to pay full price but $.99 for a year is a great way to see how you like your blog and the entire process.
Blog Setup Step 3 – Get Website Hosting
The next thing you need is a place for your blog to live. It’s called a hosting site.
Most websites and blogs live on a hosted server. I won’t go into all the technical details but that is how it is unless you have your own private server which can get expensive. So get your hosting through a reputable company.
This blog, RichSingleMomma.com, has been hosted on Hostgator.com for the last seven years or so. I haven’t had any issues with them and they have always helped me when I needed them.
Why can’t I use a free blogging service? Why set up a blog on your own server?
You could set up a free blog on Blogger.com or WordPress.com and it could look very nice. But you would be at the mercy of someone else’s whims. If they don’t like what you put on your blog they could shut you down and you’d lose all your hard work in an instant.
In the case of WordPress.com, you are not allowed to place ads or products to make money on your site. You cannot put Adsense or any other money generating ad networks on your blog.
With your own WordPress blog that is hosted on your server, you own everything and never have to worry about being shut down or limiting your money generating activities.
Here are the steps to set up your Hostgator website hosting service:
Choose Your Domain Name
If you have a domain name already you can skip this part
Choose your plan
I recommend you choose the 36-month plan to get the most bang for your buck. You can add unlimited domains to your plan.
Enter a username and pin code to access your new account
Enter your billing information
Choose optional add-on services
You can add them now or later. You might find them useful especially if you are concerned with hacking, monitoring, or want email service from Google. Your account comes with email capability so you don’t really need this part.
Enter a coupon code (if applicable)
If you find a coupon code online you can enter it here. It can help reduce the cost of your hosting. Check RetailMeNot.com or CouponCabin.com to see if they have a code.
Review Your Order
You can see here that a 36-month plan can be less than $100! That is an amazing bargain for online real estate. Yes you are now the proud owner of prime internet real estate. Congratulations!
Read the fine print
Your hosting price is an introductory price. The renewal price may be a bit higher, but by that time you will have an extremely profitable niche blog! 😉 Click to accept the terms and then you are ready to check out.
Check Out
Click the check out button to make your purchase. You will receive an email with your account information and login details.
Once you have your hosting company, the next step is connecting your domain name to the hosting company.
You might be wondering why you can’t get them all in one place. You actually can, but I don’t recommend it. As a best practice, keep your domain name and hosting separate. You maintain more control over everything.
Now you are ready to point your domain name to your hosting. Go to the email you got from Hostgator and copy the Nameserver information to notepad. You will need that information to update the Nameserver.
You can watch the video below to see how to connect your domain name to Hostgator.
Now that you have your domain name and hosting connected it’s time for the fun part.
You will now install WordPress for your blog. It all happens in the back office of your hosting service.
Here is a video that shows you have to install WordPress.
Now that it’s installed you can begin to blog when you log into your blog’s admin area. Ready? Set. Go!
Now that you have your blog set up it’s time to think about how to make money from it. Here are three ways you can start making money from you blog:
1.Review and Recommend Products
When you build an audience you can begin reviewing and recommending products. Set up an Amazon Associates account and then link the products you recommend and get paid a commission when people click on the item.
2. Sell Products
If you are creative you can sell your own products. It can be t-shirts, crafts, jewelry, or something else. Set up a Gumroad or Shopify seller account to sell your goods or services.
3. Sell services
Depending on your blog theme you may be able to sell consulting services. You might offer virtual assistant, social media management, or coaching services.
It’s completely up to you to decide what will work for you.
Does this feel overwhelming? If so, you should check out my Free WordPress Setup offer. I will set up your blog for you on an easy to use template. Click Here to request this service now.
Are you ready to start a blog? What will you blog about? How will you make money from it? I’d love to know so do me a favor and leave a comment below.
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
Hi! Welcome to RichSingleMomma.com. I started this website almost a decade ago because I couldn't find any blogs back then that helped single moms with money. I was having some success in that area so I decided to share what I knew about side hustles, making extra money, and managing money. Read more...
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Dr. Amy E. Coleman is the CEO and founder of 
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