From Student Loans to $5,000,000: What I Learned About Blogging, Money, and Freedom

This year marks 14 years of blogging for me. Every year, I like to reflect on my blog and the business that I’ve built. Here’s what I think about blogging after earning over $5,000,000 and working online for over a decade.

Over a decade ago, I started this blog with no real plan. I was just a 20-something with a lot of student loan debt and a dream of becoming debt-free. I had no experience, no formal writing background, and no idea what I was doing. But I knew I needed a change.

Today, that tiny blog – Making Sense of Cents – has earned over $5,000,000. That number still surprises me.

But what might surprise you even more is what I’ve learned along the way. Because this journey hasn’t just been about money.

It’s been about freedom, flexibility, mistakes, growth, and figuring out what success really means.

Recommended reading: How To Monetize A Blog: How I Grew A $5 Million Blog

Who I am and why I started this blog

Before we begin, I want to quickly share some information about myself and my blog in case you’re new here.

I’m Michelle Schroeder-Gardner, the founder of Making Sense of Cents. I started this blog in 2011 when I was drowning in student loan debt and monthly bills, and I was looking for a way to improve my financial situation.

Back then, I had no idea my little blog would grow into a full-time business, allow me to leave my day job, help me travel full-time, and eventually earn millions of dollars online.

I simply just liked the blogging community, learning new ways to make and save money, and hearing about everyone’s debt payoff, travel, and early retirement stories. I have always found it really motivating and exciting!

I went full-time with my blog in 2013 when I quit my day job as a financial analyst. I realized that I could make a full-time income with my blog, and I loved it so much that I took the steps to make the leap. And, I’ve been doing this full-time ever since!

Some fun stats about Making Sense of Cents:

• My first blog post went live on August 10, 2011. You can read it here.
• I have written over 2,000 articles on Making Sense of Cents, but I deleted many of them a couple of years ago (because I didn’t think they were good or they were outdated) and currently have 1,556 published.
• I have received 168,710 emails (this does not even include the countless emails I have deleted over the years, so the number is probably over 1 million, haha!). I haven’t included promotional emails in this total either!
• I have received 66,181 comments on my blog posts.
• It took me six months to make my first $100 on this blog, Making Sense of Cents.
• While I no longer publish blog income reports nor share my income (I stopped due to privacy reasons, but you can find the past ones here – Blog Income Reports From A Multi-Million Blog), from 2011 to 2018, I made around $5,000,000 total. Since 2018, I have made a good income each year that I am very happy with.

Recommended reading: I’ve Done Over 20 Side Hustles in My Life: Here’s What I Think of Each

What I’ve Learned After 10+ Years of Blogging

If you’re just starting a blog or wondering if it’s still worth it right now, I want to share the biggest lessons that actually mattered. These are the things that surprised me most – the parts no one really tells you about.

The biggest impact wasn’t just the money – it was the freedom

Earning a full-time income from my blog was something I used to only dream about. And over time, that income kept growing – more than I ever expected when I started.

Yes, I’ve earned millions from blogging. And while I’m very, very thankful for that, the number itself wasn’t the most exciting part.

What really changed everything wasn’t the money; it was what that money made possible:

• I could work fewer hours and build a flexible schedule.
• I was able to travel more and say yes to experiences I used to only read about.
• I had the freedom to say no to things that didn’t feel right for me.
• And most importantly, I gained time – time to be with my family, to rest, to live slower when I wanted to.

The freedom is what I value most. And that’s what I hope for everyone – whether they earn $5,000 or $5 million.

Blogging still works (yes, even right now)

I hear it all the time: “Is it too late to start a blog?”

The short answer: Absolutely not.

Blogging has changed, sure. You have to care more about the different ways to grow a blog and your content needs to stand out.

But I still think that people like to read blog posts and that blogging is still about helping people solve problems, share ideas, and build trust.

Here’s why blogging still works:

• People still Google questions – and they want answers from real people.
• You own your blog – unlike social media platforms that can change overnight. So, even if you plan on starting a social media account where you mainly plan on being active, I still highly, highly recommend having your own website to go along with it.
• It’s flexible – you can build a blog around your schedule, your passions, and your goals.

I also know people who have started blogs recently – within the past year – and they’re already growing their traffic, earning income, and building a business that they enjoy. So, I think it’s still possible to start a successful blog today.

My biggest wins came from things I didn’t plan

Some of the best moments in my blogging journey weren’t part of a strategy – they were just me following things I was interested in or saying yes to something new.

For example:

• I wrote a post about how I paid off my student loans in 7 months. That one post was shared like crazy and brought in tons of traffic.
• I started answering the same reader questions over and over about affiliate marketing – so I turned those answers into a course (Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing), which has now helped thousands of bloggers.
• One week, I played a game on my phone and ended up earning over $300 – so I wrote about it. That easy and real blog post brought in more affiliate income than many that I spent weeks writing.

These weren’t strategized business moves. They were just me being honest and helpful.

Lesson: You don’t have to have it all figured out. Just start, pay attention, and be open to what unfolds.

What I thought would matter … didn’t

I used to think I needed:

• A fancy and expensive website. I absolutely love my design, but I know other bloggers who have spent tens of thousands of dollars on their blog design – and that is definitely not needed for the average blog! You can find premade blog designs from my web designer here (and save a lot of money!).
• A big social media following.
• A super strict publishing schedule.
• A huge team of people working for me.

But honestly? None of that mattered as much as I thought it would.

What mattered more:

• Writing content that actually helped people.
• Being consistent (not daily – just consistent).
• Building trust with my audience.

You can spend months tweaking your logo or colors. But if your content isn’t solving problems or telling a story people connect with, it won’t get pageviews.

So, focus on what matters: your message, your readers, your story.

I receive so many emails from readers who are worried about the small stuff when really, you just need to start. You can make changes and improvements as you go, and I think just getting started is great because it will teach you so much!

Blogging let me build a life I love – but that took boundaries

There was a time when I worked 60+ hours a week on my blog. I was hustling hard – trying to grow traffic, create content, and manage everything myself.

Eventually, I hit a wall.

Burnout is real. And it doesn’t matter how much you love your blog – if you’re working nonstop, you will get tired.

What helped:

• Setting work hours (and sticking to them).
• Taking real breaks – like full weeks off.
• Outsourcing tasks I didn’t enjoy or that took me too long (like tech stuff, graphic design, or editing).

Boundaries helped me enjoy blogging again and live the life I actually wanted.

The best investment I made was in myself

I used to think investing in tools or courses was risky.

In the beginning, when I first started my blog, spending $100 felt scary. But over time, I realized that the biggest returns came from investing in myself and this business.

That included:

• Taking courses that taught me about SEO, Pinterest, Facebook, and the different ways to monetize a blog.
• Paying for professional tools that have saved me hours of time.
• Hiring help so I could focus on creating content (a task that I enjoy) instead of burning out.

If you’re scared to invest in yourself, start small, like buying your blog domain and your web hosting.

Your blog can start small and still change everything

When I started this blog, no one was reading it. I didn’t have a “business plan.” I was just writing posts about budgeting, debt, and what I was doing.

But that small start led to a business I never could have imagined.

You don’t need:

• A huge audience
• Fancy photos
• A viral launch

You just need to start. Write one helpful post. Then another. And another. Connect with your readers. Answer their questions. Keep showing up.

Success in blogging isn’t about going viral. It’s about being useful, trustworthy, and consistent.

What’s next for me

After more than a decade of blogging, I’m at a point in my life and business where I feel financially secure. I’ve hit my version of financial independence (FIRE – Financial Independence, Retire Early).

That doesn’t mean I’m quitting work completely (I enjoy what I do too much for that).

But it does mean I’m changing how I work.

My goal now is to work less – without sacrificing the full-time income I’ve built. I want more slow days, more time outside, more adventures with my family.

And when it comes to this blog, I plan to spend my time doing the parts I love most:

• Writing and sharing helpful, honest blog posts that really connect with readers.
• Answering emails and messages from people in my community.

I’ve realized that I don’t need to say yes to everything.

I’ll be focusing less on the busy work and more on what matters. That’s the freedom this blog has given me.

These days, I’m more focused on working smarter, doing what I enjoy, and keeping things simple. I’m not trying to grow as fast as possible – I just want to keep helping readers, share what I learn, and enjoy the freedom this blog has created for me.

Recommended reading: How I Created a Life That Doesn’t Revolve Around Work

Want to start a blog?

If blogging is something you’re thinking about, I 100% encourage you to give it a try.

You don’t have to be tech-savvy. You don’t need a huge social media following.

If you want help getting started, I have a free blogging course that over 80,000 people have taken. It walks you through how to:

• Set up your blog.
• Choose a topic to write about.
• Write helpful content.
• Start earning from affiliate marketing, ads, and more.

You can join here: Free How To Start A Blog Course

From Side Hustle to Freedom: What I’ve Learned After 10+ Years of Blogging – Summary

I started this blog with one little goal: pay off my student loans. I didn’t even think I would make money from my blog; I simply wanted to learn more about the different ways to make extra money and learn from the financial blogging community.

What I got was so much more than that.

Blogging gave me freedom. It helped me leave a job that wasn’t making me happy. It allowed me to create a business I love, one that supports my family and gives me time to be present in my life.

It also gave me confidence. I never thought of myself as a writer or an entrepreneur. But through blogging, I learned to trust myself – to try new things, to fail, to grow, and to keep going.

If you’re thinking about starting a blog, here’s my advice:

• Start now. Don’t wait until it’s perfect.
• Be honest. Share your real experiences.
• Focus on helping others.
• Stay consistent, even when it feels slow.

You never know where it might take you.

What’s your biggest goal right now? I’d love to hear about it!

Recommended reading: