A newly listed Manhattan Beach property is aiming for the crown. Landing hot on the market with a $25 million asking price, a 5-bedroom oceanfront house with a coveted address on The Strand is looking to set a new real estate record.
Located at 1800 The Strand, the property sits on a prime beachfront corner lot, right at the heart of a vibrant beach scene. And not just any beach, but one of California’s finest.
The Strand, Manhattan Beach’s most exclusive address, stretches along the coastline of the Pacific Ocean, offering breathtaking ocean views and miles of clean, sandy beaches. Properties along The Strand are among the most desirable in California, offering direct beach access and proximity to high-end shops and gourmet restaurants.
Listed for $25 million with Bryn Stroyke (Co-Founder and Broker of Stroyke Properties Group at Bayside Real Estate Partners), 1800 The Strand has the potential to outshine all the other neighboring homes if it sells anywhere near its asking price.
So let’s take a closer look at the 5-bedroom home that can shatter Manhattan Beach’s real estate records.
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Specs & features
Clocking in at 5,329 square feet, the 2000-built home comes with 5 spacious bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms, and a 5-car garage parking (including two vaulted spaces) plus room for 2 more vehicles on the apron.
Custom-built to be “the best home on The Strand”
“When the home was finished in 2000, it was built out at over $700/SF which was an extraordinary number [at the time],” the property’s listing agent tells us, sharing that the beach house was lauded as the “best home on the Strand when it was completed.”
See also: Mark Cuban’s Million-Dollar-Mansions are the Definition of Luxury Living
It has a dramatic staircase
“The most dramatic element of the home is the custom floating spiral wood staircase which had to be lowered into the home via a skylight opening using a large crane. It’s very dramatic, and is the first thing you see when you walk in the front door,” agent Bryn Stroyke shares exclusively with Fancy Pants Homes.
And an open floorplan to take in the ocean views
Per the listing, the home’s open floor plan was designed to maximize natural light and embrace stunning vistas of the ocean, Manhattan Beach Pier, Palos Verdes Peninsula, and Catalina Island. Its strategic location benefits from the southern exposure unique to north-corner lots, capturing iconic views that elevate every gathering.
Standout areas include a bright & airy Great Room and a bedroom with views for days
With its rooms practically inviting the ocean in through its extra large windows, picking a favorite space is quite the task. Even the property’s agent had a hard time choosing a favorite:
“The most impressive room is probably the main living area’s Great Room, although the Primary Bedroom might have a bone to pick with that selection.“
Sporting a “best in class location”
“It is rare to get a best in class property that is also in a best in class location –– this home is it. Many people consider 1800 The Strand to be the absolute center of the bullseye and the very best corner lot on the Strand,” Bryn Stroyke says about the property’s enviable location, further detailing why the corner lot is so desirable:
“Corners are special not just because of the enhanced views but also because you get side yard patios and can actually build 2′ wider… which may not seem like a lot but on 33′ wide lots… it’s a difference-maker.”
Aiming for the crown: setting a new record for the most expensive home on The Strand
Known for its premium prices, Manhattan Beach has seen many properties on The Strand compete for the title of the priciest home sold in this upscale area. A modern, $36M house with luxury resort vibes gave it a shot a couple of years back, as did a $22 million Selling Sunset-featured property.
The numbers to beat
There’s also a triple-lot property that’s reportedly eyeing a $150 million sale, but none have managed so far to upstage the current record holder, a $19.2 million house at 508 The Strand — sold by the same team that currently reps 1800 The Strand.
However, the highest sale recorded in the area is still a lot value property at 1000 The Strand which sold in 2017 for $21 million.
Priced at $25 million, 1800 The Strand has all the potential to dethrone both current record holders and become the most expensive house ever sold in Manhattan Beach.
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As the latest season of the hit reality competition series “The Circle” hit our screens, we couldn’t help but notice that something looks a little bit different.
And no, we’re not talking about the new AI bot that has entered the chat (sorry, Max).
The reality show has a brand new building, a whole new series of colorful apartments, and a fresh filming location set on American soil — stepping away from the UK filming location where all international versions of the dating series have been filmed up until now.
Season 6 sees contenders take residence in a Midtown Atlanta apartment building, with each of their units meticulously designed by art director Karen Weber, a reality series vet who also worked on America’s Next Top Model.
And she took extra care in designing each apartment, as well as the communal spaces the contestants get to enjoy while filming the Netflix production.
So let’s take a closer look at the Atlanta building that now houses the popular series, the colorful The Circle apartments and the design principles that brought them to life, and how you too can book a stay here — though your apartment might look a tad different than those the contestants live in.
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The Circle building is now the Sonder Midtown South, in Atlanta
Unlike previous seasons and all other international versions of the series — which all filmed in Northern England, at the 206-unit Adelphi Wharf building in Salford, UK, right outside of Manchester — Season 6 takes place stateside in Atlanta, Georgia.
Offering a fresh setting for the drama to unfold, the Sonder Midtown South apartment building at 126 Renaissance Pkwy NE in Midtown Atlanta serves as the main filming location for the hit Netflix series.
Designing the colorful apartments
Art director Karen Weber led the charge in designing the vibrant new apartments, housed in the Sonder Midtown South building.
With communal spaces like a retro launderette and a rooftop courtyard, Weber aimed to create distinct yet cohesive living environments for the players, each measuring approximately 1,200 square feet.
And this was no easy feat, especially while trying to emulate the bold, colorful aesthetics the series is already known for.
Each apartment has its own theme and decor
From bold color palettes to whimsical themes inspired by Barbie and Wes Anderson, the transformed spaces offer a Pinterest-worthy aesthetic that’s sure to catch the eye of viewers.
The apartments, given names like Glamour Room and Artist Loft, were curated with furniture and decor sourced from vintage shops and salvage yards around Atlanta, lending them a bespoke feel.
For some spaces, art director Karen Weber aimed to create “really bright high energy,” while other rooms were meant to feel “more adult, laid-back, and [a] little more restful,” she shared on Netflix’s blog. After all, the players actually had to live in the spaces throughout filming, so comfort is key.
And while the budget was the same for each apartment in the new The Circle building, creating a variety of spaces and aesthetics is paramount to the show’s success.
“Giving producers that kind of a range [of types of spaces] lets them figure out who fits where,” Weber added.
Design inspiration for fans of the series
But in Weber’s eyes, the apartments aren’t just for the players who inhabit them.
She also wanted viewers watching along to imagine themselves in the living spaces and perhaps inspire them to transform their own — either by stenciling something on a wall or spray-painting fish scales on a bathroom cabinet.
“I try to do a couple of DIY projects in each space that could be done by someone at home,” she says.
Re-designing 10 more apartments for the next contestants
As if Weber didn’t have her work cut out for her, as soon as she was done setting up the apartments for Season 6, she had to do it all again in preparation for the already-announced Season 7. For the upcoming season, another 10 new apartments had to be designed from the ground up.
“It’s the sandcastle theory, because you build this beautiful thing and then you let it all just get washed away and it’s done,” she says. “The rooms have their moment and then you have to move on.”
You can stay at the Atlanta building where The Circle filmed
While fans won’t be able to book a stay in the exact apartments seen on-screen, they too can book a stay in the building featured on the show whenever visiting Atlanta.
The Sonder Midtown South offers sleek and modern accommodations with amenities like a fitness center, outdoor grill, and in-unit laundry. And its colorful, imaginative makeover for The Circle only adds to the building’s appeal.
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Discover methods to achieve financial harmony in relationships and why fiduciary advisors are often considered trustworthy.
Sara’s Corner: How can couples equitably share the mental load of managing finances? Can you trust fiduciary financial advisors? Hosts Sean Pyles and Sara Rathner begin with a discussion about the division of financial responsibilities among couples to help you understand how to create financial harmony in your relationship.
Today’s Money Question: Elizabeth Ayoola joins Sean to explain how you can choose a financial professional to work with, starting with an in-depth look at different types of fiduciaries including Certified Financial Planners (CFPs), financial coaches, and financial therapists. They discuss the nuances of fiduciary compensation structures and explain how you can advocate for yourself when selecting a financial advisor to work with.
Check out this episode on your favorite podcast platform, including:
NerdWallet stories related to this episode:
Episode transcript
This transcript was generated from podcast audio by an AI tool.
Sean Pyles:
Do you know which financial advisors you can trust and which might just be looking to make a buck? Well, this episode will help you sort the good from the sketchy in the world of financial advice.
Sara Rathner:
Welcome to NerdWallet’s Smart Money Podcast, where we help you make smarter financial decisions one money question at a time. I’m Sara Rathner.
Sean Pyles:
And I’m Sean Pyles. This episode, we’re joined by our co-host Elizabeth Ayoola to answer a listener’s question about fiduciary financial advisors. Are they all they’re hyped up to be and how do they compare to other folks looking to make money from giving advice?
Sara Rathner:
I would say the answer to those questions are usually, and they’re better, but I don’t want to steal your and Elizabeth’s thunder.
Sean Pyles:
I appreciate the restraint, Sara, even though you did just say those things.
But anyway, before we get into that, we’re going to hang out for a bit in Sara’s Corner. This is a thing I just made up where we hear from Sara about something that she recently wrote. Sara’s Corner, it’s cozy here.
Sara Rathner:
I mean, I do keep a blanket on the back of my desk chair, so it is cozy here.
Sean Pyles:
Sounds nice.
Sara Rathner:
Yeah. My corner is cozy and also may be full of emotionally fraught conversations because I do really like to write about couples and money, so let’s bring on the fighting.
Sean Pyles:
Yeah, that’s a good combination, I’d say.
So Sara, you recently wrote an article about how couples can share the mental load of money management. So to start, what inspired you to write this article? Are you giving us a peek into the Rathner household?
Sara Rathner:
Maybe a little deep down, but honestly, it’s really about what my social media algorithms are serving up lately, besides baby sleep experts and a little bit of Zillow Gone Wild, which is an account I highly recommend. So fun. You never know when an indoor pool’s going to pop up.
There are quite a few people who are influencer-type personalities who discuss topics like the mental load and emotional labor within families and within households, and it got me thinking about something that causes a lot of fights about who’s handling what task, and that is, as always, money.
Sean Pyles:
So in your article, you write that “Couples can fall into unproductive patterns that can lead to conflict, resentment, and even willful ignorance.” And this goes beyond money in a lot of relationships, and I do feel like this is something that anyone who’s been in a long-term relationship can relate to. So can you give us an example of one of these unproductive patterns and how can they be damaging to a relationship?
Sara Rathner:
One source I interviewed talked about what they called a manager-follower dynamic where one person in the couple is in charge and they delegate tasks to their significant other, and that’s fine at work. At home, it could also be fine depending on the task, but sometimes it could get a little icky, and even if one person is handling 100% of a task, you are both benefiting equally from that labor.
Sean Pyles:
Yeah. That reminds me of friends I’ve talked with who have found themselves in relationships with partners who really want a parent more than an actual partner, and that can be exhausting to deal with.
Sara Rathner:
Yeah, it’s totally fine to divvy up a task and have one person kind of be like, “I’m the point person for this, so if you have any questions about it, come and ask me,” but you’re agreeing to that together. It’s not this automatic, “Well, I’m the more adulty adult here and you act like a child, so I’m going to be your parent.” That’s a really gross dynamic to have in any romantic relationship. If you are in that right now, I don’t know, reconsider.
Sean Pyles:
Yeah, it can really strip away the romance from that relationship.
Sara Rathner:
Yeah, there’s nothing romantic about constantly reminding your partner to pick up their damn socks already. Adults can put socks in hampers, I’m just saying.
Sean Pyles:
That’s very true. Well, the hard thing is that with money, this can be a really easy dynamic to slip into because one person might know more about managing money than the other, so they end up just taking on all the money tasks or they delegate specific tasks to their partner, and if only one person knows about the finances of the household, that can be a very risky situation for both parties in the relationship.
Sara Rathner:
Exactly. And again, it’s totally fine and totally normal for one of you to feel more confident dealing with money. Maybe you’ve just managed your money differently back when you were single, maybe you work in finance. That is normal, but it’s still both of your responsibility.
And the same source that told me about the manager-follower dynamic also said to me that like any task, money tasks are things that you can learn by doing. So even if you are the less confident one in your relationship when it comes to these kinds of responsibilities, you can still grow your skill set. You can learn by doing. And so as you go forward in the future, you can take on more and more tasks with confidence and not fall into that dynamic where you’re constantly relying on the other person to tell you what to do.
Sean Pyles:
Let’s turn to some solutions. You first suggest that couples approach money as equals, which sounds great. Is the idea here that no one person in the relationship should have more power over their finances than another?
Sara Rathner:
Absolutely. The dynamic where one person handles everything and the other person could not be bothered to know the passwords to any accounts is not good. That’s not a healthy dynamic. At best, it’s unfair. The division of labor is, in that case, is putting a lot of that work on only one person’s shoulders, and at worst, it could be a sign of financial abuse. Withholding your partner’s access to finances is sometimes a situation where you are dealing with abuse and that’s something to keep your eyes open about. But even if your partner is totally happy to hand off the work and know nothing of the household finances, they could end up in a really tough spot if your relationship ends, either through divorce or breaking up or even if the partner passes away.
Sean Pyles:
So it might be a good idea for couples that are living together, have a long-term relationship, and have somewhat intermingled finances to even know the logins to each other’s accounts. Is that something that you’ve explored too?
Sara Rathner:
Yeah, you could even use a password manager to do that because you can share passwords with each other very easily or you could be really lo-fi about it and just have a list stored in a secure place like a safe that you keep updated once a year. You definitely want to both be equal partners in access to the money even if you don’t necessarily divvy up those month-to-month or week-to-week tasks equally.
Sean Pyles:
Well, what about actually getting those money tasks done? How should couples determine who does what?
Sara Rathner:
Well, this is where the whole money date thing comes, and we talk about this a lot. Sit down, pour yourself the beverage of choice, a cup of tea, a glass of wine, and have a chat about what bills are due, what savings goals you have, which kid has outgrown their clothes and needs to go shopping because that’s also a financial thing, all those sorts of money-related responsibilities that you have coming up in the next week, the next month, even the next three months. And in that conversation, you can also divide up the tasks.
Sean Pyles:
And it can be helpful to have different types of meetings at different times. Maybe once a quarter you have a higher-level meeting where you think about where you want to be at the end of that quarter or at the end of the year. And then at the beginning of each month, you can think, “Okay, here are the things we need to get done this month,” and then maybe even on a weekly basis, you can think more tactically around, “Okay, we need to get a bunch of whatever thing at Costco this week and that’s going to be a bigger bite out of our grocery budget, so let’s make sure we make room for that,” just so you have different conversations at different levels as you are managing your finances together.
Sara Rathner:
Yes, and I like to think of it in terms of that timeframe. What has to be done in the next few days, what has to be done this month, and then what’s a longer-term conversation?
Sean Pyles:
Well, this reminds me a little bit about how my partner and I manage other household tasks like doing the dishes, for example. In general, in our household, whoever cooks dinner does not have to load the dishwasher, and if you load the dishwasher, you don’t have to unload the dishwasher when it’s clean. And for us, it really comes down to being about balance.
Sara Rathner:
Exactly. And by splitting up responsibilities this way, you’re also acknowledging the labor that the person who cooked is performing. You do the dishes because you respect the work it took for the other person to cook. And in my house, because we have the baby to wrangle, I do most of the cooking. While I am doing that, my husband is handling the child care because I don’t want to stop cooking to change a dirty diaper because that’s unsanitary. So in our home, it’s this acknowledgement of, “You are 100% dealing with a baby and I’m 100% dealing with the cooking, and we have to split this moment up in order for us to get dinner on the table.”
Sean Pyles:
Well, do you have any other advice for how couples, or I guess anyone co-managing a household together, can find a more harmonious way to manage their finances?
Sara Rathner:
So another thing is once you divvy up those tasks during that money date, another really important thing is owning tasks that you agree to take on from start to finish. And this is where we talk about weaponized incompetence and all those psychological phrases that get thrown around on social media when you say you’re going to do something and you don’t do it and you’re, “Eh, it’s too hard.” No, it’s not.
Sean Pyles:
Just do it.
Sara Rathner:
Right. If you show your partner that you’re going to agree to do something and then you don’t do it to an agreed upon level of completion, you’re showing them that they can’t trust you.
So in your money date, not only do you talk about the major overarching tasks that you both need to complete, but you can break them down into subtasks so it doesn’t feel quite so intimidating. So if you’re the one to step up to own a task, that means you take care of it from start to finish, and it doesn’t mean you can’t ask for help if you get stuck. You are still partners, but you are just the one spearheading everything.
Sean Pyles:
Well, Sara, thanks for sharing your insights. I like hanging out in this corner with you. It’s cozy.
Sara Rathner:
I’ll bring a second blanket for next time-
Sean Pyles:
Thank you.
Sara Rathner:
… so we could build a fort together.
Sean Pyles:
I love it. And listener, if you want to check out Sara’s article, you can find a link to it in this episode’s show notes.
And now let’s check in on this month’s Nerdy question, which was what’s the best thing you spent money on this month? Last week, we heard from a listener who spent money on a third opinion from a doctor ahead of a major surgery and was able to find a more effective and less invasive way to resolve their pain. So hooray for taking charge of your own healthcare.
Sara Rathner:
And here’s what another listener texted us. “Hello. My favorite purchase so far is a used grand piano. I paid $4,000 and $1,000 to move it to my apartment on the third floor, no elevator, but it’s the best money I spent.” Wow. “I practice more than four times a week and it’s worth every penny.”
Sean Pyles:
Ugh, I love that this listener is spending money on something that is both a creative outlet and also likely a very beautiful thing to just have in their apartment. And I’m not going to pretend like spending $5,000 is nothing, it’s a significant chunk of change, but I’m willing to bet that they will get some good use out of it and it might just end up that they put some family photos on it eventually after the novelty of having a piano wears off, but still, it’ll be nice to look at.
Sara Rathner:
Also, I’ll say that having lived in a third-floor walk-up apartment, can I just say how impressed I am that it’s possible to get a grand piano up there? Because that was not what the staircase was like in the apartment building I was living in. Maybe you could hoist it through a window?
Sean Pyles:
Yes, I think you do have to do that. You take out the window. Sometimes you have to get a permit from the city. It can easily be $1,000 or more depending on where you are.
Well, listeners, we have so loved hearing from you and all of the great things that you are doing with your money. So to share the best thing that you spent money on last month, text us or leave a voicemail on the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373. That’s 901-730-NERD, or email us a voice memo at [email protected].
Sara Rathner:
And while you’re at it, send us your money questions too. It is quite literally our job to answer them and we love to hear what situations you’re mulling over. So please tell us and we’ll try and solve these problems together.
Sean Pyles:
Well, before we get into this episode’s money question, we have an exciting announcement. We are running another book giveaway sweepstakes ahead of our next Nerdy Book Club episode.
Sara Rathner:
Our next guest is Jake Cousineau, author of How to Adult: Personal Finance for the Real World, which offers tips to young people on how to get started with managing their money.
Sean Pyles:
To enter for a chance to win our book giveaway, send an email to [email protected] with the subject “Book Sweepstakes” during the sweepstakes period. Entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on May 17th. Include the following information: your first and last name, email address, zip code, and phone number. For more information, please visit our official sweepstakes rules page.
Now let’s get into my conversation with our co-host, Elizabeth Ayoola, about whether fiduciaries are all they’re hyped up to be.
We’re back and answering your money questions to help you make smarter financial decisions. And this episode’s question comes from Ian, who wrote us an email. Here it is. “Hi, team. I hear fiduciaries being peddled like some kind of miracle cure for financial planning, but I’m curious how being a fiduciary actually works. What is the enforcement mechanism? Is there a licensing body, like for nurses or doctors? What makes a fiduciary more trustworthy than someone who is making a promise that they totally have your best interest in mind? Cheers, Ian.”
Elizabeth Ayoola:
This is a good question to ask, especially if you’re trusting someone with your money. And I really like this topic because I recently covered it in a paraplanner course I’m taking. Sean, I know you’re also in the deep waters of coursework since you’re studying to become a certified financial planner professional, which is a fiduciary role. So you’re going to answer Ian’s question so we can test your knowledge.
Sean Pyles:
That is right.
Elizabeth Ayoola:
Sean Pyles:
A fiduciary is just a fancy term for someone who has an obligation, usually a legal or professional obligation, to put their client’s interests before their own. A fiduciary can be a doctor caring for your health, a family member managing someone’s estate, or in this case, a financial professional who is managing the personal finances of their clients.
Elizabeth Ayoola:
Okay. So in summary, a fiduciary prioritizes you and not their pockets.
Sean Pyles:
That is the idea and the hope, but there’s a little more to it than that, and I really have to hand it to this listener because I appreciate their skepticism about what it means to be a fiduciary because they are touted as the gold standard among financial advisors.
I also think we need to zoom out a little bit and talk about what it means to be a financial advisor because the term “financial advisor” is not regulated. Anyone can call themselves a financial advisor, even the sketchiest, hustle-culture peddlers on TikTok.
Elizabeth Ayoola:
I actually think we could do an entire episode on that, Sean. Right now there’s so many people sharing financial advice, and I’m afraid that people might not be doing enough vetting before taking these people’s financial advice, or even realizing that all advice shared doesn’t have their best interests at heart.
Sean Pyles:
Yeah. And as a side note, I’m not a fan of imposter syndrome, but the personal finance space is one where maybe more people should feel imposter syndrome because there are just too many people online without qualifications or experience telling others what to do with their money.
Elizabeth Ayoola:
I second that. And the wrong advice could really lead to great financial chaos for people, so they should absolutely be scared of sharing inaccurate or misleading advice.
Sean Pyles:
Totally. And if I’m being completely honest with myself, part of why I’m pursuing the CFP certification is to quell my own occasional imposter syndrome because I, as a professional in the personal finance space, want to get as much information as I can and I want to be as qualified as I can be to help others, but that’s just me holding myself to a very high standard that I think maybe other people should hold themselves to as well.
Elizabeth Ayoola:
And that’s why I like you, Sean. Okay, obviously there’s other reasons I like you too, but that’s exactly why I’m doing my qualification also because I want to share accurate advice with people. And I love to answer my friends and family’s finances questions when I can, so I want to make sure I actually know what I’m talking about.
Anyway, so back to our listener’s question. Ian wants to know how being a fiduciary actually works in the financial planning space. CFPs are a fiduciary, so how does that actually work in practice, Sean?
Sean Pyles:
Yeah, that’s a good question because Ian asked about licensing to affirm that someone is a fiduciary, and in the personal finance space, that usually means getting a CFP certification, which is the gold standard of education and conduct in the financial planning space. So please indulge me as I give you a sip of the Kool-Aid that I’ve been drinking during my CFP coursework, and I’ll explain what it means to be a certified financial planner professional/fiduciary.
Elizabeth Ayoola:
Come on. Tell us, Sean.
Sean Pyles:
Okay. So part of becoming a certified financial planner involves intensive education, passing a difficult exam, but then once you are certified, you have to act according to the Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct that are outlined by the CFP Board. And there are three parts to this fiduciary duty that is also outlined by the Standard of Conduct.
So first, there’s a duty of loyalty, which states that a CFP professional has to put their client’s interests ahead of their own, like we talked about before. They also have to avoid, disclose, and manage conflicts of interest, and they must only act in the financial interest of the client, not themselves or the firm that they work for. They also have a duty of care, which basically mandates that the CFP professional has to be competent and do their best to help their clients meet their financial goals. Also, they have a duty to follow client instructions, where a CFP professional has to abide by the terms of the engagement with their clients.
Elizabeth Ayoola:
Wow, that is a lot, but honestly, it would give me confidence as a client to know that someone jumped through all those hoops for me.
Sean Pyles:
Yeah, and that’s really just scratching the surface, too. And the Standard of Conduct is a big part of why being a CFP is a big deal in the personal finance space.
Elizabeth Ayoola:
But here’s the thing, Sean, our listener, and to be honest, me too, is also wondering about enforcement. So let’s say a CFP professional decides to prioritize them making an extra dollar over what’s best for the client, and I don’t know, let’s say they push them into an investment or some kind of insurance product that isn’t actually a good fit for the client. What happens then? Do they call the cops? What do we do?
Sean Pyles:
The police are not involved in this unfortunately, but there is an enforcement mechanism at the CFP Board. If someone suspects that a CFP isn’t living up to their fiduciary responsibilities, they can file a complaint with the board and the board will investigate, and there are a number of disciplinary actions that it could take, including stripping someone of their certification.
The thing is, the onus is typically on the clients to file the complaints, and that’s part of why hiring a financial professional, hiring a CFP doesn’t mean that you can totally sit back and ignore your money. You still have to be engaged and monitor what’s going on.
Elizabeth Ayoola:
For sure, I learned that the hard way, so I try to learn things here and there. But thanks for explaining that.
I do have another question though. How would the client even know if they aren’t financially savvy or if they have a sketchy history? Are there some telltale signs?
Sean Pyles:
Yeah, this is the really tricky part, right? You’re going to this financial professional because of their expertise, so they probably know more about this topic than you do, and that can make it hard to know if they are BSing you or maybe more likely to violate their ethical duty later on. There are a couple of things that you can do though.
Before you even hire a financial professional, do your due diligence and shop around. I would recommend talking with a few different financial advisors before you decide which one you want to work with long-term. You can think of it like dating in that way. You want to get to know them and feel that you can trust them. And then once you are in this vetting process, I would say turn to our old friend Google and dig into each planner that you’re considering a little bit, like you would anyone that you’re dating. Verify that they actually have the certification that they say they do, and look and see if they’ve had any disciplinary actions that have been marked against them publicly. Also, you can just Google around and see if they’ve done anything else that you find suspicious or weird that you just aren’t on board with.
Elizabeth Ayoola:
Wow. I love those tips, Sean. And I also must say, when you said, “Your old friend Google,” it just reminded me about how long I’ve been in a long-term relationship with Google, but the tip’s definitely way more important. So basically, you’re telling us to put our investigator hat on. So okay, what’s the other thing you think people should do?
Sean Pyles:
Okay, so this might sound a little bit squishy, but go with your gut. If you talk with someone enough, you can probably tell if they aren’t confident in their grasp of the information they’re presenting. And even if they are, you might find that they just have a different money philosophy from you, which can signal that you guys are not compatible. For example, I once worked with a financial planner who suggested that I could take a 401(k) loan to solve a short-term cashflow issue that I had. And I personally happened to think that taking a loan against my own retirement for a problem that was going to work itself out anyway was an exceptionally bad idea, so I decided to work with another financial planner instead from that point on.
Elizabeth Ayoola:
Wow, that advice does not sound good, especially if it was suggested before exploring other alternatives that may not set you back for retirement. And I do understand that some people have to take out a loan against their 401(k), and that’s the only option that they have, but the downside is it might set you back, but I’m glad you went with your gut.
Sean Pyles:
Right. It wasn’t right from my circumstances or how I like to manage my money, and that’s what the bottom line was for me.
Now, so far, Elizabeth, we’ve been talking a lot about CFPs because that really is going to be the primary type of fiduciary that a lot of people looking for financial planning will encounter, but I want to go back to the idea that there are a lot of other people out there giving personal finance advice.
Elizabeth Ayoola:
Mm-hmm. People on TikTok, your nosy friends who are always getting in your business, the people interrupting my YouTube videos with their long-winded ads.
Sean Pyles:
Yes, but also accredited financial coaches and certified financial therapists. Both of those are fiduciaries, but they have different standards of conduct and enforcement mechanisms.
Elizabeth, I know that you have some experience working with financial therapists, so can you give us the rundown on what they do and why someone might benefit from working with one?
Elizabeth Ayoola:
I do, I do have experience with that, Sean. I am a wellness fanatic, that’s just a personal note, so I love the topic of financial therapy and also financial wellness. So essentially a financial therapist can help investors understand their worries and their fears around money. They also help you identify the feelings and the beliefs that you have around your money and your habits. Another way to put it is they help you identify and eliminate your money blocks, which are things getting in the way of you achieving your financial goals.
Sean Pyles:
And financial coaches are somewhere between a CFP and a financial therapist. They help people meet their financial goals, and they might be better suited to help those who aren’t super high-net-worth, don’t have a lot of investable assets. Accredited financial coaches also have a specific focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, which is really important in the personal finance space, considering the racial and gender financial inequity in this country.
Elizabeth Ayoola:
Absolutely. They’re doing good work and we have a lot of work to do to close the gap, but as a woman and a Black woman at that, I hope we see more progress in coming years.
Sean Pyles:
So we’ve just run through a few different types of fiduciary financial professionals, and here’s my bottom line: if you are getting individualized financial advice, it’s probably for the best if that person is also a fiduciary because you know that that is a stamp of credibility, and it goes way beyond a financial influencer on TikTok telling you to sign up for their class and then peddling some investment account from a company that’s really just bankrolling their lifestyle.
Elizabeth Ayoola:
1,000%. I know me personally, I’m at a point where I’m growing wealth and I’m trying to make the right investment choices so I can see positive growth in the coming years. On that note, I would definitely go to a fiduciary if I was stuck trying to make a tough financial decision.
Sean Pyles:
Yeah. At the least, when you are receiving financial advice from someone, whether in person, on social media, or even on a podcast, I think people should ask themselves three questions: what is this person’s qualifications, how are they getting paid, and why are they doing this?
Elizabeth Ayoola:
I definitely think more people should ask those questions. But Sean, say more about that money part because that’s a big piece of the puzzle too.
Sean Pyles:
Yeah. Well, in the financial planning space, there are three main ways that people are compensated beyond a base salary. They can be fee-only, fee-based, and commission-based.
So when you meet with a fee-only advisor, they might charge you an hourly fee or a fee based on a certain percentage of your assets that they’re managing, maybe 1 or 2%. That’s pretty common. And fee-based is really similar, but there is a key difference, and that is that this advisor might get a commission from products that they sell you, like an insurance product or a specific investment account. And commission-based is exactly that: the advisor makes their money from selling financial products. So you can probably imagine why the commission-based pay structure gives some people pause.
Elizabeth Ayoola:
For sure. And then even if the advisor is a fiduciary, being commission-based could muddy the waters a little bit.
Sean Pyles:
Yeah. And for those who are really concerned about any conflicts of interest in the financial advisor space, fee-only might be the route where they feel most comfortable.
Elizabeth Ayoola:
Well, Sean, thank you for this rundown of what it means to be a fiduciary. Your coursework is courseworking, and I can see the studying is paying off. Do you have any final words?
Sean Pyles:
Yeah. I’d say that if you want a financial professional to help you with your finances, vet them thoroughly, shop around, and remember that at the end of the day, you have to be your own best advocate to get what you want from your money.
Elizabeth Ayoola:
Absolutely. And that’s all we have for this episode. Sean, thank you for educating we the people. Remember, we are here for you and we want to hear your money questions to help you make smarter financial decisions, so turn to the Nerds and call or text us your questions at 901-730-6373. That’s 901-730-NERD. You can also email us at [email protected], and also visit nerdwallet.com/podcast for more information on this particular episode. And remember to follow, rate, and review us wherever you’re getting this podcast.
Sean Pyles:
This episode was produced by Tess Vigeland and me. Sara Brink mixed our audio. And a big thank you to NerdWallet’s editors for all their help.
And here’s our brief disclaimer. We are not financial or investment advisors. This nerdy info is provided for general educational and entertainment purposes and may not apply to your specific circumstances.
Elizabeth Ayoola:
And with that said, until next time, turn to the Nerds.
Hey, I’ve just been featured on CNBC and I want to say hello to all of my new readers. You can read the CNBC article here – I made $40,000 a month from 3 income streams during a 4-month cruise around the world—here’s how If you are a new visitor – welcome to Making Sense…
Hey,
I’ve just been featured on CNBC and I want to say hello to all of my new readers.
You can read the CNBC article here – I made $40,000 a month from 3 income streams during a 4-month cruise around the world—here’s how
If you are a new visitor – welcome to Making Sense of Cents!
I have received many emails about how I was able to afford this trip. I have a free How To Start A Blog course that you can sign up for here. I also talk about this below and how I’ve been able to earn over $5,000,000 blogging over the years.
If you want to read more about my world cruise trip, I recommend reading Around-The-World Cruise With A Kid (25+ Countries In 4 Months!).
Here are some blog posts that you may find helpful and enjoy:
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below or send me an email.
Thanks for stopping by.
-Michelle Schroeder-Gardner
—-
In addition to reading the CNBC article linked above, I also want to talk about how I grew a blog that has earned me over $5,000,000. I know I will get a lot of questions, so I figured it’s best to lay it all out right here 🙂
What started as just a hobby turned into one of the most life-changing things I’ve ever done – that’s starting my blog, and learning how to make money with it.
Since learning how to monetize a blog over 10 years ago, I have now earned over $5,000,000 from my site. This is still hard for me to believe, and I’m the one who’s lived it!
In the beginning, all I was doing was tracking my own personal finance progress as I finished school and started paying off my student loans. Blogging was a very new concept to me at the time – I heard about it from a magazine – and people were just learning how to monetize blogs back in 2011.
Most bloggers started back then with display ads and sponsored posts, but the options have only increased.
Because of all of the new ways to make money blogging, like affiliate income and selling your own products, you can make somewhat passive income as a blogger.
Passive income is my favorite way to make money because it makes blogging even more flexible and something I can do as I work from home, travel, and work whenever I want.
Blogging has changed my life for the better, and I’m now earning thousands of dollars a month doing something I love.
Learning how to monetize a blog takes work and time, but it’s 100% possible to do. I started earning money after just six months of blogging, and I didn’t even set out to make money when I created Making Sense of Cents. Just think of the potential if you start out knowing that making money blogging is possible!
Starting my blog is one of the best things I’ve ever done for my work, personal, and financial life. And, I urge anyone who is interested to start a blog and learn how to monetize it.
How I earned my first income from blogging
Many of my readers have heard this story, but I love sharing it because I started out like many of you, except I had no idea that blogs could make money. When I started Making Sense in August of 2011, I simply wanted a way to keep track of my financial progress and meet others who had similar goals.
As I started getting to know other bloggers in the community, a blogger friend of mine connected me with an advertiser who was willing to pay me $100 for an advertisement.
I couldn’t believe someone would pay me $100 to advertise on my site!
While it wasn’t a lot of money, especially considering the amount of time and work I put towards my blog in those 6 months, it was very motivating to see that something I loved doing could actually make money.
After that first $100, I started doing a lot of research on how to monetize a blog, and my blogging income quickly grew from there.
One year after I started my blog, I was earning around $1,000 a month, and I was making around $10,000 monthly two years after I started Making Sense of Cents.
My income only continued to grow, and I am still earning a healthy income from this website today.
How To Start A Blog FREE Course
If you want to learn how to monetize a blog and you haven’t started your blog, then I recommend starting with my free blogging course How To Start A Blog FREE Course.
Here’s a quick outline of what you will learn in this free course:
Day 1: Reasons you should start a blog
Day 2: How to determine what to blog about
Day 3: How to create your blog – in this lesson, you will learn how to start a blog on WordPress, and my tutorial makes it very easy to start a blog
Day 4: How to monetize a blog – this is where you learn about the many different ways to make money blogging!
Day 5: My tips for earning passive income from your blog
Day 6: How to grow your traffic and followers
Day 7: Miscellaneous blogging tips that will help you be successful
This is delivered directly to your email inbox, and you will learn how to grow a blog from scratch.
Start with a plan for your blog
Sure, you can start on a whim, and that’s kind of what I did, haha.
But, I do think that creating a plan is a good idea if you want to learn how to monetize a blog. This can help you get an organized start, identify your blog’s niche, decide on your blogging goals, find opportunities for blogging income, and more.
It wasn’t until 2015 that I finally created a blogging plan (that’s 4 years after I started!), and my blog income grew significantly after that.
I credit that growth to creating a plan!
Having a plan would have been a huge help in the beginning, and I wish I would have started with one. I probably missed some income opportunities because I had no real plan or direction in the first couple of years.
Since creating a blogging plan, I became more focused on goals and motivated toward improving and building Making Sense of Cents.
Here are some questions that you may want to ask yourself when creating a plan for your blog:
What will you write about on your blog?
How do you want to make money with your blog?
What will you do to reach readers on your blog?
What are your goals for your blog?
Thinking about, researching, and answering these questions will help guide you on your journey and help you decide what to do next.
Write high-quality and engaging blog posts
Your blog’s content is extremely important. This will be what attracts your readers, has them coming back for more, earns you blogging income, and more.
Now, you don’t need to be an expert or need a degree to start talking about a subject, but you do need to be knowledgeable or interested in what you are talking about. And, always be truthful! This will show in your writing and actually help your readers.
To write high-quality content on your blog, here are some tips:
Figure out exactly what it is that you’d like to write about and why you think the content is important. Being passionate about a subject will give you the motivation to write content that people want to read. Just think about it: If you don’t enjoy writing your content, then why should you expect someone else to want to read it?
Ask your audience what they want you to write about. Many of my best ideas come from expanding on reader questions.
Research your blog topics by reading news articles, going to a library, searching for statistics and interesting facts, and more.
If your blog posts are more personal in nature, then dig deep and share your thoughts, and be personable in your writing – your readers want to hear your story!
Write long, helpful content. Sure, some great content may only be a few hundred words, but to be as helpful as possible, long content is usually the best. My content is usually over 2,000 words, and this article is around 5,000. Now, you don’t want to just write a lot of fluff content in order to get more words in – you want to actually be helpful!
Reread your content. I used to read my content 10 times or more before I would publish it. Now, I have an editor who makes sure I’m always publishing high-quality content.
Network, network, network
If you want to learn how to monetize a blog, then networking can be extremely helpful.
Networking can mean:
Making friends with other bloggers
Attending blogging conferences
Sharing content that other bloggers have written
Following other bloggers in your niche on social media
Signing up for other bloggers’ newsletters
Joining blogging groups on Facebook
Some bloggers don’t do any of these things and purely see other bloggers as competition. I don’t believe this is the correct way to approach blogging because you will hold yourself back immensely!
Networking is important because it can help you enjoy blogging (friends are nice to have, right?!), teach you new ideas (such as how to make money blogging or how to grow a blog), make valuable connections, and more.
Keep in mind that networking is even how I earned my very first $100 blogging. My blogging friend connected me with an advertiser, which helped changed my blogging journey.
I have learned a lot about blogging from the blogging community, and the people I’ve connected with have been a tremendous support as I’ve grown my blog.
Be prepared to put in a lot of hard work
Starting a blog is relatively easy. But, growing and learning how to monetize a blog takes a lot of work.
You’ll have to:
Start a blog, design it, create social media accounts, and more
Write high-quality blog posts
Attract an audience of readers
Monetize your blog
Continue learning about blogging
And more
Even when I was just a new blogger and had no plans of making money blogging, I was still spending well over 10 hours a week on Making Sense of Cents.
When I was working my full-time day job and earning an income from my blog, I was working around 40-50 hours a week on my blog on top of my day job!
Now that I blog full-time, my hours vary. Some months I hardly work, and there are other months that I may work 100 hours a week.
It’s not easy, and there’s always something that needs to be done.
But, I absolutely love blogging, which makes the hard work a little less tough.
How to monetize a blog: 4 different ways
There are many different ways you can monetize your blog, including:
Affiliate marketing
Advertisements and sponsorships
Display advertising
Create your own product, such as an ebook, course, physical or online products, and more
You could choose to monetize your blog using all of these methods, or even just one. It’s just a personal decision.
For me, I like to be diversified and monetize in many ways, so I do them all.
Below, I am going to dive a little deeper into each way to make money blogging.
1. Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing can be a great way to make money blogging because if there is a product or company that you enjoy, all you have to do is review the product and share a unique affiliate link where your readers can sign up or make a purchase.
In fact, this is my favorite way to monetize a blog. I enjoy it because it can be quite passive – I can create just one blog post and potentially earn an income from it years later. This is because even though a blog post may be older, I am still constantly driving traffic to it and readers are still purchasing through my affiliate links.
Affiliate marketing is a blog monetization method where you share a link to a product or company with your readers in an attempt to make an income from followers purchasing the product through your link.
Here are some quick tips so that you can make affiliate income on your blog:
Use the Pretty Link plugin tocleanupmessy-lookingaffiliatelinks. I use this for nearly all of my affiliate links because something like “makingsenseofcents.com/bluehost” looks much better than the long, crazy-looking links that affiliate programs usually give you.
Provide real reviews. You should always be honest with your reviews. If there is something you don’t like about a product, either don’t review the product at all or mention the negatives in your review.
Ask for a commission increase. If you are doing well with a particular affiliate program, ask to increase your commissions.
Build a relationship with your affiliate manager. Your affiliate manager can supply your readers with valuable coupons, commission increases, bonuses, and more.
Write tutorials. Readers want to know how they can use a product. Showing them how to use it, how it can benefit them, and more are all very helpful.
Don’t go overboard. There is no need to include an affiliate link 1,000 times in a blog post. Include them at the beginning, middle, and end, and readers will notice it. Perhaps bold it or find another way for it to stand out as well.
You can learn more about affiliate marketing strategies in my course Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing.
2. Advertisements and sponsorships
Advertising on a blog is one of the first ways that bloggers learn how to monetize a blog. In fact, it’s exactly how I started!
This form of blogging income is when you directly partner with a company and advertise for them on your website or social media accounts.
You may be writing a review for them, a tutorial, talking about their product or company, taking pictures, and so on.
If you want to learn how to increase your advertising-income, I recommend taking my Making Sense of Sponsored Posts course.
3. Display advertising
Display advertising is one of the easiest ways to make money blogging, but it most likely won’t earn you the most, especially in the beginning.
I’m sure you’ve seen display ads before. They may be on the sidebar, at the top of a post, within a blog post, and so on.
The ads are automatically added when you join an advertising network, and you do not need to manually add these ads to your blog.
Your display advertising income increases or decreases almost entirely based on your page views, and once you place the advertisement, there’s no direct work to be done.
If you want to learn how to monetize a blog through display advertising, then some popular networks include Adsense, MediaVine, and AdThrive.
Personally, I use AdThrive for my display advertising network. I don’t have many display advertisements on my blog, but it is easy income.
4. Sell your own products
Another popular way to monetize a blog is to create a sell your own products.
This could be an online product, something that you ship, and so on, such as:
An online course
A coaching program
An eBook
Printables
Memberships
Clothing, candles, artwork, hard copy books, and anything else you can think of
And the list goes on and on. I have seen bloggers be very successful in selling all kinds of things on their blogs.
What’s great about selling your own product is that you are in complete control of what you are selling, and your income is virtually unlimited in many cases.
I launched my first product about 5 years after I created Making Sense of Cents, which was a blogging course called Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. I regret not creating something sooner because this has been an excellent source of income and has helped many people along the way.
Have an email list
If you really want to learn how to monetize a blog, I recommend that you start an email list from the very beginning.
I waited several years to start my email list, and that was a huge mistake!
Here’s why you need an email list right away:
Your newsletter is YOURS. Unlike social media sites, your newsletter and email subscribers are all yours, and you have their undivided attention. You don’t have to worry about algorithms not displaying your content to readers, and this is because they are your email subscribers. You aren’t fighting with anyone else to have them see your content.
The money is in your email list. I believe that email newsletters are the best way to promote an affiliate product. Your email subscribers signed up to hear what YOU have to write about, so you clearly have their full attention. Your email list, over any other promotional strategy, will almost always lead to more income and sales.
Your email subscribers are loyal to you. If someone is allowing you to show up in their inbox whenever you want, then they probably trust what you have to say and enjoy listening to you. This is a great way to grow an audience and a loyal one at that.
Email is a great way to deliver other forms of content. With Convertkit, I am able to easily create free email courses that are automatically sent to my subscribers. Once a reader signs up, Convertkit sends out all the information they need in whatever time frame I choose to deliver the content.
Attract readers
As a new blogger, you’ll want to find ways to attract a readership to your blog and your article.
No, you don’t need millions and millions of page views to earn a good living from blogging. In fact, I know some bloggers who receive 1,000,000 page views yet make less money than those with 100,000 monthly page views.
Every website is different, but once you learn what your audience wants, you can start to really make money blogging, regardless of how many page views you receive.
Having a successful blog is all about having a loyal audience and helping them with your content.
Even with all of that being said, if you want to learn how to monetize a blog, learning how to improve your traffic is valuable. The more loyal and engaged followers you have, the more money you may be able to make through your blog.
There are many ways to grow your readership, such as:
Write high-quality articles. Your blog posts should always be high-quality and helpful, and it means readers will want to come back for more.
Find social media sites to be active on. There are many social media platforms you can be active on, such as Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Youtube, and others.
Regularly share new posts. For most blogs, you should publish content at least once a week. Readers may forget about you if you go for weeks or months at a time without a blog post.
Guest post. Guest posting is a great way to reach a new audience, as it can bring new readers to your blog who will potentially subscribe to it.
Make sure it’s easy to share your content. I love sharing posts on social media. However, it gets frustrating when some blogs make it more difficult than it needs to be. You should always make sure it’s easy for readers to share your content, which means your social media icons should be easy to find, all of the info input and ready for sharing (title, link, and your username tagged), and so on. Also, you should make sure that when someone clicks on one of your sharing icons the title isn’t in CAPS (I’ve seen this too many times!).
Write better titles. The title of your post can either bring readers to you or deter them from clicking over. A great free tool to write better headlines is CoSchedule’s Headline tool.
Apply SEO strategies. SEO (search engine optimization) is not something I can teach in this small section, but I go over it below in another section.
Have a clean and user-friendly blog design. If you want more page views, you should make it as easy as possible for readers to navigate your blog. It should be easy for readers to find your blog homepage, search bar, blog posts, and so on.
Now, I also want to talk about helpful resources, courses, and more that can help you to learn how to grow your page views on your blog.
Below are some of my favorite blogging resources to help you improve your traffic:
Grow through SEO
SEO (search engine optimization) is how you get organic search traffic to your blog.
When you search a phrase on Google, you’ll see a bunch of different websites as the results. This is the result of these websites applying SEO strategies to their blog.
This is a great way for readers to find your blog, and SEO is important to pay attention to as you learn how to monetize a blog!
Below are some of my favorite SEO resources:
Stupid Simple SEO: This is my favorite overall SEO course, and one of the most popular for bloggers. I highly recommend taking it. I have gone through the whole course, and I constantly refer back to it.
Easy On-Page SEO: This is an easy-to-follow approach to learning on-page SEO so your articles can rank on Google. I have read this ebook twice, and it is super helpful.
Easy Backlinks for SEO: This ebook will show you 31 different ways to build backlinks, which are needed for SEO.
How To Get 50,000 Pageviews per Month With Keyword Research: This ebook shares the steps for keyword research so that you can get SEO traffic to your website.
Common questions about how to monetize a blog
Below, I’m going to answer some questions I’ve received about how to start a blog such as:
How many views do you need to monetize a blog?
How do beginner bloggers make money?
Why do bloggers fail?
How many posts should I have before I launch my blog?
How many times a week should I post on my blog?
How many views do you need to monetize a blog?
The amount of page views needed to make money blogging varies, and there is no magic number that you should be aiming for.
This is because it depends on so many factors, such as how you will monetize your blog, your niche, the number of email subscribers you have, the quality of your website, and more.
You may see success with 10,000 page views a month, or you may see success with over 100,000 page views a month. It simply depends on the factors above.
How do beginner bloggers make money?
Beginner bloggers can make money in many different ways, such as display advertising, affiliate marketing, creating their own products, and sponsorships.
You can start any of these right from the very beginning.
Display advertising is usually the easiest way to begin monetizing a blog, but the payoff is not very high, especially in the beginning when your page views are not high.
How many posts should I have before I launch my blog?
I recommend just launching your blog as soon as you have one blog post and a design. Building a huge backlog of blog posts isn’t usually needed, and it can prevent you from ever getting started!
How many times a week should I post on my blog?
The more blog posts you have, then the more traffic you may get. That’s because it’s more opportunities to show up in Google searches or share your posts on social media.
I recommend publishing a new blog post at least once a week. Anything less isn’t advised.
Publishing blog posts consistently is smart because readers know to expect regular content from you.
Why do bloggers fail?
Bloggers fail for many different reasons. These reasons may include:
Giving up too soon. It takes time to make money blogging, and sadly, many people give up just a few months into starting a blog.
Not publishing consistently. I recommend publishing content at least once a week, as described in the previous section. Some new bloggers may go months without publishing, and this will take them much longer to make money blogging as they are simply not dedicating enough time to their blog.
Not spending enough time learning about blogging. Blogging is not as easy as you may think. There is a lot to learn in order to make it work. You may need to learn about how to grow your blog’s traffic, how to monetize a blog, how to write high-quality content, and more.
Not having your own domain and self-hosting. If you want to make money blogging, I highly recommend owning your domain name and being self-hosted. The longer you put this easy step off, the longer it will most likely take for you to make money blogging. You can learn more at How To Start a WordPress Blog.
And much more. Blogging is like any business – there are things to learn, things to improve on, and more.
How do I start a blog?
If you have any other questions related to starting a blog, I recommend checking out What Is A Blog, How Do Blogs Make Money, & More. In this article, I answer more questions related to blogging such as:
How do I come up with a blog name?
What blogs make the most money?
How do you design a blog?
How many views do you need to make money blogging?
How many blog posts should I have before launching?
At the new Google Visitor Experience, which opened at the company’s Gradient Canopy campus in Mountain View in October, you can, as you might expect, check out the Google Store, full of the latest tech products and branded Google merch. But nearby, tucked next to a cafe and community space, is a quite different type of store. Here, quirky, handmade art, home decor, skin care products, jewelry and much more are on display – from scented candles to crochet keychains.
This is the MOMENT Marketplace pop-up shop, showcasing the work of more than 75 Bay Area indie makers with a theme that changes every three months. The pop-up is curated and operated by the team behind San Jose Made (SJMADE), which has a long history of working with artists and small businesses (the MOMENT brand also operates several micro-retailer projects in San Jose.)
Featured now is the Clay & Craft Pop-up Shop, highlighting clay-based goods as well as other products featuring “natural and Earth elements,” which will be up through April 22, according to MOMENT project coordinator Audrey Yeung.
Read on to meet a few of the makers featured at the MOMENT Marketplace right now.
‘Everything cozy’: Light & Flicker
@lightandflicker.
‘Mushrooms and moons’: Midnight Cottage Co.
Melissa Szwec-Rowland, the maker behind Midnight Cottage Co., describes her work as having a “witchy, cottage-core” aesthetic with natural elements and celestial vibes.
midnight_cottage_co.
‘Unabashedly feminine’: Little Shop of Florals
Erin Salazar’s “unabashedly feminine” work – stylized, colorful florals, often against bold black backgrounds, hand-painted on candles, earrings and even vinyl records – immediately stands out amongst the MOMENT Marketplace offerings, with each piece one of a kind.
“My work in that context revolves around this particular type of folk painting called one-stroke floral painting, a technique that is largely used in the decorative arts” (such as on bowls, plates and other decorated utilitarian objects), said Salazar, who is also a muralist. She paints with awareness of and appreciation for the generations of uncredited female artisans who came before her.
“Women’s work has not historically been valued in the way men’s has,” she noted, so for her, “the essence of the work is rooted in paying homage to the anonymous women who helped define visual culture through the decorative arts.”
The technique also helps her keep up an active painting practice even when life gets hectic. In addition to being a working artist, Salazar is the executive director of the San Jose-based arts nonprofit Local Color (which, among many other endeavors, hosts community art-making experiences at the Google Visitor Experience).
“I just like to paint a whole lot,” she said, but since she’s extremely busy, “I need something that goes fast, that’s rewarding immediately.”
She sees the “little commodifiable goods” she makes for spaces like MOMENT Marketplace under the name Little Shop of Florals as creating “an entry point into seeing my bigger, more expressive studio and gallery-related work,” she said.
“It’s been really wonderful to watch our businesses grow at the same point,” she said of San Jose Made and Local Color, “doing the good work of keeping the creative community going.”
Instagram: @mauv.es.
MOMENT Marketplace (at Google Visitor Experience), 2000 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View; Monday-Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Instagram: @momentpopup.
Savvy frequent flyers know that having an arsenal of tools at their disposal when planning travel or while on the road is key to a stress-free experience. ExpertFlyer is a website that offers an array of tools and information that can help travel run smoothly, from finding available award seats to flight tracking and seat maps.
Here’s an overview of what you can expect when using ExpertFlyer and what’s available to those who purchase the full premium access version.
What is ExpertFlyer?
ExpertFlyer is a website with free, paid and premium paid subscriptions that allows travelers to search for frequent flyer award and upgrade space, determine how full flights are, track flight status and delays, review seat maps, and check visa and travel requirements for various destinations.
It can also help travelers to:
Check flight status, timetables and on-time information.
Review seat maps for all types of aircraft.
Create and save alerts for specific flights, seats, schedules or aircraft changes.
Save search queries for future use.
The site relies on global distribution systems (these are what travel advisors, websites like Google Flights and Kayak and airline reservations systems use) to provide data — although some airlines block ExpertFlyer from accessing it.
Finding availability for frequent flyer awards and upgrades
While ExpertFlyer doesn’t have access to every airline’s award space, it does show availability for awards and upgrades made available by that airline’s own award program. These same awards are not always made available to partner programs, but it is helpful to know in case you want to transfer points from other credit card or hotel loyalty programs.
Many elite status members receive upgrade certificates they can use, and while some airlines list upgrade availability on their website, ExpertFlyer can be used for those that don’t.
Currently, ExpertFlyer provides access to the following airlines for award and/or upgrade space. Note that some of these airlines display award space for one cabin only, like economy class.
Available airlines:
Aegean Airlines.
Aer Lingus.
Air Canada.
Air Europa.
Air France.
Air Malta.
Air Mauritius.
Air New Zealand.
Air Serbia.
Air Seychelles.
Air Tahiti Nui.
Alaska Airlines.
American Airlines.
British Airways.
Canadian North.
China Southern Airlines.
CSA Czech Airlines.
Hainan Airlines.
Hawaiian Airlines.
JetBlue Airways.
Kenya Airways.
Korean Air.
Kuwait Airways.
Martinair.
Philippine Airlines.
Shanghai Airlines.
Turkish Airlines.
Xiamen Air.
How to search for award and upgrade availability on ExpertFlyer
Using the search engine is simple. Select the airline you want to search, your dates of travel and departure and destination airports. The drop down menu will show you the availability that the website can access for that carrier.
The results show availability for each selected category, with the ability to check multiple flight and date options. Armed with this information, you can then contact the airline directly to make an award booking or try to redeem miles online.
In the above example on a search for a KLM flight from New York-John F. Kennedy to Amsterdam, you can use Delta SkyMiles or Air France/KLM FlyingBlue points to book a business or economy award seat on these flights. You could also use a Delta Global Upgrade certificate on the first two options.
If the search comes up with no results, you can click the exclamation point icon to set an alert to notify you if space becomes available. Just remember that KLM (like other airlines) may make certain award space available to its members, but not to partner carriers. So you’ll want to check the frequent flyer program’s website to determine the exact cost in miles.
Understanding the nuances of each fare class code can be helpful, but often, clicking the small question mark symbol next to a code (like in the KLM example above) will help explain what that availability means.
If you want more details, there’s a fare class guide for many airlines on ExpertFlyer. The below example shows the class codes for different American Airlines fares. Other reference guides available on ExpertFlyer include codes for airports, airlines, meals and aircraft equipment.
If you’re making a connection, you’ll want to consider how you search. Looking segment by segment may not reveal the same award or upgrade availability as searching from origin to destination point.
Each airline is different in this practice, which is referred to as “married segments.” For example, an award flight may be available from New York to Amsterdam and from Amsterdam to Madrid, but not from New York to Madrid (even on the same airlines).
Flight availability
If you want to see how full your flight is, the airline’s own seat map isn’t always a reliable resource. This is because not everyone selects seats in advance or wants to pay for one. Using ExpertFlyer can tell you if the flight is full or still has seats for sale.
You simply enter the flight information you are searching for (departure and arrival city plus flight date). The results will pull up all the flights on all airlines that appear in ExpertFlyer’s database, like the example below.
There are numerous fare buckets for each flight representing different fares and restrictions. If you see a zero after a fare type, this means it’s sold out. In the above example, a search for flights from New York-John F. Kennedy to Amsterdam shows the different fares for sale. Most fares are still available (translation: these flights are not completely full).
In the case of the last flight above (Delta 48), there are only four seats left in business class for sale (J refers to full-fare business class). If you see zeros across the board, the flight is full. It may even be oversold, and if you want to try and volunteer your seat for compensation, get to the gate early. You may get rewarded for changing to another flight.
This information can also be helpful if you have a delayed or canceled flight and want to search for availability on an alternative flight. Checking this information in real time can help immensely, especially if there are only a few seats left up for grabs.
Flight schedules
If you’re looking to see which flights are available between a given city pair, from a particular airport or to a particular airport on any given day, ExpertFlyer can provide this information. You can also see how many flights operate between two city pairs on any day.
Below is an example of the flights departing Piedmont Triad airport in North Carolina on the morning of Oct. 21 within the first hour of the day. This information can help you determine which flight options are available.
It can also be helpful to see if a particular airline flies to your destination and if you can use miles on your preferred carrier.
To narrow the search results, you can filter to display only the airlines you want (and also leave out codeshare flights).
Flight status
If you’re curious about the flight status of your trip, ExpertFlyer can provide timely updates. For example, if there’s a delay, you can often find information about the reason for the delay (not all airlines are transparent about this information). The site also gives estimated departure times.
In the above example, a flight from Chicago-O’Hare to Eagle Vail airport in Colorado was delayed just over two hours due to aircraft maintenance. In the “Comments” section, you can see the plane left the gate at 12:11 p.m. (out), took off at 12:22 p.m. (off) and arrived at 1:51 p.m. (in).
🤓Nerdy Tip
This level of detail can be very helpful if gate agents aren’t forthcoming with information or you’re picking up someone from the airport.
Another helpful benefit is seeing real-time TSA security checkpoint times for the departure airport. The example below shares real-time checkpoint information for Atlanta airport.
Flight details
Similarly, you can learn more about a particular flight such as aircraft type, total distance flown and if there’s meal service on board.
When you click on the letter B under the first flight in the example, it indicates that first class receives breakfast. The V next to it means food for sale.
Seat map and seat alerts
The ExpertFlyer seatmap is updated in real time as it reflects the global distribution system. The map is a good resource for knowing which seats are available, for sale, blocked or open to assign.
If you’re standing at the gate and wondering if there are any empty seats you can move to at the last minute, you’ll be able to determine this using the seat map tool.
In the above example of a Delta flight, there are eight seats available to assign in the premium cabin. If you prefer to reserve one of the previously assigned seats, you can set an alert to receive an email if it becomes available.
This can be especially helpful for full flights where you want seats together with a companion or want a particular seat.
Fare and travel information
The fare information section provides details on the fare rules for each of the different fares available on a particular flight. This is the same information that airlines or travel advisors use when providing details on cancellation or change policies and other restrictions on a ticket.
The travel information section allows you to look up what visa, passport or travel requirements are in place for visiting or transiting through particular countries.
The example below shows instructions for passengers departing the U.S. and traveling to Algeria via France. It explains that you will need a passport with a minimum of six months validity from the arrival date as well as a visa. Visas on arrival are only available for travelers to specific destinations within the country, along with certain restrictions.
As visa requirements can change quite often, this is a useful tool for frequent international travelers.
You can also find details on historical wait times for security or how often a particular flight is delayed. The minimum connection time tool also indicates how much time you should allow between particular flights in each airport. This can come in handy if you’re booking separate reservations (instead of booking all your flights in one ticket) to save money.
How much does ExpertFlyer cost?
ExpertFlyer has a pricing model with three tiers.
Free and a la carte. There’s a free membership that includes access to ExpertFlyer seat maps and the ability to set alerts for preferred seat changes. One alert at a time is allowed for free, with additional seat alerts available for $0.99 each.
Basic tier. A basic membership costs $4.99 per month and allows 250 monthly searches for awards along with access to Expert Flyer seat maps, seat alerts, flight schedules and travel information.
Premium tier. The highest-level membership costs $99.99 annually or $9.99 per month. This service provides access to all of the site’s functionality mentioned above, including unlimited search queries. It also adds extra benefits such as mobile access and the ability to create alerts for aircraft changes or flight availability. You can also do flexible date searches for as many as three days before or after a particular travel date.
Is ExpertFlyer worth it?
If you travel frequently, ExpertFlyer is a useful tool to have. Being in control of your travel reservations, especially when there are disruptions or you’re looking to use miles and upgrades on the best flights, means that ExpertFlyer can be a frequent flyer’s best friend. That said, if you only travel a few times a year, the free or basic version may be a better option.
How to maximize your rewards
You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2024, including those best for:
Daily average mortgage rates jumped to their highest level since last November after last week’s disappointing inflation report
SEATTLE, April 18, 2024–(BUSINESS WIRE)–(NASDAQ: RDFN) —The median U.S. home-sale price increased 5% from a year earlier during the four weeks ending April 14, bringing it to $380,250—just $3,095 shy of June 2022’s all-time high. That’s according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage.
The average daily mortgage rate this week surpassed 7.4%, the highest level since last November, after a hotter-than-expected inflation report and the Fed’s confirmation that interest-rate cuts will be delayed. The combination of high mortgage rates and prices have brought homebuyers’ median monthly housing payment to a record $2,775, up 11% year over year.
There are signals that buyers are out there touring homes despite rising rates. Mortgage-purchase applications are up 5% week over week, and Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index—a measure of requests for tours and other buying services from Redfin agents—is near its highest level in seven months. Chen Zhao, Redfin’s economic research lead, said some house hunters are hoping to buy now because they’re concerned rates could rise more, and others have grown accustomed to elevated rates and pushed down their home-price budget accordingly.
“Home sales are slower than usual, but there are still people buying and selling because if not now, when?” said Connie Durnal, a Redfin Premier agent in Dallas. “I’ve had a few prospective buyers touring homes for the last several years, since mortgage rates started going up, and they wish they would have bought last year because prices and rates are even higher now. My advice to them: If you can afford to and you find a house you love, buy now. There’s no guarantee that rates will come down soon.”
For more of Redfin economists’ takes on the housing market, including how current financial events are impacting mortgage rates, please visit Redfin’s “From Our Economists” page.
Leading indicators
Indicators of homebuying demand and activity
Value (if applicable)
Recent change
Year-over-year change
Source
Daily average 30-year fixed mortgage rate
7.41% (April 17)
Up from 7% one month earlier; highest level since November 2023
Increased 5% from a week earlier (as of week ending April 12)
Down 10%
Mortgage Bankers Association
Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index (seasonally adjusted)
Up 8% from a month earlier (as of week ending April 14)
Down 11%
Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index, a measure of requests for tours and other homebuying services from Redfin agents
Touring activity
Up 33% from the start of the year (as of April 14)
At this time last year, it was up 23% from the start of 2023
ShowingTime, a home touring technology company
Google searches for “home for sale”
Unchanged from a month earlier (as of April 14)
Down 17%
Google Trends
Key housing-market data
U.S. highlights: Four weeks ending April 14, 2024
Redfin’s national metrics include data from 400+ U.S. metro areas, and is based on homes listed and/or sold during the period. Weekly housing-market data goes back through 2015. Subject to revision.
Four weeks ending April 14, 2024
Year-over-year change
Notes
Median sale price
$380,250
4.7%
Median asking price
$413,225
6.4%
Biggest increase since Oct. 2022; all-time high
Median monthly mortgage payment
$2,775 at a 6.88% mortgage rate
10.6%
All-time high
Pending sales
86,086
-2.3%
New listings
93,332
10.8%
Active listings
832,748
9.6%
Months of supply
3.3 months
+0.4 pts.
4 to 5 months of supply is considered balanced, with a lower number indicating seller’s market conditions.
Share of homes off market in two weeks
42.6%
Down from 44%
Median days on market
35
-1 day
Share of homes sold above list price
29.2%
Essentially unchanged
Share of homes with a price drop
5.9%
+1.6 pts.
Average sale-to-list price ratio
99.2%
+0.2 pts.
Metro-level highlights: Four weeks ending April 14, 2024
Redfin’s metro-level data includes the 50 most populous U.S. metros. Select metros may be excluded from time to time to ensure data accuracy.
Metros with biggest year-over-year increases
Metros with biggest year-over-year decreases
Notes
Median sale price
Anaheim, CA (24.8%)
Providence, RI (14.6%)
Nassau County, NY (14.3%)
West Palm Beach, FL (13.5%)
New Brunswick, NJ (13.1%)
San Antonio, TX (-1%)
Declined in just 1 metro
Pending sales
San Jose, CA (25.6%)
San Francisco (11.2%)
Oakland, CA (7.1%)
Columbus, OH (6.7%)
Seattle (6.4%)
Nassau County, NY (-14.9%)
Atlanta (-13.6%)
Houston (-11.6%)
Riverside, CA (-10.8%)
Fort Lauderdale, FL (-10%)
Increased in 14 metros
New listings
San Jose, CA (46.6%)
Sacramento, CA (27.6%)
Phoenix (27.4%)
Jacksonville, FL (27.2%)
Dallas (22.9%)
Newark, NJ (-12.4%)
Providence, RI (-6.3%)
Milwaukee (-4.6%)
Chicago (-4.5%)
Detroit (-3.1%)
Declined in 9 metros
To view the full report, including charts, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-home-prices-mortgage-rates-increase
About Redfin
Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered real estate company. We help people find a place to live with brokerage, rentals, lending, title insurance, and renovations services. We run the country’s #1 real estate brokerage site. Our customers can save thousands in fees while working with a top agent. Our home-buying customers see homes first with on-demand tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Customers selling a home can have our renovations crew fix it up to sell for top dollar. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Since launching in 2006, we’ve saved customers more than $1.6 billion in commissions. We serve more than 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 4,000 people.
Redfin’s subsidiaries and affiliated brands include: Bay Equity Home Loans®, Rent.™, Apartment Guide®, Title Forward® and WalkScore®.
For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent, visit www.redfin.com. To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin Data Center. To be added to Redfin’s press release distribution list, email [email protected]. To view Redfin’s press center, click here.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240418348073/en/
Are you looking for ways to get paid to walk? Getting paid to walk is a side hustle with the benefits of getting daily exercise and even getting paid for it. There are tons of ways to get paid to walk including getting paid for steps, losing weight, and even picking up trash. I have…
Are you looking for ways to get paid to walk?
Getting paid to walk is a side hustle with the benefits of getting daily exercise and even getting paid for it. There are tons of ways to get paid to walk including getting paid for steps, losing weight, and even picking up trash.
I have personally been paid to walk, and it’s great!
How To Get Paid To Walk
Below are 19 ways to get paid to walk.
Recommended reading: 19 Ways To Get Paid To Workout
1. CashWalk
CashWalk is a free app that pays you to earn money just for running or walking outside or on a treadmill. You earn coins and can exchange them for gift cards to places like Amazon, Walmart, Apple, Starbucks, and more.
This pedometer app is designed to motivate you to achieve fitness goals and help build healthy exercise habits.
You won’t get rich with CashWalk, but it’s an easy way to make money by doing what you already do, which is walking.
You can sign up for CashWalk by clicking here. Also, you can get a free 100 points by using the referral code ESPU5.
2. Sweatcoin
Sweatcoin is a free app that helps motivate you to walk by rewarding your daily steps. This pedometer app only counts outdoor steps right from your phone (such as your iPhone or Android device), so if you’re a treadmill walker, those steps will not count in the app.
Once you accumulate enough coins, you can redeem them for products or donate to charity. The products that can be redeemed change regularly. You may see things such as Amazon credits, electronics, and other popular products. If you’re feeling generous, you can donate your earnings to charities like Save The Children, The African Wildlife Foundation, or Cancer Research.
3. Walk dogs
Rover is an app that connects you with pet owners who need help with pet sitting, dog walking, and drop-in visits. If you’re an animal lover, this is a great side hustle to try.
I was a Rover dog walker for several pet owners and it’s still one of my favorite side hustles to date. The app works on both Android and iOS devices.
How much money you earn on the Rover app varies on how many pets you’re walking, your experience, and what you set your rates at. Some pet sitters make $40,000 a year, while the top dog walkers in the field earn $100,000+. You can expect to earn between $15 and $25 per hour on Rover, with that rate being more depending on how many dogs you’re walking at one time.
Finding jobs is relatively easy because there are so many pet parents out there looking for a pet sitter or someone to walk their dog.
Click here to sign up for Rover.
Learn more at 7 Best Dog Walking Apps To Make Extra Money (another popular pet walking app that you can learn about is Wag!).
4. Get paid to pick up trash
A great way to help clean the environment, get exercise in, and get paid is by picking up trash. Many businesses want their property and parking lots to be clean so customers are shopping at a clean property.
Getting paid to pick up trash is a small business that you can start entirely on your own. Picking up trash can pay between $30-$50 an hour. There is a ton of trash to pick up in the world. Tools you will need include a broom, dustpan, and grabber tools.
You can learn more at Get Paid $30 – $50 Per Hour To Pick Up Trash.
5. Stepbet
Stepbet is a popular fitness app that pays you for walking. The app is user-friendly and even lets you connect your fitness tracker (such as your Fitbit, Google Fit, Samsung Health, or Apple Watch). Stepbet is a great way to stay motivated to complete your daily step goal and even get paid for doing this.
This is how the app works:
You choose a game to set your step goals
Bet a certain amount of money into the pot to join the game
If you meet the weekly step goal, you can split the pot with others who also completed their goals and get your bet back plus more.
6. HealthyWage
HealthyWage is a popular fitness app that pays you to lose weight. To get started, go to HealthyWage and enter how much weight you want to lose, how long you’ll have to complete the weight loss goal, and how much money you want to bet.
Let’s say I wanted to lose 30 pounds in 9 months or less and I bet $60 of my own money. The website shows my prize range would be between $588 and $1,116.
HealthyWage has weekly weigh-ins and support from other people who are also trying to lose weight. The purpose of HealthyWage is to motivate you to lose weight by using a financial incentive, which makes it more motivating to complete your weight loss goal.
7. DietBet
DietBet is a fun and unique app that makes fitness fun and motivating. DietBet works by you choosing a game/challenge to complete. For example, there are current weight loss challenges where you bet $40 and have to lose 10% of your body weight within 6 months to win the shared pot of money.
This is how it works:
You get started by choosing a challenge and betting money into the pot
Two days before the challenge begins, you must weigh in which involves taking two photos (one of you standing on the scale with lightweight clothing, and the second photo of the scale and weight)
The challenge will share how much weight you have to lose to win the pot of money at the end of the challenge.
8. Fit For Bucks
Fit For Bucks is an app that lets you earn rewards for being active. You can earn points by doing things like walking to the grocery store, hitting the gym, going for a hike, dancing, and more.
Rewards you can redeem include things like coffee, fitness classes, massages, haircuts, wine, and more. Using this app is a fantastic way to stay motivated to get more movement in while also getting rewarded for your hard work.
9. Charity Miles
Charity Miles is the app for you if you love giving back and being generous. Instead of giving rewards to you, the app lets you give your rewards to a charity of your choice. Every mile you walk earns a credit to be used as a donation to a charity.
One of my favorite charities, Save The Children, is on Charity Miles. So my daily walking that I already do helps me donate more money to my charity of choice.
10. Guided walking tours
If you’re an extrovert and have knowledge about your local town, you may want to become a walking tour guide. As a guided walking tour operator, you can create your own unique walking route and showcase special landmarks and sites to tourists. You must have in-depth knowledge of the area and provide excellent customer service.
I recommend researching what similar tours are charging to get an idea of what you should charge. You should also think about factors such as the duration of the tour, the experience you have, and any additional services you’ll include when deciding how much the walking tour will cost.
Having a website and/or social presence for your tour company is a great way to get new customers interested in your tours. Network with local hotels, travel websites, and tourism organizations to promote your tours. You may even want to offer a special discount or promotion to attract new customers.
11. Evidation
Evidation is an app that lets you earn points and rewards for actions like walking, sleeping, and more. Participating in this app helps contribute to research and new health findings that will benefit everyone.
For example, one of the current programs in the Evidation app gives you 300 points for joining a program focused on the flu. The app monitors your activity and can alert you when it sees a change that suggests you may be feeling under the weather.
You can connect all kinds of fitness electronics to the Evidation app, including but not limited to Fitbit, Garmin, Google Fit, and Dexcom.
12. MyWalgreens (Walgreens Balance Rewards)
MyWalgreens is a program run by Walgreens with the purpose of getting people to make healthier decisions.
You can earn points in the program by walking and tracking other fitness activities. You can even earn points for tracking your blood pressure, blood glucose, sleep, and other health markers.
13. Gigwalk
Gigwalk is an app that connects gig workers with quick tasks like going to a store, reviewing product displays, checking prices, availability of products, and conditions. You get to choose which gigs you choose and get to decide your schedule and how often you work.
Here’s how Gigwalk works:
First, you download the app on your phone.
Then, you look for gigs nearby.
Choose a gig that you like.
After you finish the job, you get paid.
Money is sent directly to your PayPal account and each gig pays differently. It typically can range anywhere from $3 to over $100 – the time to complete a gig can vary from 5 minutes to a few hours.
14. Runtopia
Runtopia pays you to get fit by providing a motivational incentive to get moving.
The app has benefits like letting you record activities with GPS, data analysis to improve your performance, connecting with friends, and getting rewarded for various activities.
15. PK Rewards
PK Rewards is an app that rewards you for tracking all kinds of workouts. Your workouts get converted into coins which can be redeemed for cool prizes from brands like Lululemon, Nike, Amazon, and more. You earn coins based on the effort you put in.
Workouts can include pretty much anything from going to the gym, cycling, dancing, walking, and more. You can set personal goals in the app, compete with friends, and track your progress all within the app. You can even see your effort over time as you use the app.
16. Instacart
Instacart is a platform that connects customers with Instacart Shoppers who grocery shop and deliver food to customers. This job requires a lot of walking and physical activity and allows you to control your schedule and how often you work.
Signing up to become an Instacart Shopper is straightforward. Download the Instacart Shopper app and apply as a Shopper. Once your application is accepted, you can use the app to find orders, pick an order you like, and go to the store and start grocery shopping for the customer. When you’re done grocery shopping, deliver the groceries to the customer.
You earn money with each delivery and the more you deliver, the more job opportunities you’ll have available. Giving great service to your customers can lead to better tips, so customer service is important.
You can click here to sign up to be an Instacart Shopper.
Learn more at Instacart Shopper Review: How much do Instacart Shoppers earn?
17. DoorDash
Working for DoorDash is an active gig job that requires you to deliver restaurant meals to customers. This side hustle can require a lot of walking and physical activity depending on how you’re delivering food. You may decide to deliver food by car or by bike.
The benefits of working for DoorDash include choosing the hours you work and deciding where you want to work. The app is user-friendly and allows you to take orders, where to go, and how to get there. Each delivery earns between $2-$10, plus tips.
Please click here to sign up for DoorDash.
18. Distribute flyers
A side hustle that requires a lot of walking is getting paid to distribute flyers. To find jobs distributing flyers, check online job platforms like Indeed or Craigslist, and also search for jobs in newspapers, and community bulletin boards. Search for jobs using the keywords “flyer distribution”, or “leaflet distribution”.
You can also create a profile on gig platforms like TaskRabbit, Gigwalk, or Thumbtack and post or search for flyer distribution jobs. Make sure to check local events, trade shows, and festivals as these events always need promotional material to be distributed.
Before accepting any jobs, make sure to clarify pay rates and the schedule from the employer. This job is likely going to take a lot of daily steps and physical activity.
19. Mystery shopping
Mystery shopping is a tool companies use to learn ways to improve their customer experience. Mystery shoppers can get jobs in person, online, or on the phone. Jobs are different and may require you to buy something, sit down at a restaurant and eat, or even get your hair done in a salon. If you are required to buy something, make sure to keep your receipts as you will need them to complete your questionnaire.
My sister was a mystery shopper and I got to go with her on one of her gigs. We got to visit a restaurant for free as long as she gave her honest opinion after. Mystery shopping also involves going to stores such as Best Buy, salons, car dealerships, movie theaters, makeup counters, and more.
BestMark is a popular mystery shopping website that connects you with opportunities to earn money while helping companies improve their customer service.
Recommended reading: How To Become A Mystery Shopper
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are answers to common questions about ways to get paid to walk.
Can I get paid for walking?
There are tons of ways to get paid for walking including via fitness apps like SweatCoin and CashWalk that reward you for meeting daily step goals or participating in walking challenges. Rewards include things like gift cards, discounts, cash, and free stuff.
Besides using fitness apps that reward you for walking, you can also make money walking by working as a gig worker for TaskRabbit and DoorDash. These jobs include tasks like delivering food, running errands, and other jobs that require walking.
One of my favorite ways to make money walking is working as a Rover dog walker. If you love spending time with animals, you should consider becoming a dog walker.
What is the best app that pays you to walk?
Many activity tracker apps pay you to walk and each has its pros and cons. The most popular walking apps include CashWalk, Sweatcoin, Charity Miles, and StepBet. Each of these apps is user-friendly, easy to use, and rewards people for their movement. You get to choose from many rewards including gift cards, fitness gear, or donating your money to the chosen charity of your choice.
Is Sweatcoin real money?
Sweatcoin is not real money, but instead digital currency used in the Sweatcoin app. Sweatcoin users earn Sweatcoins based on how much they walk per day. As you take steps, digital coins are accumulated and can be redeemed for different rewards in the app like products, services, and discounts.
Can you earn money with a Fitbit?
While you can’t earn any rewards or money on the Fitbit app, you can connect your Fitbit to fitness apps that reward you for daily movement. Programs and apps like MyWalgreens, StepBet, and others allow you to easily connect your Fitbit to the app.
Why do apps pay you to walk?
Apps pay users to walk because they make money from advertisements when users use their apps.
19 Ways To Get Paid To Walk – Summary
I hope you enjoyed this article on how to get paid to walk.
There are many ways to make extra money and get free stuff by walking, dancing, cycling, sleeping, and other health-related activities. Take advantage of these free apps and keep your motivation up by earning points and rewards toward free things like gift cards, fitness classes, food, and more.
The walking side hustles above have health benefits and even mental health positives, plus you may be able to earn an income, cash rewards, or even money for charity donations.
Have you ever tried any of these side hustles or walking apps that pay you for steps?
In the private mountainside community of Ascaya, located in Henderson, NV, a new residential project called The Canyon at Ascaya aims to set a new standard for luxury living.
The Canyon will be just 20 minutes from the Las Vegas Strip, offering a serene retreat near the city’s vibrant culture, adding to a growing number of options for luxury homebuyers looking to settle down in Sin City.
And there’s no shortage of wealthy buyers scooping up properties in (and around) the city.
Las Vegas is increasingly becoming a hotspot for luxury home buyers, including celebrities seeking privacy and exclusive amenities away from the public eye. Celine Dion sold a house here for $30 million last year, setting a new local real estate record and making a killer profit in the process.
Actor Mark Wahlberg bought himself a $14.5 million bungalow in The Summit Club (which he has since sold) while waiting for his mansion to be built on a separate 2.5-acre lot in the same community, which he purchased for $15.6 million. But the newest enclave isn’t necessarily targeting high rollers.
The Canyon at Ascaya will offer architecturally significant homes designed by acclaimed Nevada-based firm, Blue Heron, known for its integrated architectural, interior design, and construction services.
Sales are set to launch this spring, with potential buyers encouraged to register online for more details. But we’re here to give you a sneak peek inside the modern desert abodes.
Architectural excellence
Each home in The Canyon will be crafted to be a work of art, featuring a modern desert design that maximizes views and privacy.
These residences are strategically positioned across elevated terraces to enhance the connection between indoor and outdoor spaces. Large glass doors and expansive windows are designed to bring in natural light and offer residents unobstructed views of the surrounding desert canyon landscape.
The residences
The homes will range in size from 3,391 to 4,407 square feet, with configurations that include three and four bedrooms. The design emphasis is on creating spaces that are both aesthetically pleasing and functionally sophisticated.
The residences boast dual primary suites, spacious great rooms, and a layout that promotes seamless flow from indoor to outdoor living areas.
See also: What $20 Million buys you at The Summit Club, Las Vegas’ most exclusive residential community
Lifestyle and wellness
Beyond the stunning architecture, The Canyon promotes a lifestyle enriched with wellness and relaxation. The community features landscaped communal areas with pools, spas, and outdoor kitchens. Additionally, private wellness parks with yoga decks and meditation spaces offer residents opportunities for personal health and tranquility.
“Our architectural philosophy is rooted in the belief that a home should be a sanctuary, and at The Canyon, we’ve created sanctuaries that celebrate the distinct canvas of the desert landscape,” shares Chris Beucler, President of Blue Heron. “In every detail of The Canyon homes, you’ll find a commitment to excellence, sustainability, and design that enhances the human experience. This is modern desert living reimagined.”
Community and amenities
Residents of the new enclave will have access to the extensive amenities of the Ascaya community, in addition to the exclusive amenities within The Canyon.
This includes a 23,000-square-foot clubhouse, a 50-meter pool with private cabanas overlooking the Las Vegas Strip, and a sports pavilion offering tennis and pickleball, and a two-acre Family Park, complementing the serene living environment and providing a balanced lifestyle of leisure and activity.
Connection to Las Vegas
Located just 20 minutes from the Las Vegas Strip, The Canyon at Ascaya will offer a retreat from the bustling city life while still providing convenient access to its vibrant cultural and entertainment offerings. This balance will make The Canyon an attractive option for those seeking a peaceful home environment with the excitement of Las Vegas readily accessible.
Related: Why Summerlin is the pinnacle of luxury living in Las Vegas
Market position and sales
With a starting price of $2,900,000, The Canyon homes are positioned as a premium offering in the luxury sector of the Las Vegas real estate market. A public sales launch is scheduled for this spring, and prospective buyers can now register online to receive more information.
Lock-and-leave lifestyle
The community was designed as a lock-and-leave community — meant to be as low maintenance for the homeowners as possible, allowing them to lock the front door and be on their way to their next adventure.
“The Canyon at Ascaya represents a defining moment for lock-and-leave, resort-style living in Las Vegas,” said Sam Brown, Development lead for Ascaya. “Our vision for The Canyon at Ascaya is to craft a one-of-one community that embodies both the serenity of desert living and the convenience of modern luxury. We believe we’ve achieved that balance perfectly.”
Adding to Ascaya’s already impressive offering
Ascaya is a luxury community carved into the mountainside of the McCullough Range. It offers unparalleled views of the Las Vegas Valley and a commitment to architectural excellence that defines its collection of contemporary desert architectural homes. Each residence within Ascaya is unique, yet the community represents a cohesive expression of desert contemporary living.
Adding to the offering, The Canyon at Ascaya project extends Ascaya’s vision of delivering a luxury living experience that is both distinctive and harmonious with the desert landscape. For those seeking a modern, luxurious home in Las Vegas, The Canyon will be a compelling new option.
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Have you ever come across a gorgeous piece of furniture in an image on social media, dug around the original poster’s page to find the exact product link, only to find out it costs several times more than you’d ever dream of paying? This happens to me a lot. So much so that I began wondering if I was simply cursed with extremely expensive taste when it comes to home furnishings. However, instead of resigning myself to overpaying for everything I buy for my home, I learned a trick that has helped me find dupes for those expensive pieces I love for way cheaper prices. This hack has saved me literally hundreds of dollars on home decor and furniture, and now, I’m ready to break my silence. Keep reading to learn how I use reverse Google image search to find high-end home decor on a budget.
How Reverse Google Image Search Works
While a typical Google search involves typing a word or phrase into the search bar to pull up results, a reverse image search means you’re searching the image itself. So, if you find a photo of a room you love, you can search within the image to find products similar to those pictured. This works thanks to a handy little tool called Google Lens. According to Google, the Lens feature uses image recognition technology to identify items within the photo and search for similar products. When shopping for furniture and decor, you can easily search for the exact shape, color, material, or style you’re looking for without having to manually type it into your search bar. This is especially useful if you have a look you love but you’re not sure how to describe it in words.
To use Google Lens, you’ll need to be using Google Chrome as your browser. When you find an image you want to search—whether that’s a product image from a website or a beautifully styled photo on Pinterest—simply right-click on the photo (on mobile, press and hold to right-click), then hit “Search Image with Google.” This will pull up the Google Lens search function. From there, you can adjust which area of the image you want to search, then scroll through the results to find items with a similar look. You might just come across a dupe for a fraction of the price!
And if you find an image you want to search while scrolling Instagram, good news: This hack also works with screenshots. Just pull up the main Google homepage and click the little icon that looks like a camera on the far right of the search bar. Then select the screenshot from your photo library (or drag and drop it in from your desktop) to search it with Google Lens.
I’m not kidding when I tell you I’ve saved an obscene amount of money using this hack. For example, when shopping for bedroom furniture, I fell in love with this mid-century-style dresser from West Elm, but the $1,400 price tag was a little steep for me. With my handy reverse Google image search hack, I found this nearly identical version on Wayfair for less than $500. The darker wood finish that I bought is now unfortunately out of stock, but I couldn’t be happier with how my purchase compares to the West Elm version. Everything from the size to the finish to the hardware design is nearly identical, and I’m so glad I saved that $1,000 to spend elsewhere.
My coffee table is another example. I wanted something similar to this walnut piece from Rejuvenation—minus the $800 price tag. In just a few clicks, I came across this option from Amazon, which cost less than a quarter of the price for the same size, silhouette, and finish.
Rejuvenation
Even if I’m not necessarily looking for a dupe, reverse Google image search is a great way to identify items within photos. So when I’m scrolling Instagram and need to know where that designer found that table lamp, I can find out even if product sources aren’t listed.
Reverse Google image search is truly my secret weapon when it comes to finding affordable home decor with the exact look I’m going for. So, to the developers at Google, allow me to express my sincere gratitude. My wallet will be forever thankful.