Making Money Blogging

Can you make money blogging? Sure. Although I wouldn’t say it’s easy money. The vast majority of bloggers don’t make much, if any, money.

However, if you pick the right niche, write great content, and are good at networking, you might just find yourself a pretty nice side income.

Although, be careful, if you pick a topic that you’re not passionate about, you’ll probably burn out quickly. On the other hand, if you pick a really obscure topic that you’re passionate about, but not many other people are, you probably won’t find it to be very profitable…. but you will have fun!

My Dollar Plan

From the beginning, I had plans to monetize My Dollar Plan and listed it as one of my goals, along with helping others learn about and find answers to personal finance topics and documenting all my finance ideas floating around.

The first few months I didn’t make much, but after six months I was earning enough to at least pay for the laptop I was working on. Fast forward a year, and I’ve found that the side income has grown substantially. Here’s how I did it.

Getting Started

Once you have an idea, there’s some setup work that you need to do to get going. Here is what I found to be the most successful start up plan.

1. Web Hosting and Domain. Get a web hosting plan with a real domain name (for example, MyDollarPlan.com is a domain name); free hosting services like Blogger.com limit your future advertising options. Right now, I think the best basic web hosting option out there is at Lunarpages. With a 12 month commitment you can get hosting with 24/7 support for less than $5 per month. This also includes free domain name registration, which usually runs an additional $10.

   When you sign up, it’s best if you can find a .com domain; however, many of the good names are already taken. A .net domain name will also work but I would avoid domains ending in .info, .biz, .us or the like. Lunarpages has a domain checking tool you can use during sign up to find available names.

2. Publishing Platform. Download and install WordPress, the software that you will want to use for your blog. It does all the behind the scenes web work. And best of all, it’s free! If you use Lunarpages, they have a great installation wizard that walks you through setup.
3. Design and Logo. I use a free WordPress theme. You can find lots of options over at the WordPress Theme Directory. I’m not graphically inclined so I have all of my logo work done by Logos for Websites. I highly recommend them!
4. Start Writing. When possible, try to keep one idea per post. It’ll help your readers and keep you focused. Remember that people like to scan when reading on the internet; use header sections, bold words, and bullet lists where possible.
5. Network. Once you start writing, you’ll want to network with other writers. You can do this by linking to their relevant articles, leaving comments at their sites, and using various social media outlets, like Twitter, StumbleUpon, and Facebook. In addition, writing guest posts for other blogs that are in your niche is a great way to get exposure. If you decide to write a personal finance related blog, I’d be happy to feature a guest post at My Dollar Plan, just let me know.

Explore Advertising

Once I launched my site, I spent some time focusing on writing great content, establishing a reader base, and networking. Once those were headed in the right direction, I turned my efforts to advertising.

I’ve experimented with various advertisers. Some are more successful than others; it depends on your niche and writing style. I’ve found trial and error to be the best way to sort through the advertisers. Here are some of the advertisers that I’ve used in the past:

1. Adsense. Google AdSense is probably the easiest advertiser to use and was my very first one. I still use it today. You make money when people click on an ad that displays on your site. A single click can earn anywhere from a few pennies to a few dollars.
2. Affiliate Networks. If you ever talk about products you use, you may want to check out Commission Junction. Affiliate sales pay you a referral fee for referring products or services. They have many well known and respected companies that you can sign up with, such as H&R Block and The Wall Street Journal. Other affiliate networks that I use are LinkShare and FlexOffers. A completed referral can earn anywhere from a few dollars to over $100.
3. Text Links. Text links are an advertising option, however you could be penalized for using them by Google. The links can appear in your sidebar or footer, and provide a link to the advertisers site. Options are Linkworth and inLinks from Text-link-ads. These links can fetch anywhere between $10 to $100+ per link, per month.
4. Display Ads. Many of the graphic ads you see in the sidebar are from advertisers who contact me directly. Be sure to include a contact page for people to email you. These ads typically pay based on the number of times they are viewed and can range from less than $1 to over $5 per 1,000 views.
5. Paid Posts. I don’t do these, so I really don’t have any information to share about them other than I know there are always people contacting me to do these. I always want my readers to know that what they are reading is my thoughts and opinions and not that anyone paid me to write something.
6. Personal Referrals. While this isn’t a traditional means of advertising, you can earn money from it. I often use my personal referrals for products when they offer a sign up bonus. The ING $25 Sign up Bonus is a great example. Referrals can earn anywhere from a few dollars to over $50 per sign up.

Technical Support

One of the toughest things for me in the blogging world is the technical expertise. I’m a personal finance junkie, not a computer whiz. I was lucky that my business partner is a computer programmer. Oh yeah, he’s also my husband!

It’s important that you know your strengths and weaknesses. If your weakness is computer stuff, like me, you’ll want to find someone you trust to help you navigate the technical stuff.

Action Plan

I hope that helps answer the questions you had about making money from blogging. I’ve found it very enjoyable, but like anything, it’s not for everyone. If you do plan to give it a try, good luck! Be sure to drop me a note and let me know how you are doing!

Now, back to our regular personal finance topics…

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

Included are blogs that meet the following criteria:

• Personal finance related material
• Minimum subscriber count of 200
• Publicly displayed feed count and source

Sites are ranked as of Feedburner subscriber count on May 23, 2008. The feed displays will monitor the current counts each day. The ranking will remain static using the May 23 counts; raw numbers are included for reference.

See previous rankings:

• January 2008
• February 2008
• March 2008
• April 2008

Personal Finance Sites Ranked by Subscribers

Rank	Blog	Subscribers
1	My Personal Finance Journey	88986
2	Get Rich Slowly	56465
3	The Simple Dollar	32683
4	Wise Bread	11874
5	My Money Blog	11445
6	Consumerism Commentary	7906
7	Five Cent Nickel	6472
8	Blueprint For Financial Prosperity	6304
9	All Financial Matters	4836
10	No Credit Needed	3439
11	Personal Finance Advice	3199
12	The Digerati Life	3148
13	Millionaire Mommy Next Door	3124
14	Million Dollar Journey	2895
15	Money Matter & More Musings	2731
16	Mighty Bargain Hunter	2681
17	Generation X Finance	2568
18	Lazy Man And Money	2545
19	Being Frugal	2542
20	Canadian Capitalist	2505
21	My Open Wallet	2262
22	Blogging Away Debt	1989
23	Paid Twice	1944
24	Boston Gal’s Open Wallet	1880
25	Clever Dude	1749
26	Moolanomy	1540
27	My Two Dollars	1503
28	Don’t Mess With Taxes	1475
29	Gather Little By Little	1459
30	Frugal for Life	1336
31	Punny Money	1305
32	Money Smart Life	1277
33	The Sun’s Financial Diary	1265
34	The Dough Roller	1228
35	Cash Money Life	1204
36	Queercents	1196
37	My 1st Million At 33	1105
38	Money Ning	1028
39	Fabulous Financials v2.0	1026
40	Frugal Dad	942
41	Brip Blap	904
42	Frugal Law Student	800
43	The Finance Buff	794
44	The Wisdom Journal	786
45	Hustler Blog	764
46	Art Of Money	748
47	An English Major’s Money	739
48	Quest For Four Pillars	665
49	Sense to Save	647
50	American Consumer News	627
51	My Dollar Plan	621
52	A Penny Closer	619
53	My Wealth Builder	597
54	Be Thrifty Like Us	586
55	Single Guy Money	584
56	Debt Free Revolution	565
57	Poorer Than You	545
58	Grad Money Matters	528
59	Give Me Back My Five Bucks	476
60	Financial Jungle	474
61	Everybody Loves Your Money	464
62	Mommy Gets Paid	459
63	Debt Kid	458
64	Money And Values	446
65	Early Retirement Extreme	441
66	Advanced Personal Finance	436
67	FIRE Finance	432
68	Smart Money Daily	418
69	One Frugal Girl	366
70	The Happy Rock	334
71	Canadian Personal Finance Blog	332
72	My Financial Journey	287
73	The Baglady	273
74	Blunt Money	259
75	Everything Finance	255
76	Credit Withdrawal	232
77	Money and Such	214
78	Prime Time Money	202

If you would like to be included in a future version please contact me with your site name and Feedburner source code.

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

Included are blogs that meet the following criteria:

• Personal finance related material
• Minimum subscriber count of 200
• Publicly displayed feed count and source

Sites are ranked as of Feedburner subscriber count on April 23, 2008. The feed displays will monitor the current counts each day. The ranking will remain static using the April 23 counts; raw numbers are included for reference.

See previous rankings:
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008

Personal Finance Sites Ranked by Subscribers

Rank	Blog	Subscribers
1	My Personal Finance Journey	83151
2	Get Rich Slowly	55724
3	The Simple Dollar	31398
4	My Money Blog	13891
5	Wise Bread	11314
6	Consumerism Commentary	7379
7	Five Cent Nickel	5984
8	Blueprint For Financial Prosperity	5972
9	All Financial Matters	4499
10	No Credit Needed	3298
11	Personal Finance Advice	3105
12	Millionaire Mommy Next Door	3009
13	The Digerati Life	2919
14	Million Dollar Journey	2697
15	Lazy Man And Money	2472
16	Mighty Bargain Hunter	2465
17	Generation X Finance	2458
18	Money Matter & More Musings	2443
19	Being Frugal	2226
20	My Open Wallet	2189
21	Canadian Capitalist	2175
22	Blogging Away Debt	1931
23	Boston Gal’s Open Wallet	1719
24	Paid Twice	1682
25	Clever Dude	1612
26	Don’t Mess With Taxes	1358
27	Moolanomy	1293
28	Money Smart Life	1281
29	Frugal for Life	1261
30	Punny Money	1246
31	Queercents	1212
32	The Sun’s Financial Diary	1208
33	Gather Little By Little	1198
34	My Two Dollars	1175
35	The Dough Roller	1170
36	My 1st Million At 33	1134
37	Money Ning	1082
38	Frugal Law Student	1053
39	Fabulous Financials v2.0	1012
40	Cash Money Life	824
41	Brip Blap	801
42	The Finance Buff	766
43	Hustler Blog	754
44	An English Major’s Money	707
45	Art Of Money	689
46	American Consumer News	624
47	My Wealth Builder	599
48	A Penny Closer	586
49	Sense to Save	581
50	The Wisdom Journal	574
51	Early Retirement Extreme	558
52	Frugal Dad	555
53	Quest For Four Pillars	547
54	Grad Money Matters	538
55	Single Guy Money	526
56	Poorer Than You	499
57	My Dollar Plan	497
58	Everybody Loves Your Money	479
59	Money And Values	452
60	Debt Free Revolution	449
61	Give Me Back My Five Bucks	441
62	FIRE Finance	432
63	Financial Jungle	428
64	Advanced Personal Finance	408
65	Mommy Gets Paid	399
66	Smart Money Daily	387
67	Debt Kid	370
68	One Frugal Girl	357
69	My Financial Journey	315
70	The Happy Rock	309
71	Canadian Personal Finance Blog	291
72	Blunt Money	248
73	Money and Such	214
74	Credit Withdrawal	204

If you would like to be included in a future version please contact me with your site name and Feedburner source code.

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

Included are blogs that meet the following criteria:

• Personal finance related material
• Minimum subscriber count of 200
• Publicly displayed feed count and source

Sites are ranked as of Feedburner subscriber count on March 21, 2008. The feed displays will monitor the current counts each day. The ranking will remain static using the March 21 counts; raw numbers are included for reference.

See previous rankings:
January 2008
February 2008

Personal Finance Sites Ranked by Subscribers

Rank	Blog	Subscribers
1	My Personal Finance Journey	75664
2	Get Rich Slowly	46659
3	The Simple Dollar	28532
4	My Money Blog	12906
5	Wise Bread	10116
6	Consumerism Commentary	7035
7	Blueprint For Financial Prosperity	5505
8	Five Cent Nickel	5423
9	All Financial Matters	3865
10	Personal Finance Advice	2973
11	Millionaire Mommy Next Door	2927
12	Money Matter & More Musings	2744
13	The Digerati Life	2658
14	No Credit Needed	2636
15	Mighty Bargain Hunter	2442
16	Generation X Finance	2269
17	Lazy Man And Money	2185
18	Million Dollar Journey	2110
19	My Open Wallet	2051
20	Canadian Capitalist	2045
21	Blogging Away Debt	1900
22	Boston Gal’s Open Wallet	1756
23	Clever Dude	1493
24	Paid Twice	1380
25	Being Frugal	1336
26	Don’t Mess With Taxes	1320
27	Money Smart Life	1274
28	My Two Dollars	1254
29	The Sun’s Financial Diary	1155
30	Punny Money	1155
31	Frugal for Life	1097
32	The Dough Roller	1094
33	Moolanomy	1087
34	Money Ning	1076
35	Queercents	1065
36	Gather Little By Little	1060
37	My 1st Million At 33	1034
38	Frugal Law Student	979
39	Fabulous Financials v2.0	914
40	Art Of Money	722
41	Brip Blap	711
42	Hustler Blog	709
43	An English Major’s Money	693
44	Cash Money Life	670
45	The Finance Buff	646
46	My Wealth Builder	588
47	American Consumer News	580
48	A Penny Closer	544
49	Grad Money Matters	512
50	Quest For Four Pillars	503
51	Sense to Save	494
52	Poorer Than You	484
53	Single Guy Money	460
54	FIRE Finance	451
55	The Wisdom Journal	447
56	Everybody Loves Your Money	445
57	Money And Values	434
58	Early Retirement Extreme	424
59	Advanced Personal Finance	389
60	My Dollar Plan	381
61	Give Me Back My Five Bucks	381
62	Financial Jungle	380
63	Smart Money Daily	373
64	One Frugal Girl	368
65	Debt Kid	361
66	Debt Free Revolution	357
67	My Financial Journey	285
68	Canadian Personal Finance Blog	274
69	Mommy Gets Paid	274
70	The Happy Rock	272
71	Blunt Money	240
72	Money and Such	211
73	Credit Withdrawal	200

If you would like to be included in a future version please contact me with your site name and Feedburner source code.

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

Site Statistics

My Dollar Plan had 9,870 unique visitors in February. Compared to 11,494 in January, it’s a 14% decrease.

My Dollar Plan had 315 feed subscribers at the end of February. Compared to 276 at the end of January, that’s a 14% increase! Be sure to subscribe if you haven’t yet. I still want to hit my goal of 500 subscribers by April 21.

Life Skills Network

During February I joined a terrific group of writers to form the Life Skills Network. It’s a network of incredible websites dedicated to teaching skills that will help readers improve their lives. Here are the other members:

• My Super-Charged Life
• Frugal Dad
• Chance Favors
• The Wisdom Journal

Top Referrals

Here’s the sites that sent the most referrals to My Dollar Plan during February (excluding search engines, aggregators and social networking). The number in parentheses represents the place on the list that each site was last month. Thanks for the referrals!

1. Paid Twice
2. Smart Spending/MSN (4)
3. My Two Dollars (6)
4. Being Frugal (3)
5. Five Cent Nickel (9)
6. Single Guy Money (10)
7. Moolanomy (2)
8. Mrs. Micah (5)
9. No Credit Needed
10. Gather Little By Little (7)

Top Articles

• Cancel Sprint Service Without Early Termination Fees
• Carnival of Personal Finance #139: Valentine Edition
• Financial Calculators
• Should I Stay Home or Go Back to Work?
• Tips and Tricks for Financial Organization
• What Does Your Life Mix Pie Chart Look Like?
• Investment Snowflaking

Getting Down to Business

We are in the process of formalizing our businesses. I finalized all the paperwork to form our LLC. This included deciding on a business name, filing our articles of organization with the state, and applying for a tax identification number. Once we got all the paperwork done and paid our fees, I opened a post office box and a business bank account.

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© My Dollar Plan

About the Ranking

Included are blogs that meet the following criteria:

• Personal finance related material
• Minimum subscriber count of 200
• Publicly displayed feed count and source

Sites are ranked as of Feedburner subscriber count on February 22, 2008. The feed displays will monitor the current counts each day. The ranking will remain static using the February 22 counts; raw numbers are included for reference.

Personal Finance Sites Ranked by Subscribers

Rank	Blog	Subscribers
1	My Personal Finance Journey	69255
2	Get Rich Slowly	48575
3	The Simple Dollar	26853
4	My Money Blog	12620
5	Wise Bread	9933
6	Consumerism Commentary	7123
7	Blueprint For Financial Prosperity	5404
8	Five Cent Nickel	5136
9	All Financial Matters	3788
10	Personal Finance Advice	2961
11	Money Matter & More Musings	2841
12	Millionaire Mommy Next Door	2708
13	No Credit Needed	2695
14	The Digerati Life	2508
15	Mighty Bargain Hunter	2434
16	Generation X Finance	2166
17	Lazy Man And Money	2089
18	My Open Wallet	1946
19	Million Dollar Journey	1930
20	Canadian Capitalist	1844
21	Boston Gal’s Open Wallet	1791
22	Blogging Away Debt	1788
23	Clever Dude	1392
24	Don’t Mess With Taxes	1323
25	Money Smart Life	1226
26	Being Frugal	1217
27	The Sun’s Financial Diary	1186
28	Paid Twice	1141
29	Punny Money	1114
30	My Two Dollars	1058
31	Queercents	1047
32	Money Ning	1016
33	My 1st Million At 33	990
34	Frugal Law Student	968
35	The Dough Roller	949
36	Moolanomy	944
37	Fabulous Financials v2.0	885
38	Frugal for Life	871
39	Gather Little By Little	766
40	Art Of Money	712
41	Hustler Blog	655
42	An English Major’s Money	648
43	American Consumer News	644
44	My Wealth Builder	620
45	Cash Money Life	576
46	Grad Money Matters	548
47	Brip Blap	525
48	A Penny Closer	474
49	Poorer Than You	461
50	The Wisdom Journal	443
51	Everybody Loves Your Money	432
52	FIRE Finance	431
53	Money And Values	397
54	Quest For Four Pillars	379
55	Single Guy Money	373
56	Smart Money Daily	364
57	Advanced Personal Finance	362
58	One Frugal Girl	326
59	Financial Jungle	324
60	My Dollar Plan	308
61	Debt Kid	299
62	My Financial Journey	260
63	The Happy Rock	251
64	Early Retirement Extreme	243
65	Debt Free Revolution	237
66	Canadian Personal Finance Blog	236
67	Blunt Money	234

If you would like to be included in a future version please contact me with your site name and Feedburner source code.

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

Site Statistics

Since January was the second full month, I can now make some month-to-month comparisons. Here’s what the numbers looked like:  

My Dollar plan had 11,494 unique visitors in January. Compared to 7445 in December, it’s a 54% increase! This exceeded my goal of growing visitors by 10% each month.

My Dollar plan had 276 feed subscribers at the end of January. Compared to the end of December at 137, that’s a 101% increase! Be sure to subscribe if you haven’t yet.

Top Referrals

Here’s the sites that sent the most referrals to My Dollar Plan during January (excluding search engines, aggregators and social networking). To make the list each site sent over 150 referrals. The number in parentheses represents the place on the list that each site was last time.

1. Debt Free Revolution
2. Moolanomy (7)
3. Being Frugal
4. Smart Spending/MSN
5. Mrs. Micah  (1)
6. My Two Dollars
7. Gather Little By Little
8. Cash Money Life (10)
9. Five Cent Nickel (9)
10. Tie: How I Save Money and Single Guy Money

Top Articles

• Cancel Sprint Service Without Early Termination Fees
• 25 Reasons to Love Credit Cards
• Money Matters for All Ages: The Complete Guide
• How Do I Organize 181 Accounts?
• 2008 Roth 401k and Roth IRA Limits
• Financial Strategies for Infants and Young Children

New Sites Linked

I’ve also added some new links to my Blogroll of sites I’ve been reading lately and enjoying. Check them out!

• The Honest Dollar
• Debt Free Revolution
• Rocket Finance
• Quest for Four Pillars
• Millionaire Money Habits

Action Plan

I’ve been working on my 2008 site goals and I’ll be sharing them with you later this week. In addition, if you’ve been experiencing slowness trying to access My Dollar Plan, we’re working with our host to try to get to the root of the problem.

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

About the Ranking

Included are blogs that meet the following criteria:

• Personal finance related material
• Minimum subscriber count of 200
• Publicly displayed feed count and source

Sites are ranked as of Feedburner subscriber count on January 22, 2008. The feed displays will monitor the current counts each day. The ranking will remain static using the January 22 counts; raw numbers are included for reference.

Personal Finance Sites Ranked by Subscribers

Rank	Blog	Subscribers
1	My Personal Finance Journey	63566
2	Get Rich Slowly	45511
3	The Simple Dollar	25423
4	My Money Blog	12387
5	Wise Bread	8634
6	Consumerism Commentary	6480
7	Blueprint For Financial Prosperity	4816
8	All Financial Matters	3603
9	Personal Finance Advice	2893**
10	Money Matter & More Musings	2580
11	Millionaire Mommy Next Door	2536
12	The Digerati Life	2312
13	Mighty Bargain Hunter	2294
14	Lazy Man And Money	1945
15	Generation X Finance	1927
16	My Open Wallet	1823
17	Million Dollar Journey	1705
18	Canadian Capitalist	1692
19	Blogging Away Debt	1669
20	Boston Gal’s Open Wallet	1572
21	Don’t Mess With Taxes	1295
22	Clever Dude	1262
23	Money Smart Life	1230
24	The Sun’s Financial Diary	1098
25	Punny Money	1063
26	My 1st Million At 33	945
27	Paid Twice	925
28	My Two Dollars	912
29	Frugal for Life	888
30	Frugal Law Student	874
31	Being Frugal	854
32	Moolanomy	796
33	Money Ning	681
34	Art Of Money	676
35	Gather Little By Little	652
36	Money And Values	644
37	American Consumer News	639
38	Hustler Blog	617
39	The Dough Roller	601
40	Queercents	560
41	An English Major’s Money	548
42	FIRE Finance	532
43	Grad Money Matters	525
44	Brip Blap	485
45	Cash Money Life	484
46	A Penny Closer	428
47	Poorer Than You	413
48	Single Guy Money	387
49	Everybody Loves Your Money	382
50	Advanced Personal Finance	370
51	Smart Money Daily	334
52	Debt Kid	295
53	Quest For Four Pillars	293
54	One Frugal Girl	289
55	Financial Jungle	282
56	My Financial Journey	259
57	The Happy Rock	240
58	My Dollar Plan	236
59	Blunt Money	220

If you would like to be included in a future version please contact me with your site name and Feedburner source code.

**Personal Finance Advice numbers are from January 23 due to a substantial change in numbers. January 22 count was 86473. I’m not sure what the discrepancy is or if it had something to do with the day the feedburner stats went crazy! Ranks 1-8 were moved up accordingly.

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

Here’s some of my articles that have been featured in the Carnival of Debt Reduction in the past:

• Car Not For Sale
• Millionaires in the Making: Pros and Cons
• Do Negative Millionaires Exist? 
• When Does the 0% Credit Card Really Expire?
• Our Credit Card Balances: $223,270
• Creative Debt Reduction Strategies
• Debt Payoff Strategies Holding You Back

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

The following bloggers were the first to notice me:

• Five Cent Nickel: First blog to link to my article and announce my existence to his readers. Nickel has also answered questions and provided guidance to My Dollar Plan. Stop and check out his site!
• All Financial Matters: The first to add me to their blogroll. JLP also had an announcement link for My Dollar Plan and is sending over the most readers to date.

In addition, the following blogs have helped me out getting started:

• Free Money Finance: The first to leave a comment
• The Simple Dollar: Helping me with some logistical questions about blogging.
• Million Dollar Journey: Helping me with a mistake in entering my first Carnival.

And finally, thanks to the following blogs for linking to my articles:

• The Digerati Life
• Moolanomy
• My Good Cents
• Freezing in NH
• The Grass Roots Campaign…. no website, but a great team of helpers spreading the word! You know who you are!

Now get off the computer and enjoy some family time!

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

As of today, I have officially assumed a new name: Madison. I examined in Millionaires in the Making: Pros and Cons how much one publicly discloses about their finances. Turns out, many people are revealing, but using pen names. As a personal finance writer using many of my own experiences, I thought it was in the best interest of my family if I followed suit.

The first name was easy, but here’s where I’m stumped, the last name. I want to keep my initials MDP. So far I’ve come up with:

1. Madison DuPaix
2. Madison DuPree
3. Madison D. Porter

What do you think? What connotations do these names give you? And who would you most like to learn about finances with each day?

Tell me what you think! Contact me or leave a comment below. Feel free to give me other ideas too! And check back to see who I become!

Next week I’ll also look at some of the other things I’ve learned in my first two weeks, including mistakes I have made.

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

Yesterday I highlighted Tax Deduction for Women gathering up the bridesmaid dresses for donations. Today I’m finishing off the closet. Each year at the end of the year, I clean out my closet and donate clothes to Goodwill. While most people have spring cleaning, I have tax cleaning, focusing on getting donations out the door in time for this year’s taxes.

I have a hard time parting with clothes. Even those that I haven’t worn in forever. So I came up with a plan that will reward me for one of the goals that I’m working on: getting 150 readers per day. By this time next week, I want my average daily visitor count to exceed 150.

If the average visitor count makes it over 150, I will donate that many items from my closet! Talk about incentive to clear out all those clothes. So tell a handful of friends about the site! Let’s empty my closet. Let’s empty yours too! Get rid of all those things you never wear and donate, donate, donate.

And it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t mention the 2006 IRS guidelines stating that clothing must be in good condition or better to claim your deduction.

Read the results of the reader goal.

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© My Dollar Plan