Laurie Blank
Laurie Blank is a freelance writer and licensed Realtor practicing in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
She has been writing about personal finance topics for over six years.
Laurie works her writing and real estate businesses while being a (largely) stay-at-home mom to her four children.
In her spare time she keeps active hiking, biking, cooking and hanging out with family and friends.
How to Survive on Minimum Wage
In 2018, nearly 434,000 American adults who earn an hourly wage were paid America’s federal minimum wage of $7.25, according to this government report. Earning seven bucks an hour when you’re sixteen and living at home with mom and dad is one thing....
Where to Get Coupons? 11 Easy Ways to Get Coupons Now
Do you want to know where you can get coupons? If you’re working on spending less on your grocery bill, a weekly menu plan and coordinating shopping list is a great place to start. Just doing those two things alone can help you to cut your grocery...
How to Start Living Below Your Means
Almost every person who is debt free or financially independent will tell you that one of the keys to their success was to live below their means. In other words, they make a habit of spending less than they earn. In today’s paycheck-to-paycheck world,...
Get Paid to Read Books: 15 Sites that Make Reading and Reviewing Profitable
Do you like to read? Do you want to earn money? If so, you might be able to find some side hustle gigs that pay you to do what you love: read books. Check out this list of companies that will pay you to read books, and think about whether a partnership...
How to Watch Local TV Without Cable (or Satellite)
Watching television can be expensive. Cable TV packages range in price from $40 or more for a very basic package to $150+ for the comprehensive packages. A large cable or satellite TV package can really make a dent in the average budget. As a result, people...
24 Fun Things to Do That Won’t Break the Bank
As we work at paying off our massive amount of consumer debt, having fun things to do is a priority. Making sure that those fun things are affordable is also a priority. Our family of six has set a strict entertainment budget of $60 a month until our...
8 Legit Ways to Get Free Laptops
If you do an Internet search for “ways to get free laptops”, you’ll find a host of information out there. Much of it is bogus. It’s just not possible for just anybody to get a free laptop. However, in certain circumstances you may be able to get a...
5 You Need a Budget (YNAB) Alternatives
Have you ever heard of You Need a Budget (YNAB)? YNAB is a budgeting tool created to help you have better control over your finances. It’s a great product. In fact, I’m going to give you the details on what it is and how it works. That way you can...
17 Best Money Making Apps That Pay Well in 2019
It's a good thing to have a variety of options for making money. Everyone has bills to pay and expenses to cover. Having a traditional job to cover those expenses is smart. But what about having access to some other avenues for earning cash? Luckily,...
13 Best Fax Services Near Me to Fax For Less
Faxing documents has largely been replaced with scanning and electronic documents. However, you may still find an occasional need to fax a document to a business or private party, or even a need to make copies. Just recently I had to send some...