Michelle Jackson

There is nothing more ubiquitous in American culture than a big July 4th party.
In fact, 86% of Americans plan to celebrate Independence Day this year. They also plan to spend a total of $6.7 billion on food items, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics. The most popular July 4th activity for 61% of those surveyed? Cookouts, barbecues and picnics. And, according to the NRF, the average cost per person for a July 4th BBQ is expecte...

It seems like ancient history, but there was a time when we were all just naturally minimalist. We darned our socks, had shoes resoled, and patched the torn pockets of our jeans. We repaired before we even thought of replacing. Fast forward to today and it’s pretty safe to say that we’re not mostly known for our thrift. In fact, we’re practically drowning in one-use cast-offs, discarded fast fashion, and more shipping boxes than we could reuse in a lifetime. Our oceans are becoming swirling m...

One of the most challenging aspects of adult life is making sure you are first on your priority list. While taking a timeout for self-care has numerous (and crazy) health and mental wellness benefits, finding the time is hard. And if you’re paying off debt, have a family, or just trying to focus on your financial goals, self-care may feel somewhat indulgent and potentially hazardous to your financial health, even if the costs are a small as a bottle of those charcoal face masks you saw on Ins...

A couple of months ago there was a big brouhaha over former Cosby Show actor, Geoffrey Owens, about the fact that he was working at a Trader Joe’s. He was basically work shamed and it really ticked me off.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had an extra job. Whether I was working at Starbucks or even an olive oil store. I will admit that there were moments when I’ve felt embarrassed about having an extra job, more importantly — the reasons why I had one.
Currently, I am on an entrepre...

I love Starbucks. There are several reasons why: I love hanging out at coffee shops, Starbucks has Wi-Fi, and that was the job I had during graduate school that allowed me to support my mom and I after she lost her job.
Yep, that happened.
As you could imagine, it was a really tough time. No, it wasn’t enough money, but I enjoyed the simplicity of the job during an incredibly stressful situation. As a lover of coffee and people, working as a barista part-time continues to be one of my favorit...

You’ve likely run into a brand ambassador at one time or another. You’re walking down the street minding your own business when a couple of friendly faces wearing a branded t-shirt, hat, or jacket, offer to give you something free to eat.
OK, maybe that sounds a little scary. But, I promise you it’s not. What I’m describing is how brand ambassadors for companies do their work.
Similar to a food demo person at a grocery store, they are tasked with the following:
Sharing details about a product...

One of my favorite side-hustles ever was selling high-end olive oil. Yes, this is a thing, and it was a ton of fun. In past years, the American consumer has begun demanding specialty products ranging from coffee and butter to chocolate.
And, now, olive oil. I’d never considered selling olive oil until I found myself wandering the local mall looking for a side-hustle and discovered an olive oil store that looked like it would be fun to work in…
…It was!
For almost three years I sold delicious ...

The first time I participated in a focus group, I was a broke college student. It’s been a while, so I don’t remember the details other than it was a focus group run at a hospital. I remember being paid a nice chunk of change at the time and thinking that it was the easiest way I’d ever made extra money.
With age has come wisdom. I’m not as excited about focus groups that rely on me taking medicines or sharing any medical details, but I still love participating in focus groups from time to ti...

There are moments when I joke that I’ve worked every single part-time job under the sun. I’ve worked as a brand ambassador, at the local convention center, and even done a ton of focus groups.
I’m no stranger to the hustle.
When I saw a listing to work at the local ballpark in my town and that it paid weekly — I was interested! Getting hired was pretty straightforward, and soon I found myself scheduled to work my first shift as a food concession helper.
Having worked fast food before in anoth...

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Sometimes I have to laugh when I think about all of the side-hustles that I’ve worked throughout the years. In fact, I found many of my favorite side-hustles during the holiday season when I wanted to pay off de...

It pains me to admit that I’m very acquainted with the experience of being broke. In fact, being broke and in debt was so exhausting to me that it motivated the start of my debt-freedom journey. A journey that I didn’t know at the time would take years to complete.
I’m a few months away from no longer owing unsecured debt like credit cards and only owing on my student loans. And, I thought this post would be an excellent opportunity to share some of the lessons I learned about paying off debt...

The current year is winding down, and like many people, I’ve begun thinking about my financial goals for the next 12 months. It’s very easy at this time of year to give yourself a hard time about all of the goals you didn’t attain, but I have the view that you should take the opposite approach. Spend time looking at the financial goals that you’ve achieved during the year and see what you did to pay off that old bill, make more money, or afford an epic overseas trip without going into debt.
O...

It’s almost the New Year and many people have begun to focus on what they would like to make happen during the next 12 months. And, I’m one of them.
As a person who has paid off significant amounts of debt and taken the leap into entrepreneurship, and lived abroad I’ve learned a lot about setting achievable goals.
It’s OK to set audacious goals. But, in setting those goals try to be OK with not reaching them. I always make my goals bigger than it feels like I can achieve because I just might ...

You’ve likely encountered a food brand ambassador at your local grocery store. You’re wandering up and down the aisles trying to remember what groceries you need after forgetting your list on the kitchen counter. You turn the corner and encounter a person smiling at you and sharing free food samples.
Then, you’ve added that new item you’ve sampled to your grocery list.
What you’ve just experienced is one of my favorite side-hustles: food sampler. And, if you’ve wondered how a person gets hire...

I remember it like it was yesterday. There was a knock at my door and some stranger was standing there and they knew my name. Despite my stranger danger radar, I opened the door and was promptly served papers to show up in court at a future date. Things just got real.
I’d never had this happen before and then when it did, I was completely unprepared. The irony was that I had whittled away thousands and thousands of dollars of debt when this happened and I was pretty close to paying off my deb...