I recently was emailed by another blogger, asking how I drove traffic to my blog. Now, don’t get me wrong…I don’t have the traffic of some of the other mega bloggers. I do okay though! So I wrote back and detailed what has worked best for me personally.

I pretty much learned via trial and error. I do have a small group of bloggers that I definitely rely on for support and encouragement, and I have to say until that little team formed…things stayed a bit stagnant for awhile. I definitely suggest all bloggers carve out a little group within their niche. Blogging can be lonely, but it really doesn’t have to be.

I’m definitely not any kind of blogging guru, but I think it’s really important to pay forward the knowledge I’ve gleaned over the past few months. The truth is, blogging can be really hard work. What’s the point of putting in all that time and energy if no one is reading? Traffic is important, whether you care to make money from your blog or not.
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Picture by Vera Kratochvil

I recently received this question from a friend of mine:

How can I save more using coupons for brand names at a chain store, instead of buying in bulk at Costco or buying store brands?

This is definitely a question that gets asked a lot around here, so I thought I’d answer it publicly (with her permission of course!) so everyone can weigh in.

When you buy your Sunday paper, there is one thing you will immediately notice upon flipping to the coupon section. About 80% of those coupons are for junk. The rest are probably for things you would purchase, if only their generic name counterpart wasn’t remarkably less expensive.

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