… And other independent contractors! If you’re a blogger, freelance writer, or work from home at all, you’re most likely consider an independent contractor by the IRS. Unfortunately, things can get pretty hairy around tax season if you’re not prepared. They stick a “self employed” tax on you that can be hefty. That’s why it’s super important to keep track of your money. Keep your receipts for anything and everything. Get tax forms from everyone who paid you. And keep a sharp eye out for those write-offs! This infographic by uTDu has a great list of tax write-offs for anyone who is self employed:
-Keep track of receipts for anything that you bought for business purposes, including trips, dining, gas, computers, and home office equipment.
-You can write off your computer and phone for 5 years
-Interest paid on business loans or student loans can be written off
As a kid, it was always my dream to have a job that allowed me to travel. My mom used to work for the State Treasurer’s Department, and would constantly be jetting off to locations all over the US for work. She’d always bring me back presents from other states, and one time I got to go to Washington DC with her! Of course, I wanted to be just like her, and I think that’s what inspired my current passion for travel. However, with most traditional jobs that require 40-50 hours of work in an office a week, you can’t really do that.
Besides consistently producing great, informative content, all of the successful full time bloggers have one thing in common: a great web design. You don’t have to be a professional graphic artist to pick a classic theme, not overload your reader with too many colors and clickables, and take great photos of your work. For a list of blog design mistakes for beginners (and everyone) to avoid, check out 
Starting a blog is a wonderful way of creating some extra, passive income, as well as sharing a bit of your life with the rest of the world. You decided on a theme (are you a cooking blog? A business blog? Do you talk about real estate? Crafting? Being a parent?), picked a name, launched your site, and written a few posts. …Now what? It can be hard for new blogs to get off the ground; that’s why I love this post by 
Attracting visitors to your site is important, but keeping them there is even more essential. This creates dedicated readers who will come back, as well as spend some time reading through your content. But how do you get, and keep, regular readers? Just read this post by