Words of Wisdom

I’m laying here with my baby boy thinking to myself what a wonderful world. If everyone could be as innocent as an eight year old child we would all have it made. There might actually be world peace.

I don't have much words of interest tonight or maybe I do. I don't know. All I know is today we got another flood day. Although, it's great to have these extra days, we have had a lot of loss in our community over these floods and it's such a sad time. This weather system is the weirdest.

So I did bump into an old friend this evening and she gave me a good little piece of advice. She told me we didn't need to worry about what other people think or say. If they're not in my bubble then they don't know me, the real me. Basically, those people do not matter. She couldn't have been any more right. Do you ever have those friends that come and go in your life? This is one of those and now she's back. There are times in our lives when we go through tremendous changes and you actually do figure out who your friends are in the end. The friends that will stand by your side, check on you and not pass those rumors around. Those are the friends that are needed most.

I am guilty of this, but sometimes we isolate ourselves when something happens in our lives that we either find humiliating or devastating. We don't know how to handle situations and sometimes we run and hide. Trust me people, that's not what you should be doing if you are going through some hard times.

Hold your head high, look up and trudge on through. Remember, some of us are in one of three places in our lives. We're either going into a storm, right in the middle of one, or coming out of one. Most importantly, don't forget to live your life to its fullest and never ever give up. Never ever stop believing in yourself.

Which Webhost should you Choose?

I've came across two different web hosting services in my life as a TpT seller and I've gotta say I'm not for sure which is better. I'll be honest, I use Bluehost to host my sign shop and it was a real struggle at first because I carried that sucker through Wordpress. I had two different logins and Wordpress would sometimes think I was logging in under something else. Let's just say it got messy.

I have been doing a lot of research on this Siteground Web hosting service and I'm really liking what I'm seeing. Yes, Bluehost is going to offer it for a dollar cheaper on occasion, but it won't matter in the end. Normally, you pay for the full year upfront with Bluehost. The Siteground is looking pretty spectacular and their website is easy to navigate. I will say Bluehost is super popular and has never let me down.

I just want to say that both of these hosting sites are going to give you what you need and they both offer Wordpress theme hosting which is awesome if you're a teacher looking to turn your blog into more.

Click here if you're interested in learning more about Bluehost

OR

Click here if you're interested in learning more about Siteground

My favorite duck boots

How many of you teachers out there are getting a few days off for snow or in my case flood waters? It's the oddest thing. It poured in our small area for several days and nights and has flooded several locations out. Then the next day it came a snow storm and whited out the entire town. I am in awe of this weather.

So, listen up people, here I am lounging around on a Sunday. I just got in and propped my feet up. I realized that these Sperry duck boots are amazing and I wanted to talk about it. I'm pretty sure most people own a pair of these, but I cannot say enough about these boots. They are really cute paired with the perfect cozy socks and they're comfy. My little boy has a pair to match and he doesn't mind one bit to match his momma! The only thing I will say about these adorable boots is that they aren't the warmest things when it gets below freezing. I have worn them in the snow a few times with my kiddos and my toes were nearly frost bit. Otherwise, I love them!

Getting Started on Teachers Pay Teachers

If you're like me and you want to make a few extra bucks, you know something about the field of education or you're a teacher, then becoming a seller on Teachers Pay Teachers just might be your next move. I will say that embarking on this adventure is no easy task, but it is possible to make extra money with this if you've got enough nerve.

I have been a seller on this platform for eight years and I have almost hit $50,000 in earnings. Overtime, that doesn't seem like a lot, but yay for this teacher-prenuer because I have been able to do so much with the extra money! I never dreamt in a thousand years I'd actually make this kind of money selling my teacher resources, but I have. I'm not going to lie. There are months where I will make a killing and there are months where I make just enough to buy some groceries, which is more then enough! This was money that I didn't have before to spend on my children, trips, or groceries and I thank the good Lord for it.

I'm not going to preach to you and tell you to get off your lazy booty and get out there, but if you want to make some extra cash here's how I did it.

Step 1:  Sign up to sell with a Premium Seller account!!! I'm sure you've got the standard membership at this point if you know anything about TpT. I had this same membership and I only used it to download resources for my own classroom. I took the plunge and switched my account to a seller account in 2012. Signing up for a Teachers Pay Teachers account is super easy!

Step 2: Open a PayPal account if you don't have one already. Listen, people! It's the new age and having one of these babies is going to help you out tremendously. Also, if you want to get paid through the platform, you're going to need one of these. You will need your bank account information handy. If it makes you feel better, open up an extra checking account just for this. PayPal will then make two small deposits into your account to verify you are the owner. You will then check your statement and enter the amount of the two deposits on PayPay so they know it's you. Easy as pie.

Step 3: Do some research and figure out what areas interest you the most. What grades do you teach? What subject areas are your favorite? Or do you have an idea for classroom decor? Next, you need to figure out what program you want to use for creating your resources. I use Power Point for a lot of my resources. I'll be uploading a tutorial on that very soon! You can also use Adobe Illustrator and I also use Photoshop to help out with making my cover pages spectacular. Sorry, I'm getting carried away and probably freaking you all out just a tad.

Step 4: Let's tone it down a little. You need to invest in a little commercial font and clipart in order to get started and make your cover pages look amazing. If you're a little scared of the cover page developing idea, don't be because I've created a one of a kind resource for you guys. Click here to go check it out. I'm considering making it free just to help my fellow entrepreneurs out, but this bad boy hasn't been posted long. I'm anxious to see what happens. Inside, I've got fifteen cover pages to make your life easy. All you have to do is change the titles and you're done!

Step 5: Make your first product and you are going to want to actually try it out in your classroom. Take some real life pictures and see what happens. Maybe it's a worksheet or something else. The sky is the limit here. Maybe it's a behavior management system. It's your thing!

Step 6: You only need two products to start, One free and One paid. Take your time and make these two the best products ever! Your first item on TpT has to be free, it's a sample for prospecting buyers to see what kind of work you create.

Step 7: Take a deep breath and don't go out buying all kinds of clipart and expensive programs at first. This isn't for everyone so keep that in mind, but don't give up! Selling on this platform can be so rewarding!

Snow Day

These are the days! The days when you get to stick around at home with your kids. Well, if you’re a teacher you do. Sometimes they make me wanna pull my hair out when I’m wide awake on a day off from work at 6 am, but isn’t it worth it? Don’t worry people, we will have to make these days up. That’s for sure! Due to the excessive amount of rain we have missed school for two days and today it randomly came a snow! That’s southeastern weather for you.

So I’ve worked on updating my blog and I absolutely love it! I am very happy with how it turned out and I really hope it’ll attract some more readers. I enjoy writing and would love nothing more then to attract a crowd. You all keep me hopping and I love it! Feel free to let me know what you think!

Seller Resource Extravaganza

So I've decided to get crafty on myself as a teacher seller! I can't help it. So I've added a little gem to my shop and hope you sellers out there will check it out! All of my products are half off for the first 24 hours! I can't wait to see what y'all think! My newest addition is a seller cover page creator kit!! I don't know why I didn't think of it before, but I've created ten cover pages to be utilized however you'd like and they're completely editable!

$50,000 as a TpT Seller is Doable!!!

Happy New Year everyone!!! Well, ladies and gents what a way to ring in the New Year! I have hit the threshold of $50k as a teacher pay teacher seller and I am thrilled to share this news!

Let me start by saying that this journey was no easy task. I started taking my shop (Barnett’s School House) more seriously in the summer of 2012 as I was home with my baby boy on maternity leave. I was a determined and brand new mother, and I was also a little bored at nap time so I figured why not.

Little did I know I would chicken out on ending my career, but also little did I know that the summer months of 2012 I would make well over $3,000!!

My story began with an interactive notebook that I decided to create and sell. You can see it by clicking here. Then I added a little more with worksheets. Things such as morning work and review sheets. I did all of this during nap time while my baby boy laid right next to me.

In August, alone that year my shop took off and I was pumped! I paid off some debt and a few months later I was able to buy a new vehicle to replace my old faithful. I decided this business wasn’t as lucrative in the winter months and I became scared of leaving my career behind so I continued to teach.

Here I am almost eight years later and my baby boy will be turning eight years old next week. He now has a sister who will be turning five in a few short months. I have used this extra income to save for our future and make a tremendous leap in my life.

In the end, I must say I have been truly blessed. Did I suffer from burn out a time or two over this eight year journey? Of course I did, but I kept my little shop going and in the process I started a sign shop on the side.

It is no easy task being a mother and an entrepreneur on the side, but you make a little and that's encouragement especially when you can spend that little extra on your babies. Barnett’s School House has been a fun and exciting journey and I wouldn't trade this leap I took for anything! I hope you all will embark on a journey as well because you never know what God has in store. You can follow me on TpT and feel free to comment below!

As an update, I have finally finished my serious of videos where I teach you all of my tips and tricks on how I have became a successful seller of TpT!! Click HERE to find out how you can learn how to be a successful seller of teacher resources!

Couponing with Apps

I've been working hard this summer to save as much money as I can. Coupon apps are a great place to start. They can be really annoying at times, but getting an extra 50 bucks here and there just to spend on groceries and things again and again is very helpful.
I currently use three different apps.

The main one I use is called Ibotta. When you go to sign up you can use my referral code to help you out: aaobmao. This one is fairly easy to use. You scan your QR code and then you pick the items that are on your receipt that you purchased. Once that happens they'll send you an email saying your savings have been added to your account. So far today I've saved $4 on different items that I purchased from Wal-Mart. Keep in mind that you have to reach $20 to make a withdrawal, but it's well worth the few extra minutes you spend in your car to scan that receipt.

The second app I use is called Checkout51. you can use my Checkout51 code to help you sign up. I've used it for a while. It used to be a little more complicated, but has gotten a lot easier. I click the items I would likely purchase from the list of coupons available, this is called adding offers. Then I click redeem and upload my receipt if I happened to have purchased those items at the store.

The third app I use is Coupons. I click my stores I normally use and I add items that I might purchase from the available coupons list. Then once I purchase some items I submit my receipt and then it's up for review and those amounts I saved are up for review and will be put into my account.

Okay. So there's a few ways that I save money when it comes to couponing. It can be a slight headache with children, but if you have time, you're dedicated and you're willing. You're going to save some money in the end! I hope these help all you penny pinchers out there! I know they do me!

Have a great school year people!