Karen’s Opinion

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Ashworth College for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Who would have thought that you could make money blogging.

When a blogging friend told me that she was reviewing products and writing about them on her blog, I was intrigued. When she told me she made a few dollars doing these reviews, I was hooked. Although I work full time, I was looking for another way to make ends meet. I checked out how the whole thing worked and that was when I began using my blog for purposes other than journaling my every day life. The extra money has helped pay for college expenses, vacations and material for my quilt making hobby.

I had and still have many blogging friends who taught me the best way to get my blog out in front of people and get readership. They also gave me guidance on key words to help people find the products I was talking about. I wanted to make the advertisers happy. I also wanted to keep my blog true to its original form of journaling and keep my readers happy. Through trial and error, my blog has evolved into something that I enjoy writing and hopefully, others enjoy reading.

Ashworth College makes it easier to learn the things that I had to learn the hard way. By taking their 6 month accredited course, you can learn to create, publish, manage and promote any type of blog. You can learn things you never knew to ask about such as, whether you should have a niche blog. I am interested in taking their course to learn how podcasting and webcasting works. As far as I am concerned, you can always learn something new. Ashworth College makes it easier!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Hiltons of Branson for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I think I figured out why I am in a lazy state. I need a vacation and a dose of warm weather. We had a nice day last week and it was amazing how much better I felt. I washed windows and screens and enjoyed being able to feel the sun on my face.

I am ready to go to Branson. In fact, I have been saving my money for a year so that my husband, mom and other members of my family who are able to go can meet at the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel and experience what Branson has to offer. The Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing has a spring promotion that is making my hard earned money stretch farther than I had anticipated! That means I can go to more shows like the Osmond Brothers or see the antics of Yakof Smirnoff. I might have enough spare change that I can hit the outlet stores while my husband does a little fishing. I feel an itinerary in the works! Let me see. Sleep in. Eat breakfast in a beautiful hotel. Check out the hotel exercise room, or not. Check out the spa. Yes, that sounds much better than walking on the treadmill. Do a little shopping while hubby checks out the golf course. Take a nap. Get ready for a wonderful show at one of the many theaters in Branson. Eat a steak dinner at the Hilton and enjoy NOT washing dishes. The next day would be spent listening to a Bluegrass concert and eating barbecue at Silver Dollar City. There is so much to do in Branson that it will be hard to decide what to do first!

I am so excited to have discovered that the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel and the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing are pet friendly hotels! Woo hoo! My husband has been upset with me lately because I haven't wanted to go anywhere that required us to board our dogs at a kennel.

I am SO READY TO GET AWAY!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Fannie Mae for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

My friends and I are, unfortunately, learning more about job loss and how it effects all of us. A good friend and her husband have been experiencing the devastation of his job loss. It has been almost two years since he has worked. This has effected them both mentally and financially.

While listening to our friend go through the ordeal of being close to losing their home to foreclosure, I began to wonder why there is not somewhere to turn for information. There are places that say they can help you but these businesses are often scams who are only interested in taking your money. HUD-approved counseling agencies provide the same services for FREE. Some of these scammers want you to:

• Sign over title to your property
• Redirect mortgage payments
• Stop making loan payments

Those instructions are all signs of a scam. You can report incidents such as these by calling 1-888-995-HOPE.

I was recently contacted to write about KnowYourOptions.com , the website that offers valuable information and resources when faced with financial instability. Whether you have lost your job, are going through a divorce or have experienced the death of a spouse, KnowYourOptions.com has links to help you. They have links to housing counselors, calculators to aid in decisions concerning refinancing options and step by step guidance on how to become financially literate.

I cannot wait to tell my friend about KnowYourOptions.com. They are considering walking away from their house! According to what I have read at KnowYourOptions.com, this is the last thing they should do. They have other options! Options of Short sales and Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure are are explained on the website. There are options that may even offer cash incentives to help them move and transition into different housing. This sounds so much better and will allow them to hopefully, purchase a different house within 2 years instead of the usual 7 years that are required after going through foreclosure.

If you know of someone going through difficult times and are struggling with their mortgage payments, be sure to tell them about KnowYourOptions.com.