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It took me years to figure out how bloggers make money, and now I’m earning a 5 figure annual income with Canadian Budget Binder. How many of you have contemplated starting a blog but struggling with getting it off the ground? That was me ten years ago, and I’m still here working hard for my readers and connecting with them. When I started Canadian Budget Binder on WordPress.com, I had no idea that bloggers make money. Can you believe it? Here’s a guy who loves earning and saving money, and I missed opportunities. Some bloggers from all niches are raking...

Floral velvet has never crossed the threshold of any architect I know. Ditto leafy Victorian wallpaper. I’ve visited a lot of architects at home, and most are highly allergic to color and pattern. Sherry McKuin says she herself was a committed member of that cohort. That was until her family moved from a mid-century house in the Hollywood Hills to a 1926 Mediterranean-style manse in tree-lined Little Holmby next to Holmby Hills and Bel Air. They had only a week between residences and McKuin strategically took the opportunity to strip the walnut stain from the oak floors, whitewash all the...

PC manufacturer MSI is known for releasing some killer gaming laptops. Like the MSI G66 Stealth gaming laptop reviewed last November by Dave Neufeld. The new MSI Creator Z16 is something different for the company. It’s an ultra-powerful laptop, equipped with an 11th generation Intel processor and an NVIDIA RTX 30 series mobile processors. It’s a veery capable gaming laptop, but the Creator Z16 is actually aimed squarely at creators—thus the name. Reflecting this, its TruePixel display is unusual for a gaming laptop, with a 16:10 aspect ratio, multitouch support, and factory-calibrated colour accuracy. The Creator Z16 also features a...

Holiday sales have increased every year since 2002 — with the exception of 2008, during the Great Recession. Last year, retailers were concerned that the pandemic would decrease 2020 holiday sales, similar to what happened in 2008.  However, the opposite occurred. Despite a global pandemic, the rate of increase of holiday sales between 2019 and 2020 was more than double the average year-over-year growth of previous years, exceeding predictions from the National Retail Federation.   This enduring upward tick in holiday sales illustrates that consumers have built lasting habits around holiday spending. Smart brands will respond accordingly. With a rock-solid holiday...

Illustrations by Studio HosegoEditor’s note: This article is part of a new series called “Who Owns America’s Wilderness?”Like apparitions, California’s Channel Islands sometimes vanish in the morning fog. Even on mist-free days, when their golden cliffs can be glimpsed from the mainland, few people seem to take much note of them. Despite their proximity, the islands are seldom visited by Californians, who mostly know them for the way their silhouettes interrupt the horizon of a Santa Barbara sunset.Last August, I traveled to one of the largest of the Channel Islands, Santa Rosa. I joined an expedition led by the archaeologist...