Just How Much Does it Really Cost to Have (and Raise) a Baby? A Simple Guide

The necessity for my partner and I to stick to a tight (ish) budget while pregnant and parenting a newborn had its upsides: learning what was important when building a financial roadmap for our family—and what was, in the end, worth a skip. Trial by fire, I guess, and we're still learning (and raising) that kiddo. But I'm happy to report we've emerged out of toddlerhood without having gone completely bankrupt. Does that bit of budgeting hindsight qualify as expertise? SURE, why not. If just a few thoughts, tactics, and tidbits that helped us along our way. 

[Article produced for My Financial Counsel, a client of Toast Media.]

Becoming a Financial Advisor Is Probably Easier Than You Think: 5 Easy Steps

The latest for My Financial Counsel, a company educating and connecting customers with qualified financial advisors. Here I breakdown the different roles, certifications, and training required to work as various kinds of financial planners in the personal and corporate finance industry. 

10 Incredible Uses for Hemp

Forget Marijuana (with all her allure). Her cousin Hemp is proving to be valuable, versatile—and the kind of guy that might just take over the world.  

Feature for Juno Magazine: Love After Childbirth

So proud of this feature for Juno Magazine, my first paid lifestyle byline, about the challenges of motherhood and marriage when they first butt heads. 

I'm not saying I have all the answers—or any answers, for that matter—but the response I got to this article was touching. It's so clear that not enough of us talk about the issues facing new moms, not least of which are those that relate to the care, feeding, and upkeep of a new-parent partnership. 

All I know is that when we do talk about subjects like this, a lot of us feel less alone. Enjoy.

Is CBD Safe?

The next article in my series on cannabidiol, or CBD oil, on both its safety and efficacy.

CBD and Your Skin

This article is the first in a series I'll be writing for MarijuanaDoctors.com about the medical cannabis industry. This one is about cannabidiol, or CBD, and it's potential for use to treat all kinds of skin conditions.  

Since writing this article I've started using CBD oil as a serum on my skin. I'm not saying I'm some kind of Benjamin Button or anything, but I HAVE noticed my skin is smoother, brighter, and healing a little nicer than normal. Power of suggestion? Maybe. But dang. 

And no, I do not own stock in hemp and no, my copywriting dollars did not directly come from company selling CBD. This is my own, strictly-anecdotal opinion about the potential for CBD and beauty applications after doing the research for this (rather straightforward) health article—but I can't wait to see what sorts of evidence starts piling up on endocannabinoids and both their medical and wellness capacity to treat and heal the body, as hemp and cannabis research continues to expand. 

Viva la youth elixir! More to come.... 

The 15 Best Questions to Jumpstart Any B2B Marketing Project

Whether you're a content marketer, a b2b specialist, or even an independent contractor, my latest article for MarketSmiths lays out the 15 best queries to use during the discovery process of almost any initiative. In fact, your client's responses to these simple questions should quickly and efficiently get you oriented to their business' strengths and weaknesses, their customer's desires and pain points, and all the evidence you'll need to find the inspired branding of their dreams.