In June of 2017, my wife and I took a weekend “babymoon” to relax before the arrival of our second son.

At dinner, I casually mentioned that I was thinking of starting a blog. My wife practically spit out her drink. She asked, “do you even know what a blog is?”

Her surprise to my new idea wasn’t surprising to me. I’ve always been more of a spreadsheet person – not a writer. Before starting this site, I’d made a grand total of two social media posts in my life.

There were a few things that she didn’t know that led me to start Winning Personal Finance.



I was ready to be proactive toward designing the life I wanted

I’ve always wanted to become financially independent. While the goal was nothing new, I’d applied a new focus to plugging any leaks that would help us get there quicker after we transitioned to being a one-income family.

In doing so, I realized how much I wanted to help others reach their financial goals, too. I guess that having a child on the way had my brain churning with “meaning of life” types of thoughts. It was time to fully commit to both of these goals.

I loved Reading Money Blogs

While doing everything possible to optimize our finances, I’d become an avid reader of personal finance blogs. All were fantastic in their own way but none really had 100% of the messaging that I wanted to share.

I wanted a personal finance site to cover the best practices in all aspects of financial decision-making. I wanted to make it super easy to read and understand for the everyman and woman. I wanted a blog targeted to regular people who make money decisions daily.

A site to share best practices without passing judgement on those choosing to spend on “luxury” items that bring them great joy. I didn’t think that blog existed yet, so I wanted to start it myself.

I Needed An Outlet To Share

My head was bursting with information that I needed to share with the world. In my life, I’ve learned so much about the “best practices” of financial behavior. I knew that I’d never find the time (or right place) to tell “everybody” each of the tips and tricks I learned. How could I find a way to preach about choosing between a traditional 401(k) or a Roth and other super exciting topics? I needed a platform.

I Wanted A Scary Goal

The things in my life I’m most proud of today were all terrifying to me when I “signed up.” Running a marathon. Passing a notoriously difficult professional certification exam. Climbing to the top of Highland Peak. Raising children.

By starting this blog, I did something that scared me.

What if everybody realizes I can’t write? What if I publish something with a mistake? What if I don’t build an audience and waste my time?

Wayne Gretzky famously said, “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

If you have an idea that you know you’ll regret not trying – do it today. If it’s impossible to start today, set a path today to do it ASAP and hold yourself to it. I believe that it’s much more likely you will regret not trying than having tried and failed. The most successful among us fail often. It’s their wins for which you remember them.

Winning Personal Finance Was Born

This blog was born on June 29th, 2017 with the creatively titled post, Hello and Welcome. (It may have been the default post title in WordPress. I was obviously a natural.)

In that post, I mentioned my goals of helping others, keeping my finances in line and owning a business. I’m proud to say that I’ve accomplished all three of these things to some degree already.

I can’t believe that it’s been a year since that first post. So much has happened since. It would be easy for me to look at my $0 of blog revenue or not having millions of views as a failure. But I don’t. This year of blogging has been a huge success.

Here Are Some of My Wins

Goals

I set specific goals for the year and I’m well on my way toward reaching them. I’ve found that there’s no better motivation for me than to publicly disclose my plans and track progress against them. More importantly, these annual targets are putting me on track to achieve my much larger life goals. The next of which is to become a financial advisor, something I’ve wanted to do for more than a decade.

Financial

Our financial success this year has mostly been due to just a sticking to the plan and watching our money grow. We have had a few one-off wins I can mention, though.

Over the last 12 months, we went a long way towards cutting the fat out of our spending. A quick conversation with the cable company saved me $582 over 12 months. Shopping around for insurance led to savings of $787. I feel confident now that a large majority of our spending is in the areas that matter the most to us.

That’s not to say we don’t spend. We do. For example, I skied 20 days last winter 😃. I used some advanced planning and saving strategies to keep the costs relatively low so I can participate in my favorite hobby while sticking to the budget.

On the earning side, I received a greater than expected raise at work. I also made a little extra money on the side consulting and by moving some cash savings into higher yielding accounts.

Blogging

People – real ones like yourself – have read my articles. Some of you were not even forced to do so under my watchful eye! My posts have been viewed over 25,000 times; more importantly they have had fantastic engagement with 746 comments. At the time I’m drafting this, I have 2,218 followers on Twitter. Not bad for a guy that never posted on social media before.

My posts have been featured and shared in so many places, I can’t name them all without fearing I’d miss one. Each of those features has been so fulfilling. The satisfaction from people appreciating and recognizing your work is wonderful. The one feature I have to mention was from Rockstar Finance. I’d been a regular reader of the the site for years before I started my blog. Seeing my post, Does Your Car Cost You Millions? featured on the site was an extraordinary feeling of having arrived.

It’s very odd for me to even think about writing for an audience. I’m still getting used to it. To all of you that have read this site over the past year, please know how much I appreciate you. Without your engagement, I’d never have the motivation to keep going.

The Network

By joining the online personal finance community, I’ve surrounded myself with smart, motivated and successful people. Doing so makes it hard not to succeed. I’ve been lucky enough to meet a number of wonderful people in real life as a result of this journey. I’ve also gotten to know many others online and hope to meet many of you in person at Fincon this September.

Enough From Me

You’ve all been reading my words for a year now. This site is about way more than what I have to say. If anything, I’d like to take myself out of it and make it just about you. Thankfully, it turns out that some of my readers have been winning this year also.

When I asked them to share some of their wins, I was overwhelmed with the response. The following sections share incredible success stories, accomplishments and a crazy amount of motivation. I hope this site has made a positive difference in your life this year. If not, maybe the stories shared below can. Enjoy!

Choosing Time and Quality of Life Over Money

J. Money – Budgets Are Sexy

“My personal win this year was figuring out a way to work less but live more I had gotten back into the bad habit of hustling too hard again, so I started cutting out weekend work (the hardest!), then evening hours, and then eventually the # of projects I was working on so the only stuff I had left was what was most important to me. Not only did it free up time and stress, but interestingly my income and happiness skyrocketed as well! And I really owe it to all my kids as their love of life and the simple things reminded again of what it’s all about.”

Moose – Making Sense of Life

“I went on a mini-retirement for the last seven months and my net worth is higher. Between my passive income, my wife’s small income, and some minor investment gains, I’ve actually come out on top. I didn’t expect that when I started this experiment.”

Jason – The Wealth Hound

“This year I made the tough decision to separate from the Air Force. It has been an honor to serve and I’ve had the pleasure to do some amazing things, but there is a lot more I want to accomplish in life, both personally and professionally! From a financial standpoint, it’s unnerving to leave job security in the rearview, but I’m confident the freedom to explore and let my entrepreneurial spirit run wild will yield dividends!”

Mrs. Adventure Rich

“My husband quit his job this year in order to spend more time with family, complete DIY projects and explore business opportunities.”

Your Money Blueprint

“I’ve created enough savings this year where I was able to take 2 months off work unpaid, to spend time getting to know my newborn daughter.”

Reaching or Focusing On Goals

Scott – Making Momentum

“The definition of momentum, according to Merriam-Webster, is strength or force gained by motion or by a series of events. With that in mind, it was time to generate my own momentum through a series of events. What are those events and the means to do so? A 30 Small Wins Challenge. Committing myself to accomplish all 30 of these objectives has given me the opportunity to celebrate small wins with my money, health, wellness and general lifestyle. Collectively packaging all 30 into a challenge has compounded these wins into something much bigger.”

Xyz – Our Financial Path

“Our biggest win for this year is the amazing Around-the-World trip we planned! We’ve been dreaming about this for a long time and finally, we have the time, money, and opportunity to do it. We are leaving in 3 months, can’t wait!”

Finance Stoic

“Two years ago, I could barely run 3km, last month I completed an 80km event in under ten hours. That win felt like it trumpets any financial win I’ve ever had.” –Finance Stoic

Janet – My Twenty Cents

“I just signed on to do a PhD in Switzerland (dream job & dream country)!!!”

Net Worth Accomplishments

Erik – The Mastermind Within

“Before my 26th birthday, I hit the $150,000 net worth mark. I’m closing in on $175,000 now – and what makes me different is that it’s from consistent efforts over time, asymmetric pay-offs in different areas, and made up of 3 different areas of investments:

~ $50,000 comes from real estate and house hacking

~ $50,000 comes from retirement

~ $50,000 comes from taxable investments

(with the difference between $150k and my current net worth in cash, car, HSA, etc.)”

My Money Wizard

“This year I realized that the $230,000 I’ve saved up in my 20s should be enough to retire with $1.5 to $2 million of today’s dollars at age 60, even if I never invest another cent for the rest of my life.

Pretty crazy to see the power of compound interest first hand. In a way, I’m already done saving for a “normal” aged retirement, which feels like I’ve reached a very real step towards financial independence.”

Drew – The FI Introvert

“My wife and I increased our net wealth by over $192,000 from the month we were married in June 2017 through April 2018. I am shocked and proud that we have saved that much together. We learned to travel hack and used points for our honeymoon and two ski vacations during this time. We also optimized our meals, eating healthier while saving money. Also, we are down to one car. The biggest and hardest part of saving that money? Communicating as a couple. We had to ensure both our needs were being met, that neither of us felt stifled and that we both felt like we were working toward long-term goals we both believed in.”

Time In The Market

“I hit the $500,000 mark with my portfolio this year! That was a great feeling considering I was under $300,000 at the end of the 2015. That’s the power of a bull market plus consistent contributions! I was happy to hit that mark so early in my life(I’m 33) considering I’m not a very high income individual (average salary in my 10 years of employment has been ~71k).”

Paying of Debt

Ms. Fiology

“On December 29, 2017, I made my final payment towards my student loan debt and became debt free for the first time in 23 years. In the end, I paid off a total of $46,763.37 by making some serious sacrifices and embracing frugality.”

Jeff Proctor – Dollar Sprout

“Earlier this year, I paid off the last bit of credit card debt that I incurred after starting my online business almost 3 years ago. It was less than $2,000, but as a young single guy on a modest income, it felt like a HUGE weight was lifted off of my shoulders! The biggest key for me to finally get the debt paid off was making the decision to NOT automate my minimum monthly payments. For me, automation meant my credit card debt was “out of sight, out of mind.” Once I made the choice to go all out in paying off the debt, I got rid of it within just a few months. Should have done it much sooner!” Jeff can be found at DollarSprout.com

Matt Spillar – Spills Spot

“In March our student loans balance finally reached $0! We finished paying off our $40,000 of student loan debt, plus another $11,000 of car loan debt in a little over 4 years.”

Earn More

Pete McPherson – Do You Even Blog

“Yeah…my financial win this year was surviving long enough for the blog and business to actually generate a livable wage ;)”

Chris – Duke of Dollars

“This year I was able to increase my income percentile in my age group. Income leads to higher investing and saving percentages, accelerating FI timelines.”

Ben Huber – VTX Capital

“I wracked up exactly $541.00 in savings over the last year” using one savings tool. It’s included on his list of 10 Ways to Make Money at Home.

Tuppenny

“I finally bit the bullet and made £1000 in approx 8 hours by switching current accounts for both myself and Mr2p. This is taking advantage of the switching bonuses the UK banks offer sometimes. Put off doing it for 2 years as am risk averse but went for it 6 months ago. Easiest money I’ve ever earned!”

Dividend Investing

Millionaire Mob

“I am trying to supplant our a portion of our income with dividends, I built an optimal dividend portfolio of 30 stocks that is increasing over time. I’m starting small, but I am receiving over $40/per month for doing absolutely nothing. Let’s track this progress over time.”

Othala Fehu

“I broke the $1,000 mark for dividends in a given month. That should happen 4 times a year now (on the quarters), my next goal is to get to the $1,000 mark in the ‘off months’. Eventually this income needs to replace a whole paycheck each month as part of my master FIRE plan.”

Kids and Money

Mark – The Retirement Spot

“We adopted my daughter from the foster care system, and this year she became one of the 3% of children who graduated school as a registered nurse. She is now an ER nurse in Bakersfield CA. She was my best investment ever. At her graduation ceremony, my eyes welled with tears. It was the culmination of me pushing and pushing her. The doctors diagnosed her with “Fetal Alcohol Effect” and said she would never catch up. The doctors were wrong. After graduation, she approached me and said, “Thanks for choosing me.” ”

Matt – Method to Your Money

“One of our biggest financial wins this year has been implementing an intentional plan to teach our daughter about money. We’ve had our ebbs and flows, mostly due to getting busy and NOT being intentional, but we’ve laid the groundwork for her to learn all about being successful with money.”

Saving Money on Food

Rich – PF Geeks

“Over the past 8 weeks, my wife and I have been busting our tails to trim our grocery budget by 25% while actually improving the quality of food we eat! We’ve been able to save over $300 by cutting our average food spending from $700 to $530. We’ve been using our list of $2 meal prep recipes and 43 easy Keto recipes to reduce our food waste and costs, and we’ve limited our restaurant spending to special occasions. We’ve still got plenty of room to improve as a family of two, but are excited with the progress. We also just celebrated crossing the $50k net worth milestone!”

MoneyLogue

“In the past year or so, I discovered my passion for cooking. I have been cooking a lot for the family from fried calamari, to pasta to pot roast. It’s healthier and has been saving our family of four a lot of money. Plus, my kids think my cooking is the best. Home cooking is healthy, saves us money, the kids love it and my wife’s happy. Happy wife, happy life. Win-win-win for my family and me.”

Frugality & Saving on Recurring Bills

Jerry – Peerless Money Mentor

“A recent financial win for me was eliminating some monthly subscriptions. Eliminating these expenses has freed up some cash which I can put towards knocking out my car loan early next month!”

Tom Drake – Maple Money

“I finally cancelled cable this year and now I use Netflix and Prime Video, plus loads of free tv streaming options to get news, sports, and other shows. It all comes together in my house full of NVIDIA SHIELD and Roku units.”

Lily – Frugal Gene

“We lived on less than $300 a month by being frugal in February (with a seven figure net worth!) I find it comical.”

Saving on Housing, Taxes & Banking Costs

Peter – Seller at Heart

“Building a house sounds like a science fiction movie to a lot of people, not to mention doing it without any sort of loan, but that’s exactly what I’ve been able to accomplish.”

Kylven – The FI Way

This has been a year of learning and absolute consumption of all things related to FI. My wife and I refinanced our mortgage from a 30 year to a 15 year loan and got rid of PMI. We changed our investment optimization strategy to ensure maximum returns and moved everything into low cost index funds. We trimmed down our expenses building up to a 35% savings rate and will continue to drive that percentage even higher in 2018. We also introduced our children to the concept of FI using a pocketmoney app and they are finally understanding how “money can work for you”.

Passive Income NZ

“Switching banks was a huge win for me- saving a total of $5,216.86 over a two-year period. A good deal. It would take me eight weeks to earn that much money, and by switching I will pay off my mortgage earlier.”

Ruby – A Journey We Love

“Because of a new perk in my employer’s plan, it turns out I can put more in my 401k as part of a Roth Contribution, entitling me to have a max of $55,000 in 401k (including employer contribution) – I’m not going to reach that mark but at least I can save 40% of my salary through this method off the bat.”

Budgeting

Nikayla Sutherland – Budgeting Couple

“Earlier this year, my husband and I were able to save over $11K in 10 months while living on a single income. While my frugal living strategies definitely helped us get there, the biggest component to our savings was our budget! My husband used to spend hours every month organizing our finances, but as soon as we figured out how to streamline the process it was almost second nature to save! ”

Marriage & Money

Tyler Seiferheld – The Ginger CPA

“My future spouse and I teamed up to tackle our debt to help minimize our obligations as we enter our marriage together next month (June 2018). We’ve learned how to better communicate about all aspects of our relationship! Especially with regards to money and personal finance!” Tyler can be found at The Ginger CPA.

Rewards Travel

Miguel – The Rich Miser

“During the past year, I travel hacked to stay in hotels for free for 15 nights, including breakfast. I did this with a credit card sign-up bonus, by directing all of my paid personal and business travel towards the same hotel chain (Hilton, where I have elite status because of a credit card), and signing up for every points promotion available. Then, I spent the points on stays at a brand (Hampton Inn) that had free breakfast.”

Smart Money and Travel

“We travel hack pretty aggressively. A couple months ago we took a two week trip for less than 10% of sticker price. Here is a link to our most recent hotel review, at the IHG Da Nang. The place costs $500+/night and we stayed 3 nights, paying $0 (although we did pay $49 annual fees on two credit cards for two of the nights).”

The Modest Winner

ESI Money

“Not sure I have anything that inspiring to link to for this year – it’s been simply a slow and steady path upwards for us…”

I thought this quote was hilarious. ESI is financially independent and “retired early.” He runs a very successful personal finance site. Late in 2017, he purchased Rockstar Finance because it allowed him to generate income, diversify investments, own a business that didn’t require a great amount of time, be location independent, have fun and maybe pass it down to his children. If that’s not a move that perfectly exemplifies Winning Personal Finance, I don’t know what is.

Thank You For a Great Year

To all of the other bloggers who’ve inspired me, taught me and helped me grow my readership, thank you!

To my friends and family who have tolerated our conversations about financial planning, credit card rewards, crypto currencies, blogging and countless other money topics, thank you for putting up with me! I will do my best to get back to my standard topics of skiing, baseball and poker going forward.

To my readers: I’d never still be here if I was writing to myself. Seeing this site’s page views increase is extraordinarily motivating. Your feedback in comments and emails has made me think, given me satisfaction that I’ve helped, taught me lessons about life and made me feel part of a club rather than alone in my journey. I know there are many ways you can spend your time and other options to find personal finance content. I appreciate you coming here.

To my two sons whose laughs and smiles allow me to focus on the things that are most important, you remind me daily that money is a tool that can be used to create the life I want. A life that includes as much time as I can get with you. Thank you.

Last, but certainly not least, to my wife. The famous Mrs. WPF. I love you. You’re my inspiration in everything I do. Your high standards and expectations ensure that our lives will be nothing but quality. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to use some of our limited and precious time on this project.

Do You Have A Win to Share?

Please let us know in a comment.

Or you can send me a note if you prefer to share a longer guest post about it.

Winning Personal Finance is here to help you make profitable and efficient financial decisions, accomplish your goals and live your dreams. Subscribe and never miss a new post: First Name (or Nickname) Email address: Will never send you spam. I promise 😉 Unsubscribe at any time. Leave this field empty if you're human: