Happy 7 year anniversary from YoungMoneyFinance! What an incredible ride it’s been, from that first article back in January 2013 all the way to today, 7 years later! I’m continually humbled and so appreciative of the support I’ve received, and am so thankful to you the readers! Around this time each year I do like to take a pause and reflect on the past year, and say thanks! Let’s jump in and see how the past year was for the blog.  

Highlights

I feel like this year was all about FOCUS for me. I had a lot going on this past year personally – getting settled into a new house, getting settled into a new job and of course welcoming BabyMoneyFinance! One of the things I have learned to help when things get busy is focus. I’ve learned to focus on what’s most important and attempt to ignore the rest. The same held true for the blog. In past years I’ve focused on a ton of networking with other bloggers (guest posts), getting a bunch of articles out and making the site more professional looking with a new theme. This year I tried to hone in on what’s important; it’s written in the mission statement: to provide modern, relevant and easy to understand financial knowledge to our readers. I focused less on the other things of a blog, and focused on attempting to deliver the best content possible to readers! 

Two things I do want to call out as being some highlights for me are: being able to pay for the blog via sponsored posts and further curating the Financial Guides. I was able to receive a few sponsored posts this past year and although I initially wrestled with doing so, came to the conclusion that as long as sponsored posts a) fit with the YMF brand, b) allowed me to edit the post as needed and c) were called out as being sponsored, that I would be ok with them. As someone told me early on that if you can earn enough to cover your hosting fees, you’ve made it ‘big time’ in the blogging world. So, I guess I’ve made it big time! Ha! 

I’m also really proud of the Financial Guides I’ve put together. I enjoy hearing from young professionals about how they approach their personal finances, and I’ve come to understand that there’s a gap in good information out there for some of the most common personal finance issues we face. Googling “how to buy a house” yields way more information than is realistically digestible, and with so many ads and subtle ads, it’s tough to know what’s good information. That’s why I’m proud of my guides, easy 5-10 pages of reading that break down what you actually need to know and not the stuff you don’t need. To make it more accessible, all guides are now $0.99 each! Please check them out and consider purchasing.  

Greatest Hits

In terms of popular posts over this past year – let’s take a look at your most favorite posts!

How I eat a PB&J everyday – an explanation why I’ve eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich basically everyday for the past 8 years. 

Reflections on being a Dad – we welcomed BabyMoneyFinance earlier this past year and it’s been an incredible ride. 

The importance of spending money – it was during a vacation in a camper van with 3 other dudes that I wrote this post, reflecting on the importance of spending money in a way that makes you happy! 

Planning maternity leave – Mrs. Money guest posted about planning for maternity leave and talked a little about how she planned and not only survived but thrived throughout her leave. 

Shoutouts 

It takes more than just me to keep this site running, and whether it’s actual support or emotional support, I’m very thankful to all! Big shoutouts to Mrs. Money Finance for her ongoing support in letting me spend time running this blog, MommaMoneyFinance for her proofreading, Adam for his very popular guest posts and Jonathan, for his emails and texts continuing to encourage me! 

Happy 7 year anniversary, thanks for the support and stay tuned for what’s to come in the coming year!