2017 Recap, 2018 Goals, and a Guest Post

Posted byFelicityPosted inBlogging, HappinessTags:,
chibi Felicity on a laptop, with Fluffster running off with Fergus's wallet in the background. Money is flying everywhere

Happy 2018, y’all!

As I’m writing this, Fergus, Fluffster, and I are currently sitting (and one of us is whining) in a Red Roof Inn wondering what the weird sound coming from the bathroom is. [Future Felicity here: still no clue what that sound was…]

What do two nerds who don’t celebrate Christmas do with holiday time off? A mini hackathon, of course! Fergus is hard at work finishing up a custom WordPress theme, because wow are we particular. We’re getting a new layout, and even some new commissioned art that we are so psyched about! Meanwhile I’m taking care of the writing backlog and basic SEO upgrades for the site.

In the meantime, take a read of our Two Cup House guest post! We’re proud to have shared our story and participated in their 25 Days of Personal Finance series. Just a little bit of a teaser to get your interest piqued:

About three years ago, our dog, Fluffster, suddenly started dry heaving on a walk. Less than an hour later at the emergency vet, we were told he had bloat and were handed an itemized bill for roughly $5k.

While you’re there, check out some of the other amazing bloggers taking center stage!

2017 Recap

2017 was a weird year.

We:

2018 Goals

So what’s on the table for 2018? In general, we’re refocusing the blog to lean more towards the side of calculators and interactive tools, and more big round-up posts. We’re also super excited about a few collaborations we have planned!

I’ve never much been one for New Year’s resolutions, but here goes, our goals for 2018:

  • Minafi collab–he’s got some really interesting data from his Interactive Guide to Financial Independence post (check it out if you haven’t by the way, super fun!), and we’ve got a way with fancy business analytics software.
  • Risdom FI collab, making a massive “personal finance advice to teens” roundup post with all our fav resources
  • Be a guest on at least one more podcast
  • Submit at least one pitch to FinCon
  • Three new calculators and/or interactive tools
    • The big one we’re super excited about is based on this “double sequence-of-returns risk” idea from Hannah Rounds. Simple “sequence-of-returns risk” is used to describe the risk of running out of funds in retirement, where the greatest risk is bad investment returns in the first few years of retirement. The double sequence-of-returns risk considers the prospect of having greater-than-expected expenses in the first few years of retirement as well as the possibility of a stock market crash (Think huge medical expenses or surprise household repairs).
    • Something to do with the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. This study began in 1968, and they’ve been tracking the households (and their descendants!) ever since. So much data ^_^
    • Also something to do with the new Survey of Consumer Finances
  • At least one freelance writing gig (in the works!)
  • Speak again, or at least attend a local event related to personal finance
  • Publish a quiz or two 
  • Continue exercising! 3x per week on average. 
  • Publish an Android app (most likely not related to personal finance; this is just a random hobby)
  • Read lots of great books (and post reviews of at least a couple!)

It’s a lot for a slacker blogger, but I think we can do it!

What are you excited about this new year? Any exciting resolutions to share in the comments? 

8 thoughts on “2017 Recap, 2018 Goals, and a Guest Post”

    1. Thanks, Penny!
      I tried to make our goals somewhat of a stretch (at least compared to this year), but achievable. We’ll see how quickly I regret posting them for all to see 😉

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  2. These are all good goals — and I’m looking forward to working together on something awesome!

    What are your preferred genres for books? I’m all about sci-fi, fantasy, with interesting non-fiction and a few memoirs thrown in to mix things up. I want to read more books that could help be a better writer, marketer, analyst for this year though.

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    1. Oh, man — I used to read a lot more fantasy with a little sci-fi thrown in, but lately I’ve been reading a lot more nonfiction. Currently on loan from the library: Uncharitable (book about charities and regulations), The Willpower Instinct, a couple graphic novels (I’m particularly a fan of travelogues, but recently read one based on the creation of Tetris that was fascinating), Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error, and…oh! I did just start a sci-fi novel: The Left Hand of Darkness. We actually own a couple awesome books on writing if you’re interested in recommendations, but they’re more “hero’s journey” / fiction-oriented tomes. 🙂

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  3. A commenter wished 2018 to be the year of better health for me but since I’ve spent the first three days of the year sick, maybe I need more attainable goals. 🙂 Or more fun goals, like building a better income stream for the blog.

    Are you writing your own app? I seem to remember talking about that for some reason or another.

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    1. Building a better income stream is a “fun goal” for you?? Haha, this is clearly why this blog is not profitable XD

      Yes! I am writing an app, though most likely not personal finance-y. Starting to solidify ideas now and am thinking more of the to-doish / time management training app I’ve always wanted. Need to do more research first — now that’s fun! 😀

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  5. I like that you also have exercise in there. I also try to workout 3 times a week. I have found that to be a therapeutic time for me and probably the only time when my mind is focused on one thing – getting through the workout. The benefits of taking that time and working out has gone beyond the physical.

    I also like your “Guest on a podcast idea”. Great way to grow your brand. I am going to add that to my list.

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