Young Adult Money is officially five weeks old.
It’s been a ton of fun writing posts every weekday, getting to know some other personal finance bloggers, and connecting with everyone via comments, Twitter, and Facebook.
One reason I waited a long time before starting a blog is that I knew it was a ton of work and a major time commitment. Lots of people talk about how easy it is to start a blog. While it’s true you can be up and running within a couple of hours, it takes a lot of time to consistently post blogs and, more importantly, consistently post quality blogs.
Connecting with readers and other personal finance bloggers takes a lot of time. Managing Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks also takes time. I can easily see how blogging can be a full time.
We have recently been on the home search. As first time home buyers, it’s been a lot of fun going through the process and seeing different homes and neighborhoods. We are seeing some more houses tonight and this weekend, so hopefully we find the right one *fingers crossed*.
I have also been pursuing doing some side spreadsheet work. Currently I only have one client, a friend who owns a (growing) small business. I never thought I would enjoy creating automated financial reports as much as I do. I guess getting paid for it and feeling like you are doing something productive in your free time contributes to it ;)
With all this going on in addition to working full time I have learned a lot about prioritization. This week, for example, there were nights where I had to figure out when I’d fit in home showings, spreadsheet work, and of course this blog. I also need to make time for my wife and make sure she’s a priority over all these other things. Additionally, finding time for friends, family, working out, and relaxing can really be a challenge. I like to think I’m ambitious, so I don’t mind the challenge too much, but if you have any tips for handling multiple demands on your time I’d be happy to hear them!
Weekend Reading
I read a lot of blogs, so I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite posts from the past week. Here they are:
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J. Money at Budgets are Sexy is giving away a laptop and printer. All you need to do is comment on the post and you are entered. If you hurry, you can still enter (contest closes Saturday, August 4th at midnight).
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Jeremy over at Modest Money posted about his interview with Global BC News. Video included!
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Lance at Money Life & More asked What would you do if you won One Million Dollars?
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Kristina at DINKs Finance posted about The Cheapest Cities in the World
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Melissa at Bible Money Matters wrote about The Cost Of Raising An Olympian
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Another Giveaway: See Debt Run has a giveaway that is ending TONIGHT at 9pm central time. They are giving away a $40 Amazon gift card.
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My Journey to Millions introduces their newest blogger Em.
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And last but not least…DebtnTaxes talks about Preparing for the Future
Hope you all have a relaxing weekend! Catch me on Twitter ;)
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Thanks for welcoming Em!
@MJTM No problem!
Running a blog definitely forces you to learn to try to balance your life. It seems like every finance blogger has issues with that in the first few months. Well probably longer than that. 6 months in and I still haven’t figured out how to properly balance everything. I’ve totally been slacking on working out.
Anyways, thanks for the mention and enjoy your weekend. Also good luck on the home buying search.
By the way, I really don’t livefyre…always linking to my profile instead of my blog.
@Modest Money Yeah it’s not easy…people are busy WITHOUT a blog or any sort of side work. I can’t imagine all the free time if I didn’t have a blog, and I’ve only been doing it five weeks :0
About livefyre, the comments section was the last thing I tackled on the blog. I would love to change them to something more similar to yours or budgets are sexy or see debt run. If there was a simple plugin I would totally give it a try. I do plan on moving away from livefyre it’s just very easy to use. I have noticed some ppl have been able to get websites with their names and some haven’t. Not sure what the trick is.
Thanks for the mention. You are right that it is easy to start a blog, everything else, not so much. I’ve finally been starting to get better at managing time with the blog and it’s getting easier to come up with topics to write about.
@DebtnTaxes Yeah you really have to prioritize. Comment on 5 more blogs or work on content. Tweet with people or facebook with people? It’s a balancing act.
Thanks for the mention! Seems like your blog is doing great already :) Keep up the good work!
@Money Life and More No problem, and I appreciate the support!
Thanks for the welcome! For a 5 week old blog it seems to be going well! I discovered your blog this week and have really enjoyed it so far. Keep up the good work
@Em23 I appreciate all your comments and for connecting with me. I’m definitely looking forward to your posts over at MJTM.
I recently started becoming more involved with my blog too. It’s very challenging to fit it all in, but I’m doing my best. It looks like your blog is doing great! Good luck with your house hunting :-)
@OrnellaGrosz Awesome, it’s a ton of work and hard to fit in the time but I think it’s worth it. We are looking at 3 more tomorrow and may be close to putting an offer on a house :0
@DC @ Young Adult Money exciting! good luck!
@OrnellaGrosz Thanks!
Happy Fifth Week Anniversary to your blog! even thought your blog is “young” you’re definitely running it seriously and with commitment as an “adult” (The name mystery is solved;-) And thank you for the links – those are some really great posts!!!