HAPPY BIRTHDAY FINANCE FOX - 1 Year Blogiversary !

Three weeks ago it was officially ONE YEAR since I wrote my first blog post – Welcome to my blog. I’m fortunate to be here a year later and write this exciting post. I’ll never forget my first post. I was nervous, wrote it, forgot to edit it and still published the post. I didn’t expect anyone to read it, but someone did (outside of me). Tom from Canadian Finance Blog was the first one to read and comment on Finance Fox. He introduced himself and offered to help. “Holy Shit” I said to my self, since I never expected anyone to read my crummy post, let alone comment on it.

Like any beginning, mine was tough. Coming out off of a rough relationship a short time prior, I was not in the best mind frame. Despite it all, I continued to write. I often wondered in the first few months – why would anyone have to read what I wrote? I’m a brutal writer, English is my second language and I am in debt to the teeth. There are other bloggers - Young And Thrifty , Canadian Finance Blog, Give Me Back My Five Bucks which I followed for months prior to starting my own blog and are much better writers and who have outstanding blogs. Instead of quitting, I used outstanding outstanding blogs like these as motivation to keep going forward.

What I’ve Learned

In the last year I’ve learned a lot about personal finance. I’ve become a better budget-er, read more books in one year than ever before, eliminated my credit card debt , started two successful businesses and have become a more conscious consumer.

I’ve also become a better writer, yet fully respect that there are others out there who are better writers, more creative and better at engaging. And despite all the competition in the personal finance niche, I continue to write and produce content, with the support of other bloggers and die-hard readers of this blog.

Finally – I’ve gained more knowledge on wordpress, plug-ins, SEO and PHP than I would have ever, if I didn’t start this blog. Furthermore, I gained knowledge on various social media outlets and continue to grow my readership via Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

I’m Thankful For…

First and foremost, I am thankful to the loyal readers, who continue to read, comment, challenge me and inspire me with new ideas. THANK YOU READERS, WITHOUT YOU THIS BLOG WOULD NOT BE HERE TODAY! I am thankful for your comments and giving me the opportunity to write back is a honour.

I’m thankful for such a great support community of other bloggers, who continue to share their knowledge and offer different avenues of support. I’m also thankful for Yakezie Network for allowing me to become a member of their personal finance network of blogs. All the support, from all the bloggers (too many to name) is always valued, yet never forgotten – THANK YOU!

Since starting Finance Fox, I’ve become a different person. Aside from becoming more frugal, eliminating debt and more educated on personal finance – now I view money in a different way. I’ve become more comfortable talking about money, personal finance and investing with anyone. I think some of my real life friends are getting annoyed by all the money talk, but I never said I was perfect.

I’d also like to send a big thank you to all the advertisers, affiliates and other supporters who gave me the time of their day to earn a buck. And to all the big media outlets – Globe and Mail, TIME Magazine and Toronto Star, for having faith in my article and featuring it on your well respected online outlets.

Finally I am fortunate to have met some very special bloggers during Financial Bloggers Conference (FINCON11) in Chicago. We’ve created some very special memories that will stay with us forever. I’m looking forward to seeing all of you again and meeting the ones I haven’t yet met – either in Toronto and/or wherever the next FINCON will be. Read my review on FINCON11.

By the Numbers…

After one year of blogging, you may wonder what has resulted out of it? Wonder no more, here are the numbers:

237 Posts
57 Guest Posts
3,000 Monthly Visitors
36,000 Visitors in 1 Year
56,000 Page Views in 1 Year
Blogging Income – $3******* (to come, sorry had to tease) :)

My numbers are not astonishing by any means, but I’m proud of my self for what I did in my first year of blogging. I could have dedicated more time to writing, but it didn’t happen. I allocated as much time as I could to this blog and will continue to do so. It has become an important part of my everyday life. First year is always tough, but now that I have one year under my belt, I can kick it into high-gear and fully focus on writing quality content vs. writing/learning/juggling.

I do plan to re-design Finance Fox, upgrade to a better theme, design a quality logo, offer more giveaways and continue to share juicy details about my life and how I run my finances.

Okay, admit it to me, you’ve skipped all the junk above that I wrote and scrolled down here to see what the giveaway might be. I understand, I would too!

Blogiversary Giveaway is coming in the next post. I wanted to keep the giveaway and my rambling superstate, but for now I don’t want to leave you empty-handed, so here are the best posts from the previous year:

Thank you everyone for your valued support, suggestions, ideas and readership. Without you, I wouldn’t be here, writing this post today. Stay tuned over the course of next few days for a MASSIVSE 1 YEAR BLOGIVERSARY GIVEAWAY!