Happy Birthday to Me!
EDIT: Contest update. I forgot a deadline. As I am super busy, you have until Saturday, 1/12/2008, 6pm EST to enter by leaving a comment.
Today, January 7, 2008, Mapgirl’s Fiscal Challenge turns 2 years old.
What a long strange trip it’s been. Some of it good. Some of it bad. But always interesting.
What’s happened?
- I went from Blogger, to my own domain with the help of Flexo.
- This blog has grown from a few of my friends reading it to over 140 daily subscribers, many of whom are strangers. (Or just plain old strange for wanting to read about me. Take your pick.)
- I got Dugg a few times. I’ve been Stumbled Upon, scraped, copycatted, and otherwise flattered by the Interwebs.
- I saved up $8,000 over two years to fix my teeth, costing me about $12,000 total. I have one more permanent crown to put in, and that will cost me $1,000, which I hope to pay in cash.
- I am saving $5,000 for laser eye surgery, which I hope will happen later this month.
- I got serious about saving money in my 401k plan and socked away about $25K in two years.
- I got serious about saving money in an emergency fund and still have some money left in it. (A high of $4k, a current low of $1.6K)
- I paid cash for a motorcycle, my newest hobby.
- I’ve made a ton of friends through blogging.
- I made a decent chunk of change through blogging, but recognize that it’s still only a labor of love and will likely never replace my day job.
- I helped my parents buy new windows for their home.
- My dad had a stroke and retired from work.
- I negotiated a crazy raise for myself last year.
- I have learned to carry more cash on me.
- I don’t feel crushed by my debts, but positively focused on what I can do to change my situation.
- My net worth has tripled, but my consumer debt has quadrupled.
- Last, but not least, I start a new job today with a major international consulting firm.
I’m sorry I have written sooner about my job change, but I’ve been holding onto that last little tidbit for over a month and it’s a major consideration with my goals for this year. I didn’t want to share the news till the time was right.
I really want to thank each and every one of you that reads this blog. I feel a lot of encouragement through your comments and the traffic you send this way. I know I’m bratty, spoiled, bitchy, quirky, boring, but somehow y’all still find it interesting enough to stick around and I appreciate it a lot.
In honor of the day, I’d like to have a little blog contest to give away a copy of Debt is Slavery.
To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment. I’ll try to select randomly from the entries but I can tell you now that the Money Blog Network guys are not eligible to win. Sorry guys! All your traffics are belong to us!
lanea wrote:
I hope you like your new job! Go get em.
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 8:23 am | Permalink
Asset Gatherer wrote:
Congratulations– that’s quite a list of accomplishments! I’m excited to hear more about this new job. New start for a new year!
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 8:48 am | Permalink
Chief Family Officer wrote:
Happy Blogoversary and congrats on the new job! Have a fantastic 2008!
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 9:02 am | Permalink
dogatemyfinances wrote:
At open enrollment in December, I though, $12 a month for dental insurance! What a rip-off! And then I thought of poor Mapgirl and all the dental-afflicted people you attract. So, I got the dental. I haven’t used it yet, but I have it because of you. Congrats on your Blogoversary!
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 9:09 am | Permalink
misskate wrote:
Congratulations on the new job! That’s fantastic! I’ll be in the NOVA area in March, maybe we could do a PF bloggers (not that I have a PF blog) get together and celebrate your success!
All the best in 2008!
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 9:42 am | Permalink
E.C. wrote:
Congratulations on the new job and on two years of blogging.
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 9:58 am | Permalink
frank wrote:
Congrats on the new job!!! Consulting huh, are you going to have to do a lot of traveling, or is it not that kind of consulting?
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 10:21 am | Permalink
Julie wrote:
Hope your first day on the job goes really well. Keep up the great blogging!
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 10:30 am | Permalink
calgirlfinance wrote:
Congrats Mapgirl! I hope you enjoy consulting! It’s not the lifestyle for everyone, but it can be quite fun and lucrative! Are you going to be working on government contracts in the DC area or will you be traveling? Personally I love traveling, but it’s hard waking up early on a Monday morning to make your way to the airport!
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 10:57 am | Permalink
English Major wrote:
Hey, congratulations on the glamorous new job! I hope it brings you much continued success.
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 11:15 am | Permalink
amaranta wrote:
congratulations!
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 11:26 am | Permalink
Sistah Ant wrote:
congratulations and good luck on your new gig! i hope you LOVE it!
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 11:57 am | Permalink
Aino wrote:
Happy New Year - you’ve certainly accomplished a LOT
It’s very inspiring! … and being able to pay in cash for your motocycle!:) Must be an incredible feeling! Congrats on the new job,by the way - and good luck!
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 12:18 pm | Permalink
T'Pol wrote:
Congrats Mapgirl! If I win, please draw again to give “Debt is slavery” to someone else ’cause, I am sure it would not be cheap to send it to Turkey to me. Besides I know Debt is Slavery so, I am staying away from it. I guess I am one of those plain “strange” people following your blog. All the way over Turkey and a fan of Star Trek series, with a trekkie nickname… We loooove Internet, right?
T’Pol
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 12:30 pm | Permalink
paidtwice wrote:
Happy birthday Mapgirl’s Fiscal Challenge! Congrats!
And congrats on your new position!
I love books
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 12:59 pm | Permalink
Susan wrote:
Please hum along….
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday dear Mapgirl,
Happy birthday to you!
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 1:19 pm | Permalink
Ben wrote:
Congrats on the new job, and major kudos to you for all the things you’ve accomplished!
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 1:36 pm | Permalink
thisisbeth wrote:
Congratulations! It’s great to be one of the strangers (strange people…) reading your blog!
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 1:52 pm | Permalink
Andrew wrote:
Happy Birthday! Congrats on the 2 years. Glad they’ve all gone so well for ya!
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 1:54 pm | Permalink
SavingDiva wrote:
Congrats on the new job!
Your 2007 recap really shows how much you’ve accomplished in the past year…I’m impressed!
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 3:10 pm | Permalink
Brian A wrote:
Uh-oh, mapgirl is hitting the “terrible twos” now. I’m a lil’ scared.
Congrats.
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 3:21 pm | Permalink
Ted wrote:
Good luck on the new job!
Now we need to figure out how to lure Buckethead into town for a blogmeet.
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 4:47 pm | Permalink
Flexo wrote:
Happy blog birthday and congratulations on the new job!
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 6:32 pm | Permalink
Ginger wrote:
You made some great progress even with some challenges! Sounds awesome! Congrats on the new job!
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 6:49 pm | Permalink
Single Ma wrote:
HAPPY BLOGOVERSAY!!
I hope you had a fabulous first day!
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 6:58 pm | Permalink
Msminiducky wrote:
Happy happy blogbirthday to you! Congratulations on the new job, I hope you plan to post a bit about how that came about. I love your job-related stories.
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 7:00 pm | Permalink
John(Mich) wrote:
Hi Mapgirl,
Happy Birthday for the Big 2. I read your blog all the time. Keep up the good work.
Congrats on the new job too!
Posted on 07-Jan-08 at 7:06 pm | Permalink
HC wrote:
Congrats. And I’ll definitely be asking for details about the eye surgery. That’s next on my list after “buy condo.”
Posted on 08-Jan-08 at 11:41 am | Permalink
Heather wrote:
Happy Blog Birthday and congrats on the new job! Your milestones are super impressive. Keep up the great work!
Posted on 08-Jan-08 at 1:49 pm | Permalink
Mrs. Micah wrote:
Happy new job/blogbirth day!
Posted on 08-Jan-08 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
chitown wrote:
Happy Belated Blogoversary!!!
Posted on 08-Jan-08 at 3:36 pm | Permalink
CT Mom wrote:
Congrats on 2 years! Quick question - do you have an archive or a way to see your older posts on your blog? It would be great to read your story from the beginning, for better context regarding your many accomplishments … thanks!
Posted on 08-Jan-08 at 9:56 pm | Permalink
mapgirl wrote:
CT Mom - I wrecked my WordPress template and the archive feature is gone. I haven’t had the wherewithal to resurrect it Read by category instead! The other thing to do, which is probably best is to visit my original blog at Blogspot. http://brcmapgirl.blogspot.com
Posted on 08-Jan-08 at 11:51 pm | Permalink
Blubba wrote:
Hi, I’m a new reader and really enjoy your site. Congrats on all the positive changes.
Posted on 08-Jan-08 at 11:55 pm | Permalink
sfordinarygirl wrote:
Happy belated 2-yearblogoversy and birthday!
You inspire me so much and I admire your dedication to keep growing professionally. Congrats!!
Posted on 09-Jan-08 at 2:20 am | Permalink
Sylvie wrote:
Happy Blogirthday, Mapgirl! Your blog is helping me change my thinking about money for the (much) better.
Posted on 09-Jan-08 at 5:07 am | Permalink
Enough Wealth wrote:
Happy 2nd Blogoversary!
ps. I’ve added you back on to my monthly PF Blogger’s Net Worth summary - just remember to update you NetWorthIQ data each month
Posted on 10-Jan-08 at 6:52 am | Permalink
Jess wrote:
Congratulations! It looks like you’ve made it a long way, only to discover the great things that happened along the journey. Keep up the great work, and I look forward to reading what else is in store
Posted on 12-Jan-08 at 2:52 am | Permalink
Jonathan wrote:
Congrats on the new job and all the progress. It’s always scary and exciting starting at a new place.
(Leave me out of the contest too if you wish. I can’t even remember if I have that book or not, so it’s probably best.)
Posted on 19-Jan-08 at 7:51 am | Permalink