Bloggerversary #1 plus a Give-Away!
Save time and money with my best-selling resources in Complete Change Your Finances Bundle.
One year ago, I started Cook With a Shoe and wow what a journey this first year has been!
Please take a moment to celebrate with me by entering the Give-Away at the end of the post.
Today seems to be a great time to answer a question I have received several times, how and why did I start blogging?
A couple of years prior to setting up this blog, I found myself wanting to be in a place of influence and wondering what I had to offer. As I thought about it, I started to realize that since becoming totally debt free in 2010, there have been quite a few friends and family who have asked me questions about getting of debt and following a budget.
I saw many people who around me who were struggling with their finances and found myself wanting to help them to see how controlling finances can be instrumental in living your dreams in peace and freedom. I’ve experienced this peace and freedom that grows the longer I have gone without any payments.
I used to have a hate hate relationship with budgeting. Budgeting used to get me all stressed out and frustrated because nothing would add up right. It felt as though the budget was just a place where I saw my flaws with handling money magnified.
{PSSST! October 26th-November 1st only!}
I don’t usually interrupt myself like this, but if you have a blog, or want to start blogging, you will definitely want to check out the Genius Blogger Toolkit!
If you haven’t heard about the Genius Blogger Toolkit, it is an amazing collection of 62 e-books, e-courses, and printables, with an additional 17 bonuses from some of my favorite authors, who are leaders in the field of blogging.
The bundle plus all the bonuses are valued at whopping $5,052.40, but you can buy it now for just $97! Talk about a great deal!
Just a couple of the courses- which are valued at $354 – will more than cover the total cost of the whole bundle. For example, if you get Building a Framework and Blogger Revolution Sponsored Content Master Guide, you have already well exceeded the value of everything else.
Click here to learn more and buy the Genius Blogging Toolkit for yourself!
Okay, back to the post.
Following a budget is something I should do and is a good thing to do, but it seems like such a scary thing to be faced with how you don’t handle money well or how much debt you have. A budget will limit all the fun in life and is super tedious to manage. I am not a nerd and I hate math!
I can’t be the only one who has had these thoughts, right?
Yet, it was only after I became debt free almost six years ago, that I started to realize what a helpful tool budgeting was. I finally had a reason to put myself through the torture of sticking to a budget and tracking my spending. I had found my Why.
My Why, my reasons for budgeting, became clearer.
- I wanted to see my hubby graduate without any student loans (and I didn’t want to have to pay any more back!).
- I didn’t want to go back into debt and have that stress again, after experiencing the peace without any payments.
- I found myself wanting to be more generous and the desire for more materialistic things started slipping away. There is almost nothing I want so badly that I am willing to take on more debt in order to have.
- I want to be in a position to positively impact the lives of others with my money, in ways which would never be possible if I carried debt.
Friends and family started noticing that there was a difference in my life and peppered me with questions about how it was possible to pay off debt and live on a budget. Then the coolest domino effect happened, because of my example of paying off all our debts only to continue living on a budget, others around me began to set up a budget and to make a plan to pay off debt.
Seeing others start on a path to experiencing true financial freedom made me super excited and I realized that I do have a lot to share with my expertise in budgeting.
I can share hope. Hope that others can gain control of their finances and reach their money goals. I can share how a budget is a powerful tool you can use to make progress and practical tips from living on a budget successfully for several years.
And hence the idea for Cook With a Shoe was born.
A debt free story shares hope that others, too, can reach their financial goals.
So that is how I started this blog in a nutshell.
I have spend countless hours writing content and running the behind the scenes of this website, because I love sharing what I have learned about managing money with others with the goal that they too can obtain financial freedom.
But you know what? I have been completely humbled by the response this website has generated.
Within just a few months, people from all over the world were stopping by to visit. In fact, my website has had over 21,302 unique views over this past year. There are over 150 people who have followed me on Pinterest. 400+ more are following me on Twitter, just over 100 people on Facebook and 65 on Instagram. (You can join them too!)
I am closing in on 200 email subscribers.
There have been so many comments on the blog, and in person, that I have received, about how this inspiring blog has been such a blessing and how much they have learned from my posts.
I’ve heard how readers have have set up a budget or reworked their budget or have had the first money talk with their spouse.
I’ve gotten emails when readers have payed off debt and some detailing their very personal struggles with money.
You all have told me that this blog is different and more relate-able than other blogs about budgeting.
You have connected with me and have become my friends. You are excited to see what I have to share with you next.
I have been completely overwhelmed with how supportive you are to me and my savings goals. Not to mention, how supportive you have been of the information I have to share.
Truly it is an honor to serve you in this way.
I thank God for having me go through the struggle of paying off debt and following a budget for a reason, so I can now be of support to you in your financial journey.
Many of you have gone above and beyond to help promote my blog. You have given me a chance to guest post for you and you have given me awards. To date, I have written 8 guest posts, have had several of my articles have been featured on other blogs, and received 4 blogging awards, all of which you can see here.
I want to thank you for making my first year of blogging such a huge success, by coming by to visit my blog, leaving comments, and sharing what you are going through. You have also shared the articles with your friends, which is the greatest honor you could give.
Give-Away Details
As a Thank You for everything that you have done to help this blog grow, I am offering a $20 Amazon gift card to one winner. In order to enter, all you have to do is leave me a comment answering this question:
What is one thing, finance-related, that you are struggling with and/or would like to see addressed on Cook With a Shoe?
The winner will be chosen on January 17, 2016 at 7pm MST (Arizona) time by a random number generator.
Congratulations to Kelsey! You were selected by a Random Number Generator to be the winner! I will be emailing you details about receiving the Amazon Gift Card.
Thank you to all who entered and took time to share a money topic you are struggling with or would like to see discussed on Cook With a Shoe. Your questions will be answered in more detail within upcoming posts.
Thanks for celebrating with me!! Here is to a great second year!
Hi! I’m Charissa. I’m on a mission to help hardworking women overcome money struggles and gain financial peace with a Biblical perspective so they can have the freedom to impact their families and communities. Ready to make some changes that will impact your finances in 2020? Click here to get a free worksheet to help you make it happen!
Congrats on one year!! That is such a great milestone 🙂 And to answer your question, I would love a post about ways to save money but stay active or fill your weekends without breaking the bank. Sometimes it feels like I need to chose between spending money or having fun but I know that doesn’t have to be the case.
Thank you Alexandra! I love your idea, and have often declined on doing fun things, because I didn’t have or didn’t want to spend the money.
Thank you Alexandra! Looks like I need to write a post about fun, frugal, activities to do asap, as there were two comments about the same topic! You can still have fun without spending money, but yeah, sometimes it doesn’t seem like it is possible. One of my favorite free things to do is a picnic at the park.
I still struggle to find a method to keep a close track to my finances. What is easier for a beginner: write it all down or weekly, for example?
I’d love to learn more about your system.
Keeping track of finances is a hard habit to get into and stick with, Debbie. The struggle is real, even for me. I will review several different ways on how to track your expenditures, because different ways work for different people. Right now, I have found what works for me is write down every transaction in a spiral notebook daily when I arrive home. Then, as I get to it, I will enter everything into a money management software, Quicken. I also have another notebook where I write down my monthly expenses/budget. This is where I decide which bills will get paid with each paycheck and cross them off as I pay them.
You are an inspiration to me. How would you suggest I encourage/coach others when I don’t have it all figured out myself?
Oh thank you Naomi! The best way to encourage/coach others is to life your life in front of them. Once they see you making smart choices with money and winning, questions will come. You can then start sharing your experiences, your mistakes, what has helped you and how you have felt once you paid off… or did… with your money. Or if they are struggling with their finances and bring it up to you, you can say ‘when I was struggling with having enough money at the end of the month, I started following a budget and was so surprised to find I really did have enough money once I paid attention’ or whatever the situation is.
Happy blogaversary! I love reading your posts! Our grocery budget is the biggest struggle. I’d like to hear more about buying whole foods while on a tight grocery budget.
Thank you Andrea! I don’t know what it is about the grocery store and eating up your money (haha), but you can buy whole foods on a tight budget, you just have to get a little creative. This post might help for starters and here are some ways to not overspend at the grocery store. . I will write more about this topic.
Congrats on the anniversary. It seems there is never enough left at the end of the month for fun activities. What are some free/cheap/inexpensive ways to have fun on the weekends?
Thank you Merry! I love your idea of free/cheap/inexpensive ways to have fun on the weekend, definitely a needed category for living on a budget and for this blog.
I just came across your post last month and can’t believe you’ve only been blogging for a year! You are doing a great job! I actually started seriously trying to budget since October by cutting down on my grocery bill. Now I’ve been able to trim down a little on a few of my bills and use that money towards debt! It is such a rewarding feeling, but I would like to know other ways to bring in extra income from home. I’m 5 months pregnant with my 4th child and would not be able to work outside of the house at this time.
Thank You!
Oh thank you Kaeleigh! That’s awesome you have been following a budget and have been able to put money towards your debt in the last couple of months. I have an article about selling on Ebay and a list of 35 ways to bring in more income so far. Another way to ‘bring in more income’ is to become a master at managing your household expenses, trimming each category down as much as you can, shopping for the best deals, and only spending money on priorities. Congratulations on your growing family!
Congratulations Charissa on a great accomplishment in one year. Your ability to inspire us to be better handlers of finance is exceptional.
My emergency fund is more than exhausted with unexpected medical bills of over $5000 AUD despite having medical insurance. It feels like we are already cutting back and it is hard to see where more cuts can go. The good thing is that we know God is our provider and He has never failed us in many tight spots over the years.
Thank you Kathleen! Yikes, medical bills can drain your savings in a blink of an eye. One way to trim costs just a little more, is to contact the providers for your regular expenses to see if you can get the bill reduced at all. The other thing you can do is to find ways to boost your income, even temporarily, to rebuild your emergency fund. After money isn’t quite as tight, add a couple line items into your budget, money to put into savings for medical expenses, and regular contributions to your emergency fund. But most importantly, trusting that God will continue to provide and will get you through this time is the best thing you can do.
Happy Blogaversary! And congratulations on one year of blogging! My husband and I are three month into our blog!
My question is…about six months ago my husband went full-time with his own home-based graphic design business (smalltowndesign.com) and, for the first time, we don’t know what our income will be month to month. What are your tips for budgeting when income varies?
Thank you Kelsey! (And congratulations on winning the gift card!) Budgeting with a variable income can be a challenge. Hmm, just starting out you may not have a really good idea of your lowest month’s income yet, but take the lowest income number and base your budget off of that amount. Write down all your expenses and prioritize them, meaning there might be some things you can’t pay for if not enough money comes in for the month. If you have a really great month and bring in enough money to have extra, after paying all your expenses, put a good percentage of the extra into savings to help cover a slow month. Don’t forget to put aside about 25% of your gross for quarterly taxes. Keep your business accounts/expenses separate from your personal. Grow your business organically, putting money back into it at first instead of taking out debt to run it. Keep your personal expenses as low as possible until the business is established. All the best to you and your new business!
My husband refuses to get on board so I feel like my situation is hopeless.
I’m sorry you are going through this, Pam. Talking money with your spouse can be very difficult, for most of us. One thing that might help is talking with your husband about the Why. Why do you want to (budget money, get out of debt, etc)? What could the two of you do, something you have always talked about, if you didn’t have any payments and your money was under control? If he’s open to dreaming about what life would look like without a financial burden and to see the end goal, he might come along side you in the day to day details. Here are a couple articles, I’ve written on the topic. https://changeyourfinances.com/category/talking-money-with-a-spouse/
Missed the give away but still wanted to say a huge congratulations on your year anniversary. Your blog is fantastic and I’m glad you’ve seen your hard work pay off with a growing number of followers. I’m sure they will keep coming!
Thank you Valerie!