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The first incarnation of Well Heeled Blog was as a lifestyle, fashion, and decor blog. I still love all three of those topics, but I quickly realized that as a broke college student, I couldn’t very well afford those lovely $300 Anthropologie frocks or $500 Louis Ghost chairs.

Then I started reading personal finance blogs, and my life changed forever.

Okay, that was a tad dramatic. But I can say in all seriousness that the personal finance community (including Yakezie!) is a great place to be a part of. Since the few years I’ve started blogging, I have learned so much about saving and investing, and have met wonderful bloggers from across the country, many of whom have become my good friends in real life. Blogging about personal finance, as opposed to say, fashion, also helped rein in my tendencies to spend too much on clothes or shoes. (Although I will always happily pay for a pair of well-constructed, classic heels).

As a young professional, my budget has thankfully increased from college. Still, I wanted to make sure I lay a good financial foundation for the future. My mother taught me the importance of saving (she used to show me the mortgage calculations when I was in middle school!). But before I started blogging, I didn’t know the difference between Roth IRA and Ross from Friends. Then I started reading and researching into asset allocation, tax diversification strategies, and learning investing fundamentals. I first started a Roth IRA in 2006, and I haven’t stopped since.

My goal is to live a rich life – one filled with financial security, meaningful professional achievements, true friends, and grow-old-with-me love. None of those things come without effort. I’ve been lucky enough to get a head start (I think), with the last two, and I am working towards first two every day!

I am 25, so I may have another 60 or 70 years of life ahead of me. But there’s nothing that says I am guaranteed even one more moment than the moment I have right now. So I owe it to myself to strike a balance between living life today and preparing for tomorrow.  I try to put something in my 401K and max out my Roth IRA every year. Aside from the retirement savings, however, I spend happily for my two favorite activities: travel and food.  Because I truly believe that smart money management should make us feel happy, not miserable.

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