Michigan in summer

I remember when I first came to the Yakezie network.  It was just over six months ago when the member posts from the gamma class were being posted.  I remember reading Andrea’s member post from So Over Debt (I was so happy that she didn’t delete her blog) and LaTisha from Young Adult Finances among many others.  I found them all to be such inspiring stories.  What helped me continue with blogging (even when times were tough) was the relationships that I was starting to build with the Yakezie members and challengers.

It was a great feeling to communicate and build relationships with like-minded individuals.  Many of you may not know this but LAMF is my cousin.  He always spoke so highly of the Yakezie group.   He mentioned how Yakezie changed his life and I’m so glad that I had the same opportunity to find out for myself firsthand.

COMPLETING YAKEZIE CHALLENGE

After completing six months of the challenge, I look back and appreciate the “boot camp” one has to go through.  On top of selflessly promoting fellow Yakezie member and challenger sites, initially I thought that once my Alexa rank dropped below 200k that I would be eligible to become a member.  Later I realized that the focus was not only to drop the Alexa rank but also to determine if one has the dedication it takes to stick with blogging (hence having to complete the whole 6 months before applying to become a member).  While going through the motion, I learned that starting a blog is like being in a relationship as they share similar stages.

  • Honeymoon:  Everything is new and exciting.  This is when you are getting to know your blog (or partner).  Trying to set everything up and meeting other bloggers (going on dates and having fun).
  • Developing Relationship/Ending Relationship:  Now you have been together for awhile now.  Things aren’t quite as exciting as in the beginning.  But if the experience (or chemistry) is good then you want to continue with it.  Sometimes when things seem like work, people decide that it’s easier to just quit.
  • Marriage:  If you make it this far, you have made the commitment.  With any long-term commitment, you need patience and an understanding that everyday is not always going to be bright and cheery.  It all boils down to this:  Anything worthwhile takes work.

MY STORY

I was fortunate to have been raised by a very loving and financially-minded mother as my father died when I was at a very young age.  Since it was just the two of us, we had to stick together and act as a team.  This meant I had to take on more responsibility at a young age.  I saw the decisions my mother made regarding our finances.  She always put our needs before our wants.  I didn’t always understand her decisions at the time, but this is how I unconsciously learned a lot about personal finance (I thank her for this today).  Going through this experience really helped set the foundation for my personal finance skills to develop as I grew up.

When I was younger, it was hard for me to understand why my friends and their families could afford to go on lavish vacations, live in fancy houses, and drive new cars.  Don’t get me wrong, we lived in a nice house and had a nice car to drive; however, I was infected with keeping up with the Joneses.  I wanted to live in the mansion and have all of the luxuries that money could buy.  At this point in my life, I didn’t truly understand the value of money nor really understand what was important in life.

Once I entered into the real world I started to see things differently.  I started understanding the value of money.  This is when my priorities began to change.  I no longer cared about keeping up with the Joneses.  Now I value financial freedom, family, and friends more than any mansion, luxury car, or any of the latest gadgets.  I actually prefer to seek a higher return on my investment.  I have done this by keeping the same car for 12 years and using the same laptop for 4.5 years.  This habit in particular is what helps me to achieve financial freedom.

NEW VENTURE

Before creating World of Finance, I barely knew what an RSS feed was and obviously had no clue how to set one up.  I also had never used WordPress or Twitter before (among many other things).  I knew these were essential to creating a successful blog so I was determined to figure it out.  I remember when I first used Twitter and kept seeing RT (had no idea what this meant) everywhere… I realized I had so much to learn but now I reflect back and appreciate the journey I’ve completed thus far; I’m even more excited to see what the future holds.

Over of the past six months, I developed a close relationship with LaTisha as we discovered that we share so much in common.  Most recently, we founded Help for Analysts as we are both professionals working in the finance world and trying to advance our financial knowledge.  I have really enjoyed getting to know many of the Yakezie members and challengers over the past 6 months.  I look forward to developing our relationships even further and also getting to know others as well.