WHY I BEGAN SAVING JOYFULLY
Have you ever wondered why I began saving joyfully? Today I will share with you a glimpse of who I am and why I began this website. February 8, 2018 the day Savingjoyfully.com began and the day my life changed forever. I had always loved to write and had attempted starting a blog before but had never found my true passion like I did on that day.
What I knew when I started a blog about blogging?
When I began my blog I had followed many bloggers in the past on various topics and for various reasons. The main reason that I followed these bloggers was to learn from them on saving money and budget friendly ideas. I loved blogs such as hunt4freebies and Couponing to Disney because they added value to my frugal living quest by sharing great ways to stretch my budget. What I did not know about blogging was how to actually build and run a blog.
What have I learned about blogging in the last two years?
I have learned that there is a lot of misconception about making money blogging. It is possible but for most bloggers it is on a much smaller scale than many bloggers preach everyday.
Building a blog takes time, major dedication, patience and lots of hard work.
You can make some real true friends by starting a blog and connecting with other bloggers. Some of the friends that I have made I know will end up being lifelong friends and the passion we share for blogging has helped reignite my passion on many occasions.
I have learned that many bloggers give up too soon. They burnout, their lives get too busy or they expect results too quickly.
What have I learned from two years of blogging ?
I have learned what SEO search engine optimization is and many ways to improve my ranking in google searches.
I have found that content, article length and keywords really do matter for search engine optimization.
The best way that I have found to write articles that rank well in search engines is to write on something you actually know and can answer questions others might have. People google to find answers and if you have answers to commonly searched questions you are more likely to rank for something valuable.
I have learned that my favorite social media platform for blogging is Twitter. The connections that I have made on Twitter have been the most valuable to my blogging journey.
Write from the heart and share what actually helps you so that you can provide value to others
Why I began Saving Joyfully
When I began Saving Joyfully I was working in a job that was stealing my joy. I spent far too much of my life miserable and I knew that I needed to make a change. My goal was to find something that could once again bring joy to my life. I knew that what I really need is something to take my mind off of my present work situation. I found that at this time my job was consuming my thoughts even outside of work and I knew this was not healthy. I realized that I wanted to do something constructive and positive with my life. I began to look and I found something that sparked my interest. It was at this time that I discovered the Problogger Podcast and I was inspired to start a blog of my own.
What is Problogger?
Problogger is a website and podcast run by blogger Darren Rowse. I began listening to his podcast soon after discovering it and I was hooked. His podcast was just what I needed to inspire me and help me realize that blogging was what I was looking for. I had started blogs in the past 2 blogs to be exact but I never had the focus that he spoke of in his podcast. He talked about finding a topic you are passionate about and making sure you have plenty to share on this topic. So I discovered my Niche through my own past experiences. I wanted to share what I learned and the knowledge I had gained through a life of debt and financial struggles.
How did I begin to write
For years I had been a writer and had written in various ways, but I had never really done much with my writing. I had a poem published once in Decision magazine back in 2003 and I made a total of $40. To be honest $40 was not bad for a young college student selling a poem. I used a great resource to locate writing opportunities called The Writers Market. The Writers Market is a book that I found at my local library that provides contact information for paid writing opportunities.
Creating a new blog
Over the years I started two blogs that went no where and had no real focus. I always loved to read and write. However I had never discovered my voice and passion until I began Saving Joyfully. When I began my current blog I realized that I would be writing from my own experience and sharing my true self. It's not always easy to be so forthcoming about such deep painful financial struggles. I realize though that being vulnerable is often required to reach others in their own pain and begin to truly help them. I knew that overall my audience would be others like me who have struggled with debt. My goal would be to offer support and encouragement and share tips on stretching your budget. Saving Joyfully was created to be an honest and straightforward look at my debt struggles. This blog was created to share what I have learned along my journey and how I have discovered joy in life.
Where did my love for writing begin
As a child, visiting our local library was one of my favorite activities. The only thing better than a wide selection of books and movies, was this same wide selection of books and movies that I could borrow for free. I would soak up as much information on my various interests that I possibly could and would often check out the same books over and over again. In high school my selection of books changed to books that helped me learn all sorts of things. I enjoyed self help books, makeup guides, cook books, frugality books and magazines . Some favorites of mine were called the tightwad gazette thanks to my Grandmother for introducing me. I learned so much but sadly there were a lot of things related to managing my finances that I missed among those books.
My debt story began when I entered college
Upon starting college I began making the poor financial choices that would later overwhelm me. I made poor choices mostly due to a lack of knowledge on how to make these choices on my own. College students just simply are not prepared to make some of the life altering choices that they are often faced with at such a young age. Years later at 38 I would help to promote a TV show Going From Broke which I highly recommend. This show shares the real life stories of many young people post college. These are people who have made the same type of poor choices financially in college that I once did. You can check out this new show Going from Broke on CrackleTv here.
My goal here at Saving Joyfully
My goal here at Saving Joyfully is to continue to share my story and inspire others to make the right changes and choices with their finances. To help others save money and build wealth after working through their debt. I invite you to continue to follow along on my journey to financial freedom. You can join me as I payoff my remaining debt and rebuild my financial life and I promise to share the many ways that I discover to save more and stretch my budget. Most of all I will continue to seek Joy in these moments. I believe continuing to discover Joy in life is worth far more than all the money in the world. Don't let anyone or anything steal your joy!
What keeps me inspired to continue my blog?
People like you who appreciate and share my work everyday. I cannot ever thank you enough for all of your support. You are the real reason why I began saving joyfully. You are also the reason that I continue to blog today. Another thing that keeps me inspired are the Awesome bloggers that read and share my writing. These bloggers take the time to leave me comments frequently and encourage me in what I do. I look forward to many more years of blogging and sharing my journey to financial freedom. Saving Joyfully is designed to bring value to your life and to help you save money and stretch your budget. My mission is to challenge you to find Joy in everything because without Joy life is quite simply not living.
