Well, it’s officially the new year you guys, and there’s been a lot of talk of resolutions.
One of my biggest ones, as mentioned in posts here and there, has been to un-anonymize this blog. It’s a big huge scary step, but it’s also one I’m head over heels excited about.
Without further ado, hi – I’m Desirae, and I’m a personal finance nerd.
In case you don’t like videos – or are on your phone and don’t love anything, including puppies, enough to use your cell phone data for videos – here’s a recap of what the video covers.
The Two Reasons I Decided to Do This
This isn’t a step I’m taking lightly, but there are two really big reasons that I wanted to open up about who I actually am in real life (other than the simple fact that I’m horrible – like truly terrible – at secrets.)
One is all of the great friends I’ve made in the personal finance online community. If you’re looking for a list of great blogs to check out, I have a pretty solid one going on my (brand spanking new) resources page. All of these blogs are run by the nicest, most wonderful people, and it just seemed so strange that none of them knew who I was or what I was like “in real life.”
Hence, video!
And it’s not like I was going to do a video with a bag over my head or anything.
Second is that every time I brought up that I wrote about personal finance on the internet (seriously, I really am the worst at secrets) I had almost universally positive reactions from people.
And I mean… I brought it up a lot.
To a lot of people.
I don’t think many people have a lot of places and people they can go to in order to talk about money. It’s just not a thing people bring up a lot, but you know what? It can be, and maybe it should be. I think a lot of us would breathe a big sigh of relief if we just had some real talk about money now and then.
I want people – even people who know me in real life – to feel like it’s OK to talk about money, and it seems hypocritical to believe that and not admit to running this blog. So here we are.
What This Blog Is
If this is your first time reading the blog, what is it?
Well, back in August, I had the entirely half-baked idea to try to save half of my income, as part of my realization that I wasn’t quite as good with money as I thought I was.
That one goal has led to a ton of learning about personal finance and different approaches to money management. And no, I haven’t quite achieved the goal yet – it’s somewhat lofty. But I’m still trying, and this blog is where I share everything I’ve been learning and doing to try to hit my goal.
What It So, So Is Not
Since I’ve covered what it is, here’s a quick overview of what this blog is not – especially for people who might be new here.
A few of the reactions I’ve had when I bring up the blog centre around people thinking that I must be soooo good with money, and that makes them feel like they aren’t. That is so not what this blog is about.
Personal finance is, above all, personal. While trying to save 50% of my income makes sense for me right now – and more on that in another post – that has almost everything to do with my unique circumstances and my unique (and numerous, competing) financial goals.
If saving 5% is a good first step for you, I am going to be over here cheering you on so hard.
Nothing about this blog is about judgement or comparison. It’s about sharing what I’m learning, and opening up conversations that too often, just don’t happen.
A Giant Thank You
Finally, I want to say the most heartfelt thank you to everyone reading this, whether you’ve been reading for months, or you just found the blog. This blog has become a huge part of my life, and I’m so honoured that anyone even reads it. I never imagined it would get to this point when I (super quietly) started it in August, but I’m so happy it has.
In the next few months, I’m going to be tackling a few topics hard – including how to set and keep financial goals, build financial habits, great first steps to take with your money, and how money and couples can coexist peacefully. You can check out those posts by cruising through the categories, which have been updated since I wrote this! Take your pick and start with budgeting, saving, investing, or spending.
Desirae, so great that you did this. You’re doing an amazing job on this blog! I’ve been thinking about un-anonymizing ourselves, as well. Like you, we didn’t expect to make so many friends and build relationships through our blog. I’m still surprised anyone actually reads it. It’s crazy that money is such a forbidden topic. Way to go breaking down the barriers. Even though I’m at a very different stage in my life than you are, your writing style is still so relatable and brings me back to the days we faced similar challenges.
Thank you so much for the kind words! And oh my gosh yes to the surprise, every single time anyone shows up to read this, haha. So far – all two hours into it – people have been really wonderful about me not being “anonymous” anymore, so until it totally blows up in my face I think it’s been a good move!
Also, I get what you mean about the different life stages too – I love reading about early retirement plans like yours, even though it’s so removed from where I am right now! It’s a really great window into alternate ways to think about money, beyond just “retire at 65” – which clearly, given this entire post, I think more people need to hear about!
Hooray, Des! I love this post and your decision. So excited for you and everything that 2016 brings your way. Loved seeing your face…and spying on your bookshelf! Cheers 🙂
Thank you so much Penny! And special emphasis on the “thank you to people who have been reading my blog already” to you – I’m so glad we connected this past year and I’m always so inspired by your posts! I hope you have an amazing day and year ahead of you!
PS. My favourite people are the ones who come over and go straight to the bookshelf to see what kind of things I read. I love that you did that on the video, haha.
It’s great to meet you officially! And I’m honored to be included on your resources page! Happy new year! I can’t wait to see where the year takes you.
Of COURSE you’re on the resources page! I absolutely love your blog, and it’s such a great – and unique – resource! Happy new year to you and your family Maggie – and enjoy the weather if you’re still in Hawaii! (Also – the most a) happy for you and b) jealous of your trip, haha. It looks like it was/is amazing!)
Congrats Des! As someone who has done a lot of formal training in finance and accounting, it’s nice to see a fresh take on things. I think for the average person you have to make personal finances as fun as possible or even the best laid plans are bound to fall apart. You’ve definitely got the personality and abilities to make things interesting enough for people to want to follow along with you (and that is not an easy task!). Best of luck!
Thank you so much Justin! I was especially nervous that all of my *actual* finance-y friends would be like, “Your blog is ridiculous” so it means the world that you took the time to tell me this! I’m actually going to be starting the CFP courses this winter (just for fun, because I’m a HUGE nerd!) and my goal is to “translate” them into really fun content for the blog.
Hi Des! Nice to meet you in “real life”! And welcome back from your blogging break! And hope you had a good holiday! And Happy New Year! So many things!
Looking forward to hearing more about your journey in 2016. 🙂
Hey Sarah! I hope you had an amazing holiday and are so stoked to be jumping into the new year and job hunting / post-school life! I can’t wait to sit down tomorrow morning and catch up on the posts of yours I’ve missed! (Because yes! So many things!)
Some really great stuff in here Des. My heart sings to see that you are discovering many of the same strategies that we have been using.
We also have many accounts. I find it a better way to segregate money than using a spreadsheet. Since we use PC bank the accounts are free. We have our main account (for monthly expenses), our automatic payment account (for daycare, cleaners, etc that come out directly), our planned costs account (house taxes, car, home, life and travel insurance), accounts for each kid, & a savings account for money that we are saving for a goal or that is waiting to be moved into our investment accounts.
Thanks Jeff!! It means the world coming from you, you guys are a phenomenal example of how to manage your money properly! (Honestly, when I started reading Mr. Money Mustache, I thought you two would get along fairly well, haha.)
I can’t say enough good things about having multiple accounts (and free ones too!) Honestly, when I was using one account for my “short term savings” and my emergency fund… well, as you can probably imagine, the balance never really grew to true emergency fund levels. Having everything separated has been SO unbelievably helpful to see where I’m at towards things like a future house downpayment vs. my emergency fund goal vs. the dog’s emergency fund. And of course no one is surprised that the dog has his own emergency fund, haha.
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment – I really appreciate it! Hope you’re having a great new year so far!
One of the reasons we started a blog was to meet like-minded people. Finding those in our offline lives who wanted to discuss money was difficult. Why is money so taboo? Anywho, I’m so glad we’ve met this year! I look forward to more videos in the future! Woot! And thank you so much for including us in your list of resources–we’re honored! 🙂 Happy New Year!!!
Of COURSE you guys are included, I absolutely love your blog! I think you have such a unique situation and take on things, and you’re so open about the different details – like laundry! – that many people would gloss over or not think about on their way to tiny-house-dom. I’m so so so glad we connected – I honestly could never have imagined people being so open and welcoming, since you’re all so amazing! So the community was like a huge giant bonus surprise, and one I’m so grateful for 🙂
Happy new year, and if you’re heading back to full time work tomorrow, have a great day!
YAY!! This is amazing, Des! So excited for 2016 & this move you’ve decided to make. 🙂 (p.s. love the video & also the fact that your bookshelf seems to be color coded – my fiance & I seriously contemplated doing the same until he took on alphabetizing instead)! Also – thank you so much for listing my blog on your list of resources, I’m flattered! I hope you’re having an amazing New Year so far, and I’m looking forward to hearing about all of your accomplishments! 🙂
Thanks Alyssa – right back at you! And of COURSE your blog is listed, it’s fantastic! As for the bookcase, I like to say it’s half-colour-coded. I got a big burst of energy to colour code it one day, but once I finished the blues, greens, yellows and oranges, the rest all just looked kind of dull so I… left them as is. Which in a way is like a category? “Not bold enough to deserve a colour category.”
Hello, Desirae!
I was petrified to go from the semi-anonymous “MJ” to my real name. Once I did, though, I felt a whole lot better interacting with PF folks. I felt more honest. I mean, they were welcoming anyways, but I felt more honest:) I love the two reasons that you announced your real name (and face!) All those glorious positive reactions when you talk about your PF blog! Anyway, it is nice to (e) meet you and put a name and face with the content.
It’s terrifying, eh?! But I’m definitely glad I did, for the exact same reason as you – it feels way better being “honest” about who I am! As I got to know more people, and saw a lot of bloggers whose lives were clearly fine even though they weren’t anonymous, haha, it just felt silly not to own up to it. It’s great to e-meet you too, officially!
So adorable. 🙂 Love that you did this. (Pretend I’m saying this part in an old timey voice…) Back in my day, you had your face up on the blog for like five seconds (okay, maybe I lost the old timey voice by saying “like”), so I knew what you looked like before you went anonymous, but I love seeing the video and getting more of a sense of your personality! Can’t wait til we can do this, too, though everyone will then see how geeky we are. 😀
Bahahaha I KNOW! I am the worst at being anonymous! I actually changed that after a friend checked it out and was like “Yeah… you’re not very good at being anonymous eh? With the REAL PHOTO OF YOU and everything?” I’m honoured you guys have stuck with me through the entire journey – I can’t wait to “e-meet” you guys when you’re ready, and I’m SO excited for you that your countdown is down to 24 months!
This is great Des! I love seeing your passion for your blog in your video!
I’m a fairly recent blogger as well, and watching your blog grow has been truly inspiring! I find that it can at times consume your life – but it’s been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done. I’ve also noticed that sometimes I connect with my “blog friends” more than my real friends and family because money is still such a taboo topic. Here’s to opening the discussion of finances!
BTW – Thanks for listing me on the resources page! Hope you have a good 2016!
Right back at you Vic – I love following your blogging journey and seeing your blogging wins! Hugely inspiring, so of course I put you on the resources page!
And oh man, can it ever be all-consuming. I have to say it’s one of my favourite hobbies, besides hanging out with my dog, but it definitely takes time! I’m working on making sure I keep it in its defined “blogging time” and don’t just sit down to reply to some comments and then five hours later, look up and realize half a day is gone, lol.
Yay! Awesome post. So happy for you. Love following your writing/financial journey. 🙂
Thank you so much Cynthia! It means a lot 🙂 Happy new year!
Welcome Desirae!!!! I have always been “outed” as a blogger and it’s because I just couldn’t keep it a secret. I always enjoy writing as myself, the good, the bad and the ugly. I can’t wait to see how your blog and financial life grow in 2016! Congrats for making the leap!!
Thank you so much Shannon! I love your writing and how you’re really open about everything – it was a big inspiration for me!