Morning!

So in an attempt to become more minimalist over here – AND – raise a little money for my cold and hungry homeless friends, I’m tackling one of the hardest areas known to entrepreneurs:

OUR HORDE OF DOMAIN NAMES!!

Which, of course, are ALL awesome and worth MILLIONS of dollars if we ever get them off the ground, but as Derek Sivers is fond of saying – ideas are worth nothing unless executed ;) And, well, despite how much I’d love to execute on ALL of these I’m pretty sure if I haven’t done it in the past 10 years I never will…

But maybe YOU could use one of these?! Perhaps one of these domains is the missing puzzle to finally getting your own passion project off the ground?!

If so I’d love to make a deal with you today!! You donate some money to help replenish my Community Fund (that goes 100% to my poor – yet positive! – friends living on the streets) and I’ll give you a domain name of your choosing in return :)

It’s a win-win-win!!

Here are the domains up for the taking:

*******

#1) PFBloggers.com Gone! Enjoy it, Tom!

This is an old school one picked up during the Rockstar Finance days of 2013, and we were going to use it for our community’s first Blog Directory. We ended up merging it however with RF itself so it never became its own standalone site, but I’ve held onto it ever since just in case I wanted to build out another directory again… which sadly still doesn’t exist in our space, even after all these years :(

But maybe you could be the one to get one running again? :) It’s a perfectly direct name for one, right?

And interestingly enough, after plugging it into the Wayback Machine, I found it was actually at one time a home for financial creators back in 2008!

The Personal Finance Bloggers Network (PF Bloggers for short) currently consists of 7 blogs that write about personal finance and frugal living. We are not finance professionals but just normal people with goals for a life free of debt and worry.

How cool is that?  You might even recall some of the original founders of it if you’ve been around for a while:

• Wide Open Wallet
• Our Fourpence Worth
• No Debt Plan
• Master Your Card
• Living Almost Large
• Girls Just Wanna Have Funds
• Get Rich or Die Trying

I miss these guys… some of the founding fathers (and mothers!) of our industry!

*******

#2. PFChat.com

This was another domain we were going to use for the forums of Rockstar Finance (2014), but also got merged into one main hub… But what a short and sweet name for an online community??! Or even a portal or blog attached to a business or app or something in the financial space? It would certainly make for an easy to remember redirection url too, though of course in my opinion it’s strong enough to live on its own :)

This is gonna be the one that’s hardest to depart with as I still very much love the name and want to hold out hope that eventually I’ll make use of it!, but again if I haven’t touched it in 9 years then odds are I’m not going to…

*******

#3. MoneyLatte.com Now Gone!! Thanks, Jessica!

Okay – now this one is my favorite out of ALL my unused domains, and 100% what I’d build my next blog on if I ever needed to start a new one from scratch… Just think of all that organic traffic you’d get from talking about saving money on coffee ad nauseam!

But seeing how I ended up buying eliteedgemoney back for good, I don’t think I’d have the energy to manage another one, although I have been tempted with sharing short – quick – bites of finance to help people start their day better (similar to what caffeine does to you! Heyo!), so for that route this would make a perfect home, but again will I ever pull the trigger on it??! Probably not.

So it’s all yours if you want to steal my idea!! :)

*******

#4. DebtDrop.org

I love this domain so much too. And even dubbed one of our projects “Debt Drop” back in the day when I used to partner up with Melanie Lockert of DearDebt.com to share some love…

We used to go around anonymously paying off chunks of debt for people, and then picked up this domain in case we ever wanted to make it an “official” project. After 2-3 years we took a break, but alas I’ve been renewing it ever since and quietly holding my tears back as it sits there collecting dust

Out of all the domains this is the one I’d love to see someone take over the most and continue putting out GOOD in the world as we still need so much help out there, specially around debt. It’s so crushing to people!!

*******

#5. SquidpantsInternational.com

Now this one is *NOT* on the table, but oh how I wish it was…

Click it if you dare, but here’s what my biz partner Nate St. Pierre once publicly shared on Facebook:

******

“I don’t save things, and I’m not sentimental. Nor do I pay for things I don’t need.

BUT.

When Jay Money and I were doing our Love Drop national tour in 2011, we had to buy a URL for a new site we were building, and Jay had to help me with the name. For whatever reason he just wouldn’t do it, and I told him that if he didn’t give me his thoughts by the end of the day, I was just going to name it Squidpants International.

He didn’t, so I did.

I bought the URL and put up a picture I took of him that day buying a lottery ticket and telling me why he was too busy to help me with the name. What you see is the entire website.

Here we are, 13 years later, when I get my annual bill for renewing the URL, and I continue to pay for it, just because the joke still makes me laugh whenever I think about it. Also because it brings back many good memories of working together, stressing out, laughing a lot, and putting some love into the world

Happy website anniversary, you jackass.”

*****

So sweet, isn’t he?

What I should do is actually use one of these domains for a Spite Site a la Larry David so I don’t have to hear about this every year, haha, but seeing how I’m the nicer of the two I shall respectfully take the high road ;)

You sure are clever though, buddy!!

[Latte Larry’s]

*******

At any rate, that’s what we’ve got today! And I’m proud to state I haven’t bought a *new* domain name in years, and even more smartly – I no longer buy them while drunk!!

Let me know if you’d like any of these, and more importantly if you’d like to contribute to my Community Fund. It’s the toughest season out there for my friends on the streets, and I can promise that every last dollar goes directly to them because I’m the one who’s literally handing it to them! (Or buying them coffee/clothes/hotel rooms/etc)

Click this button to donate through Paypal (you don’t need a Paypal account to do so), or DM me on the side and we’ll find another way to make it happen. (I know I have a Venmo somewhere too…)

Have a most blessed holiday season if we don’t talk beforehand! We are all more fortunate than we even know, and it’s a good time to be thankful for that.

Your good pal and President of Squidpants International,

// Photo up top by Junior Teixeira via Pexels

[This post, Want one of these domain names?!, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Gooooood morning, my beautiful money lovers!

I’ve missed you! Y’all off to a great start this year? Lots of goals and excitement and energy crackin’ on?!

I gotta admit, I was having so much fun the past handful of weeks I almost didn’t come back, haha… But it’s not you, it’s me ;) I *finally* cracked the code on how to SLOW DOWN TIME once and for all: just don’t work! Lol…

Also: puzzles.

Popped one open over the holidays and haven’t stopped:

(Pokémon FTW)

(Missing puzzle pieces – the devil incarnate!)

(The hardest of the bunch ;))

(Current one I’m working on… My first 1,000 piece’r!)

As you can see, only the important things going on here ;)

I also updated our Net Worth and paid some bills and moved some investments around during my break, but honestly finances were the last thing on my mind this holiday season…. It seems I keep thinking about it less and less over the years and finally getting some good balance with my obsessions which is great. I even went a couple weeks without checking social media if you can believe it!

I’m also realizing that as much as I love this blog and our community here, it too has become less of an obsession over the years… Mainly because I don’t think about money as much now that things are on track, but also because I continue to treat it as a “job” instead of more of a hobby which I promised myself I wasn’t going to do when I bought it back! Particularly around maintaining a *schedule*. Which up until recently has served me well, but now it just feels constricting even if it’s all in my head (which it is – I only blog two times a week! lol…).

But after going this entire month+ without really having one I felt so *alive* and *in the moment* and it was fantastic. I woke up and just did whatever *moved* me right there on the spot (like puzzles!) and I didn’t have to feel guilty about any commitments lingering in the background. It was such a luxury just “going with the flow” that I don’t think I can give it up now that I’ve really tasted it!! :)

So all this to say, I’m nixing my schedule for the upcoming year and will only be writing whenever I’m dying to get my thoughts out. Which will probably be less than I’m writing now, but still more than I was the last few years when I was gone ;) In fact, my hope is that by going this new route I’ll be able to stay here with y’all for the long run since there’s no way I can get burned out again if I only blog when I feel like it! Haha…

So here’s to a more flowy, and FUN!, new year of sharing with y’all! I hope it’s a great year for all of us!!

*******

In other life updates…

Here are the things I got accomplished from my checklist last month:

• I got my Xmas shopping done early! Amazing how much you can knock out when you don’t have a job getting in the way – hah.
• I visited my friend’s coin shop AND the new brewery that opened up – that door mat up there comes from my friend’s shop – brilliant!
• I tipped my baristas $100 on #BigTipTuesday! And it felt as great as you think it might :) Totally recommend if you can pull it off (and you don’t need to wait for a special event – people need some love any day of the week!!)
• I read at the coffee shop instead of typing away on the laptop. OK this wasn’t on the list last month, but something I’ve always wanted to do as it just looks sooooo relaxing whenever I see anyone do it.  So I grabbed a book, found a comfy chair in the corner, and got to reading amidst the hustle and bustle of everything. SO MAGICAL!! I thought it was a fitting book I selected for it too ;)  How Starbucks Saved My Life (Amazon affiliate link)

(An excellent, light, read, btw – highly recommend!)

• We started a Jumping Jacks Challenge for January! After a successful Push-Up Challenge in November, and a subsequent Squats Challenge in December, the mission continues and we move to Jumping Jacks for the rest of the month. 100/day – wanna join?
• And lastly, I attended the Content Creator Happy Hour from Plutus Voices last month. As expected, it was a joy getting together with like-minded friends in real life. We talked money, life, entrepreneurship, and all those out of the blue *pivots* we sometimes need to make to keep the goals moving… It was great, and you can check here to see if they’ll be coming to your town next! –> PlutusVoices.com

Things I didn’t end up getting done last month:

• My tattoos – turns out the shop I want to get them at is SUPER popular and they have a 2-3 month waiting list to get inked! So it’ll still happen, I just have to wait a little longer which is fine – I’ve already waited 20 years :)
• Try Crossfit – didn’t even cross my mind once, haha…
• Create TikTok videos – nope! If anything, I learned this month I want to be on social *less* over time, not more. And I know if I join another platform I’ll only get sucked in as they’re all so addicting!!
• Visit new museums or skateparks – not enough time with all those puzzles that needed to get done ;)

So that’s it for me!

What have you guys been getting into?? Any great resolutions or goals you’re fired up about for 2023? Anyone want to join me in the “go with the flow” plan?

I think it’s going to be my mantra for *everything* I get into this year… I’ll still be productive and get everything done that I need to, but the hope is to make it all happen in a more peaceful and flowy way :) And if it blows up in my face, well, you know I’ll be here to blog about it, lol…

Happy New Year to each and every one of you!! I’ll see you when I see you

PS: I’ll still be sending out my Friday personal newsletters every now and then too. You can sign up to those here if you’re interested (I share more personal stuff, along with my favorite financial reads from around the community): jmoney.biz/newsletter

PPS: My favorite Xmas present this year:

(Dad Bucks!! Where I can pay my kids to do whatever I want, muah ha ha…)

[This post, The Year of The Flow 🤙, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Gooood morning, internet-land!

If you’re seeing this, we have some fun news to share!!

I, J. Money, have acquired the blog back and am coming out of retirement!!

Let’s gooooooooo!!!!

The Motley Fool has decided not to continue with their acquired sites, and while I was completely at peace with the decision to sell three years ago to them, the opportunity was too exciting to pass up so we’re dusting off the keyboard and getting the party started again!! Pass on the word to all fellow budgeters and mothers of budgeters! We’re back, baby!!

And we’re gonna do this thing OLD SCHOOL too like in 2008 when it was a simple blog-blog here, sharing tips and thoughts and ideas and not messing around with SEO or Growth Hacking or any of the other stuff that comes along with building a successful “blog business” online. We did all that, learned from it, capitalized on it all, and now we’re going back to the roots as a pure passion project.

We’ll see what type of schedule we’ll be having here, but it definitely won’t be every day Mon-Fri like in the past – probably more like M, W, F or maybe even just once or twice a week until we get things going here so I don’t burn out again… And will prob bring back some old friends to the site over time too, like 5AM Joel and other great storytellers from around the community!

It’s going to be fun!! And I hope you’ll stick around and join us!

As you can see I already blew up the old design here and completely refreshed it without all the sidebars and ads and junk cluttering everything up, so check it out if you’re reading this via email or elsewhere!

I felt like needing a long hot shower after refreshing everything up, haha… And hopefully the redesign makes it easier and cleaner to read and find things over time too :) All the text is larger, the menu and categories more organized, and over time I’ll be tightening it up even more as I catch things or y’all shoot over bugs/recommendations… Which I hope you do! Lemme know if there’s anything I cut you wish stayed or can’t find something anymore! The blog is just as much yours as it is mine!

A lot I wanna say here as so much has changed over the years, for the better and worse!, (I’ve taken up skateboarding/whiskey, but also a rare auto-immune disease! lol) but I think I’ll leave the “what I’ve been up to lately” and “more about me” posts for the future so we can get this puppy kicked off and rollin’…

But before we go, I really have to thank The Motley Fool for not only giving me the opportunity to come back to this blog which is crazy in itself!, but really for the past 3+ years of believing in me and helping me achieve my own personal and financial goals of getting acquired.

They not only involved me throughout the entire process of transitioning out of the blog and protecting my heart (and brand), but even let me tap a successor I admired and trusted for years (5AM Joel) to make sure Budgets had the best chance of survival. Then on top of all that they hired me to build out a new project for them (All-Star Money, R.I.P.) allowing me to still remain in the game and get a stable paycheck throughout

And while Budgets didn’t break any world records when I was away, it was 100% due to the stewardship of both The Fool and Joel for letting it live on respectfully in the community, giving me no hesitation whatsoever in coming back to it here years later. I probably wouldn’t be typing these words out in all honesty if it weren’t for them.

So huge thanks to the whole Fool crew – Roger, Laura, Dana, Tracy, Bledsoe, and 5AM Joel. Y’all rock.

And got nothing but love for any of YOU still here reading this right now too! I don’t know how much of our community is still left as it’s been awhile (and the traffic/readership have dropped precipitously!) but I appreciate you and hope you’ll help me get things thriving again :) Special shout to all the new readers here who don’t even know who this J$ character is, haha… I’ll brain dump on you in the next post so we can get caught up

In the meantime, leave a comment to say hi or what you hope to see here going forward, and I’ll be back in a couple of days to continue the party.

I love you, I’ve missed you, and we’ll see you back here shortly!

Yours in finance,

PS: If you want to get signed up to our newsletter again so you automatically get emailed new posts I publish, click here and we’ll hook you up: eliteedgemoney.com/subscribe

PPS: For a snapshot of what I’ve been up to project-wise, check out jmoney.biz (my personal blog/resume), or you can also sign up to my weekly newsletter there where I get into more personal and behind-the-scene business stuff: jmoney.biz/newsletter (I also share a roundup of my favorite reads and tools I find in the community each week too – it goes out once a week on Fridays)

PPPS: You can also find me on Twitter (@eliteedgemoney), Instagram (@jmoneyyyyyy) and even Facebook (/eliteedgemoney). People tell me I need to get on TikTok next, but not sure I’m millennial enough?!

[This post, Mic Check 1,2…, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

HAPPY New Year’s Eve, peeps!

Y’all got big party plans tonight? Or are you the crash early type? I’m proud to say I’ve made it to midnight the past couple of NYEs (barely)… and hope to do so again tonight. It was my birthday yesterday (woot woot, life level 37!!) so it’s a double reason for me to stay up and party.

What an awesome 2021 it has been. THANK YOU to everyone who has continued reading Elite Edge Money over the past 12 months – this was my first full calendar year running the blog since taking over from J. Money.

We’ve published 104 articles this year, been featured in more than 50 round-ups and new publications, and even earned a spot in the All-Star Money Hall of Fame!

One of J$’s annual traditions was sharing the top 10 most popular finance articles written on the blog each year … I’ve pulled a list for 2021 to share below, based on unique pageviews. If you missed one of these, check it out below. Or if you’re a new reader, this is a preview of the type of stuff we like to blog about here.

Top 10 Most Popular Blog Posts From 2021

Dear Wife, Here’s How to FIRE If I Die Early – This was the saddest but probably most helpful post I’ve ever written. I got soooo many responses from readers who were either a) very unprepared and had no estate plan or b) suffered from the loss of a loved one in the past and had to clean up a big financial mess afterwards. In this post, I write a high-level letter to my wife with some steps to take if I pass away early.

My Parents Retired at 42: What I Learned Growing Up in a FIRE Family – This is an awesome guest post written by my friend Mike, who also co-hosts the Friends on FIRE podcast. Mike’s parents both retired in their early 40s, so he talks about life from the children’s perspective when parents retire early.

Michael and his family

The 6 Stages of Financial Freedom – Where You At!? – More than just explaining the various phases we all go through on the FIRE path, this post also talks about the freedoms that are available to us along the way. (Spoiler alert: Many of life’s freedoms are available to you earlier than you think. And waaay before you actually reach Financial Independence. )

7 Side Hustles Perfect for Couples – What’s better than making more money in your spare time? Doing it with your life partner! (or close friend or family member). This article goes through side hustle options for couples and the pros and cons of them all.

Flashback to when my wife and I were charging Bird scooters in our garage

Lowering My Emergency Fund… to…. $0.00? – Many people disagree with my view on this, and that’s OK! I’ve always had a HUGE emergency fund to cover 6 months of living expenses (sometimes much more). But now my stance on emergency funds has completely changed – I don’t believe in them anymore. This article explains why having cash on hand isn’t really necessary → rather, having *access to cash* is. Since writing this post I’ve put about $20k of cash into the stock market and will continue to lower my cash balance until it’s near ZERO.

Why I’m Transitioning Away From Rental Properties – I grew up thinking that real estate was the only way to get wealthy, so I began building a rental empire right out of high school. Then in my early 30s, I started studying personal finance more and getting familiar with other investment vehicles. This made me rethink my entire portfolio. In this post I talk about why I’m selling off rentals (and we’ve already sold 3 properties since writing this back in January!).

How Your Neighbors Spend Their Money (aka the Average Household Budget) – “Other people’s money is none of your business, and thus inherently interesting!!”  In this awesome guest post written by MoneyLemma, we break down the average U.S. household’s income and expenses using fun charts and graphs. Super interesting facts in here!

Money Is Alive! And He Launched a New Curation Site… – The man, the myth, the legend… J.Money returns to the blog to answer some Q&A as well as tell us about his new project, All-Star Money. If you haven’t checked out the site yet, do so here: All-Star Money. And sign up for the daily newsletter (or weekly digest) which showcases 3 fresh and favorite personal finance blogs each day.

30 Mini-Challenges for September to Improve Your Life and Money – Rather than trying a “no spend” month, this list of money challenges are all different and random – to keep things FUN! (I realize September has come and gone, but these challenges can really be done during any month of the year. I’ll make sure to spice things up again this year and do another monthly challenge of sorts in 2022.)

Top 5 Regrets of the Dying, and How I’m Adjusting My Life Accordingly – A while back I read a book about what most people regret when they are on their deathbed. I’m determined not to have the same regrets in life, so this article talks about life changes I’m making to avoid these common regrets. Here are the top regrets, in case you are wondering…

“I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”

“I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.”

“I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.”

“I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.”

“I wish that I had let myself be happier.”

*****

And here are some runners-up that didn’t make it into our top 10 … but I think they are just as awesome…

• Retired at 43: “No Gambling, No Lotteries, No Bitcoin”
• Is It a Mistake to Pay Off Your Mortgage Early?
• I Could Have Been FI by Now …

OK, that’s a wrap for 2021!

Have a wicked time tonight, whatever you get up to! Please be safe and don’t do any streaking (without inviting me!). I love a good new years nudie run. Shhhh.

Cheerio,

Joel

[This post, Top 10 Most Popular Posts of 2021!, was first published by 5am Joel on Elite Edge Money]

October 14, 2021 update: After this post was published, Joel made a personal investment in LifeGoal Investments.

Just got back from FinCon in Austin last week! For those of you who don’t know, FinCon began in 2011 as the Financial Blogger Conference, but now it’s a place for all types of digital content creators, money nerds and brands to get together and geek out on personal finance stuff.

This was my second time going to FinCon. I met 1000 cool bloggers there, learned 1000 new things, and drank 1000 beers. Very fun stuff.

Rather than doing a review of the event and name-dropping all the bloggy-celebs who were there, I wanted to share some of the neat brands and companies that surprised me. I love FinTech and want to spread the word about anything that can help people make/save money in smarter ways. Here are 3 cool FinTech companies and apps that I found interesting, and you might too…

**No, they didn’t pay me to write about them or sponsor this post. Just sharing stuff I think is good!**

LifeGoal Investments: ETFs for Various Life Goals

On the first day of the conference my friend said, “Have you checked out LifeGoal Investments yet? They are super interesting! They are a new company that created 5 different ETFs people can invest in.”

In my head I was thinking, “Who cares? The only ETF I am interested in is VTI. Why would I invest in anything else?”

But then later I learned what these ETFs were created for and their purpose. The more I spoke with LifeGoal Investments, the more impressed I was with their mission! They are helping people store less in cash positions.

Specifically, 2 of their ETFs really struck a chord with me…

The first ETF is called LifeGoal Homeowner ETF (NYSE: HOM). This ETF was specifically created for people who are saving up for a home down payment. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen an ETF address this problem (and they actually have a patent pending for this type of ETF).

Here is the problem it solves: One of the biggest hurdles for a homebuyer is saving up to make cash down payment. The average size of a down payment in America is ~$47,000, and the average time it takes to save is 6.5 years!!

The challenge is, most people save their down payment in cash. They save cash in a regular checking account (earning $0 interest) or a savings account (earning a few pennies interest). Meanwhile, from the time they start saving until the time they are ready to purchase a home 6 years later, housing prices continue to rise and inflation eats away the buying power of their cash savings.

The solution is to convince people to invest their housing down payment while they save up. BUT… What average person trusts the “stock market” and knows how to invest conservatively!? Investing in 100% stocks can be “risky” for potential homeowners because if there’s a crash, they could lose a chunk of the down payment.

Well, that’s what the HOM ETF was built for. It’s very conservative (~75% bonds, 25% stocks) and the biggest stock holdings are directly tied to the housing market. It holds stocks like Home Depot, Lowe’s, Zillow Group, etc. The idea is that as the housing market rises, a portion of the down payment savings also rises, helping people afford higher house prices when they’re ready to buy. REALLY innovative stuff! Read more about HOM here.

The other ETF that impressed me was General Conservative ETF (NYSE: SAVN). This is built to help people conservatively invest their savings or everyday emergency fund.

Most of you guys know that already I lowered my emergency fund significantly, investing most of it in VTI. And many people shook their heads at me, thinking it was very risky! (It kind of is.)

But, I still believe holding emergency fund cash in a checking/savings account hurts more than it helps in the long run. So this new ETF called SAVN is a different, very conservative way to invest emergency cash to make sure money is still working a little bit for you. Read more about SAVN here.

**This is probably a good time to remind you that I am not a financial advisor! Don’t invest in stuff just ‘cause I think it’s cool. Gotta do your own research. :)**

Qube Money: A Budgeting App with “Envelopes”

Budgeting with physical envelopes is pretty common. Many people love it. You take your paycheck, turn it into cash, divide all the dollars up into different envelopes and spend only what’s inside each month.

Qube is the digital version of cash envelope budgeting. The basic plan (free) lets you create 10 envelopes — called qubes — and spend money via a debit card. The big difference is that by default, the debit card holds a $0 balance. By this, I mean that the card can only be used after you assign it some money from one of the envelopes. All spending is controlled by the app, BEFORE a purchase is actually made on the debit card.

Here’s a quick video showing how it works: Qube Money Video

What I love about this budgeting process is it encourages more intentional buying habits. It helps people stop and think before making purchases. The app is designed to not allow you to overspend in a category (just like you can’t take out more money from a physical envelope than what’s actually inside of it). You are not capable of overdrafting.

I was also pretty impressed with the company’s product roadmap. Their paid versions offer more features, and family/children features are coming soon. This will allow you to give kids debit cards, and load them up with an exact amount of money, instantly, from the mobile app.

If this seems cool and you’re looking to replace your physical cash envelope budgeting, check out Qube. Like I said, the basic plan and sign-up is FREE! :)

**I also learned about a new app called Yotta, which has a similar “bucket” system for saving for money goals. They reward users with a lottery-like game and awards for meeting savings goals, encouraging good savings habits. Kind of cool!

RocketDollar: Self Directed IRAs

Lastly, I liked learning about RocketDollar. They’ve been out for a few years already so maybe I’m late to the game here, but this was my first time really looking at their offering.

RocketDollar makes it easy to invest in almost anything inside your IRA account. Instead of the common stocks/bonds/REITS, you can buy a physical rental property, invest in precious metals, cryptocurrencies, or even a private start-up business.

Alternative investments can sometimes be risky. But, with higher risk can come higher returns. Making higher profits inside a tax advantaged account can be a huge advantage over long holding periods as opposed to buying with after-tax funds.

It’s a little expensive ($15 per month with a $360 set-up fee), but all of the legal work and account structure is set up for you quickly, along with an LLC to hold investments. They also provide easy online tools to manage your stuff. Looking back, I wish I had used my IRA to invest in some of my real estate syndication deals. Instead, I used after-tax cash so I have to pay taxes on all gains the moment they are realized.

Now, before you get excited and gamble all your IRA funds away on crypto stuff… You’d better do your own due diligence on what you’re investing in. Just because you can do alternative investments with your IRA doesn’t mean it’s the best option for you.

Whelp, I’ll share more stuff about FinCon over time and maybe talk about some of the interesting peeps I met there. (A lot of TikTok, YouTube and Instagram influencers… they made me feel so OLD!)

Hope y’all have an awesome day ahead!

Cheers,

Joel

[This post, 3 FinTech Innovations I Want You to Know About, was first published by 5am Joel on Elite Edge Money]

Happy Memorial Day, y’all!

It’s been 1 full year since I took over blogging here at Elite Edge Money. HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY!

I really appreciate all you lovely people. Thanks for reading, interacting and sharing your stories. It’s been a great year.

Wow, time flies. It’s a weird feeling because even though I’ve spent a whole year writing here — sharing intimate financial and personal details, fielding thousands of comments/questions/emails, and building great virtual relationships with some of you guys — somewhere way deep down I still feel like Budgets isn’t really my blog.

Imposter syndrome is a real thing!

I remember when I took over last June, J$ told me it took him 2-3 YEARS to find his groove in blogging when he started out… So I guess there’s still a loooong road ahead for me and Budgets; one I’m happy to keep trotting down.

Seriously, thank you all. This blog wouldn’t exist without you peeps. Let’s do another year and keep bringing the fun and sexiness to Budgets.

$exy Stats From the Past Year

A lot of cool stuff has happened with the blog the past 365 days!

• Total blog posts published: 104 ←—- 15 guests posts + 89 written by yours truly 
• Total comments: 2,109
• Total email replies: 10,000+? ←—- People don’t realize that for every public comment on a blog post, I probably receive 5x *private* email replies from the newsletter. I respond to all comments and emails — it’s my fav part of blogging. Thank you all.
• Net worth increase: +$151,296!!   ←—- Holy crapamole! This is the increase since we started tracking some net worth assets 7 months ago.
• Number of beers consumed while blogging: ~254 ←—- Beer helps the creative juices flow. Do you think I can claim these as a tax deduction?
• Number of free books sent for me to review: 37 (and 1 nudie magazine was posted to my PO box by a fan. Not sure what to think of that, but, thanks?? )
• Books I actually ended up reading: About 8 ←—- It’s not that I don’t want to read everyone’s stuff, it’s that I don’t have time. I’m trying my best!
• Podcasts I’ve been a guest on: 7 ←—- How to Money, Friends on FIRE, Do You Even Blog, Best Interest Podcast, to name a few!
• Other media interview requests: 100+
• Number of interviews that were cancelled once they found out that I AM NOT J. Money: 100+

A few other cool things that happened this past year:

• I got a small raise, including company benefits and a new 401k! (Then my company changed their mind and removed my benefits 6 months later. )
• Wife and I sold our spare car! Now we just have the “White Shite” (Prius). 
• We sold 1 of our physical rental properties…
• … and moved that cash into a new real estate syndication deal!
• We gifted $2,500 to a new baby nephew, paying forward what was gifted to us earlier in life.
• We’ve made about $3,000 from opening new bank accounts with sign-up bonuses. Even more if we include credit card churning.
• Also made about $1k selling random stuff online!
• I volunteered at Meals on Wheels every Friday for the year. Actually, I skipped a few weeks when traveling. ;)

Lastly, and probably the most important thing that happened this past year …  My wife and I HAD FUN and enjoyed life, the best we could, through all the challenges and shit that we all lived through the past year.

Summer 2021 Happenings and Life Updates

Some people asked, most people didn’t, but here are a few life updates and things going on with us personally…

My wife and I are finally approved to be resource parents! We started the long and slow application process to foster/adopt kids through L.A. County last year, and a few weeks ago we received our final approval certificate. Going forward, we will get transferred to another case worker — one who actually matches people with kids — and then the *real* stuff begins. We still don’t know what the end game looks like for our future family, so bear with me while we figure things out. Thank you to all the people who have reached out with encouragement and support.

We’re road-tripping this summer! Camping in Sequoia National Forest, Vegas, Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, Montana, and maybe a coastal route on the way home… Most of July we’ll be out and about! Of course some of this could change depending on the note prior. :)

Also in the works later this year is an all-inclusive trip to Mexico somewhere, and maybe a surprise trip home to Australia (covid dependent) for Christmas! We’ll see.

Before I forget — any of you industry peeps making it to Fincon in Austin this September? I may try to make it out there (we have some rental properties “around that area” so I could probably claim the trip as a tax deduction ). Or, maybe I’ll wait another year until 2022 when Fincon comes to Long Beach.

Some sad news about Cooper, our dog… A few weeks ago he hurt himself and has somehow lost most of the coordination in his back legs. Don’t worry, he’s in no pain… But he’s hobbling around like a baby deer who’s learning to walk for the first time. Falling, no strength, wobbly… We’ve had X-rays and are getting an MRI to try to figure it all out. Poor Coops.

I’m officiating my friend’s wedding! Some good friends here in LA are getting married and asked me to officiate their wedding this summer. What an honor. I have recently become a licensed minister and can legally wed people in the state of California. So if you all could please address me as Reverend Joel going forward, that would be great. (And if you live in SoCal and want an Australian accent in your upcoming wedding ceremony, I am for hire. I only ask that you a) allow my wife and I to attend the reception and b) play a few ABBA songs so I can show off my sweet twirling dance moves.)

Ending on a serious note… Do you readers have any finance topics or specific article ideas we should look into writing about this upcoming year? Speak up now, or I’ll just be picking random stuff to write about, and it could get weird.

Have a great Memorial Day!

Love, Joel

[This post, Happy Blogiversary!, was first published by 5am Joel on Elite Edge Money]

He’s back! The infamous J. Money who started this sexy blog over a decade ago has emerged!

And he’s here today to tell us all about his new project that launched last week — All-Star Money — as well as what the heck he’s been up to the past nine months!

Below is my Q&A with J. Money which covers some work stuff, personal stuff, and other random things. But if you’ve got a question for him → just slap it in the comments below and he’ll reply!! Now is your chance to ask this legend anything!!

*****

JOEL: Duuuuude, welcome back! How’s semi-retired life? What have you and the fam been up to!?

J$: Helloooo!!! Feels good to be back! And really surreal being interviewed on my OWN blog which really isn’t my own blog anymore, haha… (though not as weird when I first interviewed myself 12 years ago! ;))

But yes! Things are well!! The babes are safe and not really babes any more (2, 6 and 8!!!), my wife transitioned to full-time teleworking since Covid and loves her job (which is good because I’m never having a “real” one again, lol), I’ve crawled back into productivity again after taking a break for most of the year, and my 2 year old dog is probably the happiest of all constantly being surrounded :) 

But BOY DO I MISS COFFEE SHOPS!!! And seeing people!! And even waiting in long ass lines to pick up my kids from school! Haha… But you know, the least of the world’s problems…

JOEL: Must feel weird not blogging anymore, after doing it almost daily for an entire decade. Do you miss it? Tell us how you really feel…

J$: I don’t miss it all. Is that bad?! I miss the *thrill* of seeing something I’ve created and all the good people and community here, but the “writing thoughts out” part I don’t ever think about at all. 

I used to be SOOOOO real and raw and didn’t give a crap about what people thought, but now all I want as a 40-year-old is peace and happiness! :) I’ve lost that edge to make writing interesting so I’d suck as a blogger now, lol… And I certainly don’t crave attention like I did back in 2008!! 

Which actually makes this new gig of curating again so awesome. Not only do I get to stay in the community I adore so much, but instead of blasting out my own thoughts all the time, I get to blast out *everyone else’s!* And get paid for it! All the while staying behind the shadows and being stealthy.. It’s a dream job for this old man, and I gotta give a shout to The Motley Fool crew for not only giving me this opportunity, but for believing I can pull it off again and not allowing me to slip into the ethers of retirement, lol… So thank you, Fools!!

JOEL: So, what’s this new site about — All-Star Money. How is it helping the world?

J$: Yes! It’s great, and sooooo much cooler than what we originally had planned. It delayed us a few months, but for what we launched with and where we can take it, it was totally worth it.  :)

You can find it here – AllStarMoney.com – and in a nutshell it’s a curation site similar to Rockstar Finance back in the day, only in a much prettier package! We scan over 1,500 personal finance blogs a day, and then feature our Top 3 favorite articles on the homepage (and in our daily newsletter) in hopes it helps people get inspired and improve their $$$.

We cover everything from budgeting to FIRE to investing to minimalism and all other everyday decisions to best maximize life, and similar to Rockstar we watch ALL bloggers, big or small, and totally independent of race, sex, preference, location or any other factors that may limit someone’s reach.

If an article is GOOD/juicy/helpful/entertaining/thought-provoking – we’ll feature it!

Someone once commented years ago that it’s like “a museum for the best financial articles” and I’ve always thought that was a great way to describe it :)

JOEL: My friend just started a new FIRE blog last week. Can you read and promote her stuff? 

J$: Haha… Sure!! Every blogger produces a gem or two at some point! :) And actually the BEGINNER bloggers are usually the best because they haven’t been jaded by SEO or monetization or negative feedback yet and are always SUPER creative!

So tell your girl to submit her blog! → allstarmoney/bloggers

And that goes for ANY bloggers reading this so we make sure we’re following you… Just so long as your site is mostly financial or relating (minimalism, lifestyle design, etc.. We’ll also have opportunities soon for freelancing gigs, connecting with the media, and a bunch of other collaborative and sponsored projects. And of course, the Motley Fool is always looking to acquire new blogs too, so if you’ve ever considered selling your blog and even continuing to write for it! (the fun parts!) be sure to give them a shout.  ;)

Here’s what my transition out of the blog looked like for any new readers here… Honestly couldn’t have asked for a better process. (And before you ask – I don’t regret it an ounce!)

JOEL: So cool! What else can we expect in 2021? I heard a rumor you were gonna make some video blogs or something…

J$: You know, at some point last summer we were producing 4-5 of them a week as we got rollin’, but then w/ the website changes we were making and the realization I accidentally gave myself “a job” again, haha, we decided to hit pause and focus on getting the MVP out (minimum viable product). That said, we still have all those videos in the archives and will be reviewing all ideas again now that we’re live, so you never know what’ll come out of it. :) 

Some of the things 100% on our radar are better customization of newsletters (what if you can import all your favorite bloggers in there so you just get ONE main email every day instead of 13?! (Shout out to my partner in crime, Nate St. Pierre for this one!)), expanding into all the other “social” channels out there instead of only focusing on blogs all the time (so old school now!), and a slew of other items to better expand what we’ve already proven a decade ago… It would be super cool to have another community component too like we used to have with the Rockstar forums, and maybe even our own mini conference to party like it was pre-2020 again.

So we’re definitely brewing on things!

I’m also still rockin’ PF Swagger that’s basically a curation of financial merchandise, so if you’re ever in the need for kick ass shirts or stickers that spread the financial gospel, be sure to check it out! You can wear cool $hit AND support the small businesses in our community! :)

PFSwagger.com/

Here are a few of the recent collections to the site (click image to checkout):

JOEL:  BTW… I never got a chance to thank you for handing over this blog to me during the shittiest year in recent history. How generous of you. Just kidding… I guess my question is: A lot has changed over the past nine months in personal finance → What new trends are you seeing in the PF blogging world and what does the future look like for the FIRE movement?

J$: HAH! I was actually thinking about that the other day! What a crazy time to be writing about money, especially when so many people are suffering all over the place :( So I definitely admire the crap out of y’all as I’d be so self-conscious now! But of course the show must go on and people will ALWAYS need good solid advice no matter what’s brewing, so I am glad to see people are still writing and sharing their ideas all over the place like yourself. It’s been especially interesting reading about meme stocks and bitcoin and Lord knows what else is sitting on the horizon! Haha… So at least I didn’t leave you with a total mess. ;) 

As for changes in the PF community, it’s honestly a lot of the same stuff that was happening 8 years ago when I started curating – and even decades before that as well! Money doesn’t change much, though you do see more EXTREMES being passed around the media more – specifically with FIRE – and blogging monetization has gotten pretty bad where I can’t even READ some blogs anymore without ads being smacked in my face left and right! But overall I’d say it’s a net gain with both advice and all the financial movements that’s since popped up. 

There’s also a ton of sites and communities now focused on minority money and LGBTQ+ money and female empowerment money and a host of others that weren’t around nearly as much 12 years ago when I first came onto the scene. All of which adds so much more value and connectivity in our space which is awesome to see! So the PF world is expanding more and more, and I’m sure it’ll only continue doing so. :)

JOEL: Will we be seeing you at FinCon in Austin this year? You still rocking a mohawk?

J$: You will! So long as I can get my shots in! I love my online family but won’t dare hop on a plane until we’re all shielded up from that Evil C… What a jerk it is!! ;)

And – I still have the ‘hawk, though it hasn’t seen the light of day in approximately 10 months… What’s the fun in spiking it up if no one can see it?! And I’m not hating on the savings from it either, haha… I swear we’ve already saved $300 in hairspray alone!! Someone stop me!!!

Here’s basically what I look like every single day, only picture a million kids running around me and asking a billion questions:

(Me and my (only) girl)

JOEL: Sorry if this is rude, but I got to ask… How’s your Net Worth doing? Does it start with a number 2 yet!!? It’s OK if you don’t wanna answer, but people ‘been asking!

J$:  Rude?? Come on now! If you can’t share $$$ here where the hell can you?! :) Though while I can tell you the #’s are climbing compared to where they were upon my disembarkment, sadly I gotta keep my promise to not disclose the actual #’s like the heyday of yesteryear.

That said, I updated the old graph to give you a better idea:

No 2 in the number, at least out in front, haha… but yeah – can’t complain. All the work of Past J. Money continues to pay off while I’m lazying around! And while I have since diversified a little bit by adding in some bond and international flair to the mix (VTIAX, VBTLX) we’re still 100% into index funds. No GameStop or Bitcoin for this guy!! How boring!!

Oh, and we’ve also now got our wills AND trust completed!! I’m turning into such an adult!!! ;)

In other random news, I’ve also started a few new habits I’m proud of in my never ending quest for self-improvement:

• I’ve cut down my coffee intake to only ONE cup a day! (*Gasp!*) – basically just to see if I can do it and not die – and I’m still alive!

• I’ve started doing laundry for the entire family EVERY SINGLE DAY! – I found out my wife REALLY doesn’t like doing it, so in an attempt to be a better husband I’ve taken over such things and oddly enjoy it?

• And then one I’ve recently just started last month: I’m now making dinners every Friday! – which may seem lame to those cooks out there, but as someone who’s never really been good at it  – or enjoyed it – I’m forcing myself to try until it sticks so I can knock off even MORE tasks my wife doesn’t enjoy… I do a lot for our family, but food prep outside of PB&Js has never been one of them.

And then of course all the old habits are still engrained after all these years too… like waking up at 5am on weekdays, not opening up my laptop on nights and weekends, drinking plenty of water every day, and a number of other smaller – yet super impactful – changes over the years.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that you sure can make ANYTHING a habit if you care enough to! And that very much includes financial habits as well. I think we’re on year 11 of maxing out our retirement accounts, which that alone would give you a million dollars over time!! It’s not fancy!!

JOEL: Well, I gotta say, we miss you dude. Welcome back and we look forward to watching your stuff over at All-Star Money!

J$: Thanks man! I miss you and everyone too!!! (Okay, well not you since we talk every week, but definitely everyone else reading this!! :)) And I really gotta thank you again for not only taking the reins here, but also CONTINUING THE ENTERTAINMENT as you dispel the financial nuggets on the blog… I’ve always felt it’s so much easier to learn when you’re tricked into it, and I’ve personally been enjoying your articles ever since I first saw them 3 or 4 years ago… Particularly the 5 AM ones! So please keep adding those to the world – it’s so refreshing through the madness!

And for anyone else who would like to stay in touch if we’re not already, you can find me at @eliteedgemoney on Twitter or sporadically sending out newsletters from JMoney.biz…. You can sign up to them here: jmoney.biz/newsletter. And then here’s my email too: j {at} jmoney {dot} biz too.

Hope everyone’s well!! Stay in touch please!! :)

***** 

OK peeps, it’s your turn…  In the comments below: ASK J$ ANYTHING…

[This post, J. Money Is Alive! And He Launched a New Curation Site… All-Star Money!, was first published by 5am Joel on Elite Edge Money]

Time flies! It’s been two full months since taking over this blog.

I haven’t gotten any death threats yet, the nasty feedback I receive is vastly outweighed by encouraging emails, J$ seems to not have any regrets so far, and my employer hasn’t fired me yet! (Actually, they just gave me a small pay increase and extended our contract – more on that below.)

All in all, things are going pretty good!

Quick question for you readers … I’ve shared details of a few of my accounts and assets (IRA, duplex, gift accounts) and I have a few more I’ll be detailing soon (Roths, cash accounts, etc). I was thinking of creating an overall summary & tally, then updating the growth and changes every so often. Kind of like J$’s net worth tracking – except I’ll be excluding a few real estate assets and partnerships my wife and I are a part of.

Anyway, would it help if I made a “partial net worth” snapshot and tracked asset growth over time? 

Keep in mind, net worth reports are less about the total $ number, and more about the progression and ongoing process. Growth for my stuff will be pretty slow, given that I’m not able to contribute much with a low salary. Let me know if it benefits you seeing my process anyway.

What’s J. Money been up to!!!??

J$ will jump on the blog soon and write his own update post, but for now I’m going to spill the beans on a few things… (He also sends out personal updates every so often you can see at jmoney.biz)

First, the big curation website he’s been working on with the Motley Fool team is launching soon! It will include *original video content* written by and starring J. Money himself! You’ll all be the first to know when the site goes live!

In the meantime, J’s opened up an online personal finance apparel store! It supports a bunch of personal finance bloggers and enthusiasts that spread the good word about FIRE in a fun and trendy way! Check it out, and get your gear here –> PFSwagger.com.

Elevate Influencer 2020!

For all you finance professionals and bloggers out there, you might be interested in this virtual conference next week… Elevate Influencer is for personal finance influencers who speak directly to People of Color. I’m attending the first day Aug 13th (You can too for FREE thanks to Motley Fool sponsoring the event). I’m looking forward to educating myself more about the financial challenges faced by People of Color, and how I can use my influence and this blog to help!

Take Control of Your Finances, by Alan and Katie Donegan…

This week I joined Alan Donegan’s Take Control of Your Finances course (also FREE)! You may already know Alan – he’s the guy behind Popup Business School, interviewed by Mad FIentist, ChooseFI and already achieved FI in his 30’s with his wife, Katie! Since COVID pretty much shut down all of their in-person workshops, Alan and Katie are hosting a FREE 8-week beginners course on Financial Independence. Although it started last week, you can still join here. 

The course covers:

• Week 1: Net-worth: Monday 3rd August 8pm BST
• Week 2: Cashflow: Monday 10th August 8pm BST
• Week 3: Money Beliefs: Monday 17th August  8pm BST
• Week 4: Debt: Monday 24th August  8pm BST
• Week 5: Couples and family finance: Monday 31st  August  8pm BST
• Week 6: Investing: Monday 7th September 8pm BST
• Week 7: FIRE Principles: Monday 14th September 8pm BST
• Week 8: Planning for the future: Monday 21st September 8pm BST

(FYI for time zones… 8pm BST = 3pm EST same day in the USA). Also, this is tailored mainly to beginners… But even though you might know most of the basic FI principles, it never hurts to refresh and hear different perspectives! – that’s why I’m attending :)

Camp Progress by Jillian Johnsrud!

Currently I’m taking a Life Design course hosted by Jillian Johnsrud. Jillian is the host of ChooseFI’s Everyday Courage Podcast which you may already be familiar with. Every time I hear Jillian speak, I walk away with really big epiphanies about life, money, relationships, and happiness in general!

Jillian’s got a few other classes available soon in the fall that you might be interested in that cover Life Design, Mastering your Money, and Boundaries. You can check them all out and register here. Note, these classes cost $$ to attend. An investment in your personal development :)

(I have *no* affiliate relationship and get no kickbacks for recommending any of these courses or workshops… Just sharing the good things I come across!)

Lastly, some good news!…

My employer offered me a long-term contract… Yay- now I get some BENEFITS!

It’s rare to be offered benefits as a part-time employee, so I’m extremely grateful for this! Out of the list of ~30 “benefits” that are offered, the 2 biggest interests for me are – healthcare and 401k, baby!

In an earlier post I mentioned I don’t have health insurance currently, so this problem might now be solved. I’m not eligible for the healthcare plan until after 30 days of employment, so there’s time to evaluate this option… (at first glance, the lowest cost HDHP plan to cover me and my wife is $8,400 per year!! . Might be cheaper to just sign up via Covered California!)

As for the 401k plan, like any good FIRE nerd I read the entire 17-page brochure the second it was sent to me. Then, I called the 401k plan administrator to introduce myself and ask them additional questions. I’m not sure what shocked the administrator more; receiving a call from someone actually interested in learning, or the fact that I wasn’t even a hired employee yet!

More to come on the healthcare and 401k details as I enjoy the glorious onboarding process.

Wishing you all a happy and relaxing weekend!

– Joel

*Typewriter up top by Markus Winkler!

[This post, New Job Benefits, FI Workshops, and What Is J$ Up To?, was first published by 5am Joel on Elite Edge Money]

One random Wednesday morning, I was checking my spam email folder and came across an interesting message. It was from a guy saying he worked at “Soapbox, a Motley Fool company.” He said that he checked out some of my writing, liked my positive vibe, and wanted to talk about an “opportunity to become the new face/voice of a blog they recently purchased.”

This didn’t seem like a typical spammy email, so I hit reply to see if it was legit. It turns out that one of my heroes, the legendary J. Money, had decided to start working on another project and recommended me as a candidate for taking over this blog.

Whoa! I was shocked. A million thoughts rushed to my head …

• Why me? There are a thousand other people out there with more finance knowledge and better writing skills.
• Who could ever replace J. Money? And what kind of idiot would even try?
• Isn’t the Motley Fool a website that gives stock advice to already rich people?
• *Note to self* I should check my spam folder more often … I wonder what other messages I’ve missed there over the years?!

I set up a call with J$ to chat about it more, and that’s when I stumbled down the rabbit hole. This was an opportunity I never saw coming.

The Budgets team, and my new “boss” at work

The guys who own this blog are hilarious. I can see why J. Money stuck around so long and is continuing to build new projects with them. They are a small team of smart, funny, and laid-back people. And the decision to bring me on as a new writer was long and well thought out.

I had a bunch of video calls with them before committing to this gig. And the more I learned about the people and their vision, the more excited I got.

Here are a few reasons I’m excited to be joining the Budgets team:

Reaching more people: This blog isn’t a “business” for them, it’s a community. Their mission is to help everyone become smarter, happier and richer. I’m 100% on board with this.

Drinking on the job is encouraged: My new “boss” recommended that I drink beer while writing blog posts. True story — he even sent me a care package of local craft beers and a Soapbox-branded pint glass to use! (photo below)

Freedom to be myself: I assumed the Budgets team would have a rule guide for what I write about, when to post, topics to avoid, etc. … Nope! They’ve given me complete freedom to figure it all out myself. I get to be me every day, and I’ve never had a job like that before.

J. Money is a phone call away: J$ may not be blogging here daily anymore, but he is lurking in the background of every post, making sure that I don’t screw up. He is (and forever will be) emotionally connected to this blog … Which means I get to use him as a free mentor and pick his brain any time I want!

Fun culture: I learned that the Motley Fool company has an average employee tenure of ~9 years! That’s how fun and happy the people are who work there, and I get to be a team member. (Even the most fun companies, like Google, only keep employees for an average of 3-4 years.)

Long-term approach: I’m impressed with the way everyone on the Budgets team solves problems. They approach projects and decisions with a long-term outlook, kind of like a mature investment strategy :)

Blog schedule going forward

I know you’re used to getting a post every weekday, but it’s gonna take a while for me to ramp up to that crazy level!

For now, new posts from me will come a few times a week … Mondays and Fridays to start with, and we’ll share a bunch of guest posts and other announcements when we have them. Also, J might be popping in later this month to talk about his withdrawal symptoms after leaving the blog and update us on his new projects.

If you’re a personal finance blogger or have a cool money story that you think will help others, please send it our way. Don’t be shy — everyone benefits when we share our stories! My new “work email” is joel (at) eliteedgemoney (dot) com. I’d love to hear from you!

Happy Monday, and have a kickass week!

– Joel

[This post, Elvis has left the building … but the show must go on!, was first published by 5am Joel on Elite Edge Money]

Well this is The Day, my friends!!

12 years, 3 months and 17 days since writing my first post here, and now it’s time to say farewell! Eek!

We sure had fun though, didn’t we??? And got a lot OLDER in the process? Lol… I started this blog in my 20s and ended in my 40s! With kids and a mortgage and a dog! :)

But what a ride… and I’ve subtly changed in a number of other ways too throughout the years. Since starting this blog, I’ve:

• Started tracking my net worth, now going on 146 months in a row!
• Started waking up at 5 am for a better start to each day
• Stopped working nights and weekends for a better work/life balance!
• Stopped mindless shopping whenever I’m bored
• Stopped complaining so much
• Stopped cursing like a sailor
• Became a minimalist
• Became a daddy (!!!)
• Became a millionaire
• Became a podcaster (and then not a podcaster )
• Became an experimenter
• Became an indexer
• Became a curator
• Became a consultant
• Became an eager learner
• Became an eager giver
• Became much more *aware* of things
• Became much more confident in things!
• Became extremely THANKFUL
• And overall just became much more content and happy with what I’ve got

All this from starting a blog!!

And that makes no mention of how drastically it’s changed my career, and even more so, my overall circle of friends here too – the best outcome of all :)

So first and foremost – if you’ve ever wanted to start a project you’re passionate about, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF POSSIBILITIES – START IT TODAY!! You just never know how it can go on to transform your life!

And secondly, I have to send y’all a HUGE THANKS again for not only supporting me throughout the years, but for also TEACHING me along the way as half the things I learned (and wrote about) came directly from you.

SO THANK YOU! And if you’ll allow me to be cheeky one last time, I’d love to re-offer you this gift circa 2008 for all your patronage over the years! Lol… I heard it looks great on fridges! ;)

[Click to blow up/print]

Needless to say my life has improved exponentially because of y’all, and it’s been fun to watch the growth of this blog more specifically too.

From the first day it was featured in a major media outlet (MSN Money! After telling me they can only share my stuff if I start punctuating properly and stop all my swearing! Haha…) to the time where being anonymous was finally “accepted” and landed me in the pages of Forbes ;)

It hasn’t always been rainbows, but I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome! Here are some fun facts as it stands today:

• Total number of posts published: 2,829 (full archives here)
• Total number of comments left: 129,338!!
• Total number of page views: 30,000,000+
• Total number of industry awards won: 12
• Total number of times we switched writing schedules: 6
• Total number of time I *missed* writing on one of those writing schedules: 0!!!
• Number of *other* projects that spawned from this site: 10+

Here were some of my favorite projects, if you’re curious ;)

• Rockstar Finance
• Love Drop
• Take Our Stuff (remember that one? Haha…)
• Coin Thrill
• WhyYourePoor.com
• BudgetsAreBoring.com

And this doesn’t account for all the opportunities we’ve *turned down* over the years as well. Such as speaking gigs, or TV roles or even book offers! Perhaps one day we’ll take advantage of them, but from day one I’ve been perfectly fine “just” being a blogger and enjoying our community here, so no regrets whatsoever :) Even if it meant less clout or $$$.

And then of course there’s everything I learned about MONEY over the decade! Which as you can imagine is a lot!

I never came across that magical bullet, but what a difference changing your mindset can make in the end… Here are my biggest takeaways from writing and thinking about this money stuff non-stop:

#1. Once you learn this stuff it stays with you forever! You might fall down every now and then and need to brush yourself off, but once you know this stuff it sticks with you.

#2. You have to really WANT IT bad enough though. Saving money isn’t that complicated, but getting motivated to do so is a whole other story… If you don’t care enough to make it a priority you won’t make it far!

#3. Work on the parts that EXCITE you first. Doesn’t matter if it’s paying off debt or investing more, or trying to ramp up your income exponentially. If it increases your net worth and keeps you interested, roll with it!! You do your best work when you’re excited!

#4. Don’t be afraid to change your mind though. You have to adapt when things no longer make sense as the world – and your dreams – are constantly changing. If you don’t change along with it you get stuck in a past version of yourself.

#5. Don’t worry about maximizing every single dollar either. Each one serves its own purpose and it’s okay to let some work harder than others. They’re each bringing something to the table whether it’s more income or better peace of mind!

#6. Get a good grasp on your expenses! The less you spend now, the less you need to save later. It also helps you get better at being mindful.

#7. Realize that everything takes TIME! And it’ll get boring along the way! But that’s okay! Let compounding work its magic and derive your joy from elsewhere as you wait! ;)

#8. The first $100,000 is the hardest. After that, the $$$ snowballs with much less effort

#9. Allow yourself to splurge every now and then! All saving and no spending makes Jack a dull boy!!!

#10. Don’t be so hard on yourself. We all have our obstacles to cross, but the difference between you and everyone else is that you’re not HIDING from them :) You know what they are and are actively confronting them!

#11. Don’t forget to LIVE along the way. There were so many years I was consumed with hustling and making *more* that I ended up ignoring most other areas of my life. There’s a time for ramping things up but there’s also a time for LIVING YOUR LIFE and not becoming obsessive. It takes a while to balance, but don’t ever forget that there’s more to life than just money :)

#12. And lastly, and probably the biggest change for me over the past 12 years, I realized the point of all this stuff is *FREEDOM*! Not becoming a millionaire! Which is ironic as I’ve finally become one when I no longer care as much, lol… Of course you’ll still need a decent chunk of change to live your best life, but the end goal with all this stuff is to craft your ideal *lifestyle* – not see how much you can amass before you die. There are loads of people with tons of money in this world, but if you look closely they’re not all that happy! Or content! So the challenge is to convert this money you earn into peace and happiness without constantly wanting “more” all the time.

*****

And that’s 12 years of living and breathing this stuff! It all comes down to a handful of bullet points! Haha…

But what a ride it’s been :) And I’m so SO happy to have shared this experience with you.

If you’ve learned even just one thing from me over the years, I hope you’ll pass it forward so others can find their epiphanies too! There’s a sea of starfish out there but even just helping *one* changes a life for the better!

Remember the Starfish Story by Loren Eisley? I’m gonna re-post it here just because it’s so damn good ;) Cheesy, but good!!

The Starfish Story

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?”

The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!”

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said…

“I made a difference for that one.”

And that’s really the best part about blogs here. One by one we share our ideas and collectively we get better for it :)

I love all y’all so very much, and I thank you for everything you’ve done for me over the years. PLEASE STAY IN TOUCH, OKAY??

Here’s everywhere you can reach me:

• Twitter: @eliteedgemoney
• Email: j@jmoney.biz
• Newsletter: jmoney.biz/newsletter
• Next project I’m working on: Soapbox.com (set to go live on July 6th)

And don’t forget – this blog continues on without me! 5 AM Joel‘s got the torch and excited to keep the good word flowing!

Yours in finance forever,

******
PS: Here’s the “why” behind it all if you’re a newer reader to the site: New Beginnings, and The Future of Elite Edge Money

PPS: Additional fun facts you might not know about the blog ;)

• It was almost called SavingIsSexy.com, but it was taken!
• For the first 6 months I blogged under “J. Savings”
• I didn’t even have a budget when I started the blog, lol…
• We have a theme song – which of course is a rap! ;)
• There was only one blog post I ever regretted publishing and quickly took it down (it was a guest post that caused personal attacks)
• And then lastly, here’s what the blog looked like in 2008… Really not that different from today ;)

[This post, Farewell, my friends!, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]