Money Management
Money at 30: One Year Later
Almost one year ago, I published my very first post here on Dyer News. At the time I figured it would just be a one-off guest post but, to my surprise, it instead became a weekly column following my personal finance journey. Then, earlier this year, I was inspired to start my own site, Money@30, to get even more in depth about the knowledge I was gaining and how I felt it could benefit others.
Whether in my column or on my own site, I’ve always enjoyed sharing my personal experiences, including what goals I hoped to achieve and what areas I still needed to brush up on. So, to mark this (nearly) one-year milestone, I thought I’d offer a few updates on some of the goals I’ve mentioned in previous entries — including one big announcement!
Raising my credit score
If you’ll recall, the inspiration for even writing that first post last August was that I had just viewed my credit score for the first time ever and was pleasantly surprised. With that pleasant surprise as motivation I then resolved to learn more about the whole credit scene (if you will) and bring my score up even higher. Since that time, I’ve opened a new credit card, experienced multiple limit increases, and seen my score climb to over 800 by some estimations, so I’d say I’ve definitely succeeded in that goal.
Now my score does fluctuate from time to time, but only by a few points. Additionally, while Discover has charted my highest score at 811, Credit Karma has never had me above 795. But, to be honest, at a certain point these discrepancies are very minor and there’s not a ton of benefit in pushing a great score much higher. So, from here on out, I’m less concerned with raising my credit score and am more focused on maintaining it.
Writing another book
In my post celebrating my 31st birthday, I mentioned that one of my goals for this year was to write another book. Today I’m very excited to announce that I’ve not only finished writing a new ebook but it’s also available to purchase right now. The topic? Well, it’s actually a how-to all about how you too can write and publish a book of your own.
Write, Print, Publish, Promote: The Complete Guide to Writing and Publishing a Book will walk you through each step of the process from developing and outlining your idea to choosing a publishing platform and formatting your book. It also takes a look at the many benefits of writing a book and debunks some myths that might be holding your idea back. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve encountered who ask me about putting out their own book, so I’m very excited to finally put everything I’ve learned about the topic into one place — hopefully you’ll find it of value if you’ve ever considered writing your own book.
Looking for a side hustle
Another topic that’s come up more and more often in my column is the idea of finding a side hustle for myself and for my wife. In a perfect world, that side hustle would turn into something full-time and allow us to travel more — perhaps even becoming digital nomads! Alas, that dream is still a ways off but we have made a bit of progress.
In recent months my wife and I have taken an interest in sharing our experiences and travels via YouTube, which led us to get started with vlogging. While we have yet to take a big trip where we can truly test our vlogging skills (and get her on camera for the first time), I’m starting to get some practice with shooting and editing by creating videos for my Money@30 channel. Already I’ve seen a huge jump in the quality of content I’m able to produce. Because of this, I do have high hopes for what our vlogging “careers” could become, even if that hobby doesn’t make us much money.
Meanwhile my wife’s the quest for a real side hustle and/or work-from-home job rolls on, so if you have any leads…
All in all, I’ve been thrilled with how the first year since my “financial awakening” has gone. From constantly learning more about personal finance and watching my credit score climb to writing another book and starting a YouTube channel, it’s been a successful journey so far with no signs of slowing. Therefore I’d like to give a big “thanks” to everyone who’s followed along for the past year — here’s to many more!
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