Top 10 Posts of 2017
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Another year in the books! It’s been an awesome year filled with new experiences, adventures, and friendships.
In total, I published 46 posts in 2017 including this one. Spills Spot saw a total of 23,795 page views over the course of the year.
To celebrate 2017 coming to a close and a new year beginning I thought it was only fitting to recap my top posts from the year. As always thank you for following along and I hope you enjoy catching up on any of these posts you may have missed!
#1 – What Experiencing a Job Layoff is Actually Like
This post was hard to write, but it ended up being my favorite of the year. In this post I discussed the circumstances surrounding my lay-off from my previous company and how I picked myself back up. Since then, I’ve been at my new job for 8 months and it’s been going extremely well. Sometimes it takes a major speed bump to divert you onto a new, better path.
#2 – How My Dad Finally Got Me to Read Investing Books
This post discussed an idea my dad had for encouraging me to read difficult investing books. The premise was simple, he offered a $100 reward/bribe each for reading 4 investing books of his choosing. To get the reward I also had to complete a 2 page book report and discuss the book with him. All reward money had to be invested in a Roth IRA. This idea got a lot of positive feedback from the personal finance community, even getting featured on Budgets are Sexy.
#3 – Focus on Progress, Not Perfection
“I think this process of waiting for a specific circumstance to happen before getting started is very common. We tell ourselves when we reach a certain point, then we’ll be ready. It’s better to make gradual progress on one goal, than it is to be paralyzed into inaction by having too many ambitions all at one time.”
#4 – Our Investing Strategy & How We Keep it Simple
I’m a huge fan of simplicity. This post details the simple way we invest in index funds and why investing doesn’t have to be intimidating. Again, it’s better to get started and learn along the way rather than sit on the sidelines. I think a lot of young investors fall in this boat and this post can be an encouragement to them.
#5 – My Intro to the World of Travel Hacking
After seeing so many articles about “free travel” I finally decided to see what all the fuss was about. I started learning about travel rewards in April, and since then we accumulated hundreds of thousands of points. It has turned into something I enjoy and will continue to pursue in 2018.
#6 – Recapping Our Ireland Trip & Why We Prioritize Travel
Traveling to Ireland was our biggest trip of the year and we made some lifelong memories. This post recaps our trip and discusses why we’re so committed to maintaining as large a gap between our income and expenses as possible, and using that gap to fund what we value most in life.
#7 – Why Cooking is An Essential Skill for Saving Money
Arguably the most effective way we save money is by cooking the vast majority of our meals at home. Some people may be intimidated by the thought of trying to cook their own meals, but like any other skill it just takes time and practice to develop. This post talks about why it’s an important skill to cultivate and how to get started.
#8 – Explaining Our Decision to Finally Cut Cable
This post details another big change we encountered this year. We had been wrestling with this decision for awhile, and this year we finally cut the cord. So far we haven’t missed it, and have saved hundreds of dollars in the process.
#9 – Hate Budgeting? You Should Still Know This Number
I wrote this post about creating a “bare bones” budget during a time where my previous company was going through a few rounds of lay-offs. Little did I know, I would lose my job two weeks later and need to put this concept into practice. Even if you hate budgeting, it’s extremely important for you to know how much money you need to cover your basic necessities.
#10 – An Easy Way to Boost Your Productivity
A perfect topic headed into the new year, these are 4 hacks I use to be more productive. Life gets extremely busy sometimes. By implementing effective systems in your life, you’ll be able to boost your productivity, reduce stress, and be your best self.
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