Happy one year blog anniversary to Fresh Life Advice! One year ago, I opened the doors of FreshLifeAdvice.com to the world.
Of course, these doors are electronic and metaphorical.
As a teenager, I can remember using some super cool website called Myspace.com to learn about HTML coding and website building. Myspace was the first social network to reach a global audience, but we all know how the rest of that story ended…
Rest in peace to Myspace as we pour one out for Tom.
Soon, Mark Zuckerberg took over the social media sphere. With roughly 2.89 billion monthly active users as of the second quarter of 2021, Facebook is now the biggest social network worldwide. In the third quarter of 2012, the number of active Facebook users surpassed one billion, making it the first social network ever to do so.
The internet, social media, and technology, in general, are rapidly changing. I had always wanted to a piece of that pie. FLA was my chance of making a small contribution to the big world wide web.
How FreshLifeAdvice.com Was Born
After college, I wanted to fill my free time with a project that would be beneficial to the general public.
I was already writing anything and everything to escape from the daily struggle of the corporate world. Lengthy emails to friends and colleagues, forum posts about stocks, and even personal journal entries.
FLA was born with the mission in mind to help 10 million people with their own path to financial freedom. It sounds crazy, but every life-changing invention also sounded crazy before it revolutionized its respective industry.
As of January 2021, there were 4.66 billion active internet users worldwide – 59.5 percent of the global population. Of this total, 92.6 percent (4.32 billion) accessed the internet via mobile devices. Six in every ten people around the globe now use the internet…
Sure, the internet had plenty of personal finance blogs, but they all had a similar theme. Older retired bloggers who already had a large nest egg just didn’t seem relatable to the younger crowd about to embark on an arduous start to their careers. To be fair, they did inspire me to envision a prosperous future.
The millennial generation is who I wanted to reach, because, well…I’m a part of that crowd.
The mid-20s person sits at a fork in the road. It’s the age when the world presents a choice: head down a path of continuous stress and financial woes, or set yourself up for a lifetime of money mastery.
My net worth steadily grew after the Post-2008 financial crisis. Having this credibility might help people take my advice seriously, so I purchased the domain FreshLifeAdvice.com through Bluehost for any aspiring website owners.
The goal was to put a fresh perspective on personal finance. Hence, Fresh Life Advice was born.
The Great Blogging Experiment – One Year Later
I then spent the next six months nervously designing the site. Hey, I had some good-looking shoes to fill!
Of course, the design wasn’t actually the 6-month hang-up. Truthfully, I was terrified of going live.
What if nobody likes my writing? What if nobody cares what I say? And what if the only visitors are me and my mom, again?
Publishing all your thoughts and opinions for the world to see is scary enough. Baring all on a subject as taboo as money is even scarier.
Against my better judgment, on September 01, 2020, the blog you’re reading right now went live. This was the post.
When I published that first article, I made myself a promise: I was going to make it to FLA’s 1st blog anniversary, no matter what, before I could give up.
I knew I enjoyed writing, but the internet is a big place. And I was just one voice in the chatter. Maybe after one year, I’d be able to tell if anyone cared.
Well, here we are. One year later. I’m happy to report that the site has been a raging success, and I have zero intentions to shut it down.
This blogging experiment has truly been one of the most rewarding projects I’ve ever involved myself in. Every time I receive a personal reader email, an inspiring article comment, or an enthusiastic Facebook share, I can’t help but get excited and marvel at the wonders of the internet.
So, I want to say THANK YOU! At the risk of sounding extremely cliché, you – the reader – are what makes this site what it is.
I’m just a guy typing some nonsense on a keyboard. You’re the one who keeps this site alive.
One Year of FreshLifeAdvice.com Blog Anniversary Statistics
299 Page views in the blog’s first month.
150 About how many of those page views came from me.
100 Page views the first day I thought an article went viral. I remember my heart pounding as I watched the page stats, refreshing them repeatedly.
697 The most page views in a single month.
8 Total email subscribers after the first 4 months.
52 Email subscribers today. (You are on the cool kids’ email list, right?)
25 Total articles published in the past year.
2,217 Average Words Per Post
470,000 Total number of words in the Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, together with its 1993 Addenda Section.
52,070 Total number of words written by FLA. That’s 11% of the entire English Dictionary!
82 International countries reached out the of possible total 195 countries. That’s 42% of the world!
‘Mr. Worldwide’ refers to the self-ascribed nickname of American rapper and music producer Pitbull. Soon, FLA will self-ascribe a similar nickname of ‘Mr. Personal Finance Worldwide’.
These top 5 blogger commenters certainly deserve a shout-out. They’ve supported this site from the beginning. I enjoy reading and commenting on as many personal finance blogs as I can.
The Most Popular Day is Friday, accounting for 21% of views. And the Most Popular Time is 3:00 PM, accounting for 9% of views.
There must be something about Fresh Life Advice that really gets people excited about their weekends.
99,999,999 About how many questions I get about my Side Income Reports.
It’s been quite the ride, and I still can’t quite believe how far we’ve come.
And finally, let’s hand out some year one article awards:
Article Awards
This is like the Grammys or the Oscars, but for a blog anniversary.
Most Viewed Post:
How Your DISC Personality Affects Your Spending Habits
The stats don’t lie. Every single human falls into one or more of the DISC personality traits so it was no surprise this appeal to many different audiences. It was FLA’s way of putting a fresh twist on personality tests and spending habits.
Conveniently, this post checks both boxes of fun and helpful.
Least Viewed Post:
Why Start A Blog | The Most Important 3 Reasons
Either there aren’t very many readers, or this post was a total flop.
Don’t answer! That was a rhetorical question.
Seriously, this was the first post on the site as well as one of the shortest articles to date. No surprise here.
I have no regrets writing it because it got the ball rolling for the rest of the blog. It also serves as a constant reminder of my purpose for blogging.
Most Shared Post on Social Media:
What Is Going On With GameStop Stock? | Explained
The meme stock mania was very topical, and this post was published during the midst of the hedge funds losing billions of dollars due to a short squeeze.
Most Controversial Article:
Why Don’t The Rich Invest In Index Funds?
The rich are always a topic of controversy. People like to point to inheritance, but this post explores more so how the wealthy invest their money.
Longest Post:
Weighing in at a whopping 3,394 words:
Stocks | How To Know Which To Buy And When To Invest? [Investing Strategy 101]
Shortest Post:
Fighting in the lightweight division, at only 487 words:
5 Scary Halloween Spending Facts That May Spook You
The Most Fun Post To Write:
I’m working towards F.I.R.E. just like most personal finance connoisseurs. This post lays out a rough daily plan for early retirement. See you there!
Most Profitable Side Income Reports:
December Side Income Report | 2020 – $544.01
March Side Income Report | 2021 – $443.70
August Side Income Report | 2020 – $437.97
Some Of My Random Favorite Posts:
I really enjoyed writing these ones, and I was happy with the way they turned out. But the stats say most of these weren’t read as much as the others, so here’s to giving them a second chance!
5 Foolproof Steps for Early Retirement – These are some of the most critical practices I implement in my own life to achieve F.I.R.E. as quickly as I can.
How Much Did I Spend on Amazon Shopping in 2020? – It was eye-opening to see the annual expenses I’ve spent on the e-commerce tech giant, Amazon.
Top 10 Best Money Blogs To Improve Your Personal Finance Knowledge – I spend a lot of time learning to provide readers with the best information possible. Credit is due to the pioneers of the personal finance blogosphere.
Happy Blog Anniversary (Blog-iversary) Everyone!
It’s been an awesome ride so far. Here’s to many more years together!
Thank you to every single person who has read FLA and supported this site! Happy Blog Anniversary Fresh Life Advice!
Disclosure: Fresh Life Advice is an opinion-based website. I am not a financial advisor, and the opinions on this site should not be considered financial advice.
Personal Capital: The Ultimate Tool to track your Net Worth, Budget and more.
Any advice for Year 2? What are your favorite things about a blog? Let me know in the comments below.