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| 100 Not Out |
This is the blog’s 100th post!
Feels like just yesterday I was typing out the very first one!
How time flies when you having fun! Blink and you'll miss it!
[Insert your choice of overused cliché about the passage of time here]
Something that struck me as I started typing out this post, is that I guesstimate an average blog post to be around 1000 words, and this means that the blog now contains around 100,000 words (if anyone wants to count to confirm, please go ahead!)
From this, two things stand out:
- That’s a lot of typing – but the truth is I have thoroughly enjoyed bashing my keyboard
- Keyboards are pretty resilient. Even after all that abuse, mine is still going strong!
Most Read Blog Posts
I thought it would be cool to check out what the blog’s most popular posts have been. I always find these kind of things interesting, because it gives some indication of the issues and decisions people are grappling with.Out of the 100 blog posts that have been published since May 2016, below are the top 10 most read ones. For the more recent readers, think of this as the blog’s highlight reel :)
| The Best RA In South Africa (30 Jan 2018) How To Save Money - 300% Returns From A Geyser Blanket (7 Feb 2018) (N)aiming To Confuse (22 Jan 2018) Pay Off Bond Or Invest? (26 Jul 2016) How One Email Saved Me R83,000 (26 Sep 2018) Interview With A Very Stealthy Bloke (19 Jul 2016) My Early Retirement Plan - 3 Years Down (10 Jan 2019) The Best Preservation Fund In South Africa (11 Oct 2018) Learn This One Skill And Save Yourself Millions (24 Jan 2019) What is the 4% Rule for Retirement? (5 Jun 2016) |
Some Website Updates
I suspect that the fact that this is my 100th blog post doesn’t mean much to most, but for me I wanted to do something special or significant to mark the occasion. It didn’t take me long to realise that I probably would never have reached this point without the “Stealthies” that read this blog. Without you guys I would feel like I was talking to the wall. The incredible support, encouragement, tips and tricks, alternative views, feedback and engagement has been inspiring!And so I figured what better way to celebrate the 100th blog post than a page on the website dedicated to the readers of this blog. And so I present to you the brand new Meetups Page. The page also gets it's very own button in the menu bar. On the page you can subscribe to be notified when there will be a meetup in a city near you. If you haven’t already signed up, head on over and check it out.
Feedback From The 2019 Meetups
The 2019 Johannesburg and Pretoria meetups went down on 23 February (the Cape Town one is in the process of being organised and will hopefully happen soon). I received some feedback from the latest round of meetups, and I have collated it below. Makes for some interesting reading.Recommended Books
Personal Finance books are often discussed at the meetups. By and large the one that was most frequently recommended was Sam Beckbessinger’s Manage Your Money Like a F*cking Grownup (sorry no affiliate links here, just find the place that has the best price/service/website or whatever floats your boat and buy it there)Then, some of the other books which people recommended:
- The Total Money Makeover - Dave Ramsey
- The 10% Entrepreneur - Patrick James McGinnis
- How To Make Your First Million – Warren Ingram
- Flourish – Martin Seligman
- Rich Dad Poor Dad - Robert Kiyosaki
- The Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham
- The lean startup - Eric Ries
Realisations
The peeps at the meetups also discussed some of the realisations/tips/things they would have done differently. I pulled out some of the best stuff and listed them below.There is plenty wisdom here - I learn so much from you guys!
- "Educate yourself on personal finance"
- "There is no magic fairy that will solve your financial woes"
- "Get on a budget"
- "Don’t buy something if you don’t have the cash available. Save for it."
- "Take control of your money or it will control you"
- "Weddings are expensive! Don't spend a lot on a lavish wedding."
- "Invest in yourself"
- "Set it and forget it : pay off debt, credit cards, extra home loan payments"
- "Spend less on pointless consumables
- "Ensure that you and your partner have matching financial goals"
- "Ask more questions"
- "Recognise that you have the ability to understand how money works"
- "Money doesn’t make you happy and stuff doesn’t either"
- "Working hard pays off if you invest the funds"
- "Use Easy Equities demo accounts to test things out"
Current Focus Areas
Attendees also discussed some of the issues and concepts that they would like to get their heads around. If any of these have been giving you food for thought, know that you are not alone!- RA’s versus TFSA’s
- Understanding more around Tax in order to minimise your SARS bill
- Onshore versus Offshore investing
- Moving expensive products to cheaper options
To The Next 100
So that concludes my mini celebration for my blogging centenary. In addition, I will be opening a cold one or three this evening!
I am really looking forward to the next 100, and really hope you will be joining me for the ride!
Till next time, Stay Stealthy!
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