A Look Back At My Goals for 2008
September 17, 2008 by Justin
Back in February, I made a post titled 10 Unusual Goals for 2008. The post contained ten things that I wanted to accomplish this year. After looking back at it, I wanted to make some updates and cross some things off.
So here they are:
Blog My Life
This is my favorite goal on the list, and I can honestly say I have succeeded at it.
Be On a Television Show
This isn’t something I really care about anymore, but I did manage to get on a reality television show here in Phoenix.
Act In A Movie
At this point in life, I am not real concerned about acting in a movie. It would be great, but it can wait. Therefore it’s getting crossed off.
Make Boatloads Of Money
In the beginning of the year, I wanted nothing more than to make tons of money. However, I have since realized that money is not what I am after. I even made a list of things that make me happy besides money. Therefore, this goal is gone, poof.
Grow My Hair Back
If you haven’t noticed from my pictures, my hair is officially back!
Travel, Travel, and yes, Travel
This, along with blogging, is my second favorite goal on the list. Luckily, I have had the opportunity to travel a lot in the last few months. The road trip to California alone was a ton of traveling and I hope to do more in the future.
Go On A Date With A Celebrity
I am not sure why this made the list, but I really have better things to do than date a celebrity. Plus I am already dating someone. Therefore, this is getting crossed off the list as well.
Take More Pictures
Ever since I renewed my Pro Flickr account and started traveling, I have been taking a ton of pictures. Now that I found a way to incorporate them into this site, I have no problems sticking to this goal.
What’s Left To Do?
After crossing off all the goals I accomplished or no longer want to do, it leaves me with a few others. The first two are from the original list:
Give More Back
I wanted to give back to the world, and I still feel this way. Unfortunately, I have not done the best job at doing this. Therefore it is staying on the list.
Work For Myself (In Progress)
One of the things I really wanted to accomplish this year, was working for myself. Unfortunately, I am still working the shitty office job I was then. However, I have managed to freelance with a few companies and helped setup some blogs. So it is a work in progress.
Sell My Car
I have been taking the bus for a long time now and no longer need my car. If your interested in a 2005 Chevy Cobalt SS, check it out on Autotrader.
Be 100% Debt Free
I have managed to get a lot closer to being where I want to be. I have managed to pay off all my credit cards and bills, leaving my vehicle, which I hope to sell, and my student loan. I am 100% positive I can be completely debt free by the end of the year if I continue to work at it.
So there you have it, an update on what I hope to accomplish by the end of 2008.
Blogging: What’s In It For You?
August 14, 2008 by Justin
Five Things That Keep Me Going
People often send me E-mails or ask me in person why I blog? Is it for the money, the fame, the non-existent fortune? Well, I really wanted to sit down and think about it.
photo credit: Wyetha
The Freedom To Express Myself
By far the most important thing I get out of this blog, is the ability to express myself. I find myself to be an unsual, creative, and funny (once in a great while) type of person. I love to write about topics that people can relate to. More importantly, I really enjoy writing about things others want to say, but keep to themselves. Writing about my office job, believe it or not, has reminded me that a lot of people are in the same situation. Therefore, I love to write funny things I do to help cheer everyone else up that is stuck sitting in there small, scary, cubicle. Who hasn’t thought about drinking over a lunch break? I sure did. I just never thought the idea would lead me to posting this video and eventually ranking #1 in Google for drinking during lunch breaks (and every other combination of those words). But hey, I love it!
The Feedback from Readers
Not only is expressing myself a great positive to blogging, but the feedback I receive in the form of comments, e-mails, and Facebook friend requests, is awesome. There is no better feeling than putting together a post, publishing it on the web for everyone to see, and then seeing comments come in from all over the world. I really appreciate everyone that has ever left a comment on this blog. I really hope to see more of you around here in the feature. Keep the comments coming!
The Friendships It Creates
Jumping in to this whole thing, I never anticipated making friends from this blog. But believe it or not, I have met a lot of people through this thing. Now, I know some people wouldn’t consider people they have never met in person a friend, but I do. These friends have helped me with this blog in many ways. suggestions, feedback, comments, are only a few of them. I even managed to start my freelance career with the use of this blog. It really has made a HUGE difference.
The Joy of Feeling Success
When this blog started, I was ranked around 16,000,000 in Alexa and didn’t even have a PageRank of 0. Comments were something my friends left on a rare occasion. I didn’t even rank in the first 10 pages of Google for the term “Life of Justin”, with quotes. Not exactly something to brag about! Things took a turn however, as I continued to work on this thing day in and day out. I started learning more and more about blogging and eventually pushed this blog to being ranked around 92,000 in Alexa. That is an increase of 15,908,000! It has really given me the feeling of success and I hope to continue to move in a positive direction.
The Idea of One Day Making A Living From It
I have always wanted to work for myself. I have never been the type of person that can sit at a desk and pretend to be busy all day. I just can’t do it! This blog, has made a few dollars here and there. Not nearly enough to retire off of, but it is a start. Just seeing that a website could actually produce REAL money was enough motivation to keep me trying. I know that it will take more time, commitment, and patience to make a living from this. But I know one day it will come…
What Motivates You To Keep Blogging?
7 Ways To Save Money
August 5, 2008 by Justin
If you haven’t noticed from this blog, I travel as much as I possibly can. I enjoy seeing new things and learning more about the world. However, a lot of coworkers and friends always ask me this question: How Do You Afford To Travel So Much?
So to answer that question, I bring you 7 Ways To Save Money:
1. Ditch The Cable
The first thing I did to save money is ditch the cable package. I would recommend it to everyone because who really needs it. Some packages cost upwards of 100 dollars a month, which is a pretty big chunk of money.
I have been living happily without cable television for almost 2 months now, and I do not even miss it. I have an antenna that allows me to get the free public channels like ABC and CBS. What I noticed is that a majority of the shows I used to watch, were on these channels anyway.
Monthly Savings: $80
2. Use Public Transportation
I used to drive to work everyday, using up a good portion of gas on my 30 mile round trip. Over a course of a month, I would sometimes go through three gas tanks, which easily added up to over $150 a month in gas.
The solution is to start utilizing the public transportation system. I found out that my company offered a bus pass for only 30 dollars a month. So don’t forget to ask your employer if they have any sort of discounts. Taking the bus also allowed me to return my parking permit, which was costing me over $950 a year. Talk about some big savings.
What is even better, is if you can get by without a car. I am currently in the process of selling my car, which can easily save me another $350 in car payments, along with $100 a month in car insurance.
Monthly Savings: $200+
3. Brown Bag It
Eating out everyday for lunch was a habit that was tough to beat. But after I started looking at my expenses, I realized that I sometimes spent more than $35 a week going to lunch. Not very cost efficient if you really think about it.
Instead, I came up with a few options for bringing my own lunch to work. After awhile, you really don’t miss going out to eat. Especially if you have leftovers from the night before.
Monthly Savings: $100
4. Set A Weekly Grocery Budget
Another mistake I made often, was going to the grocery store with no budget of any kind. I didn’t pay attention to what I bought, and sometimes spent $100 for a weeks supply of food.
I have since come up with a plan, giving myself $50 a week to buy groceries. I create a menu on Sunday for the following week, and then go and buy all the things I need to make the food all week. I sometimes find myself spending less than $50, which is a great thing.
Monthly Savings: $125
5. Avoid Going Out For Dinner
One of my bad habits used to be eating out 3, 4, even 5 times a week if I didn’t feel like cooking. It is really surprising to see how fast this can add up over the course of a month. I would go to places like Olive Garden, and spend over $25 to get some wine and spaghetti. I can easily make the same thing at home for less than 5 dollars.
It is hard to avoid going out to eat entirely, so I suggest setting some sort of limit as to how often you would like to go out. At first, I limited myself to going out once every other week. I have since set it to going out for diner once a week, and it works perfectly for me. It still allows me to save a lot more than I used to.
Monthly Savings: $150+
6. Find Inexpensive Things To Do
Entertainment can be a big expense, unless you do things that are very affordable. There are always options to do things for little to no money, yet still have a good time. Try things like going to the park, hiking, or riding your bike. You can even get yourself in better shape by incorporating exercise into it.
Monthly Savings: $70
7. Sell Unused Belongings
Feel like you need to go buy something? Instead of dipping into your savings, why not sell something you own that you never use. Everyone has things they don’t use, whether it is old cloths, computers, books, movies, pretty much anything.
I went through my belongings and realized I had a lot of stuff I never use, nor do I ever see myself using. Throw them up on Craigslist, and you’ll be surpised at the things people are looking for. Better yet, they may even more money than you would of ever expected.
Monthly Savings: $50?
Conclusion
These 7 things can really help save money, especially if your goal is to travel a lot. The total monthly savings are anywhere from $500 - $800+ a month. That is a big chunk of change!
I know this will not work for everyone, but it works for me. It allows me to use the money I make to do the things I enjoy rather than wasting it on small things I really don’t need to be happy. So if your up for it, give it a shot!
