One Year Blogiversary!

This week marks our one year blogiversary, I seriously can't believe it.  In case you are curious, here's our first post: Sharing is Caring.  It's nowhere near my best work, but it's what officially put us in the blogosphere.

12 months and almost 50 posts later, we've come a long way.

And now I have the Rent song stuck in my head...

We've had some great memories, including helping my mom save money,  celebrating National Waffle Day, completing Random Questions with My Son's Father, going to Chautauqua and guest posting on 1500 Days.

And we've had a few mishaps, like Mr. Wow getting hit by a car or me experiencing hypothermia.

Mistakes happen to the best of us.

One thing I've learned, which finally sunk in last week in Ecuador, was to embrace the mistakes and misfortune since they have shaped us into the people we are today.  Not gonna lie, we easily become disheartened when thinking about how much money we used to spend or how much we've missed out on by not investing sooner.  But rather than harp on the bad, I try to embrace it and be thankful that we eventually came to our FI senses.

Even though we didn't start as early as we would have liked, we have been killing our FI numbers this year.  Actually, we surpassed our stretch year-end net worth goal in September so everything from now till December is just icing on the money cake.

Bring on the Benjamins (and the cake).

Another thing I realized since starting this blog is the power of accountability.  I went through a rough patch this year, becoming too busy to write and post. I was frustrated with myself with each passing week that I failed to post something. Luckily, Mr. Wow covered for me and took control of the blog reins during my disappearance.  Then it dawned on me, "Use the power of the blog to hold me accountable."  I wrote a "no more excuses" post detailing my faults and vowing to never let them get in the way again.  Since then, I haven't fallen off the blog wagon.

The best part of this whole blog thing was becoming a part of this amazing community.  We have met so many super cool and interesting people.  Chautauqua was a great way to met many of the heavy hitters like JL Collins, Mr. Money Mustache, the Mad Fientist, Paula Pant, Coach Carson and Gwen, the Fiery Millenial herself.  But over the year, we also got to hang out with Miss Mazuma when she stopped through LA, Mr. 1500 at a stellar brewery in Colorado, the Need2Save couple after a conference I attended in Baltimore and Tonya from Budget & The Beach (well, we live down the street from each other so we get to hang out with her and run on the beach on a regular basis). There have also been many ridiculously awesome people who don't blog too, don't worry, I wouldn't forget about you.  I am definitely looking forward to meeting even more like-minded people as we continue on this journey.

And what's the best place to meet more rad people?

#FinCon17, of course. While the Mr went last year, this will be my first year attending. I am super excited! I hear there will be lots of good beer too.

Flights in Otavalo, Ecuador with super fun people and dysfunctional napkins.

And BBQ!  Good thing Mr. Wow's weigh in with Mr. 1500 is the first day, otherwise he'd be missing out.

My tummy is rumbling already.

Actually, I've been playing along while Mr. Wow and Mr. 1500 battle it out; never count me out of a fun little competition.  I've upped my morning workouts and cut back on portions.  I even started riding my bike 3-4 times a week to meet the Mr on his commute home. Just a few relatively simple changes and I feel better than I have in years and I didn't have to do any awful crash diets *eh hem* SoyLent.

If there's anything that I have learned over the past year is that even small things can have a big impact.  Whether its helping the environment, cutting back on spending or phone bills or doing away with things that take up unnecessary time in my day.

Taking the first step is always the hardest, but if you never start, you'll never change. I've learned that when faced with a daunting task, I just take 5 minutes every day and pretty soon, I've made progress.  I do this with cleaning and decluttering, going through mountains of paper to shredded, working out and even writing a blog post.

Reaching financial independence is definitely one of those daunting tasks.  In the beginning it seems as if you will never get there.  But over time, small changes start to snowball into bigger ones and pretty soon you are coasting on the waves of FI. Even if you are not exactly where you want to be, just remember that you are closer than you were yesterday.

While volunteering in Ecuador a few weeks ago, I met a an occupational therapy student who was completing his internship there.  He was an amazing person with a passion for life and a brilliant energy that could light up any room.  On my last night there, we went to dinner together. After recapping the week and looking forward to what life has in store for both him and me, he told me the quote his mother would always tell him.  It was a perfect fit for that moment.  I sat in reflection.

Wherever you are in life, in your FI journey, your personal or professional goals, just remember:

You are closer now, than you are far!

What have you learned over the past year? Any takeaways that you care to share? Do you ever get to take a minute and reflect on how far you've come?