The leaves have all fallen, but I’m still thankful for another weekend of Fall weather! I hope the snow holds off for many more weeks #WishfulThinking
Welcome to the Weekly Quick Hits Roundup! Every week I write a weekly wrap-up of things that were going on here at Young Adult Money, a few personal updates/thoughts, and finally a few posts I read this week that I thought were worth sharing.
If you don’t already, please considering Following us on Twitter, Liking us on Facebook, and Following us on Pinterest.
We also have our giveaway roundup every Friday. This Friday there are 212 giveaways listed this week that end today (11/15) through next Thursday (11/21).
Below are the posts we published this week:
- On Monday I shared 5 Frugal Ways to Celebrate the Holidays.
- On Tuesday Sally talked careers in Let’s Improve Your LinkedIn Profile.
- On Wednesday Cat shared 3 Easy Projects To Get Your DIY Juices Flowing.
- On Thursday Victoria told us How to Prepare Your House for Winter.
Update Time
- Teachers amaze me – This week I taught a first grade class for a few hours as part of Junior Achievement which is, in their words, “the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs.” I love the fact that they bring so many things into the classroom that are so easily overlooked, such as financial literacy and entrepreneurship.
This was my third time volunteering with Junior Achievement and one thing I think about every time I volunteer is how awesome teachers are. I would be completely drained at the end of the day if I had to do their jobs, and it’s really cool when you see a teacher doing her job well. Kudos to all the teachers out there, you’re doing an important job that many of us simply couldn’t do.
- Side Hustles and Burnout – This week I was talking to Anne from Unique Gifter and the topic of new websites came up. I have a pretty solid plan for a second website but simply do not have the time. I gave myself a goal/deadline for launch of January 1st.
She shared what I think is a great idea – the 50 post rule. If I’m going to start a second website, I should have at least 50 posts written or outlined before launching the site. This means I would hypothetically have nearly six months of content assuming two posts are published a week.
I really like this idea because running two websites while working full-time, being married, and having a social life and other interests seems unsustainable. If I could get that far ahead, though, it would take a lot of the stress away. I should really consider getting 50 posts outlined or written for this site before moving forward, but I could work on both at the same time. Either way, it sounds like a conservative way to move forward and avoid burnout.
- Weekend – I actually have a four day weekend, which is both good and bad. Good because I need a break from work, but bad because I’ve been really busy at work and have a lot to get done (things I have to get done, not things that can be put off for a few months).
I hope to get a little bit of blog work done, maybe clean the garage, and start looking into what we can write-off from having the rental unit in our basement. Fun stuff, right? :P
Posts of the Week:
If you want to see your post included in this roundup, comment on posts on Young Adult Money throughout the week – that’s where I find blogs/posts to include.
- Kari from Student Debt Survivor talked about kids in Pressure to Procreate?. My take: I don’t want kids anytime soon! I find it a bit silly when people assume and keep asking when you plan on having kids. What if you don’t plan on it? Would it diminish your marriage/life? I hope not.
- Anne from Unique Gifter shares an insane but amazing list in 500+ Stocking Stuffers for Adults, Teens and Seniors.
- Holly from Club Thrifty asked a very legitimate question in Why is Obamacare Taking Away my HSA?. I’m a HUGE advocate of HSAs and think everyone should have them. I don’t understand why it’s not an option for every American, regardless of what their insurance coverage is. Reform is clearly still needed when it comes to health care.
- Stefanie from The Broke and Beautiful Life explained 4 Ways To Destroy A Friendship With Money.
- Alexa from Single Moms Income )might I point out this blog is totally not just for single moms, or even moms in general. So much good stuff on Alexa’s site regardless of gender and whether you have children or not.) is looking ahead to 2014 in 3 Reasons You Are Your Biggest Obstacle to Business Success.
____________
What are you up to this weekend? Will you find time to relax or will you go to battle with a long to-do list? Anything exciting going on in your life? If you work a side hustle, how did you expand the side hustle without burning out? Should we repeal Obamacare? just kidding! Let’s keep it light on Fridays ;)
____________
Photo by Little Baby G
Check out some of our favorite personal finance resources:
Are you getting the best credit card rewards? Check out the top cash back credit card offers (updated daily)
Make extra money: 15 ways to make money from your computer
Get the First Chapter Free!
Join our online community and get the first chapter of the book Student Loan Solution absolutely FREE!
This weekend I will extend my help for the victims of Haiyan,I will volunteer to help for repacking foods and stuffs. I will also bring my used clothing, medicine and canned goods.
Clarisse @ Make Money Your Way Good for you! There seems to be a ton of need over there so that’s great that you are volunteering.
Thanks for the mention! We’re just hanging out this weekend……friends coming over!
Holly at ClubThrifty No problem, hope you have fun with your friends!
My wife’s birthday was yesterday, so I’ve been killing myself this week to be able to take last night and most of the weekend off. We’re going out for dinner and drinks tonight, so that should be fun as it has been a while since we did that. That’s a great idea for the site (in terms of the posts). You could also farm out some of the writing so you’re not doing it all yourself – as long as you could find someone good. Have a great weekend DC!
FrugalRules Yeah it would definitely be beneficial to have someone working on the content for the site, would just have to be a good person with a reasonable rate who makes my life as easy as possible :) I hope you have a great time going out tonight!
I’m spending a relaxing weekend at home and going to a football game on Sunday. Looking forward to it!
Monicaonmoney Enjoy the game and the rest of your weekend!
Thanks for the mention and for popping over with a link already!
Ugifter No problem! I definitely enjoyed writing my Christmas-related post and I like how easy it is to add a post to the linky. Thanks for organizing!
Teachers are amazing. How on earth they get a whole room of kids to do anything at the same time is lost on me. I have a hard enough time getting one kid to get stuff done. Have a great weekend!
Eyesonthedollar Yeah it was quite impressive how the teacher controlled the class. It seems like a constant “putting out fire” act where during an activity you have to tell one kid to do this or don’t do that and move on to the next one and encourage them to work on the assignment, etc. Not for me, that’s for sure. Hope you have a good weekend as well!
That’s awesome that you volunteer for JA. My sister has done it and thinks it’s a great experience. She especially loves the little ones, but the older kids are good too. She was teaching wants vs needs to kindergarteners or 1st graders. She asked them if TV is a want or a need…they of course answer that it was a need! haha When she asked them where money comes from, they say they sometimes find it on the floor or they get it from their parents. Kids are funny.
Andrew LivingRichCheaply Haha so funny. You never know what insights you will receive from those 1st graders. This week a couple of them said a dog is a need because it protects their family. Definitely an insight that some of us would not have thought of when considering whether we want or need a dog.
I’ve never heard of the 50 post rule. I have another site I really want to launch, but I think I might have to put it off after that nugget of advice. Thanks for the shout out!
brokeandbeau No problem, and I definitely like the 50 post ideas. Forces you to put in the work versus just launching a site and hoping you find the time to prep everything.
Wow, 50 posts is an ambitious goal. That would make the launch much less stressful for sure though. On another note, I have a couple of friends who are teachers and I’ll second your sentiment for sure. Teachers work really hard!
Matt @ Mom and Dad Money 50 posts is definitely an ambitious goal! I think it makes sense, though, if it’s for a second website. I hardly have time to run the first one so having a second one will require some adjustments.
I like the 50 posts idea. That’s a lot of content, but it could be worth it as you develop more of the behind the scenes stuff for the website. This way, one big element is already taken care of. Good luck! I also agree that teachers have a tough job – one I likely could never do. Have a good weekend!
JourneytoSaving It would definitely give you a lot of time to promote and work on social media and other things that are “beyond the writing.” Hope you are enjoying your weekend!
I love Junior Achievement! It is such a great organization and it’s great that your supporting them. My sister was a teacher and they really do amazing things. While we don’t get the vivid Fall colors you do, I do like the fact that the majority of our trees retain their leaves. :) Have a great long weekend and I hope you get your to-do list done and some relaxation squeezed in there too!
ShannonRyan Thanks so much, the weekend has been going pretty well. I hope you are having a good one too!
Great idea with the 50 posts! I, too, have some other sites in the cooker, but I yet to pull the trigger. This weekend is filled with running, eating, and time with friends…just the way I like them to be. Enjoy yours!!
Jen @ The Happy Homeowner Hope you are having a great weekend!
I would be exhausted as a teacher too. Kudos to them for what they do. As far as starting a website, I took the opposite approach which is to just start slowly like I did for BABT and just grow it however I can. Maybe that’s not the best way. Who know…it’s not like it’s hard work but it’s so time consuming. Hope it works out for you!
Beachbudget It is definitely time consuming to have even one website. I like the idea of doing some planning and hard work before getting the site up, mainly so that I can take advantage of the momentum versus getting too busy and having the site fizzle out.
Dave,
That’s awesome that you are teaching Junior Achievement. I was big time involved in JA as a kid, and even took a trip to a regional convention at one point. Any program that is teaching kids about money is a big win in my book, because they certainly aren’t doing it in schools.
-Jefferson
seedebtrun Wow, did not know they had a regional convention! It really is too bad that it’s such a short course. Wish they had semester-long courses that were part of the regular curriculum.
Great idea from Anne. I think having 50 posts ready to go makes so much sense. Then you aren’t stressed out if you have a busy day/week and need to get a post out. I try to write a least a week’s worth of posts every weekend so that I don’t have to come home after a long day and figure out what to write for the next day. Thanks for including my post I really appreciate it. Have a great weekend.
StudentDebtSurvivor I try to get my posts lined up for the next week the weekend before as well (except the Friday ones as they are put together throughout the week). I think having a Monday/Wednesday post lined up for half a year would be HUGE for a site launch. I would probably put together some weekly roundup post as well, so it would be perfect.
I think 10 posts is idea, 50 post is crazy, but I guess more the merrier. Up-ing on the posts would sure reduce the stress and be more flexible with other things concerning blogging.
ubersteward 10 would be good, but if you do 2 a week that’s only 5 weeks. I think forcing yourself to prep more in advance for a second website is important. I don’t even have enough time to do everything I want on THIS website, so starting a second will be a challenge.
Great post David, I truly admire your desire to teach kids in Junior Achievement, that is quite noble. I am amazed at how productive you are, having a full time job, family and a demanding blog, not sure how you have a social life!! Anyway, keep up the great work!
criticalfinancial I do what I can as far as the social life haha it’s definitely a challenge. I was with friends both Thursday and Friday nights, date night Saturday and needless to say the blog work piles up. Thanks for the kind words, and hope you are having a great weekend!