Second Blogiversary! Aaand… Elementum Money turns 2 today! Exactly two years ago, fuelled by my passion for Personal Finance, a requirement for a writing outlet to replace my food blog and a need to channel some work and boss frustration was born my corner of the Internet. The fact that it has thrived for two years, running with a few halts here and there gives me a sense of confidence that these two aspects – Personal Finance and Writing really are my calling in life.

How has Year 2 been for Elementum Money?

Now, here is where the problem lies. While the first cut is the deepest when it comes to love, in my experience the second year is far more challenging than the first in blogging. In some ways, blogging is like dating or marriage.

Initially everything is novel and exciting. The first post! The first like! The first retweet! The first comment! The first warm feeling from a digital friend across the world! The first time of zooming stats! The first roundup post! And then, sometimes and for some people, real life starts taking over.

If you are wondering where is this even going, then I guess what I am trying to say is that this year has not been a cakewalk when it comes to Elementum Money. Though I should have gotten a hint of it from the debacle at the very start. On the first blogiversary, I was in the middle of having the website redesigned by a professional freelancer. While I was happy with the way it was turning out in the beta version, when that doofus designer translated it to the live site, never realizing that I had updated the site in the interim, he did so without my latest two posts. While he was able to resurrect the posts back, they were two of my most liked and commented posts, for which he was never able to recover the comments.

So, when I look at numbers, the second year of Elementum Money can look pretty dismal. Starting with three a week, I am now down to publishing once a week. I ended up taking my own advice of not falling prey to social media addiction very seriously and ended up reducing on the connect with other Personal Finance bloggers, which has always been my favorite part of blogging (Here, I must give a shoutout to Angela from Tread Lightly Retire Early who has been consistent with reading my posts and encouraging with a like, comment or retweet!). The number of visits to the blog has obviously suffered.

However, shattering this woeful picture are a lot of subjective wins that I like to think of. Elementum Money recently crossed 100 followers on WordPress. I am writing more than ever, supplementing the blog writing with freelancing for two wonderful partners. Some of the articles were translated into a regional Indian language Marathi and found more readers than English alone would have. In real life, Elementum Money has helped me make the move from marketing to advising HNIs on money and their investments. I have now met so many people, well accomplished in their field who have admired this space and my expression here, that I know nothing can ever replace the role Elementum Money plays for me. So, on my side, I am looking at Elementum Money more as a marathon than a short burst of sprint, as a presence in my life that will continue to adapt to keep finding it’s nook in my life as it continues to evolve.

As for what next year will look like? Last year, I told myself that I will take the blog to the next level of success and fell woefully short. This year, I think I will go a little easier on myself and simply promise to keep focusing on the basics of ensuring that I do not slip from the promised frequency of once a week and my breaks are not too long. Whatever else I am able to do, is simply a bonus to be very happy about.

If you have found yourself hanging around in this space or even if you are visiting it for the first time, let me extend a heart-felt thank you. Without readers, this blog would have just been about some meandering thoughts splattered out here. You guys are what gives Elementum Money a large part of it’s identity. If there is anything that you have liked or would like to see in the future, do drop in a comment.

Top 5 posts of Year 2

Before I sign off, here are 5 of the most popular posts from year 2. Funnily enough, it’s an even mix of 2 Personal Growth posts, 2 Personal Finance posts and 1 gigantic Book Babble post. All post titles are hyperlinked and can be clicked to lead to the post itself.

5 reasons to avoid Instant Gratification

Instant gratification is around us in almost any form or factor. Like quick sand, the more we give in to it, the more it ensnares us in it’s trap. This post talked about why it is such a dangerous habit to succumb to and how you could start with a few steps to resist the temptation.

7 benefits of a daily to-do list

To-do lists often garner reactions on two opposite ends of a spectrum – a roar of approval or a groan of annoyance. In this post, I talked about how I became habituated to the idea, some researched benefits to this habit as well as some practices that have helped me do it in a better, sustained manner.

My year in books – 2018

This is probably one of my favorite posts. I have always been a voracious reader with a few years where I probably dropped the ball. 2018 proved to me that I am back in the game of reading and just seeing the width and the number of books I read, all in one place was a huge kicker for me. Some of the conversations it helped get was another point in it’s favour.

Introduction to Bluechip Mutual Funds

Bluechip or Large cap funds are one of the safer no-brainer kind of equity mutual funds one can invest in. This for me was the only sponsored post ever done on Elementum Money, though the experience is not something I am personally looking forward to repeat.

A complete guide to DIY Retirement Planning

Considering that a pension less retirement is still a novel concept in India, this post aimed to help readers with a customizable way to get their magic figure for retirement. Financial planning can be fairly easy with enough of a will and the right tools. This post was one of my attempts at helping fulfill the second requirement.

If I were to evaluate myself in the last one year, in my view I would say I have fallen short at some instances. Here’s hoping I am able to report a far more cheery outlook in Year 3! Till then, keep checking in J