Some of you may blog already. If so, I hope you agree that it is pretty fun. 
Advertising opportunities can produce passive income streams, but my favorite aspect of blogging is the feeling of community.
For a social creature like me, there isn’t a better feeling than being able to communicate with all of you. When you leave a comment or send me an email, it’s like a mini-Christmas every time. The gift of being a part of something is pretty powerful. It lets me know that my ideas are striking chords in others (hopefully good ones). It also is nice to know that there are some other crazy people out there that enjoy personal finance as much or more than I do! 
I really do learn alot from my commenters and fellow bloggers. Blogging led Mr. BFS and me to pay off our last car loan way before we had planned. It also helped us prioritize our spending even more than we already did.
I’ve met some awesome people and even have become real friends with a few of you already. I’m sure I’ll wear the rest of you down in time, lol.
Expansion
Since blogging has become such a big part of my life, I’m glad to say I will be branching out! I’ve started two more sites!
Sites like Everyday Tips and Thoughts and First Gen American convinced me that I wanted a blog that could have some random non-fiscal musings. I wanted an open non-themed forum to go along with BFS. I also want to blog more about my dogs and pets in general.
So, feel free to check out Crystal Clear Thoughts and It’s a Dog’s Life For Me if you have a moment! There’s not much on either site yet, but I hope they can be a place where the BFS community can go just to hang out a little. I’ll be announcing both sites “officially” next week when I start a normal schedule, but I figured my Friday readers may like a sneak peak, lol.
They both will be random blogs filled with the blabber from my slightly fractured mind, but I truly hope you all will want to join in. Rant, boast, chat, or just make some friends.
Oh, and I should mention that I’d love to have guest posts from pet lovers of all types! I know some cat owners and bearded dragon owners that may be interested already.
So, my fellow bloggers, do you enjoy what you do? What drives you to keep going? For my non-blogger readers, what drives you to keep reading blogs? What do you enjoy the most?
Congrats on taking blogging to a whole new level! I don’t think I could go through those first 6 months again, it’s pretty tough when barely anyone is reading. Buy if I could skip ahead and have an established blog immediately…
Great post. I always enjoy reading the non finance related posts every now and then… Again, congrats on starting the two new blogs. Like I mentioned on your CCL site, you are just successfully expanded your online empire! Congrats!
What keeps me going?? Like you said, I like I’m a part of a community – a growing community at that! And that’s just as awesome feeling! It’s also been a rather healthy way to keep my mind in tip top shape. I don’t do a lot of writing at work, and in school I’m learning Linux or Cisco, both of which require very little/no writing. This is an excellent way for me to stay mentally sharp…I hope
Thanks for linking to us! Today’s post is 100% not finance.
Wow, those are some pretty clever blog names!!!
Especially “Crystal Clear Thoughts”, love it!
I want to start 2 new blogs too, but both will be centered around my kids, so I’m struggling to come up with names that we all would like (especially as they grow)
I am with Daniel, those first six months can be tough (and I just finished my first 6 months!)
I love the comments and the friends I have made too. Actually, I don’t think I have ever enjoyed any other ‘job’ as much as I have this one. Writer’s block can be a bummer, but I really enjoy when ideas just come to you and you can’t stop yourself from writing.
Headed over to your other sites now…
The social outlet is huge for me. I don’t have a ton of free time (a few minutes here or there), so it’s nice to have some online peeps to chat with.
I second the cool names. I’m not crazy about mine, but I didn’t want it to stop me. I figured if the writing was fun it wouldn’t matter what the blog was called.
I am really impressed by your gung-ho-ness. It reminds me of a younger version of my self. Hopefully you can juggle it all and more.
That’s great to hear. I might be open to writing an article about cats (I have 3!) on your It’s a Dog’s Life for Me blog. I’m in total agreement about how blogging is a great way to build a community of readers and sharing thoughts with them is really satisfying. Congrats with your two new blogs!
Well it’s certainly not the revenue! Seeing as how I have yet to delve into that benefit of blogging yet. Definitely the community, and the comments. I thrive on it. It’s knowing that you’re reaching out to others in some tangible way, and that we all have stories to share. I do believe that! Financially, I think we’re way to reticent as a society; blogging give me a place to open up with like-minded people who don’t run away when I ask them how much they spend on their kids’ activities, or their cell phone plan, or on groceries…
@Daniel, I was blessed with a few readers from the beginning, so my first 6 months weren’t depressing. Obviously I have way more readers now, but I think it’s been an awesome trip. 6 months from now, Crystal Clear Thoughts and It’s a Dog’s Life For Me will be established too, lol.
Well, I hope…
@MFO, good point! Blogging does help me keep my writing skills sharp. I pretty much only write data entry stuff other than this…
@Nicole, woot for batman!
@Money Reasons, how about “Always Kidding Around”, “They Sure Grow Up Fast”, or even “What Was I Thinking” hehehehe.
Email me if you want any others, I love brainstorming names!
I came up with Crystal Clear Thoughts and hubby and I zeroed in on It’s a Dog’s Life For Me together.
@Everyday Tips, writer’s block makes me feel dumb. I always think, “come on girl, you can’t shut up for 2 minutes but you’re out of ideas now?!”. Pain in the butt.
@Sandy L, you come off as someone in their late 20′s or early 30′s! I’ll be impressed with my gung-ho-ness (good word btw) if I can successfully avoid crash and burn, lol. I have high hopes though!
@Little House, oh I hope you do guest post! I love all pet stories and I know Nicole would appreciate some cat love, lol! Thanks for the congrats!
@Jolyn, yeah, the revenue BFS makes is great and I like it, but it is definitely not enough to keep a blog going. That would be you all. I couldn’t blog if I didn’t think I was connecting with people!
And YES, isn’t it nice to be able to talk money without people looking uncomfortable?!
Congratulations Crystal. I can’t even keep up with my one blog, I couldn’t imagine going to three! But, with all of your energy, I’m sure you’ll do fine
I started blogging as a way to journal my experience to paying off a bunch of debt in a short amount of time. The surprise was the social network that I became part of. I found you, BFS, through First Gen American (not a financial site)!
Since we are talking about blogging I want to mention that The Little Henhouse.wordpress.com has a great article today on how to add media icons on your site.
Good luck on your new site! I want to guest post all about my chickens (my other blogsite) on It’s a Dog Life For Me!
I’m going to be switching to Atahualpa soon, so I might have a few questions for you
Good luck with the new blogs… you’ve become an expert blogger in no time at all! Imagine what you’ll be able to do with 3
@Molly, I’m so glad I found First Gen – fun community! Yes, please email me a guest post about chickens! That’s one of the few animals I’ve never been around. Do they have personalities of their own?
@Kevin, shoot those questions my way! I’d love for the hours I’ve spent learning Atahualpa to actually be useful for something…
@Khaleef, thanks – you’re more sure than I am, lol.
in the world we live in today which moves at warp speed, resorting to blogs has become increasing popular to both learn and share ideas. a virtual world where we have virtual friends.
@Sunil, some of my virtual friends are just as close or closer to me than the ones I get to see every week…blogging has literally changed my life.
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