We Want Guac Turns 2! Or: The Toddler Years

OMG!!!! This time around I was too lazy to write this update in early January. I’ll take the final Saturday of the month instead to celebrate We Want Guac officially being out of its infancy. My blog can now point to things when they are named, build towers of 4 or more blocks, AND throw a ball overhand! Everything on the checklist is checking out.

The Articles and Features

Quick story time: In February 2020 (less than a month before the first COVID lockdowns, if I’ve got my timeline right) I went to a local ChooseFI meetup. While there I met Jess from the Fioneers for the first time (not the last!) and excitedly told her about my own new blog… and how I was planning to write a new post every single day. She was very quick to advise me NOT to write so much, as quality would suffer for the quantity. At that time I was used to people being impressed by my output and decidedly unfamiliar with the virtues of rest, so she caught me off guard with that assessment. Well, almost 2 years later I can say she was right: it’s better to put more time into fewer articles!

You can definitely see the difference when comparing how many articles I wrote in 2021 to the previous year’s. During the second year of the blog I wrote 39 posts, which is a lot less than the 126 of 2020. Despite that, the value of what I had to say went way up. That was not only reflected in more readers than ever reaching out to me, but also a ton of other sites and creators featuring my writing!

I’ve now had my stuff featured in Women’s Personal Finance, CountAbout, and Physician on FIRE in the past twelve months! MORE THAN ONCE! PoF even had me guest post on his site after loving my article on compound interest; his blog was one of the handful I read when I first started reading up on FIRE, so it was kind of like a celebrity asking me to feature on their new song. That was a freaking awesome feeling.

But there was one feature to top even that…

Much to my honor and delight, I’m now in the top 50 ranking of the All Star Money directory, thanks to some of my best articles in 2021. One of them about gamifying the financial milestones actually EARNED ME MY OWN BOBBLEHEAD.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CR-AF-wnlzy/

I am officially on par with the MLB players who had bobbleheads in my cousin’s rooms growing up. I’ve made it.

The Interviews and People

I’ve now done multiple interviews in a given year for a variety of publications, which is a fancy way of saying I’ve been interviewed twice in the last year. For someone who doesn’t give their full name out on the interwebs, that sure is an accomplishment! (Most big places want your full identity before writing about you, so no anonymity in fame!) Once was a podcast interview with Joel Saves Big, where I dusted off my microphone and chatted with Joel about our money goals. The other was with Business of Business, where I was, somehow, spotlighted in the same article as Go Curry Cracker! and Rich & REGULAR. How did that happen, again?!

Last January I also worked with 4H to give a presentation on financial literacy to high school students. I, unfortunately, am a much better writer than I am a presenter. In my opinion, I was the worst presenter of the series, which included pros like Trip of a Lifestyle. But hey! Now I’ll be slightly better for next time.

2021 was also the year I began coaching, after a reader or two emailed me asking about it. That’s turned into a surprisingly consistent side gig for me; coaching is also something I’m both good at and enjoy doing, which was another surprise. When it’s a 1-on-1 deal I can tailor my advice to whatever that one person needs, which has translated into my coachees nailing new net worth goals and getting high-paying jobs!

In 2021 I made it to two big in-person finance events: FinCon in Austin, Texas and EconoMe in Cincinnati! I wasn’t expecting to go to EconoMe until the founder Diania happened to message me about help with the marketing. Thanks to her outreach I did end up going, which resulted in my forming friendships I now treasure dearly.

The Ultimate Highlights

Do you guys remember me being a finalist in 2020 for the Plutus Awards? Back then I was in the running for Best New Personal Finance Blog, which was such an honor for my little fledgling site. I just so happened to become a finalist for the 2021 Plutus Awards for a whole new category in Best Generational Financial Literacy Content.

And guess what?

I FREAKING WON IT.

Guys, I read the list of finalists when it first came out and identified myself as the underdog of the list. I remember gleefully posting about how I squeaked into the same category as giants in the financial education space and went on with my life. And then, at the ceremony in September, it took me a second to get up from my seat when We Want Guac was called as the winner. This was basically me that day, hand-over-mouth-in-shock and all:

Now my trophy is proudly chilling next to my All Star bobblehead, which brings a dorky smile to my face whenever I see them. 😊

Blog-wise, I classify the comments and messages I get as further highlights. I know my favorite commenters like Steveark and Wallies are reading (hi friends!!) and seeing others share their thoughts or feedback makes me even happier!

My offline life saw some lovely moments too.

Actual-finance-wise, my biggest highlights were in my six-figure accomplishments and how much more I’ve been able to travel regionally. I saw my compensation at work crest over $100k for 2021. I also saw my net worth grow by over $100k in that same time span; on January 1^st, 2021 I was worth $183k and saw it go up to $290k in December.

In the personal growth department, I conquered enough of my financial anxiety to go through with purchasing my first ever car! With it I saw SO MUCH MORE of New England than I would have otherwise. Highlights include trips to:

• North Conway, Hampton Beach, Manchester, Nashua, Concord, and Hanover in New Hampshire
• Brattleboro, St. Johnsbury, and other towns around the Northeast Kingdom in Vermont
• Actually visiting places in central Massachusetts that weren’t with work (hi, Leominster!)

All in all, I had enough luck to be in a position where COVID didn’t suppress my wins. That gets to go in this section for the sheer rarity of that in this country of ours.

The Lowlights

Issues in 2021 were still the same as they were in 2020. Pandemic woes, spam comments (no, I cannot help you find the best intimate apparel) and not knowing how to monetize abound. I’ve considered putting more ads on the site but I get sick at the mere thought of it. I don’t want my readers to see an ad after every other paragraph. Maybe I’ll set up a Patreon instead as a way to earn income from my writing. We shall see!

The absolute shittiest thing to happen to me in 2021 was actually catching COVID in early December. That happened to dominate my articles for that month as I wrote about the financial costs, my experience, and why everyone should, after studying the history of humanity, be pro-vaccine. Mild COVID cases are not mild, and almost 2 months later I’m STILL rebuilding the muscle and stamina I lost. I very much look forward to the day when the vaccines stop being wrongfully vilified. Until then, I remain grateful those same vaccines ensured I did not land in the hospital. You’re a real one, Pfizer scientists.

Favorite 2021 blog posts

As a final farewell to 2021, I took a look back at which of my articles were the ones I’m most proud of. In no particular order, here are my picks below:

Financial Independence Milestones, Gamified

I’m still getting new folks telling me how much they enjoyed these! Delighted that others are incorporating them, like my friend at From One Geek to Another!

When the Women of Your Life Join MLMs

I’d point to this article as the one where I really hit my stride. It’s chock-full of research into how MLM companies are the worst career and financial moves ever, along with practicing compassion for my own dealings with MLMs growing up.

After Being Poor, Your Financial Anxiety Remains

I published this baby right after publishing the MLM one. Back-to-back hits for me. Getting vulnerable like this really resonated, and it gave lots of other folks an outlet for telling me about their own anxiety. Just because we’ve got financial literacy doesn’t mean our money traumas go away!

Build a Diverse Skill Set, You Funky Badass

Basically, my message here was: you skillset doesn’t have to all relate to each other perfectly. You just need to know how to market yourself. Oh, and reading is the only skill you really need to collect other skills for your wheelhouse.

Foraging in the City

This one was near and dear to my heart, especially because foraging gets me outside and taking my stupid little walks for my stupid physical and mental health.

The honorable mention goes to my updates on whether I was right about COVID’s impact on the economy. Turns out I was almost 100% correct: I predicted the labor shortage, new working conditions, AND inflation. I’m still holding out on declaring Prediction #7 to be wrong, because I would really like to see housing prices go down to affordable levels like they were 30 years ago. (I have similar desires about college tuition and seafood.) Since I’m planning on buying a house later this year, a price reduction would really work in my favor. At this rate I doubt I’ll see that any time this year, but I sure can hope with all my might.

Here’s to 2022!

Cover image credit: Tim Cooper via Unsplash