How I Will Be Rich

I have not given up on my blog or my readers. I’ve been involved in multiple other online endeavors. One of them is another blogging project that has multiple writers. I am waiting until there is more content on the site before I unveil it but I really think everyone who has enjoyed this site in the past will really enjoy the new site. The other project that I am involved with is a social networking site. It is a big project that will probably take months and months before we really start beta testing it. We are currently in the planning and initial development stages. It is a huge endeavor and I really think it will benefit everyone who reads this site, as well as all of the fans of Be Healthy and Relax.

I’m still knee deep in school work and I’m really trying to use my time wisely. Once our other projects are unveiled, this site will probably act as more of a journal of the progress we are making. I am so thankful of all the readers and all of the people that have supported this website. This website, along with Be Healthy and Relax, has provided the finances needed to really get things moving on those other projects. Please stick around. You won’t want to miss what we have in store with these new projects!

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December was a bad month for me as far as goals go. Work got really hectic coming in to Christmas, I got sick on Christmas and then I went out of town. I have lots of excuses. I will review the goals that I had set for myself anyway…

Personal Goals

• Complete all of my Christmas shopping within a budget of $500
  Success. I think I spent a total of $350. I’m not sure the exact number but it is in that range.
• Open up a separate bank account for my side business
  I failed here. I never got around to getting to the bank to set up an account.
  

Blogging Goals

• Post 5 blog posts per week
  I failed here too. I only posted 15 blogs posts for the entire month of December.
  
• Get to 200 subscribers
  Failed. I maxed out at 135 subscribers. This is probably due to my lack of posting for the month.
• At least 2 carnivals per week
  Failed. I think I participated in 4 carnivals all month.
  
• Break $150 total money made
  Success! This was actually the first month I started to see a little bit of blogging income. The blog made $75 for the month. That puts my total income as a blogger at $197.14 (Over a 6 month period).
  
• At least 2 guest posts on other (more popular) blogs
  Failed. I only managed one guest post this month. You can read it over at Lazy Man and Money.

January Goals:
For January I’m going to tone down my goals a little as far as blogging goes. I start back to school on Monday and I have a feeling that it’s going to consume a whole lot of my time. Blogging is very important to me because I love sharing my goals and being held accountable when I fail (kind of like this month). I do think pursuing my degree in finance will fuel my blog; I just know that my free time is going to be harder to come by. With that being said…

Personal Goals

• Complete my first month of school (without going insane)
  Work is hectic enough. I’m starting back to school on an accelerated program. I will be completing one class per month for the next seventeen months. I will attend class three times a week for four hours per session. It is going to be intense.
• Open up a separate bank account for my side business
  I’m going to try to squeeze it in somewhere this month.

Blogging Goals

• Post at least 4 blog posts per week
  I’m going to shoot for five posts per week but I’m being realistic. Four is probably much more obtainable.

That’s about it. I’m not setting too many goals for myself until I see what my new life is going to be like. Next month, once I have a better feel for how hectic my school schedule is really going to be, I’ll set some more ambitious goals. For now, I’m just hoping to make it through my first class.

Thank Yous
I’ve never really had the StumpleUpon effect before December. For some reason, my site got stumpled like crazy though. That was the number one source of traffic for this month. Here are the blogs that sent me the most traffic in December.

1. Lazy Man and Money
2. Get Rich Slowly
3. Cash Money Life
4. Brip Blap
5. Plonkee Money
6. Consumerism Commentary
7. Stock Trading To Go
8. Moolanomy
9. I’ve Paid For This Twice Already
10. Be Healthy and Relax

Thanks so much to everyone who reads my blog and to all the other bloggers who support and help my blog. I appreciate it so much.

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I’m back. I was sick for a couple days, I rested and took a lot of medicine and then I went to Las Vegas for New Years. It’s kind of a tradition to do New Years in Vegas for us. I think this is the last year that we are going to do it. Everything is getting too expensive. They raise the prices on everything. The buffets are $30 per person, the rooms cost over a $100 per night, the drinks are more expensive and it gets more and more crowded every single year. It is definitely losing its appeal. I’ve adopted a more frugal lifestyle and spending that much on New Years just does not fit in anymore.

I do have some tips that I can offer up.

Lower Your Room Prices
If you’ve booked your room quite a bit in advance (like we did), you can usually call a day or two before you leave and ask if the rates have lowered at all. We booked our room about three months in advance. Two days before we left, we called the hotel and asked if any of the rates have changed. Sure enough, we got our room costs down by over $50 per night. This is the second year in a row that this has happened. It may not always work like this but it certainly doesn’t hurt to try.

Get The Player’s Club Cards
Even if you don’t gamble, it’s still a good idea to sign up for the various player’s club cards at the various casinos. The card itself almost always comes with a book or a sheet of coupons. We signed up for a card at the Tropicana and received a two-for-one coupon at the buffet. A couple years ago we stayed at the Stratosphere and received free passes to go up in to the tower. It’s worth it to sign up for a card. I just give them a junk e-mail address that I hardly ever check and decline to give them my phone number.

Free Drinks in Las Vegas
If you are like me and like to have a drink now and then, you can’t beat the drink prices in Vegas. I like to go to the penny machines, put a dollar in and barely touch the machine until a server comes around. They comp me a free drink for gambling and I cash out and walk away. It’s the Vegas way…

Take Advantage of the Free Shows
Vegas has so many things to do that don’t cost any money. It’s fun to just walk up and down the strip and see what you can see. The Bellagio has the water show (See the end of Ocean’s 11). The Mirage has an “active” volcano out front. Treasure Island has a pirate show. The hotels themselves are just cool to see anyway. The Venetian re-creates the Venice Canal inside, Caesar’s Palace has Roman statues that move and talk, MGM grand has a large lion habitat, and the Mirage has white tigers. There are some very cool things to see and do, absolutely free, in Vegas.

If you’re ever in Vegas, follow some of those tips. My only other piece of advice is to stay the heck away for New Years. It’s too crowded and too expensive.

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I came down with a cold out of nowhere on Christmas Eve. I’ve been spending the last couple days laying down and taking lots of cold medicine. This is literally one of the worst colds I’ve ever had.  I have a snowboarding trip planned for tomorrow and it’s still up in the air whether or not I’m going to go. I don’t think I will know until tomorrow morning to be honest. We are also planning on going to Las Vegas for New Years per tradition. I really hope I get over this quick.

I’ve been taking Zicam cold remedy, eating lots of chicken soup and drinking echinacea tea. I’m starting to feel a little better now. I can finally breathe out of my nose.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and if I’m not around for a few days, I wish everyone a Happy New Years!

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It’s Christmas Eve for me and I wanted to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy holidays. I’m a little bummed out at the moment because I ordered some Christmas gifts off of Amazon over two weeks ago and was informed today that they were lost in the mail. It’s too late to do anything about it now but I’m not going to let it ruin my Christmas. Instead, I just printed up pictures of all the gifts that I purchased and then wrapped the pictures in various sized boxes. When they open them tomorrow I’ll just have to let them know that they are on the way.

I’m happy to let everyone know that I stayed well within my Christmas budget. I will be taking the day off from blogging tomorrow but If anyone is interested, I will give a rundown of what my Christmas shopping consisted of.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone.

Picture Credit: Krisdecurtis

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