I have lamented in the past about the rising cost of going to the movies, which is exacerbated by the continuing evolution of movie technology (3D, Imax etc) that enables cinema owners to pass rising production costs to techno-obsessed consumers. Thanks to Netflix, Amazon DVD’s and various free internet sites, my movie watching has become more frugal and on my couch rather than at an AMC. However for some movies, I still like the “movie theater” experience and Toy Story 3 is one of them. I saw the first movie as a bachelor, the second as a husband and the third one I plan to see as a Dad. While the movie, food and toys related to the movie will cost me well upwards of $100 (even with frugal online shopping), I know the excitement on my son’s face – and my wife and my own I’m sure – will be worth every dollar!
It was also a good week for me blogging wise, as I passed the 3 million visitor mark! Still feel’s like yesterday when I remember getting my first visitor (a Google bot!) to earning my first $100 (~ 3 months). Still enjoying the blogging business thanks to all the readers and visitors who keep me and this blog going.
Also updated a couple of stimulus related posts that had a major spike in readership this week thanks to some new news – Further September 2010 Extension of Home Buyer Tax Credit and the related Jobs and Tax Loopholes Act in Limbo (Bill: HR 4213). Congress is once again stuck wrangling with the spending vs saving debate as mid-term elections near.
Some great reads from my fellow bloggers this week, which include:
- Using Automated Reminders to Save Money and Reduce Stress @ Five Cent Nickel. Time Management in today’s 24×7 world is key.
- How To Eat Healthy & Inexpensively @ The Digerati Life – A good read because healthy eating and frugality are not mutually exclusive.
- How To Start A Business You Love @ Christian PF. Some great points here. For me personally, this blog is a small business and I would title a similar post, “How to Start a Part-time Business you love!”.
- What to Do with a Financial Windfall @ Cash Money Life. If I ever face this situation, this article will point me in the right direction. Alas, no windfall in sight for me.
- Also a great carnival or personal finance at Pop Economics where he threw down a challenge to provide more quality content. I agree with him from an editorial perspective, but from a business perspective articles about taxes, stimulus and retirement are popular because because that’s what people are searching for and so these types do provide a better return on time invested
- How I Went From no Blog to 122,661 on Alexa in 2 months – great story, but Alexa is only one of many blog success measures.
Sorry for asking a purely nickels and dimes question .,… but how did you earn $100 when you got your first hit , how does that work …. like your blog on blogger vs wordpress pro’s and con’s also , as well as this one , thanks for explaning
It took me 3 months to earn a $100 and many “adsense” hits. Takes a while to find what works. See my posts in the “blogging” category (on the left pane) for more posts on my blogging journey and how you can make money! It ain’t easy, but it is possible. I now make a $100 per day on average, but that is based on over 10,000 visitors.
Thanks for the mention! :) I’m aiming to catch Karate Kid! Congrats to 3 million visits, that is no mean feat! :)
Aha. Toy story 3. I wanted to see that in the theatres. Ain’t got no friends for it this time around willing to! XD
I’ll hold out for the DVD though. <3
Great work on the traffic. I’m almost at 2 million visitors so I have a ways to go before hitting 3 million.