Six years of blogging, huh!? That’s correct – The Frugal Cottage turned 6 on Monday. It’s such a weird thing; this is the longest I have stuck with anything – apart from learning to play the piano – ever. Something that started off as a small side line has turned into a huge passion of mine; purely because I want to help people be more confident with their money.
I am still constantly amazed that people want to read what I post here and are interested in our story about early retirement. There are so many personal finance blogs out there to read, yet you choose to come and read mine. Thank you so much! As I continue to write about personal finance and our journey, the more and more I truly believe that we are doing the right thing, and hopefully inspiring others along the way. Sometimes the journey will be difficult and challenging at times, but we’re all here plodding along 
nothing has cemented that belief that the recent times; it can be incredibly challenging but if we all pull together, we will get through. The same can be said for finances!
I am so grateful for all of you that take the time to comment on posts, to offer more advice and insight, and to cheer me along as well. Thank you also for those of you who tell me I’m being too critical or harsh on myself, as it is difficult to see how much you’ve achieved sometimes when you still have so far to go. I hope that I am continuing to show that anyone can do what we are trying to achieve. Anyone can save more, live the life you want on a budget, and enjoy living a more simple life.
One of the things that I am most proud of achieving in the second year of running this blog is the fact that I am now definitely a dividend investor. I opened a stocks and shares ISA with Hargreaves Lansdown and am now receiving regular dividend income which is creating another income stream which will continue to build. I love writing my monthly dividend income updates to show how slow and steady can truly win the race, in the end. Although some months we don’t receive a lot, overall it continues to grow. Our passive income stream is growing – the aim in the end is to have £1,000 a month from dividend income. I hit the four figure total for dividend income in 2019.
I have worked out that what works well for one blogger doesn’t work for another. The Frugal Cottage is just my own bit of the internet; I am never going to be a six figure blogger, and I’m ok with that. This is something I do alongside my day job and I love it 🙂 yes, it does bring in some income which is useful in terms of our long term aims but I never set out for it to be my job. I have learned the hard way that comparing yourself to other [money] bloggers does not help in the long run. I’m going to just continue doing me, so to speak.
I have also started The Frugal Cottage shop, which includes my own budget planner, cash envelopes, meal planner and workshops. I get such a thrill when I get a notification to say someone has purchased something through my shop. All of the things are in there because I think they are genuinely helpful. I use the budget planner every month for my own budget, the cash envelopes are what I started out with and I use the meal planner every week to help plan our meals for the week ahead. The workshops are a new thing but the first one was amazing, so I want to continue doing these, on a variety of topics. Watch this space 😉
Before I get to the figures, the final thing to say is I have finally got a YouTube channel which I am loving. I had very much underestimated how much time it would take up, but I love it 🙂 make sure to check it out and subscribe if you aren’t already; lots of things planned for over there! 🙂
The top 10 posts on The Frugal Cottage over the past year have been:
- Frugal Foods To Buy To Keep Your Grocery Costs Down
- Bacon, Pea and Mushroom Risotto
- Dividend Income
- The £5 Savings Challenge
- 5 Simple Living Blogs You Should Be Reading
- My Updated Portfolio – June 2019
- 5 Easy Ways To Spend Less
- 7 Passive Income Ideas You Can Start With £100
- Dividend Income December 2019 + Yearly Roundup
- How To Make Apple Juice From Leftover Peel + Cores!
Some numbers over the past six years, just for fun
- over one million page views
- 792 posts published
- 4,497 comments left
- over 14,500 combined social media followers
- too-many-to-count hours of work
- one very happy owner – me! 🙂
I want to thank everyone who has visited, left a comment, followed me on any social media platform, sent emails or general encouragement. I absolutely love blogging, and I am looking forward to seeing what the next year brings me and my family. I hope that I can share more knowledge so you can live the life you want to live, on a budget.
Here’s to Year 7…!
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