Don’t call it a comeback! We’ve been here for years! Well, no. We actually didn’t even make it to our first year of blogging anniversary. But that’s OK!
It’s been a year since our last blog post. And here we are starting again. The last post that we left you with was about learning to enjoy the process. So why did we stop? Quite frankly, it was getting to the point where we weren’t enjoying the process of blogging anymore. However, our reasons were different.
Omar’s Reasons
I enjoy reading about and talking about personal finance. However, blogging about it is completely different. Why? Sometimes you can feel like a street preacher. You think you’re putting good information out there, but people are just walking by like you don’t exist. I was never one to look at our site’s stats; only the comments that people would leave. Yet, Kim would tell me to look at the stats as well because not everyone is going to leave a comment.
Kim’s Reasons
I completely understood where Omar was coming from, but my reasons for stopping were different. First of all, I didn’t want to blog by myself. Omar told me he would guest post (insert eye roll here), but when we started this we were supposed to be a team. I simply didn’t want to do it without my partner. Although we’re married and agree (or compromise) on our financial goals and ideas, we are 2 separate people with different perspectives. I wanted the blog to continue to have our differing perspectives for our readers. I feel that my financial understanding is simple, but logical compared to Omar’s, which is complex, but nuanced. Therefore, readers could continue to relate to either of us.
My second reason for quitting was because blogging is a lot of work. As much as I had an idea of how much work it is, I had no idea. Before we started our blog we thought we would post every other week. But once we started it and people asked for more content we decided to post once per week. Add that to 2 somewhat introverts who were trying to keep up with social media to promote our blog… We simply got burnt out.
My last reason for stopping the blog was because I didn’t have the energy to do it anymore. My days became filled with morning sickness that hit whenever it wanted to and still trying to keep up with a toddler as well as work my regular job. I was mentally and physically exhausted. Not to mention that I was salty with Omar because he wanted to become a guest poster on his own blog, but then he would still try to share other personal finance articles or videos with me (insert eye roll again… Lol).
So Why Are We Starting Again?
We’re starting again because we have more to say and more to share. And notice that it says “we”. So yes, that means you will be hearing from both of us.
Omar’s Thoughts
Kim has been pushing me for months to pick it back up and I finally agreed. The reason is that this information is helping people who want more out of their finances. Also, I think this is a message that people of color need. Because of slavery and racism, we haven’t had the same amount of time to build generational wealth as other races. In this day and age, we are making more money as a race than ever. I’d like to try to see if I can help us keep some of that income for ourselves and future generations so we aren’t looking to either political party to save us.
Kim’s Thoughts
It didn’t take long for me to miss blogging. I missed interacting with those who read our blog as well as the other bloggers we’ve come across in this journey. I also missed using the blog as a creative outlet in regards to writing, editing, and designing pictures for each post. But above all that, I missed sharing information that others might find helpful.
I also agree with Omar’s sentiments in regards to people of color; it’s the reason that we chose to not blog anonymously. So that other people of color could see that living debt free while still enjoying life could be possible.
What Have We Been Up To Since We’ve Been Gone?
Well, in case one thing isn’t clear… We’ve made (and had) a baby! Lol. Like most things in our lives, this was planned. However, we didn’t expect it to happen so soon! For a while, we wondered if our then 3-year-old was ready and how he would handle it. But at the same time, we knew he would be OK. We welcomed our second son in June, just three days after Omar’s birthday.
Before we got pregnant, we were saving money to start our master bathroom update. It was to be the last major update before we started paying off our mortgage. We had a nice chunk of money saved when we discovered that we were indeed expecting already.
Since we try to make wise decisions no matter how much it sucks, this meant that our bathroom update would be placed on hold. We had to save money for the baby (more like for the bills that would be coming) and other expenses that needed to be taken care of. These included:
- Insurance Deductible: $5000
- FMLA Coverage (to cover unpaid maternity leave): $2000
- Vacation (because we weren’t skipping another year): $2000
- Things For The Baby (dresser, bedding, pictures): $550
- Things For Our Toddler (new bed, bedding, pre-school tuition): $1455
Once we added up everything, we quickly saw our bathroom update dwindle away. However, the bright side was that we had enough money saved to do what we needed to do and wanted to do. And we were still able to get new bathroom countertops. We figured it was a good compromise!
Final Thoughts
So don’t call it a comeback. We haven’t completely been out of the loop since we’ve been in touch with some of you outside of blogging. Those who wanted us to come back, those who wondered why we stopped, and those who have already welcomed us back – Thank you! We plan to post as time allows, but at least on the 1st and 15th of each month – you know, kinda like payday.
** sidenote: If you were following along with us on social media, feel free to follow along again as the IG page (thinkingofsomeday) and Twitter (thinkofsomeday) had to be restarted from scratch.
Great to have you two back and blogging again!! I’m looking forward to reading your posts. And congrats on baby #2, hopefully the baby is doing well!! Are using cloth diapers again for the second baby or just disposables!! If we have a second baby, we’re planning on using cloth diapers again, it was a great experience!!
Thanks Kris! It’s good to be back. The baby is doing well. He’s growing even faster than our first one did. Lol. We’re definitely using a combination of cloth and disposable diapers. As soon as he had his first blow out in disposables I knew it was time to start using the cloth diapers! And we’re enjoying using them just as much this time around.
Yay!!! You’re back. You guys came back much sooner than I expected. I enjoyed the read as always. Looking forward to having you guys back! Let the blogging begin LOL! Thanks for coming back.
I just read the questions at the bottom in the tiny bold font LOL. Well, we gave you guys a brief update on where we are in regards to our budget and saving for the 3-6 months emergency fund. We plan to start budgeting a little differently at the start of the new year (fingers crossed, cough cough to my husband LOL). Hopefully at the start of the new year, we will be able to figure out a new plan to tackling the remaining debt (a new debt was added to our budget last year) we have left. I had to get another vehicle 😔. That situation basically used up a majority of our 3-6 months emergency savings, oh and we decided to go on vacation as well LOL.
Lol. Thanks Katrice! And thanks for the support. I guess I need to make that question a little bigger, huh? In regards to your debt, y’all have paid off a lot already. So hopefully y’all will be able to come up with a plan to kick it into overdrive! I wouldn’t have missed vacation neither, but I’m sure everyone knows that at this point. Lol.
You’re welcome!!!! Yes ma’am, you should make the text a little bigger lol. You are correct, we have paid off a significant amount of debt. I have to remember to keep that in mind. Having to borrow money to get my new vehicle was definitely not on list of things to do. I remember talking to you guys about it lol. I am truly hoping we are able to make a few adjustments and get back to adding to the savings and paying off our remaining debt.
Great read…so glad you are back. I have always enjoyed your blog…We are retired and enjoy using our budget..Best thing ever happened to us…You both got us started and for that we are forever grateful….again…welcome back..
Thanks! It’s good to be back. I’m glad you’re continuing to follow along and still enjoy using your budget! Thanks for your support.
Hi, friends! I am so glad you are back. AND CONGRATS! What wonderful baby news. (runs to Instagram!)
I can’t wait to hear more from both of you!
Hi Penny! Thank you and THANK YOU! I promise to let you know when there’s a picture up. Haha.
Welcome back guys and congrats on the new baby. Looking forward to reading the posts which are very informative and inspiring. Still having some struggles with the savings but working on getting a new job. My baby starts high school soon as plays basketball and soccer so I have lots of savings to do!!! Love you both. Say hey to Uncle Merchell and aunt Yvonne for us.
Hey Shamaine. Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed the past posts and hope the same for the upcoming posts. What are your struggles with the savings? Hopefully the new job will come through soon and help with that as well. I can’t believe your baby is starting high school already! High school can definitely be expensive with extra activites and dues for everything. I don’t know if you saw a past post, but there’s one about “Sinking Funds” that might be useful in helping with saving money for things. Love you too!
Congrats on the second baby, two boys!! It must be busy!
I’m glad you guys are back too, looking forward to reading more 🙂
Thank you! Yes it’s definitely busy, but not yet because he’s a boy. More so because we have a 4-year-old and a baby. I’m sure it’s coming though. Lol. We’re glad to be back too.