How other bloggers are rounding up their 2017.

For the year end, I'm going to do something different since I have been updating everyone on my personal progress. So today, I'm going to be a kay-poh and will pick three bloggers and talk about  their 2017 moving into 2018 :

a) Budget Babe 

Budget Babe is going to be a target of a lot of salty folks getting into 2018. I always found it damn irritating that people disrespect her for two reasons : One is that she is a woman. The other is that she's a Millenial.

BB had an awesome year doubling her net worth and getting married at the same period of time. It's hard to imagine anyone else having a better year than she did.

Of course the sharks are coming. So many critics will warn her of the crypto-currency collapse and predicting a horrible year for her, but I think her mastery of crypto and equity picks are really respectable and I have made some crypto moves after considering some input from her.

I believe that BB is on of those bloggers to watch, she will hit her FI years before I ever managed to achieve it.

b) Cheerful Egg

Lionel also had a fantastic 2017.

I chose Lionel because Lionel is very spiritual and deeply religious which is a good contrast against my cynical atheism. Lionel reminds atheists like me that there are clearly benefits to have a deep faith in a belief that we might be missing out. It's not enough to make me religious ( because I was a persecuted D&D fanatic in the 1980s ), but it's enough to make me respect folks who integrate a strong faith in their blog write-ups.

Lionel is always very balanced and his article reflected on his travels. Admittedly, his Santorini pics dealt me a lot of psychic damage in 2017 because I was too busy studying legal cases when he was having the most fun. He also managed to train with Dale Carnegie which I always suspected may have been a better but more expensive alternative to the Toastmasters so something to consider if you are sick and tired of Toastmasters politicking.

Nevertheless, with his move into Data Science, I hope to be able to pick up a few tricks from him. Python is winning a slow war against R and there is some pressure to switch. Even NUS Law School has a Python programming module these days.

c) A Path to Forever Financial Freedom

The insiders are commenting the difference between Lionel and Brian Halim's blog. Lionel's very aspirational approach is contrasted with Brian's plans for 2018 which looks like a checklist with hard, solid targets to meet. This is a great way to start the new year, with hard-hitting targets for 2018.

Some of Brian's target is hard to achieve like a 10% return target. Some are definitely within reach, like a 20% savings rate. He also desires to read and do more yoga.

Why did I choose to go with this exercise ?

The three bloggers are generally aligned to the concept of financial freedom and money.

One reading is that 2017 was a fantastic year or investors.

But you might want to contrast their results with other folks on your Facebook who might not be aligned with so much money but has other passions and interests.

In my case, when I review the lives of other Gen X guys going to enter the darkest phase of their lives, things are not as optimistic as the folks in the financial blogosphere. There is definitely a lot more cynicism and saltiness. Many have goals which were not met in 2017 and casually swept it under the carpet. Others blame the government and society for screwing them over even though a large part of 2017 was based on their own personal choices.

So is success a function of your personal choices or your Fate?

Take the time to observe social media and form your own conclusions....

For me, I'm honored to be able to take a glimpse of the lives of the winners in the blogosphere.