1 year of blogging

It’s my blogiversary! Wow, I lasted a whole year. A little over a year ago, I met with Kathleen from Frugal Portland after stalking her blog for a while. She encouraged me to start blogging and I’m so glad I did. I originally started this blog as Do or Debt, and had my wordpress site for the first 8 months. Doordebt.com was already taken, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to buy something similar that looked like DOOR debt!

After about six months or so, I started to doubt myself. I wondered if blogging was really for me, and I started to feel less creative. I hadn’t really found my voice or my stride, probably not even my audience. Originally, I had wanted to write to keep myself accountable in the debt payoff process. I thought, I don’t need people to read it, it’s just for me!

I was so cavalier.

But why start a blog if you want to just write for yourself? Why not just write in a journal instead? I had to really define my purpose and my vision and in late July it hit me. I thought about how much I love relationships, and talking about them and had this idea for “Dear Debt” letters.

At a blogger happy hour, I discussed it with my friends and they encouraged me to move forward with it. In August of 2013, after 8 months of blogging, I launched this site. Even though it took me 8 months to get self-hosted, I needed that time to see if I was serious, and to really flesh out my vision for getting out of debt.

I still have so far to go. I’ve had some growing pains, and am still learning the business and technical aspects of blogging that do not come naturally to me. I’m finding my voice and feeling more confident. I am less scared of revealing who I actually am, because I’ve seen how supportive this community is.

So this blogiversary really isn’t about me at all. It’s about you. I want to honestly admit I would have quit months ago if I didn’t have your support, readership and ideas. I am dead serious that the dear debt letter writers keep me going. You guys are just plain brilliant.

Being in debt can be really isolating and depressing, but the personal finance community is right there cheering you on. If I achieve my goals, I will be debt free in three years. There’s so much work to make that happen, and I’m not super confidant I can do it, but I will continue trying. I’ve survived year one and met my goal with your help!

When I started my blog a year ago, I was at a turning point in my life and at the depths of depression. I couldn’t find a full-time job, and nothing made sense to me. I thought everything I worked for meant nothing. That life was some how cruel and unfair, and that life was a series of mistakes I was trying to recover from. I now see it was just a rough patch, but my blog helped me get to that next step and move forward.

I want to sincerely thank everyone that has ever read my blog, commented or shared a post, sent me an email, written a dear debt letter and just overall been a great cheerleader. Bloggers don’t exist without an audience; it’d be like an actor without an audience. That’s just talking to yourself! (which I have done many times)

I have to say a special thanks to Kathleen from Frugal Portland, Tonya from Budget and the Beach, GMD, Anna from Are Ya Gonna Eat That?, Erin from Red Debted Stepchild, Michelle from Shop My Closet Project, and Mackenzie at The Random Path.

I’ve met and “met” some truly wonderful people because of this blog and I know that will continue in 2014! I hope to meet more of you at FinCon in New Orleans.

Thank you and Happy Friday!

P.S. What do you think about the new look? I’m trying some new things out.

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Melanie

Melanie Lockert is the founder of the blog and author of the book, Dear Debt. Through her blog, she chronicled her journey out of $81,000 in student loan debt. She is also the co-founder of the Lola Retreat, which helps bold women face their fears, own their dreams and figure out a plan to be in control of their finances. She is passionate about empowering women, helping others get out of debt, and focuses on the intersection of debt and mental health. Every September she organizes a Suicide Prevention Awareness Blog Tour, to help share resources for those struggling with debt and suicide. In addition to her love of personal finance, art and music, she is also a karaoke master and a cat mom to Miles and Thelonious.

Latest posts by Melanie (see all)

• Talking About Money and Mental Health - September 12, 2022
• Dear Debt, We’re Better Apart - June 27, 2022
• Announcing The Mental Health and Wealth Summit - May 4, 2021