Celebrating the best in personal finance! Flexo from Consumerism Commentary devised up these Plutus Awards, and they encompass everything from the best savings account to the best personal finance blog around. And many of you nominated Budgets Are Sexy for 7 incredible categories!!! Un-fing-believable (you can't see me right now, but I'm tipping my hat and paying you some major respect).

Here are a few of the categories we're up for: "Best Personal Finance Blog for Generation Y or X," "Best Multi-Part Series" (for the blogger showdowns), "Best Micro-Blog" (@BudgetsAreSexy), "Best Designed Personal Finance Blog," and "Blog of the Year!"

Thank you guys so much, it means a lot :) You can check them out and vote here, but regardless I'm totally honored to be in the mix with these guys. My congrats to Enemy of Debt, My Next Buck, Man vs. Debt, The Centsible Life, Squawkfox, Good Financial Cents, Well-Heeled, Financial Samurai, the infamous Punch Debt in The Face, Bargaineering and all others who've also been nominated. Cheers!

Labels: awesomely awesome, blogging, thank you

I cannot freakin' believe it. It seems like just the other day I was buggin' Clever Dude & Mapgirl for some blogging tips at over drinks ;) I even remember my very first commenter - Chicky from Chicky Finance! (remember her?). Two years of writing almost every single day, crazy man.

And I'm still just as excited today as I was 2 years ago. A bit more busier (like, 10x more!), but it's been completely worth it. Every single day. All your comments, tweets, emails, guest posts - everything continues to inspire me and keep me on track, esp. financially. You think twice about spending crazily when you know you'll be blogging about it later!

So this achievement is more about you guys than me, because without you I'd have been long gone by now ;) No one likes talking to the wall! haha...and while I may or may not blog full-time down the road, I can honestly say I'm 100% happy with what we've accomplished up to this point. Everything forward is just gravy. Here are some interesting stats over the years:

• Budgets Are Sexy has over 765 posts.
• Gathering over 5,000 comments!
• We've had one site redesign.
• And recently hit 1/2 Million page views! (Damn)
• Been featured on the front page of MSN, on Consumerist, LA Times & even a magazine!
• Even better, our net worth has more than doubled from $58,000 to $138,000.
• Courtesy of wiping out all debt (except mortgages), and maxing out 401(k).
  
• And I've somehow kept my anonymity?!
• And more importantly, my job ;)

Who knows what will happen over the next 2 years, but from our very first post to today's, it's been an incredible journey and I can't wait to keep on going! You all are brilliant and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. THANK YOU thank you THANK YOU!

God Bless,

Labels: about j., blogging, thank you

Are you ready for the biggest giveaway yet?! The most awesomest festival of love, ever?! Well today's your day lucky badgers - Welcome to the first annual Christmas Stimulus!!! A special $300 cash giveaway just for YOU, courtesy of your boys J. Money & Brad Chaffee :)

Yup, we're emptying our pockets to help 2 lucky winners get a boost this holiday season and we couldn't be more excited! This is an absolutely no-strings-attached deal and our way to give back to YOU - the beautiful & engaging readers of both our blogs. Every day you show up with open arms and you inspire us to keep on going, and we appreciate that. Every last comment, email, and tweet from you guys helps us to keep on blogging & spreading the good word. Without you, we'd just be two random ramblers typing away into a void of interwebs ;) So from the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU!

The Christmas Stimulus starts today, and all you have to do to enter is leave a comment with your answers by Saturday @ midnight. We'll then select the winners via Random.org on Sunday, and post up the winners of both contests next Monday - the start of the Christmas week! (and subsequently the same week of a certain person's 30th bday! yikes... ) Ready to roll? Here we go...

What are you thankful or this holiday season? Your friends? Family? A debt-free year? Tell us in the comments and you'll be entered to win a $150 Visa Gift Card from Budgets Are Sexy! Again, entering is easy:

1. Tell us what you're thankful for.
   
2. Leave some way for us to contact you.
3. Check back next Monday to see who won!
   

Then when you're done with that, head on over to the Enemy of Debt and answer Brad's question of the week - What are two financial goals you resolve to complete in 2010? You rock that out and you'll be entered to win yet *another* $150 Visa gift card! Compliments of the guy who thought up this whole giveaway himself ;) (and someone I admire very, very much)

We're really proud to be a part of all your lives, and we sincerely hope this helps with some of your bills or present buying this season. We've all got things to be thankful for, and we hope to continue this new tradition of ours for years to come! If all goes as planned, next year's will be even bigger!!!

So get to it! Drop the comments and enter to win TWO $150 Visa Gift Cards!

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UPDATE: Thanks for participating everyone! The contest is now closed.
UPDATE 2: For some reason all the entries from SATURDAY are not posting here, but I assure you I DID get them emailed to me (all comments get to me, even if they don't post correctly here at times). ***We had a total of 215 entries!!!*** Most. Ever. Stay tuned for tomorrow's winner, and then the winner over at Enemy Of Debt too ;) Best $150 I've ever given...(only $150 I've ever given actually! haha...)

Labels: giveaways, holidays, thank you

Hello, hello my good friends! It's Friday and it's gonna be a helluva good day :) Some of you might have forgotten, but a few months ago I wrote about charity and giving back, and asked if you'd share some of your own favorite charities with us. Well, I'm happy to tell you that a new project is finally in the works!!! I can't give away all the details right now, but I'm INCREDIBLY excited about it and I really REALLY think you guys will like what it's about.

This last year and a half at Budgets Are Sexy has been amazing, and every day your comments, emails, tweets, posts, and life lessons inspire me that much more. I love what this community's about, and I can't thank you enough for allowing me into your life. Seriously, I'd give each and every one of you a hug right now if I could. Or even a beer, depending on your sex ;)

My hope with this next project is to give back as much as possible, and to inspire people to keep coming together and making a difference. This economy has taken a toll on a whole bunch of our lives, and we need all the love we can get!

So get excited friends. We're gonna make this world a better place, and I need each and every one of you to help me out with it. I'll keep ya posted...

Labels: blogging, charity, thank you, updates

1 year, 3 months, and 500 posts later, this little blog is still around baby! Never in my life have I continued a hobby for so long ;)

I must give you all MAD LOVE for coming out and supporting this site each and every day, you guys are so wonderfull! Without you I'd just be another mumbling fool on the internet - so THANK YOU.

While this blog has transformed into an umbrella of finance-related topics, it was my good friend the budget who got the party started. So it's only fitting that I drop some knowledge about them to commemorate this most beautiful day ;) An excerpt from my feature in The Art Of Manliness blog:

"Maintaining a budget is key in becoming financially studly. If you know where your money is coming and going, you'll know your strengths & limitations. And if you know your strengths & limitations, you can outwit your opponent at any time! Plus, you'll be able to make quick decisions on the spot which girls love. And you know what else girls love? Confidence. And this,my friend, is what the budget gives you."

Yup, I still owe it all to the budget ;) That booger's gotten me to stay on track and allowed me to keep doing my financial thing! And so has a lot of other bloggers around town - their advice and point of views have created a wonderful learning environment for all, and I'm proud to serve on the same internets w/ them (you can find my favorites in the blogroll).

So with that, I leave you with some nifty little stats from these 500 posts, along with this week's financial round up & carnivals. God bless you all!

Current subscribers: 812
Twitter subscribers: 1,562
Total EVER page views: 234,145
Total EVER visitors: 137,460
Number of times I check these stats on a daily basis: 15 (down from 792)

I also gotta give due credit to all those bloggers who continue to send over some great traffic! Here are the TOP 10 all-time refferers (minus google, stumbleupon, etc) along w/ previous rankings:

1. My Money Blog (1)
2. Give Me Back My Five Bucks (2)
3. Bargain Briana (6)
4. Fabulous Financials (-)
5. MSN Smart Spending (3)
6. Clever Dude (4)
7. Chicky Finance (5) *no longer blogging :(
8. Single Guy Money (8)
9. Dinks Finance (7)
10. Always The Planner (-)

And Now, My Favorite Reads O' The Week:

1. Un-Broke: What You Need To Know About Money - Don't forget, the ABC "Money 101" special airs TONIGHT from 9-10pm! Check the link above for awesome-a$$ sneak peaks - Christian Slater, Will Smith, Seth Green, and more. Can't wait.
2. How To Spend Like A Frugal Millionaire - This piece from Yahoo Finance is all over the pf blogosphere, and for good reason. The author interviews 70 millionaires for the inside scoop.
3. Are You Doing Bad Things With Your Money? - Haha...that title says it all, brilliant.
4. 10 Revealing Q&A's By John Chow & Shoemoney - 2 online money-making masters share their answers side by side. Pretty interesting stuff.
5. "Amazing Grace" video - A heartwarming 32 sec. commercial from Salvation Army :)

And lastly, the Carnivals O' The Week:

1. Carnival of Personal Finance #206 - "Memorial Day Stars & Stripes" by Greener Pastures.
2. Festival of Frugality #179 - "Memorial Day" ed. hosted by Suburban Dollar.
3. Carnival of Debt Reduction #139 - "New Credit Card Rules" ed. hosted by PT Money.
4. Carnival of Money Stories - "A Road Map to Money Health" hosted by WalletPop.
5. Money Hacks Carnival #66 - "Family Summer Vacation" ed. by Passive Family Income.
6. Carnival of Pecuniary Delights #9 - "Organic Gardening" ed. by Passive Family Income.
7. Carnival of 20 Something Finances - "May 25th" ed. hosted by How I Save Money.

Thanks again to each and every one of you!!! May we have another 500 posts to look forward to! But for now, it's time to go celebrate Mrs. Budgetsaresexy and I's 1 year anniversary together ;) For anyone still around from those days, here was my wedding day post. haha....

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some babies to make relaxing to do.

Labels: awesomely awesome, blogging, budgets, link lovin, thank you, updates

Oooh la la, BudgetsAreSexy has won an award! I always thought #40 was the new #1 too! haha...But seriously, do you know what that means? Someone thinks this blog is all about learning and $hit ;)

I was also just alerted that we made it into Fire Finance's "Top 100 Personal Finance Blogs" at #64 - woohoo! I must admit it feels pretty good getting recognized like that, esp considering the list of top notch bloggers up on there.

If you haven't already, I'd def. recommend checking out both lists and seeing what the other bloggers are saying. We all write pretty differently, but the intentions are the same - to help people with finances! So i proudly accept both honors, and thank all of YOU for reading and keeping me going :) And while we're link dropping here, might as well shout out the carnivals this week:

• Money Hacks Carnival #48 - "Presidential ed." by Pimp Your Finances. *Editor's Pick
• Carnival of Personal Finance #188 - "Jane Austen ed." hosted by Pecuniarities.
• Carnival of Debt Reduction #175 - "Historic Moment ed." hosted by No Debt Plan.

I say it alot, but i seriously have mad love for you all. God bless each of you!

Labels: awesomely awesome, blogging, thank you, weekly roundup

Congratulations, You are my new favorite person!
I just logged on to view my stats, and was surprised to see an extra 200+ hits from StumbledUpon alone! I'm glad you enjoyed my "would you rather". You are a beautiful, beautiful person, and i love you. Please take this gift if you haven't done so already ;)

Labels: thank you

Dear online family,

It has been almost 3 4 full months since i've launched this blog, and you guys are still reading it!

Can you believe we're now at 21 39 108 current subscribers?! ROCK ON. And that's just the subscribers, there are a good 40+ 150 200 people each and every day checking it out. THANK YOU all so very much! You all sure do know how to have a sexy time ;)

It has been a pleasure reading all of your comments, bouncing around all of your blogs, and just posting when the thoughts hit me. Not to mention the motivation it gives me to keep being Mr. Frugal!

If you would allow me to do so, it would be a great honor to give you back a little somethin' somethin' in return. I hope it will give you long lasting fortune, and remind you to pat yourself on the back every now and then for being so financially savvy. You could even hang on your wall, and cherish it forever! haha... So, from me to you, please to enjoy:


Now remember, you *must* hang it on your wall to intercept all forms of financial luck. haha...actually, that's a lie. you have to hang TWO of these on your wall for good luck ;)

Before I go, I'd also like to give a shout out to my pf bloggers who continue to send traffic my way. You guys are freakin' awesome and i continue to learn from ya! Here are my consistent top referrals:
*Krystal at work, *Chicky Finance, *DINK'S Finance *Change can be a Good Thing, *Saving 4 Later, *Always the Planner, *My Crazy Debt

Thank you - Thank you - THANK YOU! I love each and every one of you (even those reading this for the first time. yup, i love you too). You are one VERY $exy group of people!

God bless, and come again.

Labels: link lovin, thank you