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Money at 30: 10 of My Favorite Money at 30 Articles from 2022
Amazingly, 2022 is already coming to an end. What’s more, its final few days are in a weird sandwich where there are five “work days” between two holiday weekends. This weird setup inspired me to, yes, take things easy this week — but also to highlight some of my favorite columns that I’ve written this year.
To compile my top 10, I decided to feature five of my reviews as well as five “other” posts. So enjoy this look back at the year in Money at 30:
My Top 5 Reviews from 2022
I’ll start things off with what happens to be my newest app review. While I finally got around to reviewing Mana, I’ve actually been checking out the gamer-focused banking app for a few months. Funny enough, shortly after publishing, I ended up winning a Pro account upgrade. In other words, while you can check out my overall thoughts on the free account now, you can also stay tuned for an update looking more at the paid option.
Although I had my eyes on several different credit cards this year, the only one that actually made it to my wallet in 2022 was the Bilt Mastercard. Initially, I got the card so that I could explore the rent payment feature and earn rewards on my monthly rent. But, since opening my account, BIlt has only continued to add interesting features, making them a fascinating company to watch.
This year, I didn’t do quite as many book reviews as I did in 2021, but I think I still did my fair share. Among the titles I did consume, one of the most interesting was Cloudmoney. As someone who’s a pretty sizable fan of FinTech, listening to the arguments in this book definitely led to some serious thought. For a small preview of what I mean, I’d recommend reading my full review.
I don’t know how it took me so long to come across Cashback Monitor, but I’m so glad that 2022 was the year I finally did. The bottom line is that this simple-looking but incredibly powerful tool is kind of a gamechanger. I can definitely see this platform helping me save money in 2023 and beyond.
Rounding out my top five reviews is a service that doesn’t exactly have the most uplifting premise. Everplans is an app where individuals can store all sorts of information that they want to pass along to loved ones upon death. Of topic, in addition to purchasing a subscription to this service, I also purchased my first life insurance policy this year. Even if you’re not quite ready to face your own mortality in this way, I still think it’s worth giving Everplans a look.
Top 5 Other Posts from the Year
The Cost of Pet Ownership: Our Actual Expenses with a New Dog
Perhaps the biggest change in my life this year was that we added a dog, Rigby, to our family. In addition to bringing up plenty of companionship and joy, she’s also inspired content for me! That includes this post where I cataloged some of the initial expenses we incurred upon bringing her home.
5 Things I’ve Learned After Making 200 YouTube Videos
In 2022, my Money@30 YouTube channel reached a couple of major milestones, including publishing my 200th video and topping two million views. Of course, after five years of producing videos, I’ve learned an awful lot about the process and YouTube itself. Thus, to celebrate this milestone, I decided to share some of the top lessons I’ve picked up in that time.
When visiting a friend of mine earlier this year, she said something that was truly eye-opening to me: “I’m part-time for a reason.” Inspired by that sentiment, I dove deeper into what that means and how it happens to apply to my life as well.
Thrifting Our Way Into Disney’s New Star Wars Experience
Earlier this year, the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser debuted at Walt Disney World, offering a unique, heavily-themed two-night experience. Unfortunately, this immersive stay comes at a high price, with our stay coming in at $6,600 for the four of us. Yet, it could have been even worse as we managed to save money in a few ways — as detailed in this post. P.S., in a bit of synergy, you can also check out my review of the Galactic Starcruiser over on my Money@30 site.
One Year Later – Was Our Apartment Upgrade Worth it?
Last but not least, in 2022, my wife and I re-signed a lease at our current apartment. However, this outcome wasn’t always a given. Considering that this location was a big upgrade from our previous place, there were some questions about whether or not the extra cost was worth it. That’s exactly what I explore in this post — although I feel I may have spoiled the conclusion just a bit…
Despite the continued challenges that many of us faced, 2022 was a pretty good year for me, all things considered. Personally, I also feel as though it was a strong year for Money at 30 (and Money@30). Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this look back at my top 10 posts from the year — and I look forward to providing more content in 2023!