Year in Review: Top Four Most Popular Posts

Hard to believe that 2014 is winding down!
Image: luigi diamanti/freedigitalphotos.net.

Well folks, we're down to the last few days of 2014! As cliché as it sounds, it's still hard to believe that yet another year has come and gone. It's of  course a blessing to still be here to be able to say it since many others didn't make it this far. A lot has happened in the world over the year in so many different arenas. Wars, rumors of wars, turbulent oil prices, jubilant markets, planes not making it to their destinations, and many more are what we have survived.

The world has been moving fast, but things have been far more sedate and sporadic here on the blog. Though I started quite a few posts, the vast majority of them remain in draft. Besides this one, only 12 other posts got up, though they were not with any sort of regularity. I definitely intend to change that next year and put stuff on the front page far more often. Stay tuned for that.

But that is yet to come. Today, we're taking a look at this year's posts that you folk really liked. Without further ado, here they are:

1. How I Gave Myself a 20% Raise
This year's most popular post was one from January where I detailed the "raise" I received by paying off some debt. Many people focus their energy on getting their boss to pay them more when they could really get a far bigger benefit by paying down some debt. Even "moderate" interest rates are higher than most raises. If you want a raise but haven't seriously attacked your debt, start there. That is something that you can control and not having to send money off always feels good too.

2. Hump Day Haiku: The Ringer
You guys also liked this post from May. I like alliteration as well as poetry, so I started my Hump Day Haiku series and initiative to combine the two: the series handles the alliteration, the poetry is the haiku itself. This particular one deals with the topic of foreclosure and seems to have struck a chord as a result. Many people have lost their homes to foreclosure over the last decade or so and while many probably weren't extremely happy when that happened, I'm sure some did feel that sigh of relief when it was all over. Music to the ear.

3. The Lending Club Experience
Right on the heels of the previous post in views was this one on my experience with getting a loan from Lending Club*. I've seen quite a few different personal finance bloggers extol the virtues of investing via lending club, but I've yet to see anyone actually borrow from them and write about that experience. I changed that and now people looking to borrow also have an idea of what to expect if they decide to do so.

4. DIY: 4th Gen Toyota Camry Oxygen Sensor
When the check engine light comes on, most people groan as they head to the dealership (or mechanic), hand over the keys, then hope for the best. I pull out my code scanner and get to work. After reading the code, I can head to Google and see if it's a repair that I'd feel comfortable doing on my own or one that I'd rather have someone else do who is more familiar with the process. In this case, changing the oxygen sensor fell very squarely in the first category, so I did a write-up of the process.

So there you have it! Those were the four posts that garnered the most attention this year. Like I said, there will be more content up on the site coming in 2015. I have a lot of posts sitting in draft to polish up and publish. Additionally, I will be keeping you updated on my progress concerning my return to school and share my experiences of navigating college life as a "non traditional" student who already holds a degree. Also, I hope to wrap up several other things that occurred over the last year that have had a significant impact on my wallet and be able to share information about them. Anyway, that's all I have! Ciao!

*Note: following that link will net me a referral bonus if you choose to borrow. If you do, thanks for the support!