3 years.
3 years ago this happened.

3 years of late nights, frustrations, interacting with awesome people, and writing countless articles. Ok, it’s actually 180 articles. I counted.
Fiery Millennials turns 3 today! It’s been quite the journey and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Although I could be tempted by a Tesla.…
In honor of 3 years of me spilling my thoughts on the keyboard, I thought I’d do something a bit out of the norm here and let you, my wonderful readers, steer the conversation today. I’ve been asking for feedback and questions the past few weeks in preparation. Thank you to everyone that reached out with feedback (still looking for that as well — gwen at fierymillennials dot com)! I sincerely appreciate it and have been working on incorporating that feedback into future posts.
Before we get to the questions, I have a few fun pictures and stats for you since I know a lot of people like to see how things are going behind the scenes.
Views
I am beyond thrilled I’ve already matched my second year of traffic only 3 months into the year. I think it would be incredibly amazing if I could say the same about 2017 next year! Last year I was at 50% of the previous year’s traffic which means this blog has picked up speed in a big way. I am so grateful!
Total views for the life of the blog clock in at roughly 352,039. I say roughly because that number only goes up! I feel pretty great with that number when I compare it to my previous stats. I know one blogger who’s already had that number of views this year. I’m not going to let that get me down though. I’m only comparing myself to myself! Comparison is the theft of joy, after all.
Demographics
Just over 50% of my readers are under the age of 34. I’m not surprised to see so many youngins here, after all.…. that’s who my message resonates the most! I am surprised to see a solid amount is made up of people older than 34 (which is not very old. you’re young at heart!). I really appreciate having older readers as well, as some of the advice and comments offered have changed the course of my life drastically. Y’all rock!
Of little surprise to me was the physical location of my readers. The vast majority of readers are from (drumroll, please) the US, Canada, and the U.K. That makes perfect sense as native English speakers will have the easiest time understanding the blog, and a greater chance of being able to emulate what I’m doing (tax laws, similar markets, etc). Rounding out the top 5 were Australia and Germany.
Wherever you are.….. THANK YOU FOR READING! MUCH LOVE!
Now.….. onto the questions!
Q&A with Gwen
Why do you pay the utilities on the house rather than the renters?
I pay most of the utilities on the house. However, my tenants do pay their own electric and gas bills. I cover the water, sewer, trash, and main house electric bills, as those aren’t metered and therefore I can’t really charge them for their own usage. One day I would love to split the water up! But it’s not a priority right now.
How did you meet your boyfriend?
This is my favorite story! We actually met here, through our blogs. My boyfriend is a fellow FI blogger and podcaster. If you want to learn more about our story, check out the podcast we recorded about it. It just came out today so it’s hot off the press 😉
How has the journey been since the being of the blog to where you are now?
Long, arduous, wonderful, frustrating, amazing… I could go on. I’ve put a great deal of work into this blog and have reaped so much. I’ve met amazing people, traveled to some incredible places, and have learned many lessons.
I would not be who I am today without this blog and the opportunities that have stemmed from it.
What’s next in your plan after you relocate?
Work! I will be working on setting up a completely new way of life, one of an entrepreneur and artist. I want to spend my days making money for myself and creating stained glass masterpieces.
Are you hitting pause on FIRE?I’m not hitting pause, just shifting my focus. Instead of focusing on accumulating a stash of money for early retirement, I’ll be focusing on creating a stream of passive income. And some not so passive income for good measure (for now).
What do you plan to do now that you are retiring?
As much as I’d love to pretend I’m retiring at the ripe old age of 27, I’m really not. To me, that would mean I would be capable of living off the stash and not having to work. I am not there yet. I have a decent chunk saved up, but that’s pretty much all tomorrow money. I still have to figure out how to make it until then.
Do you think you’ll ever go back to W‑2 work again?
God, I hope not. I might just be burnt out right now, but I’m sick of office politics and stifling corporate policies. Right now, going back to W‑2 work is my worst case scenario. Not a bad worst case scenario to have!
Where do you find such cheap health insurance?
I pay about $50/month for health insurance right now. Unfortunately that will change at the end of March 2018 when I quit. I am looking at paying ~$250/mo for insurance off the exchange in Minnesota for the rest of 2018. Not as good a price and nowhere near as good of coverage, but that’s life.
What is one thing people can do right now to bring them closer to financial independence?
I think this is my second favorite question in this session! I’d say the one thing people can do RIGHT NOW is to start tracking your spending. Yes, you can always earn more money, but if you don’t know where it’s going you’ll be doing the financial equivalent of climbing a sand dune. It’s definitely doable, it will just take more effort.
I’m not saying you need to go all extreme with the tracking and cut out everything you possibly can. That makes life miserable. Track your expenses, trim what is reasonable, save as much as you can, and make more money! Do that and you’ll be ahead of most your peers in no time.
Conclusion
Thank you to everyone that submitted a question today! I had a ton of fun answering the questions. I have no idea what I’ll do for my 4th blogiversary post, but I have 365 days to worry about it. I think 2018 is going to be the biggest year here on Fiery Millennials yet! Buckle up folks!
Thanks for reading! If you have more questions, I’d be happy to answer them in the comments below 🙂
Why not charge a flat rate for electricity? No submetering required, and at least in my area, very common for multifamily housing.
Congrats!!!! You’re going great! I’m super excited to see where life takes you as you start you new adventure.
Congrats on 3 years 🙂 Maybe in the next 3 years, you’ll be at 3.5 million views! It’s fun to dream 😉
Looking forward to celebrating with some ribs this weekend 🙂
Congratulations! I am so excited for you. And I love how you are redefining FIRE. I am just thrilled to hear more about this next chapter, Gwen. I am SO glad I found your blog!
Very cool, Gwen — big congrats on three years and all the great things that have happened since you took that first step with this site! Here’s to many more exciting, wild, and fun opportunities ahead for you!
Happy Blogiversary, and best wishes for a smooth transition north with the upcoming move!
You’ve inspired thousands of millennials (and hundreds of millenials, probably dozens of milennials, too). Looking forward to seeing what you’ve in store here in year four.
Cheers!
‑PoF
Congrats on three years and the awesome new adventure ahead!
I wonder if you could get cheaper/better health insurance if you used the rest of that free college tuition you have. Universities normally offer inexpensive health insurance for students. Of course you’d have to take classes, but you could have fun with it.
Congratulations on 3 years! That is awesome. I’m so excited for this new season for you. Leaving our jobs created so much space for new things to grow in our lives. Awesome and unexpected things. 🙂 Hoping the same for you!
Well done, sticking with it through thick and thin for three years is an amazing achievement. What has been your biggest learning?
Congrats on three years of blogging!! Inspiring for us new bloggers!
Happy 3rd blogiversary… For someone who still considers herself a young blogger (in terms of blogging age), such posts are always inspirational.
Congrats on the anniversary. Keep spreading your good financial sense and
good luck with your new adventures.
Congratulations on 3 years Gwen!! That is a huge accomplishment and I’m glad to follow along with your journey. I can’t wait until you are finally in Minnesota! When do you make the big move? We should all get together when you are finally settled in 🙂
Woohoo, congrats on three years, Gwen! 352k views is AMAZING and here’s to a fantastic fourth year of blogging!
Yay! Blogiversary!! Congrats on the milestone and those numbers, impressive. Love the Q & A idea, and generally thinking outside the box with blog posts. Keep up the good work!
Congratulations, Gwen! I am so happy for you and looking forward to reading about the upcoming adventures.
Congratulations on 3 years of blogging. This is very inspiring to new bloggers! I love the Q&A idea by the way.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks Alain! I hoped it would be 🙂
Big congrats, three years is a long time for a blogger. I think it’s safe to say you’re here to stay!
Stubborn.….. or dedicated? The world may never know!
Over 34 here, and love your blog. Congratulations on three years. Best of luck in the next phase of your FIRE journey. You and the Mastermind will surely do amazing things. Cheers.
Thanks Mr. Groovy! That’s the plan 🙂
Hi Gwen,
Cograts on your third year anniversity. I’m reaching 40 this year and from the other part of the World.
Always on lookout for new update in your blog.
Keep it going with your retirement plan.
Ben
Thanks Ben, will do!
Gwen you’re crushing it. A whole 3 years!
What an inspiration you are. Thanks for taking us all on this journey. I continue to learn and be impressed with every article.
Great post!!!
Thanks for share this info.