My Favourite Posts of 2015
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The end of the year is a great time to both look back and look ahead. I can't think of a better time to review what's appeared here on F2P. I decided to go through all the posts of 2015 to cherry pick my personal favourites, not because they received the most comments or the greatest number of shares all over the web, but because they're the posts I liked the most. How's that for a reason?
The ten posts below are loosely in order of preference—it's hard to choose among your children. And, for that same reason, I've added another five as "honourable mentions" at the end.
I hope you enjoy this stroll down memory lane as much as I did.
Ten Favourite Posts of 2015
1. Reclaiming Our Right To Think: This topic was interesting to explore and develop. We're sometimes so busy "doing stuff" that we forget to consider why we're doing it or whether it's even important.
2. The Lost Art of Waiting: Waiting makes everything that much sweeter. This post was a good reminder that good things come to those who wait and that the same experience or belonging can mean more to us by simply waiting to experience or acquire it. I once heard that living in America is like experiencing Christmas every day. What a shame.
3. Why I’m a Lousy Personal Finance Blogger: The theme of this post had been on my mind since I started this F2P blog. I'm glad I finally got it down on paper and the response was heart warming.
4. Accidentally Happy: I had a lot of fun writing this post and sharing Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton's happiness research with the F2P community. It's amazing how what we're taught to chase in order to have the "good life" has little to do with what actually makes us feel joy/happiness/fulfillment.
5. Debt and Drugs - 10 Things Big Banks and Big Pharma Have in Common: I have to admit that I expected more controversy with this post. It's a theme that I've had on the brain for a long time and, when I started putting pen to paper, I found that the parallels were even more unsettling than I could have imagined.
6. The One Question “Fight Club” Helps Us Answer: I was so thankful to have watched Fight Club this year (and the book is on my "to read" list). It's a movie that I'd avoided because I had misconceptions about it. It overflows with powerful lessons about money and purpose and is an absolute must see for anyone chasing financial independence.
7. Sugar and Shopping - Salves for the Slave: This was a nice walk down memory lane, in the hopes that I'll never revert to old habits. Balms to soothe our unsettled minds are everywhere. It's good to remind ourselves that we can set up our lives in such a way that a treat really is a treat as opposed to a needed escape to maintain some semblance of sanity.
8. Could You Make It On Mars?: I loved Andy Weir's book "The Martian". It's hands down the best piece of science fiction I've ever read. It was an incredible read and I dare you to try to put the book down once you've started reading it. What I loved about Weir's story was the main character's amazing level of self-sufficiency as both a botanist and an engineer. It made me think about the crutches of convenience that has resulted in our virtual helplessness when it comes to making, fixing or maintaining just about anything.
9. Are You A Hunter or a Grazer?: Likely inspired by my trip to Africa last year, this post explores how the way we're taught to think affects our saving and spending habits. Grazers exist for hunters to consume...and the reality is that most of us are grazers. This concept still comes to mind regularly, even though I wrote it over 6 months ago.
10. Chasing Perfection: This post was borne out of a societal concept I find it irritating: the constant striving for the perfect (materialistic) life. Not only is it expensive, but it completely misses the point of what makes life great. I'll take creative, purposeful and messy over the wastefulness of shiny, new and shrine-like stuff any day because the cost personal and monetary cost of the latter is just too high.
Five Honourable Mentions
These posts didn't make the top 10, but they weren't far behind. I like them because they're based on concepts that guide me on most days and I appreciated the opportunity to share them.
- Hanging By A Thread - The Hidden Costs of Fashion
- The Yawning Index
- Liquid Courage - The Freedom Elixir
- Are You Sacrificing Tomorrow to Save Today?
- The Carrot-Free Diet
Despite not being much of a fan of predictions, I'll take a shot at it making a few of my own. Looking ahead to 2016, I intend to further explore how society influences our behaviour (learning, earning, consuming). I also want to speak more about career management, an area I've barely explored so far and that most of us think about regularly. I also expect to keep revealing how we're managing financially of course and I think I might get a little more personal too.
Time will tell whether or not I follow through on all of these predictions. In the meantime, I hope you end 2015 in style and look forward to an even better 2016.
Special thanks to J$ at Budgets Are Sexy for this great idea. Here's his top 10.
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