Every year-end, I like to take some time to reflect about the past year; and look ahead to the new year.
These are mr-stingy’s highlights for 2015. Thanks for coming along!
mr-stingy is Growing
In 2015, (as of 27th December), mr-stingy had 137,120 views from 63,826 visitors.
As compared to 2014, where we had 6,696 views from 3,314 visitors.
So… we’re growing. Yay!
Who Reads mr-stingy?
Not surprisingly, the majority of mr-stingy readers (71.5%) come from Malaysia.
This is followed by the USA, Singapore, Australia and the UK.
But I’m also really happy to see that we’ve now reached people in 162 countries around the world.
Top 5 Blog Posts
These are the 5 most popular articles that I wrote this year:
1. Meet Nerdook: The ex-PETRONAS Engineer Who’s Now A Work-From-Home Computer Game Developer
The story of my university mate who left a comfortable engineering job at PETRONAS to design computer games. Now he works fully from home on his passion, while taking care of his two kids. He’s one of my biggest inspirations in life.
2. How My Friend Lost 26 kg in 6 Months (and Raised Ten Thousand for Charity)
Another story about a friend — this is the story of how my fat friend lost 26 kg in 6 months through a combination of weight training and diet changes. Not only that, he managed to raise a lot of money for charity while doing it. If you like hearing about dramatic life transformations, you might like this one.
3. How I Paid Off My 58K Education Loan
In March 2014, I received a letter from PETRONAS, asking me to pay them RM 58,002.31 — payback for my education loan. I had twelve weeks. Through a combination of discounts, credit cards and a lot of phone calls, I eventually did it. Many people would call this my “signature” article.
4. Why I Give My Parents Money
A simple opinion article about why I give my parents money. I’m actually surprised that it was my 4th most popular article of the year. But I suspect it’s because people love reading about love, and how money fits into the picture.
5. How I Saved RM 5,024.94 in 2014 — Using Credit Cards
If you have sufficient discipline, credit cards are great tools. This nerdy, number-filled article talks about all the discounts, cashbacks and cool privileges I got in 2014 from credit cards.
Bonus Article: Time, Money or Love — Which is Most Important?
I published this about a week ago, but people have been telling me it’s their favorite article of mine ever. It’s one of my favorites too, and explores the relationships between time, money and love. Like my own “unifying theory of the universe.”
If you’re new to mr-stingy and just want to read one article, I’d recommend this one.
Top 5 Referrers
A lot of my traffic comes from beloved friends on the Internet. I owe a million thanks to these guys, who consistently send me traffic.
1. Pakdi – Pakdi a.k.a. Suzardi Maulan is a really cool guy. He’s also one of the top personal finance writers in the country.
2. iMoney – iMoney helps people compare financial products — to make the most of their money. They’re a match made in heaven for me; and I’m proud to be one of their contributors.
3. SAYS – SAYS call themselves “Malaysia’s social news company.” They curate and share content to over 1.2 million people every month. When I write a great article, you’ll usually see it on SAYS too!
4. KC Lau – KC Lau is perhaps the best-known personal finance writer in Malaysia. I’ve been a fan of him for more than a decade, and am honored to now be able to work with him.
5. GenX GenY GenZ – The ultimate Jedi master of credit cards in Malaysia. I’m a disciple.
What’s Happening in 2016?
In 2016, I hope to publish a lot more than in 2015. I’ve been guilty of of over-thinking, procrastination and wordiness, so a lot of times — I publish too slowly. I’m changing that.
I’m also in the midst of a major life-change that will hopefully allow me to publish more, and write even more interesting stuff. More details on that soon. Promise.
Finally, If you have any suggestions, comments or just want to say Hi, please write to me. I’m extremely grateful for every comment, and I (still can) reply every one.
So Happy New Year, thank you joining me on my journey, and I wish you the best for 2016.
Pic at Unsplash
