Timmy enjoying some sun out on the balcony
So it looks like summer has finally arrived here in Vancouver. Finally people can stop complaining about the rain and clouds. Before long they’ll be complaining about the heat instead, but usually it doesn’t get too hot here.
To ring in the real start to summer, I went for a stroll around the park and laid around reading a book for a while. Quite a relaxing afternoon I must say — definitely one of the major benefits of working from home. I might as well enjoy it while I can before I end up back working in an office again. If things keep progressing on the career front that might be quite soon.
Actual Blog Update
Ok I’m kinda getting over chasing stats with my blog. I recently realized that one of the reasons that my Alexa Ranking keeps dropping after I got below 50k is that more spammers have been dropping by trying to leave comments.
So am I supposed to be excited over getting more spam comments to deal with? That akismet plugin is calling my name, but then I’ll just have to wade through the spam folder to rescue any legit comments. Thank you spammers for at least using the Alexa toolbar when you drop by. Now if I really want to keep it dropping, I just have to tell them about the commenter recognition widget on my homepage.
Some other stats improved a bit, but nothing extraordinary. I won’t bore you with the details. I guess I’m settling into the grind where progress slows down but you still gotta keep working hard to keep that bit of momentum rolling. If I keep pushing this snowball is gonna eventually get to a steep section and really pick up some momentum on its own.
I do have some plans to monetize this blog a bit more soon. Don’t sorry it’s just going to be some semi-static affiliate pages to start. Once I get around to setting those up I’ll probably get a good boost of motivation. Maybe I’ll even finally write my first guest posts on other blogs. I admit I’ve been putting that off until I had some ‘money’ pages up.
Cat Update
On the Trip front, I’m happy to say that he’s doing great. He hasn’t been sick at all since the surgery. I think his shaved belly is getting a little less itchy too.
The only downside is that now both him and Timmy are starting to get picky about their special wet food. Well really that’s probably a good thing because then I might be able to switch them to dry food only. That sure would make things simpler for when I have to get people to cat-sit when I go out of town. I always feel a bit guilty telling people that the cats would prefer them to drop by twice a day.
Dropping wet food altogether might be a tough sell for them though. They still bug me at meal times and then give me a dirty look when I give them the vet food.
Modest Money Around The Web
Yup, another long list of mentions this week. Part of it is that I forgot to check some carnivals last week. Again, damn you WordPress for never fixing the lack of automated trackbacks! Stupid Google alerts never seem to catch those mentions either. Anyways, less bitching, more thanking. I do really appreciate all the mentions. I am fully aware that it is having a great supportive group of blogging friends that is keeping momentum going. Thank you everyone!
Blog round up for June 29, 2012 on My Canuck Buck
The End of June’s Friday Link Love on Bog Of Debt
Carnivals, Mentions, & Weekend Reading #18 on Work Save Live
Birthday Edition Round-up on See Debt Run
Canadian Personal Finance Happy Hour – Canada Day Edition on Canadian Personal Finance
The Round Table on Money Smart Guides
Weekly Roundup: Great Articles This Week on Money Q&A
Financial Carnival for Young Adults – 19th Edition on 20′s Finances
An Honourable Mention on Shaking The Money Tree
Friends of the Family: End of June Edition on The Family Finances
June 1 Yakezie Carnival – Canada Day Edition on Edward Antrobus
Festival of Frugality #343: The Freedom Edition on Brilliant Finances
Jour 185: National Holiday Link Luuurve on Shopping Detox
Investing in our health – July update on Square Foot Garden on My Own Adisor
Carnival of Money Pros on Finance Product Reviews
Yakezie Carnival: The Power Ballad edition on Daily Money Shot
Festival of Frugality #342: Wimbledon Edition on Help Me To Save
The Yakezie Carnival – Summer Vacation Edition on One Cent At A Time
Weekend Ramblings – Gas Rant on Young and Thrifty
Carnival of MoneyPros on Broke Professionals
eBook Information & FinCarn Round Up on Wealth Artisan
AOL Sofas, Eric Simons & Financial Round Up on Wealth Artisan
The Whacked Out Blue Collar Roundup on Blue Collar Workman
Favorite Posts On Other Blogs
Now in case you happened to have somehow missed the posts below, I highly recommend you check them out. Your weekend just wouldn’t be complete without reading all of these awesome blogs. Hey if I regularly read them, they must be pretty awesome, right?
Launch of the The Web Ninja on Dividend Ninja
Holy Moley Mo’ Money! What I Would Do if I Won the Lottery on Mo’ Money Mo’ Houses
Government Wants You on Food Stamps on Money Smart Guides
Where to Get Auto and Home Insurance Quotes on Work Save Live
Five Ways To Save Money At The Movie Theater This Summer on Money Q&A
Dealing With the Neighbor From Hell on Blue Collar Workman
Hard work does pay off on Bof of Debt
How do coupons help families save money? on My Canuck Buck
Book Review & Giveaway – How Not To Move Back In With Your Parents by Rob Carrick on My Own Advisor
Avoiding the Temptation to Pay Down Debt on Young and Thrifty
Would you move to city if it paid your student loans? on Canadian Personal Finance
Jour 184: The most frugal way to prevent mosquito bites on Shopping Detox
Pay It Forward on The Family Finances
Estimating income and bills on Outlier Model
Blogging Anonymously 101 on When Life Gives You Lemons
Family Finance: Property and Vehicle Insurance on The Passive Income Earner
Why Do We Enable People to Spend Money While Shopping? on From Shopping To Saving
Never Give Up – A Man’s Guide to Getting Back Up on Fearless Men
The other thing to mention is that Friday night I’ll be meeting up with some local Vancouver finance bloggers. I think it should be a good time getting to know them. If not, we’ll drink enough to make it a good time lol.
Also I’m hoping to dig my tent out of the closet to get some use this weekend. Hell yeah! Ok I admit it’s gonna be in someone’s backyard, but there are lots of trees and it will almost be like camping lol.
How’s the start of everyone else’s summer so far? Any other campers out there? Anyone devastated that I’m not planning on doing much for stats updates anymore?
Couple things. First, thanks for the mention man! Two, glad that Trip is getting better. It’s always tough when an animal or small kid goes through something like that bcause you can’t explain what’s happening to them and why. Sucks. Three, I use askimet and even though I do have to sift through “spam” comments to pull out the real ones, I like that if I want to approve comments real quick, I can get most of them fast without having to sift through crap.
TB at BlueCollarWorkman recently posted..The Whacked Out Blue Collar Roundup
No problem TB. Oh I do explain to my cat, but he just meows back the same answer each time. With akismet I know I’m going to have to install it eventually. It would be nice not having to manually decline each spam comment.
It’s been so hot here that you can’t even go outside! 109 degrees and 112 with the heat index.
And I’m glad your cat is doing well.
Michelle @ Making Sense of Cents recently posted..My Money Obsession/Confession
Well I’m glad we have nowhere near that heat here. I’d much prefer summer showing up late than not being able to do much outdoors.
Jeremy,
Thanks for the looooove. I’m glad to see you finally realized that part of your Alexa ranks comes from spammers who have Alexa tool bars, however….don’t be so hard on your self, you’re the KING of commenting, promoting, and sharing love. An example to most of us.
Cheers!
Enjoy your weekend.
No I was well aware that spammers are more likely to be using the alexa toolbar. In my case I was getting very few spam comments until recently. I do still appreciate seeing the numbers improve, but since I’m satisfied where they’re all at, there is less drive to keep improving them so quickly.
I read a recent pf blogger that released an ebook on making money with a blog (it wasn’t that much she made).
You should write a book on how to comment and build community.
Modest Money has not been around long but look at all the comments posted already!
Steve @ Grocery Alerts recently posted..Entertainment Book – 2012 Entertainment Books just $8.99
I know the ebook that you’re referring. I probably could write such an ebook, but writing something targeted at just bloggers seems too limiting. Since this was started as a finance blog, I don’t want to shift too far into being a blogger resource. In all likelihood it will actually shift back to more finance oriented later in the year.
You should do some research before you drop wet food completely… it’s not very healthy to feed a dry-only diet. Dry food is a convenience for humans, not pets, and can cause a lot of health issues.
Love the cat pic! =)
Thanks for the heads up Melissa. I was not aware of that at all. I hear of lots of people giving their cats dry food only and it kinda made me wonder why I bother giving them both. I’ll just have to find a healthy wet food that they like.
Jeremy, thanx for the mention, totally appreciated man!
Cheers
The Dividend Ninja recently posted..How to Setup FeedBurner: Part-1
No problem Avrom. Thinking about it I probably should’ve linked directly to your new site. I hope you do well with The Web Ninja. It has a ton of potential.
How many spam comments do you think you’re getting on a daily basis?
It is nice that they have an Alexa toolbar so I’m not sure I’d be too annoyed by their visits. Your ranking has dropped quite a bit while I’m still hovering around 71k!
Jason @ WorkSaveLive recently posted..Why I’ll Never Get My Future Kid a Credit Card
Not that many actually…maybe 5 on a bad day, but often only 1 or 2 in a day. If it was more than 1 or 2 most days, I definitely would’ve installed akismet by now.
71k is still a number to be proud of. I know that I’d likely be at that level of higher if it weren’t for the Canadian blogger polls I hosted.
I was going to say that people will just be complaining about the heat, but you said it first. People will complain about anything – myself included! haha, but to be serious, I very much enjoy the sunshine.
I love that you included a cat update. I’m glad he’s getting better! Your stats are doing great, you don’t have to push them at all because they’re kicking butt on their own.
Daisy @ Add Vodka recently posted..Why Apartment Living Sucks
I doubt we’ll hear people complaining about the heat anytime soon. It looks like nice weather that isn’t too hot for the next while. After we’ve heard so much about the heatwaves elsewhere, people here will know it’s not something to complain about here.
As for stats, there are some areas that I’m still pushing, but I don’t want to put any pressure on myself in case that growth is slower than I might hope. So I’m starting to look more long term instead of short term improvements.
I am glad your cat is doing better. That must be such a relief.
I stopped watching my stats aggressively too. It helps to review them just once in a while. You get a better perspective and you don’t stress.
Miss T @ Prairie Eco-Thrifter recently posted..How To Tackle Housework
Yep it is a relief knowing that my cat is feeling better and won’t wake me up in the middle of the night with puking.
With stats it is pretty useful to push yourself early on. Eventually though it is probably better to start focusing more on just maintaining quality and planning long term.
Thanks for the mention, holy crap that’s a long list! Thank god it’s FINALLY summer in Vancouver.
Mo’ Money Mo’ Houses recently posted..Why I Chose NOT to Be an Anonymous Blogger
If I wasn’t so against regularly posting on weekends, I would be splitting up the mentions & favorite posts. It’s just easier to do it all in one shot though.
It looks like it’s slurpee weather just in time
Hell ya it’s slurpee weather. I think I need to get myself my own flask too! lol
Mo’ Money Mo’ Houses recently posted..20 Random Things About Me: Let’s Get Personal
No stats?? I’m boycotting this site until I see some stats!! Good to hear it’s finally summer out there and that you are going camping! I used to camp in my parents backyard all the time. Don’t let anyone tell you it isn’t camping either. As long as you have a tent and a sleeping bag, it’s camping!
MoneySmartGuides recently posted..Government Wants You on Food Stamps
lmao Don! Maybe just for you I’ll sneak in the occasional stat. Then again, it’s pretty easy to see all those stats anyway.
Wow it took a while for someone to notice the camping question haha. That or everyone else just isn’t into camping at all. There is at least a forest around this backyard. So as long as I position the tent flap the right way, it will feel pretty close.
Thanks for mentioning us here! Not sure if you heard but here in San Diego we stayed classy and went with the 15 second awesome fireworks display! I myself got to see the last 7 1/2 seconds. I hear it’s only taking people about 15 seconds to decide to not visit next year. no bueno. At least we got beautiful weather while most of the country is complaining. Have a good weekend all!
John recently posted..A Man’s Guide to Hosting Guests On Fight Night
I heard something about a bunch of fireworks going off all at once but didn’t realize it was down in San Diego. Must’ve been an exciting 15 seconds.
What a treasure trove of great articles and information. One thing to note: on my blogs, I find that it’s pretty unusual to have too many false akismet comments. If akismet says it’s spam, it generally is. I find the plugin to be a fantastic time saver.
Jamie Jefferson recently posted..Print Coupons for Hefty, Newman’s Own, Bisquick + more
Good to hear that about akismet. I guess it depends on the nature of the comments you normally receive and how those people comment on other sites. I guess it’s at least worth a try once the spam picks up further.
You could look at spam as a measure of success. The more spammers leaving comments, the more popular you are getting!
I have to agree with Jamie about Akismet. It flagged pingbacks at first but I seem to have trained it on that now. For actual comments, I have had 1 false positive out of almost 1000. So it’s been 99.9% accurate. And skimming the spam folder takes about 15 seconds.
Thanks for the confirmation Edward. I had been a little against that plugin but it sounds like it is working well for other people. It’s probably evolved a lot since I last tried it a long time back. I do agree that more spam generally does mean that a site/blog must be getting more popular.
Great to hear Trip is doing well. And nice work on the blog stats. I think you’ll do well with some affiliate static pages up, make a nice side income with what you’ve built here.
Seems like you’re everywhere on the web, nice work! The lack of trackbacks is killing me as well. I check my referral clicks on my stats to find who mentioned me, but it still misses some.
Jacob @ iHeartBudgets recently posted..Budget Fridays: Submission 1
Good idea with checking the referral clicks. That’s probably something I should be doing regularly. The problem is that with the carnival posts you’re not likely to get traffic from them.
I think the affiliate pages should do well too. I just wanted to build up plenty of domain strength first so they have a better chance of getting search engine traffic. That kind of monetization is pretty unobtrusive too.
Jeremy.. You continue to lead the pack of us newbie finance bloggers, and we’re all still trying to play catch up. We had to setup Akismet a few weeks ago, because we started getting bombed with spam comments, and really had no other choice.. I am talking 100+ per day.. I could have taken it as flattery, I guess.. But it was really driving me crazy!
Regardless.. Keep up the great work, sir. You are doing everything right.
And oh yeah.. Thanks for the great mention! It gives me the happy happy joys that you listed my most recent post first
Jefferson recently posted..Have Something You Want to Buy? Attach a Goal to It!
I don’t know if I’m really leading the pack. I’ve just had more time to improve certain stats to give that illusion. I’d say you and Michelle are actually the possible front-runner.
Sorry to hear that you are being bombarded by spam. That’s never fun to deal with. I do wonder what leads to that amount of spam. I guess I’m lucky with the relatively small amount of spam I get. Your blog url must’ve somehow ended up on a spammer list or in some kind of software.
Glad to hear that your cat is doing better and that your summer is going well. It has been incredibly hot here with temps getting into the hundreds, but we’re surviving. I use the akismet plugin, but I’ve never really gone through the spam folder to see if any legit comments were caught… I guess I should. As always, thanks for the mention.
Justin @ The Family Finances recently posted..My Worst Financial Decision
Yeah hopefully you haven’t been blocking anyone’s comments all along. From the other comments above though it sounds like it doesn’t produce too many false negatives these days. Still it’s worthwhile to check. You should be clearing those spam comments to prevent them from bloating your database.
Thanks very much for the mention. I think Mr. CBB’s guest post on coupons was great!
mycanuckbuck recently posted..Blog round up for July 7, 2012
No problem at all. I don’t mind supporting you or Mr. CBB. You’re both pretty awesome.
Glad you cat is doing better! Also, thank for the mention. And I’m one of those people who complain about the heat–but only when it’s killing all my flowers and my lawn. That just stinks
bogofdebt recently posted..Spending Recap 7/2-7/8
Well if the heat is that bad, complaining is justified. Here in Vancouver it never gets quite that hot.
Sorry, I’m late to the thank you party
Thanks for the mention and blog support.
I got you ready to be mentioned in my Weekend Reading roundup.
Cheers,
Mark
My Own Advisor recently posted..Dividend Growth Index 2012 Q2 Update
Well not as late as I am getting back to replying to your comment
No problem about the mention Mark.
Great to hear Trip is doing well. And nice work on the blog stats. I think you’ll do well with some affiliate static pages up, make a nice side income with what you’ve built here.
I’ve finally got around to starting on the affiliate promotion. It’s not going to progress as quickly as I hoped, but I do think there’s a ton of potential there.