I have been planning this post for a while, and keep putting off when to publish it, but I think the time has come.
This is my vision for The Frugal Cottage.
I had been planning to start a blog for about 3 months before I actually took the first step and bought the domain. The Frugal Cottage wasn’t the first name I’d thought of, but it was the one I kept coming back to, again and again. It seemed the best fit for what I planned I would do, so it became the winner. The Frugal Cottage encompasses my dreams, both for online and for my life outside of the internet.
There are many things I want achieve with this little space in the internet which I call mine. There are many different tangents I want to explore, to see where life takes me. I want you to join me on my journey. I want to be someone who inspires confidence, who can instil positivity, who can challenge mindsets for the better, so that your future is better and brighter for it.
This journey includes all of us, whether it’s right at the beginning or along the path. I have some challenges to face, I need to change my mindset and work out just what I want from my life. I have big dreams for my future, and I want to involve you in them. I need the support of like minded people, so that we can help each other, support each other through the tough times and celebrate the good. I want you to be honest with me, give me feedback (good or bad) and help decide the direction in which we all go.
I’d love to create a community where living the good life on a budget is the norm, where people are proud of who they are and aren’t afraid to shout it from the rooftops. I feel that finance in the UK is something that isn’t talked about enough. Money is still a taboo and there are too many people in the UK (and beyond) who need help but don’t know where to start. I want to create a resource which helps people succeed in finance.
In my plans, I have lots of resources I want to make to help you. I’ve got projects coming out of my ears, and I want to do them all and document them. I need to prove to you that this life is worth living in this way and you can be brave enough and strong enough to make the right decisions. I want to make you feel empowered by your choice to live your life the simple way. I want to show you that life can be simple and there is no need for complicated stuff to get in the way. I want you to show me where I go wrong, and help me with my journey.
In the longer term, I’d love to have meet ups, work shops, conferences and showcases. I hope that one day I don’t have to be quite so anonymous (as I do at the moment due to work) and I can meet with people, get to know them better and enjoy the wonderful people that are part of the blogging community. Wouldn’t it be amazing to have a UK version of FinCon, where bloggers unite for a weekend and share their wisdom and expertise? I’d love to be able to work with lots of different people, with different backgrounds and knowledge. I’d love to be able to go into schools/colleges/universities/work places and educate about finance. How’s that for a big aim? I eventually want to add some forums to the site so I can communicate directly with readers and offer individualised support, but that’s also further down the road.
I realise that these are quite big dreams for this little blog of mine, but I truly believe that if I put the effort in and I have a supportive network around me, I can succeed. I’m willing to learn along the way and soak up any advice anyone has to offer.
This is my vision for The Frugal Cottage and I hope you’ll stick around for the ride.
I’d love to your thoughts on this – please comment below and share this post!
Getting the best name for a website is really time-consuming and needs deep thinking. My advice is if it suits your interest and long-term goals, why not push it? By the way, you have one supporter over here. Just continue those goals of yours and we’ll stick around. Aim high! 😉
Thank you for your support 🙂 I am going to continue and see where it takes me!
I think your vision is fabulous! I love that you have so many amazing ideas about what you’re going to do with Frugal Cottage! And, I definitely think you chose the right name–and not just because I have a thing for blogs that start with “frugal”… :). Looking forward to following along on your journey!
Thank you! Looking forward to following your journey too 🙂
I also want to share and educate about finance, Nicola. I think your goals are spot on. I’ve noticed a number of bloggers are now becoming less anonymous due to FinCon. Mind you, they maybe have just given their first name and face, so maybe not completely un-anonymous. You and I already share our first names. I haven’t really shared my face (only blurry pictures) but really for the same reasons as you because I don’t want to link my blog to my workplace.
Yes, I need to stay fairly anonymous for now – hopefully one day that might change.
Ricky from Skint Dad also mentioned a UK conference lately. Karen of Help Me To Save used to host UK PF blogging events. The UK scene has been slowly gathering speed for several years now. It never had the audience that the US and Canada had. I mean, not even when you account for the difference in populations. The events were nice but I think they probably fizzled out because the scene just didn’t have enough momentum at the time.
I guess so – I hope that might change in the future 🙂
I love your vision! I’m 100% with you. This is basically what I strive for on my blog as well. I think you are well on your way to getting there, and it’s great to have such a strong vision early on.
Well, I’ve made a start which is the hardest part! 🙂
Dude, those are awesome and commendable goals! Dreaming big never hurt anyone!
Even if you don’t fully reach your goals with The Frugal Cottage, that doesn’t mean you’ve failed. If you help just one person, that’s one person with a better life. He or she then helps another person, and on and on, …
Also, your blog’s name is at least 100x better than mine since it’s clear what it is about! 🙂
This is true – even if I just help one person, it’s a good achievement 🙂
Sounds great! I can’t wait to follow your progress 🙂
Thank you 🙂
Hi Nicola!
I am glad you posted this! It is an amazing vision! 🙂 I think the frugal cottage is a great name! It’s funny I was thinking just the other day if I would change my website name if I bought a domain for myself!
I love the idea of workshops, meetings and resources – debt is such a lonely affair (mostly due to the stigma attached to it by society) that having support (even virtual) makes such a difference – and we all know how brilliant a cup of tea and a chat can be!
I hope you can develop the community and if you need any help/support – feel free to drop me a line! 🙂
Natalya x
Thank you! 🙂 I know, support is a massive factor in any journey and I’d love to create a lovely, supportive community 🙂
These are all great goals! It will take a lot of hard work but I bet you can do it! You should print this post and keep it by your computer as a reminder of where you are headed.
I just might do that! Thanks for the suggestion 🙂
Thanks for sending me the linkie – subscribing now 🙂
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
hi there Nicola, late comment on this post, your plans sound very fine and I particularly like the idea of taking personal finance education to schools – don’t know what they teach kids these days as I grew up in another time and place but my school taught me basically nothing on that subject and it would have helped so much later in life if they had. So go for it! 🙂
Thank you; I’d love to do that in the long term, but would need a better plan of action first, I think 🙂
Hi Nicola! I am happy we found your blog. We live in Germany and started blogging recently. We reached FI this year. We are actually planning a European FI Week next year. We’d like to get in touch with you!
I’ve got your email – will get back to you!
Hi Nicola, duh – only just discovered this post even though you wrote it ages ago! These look like fab goals for Frugal Cottage, and I agree there is so much more we in the UK need to do to educate ourselves about personal finance. I’m still in the very early stqges of establishing my own blog…with only very modest aims by comparison!
Thank you! Looking forward to seeing what you do with your blog 🙂
I think it’s lovely that you have shared your vision with the readers of your blog 🙂 I like your attitude to achieving financial independence. we often get too caught up in our long lists of “must haves” and forget the simple things that truly make us happy.
Thank you 🙂 and thanks for stopping by!