100 cents to a Loonie; 100 posts at Loonies And Sense

As the title so subtly suggests, this is my 100th post. I wracked my brain to come up with a more clever title for this post, but I'm afraid that's the best I could do.

A post count of 100 doesn't exactly take me out of the newbie camp, but it is a significant milestone for me. When I started the blog, I wasn't sure what kind of posting schedule I would keep, or how long I would even manage to keep the blog running. Just look at the 27-day gap between my first and second posts.

Since then, I've graduated into something resembling a regular posting schedule, and I've gained about 30 regular readers through RSS subscriptions. Still small, but growing. Knowing that people out there actually read the blog has really helped to keep me honest with respect to my goals. I may not always achieve the goals I set for myself, but having to answer to my audience means that I keep these goals in mind as I go through my day-to-day life. Thanks for being there to keep me accountable.

I wanted to celebrate my 100th post with a quick retrospective of my ramblings since my "hello world" post on June 7:

Canadian Stuff

• Loonies And Lexicons - In this post, I explored the parallels between Canadian and American personal finance terminology


• Loonies And Savings Plans - In this follow-up, I looked specifically at the education and retirement savings options available north and south of the border


• Loonies And Greenbacks - This September, the Loonie reached parity with the US dollar for the first time in over 30 years


• Canadian Black Book® and Free credit reports in Canada - These links allow Canadians to assess their vehicle's value, and obtain their free credit report

Family

• There's no "I" in "Personal Finance" - Ms. Loonie and I decided to take a joint loan to consolidate her student loans at a low rate


• Welcome back, home cooking and discussing finances - Ms. Loonie opened an ING account to save up for her tax payment next April

Mortgage

• So long, CMHC - In July, we finally paid off the last of the CMHC premium on our mortgage


• Demystifying Mortgage Rates - I looked into how mortgage interest is actually calculated based on the posted rate

Savings Wars

• Canadian High-Interest Savings - A New Hope - I looked at the process of opening and funding an account with ING Direct, HSBC Direct, Canadian Tire Financial Services and ICICI Bank


• The Canadian High-Interest Savings Strike Back - I compared the web interfaces and fund transfer processes at each of the above institutions


• Return of the Canadian High-Interest Savings - I compared the access methods for these institutions, and provided a final verdict on the account of choice

Investing

• Allocation on the Brain - This summer, I realized just how risky my asset allocation was, and decided to diversify


• Market timer extraordinaire! - I finally sold my two stock holdings, which triggered some brief seller's remorse


• Perspective on my market timing - The relative performance of my new index fund portfolio against my old stock portfolio has me feeling much better about my investments

That's just a handful of posts that I think give a flavour for what the blog's all about. Do you have any favourites that aren't on the list?