Category Archives: Yakezie

Aloysa’s Reading Picks: Secrets Revealed

Are you ready for 2011? If not, check out my staff writer post at Beating Broke today, Catching Up On Your Year End Financial Planning.

You probably heard by now all of my news. I pretty much announce it every chance I get, so it would be almost impossible not to know. But just in case you don’t know, listen up!

A few days ago I broke 200K! I completed the Yakezie challenge in 2.5 months! It feels great. My Alexa rank is now about 177K. As I type it, I cannot believe it. I joined the challenge on September 27. My Alexa rank was about 2.5 million. I switched to a self-hosted site in October and ended up with Alexa of 15 million. It was tough, starting from the scratch. Few words to the challengers:  you can do it! Nothing should be stopping you. We are all in this together!

Last week I became a contributing writer @ Beating Broke. My first article The Golden Rules of Haggling was published this week. Please make sure to stop by. I had fun writing The Rules. I hope you will have fun reading my post.

Someone asked me what is the secret of my success with my Alexa rank dropping so fast. I wondered about it myself. Then I looked at Google Analytics and my eyes opened up. Here are my secrets revealed:

My 5 top referring websites in November were:

1. Sweating the Big Stuff. This came as a big surprise. I do read this blog and comment there from time to time. Secret revealed: your comments attract readers. Leave a good, constructive comment and you might be surprised.

2. Carnival of Personal Finance. I do submit my articles to this carnival almost weekly. The result? Top two referring website! Secret revealed: participate in carnivals!

3. Politicalcalculations.com. I had to go and take a look at this website because I had no idea what this was all about. Apparently one of my articles Beware of Men Counting Pennies ended up in this blog’s roundup. It was an editor’s pick, and as the result of it, my traffic was great for a few days. Secret revealed: write well and submit to carnivals. I know, somewhat redundant but hey, you never know who is reading you!

4. Google. Secret revealed: I don’t write word targeted posts. I don’t know anything about SEO. Ignorance is bliss. Sometimes.

5. Yakezie.com. What can I say? I like to talk. Ask my husband Beaker, he will confirm. Secret revealed:participate in forums!

My 5 top referring websites in December are:

1. Invest It Wisely. I participated in his suggested project and the result was AMAZING. His original article was picked up by a coupe of big websites. Congratulations! As the result of it, The Kitchen Sink got some share of this traffic. Secret revealed: participate in projects. Support your blogging friends!

2. Carnival Of Personal Finance.

3. Life and My Finances. Comments people, make comments. By the way, check this blog out. Great blog, interesting reads. Special thanks to Derek for a great guest post!

4. Yakezie.com

5. Everyday Tips and Thoughts. I am a regular reader of this great blog. I love Kris’ humor, insight and style. I read, I comment, I get traffic.

Now as all my blogging secrets revealed, let’s catch up on some great reading:

Do we need failures in order to succeed? Find out reading Want to Be Successful? Go Out And Make Mistakes! @Life and My Finances.

Have student loans? Have trouble tracking them? Read HowTo Track Your Student Loans @Money Cone.

What would you do if the worst happend? Find out reading If The Worst Happened @Budgeting in the Fun Stuff.

I am a horrible tipper. Thanks to Suba I have a Holiday Tipping Guide – How Much and To Whom@Wealth Informatics.

This post just proves to me that being a landlord might be a nightmare. Dealing with My Tenant From Hell@Yes, I am Cheap.

Have your limits when it comes to generic stuff? Express your opinion after reading Sometimes Saving Money Isn’t Worth It – Items I Refuse To Buy Generic @Everyday Tips and Thoughts.

Are you in a disagreement when it comes to discussing finances with your significant other? Read The Daily Grind: How To Agree On Daily Finances@MomVesting.

Interested in renewable energy? Find out How Much Does Renewable Energy Cost Me? @retireby40.

Don’t we all want to stretch our money a little more? Streching Your Grocery Dollars Without Using Coupons Part 2 @Mom’s Plan

A relatively new blogger wrote an excellent article about charitable donations. Check it out – Giving to Charity – Sustainability for the Soul @Sustainable Personal Finance.

Are you a fan of Rich Dad Poor Dad? You have to read Rich Dad Wrong Dad @Buck Inspire.

Hate Christmas gifts you get from your in-laws? You are not alone! Get some laughs reading Unforgettible, Funny Holiday Gifts That Were Given as real Presents @Squirrelers.

Vacation, Alexa Ranking and Aloysa’s Reading Picks

I am going on vacation! I waited for it long enough and, finally, it is here. You won’t hear from me till the middle of November. It makes me a little bit paranoid because I have never been away from the Kitchen Sink for that long. Well, my blog will be three months old in November and you know how paranoid parents get about their newborn. The Good news is that you will hear from a few great bloggers as their guest posts will appear on this blog. Please make sure to come back and see what they have to say.

I joined the Yakezie challenge on September 27, 2010 with Alexa ranking of 2.6 MM. A month later I made it to 700K, running The Kitchen Sink as a free wordpress blog. In October I switched to a self-hosted website and never looked back. It was the best move I ever made in the blogosphere. However, the switch affected my Alexa ranking. It was sky-high at 15 MM. Today, November 2, 2010, it is 613,380! Thank you everyone for reading my posts, commenting, promoting and linking back. Thank you everyone for becoming a subscriber and a loyal reader!In fact, I cannot thank all of you enough.

While I am away, make sure to check out these great articles:

Do you want to know what people spend on weddings? Do you have something to say about it? Read Would You Pay for An Extravagant Wedding @Everyday Tips and Thoughts.

If you want to learn how to maximize your strength, check out Strength Finder 2.o @retireby40.

Want to learn more about how to make money blogging? Read 3 Ways to Supplement Your Income With Online Earnings @ Financially Poor.

What to do when financial disaster strikes? Find out from One Disaster Away @Yes, I am Cheap.

Do you get paid bi-weekly or monthly? It’s All About Timing @Musings of an Abstract Aucklander.

Wondering if you should invest in 401K? Think you cannot afford it? Find out reading 401K Advice – Stop Passing Up Free Money! @Faithful With A Few.

What is your experience with Craigslist? I am not talking about the Craigslist killer…  but Craigslist Secrets That Nobody Told You @Minting Nickels.

Have you heard about Consumerism Commentary blog? Of course you have. Do you want to find out more? ReadPersonal Finance Luminaries @BarbaraFriedberg Personal Finance.

What is the difference between Health Savings Account and Flexible Spending Account? Find out reading Health Savings Accounts vs Flexible Spending Accounts @Wealth Informatics.

Get involved and state your opinion after reading Does It Matter Who Is The Main Provider Between Husband and Wife @Squirrelers.

Find out what millionaires drive reading Toyota Millionaires Vs Mercedes Millionaires @Watson Inc.

Halloween is over but see what you could have done Free Deals and Activities For Halloween @The College Investor.

Have a great week everyone!

Aloysa’s Reading Picks

I took a huge step (not sure forward or backward) and moved The Kitchen Sink to a self-hosted websiste. This bold and painful move happened over the weekend. The new Kitchen Sink website looks exactly like the old one. There are still a few glitches than need to be worked out but other than that, it is up and running.

If you are reading this, welcome to my new website. Please make sure to follow me, update your blogrolls (I am still listed, right?), email and RSS subscriptions (you want them coming, don’t you?).

I’ve read a lot of great articles during the past two weeks. My reading reccommendations are listed below:

A must read Letter to My “Enemy” @ Courage 2 Create

If you want to get outraged read Firefighters Let House Burn and Pets Die @ Faithful With a Few

Get some cheers and get some geers reading The Problem With Being Budget Minded is Other People @Watson Inc

Form your opinion about Twitter with Instead of Twitter Love What About a Twitter War @Financial Samurai

Discover a $1 airfare deals and what it entails reading Nickel and Diming @ Musings of an Abstract Aucklander

Learn 11 Ways to Blog Good @ Of Parchments & Inks

Learn ssomething new reading Expiry Dates Of Financial Documents – How Long Should IKeep MyFinancial Documents @ Wealth Informatics

Express you opinion after reading It’s Your Fault That You’re Still Unemployed @ Yes, I am Cheap

Get some laughs or not with I Thought Duke Graduates Were Smart @ Squirrelers

Read about homebuying and share your thoughts with Judging a Generation of Home Buyers Based on TV Shows like “House Hunters” @ Everyday Tips and Thoughts

Get new ideas how to conserve water 7 Ways to Conserve Water at Home @ Bucksome Boomer

Find out how to Get Cheaper Auto Insurance @ Money Reasons

Learn some real estate basics reading Real Estate Investing For Beginners @ Invest with Passion

Reading Picks of the Week

Every other Tuesday I will be posting a number of my reading recommendations. These are the articles I read during the week. They made me think, laugh, dream, discover something new and learn something different:

Green Energy: How Much Can You Save @Every Day Tips;

Pizza, Beers, Frat Parties, Credit Card Cosigning @Wealth Informatics;

The Yakiezie Challenge is Open to Everyone @yakiezie;

How We Became Reluctant Landlords @GetRich Slowly;

Thoughts from a First Generation Immigrant @Musings of an Abstract Aucklander;

Thrifty Sucks – The 30 Day Compact @Live Real Now;

Travel Trails: Niagra Falls @Cities of the Mind;

The Social Network Movie Review @World’s Strongest Librarian;

If you Enjoy Financial Obligations, Don’t Read This @Invest It Wisely

Munich, Day One @At Large in London

I also want to say Congratulations to BrownEyed Mystic (who describes herself as “a dreamer, a writer, a thinker… a mystic“) on her 6 months blogoversary (I think I‘ve heard this word before)! I am very happy I got to know you, Browneyed.

Happy Readings, Everyone!

About Aloysa, The Kitchen Sink and the Yakezie

About The Kitchen Sink: the blog celebrates a two months anniversary in October. I am getting to know a lot of you, my loyal readers. When I started this blog I was not sure where it will take me and what I was going to write about. So many subjects I wanted to discuss. A lot of questions I wanted to raise and search for answers. So I created The Kitchen Sink and decided it will be about:

– living a life filled with writing and blogging;

– exploring personal finance;

– trying to live a healthy life;

– traveling, researching, learning and reading.

Quite a wide blog niche you probably think. That’s exactly what I like about The Kitchen Sink. It breaks the rules of the blogging world, does not define a niche and does not limit me to one or two topics. It is a lifestyle blog that is scattered and full of unpredictable things. Just like our lives are.

About Aloysa: Aloysa is my blogger’s name. You know a male name Aloysius? Well, Aloysa is the same name; it’s just a female version of it that I came up with. I am an accountant by day and an aspiring writer and a blogger by night. I work in finance industry and deal all day long with numbers, budgets, debits, credits and journal entries. It is fun stuff but sometimes it gets to me. To get away from it all, I created this blog.

Before all of this happened, I was born and raised in the Soviet Republic of Lithuania (call it the Soviet Union) in a family of teachers. My grandmother taught Chemistry and Biology, my mother was a teacher of Russian Literature. My grandfather (a character worth at least a few blog posts) was a teacher of English and German languages. He should have taught me English but he never did. I guess, he never could imagine me moving to the US many years later.

Our life in the Soviet Union was not all that bad. Like in every culture and in every country, there were good things and bad things. In 1990, when I was close to graduating from the high school, the Soviet Union collapsed and The Soviet Republic of Lithuania became The Republic of Lithuania. It happened very fast: one night everyone went to sleep in the Soviet Union and woke up in the different country with a new government.

Everything was turned upside down. Russian language became a language of the enemy. Russian schools and Russian community struggled to survive in the new hostile world. About five years later, in 2000, I moved to the United States.

About the Yakezie: it is a personal finance and lifestyle blog network that was formed awhile ago. Their motto is “Selflessly Helping Others.” Sounds great to me! The group created the Yakezie Challenge (you can see their badge on my blog) for bloggers. The challenge requires the following:

– write quality content;

– post 2-4 times a week;

– selflessly promote others.

All of these are required in order to challenge and hopefully increase bloggers’ Alexa ranking. Before I stumbled onto the Yakezie I never even heard about Alexa. Apparently it is a very important ranking in the blogosphere. The lower your number (closer to #1), the better it is for your blog. I started my blog two months ago and my ranking is a whapping 2,693,805.

I joined the Yakezie Challenge yesterday. Let’s see where it takes me in six months.

Final word for my readers: I hope that my eye-opening and jaw dropping content will make you come back to The Kitchen Sink again and again. It is a potpourri of intellectualism, culture trends and out-of-the-box stories featuring smart and stimulating plots… Are you still with me? Good! I am joking! But I do hope you will come back, read, enjoy and subscribe. Without you, my readers, this blog would not exist.

You will find in The Kitchen Sink:

1. My book reviews;

2. Ramblings on life, writing and inspiration;

3. Interviews with great, empowering and talented people;

4. Personal finance discussions (I am an accountant after all);

5. Articles about health and fitness;

6. Guest posts that bring a new and fresh perspective.

I want to say a special Thank You to my most loyal and committed readers. Through The Kitchen Sink I met a lot of interesting, talented and inspiring people from all around the world. I hope to meet even more now as I joined the Yakezie Challenge.

You gotta love blogging for the opportunities it gives!

Thank you all for your support, encouraging and moving comments and kind feedback.

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