Five years ago today, on July 16, 2003, I began Consumerism Commentary, writing a short post about myself, the purpose of this website, and my first “public” financial update. By that time, I was about a year and a half into a corporate job, a change from my previous non-profit, arts-related life. I had already reformed my spending, controlled my credit card usage to only what I could pay back each month, and reduced my student loan debt.
Since then, I’ve continued to chronicle my financial progress on this website through monthly financial reports, and Consumerism Commentary quickly expanded to cover the latest financial news and my thoughts about a variety of money-related issues.
Rather than patting myself on the back for the apparent success of Consumerism Commentary over the past five years, or providing a year-by-year summary of the site’s progression, I’d like to open the floor to readers. Last year I formulated a reader survey to determine more about this website’s readership in terms of demographics and interests, but this year I’d like to keep things less formal. Please feel free to leave some comments, particularly if you’re a long-time reader, to let me know what you’d like to see here, leave tips, or just wish Consumerism Commentary a happy five year anniversary.
Published or updated July 16, 2008. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
Rank: Platinum
Luke Landes founded Consumerism Commentary in 2003 and has been building online communities since 1990. Luke, also known as Flexo, has contributed to PC World Magazine, US News, Forbes, and other publications. 
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Congrats on 5 years. My blog is only 2 1/2 years old so I’m impressed with your dedication. I like the variety of topics you cover including the ones like 4 day work week, following your bliss, but perhaps you could write more about financial planning tips. I find it interesting to compare my philosophies with others’ philosophies.
Congrats, Flexo. Here’s to another 5. :)
Happy 5 year Anniversary! This is my favorite blog of its kind; keep it up! :)
Happy 5 years!!! That’s an amazingly long time in the blogosphere!
Wow. Five years is incredible. You really should be proud of yourself. Especially when you consider that most blogs fail within the first six months. I second the variety comment. It’s what keeps me coming back.
Congrats on 5 years, Flexo!
Your blog was one of the first group of pf blogs I began reading just over a year and a half ago. It’s been in my reader ever since then, and I’ve watched your subscriber numbers grow as well. Obviously you are doing something right. ;)
Looking forward to more.
Happy anniversary, and here’s to another five fabulous years. Thanks for all the wonderful inspiration.
Congratulations Flexo! Very inspiring!
Congratulations on your fifth anniversary, Flexo.
Here’s to many, many more years to come.
Best regards
One of the things I struggle with is staying focused on the task at hand. I’m good at starting things, not so good at finishing them. My wife says I have a problem with closure :)
I’d be interested in hearing some of your time & productivity tips that you use to juggle your personal finances, blogging, and work projects and bring them to completion.
Congrats on 5 years!
Wow! 5 years! Thanks for the great blog and all the help you’ve given me with mine. Here’s to another 5 years of prosperity!