Giveaway WINNERS!

I'm pretty excited to announce who won my super-nerdy giveaway. Notice how the title of this post says "winners" rather than "winner"?

I'm kind of having an Oprah moment.



"You get a car! You get a car! EVERYBODY GETS A CAR!"

Classic.

I'm obviously not ballin' like Oprah, but I loved all the comments you guys left describing what you want to do in your lives. And since only four people entered, I decided to give all of you a copy of The Total Money Makeover!

You get a book! You get a book! EVERYBODY GETS A BOOK!

Seriously, though, it's awesome to learn about other people's dreams. I feel like once you get a dream out of your head — by writing it down, telling a friend or leaving a comment on a little blog — it's one step closer to becoming a reality. Here's what all the winners had to say:

Becky: "I want to be able to run a half marathon distance. Not necessarily DO A HALF, but be able to run that far. : )"

Christina: "i want to payoff my debt, visit africa and the south pacific somewhere and get my phD!"

Jen: "I want to teach English overseas!"

Moses: "I would like to set up a fund to educate kids from my village who have mostly given up on education on account of knowing their parents cannot afford."

Thanks for sharing, Becky, Christina, Jen and Moses! Please email me at devmills@u.washington.edu right away so I can hook you up with your books.

Keep dreaming big!

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One-Year Blog Anniversary and GIVEAWAY!

Whoa — I've been blogging for a whole year! I didn't tell anyone about this blog for quite a while after I started writing it, so it seems like it's been a shorter amount of time.

I started one year ago by writing about my debt and the steps I was taking to get out of it, and I was pretty embarrassed about the situation I'd gotten myself into — nearly $9,000 in the hole between a credit card, a student loan and some money I owed my mom.

For a long time, I had trouble admitting all that to myself, let alone admitting it to my 600+ closest friends and the vast, anonymous Internet. I was ashamed that I couldn't manage my money and I didn't want my friends to know that I had been barely scraping by before I moved back into my mom's house after college.

But coming clean — to myself, to my family, to my friends (who couldn't have cared less, honestly) and to the Internet — was a vital part of the process for me. It kept me accountable to my goals, and reminded me that all the number-crunching and budget-scribbling was important and worth the effort.

I became debt-free on July 16, 2010 — a mere six months after I made it my top priority. It could have easily taken forever — I could have been in debt for the rest of my life. I couldn't be happier that I've gotten my finances straight and am now able to be financially responsible while having some fun adventures, too.

This blog, and the support I've gotten from so many people through it, has been a huge part of that.

So in celebration of my one-year blog anniversary, I'm going to do a super nerdy giveaway: a hardcover copy of Dave Ramsey's The Total Money Makeover.

This is a simple, straightforward book that taught me all about basic personal finance, including how to create a budget, how to get out of debt, how to build a comfortable level of savings and how to plan for retirement (it's so important to start early!). I can safely say that I wouldn't be where I am financially today if I hadn't read and re-read this book.

I've loaned my copy to several friends, all of whom have said they learned so much from it, and it's currently on loan to a co-worker who easily makes double — maybe even triple — my salary. We all like to think that the more money you make, the better off you'll be financially, but oftentimes mo' money = mo' problems, and my co-worker has told me The Total Money Makeover is exactly what he needed to read.

Enough about the book — here's how to win! 

Just leave a comment on this post by 5:00 pm PST on Wednesday, March 16, telling me one thing you'd like to do in your life. Do you want to visit a certain city or country? Fly in a helicopter or become a certified scuba diver? Whatever you want to do, big or small, let me know and you're entered to win. Even if you don't particularly want the book, you can always sell it on eBay and use the money for a few burritos from Chipotle — with guac.

I've updated the comment settings, so you should be able to leave a comment without creating an account! Be sure to leave your name so I know who to get in touch with. I'll randomly choose a winner and announce it on Thursday.

Aaaand if this prize is a little too nerdy and nobody enters? Then more burritos and guac for me!

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How to look like a giant nerd while running a 5K

Click to make the giant nerdiness more giant.

I need to make this an ongoing "how-to" series. I really excel at looking like a giant nerd in various situations.

Tomorrow morning I'll be running the Pumpkin Push 5K at Seward Park and trying to break 30 minutes. You can find out what happens here. The suspense!

Considering that my food intake today included pizza, Halloween cupcakes, more Reese's peanut butter cups than I care to divulge and one giant Santa mug (you heard me) full of beer from the office kegerator (YOU HEARD ME), it'll be a miracle if I break 30.

No matter what, I'll have a heck of a time. Plus, my very favorite holiday is this weekend! It just doesn't get better than this.

Which reminds me... How to look like a giant nerd on Halloween (2009 style):

How to look like a giant nerd in your high school yearbook

I was 17 in 2004 and could not vote in the November election, so I decided instead to create this super awesome t-shirt — using red Sharpie and Scotch tape, thank you — to peer-pressure my 18-year-old classmates into voting. Preferably not for George W. Bush, but I didn't state that on the shirt.

I guess I should have. Oops!

This is a friendly reminder to all of you to VOTE this week! You have until Tuesday, November 2, to drop your ballot in the mail in Washington state. If you're reading this in another state, you should do your voting thing, too — whatever you need to do. Then go do a keg stand, because the other kids are doing that, too!

Ahh, I miss college.

Speaking of silly, regrettable things... it's not a great idea for a Senatorial candidate to shove fliers under the windshield wipers of all the cars in the Park & Ride, ANDY HILL, because when it rains, as it often does IN SEATTLE, you look like a huge jerk when people have to spend three minutes peeling your soggy face off of their windshields when all they want to do is go home, heat up a Hot Pocket and watch Dancing with the Stars.

I didn't vote for you anyway, dude.

So that's all I have to say right now. Vote. I'm not gonna say VOTE OR DIE, because, wtf? Is that a threat? Vote or don't vote. But it'd be pretty cool if you did vote.

As my super-cool high school friend Carl, who now works for Congress, reminded us everyday citizens on Facebook, "Decisions are made by those who show up."

(That quite possibly came from The West Wing. Amazing.)

**Random memory update: I don't recall a whole lot from 1996, but I do remember quite vividly the mock presidential election we had in elementary school. My family had just moved from Seattle to northern Indiana; I was in 4th grade. I voted for Bill Clinton. Nearly everyone else voted for Bob Dole (this was Indiana, remember). Even then, at 9 years old, I remember being like, "Bob Dole? Really, guys?" I just love voting.