the richest man in atherstone

Much like the compilation episodes that are strung together by television series producers when they haven't got any new material this post will take a look back over the previous 12 months and summarise my achievements for 2006.

January
In the first month of the year, I had a very unsettling experience with the ICICI bank, which resulted in them losing a customer for life. Conversely, I had a very pleasant experience with the Alliance + Leicester when they gave me £150 and my mum £50 simply for opening a Premier Direct Account.

February
The only month of 2006 in which I didn't make a journal entry.

March
I learned a very valuable lesson - that I shouldn't forsake my family and friends for money. Thirty pound spent on a nice meal in the company of loved ones is a fantastic investment.

April
April saw the launch of this website into the public domain. Previously, I had been updating my journal privately but I decided to publish it to the masses in the hope it would provide useful information and an entertaining read. Additionally, in April, I realised that I had not been following Clason's advice properly which resulted in me rearranging my finances.

May
May was quite a busy month for me. The money I had saved over the previous year or so was now available for worthwhile investments, so I set about finding some. I bought Premium Bonds and dabbled in the stock market for the first time by buying shares in my ISP, Plusnet. A week or so later, I increased my stake in Plusnet. I also opened a Monthly Saver account with Lloyds TSB, as well as writing a book review of 'The Richest Man in Babylon' by George S. Clason, writing an article entitled Top Ten Tips to Increase you Wealth and talking about my money box.

June
In June, I got a GE Money Credit Card, which gives me 3% cashback when I use it to buy petrol or groceries. I also tested a gambling strategy during the FIFA World Cup.

July
My biggest achievement of the year occurred in July - I stopped smoking. And the best part was it was much easier than I thought it would be (having failed many times before). I also updated the progress of my Plusnet shares and wrote a book review of Robert Kiyosaki's 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad'.

August
I decided to analyse Warren Buffet's letters to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, which contain some great investment advice from arguably the world's best. The first letter I analysed was from 1977. I also decided what I would do with all the extra money I would have due to quitting smoking.

September
I analysed Warren Buffet's 1978 letter to shareholders.

October
A very busy month. I analysed Warren Buffet's 1979 letter to shareholders as well as releasing the prototypes of my Mortgage Calculator and Regular Savings Calculator to the world. I reduced my expenditures by changing my telephone provider and updated the progress of my Plusnet stock. I collected the cashback from my Morgan Stanley Credit Card and closed my A+L Premier Direct account. Finally, I began to cut down our grocery shopping bill and wrote an in-depth article on earning over £100 using Quidco.

November
In November, I continued to reduce our grocery bill as well as writing an article describing my Top Ten Tips. I had a bit of a moan about feeling constrained as I couldn't invest my money due to our house being on the market, however I did find a cracking savings account (IceSave) that I transferred my money to. November also saw me begin my 'doubling to a million' project and making my way to step 7. I also gave honourary mentions to other doublers I'd found. Click here to see all doubling posts.

December
December saw the first issue of my newsletter, I sold my Plusnet shares to BT and completed step 7 and step 8 of my 'doubling to a million' project as well as making some progress towards step 9. I described my experiment for super-unleaded petrol economics and published my financial report for 2006.

In summary, I feel I've achieved a lot over the last 12 months. It's certainly more than I achieved in 2005 and quitting smoking is one of the biggest achievements in my life.

Another year has begun and I wish you all a healthy, wealthy and happy 2007.