Welcome!

Hi! Welcome to the newly redesigned home of Fiscally Chic! This redesign and move to self-hosted WordPress has been a while in the making. To be honest, I first started thinking about WordPress at the 2011 Financial Blogger Conference and then again in 2013. I wanted a cleaner and more professional looking blog, but could never pull the trigger. My blog on Blogger worked, but I was a little overwhelmed by the whole process and wasn’t ready to make an investment.

Enter Lisa Butler of Elembee. Lisa is a web designer and shares all sorts of helpful tips on her blog and in her newsletter. She recently published an eBook, Make WP Work, which is an awesome WordPress resource. Finally, I felt confident enough to redesign my blog and make the jump. Yes, I could have hired a web designer, but I’m a DIY and hands-on kind of gal. And yes, I also wanted to save a few bucks. I could have spent countless hours on Google trying to find everything, but the convenience of having all the information in one place (i.e. Lisa’s eBook) is priceless.

Moving everything to WordPress was much easier than I expected! And I wish I did it sooner. Bluehost made it super simple to get started with self-hosting including transferring my domain name from GoDaddy (I wanted everything in one place). If you’re wondering about specifics, I decided on the Genesis Framework (since everyone seemed to recommend it) and the Foodie Theme (with some customizations) after reading about it on Minimalist Baker. Since I like to talk about money on Fiscally Chic, here’s the cost breakdown of my move to WordPress and redesign:

Self hosting through Bluehost (2 years): $118.80
Genesis Framework and Foodie Theme: $99.95
Make WP Work (July discount through The B Bar): $40
Domain privacy protection with Bluehost (1.31 years): $13.13
Total cost: $271.88

I still have a few updates to make, but overall I’m loving my new “home.” The Recipe tab is pretty cool. Though I think my favorite feature is that the Genesis and Foodie themes are mobile response. Meaning the blog resizes based on the window size of your computer or mobile device screen. Take a look around and make yourself at home too! And don’t forget to update your feed reader.