About 10 years ago my mom passed away. It was easily the toughest time in my entire life. I’d just graduated college 2 months before, and suddenly I was managing her estate while working full-time and commuting back to St. Pete to do repairs and sell my childhood home — all while trying (usually unsuccessfully) to collect money from a tenant living on her property. During this time I learned a lot about how to manage money — often by making mistakes.
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Write Your ‘Year in Review’ Post Now
At the end of last year, I wrote a post about what I’d been up to in the past year. I do this on a monthly basis and a yearly cadence while things are still fresh in my mind. Looking back on the highlights of a year helps to remember what year an event occurred. It’s something I’d recommend to anyone to try.

Rather than writing this post at the end of the year, why not try writing it a few months early? You might have a number of “new years resolutions” from eight months ago that need some reassessment, and now is the time! Go through everything you want to get done before the end of the year and write them down in a post as though you have already done them.
Next, take the next steps to accomplish those tasks. For me, this called out a few things I really wanted to do this year that I haven’t made enough progress on. Cleaning out my garage, getting an iPhone app in the app store and any kind of exercise come to mind. Time to get crackin’ on those!
2015 Year In Review
So, what’s happened in the last year? This is my annual recap to answer that question. The past year had a major focus on travel. Somehow I ended up doing on quite a few memorable trips throughout the year. As an introvert, this has been fun, but exhausting.
The biggest overall themes for my year were: Code School, travel, blogging again, health focus, cocktails, video games, personal organization and getting engaged (!). After years of not playing too many video games, this year I picked up a Wii U and a PS4 which have both been a ton of fun.
[Read more…] about 2015 Year In Review2014 Year In Review
This is my annual recap of what’s happened in my life over the last year. It was a packed year — even without world-changing events. Instead, things were consistently active, busy and varied.
The biggest themes for my year were: Code School, travel, audiobooks, learning Angular and using a to-do list (off and on) to organize my time. I also noticed that since I like to try to do new things, giving them a try in an easier (and perhaps cheaper) way is beneficial — that way I can fail fast if it’s not a fit.
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This is my annual recap of what’s happened in my life over the last year. I’ve come to realize every 5th or 6th year is extremely active, while the other years seem to be less so. This year was not one of those 5/6 years, but instead more about personal growth and finding balance in my life. The biggest parts of my life this year were: Mrs. Minafi, Code School, CrossFit, audiobooks, learning Ember.js, and learning Piano.
[Read more…] about 2013 Year In Review2012 Year in Review
This article was originally posted on my personal website at the time, adamfortuna.com. I’m transitioning content from there to here on Minafi as it’s forever home. Although this article was written long before Minafi was started, it’s a nice opportunity to reflect.
In 2012 I was dating my now-current wife and living in Orlando. I turned the big 3-0 during this year and spent a decent amount of the year focused on fitness. I was eating extremely well, exercising and not drinking much, resulting in some of the best