Happy New year! I wish you peace, joy, good health, and financial abundance this year.
Every year, I write a post on 100 things that made my year.
I do it for gratitude, positivity, and motivation for the year ahead, as well as to inspire others 🙂
In addition, I do it to remind myself that I'm living the life of my dreams and doing life intentionally and fearlessly.
2022 was a brutal year on a personal level and I didn't have a grand plan or anything.
But I've managed to find 100 things that made my year even though it felt like I spent a lot of the year fighting fires.
I've written these in no order and hope you take inspiration from my very personal journey in 2022.
My mindset for 2023 and all the expected hardship to come is that I'm in the world but not of the world. I won't accept negativity in my life.
I'm going into 2023 by faith with the goal of smashing it.
I want to have more positive impact in the world, work more smartly, and have more fun with my family. That's it.
In case you're curious, here are my previous 100 things for 2021, 2020, 2019, and 2018.
Each time I read them, I see how much I have grown and achieved each year.
100 Things That Made My Year 2022
Let's jump into the 100 things of 2022.
1) Financial Joy Academy meetups at St. James's Park and Canary Wharf
I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve our community at Financial Joy Academy.
It's the daring to dream and actually doing it against all odds that I love the most.
Given the success of these physical meetups, we now plan to meet once a quarter in 2023.
Ideas shared in person are life-changing.
I personally enjoyed just hearing other people's dreams and exploring ways to solve their challenges.
Again, we met in December for Christmas lunch at Canary Wharf:
A conversation I had with Jeena (she's in the light green top above at the back with hoop earrings) about her humble beginnings and aspirations not only made me very emotional but inspired me.
It made me believe more in what we are doing and the impact we're having.
2) I published a Financial Times article that became the article of the day.
It was on 6 things I wish I'd known about money aged 20.
FT even shared it on their Instagram, which was lovely to see.
3) Mary became the face of the PensionBee Yellow Chair advertising Campaign on TV, billboard, radio, etc.
I'm super proud of her 🙂
It was so exciting to see our audience send in so many photos of her each time they spotted an ad by PensionBee in the London underground.
We found this big ad ourselves and our children were very proud of mummy:
4) Mary became a Listed Londoner with Robert Elms on BBC Radio London and faced the famous 15 questions.
Here is her Listed Londoner profile and interview.
The calibre of people who had been on the show before was overwhelming to see.
2022 was the year that Mary came outside her comfort zone.
5) Bumped into multi-award-winning rapper, Little Simz and her BF at a Nigerian Restaurant, 805, in London.
They were both absolutely amazing. Learn more about her work here.
Mary asked her how she deals with fame and I asked them both what they've learned from Covid.
They asked us what was our secret to 12 years of a happy marriage.
We were out till almost midnight and the restaurant was empty. Just us, them, and another couple. Beautiful experience.
6) Watched the Limitless documentary by National Geographic on Disney+ with Chris Hemsworth (aka Thor).
It was all about how we can unlock the secrets of living a healthier and longer life.
This reminded me of the importance of truly looking after my body.
The episode on stress was very insightful among many others. Stress can be good and bad.
I also loved watching Chris push himself outside his comfort zone whilst also facing the realities of his own mortality.
7) I got my first-ever lego set.
Yup, never had a lego set until now thanks to our kids.
They've made it very clear that I need more play in my life.
8) Watched ‘Wakanda Forever' Twice
This made me so proud to be African.
The visual excellence, the battle that ended with mercy and partnership.
Letitia Wright was AMAZING!!!
The end of the film was so emotional. Finding out that Chadwick Boseman (King T'Chala) had a son etc.
Finally, the tribute to Chadwick Boseman. WOW!!
9) We had a prophecy from a Church Minister come true.
He'd called us to tell us he needed to tell us something important.
In short, he told us that God had revealed to him that we'd be on some kind of radio station that would change the lives of many people.
3 weeks after, we were invited to start sharing on Premier Gospel radio.
We share on the Gospel Breakfast show every Tuesday between 8 am and 8.30 am with Belinda Simpson.
It has been a life-changing experience and we thank God for this open door.
10) We spoke at YouTube Creator Day 2022 and attended the black-tie gala.
This was special on so many levels.
Not only was it the first time that we'd done a sleepover with other creators, but we also felt honoured to have been asked to speak by YouTube.
11) Happily Married to Mary for 11 Years.
As we say in my culture, “e no easy o!”, which means “It is not easy!”.
It's no joke being married to the same person for 11 years.
However, I've literally been blessed every single year since I met my beautiful wife, Mary, and wouldn't have it any other way.
Putting God first in our marriage has helped us continually respect and elevate each other.
12) I did my first-ever international speaking gig at Chautauqua in Colombia
My topic was on Financial Bravery and it was received very well.
Overall, it was such an honour to have been invited and I loved Colombia!
10 beautiful days of full immersion into the people, food, culture, and learning.
We hung out with phenomenal friends – JL Collins, author of the Simple Path to Wealth, Kristy and Bryce from Millennial Revolution and authors of Quit Like a Millionaire, Kate and Alan Donegan, and Jordan Grumet aka Doc G, author of Taking Stock:
In addition, it was beautiful to meet other people from all over the world who were either Financially Independent or well on their way there and learn what got them there:
Ready to see what the international Financial Independence community looks like dancing to Afrobeats in Colombia?
I LOVE this video sooo much 🙂
Here are some interviews you can watch on our YouTube channel from some of these guys:
- 7 ways my friends achieved Financial Freedom
- How Millennial Couple Achieved Financial Independence In 9 Years With $1m
- Meet the 35 Year-Old Who Achieved Financial Independence With 25 Properties
13) I did a Financial Wellbeing Podcast with Hugi Clarke from Foresight Group.
It was hands-down of the best podcast episodes that I've ever done.
Wellbeing is a big part of what Financial Joy means to us, so this podcast was exactly the conversation that I wanted to have.
What I loved the most about it is that we actually broke Financial Wellbeing down into laymans terms and made it actionable for everyone.
14) Doing a full body blood test and being told that everything is OK after previous concerns about low iron levels and blood sugar.
One of the biggest realisations that I had in 2022 is that more than ever, I need to protect my body.
I need to be very careful about what I eat, drink, how much sleep I have, how much exercise I do, how I manage stress, etc.
Getting the all clear made me very happy.
15) Meeting my good friend, Tendai, for lunch and he said “I want to challenge you, Ken. To lean more into your faith and see what God can do”.
In his words, if we can do so much by ourselves, imagine what having God on our side can do for us?
God knows I needed a friend like this to remind me of this important word to hold onto.
16) Saving for Zanzibar.
When Mary and I met, one of the best holidays we ever had together was visiting Zanzibar, Tanzania.
12 years later, we're excited to be going back in 2023! It's one of the unique experiences that we're looking forward to.
17) Voted Top 25 Black Entrepreneurs to Watch by HSBC
I was so honoured by this.
There is a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes with what we do and I believe I'm actually getting really good at it each year that passes.
18) Watched the Hans Zimmer documentary, Hollywood Rebel, on BBC iPlayer.
I took so much inspiration from watching him experiment with different sounds that end up creating unique film scores.
His process is very fascinating and natural. Borne out of deep passion.
His advice about playfulness being a choice really struck a chord with me. A life of playfulness is a much richer life.
19) Success of the Rocket Your Income Challenge.
Over 400 registered for the free challenge for September 2022.
Over 100 people per night on Zoom.
It was a very special cohort and it got emotional on many levels. See my next point.
Our next Rocket Your Income Challenge is from 5th to 9th January 2023.
To join this and future challenges (once every 4 months), join here for free.
20) Giving Away a Fully Paid 1-Year Scholarship For Financial Joy Academy
During the challenge mentioned above, I spoke with an incredible lady, Richi (not her real name).
I don't get brought to tears too often, but her story brought me to tears.
In short, she shared about her current struggles in the UK trying to get her papers (legal docs) and how it has meant that she can't even open a bank account let alone afford to join FJA.
I felt deeply for her and her personal struggles because I've been there exactly!
I felt led to offer her a full 1-year scholarship to FJA, which set off an emotional charge throughout the room.
Many people raised a hand to support and wanted to contribute financially to her situation.
This reminded me of the power of community and the power of giving, even during the cost of living crisis.
There are good people out there. These people didn't need to suggest helping a complete stranger but they did. Powerful.
I'm personally thankful that Mary and I were able to help in a tangible way and I can't wait to hear about her progress 🙂
21) Mary bought me a drone for my birthday.
In the spirit of playfulness started by our kids buying me lego, when Mary asked what I wanted, I didn't hesitate.
Given my love for travel, I hope to capture beautiful memories with the drone and more generally, just have fun with it.
22) Meeting Robert Kyncl (former Chief Business Officer of YouTube) at a dinner event.
Of all people to be sat next to, I got sat next to one of the top 5 people at YouTube.
We had some fun conversations about our love for Jim Rohn's inspiration and laughed at some memes on Instagram.
One thing I remember Robert showing me is a quote that said “Multiple Streams of Income is Self-care”. I've never forgotten it.
23) Recovering over 36,000 lost photos from 2009 to 2016 and seeing all our precious memories again.
This is in the top 5 of the best things that have happened to me in 2022.
My most used app on my phone is Google Photos simply because I just love looking back at our life journeys and adventures.
However, a few years ago, our Macbook failed and with it went over 36,000 photos over 7 years.
Everyone (including Apple), tried everything but we just couldn't recover any of the images.
However, on an old external hard drive that I found, I happened to find a physical backup.
Honestly, it felt like one of the happiest days of my life. Literally seeing all our photos again, including the birth of our children, etc.
24) Speaking with Mary and PensionBee CEO Romi and other money experts at the PensionBee Roadshow in London.
It was the first ever one and it was a great success.
Seeing a room full of people purely to talk about pensions showed me that there is a great appetite for in-person money events.
It was fantastic to meet various people and listen to the quality of their questions in person.
25) Both our sons are now in Senior school and coping with a higher volume of work and also becoming more independent.
To think that one day they both didn't exist and now they're so grown up.
Another reminder that I should make each day count and live my best life whilst I'm still young-ish, haha!
26) Doing Interest Rate and Economy Updates on YouTube in 2022
I never thought these would be interesting at all but our audience absolutely love them!
Every time interest rates rise or there is a major economic update, I now make a specific video about it on our YouTube Channel.
The thing that made my year was when a young Millennial that I met said to me that he's stopped listening to the news entirely.
Instead, he watches his financial updates on The Humble Penny's YouTube channel because we don't just deliver what has happened but we make it understandable and actionable by anyone.
27) Ogilvy Global Wellness Study, which I participated in.
I was part of 10 global influencers building Inclusive Wellness Communities in an Ogilvy study called Wellness Influencers Got Real: But Where Are Brands?
If you're a brand or individual interested in wellness, then this is a study you must not miss. Download it from the link above.
28) Launching the Architect Programme to help people launch Membership Businesses
The Architect Programme is a premium coaching programme that we had a vision for in 2021 but it became a reality in February 2022.
The goal is to help you turn their Specialised Knowledge/Expertise into a purpose-led membership business that generates you monthly recurring income.
So far, about 25 people have been through the programme and growing.
Most of those people have launched their businesses successfully, whilst others are still going through the process.
Although it has been challenging for me to create and deliver the programme whilst learning and improving it, it has been very rewarding to see successful businesses created out of it from just having an idea.
29) Beautiful week at Sand Banks with our kids in August.
We loved staying at an AirBnB and visiting the beach daily.
One of my most memorable days was having dinner with my wife and kids over this pier and watching the beautiful sunset.
30) Waking Up and Watching 6 African Elephants in Northern Ghana
When I think of living my best life, it is doing stuff like this with my loved ones.
We visited the Mole National Park in Ghana, West Africa. It was one of the most spectacular experiences I've ever had.
Watch the clip below. More on Ghana and other travel adventures below.
31) Listening to the story of Floyd Steadman at the News UK Black History Month Celebratory Dinner.
He said something that stuck with me:
“You can inspire your children. I told mine that you can be whatever you want to be, but you have to work hard for it.
32) Meeting DJ Trevor Nelson at UKBBS and hearing his wisdom about the need not to chase money and the importance of prioritising wellbeing.
He spoke with a lot of wisdom and told stories about people he'd met on his journey and how not chasing money has helped him to have longevity.
33) Speaking at the UK Black Business Show in front of hundreds including our children.
It's so important for our children to become entrepreneurial as early as possible and acquire skills that they don't teach at school like money management, public speaking, etc.
So not only was it a major honour to become a headline speaker at the massive UK Black Business Show, we saw an opportunity to take our children along and they had front-row seats.
Even though they said “it was boring”, we know they'll remember the experience one day 🙂
34) Watching “Ethiopia Rising” on Prime and Learning about Aba Hawi (Man of Fire)
This was a very emotional documentary and a re-telling of the story of Ethiopia.
A story that differs from what you might see from those charity ads of famine and people begging for money.
This documentary is a story of the vision and transformation of Ethiopia's landscape from a world of drought, famine, and poverty.
This was led by a guy called Aba Hawi (Man of Fire).
His superpower is the ability to mobilise his community and single-handedly rebuild the entire region by protecting trees and prioritising conservation and sustainability.
35) Mary owning Mindset Tuesdays at FJA's 5 am Club
Every Tuesday at 5 am, Mary researched and brought inspiring learning to our community at Financial Joy Academy on mindset.
It was inspiring to watch her dedication even though on some occasions, she felt like giving up but she carried on during those tough times.
36) My Dad Turned 70
His parents before him never made it to 70 and so for me, I was so proud to see my dad reach the age of 70.
At 70, he is a fulfilled man having taken on all the local Nigerian Igbo cultural titles that he can ever take on, including the “Ogbuagu” title (the one who defeated the lion).
He also runs his own food business for fun (even though he's retired) and he often wears a baseball cap and drives a Cadillac. Love 'em!
He's literally living his best life at 70 and he and my mum party every other week with their friends.
If I can have this much fun at 70, I'll be very happy.
37) I skied for the first ever skiing with the family at the Snow Centre
This was a lot of fun. I'm hoping for the real deal in Norway or France or someplace with snow!
38) Mary took me out for my birthday at the Shard for afternoon tea.
Apart from eating posh sandwiches and cakes, what I loved the most was just being out with my wife and enjoying the beautiful views of London.
We went after dropping our kids at school and finished in time for the school run.
39) We hit 60,000 Subscribers on YouTube
I'm still astonished that we have so many subscribers.
It means the world to us that we have that many people who trust what we have to share.
Our next goal is to hit that 100,000 Subscriber milestone.
Can you help us get there faster? Please subscribe here.
We're currently at 64,750 at the time of writing.
40) Our Website Rebrand
We're so so happy with the rebrand of The Humble Penny and the changes that have been made to our website/blog.
The feedback has been incredible and it aligns well with vision that we have for what we're doing.
We wanted a look and feel that was young, vibrant, fun, trust-worthy, and a place that felt like home.
We've also cut down massively on the ads on the site. In fact, most blog posts have no ads at all.
What are your thoughts on the rebrand? comment below and let us know.
41) Featured on the Earn and Invest Podcast with Doc G aka Jordan Grumet.
This episode focused on what Financial Joy means and how to use the money you have to seek out joy, fulfilment, and contentment.
What I loved so much about this episode is the quality of Jordan's questions. Such a unique podcast.
Please listen below and also subscribe to his podcast and channel.
42) Quadbiking in the desert in Marrakech
This was a first. Me, Mary and my brother, and sisters and their partners were all in North Africa on a quad bike.
The feeling was absolutely amazing:
43) Listening to the historian, David Olusoga, being asked at an event about his view of his success so far.
I loved his response:
“I have been able to find a voice that other people appreciate”.
I also loved listening to Lenny Henry bust jokes and share wisdom about loneliness in show business as a black man.
He also shared a lot of wisdom about what he described as “Failing Upwards”.
44) Reading the Book of John daily with our boys.
This is one of my best books of the bible and we enjoyed taking turns reading it with our children and discussing it.
I have to say, children ask the best questions.
There are things that we as adults assume as a given but children help you to see a verse in a completely different light through their questions.
45) Featured on Business Insider for my entrepreneur journey having started as a side hustle.
I never thought in my wildest dreams that I'd be featured on platforms like Business Insider just as I never thought I'd ever become a writer on the FT.
But it happened. Again, this reminds me that anything is possible and that there is no platform too big for me.
I just need to keep aiming higher and enjoying what we do.
46) Amazing week in Italy with Mary. We had an incredible time and visited Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi Coast, Naples, and Capri.
I had misconceptions about Italy and my main fear was travelling there as a black couple and potential racism.
In 1 week, we visited 5 towns and all I can say is that my worries disappeared.
Italy was beautiful and the people were very friendly.
Of all the places we visited, Capri and Positano were the most spectacular.
We went via Easy Jet (pretty affordable)
Capri took things to a whole new level in terms of experience.
Boat hire: Around €100 per hour (2 hours max needed)
Experience: PRICELESS 😍
We booked via Booking.com and found relatively affordable accommodation.
47) Created the Grow Your Money Planner
If you're interested in growing your money this year, then this planner is one to get.
48) Steven Interview with Mo Gawdat on Happiness
This interview is long but worth every minute of the time.
49) Filming a TV show pilot about becoming debt free
This was one of those out-of-this-world experiences.
We got approached by a TV production company to make a TV show for one of the top 5 TV channels.
It was a really insightful experience especially when we got to meet real people in debt and needing help to break free.
We look forward to a future of more TV work, God willing.
50) Learning to Swim Better
Unfortunately, I didn't grow up in Nigeria going anywhere near a swimming pool.
So my swimming is nowhere near brilliant lol.
Getting back into the pool this year with Mary has not only been a great way to get us out of the house, but it has also helped us stay more active.
51) Celebrating 10 years of home ownership.
It feels just like yesterday when we got on the property ladder with a 25-year mortgage.
To be here 10 years later with a mortgage-free home is still a massive dream come true.
It was not easy at all and took making a lot of sacrifices but we're here and super thankful.
Recommended: How we paid off our mortgage in 7 years
52) Pension Confident Podcast: Mortgage vs Pension
Should you pay more into your mortgage or your pension?
We had a fascinating conversation on the Pension Confident podcast.
53) Celebrating With My Mum: 4 years of Surviving Brain Aneurysm
4 years ago around this time, my mum almost died from a brain hemorrhage.
It has since changed all our lives and made us more aware of how short life is and the importance of having financial security.
I love my mum a lot and she's my hero.
So seeing her alive and in recovery, today gives me a lot of hope for the future and helps me better prioritise my health and wellbeing.
54) Supporting another creator friend in need.
You know how sometimes you feel like deep in your spirit you're being given a message about someone else?
The message was so clear that I needed to stop my car whilst driving and message this fellow creator in the finance space and check in on her.
It turned out that she was going through the worst possible outcome in her personal life and marriage.
I was glad that I listened and acted because Mary and I were then able to call her, pray with her, etc and support her through a very difficult time.
55) Being Approached For Investment
I was approached for investment in The Humble Penny by someone I like and respect who founded one of UKs unicorns (a business worth over $1bn).
This both scared me and got me excited at the same time.
Overall, it made me feel proud that something we created is worthy of investment.
56) Writing Weekly on LinkedIn
I used to think of LinkedIn as just a place where people shared their shiny CVs.
It's still like that a little bit but the platform has since changed direction and more creators are sharing on it.
In 2022, I started creating on the platform more than ever before.
I share thought leadership around Personal Finance, Entrepreneurship, Financial Wellness, the Economy, etc.
Follow me here and learn weekly.
57) My younger sisters progress in their businesses
One won a 2 Comma Club award.
This means that a sales process that she created has made over $1m in its lifetime.
It's an astonishing achievement and I'm so proud of her progress in business.
My other sister (who would never ever share anything in public) started a YouTube channel called Our Lean Journey about her weight loss journey and now has over 15,000 Subscribers.
Some of her videos even went viral!
I'm super proud to have helped her to get the channel started and it is a joy to watch her take off on her own after a lot of hard work!
58) My brother travelling the world in a wheelchair
In May 2022, my brother (with his wife) set off to travel the world whilst in his wheelchair.
This is the same brother of mine who was a Paralympian recently at the Olympics in Japan where he rowed.
I just love how he is not letting disability hold him back.
He is out there learning Spanish, living his best life whilst teaching others how to code online.
In his own words, he's “travelling to get lost” haha!
Last I checked, he was travelling through Argentina having been through a lot of countries in North, South America, and the Caribbean already.
59) Arriving at Barbados on Business Class with AMEX and being upgraded to a spectacularly beautiful room with our children.
We spent a year collecting Avios Points on this AMEX Card so that we could get Business Class at a cost cheaper than Economy.
It saved us a lot of money.
We needed 2 companion vouchers. Learn how with did it by reading this post.
60) Financial Joy Academy (FJA) hit 1,000 Followers on Instagram
Often, people look at The Humble Penny and forget that we started at zero!
I've loved starting from scratch again with FJA and gradually seeing it grow.
Hitting that first 1,000 followers is a big milestone.
We'd appreciate you following us here on Instagram.
61) We spoke at Google to a room full of big brands and advertisers.
This was nervewracking but as soon as we started telling our story, we relaxed and enjoyed the experience.
62) Watching Messi lift the world cup after the most spectacular world cup final against France.
Shoutout to Mbappe for scoring 4 goals in a world cup final! Absolutely phenomenal.
63) Our son, Elias, won an award for his efforts in coding at school.
Parenting is tough. It remains my hardest area of responsibility ever.
You'd think that as kids get older, it becomes easier…No!
Anyway, after a challenging term, I was really pleased to see our younger son win this award for computing.
64) Swimming with Turtles in Barbados
As someone who isn't the most confident swimmer, I'm so surprised that I did this excursion.
It wasn't the easiest thing to do but I did it because our kids so badly wanted to do it.
You can't chicken out on your kids can you lol.
In the end, I loved just floating in the middle of the sea with a lifejacket ofcourse!
We took this photo after the experience:
65) Taking 1 Month Off to Travel
August has become our month of travel each year.
We start this August Experiment in 2021 after the pandemic and decided to start making it a family culture.
Each year, we work hard during the year, but we have at least 1 full month off of doing nothing but having fun and travelling.
A lot of the various travel adventures I've shared in this post happened in that month and took a lot of saving and planning to become a reality.
When I look back now, our lives are richer because of these experiences.
66) God revealed to me a better way to understand him.
This happened whilst I was watching a video in the bible app on Wellness God's Way (focused on Deuteronomy) around 3.45 am (don't ask – I couldn't sleep).
When I was watching this, the Holy Spirit gave me this revelation and most bizarrely, a few minutes later, the preacher started using this same analogy to explain God.
Really unbelievable.
What was revealed to me was to think of God as the Sun and the planets around the sun as every aspect of my life.
If I put God in the center of my life, everything will go well with me.
67) I volunteered and taught investing to a group of around 30 young people every 2 months.
This was for the youth empowerment organisation, 2020 Change.
The future is bright for these young people. Imagine what they would do if they developed a good relationship with money early in their lives.
For me, the joy comes from knowing that a great future awaits these young people.
68) Dancing to Afrobeats at night in the Agafay desert, Marrakech
This was one of the surreal moments. Fireplace, friends, and fun is the middle of nowhere.
69) We enjoyed speaking at various Churches e.g. Winners Chapel, Liberty Church, etc about Financial Independence
Our work has felt like a ministry in many ways and we're grateful to God for the opportunities.
In the image below, we spoke at an event called “Sweet Life” for people in their 20s.
It was important for us to communicate that wealth takes time to build as well as to make it clear that there are things that are more important than money.
70) We started creating on TikTok and hit our first 1,000 Followers
This has felt like the hardest platform to grow on even though it's the easiest for some people lol.
We're not giving up though. There are lots of lessons to learn from slow growth.
We'd appreciate you following our journey here on TikTok.
71) I celebrated 2 years of quitting my corporate job
As at the time of writing, it is almost 3 years and I've never looked back!
In fact, the only thing that I miss from corporate life is my 90 minute daily walks because it kept me fitter.
In 3 months, it would have been 3 years since I quit in April 2020.
72) I delivered Corporate workshops for various companies on Financial Wellbeing
It was my goal to do more work with companies and 2022 was a great year for that.
I delivered workshops at companies like Ogilvy, YouTube, SEI, Foresight, etc.
73) FJA Property Mastermind
We started a new mastermind inside of Financial Joy Academy focused purely on property investing.
In addition to the property one, we have others for blogging and YouTube.
I've personally learned a lot from attending once a month and listening to property investors within the community share what is working for them in the current climate.
74) Watching the joy on Mary's face as she beat our football-crazy son, Josh, at table football.
Victory is sweet!
75) Deciding to start working 4 days a week
When I told my mum that I've decided to start working 4 days a week, she said:
“Doesn't it feel good not to ask a boss for permission to do that?”
Indeed it does!
I now take Fridays off to go on dates with Mary during the day 🙂
76) Atlantis Submarine with kids in Barbados
This boat went down 150 feet below the surface and it felt like we were doing a bit of David Attenborough.
We saw all kinds of creatures and even a shipwreck!
77) Launching Our Take Control Planner
To support our audience with taking control of their finances during the cost of living crisis. we created the Take Control Planner.
78) Delivering a lecture at Cambridge University on Side Hustles and Financial Freedom.
It's the first-ever lecture on this topic for the Judge Business School Masters of Finance class.
I posted about my journey on LinkedIn and the post went totally viral.
Over 1000 comments, more than 13,000 likes and reactions, and over 1,000,000 impressions. I was stunned!
79) Finding an absolutely beautiful shell and a foot scrub
I was so proud of my find during an early morning walk along the beach in Barbados.
Some women (Brits) saw me with the shell and were absolutely jealous haha.
They couldn't believe that I found it first.
I only did because the sea levels fell and I was there super early and saw something poking out of the sand:
80) I was featured on the BBC News and BBC News Worldwide (In Context show) re Student Loans.
81) I Read Books That Helped Me Grow
For example – The Psychology of Money, Work The System, 12 Week Year, Factfulness, etc
82) Enjoyed spectacular sunsets
This view was literally from our room.
I believe strongly in asking and receiving.
We only got this room and this view after I wrote the hotel a letter telling them how much it would mean to us to have a view like this.
They delivered at no extra cost at all and even gave us 2 rooms.
Ask and you will receive.
83) Did Charity work for National Numeracy Day on 18th May.
We helped to amplify the importance of numeracy among young people and adults.
84) I was featured on the popular Shot and Chaser podcast about investing
I enjoyed doing this episode on how to build your investment empire.
85) Mary ran a super successful YouTube creator masterclass for all of EMEA with over 1,200 sign-ups.
She literally owned it and I was proud to see her flourish as an expert totally in her own right.
86) Dope Black Dads Podcast and Black Mums Upfront Podcast
I was a guest on the popular Dope Black Dads podcast with a focus on money, budgeting, and financial planning.
I had an amazing conversation with my very good friend, Marvyn Harrison.
Mary had an absolutely phenomenal appearance on the popular Black Mums Upfront Podcast.
The hour-long episode was filled with lots of laughs and truths from all the ladies. Highly recommended!!
Listen here to the episode called ‘Bring Home The Bacon'.
87) Love Food Hate Waste campaign
We enjoyed doing this campaign to bring to light the impact of food waste on the environment.
This was part of the #FoodWasteActionWeek.
Watch our work on this here
88) Our sons celebrated their 8th and 9th birthdays with a Laser Tag party and Go Karting
I just enjoyed seeing them and their friends all dressed up in combat gear for laser tag and going for it.
For Go karting, It was so much fun to see the children race against the adults given they've never learned to drive before. They did so well.
89) FT Money Clinic Podcast: How couples can stop arguing about money
Money is the biggest source of argument amount couples.
I enjoyed this powerful conversation with my friend, Claer Barrett, to help couples learn how to manage their finances.
90) Enjoying Table Tennis with Mary
This is the one game that we vow to play in every country we visit. It gives us something to look forward to.
91) Getting back to getting 8 hours of sleep
This has become more of a big deal for me and I feel good about myself and my day the more I prioritise my sleep.
92) Visiting Ghana and documenting our entire adventure
We've always wanted to travel across Africa.
Ghana has always been on the list but I didn't expect it to be as AMAZING as it was.
See for yourself:
93) Relaunching our 5 am Club
This year was definitely our best year of running our 5 am Club.
It had a structure, which made it interesting and exciting to look forward to and deliver whilst also being more sustainable.
Mondays – We analyse a successful business and share learnings to action.
Tuesdays – Focus on developing a Growth Mindset.
Wednesday – Recent learning and wisdom from the community.
Thursdays – Book Club (we read a book together).
Fridays – Wellness and how we're growing individually.
94) I volunteered for the Financial Literacy and Inclusion Campaign (FLIC)
I spent time at the FLIC teaching secondary school students from around a dozen schools the principles of money management and investing.
95) Celebrating my wedding anniversary over dinner with our kids
I've never had dinner literally on top of the Caribbean sea.
This photo does not do the feeling justice. It was warm with a cool breeze and we enjoyed the sunset together too.
96) The Humble Penny Turned 5 Years Old
Huge love to the team that helped to keep The Humble Penny growing.
Sue, Tanya, Truth, Julian, Fara, Steph, and ofcourse, my amazing wife and the other half of The Humble Penny, Mary.
Without the hard work of each and every one of these guys, we would not have made any progress at all.
Here are 12 business lessons from 5 years of entrepreneurship
97) Winter Wonderland
We ended 2022 in Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park.
It was so much fun to try out the various rides with our children. Some of them were pretty scary because they were so high but I'm glad that I took the leap and went on them.
Watch this reel that we made about our visit.
98) Our AMAZING Community
Our amazing communities at The Humble Penny and Financial Joy Academy make what we're doing possible.
Without you reading our blogs, watching our videos, sharing our posts on Social media, etc, we won't be here today.
Interacting with you weekly and learning how we can better help you move ahead in your finances has taught me so much about the need to be patient, have empathy and never judge.
99) Celebrating My Queen
Given her birthday falls between Christmas and New Year, it is one of the final celebrations of the year.
I'm blessed to have Mary as my best friend, wife, business partner, and mother of our children.
She looks more beautiful and gets wiser each year that passes 🙂
100) Staying Alive
There are so many people who sadly passed away in 2022 including people we know in our extended family.
Every day that I wake up alive and well, I thank God and focus on living a life of purpose.
I'm grateful to be here doing what we do today and pray for many more years of doing what I love with my wife and living a life of impact.
I hope you enjoyed reading this post and will also start documenting the things that make your year in 2023.
On reflection, what were you most grateful for in 2022? Please comment below.
Thanks for sharing Ken, this is truly inspiring!
You’re welcome. Thank you for reading and happy New Year 🙂
Ken & Mary – It is wonderful to see how well you both are managing all aspects of your lives, including business, family, and spiritual well-being. Personally, I often get caught up in hustling and working hard, but forget to prioritize family time. Reading this article has reminded me to make a conscious effort this year to manage my time more effectively and prioritize my loved ones. Additionally, it is refreshing to see that even with your successes, you remain humble and keep God at the center of your lives. Keep up this positive attitude and may God bless you even more in 2023. Wishing you a happy new year!
Hi Pavan, thank you for sharing. It took writing this post for me to more deeply appreciate the things we managed to do in 2022. You’re so right about the need to manage time more effectively and prioritise loved ones. Whenever I sit down and reflect daily on what I’m most grateful, the recurring theme in my list is always my loved ones. So I figured, why not prioritise them more intentionally in my day to day planning first? The more I have done this, the more I have felt happier that I’m prioritising what matters the most to me. About putting God at the center, this remains an area of growth and the New Year has helped me have fresher perspective. I’ve also given up on worrying what other people think and how I may be judged in this area. This is a personal journey and each person has their own. I’m focusing on really doing what I feel led to do and leaving God to do the rest. Thanks again for your wishes. I wish you well. Happy New year!
Great post! It was so good to see Barbados featured in your top 100 things of 2022. So many other amazing experiences! May your 2023 overflow with blessings 🙂
We loved it there in Barbados. It would have been even better if we had spent time with you guys. Wishing you an abundant 2023 ahead.
So good to read this. Some great family, work and community engagement here. Inspired to try this for 2023.
Hey Neema! Thank you :). Do it. The balance brings a lot of fulfilment.
Wow….is the word! This made me reflect more on my own life journey and the many things i am thankful for that i have overloked all the while.I gained so much idea just from reading this amazing piece. I am deeply inspired to commence setting the right track both for my kids and family. Thank you so much for sharing look forward to being part of your club soonest!
Hey Jane, I appreciate you reading and commenting. It means a lot to me that this post really spoke to you. That positive impact keeps me and Mary going. Please update us with how you are getting on and do please keep reading and commenting.
Amaing achievements – i am definitely in the right community to possibly access similar blessings. I espcially love the holiday trips – it is fair to say you work hard but play harder. I can’t wait to see what the next 100 looks like.
Hey Feyi! Haha! Definitely love the combo of working hard and playing hard. I’m planning for good things in 2023. The goal is to work smarter and maintain balance. Thanks for reading and please comment more often.