About a year ago, I gave a shout-out to the other finance blogs on the internet—there weren’t many blogs in this category back then. Take a look at the comments and see the germination of personal finance blogs that have become some of the most popular out there.
On my sidebar I keep a list of active personal finance blogs. I try to maintain the list every once in a while by removing the blogs that haven’t been updated in about two months and adding new blogs that have lasted at least a month or so.
If you’re a personal finance blogger—and many of the readers of Consumerism Commentary are—why did you start your blog? Were you inspired by someone else’s, or did you come by the genre by accident? Did you read about personal finance blogs in the Wall Street Journal or on Yahoo?
I think it’s great that the genre is expanding. Keep them coming!
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I started my blog because I felt like I could educate myself and others (especially recent college grads) about financial responsibility and management. Of course I wouldn’t have known much myself if it weren’t for all the older and well established finance blogs. Thanks!
I started my own blog about one month ago. I had been visiting many other personal finance blogs for about two months prior and I was getting much appreciated information. I decided that I would use my own blog to provide me with an area to think out loud, while allowing others to see the success and mistakes I have made along the way.
I think I realized that blogging could keep me accountable in a way that would really help me set and achieve my goals. I started in February…I think I was also inspired to help others with some small amount of money saving info and a blog was a good way to do that :)
Supernova is apt…it’s incredible the rate of blogsplosion that took place over the course of this year alone.
I came into it from a slightly different perspective. I had been buiding a personal finance / money saving website for a few years and realized that those who visit the website and those who visit blogs are really two seperate groups of people. In an attempt to reach both groups, I began blogging.
My reasons are a cross between Neo’s and Caitlin’s reasons. Plus, if I’m going to post about something for all the world to see, I’m going to put a lot more thought and effort into it. This helps make my goal-setting much more specific.
I started my blog because I kept losing the little scraps of paper where I was jotting down my financial info. Sad but true.
I just discovered personal finance blogs a couple of months ago. I was hooked right from the start with all the honest financial information people can share via a blog and I wanted to be a part of it. In addition, my friends and family don’t share this interest with me, so this is a way to connect with others who share interest in personal finance.
Same as Chree. I greatly appreciated the information I was getting from the other blogs and accountability is an absolute plus.
My reasons for starting a blog closely resemble Neo’s and Seattle Simplicity’s. I tend to leave comments more than I write in my blog, but having one gives me an extra spot to talk about things that interest me. I also hope that by starting a blog I’ll begin setting goals for myself—that’s never been something I’ve done, in the finance arena or elsewhere. So, it’s also a bit of an experiment. :)
I also appreciate the semi-anonymity of the blogosphere. I was struck by the honesty of other bloggers, and for the first time, I’ve been able to frankly discuss my own financial situation. I’ve told only a VERY few people in my “real life” about having to declare bankruptcy several years ago, but it’s always been something I wished I could discuss.
I started my blog because I was already blogging elsewhere, liked the format, and felt I had something to offer to the discussion—particularly because I felt no one else in the blog or traditional media worlds had the same angle (i.e., mainly covering Fidelity Investments from an ordinary customer’s POV)
I write a financial blog so that I can learn about personal finance and investing, so I can get my thoughts out on paper, and because I think I might have $.02 or $.03 to throw into the mix here and there.
Oddly enough, by putting my $.02 worth on the internet, I get about $.02 a day from google adsense. It can’t be a coincidence, it has to be a conspiracy.