Search: best-of

Other Community Projects and Interests

This article was written by Flexo in Link Sharing. 3 comments.

When I’m not busy with Consumerism Commentary, I have a small window for working on other projects. Most of these have stemmed from Consumerism Commentary or focus on the personal finance community, but every so often I get a chance to focus on my other interests. Here are some of the other projects I work on, though I still haven’t been able to spend as much time on them as I would like.

The Carnival of Personal Finance was the first of its kind in this particular community. Each week, a different blog reviews a hundred or so submissions from other bloggers to highlight the best in blog-based writing. Since 2005, this Carnival has been a great way for new blogs to receive exposure within the community while larger blogs have the opportunity to help others succeed. When done properly, the Carnival can be entertaining, informative, and worthwhile to everyone who participates. Last week’s Color Theory Edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance was hosted by Fiscal Fizzle.

I thank Revanche from A Gai Shan Life, who has been managing most of the weekly administration of the Carnival of Personal Finance.

The Ad-Free Personal Finance Blogs Aggregator (pfblogs.org) is an index of active blogs that focus on personal finance, investing, and real estate. Today, most submissions I receive for inclusion are for blogs that are written for search engines rather than human beings. Using this list, it’s easier to find quality personal writing about personal finance. If you are a blogger whose blog should be included, add it today. This site is overdue for an overhaul, and if you’re interested in assisting with the management of this service, let me know.

The Plutus Awards is an annual awards show highlighting the best personal finance blogs and articles. We accept nominations in a variety of categories, and the entire personal finance blogging community is invited to vote for their favorites among the finalists. This year, nominations will begin soon, voting will take place towards the end of the summer, and the winners will be announced at a live event this fall.

Although it’s directly part of Consumerism Commentary, the Consumerism Commentary Podcast is like a website unto itself. Producing the Podcast involves finding topics to cover, making arrangements with guests, working with potential advertisers, and handling public relations. While Tom Dziubek is on hiatus during tax season, I was fortunate enough to be able to work with Bryan J Busch, who has done a wonderful job filling in, including developing questions that get to the heart of every issue.

These projects don’t leave much time for other things in my life at the moment, but I have been trying to spend some time learning about photography. At one time, I was involved with music education in the area, as well, but that has not been a focus for some time, unfortunately.

Read the full article →

{ 3 comments }

Best of Consumerism Commentary 2010

This article was written by Flexo in Administration. 4 comments.

This was a fantastic year for Consumerism Commentary. Readership has grown by 10% since 2009, and I’m happy with these results considering the website has been around since 2003. There are many readers who were with Consumerism Commentary since its start — thank you! And for those who may be new to Consumerism Commentary, welcome. I hope we continue to have something to offer anyway. I’m always open to suggestions, so contact us if you have something to share.

Some of my best ideas come from readers, so if you have a personal experience to share, let me know.

Here are a few articles I’ve selected to represent Consumerism Commentary’s best in 2010.

Best of Consumerism Commentary, 2010

Thanks to all the guests who appeared on the Consumerism Commentary Podcast in 2010. Some of my favorites were Manisha Thakor, Get Financially Naked, David Bach, Start Over, Get Rich, J.D. Roth, Your Money the Missing Manual, frugal photography, Donna Freedman, microsaving, Ramit Sethi, earning more money, Zac Bissonnette, Debt-Free U, Kimberly Palmer, Generation Earn, and Farnoosh Torabi, Psych Yourself Rich.

Join the community

This coming year, Consumerism Commentary will be introducing new ways to interact with our community of readers. More announcements will follow in the coming weeks and months. Here is how you can stay involved with Consumerism Commentary today.

Subscribe to the RSS feed
Add Consumerism Commentary to Google’s home page or Google Reader
Free daily digest of new Consumerism Commentary articles via email
Free somewhat-weekly newsletter with exclusive content and giveaways
Follow Consumerism Commentary on Twitter by following @flexo and @ConsumerismComm
Become a fan of Consumerism Commentary on Facebook

{ 4 comments }

Welcoming 2011 With Goals and Resolutions

This article was written by Flexo in Planning. 16 comments.

Welcome to 2011!

I’ve been reading 2010 recaps from friends and bloggers for the past few weeks and the general consensus is that people are happy to see the year go. With unemployment, health issues, and even death, the new year is being welcomes with open arms. I’m looking for a good year as I’ve outlined in my goals and resolutions, and I’m not alone.

Before I start sharing some of my favorite goals and resolutions I’ve seen around the internet for the coming year, here are some tips for making those New Year’s resolutions stick.

New Year’s resolutions often get a bad rap, simply because most people don’t keep them. Self-reflection and goal-setting, with an eye to thinking about who you’d like to be, is a good exercise for any time of the year, even if you don’t stick to your goals. Ignore the nay-sayers who say it’s a useless exercise. It’s very helpful for identifying what is important to you in your life. Even if you don’t meet all of your goals, you learn more about yourself along the way, and get closer to being who you want to be.

Single Ma’s Goals for 2011. Single Ma from Fabulous Financials is focusing on fitness and fun in addition to money this year, and looks to be a mentor for a younger single mother.

Miranda’s Money Resolutions for 2011. Miranda wants to work less and earn more in 2011 — certainly the American way! She also wants to sleep better this year. Sleeping well pays off for a variety of reasons, and I’ll certain be adjusting my life this year to move from an average of four to five hours of sleep a night to seven to eight.

Amber’s 2011 Goals. Somebody’s getting married this year! I’m looking forward to reading more on Blonde and Balanced about the process and relevant decisions leading up to the big event. Amber will focus this year on putting other people’s needs in front of her own.

Evan’s 2011 Goals and Objectives. Evan from My Journey to Millions is a new father looking to find balance in his life. He’ll focus on losing weight and expanding his blogs and businesses.

Kay Lynn’s 2011 Goals and Plans. The Bucksome Boomer plans to become debt free this year. She also will focus on personal goals such as losing weight and exercising. Kay Lynn plans to increase her income from blogging to an average of $1,000 per month.

Financial Samurai Goals and Resolutions for 2011. Among a list of what seems to be one hundred goals, Sam will be trending towards vegetarianism this year, which is just a fancy way of saying eating less meat.

One more late addition: Investor Junkie’s 2011 Financial Goals. Investor Junkie will be starting a new web-based business idea this year. I’m looking forward to seeing what he has in mind. He also will be taking strides towards a paperless office, reducing bills and junk mail sent to his house.

Happy New Year! May 2011 be the year we all achieve our goals. Read the full article →

{ 16 comments }