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Why Talk about Your Finances to Strangers?
Blogging is the latest innovation to take the web by storm.
According to blog tracking firm Technorati, there are currently
20.6 million blogs with thousands more added every day.
According to Blogherald, 30% of internet users (50 million
people) are blog readers. In short, a lot of people are reading
and writing blogs.
A popular blogging sub-segment is the one centered on money and
personal finances. The web hosts a wide variety of people
talking about money, giving financial advice, and tracking their
own finances electronically. But why do these bloggers share
some of the most intimate details of their personal finances?
"Personal financial blogging compliments the money management
articles I write," notes Jeffrey Strain of Personal Finance Advice.
"While articles are able to give the basics of how to implement
money saving techniques and ways to invest, the blog allows me
to show step by step how I use the information in my daily life."
Others began blogging out of a need to get a handle on their
money. "I started blogging because I was fresh out of college
and making more money than I'd ever seen before," states
Jonathan of MyMoneyBlog. "I had almost
two thousand dollars of disposable income every month. Instead
of moving into a nice apartment in the city and buying a BMW
like my friends, I maxed out my 401(k), stayed in my college
apartment, and started this blog to document my thoughts,
ramblings, successes, and mistakes towards my goal of financial
freedom and traveling the world."
The final perspective that seems common among financial bloggers
is one centered more around the reader than the
Associated Websites
blogger. FMF of
Free Money Finance
and JLP of All
Things Financial are good examples of this approach. "I'm
sharing principles that have helped me grow my net worth
substantially in an effort to help others do the same," comments
FMF. JLP has similar reasons. "I have a personal finance blog to
share information that I think is important with my readers. My
blog essentially allows me to publish a low-cost newsletter and
save trees at the same time. I also like the fact that I can
link to important information (something that is hard to do with
a paper newsletter)."
But no matter the reason for blogging, these financial bloggers
draw from their own personal experiences and write about them
quite honestly. Here are some examples:
JLP has shared the details of the H&R Block tax class he's been taking
FMF has given his criteria for when he will and won't use a financial planner
Jonathan has detailed his renting woes
Jeffrey has covered (in detail and with pictures) the $235 bet he lost
No matter what their reason for writing, all of these blogs are
both informative and entertaining. It's easy to see why readers
keep coming back for more.
About the author:
Courtesy of Saving
Advice
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