A Chat with Ellen Roseman and Finding a New Blog
I've decided that it is very important to talk with new people. There are two huge benefits:
- the other person can share new ideas, facts and opinions
- in the course of the conversation/relationship you can gain a fresh look at your own opinions
The main area that our conversation made me contemplate has actually been blogging rather than personal finance. Ellen asked me lots of questions about why I started and why I keep going and we talked a lot about the Canadian PF blogosphere.
This is the first time that I have been able to talk to someone using my voice about PF blogging. I don't tell any of my friends and family that I do this, and so blogging is a "secret life". But it is one that takes up a large amount of my time and attention and I realized as I talked to Ellen that I have an awful lot to say about it.
And that brings me to a new Canadian PF blog that I found yesterday as well: Give Me Back my Five Bucks. Apart from the great title, I really liked this blog because it was like meeting a new friend. Krystal's personality comes through so strongly on every post that you really feel like you get to know her very quickly. (She has started doing sponsored posts and some of them are hilarious - like hoping that Paris Hilton knows about antibiotic ointment in case she gets beat up in jail.)
Both Ellen and Krystal reminded me that the point of blogging is the personal aspect. If people wanted to read an expert opinion there are hundreds of books out there. But if you want to know what it's like to be me... you have to come here!
The past couple of months have been hard for me financially, and sometimes I feel like if my net worth backslides or I make some financial mistakes I might be letting my readers down. But maybe that's not the point. Maybe people want to read about both my successes and my failures with equal openness.
So here's to PF blogging and a salute to all the others who do this along with me. We may not be perfect, but we put the PERSON back in personal finance!!
6 comments:
Great post! And congrats on getting mentioned in the Toronto Star. I completely agree that blogs are meant to be personal. That is definitely the angle that I took on my blog, and people seem to respond well to it.
All the best!
FT
Talking about blogging. How novel. Maybe you should start podcasting :)
Given the time you're spending blogging and given that you're (currently) a consultant, have you thought of starting a work-related blog with your real identity? Naturally, you wouldn't want to link to this one, but you could then get "credit" for your blogging abilities from clients and prospects. Maybe you're already doing this ...
Thanks FT! Glad to see that Ellen featured you too. :)
promod - I'm stuck in the blogging closet due to some early decisions. It's kind of dark in here, but I get regular bread and water so I survive. I would like to start an "open" blog one day, but I am waiting on that for now. Podcasting sounds like fun though...
MD:)
That's why I started my PF blog - to share my successes and failures with people, and to learn from their successes and failures as well. Over the past few months, I've come to realize how supportive everyone is in the PF blogging world, and I love it!
When I first started blogging, I didn't want to write about any of the mistakes I made, because I didn't want my readers thinking I wasn't fiscally responsible ... but the thing about having a PF blog is it's there to keep you honest with your money. I figure if I can't be honest with my readers about what my financial situation is, then I'm not being honest with myself either.
And if I've read that you've slid a little in your net worth, it just makes you seem more human because you've made mistakes ... and it makes me feel like I don't have to be walking on egg shells when it comes to my finances ... because if you -- with a net worth of $667,000 -- can make a few mistakes and still be where you are today, then so can the rest of us! :)
I've already learned so much from you, and I've only just started reading your blog. :) So thanks, and keep it up!!!
You shouldn't feel any pressure from anyone including yourself about your net worth. The reality is that there are outside factors which will affect your net worth that are beyond your control. For example if the market drops 10% one day, your net worth will probably take a hit but that's not your fault! It's how your net worth performs over the long haul that matters.
Both your blog and Give me Back my Five Bucks was inspiration to: get my finances on track, and also to start blogging about it. Really enjoy the posts!
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