During my brief blogging hiatus, I also wasn't keeping up with other blogs. If I wasn't at work, I was sleeping. On Saturday, with a bit of fear, I opened my reader and saw the hundreds of articles waiting for me. I read them all. A la Carrie Bradshaw, I began to wonder, where do I fit in in this world of money blogging? Recently, I've also had to define who I am as a blogger. For example, when I signed up for Blogher. There was no category for confessional recovering shoe whore who is trying to learn how to be financially responsible. So I stared at the form. I eventually selected Personal Finance. But let's face it. I'm not a PF blogger. That really hit home on Saturday when I was reading the blogs I subscribe to. Honestly, I like the info that they provide, but they often make me feel like I am doing a lot of things wrong. Right now, though, I am doing a lot of things right for my personal circumstances. CRAZY AND I ARE KILLING DISCOVER. We haven't talked about it yet, but I am trying to work on a plan that would allow me to pay off A.L.L. of my credit card debt by the end of this year. That would mean that I have focused and paid off $36,000 in credit card debt (not even adding in the additional money that has gone to my grandfather and everything else) in two years. Not too shabby. But still, my site doesn't fit into the mold. It's mostly me telling my story. It's never going to be the blog that will tell you about the latest swag bucks code. (I don't know what swag bucks are.) I am never going to give you a throwdown between a Roth IRA and a regular IRA. I still don't really know where I fit in. I'm not a standard PF blogger. But this blog is definitely about money, so does that make me a PF blogger by default? I know that there are other bloggers out there who are more 'like me." Somehow they've found me and I've followed them back to their blogs through the comments or through links that I've found on typepad's stats. I really like these blogs. So let's give them a brief shout out to some of my favorites: I've been reading A Gai Shan Life for a while and I love her style too! Readers, where do you think I fit in? Does it really matter? Do you have any other websites to recommend that I would like?
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
You are as needed in the PF blog world as those who write about picking stocks and other topics.
I consider you and a few other of my favorites story blogs. You share, and yes teach, about money with your daily life stories.
Don’t go changing…. (imagine Billy Joel singing here).
Thanks for considering me. I was wondering what happened to you.
I kind of feel the same way which is why I put a post out on my blog asking for people to point me in the direction of bloggers like me…knee deep in debt. I also just tell my personal story and I rarely post a personal finance article unless it’s something I can relate to…like an article on how credit cards suck. =)
I think we bring a difference perspective to the PF world. There are successful PF bloggers with very impressive balance sheets and then there are those like me who are in the opposite spectrum. They focus on savings and investments….we focus on the evils and perils of debt.
So…I guess we fulfill our own niche in the PF world but I wish there were more folks out there blogging like us. Then again…I don’t because that would mean they are struggling too.
I’m flattered, thank you!
You’re, in my opinion, a PF Blogger but I suppose it’s because I read plenty of bloggers who write about how money works in the context of their lives, not just about the latest and greatest in the world of finance. I read the latter for information, I read the former for soul. And you’ve got soul!
P.S. I don’t know WHY there isn’t a category for recovering [insert obsession] whore trying to learn how to be financially responsible. I mean, there are tons of us.
I don’t think it matters “what” you are…as long as you have a story to tell and can tell it well.
OMG…thank you for the shout out. I feel so special and blessed!
I never qualify any blogs I read as a “type”. I just read them and if I like them, I keep reading…if I don’t, then I stop.
I don’t think I have a desire to read a “true blue” PF Blogger. Especially if they are going to make me feel like I’m doing wrong. I get enough of that in my regular life…I don’t need it in my blog world too! LOL
I like your blog just the way it is so I agree…don’t go changing!
Yep, you’re a PF blogger. You put the “personal” in personal finance. I started reading your blog because I was soooo excited to read about someone who was honest about the their debt, particularly their student loan debt. Although I signed up and bookmarked many blogs from the giveaway, your blog is one of the few blogs that I still read.
Keep up the good work! The rest of us appreciate your honesty.
Thanks everyone. This is reassuring. Every so often, especially after a brief hiatus, my confidence takes a kick in the ass. I need to broaden my horizons with my reading too.
(The fattest hairless white cat on earth is now sitting on the box that Quicken came in. This is my life.)
I absolutely love reading the personal stories – I’m much less interested in the stocks and bonds personal finance… I’m just not at that point yet.
Wading through debt… knowing you’re not alone – that helps a lot. Thanks for posting the stories you do, and thank you for thinking of me!