Comments on: Why Talking About Myself Is Important When Writing About Personal Finance

By: Custom PHP

Custom PHP — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:57:14 +0000

I think sharing personal experiences about money and budgeting, ETC is good. People want to know what others are doing.

By: Dy (www.dyphan.com)

Dy (www.dyphan.com) — Wed, 23 May 2007 07:45:29 +0000

Hmmm, I think perhaps my early vision of having a “personal” finance blog has been clouded with wanting to pump posts out. I really do need to speak more about my own ordeals and victories.

By: mapgirl

mapgirl — Tue, 22 May 2007 19:43:53 +0000

I know we don’t always see eye to eye, but your personal stories are inspirational and a great reason why I read your blog. You’ve got a good personality and a good heart and I think it shows in your writing.

I don’t read PF blogs that aren’t very personal. There’s not that much interest for me there. I could get the same advice from a shelf of books on finance. If you weren’t you, I wouldn’t be reading.

Keep up the good work!

By: English Major

English Major — Tue, 22 May 2007 15:57:07 +0000

Trent, if you’ll excuse my plain speaking, I like The Simple Dollar more and more since you’ve been increasing the transparency about you and your goals and beliefs. I think you had a tendency to come off a little bland and a little preachy in your earlier articles, and the more you begin to include yourself, the more I read your blog and realize that you’re just trying to make the right choices for you, not always saying that your choice is the right choice for everyone. It’s made your blogging voice, and The Simple Dollar, far more appealing.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Tue, 22 May 2007 15:53:04 +0000

You are definitely hitting the right combination of personal stories and financial advice — that’s why my blog has a link to you in my sidebar so I remember to visit daily. I want that personal touch. It inspires me, makes me feel part of a community of people trying to move their finances forward, and makes me think of my own finances personally rather than as an abstraction. Keep it up!

By: ongrowthtrack

ongrowthtrack — Tue, 22 May 2007 15:05:47 +0000

Trent, Your Passion for blogging is doing good for many of us. your personal stories are great anchors.

By: right side of the river

right side of the river — Tue, 22 May 2007 13:53:51 +0000

Trent, for the past month I’ve been coming to your site daily and reading all the articles word for word. I really appreciate the advice and really enjoy the stories. Please keep writing the way you do. Thanks!

By: Wylie

Wylie — Tue, 22 May 2007 13:23:23 +0000

I’m pretty new to your site so after reading this post I went to read more about you. I am amazed that you started in late 2006, with as many posts as you have written!

I am also amazed that Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome is one of your favorite movies. I recall enjoying it, but it has been a while since I saw it, perhaps I should check it out again!

An finally a question- will you add my site to your blog roll? As your readers start to accumulate some wealth, following your advice about frugal, thoughtful living, some of them will face the challenge of sorting through 500+ mutual funds. It is actually not too difficult these days, once you get a few of the basic concepts down, and that is one of the things I write a good bit about.

Anyway, I added your blog as a link. If you think my site is more than just ‘methane,’ please link to it!

http://www.wyliemoney.com

By: Judith

Judith — Tue, 22 May 2007 12:22:04 +0000

Amen, brothers and sisters, preach it! Many thanks for what you do in this blog, Trent. I try to read through as much as I can first thing every morning, and it gives me a good mindset for the rest of the day.

By: Rob in Madrid

Rob in Madrid — Tue, 22 May 2007 10:22:49 +0000

Here’s another one

http://tinyurl.com/2l2432

By: Rob in Madrid

Rob in Madrid — Tue, 22 May 2007 10:19:48 +0000

Ditto for me Andamom it’s a very well written blog. Trent you have a real gift for comunicating your thoughts, your blog stands head and shoulders above any else Ive read. Keep up the good work.

As well forget the investing side there is real need for a blog like this (see first link) most people are clueless on how to climb out of the hell of personal debt and the banks are making it as hard as possible to do.

One other area you can talk about is how the banks are ripping off middle America (see link 2 and 3 When Banks Turn Evil). Most people aren’t aware on how much money the banks rake in with service fees or how hard they make it to avoid them.

Last link how the financial institutions are discovering there is alot of money to be made in marketing credit to the the poor and the financial illiterate.

link 1 http://tinyurl.com/354knb
link 2 http://tinyurl.com/3beh7e
link 3 http://tinyurl.com/23g6sb
link 4 http://tinyurl.com/2o9c58

If this doesn’t make your blood boil than your not human or you paycheques depends upon ripping people off.

PS can you add a preview button.

By: Gary Brown

Gary Brown — Tue, 22 May 2007 06:41:33 +0000

Personal stories always enhance the point you are making. It lets the reader know someone else goes through the same struggle.

By: Gal Josefsberg

Gal Josefsberg — Tue, 22 May 2007 06:13:01 +0000

Going to add my voice to the chorus here. I like your stories. Not only are they interesting, but they also give me the proper context in which to place your financial advice. Not all your advice applies to everyone, but the background you give about yourself and your life allows me to see not just WHAT you do, but WHY you do it. This is great for when I try to apply some of what I learn here to my own life.

GJ
http://www.60in3.com

By: Andamom

Andamom — Tue, 22 May 2007 03:35:06 +0000

Trent,

I wanted to echo what other people are saying — I appreciate hearing about your experiences. Sometimes I feel like I can really empathize with a particular facet of your life and situation — and at other times I just like reading along. I wish that you and I could both be purchasing real estate at the same time — but I just have to live vicariously through you right now.

By: Brett McKay

Brett McKay — Tue, 22 May 2007 03:22:08 +0000

I love the personal stories. You’ve really inspired me with your experiences. Keep them coming!

By: Gregg

Gregg — Tue, 22 May 2007 01:53:51 +0000

Trent,

I am a Radio Host and believe me, using yourself in the context of the articles is a great idea.

As Hosts we are often told we talk about ourselves too much, but really we are talking about our shared experience with the audience.

Keep telling great stories, I will be reading.
http://www.gregghenson.com

By: Greg

Greg — Tue, 22 May 2007 00:10:01 +0000

Don’t change a thing – The Simple Dollar is one of my favorite blogs because of the writing style. I actually went all weekend without eating out and only driving to work and back (it was an emergency). I cite your personal examples on having frugal weekends for me overcoming the status quo and doing this. Keep it up!

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 21 May 2007 21:28:05 +0000

I think one of the reasons I enjoy your willingness to share your personal views is that it makes the financial advice much more… well, personal. Everything is easy to read when it’s got some real life examples of your own experiences. It’s also taken a bit more seriously (by me, anyway) since I can see that a large chunk of your advice is not only directed at others, but yourself as well.