Comments on: The Simple Dollar Morning Roundup: Decisions Edition

By: Leisureguy

Leisureguy — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:00:24 +0000

When making a BIG decision, a great book to read is Decision Traps, by Russo and Schoemaker, or the revised version of that Winning Decisions by the same two. As they point out, we are mostly self-taught decision-makers, and self-taught practitioners of any skill tend to make common errors. A good coach can correct those common errors, producing a BIG improvement. (To get to world-class level requires more, of course, but a big improvement is not to be sneezed at.) I highly recommend either of those books, which explain the common errors and how to avoid them.

By: J.D.

J.D. — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 18:56:32 +0000

Matt, I’m well-aware that this may be a house of cards ready to collapse. I’ll be focusing on other writing projects as well, including books and magazine articles.

Also, I don’t think regular readers click on ads. I think it’s people who come searching for other stuff but don’t find what they want. I don’t know this for sure, but that’s my hypothesis.

By: Kris

Kris — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:23:43 +0000

Thank you for the link, Trent. I read your blog everyday (your output is incredible), and really appreciate what you’re doing. Best wishes with the big change, too.

By: Donna

Donna — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:06:53 +0000

I say “congrats” to anyone who can make a living blogging, especially for themselves. As a freelance writer, I can’t generate enough content to make a blog with as many hits. Wish I could, but I just can’t generate that much content and make a living in the meantime.

Also, a lot of bloggers (Trent excluded) pay others to write their content for them… You would be surprised!

By: FinanceAndFat

FinanceAndFat — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:01:15 +0000

@Matt – I doubt there are enough PF bloggers out there to push a site to 35,000 subscribers. If there are, then I need to find them.

People do click on ads. Google has made billions of dollars because people click on ads. It’s pretty simple really.

By: Trent

Trent — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 14:55:21 +0000

You can see my site stats here any time you wish:
http://www.sitemeter.com/?a=stats&s=sm5trenthamm

You can also click on the square that looks like a green graph near the bottom of the right hand menu bar to get that same info on any page.

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 14:45:42 +0000

It would be interesting to know how much traffic to personal finance blogs comes from other personal finance bloggers. They’re always reading each other and linking to each other. Perhaps the whole thing is just a house of cards. It is hard to understand how you can make $60,000 a year from advertising when nobody with brains or money clicks on the ads. I wouldn’t even know there were ads on The Simple Dollar if Trent didn’t mention them now and then.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 14:32:23 +0000

TVP contains hidden sources of MSG.
http://www.deliciousorganics.com/Controversies/soy.htm

By: guinness416

guinness416 — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 14:23:53 +0000

I remember when JD started with comments about personal finance book reviews over at Metafilter! It doesn’t seem like that was very long ago, can’t believe he’s got these options now. He deserves it though, his blog is great and he seems like a real gent.

This blog is great too … I’ve made a few “big changes” in my time and never regretted them, so I’m confident whatever decisions you make will go well Trent.

(What happened to the left-aligned archives etc? Did I hallucinate them?)

By: Laura

Laura — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 14:18:30 +0000

I’m impressed with J.D.’s decision to become a full-time blogger. I’m even more impressed that he has a well thought out plan that will minimize some risks during the transition.

It takes guts to take a plunge and it takes courage and wisdom to have a plan of attack. I wish him well.