This is the very thing I am trying to do. That’s the thing I love about ATM. They are everywhere and I attempt to pay my credit cards with every extra money I see.

Your reader Jon definitely has an issue. Maturity. Everyone that is willing to work and provide a service is worthy of their hire. If he dislikes your blog and your means of earning income then he needs to take his sour attitude elsewhere. Those that can do, those that can’t criticize and whine about those that are being productive.

Keep up the good work. I recently shared your site with a co-worker and he was quite appreciative.

I just found The Simple Dollar and I really enjoy Trent’s style of writing and the information he provides. And I just bought the Larry Winget book because I do LOVE the in your face approach (and he reminds me of my husband, lol). I know that I am on the right track now, but I love to read and find that even if a book reiterates most of the same points we have heard before, there is always some value I get from it. If nothing else, it just helps me realize that I AM doing the right thing now, and reminds me of how much progress I have made.

I personally love to support those writers that I enjoy by buying their books or donating because I truly want to give back to them for what they have done for me. Some times I may not have the $$ at that point to buy the book, but if it is one I love, I will buy it later to have or sometimes to give to someone else who can benefit from it. And I love to buy them from Amazon!

Also different styles mesh with different people and different readers, even with the same basic message. A Suzy Ormon fan is not likely to be inspired by an “in your face” Winget style. Such a person may never buy a book with a bald guy on the cover. Audiences can be different for the same basic material.

Finally, every person seems to feel that anyone who can type can write a book and get it sold. That’s complete crap. Writing a good book, or a good article, keeping it focused and on point is a talent. Frankly there’s a good reason this blog has done and continues to do as well as it has.

“The only book I’ll ever encourage anyone to buy is my own, for rather obvious reasons.”

What would make your book so much more special that we should buy it and not any others? This is exactly the reason I think almost all PF writers are purely out to make a buck. Most are peddling common sense advice and offer suggestions about how to get as many things as you can for free, except of course when it comes to buying their book. Because everyone’s book is the most profound and important right? I’ve only come across one PF writer who stated outright to people not to buy his book but to get a copy from the local library.
Why are writers, especially PF writers, so terrified of coming clean and stating outright that they are writing to make money. They know people are desperate to find a solution to their problems and are willing to pay someone to give them the answer. They aren’t out to “help” anyone or rescue them from their problems. Each broke, in debt person that comes by the book signing is just another buck in the pocket.
Man up already and at least say that’s why your in the PF business.

Also clicking through is a great way to suport Trents blog.

I used to read a lot of personal finance books but I’m finding more and more that they’re of less use to me. I’m not in debt anymore, and even when I was I had a sound plan to get out of it. I’ve never had excess luxuries like cable, lattes, or expensive hobbies– and most pf writers (bloggers included) write from the assumption that everyone is in debt and got that way because they’re just wasteful with money. That may be true for the majority, but not for me. There’s also a lot of space devoted to issues like marriage, children, mortgages–none of which will ever be applicable in my situation. I probably read the first quarter of a book because reading the other three quarters would be a waste of my time.

I do think it’s great that there are so many resources for people to learn to get their finances in order, and that there are a variety of styles in which the information is presented. But for those of us who are already on the right path, but just don’t know where to go next–well, I was there was something for us too.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT BURNING MAN WAS? IT WAS AND MAYBE STILL IS IN PARTS OF THE WORLD, BURNING PEOPLE ALIVE. YOU’RE IGNORANT OR EVIL

Because I’d rather people save their money and use the library, but sometimes people would rather own the book so they can keep it for reference or scribble in the margins – you should see my copy of Getting Things Done, for instance. For them, I link to Amazon, where they can find additional info and get a good price for buying it. If they use my link, I make a few pennies with no difference to them at all.

It’s not as if this review is a sales pitch. I’m basically summarizing the book so that people who are on the fence won’t leap into buying and even if they do, I go “Hey, go to the library and get it.”

The only book I’ll ever encourage anyone to buy is my own, for rather obvious reasons.

He has invested his time in both reading the books, and writing the articles for the site. Obviously you are reading the site, and hopefully gaining sound principles which enhance your life from it. I know I am.

Information *should* be free, and unless you are buying the book, it is. Even the cost of the internet can’t logically can’t be considered, as it’s only a medium to access the information. If you walked to the public library and used their internet terminals to read The Simple Dollar, you could be happy knowing that gaining this information is 100% of NO COST to you.

However I think you should also consider that unfortunately, in the age we live in, knowledge is given a dollar value and as such is a financial commodity. I think this is fundamentally wrong, and the only way to circumvent it is to

1. Not pay directly for knowledge – ie buying Trent’s PDFs – unless you consider the fee to be a donation.

2. Make such knowledge publically available to download in it’s commercial form. Use filesharing and anonymous/overseas hosting sites to facilitate the spread of information.

3. DIRECTLY PAYING THE OWNER/SOURCE OF THE INFORMATION – This enables people to be able to have money while thinking and learning things. This is akin to sponsoring a student, donating $20 to Trent for his manuscript which you downloaded from a third party site, or donating to a band or buying some T shirts if you downloaded their album from the internet.

THE FLOW DOWN EFFECT OF THIS =

1. Cutting out the middlemen – mindless drones who a) inflate the price of things by adding their handling fees [ie retailers] and b) restrict access to information

2. People who will be out of work from passing things on, will be summoning their own skills and contributing to the knowledge pool of society.

*gets off soapbox*

I’d like to start a business selling stuff online – I even bought a liquidation lot and have stuff to sell.

But I have only 300 sf of living space and not enough room for the stuff.

Just out of curiosity, what did you get out of this book that is so much better or different than all the others?