A quick scan of the internet gives one the impression that personal finance blogs are a dime a dozen. It’s hard to do a Google search on personal finance blogs and not come away thinking that the market is saturated.
So, why do I find myself throwing my hat into the blogging ring when there are so many others already vying for your attention? To make it simple, I have something to say. Not only that, but I want to help others avoid making the same mistakes that I have.
The core principles I believe in are to live a disciplined life financially which means living frugally and making wise financial decisions. I am not espousing cheapness, but a holistic view of your finances to make the wisest decisions possible because that allows you to lead the life you want to live.
A critical component of making wise financial decisions is to avoid debt like the plague and not getting mired in it. When allowed to run rampant, debt can derail your plans and your future. Some debts are difficult to avoid, like a home mortgage, but others like credit card debt are unnecessary, unwise and even catastrophic.
Through living frugally and avoiding debt you best set yourself up to have your money work for you. Last I checked, money still doesn’t grow from trees, so we have to maximize how we make our money work for us. I have a passion to help others and love to share what I have learned in order to see people succeed with their finances.
So, with that said, please join me as I throw my hat into the ring. Do you run a personal finance blog? If so, what’s your motivation for blogging?
Photo courtesy of: Sanja Gjenero
I’m John Schmoll, a former stockbroker, MBA-grad, published finance writer, and founder of Frugal Rules.
As a veteran of the financial services industry, I’ve worked as a mutual fund administrator, banker, and stockbroker and was Series 7 and 63-licensed, but I left all that behind in 2012 to help people learn how to manage their money.
My goal is to help you gain the knowledge you need to become financially independent with personally-tested financial tools and money-saving solutions.
Hi! Nice to meet you. Hope you have fun with your personal finance blog 🙂
Nice to meet you as well Michelle. Thanks for stopping by. I plan on it! 🙂
Nice to meet you John! There’s always room for one more. I started my blog over a year ago with the intentions of helping others get rich using what I’ve learned about money and life. What I didn’t know was how much NEW stuff I’d learn along the way, and how much of a better place it has taken me as a result.
Nice to meet you as well! Yea, I figure that there’s always room for more. Personal finance is such a broad category that I think it can withstand many voices. Thanks for stopping by.
Hello John and welcome! Sure, there’s a lot of pf blogs, but I think they key is to have your own voice and personality. Those are the blogs I stick with and keep visitng, the ones where I can really hear the dudes (or chicks) voice.
And here’s something maybe you hadn’t thought about — I’m in a totally unsaturated market, because most blue collar guys don’t really spend time on the web, so they certainly don’t have blogs. So I think my blog is novel and it’s growing quickly in visitors, but still, without a blue collar worker community that also blogs there to support me, it’s like I”m this orphan kid, lol. PF bloggers are nice enough to have “taken me in” but I’m missing a community just of my own. There’s no fincon for blue collar worker bloggers, lol. So unsaturated or saturated, there’s plusses and minuses!
P.S. Head over to Yakezie, that’s a great blogger network that will really help you grow and learn stuff!
Thanks for stopping by TB! You’re right, the key is to have your own voice, that’s one of the things that helps you as a blogger stand out. Thanks for the tip on Yakezie. I’ve looked at their site a bit and am sure I will more in the near future.
Welcome! I started Young Adult Money on July 1st of this year, and even though it has only been a couple months I’m having a blast. True, there are a ton of personal finance blogs out there, but they come and go. There also is always new stuff to write about and share. For example, I wrote a post today about how I went about collecting 50k twitter followers over the past four years. That’s something unique to me and that other sites won’t have a post about. I’m looking forward to reading your posts!
I’m older than you DC? Who would have thought?! Welcome John. Don’t let anyone deter you from starting a blog or speaking your mind–those who truly have something to contribute will outlast all the others. And even though there are a lot of us the community is super welcoming, friendly and STRONG.
Thanks for stopping by Lauren! Yea, I figure that even though there’s many voices, you can stand out by being fresh and transparent with your readers.
Thanks for stopping by DC! I know there are a lot of other PF blogs out there, but the key is to have staying power and keep your content fresh. I am already having a blast doing this and look forward to what the future brings.
Welcome to the community! You’ve got a great start. I second the notion of taking the Yakezie challenge. It really helps and you will meet a lot of the rest of the financial and lifestyle bloggers by doing so!
Thanks Marie! I just may have to do that. I have to admit that I am drinking from a fire hydrant right now…so I am looking forward to getting to know others in the community.
The UK market is a lot less saturated… So I guess that is my motivation! Good luck John – I will be following your journey!
Thanks so much for stopping by! Great thoughts on the new iPhone by the way.
Welcome!
In January of this year I sat at the kitchen table with a pen and a piece of paper and started brainstorming ( I still have that paper) about what I wanted from a blog I was about to create. I knew that we had saved money, had no debt but the mortgage but it wasn’t easy but it was possible, we were proof to save money while paying down debt. My mission for blogging was to help spread the word about budgets and finance and how important it is to know your financial health each month no matter what your income or debt load. Just shy of 8 months in and I’m still at it with a great group of fans and i’ve networked with many other PF bloggers who I follow and learn from as well. Cheers Mr.CBB
Thanks for stopping by Mr. CBB! My beginnings on this journey sound similar to yours. My desire is to help others with the lessons I’ve learned and learning more myself.
Oh, you can never have too many! I just started on August 1 and am loving all the different personalities on the different sites. We all share similar ideas, but everyone presents them in their own way. It takes tons of time, but I haven’t been this excited about a new adventure in a long time. I’ll look forward to following your journey as well.
Thanks for stopping by Kim! I too like meeting all the different voices/personalities in the PF blog world.
Welcome to the club! Is the PF blog market saturated? Sure. But so many drop out of the race that it doesn’t seem difficult to be at least mildly successful if you keep at it.
Thanks for stopping by Edward! Yea, my plan is to stick with it and hopefully be successful as well. 🙂 Looking forward to what the future holds.
Yay, another newbie like me! (Well, I started for a few weeks in January and then took a long, long break) I just started one so I can interact with people who can inspire me to stay on track. Otherwise, I’ll just spend, spend, spend.
Thanks for stopping by Elle! That really is the key, to stay on track. None of us are perfect, so it’s good to have some reinforcement out there. I find that the goal is progress and wise decision making…not perfection.
Hi John, welcome to the PF community. It is certainly crowded here but there are enough people to share the love.
I blog over at WorkSaveLive and I started to blog as a way to help people. Not going to lie…the income has made it a pretty nice hobby though. 🙂
Lastly, your twitter and FB links in your author box aren’t working. It looks like the URL link is messed up a bit.
Thanks for stopping by Jason. I am hoping for the same on the income…in time. 🙂 Thanks as well for pointing out the Twitter/FB issue…working on that this morning.
John, Great setup on your blog and welcome. I’m elbowing into the crowd as well lately. Although crowded, there is certainly plenty of room. Look forward to following. Also, do you have an email subscription feed?
Thanks Jason! Yea, I figure there’s always more room…you just have to make it. 🙂 I sent you a DM btw.
Nice to meet you! I know the market feels saturated, but you never know when someone will write an article that can really make a difference in your life. Hope I can learn a thing or two!
Thanks for stopping by, nice to meet you as well. That’s my hope…to be able to make a difference and help others from the lessons I’ve learned.
Hi John, nice to meet you! My blog is pretty new too – I just started in July. It looks like you’re off to a great start. Enjoying reading your posts and can’t wait to see what you have in store next.
Thanks Rebecca! Nice to meet you as well. I look forward to seeing what’s in store as well. Thanks for stopping by.
Basically I live by the same principles: watch what you spend, avoid debt when possible and be smart about your investments. The should be a good recipe for successful life.