The following is a reprint of a previously published post. Enjoy!
I started The Non-Consumer Advocate in May of 2008 and have really enjoyed the process of putting together the blog. The writing, the reader comments — I love it all!
I’m certainly not the only person writing about frugality, as there are many, many different frugality blogs. However, there are a few key blogs I try and read daily, so I thought I would reach out and bug my fellow bloggers with a few questions. The following is the result of my frugal blogger questionnaire.
J.D. Roth writes the daily blog Get Rich Slowly from right here in sunny Portland, Oregon. His mix of frugality tips, financial advice and simple living philosophy meshes effortlessly. His articles are always scrupulously researched, and the information given is straightforward and to the point.
1) How did you get started writing about personal finance, and what made you think your experiences were something to share?
I didn’t start by writing about personal finance. I had a “web journal” back in 1997, long before these things were called “web logs” (or, now, “blogs”). I kept the journal/blog for myself and for my family and friends. I’ve always been a writer, and I’ve always been open about my thoughts and feelings, so the public journal seemed natural.
When I began to take control of my personal finances in late 2004/early 2005, I wrote a post at my personal blog, and I called it “Get Rich Slowly”. There was a tremendous positive response to this story, and it planted the seed that maybe I should start a personal finance blog. (I didn’t realize that many such blogs already existed.) In April 2006, I started Get Rich Slowly, but without any sort of expectations. It was just a place for me to share what I was learning about money. I never thought it would have 780 readers, or 7800 readers, or 78,000 readers!
2) What have been your greatest successes?
By far my greatest success has been gaining control of my compulsive spending. Sure, I paid off $35,000 in debt in 39 months, but that was just a side effect. If I hadn’t managed to gain control of my spending, that never would have happened. So I think of my newfound frugality as my greatest financial success.
3) What has been the most surprising result that’s come from your writing?
For me, the most surprising thing is that I’ve gained some credibility in the personal finance world at large. That surprises me. I’ve had people from major magazines and websites tell me they enjoy Get Rich Slowly. I’ve had financial planners say the same thing. This is edifying, but a little scary. I’m not a financial professional. I’m just an average guy who is sharing what he learns, you know?
4) What do you feel is your biggest strength that makes you unique?
Unique? I don’t know that there’s anything that makes me unique. However, I think there are three things that make me successful at what I do.
First, I don’t pretend to have the right answers. I make certain choices based on my knowledge, but these are *my* choices for *me*. And sometimes they’re wrong. I try to emphasize that different solutions work for different people. I’m not dogmatic in my approach, but encourage people to make choices that fit their lifestyle and psychology.Second, I’m transparent about my own life. Many of my best posts are based on personal experience, and I do little to hide my mistakes and my successes. There are certain things I will not write about, but it’s not me that’s making that decision. Either my wife or my lawyer or my accountant have asked me not to cover them. My wife likes to say that “J.D. has no privacy.” She’s right. I’m willing to live a completely transparent life, especially if it helps others.Finally, I take writing seriously. I’ve loved to write as long as I can remember. I treat Get Rich Slowly as if it were a newspaper, and I try to publish only quality content. I spend hours laboring over posts. It may take only 30 minutes or an hour to write the first draft, but I’ll often spend three or four hours editing in order to make sure it reads well. One of the mantras at my site is “the perfect is the enemy of the good”, by which I mean people often spend too much time looking for perfect solutions when there’s a good solution that they can see immediately. Well, in my house, that phrase is often used when I’m spending too long editing a post. 🙂
5) Do you ever get criticized for encouraging people to live within their means?
No.
6) If you could dispense just one piece of advice, what would it be?
Do what works for you. I spent years trying to get out of debt, and was constantly frustrated by my failures. I know now that I failed because I was following the advice from the “experts” who said there was a right way to do things. It wasn’t until I read Dave Ramsey’s mind-blowing advice that went *against* the experts that I realized there was no one right way to get out of debt. Three years later, I was debt-free. The same goes for everything in the world of personal finances, and in life. There’s no one right way. There are *optimal* ways, no doubt. But if the optimal way doesn’t work, try something sub-optimal. It’s better to take a crooked path and actually reach your destination than to take the direct route and give up along the way.
Kristen Cross writes The Frugal Girl blog while juggling her four young children, whom she homeschools. Her blog chronicles the daily in-and-outs of running a frugal household, with an emphasis on food waste. Her photographs, especially those than accompany her recipes are top notch, and since she writes that her goal is “to inspire other people to live on less,” I’d have to say she’s succeeding.
1) How did you get started writing about personal finance, and what made you think your experiences were something to share?
Well, people have been telling me for years that I needed to write a book about saving money, but I’ve always laughed the idea off. While I’ve wanted to write my ideas down in order to help other people, I’ve never felt like I’ve had the time to author a book. Blogging is a much smaller commitment than a book, though, so it’s a perfect fit for me.
Reading The Simple Dollar made me think that I could do this blogging thing, so I started a food waste blog last March. After a few months of doing that, I decided to branch out into the larger topic of frugality. I haven’t given up on the food waste idea, though…it’s a weekly feature on my blog.
2) What have been your greatest successes?
As a blogger, I think I feel that my greatest success has been that I’ve been able to encourage and inspire people to save money. I find it amazing and humbling that little ol’ me is able to do that from my desktop!
3) What has been the most surprising result that’s come from your writing?
Probably that I’ve been saving money by blogging about frugality! Not only am I helping other people, I’m helping myself too…I’m wasting almost no food, I’m spending less on groceries, I’m buying more second-hand stuff (thanks, Katy!), and so on.
I’m also very surprised at the amount of attention that blogging has brought me. I’ve only been at this for 8 months or so, and I’ve been in the newspaper, I’ve been asked to speak at a conference (which I’m too scared to do, incidentally), and a TV production company has contacted me. And a lot of people (well, a lot to me!) are reading what I write every day. I guess I’m just surprised that my very ordinary, everyday lifestyle is interesting to other people.
4) What do you feel is your biggest strength that makes you unique?
Oooh, that is a hard one to answer. I think other people would be better able to answer that than me. Umm…I suppose the food waste thing is somewhat unique. There are a lot of frugal blogs out there, but not many that regularly talk about food waste. Maybe the other sort of unique thing is that I post a LOT of pictures on my blog (I’m kinda into photography! lol).
5) Do you ever get criticized for encouraging people to live within their means?
No, but I’m sure it’s coming. lol When I blog, I do try to avoid having a bossy, “You should do things this way!” attitude. Instead, I try to just offer up suggestions for anyone who wants to take them…I’m aiming for more of a “Here are some ideas that have helped me, and maybe they will help you too.” kind of thing, so perhaps that will help people to be less offended by my posts.6) If you could dispense just one piece of advice, what would it be?Just one? lol As far as blogging goes, I’d say that it’s very important to make your blog posts easy to read. Proper grammar and spelling, plenty of paragraphs, and at least one picture or image per post help to make a blog post less intimidating and more readable.
Natalie McNeal, A.K.A. The Frugalista started blogging for The Miami Herald in February 2008 about an initial month-long experiment to cut out any extraneous spending. She saved hundreds of dollars and lost weight to boot. She was hooked. The Frugalista Files continues on to this day, and she just completed a second No-Buy-Month, which received tremendous amounts of national attention. In a genre that is dominated by stay-at-home moms, Natalie’s single gal perspective is a welcome addition.
1) How did you get started writing about personal finance, and what made you think your experiences were something to share?
In February 2008, I went a month without spending any extra money, calling it a “No-Buy Month.” I blogged about it and saved $400. Before the No-Buy Month, I would always try to “get a handle” on my finances, but I wasn’t doing a good enough job. No-Buy Month cleared that right up.
2) What have been your greatest successes?
I love interacting with readers and meeting new people. The Oxford University Press named the word “frugalista” a finalist for Word of the Year in 2008 and linked to my blog. I was on CNN every weekend this month. CNN anchor Betty Nguyen did a story on a “Day in My Life” as a Frugalista.
3) What has been the most surprising result that’s come from your writing?
That people get me. When you launch a blog, you never know the response.
4) What do you feel is your biggest strength that makes you unique?
I’m a normal girl who wants to pamper her budget and lifestyle.
5) Do you ever get criticized for encouraging people to live within their means?
Not really. It’s kind of the thing to do right now 😉
6) If you could dispense just one piece of advice, what would it be?
Keep blogging!
Thank you to everyone who took to the time to answer my questionnaire, I really appreciate it!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I think Kristen’s biggest strength is her non-preachy tone. Not only does she mean “this is what works for me, maybe it’ll help you, too” but she *sounds*like that also. Read her “You don’t have to make yogurt” post for a fine example.
Aww, thanks, William! I appreciate the encouragement muchly. 🙂