The Writer’s Coin

Lazy Man has a good post on the top ten ways that blogging about personal finance issues has helped him and it got me thinking about the very same thing. As opposed to Lazy Man, I don’t make any money from this blog yet (I haven’t been around as long or been as successful as Lazy Man), but I think I can come up with at least five ways writing about money and finances has helped me.

5. I have become part of a network: I’ve met, talked to, and interacted with a lot of new people and now if I have a question or some help on any topic (blogging, finances, etc.), I can go to them for assistance. People like Lazy Man and Trent (from The Simple Dollar) have been incredible helpful. Then there is GradGirl, who I found because I had originally wanted to call my blog The Writer’s Wallet when I first started, and who’s life the past few years is eerily similar to my own.

4. I have increased my knowledge: Being exposed to all the other people who write about personal finance (and knowing you have to come up with new ideas for posts) means I read a lot about all kinds of new things, be they about investing or tips to help keep the budget in order. I’ve especially been looking to get more into individual-stock investing (as opposed to index funds) and dividend investing.

3. I have written nearly every day: Practice makes perfect. It doesn’t matter that most of the writing I’ve done on here is for financial topics, some advertising, and only a little “literary writing.” Writing is writing, and getting into the routine of writing every day is a great habit that I had already begun last year, but writing something knowing that it’s going to be read right away (as opposed to writing short stories and essays that won’t see the light of day for a long, long time) is a different animal and uses different gears, which I’m now exercising.

2. I have started my own business/brand: This is similar to what Lazy Man mentioned in his own post. Running a blog makes me feel like I’m constantly contributing to a brand that is a part of my whole investment philosophy. I hope to one day make some money with it, but for now it just feels exciting to create something new that other people will hopefully enjoy and discuss.

1. I got a new job: If it wasn’t for this site, I wouldn’t have had any samples to send when I got the call for a great new job opportunity. They called me back and asked for more and I told them I had tons more to send—all thanks to this blog. A week after the interview I got a call and was told they wanted to go ahead and hire me. Without this blog, I get no offer.

Tags: how blogging has helped me