Recently I’ve begun to reflect on this unexpected journey into the blogging world. If you had asked me 5 years ago if I knew what a blog was I would have said “no.” In fact, I can’t even tell you how I discovered blogs or what was the first blog I ever read. I am a hardcore book reader, so I was never excited about reading stuff on my computer and even now I don’t have an e-reader.
I have no idea why blogging appealed to me initially. I just started it.
I quit blogging 2 or 3 times before I actually committed to it. I started 2 different blogs on blogger and quit them both. They were both great ideas, but it wasn’t the time for me to commit to blogging.
It’s a ridiculous amount of work. Like most people who start blogging I had the idea that I would sit in a coffee shop and drink lattes while churning out amazing posts in 15 minutes. I didn’t realize that there were going to be days when I didn’t want to share, when words wouldn’t come easily. Blogging was harder than it seemed!
So Why Do I Write About Personal Finance?
Because my financial situation was pretty bad. I was hurting even before the The Great Recession (Depression) and I didn’t know what to do or who to turn to.I started reading debt paid off posts and they were addictive!
That could be me! I finally found a group of people who were walking a similar road to the one that I was on.
Money has affected everything in my life. Every decision that I’ve made as an adult has been affected by my debt and I was tired of letting it control me instead of me controlling it.
When I started writing about personal finance I just felt like sharing stuff with the world as a way to stop feeling shame for making the financial decisions that I’ve made. I didn’t want to hold it in anymore.
I wanted to prove to myself that I could get my financial life together and meet the financial goals that I’ve set for myself. As the blog has evolved I wanted to show that I’m an evolving financial being and that evolution can manifest itself in both good and bad ways.
I wanted to show that you could be frugal, pay off debt, change your life, and even have fun. I wanted to show that each person’s journey is PERSONAL , one size does not fit all, and that you have to stay true to your vision of how you want to live your life.
As I transition to the next level financially: paid off debt, increasing my savings/investments/etc. I want to support and show other people that they too can improve their finances under daunting odds: making not of money, very little support (single) and stuck.
I found a community that I never expected-online! I’ve meet a ton of amazing people in person who share a vision of my success and I share a vision of their success. Especially as a single person this is huge. I won’t always be single but I won’t ever forget how much this community’s support helped to push me forward during some really depressing and dark times.
So I blog about personal finance because it is like the hydra, you cut one head off another issue grows its head. I want to help discover how to defeat the hydra.
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Great reasons to blog about your challenges and successes. I chose exactly the same reasons to blog, but it has been much more powerful than I expected in other areas of my life – creativity, technical competence, confidence, opportunities, growth. It is a lot of work, but usually anything worth doing is! Keep on blogging, Michelle! We love to hear you and support you!
Deb-it’s shocking how much bigger this random project that I began has become. Everything that you mention: creativity, technical competence, confidence, opportunities, and growth-I’ve experienced in a big way. I think the key is to push past the moment when you want to quit. My way of thinking has been profoundly changed and I also have made a huge difference in my financial situation. I’m pretty sure that would not have happened if I hadn’t discovered blogging.
Oh I love the hydra analogy! I definitely feel like that’s our financial situation, but I also love the visual of cutting those heads off!
It just feels like I get one thing sorted out and then another crazy thing pops up and it’s soooo frustrating. I have to remember that’s the unpredictability of life.
Pretty much the same here. I felt like no one in my real life could quite relate to my struggles (I know now that’s not true), so I found a safe haven in blogging and a group that could understand me. Look how far we have both come too!
If I hadn’t started blogging I wouldn’t have met: YOU! Lauren, Michelle, Jason, Andrew, Sheriann and Khaleef, LaTisha, Maria, Kim, Shannon, Kathleen and a number of other amazing people who have been wonderful, amazing, kind, and supportive cheerleaders as I have gone on this journey called life. I can’t wait to meet everyone else.
I also started a blog and then stopped before coming back this year. It is a HUGE amount of work but I feel it’s worth it to me. You have great reasons for continuing your blog and not just for starting it so keep writing Michelle 🙂 I hope to meet you at FinCon if you’ll be attending this year.
I never knew how much time it would take and if I had I don’t know if I would have continued. Happily, I ignorance is bliss. I’m glad that you returned to blogging!! I love your blog. Yes, I will be at FinCon from Wed-Monday. See you soon!
Love this! I finally feel like I can nerd out and share my struggles, successes and get inspired to make more money and pay off debt. A lot of my friends don’t care about this stuff either. I absolutely adore the community — and you 🙂
I am such a nerd and it’s awesome to have a group of fantastic people who: inspire, motivate, and support me. I feel spoiled and I can’t express how much you guys have changed my life! Can’t wait to hang out with you at FinCon Melanie. Thank you for all of your support, you’re appreciated more than you know.
I’ve had multiple blogs as well, mostly about investing and trading. I like blogging because it makes me feel less lonely. My current blog (Trading Slugger) has a community of traders around it, and we bounce ideas back and forth.
I love reading blogs, especially from the PF bloggers. I loved it when you share your life stories, the journey that you’ve been through! So keep going Michelle! 🙂
Thanks Clarisse for the encouragement! I find it amazing how universal these stories are. I used to think that everything that has happened to me hadn’t happened to anyone else-I was so wrong!
I started out with a different blog name and focus too. I became addicted to reading PF blogs as well and was determined to reset my life after my divorce. It’s been challenging and tough at times as well sharing everything on the blog as I’m normally a reserved and private individual. It helps sharing things when I don’t have many people to talk to about it in my personal life. I’ve considered stopping a few times as well but was determined each time to never give up, I have tenacity in spades.
Keep going, don’t give up! 🙂
I’m actually glad that I started with Blogger because when I switched to WordPress I was really committed to the idea of blogging. I actually used the same blog name, but I also had a niche blog as well that I stopped working on because it was too much work. I now know what I’m doing (I think!) so I’ve decided to re-launch my other blog.
My wife (also a Michelle) who blogs with me often talks about this.. She is more comfortable writing about non-financial topics (she is an amazing storyteller) and I always encourage to write whatever she wants.
One of the best part about writing and reading blogs is interacting with other bloggers and hearing their stories. We shouldn’t be afraid to share any and all stories on our sites..
I think anyone named Michelle is cool. And, anyone married to a Michelle is cool too. I now really enjoy telling stories and pushing myself to think creatively when my job doesn’t allow me to be creative. I also love all of the: good, bad, and fascinating information that people provide. Since I’ve started reading blogs my life has changed profoundly-proving that reading WORKS!
So true, Michelle. It’s a very supportive community and has really helped many of us turn our situations around. Good luck with the continuing journey!
I love the pf blogging community and being involved it has had a profound affect on my life! Thanks for the support 🙂
Like you I started and stopped a few blogs before finding what is quickly becoming my blog fashion. I agree that the personal finance blogging community is a wonderful place to be a part of. I started blogging as a way to have a creative outlet, to connect with other people ( something I am sometimes lacking as a stay at home mom), and as motivation to keep on pushing through our pile of debt.
I just couldn’t believe how much work went into blogging. I now understand why people kept saying keep it up for a year. Now that I’m used to the flow of things I am now able to manage my blog in such a way that I’m ahead of the game!