You wouldn’t have noticed because I hide my emotions like every true man should, but I’ve been in kind of a blog funk lately. I struggled with things to write about. My humorous Nelsonisms felt forced and I started all sorts of posts that now lay abandoned in my drafts folder, more lonely than the recently dumped on Valentine’s Day.
The good news for the 9 of you who are actual fans is I think I’ve driven through the funk. You’re not going to get rid of me that quickly, at least until I get a girlfriend. Somebody has to entertain you with Taylor Swift jokes and dumps on the weekend. Besides, this gives me an excuse to pinch some asses without consequence, at least virtually. Remember kids, you can’t spell harass without ass.
At my lowest point, I actually considered shutting the Uproar down. Don’t get too concerned, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I consider shutting the whole thing down about once a month, usually when something happens that pisses me off. That’s when I shut my laptop, play some video games, and wait for the feeling to go away. Masturbating helps too. And secondly, it’s not like I take this too seriously anyway. I don’t want to quit my day job. I appreciate the extra money I make from this, but it’s not like I need it to live. The income from this blog is just gravy.
As I went through my latest funk, I started thinking about what the hell my blog was actually accomplishing. The answer seems easy – I’m trying to teach all you kids about finance, often by poking holes in conventional advice, all while cracking you up with my hilarity. As you can tell by the way I invest, I take pride in being contrarian, and I try to do my best to avoid all the topics that have been beaten more than Secretariat. As I approach 450 published posts (at an average of 800 words per, that’s 360,000 words on finance/penis jokes) I find myself constantly struggling for new things to write about.
Maybe that’s my problem, I’m always trying to find something new to say. I’m always trying to find new ways to look at the same old problems. My contrarianism (add it to your dictionary, I just made it a word) forces me to at least explore interesting things, at the expense of the obvious.
Where am I going with this cluster of a post? I’m glad somebody asked that. At least 95% of personal finance blog posts do one of two things:
1. Repeat the same generic crap about emergency funds, index investing, ways to pay off debt, and so on.
2. Become nothing more than a diary of what the person bought/spent.
I know I’m going to offend some people with this next part, because just about every blogger is guilty of both of the sins listed above. Hell, I’m guilty. But what the hell are you adding to the discussion with posts like monthly goals, (holy hell, I don’t care) spending recaps, (holy hell, I really don’t care) posts about buying some toy (hey, you bought a tablet. Good for-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz) and the 1854928492852459828382nd post on why you need an emergency fund?
I legitimately want to know what the point of these posts are. Is it to hold yourself accountable? Because if the failure rate of goals I read is any indication, these posts are about as effective as a New Year’s resolution. Is it because you’re so vain that you actually believe people care how many times you went to Starbucks last month? Is it because you need content and you’re just filling space? I seriously don’t get it.
What do these posts add to the discussion? Is somebody really going to look at your weekly spending report and gain some sort of insight from it? Is that post you did on saving money on vacation actually going to help the reader save money, or is it full of advice churned out a million times before?
And then we have the comment section. Comments used to be a way for readers to leave their thoughts on a post, whether they agreed or disagreed. Now? Comments are a friggin’ joke. They’re filled with bloggers leaving inane crap just so they can have their tiny little bit of publicity. Somebody else’s comment section has turned into a place to pimp your blog. Well done everyone. It’s like going into a strip club, taking off your top and offering lap dances for $5 less than everyone else. I’ve actually read blog posts from personal finance blogs about the etiquette of blog comments.
Is this what we’ve come to? The same generic advice and diary type posts that nobody cares about except the writer? I understand every post can’t be a hit. Hell, my post popular post to date is when I bitched about tipping. I’m the first to admit it’s probably one of my weaker posts. But at least I’m trying to add something to the discussion that hasn’t been already hashed and rehashed to death. Are you?
Or, has the whole genre become so popular, so watered down that it’s next to impossible to find new things to say, at least on a consistent basis? Let’s face it, most finance bloggers actually don’t know that much about finance. At least 75% of the genre are digging out from years of financial mismanagement. Most can’t analyze an investment to save their lives. Hell, I bet a majority actually follow the laughingly bad debt advice of Dave Ramsey. It’s amazing how full this genre is of people who aren’t very good at finance.
That’s the crux of the problem right there. Most PF bloggers do a good job figuring out the basics. (Implementation is another manner) But they never level up from there. If you don’t know more than everyone else, what value can you expect to add? The answer is, sadly, not much. If you’re not adding value, then what’s the point?
I am pimping my blog – that is all!
Holy Hannah, you are depressed due to others’ beleaguered PF posts? You have a lot of interesting (albeit sometimes twisted) discussions about how to be smart with money…and you keep it entertaining, which can be difficult when writing about PF.
To be sure, readers are learning to tune out the white noise from those hackneyed posts you mention.
Great post Nelson. I enjoy your discussion of financial topics and have for a long time (fellow Albertan here – I’m north of Edmonton if you can imagine such a thing). Actually I would be interested in a post on why Dave Ramsey is so laughably bad – other than advocating a much lower rate of savings than most of us would do, I’m not sure what’s so terrible about him. But I’m open to learning more – I always enjoy scorning sanctimonious Americans. Cheers!
I assumed there was nothing except bush north of Edmonton. Then again, the furthest north I’ve ever been in Morinville.
I will write the Dave Ramsey post. It will make all of your non-sexual dreams come true.
I have been feeling a little burnt out too. PF bloggers need ways to be relatable and I think telling personal stories is a great way to do that. I like your blog because it adds sarcasm and humor to what is a dry and often uninteresting topic.
Also, totally agree on the spending recaps. I don’t care.
I mentioned your blog in my recent post about Roku. Hope you’ll check it out!
NICE PIMPING.
I checked. Thanks for the mention, and Roku sounds pretty cool.
Get married and have a kid. There, now you have 100 more topics to write about.
Love this. I have a child on the way and fully expecting a lot more things to write about 🙂
100 topics that have been beaten to death. No thanks.
You can’t spell slaughter without laughter.
Quit trying to reinvent the wheel. Just add another spoke like all the other PF bloggers.
Adding another spoke would probably be best, business wise. But not for my sanity.
I used to do those spending reports because they used to hold me accountable but now I focus on a myriad of other topics. I just like to write. I also like to network. I’m not really trying to become a personal finance expert on all things finance…and I think it’s okay that I do that because I at least know what my goals are. I like reading a bunch of other topics and I’ve become friends with other bloggers, so really it’s just about community to me. I have expanded from writing about just digging myself out of debt to trying to relate to people on my everyday life topics like school, work, etc. Hopefully someone else out there relates or finds it useful.
It seems to me that an increasing number of pf blogs are being mainly written for and read by other pf bloggers.
”
It seems to me that an increasing number of pf blogs are being mainly written for and read by other pf bloggers.There’s an awful lot about making money by setting up a string of sites and I do wonder about the quality of these sites.”
After the financial bloggers conference last year, I literally yelled at my laptop after reading about 11 posts in a row all about the conference.
I heart this comment. If I had a nickel for every make money online post I’ve ever read, I’ve have enough to retire. It’s yet another topic that’s been beaten to death.
But people keep asking the same questions. 🙂
I write for myself. No one has to read any of it, it’s cathartic and relaxed fun. I hate the pressure of having to blog or live up to anything.I don’t do daily spending reports, but monthly net worth recaps are more for me than for anyone else. I like being able to go to the blog, pull up any month I posted about and say: whoa.. wtf happened here? *slap slap*I also do write about what I bought because I LOVE reading about what people bought. I live vicariously through others.
I also like people who rant about anything they want and/or make me laugh, which is why I read your blog and Money after Grad 🙂 Both make me laugh.
I’m a lurker that has been reading PF blogs for the last 2 years or so. I do not have a published blog of my own (yet). I have been following your blog, not because it has the most original content, but because it has PF content with a humorous spin on it, making it stand out a bit. Mind you, it’s not The Oatmeal, but the sometimes immature humor puts a smile on my face, even the sexist ones. So first of all, thanks for your effort.
Second, I’d like to point out the origin of the word “blog”. It originates from the words “web log”…and it is what you expect. An online diary. The “quality” of a blog is pretty subjective. How do you rate the quality of a personal diary? If your blog is not a personal diary, call it something else. A PF web site, if you will.
For the most part, I don’t expect blogs to be anything more than that – an online diary of individuals from multiple walks of life. For me, reading blogs is voyeuristic, but without stigma; rather, it is encouraged. And that’s why I appreciate and lurk PF blogs. If I want financial advice, there are more than a gazillion web sites and “experts” out there that give advice for a living. I don’t read blogs for “expert opinions”. Not at all.
You are absolutely right, I’d hate to read another post titled “10 reasons why you need an emergency fund”. I skip over those. But “What I used my emergency fund for, and what it taught me”…well, that’s worth a read. Those tend to contain real-life tips that might become valuable to me in the future. I learn that other people have the same questions as me, make the same mistakes, and share the same problems…and I want to know how they solved them, I want to follow up on the aftermath.
If you think the PF community is saturated, you should look around the mommy blog and food blog worlds. I can’t count the number of “how to make homemade play-doh” and “the best taco recipe” posts I’ve seen.
You are doing a good job, keep at it. I have subscribed you in my Google Reader, my iPhone reading app, and my Outlook, so I probably count for 3 of your feed readers. 🙂
And a Dave Ramsey post would be nice. I am an American, and I also enjoy scorning sanctimonious Americans as well as Canadian imports like Pamela Anderson and Bryan Adams. 😉
You’re 3 of my feed readers? That’s like half my audience.
Interesting comment. I never thought of it in that way.
I come here for the 1) Russian Love Match ads and 2) You’re funny. Talk more about your emotions, weave into stories. Then you’ll never run out of stuff to talk about. But it is a little weird, I know.
Talk about my feelings? I already do. My feelings are mostly anger and lust.
You could always post on how Roger’s sugar gives you a steady 10% return or where you can find a rental property for 40k that you don’t need a 4×4 to get to… or a time machine for that matter.
Rental properties for $40k are everywhere in the U.S. They’re not so plentiful up here in Canada, but exist in small markets.
Money – done properly – IS boring. It’s supposed to be boring. If you actually have to *use* something like an emergency fund, your money life is probably lived a little too far on the edge and you don’t know how to plan.
Why I like something like Tim’s monthly net worth updates on Canadian Dream is because I’m competitive. Same thing with Mochi when she does her updates. They push me to make and keep more money (although I do that pretty well without reading anything). But I like mentally cheering them on too and seeing them do well. I don’t read getting out of debt blogs. I read a couple of early retirement blogs that write more about life than about money (fortunately they don’t post very often) because I’m looking for tips on things to do with my time when I take my work sabbaticals.
Maybe you need a break. And a girlfriend. You’re not going to find one by sitting at home in your underwear trolling facebook looking for pictures to post on here.
Prevent people from linking to a website in their name, and delete people who link to their site or post in their comment. Thus removing incentive to comment just to pimp one’s own blog. Return comments to commentary. But then, that’s all I’ve used them for.
I actually get very few comments that are purely for self promotion. It’s probably because I don’t play the game the other way.
I wish every commenter on the internet was as good as you. You always post good stuff.
It sounds like you’re trying to take the “personal” out of “personal finance”. I agree that I skip over lists of things that people buy. However, I think learning about WHY people are making the financial steps they are making and HOW they came to those decisions can highlight things that you haven’t considered before. Other people’s stories also make the finance part less boring while driving the important parts home. I have also been having a bit of writers block and I think part of that is that when your finances are on the right track and things are running smoothly, there aren’t a lot of new things to talk about.
I can empathize. It’s often the same things, over and over. Don’t even get me started on guest posts
I used to have a PF blog but then left for grad school. Years later I am back but I have found that all of my favorite PF bloggers have changed — most have shut down their blogs or they seem to be struggling with content (daily spending reports, etc). So maybe you are right, folks run out of things to say. But, at the same time, there are numerous new PF blogs that have popped up that I thoroughly read. They bring different perspective to same issues from years before, which is refreshing.
Like Molly stated below, I find that I am drawn to PF blogs that are more like an online diary. In theory, personal finance is simple (income – spending = savings) and I really despise reading those “10 ways to get out of debt” type articles. We all have numerous variables and a single prescriptive method is going to work for everyone.
Don’t feel like you need to tell us something new; just tell us what is on your mind, the good, the bad, and the ugly. 🙂
Seriously, this is exactly the reason I STOPPED blogging. It had all been done before. I wasn’t writing anything original or meaningful or insightful. And I hate posts that are just “here’s what I bought today.”
So now instead of posting every day because that’s what I’m supposed to do as a blogger, I just post when I have something I want to say. Which isn’t very often, and it still isn’t very insightful or original or creative or anything worth much of anything except that *I* would like to have record of it for the future.
awesome post!! thanks for sharing this wonderful story i love reading it, i learned a lot from this and it gives me a different perspective on the topic!
Carl Balog
I think it’s not just with financial bloggers but with other regular bloggers as well. At times, it becomes hard to come with new and interesting topics.
Just found this post today Nelson, and I love it. You will never run out of material, nor will you lose your audience, because you have a unique style that is edgy and humorous, and you are never afraid to call it as you see it.
I go through spurts of creativity myself. I hardly wrote anything the last few months of 2012, and yet I’ve probably done 40 posts in the first two months 2013.
I agree with your comments about the repetitious nature of many PF posts. I’d also add it seems to me the genre is quite a clique, one that I am excluded from. (shades of high school all over again 🙂
Many bloggers do these weekly round ups of stuff their buddies wrote, and marvel how weak some of these cited posts (or even their topics) actually are.
That said, I always check out these lists, because I also find some really good stuff to read; but I do have to separate the wheat from the chaff.
“But what the hell are you adding to the discussion with posts like monthly goals, (holy hell, I don’t care) spending recaps, (holy hell, I really don’t care) posts about buying some toy (hey, you bought a tablet. Good for-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz) and the 1854928492852459828382nd post on why you need an emergency fund?”
This says it all. The banality of almost every Canadian personal finance blog is insufferable. Monthly goals and spending recaps are the worst. How these clowns get any readers is beyond me.
This blog is decent because at least Nelson tries to write about something new or take a different approach to things. Bravo Zulu.
Hurrah! Finally I got a website from where I know how to truly take valuable data regarding my study and knowledge.