As you may or may not know, the goals of the Yakezie network are the noble Writing Contest cause, and the selfless support of the members within!
But I have a secret desire for the Yakezie network too! And that desire is… (drum-roll, please…) continuous financial improvement and learning additional knowledge in diverse subject matter. As a financial blogger, I believe I have game, but I admit that I don’t know everything. (gasp)!
Sometimes, past financial beliefs that I researched and found to be true, are potentially no longer the optimal solution today! The beauty of the Yakezie network is that we have a diverse group of financial bloggers from various backgrounds and at various stages of life and they can serve as a checking system for financial thoughts, ideas and beliefs!
With such a diverse financial networks means that with all of financially oriented eyes, the Yakezie members collectively have seen most financial products and have experience with those instruments! The Yakezie Network may be the definitive resource for all financial questions and situations!
For instance. I recently post an article at Money Reasons about my best credit card. The card that I blogged about is my meat and potatoes reward credit card, that I use for everything! And while it’s still a decent card, I got some great comments (from Everyday Tips and Thoughts, Thousandaire and Roshawn Watson) that made me decide to research the additional great cards that they mentioned.
Now just because these great bloggers mentioned potentially better options than I currently have, I still need to do my due diligence and make sure those cards that they mention are a good fit for me in my current stage of life!
Another great way that I benefit is from the Yakezie Carnivals! Recently, I had the honor of hosting the December 5th Carnival! After receiving many email submissions for inclusion into the Carnival, I had to go to each blog site for their title, and to read each post that I want was to include!
During the reading sessions for the inclusions of the various personal finance bloggers in the Yakezie, I was amazed at how much I was learning in the process! For instanced, I never realized that coupons were made famous by Coca Cola (Thanks Amanda at Frugal Confessions!
So in addition to gaining financial refinement by reading individual blogs in the Yakezie Network, I occasionally like to skip through the Yakezie Carnivals to read some of the best articles of the best blogs within the Yakezie Network!
I also have to admit, I enjoy my semi-secret voyeurism into other, more open, member blogger’s finances! It always amazes me when I see how much a seasoned pf blogger such as Flexo at Consumerism Commmentary makes in a given month! Not only is it inspirational, it’s also fun to experience his growth in wealth vicariously!
Other information to be learned takes longer than a quick single read on a post. For example, being a long time reader of certain financial sites, I know some fact that other might not know. While it’s mildly interesting, it is amazing to see how they progress.
So there you have it! What other expectations do you have for the Yakezie Network?
Cheers!
Don
My simple expectation is that we steadily continue to grow our reach while increasing the breadth of participation among members through any one of the number of activities that can be done.
For you Don, I expect you to be big by the end of the year and get on Oprah!
Cheers
Yeah, Oprah has contacted me a few times, but I want to grow organically, so I’ve been respectfully declining to go on her show… Perhaps in another 2 years, I’ll give her show a shot… (lol).
I agree don. there’s so many different areas of PF that one can easily carve out a niche within the yakezie – dividend investing, frugality, etc. So much to learn!
For a personal finance guy, the Yakezie network if a nirvana of sorts! As I shift my financial model into more of a wealth accumulation mode, I’m checking out the dividend and wealth creation sites more and more.
I expect Yakezie to take over the world. muhaaa muhaaaa muhahaaaa!!!!
Sorry, got a bit carried away there. I expect Yakezie to be a great supportive community. This alone is priceless, but Yakezie is also working to promote learning through the scholarship, expanding to include lifestyle blogs, and much more. I feel very fortunate to have found Yakezie as I started blogging and I have learned so much from everyone’s blog and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future.
Yeah, it’s been a great experience for me too! I don’t know of any other finance network with such noble goals!
Learning is a life long process. Life my Sensai says (yes, I train in martial arts in real life too), the black belt is only the first step and only shows that you know the basics. I hope that Yakezie can help first get to black belt and then to help me perfect my knowledge.
Sounds like a sound approach!
To me (and based on learning about SAM), I think Yakezie will continue to evolve…
I completely agree, the Yakezie groups is an amazing and diversified group. I love reading through the members blog posts because they are coming from different perspectives and I always learn something new. And like Retireby40 said, I’m expecting Yakezie to take over the blog world as well (but I’ll leave out the villainess laughter! – BTW I love dictionary.com ;))
I usually got to thefreedictionary.com, I’ll have to check out dictionary.com…
It’s keen a fantastic ride already. Sam jokes about Oprah, but who knows, perhaps someday Sam and Chris will be Oprah explaining the Yakezie way…
Really, one of my interests has been to learn from a diverse group of personal finance bloggers, and be able to a)pick up tips, skills, and points of view that could help me with my own financial life, and B) be able to help others reach their overall goals by making money an asset, as opposed to a stress-inducing agent. Being a part of Yakezie has provided this opportunity, no question about it. I can say that the quality of posts on the groups blogs has improved, in my view. The posts from this past week across the network were very good, and it seems like we are raising the bar. It’s fun to be a part of it.
I noticed that too about the quality of the other members post. I guess we are all picking up each others best elements and incorporating the words and style into our own… at least to a small degree.
Money-I like your secret!! It’s such a rush when we learn something new. PF stock gave me a great CD tip a while ago that I have subsequently used!
Hi Barb, I agree, every now and then I’m just floored with the information that I learn. When I hosted the last Yakezie Carnival, I was constantly learning new facts that I wouldn’t have learned otherwise. Amazing!
I learn from lots of sources, but it is a slow process. You pick up important tips like, don’t STUMBLE your own stuff, etc., and you learn from your readers what is interesting and what is not.
I continue to use my Blog as a cathartic shout about my own financial issues, and then hope that it will earn me enough money to get out of my financial binds (hasn’t worked but I have hope).
When I first started blogging (over 1 year ago), it took me 5 months to earn $5.00! It was horrible… But now I’m doing a bit better and I’m sure you will too! Yakezie has been a game changer for me. I’m doing much better just because of all the members and support. It’s a great group!
I love the Yakezie for the same reasons you do. I also secretly hope to achieve the success of Flexo!
Being as successful as Flexo would be amazing, but even if someday we don’t get to that level, we can still enjoy the great content from all the other growing sites!
Yes Yakezie rocks! It’s so awesome getting support from other bloggers and learning new things. Thanks for sharing you post
Hi Charlie, thanks! I decided to post this article so that other that haven’t joined can realize the potential of being a member of Yakezie. It’s a great environment.
The Yakezie has really been more than I ever expected already. If it could be any more marvelous, I wouldn’t know what to do!
I think as a new blogger, advertising is probably the largest struggle for me. I currently use Google Adsense and that’s really the only means I have to make an income. If the Yakezie could be a hub for a few dozen advertisers, maybe that would provide an opportunity for members to further monetize their blog while providing advertisers with exactly the pages they were hoping for.
True, personally, I get a lot from the members within the group. By that I mean viewpoints on subject matter that has influenced or changed my outlook on a subject matter. Sam has personally posted some articles that have really made me stop and think. We get many of our ideas from the media, whether we know it or not. What make that one person who wrote that piece for the media channel an expert? Often times, they don’t have any real basis for their idea either, and just throw it out there. Too often, people, read it and take it for gospel.
So for me, it’s worth considering the different viewpoints in our group because some are spot on. Len Penzo is also another great blogger that questions such weak standards. Actually, now that I think about it, there are many members in our group that question the weak accepted standards.
Although I like the financial rewards of group advertising campaigns, there’s so much more to the Yakezie. The support and help we give each other via emails, the forums and on twitter is inspiring.
With the launch of the Scholarship program, we’re even better for giving to others outside our community.
I agree! When I first started the group, I was focused on the alexa challenge because it was so fun! But the group transformed into a incredible pf network with more altruistic goals! Now I feel a certain amount of pride doing something so great for society in general. It’s awesome that it can affect someone’s life in a positive way!
I like that fact that I can someday look back and say, I’m part of that incredible network!
When I wrote my post about what I learned during 2010, it really hit me how much I learned about PF through Yakezie, even though I have always managed the family finances and have a BA in Finance. All the different perspectives and suggestions made me really think of how I invest and what I really want for my future. (For instance, I never really thought much about dividend stocks providing a stream of income when I am older, even though it seems so obvious now.)
This has been a great experience for me, and I so appreciate all the help I have received from everyone in Yakezie. Oh, and thanks for the shout out Don!!
Most of my financial and investing basis has been formed during my earlier years, but occasionally I’ll read a post from another member and I gleam something new.
At a very minimum, it’s great to read pf blogger posts with similar thoughts to what I have.
Now that was an interesting read. I scan a post a lot of times but I actually read the entire thing. The support aspect is the best part. You can learn so much from other members because it’s impossible to know everything yourself.
Thanks! The believe that the Yakezie has something special going for it! I’ve been impressed with practically all the members (and founder) in many ways. I think the Yakezie will serve as a magnet attracting many great pf bloggers and non-pf bloggers.
That’s true; there is such a diversity of experiences in this group and there’s so much we can learn from each other. I’ve learned a few things from reading the posts of my fellow bloggers, and one of the greatest aspects of the blogging adventure has been learning and embracing different viewpoints.
Well said! If a yakezie member keeps their mind open, it can be an awesome learning experience.
I’ve keep finding that sometimes, a post won’t change my mind immediately, but it will make my opinion on a matter less solid. This is good because it loosens the opinion on the subject matter to be possible changed later.
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I fell off the reading bandwagon before Christmas and am trying to climb back in but it travels so fast! Anyway I just want to interact and learn from others. My aspirations involve things like travel and financial security and I learn from the network in these areas all the time….. I don’t think I want anymore than I get out of it already but I revelled in helping support the scholarship and feel great telling people all about it so really want this to grow and become recognised.
I like to click on the “Yakezie Network” link and check out any articles that perk my interest!
When I do stop reading, their is always the archive at my favorite sites…
I love the Yakezie group for the same reasons. It’s a real community where we are able to share our opinions, thoughts, and discuss things. I have learned so much about blogging AND about personal finance. Also there are some neat tips that aren’t even related to blogging or personal finance like how Sam told me to go to this authentic Hawaiian restaurant when I was in Oahu- it was delicious!
The tips are great aspect that I enjoy too. The ways we directly and indirectly learn through the group is incredible!!!
I enjoyed reading your post. I was wondering what the expectations were for members who are highschoolers such as myself, and how I can contribute to yakezie? I think you had some good ideas…
The Yakezie is a blog network, so anybody who has a personal finance or lifestyle focused blog can compete in the Challenge.
With regards to contribution as a high schooler, it would be interesting to know your thoughts on various issues such as education, tuition costs, parent’s role in education, what do you plan to do post graduation etc. Providing different perspectives is always good.
It’s definitely a good thing to have a community of like-minded people all oriented at helping each other get better. Nothing wrong with admitting you have room to grow in your own knowledge too. That’s exactly why I joined the Yakezie challenge. I wanted to force myself out of my comfort zone and learn as a blogger and a financial goober.
Great to have you Matt! There’s a lot of stuff to learn and do, but it’s a ton of fun. There is a Yakezie Challenger badge you can get on the top right hand corner of the homepage for identification. Get to know your fellow challengers in the forums. Cheers
Thanks Sam. Already have the challenger badge on my blog. Looking forward to the experience. I’ve learned a lot already!
Don, from someone whose day job is so much different, it is refreshing to get to interact with so many young people and watch their growth. Barb, Penzo, Joe P and maybe a couple of the other geezers have so many more kids and grand-kids to play with!!
(I included Penzo just to see if he was paying attention!)
The challenge is just keeping up with the volume coming out of Sam’s creation!
I agree, I really do enjoy seeing all the different styles and opinions, especially at the various stages of their lives. I know I was a much different person 10 years ago versus how I think and what I value today.
The volume is overwhelming, is it!
I think that the personal finance landscape is changing so much that we all have to keep researching and learning. Until recently in the UK, buying property was a great investment with rising house prices. Being in a final salary pension scheme guaranteed your retirement income; whereas now many final salary schemes are being replaced with pensions whose value depends on the stock market, so you’ve mo idea what level of pension you’ll receive.