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Blogging about my personal finances

UserPost

7:17 am
August 2, 2012


Khaleef @ KNS Financial

Fat Guy, Skinny Wallet

Member

posts 3149

Hey guys. This is a question for all of you who blog about your personal finances.

 

What type of structure do you follow? Monthy net worth? Debt and goals only? Weekly updates? Etc.

How transparent are you with sharing personal information? Do you include income?

Those of you who blog about debt, do you list out every debt, or just give a total?

What are some good widgets for listing goals and our progress in our sidebar?

Do you think there would be any value in making videos? If so, what would the content be?

I am not creative at all, so I would love for you to share your tips on how to actually present the data in the posts. I currently use Excel and Quicken, so I can probably produce some charts or graphs if appropriate.

 

Basically, I want to start making detailed posts about our debt repayment on Fat Guy, Skinny Wallet (my posts have been about 90% weight loss). Both my wife and I are extremely private and guarded when it comes to our personal life, but we do want to hold ourselves accountable and also get tips/ideas from our readers. So we are willing to put ourselves out there somewhat to accomplish this.

 

What advice do you have for us? We really want to get started with this for August, so I am already a day behind. Embarassed

 

Thanks!!!

 

~Khaleef

Khaleef "Fat Guy" Crumbley

My Battle to Lose 100lbs and Pay off $100k in Debt:

http://fatguyskinnywallet.com

http://twitter.com/FGSW

http://www.facebook.com/fatguy…..innywallet

Personal Finance From A Biblical Perspective:

http://knsfinancial.com

http://www.facebook.com/knsfinancial

http://twitter.com/knsfinancial

7:21 am
August 2, 2012


MoneyIsTheRoot

Member

posts 1456

As far as my curiousity and interest is concerned, the more disclosed the better.  I read many blogs regularly that disclose all of their income/expense details.  When they use percentages etc I usually move on fairly quickly…just my personal taste.

Member Blog:

Money Is The Root

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Challenger Blogs:

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7:39 am
August 2, 2012


Khaleef @ KNS Financial

Fat Guy, Skinny Wallet

Member

posts 3149

MoneyIsTheRoot said:

As far as my curiousity and interest is concerned, the more disclosed the better.  I read many blogs regularly that disclose all of their income/expense details.  When they use percentages etc I usually move on fairly quickly…just my personal taste.

My wife originally wanted to do percentages, but I told her that I would have no interest in looking at that if I were a reader. I guess that feeling is confirmed.

We're going to do real numbers regarding debt and our play to pay if off, but I'm not sure exactly how to make that compelling and useful.

Khaleef "Fat Guy" Crumbley

My Battle to Lose 100lbs and Pay off $100k in Debt:

http://fatguyskinnywallet.com

http://twitter.com/FGSW

http://www.facebook.com/fatguy…..innywallet

Personal Finance From A Biblical Perspective:

http://knsfinancial.com

http://www.facebook.com/knsfinancial

http://twitter.com/knsfinancial

7:55 am
August 2, 2012


seedebtrun

Member

posts 327

We post monthly updates on our overall debt repayment process, with updates sprinkled throughout whenever something major happens (finding extra income.. a major unexpected expense)…

 

We do keep a graph that shows our overall progress realtime, in comparison to our goal.

Google Docs (spreadsheet) makes this pretty easy, and the graph updates realtime when you update your spreadsheet.

See Debt Run

Follow our journey back to financial sanity

Blog [ http://seedebtrun.com ]

Follow on Twitter [ @seedebtrun ]

Like on Facebook [ seedebtrun ]

8:20 am
August 2, 2012


Budgeting in the Fun Stuff

Member

posts 3048

Real numbers are more fun for the reader, but if you are going to worry about it all of the time, it probably isn't the best option for you.  Percentages work too – we can't be a voyeuristic, but it gets the job done.  Blog the way that makes you comfortable.  Laugh

By the way, I am starting my monthly income updates again in my Friday newsletter (specifically, the first update is in tomorrow's).

Crystal

Yakezie Member Site: 

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff

Ebook:  How I Make Money Blogging:
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Email:  budgetingfunstuff *at* gmail *dot* com

You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook

10:31 am
August 2, 2012


MoneyIsTheRoot

Member

posts 1456

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff said:

Real numbers are more fun for the reader, but if you are going to worry about it all of the time, it probably isn't the best option for you.  Percentages work too – we can't be a voyeuristic, but it gets the job done.  Blog the way that makes you comfortable.  Laugh

By the way, I am starting my monthly income updates again in my Friday newsletter (specifically, the first update is in tomorrow's).

Ahhhhh im not gonna lie, totally know why you took them down, but looking forward to catching a glimpse at those again!

Member Blog:

Money Is The Root

Check me out on Facebook

 

Challenger Blogs:

Smart Wealth

10:37 am
August 2, 2012


Budgeting in the Fun Stuff

Member

posts 3048

Post edited 10:38 am – August 2, 2012 by Budgeting in the Fun Stuff


I took them down because of hate mail and because Sam asked all of us to and I didn't want to get kicked out of the Yakezie.  So if you don't see me here anymore, you know what happened.  Wink

Crystal

Yakezie Member Site: 

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff

Ebook:  How I Make Money Blogging:
The Beginner's Guide to Building a Money-Making Site

Email:  budgetingfunstuff *at* gmail *dot* com

You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook

11:21 am
August 2, 2012


Khaleef @ KNS Financial

Fat Guy, Skinny Wallet

Member

posts 3149

seedebtrun said:

We post monthly updates on our overall debt repayment process, with updates sprinkled throughout whenever something major happens (finding extra income.. a major unexpected expense)…

 

We do keep a graph that shows our overall progress realtime, in comparison to our goal.

Google Docs (spreadsheet) makes this pretty easy, and the graph updates realtime when you update your spreadsheet.

I think that will be what we do. I will talk about our savings goal (building back up our emergency fund), our debt repayment, and any "extras" that come along.

I guess I can make a graph in Excel showing our progress, and then turning that into a picture for the post. Is that how you do it with Google Docs, or do you somehow embed the actual graph?

Khaleef "Fat Guy" Crumbley

My Battle to Lose 100lbs and Pay off $100k in Debt:

http://fatguyskinnywallet.com

http://twitter.com/FGSW

http://www.facebook.com/fatguy…..innywallet

Personal Finance From A Biblical Perspective:

http://knsfinancial.com

http://www.facebook.com/knsfinancial

http://twitter.com/knsfinancial

11:23 am
August 2, 2012


Khaleef @ KNS Financial

Fat Guy, Skinny Wallet

Member

posts 3149

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff said:

Real numbers are more fun for the reader, but if you are going to worry about it all of the time, it probably isn't the best option for you.  Percentages work too – we can't be a voyeuristic, but it gets the job done.  Blog the way that makes you comfortable.  Laugh

By the way, I am starting my monthly income updates again in my Friday newsletter (specifically, the first update is in tomorrow's).

I definitely won't put up our income, but I don't mind sharing specifics about the debt that we owe…even though it is a lot!!! I just have no idea on how to be creative with it, or what are some good tools (widgets and plugins) to incorporate this into the blog.

Khaleef "Fat Guy" Crumbley

My Battle to Lose 100lbs and Pay off $100k in Debt:

http://fatguyskinnywallet.com

http://twitter.com/FGSW

http://www.facebook.com/fatguy…..innywallet

Personal Finance From A Biblical Perspective:

http://knsfinancial.com

http://www.facebook.com/knsfinancial

http://twitter.com/knsfinancial

7:14 am
August 3, 2012


TightFistedMiser

Member

posts 361

I use real numbers for both my income and expenses and those posts seem to be the readers' favorites.  Although lately there haven't been many other posts.  I did stop posting my online income separately since that may have contributed to my sites being penalized.

7:47 am
August 3, 2012


Jason@LiveRealNow

Member

posts 727

I've been open about my debt and savings.   To the penny.

I don't discuss my income because some coworkers read my site and that never works out well.

I've been struggling with how transparent to be with a recent windfall, though.  How does a blog about debt keep running when all of the debt is magically wiped out?  What happens to the flavor, the topics, and the community?

I think you should err on the side of too transparent.  While you can't unring a bell, your community will appreciate the openness.  

10:06 am
August 3, 2012


Edward Antrobus

Fort Collins, CO

Member

posts 1008

I do a monthly net worth update. At first, I included WAY to much information. Individual balances of each account. I've streamlined it a bit. Checking and savings. I'm thinking of rolling even that into one line item labeled "cash"

I don't generally share income, but if people are really interested, my wife makes $540/week after taxes and my paychecks are anywhere from $300 to $600. Quarterly, however, I have been sharing my online income.

 I'm looking for editors, beta-readers, and some demographic research for my upcoming novel, Once Upon a Saturn Moon. If you like reading soft sci-fi thrillers, maybe with a touch of romance thrown in, you can find more information at http://seampublishing.com/once…..aturn-moon

If You Can Read, You Can Cookhttp://www.ifyoucanread.com | Think you can't cook? If you can read this sentence, then you can.

SEAM Publishinghttp://www.seampublishing.com | eBook formatting and publishing service

12:27 pm
August 3, 2012


Khaleef @ KNS Financial

Fat Guy, Skinny Wallet

Member

posts 3149

TightFistedMiser said:

I use real numbers for both my income and expenses and those posts seem to be the readers' favorites.  Although lately there haven't been many other posts.  I did stop posting my online income separately since that may have contributed to my sites being penalized.

I am not brave enough to post my income, but that is more because of having friends, family, and even coworkers looking at the blog. I hope that people will gravatate to our debt repayment stories. I have to talk about the whole "skinny wallet" part of the site now. Wink

Khaleef "Fat Guy" Crumbley

My Battle to Lose 100lbs and Pay off $100k in Debt:

http://fatguyskinnywallet.com

http://twitter.com/FGSW

http://www.facebook.com/fatguy…..innywallet

Personal Finance From A Biblical Perspective:

http://knsfinancial.com

http://www.facebook.com/knsfinancial

http://twitter.com/knsfinancial

1:20 pm
August 3, 2012


Khaleef @ KNS Financial

Fat Guy, Skinny Wallet

Member

posts 3149

Jason@LiveRealNow said:

I've been open about my debt and savings.   To the penny.

I don't discuss my income because some coworkers read my site and that never works out well.

I've been struggling with how transparent to be with a recent windfall, though.  How does a blog about debt keep running when all of the debt is magically wiped out?  What happens to the flavor, the topics, and the community?

I think you should err on the side of too transparent.  While you can't unring a bell, your community will appreciate the openness.  

I have the same fears about sharing my income. Do you follow any special format, or just put everything out there for the readers?

Khaleef "Fat Guy" Crumbley

My Battle to Lose 100lbs and Pay off $100k in Debt:

http://fatguyskinnywallet.com

http://twitter.com/FGSW

http://www.facebook.com/fatguy…..innywallet

Personal Finance From A Biblical Perspective:

http://knsfinancial.com

http://www.facebook.com/knsfinancial

http://twitter.com/knsfinancial

1:50 pm
August 3, 2012


BeatingBroke

North Dakota, USA

Member

posts 860

I think a networth update can be a good way to talk about the finances and the steps you're taking to improve them without getting into income specifics.  Two that immediately come up are J$ at Budgets are Sexy and Eric at Narrow Bridge who both do networth updates without talking much about specific income levels.

2:06 pm
August 3, 2012


Eric – PersonalProfitability.com

Portland, OR

Member

posts 2120

I do a net worth update. I don't discuss my income outside of some side projects, but I do share income from blogging, flash mobs, and DJing.

2:20 pm
August 3, 2012


Melissa (Mom's Plans)

Member

posts 908

I share everything about our debt and I used to share income reports, but I stopped that in part due to Yakezie and in part because my husband finished his Ph.D. and as he moves into professional positions, he didn't want our income to be out there for anyone to see.

My Member Site:  Mom's Plans

My Challenger Site:  Fiscal Phoenix

E-mail:  momsplans@yahoo.com

2:22 pm
August 3, 2012


Melissa (Mom's Plans)

Member

posts 908

Jason@LiveRealNow said:

I've been open about my debt and savings.   To the penny.

I don't discuss my income because some coworkers read my site and that never works out well.

I've been struggling with how transparent to be with a recent windfall, though.  How does a blog about debt keep running when all of the debt is magically wiped out?  What happens to the flavor, the topics, and the community?

I think you should err on the side of too transparent.  While you can't unring a bell, your community will appreciate the openness.  

I think it is good that you are still being honest with the reader about what has happened to change your situation.  A blog does change when someone wipes out there debt, but that doesn't mean readers will stop reading.  I read your blog because of the personality, humor and great insight, not because of your struggle with debt.

My Member Site:  Mom's Plans

My Challenger Site:  Fiscal Phoenix

E-mail:  momsplans@yahoo.com

8:07 pm
August 3, 2012


Khaleef @ KNS Financial

Fat Guy, Skinny Wallet

Member

posts 3149

Thanks for all of the tips, suggestions, and examples. I am definitely motivated to do this, and I plan to start on Monday.

Can you recommend any widgets or plugins that can make the presentation a little better than just listing things?

I am thinking about trackers so I can show my progress. Since I use Excel, I will probably stick with that as far as inserting the info into each post.

What do you think?

Khaleef "Fat Guy" Crumbley

My Battle to Lose 100lbs and Pay off $100k in Debt:

http://fatguyskinnywallet.com

http://twitter.com/FGSW

http://www.facebook.com/fatguy…..innywallet

Personal Finance From A Biblical Perspective:

http://knsfinancial.com

http://www.facebook.com/knsfinancial

http://twitter.com/knsfinancial

3:08 pm
August 4, 2012


Jackie

Member

posts 664

I don't follow any type of structure, although I suspect it would be beneficial if I did. I post about debt and goals, whenever I feel like it. I used to aim for quarterly but it's pretty random now.  I give a total for my debt, but that's the same as listing out every debt since we only have the house. (Which will be paid off really soon!)  I'd probably just focus on the one I was working on at the time if we had more than one left, and give details for that one and then the total of all.

I think videos would be valuable for those who prefer getting content in that format, and for SEO purposes. I imagine the content could be the same as a blog post.

MoneyCrush (Member Blog)
http://www.moneycrush.com • @moneycrush • Facebook


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