Interview with Her Every Cents Counts

• Does blogging about your financial ideas, bumps in the road, and experiences help out in a better understanding of finances?

Definitely. Before I started blogging about money and life for Her Every Cent Counts, I was afraid of personal finance. In posting about my experiences with money – both good and bad – I hope to help others with my trial-by-error method of living life and saving money. I also learn from my own mistakes, and remind myself how far I’ve come. Sometimes it’s nice to have a record of your income in relationship to your savings, as well as road blocks in order to improve your actions next time a money stressing situation comes up.

• What is your favorite topic to blog about?

I blog a lot about myself. Not that I’m a particularly interesting person to read about, but that’s what I know best about and that’s the point of my blog. I like to write about being a 20-something female moving up in the work world and all the struggles that come along the way. While I write about personal finance, I also write about other issues — mental health, insurance, relationships, etc., and how they relate to money. Writing anonymously is so freeing, especially when it comes to personal finance. While I could probably get a lot more readers by revealing who I am, I’m not really interested in obtaining a following. I write publicly by chance my experiences might help someone else out there.

• Where do you get your ideas for your blogs?

Daily life. I try to write about news and other issues but it’s usually easier for me to write about what I spent money on for the day. Sometimes I’m inspired by other personal finance blogs, and will write a comment on another post and link to it.

• Does personal experience play a key part in the content of your blogs?

Yes. As I noted above, most of my blog is about my personal experience. Right now I don’t have any major debts or things I need to buy, but I realize that eventually I want to have a family and that will be expensive. So I write a lot about savings, investing, and trying to balance spending my income versus saving it.

• What topics seem to be popular among your readers?

There is a shortage of prominent females in the world of personal finance, especially in terms of wealth building. People like Suze Orman teach about getting out of debt, which is great for people who need to get out of debt, but that’s not what I blog about. I came from a middle class background, had my college education paid for by my parents, and am now supporting myself with no help from them working a full-time job. So my blog focuses more on learning how to spend and save. When you have debt, it’s kind of obvious you should save like crazy to get out of debt until you’re debt-free. That’s what a lot of PF blogs are about, and I applaud that. But when you’re not in debt, and you’re in your 20s, it’s hard to get a grasp on spending versus saving. So I think that topic really resonates with a lot of my readers in their 20s and 30s, especially those who are out of debt or have disposible income beyond their monthly debt payments. I also find posts about current events and how they effect my financial life, ranging from healthcare refrom to tax rebates. Those posts tend to be popular as well.

• What is some financial advice you could share with our 20 somethings readers?

Don’t let your money control you. While you can’t always be 100% in control of your income situation, especially in this economy, you can do a lot to set yourself up for financial success. If you can’t get a day job doing your passion, get a day job that pays decently, if possible. Then, start a small side business based on your passion. Enjoy antiques? Sell on eBay. Like to write? Do freelance writing for local businesses. Have no experience? Volunteer and get some. There’s no excuse to avoid a small freelance job on the side. But above all else, realize that money isn’t everything. Neither are material goods. Start saving now for retirement, don’t wait. If you can, max out your Roth IRA and contribute to your 401k up to your company match. If you can’t max out your Roth, put $1000 in it this year. If you have kids then you have an excuse for having trouble saving, but if you’re single then you always have time to make more money. This is why a side business is so great. Even with the economy crash and burning, there are always industries that are thriving. Businesses still need websites and marketing. Think creativily. And most importantly, know yourself and what matters to you. There’s nothing wrong with being driven by money, but don’t chase money for the sake of being rich. Wealth isn’t everything.

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