The Internet Habits of Personal Finance Bloggers - Get Rich Slowly

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J.D. Roth - Get Rich Slowly

On April 30, 2007, I wrote an article on Web 2.0. The web has evolved so much that it is an indispensable part of our life, and we don't use the web the same way it used to be. Professional Internet users, such as bloggers, or any others who depend on the Web for a living, use the Internet differently than average users. I thought it would be helpful for my readers to know how a professional, such as Get Rich Slowly's author J. D., uses the Internet on a daily basis. Here is what J. D. provided for A D Journal readers.

A Day in the Life of a Blogger

I am an internet junkie. I have been addicted to the net since 1994 - and earlier if you count USENET newsgroups and the bulletin boards of the 1980s. I've always craved a connection with other people, the mad exchange of ideas that interconnectivity allows.

Since I began blogging full-time this March, it's become painfully apparent just how much time I spend online.

The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is roll to the edge of the bed and grab my MacBook Pro from the floor. While I grog awake, I make a quick pass to verify that Get Rich Slowly hasn't imploded. (It never has!) I also tabulate statistics from the day before, entering them into an Excel spreadsheet.

After I get out of bed, I spend half an hour in Apple Mail, processing the most urgent messages. I used to reply to every piece of mail I received, but that's physically impossible now. It bothers me that I have so many unanswered messages in my mailbox, but there's nothing I can do about it.

After breakfast and after exercise, I spend time gathering information in my web browser (Safari) and composing articles in my text editor (BBEdit). This generally takes several hours of my day, during which I'm also on iChat with other bloggers and friends.

I also try to make time to visit other personal finance sites, especially blogs. I used to read everything via RSS feed, but like my e-mail, this has become unmanageable. I've abandoned my feed reader (NetNewsWire) and now read blogs the old-fashioned way: via the web. But this means I don't catch new stories as soon as I once did. Sometimes I miss great stories completely.

I try to wind down my heavy internet use by about mid-afternoon so that I can spend time with my wife when she gets home. Still, I check in on the site every hour or two to make sure things are okay. And then before bed, I show Kris the preliminary numbers for the day.

All told, I spend about 70 hours a week online. According to the marvelous utility RescueTime, I spend about three hours on my computer every Saturday, about five hours each on Friday and Sunday, and then about 14 hours a day Monday through Thursday.

Of this, about 12 hours a week is spent in BBEdit, performing that physical act of writing. About ten hours is spent at Get Rich Slowly performing a variety of blog-related tasks. I spend nearly eight hours a week processing e-mail — and remember, that's just handling the barest essentials. Finally, I spend about three hours every week fussing with Excel. Those four tasks take 33 hours of my time every week, and that doesn't include research for various articles.

I'm not happy with how much time I spend online. Tracking my habits with RescueTime is the first step in determining methods to reduce the madness. My goal is to become more efficient, to become less wired. My goal is to spend more time in real life again!

First Published: ADawnJournal.com Jun 13, 2008

No One Cares About Your Money

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Care About Your Money

No one cares about your money but you. Only you know how hard it is to earn a dollar, and even harder to save a dollar - that’s why self-interest is the best interest. The funny thing about money is that everyone can give advice about your money, but they are not nearly so casual with their own money. You are the one who earned it, and only you know the value of each dollar. Why give your money someone else to invest? Do you think that someone else will treat your money the same way as you do - of course not. That someone else will not act his/her best to protect your interests. He/she will act best to protect his/her own interests. You will not do frequent trading to earn commissions. However, that someone else might. That’s why I believe you should be your own money manager. I don’t believe you need to hire a financial advisor to start investing. But if you never invested before, how you can start on your own?

My first book Invest Now assumes you never invested before and teaches you how to start investing for the first time. It is written in simple and plain English, and you will never need a financial dictionary. You don’t have to be a financial guru to develop a consistent saving plan and accumulate wealth. Invest Now offers all the tools and motivation you need to start building a safe and secure financial future now for you and your family.

Award-winning book Invest Now is jam-packed with timely information and timeless advice for the beginning Canadian investor. To purchase a copy, visit Chapters Indigo or buy online - Invest Now: A Canadian's Guide to Investing

First Published: ADawnJournal.com Apr 15, 2008

You don’t have to be a financial guru anymore to invest - INVEST NOW has been published

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Invest Now: Ahmed Dawn

First Published: ADawnJournal.com Mar 8, 2008

I am writing this post to let you all know that Invest Now has been published and available at all major online stores.  Invest Now delivers a convincing case for avoiding daily spending temptations and then shows you the secrets to smart investing. With as little as $25, you can become a successful investor by following three simple and practical steps.

The must-have guide for Canadian investors, Invest Now delivers three surprisingly simple steps to safeguard your financial future.

You don’t have to be a financial guru to develop a consistent savings plan and accumulate wealth. Invest Now offers all the tools and motivation you need to start building a safe and secure financial future now for you and your family. Invest Now has won prestigious Editor’s Choice and highly prestigious Publisher’s Choice award for its editorial integrity and outstanding design quality.

I will issue a pres s release shortly stating the publication of Invest Now. Invest Now is not available at bookstores yet. Invest Now will take another two to three weeks to hit Chapters shelves. I will let you know once that happens and also will issue another press release.

Why We Don’t Invest?

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Why You Should Invest

Our main problem is a lack of information. Most Canadians were never taught any personal-finance lessons in school and in university. Also, we have this idea that in order to invest, we need a lot of money, a PhD, and status as an investment guru. Invest Now shows you how you can start investing with very little money—and even less expertise. Investing can be as simple as walking into a bank or picking up your phone.

First Published: ADawnJournal.com Mar 27, 2008

Award-winning book Invest Now is jam-packed with timely information and timeless advice for the beginning Canadian investor. To purchase a copy, visit Chapters Indigo or buy online - Invest Now: A Canadian's Guide to Investing

Banks Are Charging Ridiculous NSF Fees

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Bank Has No Limits for Fees

Just received a Notice of Changes flyer in my mailbox from TD Bank. The flyer is full of as usual information. That is, fees are going up on some services. One fee increase made my eyes pop out in wonder.

New NSF (Non Sufficient Funds) fee will be $42.50 starting May 1, 2008. Paying $42.50 NSF fee is way too much and absolutely ridiculous. We all know that banks are only interested in making money, and they don’t care about their customers. Average bank clients are not valued or respected by these banks. We tend to be loyal to our banks, and they are taking advantage of this. Most of us do not research and shop for a better bank. What you can do to get a better deal and treated as a valued customer by your bank? Follow these simple tips below:

  • Banks basically measure your value by looking at your bank balance. If you have accounts with many banks, you may want to think about consolidate them into one account in one bank. This will give you more money in one bank and hence more value.
     
  • Have an overdraft protection attached to your bank account. An overdraft protection will protect you from NSF situation because this feature will pay extra money if your account falls short. There is a charge involved with this option but it’s not as ridiculous as NSF fee.
     
  • A decent overdraft protection fee should be somewhere around $5. You should pay this only when you use it. If your bank charges monthly recurring fees to have this option, change your bank. A good example is President Choice Financial. Their overdraft protection fee is $4.95, and you pay only when you use it. You will also be paying an interest charge on overdraft balances but still it’s a lot better than paying $42.50.
  • And last but not least - never write a cheque if you don't have money in your account (I know you all know this).
    First Published: ADawnJournal.com Mar 16, 2008