Every week, I read dozens of personal finance blogs from my favorite bloggers around the world. I keep track of them at www.personalfinancereader.com — if your blog isn’t on the list, please add it in a comment here to let me know.
This weekly PF Blogroll Roundup highlights some of my favorite posts across the Personal Finance web… it looks like this week, I owe congrats to a heaping handful of fellow bloggers that I’ve been following for years…
First off, congrats(!!!) to Fabulously Broke in the City for hitting $200k in networth! That’s an amazing feat. Fabulously broke also announced that she made $20,800 in INCOME in March, not counting her blogging income. Wow, that makes my $5k after-tax income seem a bit pathetic. She raised her networth by 5% in ONE MONTH by $8945. If that isn’t inspiring, I don’t know what is. I need to learn some tips on increasing my income from her, stat.
Another success worth applauding, The World of Wealth, who has $496k in networth, this month hit $100k in retirement savings by contributing $1,375 per month to her Roth 401k! She has access to a 401k where her employer matches 100% of her contributions up to 6% of her salary (an extra $4,500 a year!) Makes me think that perhaps working in a startup without access to a 401k is the wrong way to go… hmm.
Saving for a Home maxed out her 2010 Roth IRA in March, adding a last-minute $4k to hit her limit. She came to the conclusion that as a grad student, her tax bracket is so low, it makes sense to move all her investments into the Roth.
Alright, enough with the congrats… 🙂
Other PF posts that caught my eye this week…
David Weliver at Money Under 30 contributes a great post on “Deciding to Earn More” which argues that spending less only goes so far, and the true road to wealth requires earning more. From increasing his once $30k salary to $52k by working two jobs… his day job and a stint as a Starbucks Barista… to starting Money Under 30 as a hobby and increasing his annual income by 500% between promotions, job switches, and the success of his blog. But the fact of the matter is that Weilver gave HIMSELF a promotion and a raise by working two jobs when his income was $30k. This may not be possible when you get older and have kids, but if you’re in your 20s and child free, your time IS money, and your money is MORE money than it is now, since you’re in your early 20s and have lots of time to invest.
One of my favorite bloggers, Brip Blap, added a great post titled “Why Everyone Should Want to Be Wealthy.” He writes “ Most people, if they are sensible, want to acquire wealth.  Wealth is freeing.  Wealth gives you options.  Even if you don’t want material goods for yourself or for your family, you could acquire wealth to benefit a charity or a cause. If you don’t want to acquire wealth, you may be perfectly happy and content with your lot, but you’re probably not a typical person.”
Little Miss Money Bags covers the touchy subject of how much to spend on gifts, whether you’re going to a birthday, a wedding, or have rejected an invite but have to send something in return. Most agree that for weddings where travel is required, a gift of $100 to $150 a head is reasonable. This is a useful post for me because I will be attending 3 weddings next fall.
Trent over at The Simple Dollar answers a reader question (that is near and dear to my heart) about how to not only create goals, but how to stick to them. In relation to working out… he advises that most people set goals but fail because they have an unrealistic or inflexible schedule, poor measurements of success, and a lack of external motivation. I think the reason I reach ANY of my personal finance goals is this blog… knowing that some of you have been reading my blog through the years makes me want to save more money. Perhaps the greatest problem with personal finance is that it’s such a “personal” subject… if we can’t talk about it, how can we motivate ourselves to set and reach goals?
That concludes the PF Roll this week… not because there aren’t other great articles to highlight, but because I need to spend some of my weekend apart from my keyboard. Until next time…
I'd love to be added to your list! biblemoneymatters.com and smartonmoney.com. I definitely prefer roundups like this where you choose a few choice posts.. found some great articles, thanks!