My weekend musings, followed by some money-tastic weekend reading.
Those of you who’ve been reading Monevator for a long time (I’m looking at you, sis!) will recall it’s been a tough old slog for yours truly.
I must hold the record as the whiniest blogger out there when it comes to the actual practice of blogging. (My comparison of blogging [1] with $1-a-day Third World labor became something of a cult classic in certain blogging circles).
I like to think I have a decent blog with some useful information for anyone looking to grow their dough. But I know I’m a lousy actual blogger.
I take ages to write posts. I don’t make any real money from the lucrative money blog niche. I don’t promote my posts much anymore, I’ve got bored of submitting my blog to carnivals, and my blog is a secret in real-life.
It’s a miracle you found me!
Enter the Mavens
Here’s where – I hope – the Money Mavens [2] come in. I was delighted to be invited to join this informal network of bloggers a couple of weeks ago, though I um-ed and ah-ed about it.
My fear is that as a rubbish blogger, I won’t have time to contribute fully to their initiatives. It takes me hours to write a post, and time is only getting tighter.
Will I find the time for networking? We’ll see. From your perspective, though, there should be only positive changes.
I’m a regular linker to a few of the Mavens already – Oblivious Investor, Wealth Pilgrim and Len Penzo – and the other members are also from the top-drawer.
I plan to run two special link roundups a month, pointing to some of my fellow Money Maven’s best posts old and new. This will be in addition – not instead of – your normal link round-up.
I also hope to flag up and discuss some of their ideas in individual posts in the months ahead.
No, don’t you go worrying about me. I’ll sleep when I’m dead!
From the blogs
- Do you have an investment back-up plan? – Oblivious Investor [3]
- Spamanomics – The Psy-Fi blog [4]
- UK property market update – Retirement Investing Today [5]
- Crisis delivers black eye to classical economists – Investing Caffeine [6]
- Sun Tzu’s Art of War applied to your debt – Financial Samurai [7]
- Taking out a loan? Questions to ask – Digerati Life [8]
- The big problem with money courses – The Simple Dollar [9]
- Saving electricity at home – Simple in Suffolk [10]
On the Money Maven network
- Len Penzo offers some gold selling tips [11].
- Green Panda Treehouse explains how to manage emails once a day [12].
- Money Help for Christians on the best personal finance software [13].
- Deliver Away Debt explains the concept of a sinking fund [14].
- Canadian Finance on the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) [15].
- Oblivious Investor outlines US tax brackets [16].
- Wealth Pilgrim knows 5 Ways to Improve Your Credit Score Fast [17].
- The Centsible Life on Credit Scores and Credit Reports [18].
- Joe Taxpayer investigates Roth mania [19].
Mainstream money reads
- Beware of Greeks bearing bonds [a must read!] – Vanity Fair [20]
- Dreman: Debunking beta – Forbes [21]
- HSBC trounces iShares – Motley Fool UK [22]
- China is restricting export of rare commodities – The Economist [23]
- BP: The case for its defence – The Economist [24]
- Equity risk versus time: A survey – Vanguard [25] (via Mike [26])
- 48 zombie ETFs – Index Universe [27]
- New high-yield Euro bond ETF from iShares – Fixed Income Investor [28]
- High fee passive hypocrisy – Forbes [29]
- New life in the sun can pay off – FT [30]
- High earners spared PAYE pain – FT [31]
- National Insurance cards to be scrapped – Telegraph [32]
- Cult of the equity not dead yet – Independent [33]
- [Interactive] How safe are your savings? – Guardian [34]
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