If you’ve read personal finance blogs, you’ve likely heard of Consumerism Commentary. It would be hard not to. Since he writes great material, Flexo’s blog has been mentioned by BusinessWeek, Yahoo! Finance, and Kiplinger.

Flexo, founder and author, launched Consumerism Commentary back in 2003 and is also well known for starting the Carnival of Personal Finance. Recently, Flexo also launched the Plutus Awards to honor personal finance blogs.

Since creating Consumerism Commentary, Flexo has improved his net worth from less than zero to over $300,000! That’s pretty impressive. The next decade will likely be even better as the economy recovers and his blog continues to grow.

I hope you enjoy my interview with Flexo!

What are a couple things people can do right now to improve their financial situation?

At the most basic level, there are only two ways to improve a financial situation: earn more money or change your expenses. Earning more money doesn’t have as much of an effect if you haven’t optimized your spending, so I would look at that first.

Track every dollar you spend for one month. Where does the money go? If any of the spending can be removed the next month, remove it. For example, if canceling cable wouldn’t have a big effect in the enjoyment of your life, or if you value improving your financial situation over the reward you get by watching cable, cancel it. The same goes for eating out in restaurants, manicures and pedicures, and hockey games.

Once you’ve tracked your spending, you can use it to create a basic flexible spending plan. Decide how much you want to spend in each category for the next month, looking for ways to challenge yourself to spend less.

I don’t recommend living the life of a hermit or monk and extracting all enjoyment for life for the sake of saving money, but for anyone who is looking for an immediate solution to improving financial situation eliminating unnecessary expenses is the best method.

From your experience, what would you say is the most misunderstood concept or principle of personal finances?

The idea that personal finance is psychological is often misunderstood. Supposed experts in personal finance have expressed difficulty understanding how people can find themselves in debt when the concept of spending less than you earn, the key to building wealth, is built on kingergarten mathematics. Personal finance is much more than spending less than you earn. Personal finance advice needs to tackle psychology and the emotional side of the brain rather than just the rational.

What 3-5 blog posts from Consumerism Commentary are must-read for new visitors?

I would start with these:

• Ten Things I Will Teach My Children About Money
• How to Be the CFO of Your Own Life
• Following Your Bliss: Good Idea or Bunk?
• 10 Steps to Break the Credit Card Habit
• The Best of Consumerism Commentary

For those who don’t know, could you explain the Carnival of Personal Finance?

The Carnival of Personal Finance is a weekly event. Each Monday, a different blog serves as the host after compiling the week’s best articles about personal finance from over 100 submissions. The complilation is posted on the host’s website, containing critiques and summaries to highlight the best of the best.

Participation in the Carnival of Personal Finance is a great way for new blogs to receive exposure within the blogosphere. I created the Carnival in January 2005 when the part of the blogosphere focused on personal finance was much smaller. The Carnival helped bring attention to writing on the web about this topic and helped to expand the community into what it is today.

You’ve been blogging about personal finances since 2003, what have been the major milestones for Consumerism Commentary?

Although Consumerism Commentary has been mentioned in the press often, I was particularly proud when Money Magazine cited the website, alongside Get Rich Slowly, as the best in the blogosphere. More recently, this past year Consumerism Commentary surpassed 10,000 subscribers via RSS feed, and that’s a number I hope to keep growing.

Quite a few personal finance bloggers have gone on to write books or appear on television but you’ve kept relatively private. Will you write a book about personal finance or maybe even your blogging exploits?

I don’t have any immediate plans to write a book through the traditional agent-publisher-distributor process. I have several ideas for a series of shorter, self-published books and I hope to have the first ready by the end of the summer of 2010. The difficulty is executing everything I’d like to do in addition to my full-time day job, but expect there will be some changes in that situation this year.

Other Interviews with Flexo:

• Moolanomy suggests that, “Although Consumerism Commentary may not be #1 in term of readership (among the handful of A-List Personal Finance Blogs), I believe you are the most influential one.“
• Money Crashers says, “…he tends to have some of the more fresh and original material covering personal finance.”

Money, investing, credit card rates, and other personal finance related topics are covered by one of the top personal finance bloggers on the web – Jim Wang of Bargaineering.com.

Over the years, Jim has appeared in Smart Money, PC Mag, Business Week and other mainstream media outlets. I remember reading his blog before the first media mention and now he’s a professional blogger, working full-time from home. For being so well known, Jim is very approachable and was kind enough to answer a few questions I had about personal finance and blogging. Be sure to check out Bargaineering.com or follow Jim on Twitter – @bargainr.

Personal Finances at Bargaineering.com

When you first started really examining your personal finances, what was the hardest thing to change?

I was fortunate to have a pretty strong financial foundation, no credit card debt, no expensive habits, so there wasn’t anything bad I needed to change. I did find it difficult to begin investing in the stock market. With the bank, I know I get a small percentage interest each month but my principal is protected. That protection is important to me, the stock market is very unpredictable.

From being involved in the personal finance community, what are some of the most important lessons you’ve learned over the years?

One important lesson in life is that your personal relationships with other people are very important, it’s even more important online when you have very few shared experiences with other bloggers. You may write about the same or similar topics but you don’t spend free time with one another.

Another important lesson is that it’s not a competition. So many bloggers feel like they have to remain insular and keep their secrets, when in reality the competition isn’t against one another. I’ve learned far more by sharing with others than I ever did just sitting alone.

The philosophy behind Bargaineering and my personal philosophy is that life is about enjoying the things you love doing and spending time with the people you love spending time with. [About Bargaineering]

In addition to your blogging, you’re very involved in the personal finance arena. Tell us about your involvement in the Money Tips Network, Personal Finance Hour and Tip’d.

The Money Tips Network was something the guys at Wise Bread created, my involved in that is very limited other than being a member. The Personal Finance Hour is something I created and now co-host with JD of Get Rich Slowly. It’s a weekly BlogTalkRadio show where we tackle financial topics for an hour and take listener questions. Lots of bloggers listen in, call in, and hang out in the chat room. Finally, Tip’d is a social media news site and I’m responsible for blogger outreach.

What 3-5 posts would you consider “must-read” for new visitors?

Rent Forever Don’t Buy A Home – This post, which is part of the Devil’s Advocate series, raises the argument that renting is better than buying, which goes against conventional wisdom. The whole DA series tackles issues like this one and I’ve enjoyed writing all of them.

How To Budget – Learning to budget can be daunting but this Foundation series article outlines some simple steps you can take to start budgeting. The Foundation series is a series of articles that cover basic personal finance topics.

40 Money Tips for College Students – Forty tips that every college student should try to follow if they want a leg up financially when they graduate.

ProBlogging at Bargaineering.com

What do you like most about blogging full-time? Was turning the blog into a business your goal?

I enjoy building onto something that is mine and that I created from scratch. It’s fun being in charge but it’s also a challenge, I alone have to make decisions about the future and while I do appreciate the benefits, I also have to deal with the consequences of those decisions. Turning the blog into a business was never a goal until several years after it started, it began as just a journal for me to write my thoughts in.

What kind of reaction do you get from people when they find out you’re a professional blogger?

No reaction really, they just seem to chuckle and tell me I’m lucky to be able to work from home. It’s not a glamorous job but I enjoy it all the same.

Thanks for your time Jim!

MoneyNing is all about becoming debt free, building wealth and demonstrating the effects of personal finance decisions. One reason I like David’s writing so much is that he approaches it from a great philosophy – “Life throws you unexpected challenges, but I promise the path to be fun, entertaining and informative.” David has also written a book called The Little Budget Travel Book.

In addition to MoneyNing, David also runs PFBuzz.com a personal finance social networking site and Investing-School.com which offers real lessons about investing.

MoneyNing.com also made my list of Top 20 Personal Finance Blogs.

Interview with MoneyNing.com

Briefly describe MoneyNing.com and what makes your site different than other personal finance blogs.

MoneyNing allows all of us to share our journey to be financially free. Unlike many other sites that try to tell you exactly what to do, I see mine as a buddy system where we can encourage each other by talking about our daily lives as it relates to our finances.

What do you enjoy most about owning/running a blog?

What I enjoy most about the blog is the reader interactions and the idea that I’m earning a living helping other people. Readers email me with questions all the time, and I’m very lucky in that I can relay that information on my site and have not only myself, but other readers provide feedback and suggestions.

When you launched MoneyNing, what were your expectations for the site and how have those been met or have they evolved?

To be honest, I had absolutely no expectations when I launched MoneyNing. I saw it as a good way to establish some accountability for my own finances, so the earlier articles were much more personal in nature. Eventually, I realized that what I write about is read by hundreds of thousands of people, and it was at that juncture that I started making sure I put enough emphasis on how responsible spending helped me, and can help others as well.

How has running a successful blog affected your life?

Having my online presence literally changed my life. I was in sales before so I was traveling all the time, not having enough sleep, not seeing my family while eating fast food everyday. Now, I work at home, my hours are flexible and I have a regular plan for my meals. One thing that hasn’t changed is the hours I put into work. People think it’s so relaxing to work at home and you can do anything you want, but it’s exactly the same as your career in that the more you put in, the more you get out. If anything, I work longer and harder now than ever before.

Within personal finances, what is your favorite topic to write about?

I like variety, so the “change” is actually what I love the most. I do however talk about my spending and frugal habits often, because frugality is what enabled me to have the courage to step out into the unknown to do this, which I love, full time. Without some level of confidence in my own ability to control expenses, both business and personal, I would never have the guts to take a crack at this full time.

From your experience, what would you say are the most common mistakes people make with their money?

The most common mistake people make with their money is not knowing how their actions affect their finances. It’s not wrong to buy a cup of coffee, nor is it to use a credit card because those are just personal choices. If you can afford it and doing so makes you happy, then go ahead. People get into trouble only because they repeatedly allow their ignorance drive their behavior.

Thanks for your time David!

Image by bdjsb7

Today, I’m pleased to introduce to you David from MyTwoDollars.com, which is a personal finance blog. David writes about his experience in getting out of debt, managing money, saving and investing. David says he launched the site, “after finding my way back from the brink…overloaded with debt, getting married, and changing careers…and decided to throw in the knowledge I have learned over the last few years.”

Personal Finance Blogger David from My Two Dollars

For those who are new, who are you and what is My Two Dollars all about?

My name is David, and after 12 years working in corporate America, I struck out on my own as a writer and web designer. It’s been almost 4 years of working for myself, and since there is food on my table, I have to say it’s been a success! My Two Dollars is kind of my take on the personal finance world – you won’t necessarily find investment advice or ways to get rich – but rather, a systematic, rational way of living a life free of debt and within your means. I hope my experience of being in debt, getting out of debt, and living a reasonable life encourages others to do the same.

Why did you decide to leave corporate America and become an entrepreneur?

I was burnt out, plain and simple. I was tired of going to work for someone else, sticking to their schedule, and earning them money and only getting a % of it. So one day I up and quit my job without a backup plan – not the smartest move, but one I think forced me into action.

What 3-5 posts from your blog would you consider essential reading for helping people get their finances under control?

I would suggest the following posts:

• You Cannot Buy Your Way To Happiness
• Paying Off Debt and Saving Money Can Be Done At The Same Time
• Things You Own End Up Owning You
• Cut Spending By Looking At Hours Of Work Put In To Pay For Stuff

What, if any, role do you think schools should play in educating young Americans about responsible financial management?

Personal finance needs to be taught in school, period. If it was, I bet less college students would graduate with credit card debt and young adults would be a little more responsible with their money. Most parents, to be honest, do not have a solid grip on personal finance, so having a qualified professional teach the basics in school could go a long way to help out.

What role has your blog played in managing your finances? Do you feel more accountable?

It does make me more accountable, sure, but even more than that it keeps me honest with myself. I wouldn’t feel comfortable writing about one thing and doing another, so I try to be as open as I can be on the site.

You’ve been blogging for a few years now, have you noticed any changes in website traffic or the types of questions asked (or anything else) since the economy started to tank?

Advertising revenue is definitely down, for sure. But I expect that to recover. However, traffic on subjects like “getting out of debt” or “saving money” or “how to find a job” is way up, which is no surprise given our economic situation.

Your blog is ranked very high, in the top 20, among personal finance blogs. Have you been surprised that MTD has become so popular?

Yea, I am surprised – but that just tells me that there are people out there who really need advice and guidance on finding their own positive relationship with money. Not everyone is into being rich or having the best “stuff” or talking about where to invest money…some just want to live a comfortable life doing what they love. I feel MTD has found that niche and filled it nicely.

What personal finance blogs do you enjoy reading?

That’s a tough one because there are certainly many. To name a few, I enjoy reading Cash Money Life, Five Cent Nickel, Being Frugal, and Lazy Man & Money because they have a solid, personal voice behind the “screen”. Too many sites make you feel like you are reading text written by a robot, so I appreciate the personal touches and stories. It keeps things interesting.

David, thank you for your time!

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