Blog cabin By Jennifer Wutz-Lopes So, what’s your bank balance? The amount you owe in credit card debt? Your mortgage payment? What about your salary? These are things we usually keep secret; you probably don’t discuss money with anyone but your spouse, your accountant, and maybe your therapist. Money is one of the things we all think about, all the time, but cannot talk about—it’s considered déclassé to discuss money with your friends and acquaintances. I love to know these types of things, but since I can’t ask the people I know, I read the blogs that share information about richness, poorness, and the space in-between. Madame X authors the popular blog My Open Wallet (www.myopenwallet.blogspot.com). She’s a single woman in her thirties who lives in New York City, makes just under 100K a year, and puts a large portion of her salary into savings. She calculates her net worth at over $300,000. Her blog offers advice on asking for a raise, purchasing real estate, and the “rules” for using credit cards. She has no debt and she is proud to blog about it. On the flip side of the coin, We’re In Debt (www.wereindebt.com) chronicles a year of eating a hole in the over $100,000 worth of debt owed by King and Queen of Debt (obviously, not their real names). Of that 100K, these Bostonians started the blog with $28,054 in credit card debt, and recognizing the fact that that’s the “bad” debt (as opposed to mortgages and school loans), they decided to pay it down—stat. After a few misstep luxury purchases like buying a kayak which caused major buyer’s remorse, they seem to be back on track. Matt is twenty-nine and has a simple goal: to increase his net worth to a million bucks by the time he turns thirty-five. In To One Million and Beyond (www.onemillionandbeyond.com), he line-items his assets and liabilities, discusses his monthly budgets, and worries about paying for his upcoming honeymoon in Europe. As of March, his net worth was about 12 grand, so I’m thinking he might want to start playing the lottery or pray for a random windfall to reach that million-dollar goal in just over five years. The LA Money Guy also writes about spending and saving at It’s Just Money (www.itsjustmoney.blogs.com). He makes about $125,000 a year, mostly in commissions. It sounds like a lot, but that much doesn’t go as far as in Los Angeles as it could here in Western New York. He compares his net worth month-to-month and is very budget-conscious. He recently purchased an engagement ring for his fiancée for $3788.00, which I do not exactly think follows the “ring rule” of two months of his salary. He is so my husband’s hero. Leigh Ann is the author of Save Leigh Ann: the Daily Rantings of a Bulimic Shopper (www.saveleighann.blogspot.com). Not the nicest blog title, but it gets right to the point. Less than two years ago, she was 14 grand in debt, a compulsive shopper/spender. Now she’s debt free. Great, right? Yes, except for the fact she solicited donations from her readers, and her readers actually sent her money. Suckers. I think I may need to start a new blog—“Help Jen14221 Remodel her Master Bathroom”—and see how much I get sent to my Paypal account. One local woman, Jennifer Lynn, authors the Broke-Ass Student blog (www.brokeass-student.com). She’s in college, broke, and splurges only on the expensive cat food for her pets. She seems really smart, and is already planning for the future by establishing an emergency slush fund and retirement savings account. I wish I was that savvy way back when. Want more? Here’s a few: • Why you need life insurance, by Miserly Bastard at Yet Another Blog About Money (www.miserlybastard.blogspot.com). • Amongst other things, I learned that I’ll spend about $750 on my cat this year, from My Two Dollars (www.mytwodollars.com). All that, and all I get is cat vomit all over my floors. • Practicing patience when watching the stock market is the message at Retiring Early (www.retiringearly.blogspot.com). Even if you’re filthy rich, you can still learn something about making your money go further; some of these blogs will show what (and what not) to do. Jennifer Wutz-Lopes has stopped buying Kate Spade handbags, and started saving for her son’s college education. How responsible! Read her blog at Jen14221.com. SUBSCRIBE NOW Back to the Table of Contents Back to Top