About this blog and the brains behind it!
[Updated April 2009]
I admit it, I am a personal finance junkie and this blog is the main channel through which I share my thoughts/views and hopefully add some value to my readers. I have completed nearly one year of writing on this blog and during that time I have learnt so much, interacted with hundreds of other bloggers and even made a few bucks along the way. It has truly exceeded all my expectations (see blog stats below).
Personal finance covers a wide spectrum of topics from money to real estate to working life, and you'll find posts on all these topics here (see categories on the right pane). I started this blog as a hobby, but it has rapidly evolved into a serious part time venture as its popularity and presence has grown. Hopefully one day it can become my full time occupation, until then I work my day job with an eye to a blogging future.
About me: I am married with a young kid, have a decent household income, growing share/funds portfolio and hope to retire sooner rather than later. Until the crashes of 2008, I was on track to hit the millionaire status by age 40, but now I may have to wait a few more years. While the year that was has made me reevaluate many of my money and investing philosophies, I am still an active investor and believe that in the long term, smart money management and regular investing are the secrets to financial freedom.
I hope you enjoy what I write about and get some useful ideas and information from the site. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback. You can subscribe here (cost = $0) to get the latest posts delivered by email or via your RSS reader (what's this)
So why the title - Saving to Invest?
I chose the title because, in my humble opinion, it reflects the secret to financial freedom for most people. Here it is : Wealth = Savings + Investments.
Simple, and it is the basic premise of this blog and my financial philosophy. Unless you are bestowed with family money or win the lottery, the only way to reach financial freedom is to save effectively (i.e. don't spend more than you earn) and to then invest that money effectively over the medium to long term in a diversified portfolio and retirement accounts. Easy? No, and it takes a lot of work, discipline and desire to get there. This blog reflects that journey.
Blog Statistics (Updated Quarterly)
Approaching January 2009, these were some of the key stats I like to track for this blog. You can read more about my blogging experience in the various blog related posts I have written.
RSS/Email Readers : 1200 (Dec 2008 - 310, Dec 2009 Goal -1500)
Avg Daily Visitors : 4900 (Dec 2008 - 775, Dec 2009 Goal - 5250)
Avg Monthly Rev : $2200 (Sep 2008 - $1010, Dec 2009 Goal - $3500)
Alexa Ranking (143K), Google Page Rank - 4, Technorati Rank : 28K
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June 5, 2008 2:49 PM
I just ran across your blog. It's quite the piece of work. You obviously spend many many hours researching stocks, reading commentary, and blogging about it.
However, it is my opinion that individuals who are mucking around with individual stocks are not investors, they are nothing more than speculators engaging in a risky hobby, no matter how "diversified" they think they are. Your $16,000 play on Apple is little better than taking your money to Las Vegas. Do you have information that the general public does not have? If not, then you are just a speculator, a gambler. Your portfolio is "diversified" only in the way that the personal finance pundits define it.
My advice to people like you is (apart from a 401k, which I assume, if you have one, is separate from this whole investment plan you blog about) simply to spread your money in a half dozen or so mutual funds, invest regularly from your salary, and use the time that you formerly spent on your research and blogging activities to better ends--like more time with your family, volunteering for an organization, or enjoying a hobby (or even another job--the only proven way to get rich is through "investing" many hours of hard work for which you get paid, not speculating in the securities market). Life's too short to obsess on investing in securities--which the way you and your kind do it is nothing more than a hobby anyway.
June 6, 2008 6:20 PM
Anonymous. Thanks for you comment. Here are my responses to some of your critiscms:
1. "Your $16,000 play on Apple is little better than taking your money to Las Vegas" - Well you may think this is speculation buy per this a post, I explained the reasons behind buying the stock and my initial reaction. It is definetly not a speculative play and is going to be one of my longer term holdings. I spent almost 1 month tracking the stock closely before buying it. However like going to Vegas, I never invest more than I can afford to lose (though I plan to win and invest successfully)
2. Your portfolio is "diversified" only in the way that the personal finance pundits define it". - I agree my portfolio is not as diversifed as it should be. However over the last month I have invested in some Vanguard funds and am looking to better diversify the portfolio (case in point, my recent review of DuPont). Tune into to my next portfolio update to see what I mean.
3. "..simply to spread your money in a half dozen or so mutual funds, invest regularly from your salary, and use the time that you formerly spent on your research and blogging activities to better ends..." - I do have a 401K, to which I contribute 15% (incl company match). I am an active investor and the blog provides a way to share my thoughts (and generate some revenue along the way). While all this does take time, I do spend much more time with my gamily and other better activities. Fortunately I am good at time management and don't have an overtly stressful job which means I have enough time to do the things I like and have to do. However I do like your proposal to spread my gunds across a dozen or so funds. I plan to do that but to also have upto 10 individual stocks in my portfolio.
4. "Life's too short to obsess on investing in securities--which the way you and your kind do it is nothing more than a hobby anyway." I don't obssess on my investments -though I do like to track and follow them closely. I feel being involved with your finances is a good thing rather then avoiding it. I admit I enjoy personal finance and investing related activities, but it is a serious hobby and my financial future is not something I take lightly. Also as this site grows I realize that it may influence some readers so I am careful and honest about what I write and endorse.
I hope that addresses your main points. I was taken aback when I first read your comment, but after awhile it made me think about what I do and how it do when it comes to this blog and personal finance. I would like to thank you for the reality check, but believe that my finances have improved as a result of being more aware; and based on the feedback I have recieved on this blog, a number of people enjoy what I write about.
April 24, 2009 9:57 PM
Andy,
Thanks alot for stopping by my blog today and for your comment. I had never even heard of the Adsense TOS before you mentioned it. I googled it...and I believe it is OK to post my total adsense earnings...as long as I don't disclose CTR, CPM, or income derived from individual ad units.
Does this sound correct to you, or has Google changed their rules? The article I found was from 2005. Let me know if you think I'm in violation, would hate to tick off the big dog!
Thanks care!
TAM
August 30, 2009 10:41 AM
Hey there!
Nice blog you have here. It's always great to find new ones. Saving to invest must have been a real tough result over the past couple of years.
Even though I had 80% of my money in CASH from early 2008, I still lost about 30% of my net wealth b/c of my diversification into real estate.
I'm somewhat worse than you b/c I was on track to RETIRE by 40, but now it'll be 42. My networth was well over $2mil at 30, and now i've got to start hustling again :)
Looking forward to reading your commentary, and hope you'll come visit Financial Samurai at times too.
Best,
RB
September 1, 2009 6:17 PM
How are you making money from your blog? I see no advertisements.
September 23, 2009 11:02 AM
I think the basic premise of your blog is great and I am thrilled to have run across it. You are truely doing a public service as more people do need to spend time on their finances. Please continue doing what your'e doing.