Why are there 17,652 Personal Finance Blogs on the Internet?

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Of the millions of blogs on the internet today, blogs on topics of sex, money and health (mainly fat loss) dominate the statistics. And of the ones that are focused on money, personal finance blogs nauseatingly dominate those statistics.

Does this mean that people are stupid and need hand holding to balance their bank accounts? Does it mean they are incompetent and cannot put together a simple household budget? Or is it because people constantly complain about losing money in their 401k and IRA investments?

I realize those are some strong “rhetorics”, and I don’t think people are stupid.  These are all symptoms that point to the underlying root cause which is lack of education.  See, education systems don’t really teach this kind of stuff, at least here in the USA.

I’ve seen all kinds of studies and research suggesting that at least in the USA, finances are the leading cause of marital unhappiness, divorces, illness and early death due to stress.  There have been extensive studies conducted on this serious stuff.

I have personally witnessed families and lives get ruined because of a simple finance related oversight – lack of insurance.  I had a neighbor growing up who committed suicide because he was overburdened with debt.  Similarly, I am sure you have experiences of your own that relate to the devastation financial mismanagement can lead to.

Personal Finance Blogs are Filling in the Gaps

Enter personal finance blogs like this very one you are on.  Realizing that educational systems leave a critical void in one’s personal development, institutions and individuals have taken it upon themselves to educate the masses while profiting from it, resulting in a win-win situation for all involved.

Because the need is so vast and wide spread, there is scope for a blog of all topics finance related.  In the wide spectrum of the education gap, there is place for all bloggers, from a basic blog teaching budgeting and saving, an intermediary blog that teaches how to invest appropriately (i.e. asset allocation) to a more advanced blog that contains heavy duty information on alternative investments, wealth preservation and estate planning.

That is precisely why veterans like Suze Orman, new comers like her “protégé” competitor Carmen Wong Ulrich of CNBC’s On the Money and a Joe Blog next door who works from home in his pajamas all can be successful within the same niche.  Just like Joe Blog, there are several other personal finance bloggers that are also doing well in their own sense, some of course better than others.

There is definitely an appetite for this information across the board.  You don’t have to look too far for validation. Just look at the birth of Yakezie, a fast growing and successful network of bloggers, mainly who discuss personal finances.  The existence of such platforms is necessary to fill in the gap our educational system leaves us with.  So while a personal finance blogger may be blogging because he or she enjoys doing so, they may or may not realize the value they offer to society.

So Where Do I Fit?

My forte is more around the life that comes after one develops the financial savvy and discipline needed to live a financially better-off life.   I figured since there are already 17,652 blogs about personal finance, I can focus on the next level where I feel there are a lot less playing in the field 😉

What am I referring to? I am referring to reaching for the stars, building additional streams of income, passive income, residual income, alternative ways to make money and live the life you envision.  In other words, how to get more out of life financially, have the freedom to do what you want, and the flexibility to design your own schedule and lifestyle.

However, before you can run, you must learn how to walk.  That is precisely where personal finance blogs come into play.  These blogs are a critical stepping stone in developing the financial savvy and discipline it takes to prepare for the next level.

It doesn’t make sense turning on multiple faucets to fill in the bucket when the bucket is filled with holes to begin with.  One must first plug in the holes before the bucket can retain water.  Hence, filling in the gaps . . .

Readers: What are your thoughts on the numerous personal finance blogs online?

Sunil
Filling Gaps

8 Responses to “Why are there 17,652 Personal Finance Blogs on the Internet?”

1. LifeAndMyFinances says:

   January 28, 2011 at 9:52 am

   Wow, I had no idea there were so many personal finance blogs out there. I think I’m on a similar path as you. I began my site with an understanding of how to get out of debt, because that’s where I was in life. Next, I’ll be creating an emergency fund and purchasing a house, as well as dabble in passive income. As I progress through life, I figure that I’ll have more knowledge of the things people may not know about. So, hopefully I’ll be plugging some holes along with you.

   Love your blog Sunil. You sure do provide some great information!

   Reply
   • Sunil says:

     January 28, 2011 at 3:03 pm

     LAMF – lol I really don’t know whether there are 17k+ or 18k+ or 7k+, but there sure are a lot for those reasons. You’ve got some good plans ahead of you and as you go (I am sure you are seeing this now as well), you will always come across two types of people, ones who can learn from your experiences, and ones who you can learn from. That’s why it is never too late to do anything in life – in my opinion. As long as the cycle of birth and death continues, you will always have new people looking for new information that may be “old” information to some, more experienced folks

     Reply
2. Janet says:

   January 28, 2011 at 2:59 pm

   Thank you for your great post. I really love your blog. Personal finance blogs are popular as we all have to do with money whether we have a lot of money and need help to manage it or have less money or debts and need help to get out of this bad situation. Everyone dreams of a better life earning more money by working less so the blogs about this topic are the most popular one and there will be more of them in the future.

   Best regards,

   Janet

   Reply
   • Sunil says:

     January 28, 2011 at 3:05 pm

     Janet,

     You are right on. The need for money and related education (i.e. finance blogs) is up there with the other top topics like health/fitness, spirituality, sex, etc. There will always be an abundance of websites and blogs touching on some aspect of these…

     Reply
3. Money Reasons says:

   January 28, 2011 at 7:12 pm

   We’re all different, and typically you can find great pf bloggers at Yakezie that are in similar scenario as the reader.

   For instance, “Deliver Away Debt” is about beating a huge credit card debt, Couple Money is about tackling finances together with your spouse (if the reader has one). Great stuff!

   I find your site more about the business of online ventures, very refreshing stuff!

   I was lucky, I never had debt, and my buckets were hole free. My problem is I need a faster flowing streams of money to fill them up 😉 But at least they are filling up…

   Reply
   • Sunil says:

     January 29, 2011 at 7:32 am

     MR

     True that there are “sub niches” within the personal finance space, but don’t you feel this limits the author in the scope he/she can cover and the traffic / followership they can attract? The basis of revenue generation online is traffic, and if one is inherently limiting traffic, then how can profit goals be met?

     I recently did an analysis of my blog posts so far and saw the following four recurring themes: personal finance, entrepreneurship, blogging/internet entrepreneurship and career/office. Why? Because they are all very much interrelated, and chances are that someone interested in one may have an interest in the other, no? It’s interesting how these themes emerged without having planned for them initially when I started my blog.

     I am gathering some feedback on topics you’d like to hear most about. Everyone seems to be interested in establishing niche websites that generate some level of “passive income”. What would you like to hear more about ? ? ?

     Reply
4. Evan says:

   January 29, 2011 at 6:22 am

   Because your site is different is the reason I keep coming back. I don’t need someone to explain to me WHY I should be paying off debt…like MR, I want faster moving streams of income.

   Reply
   • Sunil says:

     January 29, 2011 at 7:27 am

     It’s coming Evan – I know that you are most interested in building niche websites and getting them to generate some “passive” income. I spend a lot of time of each post, both planning, executing and delivering it to ensure it contains some value for the reader. Apologies for the delay but rest assured it is coming.

     Reply