travel agents sydney: PERSONAL FINANCE, BLOGGING, AND GRATITUDE

JUST TWO MORE DAYS!!!?WIN MONEY AND INCREASE FINANCIAL SMARTS:??$50 in gift cards from AMAZON in BOOST FINANCIAL LITERACY; MARCH CONTEST?TELL YOUR FRIENDS!?

Way back in the midst of the 2007-2008 economic crisis, I received my MBA in Finance. Upon urging from El Carino, I decided to answer the economic problems of the day by writing a personal finance book. While shopping around for publishers and editors and through some fortunate contacts of my highly published El Carino I received similar responses; How many potential buyers can you

THANK YOU

?bring to the table?

What, are they talking about? I?ve got a few handfuls of friends and contacts, but nowhere near the thousands the publishers were referring to. And of course there were the inuendos about the ?already overcrowded personal finance niche.?

Not one to give up,? I pushed forward. At lunch with one of my former finance professors, she suggested starting a blog. I asked the typical question, ?How much time would that entail??

My professor (who does not have a blog) stated that once you get started, it won?t take too much time!

A year and several months later, I am blogging more than ten to twenty hours per week!

Blogging Has Taken on a Life of its Own

First the negatives; blogging is a labor of love. The money received by new bloggers is miniscule if calculated on an hourly basis. It takes months and months of writing, reading other blogs, and marketing to develop a community and level of readership.

For me, the positives are unbelievable:

I am sharing my passion for FINANCIAL LITERACY across the world. I have a platform to promote my financial knowledge and expertise!

I belong to?the premier personal finance network, Yakezie, filled with?engaging and supportive personal finance and lifestyle bloggers who are committed to service.

I get lots of free stuff and even get paid by sponsors to promote their products on my site. My booty includes books, more books, cool widgets for my site, great content from other guest bloggers, and more.

Some of My Favorite Products and?Personal Finance Gratitude

I am extremely grateful for the sponsors of my site who offer you outstanding resources. Please enjoy these excellent and FREE offerings to help with your personal finance.

Bills.com?sponsors a really cool widget on my site called a MORTGAGE PAYMENT CALCULATOR. This handy tool allows the user to input loan amount,?mortgage rate, term, and gives?you the monthly payment amount. As I am moving soon,?I?use it myself to check out current payments for various mortgage amounts and terms. ?But wait, there?s more. Head over to the Bills.com site and get a FREE 20 page downloadable booklet called, BUDGET GUIDE. Frankly, this guide is so comprehensive, I would gladly PAY FOR IT. One of my favorite features is the recommended percentage budget allocations to various categories. It?s a nice benchmark to help one determine if their spending in a certain area seems reasonable. The guide is filled with easily accessible?tips and budget worksheets. I am thrilled to be able to offer my readers access to the awesome mortgage calculator and wonderful resources.

After reading one of my comments on the Get Rich Slowly site, Ryan?McLean contacted me and offered to send an incredible BIG CHARTS?view of?historical market and economic data from his company, INVESTMENTS ILLUSTRATED. The information on this chart is useful for anyone interested in?the stock market and the economy. Use the link to view the chart yourself! I regularly use the data in my work as a Portfolio Manager, investor, and blogger. Anyone interested in market and economic data would enjoy a peak!

MonitorBankRates.com?sponsors an informative widget listing National Average Mortgage Rates of all varieties from Jumbo mortgage rates to Home Equity Lines of Credit on my right sidebar. Go to their website for comprehensive CD, checking account, credit card, auto loan, and more interest rates! They even tailor the information to your state.

I have received many demonstration personal finance books in exchange for reviews and giveaways; The Investment Answer, Debt Free for Life, and Powerspending are just a few. The information that I glean from these resources informs my money writing and ultimately educates you.?

?THANK YOU TO MY LOYAL READERS, SPONSORS, COMMENTERS, AND OCCASIONAL VISITORS. Each of you adds to the richness of Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance and motivates me to continue delivering my take on important money lessons.

For a quick overview of Investing Strategies, pick up my FREE eBook; 20 Minute Guide to Investing (top right of the page). If you like what you?re reading,?sign up for?my RSS feed and follow me on twitter so you get the word immediately.??

What do you enjoy about the site, and what money topic would you like to see featured more often?

image credit; Kitten