Introducing “Finance Fridays”!

Personal finance fundamentals, with my own spin.

Most of my writing focuses on how national and global events effect our individual finances. I learn something new every single time I write an article, and that education has been reflected by the Money. Daily. audience, as well.

Some of you are extremely well versed in the subjects I write about, with many leaving notes and replies either correcting any errors or expanding on the topic.

Some of you learn something new from an article, and many of you let me know that, too.

In light of the disparate knowledge areas between and and among the authors and readers of Money. Daily., I am creating a series about the basics of personal finance.

Hasn’t This Been Done Before?

Absolutely! But in this point of time from my point of view.

This idea of creating a baseline of topics that affect most everyone goes back to the heart of personal finance: it’s personal.

Everyone is different.

Each of us has a our own personal history that no one has ever had before…ever…in the history of everything.

And each of us have our own unique future that no on will ever have again…ever…in the history of everything.

This realization has been coined “sonder” by the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. Here is the full definition:

n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own — populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness — an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk.

People like to say, “In life, we are the star of our own movie.” Come to find out, everyone else is the star is their movie, too.

Our individual existences means that our relationship, history, and understanding of money is different from anyone and everyone else.

The Risk and Reward

This individuality both a threat and an opportunity to personal finance writers.

• The Threat: Our message will not be understood by the masses and any advice, however sage and effective, will be lost.
• The Opportunity: Our message will not only be understood, but actually be the only one taken to heart and acted upon by a select few, propelling them to financial success undreamed of prior to reading our articles.

So, with the sword of rejection dangling precariously over my head, I am writing about my own understanding of personal finance to use as a baseline reference for all of my other, larger scope articles.

Call this planting a flag, drawing a line, or whatever other metaphor might come to mind. It all means the same thing: I am unabashedly proclaiming what I know (and sometimes more importantly, don’t know) without hedging for those who might see things a different way.

The Takeaway

If you dig it, great.

I truly hope some readers will find the financial path that is right for them through my writing.

If you don’t dig it, also great.

At the very least, you will absorb a different point of view to add to your financial toolbox.

As the title says, Finance Fridays articles will appear every Friday and will cover a range of topics:

• the basics of opening a checking account
• comparing the snowball and avalanche debt repayment paths
• how to successfully use a credit card
• reviewing renting or buying as your optimal housing (I know, this is the 3rd rail of personal finance topics!)

I aim to have a new article out every Friday, which leaves the entire weekend to ponder the impact of my words on your own financial situation.

Or you can skim the article, then forget about it until you look at your accounts during your weekly finance review.

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This article is for informational purposes only, it should not be considered Financial or Legal Advice. Not all information will be accurate. Consult a financial professional before making any major financial decisions.