Comments on: Should Personal Finance Blogs Come with Warning Labels?

By: Todd @ Personal Finance Playbook

Todd @ Personal Finance Playbook — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 06:26:52 +0000

Everyone makes mistakes, my friend. No one is perfect. Plus, not everyone has the same view of what is “right,” when it comes to how to manage your money. I have my share of weaknesses, too, and don’t always live as humbly or frugally as I would like.

For instance, I have always sort of turned my nose up at people who drive cars with fancy hood ornaments. I drive a 2004 Toyota Camry with lots of utility left. For whatever reason, I’ve recently found myself lusting for a new car. I haven’t broken down and purchased one yet – my wife has acted as a voice of reason (“you could get a new car – but think of all the money you’d be taking out of savings.”)

I completely understand the purchase. That being said, I think it’s good to wait for things. If I wait six months – I might not even want a new car anymore.

Also pay attention to how much satisfaction you get out of this purchase. If I were to get the new car that I desire, I would probably really enjoy it for a couple months. After that, it would just be the car I get into and drive everyday. Same old, same old. I would bet that the computer will be like that, too. You’ll enjoy it at first, but the luster will wear off, and it will just be the computer you use that might as well be any other (cheaper) computer. Just my two cents.

By: oilandgarlic

oilandgarlic — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:18:13 +0000

I think it’s natural that we hold pf bloggers to a higher standard. After all, food bloggers are usually good cooks and design bloggers have a good eye. We forget that many pf bloggers just want an outlet and are climbing out of debt, i.e. not good role models.

The thing that frustrates me most is that those climbing out of debt never listen to any advice that contradicts their spending sprees. Some of us are just trying to help and are nice about it.

You should go on Blogging Away Debt’s website and try to talk some sense into the blogger. She’s justifying a $6,000 trip as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity just because her extended family is planning it and her ancestors come from Italy and Ireland. It’s not like she has a dying relative that she has to see.

By: Frugal Babe

Frugal Babe — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:21:58 +0000

We bought a computer a few years ago using a store’s zero percent interest program. It was Circuit City… maybe they let too many of us take computers with no interest! I did have to chuckle about your description of Apple products. My husband spends a lot of his day helping people navigate through web applications, which often run into snags on Macs. His experience is that the less a person understands about computers and the internet, the more likely they are to be using a Mac

By: Financial Samurai

Financial Samurai — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:01:24 +0000

Wow, that’s tough love Tough Money Love! Hope you don’t visit my site and bash me here. My feelings would be hurt. Actually, I would love you to bash my site here! That would be so fun. I really enjoy debating with folks.

Do as I say, not as I do! That is the way!

Best, Sam

By: Financial Uproar

Financial Uproar — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:47:54 +0000

I love how people who blog have to try to justify every financial mistake as some sort of blessing in disguise. If someone who needed to lose weight ate a giant meal of crap, would we say anything positive about that? Or the crackhead who relapsed? Yet when this guy does it, he’s not “upset about the purchase”? Right.

Whenever I see a blogger who gets questioned by their readers, it goes like this:

Reader: That was a bad financial decision. I expected more from someone who writes a financial blog.

Author: I’m allowed to make mistakes, I’m not perfect! But, here are the reasons why this is actually a good idea…

Reader: You write a blog about finances! I’m allowed to hold you to a higher standard!

Author: Stop attacking me! You’re mean!

And repeat.

By: Shaun McGowan

Shaun McGowan — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 14:38:53 +0000

People create blogs for different reasons. They may have extra time, they may want extra income, they like to write. Whatever he writes works for him, atleast he recognize the instant gratification which is what most people do not notice.

By: jim juber

jim juber — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:13:09 +0000

I think Best Buy has a restocking fee for laptop computers (15%). Hence, returning the computer would cost a 15% “stupid tax”. With that being said, when a blogger post a story, it is open to comments from readers like Mr Tough Money and myself. And I agree with Mr Tough Money, it would have been nice to have read a post about him saving up to buy a MacBook.

But…..Mr Tough Money, so harsh to consider a laptop to be frivolous purchase. What one considers frivolous, others may see value. I see no value in owning a Vacation Home, but Mr Tough Money does and actually used debt to purchase one (though he did retire the debt early).

Responsible Personal Finance is about balancing saving for the future AND enjoying today. If one regularly saves and invest for the future and has a plan to pay off debt, why does it matter how he/she spends the rest?

With that said, I wished that Mr Tough Money would have not intentionally left out facts, which by the way is not the first time. Which facts did he leave out? How about Single Guys saving account (over 25k), or the oversite of the $2500 being for one mortgage. How about implying that single guy has a ton of credit card debt (CC was 0, prior to the Laptop purchase and has been for some time). I do say intentional because he was able to dig up the facts from 1999 to 2010, which requires some back reading.

Is buying anything frivolous with credit considered bad money behaviour? If so, does that make a financed Vacation Home bad money behaviour? How about a lapop that could have been paid for with cash?