Saturday, December 31, 2011

Discontent

I clicked through a blog I read to a collection of personal finance stuffs. Most of the blogs or sites linked seem to be trying to do their financing through blog ads, often a lot of blog ads, enough blog ads that it's sometimes hard to see what they have to say. (And, of course, they're organized so that you have to click a lot to load a new page to read a bit more content, which I'm guessing means the ad counts as another "view" and so adds just a tiny bit of revenue?)

The thing is, most of what they have to say isn't new to anyone who's been even minimally financially aware.

And then there are the ones who are all about how they're going to get rich by age whatever, but they never seem to give enough information so you can see how they're doing it (except by the numbers of ads on the site). If you're making 100K a year, and talking about putting away 5K, that's way different than if you're making 30K a year, isn't it?

There's something ponzi-ish about these, too. (Not in the illegal sense, because they don't seem to be doing obvious investment schemes, but in the sense that we can't all retire at 30 or whatever given that we need folks who are willing to work just to feed everyone.) That's not to say you shouldn't retire at 30 if you want and can. I'm way past that, but go for it.

In a way, looking at these is like looking at dieting stuff. I need to lose weight, and I'd love to find some magic way to do it, just as I'd love to find a magic way to make my income triple.

One of my cousins did a link thing on eff bee about a weight loss app thing. Unless it makes me exercise or not eat, how is an app going to help? (I think it's one of those keep track of things like eating and exercise, and just keeping track helps you be motivated and such. That probably works well, and it would work even better if it gave you some sort of special powers in WoW or EQ!)

But the basics are:

more in than out = gaining weight or saving money
more out than in = losing weight or going into debt

There you are, Bardiac's theory re first world problems. (Now, if I could sell my body fat, I'd have a perfect solution!)

I'm baking pumpkin bread for a party tonight. It smells GREAT! Too good, in fact. It's sort of torturous how good it smells. (Because, did I mention, I'm trying to lose weight? Pumpkin bread isn't on the diet, either. Alas.)

I'm going out to the coast next week, which will blow both the exercise and eating parts of losing weight for a couple days. Bleargh

I also need to update my CV again. I hate that. I should just do it every time I do something, but of course I don't, and then I have to try to remember stuff. Bleargh!

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:59 AM

    Haha. But a lot of people aren't financially aware, even the tiniest bit. So there's definitely a market for the basics. And there are different ways to tackle motivation that work well for different people. But yes, a lot of chaff and repetition among personal finance sites (including our own Monday posts!).

    re: weight... weightloss was a LOT easier after I found out I had PCOS (switched from low-fat healthy eating to high fat whole carb healthy eating and wasn't hungry and pounds melted off... insulin sensitizing medication made it even easier). So for some people who are different than the norm, it isn't quite as simple as calories in vs calories out. I've seen similar outcomes with people with undiagnosed thyroid conditions-- once the thyroid is diagnosed and treated doing everything right is easier and it actually starts working.

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  2. Anonymous9:01 AM

    p.s. Good luck on your goals!

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  3. I just lost 35 pounds. It took me 8 months. I used an app called Lose It! I told it how much I weighed, how much I wanted to lose per week, and then it told me how many calories I could have per week to lose 1/2 pound, pound, or 2 pounds a week.

    I also input the exercise that I do and with more exercise, I get to eat more calories. I didn't change what I eat (I just ate a handful of kettle corn), I just changed how much I eat.

    It was not easy. I still record my calories every day (the nice thing about the app is that it has a database of food with the calories already listed), but so far I'm maintaining my weight. I'm also really good at banking my calories at the beginning of the week so that if I go off the rails on the weekend, I'm good.

    You can do this, Bardiac. Go back to cross country skiing. It burns TONS of calories.

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  4. The secret is finding the solution that works for you, both in savings and in dieting. (Our first world problems, eh?)

    I've done a lot better financially this year since I discovered a few couponing sites that have helped me to track my spending on food & toiletries as well as to maximize savings in those areas. Dieting still comes down (for me, at least), to a careful balance of the whole grains/vegetables I adore with enough fat/protein to shut up my stomach.

    Have a great trip out to the coast and enjoy the new year!

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  5. NicoleandMaggie, Good point. But for people new at learning about finance, most of the blog stuff is too specific and advanced, I'd guess? Blogs seem to be more personal finance 102, for after you've learned some basics in 101 (wherever) but mostly not really advanced.

    I've heard that folks with pcos have really different weight issues, but I wasn't aware of it more specifically; thanks :)

    Roaringgrrl, I would be HAPPY to go out cross country skiing, but it takes snow, and that's in worryingly short supply here. (Worrying because the snow melts and that's a lot of water in spring for us.)

    Janice, that's interesting. How did the couponing sites work and help?

    For me, weight mostly comes down to loving sweets and eating them when I'm feeling stress.

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