From tips on extreme frugality to the best ways to preserve wealth, and all kinds of money topics in between, no aspect of an individual’s financial situation is uncovered on the web. They are all discussed, and in great detail too.
The internet abounds with personal finance blogs (along with pictures of cats and memes of things Albert Einstein is supposed to have said). But are any of these bloggers worth paying attention to? After all, anyone with a tenner in their pocket and a wi-fi connection can set up a blog and, by the time we’re in our fifties, we’ve learnt a few lessons on how to work best with the pounds and pennies. But there are some gems to be found.
How to spot a good blog
The value of a personal finance blog can really be found in the online community that follows it. Incidentally, the community, or lack of one, is also a good way to filter out the personal finance blog chaff from the wheat. A blog that doesn’t offer any worthwhile benefit to its readers will quickly lose them as there are so many others to choose from on the web. A blog that provides well-written and insightful posts will gather a following who read it regularly and add their own comments.
Discuss your money anonymously
In many ways, money remains a taboo in our society. It’s not attractive to boast about how much money we have made (Donald Trump, anyone?) and it doesn’t really have anything to do with anyone else anyway.
Personal finance matters aren’t always worries and frustrations. There can be a lot of fun and self-realisation in building wealth and Making the right investment. Many blogs focus on this angle of personal finance, and people cheer their fellow readers on as they strive to reach their goals.
But what about when there is a problem? People can fall on tough times or have a money situation that they’re not entirely sure how to solve, but feel that they can’t discuss it with friends and family as everyone else appears to be so successful. A lot of mental stress and anxiety has been attributed to people dealing with financial worries and the isolation that debt can bring.
Benefits of this online community
These online communities can provide the kind of support that someone grappling with a financial decision needs. People can keep their identities anonymous but still share their particular situation and be met with either encouragement or other online readers sharing their own similar experiences.
We’re in an age when the traditional systems that governed a person’s budget, such as the bank and insurance systems, have decimated people’s trust in them with one scandal after the other. It means that blogs now also act as a resource for people to educate themselves about money.
It’s true that we still need to use the behemoth banks and insurance firms but we can even the playing field greatly by approaching our interactions with them in a more clued-up manner. Blogs, many of which are impartial, will present the facts as they are, without spin, helping people form a clearer picture in their own minds on financial matters.
Over-50s and personal finance blogs
It’s a given that someone in their 50s or 60s is at a different stage of life than someone in their 20s trying to pay off student loans or in their 30s looking for their first mortgage. Are there benefits to reading personal finance blogs if you’re past these stages?
Yes. Apart from the support, encouragement and self-empowerment aspects that all good personal finance blogs offer, regardless of the topics they are covering, some blogs are aimed primarily at people in their fifties, or have writers in that age group writing specifically for that audience.
Three great money blogs for over-50s
Get Rich Slowly
This is one of the stalwart personal finance blogs on the web. It was started years ago and is now a publishing phenomenon, posting articles daily. It has more than ten writers, covering a variety of topics, but look for William Cowie as he is particularly focused on monetary issues and concerns that affect people in their fifties and later.
Over-50s Money Saving
Martin Lewis and his writers put the world of personal finance to rights across all stages of life, but this section is specific to us and full of information about equity release and your pension/retirement planning.
Over-50 Choices
Personal finance writer Ashley Shepherd writes about all sorts of financial products designed specifically for our age group, to help you max your cash or plan for retirement, including buying an annuity, equity release mortgages, and the best loans, current accounts and savings deals. He also believes, like we do at High50, in being upfront about funeral planning!
(Article source: High 50)
