Personal Finance Writers Are Worthless…
I was sent quite an email in regard to the post I made about the secret of becoming rich:
If we already know everything and you can’t teach us anything new, then you’re worthless. Why should we waste out time reading your drivel? You should be ashamed at making your living doing something that isn’t worthwhile to anyone…
While the email was a bit harsh in my humble opinion (I certainly hope that my writing isn’t considered “drivel” by most), it does bring up a valid point. If everyone already knows what they need to do to become wealthy, what is the role of personal finance sites and bloggers? Here is my answer to that question:
Different Perspective: I think that it is important to present information in different forms and from different angles. The way I look at money and the way that you look at money are probably not the same. If I can write about a subject from a different perspective than you thought about before, maybe that will be the seed to help you do the things that you already know you should be doing.
Motivation: Just because you know something doesn’t mean that it is easy to do. Personal finance writers can help remind you about what you already know in a way that helps to motivate you to actually take the steps needed to place the financial knowledge into motion. Just like with exercise, even when you know what you should be doing, it helps when you have a trainer or a workout partner to help motivate you to keep up the training.
Support: While people know what they should be doing, they often don’t begin to do so until they have spent a lot of time not doing what they should have. That means that they have money obstacles to overcome. Once someone begins taking the steps to get their finances in order, it’s not always an easy road due to the past mistakes. It helps to have the support of others who are going through the same issues or who have already gone through them to keep on the correct financial path.
Detailed Knowledge: While many know what they should be doing, they may not always know how to go about doing it or that there may be a variety of ways of doing it. In the form of a blog and websites, the detailed knowledge of how to go about acting upon what you already know can be passed along.
Confirmation: While people know what they should be doing, there often isn’t a place where they can confirm the information they have. Unfortunately, money is still a subject that is often a taboo subject among family and friends, so some people need to find an alternative source to confirm they are on the correct financial path.
Entertainment: While entertainment isn’t usually a word associated with personal finances, I hope that the subjects I write about and discuss make you think and are enjoyable to read (at least that is what I’m striving toward). Hopefully I can pass along information while also making you think a bit and also bring a smile to your face every once in awhile.
Are personal finance writers worthless? I don’t believe so (although I wouldn’t mind it if there was a day when they were – I would gladly look for another job), but if you happen to be one of those that do, you are always free to not read what I write 
I agree with you. We need reminding of what we already know. That’s why I read your blog reguarly. Yours and FMF are the two blogs that I read almost every day. Thank you for your efforts in posting valuable information.