Baker
He brings in a unique perspective in the sense that he looks at quality of life first before money. His first post was unique and provided reliable information based on his personal experience. As for the 2nd one, It did not really get the message across. It seems not concise? Also, he does not live in the US where most of the readers are from and is living a very unique lifestyle that we might not be able to relate too much with.

Karawynn
Her first article was bogged down with details. It was hard to read and her writing is all over the place. However, her second post was a big improvement. Although the topic selection was very common, the writing kept my attention and made me think about my own financial culture.

April
First post is a good topic selection generally speaking but JD already writes a lot about the psychology of money. The 2nd post did not have a lot of credibility due to the unused miles. I would expect a good writer to select a topic which she can stand behind.

AJ
His first post was my favorite. He brings in a younger perspective but Tyler K makes a good point that he might not be a lot of help in money matters due to lack of experience. The second post was less interesting and did not really help me define my risk appetite.

Lynn
Her post on free events is old news. Anyone striving to be frugal probably already knows about free entertainment. You can tell she does not have a lot of writing experience. Very simplistic. However, having kids is definitely different from JD. I see people talk about kids in the comments and usually, JD does not have anything to say.

Neal
I liked both posts. Even though he is a CFP, both of the posts were more about his personal experience than boring topics such as investments. I liked his writing style. His CFP experience will add a lot to GRS.

Jason
Learning from failure is another common topic. He writes good but the topic selections are hit and miss. The college article triggered some good discussion but it really lacked a well-rounded perspective.

But, that isn’t a “personal thing”. It is a topical issue. I don’t even always read your stuff, JD, so it isn’t anything personal…just not what I want to hear since I have two kids in college right now.

The only thing I’d really like to see is someone with children. Having a family throws a “monkey wrench” in the financial area of the home. Sickness, stay at home mom, schooling issues, birthday parties, thinking about college, teaching values about money to a 10 year old, etc. Without kids, sometimes it seems like JD’s life is a bit “all about us as a couple” and in that way, there isn’t a lot in common with that part of his life. (for me since I have 5)

But, like some of the others, I liked them all–at least one of their posts.

I agree with other posters, that regularly hearing a female voice and hearing from a parental point of view would complement JD’s POV.

While I personally would like another writer to whom I felt that kind of connection, I encourage you to look to your business plan and consider who you want to reach out to. Ugh, that’s kind of presumptuous-sounding; sorry. There’s a reason I’m not an ubersuccessful blogger.

But if we were real friends, instead of blogger and reader, here’s the question I’d ask you over a cup of tea: Do you want to cement ties to people who are like you or do you want your new writer to make GRS an even better place for people who are in some way different?

I don’t really care who else you pick out of the remaining six but we’ve gotta have April!

ZG

ZG

I would like to make two quick points. I think adding someone is a good thing. I would add someone that’s going to do an adequate amount of research in creating a post. Writing something about yourself is worthwhile at times, but almost any post can be made better by being augmented by research. I think some of the candidates did a better job of this than others. All of them write well enough. All of them are interesting and unique people. I’m not sure everyone is going to do enough research to deliver valuable content day in and day out.

The other thing I would like to say is a simple note on the process. I like it. I think it’s a way of auditioning for a job that makes complete and total sense. The success of this blog is fueled by the community of its readers, so why not get their input on the personalities. I’m not sure posting the articles blind would do the same thing. Understanding the personality behind the perspective is important, because people are more likely to read something written by someone they like or relate to. Just my two cents. Good luck in making this decision!

I have to disagree. As a faithful reader who does not participate in comments, I am primarily interested in your unique voice and usually skip the guest posts unless it’s a blogger I already read.

I realize you’re not able to post more than twice a week at this point, but think it would be a better idea to form a GRS blog network and invite other bloggers to join. This would keep the new voices independent and separate from your own.

Period.

- Jason (college): couldn’t keep me interested, despite the interesting title
- Karawynn (values): a bit long-winded, but overall a positive surprise, content- and style-wise
- Neal Frankle (side business): lack of original content; writing style is not bad tho
- Lynn (haircut): she can tell a story, but please don’t ask me to read that wishy-washy … crap!
- April (airmiles): lack of depth spoils what could have been an interesting and entertaining post
- Adam (couchsurfing + do-i-have-enough): just awesome how he brought that couchsurfing post! The other post was mediocre but not terrible
- A.J. (starting behind): fails to bring a clear message, long-winded

Apologies for the blunt feedback. I’m judging a piece of writing, not your blogging potential.