As you’ll read tomorrow (or Monday), I’ve entered a new phase in my life. After years of hard work and long hours building this blog (time that I’ve enjoyed), I’ve been shifting things around so that I have more free time. As a result, I’m going to have more time to devote to creating quality blog posts, instead of rushing around at the last minute looking for something to write about.
Because of this, it’s time yet again to take requests. I do this about once a year, and it’s a great way to get a feel for what GRS readers are interested in. I’d be grateful if you’d take the time to leave a comment below with topic suggestions or article requests. It doesn’t matter if we’ve covered the subject in the past. If you’d like me (or one of the other GRS staff) to write about it, let me know.
Have there been too many articles about credit cards? Too few articles about credit cards? Would you like to know more about individual savings accounts? Do you like the articles about the psychology of spending? Would it be helpful to have somebody come in to explain insurance concepts in plain English? Should I try to persuade my wife to share more of her recipes now and then? Let me know what you’d like to read about!
While you’re all providing feedback about the site, here are a few recent articles of note:
Over at The Simple Dollar, Trent and his readers had a thoughtful discussion about the obligations of wealth. “I think there is some inherent distrust of the rich in the mainstream of American society,” Trent writes as he describes how a wealthy person can keep from alienating his friends. There’s so much to say about this topic; I’m tempted to write an entire article about it.
GRS reader Steven writes a blog called Hundred Goals, which is about achieving your goals while managing your finances. After Sierra’s post this morning about travel, he dropped me a line to let me know that he has a recent article about how to have a great vacation.
Speaking of vacation, my pal Jason over at No Credit Needed spent time compiling day-use fees and free days for state parks across the United States. Handy page to bookmark!
And here’s more travel! At The Art of Non-Conformity, my good friend Chris Guillebeau has posted a beginner’s guide to travel hacking. I’ve been asking him to share this info for a long time; now I’ve got to take responsibility to use the knowledge he’s shared.
Finally, I’ve been giving a lot of interviews lately. I’m much more comfortable with these than I used to be. (They used to scare me to death!) Some examples:
- Colleen from The Frisky interviewed me about how to save money even when you’re living paycheck to paycheck. This is a tough quandary, something I’m asked about a lot.
- In an interview with BeFrugal, I discuss frugality, happiness, and conscious spending. (Note: “the ballot” should be “the balance” — I must have mumbled.)
- Jeff Rose at Good Financial Cents also interviewed me. This interview is very much about the process of writing a book, which may or may not interest you.
- I also spoke with Beverly Harzog from Card Ratings. We chatted about credit cards, of course, but also about other aspects of personal finance.
- Finally, USA Weekend has a short piece on how to give your 401(k) a midyear check, for which author Richard Eisenberg interviewed me back in May. This is a perfect example of how much work goes into even a small newspaper article. Eisenberg spent 20-30 minutes on the phone with me, and I’m sure he did the same with the other folks he quotes. Plus, I’ll bet he spent a lot of time writing. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were 4-6 hours in this small piece.
Okay, one last thing before I go. Tim pointed me to a two-year-old New York Times series about the debt trap, which includes an interactive infographic showing average household debt loads over the past century.
That’s enough links for today. Please do leave a comment with topic requests or other feedback. Meanwhile, it’s time for me to go do some yardwork…
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I’d like to see articles speicifically detailing how to start on a budget – it can seem overwhelming when you’re first starting out.
Many resources lay out a plan to get out of debt, how to save, or how to invest, but too few truly explain how to set up a budget from beginning to end.
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Could you please do an article on saving for your children to go to college? What are all the options and what are the best options? I have looked into 529 plans, savings accounts, bonds, trust funds, etc, but I feel like I am missing something or like there’s more to it that I’m just not seeing.
Thank you!
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I would be interested in your thoughts and research on the social responsibility that comes with being wealthy (relative to most of the world), particularly the ideas of giving time and giving money to those less fortunate (both close to home and abroad).
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I would love to read more nuts and bolts articles on where/how to stash your cash when you’re saving to buy a house. Even after all the reading we’ve done, I’ll confess we’re at a loss.
For example, say you’re debt free (with the exception of “good student loans” perhaps), have a solid emergency fund saved up, and are in a (very happy) position to start saving for your first house. You’ve got a bit of money to put away each month for this goal. And you don’t intend to buy a house for 3-5 years. What vehicles are best (safest? most profitable? easiest?) for investing your house savings in the meantime?
(Completely unrelated – if you have any travel questions, I’d love to help out! My husband and I went on an 18 month trip around-the-world in 2005/06, and continue to travel internationally frequently each year. We’re avid fans of traveling and of the idea that anything is possible!)
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I’m always interested in more and better ways to organize my finances, track them, etc.; I would love to hear anything you and your cohorts have to say on the financial organization front. Thanks!
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Hi J.D. This is not a request for a specific topic, but more of an interest in seeing more posts in a general area. I’d like to see more posts for those of us in the later stages of personal finance. That is, people who have no debts and are saving towards retirement or other long term goals or else people that are already financially independent. Thanks!
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JD, it’d be great to hear about 529′s and saving for college for your kids in general. I don’t have any yet, but my wife and I are planning to start in about a year and I’d like to start figuring out how to pay for their education.
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I like your variety of posts in general, but I do wish you would write a post (or have someone write a post) about how terrible debt consolidation companies are, because I think a lot of people in the early stages are easy targets to those companies.
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Wow, I thought at first you were going to stop updating the site! Glad to hear the opposite is true.
I been trying to get rich slowly in the stock market (for retirement) since 2000. It has been really discouraging, as that supposed magic of compounding interest has never worked for me. These dollars invested in my twenties were supposed to have tripled by now, instead I have earned just about 0%. How are we responsible, buy-and-hold investors to deal with this 10-year (and going) bear market?
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I would love to see an article about the pros and cons of investing yourself. I don’t mean like maintaining a 401k but actively managing individual investments. It seems like an engaging way to manage extra money if you don’t mind the risk, but I don’t even know where to get started.
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I would be interested to see an article on how to establish credit as a recent immigrant with no credit history. I have good income, but that means nothing when applying for a credit card. I am treated exactly like someone who has no credit history because they declared bankruptcy or something.
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J.D., I agree more writing about post-debt finance would be great.
In particular … probate?! I have a friend who recently passed away, and I’m her executrix. I went to Nolo Press to buy a CA Probate book, but a checklist and other “things to think about” AS the probate person, or to AVOID probate could be good.
For example, many people don’t seem to know that Life Insurance or investment accounts with a designated beneficiary pass OUTSIDE of the estate.
Lots of meat in this topic, especially for those of use in our 40′s – we’ll be dealing with parents’ estates soon (if we haven’t already!)
Keep up the good work.
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One thing to note: These requests for more advanced topics (which I think is a good idea, by the way) will likely mean that I have to tap outside experts. I’m okay with that, but want to let you all know that in advance. As an example, I recently asked my lawyer to answer a question about what happens to your stuff when you die (especially your debt). That’s a much more effective way to get this info than having me read a dozen books and then regurgitating the info.
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Ideas:
EBRI constantly shows that a huge percentage of current/former retirees will run out of money. Articles speaking to this would be great.
Giving to charity wisely – either with money or time.
Basic estate planning and what to know when it comes time to handle your parents stuff.
More [guest] posts for living on the cheap with kids – esp. traveling
Any new tax changes that affect Joe Blow starting in January (esp if changes not made to estate tax or AMT before then)
Researching 401k fees
Buying vs. making, when is it worth it (ie: making bread is much cheaper, but what about losing all that time you could be spending with your kids or doing something else?)
Living on one average/modest income w/ a family…cases w/ rural/suburban/urban families..
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I’m with Patrick @ 9.
Everyone continues to tell me the virtues of putting money into my Roth or 401k but my money would be worth just as much under my mattress. While I understand that historically that money should eventually grow I feel like its very much dependent on “hoping” the market is good near my retirement.
Are there other vehicles I should be investigating to diversify that risk?
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I’d like to see more on the differences among singles, married with completely separate finances, married with half joint/half separate, and married with totally joint finances. There are so many options out there and I think it’s interesting to see how others make this work for them.
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Hi,
My favorite posts deal with living better on less. The garden, cooking, and other ideas that lead to saving AND a better quality of life.
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Maybe an in-depth post on the costs/benefits of buying an older car with higher miles vs a newer car with lower miles. I’ve been in the market for a “new” car for a couple of months now and have debated back and forth about this topic for awhile. Heck, maybe I will write it myself and send it in to you, and tell you about my own buying experience and why I chose what I did.
Other than that, I prefer articles dealing with the psychology of money over how-to articles that could easily just be static links.
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Try this again…
Maybe an in-depth post on the costs/benefits of buying an older car with higher miles vs a newer car with lower miles. I’ve been in the market for a “new” car for a couple of months now and have debated back and forth about this topic for awhile. Heck, maybe I will write it myself and send it in to you, and tell you about my own buying experience and why I chose what I did.
Other than that, I prefer articles dealing with the psychology of money over how-to articles that could easily just be static links.
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I don’t have any particular topics of interest, but I know I would like to see more “meaty” posts. What I mean is, I feel like a lot of posts by folks other than JD are sort of obvious, the kinds of things people can think of off the top of their head. I would rather see quality over quantity.
I would like to see posts that either begin a discussion about a subject (like the How Do You Define Financial Independence post) or posts that are actually original work, rather than a regurgitation of information available elsewhere, or via common sense. I don’t mean to sound harsh at all, I’ve just been thinking about that recently.
Any posts specific to your “third stage” of personal finance would be great. There are plenty of get-out-of-debt blogs, but fewer about what to do when you get there.
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I would love to see more articles on what do to after you are out of debt. If you are maxing out retirement accounts, what else can you do with your money to save for the future/retire as soon as possible.
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I’d like to see a post from a health insurance broker about different options for family insurance plans, especially given the new legislation. My work plan is free for employees, but I’m paying around $1,000 per month for family coverage, and it may go up $300+ in a few months – talk about a budget buster! Since we are a healthy family, I’m considering a catastrophic coverage plan outside of my work plan, and then just pay for our doctor visits ourselves. If I can cut my insurance costs in half, that would be a huge benefit to our monthly bottom line.
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I’d like to see something on Health Savings Accounts. It’s the one tax-advantaged savings vehicle that I don’t believe has EVER been covered here.
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Budgeting, please! And yes to Insurance in plain English. Maybe the beginner’s guide to understanding the stock market?
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I’m with Jen W. Regarding retirement savings, what about that period between 5 and 10 years out? Where to put $, what does “keep more money in cash as you get closer to retirement” mean? What do you do if you can’t get long-term care insurance? I guess I’m all about retirement and the scary question “do I have enough?” How do you really figure that out given all the unknowns?
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I second the HSA suggestion. I just opened one this year and there are a lot of benefits to it for healthy folks who don’t want to overpay on their premiums. It’s an incentive to stay healthy for me and when I am 55 or 65 I think I can use all the money (tax free) on whatever I chose.
I also would like to see more on tax strategies. With only one out of two americans paying taxes I feel a little like a sucker sometimes. Living in Texas really helps my tax situation in that it is consumption based.
Also, there is a lot more to bonds than just buying debt off of treasury.gov. I would like to see an article with the general run-down on what exact to look for and invest in.
Finally, do I dare resurrect the life insurance debate? I have a whole life policy to supplement my overal wealth portfolio. Many would cringe, but as comment #9 alludes to, compound interest can only work in theory.
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+1 to Jen W.’s request for “latter stage” posts on what to do AFTER the mortgage has been paid off, etc.
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It sounds like folks are all over the board, as I suspected. We still need some articles on intro stuff like budgeting and how the stock market works. But there are also folks who want more advanced topics, including what to do in the “third stage” of personal finance.
This is actually how I’ve been trying to balance GRS for a while. I’ve been trying to offer a mix of posts. I’ll keep doing that.
I agree that we could see some more advanced stuff around here, especially stuff about the third state. One problem, though, is that those articles often make people in the earlier stages grumble. “Why are you talking about hiring a housekeeper?” they ask. “It seems like a waste.” But once you reach a certain point, you realize there are times to trade time for money (or vice versa). Not really something to worry about when you’re digging out of debt, but something to consider when you’re already firing on all cylinders. And this is just one example. A lot of financial decisions at later stages seem, well, out of reach for folks who are just beginning to put their life together.
Still, I’d love to explore some advanced topics. Sounds like there are at least a few of you who would like that, too.
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I’m always up for more discussion about investing.
How much money does one need to retire?
In what cases might an annuity make sense for a part of a retiree’s portfolio?
How should one go about managing a portfolio during retirement? (Both from an asset allocation standpoint, as well as which accounts — taxable, Roth, or 401k — should be liquidated first?)
Or for younger investors:Why is a Roth typically promoted instead of a traditional IRA? (And does that make sense?)
Is a 529 a better way of saving for college than a Roth IRA?
What’s an appropriate asset allocation for college savings (which tend to have a much shorter time frame than retirement savings)?
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My daughter (20 years old and a college junior) asked me just yesterday how she should go about learning what to do to keep her financial house in order from the very start. I recommended this blog because you can begin learning things in digestable bites. Ignore posts that don’t apply to you and follow links, comments and posts about subjects of relevance/interest. But the time she takes that leap from being supported by her parents to supporting herself, she should have a good grounding in practical personal finance.
That being said, I’m certain she would benefit greatly from posts that address what you should (and shouldn’t) do when you make that great big leap.
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I want to know what do I get beyond enough and reach is too much. I wasn’t happy when I was spending my whole paycheck, but having millions of dollars isn’t going to make spending my entire paycheck feel any better.
If I had millions, I can’t see myself buying a brand new car, or paying for lots of redecorating at my house, or buying a lot of food that I would throw away. I’m not going to have millions (unless inflation gets a lot worse), but I will have “enough” at some point.
What happens to me when I reach my goals, and I have enough money to retire when I want? Should I take a break, and earn less? Should I increase the giving to those in need? Should I just turn it into more money? Should I buy a yacht?
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I love this site particularly for the range of topics it covers. And even though I am far from the 3rd stage, it helps me to read those posts and imagine.
I’d love any tips on the breakdown of costs for a cross country move (US).
I also dig the psychology themed posts. Broad themes that interest me lately are money/control and money/power from the dark to the inspired.
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I’d like to see an “Ask the Readers” piece about methods parents use to teach their children how to handle money, similar to the one you posted on 6/17/10 where folks shared their money management methods. We already have techniques we’re using with our two kids, but I’m always interested to hear other real-world stories about what works and what doesn’t for different families.
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Things I’d like to see: more on investing, retirement savings, college savings, how to get kids through college without going broke, starting over financially (after divorce, new career, etc), creative travel on the cheap (not just how to save on a hotel or have a staycation but ideas for budget friendly vacations like trading a play to stay for volunteer work)
One thing you did that really stood out to me was the recent video contest … I learned so much from those videos!
Thank you.
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Articles on the psychology of finances are great. How about something on “falling off the wagon” and ways to recover (I’m going through that myself right now). Also, ways to have fun for families & teens this summer without breaking the bank would be useful to me. And recipes are always welcome.
I love the blog, you guys keep me thinking about my finances every day.
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I’d like to hear about how much a stay at home parent should save for retirement. I do some consulting so I make a little bit of money and I already have some money in a 457b from before I was a parent. My husband has a 401k through his work & will have a pension as well. If he is sufficiently covered, am I as well? I understand it doesn’t make sense to have all our money in his name in case we were ever to divorce or something.
I also find it hard to guess how much money I’ll spend in retirement. I can’t imagine my life at 65 will look anything like my life at 29. I don’t even know where I’ll be living except that it won’t be where I am now.
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I’d be interested in reading how people have changed or what they have learned having gone thru this recession. Also would be helpful to have a post on financial planning when you have a child with a disability.
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I’d be interested in reading more about getting started on the right foot. It seems that all the financial places and people I’ve heard are talking about how to get yourself out of debt, away from credit cards, etc. Well, my fiancée and I don’t *have* any debt except for our student loans, and we’re not worried about paying those until we’re out of school, of course.
What should we do to get started off right?
What sorts of things should we put our money into (investments, Money Market Savings, CDs, ESAs for our future kids, etc)?
What should we look for in our first apartment together?
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I’m seconding the requests for:
-saving for a house
-401K
-married vs. separate finances
-making vs. buying / time vs. money
-giving to charity wisely
My own request – what to do with a windfall.
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Health insurance (including high deductible plans and HSAs)
Flexible spending accounts
Retirement savings
Saving for college
I love the range of topics from people from all levels of personal finance. I don’t mind the complaining from people from different groups– it is good to see how other people feel even when they disagree with you (and it is good for them to see that people disagree and what is possible in the future).
I also agree with getting outside experts on the more advanced topics, but only if they’re outside experts who aren’t trying to sell something. I also know that these factual posts don’t get many comments (usually around 35), but I still find them to be very valuable. I think of them as the meat of GRS, and something I can forward to other people, while the ones with 200+ posts are generally more fun but not necessarily as useful.
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@Jenzer (#33)
Send me the question, and I’ll make the post!
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It would be great to see articles in series for example:
– Budgeting for beginners
– Saving for beginners
– Getting started for those deep in the hole, ie in debt & living paycheck to paycheck
– Advice for people who can’t make ends meet – what to do when your income is not enough
– Continueing on the road to success in savings/investing etc. for those who are thankfully out of the hole or steadily climbing upward
– How to protect good credit
– How to improve a bad credit score/how to recover from financial irresponsibilty & bad habits
– What to do in crisis – lost job/long-term unemployment/facing bankruptcy & foreclosure
Thank you!
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Since you’re in a different stage of financial health, I’d love to see a post from you on the obligations of wealth.
I’ve loved Kris’ posts on everything she’s written about, but – since you’ve frequently mentioned that she was years ahead of you in this arena – I would love to hear her side of the story of the time when you were turning your financial life around. How did she react? What were her thoughts?
I’ve recently been thinking about a Health Savings Account – is that something you or any of the other writers could write about?
My husband and I have separate money accounts (a very controversial thing, so I read!) and I’d love to see more on how you two manage that.
I’ll stop with 4 suggestions.
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Hi. So glad to be a part of such a great website.
My “need” topic is in single parenting. As a single parent (3 children) working two jobs, I am frustrated that we still live paycheck to paycheck. No support is received from the other parent. After doing this for over 15 years, I would love to see financial comfort (not luxury), in our lives. While my income covers expenses, I don’t find enough money to save, go on a vacation, repair/update the house.
I don’t want to whine, because I am better off than others, but I want to enjoy life and not just exist. Is there help out there that I can use?
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Second: My favorite posts deal with living better on less.
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For the love of all that is good in this world, explain life insurance to me. Life insurance as an investment tool versus life insurance and, well, insurance… and how the various types of life insurance can serve different types of people.
Please and thank you!
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I would love to hear how retirement savings goals should be altered or not altered, if you’re guaranteed a pretty substantial pension. Just as an example, my husband is a police sergeant and while it’s pretty thankless work, it comes with a great pension. I’m sure there are others in the same boat.
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J.D., first, I loved the book. Very helpful.
I feel like my situation doesn’t come up often in books like this. I’m in my early 30s, and my wife and I both have a crushing amount of student loan debt (200k or so between us). The payments consume about $2,000 a month just to stay current, which is a lot of our income (about 100k combined per year).
Anyway, I’d love to read a bit about dealing with large amounts of student loan debt.
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I’d be interested in reading the psychological aspect of “third stage” of finance.
Most articles that talk about this stage advise where to invest, especially for retirement, but no one talks about the “why” or the personal aspect of it.
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I would really like you to investigate and help with one particular money problem. It affects me and many other people suffering through this recession.
Currently many employers are denying jobs to applicants with poor credit histories. This puts an unfair burden on people who need jobs the most. Oregon recently passed a state law prohibiting employers from checking applicants’ credit histories, even with their permission. But in most other states, well qualified job seekers are refused jobs due to poor credit.
So how can the average guy, unemployed and with debts caused by unemployment, get around this roadblock? I’ve been hunting for jobs for months and months, I cannot find anything but the most menial employment, because I am disqualified due to credit problems.
Yes, I know the credit issues. I spent many years working up good credit ratings, only to see mine ruined instantly after a local economic disaster (massive unemployment due to a flood) and then the recession. And there are many more like me. How can I dig myself out of a hole, how can I get a job, when the reason I really NEED a job is the same reason they won’t give me one?
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