SO MUCH TO DO! I know you feel this way too. Or have felt this way in the past, recent past? Why is a FIREd person complaining? I’m not complaining. I just realize that there is so much going on it can be overwhelming. THIS IS GREAT.
Let’s step back a few weeks, maybe a couple months. I started my blog eight months ago because I knew FinCon16 was coming up and I wanted to attend because I love personal finance stuff. I didn’t want to attend and be some strange groupie type mixed in with people creating content so I thought, “I’m a techie, and a money guy, I should put my two interests together and learn how to set up a Fin blog…before FinCon.”
Being a project manager, I first created a plan with a long list of blog topics to make sure I had things I wanted to write about. I also made a list of blog/website needs and business ideas.
With the editorial calendar (such a “professional” term) underway and a web structure planned I jumped into my blog creation process. It’s gone well. I continued to draft up post ideas and delve deeper into my interests. It has been great thinking through my thoughts even more than I had in the past. A true value for me.
HANG ON…I’ll get to something valuable for you!
Strangely, a few weeks before FinCon I did even more searches on FI, RE, retirement, money planning, etc. I searched the web and for podcasts. As you know, there is a lot of information about there. Wait, a LOT of people sharing information, personal information and professional information. There is so much amazing great information/opinions out there.
Now I’m at FinCon, exposed to a huge world or money content creators. It wasn’t what I thought (a financial conference, talking about personal finance). It was much more about the content creation business. How to grow your business. It makes total sense to me now. There were also many FinTech companies built or re-shaped to help people with their money. It was very interesting, to say the least.
At this FIREd point in my life, I do not strive to form a (full-time?) business. I believe in, and support the plan so many people had at FinCon to make a living helping others. That is more than fair. Actually, even better since the value so many add to their customer’s lives is exponential wealth over time.
How have I changed since FinCon? I’ve found HUNDREDS more sources of personal finance information that is extremely interesting and valuable to me. Most of it was “out there” before FinCon, and even though I search/read a lot, I didn’t find it all.
OVERLOADED! Information overload. Even in FIRE, I am not able to consume so much of the valuable information out there. I have podcasts playing all the time. I read blogs and articles that help me fine tune my FIRE plan. [side note: your “retirement plan” doesn’t get really serious until you have left your employment/paycheck behind. That is when $h!t gets real!!!] I also absorb information to help family, friends, others.
So, with my blog, I guess I will just keep exploring my own ideas, both for myself and anyone who may stumble onto the post. I’m not self-promoting as it’s overwhelming to me.
Ideas for you:
- LEARN, LEARN, LEARN.
- Use the best parts of what’s out there.
- Build a strong (even simple) foundation.
- Next: start adding rooms of specific knowledge/actions to your foundation. The “rooms” of your financial home will grow into “wings” of your larger financial mansion. You may even grow into multiple units/buildings/regions of knowledge.
I’m working on my core/foundational information sources again. I’m planning out what rooms of categories I want/need to focus on next. Then we’ll see where the building plan takes me. Whoa, I just realized this is just exactly college—core requirements, major dept requirements, major specialty focus courses, grad school. I’m so glad mid-terms/finals are over and long gone.
Start your foundation now (just put money way NOW, pay yourself first! 15-20%). Everything after is icing.