FAQ

Ok, so I don't have many readers yet, so no one's asking me any questions, but here are some questions you might have as you browse my posts. You might think it was very thoughtful of me to go ahead and preemptively  answer those questions so you don't have to bother with the time it would take to email me and wait for a response. You're welcome :)

Why are you writing this blog?

I started this blog for a number of reasons. This blog helps me to work things out in my head. I want to know if someone like me can make it, so the blog is almost like a journal to document my journey. I want to be able to see in writing my financial decisions and where they eventually lead me. I want to be honest with my thoughts and habits. It's easier to look at what I do more objectively when I think about sharing it. I also want to included others who may be wondering the same kinds of things about finances as I am. Maybe they can learn from me and start their own journey as well. 

I really want to make my financial situation better, but I just feel so darn average and middle-class sometimes. I know people can make it "from rags to riches" so to say, but I don't know if that's me. There are hundreds of financial "experts," real or not, who claim to have the key to financial success. "If I could do it, you can too!" they say. Well, is that really true? Maybe there's something innately different about these people than the rest of us. What price have they paid to get where they are? Did they have to step on anybody on their way to the top? Even a little? Did they just get lucky in one strategy that maybe others have used unsuccessfully? 

You know, some experts swear by real estate. They've made hundreds of thousands. But some have lost that much. Same with stocks. Same with other investments. Is part of the success of the experts based on some innate ability to more accurately predict outcomes? (They are EXPERTS after all!) Or maybe these types are particularly aggressive and outgoing or less risk-averse than the average person.

So CAN a plain-Jane, average girl who isn't a financial expert or vying to be among the rare class of female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies actually be able to become wealthy?

That's what I hope to answer.

What's your financial expertise?

Not much. I am definitely not a finance expert, but that's kind of my angle. I like to read self-help books and articles on financial fitness, because obviously, I want to improve my financial situation. I'm not going to lie, most of the complicated financial stuff just goes right over my head. But I know I'm not the only one. There are many people in the same boat as I am. 

I read books like The Millionaire Next Door, Total Money Makeover, and Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I've been given good messages about finances from friends, family, mentors, and church. I've also been thoroughly indoctrinated in bad financial practices and attitudes from the general public and media (and some friends and family members, too).

I'm just trying to sift through the information to find the stuff that really works. 

How is your blog different from other personal finance blogs?

K, while I'm no expert on graphics and design, I would say for one, my blog looks better. That may seem really shallow, but I think it's true. I've only looked a couple of other blogs like mine (average people, trying to make it rich) but many of them have the purpose of getting more money. They don't spend much time on making their blog pleasant to look at and read, and they are CHOCK-FULL of ads. Gross. Not only that, but they're ads for credit cards and financial institutions which I think is in poor taste, especially if they're trying to market their blog as being "helpful" in any way financially. You don't write helpful blogs when you are being sponsored by the very institutions that encourage bad money habits and profit largely off of people (mis)using their products. 

I feel that my blog is more open and honest. It's not a thinly-veiled attempt to make money by trying to be an inspirational story. Some of the other personal finance blogs I looked at are entirely focused on MONEY, MONEY, MONEY and not on...I don't know, living? There should be a purpose to gaining wealth. To me, wealth is the security I need to be able to provide for my family, have the freedom to do what I love as a career and pursue my goals and dreams. So I hope that comes through my blog too. 

What benefits do you get from this blog?

I'm not doing this blog to make money. So if you're talking financial benefits, the answer would be none. Well, that may not be true, since the work I put into this blog may help me learn some new things and make better financial decisions. But other than intrinsic benefits, actual monetary benefits would still be $0.

I'm not OPPOSED to making money on this blog. I like books and amazon.com, so I may put up an affiliate ad for the books I specifically like and recommend to my readers because of their content. I'm also not opposed to ads, as long as they don't take over the blog, are relevant to HELPING readers SAVE money and make GOOD financial decisions, and I personally approve of them and believe in them. Then again, I might just put all those things together on a separate resources page or something. 

If you think anything I do is not ethical or undesirable, please give me your feedback.

Contact me at:
chantel.m.hunt@gmail.com