Important discussion for PF bloggers @ The Simple Dollar

[Greg]

Trent's got a great post that I think every PF blogger (and those thinking about blogging their finances) should read.

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2009/...ht-whos-wrong/

It's about the criticism that says people who are not financial experts (most of the PF blogosphere) should shut up.

Recently, I heard some pretty strong (but valid) criticism of The Simple Dollar (that applies to most personal finance blogs out there):

You are a guy in your [thirties] who lists no credentials except the fact that you made it through a “complete financial meltdown” a few years ago. You have no professional training and don’t even mention where you went to college.
I don’t claim to be a guru, but I have had sufficient education to know that financial expertise is not something that can be learned through experience and introspection. Intuition in this area can be very misleading.
[...] People should not make financial decisions based on what their neighbor says, on the spoutings of someone on a website, or on what your gut is telling you. Seek out a qualified professional and get a second opinion.

This is just a blunt restatement of criticism that I hear on a daily basis. I hear time and time again that I’m not a financial expert, that what I write is of dubious benefit, and that I should just shut my mouth and let the “experts” do the talking.
So, let’s go through this step by step.

[firefinance]

We like the summary:

Good blogs bring something to the table that can’t be brought with a book and a television show - a synthesis of ideas, an interaction with readers, and a perspective that is nuanced and clear. After all, there are almost 3,000 articles at The Simple Dollar now, and readers who have been following over the long haul have a very strong, detailed picture of who I am and where I’m coming from. That’s an aspect no “guru” can give you from an infomercial.

PF blogs bring the rich information learnt through various experiences of each blogger. No book will be able to give real life case studies and scenarios as bloggers do from sincere experiments on their own lives. That is a true plus and people can learn from these eexperiences and not repeat them.

[financialnut]

Though the individual criticizing has some valid points, I don't agree with his entire premise; in other words, I felt he was saying that none of the information provided by PF bloggers is of any real value. The word "dubious" was being used.

Look- I understand that value in a financial planner. But hearing first-hand experiences from others that are struggling day-in and day-out with their money is really encouraging.

Because money tends to be a "taboo" subject, it's nice to get online and interact with others who don't mind sharing.

[DoYouDaveRamsey.com]

Yeah that was a good post by Trent, I remember commenting on it... something to the effect that he demonstrated more patience than I would have....

Blogs are opinion animals - bottom line

But consider that Personal Finance is treated academcially as an all or none topic. Either someone is a licensed planner or a no body... clearly this is not true as there are so many quality PF blogs and even if the advice details differ nearly every position is well positioned and defended... if someone doesn't see that or simply wants to vent then, well.... and that's about where my patience runs out

[hermione]

The whole point of blogging is to share personal opinions and experiences. And the reason it's called "personal finance" is because it is "personal" and different for everyone.

A professionally authored finance book can't possibly cover every kind of financial predicament out there. But with hundreds of blogs and thousands of articles out there, people are more likely to be able to get an idea of how others in situations similar to theirs have dealt with and solved their problems, what works for certain people and what doesn't, etc.

Besides, most of us pf bloggers have disclaimers stating that the information we share is based on our personal opinions experiences. We're not claiming to be professionals, but just sharing what we've found to work for us in our own lives.

[financialnut]

Originally Posted by hermione

Besides, most of us pf bloggers have disclaimers stating that the information we share is based on our personal opinions experiences. We're not claiming to be professionals, but just sharing what we've found to work for us in our own lives.

I agree. It's not like we're claiming to be experts. If people really want to see whether or not they're getting information from an "expert," the burden is on them to find that out by looking at our disclosures and policies.

[moneymatters]

Most of us are not claiming expertise, and in fact - many of us have disclaimers on our sites saying that what we're writing is our opinion, and you need to check things out for yourself.

To say that you have to be a financial expert to have anything to say is silly. I think there are a lot of non-expert bloggers out there that have a lot of impact and have some extremely intelligent things to say.