Articles › Behavior

Getting Short

Jonathan Clements · Jul 23, 2021 · 7 replies

WE JUST LAUNCHED our newest feature: A blog that’ll be updated two or three times a day with new posts that typically run some 300 words. These posts will, I hope, complement the site’s longer articles, which we’ll continue to publish, though perhaps less frequently.

Why introduce a blog? It’ll allow HumbleDollar to be more timely. It’ll be a way to tackle topics that don’t require full-length articles. And it’ll be another opportunity to highlight the financial philosophy that drives much of what we write—and what makes HumbleDollar different from most other financial sites:

• We think harping on the stock market’s daily action is foolish and that the forecasts of Wall Street’s chattering class aren’t just worthless, but potentially damaging to investors’ financial health. Expect the new blog to discourage such dangerous nonsense and prod readers to keep their gaze firmly fixed on the long term.
• We believe folks should abandon efforts to beat the market, and instead buy index funds and collect the market’s return. What should we do with all the time we save? There’s much value that can be added by focusing on other areas of our financial life, including saving diligently, spending thoughtfully, buying the right insurance, managing debt, being smart about taxes, purchasing the right size home and planning our estate. These are all topics that’ll be tackled regularly in the blog.
• We think that saving can bring at least as much happiness as spending, and sometimes more. Contentment lies not in a house chock-full of impulse purchases, but in knowing we’re prepared for life’s short-term bumps and on track for a financially comfortable future.
• We think the tough part of managing money isn’t figuring out what to do but getting ourselves to do what we know is right. This ongoing struggle will be a frequent topic of the new blog.
• We believe money isn’t an end in itself but rather a way to enhance our lives. But how can we best use our dollars? It isn’t always obvious, which is why it’s important to avoid snap financial decisions and instead think hard about what we want.

My hope: The new blog will be not just engaging, but also emphasize these key points—and thereby help all of us to avoid knee-jerk investment decisions and impulsive spending, and instead stay the course in our pursuit of a more thoughtful financial life.

HumbleDollar’s crew of frequent and occasional writers—some 30 in all—will almost all be contributing to the blog. Their willingness to share their stories, including both their triumphs and their struggles, is perhaps the site’s most enduring strength. I encourage you to stop by HumbleDollar every day and see what they have to say.

Read more by Jonathan Clements

Email Alerts for this Comment Thread

Log in with

Notify of

new follow-up commentsnew replies to my comments

Log in with

Please log in to comment

7 Comments

Newest

Oldest Most Voted

mytimetotravel

5 years ago

I’m used to getting blog posts sent by email, same as your newsletter. Is there a way to do that for your blog? I won’t check the site daily, much less multiple times a day.

2

Admin

Jonathan Clements

5 years ago

Reply to  mytimetotravel

You can be alerted to new articles and blog posts by signing up for our daily email, and then click through to those intrigue you:

https://humbledollar.com/daily-alerts/

3

mytimetotravel

5 years ago

Reply to  Jonathan Clements

Thanks

0

Michael1

5 years ago

In a pre-coffee visit to HD this morning I saw what I thought were six new articles since I’d been on last, and clicked on Richard’s, to think “wow that’s a really short article…” I went to Jonathan’s and realized what was going on. Just what I need for my already lacking focus – a reason to check HD three times a day… 🙂  I think it’ll be a nice feature but I’ll try to stick to daily. 

0

IAD

5 years ago

I was wondering why I didn’t get the email today with a link to today’s post! I’m not retired, so maybe speaking as a working guy I don’t think there is a need to update 2-3 times a day. Just an email to the one article is perfect!

Edited to say I read through the blog posts. I think just stick with the one longer article per day is my vote. I got through the three for today but couldn’t bring myself to go through three from yesterday.

Last edited 5 years ago by IAD

2

Admin

Jonathan Clements

5 years ago

Reply to  IAD

The daily email will return on Sunday. (We don’t send it out on Saturdays because that’s when the weekly newsletter goes out.) We suspended the daily email for today while we made the various site tweaks. I hope you come to enjoy the new blog posts. Ask the editors of any publication and almost all of them will tell you the same thing: that readers hate change but eventually come to appreciate it. I think this is true of today’s change: The blog posts will — fingers crossed — give readers another way to stay abreast of the world of personal finance.

Last edited 5 years ago by Jonathan Clements

3

IAD

5 years ago

Reply to  Jonathan Clements

Thanks! I don’t dislike change, its more of a time management thing. I have but a narrow window during the day and evening to get caught up on email, etc. Maybe I’m not the norm to have my web access restricted at work. Hope it works out for you!

1

Free Newsletter

Arrives weekly.

Please leave this field empty

Select list(s):

Also send me the daily alerts with HumbleDollar’s latest content Weekly Newsletter - HD

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.