These Are a Few of My Favourite Things

The Globe recently held it's best of money blogs voting and more than a few people tweeted to ask me what my favourite site was. It got me thinking about how much I love the internet and all the fabulous info available in cyberspace. So I thought I'd share some of my favs and ask you for some of yours so that we can all get smarter!

I find many personal finance sites are highly focused on investing… it's a trend when it comes to money. Go look at the bookshelves and you'll see ten times as much space given to investing as to all other areas of personal finance. Even on the Globe and Mail's website, personal finance falls under the Investing section. That's putting the cart before the horse in my book.

One blog the Globe didn't include on its list, perhaps because it is their own, is the Home Cents blog. I used to love Chaya Cooperberg's stuff. Very personal. Very relevant.  It's still a good blog, but I miss Chaya's voice. Chaya, where are you?

Kerry Taylor over at Squawkfox also does a nice job. But this isn't strictly a personal finance blog, which may make it more appealing to a wider audience. Kerry also covers everything from travel to fitness to home. Which begs the question…. If I were to cover more general topics here, would you like that or not?

READER PARTICIPATION REQUIRED: Do you want this site to be strictly personal finance or do you want to see more of the things that appeal to your whole life? I love to cook. And I have some pretty strong opinions about parenting.  I also read a ton and could include a new Book Review section where we could share our reading pleasures.

So, do you want the site to spread out? I AM GOING TO TAKE MY CUE FROM YOU, SO SPEAK NOW! All you have to say is "change" or "don't change." If you like the idea of spreading our wings here, I can make a plan for 2012 and we can broaden the subject matter.

If you'd like to see stuff from other writers, instead of just what I have to say, let me know that too (though I'm resistant to giving up my writing job because I love writing for you guys soooo much.) If you've followed JD's blog over at Get Rich Slowly, do you like his writers' voices, or did you like it more when he was doing all the blogging?

If you're into real estate, you ought to be reading www.canadamortgagetrends.com. Smart and current, this is a source of info that's not only interesting but relevant.

Another site I like to pop by and have a read is www.canajunfinances.com. The Big Cajun Man is funny and his voice rings true. I think this is one of the things that I look for in a writer: not just the facts, or their opinion, but their true feelings on the matter. So often what we get from money articles is dry as dust and twice as boring. Such a shame.

Here's a good site for a credit card debt-repayment calculator.

Beyond money, one site I find very interesting www.brainpickings.org. Sometimes quirky, sometimes down-right odd, this site brings me back again and again, often inspiring me to think outside the box. I like www.bigthink.com too, along with www.informationisbeautiful.net . Check 'em out. You might also want to take a peak at www.sethgodin.typepad.com and www.danariely.com. Super-smart guys.

Here's a fascinating site that shows world statistics updated in real time.

Y'all know I'm on Twitter now @GailVazOxlade, and I'm building a money list there. If you want to be included on that list, or you want to check it out for inspiration, pop over and have a look. I don't keep a blog roll on my site because I just don't have the time to check for broken links… I HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS!

BTW: I'm having a twitter party on June 9th. Don't know what that is? Just ignore me. Want to participate, go to the new Gail Vaz-Oxlade Fan Page and like, and you'll get updates.

Oh, another BTW…Do you have a favourite ap that's helping you manage your money better? (I get this question all the time. Me, I use a pen and notebook and an excel spreadsheet… I'm a little old school.) Tell us about it and why you like it.

Share this on Facebook


Share this on del.icio.us


Digg this!


Share this on LinkedIn


Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon


Tweet This!


Subscribe to the comments for this post?


Email this to a friend?