Living life from cover to cover
If you want to start a blog but don’t know how or are struggling with your blog, this class is a great resource. It’s taught by 8 knowledgeable and successful bloggers and right now, the price is only $100 for the 8 week class (and that includes some freebies, too!). So follow the link above and secure your spot!
And, from now until January 31, we’re running a giveaway for 2 free registrations to the class. There will also be 5 second prizes of 50% off the registration. Good luck!
This is the fourth installment of my Very Interesting Blogger series (you can read about Tonya, Eric, and Jeff as well). For this interview, I talked to one of my good blogging friends, Ian from The 30 Something Student. I spent a lot of time with Ian at last year’s FinCon and he’s a seriously awesome guy. When you’re done reading his interview, make sure to check out his blog.
Me: You’re a pretty busy guy, Ian. You work, you blog and you’re finishing grad school. You also play guitar in a band. Can you tell us about that?
Yeah, it’s just something I get to do with some of my real good buddies on weekends. When we play a lot, like we have been this past year, it can definitely make things pretty busy and something ends up suffering from a lack of attention. Typically, we play shows on the weekends but we usually practice during the week. If we are writing new material practice becomes fairly frequent. It can make getting to all my other obligations tough. I usually try to have way too many things going on at one time. It’s usually a bad idea but that’s what I do.
I understand that completely. Having too many things going on at once is a way of life for me.
Me: How long have you been playing guitar for? When did you first join a band? Is that band still together or are you in a different one?
Ian: I have been playing guitar for quite a long time now. I suppose something like 18 years. I definitely should be a lot better, but hey, I play in a punk band so no one is really expecting much. When I was young I was kind of off and on. I would play for a while, get discouraged and quit, and then start playing again when I got motivated.
I joined my first band as basically as soon as I got a guitar. It was super fun and I remember we had to have older friends drive us to our first couple of gigs because we weren’t old enough to drive or we would get one of our parents to give us a lift. We didn’t last that long maybe a year or so but I still know all the guys that were in it. Two of them are basically my best friends. Being in that band also was the first time I had ever been booed onstage. I like to think that attributes to my thick skin.
The band I am in now has been together since 1997, so really only a year or so after my first band called it quits. We have had a few lineup changes here and there but for the most part the core guys are still in it. Usually it’s just life stuff that makes people have to quit. I only think there was one time when stuff got bad and uncomfortable between members, well maybe twice.
Together since 1997? That’s longer than the shelf life of most bands! And marriages. Quite impressive.
Me: Do you do it for fun, to earn money, or both? If you do earn money doing it, at what point did you decide to make the switch from hobby to income earning opportunity?
Ian: It is definitely for fun. If I was doing this for money it would be a serious planning error. There isn’t a lot of money in being in a punk rock band unless you are one of the lucky ones, but that doesn’t really matter to me. It is one of the most fun things I do now or have ever done. I get to go out of town with my buddies, hang out in a new place and meet new people or see people I know from other cities on a fairly regular basis. Another thing is that it is all basically for free. The band will cover food, gas, etc. and plenty of times the bars or clubs we play will give us free food and beer.
Like I said, we don’t really go for making a bunch of cash. If a lot of people decide they like our band a lot and want to pay us, that’s great, but if not, we are fine with that as well. We do make a few bucks though and have lately been taking a little better approach to our finances and investing more into merchandise and what not. It allows us to not be in as much of a pinch when you want to record new music or drive farther away to play a gig. You definitely can earn money playing, you just have to be on the road for 200+ days a year or something crazy. I would actually be ok with that if we were taking a more serious approach. In the last year we have picked things up and hope to play around 50 gigs or so next year. That’s basically like 4 a month or two weekends a month, a very doable and realistic number.
Free food and beer are pretty good perks. However, not good enough to be on the road for 2/3 of the year. I commend your choice of a reasonable number.
Me: What’s been your most memorable gig so far?
Ian: Wow, over the years there have been quite a few but I think the most memorable one was with this band called Strung Out. They were pretty big in the late 90’s early 2000’s and actually are still doing very well. Anyway, I was like 19 and our band in general was pretty bad. Somehow we talked our way onto a show opening up for these guys. The place was pretty big and packed, I would think somewhere close to around 1,000 people. I remember walking onto the stage and just being like “oh shit” what did we get ourselves into? I mean honestly, we had no business being up there. It was the first time I had been on a stage that you could run on. I was used to tiny little stages where everyone is packed together and on this stage the other guitarist was like 20 yards from me or something silly. Anyway, it was a lot of fun and we got yelled at for eating their food in the backstage area. We thought it was for all of the bands, but it definitely wasn’t.
I seriously cannot get over what punk bands name themselves.
Me: What advice would you give someone who’s thinking about starting to play guitar or join a band?
Ian: If you want to start playing guitar I would say learn how to play a powerchord, just Google it and you will figure it out. It is essentially the basis for rock guitar. Then I would start doing the other practice techniques that you find in books and what not. When you get tired of playing “Three Blind Mice”, start busting out the power chords and play some AC/DC, Green Day, or whatever. Once you know those chords you will be blown away by how many songs you can play.
If you want to join a band I suppose there are two ways of going about it. You can be a career musician, which means you better have some damn good chops, and just be a hired hand and play with bands that will pay you well. Or you can get some friends together, figure out how to play an instrument just enough so it sounds somewhat like music and have fun. I have noticed over all the years playing, you get the best crowd reaction when you are actually having a good time, even if you are screwing the songs up. People like to have fun and if you are having a good time on stage it gets infective with the crowd. That’s pretty much it.
He’s right. If you know about 4 chords, you can have a very long and lucrative career in music, particularly punk music. Just ask the remaining members of The Ramones.
You see the link at the top of my site? The one about the blogger coaching class? You’re probably wondering what that’s all about.
I suppose I should tell you.
In August 2012, I started a blogger mentoring program. The idea behind it was to pair veteran bloggers with new bloggers for one on one mentoring and coaching. The idea came to me as I spent the greater part of an afternoon dwelling on all the things I wish I had known when I started blogging. I would have had a different approach to a number of blogging tasks and probably made different choices. But without the guidance, save for what I could find for free on the Internet, I was pretty much left figuring it all out for myself.
While figuring it out for myself proved to be a huge learning experience, and I picked up skills I might not otherwise have learned, I still would have loved to have had the benefit of experience on my side. Someone to go to when I got stuck. Someone to bring me into his or her network. Someone to help introduce me to readers. Someone to honestly critique my site and give constructive feedback.
You know. The things you can get from reading “how to blog” books and articles. Sure, you can join a forum or Facebook group or other sort of online networking group, but if you’re like me, you tend to get overwhelmed in forums and most days, forget to post (and if you do post, *maybe* you forget to check for responses). Those groups can make you feel insignificant and oftentimes, you find yourself not really getting what you need.
At least that’s how I felt.
And I wanted to create something for people like me. So I did. And I called it Bloggers Helping Bloggers (soon to be renamed The Blog Mentoring Network). And it was good. We helped dozens of bloggers, got featured on Yahoo! Shine (thanks to a Babble post written by a longtime BHB mentor), and even ran a live session at FinCon13.
But it needed to be better. It needed to start doing more, reaching more people. You see, we only have a limited amount of mentors which means we can only help a limited amount of bloggers during each session. Turning people away or putting them on a waiting list isn’t my favorite choice so I started to think about what else I could do to help more bloggers.
That’s how my online blogger coaching class was born.
By creating this class, more bloggers can have access to successful bloggers who can teach them some of the basics of blogging. More bloggers can have a live Q&A with the instructors/coaches. More bloggers from different niches can interact with each other (side note: what separates this class is that it’s for ALL bloggers, regardless of niche. We welcome men and women, food bloggers, lifestyle bloggers, personal finance bloggers, and every other type of blogger you can think of. THIS is what makes us different). More bloggers can start improving their blogs sooner than later.
I know that now you’re thinking “Wow, Jana! That’s amazing! But can you tell me the specifics of the class because I’m really interested but I’d like to know what I’m getting into?”
Of course I can. ‘Cause I’m awesome like that.
Here’s what you need to know:
So that’s the basics of the class. You can read all about the coaches and detailed information about each week if you want or need more.
I know that it seems silly to pay for information you can get for free on the Internet. I’ve had that same thought at times. However, with this, you get connections, one on one interaction, and a whole lot more. And sometimes, it’s worth investing in yourself to become the best you can.
Think of this as a gym for your blog, with the coaches as your personal trainers.Sure, you can exercise for free but there are perks of gym that you can’t get anywhere else.
The class provides those perks.
Late last year, I started the Very Interesting Blogger series (read all about Tonya and Eric in their interviews). When I thought of who to interview, I thought of Jeff from Sustainable Life Blog who, despite the fact that he picks on me mercilessly (both online and in person), is actually a pretty decent guy with a great blog and some hobbies that are, for lack of a better word, insane. So we talked about the most insane–obstacle racing (I originally called it crazy marathon running and was swiftly corrected. I maintain that my first description was correct).
Here’s what Jeff had to say:
Me: So I hear that you participate in obstacle racing (see, I got the term right!). Can you tell us about that?
Jeff: Sure – Obstacle racing is a race of varying distance that has obstacles or tasks you need to complete. It usually involves crawling under barbed wire, through a mud pit, jumping over pools or rivers and some sort of climbing task. There’s some obstacle courses that will tell you what you can expect over the course of the race, but one (Spartan Death Race) only gives you a list of what to bring and you have no idea the length of the race or the tasks that you’ll be required to complete.
There is so much about that description that makes me cringe. Particularly the words Spartan, Death, and Race. And the fact that they’re all combined into one event makes me question so much.
Me: How did you get started with that?
Jeff: I got started obstacle racing in 2011, doing a 5K obstacle race (Warrior Dash) with a friend from college. We both had a great time, but I was totally hooked. They are just so much fun and way more exciting (and difficult) than a typical 5k road race.
For those who are curious, the only obstacle race I complete is walking from my living room to my bedroom without stepping on a dog toy. So, props to you, Jeff, for not only running but doing it with things in the way.
Me: How do you train for this kind of race? Is it expensive and/or time consuming?
Jeff: The training physically helps, but it’s what goes on between your ears that will matter most when the race starts. For the shorter distances, I just do a little bit of weight training and running. For the Spartan Death Race, I did a lot of running, wood chopping, and generally making myself miserable for as long of a duration as possible. It doesn’t really cost a lot of money, but it’s very time consuming.
I would think that training to run in something called the Spartan Death Race would make a person miserable enough without having to add heavy lifting and wood chopping to the mix. But perhaps this is why I do not run.
Me: Tell us about your favorite (or least favorite) obstacle racing experience.
Jeff: I think my favorite experience was doing the Spartan Sprint race in Colorado Springs, CO with my wife last year. We had such a great time (though we didn’t get to start as early as we wanted) and had so much fun during the race. Even though I had to walk back to the car barefoot (I gave away my shoes to some charity that was shipping them to Africa) it was still a great time.
So they do nice things at the Spartan Death Race? They don’t just torture the runners? This might be enough to make me change my mind about it. Well, no, I still think it’s nuts but the charity element makes me happy.
Me: What advice would you give someone who’s thinking about attempting to participate in an intense obstacle race?
Jeff: Start off with a small obstacle race – something that has 10-20 obstacles and is less than 5 miles in duration. You don’t want to sign yourself up for some huge race only to find out that you hate it.
I think this is great advice. I can say with 100% certainty that I would hate it but if anyone reading Jeff’s interview decides to sign up for one of these races, can you let me know?
I am a voracious reader. It’s not uncommon for me to be in the middle of two or three books at a time. I’ve been known to finish 3 books in a week. I have an ever growing to-read list that will never be tamed. I’m pretty sure the librarians at my local library are pretty sick of me. And I’ve only been living here for 4 months.
Which is why, when I joined Goodreads 2014 reading challenge, I only picked 37 books instead of 50 or more (which is what I’ll most likely wind up doing). I didn’t want to force myself to finish a crappy book just to meet an arbitrary goal. There are too many books for that. So I went with a more reasonable and sane 37 (insert quote from Clerks) in honor of my 37th birthday this year.
But you’re not here for that. You’re here to see what posts made this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance. You can read on for that. And I’ve also included a few of the nonfiction books on my list just in case you’re looking for ideas to round out (or start) your to-read list:
Editor’s picks
Lenny from Best Money Saving Blog presents You can embrace Digital Marketing even on a Small Business Budget, and says, “While digital marketing definitely has its merits many small business owners are hesitant to use it simply because of the time that they believe it takes to make it work.”
Sam from The New Business Blog presents How to Build a Brand People will Adore, and says, “Many people outside of marketing think of a brand as sort of this false cover that is given to a product or service in order to con them into buying something that they do not actually want or, even worse, do not need.”
Marissa from Thirty Six Months presents The Joys of Freelancing, and says, “One of the things that I really enjoy doing is mentoring freelancers. I work in the start-up world, and freelancers are a big part of that. I get to see the ups and downs of that world every day. It is fascinating to see how people price their time, and creative abilities.”
Alexa from Single Moms Income presents Resolution #2 ? Digital Organization and Putting Systems in Place, and says, “You know when you do not check your email for a few days and then you start to dread it because you just know you are going to have like 100 messages in your inbox? That is how I was feeling yesterday.”
Amanda from My Dollar Plan presents New Year’s Resolution: Frugal Ways to Cut Back on TV Time, and says, “Cutting back on TV is a great idea! But how do you do it without filling your time with costly activities? Here are some ideas!”
Kylie Ofiu from Kylie Ofiu presents 10 Steps For Success With Goals, and says, “Setting, sticking to and achieving goals feels great, but can sometimes be a little hard. Here’s 10 steps plus tips from others on how to do it all from setting your goals, staying motivated and right through to completion of your goals.”
New Year’s Resolutions
Mario from Debt BLAG presents Don’t make New Year’s resolutions; set smart intermediate goals instead
Stefanie @ The Broke and Beautiful Life from The Broke and Beautiful Life presents 5 New Years Resolutions Worth Making
Sean Smarty from Growing Money presents 10 New Year Financial Resolutions 2014
Pauline from Savvy Scot presents New year financial boot camp: utilities and bill check-up
Real Estate
Miss T. from Prairie Eco Thrifter presents Inefficiencies in Homes to Look for as a First Time Home Buyer
Pauline from Reach Financial Independence presents Are You Ready for the Challenge of Real Estate Investing?
Pauline from Make Money Your Way presents Real Estate Investing
Marissa from Finance Triggers presents How to spot a good mortgage broker from a bad one
Investing and Retirement
Jim from Critical Financial presents Powerwave Technologies | My Ah Ha Investment Moment
Jeff Rose from Good Financial Cents presents The Prosper Vs. Lending Club Experiment
David from Financial Nerd presents Trends in Interest Rates in 2014
Aaron from Aaron Hung presents Looking for investment advice on Twitter? These new Tools will help
Michael Kitces from Nerd’s Eye View presents Understanding The Two 5-Year Rules For Roth IRA Contributions And Conversions
PK from Don’t Quit Your Day Job… presents Expected Real Returns on BAA, AAA, and 10 Year Treasuries
Graham Clark from Moneystepper presents FTSE 100 diversification ? performance of the top 10 consitutents
Emily from Evolving Personal Finance presents When to Pass Up a Company Retirement Match
Ray from Squirrelers presents Taking a Pension or Lump Sum: What Would You Do?
Bob from Dwindling Debt presents What’s the Secret to Early Retirement?
Personal Finance and Saving Money
Daniel from Make Money Make Cents presents Want to make smarter money decisions? Use these tips from Economist Noreena Hertz
Jay from Daily Fuel Economy Tip presents Hypermiling ? 5 Tactics to Reduce Gas Consumption
Oscar from Money is the Root presents Need to binge shop? Your local dollar store has bargains, but maybe not all of them
Katie from IRA Basics presents Benefits of a Budget
Alexa from Defeat Our Debt presents 7 Ideas for Saving Money on Food
Lily from Paying Debt Down presents Money Saving Holiday Shopping Tips 2013
Jason from The Money Makers presents Olivia Wilde is Having a Baby: What are the first-month expenses?
Monica from Monica On Money presents How My PT Cruiser Saved Me $27,600
Eric from Narrow Bridge Finance presents 4 Uncommon Ways to Start Saving Money this Year
Jack from Money Saving Ethics presents Holiday Travel Tips 2013
Miscellaneous Money Stuff
Natalie from Debt and the Girl presents Joy is Separate from Circumstance
Larry from KrantCents presents Technology Has Made Me Lazy or More Productive!
Holly from Club Thrifty presents Social Framing
Sustainable PF from Sustainable Personal Finance Blog presents Would You Use an Alternative Currency?
Andrea from So Over This presents Movers Destroyed My Belongings ? Saga Continues
Hadley from Epic Finances presents Why did the Founder of Barnes
Amy from Money Mishaps presents Why do some Credit Scores FALL after paying off a Loan?
Matt from Budget Snob presents Don’t Worry about your Credit Score being affected by These 5 Things
Justin from Edward Antrobus presents Is that awesome Review a Fake?
FI Pilgrim from FI Journey presents Would You Become Self Employed For Less Money?
