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The Under 30 Festival Question of the Week
By Molly's Brother | September 22, 2006
The Question posed: Now that you’re blogging on personal finance, do you tend to share inforrmation with friends who might need it or do you keep all your opinions to yourself? (Hey, it’s my question. I can paraphrase. LOL.)
“I openly share advice and knowledge of how to reduce debt and build assets, but I rarely, if ever, reveal details of my own financial picture and numbers. I feel that my personal numbers hold no interest for someone who is working on getting themselves out of debt. Only someone who fully understands the whole picture [maybe, one person?] actually gets to hear any numbers. You, blogworld, know more about my finances than anyone else in my life.” –Ms. Miniducky, September 22, 2006
“Unless they specifically asked, I generally hold my tongue. Other than referring people to a good book or web site, it’s too much like nagging. Usually the bad financial decisions they make involve spending and budgeting decisions and it’s just going to get in the way of friendship to criticize them.” –Free The Drones, September 22, 2006
” If I think somebody simply doesn’t know what is out there (like if they don’t know that you can deduct x, or what an IRA is) sometimes I’ll say something about it, but I don’t address it directly to their life. Financial education is usually welcome, but nagging is not. If there’s something they know about (like not buying expensive stuff) but they aren’t doing anything about, then I don’t feel like my telling them not to do it would help.” –Kira, September 22, 2006
“I offer financial advice only when it is solicited from me by friends, I do not try to do the sit down “you need to start thinking about your future” even if I think their spending is out of control though some of them probably need it.” –Chuck, September 22, 2006
“I always share. I don’t force my opinions, just try to share what I’m doing and let them judge for themselves. That is one of the reasons I post my net worth on my blog as well as my picture. 
Let them see how I’m doing and what I’m doing to see if they want to do the same thing.” –Daniel, September 22, 2006
And my answer: OF COURSE! Among my friends there is an implicit understanding that we all share and help each other along, regardless of the topic. Granted, since we’re all close friends, the shared advice is not always followed. But that’s what friendships are all about. I hold my tongue with co-workers and others (unless, of course, my opinion is solicited).
So, there you go, my friends. That’s all I got. My hosting duties are done. Woo-hoo!
Topics: Personal Finance |