Just over a year ago, we wrote a controversial post about personal finance bloggers. Since many of you may not have been reading Aridni then, we thought we’d share this classic blog post with you below. Be sure to check out the comments that arose in response, and let us know your thoughts on the issue.

Confession: I go crazy whenever I discover another finance blog updating the world on that person’s net worth. All of the pie charts, ratios and data comparisons, and growing bars indicated dollars held—AHH!

Instead of counting the fluctuating pennies in our Coca Cola stocks, we should, as financial bloggers, be looking for a way to make investments toward the future. The greatest investments cannot be calculated TODAY—owning a successful and growing business, owning a home that’s in an under-valued market, buying stock in an undiscovered beast like WalMart in 1995, etc. But when you cash in on those investments in forty years at retirement, prepare for the specific $ sign in your net worth to leap upward. Some of that money exists TODAY, yet you cannot show it on a net worth statement. Well I guess you could spend $400 to get your property reappraised every month. Think that’s silly? Not if you’re counting your net worth to the penny—might as well be accurate.

We should be finding ways to establish money-generating avenues that can multiple for the future, not necessarily for today.

And yes, I do make a monthly net worth update that is nowhere near accurate because most of my money goes toward future expectations. I like to chart spending in our personal lives and investments to make sure we’re keeping on track . If you truly aim to be a successful $$ man, I don’t see how you can know your exact worth.

I think that showing the world my net worth updates every month online and throwing a virtual party when I’m up $500 is off the track. Yeah it all sounds cool… yet shouldn’t we be aiming for financial freedom not X dollars in the bank?

I had an incredible experience–an upgrade to a first class seat on an international flight after a nightmare checkin disaster.

While enjoying the luxury of fully reclining seats and table cloths on my tray at meals, I noticed the man next to me. He was reading the duty free catolgue. And he was jotting down the duty free prices of cigarettes.

How strange. Sitting in first class. Figuring out ways to pinch pennies on cigarettes when he flies home.

Non-organic feed lots devise highly sophisticated system to make sure that every cow is getting her ration of food. Some heifers run the show, and those that aren’t the bosses wouldn’t get their fair share of corn according to the farmers.

Cows are just like us–not that we diet on corn and antibiotics, but that the leaders push everyone else around.

A boss doesn’t want to give you a raise. Big business doesn’t want to give you extra time off. You’ve heard the complaints about WalMart employees who try to form unions, gain health care, and get raises–can’t happen.

The funny thing about these farmers who notice the little guys getting pushed from the food is that small farmers don’t see how they’re getting pushed around, too. Their purchasers demand cheap meat. And so do we.

Todd and I established Aridni as a base for ideas on ethical money making. After all, we grew up next to one of the world’s largest superfund sites, an area so polluted that the acidic waters kill any animal that ventures near. The soils even dissolve a miner’s boots!

Sometimes I get so caught up in counting my net worth that I forget the worth I have the potential to bring. Saving ten bucks on a shirt made through child labor. Or buying twice as many eggs for half the price because the chickens were molted (ie starved for 10 days so they could produce 3 more months of eggs). Is it worth the addition to my net worth?

In Germany, everything is recycled–from your cardboard and candy wrappers to your dinner scraps. Figuring out the system is tough at first. But tying your shoes was tough at first now. Who think of that process any more?

What ethical choices are worth the nickels and dimes that you can add to your net worth? I guess I’m finding worth in different choices.

Humans have struggled to gain money and power for centuries. In some places, the desire leads to bloodshed and abuse. The desire for money is constant. If it weren’t, sites like Aridni wouldn’t be around. Creating wealth can be done in positive ways, like the cliché about teaching people to fish instead of feeding them a fish.

The basic formula for financial success on any level is simple. Spend less than you earn. In Charles Dickens’ classic novel, David Copperfield, David noted:

Annual income, twenty pounds; annual expenditure, nineteen six. Result: happiness.
Annual income, twenty pounds; annual expenditure, twenty pound ought and six. Result: misery.

So spend less than you have—what a simple theory with abundant results. Piling debt and fees from overdraft accounts and late credit card payments abound when we step from under the wing of our parents. Building a nest egg is impossible… unless you pinch a few pennies or work a little more to create savings.

I don’t know of any way around debts when you’re young—school loans, mortgages, car loans and credit cards maybe. Some experts think that investing any money while carrying debt is plain stupid. They’re right if your money is sitting in the bank, accomplishing nothing.

Then again, my net worth is growing because I carry debt. My real estate investments are carried by the bank. If I didn’t hold debt on these projects, I wouldn’t be able to have these investments. What’s the correct answer? It depends on the individual. You have to know your desires and goals to grasp just how much money you need to be saving and growing.

The battle for money is all a game. We all have to decide on how much we want and how hard we’re willing to work. As a friend always reminds me, “If making lots of money were easy, then everyone would be doing it.” Everyone isn’t. They’re content with the “rat race”. The question is—are you content?

People talk a lot about the keys to wealth. Yet somehow, they forget something we have to find in ourselves.

Every week, I determine two primary goals for my spare time. This week, my goals are

(1) restructure our personal finance files and paperwork and
(2) write about my personal expectations for life in a journal every day.

I find that one of my goals is satisfied for the week, I cross it off. I find great satisfaction in drawing that bold line. And I challenge you to do similar projects.

What’s this list stuff got to do with money?

Lining up your finance files this week will put your current financial situation in perspective. You know exactly where to find items for banks, stock trades, mutual fund purchases… You can see how much risk you’re comfortable taking and a rough sketch of your financial obligations, assets, and needs.

Second, what’s the point of pinching pennies and spending every spare minute on accumulation of wealth if you don’t have a plan for this money in the future? Take time every day this week to reflect on your direction. Ask yourself these questions:

1. In twenty years, I see myself spending my evenings with whom, doing what?

Imagine your ideal town, beautiful house, hobbies… Do you have kids? How are you all dressed? What are you eating? Here’s your chance to day dream about your happily ever after.

2. In twenty years, how do I want to spend the hours of 9 to 5?

You basically have three options: work for someone else, work for yourself, or not really work much at all. What do you pick? Why did you pick this choice?

3. Do I want a specific amount of money? When will I be satisfied with my amount of wealth?

Are you shooting for a specific dollar sign in the bank? The feeling of a specific lifestyle?

4. What do I want so much money for?

You probably want a specific lifestyle—but what else? Do you want to give money, give time? Do you want specific things? Why are you equating the value of money to the value of your future dreams?

5. Who do I want so much money for?

Do you want your spouse or kids to have a certain lifestyle? Are you hoping to give them specific opportunities that you had or never had? When you’re working with someone else in mind, you can find yourself much more eager to go the extra mile when all you want to do is quit. (Know any new fathers who hate their jobs? They go every day for that wife and baby—no question, no hesitation.)

6. What’s one idea I have for increasing my net worth in a way that can grow without my constant supervision?

This question requires an absolute, which makes it the hardest question to ask yourself. But ask yourself this one every day. After a while, you start to see opportunity where you never did before. You’ll be like Walt Disney—seeing the potential in full-length films and cartoons, discovering the significance of a destination family vacation like Disney Land, then spotting the rapid love affair with televisions and tapping into the channels with shows like the Mickey Mouse Club.

7. Finally, what can I do better tomorrow to reach these goals that I learned from today?

Confession: I go crazy whenever I discover another finance blog updating the world on that person’s net worth. All of the pie charts, ratios and data comparisons, and growing bars indicated dollars held—AHH!

Instead of counting the fluctuating pennies in our Coca Cola stocks, we should, as financial bloggers, be looking for a way to make investments toward the future. The greatest investments cannot be calculated TODAY—owning a successful and growing business, owning a home that’s in an under-valued market, buying stock in an undiscovered beast like WalMart in 1995, etc. But when you cash in on those investments in forty years at retirement, prepare for the specific $ sign in your net worth to leap upward. Some of that money exists TODAY, yet you cannot show it on a net worth statement. Well I guess you could spend $400 to get your property reappraised every month. Think that’s silly? Not if you’re counting your net worth to the penny—might as well be accurate.

We should be finding ways to establish money-generating avenues that can multiple for the future, not necessarily for today.

And yes, I do make a monthly net worth update that is nowhere near accurate because most of my money goes toward future expectations. I like to chart spending in our personal lives and investments to make sure we’re keeping on track . If you truly aim to be a successful $$ man, I don’t see how you can know your exact worth.

I think that showing the world my net worth updates every month online and throwing a virtual party when I’m up $500 is off the track. Yeah it all sounds cool… yet shouldn’t we be aiming for financial freedom not X dollars in the bank?