When it comes to matters of personal finance, I don’t pretend to have all the answers.
After all, they call it personal finance for a reason.
It is also true that every personal finance blogger adds their own unique voice, perspective, attitude, and approach to money management.
Likewise, each blogger also has his own areas of strength and weakness.
For example, I tend to focus on ways to help you successfully run your a household like a business, consumer reports and product experiments, and macroeconomics with a strong emphasis on personal responsibility.
Then again, you aren’t going to see any posts here from me on the nuances, complexities, and methods of investing your money. You also aren’t going to see many posts from me regarding how to take advantage of tax laws. I’m not an expert in that area and those topics typically bore me to tears, so I don’t usually write about them. For that I depend on other personal finance bloggers to help enlighten me.
Recently, Craig from Money Help for Christians approached several bloggers about starting a new and diverse network of personal finance writers known as the Money Mavens.
Taken as a whole, I think the Money Mavens Network successfully consolidates expertise from every aspect from the world of personal finance and I am very proud to be included with such a great group of money writers.
It is our hope that the Money Mavens Network will be a terrific resource for anybody looking to broaden their knowledge on personal finance.
To that aim I will be featuring each of the Mavens’ lateset posts here at Len Penzo dot Com; their posts will always be listed under the Money Mavens banner on the right sidebar.
Now, in addition to myself, let me introduce to you the other members of the Money Mavens Network:
Canadian Finance Blog is the Canadian source for personal finance. The site covers universal topics such as how to invest wisely as well as tips on how you can save money on everyday expenses and bills. As one of the leading sites based out of Canada, numerous topics that matter to Canadians are covered, including RRSPs, TFSAs and Canadian taxes.
Claim to Fame: Makes a yearly trip to the North Pole on behalf of the Canadian government in order to plant the flag and reassert territorial claims over the area.
Brad Chaffee founded Enemy of Debt in 2008 in an effort to motivate and inspire financial discipline by focusing on behavior and truth. Brad feels that by learning personal responsibility, debt free principles, and the importance of planning people can learn how to take control of their finances one step at a time.
Claim to Fame: Despite complaints from his neighbors, maintains a giant national debt counter in his front yard.
FiscalGeek focuses on Personal Finance from the view of a Geek. Paul makes no apologies about his inner geekdom, and thats why his audience appreciates him so much. He spreads his knowledge about finance and technology to help his readers improve their fiscal fitness, one spreadsheet at a time.
Claim to Fame: Was a consultant and stunt double for Richard Dean Anderson on the MacGyver television series.
Mike works in the financial industry and he specializes in personal finance. Mike is always trying to find way to make money differently than receiving a pay check every two weeks. Mike loves trying different things and he posts true stories about his experiences. Mike is currently building his own online business while working 4 days a week at his day job.
Claim to Fame: Taught Donald Trump how to do the Macarena.
JoeTaxpayer is the founder of the eponymous www.JoeTaxpayer.com where he has been blogging on various financial topics for over three years. He is interested in all aspects of financial planning with a strong focus on tax issues and retirement planning. Joe is also a frequent contributor and one of the moderators of the Usenet group misc.taxes.moderated and guest blogger at the TurboTax blog.
Claim to Fame: Born in the back seat of a taxi outside a regional office of the Internal Revenue Service.
Money Help For Christians (MH4C) promotes a frugal, simple, debt-free, and generous lifestyle so Christians can faithfully maximize their resources by putting them at the disposal of Gods Kingdom. MH4C is committed to providing relevant resources in order to assist Christians in this effort.
Claim to Fame: Unlike the other members of the Money Mavens Network, Craig is the only one that can find Papua New Guinea on a map.
At The Oblivious Investor, Mike writes about ways to invest successfully without having to watch the market from day to day or month to month. He covers topics like asset allocation, building low-maintenance portfolios, and making the most out of your retirement accounts.
Claim to Fame: During a private tour of the New York Stock Exchange, accidentally shut down trading for five minutes after he decided to ring the bell an hour before the official close of trading.
Wealth Pilgrim is about financial balance. On the one hand, Neal believes most of all of us can do better financially. Spend more mindfully, invest smarter, get better educated, make sure we maximize our earnings. On the other hand, there are some things that are beyond our control. Rather than allow those realities to diminish our joy in life, Neal feels we should learn to accept them and find joy in those limitations. Neal writes about finding this balance on his blog Wealth Pilgrim.
Claim to Fame: Has a patent pending on a new version of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. (The PB&J is on the outside of the sandwich.)
Susan Tiner says
There’s nothing wrong with being Canadian? Just kidding. I very liked this article too Len, congratulations on joining a cool network of excellent bloggers.
Mike @ Green Panda says
Hey Len,
what is your claim to fame 😉
I am currently training a team of penguins to cheer up the Macarena around Tom’s flag… Yup man, you are counting another Canadian in the team 😉
Len Penzo says
Another Canuck! I love it!! As for my claim to fame – that’s easy, Mike! I’m the world’s worst personal finance blogger!
http://lenpenzo.com/blog/id962-black-coffee-my-favorite-blogs-money-news-opinions-31-the-len-penzo-sucks-edition.html
Paul @ FiscalGeek says
Once again you didn’t let me down Len, you got a couple of snorts out of me on this one. I’m terribly happy to be part of the Money Mavens Network with you. For the record I wanted to point out that I do not nor did I ever have a mullet. That being said being associated with MacGyver was about the highest compliment you could ever pay me. Oh and I’m not Canadian. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
Tom @ Canadian Finance Blog says
I keep putting that flag up, but I think some guy from Alaska keeps taking it down again.
20smoney says
Nice group of blogs. I look forward to checking them out.
Jeff @DeliverAwayDebt says
Good luck with this lucky lot of bloggers. I love the claim to fames.
Craig Ford says
Len,
As always you put a smile on my face. I’m glad to be working on the Money Mavens Network with you.
If you need me to show you where PNG is on a map I’d be glad to let you know :).
Len Penzo says
@Paul: By the way, if I had to be locked in a room with a ticking time bomb and either you or MacGyver – along with a ball point pen, a paper clip, and a wad of chewing gum – I’d take my chances with you. This should be a lot of fun!
@Susan: Thank you, Susan – one of this blog’s most loyal readers and commenters, I might add! 🙂
@Tom: I thought Adam Baker was from New Zealand. 😉
@20s: Thanks, Kevin!
@Jeff: Thanks, Jeff! You know I couldn’t possibly make that stuff up.
@Craig: Same here, Craig. As for PNG… Like I said to you earlier, I always thought Papua New Guinea was something they served at British pubs.
Guy G. says
Hey,
Guy here at How To…
We’re a Canadian Blog too. Good to have some company.
Looks like the Money Mavens will be a big success. You all seem to work pretty hard and by the looks of it the octet is pretty well rounded. Okay, I think I counted 9, but I just wanted to say octet.
Cheers,
Len Penzo says
LOL. Good one, Guy! You know another word I go out of my way to say, just because I can? Indubitably.
Joe Plemon says
OK. I had to look up “maven” so while I was at it I looked up nine sided figure, which is “nonagon”. Not trying to one-up Guy with octet of course, but just filling in the gaps.
So…sounds like your maven is going to be a very great nonagon of information. Indubitably!
Len Penzo says
Believe it or not, Joe, I like to think I have a fairly strong grasp of the English language, but until last month I always thought a maven was another term for “woman.” LOL
Daddy Paul says
Some blogs worth checking out!
Monevator says
That’s surely not true about Mike@ObliviousInvestor is it?
Am I missing the joke? Is it a reference to his obliviousness.
Maybe bed time I think. 😉
Len Penzo says
Good idea, Investor. Be sure to have another pint for me before you turn in though, brother. 🙂