Blog Review: Blueprint for Financial Prosperity

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Blueprint for Financial Prosperity has been around since early 2005.

The site’s author has been featured in the NY Times, Business Week, as well as RealMoney— a site that I’ve read almost every weekday for the past 5 years.

This blog has a different feel than some of the others I subscribe to. This blog is definitely a bit more edgy and the more I read the more I like. Blueprint has a lot more articles that I would categorize under the heading of investment related advice.

A fine line

I feel like many personal finance blogs are mostly focused on lifestyle pieces, while a blog like this covers a broader range of topics, including different product offerings. There’s a definite bend towards dealing with tangible issues as opposed to more subjective ones.

While going through the site today, there was hardly an article that I wasn’t interested in reading. I think that speaks to the diversity of the content. Maybe I’m a bit bias because much of the content is stuff I enjoy reading, since it comes from a world I’m pretty familiar with.

Outside the box

The one thing that struck me today about this blog is the creativity that the author brings to the site. Everything from the Devil’s Advocate posts down to the blurb he uses to identify himself when responding to reader comments.

These 2 posts about Scrabble & Personal Finance and the Seven Wonders of the Personal Finance World are good examples of his unique take on things. I’m going to try and take some of that ‘thinking outside the box’ mentality and incorporate it into Chance Favors.

Here’s a sampling of a few more posts I enjoyed:

• Stock Market Brokerage Phone Numbers and Contact Links - a very practical piece. I assume many of his readers are active investors. Like I said above, this blog dedicates more space to talking investments than the others I’ve reviewed.

• One Laptop Per Child Offer - I love this article. I made a similar reference to this program in a post a few months back. This is an incredibly compelling program and the t-Mobile deal is awesome. I’ve already forwarded the link to a few of my friends that are interested in participating.

• What Happens If Your Brokerage Goes Bankrupt - this is a very timely post considering what’s happening over at E*Trade. I think most American s take the safekeeping of their investments for granted and this is a bit of a wakeup call.

• How To Put Your Personal Finances On Autopilot - I think putting many of these things on autopilot is a good thing. Automating 401K contributions is smart. Not to say you shouldn’t be vigilant in monitoring your progress, but people struggle with sticking to a program when they have to think too much. Human psychology often works against investors. The fact that investors know they can’t touch their retirement money, I think, accounts for the better returns there. Out of sight out of mind.

• You Are A Business, Act Like One - I think this a great way for people to look at their professional lives. I think you can also apply these lessons to preparing for your future. Let’s change a couple of the words, used in the post, around. For instance, Lesson 1: maximize contributions, Lesson 2b: minimize investment expenses, Lesson 3: take care of your allocation, Lesson 4: It’s Just your future. And lets keep Lesson 5 the same: you decide your fate… that never changes.

• Why Roth IRA Is The Freaking Awesomest - I’m glad to see someone feels the same way I do about the importance of the Roth IRA. I agree with Jim here, The Roth IRA is the awesomest and I’ll go so far as to say, A Roth IRA for every American!

In conclusion

Originally, I wasn’t reading this blog all that much but I plan on making it part of my daily allowance. I like the style in which the pieces are written and the photos are not bad either:)

Tags: blogroll review, personal finance blogs