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Overcoming Blogger Mood Disorder and Top Ten Family Finance Posts #4

06/10/2012 by John 23 Comments

Have you ever had BMD? That’s short for blogger mood disorder. Perhaps you’ve been through one or some of these experiences:

  • Loss of traffic
  • Loss of Alexa
  • Loss of page rank
  • Decrease or nonexistent commenting
  • Disappointing response to a post you worked hard on
  • Lack of advertising responses
  • Blog growing, but not as fast as you’d like

In the past, these events have greatly discouraged my blogging efforts. My symptoms usually included doubt and disillusionment. Thinking that my blog would never grow to the size I dreamed, I’d swear off blogging forever. Of course, I’ve always come back.

Over time, I’ve learned that blogging is not about hitting a home run on every post. It’s about persevering. You just have to keep going until you catch a break.

I bring this up, because I was feeling a touch of BMD this last week. As I mentioned last week, one of my blogging goals has been to write one guest post each week. I also wanted to leave my comfort zone and try to publish on some of the larger sites.

I submitted an article to Get Rich Slowly. I didn’t hear back. I’m sure JD Roth gets a billion guest posts each week. He may not even be posting guest posts at the moment. In short, the man and his staff are busy and aren’t going to post everything that hits their email! However, in blogging you get used to instant gratification. It can be hard to accept when things don’t work out as planned.

I was tempted to slam a few doors and cancel my web hosting. Doing so would be a complete overreaction. I’ve been through this before. You have to pick yourself up and keep plugging away until you find a success. So, I whipped up a different article and sent it to Problogger; it’s publishing on Thursday.

The cure for BMD is perseverance.

Blogging Goals

So…minus Get Rich Slowly, things are coming along great for guest posting. Below is what I’ve written in the last week and what I plan on writing in the weeks to come. I’m hoping that by organizing a schedule, it might help me keep up with all the writing.

Week of June 4th

  • Get Rich Slowly – nadda
  • I Am 1 Percent – What College Degrees Will Increase Your Chance of Reaching the 1 Percent?
  • Staff Post at Steadfast Finances – What are the Most Popular Gifts to Give a High School Graduate?
  • US News and World Report – What are the Odds of Succeeding with a College Degree?
  • US News and World Report – What’s More Important: Your Bank Statement or Credit Card Statement?

Week of June 11th

  • Problogger – To publish June 14th
  • From Shopping to Saving
  • The Penny Hoarder
  • Blog Swap
  • US News and World Report
  • Steadfast Finances staff post

Week of June 18th

  • Frugal Dad
  • US News and World Report
  • Stead fast Finances staff post

Future Guest posting

  • Prairie Eco-Thrifter
  • Fat Guy Skinny Wallet

My Family’s Financial Goals

Economically Humble is hosting a productivity challenge where bloggers are trying to complete one task each week for 9 weeks. Since this fits with My Family’s Financial goals, I decided to incorporate the two efforts.

Below are my four original goals for June, plus an additional 7 financial goals I hope to accomplish by the end of the summer. Many of these items are long overdue and will greatly improve my family’s finances.

  1. Close a CD I have at the bank before they automatically roll it into a new CD for 6 months. Check out the post on My Family Finances!
  2. Update my auto insurance policy to take advantage of a lot of savings. The update is in the mail as of this morning!
  3. Sign up for a new rewards credit card
  4. Update and reallocate my current 401k plan
  5. Meet with an insurance broker to discuss policies for my church (I’m the finance and insurance officer for my church’s board)
  6. Look into Traditional IRA custodians to roll in an old 401k that’s just been sitting out there
  7. Increase the savings in my children’s 529 plan
  8. Explore refinancing our mortgage
  9. Find a tree cutter to chop down a few dead/dying trees in our yard
  10. Check out accounting software for better tracking of small business income and expenses
  11. Shop around for new car insurance/homeowner’s insurance

I’ll be sure to write up posts on these items as I go along each week.

Top Ten Family Finance Posts of the Week

Now for the part of the article I love most. Sharing all the great posts I’ve read this week that will help you and your family with finances.

  1. Need more monthly income for your family? Why are you lending so much money to the government for free? Call Me What You Want, Even Cheap explains how to quit your free government loan.
  2. What’s the biggest barrier to starting up your own family business? Answer: paying Uncle Sam his share of your hard work. Budgets are Sexy covers the ins and outs of quarterly tax filing.
  3. Want to save money? Raid McDonald’s dumpsters and other frugal hacks for your family to avoid via The Free Financial Advisor.
  4. I spend a total of $0 on makeup, but I know that the female half of my marriage utilizes some of the products in the grocery aisle that shall not be named. Add Vodka adds up the makeup budget.
  5. Ever do something stupid to save a buck? Are you being frugal or just being cheap? Sam explains the difference at Financial Samurai.
  6. Don’t buy anything so expensive that you fear using the thing for its intended purpose. That goes for wedding rings at From Shopping to Saving.
  7. Get a job and a girlfriend at Funancials.  Sadly, no specific advice on how to do both at the same time.
  8. Spending money for nothing? See Debt Run is counting all the random expenses that simply aren’t adding any value to our lives.
  9. Kurt at Money Counselor has the scoop on using your IRA for a down payment on a house. Also, whether or not it’s a good idea to do so.
  10. Looking for a new cop-cruiser look-a-like? American Debt Project explains why the next family car should be a Crown Vic.

That’s it for the week. If you want to find yourself in next week’s edition, leave a comment, shoot me an email or tweet my posts excessively.

Others that have Enjoyed My Family Finances

  • Carnival of Financial Camaraderie at My University Money
  • Festival of Frugality at The Frugal Toad
  • Carnival of Financial Planning at Intelligent Speculator
  • Carnival of MoneyPros at Financial Conflict Coach
  • Carnival of Retirement at Finance Product Reviews
  • Yakezie Carnival at 20s Finances
  • Financial Carnival for Young Adults at Young Family Finance

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Filed Under: Blogging

Comments

  1. Daisy says

    06/10/2012 at 12:25 pm

    Thank you for the link love! I think we all go through some mega blogger mood disorder – I know I do!

    PS – if you need to find another blog to guest post on, WLGYL is calling your name!

    Reply
    • John says

      06/10/2012 at 12:58 pm

      I do need to find a whopping 52 blogs to meet my goal. I think I listed 6, so I definitely will add vodka to my guest posting. BTW, I love the blog name. It makes me want to add vodka to my sentences.

      Reply
  2. Robert @ The College Investor says

    06/10/2012 at 12:46 pm

    I can never get anyone to answer at GRS. However, you were mentioned in some other pretty awesome places!

    Reply
    • John says

      06/10/2012 at 12:56 pm

      Thanks for the info. It makes me feel better to know that others have experienced GRS static. I’m sure they are fielding thousands of emails a day. Still, it would be nice to get a thumbs up or down.

      Will this deter me from a future submission? I’ll try again in six month 😉

      Reply
  3. From Shopping to Saving says

    06/10/2012 at 2:11 pm

    Hi John! Thanks for linking me, and I look forward to reading your guest post for me 🙂 I am also GP-ing at Penny Hoarder this week. Should be exciting!

    As for blogging, it does get tough because we all do this for free (at first). I still don’t make money off blogging and I think the key is like you said, perseverance..but also in moderation. I started my blog almost 2 years ago. I fell off the wagon a bunch of times. I doubted myself a lot, but it all fits into place if you just keep your heart in it. Bring your true self, and people will see that.

    You’re very busy with writing and I thought I was overwhelmed with my posts and guest posting to do.. good luck!!!:)

    Reply
    • John says

      06/11/2012 at 1:09 pm

      Penny Hoarder is a great blog. It’s an excellent choice for a guest post.

      I’m surprised that you’ve struggled. You are an excellent blogger. I feel like you do circles around most others.

      Actually, now that you’ve pointed it out, I need to be cognizant of burnout. We’ll see how this week works out.

      Reply
  4. Financial Samurai says

    06/10/2012 at 5:01 pm

    Sounds like some pretty darn good places you’ve been guest posting!

    I’ve been rejected countless times when I first started until I just decided to do my own thing and start the Yakezie Network.

    I agree about perseverance completely.

    S

    Reply
    • John says

      06/11/2012 at 8:22 am

      So in a way being rejected created one of the largest most respected blogger communities on the web. I only hope my rejections turn out as fruitful.

      Reply
      • Financial Samurai says

        06/11/2012 at 2:29 pm

        I cherish rejection so much. It gives me such great motivation to try harder. It doesn’t matter what you do, you will always have people rejecting you, saying bad stuff about you and your organization, etc.

        You just have to carry on and never surrender!

        Reply
        • John says

          06/12/2012 at 6:19 am

          Great advice in blogging and in life.

          Reply
        • PB @ EconomicallyHumble.com says

          06/17/2012 at 11:08 am

          I agree… take a few minutes to be down, the bounce back!

          Reply
  5. Kurt @ Money Counselor says

    06/11/2012 at 8:54 am

    Thanks for including Money Counselor in your Top Ten Family Finance Posts, I really appreciate it!

    And I think you’re right–success in most things is all about perseverance. I’m trying to figure this stuff out myself, but I think on key might be to aim to be a leader, not a follower. Maybe someday you’ll have the privilege of ignoring GRS (if you choose). 🙂

    Reply
    • John says

      06/11/2012 at 1:12 pm

      hahaha. It would be nice to have the privilege of ignoring GRS. I do see what you mean about being a leader. You definitely need to work out your own little niche in the blogosphere or else you won’t be unique.

      Reply
  6. AverageJoe says

    06/11/2012 at 9:32 am

    I’ve had some huge coping moments. You know that many bloggers do because in the short nine months I’ve been blogging I’ve watched many good voices just disappear. That’s frustrating to watch.

    At some point I have to try guest posting more. There are so many things I don’t do, I wonder how to create more time to do them all.

    Congrats on ProBlogger and the other big names. I’d say that’s quite a platform!

    Reply
    • John says

      06/11/2012 at 1:14 pm

      Thanks for the congrats! My theory is that, if this blog is good enough to gain big readership, I should be able to get published on bigger sites. But, as Sam pointed out above, it’s not really a good indicator of greatness.

      Reply
  7. John @ Married (with Debt) says

    06/11/2012 at 12:16 pm

    Perseverance is the most important stat. When I got to 100 posts, I was more excited than Alexa getting below 100k, etc. I’ve finally got to the point where I’m focused on writing and not stats, but I know if any of them tanked I’d probably freak out.

    Reply
    • John says

      06/11/2012 at 1:16 pm

      I hope your site never moves backward, although I can’t see what it ever would. Congrats on the 100 posts. That’s definitely an important rite of passage.

      Reply
    • Financial Samurai says

      06/11/2012 at 2:54 pm

      When I first started, I would go for 3-6 months at a time before checking Google Analytics.

      Reply
  8. Budget & the Beach says

    06/11/2012 at 2:35 pm

    Too funny!!! You know, for me I always have to come back that I’m writing for myself. And that I have to BE myself and follow my own heart with what I want to write. Then detach yourself from the outcome. At least that’s what I try to do. 🙂

    Reply
    • John says

      06/12/2012 at 6:18 am

      I keep telling myself the same thing when I golf, yet the clubs still take flight at some point. I struggle overcoming disappointment. I want to continually improve.

      Reply
  9. PB @ EconomicallyHumble.com says

    06/17/2012 at 11:05 am

    Great to see you joined the summer challenge! Good luck!
    http://economicallyhumble.com/the-9-week-summer-productivity-challenge/

    Reply
  10. PK says

    07/18/2012 at 11:33 am

    Here’s two more to add to your list:

    1) Your comments decrease but your traffic increases (perplexing!)
    2) You achieve success with articles you know will be temporary (date in the title, political, etc.)

    Where’s the DQYDJ guest post (or collaboration) on that list, haha?

    Reply
    • John says

      07/21/2012 at 9:52 am

      Sooooo true. I used to write in politics. I’d have articles that would pull in thousands of hits, for an hour or two and then never be read again.

      Reply

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