Welcome to Meet the Blogger Mondays. Last Monday we featured *Dollar Frugal* and today’s post features *SFGal* from *Her Every Cent Counts*.

You can see the questions highlighted below and then the responses taken directly from *SFGal* .

Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging a long time ago because I had a lot to say and my friends could only put up with listening to me for a limited amount of time.

How long have you been blogging?

Since 2000, so about 8 years now.

Are you a part time blogger or full time blogger?

Part-time. I briefly was working as a full-time blogger, but I realized the best part of blogging is that it’s NOT my job. When it was my job, I couldn’t stand it after a while. I felt like I had to avoid saying certain things. The beauty of blogging is that you can say whatever you want.

TreadmillWhat keeps you motivated?
Life keeps me motivated. It’s hard to keep up with my many blogs. I try to keep up with my personal finance blog because I’ve found that people actually like to read my thoughts on financial matters (who would have thunk it?)

I like knowing that by sharing my experiences I can help other people, so that keeps me motivated. Still, sometimes I fall behind on keeping my blog up to date.

Do your loved ones know about your blog?

My loved ones… as in my boyfriend, family and close friends know that I have a personal finance blog, but I haven’t given them the address. They can read any of my public blogs I have, but this blog is anonymous for a reason. I enjoy talking about financial matters openly without feeling weird about my friends reading it. I don’t need my friends knowing my salary or how much I spend on clothes each month!

 

Do you disclose real numbers on your blog?

I disclose real numbers. This is the main reason my friends and family don’t have a link to this blog. I don’t like my friends and family knowing how much I’m making or spending. But I like to be open about it as much as possible to total strangers, because I think it’s the only way I’ll learn from the way I spend. How could someone give me advice on finances if they have no idea how much I’m making or spending?

Are all the posts true events or do you make up stories?

I always write about true events. I’m a writer, but I’m no fiction writer. Sure, I could write a much more interesting blog pretending I’m either extremely rich or poor. But the truth is I have some money in savings and I’m doing fairly well, but not well enough where I can spend money without thinking about it first. I think the honesty in my blog is what draws readers to it, and keeps them coming back for more. Sometimes people can’t deal with my honesty so they don’t come back. Maybe it bores them, or offends them. It’s my blog, and I have to keep it real.

What three bloggers inspire you the most?

Lazy Man and Money has a ton of great posts.

I’ve also enjoyed reading An English Major’s Money and Give Me Back My Five Bucks

What is the most important thing you want your readers to take from your blog?

That even shoppaholics can learn to budget and save.

What do you wish you knew before you started blogging?

That I could blog on Blogger and put Adsense on my blog entries. Over the years I’ve written thousands upon thousands of entries, but they’ve mostly been on sites where the blogging company was making the money off the ads (ie Opendiary, Livejournal, etc). Looking at how much money I’m making from AdSense now (not a lot, but a few dollars a month) I wonder how much I might have made over the years had I started an AdSense blog years ago.

pennyWhat is your favorite money management tip?

Always spend like you’re making $300 less than you’re actually making. If you end up spending too much, you’ll probably still avoid putting yourself into debt. If you do it right, you’ll end up saving money. At the end of the month, put that money into a high-interest savings account or invest it. Give yourself a reward at the end of the year with the money, or keep saving it for an even bigger purchase later in life.

What is the best thing about blogging?

Being able to say what I want, and knowing that people in the world actually get something out of my writing and being honest.

What is the worst thing about blogging?

Having to update frequently in order to keep readers coming back. Sometimes I just don’t have anything interesting to say, so I’m faced with the question – do I update and post something dull, or do I not update and have a journal that’s been dark for a while?

What would your readers be most surprised to find out about you now?

I don’t think my readers would be surprised to find out anything about me, as I’m pretty honest on my blog.

What are your plans for the blog in the next 12 months?

I’d like to force myself to update more frequently, and to grow my reader base by aggressively interacting with the personal finance blogging community. I want to add more content that is helpful and less that is bitching and complaining about money. I’d love to get my feed reader number up to 100 over the coming year. I’m not sure if that’s possible.

End of interview.

Thank you *SFGal* for answering all of the questions. It was very interesting for me to find out these things about you since I follow your blog and I now feel like I know you better.

Please check out *Her Every Cent Counts* and come back next week as we head over to *Clever Dude*.

Meet The Blogger Mondays has featured:

Dollar Frugal