Interview with Penny Nickel of the Money & Values Blog

This is the 7th in a series of interviews HelpYourMoney.com is doing of other personal finance bloggers.

An Interview with Penny Nickel of the Money and Values Blog:

1. First, can you please introduce yourself and tell us why your started your personal finance blog?

Hi there! I’m a 24-year-old female college graduate from a middle-class background, and I live in Chicago and work at a non-profit. (My income and other financial details are available on my blog).

I’m blogging because I think the connection between personal social values and financial decisions is very important, so I like to talk about how I approach it and invite other people’s perspectives. I’m also blogging because it’s nice to have an outlet where I can talk about my frugality and share tips and ideas, and people think I’m savvy instead of crazy!

2. Do you feel you are on the right track to reaching your financial goals and what are they?

I don’t have too many solid goals (as in $X by X date), but I feel like I’m going in the right direction anyway. My broad financial goal is to have enough money saved at any given time that I can feel comfortable making job and life choices that might include a lower salary. I haven’t come up with a dollar value for “enough,” but I think I’m in a good place for my age.

3. Do you work in the financial industry? If so, do you want to share where?

Nope, I don’t.

4. If you had to recommend just one financial related book, what would it be?

Your Money Or Your Life, by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin. It’s an extremely thought-provoking read, and really encourages you to think about how to design your relationship to money to serve your priorities in life. I have not actually done the nine-step process in the book, but I’ve gotten a lot out of it, anyway, so don’t let that scare you off. Just read and think!

5. If you had to recommend just one financial related magazine, what would it be?

I don’t read many magazines of any kind, including financial ones, sorry.

6. If you had to recommend just one or two financial related websites (besides your own and that is not a blog), what would it be?

Fatwallet.com is incredible! Due to the posting volume, their forums can be extremely overwhelming, and I don’t follow them on a day to day basis. But every week or two, when I’m in the mood, I dig through their Free Stuff forum and check out their Finance forum, looking for good deals, and usually come up with some terrific stuff.

The Social Investment Forum is a fantastic resource on socially responsible investing. Check out their mutual fund charts, SRI guide, community investing links, and much more.

7. What is one of the WORST financial related decisions you ever made?

It’s only tangentially related to finances, I guess, but I dropped the ball on paying a medical bill in my name back when I was in college. It was only $60, so it wasn’t that I couldn’t afford to pay it, I was just disorganized (and stubborn, because I knew insurance was supposed to cover it, but misguidedly stubborn). Anyway, it became a charge-off that won’t fall off my credit report for another 3 years. It hasn’t come back to bite me yet, but if I end up buying a house before 2009…

8. What is one of the BEST financial related decisions you ever made?

Nothing stands out as a shining moment, but I’m glad I didn’t try to dramatically upgrade my lifestyle when I graduated college and got my first full-time job. I started spending a little more, but saving a lot more. A sub-category of that is my decision not to buy a car! I was able to shape a lifestyle where a car is unnecessary, and I’m so glad I’m not spending money on payments, gas, insurance, parking, maintenance, etc.

9. Do You Trade Individual Stocks and If so recommend your favorite 3 to 5 picks?

No, I don’t. Instead, I own socially responsible mutual funds. While I could pick out socially responsible individual stocks on my own, I like the mutual funds because they engage in shareholder advocacy with companies to improve their records on things like the environment, discrimination, workers rights, etc.

10. If you could give our readers just one financial related tip, what would it be?

Try hard to figure out what genuinely makes you happy and what you want out of life, and then shape your financial decisions to facilitate that. If that happiness involves making less money, embrace it, and try to figure out how to make it work. Go ahead and spend money on the things you find truly enjoyable and meaningful– and figure out what you’re buying out of habit or for superficial pleasure or because everyone else does, and drop them!

11. Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers? Please Tell us here:

I encourage you to think about the connections between your values and your financial decisions– and to come over to Money and Values and share your thoughts and experiences!

>> Visit Penny Nickel’s Money and Values Blog.