Interview with Tricia of the Blogging Away Debt Blog

This is the 10th in a series of interviews HelpYourMoney.com is doing of other personal finance bloggers.

An Interview with Tricia of the Blogging Away Debt Blog:

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

My name is Tricia and my blog is Blogging Away Debt. I started my blog back in February to keep track of my progress as I work to pay off my family’s debt. I post a lot of detailed information to keep track of my spending so I can take a closer look at it to figure out how we can spend our money wiser. It has definitely been an eye-opening experience.

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

One of my short term goals is to have our credit card debt paid off by May 2009. So far, we are on track to meet it. As for long term goals, to be honest I haven’t thought that far ahead yet. I know I want to save and invest but that’s about it.

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

I do not work in the financial industry. I do, however, work with numbers daily.

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

I’ve only read one finance related book so far, but I’m not sure another book could top this one - “The Millionaire Next Door.” I was highly impressed with this book and I even held a contest to give away my copy to someone so they could read it as well.

It opened my eyes and brought about a whole new way of thinking for me when it comes to money and who really has it. I actually had some deep stereotypes of who millionaires were and they aren’t the flashy people I thought they were. They are actually more like myself with being frugal and looking for values.

I’d suggest that everyone read it and I wish I had more copies to give away :)

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

The only magazines I read are some old issues of Money magazine that I got my hands on. I’ve only read through a few so far, so I don’t feel I have a good enough feel for them to recommend them to others.

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?

I like reading MSN Money. They often have some great articles and they cover a broad range of personal finance. I’ve learned quite a few things about debt reduction and spending mentality from their articles.

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

Probably the worst (besides being in debt in general) would be how my husband and I spent an inheritance of $40,000.

Some things would be considered good spending like for a few college classes, but there is about $10,000 of it that I have no idea where it went. If I can’t remember where it went, it was probably for frivolous items. We should have paid off some of our student loan debt with it.

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

The best financial decision we made was back in February. We decided that it was time to do something about our debt and pay off our credit cards. It really doesn’t make sense to keep paying for things years after you purchase them.

Even though we will be in our 30s when our debt is paid off, if we start saving using the money we were paying for our debt - we will have a comfortable retirement. It’s not too late as I once thought it was.

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

No stocks. Ask me again in 3-5 years ;)

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

There are many sources of information out there that suggest that there are certain ways to do things when it comes to your finances (especially when it comes to how to reduce one’s debt).

Always remember that there is a huge key word in personal finance - PERSONAL. No two situations are alike and what may work for one may not work for another. Feel free to combine suggestions. Think of it as creating the recipe for your own personal success.

11. Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

Since starting my blog, I learned that, well…there is a lot to learn about personal finance!

For example, I had no idea that there were so many different avenues to save for retirement. While it seems overwhelming at times since there is a lot to learn, don’t let that scare you away from the subject. Personal finance is pretty fascinating once you get into it.

>> Visit Tricia’s Blogging Away Debt Blog.