In my Money Managers interview series, I interview notable members of the personal finance community. Generally, my interviewees are bloggers or professionals working in finance. In this article I interviewed Jon Dulin, founder of MoneySmartGuides, a personal finance blog. I personally enjoy how he gives well-thought and detailed explanations for his stances on different financial topics. Without further ado, let’s get into the interview!
For my readers who may not be familiar with you, would you please introduce yourself? Who are you? What do you do?
My name is Jon Dulin and I am 42 years old, living in Philadelphia, PA. I am married and have 2 daughters. I currently blog full time and have been doing so for 7 years. After graduating college, I began working in the financial industry and held various positions. In 2013 I was laid off and decided to take my part time blog full time. I gave myself 6 months to grow my income. If I didn’t, I would look for another job. After 6 months, I grew my income and set another 6 month goal to grow it some more. I never looked back.
What is your blog about, and in your opinion, what sets it apart from the others in your niche?
My blog is about a person’s entire financial journey. Many sites focus on one aspect of personal finance, like getting out of debt or investing. I help people get out of debt and start building wealth so they can achieve their dreams.
When and why did you start blogging? Looking back, would you have gone about starting it differently?
I started out back in 2010. But I didn’t know was blogging was back then. I just started a website. It wasn’t until late 2011/early 2012 when I made $0.01 from Adsense that I realized you can make money writing vs. selling a product or service. The only thing I wish I had done differently was take it more seriously from the start. Then I could be much farther ahead than where I am now!
Are there bloggers, authors, or anyone else who has really inspired you?
There are too many bloggers to list! I love reading other bloggers take on things because personal finance is personal. And because of our upbringing, we all have different experiences and opinions when it comes to money. So what I say I do might not be right for someone else and vice versa.
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced so far, both as a blogger and in your own personal finance journey?
Personally, it was admitting my personal issues when struggling to get out of debt. If I hadn’t admitted to myself that I was depressed, I would still be in the cycle of debt today most likely. As a blogger, first, it was treating my site like a business. I kept looking at it as a hobby which held back my potential growth. Second, trying to avoid “shiny object syndrome”. This is where you read one blogger find a way to dramatically increase traffic so you stop doing what you were doing and try it. Then next week, you hear something else and try that out. Stick to one thing for a while. If you see results, keep doing it. If you don’t then step back and try something else.
Time for a bit of a loaded question – what is your favorite type of investment and why (index funds, stocks, bonds, real estate, etc.)?
Index funds. I just pick the investments to build a diversified portfolio and set up a monthly investment. From there it is mostly hands off and I can spend my time doing other things I enjoy.
At the end of the day, what is the main thing you hope your readers take away from your blog?
That you have the power to change your financial situation. It doesn’t matter if you have debt or didn’t get an education on proper money management. Every day is a new day, a new chance to start building and improving. And while you won’t see dramatic results after a few days, if you stick with it, you will be amazed at how far you came.
What’s the best piece of advice you received growing up? How did it shape you into the person you are today?
To set the example for people around you. You work hard and focus on what is important in life. Be a good role model for others and your kids and the rest will take care of itself.
Everyone views success differently, what personal metric do you use to define your own success?
Am I better today than I was yesterday? I try to improve myself and my relationships a little bit each day. I’m never perfect and some days I am better than others, but each day I wake up trying to be a little bit better than I was the day before.
People tend to struggle with finding a good work-life balance, especially these days. How do you manage? In other words, what’s an average weekday like for you?
I get up at 6am every day and work for 2 hours. Some days I will sneak in a workout during that time. Then I have breakfast with my daughters and then head back to work until 5pm. We eat dinner as a family and then I play with the girls until bedtime. I then spend some time with my wife and go to bed by 10pm. For me, having a set schedule works wonders for me. As a writer, I know I need time to sit and write, so without a schedule, I can’t relax to the point where I can write.
What’s something you’re interested in – outside of blogging or personal finance?
I enjoy golfing a lot. I wish I could get out more than I do. It’s fun to play and no matter how good you are, no shot is guaranteed. You learn something every time you play.
If you had to give advice to someone who has just joined the job market and started their personal finance journey, what would it be?
Start investing today. I don’t care if it is only $5, though ideally it would be more. Then invest something every single month going forward. Don’t look at your balance every day either. Just ignore it and let the market do the work.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed learning about Jon and his views on personal finance as much as I did! If you liked what he had to say and want to see more, be sure to check out his blog, MoneySmartGuides. As always, if you have any thoughts you’d like to contribute, add a comment!
