Blogs on managing time, money are useful, or just plain fun

By Becky Bosshart

Reading blogs is like peeking into someone's checkbook. Blogs are open to whomever may wander off from the World Wide Web, but it still feels a little voyeuristic.

I am almost always against new reporting done via blogs. I'll state my case plainly for all those who would adamantly disagree.

Blogs are meant to be personal accounts almost always written in the first-person point of view. That's how it should be. They fill a vital niche for those who want a little spice from (perhaps) a trusted source. But, really, bloggers cannot do fair and accurate news reporting using just their point of view.

But I do love good blogs that reveal a personal account of economic conditions. The first two I found were in June's issue of The Economist. Both sites suggest ways to streamline everyday processes to avoid time wasters. This is called life hacking.

43 Folders.com

A well-organized and easy-to-browse site. Individual titles can be a bit overwhelming (such as "Epictetus on baths and mindfulness"). The Feb. 15 blog on (natch) a book about blogging offered a pearl for those of us in the information business, essentially: A blog isn't just a publishing system, it represents your ideas presented to the world in the form of a conversation. Both you, and the world, can return and track why you do the things you do. For any student of human character, that is an intriguing scenario, providing the blogger accomplishes something other than whining.

By the way, Epictetus was a Greek stoic philosopher.

Lifehacker.com

This site takes the viewpoint that computers take up more time, rather than make us more productive. This might be a good page to bookmark for those burdened with decoding computer functions.

Some past topics: setting up autoreply with Gmail and a download that tracks how many cell phone minutes you've used for the month (it supports Cingular, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint and Nextel).

Young and broke.typepad.com

This came to me from a friend. The woman who blogs on this site (she's a newlywed trying to stay out of debt and build equity) mixes in personal info with great financial links. I don't make the time to scour the Web looking for the latest budget and financial tools. This anonymous blogger does.

I've found some pretty interesting stuff through her site, a lot of links to Bankrate.com, Yahoo and CNN. Easy to read. This blogger keeps good record without getting boring. She touts other bloggers (recently, "The Budget Wino") and stories in the media about youth culture and money management.

Who would think personal finance could be so liberating? Vital info is just a click away.

• Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.