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Strategies & Market Trends : Technical analysis for shorts & longs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Johnny Canuck who wrote (42631)	9/14/2005 5:50:38 AM
From: Johnny Canuck	Respond to of 68554

New world of blogs helps with your money ELLEN ROSEMAN The financial media are always quoting "experts," such as bank economists and brokerage-firm analysts. But where are the ordinary people, those struggling to tame their spending and save enough to retire early? These are the real experts, the authentic voices that can help us with our own finances. Such voices are largely absent from the mainstream media, but easy to find on the Internet — especially in the fast-growing blogosphere. A blog, originally known as a "weblog," is an online journal or collection of links to other websites. It's published by one person or small group, with entries updated frequently, often daily or several times a day. You don't need to know HTML code to start your own blog. The advent of free build-your-own tools has accelerated the growth of blog sites. Some blogs provide a valuable filtering function for readers. The web has been pre-surfed for you. Other blogs act as diaries or outlets for someone's daily thoughts, opinions and yearnings. "Free-style blogs are nothing less than an outbreak of self-expression," says American political blogger Rebecca Blood. Blogs represent a democratization of the media, a shift from carefully controlled information provided by sanctioned authorities to an unprecedented opportunity for individual participation. Most blogs allow users to post their own comments and create a sense of community. A total of 17.1 million blogs are tracked by Technorati.com, a real-time search engine that calls itself the authority for what's going on in the world of weblogs. PFBlog.com is a popular United States personal-finance blog, with 1,500 visitors a day. The site is run by Michael, a 29-year-old Microsoft Corp. employee who originally wanted to retire at age 40 with $1 million (U.S.) in investments, savings and home equity. He has accumulated $262,054, according to a review posted this month, and has pushed up his retirement age to 36. Many other blogs are in the same vein, "chronicles of the writer's personal triumphs and failures," such as MyMoneyBlog.com and ConsumerismCommentary.com, according to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal. FreeMoneyFinance.com is a filter-style blog that concentrates on providing articles and links to help readers increase their net worth. "I have no qualifications as a financial adviser," the anonymous blogger confessed last April when he launched the website. But, after managing his own money for 20 years, he said "my net worth now places me in a very good position versus the average American." You have to use caution when sorting through personal-finance blogs, just as you do when choosing a financial adviser in the real world. There are ways to check out the information, such as following links to the original sources of data or quotes to see whether they're credible. While U.S. blogs are more numerous, you'll find some information is irrelevant. Specific advice on taxes, retirement planning or mutual funds probably won't apply to the Canadian personal-finance scene. For local financial advice, check out BlogsCanada.ca/directory. It lists and rates 155 business blogs, ranging from The Mortgage Doctor to Big Picture Speculator. Also worth investigating is the online version of Money Sense magazine, published by Rogers Media Inc. You'll find wide-ranging debate in the discussion forums, including one aimed at beginning investors. Larry MacDonald, a columnist for MoneySense.ca, ran a two-part series last May describing his favourite investment blogs. ValueInvestigator.com is one of MacDonald's top picks. The website is run by Irwin Michael, a well-known Canadian portfolio manager with an above-average record. "A true gem and a must read," MacDonald says. Michael shares his top 15 to 20 value-stock picks, explaining what he's buying and selling and why. You may never own his ABC funds, which are available only to well-heeled investors. But you have free online access to his time-tested stock-picking approach. Now that's a good deal.