State of the blog (and: Introducing Apex Money!)

Okay, enough with the navel gazing! I've been very introspective around here lately. While that was necessary (and cathartic), it's time to get back to work, to turn our attention to money once more.

Before we begin, though, let's talk about some changes to my workflow. Mainly, these will affect me, but they'll indirectly affect GRS readers too.

Refining Get Rich Slowly

As most of you have gathered by now, I'm going to shift how I approach my writing schedule. As in: I'm not going to stick to a schedule. I'm not going to feel pressured to publish. Instead, I'm going to write what I want, when I want. I think we'll all like the results.

As part of this change, I'm going to be less frenetic, less scattered about my writing. For instance:

• Normally, I have several articles going at once. I “parallel” process. But we all know that multi-tasking doesn't work, right? I'm going to shift to “serial” processing my articles. I'm going to focus on one piece at a time. I'll still read and collect info about other subjects, but when I start writing something, I'll keep writing that piece until it's done.
• This change will also allow me to do deeper dives into subjects. For instance, I've been interested lately in mortgages for retirees (especially for early retirees). I'm doing preliminary research on an article right now. When it comes time to actually write the piece, I hope to interview brokers and other experts. When I do deep dives, there may be longer lulls between publish dates.
• To compensate, Tom (who handles the business side of GRS) and I are exploring other ways to provide material as my publishing pace decreases. That means featuring more guest authors. It may mean bringing on staff writers. And it may mean partnerships with other, established sites. (For instance, we've been talking to NerdWallet about republishing one of their articles each week.)

I've thought a lot about these changes. I've talked them over with people in Real Life. This new approach feels much healthier than my old one. (And, in fact, it's pretty much how I was doing things at Money Boss before I re-purchased GRS.)

I'm also going to make sure I set aside time every week for fitness and friends. Since moving two years ago, I've let both of these parts of my life atrophy. That's no good. By making them priorities once more, I think I'll be happier and more productive.

And here's one final change to my work life: Although it might seem to go against everything I've written lately, I'm partnering on a new site: Apex Money, which curates top money stories every day.

Introducing Apex Money

As some of you know, I've long longed to create an “aggregation site” that collects the best articles about money. When I re-purchased Get Rich Slowly eighteen months ago, I kind of thought that's what I'd do here. But I didn't.

Instead, I implemented the “spare change” section on the home page, which is continuously updated with links to interesting money stories I find from all over. Then, in my weekly email, I pick a handful of these links (usually three to five) as my favorites from the past seven days. Newsletter subscribers love it.

Well, when Rockstar Finance — a popular curation site — went dormant recently, my buddy Jim from Wallet Hacks asked if I'd like to collaborate with him on something similar.

   

This seemed like a no-brainer.

Jim and I have partnered together many times in the past (most notably on the Personal Finance Hour, a proto-podcast we hosted for most of 2009). With him handling the tech side of things and me focused on content, we're playing to our strengths. Besides, I'm already doing most of this work already!

So, we tested the concept privately to see if it'd work for us. After ten days worth of curation, I feel confident that I can do this without getting overwhelmed. It takes me an extra 15-20 minutes per day to write each Apex Money post. More importantly, it's fun. I'm having a great time whipping these up. There's no pressure.

Note: Jim and I aren't the only ones with this idea. Zach from the excellent Four Pillar Freedom just started his own curation site: Collecting Wisdom. I've subscribed already.

Anyhow: If you'd like to get a daily dose of top-quality financial advice, you should bookmark Apex Money. (Or, if you prefer, subscribe to our email newsletter.)

Don't feel obligated, though. All of the money links I bookmark show up in the “spare change” section here at Get Rich Slowly. The best each day make it to Apex Money. Then the best each week make it to the GRS Insider that I send each Friday.

In the meantime, stick around Get Rich Slowly as we continue to master our money (and our lives) together. It's great to have you along for the ride.

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