The Money Principle Manifesto Revisited

 

Dear friends of The Money Principle,

With this post, I am going back to the beginning. You may not remember or know that, but this site used to be where I shared with you my thoughts, struggles, and life (such as it is).

When I did that, my heart sang every time I crafted a blog post because pressing the ‘publish’ button was like inviting treasured friends to coffee and a chat. Not because I think that my life is fascinating but because I believe that sharing with friends, discussing our troubles, and finding our way to the light together makes life so much more enjoyable.

Why did I stop?

Because someone made me feel that what I have been doing has little value, someone said:

“I had a look at The Money Principle yesterday and read that you have travelled somewhere. Who gives a sh*t?”

And that was it – the moment I changed my writing for The Money Principle, the moment I opened my mind and closed off my heart.

Things have never been the same around here. I am the first to say that I lost my (editorial) way, and The Money Principle lost its soul to become ‘just another personal finance site’.

My joy in writing and building up The Money Principle was gone. While the articles I publish are still, I hope, helpful, they are missing the twinkle of my soul that makes them uniquely mine.

Then, in the summer, I received a tempting offer – a large media company wanted to buy The Money Principle for a decent pile of money. Was I tempted to sell?

You bet I was tempted. The COVID pandemic had us all worried about the future again, and worrying about the future usually includes concerns about money. Especially when I suspect one of my investments has turned sour and we likely won’t recoup what we put in.

I didn’t sell despite the temptation. What is more, I took that episode as a wonderful signal – The Money Principle is valuable, and with a bit of work, and more helpful inspirational writing, it could become so much better.

It is time for a new commitment, my friends.

It is time for me to make promises to you again.

Hence, I am revisiting The Money Principle manifesto. Let me tell you about the different ways in which I will make the site a truly exciting and helpful destination on the United Kingdom personal finance scene.

My core belief, and the engine behind The Money Principle brand of personal finance, is that:

Anyone can change their lot by transforming their beliefs and dedicating themselves to creating the conditions for their dream life.

If you already disagree with me, likely, The Money Principle is not for you. It is okay – I still like you and respect you. It is just that if you think about why things are impossible first, if you see yourself as a victim of circumstance and people and refuse to trust me when I offer to guide you through the minefield of money problems, your online home may be elsewhere.

Alternatively, you may decide to stick around and work on changing your mentality; I promise it will be worth it.

Here are the other promises I wish to make to you, my friend:

• The Money Principle will continue as a website that guides you from being broke and likely in much debt to becoming financially secure and independent. That means you will learn how to tackle your debt and live debt-free, how to manage your money, how to make more money, and how to invest and make your money work for you. I have already written on these matters but there is always scope for improvement.
• While we are talking about paying off debt, I wrote and published a book about that. It is called ‘Never Bet on Red: How to Pay off Debt and Live Debt Free’ and is not your ‘run of the mill’ pay off debt book telling you to spend less than you make. Never Bet on Red builds on my core beliefs and values and urges readers to work through, and change, their own beliefs, denounce consumerism, start thinking about money in a different way on top of offering practical ways to optimise spending, increase earning and make use of nifty personal finance tool. (The book is also free for members of Kindle Unlimited.)
• My dream is, over the next 12 months to help 100 people pay off their debt, or at least make serious progress towards paying it off. Within weeks, I will announce ten free mentoring places on my Zero Debt Highway programme – ten people will receive FREE one-to-one and group mentoring from me.
• We are also working on making The Money Principle much easier to navigate. The current look is not bad (though it was always too formal for my taste) but finding what you need it clumsy. We will change that.
• I am working on a number of e-books that will offer you practical guidance and inspiration along the way. Just like The Money Principle, these will cover different stretches along the way from broke and debt-riddled to financially secure and independent. Some of the e-books will be free to download but some will have to come at a small cost. I hope you’d understand that while I am here to help and support your effort to achieve financial security and independence, all this is time-consuming. My time is not cheap.
• I am always here for you. This means that you can write and ask me questions, ask for help, and my opinion. Don’t be shy – there are few things more rewarding than helping someone achieve their dream (or escape their nightmare). Also, if you would like to see something on the website, don’t hesitate to tell me – I will do my best to respond.
• I will keep The Money Principle personal. There will still be in-depth analyses and reviews of financial instruments, banks, investment platforms, and products. However, I will be telling you about my thoughts, my obsessions, and generally my life. I am not a narcissist but I do think that to be helpful I need you to trust me, and it is hard to trust me if I hide my soul behind cold, hard data.
• I will start a newsletter in the next month or so to make sure regular The Money Principle readers e.g. readers who have subscribed to it don’t miss anything.
• I will publish once a week at least. New articles will be published on Tuesdays.

These are my promises to you. All I want in return is that you spend five to ten minutes on The Money Principle learning so that your journey to financial independence is smooth and joyful.