Open Source Blogging

Every other Sunday, The Simple Dollar reviews a personal development, personal productivity, or other book of interest.

The New Global Student by Maya Frost is one of those books that takes what you think you know about a subject and flips it on its ear. This time around, it’s the standard route that most high schoolers take towards their education: take lots of AP classes, sweat about the ACT and SAT, apply to hyper-competitive colleges and hope you get in, apply for piles of scholarships, sweat out … Continue Reading

This is the second of twelve parts of a “book club” reading and discussion of Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover, where this book on debt reduction is teased apart and looked at in detail. This entry covers the third chapter, finishing on page 51. The next entry, covering the fourth chapter, will appear on Wednesday.

Dave Ramsey is probably the loudest proponent out there of the “debt is bad” mantra and he makes the case for it loud and clear in this chapter. In his eyes, outside … Continue Reading

First time I found Get Content Get Customers in a bookstore - Borders at the Newark Airport…sandwiched between Porter and Ramsey.

Picture #1 shows the actual position of the book when I arrived.  Picture #2 shows the book as I left the bookstore.  Amazing, isn't it?

Also, for all you Kindle fans, GCGC is now available on the Kindle and currently sits at #8 in the Direct Marketing category.

… Continue Reading

As I’ve mentioned before on here, my family did not have a lot of money growing up. My parents were always able to make ends meet and keep dinner on the table, but there was never really a sense of getting ahead. Instead, there was always a sense of just barely enough.

That’s not to say that I had a deprived childhood, though - I didn’t. My parents - my mother in particular - found lots of little ways to get me the things I wanted or needed. We went to the library all the time. … Continue Reading

This is the first of twelve parts of a “book club” reading and discussion of Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover, where this book on debt reduction is teased apart and looked at in detail. This first entry covers the preface and the first two chapters, finishing on page 16. The next entry, covering the third chapter, will appear on Saturday.

Let’s get this straight right off the bat. I like what Dave Ramsey has to say when it comes to personal finance. I find much of … Continue Reading

The fifth episode focuses on talking to parents about money and their estate planning as they get older. Along the way, I mention my own challenges in figuring out how to handle this as my parents age. Total time: 16:25.

Listen In!

Other options for enjoying The Simple Dollar Podcast include:
Listen to this episode on a separate page
Subscribe via iTunes
Download this episode (right click and save)
Subscribe in the media player of your choice

Though I hope you do subscribe using one of the above methods, don’t worry - each episode will be featured … Continue Reading

If you are a regular to this blog, you've heard this before: in the future, it will be very difficult to tell the difference between media companies and brands that sell products and services.

Heck, we may be there already. Media companies are working hard to develop products while their advertising revenues plummet.  Brands must develop consistent content and publishing strategies in order to attract and retain customers (to ultimately sell their products).

It's a strange marketing world we live in today.

Another … Continue Reading

The things that stick in your head after reading a book are often interesting. For example, just yesterday I posted a detailed review of Miserly Moms that outlined a ton of useful tips for cutting domestic spending.

Yet, the thing that stuck in my head for days after reading the book was an offhand comment she made about buying garbage bags. She pointed out that these were an item that one could easily switch … Continue Reading

Kristina Halvorson (@halvorson) from Brain Traffic did an amazing presentation about Content Strategy as the Future of Marketing.  It's thanks to Kristina that I've been presenting more about a greater focus on content strategy as THE critical part of a total content marketing strategy. 

My key thoughts while reviewing her presentation include:

Relevance is key to your brand's importance to a customer.  Relevance is created through the distribution of consistent, compelling content.
Information from a brand must be useful. It must solve challenges or entertain (depending on the brand). hmmm, I wonder what can do that (yes, content)? 
When thinking … Continue Reading

Kristina Halvorson (@halvorson) from Brain Traffic did an amazing presentation about Content Strategy as the Future of Marketing.  It's thanks to Kristina that I've been presenting more about a greater focus on content strategy as THE critical part of a total content marketing strategy. 

My key thoughts while reviewing her presentation include:

Relevance is key to your brand's importance to a customer.  Relevance is created through the distribution of consistent, compelling content.
Information from a brand must be useful. It must solve challenges or entertain (depending on the brand). hmmm, I wonder what can do that (yes, content)? 
When thinking … Continue Reading