WE’RE THREE-YEARS-old, and we’ve grown to become something I never intended. When I launched HumbleDollar on Dec. 31, 2016, my plan was to take my money guide—which had previously appeared as an annual paperback—and make it freely available on the web. I also had plans to write an article every week or so and have others occasionally blog for the site.
Since then, HumbleDollar has morphed into a fulltime job that doesn’t pay me a salary and a site that—I like to think—occupies a small but unique place in the internet’s ongoing financial conversation:
Since then, I’ve taken further steps to ensure the site isn’t about me. Early last year, I removed my photograph, along with a brief bio, from the homepage. Nobody complained. From the site’s navigation bar, I deleted the tab devoted to my books. Nobody seemed to notice.
To bring this philosophy into sharper focus, I introduced a manifesto last year, which now appears in bite-size chunks on the homepage. That manifesto joins a series of other short homepage items, including “Numbers,” “Think,” “Act” and “Truths.”
But I quickly came to realize the whole thing was unethical, akin to brokers making money by flogging the products that pay them the highest commissions. In 2019, I axed all of these marketing arrangements—except the one with Amazon, which I view as pretty innocuous, because it isn’t in the financial services business. (Shortly after this article appeared, I also nixed the Amazon relationship, so HumbleDollar now receives no affiliate marketing revenue.)
Instead, I decided to solicit donations to supplement the modest sum that the site earns from advertising. The level of support has been gratifying. Over the past eight months, more than 400 readers have contributed to the cost of running the site. Those contributions are often accompanied by kind comments—and I value those comments even more than the dollars themselves.
Follow Jonathan on Twitter @ClementsMoney and on Facebook. His most recent articles include He Can Be Taught, Just Do It and Eyes Forward. Jonathan’s latest books: From Here to Financial Happiness and How to Think About Money.
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