One of my goals for this blog is to get to know other personal finance bloggers. I love blogging and getting to know other bloggers. And, one of the best ways to get to know other bloggers is through interviews.
Recently I had the privilege to interview Wojciech from Fiscal Fizzle. If you don't subscribe to Fiscal Fizzle you are missing out on some great personal finance articles, so after reading this article, go and subscribe to his blog.
Now on with the interview.
The Debt Hawk: Thank you so much for agreeing to participate in this interview. I am dieing to know more about you and your blog. And I am sure that my readers are too.
The Debt Hawk: When did you first get interested in blogging?
Fiscal Fizzle: Honestly, before 2009 I used to think that blogging was lame. I didn't know a whole lot about it and wasn't interested in discovering more.
One of the first blogs I came across was Zen Habits when I was searching for ideas on how to make life simpler. It was then that I realized the power of blogs as a medium and what was possible...
I helped my company start a blog at the same time as I was starting out Fiscal Fizzle, and had to do a lot of research to be able to explain the concepts to my co-workers. That helped me learn more about how blogs worked, and in the span of several weeks, I became the office 'blog guru.'
The Debt Hawk: How did you come up with the idea of starting Fiscal Fizzle?
Fiscal Fizzle: I found myself always learning about money, and trying to teach other people the habits of good personal finance.
When I joined the writing community Helium a few years ago, I realized that 90% of my articles were in the personal finance section of the site.
One day, I simply decided that I needed a medium I could control. The interactive nature of blogging also appealed to me. I abandoned Helium and went to writing for Fiscal Fizzle full-time.
The Debt Hawk: In simplest terms, what is your philosophy regarding personal finance?
Fiscal Fizzle: My philosophy to everything in life, but particularly money can be summed up in one sentence - "Give Yourself Choice."
Every decision I make, I do so with the forethought of how it will affect me 10 months, or 10 years from now - and whether I am locking myself in to something I won't be able to get out of, or whether I will still be able to make choices down the road.
Perhaps the best and most important example of this is buying a home for less than you can afford. Who knows what your income will be 15 years from now?
The Debt Hawk: What do you want people to get out of Fiscal Fizzle?
Fiscal Fizzle: I want Fiscal Fizzle to be a source of inspiration, sound advice, and a strong community.
We live in tough financial times, and I hope that I can help at least a few people learn about how to manage their finances wisely.
As I mentioned previously, I also like the community aspect of blogging, and as I've learned so much from interacting on other blogs, I hope that people can do the same at Fiscal Fizzle.
The Debt Hawk: What are your personal goals with Fiscal Fizzle?
Fiscal Fizzle: I am a writer. One of the big reasons I started FF was simply to 'scratch the itch' inside me and get my thoughts out there. To that extent, I've been successful.
One of the long-term goals of Fiscal Fizzle is to provide a strong alternative income stream for my family.
Finally, this is my legacy...I'm only 25 but the things I write today and for the next (who knows how many) years will be around forever. That's an intensely proud feeling, and some day I hope my kids get to read it and be proud of their dad too.
The Debt Hawk: Are you or have you ever been in debt? What do you think are the 5 best tips for getting out of debt?
Fiscal Fizzle: I've been fairly lucky to have learned my credit card lessons early on in life and never really abused the privilege.
We do currently have various loans gained from years of school, purchasing cars, and the like.
My best 5 tips for getting rid of debt?
- Adjust your lifestyle and your spending will follow.
- Use an envelope budget to give every dollar a job.
- Hide your credit cards forever.
- Forget how everyone else does it - everyone else is in debt. You can buy most things with cash.
- Be realistic, with expectations and with how you live.
The Debt Hawk: If someone came up to you wanting to start a personal finance blog, what are the best pieces of advice you would give them based on what you have learned from creating Fiscal Fizzle?
Fiscal Fizzle: My biggest piece of advice would be just to start - it may be rough at first and your posts may not be star-quality material, but you learn by doing.
Read other blogs - particularly other personal finance blogs and blogs on blogging (such as ProBlogger). You'll learn a great deal just by watching and reading how others do it.
Finally, create great content that's important to you and your readers. Try to solve problems they have in their lives. Give encouragement. Answer questions.
Don't get discouraged if you blog for months and nothing happens. Blogging is a transformational experience, and believe me - something is always happening. The readers come in time...
The Debt Hawk: What are you favorite resources for personal finance news and advice?
I recently wrote about diversifying your resources when it comes to learning about money. Over the last six months, blogs have taken over as my favorite money resources.
Others that I like include Bankrate and MSN Money. The latter is particularly useful for tried-and-true tips.
I also enjoy a good book every now and then, and frequent my library to pick up a few titles from the shelf.
The Debt Hawk: If someone asked you to recommend one book for them to read regarding personal finance, what book would you recommend?
Hands down, it would be Life Matters
Although money is only one of the sections of the book, it discusses timeless principles (not techniques) to live by if you want to succeed with money.
The Debt Hawk: Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
Fiscal Fizzle: Thank you for the opportunity to be interviewed! It's been surprisingly fun to write about myself. 
Again, I would like to thank Wojciech. Please go over to Fiscal Fizzle and check out his blog. It is excellent. One of my favorite articles on Fiscal Fizzle is 6 Financial Mistakes To Avoid At All Costs.
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Thanks again for the opportunity Mark. I would be happy to answer any other questions in the comments…
Great job on the interview, it’s always interesting to read about other bloggers and their background.