Please pardon my progress as I work to upgrade the look of No Credit Needed.  There was a conflict between my old theme and the latest Wordpress upgrade, so I need to make a few changes.  I should have everything sorted out soon.  Thanks.

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Site Upgrade In Progress

It’s been several days since I last posted an article here at No Credit Needed.  I could easily blame my life, which has been hectic and filled with much to do, but I won’t.  I could also blame writer’s block, but I don’t have it.  Instead, just like every other article I’ve ever written, I’m going to be honest.  I haven’t written an article because I can’t get over a self-created (is that a phrase?) issue with the direction of No Credit Needed.  I’ll try to explain.

Way back, more than four years ago now, when I started this site, I had one goal.  I wanted to be debt free.  Well, it “only” took me ten months to get out of debt – and then I was faced with a (pleasant) dilemma.  What do you do with a debt reduction blog, after you have achieved your debt reduction goal?  Do you keep blogging?  Do you stop blogging?  Do you change the name?  Do you change the focus?  Remember, when I started this site, I knew next-to-nothing about blogging, blog promotion, social media, Internet marketing, online advertising, etc.  I was (and in many ways still am) just a guy with a computer and a goal of financial security.

So, instead of just celebrating my debt-free status, I continued to blog.  Over time, No Credit Needed became (I hope for some) more than just a debt reduction blog.  I connected with a lot of other bloggers, authors, writers, and readers.  In fact, No Credit Needed opened up a world of new friends, new contacts, and new ideas.

Throughout the history of the site, I’ve written (primarily) about my own financial ups and downs.  Included in our plan for financial prosperity, I’ve written several articles about how we live without using credit cards.  For us, this is a personal decision, simply because my wife and I really don’t like the hassle associated with credit card use.  Somehow, those articles about how we live without credit cards really caught on – and that idea – of not using credit cards – became a (the?) focal point of No Credit Needed.

Here’s the rub.  While I don’t use credit cards, I never intended for that to be the primary focus of this site.  The reality is, however, that much of the media attention that No Credit Needed has received has come from media outlets interested in how we live without credit cards.  Of course, as people asked questions about our lives without credit cards, and as those articles gained popularity, I was motivated to write even more articles about our lives without credit cards.  And, at first, I had absolutely no problem with this, because we really have thrived without them.

When I started No Credit Needed, one of my goals was to break my reliance on credit cards.  For me, I was able to achieve this by simply putting my credit cards in my wallet, and refraining from using them.  When I first started, I needed to break my credit card dependence.  However, I have come to realize that this lifestyle choice may or may not be the best for everyone.  I have no desire to try to convince others to abandon (permanently) their credit cards.  Instead, I’d love to encourage folks to get out of debt, manage their finances wisely, and refrain from useless borrowing.

The time has come, and I feel that I must stop focusing on this specific topic.  While we will continue to live without credit cards, writing about this topic is keeping me from writing about a broader range of financial topics.  I feel boxed-in, unable to write about “how to manage credit card payments” or “how to use a credit card an remain debt free” for fear of alienating my current readers or coming off as hypocritical.

I take this site very, very seriously.  Writing here has radically changed my life, both financially and personally.  I love the personal finance blogging community, and I plan to continue to support my fellow bloggers.  At this time, in an effort to broaden the reach of No Credit Needed, and in an effort to broaden its subject matter, I feel the need to shift the focus away from articles about life without credit cards and towards articles about life without debt.

I have a few ideas about the types of responses this article will receive.  I hope that most will understand my motives, and forgive me for giving up the “credit cards are evil, and here’s why” battle-cry.  I fear that some may stop visiting the site.  Hopefully, after noting that it’s been almost two weeks since I last wrote an article, you can see that this “step” has been weighing heavy on my mind.  I simply do not want to waste valuable time and energy defending our decision not to use a credit card. Instead, I want to write about the power of a sound budget, the importance of planning for the future, and the goals one can achieve with solid planning.

I will continue to write about the debt free life.  I will also write about our goals, and how we plan to achieve them without borrowing money.  I will also write about debt reduction, how to pay of credit cards, and I will continue to celebrate the debt reduction success of other bloggers.  As for writing about credit cards, I may mention that we do not use them, but I will no longer focus on this aspect of our financial plan.

I have proven, to myself, that I can live without a credit card.  I have no current plans to use one, nor do I foresee a reason to use on in the future.  However, should I choose, at some point in the future, to pay my cell phone bill with a credit card, and then pay that bill off at the end of the month, I will let you all know.  And, for those who do use them – and those who don’t – I hope you will continue to read No Credit Needed.

A word about this blog’s title – No Credit Needed.  When I first started the site, I wanted something catchy, something that would be memorable.  I remember seeing a sign, at a local store, about how you could finance a purchase “no credit needed”.  I thought it would be awesome, if somehow, instead of that phrase being used to convince people to borrow money, it could be turned on it’s head, and represent a family that was living debt free, without borrowing money.  Only after a few articles did the name start to “mean” something.  It does not mean that I don’t think credit (or the ability to borrow) is important – it simply means that I don’t want to live a life where I am beholden to creditors.  Only later, after choosing the name, did I realize the impact of a credit-less life and that, perhaps, the site should have been named “No Debt Needed”.  Perhaps I should state it thus – I don’t mind having credit, I do mind needing credit.

I invite you to leave comments with questions or concerns.  In choosing to move away from this singular topic, I can now focus on an array of important topics.  Concerning myself with the defense of the “no credit cards lifestyle”, I really felt dragged-down and alienated from the original purposes of this site.  Now, I feel that I will be able to really focus on other things that are important, and move forward.

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No Longer Focusing On Credit Cards

I sat down last night and recorded a new episode of the No Credit Needed Podcast.

For those who are new to the podcast, or podcasting in general, a podcast is an Internet radio show.  The show is free, and you can download it to your computer, listen to it via iTunes, or listen to it directly from the NCN Podcast website.  If you own an iPod, you can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes, and new episodes will be automatically downloaded to your computer.  Confused?  Don’t be!  Just head over to the NCN Podcast website, and press play.

New episodes of the podcast will be available once a week – and the new episodes will be 10 to 15 minutes long.  Instead of rambling on and on, I’ll TRY to stay on topic and stay focused.  Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you like the latest episode of the NCN Podcast.

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The NCN Podcast Is Back!

After a long conversation with my wife, she has encouraged me to continue writing here at No Credit Needed.  She knows how important the site is to me.  So, please disregard the previous post, where I declared that I would no longer be writing articles for No Credit Needed.

I want to thank those who left comments and sent emails.  My wife and I were touched by your kind words.  No Credit Needed is more than just a site, it is an experiment – to see if we can live without borrowing money.  I want to thank those of you who have supported the site, and with the support of my awesome wife, I am happy to say that I the site, and the experiment, will continue.

-NCN

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Some More No Credit Needed

Edit -

At the request of my wonderful wife, I have decided to CONTINUE to post new articles here at No Credit Needed.  She insisted, especially after reading several of the kind emails and comments.  I have decided, however, to stop producing new content for several other sites, so that I can focus my attention here.

Original Post -

I have come to difficult decision.  I have decided to stop publishing new articles here at No Credit Needed.

The past four years, I have enjoyed getting to know you, my awesome readers, and I want to thank you for sharing my journey with me.  My family and I have been blessed, as many of you have encouraged us, inspired us, congratulated us, and motivated us.  I want to thank you for reading the articles I have written, and I hope that even a small percentage of them have been valuable to you.

To my fellow bloggers, I want to thank you for linking to my site, promoting my articles, and joining me in this journey.  I now count many of you as my dear friends.  I will continue to visit your sites, and I will always appreciate your hard work.

My decision to stop writing is not an easy one, but I think that it is the right decision, for me and for my family.  My life is full.

Again, I want to thank each of you.  I cannot overstate how important this site – and its readers – have been to me.

You guys rock.

-NCN

Edit -

At the request of my wonderful wife, I have decided to CONTINUE to post new articles here at No Credit Needed.  She insisted, especially after reading several of the kind emails and comments.  I have decided, however, to stop producing new content for several other sites, so that I can focus my attention here.

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No More No Credit Needed

I’m proud to announce that I’ve joined 12 other personal finance writers to form the Money Tips Network.  I’m happy to be a member of this new network – made up of some of the most trusted writers in the personal finance blogging community.

Here’s more information about the Money Tip Network and it’s members -

Money Tips Network Members

The mission of the Money Tips Network is to provide you with honest and helpful money tips from the best personal finance blogs. All 13 of these bloggers have been doing just this for many years. Here they are (in alphabetical order):

1. Bargaineering – Written by Jim Wang, Bargaineering is a blog that chronicles his personal finance life. Jim is co-host of the Personal Finance Hour podcast with JD Roth of Get Rich Slowly.
2. Consumerism Commentary – Created in 2003 by Flexo, Consumerism Commentary has been honored by Kiplinger as a must-read blog and named as one of Yahoo’s “Ten Money Blogs Everyone Should Read”. Flexo runs the original (and still the best) PF blog aggregator pfblogs.org, and recently started the Consumerism Commentary Podcast.
3. Five Cent Nickel – Written by a man who has been meticulously recording his finances since 1997 (stored in Quicken), Five Cent Nickel is one of the oldest and most respected blogs around.
4. Free Money Finance – This site is about one simple thing: growing your net worth. The 5 Principles of Free Money Finance is a PF blog classic. Business Week says Free Money Finance “offers an inspiring mix of timeless investing wisdom and money-making ideas”.
5. Generation X Finance – Jeremy Vohwinkle is the blogger behind Gen X Finance, a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor, and the editor of About.com’s Financial Planning section.
6. Get Rich Slowly – Get Rich Slowly, recently named “most inspiring money blog” by Money magazine, is devoted to sensible personal finance. JD Roth is the other half of the Personal Finance Hour podcast.
7. No Credit Needed – NCN (that’s me) started this blog in 2005 to track his debt reduction efforts, and has since been inspiring others in their debt reduction efforts. In addition to the blog, check out the No Credit Needed Network and No. Calories Needed.
8. Squawkfox – Making frugal living sexy, delicious, and fun. “Fox” has a new book coming out in 3 weeks! 397 Ways to Save Money will help you spend smarter and live well on less.
9. Stop Buying Crap – Despite the title, Cap doesn’t preach being cheap. Stop Buying Crap is about understanding your unlimited wants and how you may fulfill it with your limited resources.
10. The Digerati Life – You can always count on Silicon Valley Blogger (SVB) to churn out practical, comprehensive, and helpful advice about personal finance and small business.
11. The Frugal Duchess – Miami Herald columnist Sharon Harvey Rosenberg offers a fun, frugal and fashionable way to save money and live well.
12. The Simple Dollar – Trent Hamm is a respected personal finance blogger. There’s a great new article on The Simple Dollar everyday, and Trent’s book reviews are legendary. Get a copy of his recently published book, 365 Ways to Live Cheap: Your Everyday Guide to Saving Money, that helps you save money every day of the year.
13. Wise Bread – A community dedicated to helping each other live large on a small budget.

For more information, check out the Money Tips Network Homepage and subscribe to the Money Tips Network feed via RSS or email.

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Introducing The Money Tips Network

Whew.

What a week!

I’ve been “away” for a week, taking care of several little odds-and-ends.  I use quotations marks, because I haven’t actually been away.  I simply took a few days, set them aside, and just plowed-through a series of once-every-year type tasks.  Instead of spacing these tasks out over the course of several months – it was better for me that I just do them all, and get them out of the way.

On the work front, I managed to complete three or four major projects – and get myself ready for some important events scheduled for summer.  It feels good to have my ducks-in-a-row.

On the blog front, I have updated some of the back-end software for each of my sites.  Updating a site only takes a few minutes, but backing up files and doing several updates, across several sites, can take some time.

On the home front, I finally broke down and purchased a new lawn mower!  No, I did not save up enough soda cans to pay for the new lawnmower, but I DID manage to collect a couple hundred dollars worth of cans.  I cashed-in the cans, sold some stuff on eBay, and combined those profits with some gift cards that I received at Christmas.  I am now the proud new owner of a brand new Husqvarna lawn tractor – the very first new lawn mower I’ve ever owned.  I spent the better-part of today working in the yard, mowing, edging, and trimming the grass.  I also planted some flowers in the flower boxes that hang from the railing on our porch.  I also cleaned out the garage and organized the storage building.

On the financial front, I’ve just been plugging along.  We are still funding our retirement accounts, and building up our cash reserves.  I upgraded my automobile insurance coverage, and purchased some additional disability coverage.  The recent movements in the market have actually caused a nice rebound for our retirement account balances, which is a good thing.  I’m very interested to see if the economy has indeed started to recover.

Well, it’s good to be “back”.  I hope that those of you who celebrated it had a wonderful Easter.  We certainly did.  Tomorrow, I’ll resume my regular posting schedule.  (I also resume updates over at the No Credit Needed Network and No. Calories Needed and 99 Changes.)

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Back From A Week Of Taking Care Of Business

I love Trisha’s article over at Blogging Away Debt – Sometimes I Feel Like Our Timing Is Off.

Trisha and her family have made some remarkable process over the past few years, and they are now down to less than $2500 in credit card debt.  I have always enjoyed Blogging Away Debt, and consider it a daily must-read.  (I still say that Blogging Away Debt is, quite possibly, the coolest name for a personal finance blog, and one that I should have considered, long before going with the awkward No Credit Needed.  Plus, my initials would be B.A.D. instead of N.C.N. Oh, hindsight…)

In her article, Trisha talks about timing, and how she feels that hers is a little off – when it comes to hair styles as well as personal finances.  I just wanted to say, I think we all know how Tricia feels.  It’s always difficult to know just the right time to buy a new home or invest in the stock market.  That’s one of the things that makes this whole personal finance management thing so difficult – that – not-knowing-if-I’m-doing-exactly-the-right-thing-at-the-right-time-feeling.  The reality is, none of us have mastered this timing thing, but, I for one, think that Trisha (a.k.a. B.A.D.) is doing an awesome job.

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Did You Ever Feel Like Your Timing Was Off?

New readers might be interested in another site I manage, the No Credit Needed Network.  NCN Network members create a goal, which they can then update and track via the Network homepage.  As an example of how the Network works, here are the 10 latest NCN Network updates -

• debtmaven

• Paid Twice

• AllPennies

• AllTheTime

• Time4Change

• SeekingSerenidy

• project10k

• Greedytoolong

• Livelikenoone

• KeepMyMoney

As you will see, if you take a look at a few of the above mentioned charts, Network members are making some pretty impressive progress.  In April, I plan to open the Network up to new members.  I’ll make an announcement here, at No Credit Needed, so stay tuned.  In the meanwhile, you can click through and view the entire list of Members’ Charts and Members’ Websites.

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Latest Updates From The No Credit Needed Network

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