I have to get up very early on Saturday morning, so I won’t be able to put together my usual round-up of the press this week. I’m writing this in advance and wanted to leave a short update instead.
Apologies for the change of routine. I’ve only missed a handful of Weekend Readings posts in recent years, so consistency remains a priority.
With many new readers arriving lately and a period without a site-wide update, I thought it would be useful to explain what’s been happening at Monevator and outline features you might not have noticed.
Monevator now has two writers
The most significant change over the past year is that Monevator is now authored by two regular contributors. You’ll see our pseudonyms under article headlines. The two writers are:
- The Investor – I’m the founder of Monevator and have been writing here for several years. While I believe most people should follow a passive investing approach, I am a semi-active investor and some posts reflect that perspective. I typically publish on Thursdays and continue to produce the Weekend Reading every Saturday.
- The Accumulator – A long-time friend who joined the site in autumn 2010. He’s a committed passive investor and largely sticks to that philosophy. Many of his pieces appear under the passive investing sub-category, and his Tuesday posts often include his distinctive blackboard-style graphics. He also writes about saving and budgeting from a practical perspective.
Between the two of us we aim to serve a broad audience: clear, evidence-based passive investing guidance for most readers, crossover articles on ISAs and pensions, and occasional deeper dives or contrarian takes from me. For now I don’t plan to add a third regular writer, though I’d love a weekly illustrator or comic artist with knowledge of money and investing.
A few other site features
Over the past year I’ve introduced several tools and navigation options that can make the site easier to use. You might have missed some of these:
- A discussion area – The Discuss link at the top right of each page gathers recent comments across all posts, making it simple to jump into active conversations, even on older articles. It’s not a full forum, but it acts as a useful central hub for reader interaction.
- Personal finance tools – There are three utilities built by a friend: a mortgage calculator, a millionaire calculator, and a compound interest calculator. They were advanced when created and still offer helpful charts for visualizing financial scenarios. You can find them under the tools and calculators section in the menu.
- Search facility – A Google-powered search box sits in the right column and does a good job finding content across the site. I plan to make it more prominent soon.
- Comment follow notifications – At the bottom of a post’s comment box there’s an option to subscribe to replies for that thread. It’s an easy way to track discussions you care about.
If there are other small features you’ve spotted, feel free to mention them in the comments.
How to get updates from Monevator
If you like the site and want to make sure you don’t miss new posts, there are several ways to subscribe:
- Email or RSS subscription – The Subscribe page explains how to sign up by email or RSS. I don’t use subscriber emails for anything other than delivering posts. Around 1,600 people currently receive articles this way.
- Facebook – There is a Monevator Facebook page where posts are shared; it’s another simple way to see new content in your feed.
- Twitter – Our Twitter profile recently passed 1,000 followers. Posts are auto-tweeted, providing another convenient delivery channel for new articles.
Spreading the word
Many readers tell me they appreciate the site and ask how they can help. The easiest way is to share articles you find useful. Use the social buttons at the bottom of each post to email a link or post to Facebook or Twitter, or simply forward links to friends and family.
I plan to simplify the share options soon so readers can quickly choose between Facebook, Twitter, email and print — I hope that will make it easier to share content and reach more people who would benefit from the site.
Where we’re at in terms of readers
I don’t focus on vanity metrics, but I can say the audience continues to grow steadily. Below is a snapshot showing how monthly traffic has expanded over the last three years:
You’re part of a growing community of readers who value clear financial guidance
Growth explains why it can sometimes take me a while to reply to emails, especially when I get pitches for adverts or guest posts that aren’t a good fit.
If you’ve been following since the early days, thank you for sticking with us — long-term readers are the backbone of this community.
Final thoughts
Running a blog consumes a lot of time, but it remains rewarding. The site is still modest in financial terms and isn’t a path to quick riches — blogging for money is rarely lucrative, so don’t expect to get rich from it.
I know I’m not the most responsive blogger at times, but I read and appreciate every comment. The best part of the site is the community: readers helping each other, especially on passive investing posts, has been invaluable and encourages more constructive discussion.
In the coming weeks I’ll be doing a small spring clean of the site, so expect a few visual and navigational tweaks. Thanks for reading, sharing, and being part of Monevator.