Financial Mechanic brings to mind tinkering with money and learning how to use money as a tool. I wanted to write about my own financial journey to help others hone their own. I hope that by sharing my story, there is one more example for people to use as inspiration on their own financial journey.

Financial Samurai was founded in 2009 to help make sense of the chaos during the global financial crisis. Sam worked in investment banking from 1999 - 2012, got his MBA, and finally decided to engineer his layoff in 2012 to be free.

I came up with the name “A Purple Life” a little randomly. To me, “A Purple Life” means a slightly different life, a life that involves constant questioning instead of going with what you’re given. It’s doing what makes you happy even if that makes you stand out or seem weird to people. It’s following what’s in your heart no matter what.

Blogging Away Debt is one of the original debt reduction blogs. First started in 2006, the site has been helping people get out of debt by sharing stories of how bloggers have gotten out of debt. Blogging Away Debt focuses on budgeting, debt reduction and related personal finance topics.

The name’s Amanda Holden, but my pals call me Mandy, Mandicakes, Manderson Pooper, A.Hol (get it? like J.Lo but…grosser??) and—you guessed it—Dumpster Dog. Ahhhh yes, ol’ Dumpster Dog, that’s me. What you’re probably not thinking is: For a young and single working gal, that is one darling nickname!! It’s okay—I love it. The nickname took root during a eight-month stint where I didn’t buy food (see this post for the gruesome details) and it has really stuck, glued to me like day-old bean burrito guts on a Taco Bell wrapper. The easy fusion was surely thanks to my preference for Birkenstocks and half-eaten gyros over stilettos and grooming; creativity over tedium, always. This brand of scrappiness is the very essence of Dumpster Dog, and accordingly, the perfect name for my blog on money!

I started We Want Guac after years of itching to share my own experiences. The name itself comes from getting the “extra” in life without feeling guilty about it or like you can’t afford it – the guac at Chipotle being the premier example. I focus on showing people in their early 20s how to get started on the climb to wealth; whether you’re debt-free or have loads of loans, whether you’re a newbie or a little advanced, it doesn’t matter. We’re out to get you to understand everything related to finance: budgeting, investing, income growth, adjusted mindsets, and overarching societal impacts are all discussed at length.