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Bindisha Sarang writes in Mint that it is still early days in India for money-linked blogs with a cult following, but points to three that show promise. This blog has been mentioned along with Manish Chauhan’s JagoInvestor and Fisher’s TheMoneyQuest.
The link is crashing my browser and so I am uploading the pdf file of the story. Three PersonalFinance Blogs by LiveMint
Here’s the excerpts about this blog:
Ranjanvarma.com
The content of the blog shows that Ranjan Varma has 20 years of industry experience in and around money. Interactive and informative, this looks like a one-stop-shop for most personal finance needs.
The reader gets the personal finance-linked news of the day as well as Varma’s views on the news. For example, he had a view on the recent guideline issued by the Insurance and Regulatory Development Authority (Irda) on unit-linked insurance policies.
Links to other interesting articles and sites from the blog add to the appeal. The recently begun weekly digest section gives an industry snapshot and should develop well.
The range of the author is another interesting aspect. It doesn’t stop at discussing the basics of money, but goes into larger discussions, too. So you would find views on the turf war between the Securities and Exchange Board of India and Irda, and how would it affect the investors, besides basic tips and principles of investing. The range of topics covered is fairly comprehensive— covering insurance, mutual funds, stocks, financial planning for kids and retirement, savings, loans and budgeting.
The links to different calculators catering to a variety of needs—from monthly budgeting to loan comparison and tax calculation—work well.
On the visual front, we found it a bit loud. The blog is user-friendly, but some text in italics makes it difficult to read. From the comments it seems that the blog has a loyal following.
Bindisha mentions that Media, in a an Internet world, now includes a new species called the blog. This adds to my responsibility and I will strive to make better contributions on this blog
But getting on the “Media” bandwagon doesn’t stop me from taking potshots at the media. Let me defy the ” People who live in glass houses don’t throw stones” logic.
As I said in my post on “Stop Blaming Others…”, that the media’s focus is to bring in advertisers rather than taking responsibility for your finances! Let me elaborate.
Let us be real. The media is NOT a Non Profit. It has to make money or shut down. It doesn’t make money out of the Rs2/- per day that you shell out for the daily. Nor does it charge you for watching content on TV.
What if bloggers and journos charge you for content? You’ll be aghast, no! So the media cuts a deal with advertisers who want to piggy back on the media’s spread to spread their own message.
Now the media is more interested in having a wide readership and a giant subscription figures to get the Advertisers flocking to them. To achieve that, they need to focus on what their readers want and not what’s good for them. So we have the lovely ladies with low necklines everywhere in our Dailies. (I don’t mind that, better to look at them rather than the other shit stories!!)
Btw, I even had a post on Why Personal Finance Articles are Useless!!!
To be fair, the personal finance articles do prod, motivate and inform. They do show you the way. But you need to undertake the journey yourself
Doesn’t all this rant tells you that the media is not to be blamed for your financial mistakes? Now, I haven’t said anything against the media, no!!
About Ranjan
He edits Personal Finance Online Resources, delivers Financial Awareness Workshops and has built a desktop RupeeManager.
Email: ranjan@ranjanvarma.com or Call on +919867755615
Congrats Ranjan. I knew this. Your blog is not only informative but also gives sage advise.
Please visit my blog and give me tips to improve!!!!!., more so, because my blog has been ranked as India’s best Investment advise blog but still failed to find a place in livemint.
congrats, once again.
Very well said. That makes a lot of sense to me. Media is a great medium of advertising same as blogging. I don’t think personal finance articles are useless. It really depends on how we appreciate a subject. To have readers, you must have good content or else just stop writing. lol. Thanks.
Let me be honest. From whatever I have read on this blog in the last two days has left me by and large unimpressed.
It has surely not added to my knowledge. In fact I am beginning to doubt Ms Sarang’s ability and methodology to pick out three blogs out of whatever number that is around.
I am yet to check the other two blogs.
Please do not take it personally. I am sure your blog would have helped a lot of people. However, I wanted to share my honest opinion with you.
Thanks SumanK for your honest opinion. Do you have any suggestions? Btw, my mail to you bounced.
Sorry, there was a mistake in the mail id as I typed it. Has been correct. Please redirect your mail.
@SumanK Mail sent