{"id":133610,"date":"2020-12-04T15:09:40","date_gmt":"2020-12-04T14:09:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=133610"},"modified":"2020-12-04T15:09:40","modified_gmt":"2020-12-04T14:09:40","slug":"influencer-insight-maria-nedeva-the-money-principle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/influencer-insight-maria-nedeva-the-money-principle\/","title":{"rendered":"Influencer Insight: Maria Nedeva, The Money Principle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blogger Maria Nedeva from The Money Principle<\/a> has been sharing insight on staying financially healthy since March 2011. Much has changed in the consumer financial world since the blog\u2019s launch, but some things stay the same \u2013 read on for how Maria aims to educate and entertain while helping her readers keep healthy finances. <\/strong><\/p>\n

How did you get started with blogging about personal finance?<\/span><\/strong>
\nFor most of my life, and I\u2019m in my mid-50s, I ignored money. I should have expected therefore to get in financial trouble. Indeed, in late 2009 we realised that our consumer debt (excluding mortgage) had reached \u00a3100,000.<\/p>\n

Did I panic? You bet I did. But once I dealt with the panic, despondency and anxiety that hit, I focused on our money. I learned, I experimented and I came up with different and novel ideas about how to make money, how to optimise our spending and how to make our money work for us.<\/p>\n

It was a pity not to share with others in our situation. This is how The Money Principle was born in March 2011. Since then I have made it my creed to help as many people as I can reach to solve their money troubles and achieve \u2018financial health\u2019.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your favourite thing to post about and why?<\/span><\/strong>
\nThis is a good question and very hard for me to answer. You see, my ultimate aim has always been to reach \u2018financial health\u2019 \u2013 the way I see it, this is much more important, and sustainable, than merely aiming to build wealth. Hence, paying off debt is not a destination, but a stop on the way.<\/p>\n

Put simply, I write about paying off debt, making money, investing and money management and I love all of it. There are times when some topics dominate, and that depends on what fascinates me and excites my curiosity at the time. I write posts that educate and entertain (or, this is what I believe).<\/p>\n

How did you change your approach and content during lockdown?<\/span><\/strong>
\nI found that my writing shifted to \u2018surviving\u2019 rather than \u2018thriving\u2019. Also, counter intuitively for a personal finance blog, the message I aimed to get out is that the coronavirus pandemic is not the time to worry about debt \u2013 there is time enough, I hope, to be concerned with matters of money when we are sure we have survived.<\/p>\n

(On a personal note, I made an effort to get my financial affairs in order, just in case. Things like, made lists of investment accounts with instructions for how to access them for our sons.)<\/p>\n

Later on, during lockdown, I started writing about debt again (partially because I am working on a book on how to pay off debt fast and live debt-free).<\/p>\n

What do you think the longer-term impacts of the pandemic and lockdown will be on people’s ability to save?<\/span><\/strong>
\nInitially things may look up \u2013 people already found that they have more money left at the end of the month because they don\u2019t spend much on entertainment, clothes, etc. I believe, that after that initial advantage, it is likely that the growing un- and under-employment will start biting and the wealth inequality will increase.<\/p>\n

Which is not good for the economy, and for our societies generally. It also means that most people won\u2019t be able to save because they will hardly be making enough money to sustain a frugal lifestyle.<\/p>\n

Still, it is very difficult to say anything with a level of conviction \u2013 there are so many variables that are exceedingly murky at the moment.<\/p>\n

Which of your posts would you direct people who are struggling financially to first?<\/span><\/strong>
\nA good one. You know that there is a difference between the posts I think people should read and the ones they choose to read, right?<\/p>\n

Instead of falling into the trap of recommending my favourites rather than what my readers find most useful at present, I checked my Google Analytics. Here are the four most read blog posts on The Money Principle in the last five months:<\/p>\n

This is What to do When You Have no Money at All<\/a>
\n52 Practical Frugal Living Tips You Can Implement Immediately, Save Money, Cut Waste and Still Have Fun<\/a>
\n15 Ideas on How to Make \u00a31000 a Month (enough to pay your monthly bills)<\/a>
\nNutmeg Review \u2013 is Nutmeg investing a good match for you?<\/a><\/p>\n

This order lets me believe that in these troubled and uncertain times, most people are looking to get respite from a desperate money situation, slash their spending, increase their earning and invest for the long run. These may be different people, but the sequence looks intuitively appropriate.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the best\/worst thing you\u2019ve ever spent money on?<\/span><\/strong>
\nI have to say that in the long run, the best has always been my education. (Okay, this was my father\u2019s money, but my education was his best ever investment.) More recently, I bought a 27-inch iMac and it is an excellent purchase.<\/p>\n

What is the worst thing on which I spent money? A Smart-for-Two car about which I later joked that it came from insecurity \u2013 I\u2019m so intellectually insecure that my car had to say \u2018smart\u2019 on it. More seriously, this thing was useless \u2013 couldn\u2019t take my son to his cello lesson for lack of space, cornered like an arthritic old lady and danced from side to side on the motorway. My worse purchase ever.<\/p>\n

How do you collaborate with brands, and which kind of brands do you really like working with?<\/span><\/strong>
\nI collaborate with brands in one of the following ways: a) Write about them and publish on The Money Principle; b) Publish guest posts on The Money Principle; c) Very occasionally carry banners; or d) Speak on their events or host workshops for them. My preferred options are a and d.<\/p>\n

I love working with online wealth managers, investing platforms and money management apps.<\/p>\n

For PRs looking to work with you and your blog\/website, how would you prefer they approach you and with what kind of content?<\/span><\/strong>
\nI prefer email; an open and honest email that doesn\u2019t try to misrepresent the collaboration. When we agree on the type of collaboration, I accept only well written and presented posts that benefit my readers. Yes, I\u2019m very strict with this one.<\/p>\n

Which blogs do you regularly check out (whether finance-related or not)?<\/span><\/strong>
\nNaturally, I do check out the sites of other personal finance bloggers in the UK and the US \u2013 you know that blogging is a team sport, right? These are too many to mention but just like to say that I see this a key condition for running a successful blog \u2013 you must be part of a network and your only way to become better is to support your blogging colleagues to become better.<\/p>\n

I also regularly read This is Money<\/a> and The Motley Fool<\/a>. (Although all news is so bleak that this may be doing me more harm than good.)<\/p>\n

\"Reach-the-right-influencers-with-the-Vuelio-media-database\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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