5 ms·

Don't get me wrong, it's an interesting idea and one I'd like to explore further, as I like writing. I do it infrequently, but as you can see from my blog, I do

Don't get me wrong, it's an interesting idea and one I'd like to explore further, as I like writing. I do it infrequently, but as you can see from my blog, I do do it, and I'll keep doing it whether I get paid for it or not. But there's no such thing as a side-hustle blog that pays hundreds of thousands of dollars. One would have to be in the top 0.1% of bloggers, and it would certainly be a more than full-time job in itself.

Mz 9y ago
Before I mentioned money, I said: It could be educational and therapeutic. You can pay someone big bucks for therapy. Or you can blog for free to help you sort things out. That alone can be worth big money, both in terms of money saved on not paying an therapist and in terms of finally straightening out your mess. So, it doesn't have to make significant income to be a very worthwhile endeavor. But, again, I'm a random internet stranger. It's easy for me to toss out ideas. But it's actually hard work to make them happen. There is zero obligation to act on the random suggestion of a random stranger.
- abalashov 9y ago
  re: the latter - I know. :-) There's no need for the disclaimer. I have no personal experience with therapy, but plenty of vicarious and/or second-hand knowledge. My conclusion is that therapy cannot help with objective and concrete issues. Therapists can help with psychological and emotional issues, perhaps, but not with perfectly normal responses to objectively stressful problems whose solutions are worldly. Tax debt is paid with money, not with a different point of view or holistic mind-body wellness or what have you. I agree that writing can be therapeutic, though, and perhaps I ought to do more of it for that reason.
  - Mz 9y ago
    I have done lots of therapy. It has its uses. But these days I find blogging and having a sounding board more useful. I notice you mentioned an expensive, horrible divorce. My divorce was amicable and low cost. We did it without lawyers. I am homeless and paying down debt and improving my income. Your financial problems are absolutely not worse than mine. On the upside, my last student loan payment should happen this week and next month my life should be easier because of that. So, FWIW, I think blogging about this has a lot of potential to help you sort things out and get your act together.
    - abalashov 9y ago
      That's terrible. Sorry to hear that. Yeah, it's all relative, of course. Some would say these are luxurious problems to have in that they seem, at least for the moment, to be removed from the struggle for basic survival. That can change in a heartbeat when the IRS starts levying what little you have in your bank accounts, though. Last September I woke up one morning and found my checking account at -$1200; they assessed that levy based on some arbitrary day's balance of ~$1500 or something like that at some arbitrary point in the past. No rhyme or reason. And as you probably know, the cascade of consequences that come with that—the bouncing payments and so forth—are triply punitive if you have abysmal credit and really can't afford any dings with the landlords who generously let it slide...

Mz 9y ago

Before I mentioned money, I said: It could be educational and therapeutic. You can pay someone big bucks for therapy. Or you can blog for free to help you sort things out. That alone can be worth big money, both in terms of money saved on not paying an therapist and in terms of finally straightening out your mess. So, it doesn't have to make significant income to be a very worthwhile endeavor. But, again, I'm a random internet stranger. It's easy for me to toss out ideas. But it's actually hard work to make them happen. There is zero obligation to act on the random suggestion of a random stranger.

abalashov 9y ago
re: the latter - I know. :-) There's no need for the disclaimer. I have no personal experience with therapy, but plenty of vicarious and/or second-hand knowledge. My conclusion is that therapy cannot help with objective and concrete issues. Therapists can help with psychological and emotional issues, perhaps, but not with perfectly normal responses to objectively stressful problems whose solutions are worldly. Tax debt is paid with money, not with a different point of view or holistic mind-body wellness or what have you. I agree that writing can be therapeutic, though, and perhaps I ought to do more of it for that reason.
- Mz 9y ago
  I have done lots of therapy. It has its uses. But these days I find blogging and having a sounding board more useful. I notice you mentioned an expensive, horrible divorce. My divorce was amicable and low cost. We did it without lawyers. I am homeless and paying down debt and improving my income. Your financial problems are absolutely not worse than mine. On the upside, my last student loan payment should happen this week and next month my life should be easier because of that. So, FWIW, I think blogging about this has a lot of potential to help you sort things out and get your act together.
  - abalashov 9y ago
    That's terrible. Sorry to hear that. Yeah, it's all relative, of course. Some would say these are luxurious problems to have in that they seem, at least for the moment, to be removed from the struggle for basic survival. That can change in a heartbeat when the IRS starts levying what little you have in your bank accounts, though. Last September I woke up one morning and found my checking account at -$1200; they assessed that levy based on some arbitrary day's balance of ~$1500 or something like that at some arbitrary point in the past. No rhyme or reason. And as you probably know, the cascade of consequences that come with that—the bouncing payments and so forth—are triply punitive if you have abysmal credit and really can't afford any dings with the landlords who generously let it slide...