What I haven’t found out there

There are already thousands of blogs, books, websites, and tapes out there.  Why do we need yet another one? I don’t know that we NEED another one.  I just know I didn’t find a site that had it all, organized in a way that i thought made it easy to find and digest and access.

If there is one source of information that contains everything I believe one would need to teach someone from scratch about basic personal finance – I haven’t found it yet. 

Systems:
I like systems.  My favorite personal finance books and gurus have always been those who put forth a specific and discernable process.  Dave Ramsey is an example.  Richest Man in Babylon is another. However, I’ve found very few universally broad Personal Finance systems out there. I’ve seen them for parts of the overall Personal Finance Process. Some focus on real estate investing or on how to get out of debt. However, I haven’t found any sources that I felt great about from end to end of the full personal finance process.

Flexibility:
The system needs to be flexible. The system needs to be flexible enough to accommodate a wide range of individuals from varying demographics and income levels.  In other words, it needs to be universally valid.

Data:
I need data. Specifically, benchmarks – otherwise, how do I know how well or how poorly am I doing? And what changes to get back on the right track. I’ve found very little out there educating on how to use statistics and data to make better decisions.  What statistics should you be regularly tracking?  What financial ratios should you be adapting from general business finance to your own personal finance process?

Most of what I’ve found has been broad and generic in terms that suggest each person’s journey is unique.  Thus, they avoid comparing one person to another.  I find that to be bogus and disingenuous. Competition is healthy, if for no other reason than to show what is truly possible. To raise expectations. 

This is what I do. I’m not saying anybody should do what I do. I learned my lesson talking about diet. This is just what I do. Feel free to copy or not. But I feel that I’ve been successful with my process and thus it might be useful to others. Take of it what you will. Adjust it. Mold it to your picadilloes and uniqueness. 

And then please, tell me about what you adjusted and why? I’d like to hear about it.