Your Money: The Missing ManualHi. My name is J.D. Roth, and I am a writer.

For the past few years, I’ve mostly written about money. I wrote a book called Your Money: The Missing Manual. I contribute the “Your Money” column every month to Entrepreneur magazine. Soon, I will resume writing weekly at Time‘s Moneyland blog. But I’m probably best known as the creator of Get Rich Slowly, one of the biggest personal finance blogs on the internet.

I don’t just write about money, though. I write about everything. I have tons of blogs scattered across the internet, although most of them are dormant. Here are a few examples:

Over the past few years, I’ve undergone a series of personal transformations. I lost fifty pounds, which has allowed me to become physically fit. I sold Get Rich Slowly, which has allowed me to become financially independent. I got a divorce, which has allowed me to explore healthy relationships. (And, I might add, has allowed my ex-wife to do the same.)

Although I’m a writer, I haven’t done much writing for the past year. I’ve been busy. I’ve been learning Spanish, exercising, and dating. Plus, my interest in writing about money waned.

Lately, though, I’ve realized that writing gives me purpose. It’s who I am. I miss writing every day, miss telling stories and connecting with readers. As a result, I’ve decided to return to the world of blogging.

I’ve spend much of the past two weeks puzzling over where I should blog and what that blog should be called. On Thursday, my girlfriend Kim solved one of those problems. “You should call your blog More Than Money,” she told me. The name is perfect. I love the multiple levels of meaning. The only problem? Domain squatters want $18,000 for morethanmoney.com. I may be financially independent, but I’m still frugal. I’m not willing to pay that sort of money for a domain.

Yesterday, I was complaining about this to Adam Baker, and he provided the final piece of the puzzle. “You don’t need to buy a domain,” he told me. “You already have the perfect domain. Use jdroth.com. You have loyal readers. They’ll find you there. And you don’t just have to write about personal finance. I want to read about your travels. I want to read about your dating adventures. I want to read about your cats.”

As you wish, Adam.

Hanging with Adam Baker (and 398 other financial bloggers) at Fincon 2012.
Hanging with Adam Baker at the Financial Bloggers Conference

Here, then, is More Than Money at jdroth.com. Yes, I’ll still write about personal finance now and then. But as the name of the blog implies, this site will be about more than money. In fact, it’ll be a place for me to share all of my passions: animal intelligence, awesome people, far away places…and even spiral notebooks.

Today, I’m at the Financial Blogger Conference in Denver, Colorado. (In fact, I give the closing keynote in less than an hour!) Tomorrow, I take off for three weeks in Turkey. I hope to share stories along the way. And I hope that you’ll join me for the ride.

42 Replies to “A Very Fine Place to Start”

  1. Amy Miyamoto says:

    Yeah I am delighted to be one of your first commenters over here on your new home JD! And BTW I love the new blog name and your creatively perfect domain solution. I am doing a similar revamp of my own name domain… so I will be going along as your ongoing success continues to unfold over here at your new blogging home. Enjoy your conference and the settling in process here at your new blogging abode! 😉

  2. sarah says:

    Glad to see you back over here!! (my old reader sub to foldedspace brought this into reader for me today — smart thinking there!)

    I have to admit, while I still follow GRS I really miss your writing over there and have been hoping you’d write again there or somewhere. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with — enjoy your trip!

  3. Joan says:

    OK, I want to read about your cats. But I have sincere doubts about Baker’s wanting to do the same. That guy is a cat-hater.

    Love the concept, and will definitely stick around to see where you take it.

  4. Elizabeth Swartzendruber says:

    I do love the name because life does consist more than money. Finding What God created for you to do and who he wants you to be is the most important step in life. Have a great trip.

  5. Becca says:

    Indeed, Adam is right. And I’ve actually been dying to know about your/Kris’s cats, actually.

    • Becca says:

      – one actually. ‘Cause that was just overkill, and shows me I should re-read before I post a comment. 🙂

    • jdroth says:

      Ah, the cats. Here is a brief run-down. Perhaps this can be expanded into a full post.

      Kris kept three cats: Simon, Maxwell, and Socks. (Max and Socks are siblings.) I kept two cats: Nemo and Silver.

      Unfortunately, two cats was too many for my apartment, so I gave Silver back to my mother, who was craving companionship at the assisted living facility. And also unfortunately, Nemo developed a habit I couldn’t live with: He cried constantly (not an exaggeration) from 11pm to 5am. He wanted outside. So, I passed him on to the Humane Society. There was a lot that went into that decision. It was tough. But ultimately my need to sleep won out…

  6. Whoa what an awesome Google Reader surprise! I guess it’s a good thing I never clean out my feed eh? Welcome back sir! I look forward to getting caught up with you. I have sort of abandoned GRS because, well, meh. But I always find your stuff to be pretty interesting and love your adventures.

  7. CB says:

    Finally, your back! I’m glad to hear that you’ll be blogging about a little bit of everything, look forward to reading.

  8. Andrea Coutu says:

    JD, so great to see you taking on a new adventure! You’re right to avoid spending $18k in a domain name. Your own domain has far more value, in terms of established traffic and brand recognition anyway. I suppose it’s only a problem if you want to sell off the blog, but, hey, that’s a nice problem to have.

  9. Revanche says:

    Did you not also have a blog about comics? Or am I recalling that incorrectly? Happy to see you back to writing and on a variety of things now 🙂

  10. Really wish I could have been at FinCon but I’m glad you’re writing here now. I have missed your voice at GRS as you’ve slowly toned down your schedule there. Time to subscribe to More Than Money! Enjoy your trip to Turkey.

  11. Congrats on the new site, JD. It was a pleasure getting to spend a little time with you the past few days at #FINCON12 and I’m definitely looking forward to watching you continue your journey here on your new site.

    All my best,
    Josh

  12. Ashley kropp says:

    Congratulations, JD. I am a long time GRS reader and have missed the presence of your voice there lately. I am to hear more from you here!

  13. Three cheers for the next J.D. Roth project!

    Have fun in Turkey but don’t forget about World Domination HQ back in PDX. It’s not the same when you’re away.

  14. Financial Samurai says:

    JD!

    Congrats on launching your new site! The domain name is perfect and I’m looking forward to following your adventure.

    I completely agree with you about writing giving us a sense of purpose. The community then gives us a sense of love.

    So good to catch up with you, Adam and the rest of the community in Denver!

    You will be amazed by the Dolmabahce Palace that bankrupted Constantinople!

    Happy travels.

    Best,

    Sam

  15. Antroca says:

    ¥Mucho éxito! Estaré leyendo tu blog. Saludos desde México.

  16. Very cool stuff JD…one of the first sites I went to check out after the conference today…love having it all under your name at this domain….agreed with Baker that this is the way to go.

    Once you enjoy your internet hiatus (which I’m sure will be awesome for you and I’m very jealous of), I’ll be excited to see the latest and greatest from you on this site. Safe travels JD and keep in touch.

  17. Glen Craig says:

    Congrats on your continued adventures with this domain. I’m looking forward to reading your thoughts and work here.

    GRS inspired me to start my own personal finance blog many years ago. Wonder what inspiration you’ll have for me now?

    Best of luck!

  18. Marc Henderson says:

    Hi, J.D.:

    I wanted you to know I am a long time reader of GRS and have just discovered your new site today. Looking forward to great content!
    Let me tell you a little something about myself. I was laid off from work in April and have been getting by on unemployment checks. I am unsure what the next step will be. I have read and will read your blogs for good financial tips but now will have the added benefit of getting a fuller picture regarding not just finances but life in general. I hope your content via this blog can point me in the right direction or at least give me a template to use. I salute you, sir!

  19. I love it! I hope you have a wonderful vacation and I look forward to reading your new blog!

  20. Brad Chaffee says:

    JD, it was really nice getting to chat with you sir! I enjoy your work and am looking forward to getting to know a little more about you here.

    I really enjoyed talking about health with you and can’t wait to see you next year at #FinCon13! 😀

  21. Tom Drake says:

    Congrats on the new blog J.D.! I’m looking forward to seeing what you have in store and watching this site grow. It was great getting to chat with you again at FINCON!

  22. Fue un placer conocerte. Buena suerte con JDRoth.com. It was great talking to you. You motivated me to get an ‘intercambio’. :0)

  23. Rob G. says:

    Best of luck in this new endeavor.

    I’ll be following and reading your content. Keep up the good work.

    Cheers,
    Rob

  24. Jim says:

    Congrats JD, it was fun hanging out with you this weekend and have a safe trip!

  25. Kevin says:

    Welcome back, JD. I’ve missed your voice. Can’t wait to hear about your adventures.

  26. Niki Mathias says:

    Congratulations – this is great news! I’d like to vote for more travel info and more crossfit info.

    yeah for you!
    == niki

  27. I feel your pain: The name of my personal website was already claimed by squatters. I also went with my name as the domain.
    Luck to you, friend.

  28. Crystal says:

    Congrats on this new leg of your journey!!! It was great to get to know you a little better at FinCon and I do hope you truly enjoy what’s in store for you now. I’ll definitely be following along…my entire life is centered around more than money (or at least, what to do when the basics are handled), so this is just too perfect. Have fun in Turkey!

  29. I’m glad you went with your own domain — it’s a great idea. Can’t wait to read about your travels!

  30. Congrats on jumping back into the blogging game! It really is an awesome, unique community that you can’t find anywhere else.

  31. Fun.

    I don’t think you’ll have any problem dragging an audience over here. 🙂

  32. I can’t believe you teased me with the Spiral Bound website! I was all excited to read about all kinds of notebooks – seriously!! I have a bit of a notebook problem, myself. And notepads and pens. LOL

  33. Lena G says:

    Oh, love the new site, BTW. I’m gonna stay tuned. I have a personal domain (link above), but I’m never sure what to put there…personal thoughts, ideas for other writers, etc. So I just really don’t post much. I’m paralyzed! It’s not easy to have a site with no real goals/too many potential topics. Maybe reading yours will help me gain focus or just feel better about not having a main theme other than whatever I want to put on the screen.

  34. Jessica Howell says:

    Thrilled to see you here at JDRoth.com.

    Was great to finally get to meet you in person at FinCon. I’ll be staying tuned to keep tabs on Turkey… and of course, all that comes next in your adventures…

  35. Lisa says:

    Hi J.D., I left a comment over at Get Rich Slowly, but then it occurred to me that I should leave this comment here.

    I’m thrilled that you’re writing more and happy to read about your passions here. There are still “storylines” from Get Rich Slowly I’d really like you to carry on here. For example, over the years you mentioned a longing for a “pastoral” lifestyle and introduced me to “downshifting.” I’d love to read about how your life today, complete with the personal transformations, does or doesntn’t still fit with those longings. As I recall, “pastoral” was the best word you could come up with for living life at a slower pace. Today I might say you’re living life on your own terms, but not at a slower pace.

    I’m looking forward to reading about your adventures!

  36. Rene says:

    I love this — proof that there’s more than one way to success! You get to have the blog name of your dreams, AND brand your own name. Well done.

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