Blog Watch

By 
beckey bright
Updated June 2, 2009 12:01 am ET

PERSONAL FINANCE
GET RICH SLOWLY 
GetRichSlowly.org/blog
Blogger J.D. Roth notes in his introduction to this site that he’s not a financial
professional, “just an average guy who found himself deep in debt” and set out to educate
himself about money. And the strength of his blog is that, along with plenty of advice
from financial experts, he opens the site up to input from readers so they can learn from
each other.

A section called Essential Money Skills offers advice on budgeting, starting an

emergency fund and determining the correct balance between paying off debt and saving,
among other topics. A recent post on the site’s main page provided some broad context
by discussing the importance of finding a balance between time and money.

But much of the value of the blog comes from readers’ comments. As one wrote: “What I
personally find great about this blog is that it is a collection of people who actually think
about their finances. We are all at different points in our financial lives, but the thing we
have in common is that we are all putting some thought into it.”

BARGAINEERING: ENGINEERING A RICHER LIFE 

Bargaineering.com/articles
This blog takes a broad approach to the role of money in readers’ lives. A section called
the Banking Column covers topics ranging from the basics of compounding to how CD
“ladders” work. In many of these posts, blogger Jim Wang appears in videos that
resemble classroom lectures.

Other recent posts include tips on how to save money buying wine, grocery shopping on
a budget, and an entry by contributor Jaimie Paynter on how to explain to young children
that they can’t always get the things they want. There’s also a Devil’s Advocate section
that explores the arguments against popular financial advice.

BANK DEALS 
BankDeals.blogspot.com
Whether you’re shopping for a checking account that offers higher interest rates on
bigger balances, a high-yield savings account or a CD for your individual retirement
account, Bank Deals helps you find the biggest bang for your buck.

The blog keeps abreast of bank promotions and provides weekly updates on the yields on
checking, savings and money-market accounts across the U.S. Other information includes
advice on when to terminate a CD if it’s no longer earning a competitive interest rate, and
how to find a local credit union. Another section provides a listing of other places to find
bank deals.

TRUE CRIME
TRUE CRIME REPORT 
TrueCrimeReport.com
Steve Huff seeks out the bizarre and the disturbing in this blog, published by Village
Voice Media, that tracks breaking news and high-profile investigations across the U.S.
and occasionally abroad.

Categories include serial killers, celebrity crime and unsolved cases, among many others.
One case Mr. Huff has followed is the investigation into the alleged murder of Meredith
Kercher in Italy by her American roommate, Amanda Knox.

Mr. Huff writes that at one point he stopped blogging about the case in any detail because
of the “heated, somewhat obsessive reactions” among people following it online. And yet
he feels compelled to continue. “I feel the case can’t be ignored,” he writes. “It will
eventually produce some of the most interesting true crime media…you are ever likely to
see, no matter the outcome.”

CLEWS: YOUR HOME FOR HISTORIC TRUE CRIME 

LauraJames.typepad.com/clews
Laura James, a former reporter turned trial lawyer, began Clews as an exploration of “the
intersection of history, journalism, law and murder.”

Blog entries include many interviews with true-crime authors and cover topics such as
legends of true-crime reporting, serial killers and death-penalty stories. Ms. James also
offers a selection of her personal favorite stories and a list of Top 10 true-crime books,
including a discussion of “A Crime of Passion,” by Stanley Loomis, about the 1847
murder of a French duchess by her husband. Ms. James writes, “I’ve been trying to tell
the authors of spousal murder stories for years now that the greatest strength and appeal
of well-written books in this theme lie in the psychological analysis of the principals.
This book is the product of an author who understood this.”

WOMEN IN CRIME INK 

WomenInCrimeInk.blogspot.com
Women in Crime is hosted by a cast of female journalists, lawyers, authors and others
with a passion for true crime. It has amassed an extensive archive of essays and
commentary from women’s perspectives about crime and the court system.

There are also more-general discussions of the psychology of crime and crime trends. In
one recent post, true-crime author Diane Fanning comments on how discovering the guilt
of someone she respected changed her perspective: “Who am I to judge those who are
taken in by these manipulators?…When I see a spouse certain of their loved one’s
innocence, I won’t automatically suspect their involvement.”

--Ms. Bright is an editor for The Wall Street Journal Online in New York. She can be
reached at beckey.bright@wsj.com.