Given that I’ve now been at this for three years, I though that it might be time to go about an write a series of basic articles for financial newbies. I’m thinking of something along the lines of a “Back to Basics” series. While this might not be as useful for the personal finance veterans out there, I thought it would be especially good for those that are just starting out. With that in mind, I’m curious as to the types of basic financial articles that you think might be useful?

Please leave a comment or contact me directly with any suggestions.

This is a bit hard for me to believe, but I launched FiveCentNickel three years ago today. Most of your probably don’t know this, but I actually started this site on a whim after reading a MacAddict article about weblogs in general, and WordPress in particular, back during the spring of 2005. The rest, as they say, is history.

In the time since that fateful day, I’ve published 1,475 articles and received 10,232 comments (plus countless spam comments). I’m also rapidly closing in on 2 million visitors — I should pass this milestone by Saturday at the latest.

All in all, this site has been a joy to maintain, largely because of contributions from readers such as yourselves. If you haven’t done so yet, I’d like to invite you to subscribe to receive everything I write via either RSS or e-mail.

I’d also like to encourage you to swing by our other sites, including both Credit Addict and Raising4Boys. The former is devoted to credit card tips and tricks, whereas the latter is our parenting site.

This is just a quick note to introduce you guys to CreditAddict.com…

Sharp-eyed readers might have noticed periodic links out to this site, as well as its presence in the RSS aggregator block near the bottom of every page here at FiveCentNickel. In case you haven’t made the connection, Credit Addict is a new project that I launched back in January.

In short, Credit Addict is a weblog dedicated to credit card news, tips, deals, and hacks. While there are still a few pages under construction, I’ve built the content up to the point that I’ve decided that it’s ready for public consumption — hence, this announcement.

If you’re curious, I invite you to click through and check it out. I’d also like to encourage you to subscribe via either RSS (feed link) or e-mail (signup link). As always, it’s free, and you’ll get the full-text of everything that I write delivered straight to your desktop whenever I write it.

By the time you read this, we’ll be well on our way to a relaxing (and much needed) vacation. But fear not… I’ve lined up a number of great guest posts to fill the void while I’m away. Over the coming days you’ll have an opportunity to enjoy fresh content from the likes of:

» Being Frugal
» Clever Dude
» Dylan Ross
» Moolanomy
» My Two Dollars
» No Credit Needed
» Paid Twice
» The Money Guy

While I hope to pop in from time to time, don’t be surprised if I’m slow to respond to comments, and please don’t be offended if I don’t promptly answer your e-mails. Oh, and thanks to everyone that contributed a guest post — it’s much appreciated!

If you’re a regular reader of this site (or would like to become one), you might be interested in subscribing to the FiveCentNickel RSS feed. In case you’re not familiar with RSS, it’s a means for syndicating frequently updated web content.

You can subscribe using any of a number of web-based or standalone RSS readers. Subscription buttons for a number of popular RSS services can be found in the left sidebar as well as at the end of each individual post, and here’s the direct link to the RSS feed. If you’re interested in keeping track of comments left on this site, then check out the comments feed.

(You can copy/paste the RSS links directly into your RSS reader of choice.)

Alternatively, you can subscribe to FiveCentNickel via e-mail. This service, provided by the good folks at FeedBurner, allows you to receive the latest posts via a single daily e-mail. To subscribe, simply click the e-mail subscription button in the left sidebar or at the end of any individual post. Alternatively, you can subscribe by entering your address in the form, below.

Note: Your e-mail address will only be used to deliver the daily updates, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Just a quick note to announce that FiveCentNickel recorded its one-millionth visitor at 9:42 PM on October 2, 2007. This particular visitor arrived from Google via a search for: dave ramsey baby steps. Not surprisingly, they landed on my article entitled Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps. The first million took 884 days. Any guesses as to how long the next million will take?

And we’re off! By the time you read this, we’ll be well on our way… We’re headed out for a relaxing (and reasonably long) summer vacation that will involve a little better than 1300 miles driving in each direction (plus some local miles at the far end). I’ll have intermittent internet access, so I’ll try to pop in from time to time. However, most of the writing that you’ll see over the coming days was contributed by a bunch of guest bloggers. To all who contributed, thanks for your help — and be sure to watch this space… You’ll soon see your name in lights!

Just thought I’d point out that we’re also looking for guest bloggers over at Raising4Boys. See the call for submissions for more details.

I’ll be out of town on vacation for the last 10 or so days of June, and I’m looking for some guest bloggers to fill my shoes… This is an open call to readers, whether or not you run a weblog of your own. Here’s what I ask… Submissions should be on topic (i.e., personal finance-related) and properly formatted for publication (I’m thinking here mainly of links).

Articles should be your own work - please don’t rip off someone else’s writing and try to pass it off as your own. While I’d prefer completely original content, I might consider republication of your own work.

What’s in it for you? Fame and fortune, of course. Actually, that’s not true. While there might be a small amount of fame involved, there really won’t be any fortune. Here’s what I’ll do: (1) properly attribute the writings to you, and (2) I’ll also provide a link back to your site (if you have one, and assuming that it’s non-spammy and family-friendly) right off the bat, at the top of the article. I’ll also provide a link to your RSS feed or an about (or welcome) page if you provide me with one.

If you’re interested, simply send your submissions to me via my handy-dandy contact form with the following subject: Guest Blog Submission. Please be sure to tell me: (1) whether or not you’ve published this elsewhere, and (2) the name (or pseudonym) that you wish me to use when acknowledging your efforts. Please also provide me with a link to your site, your about/welcome page and/or your RSS feed if you’d like those included in your acknowledgement. Title suggestions are also encouraged.

I can’t promise that I’ll publish every single submission, but I’ll try to run anything that is both coherent and on topic. Please note that I reserve the right to edit submissions prior to publication (mainly for grammar, typos, or perhaps a tiny bit of style). Also note that, once published, your work will become a permanent part of the FiveCentNickel Archives.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or drop me a line via my contact form. Thanks.

In looking at my site stats, I’ve noticed that a number of people arrive here from search engines looking for answers to fairly specific question. In some cases, those answers can be found in one or more articles within my archives, but in other cases they can’t. Thus, I’ve decided to periodically pluck out some of these questions and spend a bit of time answering them.

Alternatively, if you have a question that you’d like for me to answer, please drop me a line. I love getting e-mail from readers, and I’m also always on the lookout for good article ideas. I can’t promise that I’ll tackle your question, but we’ll do our best to accommodate your interests.

As always, these articles will be categorized by subject matter, but they will also be cross-referenced in the Money Q&A category.