Finance Is Personal -- Blogging Success in Madison

Discover the Unexpected™? How about this:

While most of us bloggers wallow in politics (2008 Legislature starts in 78 days!), at least one Madison blogger is building his blog into a quiet but remarkable business success. Matthew Paulson, a multi-talented DSU undergraduate originally from Mitchell, produces FinanceIsPersonal.com. As Paulson describes it, his blog "discusses topics of personal finance, money management, investing, debt reduction and more." The goal: to provide readers with "a steady stream of tips, tricks, and ideas on how to get closer to financial independence."

Steady stream, indeed! Just yesterday, Paulson cranked out two articles, one on dumpster diving and "freeganism," the other on how to save money on wedding dresses. (Hey, wait a minute -- he was supposed to be busy judging for me yesterday! Matt!) Other posts just this week cover a wide range of topics: used cars, consumer-to-consumer online lending, bogus telemarketers masquerading as charities, and full-commission stock brokers.

In return, Paulson says he is receiving a steady stream of hits (a good ten times the volume of the Madville Times) and income. He's paying his way through college by researching and writing, producing advice that people around the country can use to save money. Now that's using the old noggin! And that's the kind of youthful info-entrepreneurship small towns like Madison should capitalize on and place at the center of their economic development strategies.

[Oh yeah, and Paulson is an alumnus and now regular and trusted judge of the very sort of speech competitions one commenter yesterday referred to as "geek festivals." Such ignorance doesn't seem to bother Paulson... when he cashes his checks.]