November 12 2007
By MoneyBlueBook

I love looking at numbers. I also love looking at charts, graphs, and balance sheets that organize numerical data into quantifiable displays. I think I spend way too much time looking at my numbers, but a glance at what my other fellow personal finance bloggers frequently write about and discuss, I get the feeling I'm not alone on this.

I Like Having Access to My Numbers At All Times

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Seriously, it doesn't matter where I am - I could be sitting at my desk at work or relaxing in front of the television set at home, but at some point, I'm going to want to take a look at my numbers. I use the term numbers loosely, but it's an all encompassing term to include everything related to statistics - from my blog's Sitemeter traffic counter to my investment brokerage account's numerical fluctuations. I don't want to say I'm addicted to statistical trends, but I get a lot of personal satisfaction out of it. It's hard to point my finger on exactly what is it that I find so fascinating about statistics, but I've found that many personal finance bloggers also seem to share the same type of mathematical obsession.

Statistic Bloggers Like To Have Things Numerically Organized

Having talked to other fellow bloggers and read their articles over the years, I've come to realize that many of us are quite similar. We all seem to enjoy watching the numbers go up and down as it gives us a sense of where we stand in the financial world. We like things to be organized in numerical fashion. Many, if not most of us have set personal finance goals that are frequently met when a certain number or percentage is met.

I personally enjoy working with numbers because it's a form of self assessment and comparison that is not only objective, but can be applied towards different individuals in different life situations. Numbers like salary, wage rate, interest rate, expense ratio, and rate of return are universally applicable and translatable to everyone.

Frugality Bloggers Are a Bit Different

Unlike the number freaks who are usually equally obsessed as I am about hard quantifiable data, some personal finance bloggers write mostly about frugal living and bargain hunting. These writers on a whole tend to stay away from numbers and statistical scrutiny. Frugality bloggers tend to be less interested in statistics and focus more attention on the accomplishment and satisfaction they get from discovering bargains and finding ways to spend their money more wisely and efficiently.

Maybe it's just me but I've noticed that there seems to be more male bloggers who fall into the hard statistics category. There tends to be more more female bloggers who write content that fall into the frugality one. I can't recall having read an article recently written by a female blogger discussing financial investments that went into a numerical analysis. Anyone else notice this? Perhaps I'm just generalizing too much.