Millionaires In the Making

Published 11/12/07 (Modified 3/9/11)
By MoneyBlueBook

I enjoy reading and following the personal financial journeys of individuals. It's the individual that puts the "personal" in personal finance and makes the subjects of money and investing so human and genuine. There is no denying that money is a very essential and pervasive element of our lives. Some people just don't have enough. For others, money is sufficient but the difficulty comes when deciding how to best protect and manage it. Lack of money can cause people to fall into debt, while at the same time it can be the liberating savior to some of life's problems.

CNN's Family Profiles

One of my favorite reads is CNN's Millionaires in the Making series. Every few weeks they provide the profile of a new family or couple, complete with all pertinent and interesting demographic information such as their individual ages, occupations, salaries, and a complete listing of their financial assets and liabilities. The articles even provide a picture of the family or couple being profiled that also frequently includes them with their children.

Maybe I have a natural voyeuristic fascination, but I like to read their profiles and see how I match up. I must commend the couples and families for being so willing to provide their photos and reveal so much personal information about their finances that most people, including myself would normally be sort of reluctant to provide in its complete entirety. Although most personal finance bloggers like to include profile snapshots of their financial situation, many are reluctant to provide photos of themselves or their family, preferring to maintain a semblance of privacy.

A Good Diverse Sample

At the end of each profile story, CNN's blog provides an analysis called "Our Expert's Take" in which they break down the family's progress towards millionaire status. While some are clearly on their way, others have more work to do before they can get back on the right financial track. I think CNN has tried to provide a good sample and diverse selection of profiles. At first they were only providing profiles of comparatively rich families. After some readers complained about the frequent affluence of the families being profiled, CNN began to include stories of more middle-American families and couples on its blog.

Reading these profiles and stories helps to remind me that we are not alone. We are all trying to make it financially in this world, to pursue our dreams and plans for ourselves and our loved ones. But for the non-personal finance bloggers out there, how comfortable would you be to share your own complete personal financial profile? What about for the personal finance bloggers?