Boy, I am cautious. I am a researcher (as you know) and a planner. I don’t take many risks or put myself out there. Often, this works to my advantage. Other times to my detriment. When it came to the thought of creating and building out Common Cents Kyle, it mightily worked to my detriment. I put off doing this for months and had more reasons than I care to admit delaying this concept. To name a few:
- I don’t have the time and energy
- Why would anyone care to listen to me?
- There are countless other travel, travel rewards, and financial blogs out there already
Obviously, I’ve worked through many of these issues, but I want to highlight the third example above. There are countless other travel, travel rewards, and financial blogs out there. This is true. Hundreds. Thousands? Why enter a sphere with all of this competition?
WHY DID I DECIDE TO PROCEED?
Through self-reflection and countless conversations with the ever-motivating Mrs. Common Cents Kyle, I came to understand that I have a unique voice. I can enter some of these conversations and topics with similar perspectives, but also vastly different perspectives. That’s important. Also, people better understand or vibe with some voices and not others.
Most importantly, while in theory, I am in competition with other blogs for readers, we are all in cooperation to educate and inform. With that understanding, I think it is important to highlight the real notion that it truly takes a village and proceed with listing and thanking the blogs that have been instrumental in educating me the last few years.
Doctor of Credit
This is by far, my most visited website. I make my way here multiple times a day to view updated posts and take advantage of time-sensitive information. Doctor of Credit covers topics, such as checking and savings account bonuses, credit card updates and bonuses, transfer bonuses, deals, freebies, and much much more. This is truly one of the best resources in the game and one that has benefited me greatly for the last few years.
Frequent Miler
These guys and gal are the real deal. They are points and miles nerds through and through, and I’ve loved learning from them. In addition to their weekly podcast, daily blog posts, and Facebook group, the resources they provide are invaluable to travel hackers and enthusiasts from beginner to expert.
Miles to Memories
I have mostly used their podcast as a concise and to-the-point resource to catch up on the weekly news in the world of travel and travel rewards. These guys have a fun and cool perspective and genuinely seem to love working and playing hard.
One Mile at a Time
The founder Ben has a down-to-earth perspective and built this blog from a hobby in his college dorm in 2008 to a 100% independent and dominant player in the scene. I love their transparency and no-nonsense approach to everything from the aviation industry to the valuation of points and miles. OMAAT has great resources and reviews to peruse.
View from the Wing
Gary Leff is a legend in the industry and runs one of the most well-respected blogs around. Admittedly, I do not use View from the Wing for many resource purposes, but I love Gary’s perspective and his lean toward sharing travel industry news in order to stay relevantly informed. Gary’s fingerprint is all over the travel and travel rewards industry and has been a countless resource for many globally.
Dan’s Deals
This site runs the gamut of topics I will approach in Common Cents Kyle. Dan’s Deals is one of the best resources I have encountered for bringing together deals, discounts, rewards, and news in household items, electronics, flights, credit cards, and more. Dan’s Deals has built out many options to receive up-to-the date notifications to take advantage of these deals. I’ve saved hundreds of dollars using this resource.
WHERE DOES COMMON CENTS KYLE FIT?
I would be remiss to say this is an exhaustive list. My browser history the last few years would show countless other resources and sites that have aided in my knowledge and helped inspire the creation of Common Cents Kyle. And, even as I build out Common Cents Kyle in the coming days, weeks, and years, these resources will remain a guiding force in fulfilling my goal to educate and inform my readers.
Though the questions remains, where does Common Cents Kyle fit in a crowded landscape. Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer for that currently. To me, I find that being half the fun of creating it. My normal cautious personality wouldn’t have typically allowed me to even proceed without having an answer to this question.
What I can provide you though is assuredness that Common Cents Kyle will have an endless pursuit of learning and using these many resources as a launching pad. It is my hope that this site will find a valuable area in this landscape.
So, thank you to these all of these blogs and resources, the village that has paved a path for Common Cents Kyle.
