R.I.P The Billfold: "There is no one right way to Do Money"

February 20, 2019 2:32 PM

Today is the last day of The Billfold. Spun-off from The Hairpin in 2012, The Billfold took as its mandate “Everything About Money You Were Too Polite to Ask," and quickly became a unique refuge in the online personal finance blogosphere: a place for truly honest talk about the harrowing, messy, fallible, and hilarious intersection of money and life.

Perhaps you wanted to read how other people Do Money. Or get a weekly nudge to Do 1 Thing. Or maybe you needed to follow along as your editors decide to Throw Some Money at their problems month after month (...for seven years).

If you're like me, though, The Billfold was the best place on the internet to discuss stories about love - of careers that don't pay, of money we spend to secure it, of family, and of one particular unphotogenic yet beloved cat named Mr. Biscuit.

Final editor Nicole Dieker announced the shutdown in two posts earlier this month, and today founding co-editor (with Logan Sachon) Mike Dang returned with a final benediction.

(Previously.)

posted by minervous (14 comments total)

I wasn't a reader of the Billfold, but it was part of the same sphere as The Hairpin and The Toast and it is very sad that there's just no viable business model for these kinds of sites. They were always thoughtful, funny without only being funny, a little outside the mainstream but not deliberately superniche, ethical in their dealings with writers (which is where the business model falls apart, I know) and they made the world better by being there.
posted by jacquilynne at 2:43 PM on February 20, 2019 [13 favorites]

I didn't read things on the Billfold during its tenure; i'm almost pathologically averse to discussions about money, for various psychological reasons that I've only just begun to unpick over the past couple years.

So this was the first time I ever read that piece linked about the person who worked in theater, and what the sacrifice is for such a life, and it resonated with me profoundly and all I can say is o god I wish I'd known about this site sooner.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:49 PM on February 20, 2019 [4 favorites]

What a nice post to commemorate a bummer of a loss. Everything minervous posted is true, especially the bit about sometimes being hilarious. I loved, for instance, that the site made room to explain How Wizards Do Money as a jokey side feature.
posted by Wretch729 at 2:55 PM on February 20, 2019 [7 favorites]

How sad! This site did a great service for people. I wasn't a regular reader by a long shot, but I did send links and printed out hard copies of the Story of a Fuck Off Fund to all my nieces ... for reasons.
posted by pjsky at 3:09 PM on February 20, 2019 [10 favorites]

A friend and I were talking today at lunch about the fall of the United States and how it's linked to the loss of journalism and news media--which have all been replaced with the news industry.

Every time another one of these thoughtful, well-written publications disappears I just think about all the reporting and meaningful engagement with all sorts of subjects the American audience is losing with the ultra-commoditization of news.

Anyway. I subscribe to a couple publications and none that are owned by large conglomerates (not anymore, except possibly Outside--who owns them?) but it's never enough, is it?
posted by crush at 3:11 PM on February 20, 2019 [2 favorites]

I loved How Wizards Do Money, especially the Luna Lovegood story.
posted by ALeaflikeStructure at 3:43 PM on February 20, 2019

I thought sure this was gonna be a thinkpiece about how Billfolds Are Over Because None Of My Three Friends Nobody Uses Them Anymore.
posted by straight at 4:55 PM on February 20, 2019 [2 favorites]

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posted by limeonaire at 5:04 PM on February 20, 2019

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posted by Cash4Lead at 5:41 PM on February 20, 2019

.

Also echoing jacquilynne above, it sucks that sites and publishers like these can’t make it as independents.
posted by notyou at 5:52 PM on February 20, 2019

I also liked the pieces they did like "The Cost of the Luxury Items Mentioned in Cardi B’s “I Like It”"
posted by gingerbeer at 10:41 PM on February 20, 2019

> I wasn't a reader of the Billfold, but it was part of the same sphere as The Hairpin and The Toast and it is very sad that there's just no viable business model for these kinds of sites. They were always thoughtful, funny without only being funny, a little outside the mainstream but not deliberately superniche, ethical in their dealings with writers (which is where the business model falls apart, I know) and they made the world better by being there.

I feel like the stereotypical George McGovern supporter. How could we have lost? Everyone I know deeply relies on these sites and talks them up and even in some cases contributes!
posted by desuetude at 11:35 PM on February 20, 2019

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posted by ellieBOA at 5:51 AM on February 21, 2019

.

My favorite site on the internet, truly. I'm really sad about this one.
posted by mosst at 6:40 AM on February 21, 2019