Smart Money, Smart Editor!

This is the only personal finance magazine I continue to subscribe to today. At one point 2 or 3 years ago, I was receiving at least 8 other similar-yet-just-different-enough publications. In my usual way, I was taking my personal education in all things financial to excessive lengths. A good question to ask would be, after letting all those others lapse, why the continued interest in, and commitment to, this one?

For me, each issue of Smart Money seems to be a healthy and very well-balanced serving of personal finance and investing information. It is not the "smartest" of the magazines I was reading, nor is it the "dumbest". What I mean by that is, it doesn't assume a demographic of super wealth and education like "Worth", nor does it seem to be speaking to the newest students to these topics like "Your Money".

A typical issue includes about 5 Feature articles. I find them so well written and compelling that even if it is a topic I have little interest in, I can often be persuaded to read the article anyway. Quite often they will focus the majority of the features on a hot topic. Some recent themes include: Caring for Your Parents (Nov. 99), IPOs (May 99), The Best Mutual Funds of 99 (Sept. 99), and a great Internet Guide Issue (April 99).

Their ongoing monthly columns are always interesting as well. A few of my favorites are: "Ten Things", "Real Life Index" and "Inconspicuous Consumer".

There seems to be a slightly discernable effort to personalize this publication in a low-key way so that the reader doesn't feel like they have suddenly barged in on some couple in middle America struggling to pay their taxes. They have a smooth and balanced way of including profiles of "real people" without leaving me feeling like I need to worry about them once I set the magazine down.

I am not a graphic designer, so I can not be more specific than to say that the layout, graphics, photography and typesetting all work very well for me in this magazine. They use creative and intelligent photos and illustrations for the features and shorter columns. They lay it all out in a manner that is easy to read through sequentially, cover to cover, without getting eye or brain fatigue. Must be something about the right mix of graphics, font style and size, and amount of white space on the page. Whatever the secret recipe it, it works for me. Somehow it inspires me to keep turning the pages, instead of getting bored or overwhelmed by the substantial amount of information presented in just one issue.

In addition to all the great information provided, what probably makes this one different for me is the look, feel, and flow to it all. Someone at "Smart Money" (would that be the Editor?) knows how to integrate many different topics and themes, all the while keeping their eye on the whole - the bigger picture - the entire issue, which is always dynamic and cohesive.