New Personal Finance Blog at SFGate

Hallelujah! Someone at the SF Chronicle finally woke up to the fact that, considering that the SF Bay Area is the most expensive place in the country to live, they should provide some coverage of financial matters that would help people actually afford it. They've launched a new blog, Dollars and Sense, by Lisa Schmeiser. In her first post, Schmeiser states her intentions, including the following:

I will not engage in false spending or saving dilemmas. For example: I will never flog the "if you just stop spending on your daily Starbucks ..." horse that appears in so many personal finance blogs and articles.

Starbucks is rarely the problem. It can, however, be an excellent answer.

Because here's the thing: lots of people have exhausting routines and/or crappy jobs, and that $3.50 venti mocha is the one bright spot in their workday. If that cup of syrupy go-go juice is what it takes to keep from snapping, then $875 per annum is a comparative bargain -- especially when stacked up against, say, the street value of certain controlled substances or bail on a felony charge. So you can forget about posts that promise you ways to save hundreds of dollars annually if you eliminate breakfast and recycle your tinfoil and shake down your kids for their Halloween leavings.

I like her already.