Most bloggers have a blogroll. I am nine months into blogging and this will be my 210th blogpost and have now picked up #207 bags of ocean bound plastic. There was a blog I read briefly called No Harvard Debt which had only 113 blog posts, but made it onto multiple sites like Wall Street Journey and CNNMoney https://nomoreharvarddebt.com/media/. I remember thinking that the Harvard MBA grad really capitalized on a very catchy name, but in the end he seemed to be sincere in his journey. The site is quiet now and his transformational story is inspiring. He paid off his debt and found meaning in life outside of money. I began reading blogs when I was going through our personal finance journey, and I read mostly personal finance and FIRE bloggers. Even after we reached our FI number, Mr. Plastic Picker and I still work. And instead of starting a personal finance blog (although I have some of those type of posts included), I started this personal ocean plastic picking blog and environmental journey.

The blog is a based on a character and an avatar really. The character is real, the author behind the blog – but some of the parts of that person is amplified in a blog. A real person is more nuanced. And with that I am this real life character, almost a caricature. But the amazing thing is that caricature of Dr. Plastic Picker can get real environmental work done. I know that instagram friends are picking up litter, and readers have made little and big changes for the environment.

But I just wanted to list the bloggers I follow, which are mostly personal finance bloggers. I have recently been introduced to some newer bloggers and am enjoying following their journey as well.

1. Len Penzo. I don’t remember how I stumbled upon his blog. He was one of the top personal finance bloggers at some point. He is still very active and has a very off-beat sense of humour. He calls me Dr. P in his blog when I reply. An aerospace engineer and fellow Californian. https://lenpenzo.com/
2. Retireby40. I really enjoyed reading Joe’s journey a decade ago. I realized after talking to a medical school friend about 5 years ago, that he is the older brother of one of our classmates. He has been blogging for a long time and seemed not as engaged, but recently I have really enjoyed his posts again. I probably comment too much on his blog and I’m sure it seems annoying. He’s like an older brother that is annoyed and reminds me of my older brother LOL. My older brother also does not respond to me https://retireby40.org/
3. Dr. McFrugal. I happened upon his blog through Retireby40. This is one talented and inspirational family. I really enjoy watching their journey. They live a very low waste life and are vegan https://www.drmcfrugal.com/
4. Eat Sleep Breathe FI. Canadian Personal Finance blogger who is a mom, which I find powerful. She exudes happiness and positivity which is so important https://eatsleepbreathefi.com/
5. Life At Anchor. “As a military spouse, our family is constantly moving from one duty station to the next.  But when life lets us drop anchor (even if for a little bit), we try to embrace the moment and create memories.” Plus it’s my little sister’s blog and it’s a beautiful passion project https://www.lifeatanchor.com/
6. Mr. Money Mustache. He is probably the most popular of the FIRE bloggers and has some good posts about how to think about money https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/
7. Financial Samurai. I actually find his blog and his personality kind of annoying. Maybe that is the persona he tries to play? I still keep on going back to check out what bombastic things he’s spouting on his blog. But seriously most of the stuff Sam the author writes is good, but not the anti-Ivy League stuff. He has a chip on his shoulder regarding that stuff which I find kind of off-putting. But again, I’m sure its just his persona. I mean I keep on going back? https://www.financialsamurai.com/
8. Katie Loves the Earth. We follow each other on Instagram. She really loves beans and we started eating a lot of beans. I’ve been stopping by her blog. Lots of down to earth tips on living a sustainable lifestyle https://katielovesearth.wordpress.com/
9. Doc Mom Inspired. A fellow pediatrician and friend who is FIREd up in life and Inspired! She is spreading that inspiration to others. Plus she interviewed me on her blog! Who doesn’t like to be the center of attention? LOL https://docmominspired.wordpress.com/2020/08/13/interview-dr-plastic-picker/
10. Crispydoc. No he isn’t a type of fried chicken. He is physician personal finance blogger. Crispydoc put me on his blogroll, and I put him on mine. He’s actually a prolific and funny writer. Getting onto his blogroll required me to bare my soul, and caused a painful conversation with my children about my own arrogance. Anyway, it was worth it – since I get a decent amount of traffic from his blog. More importantly I get to spread my message of environmentalism to other physicians. His writing is actually pretty good. https://www.crispydoc.com/blog/

But otherwise I stop by mostly environmental websites to keep on with climate change work.

11. Rainforest Trust. I donate mostly to here and regularly check in at their website https://www.rainforesttrust.org/

12. Eden Reforestration Project and Ecosia Blog.

13. TO BE DETERMINED

And that is it. I just wanted to list the blogs and websites that I follow. Since this is a non-monetized blog, I don’t feel that motivated to travel along the blogsphere and just comment to drive up views. I really want to deploy the less plastic message. I think I have a bigger impact in real life talking to patients and working on the inside as Assistant Boss in our large HMO. Recently we talked about putting up signs in the patient rooms about COVID-19 proper physical distancing instructions for patients, and the nursing managers were going to have them all laminated. And I asked why can’t we just print them out on sturdy card stock? Why not put it in a plastic sleeve instead that can be reused? We went back and forth a bit and I stated just briefly, “It’s an existential question really. Plastic is forever.” We ended up going with the laminated signs due to regulations. At least we eliminated the single-use water bottles at meetings. That was a big win months ago. Now the meetings are all virtual anyway so no driviing, even better! I hope one day someone lists my site on their blog roll. Plastic Picking Dreams.