About
Hi, I’m Sergio
PennyNex is a personal finance blog. It used to be written as if there was a team behind it — there wasn’t, and there isn’t. It’s me, Sergio Ligero, writing from Spain about what I learn while managing my own money, reading about investing and personal finance, and thinking through the financial decisions that affect most people’s lives.
You can read more about my background on my author page.
Why I started this site
I spent years reading personal finance content that was either written for people who already had money, or tuned to a US audience with rules and products that didn’t apply to anyone outside. I wanted a place where I could put what I learn into plain language, cite the primary sources I relied on, and keep the material honest about what I do and don’t know. PennyNex is my attempt at that.
What the site covers
I write about the core pillars of personal finance that affect almost everyone:
- Budgeting — frameworks for tracking income and expenses, and sticking to a budget when life gets in the way.
- Saving — emergency funds, goal-based saving, and the basics of where to keep cash so inflation doesn’t eat it.
- Investing — index funds, tax-advantaged accounts, the evidence for long-term passive investing vs. stock-picking.
- Credit — how credit scores work, building credit from scratch, using cards responsibly.
- Debt — paying off credit cards, student loans, consolidating when it makes sense and when it doesn’t.
- Taxes — IRS basics relevant to US readers (where a lot of personal finance rules are written), plus how to think about tax drag on investments.
- Retirement — 401(k)s, IRAs, Roth conversions, catch-up contributions and when to worry about each.
Topics I deliberately don’t cover: day trading, crypto speculation, specific stock picks, get-rich-quick methods. They don’t match what I’d want a friend to read.
Editorial approach
A few things I try to hold myself to:
- Primary sources. Numbers come from the institution that actually publishes them — the IRS, SSA, BLS, SEC, the fund’s own prospectus — not from another blog. Every article lists the sources at the end.
- No fake credentials. I’m not a licensed financial advisor, CFP or CPA. When specialist judgement is needed, I say so and point to a professional who can help.
- Say when I’m uncertain. If the evidence on something is mixed, the article will say so rather than pretending a clean answer exists.
- Update rather than republish. When tax rules, contribution limits or best practices change, I update the existing article and add an “Updated:” date rather than spinning up a near-duplicate.
How the site makes money
PennyNex is a personal project, not a business, but hosting and domain renewal cost money and my time has an opportunity cost. Monetisation is transparent:
- Display advertising. Google AdSense and, over time, other networks. Ads are distinguishable from editorial content.
- Affiliate links. On some comparison pages I link to products I’ve used or researched and receive a commission if you sign up. These are clearly disclosed on the relevant page.
- Newsletter. Free to subscribe, no paid tier today.
I don’t take paid placements for articles or reviews, and if I ever do, it will be labelled clearly.
Nothing here is financial advice
This is a blog, not a regulated financial service. For decisions about your specific situation — your taxes, your investments, your debt — speak to someone licensed in your country who can look at the whole picture. What I write is meant to give you better questions to bring into that conversation, not to replace it.
Get in touch
I read every message. I can’t answer individual financial-advice questions, but I welcome corrections, topic suggestions, or pushback on anything I’ve written.