Unfortunately, yes.

My blog was started for close family and good friends. They get free access because I trust them.

My paywall for everyone else is for privacy and security. I don’t mind sharing my posts with co-workers, acquaintances, neighbors, and random strangers. I do, however, prefer to keep the information I publish less accessible to specific people who have communicated that they wish to do me harm.

Requiring payments is a way for me to keep the stalkers from using my posts against me. I feel confident that they wouldn’t gamble one cent into my pocket in the hope of finding something in the blog that they could try to leverage against me.

And if I’m wrong? If they subscribe to the blog? Well, I would find it amusing to take their money. However, I would block them if I realized they were here. They are not welcome, no matter how much they pay.

I may have ads and affiliate links “outside the wall,” because who doesn’t like a little extra cash once in a while? There are no ads displayed on posts behind the paywall, although they may have appropriately-marked affiliate links. Anyway, the paywall itself is not for money, so there are no “goals” like on a crowdfunding site. The goal is privacy and security, not wealth.

However, if you think of something cool or fun I could do with membership funds I receive (especially something related to travel, nomadic life, etc.), please share your ideas with me!