Ask the Readers: What are your favorite personal finance blogs?
Published on - February 22nd, 2013 (by Ellen Cannon) Of course, you’re a loyal reader of Get Rich Slowly – and we certainly appreciate it! But what other blogs do you read, and why do you like them?
Many readers have mentioned Mr. Money Mustache as a new fave. What do you like about his style? What have you learned from him?
Then there are the long-time PF sites like WiseBread, Consumerist, Consumerism Commentary, Money Crashers, I Will Teach You to Be Rich, and The Simple Dollar. Are you still reading them?
What attracts you to reading a particular blog? Is it the writer’s story? The writer’s philosophy or system to create a sound financial life? Or do you like blogs with a variety of voices, which we now have here on GRS.
Do men read personal finance blogs written by women, such as Girls Just Wanna Have Funds? (I recently read that women read books by men and women; men read only books written by men. I am wondering if the same holds true for blogs…)
Tell us what you’re reading these days, in particular any new blogs that you’ve discovered that you particularly like.
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Boomer and Echo and Budgets Are Sexy are 2 of my favourites along with Mr. Money Moustach.
The newer blogs I am looking at every week are 1500 Days that was launched on January 1st of 2013, Debt Round Up and CashRebel.
Every day I learn something and, of course, GRS is one of the blogs I visit every day.
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I enjoy reading Work Save Live and Free Money Finance. There are a few new ones out there as well, such as Luke1428 that I enjoy reading as well.
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Mr. Money Moustache is awesome because he is all about using your money in the most efficient way possible to secure early retirement (none of the “but I still need my happy hours and designer purses!” whining……ahem, Honey Smith). In addition to reading his blog I also love Lacking Ambition (perhaps a bit extremem for most but I think he’s awesome) and Planting our Pennies, written by Mr. and Mrs. Pop who comment here and on the MMM forums regularly.
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you lost me when you had to be snarky about Honey. This was asking what else you read. No need to be negative here.
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The take off of the MMM blog is absolutely fascinating, and what I find interesting about his blog is that his writing style is refreshing, and he uses real numbers and math to prove his point, rather than generic platitudes. He’s like Brokamp with more colorful language (and less cats).
He can also write entertaining posts about other things. I discovered his blog via a Lifehacker post about thermal mass.
I was never fond of Ramit. And does anyone still read TSD? I gave that up a while ago.
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I am a huge fan of MMM as well though I think he is too extreme for me at times.
I cannot bike everywhere – I live in NYC. With all the traffic, it is just not that safe.
I cannot have the thermostat set at 65 – I get a head chill unless I wear a hat, and somehow wearing a hat indoors makes a home feel less homey.
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My wife was away for a while progressing in her career and while she was gone I tried dropping the thermostat to see what its like. I’ll tell you what, with the wife back and the temp now hevering at 65-68 I feel like im in a suana all the time. Once you become aclimatized that change can really throw you for a loop. Guess Jacob was right over at earlyretirementextreme (great blog, unfortunately it is no longer active)
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I really only read The Simple Dollar for the comments. They were always smarter than the original content. When they went away, so did I.
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This. I also find that the Consumerist isn’t really worth reading without the comments.
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Comments will be back soon. Really soon.
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Some blogs I have really enjoyed lately are Budgets are Sexy, Making Sense of Cents and The Free Financial Advisor. They all write in a relateable way and are all written by one lead writer. It seems once a bunch of staff writers come on board the site isn’t their main priority and the content normally shows that as well as it become more generic and less personal. I really try to avoid that with my blog and try to keep things personal in every article.
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Awww thanks Lance!
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One of my favorite blogs is Club Thrifty. I like following Holly and Greg and their journey to debt freedom. Their posts vary from erudite to just plain hilarious; they resonate to the average man.
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I prefer reading sites written by one person (which is why I don’t regularly read GRS anymore)
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I like following All You Need Is Enough. Phoebe is in her 20s and has paid off a lot of debt and is working on saving to potentially retire early. It’s not a sleek professional blog but I can relate to it and I learn a lot.
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I just recently started following Phoebe’s blog also. Not fancy – just good discussion. Not many commenters yet so hopefully this will increase her readership!
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The Simple Dollar is one of my favorite blogs ever – not just money related ones. I love that he covers a variety of topics in an appealing way and that his “voice” is present throughout. If I had to pare my Google Reader to just a few blogs, TSD would still be one of them.
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MMM is one of the ones I follow the most as it is the one I relate to the most. Got to hang out with Mr & Mrs MMM in Hawaii this winter which was cool as well.
Biggest thing is that I like understanding the assumptions, calculations, and reasons behind things, as this is what really helps me on a day to day basis. It also helps that he is pretty funny.
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GRS is the only ‘big’ older blog I ever read on a regular basis – just didn’t get into the others for whatever reason. As Lance said, I don’t like it when staff writers are brought on and I hear less from the founder directly.
Some blogs I like are: Young Cheap Living, Planting Our Pennies, iHeartBudgets, Punch Debt in the Face, Leigh’s Financial Journey, Our Freaking Budget, and 20 Something Finance.
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I’ve stopped reading a lot of PF blogs in the past few months, including most of the list above. Some are too generic, and some just don’t mesh with where I am in my life (no debt, but no kids either). Some blogs like Squawkfox and Where Does All My Money Go lost momentum when the writers went on to other things like regular columns and YV shows. (Good for them, but not good for their blogs!)
Blogs I still enjoy include MMM, Boomer and Echo, and Gail Vaz-Oxlade’s blog (I like the reader stories and questions). I started reading The Greater Fool based on the recommendation of a fellow GRS reader, and it offers an interesting view of the Canadian real estate market. I’m currently giving Modest Money a try (he has a great list of Canadian PF blogs in a recent post).
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I’m going to shamelessly recommend my own blog, My Financial Independence Journey. Investing, frugality, and career development. I’ve got everything but debt.
Okay, enough of that.
There’s a number of great dividend investing blogs out there like Dividend Monk, Dividend Mantra, Passive Income Pursuit, Financially Integrated, and All About Interest.
I think Free Money Finance is probably one of the best starter personal finance blogs. If you don’t even know what a budget is, start here.
I miss Bad Money Advice. The blog still exists, but is no longer updated.
I also recommend Wealth Informatics as almost every post is jammed with usable information.
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Used to love The Simple Dollar, but it’s gotten much worse over time. I still check it daily, but never find anything worthwhile. Need to stop going there.
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I read mymoneyblog, grs and the simple dollar. I like the extremely practical advice of mymoneyblog (e.g. the steps in opening a treasurydirect account) and the frugal tips of grs/tsd like how to freeze burritos, make laundry detergent in practice. Not just hypothetically like in a standard msm article. With pictures and steps.
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My favorite blog besides GRS has to be Financial Samurai. The writing style is entertaining and more importantly is typically backed up with real numbers. His posts on net worth based on age and work experience put me to shame, but I also appreciate the challenge.
A recent addition to my Google Reader is Budgets Are Sexy (yeah, me too), by J Money. His is one of the few PF blogs I’ve read that literally makes me laugh out loud.
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Of course I love my blog http://www.makingsenseofcents.com! But there are so many blogs that I love. When Life Gives you Lemons, Mo Money Mo Houses, Money after Graduation, My Alternate Life, Money Life and More, Newlyweds on a Budget, So Over This, The Happy Homeowner, Plunged in Debt, Our Freaking Budget, Budgets are Sexy, LBee and the Money Tree, Teacher Finance and like 200 others!
Lots of girl blogs on my list!
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So what reward do I get for filling out this survey? You gave prizes out as an incentive for people to push your Facebook presence/blog presence up by ‘liking’ your page….and now you’re surveying us to see what your competition is.
So…you tell me what I get in return for the info you want and I’ll see if that makes it worth my time to play this game.
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Hi Amy,
We believe that by understanding our audience better, we can continue to create content that speaks to your needs. We strive to incorporate many perspectives, which is one reason why we solicit guest posts from many of these bloggers. We love collaboration!
Thanks to everyone for sharing your perspectives.
-Jen the Editorial Elf
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I really enjoy reading MMM because I love his blunt writing style and the way he backs it up with figures.
Budgets are Sexy is great read as well because it cracks me up.
I do not think of my own blog http://www.chubblywubbly.com as a personal finance blog, because I write about how to spend hard-earned money on things that are worth it.
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Hands down – “Control Your Cash”.
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I have a love-hate relationship with Control Your Cash. Most of their posts have great, common sense information…and most of them contain inflammatory and rude comments.
Their book, though, has the great content without the controversial voice of their blog posts.
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I find most of the PF blogs I follow have a female-centric perspective and are written by women in their 20s/30s. Some of them include:
A Gai Shan Life, Fabulously Broke, Give Me Back My Five Bucks, MMM, Always the Planner, From Shopping to Saving, Retire By 40, TeacHer Finance, Well Heeled Blog, Our Freaking Budget, Newlyweds on a Budget, and Planting Our Pennies.
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I stopped reading Fabulously Broke because they lost their way. I still read TSD when I need a boost. I will teach you to be rich has turned into non-stop promotional sites. Honestly, MMM is refreshing and new.
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It’s because I sold the 2 blogs.
I’m now at: The Budgeting Tool
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I have to say, I feel like there’s a serious dearth of personal finance blogs for people who just want to have decent personal finances without making it a centerpiece of their existence. I’m not interested in extreme early retirement (or even having the capacity to do so but not doing so; it’s not worth it to me). And I’m not interested in constantly figuring out ways to bring my career to the NEXT SUPER HIGH EARNING LEVEL (I have a nice career; it fills up as much of my time as I want; and I’m developing in it at a pace that’s okay with me). Nor am I interested in assigning morality to money and judging people who aren’t responsible with it.
And given that, I’m not sure I’ve really seen many personal finance blogs that resonate with me. I’m thinking a blog version of All Your Worth, which is the personal finance book that resonated most with me – something that focuses on useful information about tools to help you get to your goals instead of trying to impose a particular set of goals on you. (This blog comes the closest, I think, though with so many contributors, naturally nobody is going to find themselves clicking with all of them.)
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The thing is, any blog that took that angle would run out of steam fairly quickly, because there’s only so much you can say. Get your money in balance and keep it there, then go on to enjoy your life.
I think that a big part of the reason “All Your Worth” is such a great book is that the authors aren’t professional personal-finance gurus, nor were they trying to be. So they have no pressure to keep coming up with the NEXT BIG PERSONAL-FINANCE INSIGHT that would keep them front and center on the public stage for their startling personal-finance wisdom.
That said, I do think there’s a really valuable role that bloggers can play in keeping people informed about how the personal-finance landscape is changing in response to laws, technology, changes in the economy, etc. Liz Weston does a pretty good job of this.
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I find blogs are useful for putting news and changes into context, which is probably why I’ve started reading more Canadian ones. You can’t get that from books.
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Yeah – that’s the kind of thing I was thinking; new developments, interesting options, etc. I’ll check out Liz Weston – thanks!
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And I realized from (and commented on) a comment below that the other half of what I want is interesting, personal stories about people and money that aren’t just thinly veiled moralism and which acknowledge the complexity of these issues.
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I think you hit the nail on the head there! I would love to see an “ask the readers” post on what PF books people are reading or recommend. (If there’s already been one and I’ve missed it, I do apologize!) I find I’m reading more books lately.
What used to draw me to PF blogs was the comments as well as the posts. Now it seems like the posts are pretty much saying the same thing, and so many commenters are other bloggers. I’m wondering if PF blogs are reaching the saturation point.
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I agree with you, Katie. I’d also love to see blog posts anywhere that cover how to handle things when you happen to LOVE your job with an employer (*gasp!*), but know that it’s never going to make any serious money. I’m a social worker helping elderly and/or disabled people of limited means remain in their communities instead of going to nursing homes. I’d absolutely do this for free if I didn’t have to worry about money.
While there’s no need to work overtime, I don’t at all want to finish my work super early so I can do something else with my time. I’d like to do more of THIS in my spare time, but the company I work for also happens to be one of the best employers in the state, and I’d rather work with them than by myself, so I don’t want to go into business for myself.
I don’t have any debts, I’m socking away 10% of my income (just turned 27 on Monday) for retirement (split evenly between Roth 401k and regular 401k), I have good health insurance with reasonable costs, and I live in a city and state with an extremely reasonable cost of living. I feel like my finances are reasonably stable, and I want to STOP thinking about money altogether!
Maybe I’m just not the target audience for personal finance blogs anymore. In fact, I think I’m just going to remove them from my Google Reader.
Huh. That’s not at all where I expected this post to end!
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Is this a trick? Just kidding =)
Obviously, I have been a GRS Reader for a long time and now that I am a staff writer I love it even more. I write my own blog with my husband http://www.clubthrifty.com and of course I am a fan of it.
My favorite blog that I read is probably Mr. Money Mustache!
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I love Holly’s blog!
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I’m planning on retiring early so Mr. Money Mustache is definitely my favorite but I also really like JLCollinsNH and MadFientist, since they both also tend to focus on financial independence and early retirement.
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I like “One Cent At A Time”. He grew up in India and has a little different take on things. He usually posts every other day.
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I wait sometimes impatiently for new Mr Money Mustache posts. He does have an interesting writing style that certainly keeps me interested. Along the same lines I also read JLCOLLINSNH who has some interesting wordly posts and delves into a bit of philosophy as well. Also of course Financial Samurai, PT Money, and Afford anything when they have an interesting article.
I suppose I get the most pleasure from reading along with someones experience as they look for financial freedom.
I’m also here reading everything on GRS as well though, so I suppose a mix is workable too.
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Ditto on jlcollinsnh. Lots of savy stuff going on there!
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I too like Jlcollinsnh. I’ve met Jim and found him to be a very level-headed person where money management–and related topics–are concerned.
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I met Jim years ago and I have always been impressed with his financial knowledge.
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I’ve found great financial advice on jlcollinsnh. I particularly recommend his stock series, starting with this post: http://jlcollinsnh.wordpress.com/2012/04/15/stocks-part-1-theres-a-major-market-crash-coming-and-dr-lo-cant-save-you/
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Agree with your comment on jlcollinsnh. Good guy and very knowledgable.
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Jim’s jlcollinsnh offers insight, common sense advice with a wonderful philosophy, a big thumbs up.
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My favorite blog is my blog, not because its the best blog but because by blogging about our adventures help me to stay focused on our finances and our plan. I also very much appreciate the feedback and information that I receive on my blog.
I do regularly read GRS, but otherwise most of my personal finance reading is directed to Forbes and Money magazine as we work on honing our financial/investing skills. I do like to read the Consumerist, but its not as much fun since they got rid of commenting.
I was heavy into blog reading when we were killing our debt and setting up our spending plan in 2007, now that we are past that point I haven’t really found a personal finance blog that meets my needs.
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I read some that are not mentioned here like Money Saving Mom, The Peaceful Mom, The Non Consumer Advocate, The frugal Girl and Practicing Frugal.
I do also read some of the above ones mentioned. You can never learn too much about personal finance and how to keep your money longer.
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I read the Money Saving Mom even though I’m not a mom, not religious, and don’t coupon (things that are definitely main themes of her blog). I end up scrolling past a lot of her posts in my Google Reader, but I love that her blog feels very personal. She posts pictures of her family and life, and she’s very honest about her goals. I think it’s really interesting to see her perspective.
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My faves are – Brave New Life, Lacking Ambition, Financial Uproar, Retired Syd, Canadian Dream, CYC (sometimes), 101 Centavos… but most blogs I read are investing oriented. Aleph, Abnormal Returns, Crossing Wall Street, Reformed Broker, Greenbackd, Investing Notebook, Musing on Markets – I think I have maybe 30 or so on my reader. I find it a little disturbing that almost none of them are written by women or if they are, they’re left-brained types of women.
In general, I don’t care for any kind of “values police” blogs – even if I hold much the same values. And I never did like the taste of kool-aid.
I come here for El Nerdo’s posts and to see if he comments.
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I think it depends a lot on the age, gender, and situation of the reader. I’ve long been a fan of DebtProofLiving.com. Mary Hunt appeals to me as a middle-aged women just trying to do the best with what little I have. I’ve read all her books, along with the books of most other personal finance biggies. I think you’re probably right that women read things written by men and women but men prefer stuff written by men. I think that’s why Dave Ramsey is so popular. I’ve read his books, and liked them OK, but I think he appeals more to men. I like advice not just on how we should get out of debt but HOW to do it, practical tips. I don’t care much for Suze Orman, so it’s not just a gender thing. Or maybe she’s more masculine because she’s a lesbian? Just kidding, really. She’s kinda like Jillian on The Biggest Loser…really aggressive and kinda mean.
I read Debt-Proof Living, GRS, and Simple Dollar. Might have to try “Girls Just Wanna Have Funds.” I don’t always love just-for-women blogs. I think it’s a great concept, but I don’t want to feel like things are dumbed-down because people think women aren’t as good with financial stuff as men.
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I don’t subscribe to any blogs anymore. I now visit when the mood strikes me. I like Surviving and Thriving, altho Donna is getting away from financial topics and doing personal ones more and more. I did Bargain Babe for a while, but then Yasmin did her “reuse postage stamps and wash your feminine hygiene products” piece and completely turned me off. GRS and Simple Dollar are on and off for me, depending on the writer and the subject.
I can’t stand the wash aluminum foil (or feminine hygiene products) and save string blogs anymore.
And unlike Jacq, I still like the taste of Kool-Aid (no matter the consequences)!
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These are all great blogs, but for my money, the most ground-breaking work is being done at The Simple Dollar.
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I dunno. After Trent sold TSD and paid off his mortgage, his tone changed. Having been a reader since the very beginning, I’ve noticed a subtle smugness over the last year or so that’s really turned me off. Plus his posts are now all the same, same, same.
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I agree. I confess I was being a little sarcastic. I mostly read his blog to witness his gross abuse of adverbs – incredibly, deeply, simply etc. The “wonderful”‘s are a sight to behold as well. Kind of like passing a car accident. You don’t want to look, but you do.
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To say nothing of “simply put.”
I have to say, I was glad when Trent disabled comments because that was what allowed me to finally break by habit of hate-reading his site.
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That was one of my hate-reads, too. Make love, not debt was another one I loved to hate.
I try to mix it up a bit. I’ve read GRS for years, but it helps to get a different take on things in the PF world, too.
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I stopped reading the Simple Dollar when Trent made it clear that people who didn’t reproduce themselves with at least one child were “candles in the wind” and not accomplishing anything. It was offensive. More importantly, a lot of Trent’s tips and advice are really orientated towards his specific situation, which isn’t helpful.
And yes, there’s a smugness in tone in a lot of articles.
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You forgot ‘sublime.’ I made the mistake of reading his book and my editor skills kept me cringing at every turn. You just can’t use the same adjective upteen times on the same page and actually consider yourself a writer. Unfortunately, he is a legend in his own mind and what used to be a helpful blog turned into something that left people scratching their heads. Really looking forward to reading many of the suggested blogs.
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Ground-breaking work on WHAT? Saying the same thing over and over again? Packing the most factual errors into the smallest amount of space?
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See above.
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Johanna,
If you are the same Johanna who in the past frequently commented at Simple Dollar, I am glad to see that you are still around. I loved the way your mind worked and your comments.
I stopped reading the Simple Dollar some time ago. My favorite financial blog these days is MMM.
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Haha, Johanna’s comments were the single reason I stopped reading TSD! Life is too short for that much negativity.
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About the only other one that I get to consistently any more is Punch Debt in the Face. I enjoy his writing style and he’s somewhat close in age to me.
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Among my favorites is Retire By 40. I really like and find engaging the way Joe blends personal finance and philosophy of life. I also enjoy reading about his evolving relationship with his young son and his son’s development.
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Kurt, you might also enjoy Joe’s other site, Midlife Finance: http://www.midlifefinance.com
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1500 Days to Freedom is a new up and comer where Mr and Mrs 1500 describe their goal of being able to retire in 1500 days. Thus far they have outlined their current situation and their plan to schieve their goal. Lots of helfpul tips and real life examples!
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This blog, of course, because I love the community and the intelligent discussion in the comments.
I actually prefer the multi-author format, not because I’m one of the writers here but because I enjoy multiple perspectives on issues– this avoids repetition, and nobody is right 100% of the time anyway.
Since I have settled on the Balanced Money Formula, I’m not looking to add any tweaks to my basic 50/30/20, but within this basic framework I seek 3 things:
1) To increase my overall earnings. For this, I’m currently reading the Mike Michalowicz blog. http://mikemichalowicz.com/blog/ — I also read business/entrepreneurship books whenever I can because I like to look at things in depth and it’s hard to do that in a blog.
2) To maximize the pleasure of my 30% “wants.” For this, I don’t know what blogs are out there, so I do my own research– e.g., Which chocolate offers more bang for the buck? (I like the Trader Joe’s “100 calorie” bars which are the perfect size for a cup of coffee). What’s my sweet spot for scotch? (Laphroaig 10!!!). What to do for music? That kind of stuff (ha ha).
3) To better invest my 20% savings. Since I’m aiming for a full-year’s emergency fund, I’m not quite at that place yet, but I’m trying to learn. I subscribed to William Cowie’s newsletters (his site is showing a server error at the moment but the address is http://dropdeadmoney.com/ ) and I try to read the Boggleheads forum here: http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/index.php
And then there’s of course Brokamp.
But really my main current financial preoccupation is increasing my earnings and productivity, so 90% of my effort is dedicated to that. Hence I’ll add a couple of things:
Seth Godin – http://sethgodin.typepad.com/
Steven Pressfield (author of “The War of Art”) – http://www.stevenpressfield.com/
Heath Brothers – http://heathbrothers.com/blog/
I’ll have to say that while I found MMM interesting at first, I don’t like the consequences of his approach. He’s gone from being a software engineer to a professional blogger who makes showers, and frankly I’d rather see shoemakers making shoes and being great at it.
My everyday heroes are people like those who appear on Charlie Rose (not on silly movie promo nights, but on stuff like his Brain Series, and the like).
http://www.charlierose.com/
yeah.
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That brain series was amazing!
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Yes it was! The web address for that is actually here:
http://www.charlierose.com/view/collection/10702
I shudder at the thought of Eric Kandel and all the featured guests retiring at 35 so they could dabble in carpentry. The horror…!
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It’s interesting that you El Nerdo, the self professed artist have the stance that someone is obligated to do ‘what society has told them has the most worth’.
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Thanks for the link!
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Hi Bella,
You write–
I don’t know where to begin answering, but that isn’t my stance at all.
I believe in the individual right to conduct one’s life the way one chooses as long as it doesn’t harm others.
However, it doesn’t follow that I have to admire everything that people choose to do, or pick role models indiscriminately.
Yes, individuals are free to excel or squander their talents as they see fit, but I only look up to and seek guidance from those who give their best and love what they do, regardless of their line of work or level of remuneration.
I remember in the article I wrote about passion, how much I loved a comment from Alexandria who said of her work doing people’s taxes “it is my very being!” That– that’s what I aspire to.
As for “self-proclaimed”– well, it has to begin somewhere.
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There’s an article you might like here El Nerdo – The Helsinki Bus Station Theory:
http://www.fotocommunity.com/info/Helsinki_Bus_Station_Theory
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Thank you Jacq. I LOOOVED it! It made my morning. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
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I loved that article and the photographs, too! So then I went to the artist’s site and found he lives in my little hometown – how crazy!
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I’m not a MMM fan-girl but El Nerdo – maybe he wasn’t a very good software engineer or didn’t like it? Or maybe his passion *is* writing / blogging and he just does carpentry on the side because he likes to build things? Maybe he likes building a blog or building a shower or building a good relationship with his kid. He seems to be quite prolific so that might be the case. Not everyone finds out what they want to do when they’re young and follows a straight path. He could be a “scanner” rather than a “diver”. Nothing wrong with that. Not comparing the two by any means, but would you call Ben Franklin a semi-failure because he didn’t stick to printing newspapers? Surely Renaissance people used to be “allowed” to follow many interests?
What if you looked beyond what someone does for a living to how they approach the world and whether they’re expressing *that* wonderful part of themselves that makes them unique – ie. are they “an accountant” or “a lawyer” or are they someone who likes to solve problems? I bring the same mentality to accounting work as I do to playing a game of sudoku, writing (when it comes right), investing or reading a mystery novel. They’re all play and puzzles, just in different arenas. Polymaths like to – and can – play quite well in different venues – to ask them to pick just one is like asking them which one of their kids they want to sacrifice. It’s not an either / or thing IME, I want a life of AND. Many careers don’t allow for that easily – they want to suck 80 hours a week from you and leave nothing else for your other interests. Being financially independent lets you do that kind of thing (without having to depend on it for survival) and just doing it for the sheer fun of it. That seems totally in line with your ethos, so I don’t get the problem?
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ha ha yeah, i thought about what you say here, and i’m not necessarily in favor of monomania, but my problem is that the MMM blog seems to present “quitting work” as the end all be all.
“quit work in 7 years!”
and then i think of eric kandell… and everyone who does great, beautiful things that make the world amazing. and that includes millions of people who aren’t famous or anything.
i’m all for financial independence i just– if the drive for it is just to “quit” it just– i just– i find it, i don’t know– disappointing?
i’d love to have me some financial independence– but i’d be doing the exact same thing i do today though, except maybe with better insurance policies or something.
i guess this perspective comes from growing up in a 3rd world country– i see the world as a place where there is *so much to be done*, where our greatest challenges are still ahead, and i don’t want to become an eloi, or one of those inhabitants of the vortex in zardoz, or nietzsche’s “last man”… i am ultimately, at heart, just a savage who loves a good fight, ha ha ha. i can’t listen to people telling me to “quit working”… gack… bbrrrrr!
alright, i should go & proceed w/ saturday’s festivities… thanks a lot for writing…
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I get what you’re saying – you want to see “going to” goals rather than “running from” goals. But here’s the thing… well, two of them actually.
You know how in kid’s books, they have a thing called “choose your own ending?” That’s what FI let’s you do. It’s for people who sometimes might be afraid to do what they love for a career – or maybe what they love to do just doesn’t pay period. Like I want to spend more time with my kids. Believe me, nobody will pay me for that. FI LBYM processes give you the tools and you have to supply the meaning behind the message.
The other thing is that many of us have forgotten what we loved to do – the path not chosen. We need the (unpaid) time to dabble to discover what that is. Or we never forgot but we had bills to pay and people to take care of and never had the chance to follow those dreams. Look, I had my first kid when I was 22 y.o. and raised him myself with no help. I’ve spent my whole adult life trying to take care of people, raise great little ones and give them the opportunities to be who they want to be that I didn’t have at the time unless I wanted to live the life of a starving artist. Fine to choose that for myself, but not for my boys. They deserved security and not having to wonder where the next meal was coming from because I had foolish pride. BTDT, only had one t-shirt and one meal a week. It’s not a fun life – even in a first world country.
Enjoy your festivities!! Love talking, as always.
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I’ve started giving my employees little money seminars, and I’ve been using the posts on Jim Collins blog.
https://jlcollinsnh.wordpress.com
They’re easy for beginners to
understand, they’re funny, and it doesn’t seem like I’m preaching to them. Simple is key, and he makes it very simple. I’m a fan.
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I second. Jim’s blog is the antidote to the market timing madness that characterizes most of the nonsense that crops up around the web and in the financial media.
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Here’s a post on PF blogs that will get you thinking on what’s good or not. Also even I felt a bit of shame reading it.
http://www.thebudgetingtool.com/2013/02/17/want-to-know-why-i-dont-read-95-of-pf-blogs-and-posts-out-there-because-its-a-waste-of-my-time/
@Jacq – Hey thanks for mentioning my blog.
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Thanks for the link to my post
I appreciate it!
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I’m a big fan of this one right here and Budgets Are Sexy!
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I only read this one. That’s mostly out of habit, as little is new to me at this point, but now that things have settled down with the change and the staff writers, I do enjoy the tone and the writing and the different points of view.
I used to read The Simple Dollar and I Will Teach You To Be Rich. I mostly read TSD for the comments, as the posts were almost uniformly bland and stupid, but I soon got bored of it. I enjoy Ramit’s humor, but I can’t relate to his blog anymore as it’s gotten more technical and less generally accessible.
I haven’t found any other money blogs that interest me, mostly because I’m in the slow-and-steady part of the game, and partly because most bloggers I encounter are of the my-way-is-the-right-way stripe that just annoys me. Either that or they have a focus on debt/kids/retirement issues that are not of interest or use to me. I do visit Donna Freeman’s blog occasionally, as I miss her voice here, but I find little of value there.
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Ditto on everything. GRS, TSD and IWTYTBR were my big three for years. All three have gone downhill; GRS is the only one I still come to for the occasional gem.
TSD became a joke, somehow. Someone mentioned that Trent sold his blog – is he contractually obligated to post? There is so little heart in the blog, while he used to be so enthusiastic, that I can’t think of any other explanation for its zombielike continuation.
As for Ramit, I wouldn’t say he’s gotten “technical.” He’s gotten very pitchy, in that his focus is on pitching his paying programs and almost nothing else. (Lee Babauta at least continues to provide truly valuable free content while still making good money through programs and ebooks) Ramit has also become much more niche in that 1) he has completely dropped the idea of saving money, and focuses entirely on making more; and 2) he explicitly targets his writing to men, esp straight men, often using metaphors of pick-up-artists and scoring with women. I’ve mostly given up on him.
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I used to read Frugal Dad and TSD, but both have officially completed the death spiral in my book. Infographics are not my cup of tea.
I have GRS and Free Money Finance pinned to my iGoogle homepage, so I see the new article titles every day whether I want to or not.
Lately, I’ve been really unimpressed with the material on most blogs. I’m not interested in saving $0.50 with coupons or using crazy tactics to save $1. I also am tired of the regurgitation on most PF blogs. After reading a lot of them for the past 2 years, I feel as though I’ve learned all that I can from them.
Lately I’ve moved on to more investing blogs like Dividend Mantra, Dividend Growth Investor, Oblivious Investor, and Wealth Pilgrim. I also find 101 Centavos to be quite interesting sometimes.
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MMM is by far the best personal finance blog out there right now. Great voice, engaging narrative, thought provoking, and a level of depth and quality not found in other blogs. I agree with the reader who said he waits impatiently for the next MMM post.
I still read TSD, but mostly just for reinforcement’s sake. Trent seems to have run out of new ideas a while ago, and his posts have become shorter and more philosophical. I like them as a way to reinforce solid financial principles.
I enjoyed Watson Inc during 2012 but he hasn’t posted since October so it looks like that one may be gone.
I have completely given up on IWTYTBR. The site has completely dropped any pretense at being a finance blog, and is now just a bunch of thinly veiled sales pitches for Ramit’s scammy (and expensive) courses. It’s a shame because some of Ramit’s earlier posts – like the “10 year savings strategy” – were some of my favorite PF blog posts ever.
For anyone that likes the Permanent Portfolio, Crawling Road is an excellent blog. I also read Bucks (NYT PF blog) with some regularity. A couple of non-financial blogs, including the Art of Manliness, Raptitude and More than Money (JD’s new blog) also occasionally have good PF content.
Unfortunately, I almost never read GRS anymore, with the exception of posts by Brokamp, who is excellent (if a bit repetitive). Since JD sold the site, its narrative has become too fractured – too many staff writers telling too many different stories. As a result, the depth of the posts has decreased dramatically – the majority of the articles have become “how to save money on X” posts (like the recent ones on vet bills and food waste) that belong on a site like MSN Money. The most recent post from Holly was a delightful and moving anomaly (the sort of thing you see on TSD at its best) but overall the site’s content has become very shallow. Look at most of the blogs mentioned in the comments – almost all of the recommendations are for blogs written by one author (or family) delivering a financial narrative with depth. It’s a shame that the new owners of GRS lost sight of this, and instead decided to replace quality of posts with quantity of posts. Frankly, I came to this post to get some content recommendations to fill the holes left by the decline or death of some of the blogs I like (GRS, IWTYTBR, Watson).
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I can’t believe anyone still reads The Simple Dollar. It is so bad I don’t believe it’s real.It’s a joke. It’s amazing if you can actually get usfull information out of it. Terrible, Terrible, Terrible!
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I agree. Control Your Cash has a theory that TSD is a long-con troll. It’s all made up – the wife, the kids (excuse me, “children”), Iowa. If that’s the case, Trent is a genius – the Phil Hendrie of PF blogs.
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It used to be great. Trent was one of the earliest successful PF bloggers. And getting to know him and his family, even virtually, was a pleasure. He’s just… idk. Lost it. Stopped caring. Died and is posting as a zombie. Idk. TSD used to be great, but died and has festered for a few years now.
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Freemoneyfinance is my favorite. Second favorite is whitecoatinvestor.com. The comments are intelligent and they seem to be geared toward professionals with good income who are investing on the side.
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I’ve seen several of the blogs I follow mentioned already…but I’ll add my two cents.
I really enjoy MakingSenseofCents. Michelle and her writers do a great job of mixing personal finance, real world living and content about blogging. As a new blogger, I enjoy almost every update from this site.
I also follow MyMoneyBlog. This is the site that I follow for pretty detailed info about investing. Jonathan does a great job of sharing his lessons learned. I also play the credit card point game and enjoy the good deals he finds for that adventure.
I have also been enjoying AspringBlogger. AB does a great job at sharing practical lessons on money management from his life. I appreciate anyone who is willing to put their success and failures out there for all to learn from.
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I guess I am the only one who still reads I Will Teach You To Be Rich. I love Ramit humor and his videos. I like his use of psychology of why people do things. To me the why of why people do things is more important then the how to do it. Example: almost everyone knows how to lose weight, eat less, exercise more. But why don’t people just do that?
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I love MMM! I also love Afford Anything. Both of those blogs are really living the life that I’m trying to move towards, so it’s inspirational to read them and keep myself on track.
This year I ditched IWTYTBR, and Trent on TSD. Trent’s content just was not my life, and his answers to questions were so far off many times I began to question his financial knowledge.
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Thank you everyone for the comments! I have been looking for new PF blogs. I used to read The Simple Dollar every day but do not anymore. Somehow the author turned into an expert on everything. I find that really annoying.
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Budgets are Sexy and Mr Money Mustache have replaced GRS in my top money blogs.
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This blog remains my favorite because of the mix of perspectives and types of posts – not because I write here.
I also read Free Money Finance and Afford Anything regularly. As my financial situation has changed, my taste in blogs has changed, too.
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