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My ten favorite money blogs.

Happy birthday, money nerds! Well, it’s probably not your birthday but it is mine. Today I am 51. To celebrate, I’m going to do something a little bit different. Today, instead of sharing some favorite recent money stories from around the web, I’m instead going to share some favorite money blogs.

I know you’ve probably heard that blogging is dead. As a blogger, I hear this all of the time. And there’s no doubt that blogging isn’t what it was ten or twenty years ago. But good blogs do still exist. That includes good money blogs.

Today, I want to share a few of the sites I love. These are ten money blogs with strong personal voices, blogs that haven’t shifted to the “income over readers” model that’s become so prevalent. (I have no qualm with blogs that have made this change. I just don’t enjoy reading them.)

Ready? Let’s go.

Dave at Accidental Fire has been producing top-notch material for several years now. He does a fantastic job of exploring common subjects in early retirement, but I like it best when he wanders farther afield, when he talks about his personal journey and struggles. Good stuff.

Bitches Get Riches is an irreverent (and hilarious) source of financial advice for everyone — but especially for young adults, and especially for young women. It’s no secret that Piggy and Kitty write my favorite blog right now. I like it so much that I donate $50 every month to them via Patreon. (For real!)

John at ESI Money is a frickin’ workhorse. For years now (previously at another money blog), he’s been churning out high-quality (almost) daily content. At ESI Money, his focus is on earning, saving, and investing for early retirement. Particularly impressive is his weekly “millionaire interview” series, which is now up to 179 installments!

At The Fioneers, Jess and Corey document their personal journey to financial independence. They do so with thoughtful, introspective pieces that cover traditional FIRE topics while diving into new ones. (They popularized the notion of Slow FI, for instance.) They’re doing great work.

At Four Pillar Freedom, Zach frequently tackles the technical side of personal finance. Some of his best articles dive deep into the numbers with custom charts, graphs, and spreadsheets.

Frugalwoods has been on fire lately. I know many people are already familiar with Liz and her adventures on a 66-acre farm in Vermont. If you’re not, you should check her out. She and her husband have done FIRE the right way — high incomes, low spending, and a dedication to the things that bring them meaning.

Minafi documents “the intersection of financial independence, minimalism, and mindfulness”. It’s filled with great info and Adam adheres to some of the highest ethical standards in the biz.

Strictly speaking, Raptitude isn’t a money blog. It’s a site about “getting better at being human”. But David Cain’s thoughtful approach to life and its challenges has plenty of applications to the world of personal finance.

Retire by 40 has been around since 2010, and has quietly become a favorite for many other money bloggers. It’s easy to see why. Joe is a quiet and unassuming guy, but he’s full of good advice and interesting stories. My favorite articles are the ones where he talks about teaching his son about money.

As you can tell from its name, Women Who Money is a team blog focused on financial advice for, well, women. But the advice is generally useful for everyone. Amy and Vicki produce consistently excellent articles with practical advice about real-world situations. Highly recommended.

These are my ten favorite personal personal-finance blogs, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out the great work being done by advisors and advisory firms. Michael Kitces, of course, has been blogging for a while and continues to produce in-depth, interesting pieces. But many of his colleagues are producing great work too.

In particular, Ritholtz Wealth Management — a company about which I know nothing — has a stable of excellent sites.

  • Co-founder Barry Ritholtz writes The Big Picture, which has been covering investing-related material since 2003.
  • CEO Josh Brown offers quick thoughts about money (and other topics) at The Reformed Broker.
  • At A Wealth of Common Sense, Ben Carlson writes about the stock market and market history.
  • Director of research Michael Batnick calls himself The Irrelevant Investor. He too tends to focus on big-picture stock market topics. He also hosts a podcast.
  • Blair Duquesnay shares her thoughts at The Belle Curve (love the name!). She’s particularly focused on women and money.
  • Tony Isola’s A Teachable Moment is aimed at helping educators save and invest.
  • Nick Maggiulli writes the outstanding Of Dollars and Data, which is probably the best-known of the Ritholtz blogs. He tries to explore personal finance (and investing) using data analysis. I look forward to every post.
  • Last — but far from least — is Tadas Viskanta, who writes Abnormal Returns, a twice-daily source of curated links. If I could only read one of the blogs I’ve featured in this installment of Apex Money, it would be this one. It’s a gold mine.

In my dream world, the Ritholtz folks would join us all at Fincon, the annual conference for money and media. They’re doing great work, and I think the exchange of ideas between them and traditional bloggers could be amazing.

What are your favorite money blogs right now? Shoot me an email. Or, if you prefer, leave a comment here. (That’s right. For the first time in the history of Apex Money, comments are on for this post.)

7 Comments

  1. Thanks so much, JD! It is definitely an honor to be recognized by one of the best PR writers around! Happy Birthday! Vicki & Amy

  2. Happy birthday J.D.!!! You will forever be our favorite patron and Hufflepuff on the cusp of Ravenclaw.

  3. Wow, I’m honored J.D.! So many amazing blogs on this list too. Just in the past week I was rereading a bunch from Bitches & Accidental 😂.

    Happy birthday! If you’re ever out in SLC and want to meetup I’m always down!

  4. This is a wonderful list! Happy birthday, JD.

  5. Thanks! It’s a huge compliment that you even read my site — much less like it!

  6. Not sure why I’m just now seeing this but you absolutely nailed this list. Total agreement on the Ritholtz crew.

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