I created a list of the ten best personal finance blogs a few years ago. Over the years, as I've discovered other blogs along the way, the list has grown. It now includes 20 top personal finance blogs.
Collectively, these blogs cover most, if not all, areas that make up personal finance. You will find articles on banking, investing, retirement, estate planning, insurance, mortgages, budgeting, saving, and much more. These winning blogs provide detailed analyses and reviews of the topics they cover.
Besides my choices for the top finance blogs, I decided to recognize blogs that cover various niches. Though not meant to be comprehensive, the blogs listed are ones I've come to know, some on a personal level, others via recommendations from others.
I will continue to update the list as I discover new sites. If you have websites or niches I should include, please pass them along in the comments. Though I can't guarantee I'll add them, I promise to check them out.
Please let me know your thoughts and offer recommendations in the comments below.
Why Create a List of Best Finance Blogs
You may wonder why I am sharing the top finance blogs with you. It's to help you discover new voices from various personal finance bloggers to help you make better financial decisions.
Unfortunately, most of us were never taught basic money management in school, so we learn by trial and error. The problem with this approach is that you can do significant financial harm learning right from wrong.
By finding a personal finance expert that has had success and failure with money, you can learn from them. You can avoid the same mistakes and profit from their success. Ultimately, the goal is for you to improve your finances and achieve financial freedom.
The 20 Best Personal Finance Blogs
1. Physician on Fire
The Physician on Fire is one of the best personal finance writers. I have issues with some physician bloggers and their attitudes toward financial advisors.
One of the many things I like and respect about PoF is his approach to advisors. He strongly believes they are worth the money and offers a list of advisors that meet his strict criteria.
That's a refreshing difference in the blogosphere.
Here's how he describes himself on his About page – “You can call me PoF, the Physician on FIRE. I'm an anesthesiologist, family man, and supposed outdoors enthusiast who spends way too much time indoors.”
His articles are thorough, well-researched, and cover a variety of topics. He has a weekly series called The Sunday Best, featuring content from other bloggers he's read during the week. It's one of the most-read weekly summaries published.
A recent post on credit cards is an excellent example of the thoroughness of his writing. He's not afraid to take on the conventional wisdom of the personal finance community.
If he thinks something isn't right, he says so. He lives outside the echo chamber that many personal finance writers occupy. You'll want to check out his blog. Better yet, subscribe to it to never miss a post.
2. ESI Money
John, founder, and author of ESI Money, is a fifty-something retiree. Before starting ESI Money, John ran the personal finance blog Free Money Finance. Though he no longer writes for that blog, new content comes from guest posts from various writers. John spends all of his time now on ESI.
ESI stands for Earn, Save, and Invest. The blog focuses on these three things. There's a Millionaire Interview series in which ESI interviews successful people who, as the name suggest, are millionaires.
The interview questions revolve around the three main themes of personal finance. The ways people get to their definition of wealth and financial independence vary yet are similar. You see that in the interviews.
Another interview series is the ESI Scale interviews. In these interviews, people answer questions about their success working on the ESI scale. Once again, questions asked come from the earn, save, and invest categories.
Participants can ask readers for help in any area they feel they need help. Readers offer their advice in the comments. These are two very informative areas of the site.
ESI also puts out lots of his killer content. I highly recommend this site.
3. White Coat Investor
Jim Dahle is a practicing E.R. physician and one of the O.G. bloggers, especially among physician blogs. Like many physician bloggers, Dr. Dahle decided to learn about personal finance after having had several bad experiences with financial advisors.
He dove in to learn about personal finance and investing. As a physician and high-income professional, he was especially interested in learning what would help him and others in the high-income arena.
Here is how he describes the mission of the White Coat Investor on his website:
Dr. Dahle has a three-prong mission that has served our community and us well over the years:
- To help those who wear the white coat get a “fair shake” on Wall Street (i.e., boost financial literacy among high-income professionals)
- To feed my entrepreneurial spirit (build something larger than ourselves, create jobs, and make a few bucks ourselves)
- Connect our community with the “good guys” in the financial services industry (thankfully, there are a few of them out there)
Even if you're not a physician, you will find valuable articles, tools, book recommendations, and courses to help you get and keep your finances in order.
4. Money Saving Mom
Crystal Paine is the founder and author of Money Saving Mom. Crystal is married and the mother of three kids.
She's a devout Christian who tells you upfront, “I'm first and foremost a child of God. I'm passionate about glorifying Him and making the most of my days on this earth.”
Crystal was a homeschooled child. She has five other siblings and credits her parents with much of her passion for being financially savvy.
If you're looking for the latest shopping deals and giveaways, look no further than Money Saving Mom. Crystal offers tips on finding deals at some of your favorite everyday stores like Target, Walgreens, and Walmart.
She'll also help you find coupons for everything you want or need. She even has a coupon database with over 4,000 coupons on it. Yup. I said 4,000!
You can also find posts on managing your money, home, and family, recipes, cooking tips from the kitchen, and much more.
5. Millennial Money Man
The founder and author of Millennial Money Man is Bobby Hoyt. Bobby says his site is for Millennials. Here's what he states as his mission:
“On this site, I teach Millennials how to make more money, save more money, and pay off debt so that they can live their best financial lives (and maybe drink some boujee wine or enjoy some fresh avocado toast here and there).”
Ah, yes. The avocado toast. If I said that as a Boomer, I'd probably get banned from the blogosphere.
I guess, as a Millennial, Bobby can get away with it. Good for him.
Like many Millennials, Bobby graduated from college with a mountain of student loan debt – $40,000 worth. Unlike many Millennial bloggers, Bobby understands there is more than one path to financial independence.
He focuses on three main areas: making money, saving money, and paying off debt. You can find Bobby on major financial news sites like Forbes, Business Insider, CNBC, and Yahoo Finance.
He reviews and recommends several tools to help you handle your finances. You won't be disappointed if you spend some time on Bobby's site.
6. Making Sense of Cents
After 2 1/2 years, Michelle Schroeder-Gardner graduated from college at what she describes as an expensive private school. She moved on from there to get her MBA in finance.
After graduation, she secured an analyst job in the financial services industry. Her over $38,000 in student debt weighing on her, she decided to put herself on a plan to become debt-free.
Having achieved that goal, she thought it would help to write about her experience and started Making Sense of Cents. The blog became so successful that she left her corporate job and began blogging full-time. It is now considered one of the top finance blogs out there.
Her husband and their two dogs began to travel the country managing Making Sense of Cents from an R.V. They purchased the R.V. with revenue from her blog. Now they own a sailboat and spend much of their time sailing.
As for personal finance content, there is plenty. Clicking on the category tab opens up multiple topics related to personal finance, with several article choices for each.
Visitors will find a category for how to save money and make extra money. There is also a travel tab (which she knows something about).
Want to learn how to start a blog? She has a course offering for that. Want to learn how to monetize that blog? She has a course for that too. There is something for everyone at Making Sense of Cents.
7. Frugal Rules
John Schmoll is the founder and author of Frugal Rules. His struggles are what prompted him to start Frugal Rules. He had around $25,00 in credit card debt when he graduated from college. As the name suggests, one of the keys to financial freedom is living within your means and debt-free. John uses his personal story as a means to help others.
The tagline of the site is Freedom Through Frugality. As expected, a significant section of the website focuses on frugality. Like many of the sites on my list, John emphasizes the formulas for success, like keeping expenses low, saving more, and eliminating debt.
That's how he obtained financial freedom. That's what he recommends for his readers.
In addition to the frugality lessons, John offers advice and recommendations on investing, debt, the best credit cards, and online brokerage. The resources tab provides short reviews and special offers on many items.
mend this event if you're involved in the industry or want to become a personal finance expert.
8. Budgets Are Sexy
- Money (J$) started Budgets Are Sexy in February 2008. J$ states his goal for the site is “to get people to stop and *pay attention* to their money.” As the blog title suggests, he's a huge fan of budgets.
From his About page: Budgets = Confidence = Sexy. Visitors will find Excel budget worksheets they can download. Keeping it fun is a part of J$'s strategy. Looking at one of the category links, “Spaving” is a perfect example. “Spaving” represents spending and saving strategies. Good stuff!
Over the years, he has won numerous awards as one of the best financial blogs, even winning a lifetime achievement award.
J$ sold his blog in 2019 to a subsidiary of The Motley Fool. That surprised many in the financial community. What would happen when The Fool took control? The answer – nothing much changed. J$ stayed on as the chief writer. During that time, a search was underway for someone to take his place when his time was up.
In 2022, J$ repurchased the site and is again the primary writer.
9. The Retirement Manifesto
As the name suggests, The Retirement Manifesto is one of the best financial blogs about planning for and getting through retirement. The author is Fritz Gilbert, and he is also the author of Keys to a Successful Retirement: Staying Happy, Active and Productive in Your Retired Years.
In the book (and the blog), Fritz chronicles his journey to retirement, his steps, his success and failures, and the lessons learned.
Fritz wrote his first article in April 2015. He retired in June 2018. Read about his journey and find out what he's up to now on his blog.
From the website:
“I focus on practical Financial Independence and Retirement Planning issues for folks within ten years of retirement.”
If that describes you or you want to know what to do when you get to the point, I encourage you to visit The Retirement Manifesto.
10. Bible Money Matters
Bible Money Matters is a unique site. Started and managed by Peter Anderson, they focus on managing personal finance from a Biblical perspective.
Peter says his three primary topics for the site are “finances, faith, and family – while sprinkling in a fair dose of just about everything else.” As you see from the logo, his tagline is Give More, Save More, Live More. The two main categories – Making Money and Saving Money – match this tagline.
If you're not a Christian, you should still check out this site. Yes, many articles reference Biblically-based personal finance. In reality, these principles are sound for anyone.
The common themes throughout are straightforward and similar – save more, spend less, live within your means, and invest wisely. These are also Biblically sound financial principles.
Being debt-free, another of Peter's themes, helps achieve financial independence.
Readers will also see some unique articles. One example is 10 Weird and Unconventional Ways to Make Money. Weird and unconventional are appropriate terms for what's in this article.
So, don't let the name discourage you if you aren't a Christian. This site is full of valuable content and special offers.
11. Frugalwoods
Introducing themselves as the Frugalwoods, Nate and Liz live on a 66-acre homestead in Central Vermont. Like many of the younger bloggers, Nate and Liz quit their corporate jobs in Cambridge, MA, by living the life of “extreme frugality” and saving 71% of their income. That 71%, she says, is after their 401(k) contributions. Pretty impressive!
The site has a month-by-month archive of its articles on the left side of the page. The right side contains links to recent articles. Categories include traditional financial topics. These get supplemented by creative personalized topics like Frugal City Living, Frugal Hound Sniffs, Frugalwoods Philosophy, and Frugalwoods Reviews.
Additional non-financial topics include kids, epic treks, food, clothes, cars, and entertainment. “Reader Case Studies” highlight stories submitted to Frugalwoods and retold on the blog. Also, there is a Reader Suggests section where Mrs. Frugalwoods offers top choices from reader discussion groups, comments, and forums. It is a very smart, informative, and unique site.
12. Mr. Money Mustache
Don't let the name distract you. Mr. Money Mustache is a top personal finance blog. It's by a guy tired of the rat race of the corporate life he and his wife were living. They wanted to start a family, so they decided to retire. What? Retire to start a family?
Yes! That's what makes this site so valuable. Pete retired at age 30. He started his blog in 2005 at age 36. Pete says he made it because he “lived a lifestyle 50% below his peers.” He saved a lot more than most. Not earth-shattering, but very difficult to implement.
You can read his entire journey to financial freedom, starting with his first article. He tells his story and challenges readers to think about their lives and how to affect change to achieve financial freedom.
There are multiple articles and recommended resources, and a MMM Classics page representing selections chosen by Mr. Mustache. It's a fun site but chock-full of great material to help you manage your finances.
13. A Dime Saved
Robyn started A Dime Saved and describes herself as a millennial mom passionate about personal finance. Robyn is an MBA and has been studying personal finance for several years.
She has always been “into” personal finance but got inspired to start her blog after extended unemployment. That experience dramatically changed how she viewed her relationship with money and the importance of accessible personal finance education.
Robyn says she speaks specifically to low-income people not looking to get rich or retire early; she's not trying to preach anything. Instead, she shares her experiences and ideas and hopes someone can relate to my content.
14. Wealthtender
Wealthtender is a unique website started by Brian Thorp. He's created a one-stop resource for all things finance-related. If you're looking for guidance on personal finance, this is your place. There are lists of individuals and firms for financial advisors, coaches, finance blogs, podcasts, online courses, and free (and low-cost) services.
Click on any of those categories to find a list of resources with links to check out. There is no obligation to do business with any of them. However, if you're looking for help, you will find what you're looking for at Wealthtender.
In addition to these resources, you'll find numerous free guides, articles, and other directories.
15. Budget Savvy Bride
Jessica Bishop founded The Budget Savvy Bride in 2008 after planning her affordable wedding, and the site has grown to become the go-to resource for couples who want to have a beautiful wedding on a budget.
The Budget Savvy Bride is the only wedding planning blog that shares the budget breakdowns of real weddings from across the USA, so you can check out how other couples spent their wedding budget.
The Budget Savvy Bride also features incredible money-saving tips, inspiration posts, and advice for keeping things in perspective while planning. DIY project tutorials and free wedding printables also help you craft decorative details to make your wedding look luxe for less.
Couples shouldn't go into debt to pay for a one-day party, so Jessica's focus is to help couples pull off the best wedding they can have on the budget they can afford.
16. The Female Professional
The Female Professional blog is the brainchild of Sanjana. She is a physician anesthesiologist who also has an MBA. From the Midwest initially, she now practices medicine and resides in southern California.
What started as a personal blog a few years ago has evolved into the platform you see today. Contributors to the site are all professional women who have overcome hurdles, dealt with adversity, worked hard, and persevered to achieve their version of success (or are still pursuing it).
The goal here is to empower women to achieve their own vision and goals. We can learn so much more by sharing our stories and going further.
Women empowering women is a powerful place to be.
17. Partners in Fire
Written and managed by Melanie Allen, Partners in Fire started in 2017. Melanie's goal was to retire from her full-time job in January 2021. In retirement, she wants to go back to school and study anthropology. Talk about eclecticism!
In addition to focusing on FIRE, Melanie also focuses on lifestyle posts. From her website:
“Partners in Fire is a financial independence and lifestyle blog with a huge emphasis on the lifestyle part. In fact, our main focus is to embody the spirit of financial independence rather than the technical aspects of it. That means we focus on the whys of financial independence – freedom, passion, and building the life of our dreams.”
Melanie is unafraid to get into the trenches with her writing, as evidenced by this post, Personal Finance is Political. You will find reliable financial independence content and other informative posts on various topics.
18. Radical Fire
Marjolein is the founder and author of Radical Fire. She decided in 2018 to turn around her finances so she could be financially free and live the life of her dreams.
Like many FIRE bloggers, Marjolein had student loan debt weighing her down. In her case, it was $20,000. She spent money on things she didn't need or value and was unhappy in her job. During that time, she searched the internet looking for help. She found the FIRE community, and it inspired her.
She says she “crunched my numbers and noticed that I could be financially free in 10 years if I would stop spending like it was 11:59 pm on Black Friday.” Follow her on her journey and find the tools to become financially independent..
19. Wealthy Nickel
Andrew started Wealthy Nickel to help others take control of their finances and reach financial independence. Wealthy Nickel delves into Andrew's personal experience raising a family on a single income and building wealth through real estate.
While he blogs about personal finance, Andrew focuses on making money and using side hustles to build wealth faster. He has a Side Hustle Interview series that documents many different entrepreneurial ventures and what it takes to be successful.
20. My Life, I Guess
Amanda hails from Northern Ontario, where she ambitiously tries to keep the “person” in personal finance through her blog, My Life, I Guess.
She accidentally stumbled upon the personal finance world in 2012 when she found herself in a pretty serious work/life UN-balance and began concentrating on changing her situation and getting out of debt.
She is a real person with real problems and isn't afraid to share her mistakes about her finances and career. By sharing her story and her bad decisions, Amanda hopes to help you avoid making the same mistakes she made. Or get past them if you already have.
Final Thoughts
Thanks for taking the time to review the best personal finance blogs with me. It was hard narrowing the list down to what you see here, as estimates say there are nearly 2,500 finance-related blogs. So, this list could very quickly have been the top 100 best financial blogs.
Please spend some time getting to know these personal finance bloggers. I'm confident you'll find something you can use or learn from all of them. As with anything, you won't love all of them.
There likely are some that you will pass on visiting a second time. That's OK. Everyone's taste is different. The list offers you a selection to find those blogs that speak to you and provide the information and education you want.
Happy exploring!
