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We’ve been publishing readers’ Personal Money Snapshots for a couple of years now, and one of the questions we ask on the submission form requests readers’ thoughts on the best personal finance resources for professionals. We ask them to suggest podcasts, blogs, books, conferences, and so on — and today we’re rounding up their recommendations!
Readers, what are your favorite personal finance resources? Are there any you’ve tried that didn’t work for you?
Reader recs for the best personal finance resources for professionals
Mr. Money Mustache
The tagline of Mr. Money Mustache’s website is “Financial freedom through badassity.” Before he created the blog in 2011, Peter Adeney and his then wife were seriously committed to living frugally and were able to retire early. Today, he still lives very simply; for example, he self-insures rather than pay for homeowner’s insurance and health insurance, drives a 22-year-old car (but mostly bikes and walks), doesn’t go to the dentist, and so on. He has no mortgage, as he bought his $300,000+ house with cash.
On his About page, Adeney writes that he created the site to show how “you can create a life that is better than your current one, that just happens to cost 50-75% less.” His resources include an app, a newsletter, and a discussion forum. Here’s a list of all posts, as well as some “classics.”
Frugalwoods
The “Frugalwoods” (Nate and Liz) describe themselves as “ex-urban, rookie homesteaders finding contentment (and a lot of chores) on 66 acres in rural central Vermont along with our our two young daughters.” On their About Us page (written several years ago), they explain that they had a quarter-life crisis at age 30, upon which they began the habit of extreme frugality. (Some of the blog’s most popular posts are listed on the page, too.) Each month, they share a new expense report for their family.
Liz wrote a book in 2017 called Meet The Frugalwoods: Achieving Financial Independence Through Simple Living — it’s new content, not repurposed blog posts. She also offers the Uber Frugal Month Challenge — a new group of people start the challenge each January and July, but you can start it on your own anytime. Liz explains it as “frugal tough love.” Readers: Have any of you tried the challenge?
{related: The Best Financial Books for Beginners}
Ramit Sethi
Ramit Sethi wrote the bestselling book I Will Teach You to Be Rich. It presents a six-week program that involves opening high-interest bank accounts and investment accounts, figuring out your current spending and modifying it, automating your cash flow, learning about investing, and more. You can get the first chapter by email.
Beyond that, Sethi’s website features a blog, offers workshops, and so on, and he has a newsletter and YouTube channel. His newsletter was recently included in a list of “The 10 Best Email Newsletters About Money” from NextAdvisor.
Dave Ramsey
Dave Ramsey is very popular — as well as a polarizing figure. He hosts a radio show, The Ramsey Show, and has written several books, including The Total Money Makeover. His website includes tools, apps, articles, and more (his online store even sells wallets) and lists his events and workshops.
Ramsey advises that people entirely avoid credit cards and student loan debt, and he recommends using the debt snowball method (starting with paying the lowest balances).
Note: Ramsey is a rather problematic employer who also downplayed COVID in 2020.
{related: How Do You and Your Partner Talk About Money?}
Bogleheads
The Bogleheads community spans several formats: the popular online forum, the extensive wiki (which includes a big list of key abbreviations and acronyms), and an investment blog. You can also join a local chapter (there are 87), listen to the associated podcast, and attend the annual national conference. Forum members have created and shared investing and retirement tools to share.
There are three Bogleheads books about investing: The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing, The Bogleheads’ Guide to Retirement Planning, and The Bogleheads’ Guide to the Three-Fund Portfolio.
Wondering where the name came from? It honors Vanguard founder John Bogle, who passed away in 2019. He wrote Common Sense on Mutual Funds: New Imperatives for the Intelligent Investor.
Money Snapshot readers have mentioned r/personalfinance and r/moneydiariesactive as helpful subreddits for personal finance information. The thousands of members of the Personal Finance subreddit talk about budgeting, saving, getting out of debt, credit, investing, and retirement planning, and the wiki has a ton of advice on all sorts of topics. The latter, “women-focused” subreddit is for fans of Refinery29’s Money Diaries; they share their own seven-day diaries and discuss money in general.
Here’s a quick tip from someone who uses Reddit often: When you’re new to a subreddit, make sure to just scroll and read for a while (including reading the subreddit rules); if you don’t follow “protocol,” your post will probably be deleted.
YNAB
For years, many Corporette Readers have sworn by YNAB (You Need a Budget), which is based on the envelope method of budgeting. YNAB’s four rules for budgeting are (1) Give every dollar a job, (2) Embrace your true expenses, (3) Roll with the punches, and (4) Age your money.
Their app has options for the web, iPhone, Android, iPad, Apple Watch, and Alexa; you can also buy the book at Amazon. You can try YNAB free for 34 days, then the monthly plan is $11.99 and the annual plan is $84/year. Their guarantee states that “At any point, if you don’t feel like you have more control of your money with YNAB, we’ll give you a full refund.”
Readers who use YNAB: What are your tips for getting the most out of it?
Honorable mention
Other experts and resources highlighted by readers who have submitted their Money Snapshots include The Simple Dollar, Planet Money (NPR), Marketplace (American Public Media), The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley, The Financial Diet, Suze Orman, and Farnoosh Torabi’s “So Money” podcast.
What are your favorite personal finance resources for professionals? What are some of the best financial tips and principles you’ve learned from them? We’d especially like to hear about people of color whom you trust for personal finance advice, as the reader favorites above skew pretty white!
Stock photo via Deposit Photos / GaudiLab.
