10 Best Blogs To Achieve Financial Independence
These are the 10 best blogs to achieve Financial Independence. Not in any order of preference. These blogs gave me both inspiration and information to learn and pursue Financial Independence.
10 Best Blogs To Achieve Financial Independence
- JL Collins – people on the internet say he is the godfather of financial independence. I don’t know how you verify this but, so far from what I see, they may be right. Looks like he is referenced by more than just one person when it comes to learning about investing and obtaining financial independence. Besides the financial knowledge, I really enjoy reading his posts. He writes well (maybe because he was an English major?) and obviously a good piece of writing is important for a blog. The main point that JL Collins hammers home throughout his posts is that we should systematically invest into low cost index funds or ETFs like VTI (which basically covers all US equities). And don’t panic and sell out when there is a downturn. Just keep putting in the money and you will see your money grow in due time. I also resonated with him using his blog as a way to pass on his knowledge to his daughter. This is what I hope to do for my son who is currently a teenager.
- RIP (Retire In Progress) – I just love the blog; the transparency, the humor. He is a blogger from Switzerland and has been running his blog since 2016. I am not sure if he is now retired or not but, looks like he has enough wealth to retire if he wanted. He also does YouTube and Twitch channels.
- Choose FI – Great resource if you are starting out and new to FI. I listen to their Podcasts and they have many interesting episodes. Definitely worth listening to on your daily commute.
- Living A FI – I don’t think he writes anymore. Too bad. But, some of the articles are timeless.
- Chris Reining – An introvert who decided to take financial independence at an early age and retired at age 37. I am sitting here reading this guy’s blog at age 50. I am only 13 years late to the game. Mad envy. But, I like his blog. Maybe it’s because I am also an introvert.
- Mad FIentist – I reference this blog for tools like spreadsheets, the lab, and tax avoidance strategies. I also sometimes listen to the podcast when I am commuting.
- Side Hustle Nation – I used this blog to get entertaining side hustle ideas; because I intend to keep my 9-to-5, only some of the side hustle ideas appeal to me. I am mostly interested in those passive income side hustles.
- Mr. Money Mustache – Mr. Money Mustache is perhaps one of the most popular blogs out there on Financial Independence. Looks like it’s been around for ages; definitely one of the pioneers in this space. The articles are great but the forums are also great.
- Catching up to FI – Great for folks who are in their late stages (like me!) and catching up to FI. Great source of information as well as motivation as they have gone through the painful stages of late, rude awakening but made the right choices and achieved their independence. They have a great podcast (that’s where I found them first). One of the hosts, Becky Heptig, has her own blog called startedat50.com. Becky is also a follower of Christ and I appreciate that there is someone out there following God and looking to practice good stewardship over the resources that God gave us.
- GoCurryCracker – one of the early pioneers in this space. Approaches this topic in a fun, light hearted way. But has some nice articles like Never Pay Taxes Again.
Best Forum & Resources
- Early-retirement.org – recommended by RIP. It’s basically a big community where people from all backgrounds come to discuss… yes, early-retirement. Lots of good info if you have the time to dig through. Especially for those aiming for more traditional retirement lifestyles like 80k or higher annual spend rates.
- Financial independence sheet – this is a site where you can download a template for financial independence. I have not worked with it yet but, once I do, I will come back to link a post.
- Bogleheads – Investment forum named after John Bogle, founder of Vanguard. All about index investing and ETFs.
- Mr. Money Mustache – Blog is good but, also the forums are good. Been around for along time but, still alive and kicking.
Best Podcasts
Kind of redundant because these were mentioned up on the blog section but, here are my go to podcasts.
In Conclusion
Again, I had no idea that there were so many resources in this space. I really wish I opened my eyes to this early on (like maybe 20 years earlier). Then again, 20 years ago, I don’t think I would have found so many resources. So, with all this information at our disposal, what’s important now is to focus on the vision and make tangible, practical steps forward.
From my 5 easy steps to Financial Independence, we can now focus on creating a practical system for planning and tracking.
