These Financial Blogs Are Worth Your Time
Kathy Kristof
After spending the bulk of my career writing solely for newspapers, I stepped into the blogosphere a year ago and discovered a whole new world of financial advice.
The World Wide Web is host to hundreds of financial bloggers, who provide everything from solid counsel to something of a support group for the budget-challenged.
The advice you get in the blogosphere is different from what you see in the newspaper for a variety of reasons. It's sometimes profane and often directed toward a single topic -- including such things as student debt or frugal living. And the bulk of bloggers base their advice on personal experience, rather than straight reporting.
You've got to be careful, too, because some bloggers make money by promoting products.
That said, much of it is wonderful, helpful, encouraging and uniquely well suited to the just-graduated set, who are still trying to get a toehold on their financial lives.
If you haven't stepped into the Web's wonderful world of money blogs, here's a guide to some of the best -- and often largely unknown -- sites.
This led to his economic ruin and subsequent revival as a born-again budgeter. His financial Armageddon became a cautionary tale for his blog, showing where he went wrong and what he'd do differently.
Among his more engaging posts is "How I Lost
The consistently delightful blog at www.budgetsaresexy.com is written by twentysomething J. Money (his pen name), who recently wrote a funny post about the intricacies of real estate pricing.
The short version: He hopes some "spendthrift" will pay an exorbitant price for his neighbor's home, which could save home values in the whole neighborhood.
I've become a
The
Stephanie at Poorer Than You (http://poorerthanyou.com) is a 22-year-old blogger who got her start when she had to drop out of film school because she was running out of money. She has since blogged on such topics as using restaurant coupon books and her own quest to start a retirement plan.
The Financial Samurai (www.financialsamurai.com) tackles a wide variety of topics, including why you should do your own tax return and why you might need an umbrella insurance policy when you have teenagers. The Samurai, whose identity is secret, appears to have a firm command of finance, giving his blog a sense of authority that others lack.
Equally sage is the ubiquitous
Dr.
But much of his advice, which spans fixing your credit score to rolling over a 401(k) plan, transcends a single industry.
Have a tough financial question and don't know where to turn? Head to www.asklizweston.com, where the
There are more, of course. Many more -- and probably many more to come. But if you're looking for a bit of financial help or hand-holding, these are a few good places to start.
Happy surfing.
- Flat Tax Is Class Warfare
- Eliminate Tax Brackets and Complicated Forms With Flat Tax
- 10 Problems With the Income Tax
- Save Time Filing Your Taxes
- How to Be a Savvy Cheapskate
- Do You Live in a Frugal State
- How to Keep Your Nest Egg Intact After a Layoff
- Student Loan Crunch May Be Easing
- Don't Neglect Long-Term Care in Retirement Planning
- Disney Interactive Exhibit Teaches Basic Financial Concepts
- These Financial Blogs Are Worth Your Time
- Avoid Tax Trap When Converting Traditional IRA to Roth IRA
- Why Consumers Are Shunning Credit Cards
- How the Health Care Bill Impacts Retirees
- Keeping Adult Children on Your Insurance Policy
- iPad Launch: Perils of the iPad
- Many Americans Still Clueless About Retirement Saving
- How to Avoid the Marriage Tax
- The Challenge of Deducting Medical Expenses
- Health Care Reform Overhaul: What Happens When
- Older Americans Comment on Health Care Reform
- Big Changes Coming to Student Loans
- Affording a Stay-at-home Mom?
- 21 Ways to Cut Expenses in Retirement
- New Frugality Emerging for Retirement
- Gen Y to Banks: Do Better
- Deducting Hobby Expenses: Think Business
- Sadly Bad Advise Abounds on Roth IRA Conversions
- Medigap Plans Cooking Up New Alphabet Soup
- Identity Theft May Be Prelude to More Serious Crime
- Automatic Saving Plans for Emergency & Retirement Funds
- New Tax Provisions Make Filing More Complicated This Year
- Not All 401(k) Plans Are Created Equal
- Time to Prepare Your Will
- Bigger Tax Break for Writing Off Costs of College
- The Secret to Being Poor
- Bad Day? 5 Tips to Keep Your Motivation
- 8 Factors that Determine Your Final 401(k) Balance
- How to Tell if You Are Saving Enough for Retirement
- Financial Help For Women: 5 Effective Strategies
- New Credit Card Rules Triggering More Higher Fees
- Roth Conversion Can Be Good Move, But Consider These Caveats
Personal Finance - These Financial Blogs Are Worth Your Time
(c) 2010 Kathy Kristof