I’m curious where other’s are learning or growing their knowledge on financial matters… Other than here, of course.
I grew up in the age of blogging & I used to read a few blogs on finances but lately they’ve been missing the mark for me. Maybe I’m chasing some kind of nostalgia, but I keep hoping for another resource that has pretty basic information. Something with the nitty gritty on getting out of debt, ending the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle, & stuff like that.
I’m also iffy about books on finances lately as I’ve observed they can be very redundant, but if someone has some suggestions, I’m willing to check them out too. (Other than Dave Ramsey’s books, please. I know about those & have flipped through them many, many times.) I used to work in a bookstore & it was so much easier to stay up to date on what was actually popular.
Any podcasts & Youtube channel recommendations are also gladly accepted. Again, all the resources I’ve had recently have moved up so much that their content is more like ‘how to afford that avocado toast AND that latte with side hustles!’ instead of the basics.
So yeah, to summarize: where does everyone go to learn more on financial matters? Books, blogs, podcasts, Youtubers, etc.
To an extent, YouTube. Most of my learnings are from reading business books and also just doing a lot of experimentation myself. Speaking of reddit, I also learned the hard way that /r/wallstreetbets in general loses me money (so I might experiment with just taking the opposite position of most of WSB’s bets and see how that goes).
@angie.p Thank you for the link, I’m perusing through your posts & jotting down some of those titles. Good luck with the WSB experiment! I’m definitely not at that level with my finances yet but hopefully one day! ?
@will.s I had totally forgot about Buffett. I’ll definitely be looking him up! Speaking of r/personalfinance- I’ve always liked r/povertyfinance too. I feel like step 1 is povertyfinance & step 2 is personalfinance. Good advice & resources on both. ?
I like Nerdwallet for comparison shopping on everything from banking to platform comparisons. Investopedia is surprisingly good if you want basic on stuff like how to read a 10-K or just basically looking for a wikipedia-like overview on fundamental investing concepts. Bankrate is very good for comparisons on loans, mortages, and CCs.
One thing I’ll say from my own, personal experience. Be careful of ‘analysis paralysis’ - I’ve been there, especially looking up at a mountain of debt, more worried about whether the gas company or electric company was going to pull the shutoff trigger, first, etc. It can become almost hypnotic to hunt around for some secret answer or process or budgeting tactic that can fix what ails your wallet.
If I could give my younger self some advice - knowing I wouldn’t listen - I’d tell me:
When it comes to debt, stop looking for the perfect shovel and start digging. That doesn’t mean debt consolidation or researching strategies like avalanche vs snowball aren’t worthwhile, but just facing up to the calendar and the due dates, total debt load, and accepting it won’t be solved in a day is step 1. It’s become sooo much easier in the digital world, but one thing I started doing long ago was paying at least the minimum - or better, even just 5-10 bucks over the minimum on the statement date rather than due date on ‘bad’ debt. Especially now that it’s quite easy to make multiple payments in a monthly cycle - it does wonders for your mindset to “get ahead” of calendar. Then, I’d weekly look at my leftovers in checking - another 10 bucks? More debt retired. 20 bucks from grandma for my BDay? Another payment.
Pay yourself first. Maybe this should actually be #1, but if you’ve got access to a 401k? Contribute to it. If you don’t? Start an IRA. Even if it’s just 1%. The younger me would angrily say this ridiculous; I cannot even afford my bills now - and you want to “cut” my income by 1% (or actually, less if factor in taxes)? What I would tell the younger me is that the older me now realizes that 1% wasn’t going to change a whole lot. What it WOULD do is three things: Add years and years of compounding; actually start the habit of healthy personal finance - you adjust to a slightly smaller paycheck, even if your paycheck is too small as it stands; and here’s the mental element again… it actually puts some money in your name that cannot be touched. By you OR creditors (generally, if it’s a designated retirement account). There’s something to be said for just a few hundred or few thousand dollars that is actually - wholly, and truly - yours (well, mostly… but there’s lots of time to reach the point where you actually need to care about the tax bills). Of course, sure - it’s “yours” but you cannot really touch it either (at least, not without penalty). But just having a something means a lot to your mental health.
Take the long view. Whether it’s debt or an emergency fund or big expense (house, kids college, retirement) - the numbers often seem so daunting that it feels laughably pointless to start… until you start… and you look back years later and realize that the key was really that first step, measured in just a few relative dollars (or even pennies). It still amazes me - years later, after finally getting those “PAID IN FULL” student loan notes back, finally buying a home, getting debt free (well, except a mortgage now, I guess!) how it wasn’t a big score or any big event - it was a slow, steady, and consistent incremental climb. 20 bucks a week into a money market dedicated to an eventual down payment. Scrounging an extra 5 bucks beyond my student loan minimums. Etc.
Adjust as you go, heeding the lessons of compounding returns. I remember the first month after I paid off the end of my student loans - my first thought was that I could now afford every streaming service I’d ever want and my second thought was that the remainder might as well go into a better apartment. After calming down a bit, I instead broke that now “extra” money each month into - sure, a bit of a splurge (hey, I like Homeland, so why not add Showtime)… but mostly? I tripled my home down payment fund contribution, started contributing to a taxable investment account (pure ETFs), and just gave myself a little day-to-day padding. Don’t lurch. Leverage the habits that got you to a step on the ladder; if it’s been working, stick with it.
Ultimately, I just don’t think there are grand solutions to be had… and I think the “right” answers are the kind that tend to be timeless (and you can’t throw a stone on the internet without hitting a piece that pays lip service to them). Steady and incremental. Take the long view. Compounding returns are key - seek to get yourself on the right side of compounding.
YouTube is my go to for financial information most of the time.
There is a lot of generic financial advice on there but there are also quite a few creators who share great information.
I personally subscribe more to channels that share more in depth information on certain aspects of personal finance as opposed to just sharing general financial advice.
Weather you want to learn about stocks, crypto, budgeting or any number of financial topics, there are generally a few really great creators who specialize in those subjects.
Using the free Hoopla app you can access library ebooks and audiobooks. The best I’ve heard recently was “All Your Worth” by Amelia Tyagi and Elizabeth Warren. They cover the various reasons why people struggle (emotional, your needs are too expensive, divorce, health challenges) and how to right the ship. I was able to listen to it and apply some of their solutions immediately. And the book covers those just starting out through retirement.
I follow The Budget Mom. I first learned about her when she was featured on The Penny Hoarder’s newsletters. I subscribe to her newsletters, read her blogs and Instagram. She also shows lengthy examples and recommendations for budgets on her YouTube. I did not buy her new book because all her information is in her blogs. Her combination of methods (zero-based budget, calendar method, cash envelopes, etc.) has helped me focus, save and tackle debt.
I’ve never read a blog or knowingly saw anything on Ypu Tube. I made most of my money before then. I guess I was fortunate I grew up poor, divorced parents, food stamps, there were days I could not pull together 35 cents for lunch. But I always listened to the wealthy customers at my dad’s gas station and my friends’ 'wealthy grandparents. Their advice 1. Pay all bills on time, that’s the day they arrive and add a $1 or up to $5 extra every time you can. 2. Pay cash for every thing you can and that includes writing a check for the total. Today that got me free haul off of a tenant’s dead cook stove. 3. Always have a savings account. Put money into it every pay check. Yes a $1 counts. I’ve worked at as a bank teller and I assure you if you gave us a quarter and your savings account number, we would add that to your account. It might be the 25 cents needed to get you to $50. 4. Buy individual stocks. There are certain stocks that are known as stock Aristocats {I forgot how to spell it}. These are stocks that raise their dividend every year. e.g. Wal Mart, Procter and Gamble, etc. They can easily be looked up on the net. 5. Get your home paid off quickly, and if you can’t afford a house, by a duplex and live in half and rent out half. 6. Be the first one to work and no job is too low to do. If some one offers you $5 to haul off their downed limb while you are hauling your limbs away, pick it up and tick out your hand for the $5. Never ever get the mind set that you owe your self a treat.Seeing that you have reached $1,000.00 in your savings account is a treat, as is seeing a paid off a car or home loan. There will be plenty of time to relax when you retire. OH I forgot, never take up smoking or drinking alcohol alone. Money drainers all. Good Luck, Shelia
I follow Smarts and NerdWallet to gain insight on the best financial products. Especially useful when I’m trying to get a personal loan and looking for rates or trying to find ways to make extra money. Most blogs just give you spam, but these two I trust and stand out from the pact.
I’ve been getting educated on finances before the internet, newspapers, Wall Street Journal, Investors Business Daily. Now with the internet I use, YouTube, Investopedia, Yahoo Finance, my stockbroker TDAmeritrade, Seeking Alpha, Companies own website in which I might want to invest in. I have been doing all of these things for over 30 years.
- I’d tell me:
