I have been saving a number of blog posts that caught my eye, and I think it might be time to share them. Saving blog posts without sharing seems to me like saving yummy leftovers in the fridge but never eating them–the saved item loses much of its value.
I read lots of articles about personal finance, and only save some of them; mostly it depends on how organized I am when I read them. Here are a few of my favorites, though there were so many I will probably have another round up soon.
Most of these articles are all about the math.
I remember when Physician on Fire burst onto the blogging scene. Some of his first posts ran the numbers for hypothetical doctors. His Tale of 4 Physicians is a classic illustration of spending lifestyle choices, and how those affect a doctor’s journey to financial independence (FI). PoF puts those physicians through their paces with several other posts, investigating the options of part-time work, and the effect of specialty choice on time to FI and more.
One of the keys to reaching Financial Independence is spending less than you earn. Or, you know, saving. Paying Yourself First–6 Ways to Automate Your Financial Life is the article I wish I had written about the subject. The Physician Philosopher reviews why you should pay yourself first, and 6 ways to make it less burdensome.
For a more…mathy.. post, here is a guest post by Dr. John Lim, published at The Physician Philosopher: How to Determine Your Savings Rate: Spend Save Ratio. My original thoughts on reading this: Interesting and math heavy article. But still, interesting.
Zach at Four Pillar Freedom has a nice article with a lot of graphs: How to save $1 million in 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years. And another with colored tables: The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Slow FI.
Fritz over at The Retirement Manifesto wrote about Inflation: the Silent Killer of Retirement, much more eloquently (and in a more number-filled way) than I did last year.
What do you do once you have saved your $1 million (or more) for retirement. Jiab Wasserman give a nice overview of how to use your money when you need it in her piece at Humble Dollar, In Withdrawal.
Much of personal finance is really quite simple: spend less than you earn and invest the rest. Such simple advice, so hard to follow sometimes.
One of my favorite aspects of following personal finance blogs is to hear the stories of how other people manage to follow this advice. A second favorite aspect is to see how they take this timeless advice and make it fresh. Here are some of the great takes:
Trent Hamm at The Simple Dollar writes about What I Gave Up and What I Gained. A thoughtful piece about sacrifices made to save money, and some of the unintended benefits he found.
Melody at Cash for Tacos gives some important advice, with interesting tips, to Create a Savings Plan You Won’t Resent.
This guest post on Budgets Are Sexy takes the dog bone! A Dog’s Guide to Personal Finance is on point and so fun.
I hope you enjoyed some or all of these articles. Thoughts and feedback on this sort of round up post are welcome.