7 Of My Favorite Financial Blog Writers

 I wanted to share my thoughts on 7 of my favorite finance blog writers.  I have so much respect for all you writers out there who share your thoughts and research, and work so hard to develop your audience and personal brand.  In an effort to narrow my list a bit, I have compiled these individuals who I feel share my goals both financially and philosophically.  I have Categorized them by one of their specific traits that warrants my admiration.

-Debt Reduction-

Amanda Grossman

     I admire the fact that Amanda grew up on a dairy farm, I would love for my daughter to grow up on a farm (best I can do is have her grow up commuting to the farm) as my wife will not live on one.  I believe that Amanda, has the principals to live below her means, to vigorously avoid debt at all possible cost.  I admire that fact that her and her husband can discuss their finances (a subject often avoided by married couples) and be on the same page.  I admire her for making wise financial decisions such as placing the $8000 tax credit  toward her husbands car loan (that is a sign of someone who is keenly aware of managing their debt.)  That is quite admirable at such a young age, I sure hope I am able to instill Amanda’s financial discipline into my daughter.

-Real Estate Investing Prowess-

Paula Pant

Paula has her Wealth Building priorities in check.  I wish I had the boldness to be flipping real estate.  I know there is money in it, you just have to properly analyze each deal, be able to assess the turnaround time, know where to put your renovation capital, and that takes time and experience.  It appears that Paula has this combined skill set. She certainly has the ambition and experience, along with the right amount of risk discipline to be successful in this fast paced ‘flipping’ trade.  I admire her desire and encouragement to break free from the pitfalls of of the ‘safe’ 9 to 5 career.  She is soooo right that your time is more valuable than money, because if you have time you can always make money.  She speaks of freedom, I think that living in the U.S, we often take freedom for granted, because we have always been free people.  What if you lived in a country whose government granted no property rights, no rights of free speech, or freedom of religion.  I promise you that if these rights were taken from us, money would seem to have a lot less importance.

-Frugality and Tax Knowledge-

Lance Cothern

 Lance has a long term vision of retirement for such a young man in his twenties.  I admire the fact that he has remarkable discipline at such a young age.  When I was in my twenties, I was lucky to see that my finances made it through next week, not 40 or so years!  He was smart to go to school and get a business accounting degree, that will always be in high demand.  I love his post on combatting lifestyle inflation and have adopted this into my arsenal of saving.  Since my time horizon for retirement is only 20 years, I have to double my raise contribution.   If Lance keeps maxing out his Roth IRA for the next 30 years, coupled with the power of compound interest, he is sure to make it to $1,000,000!  Keep it up Lance!

-Finance from a Christian Perspective-

Bob Lotich

Bob has such a wonderful humble approach to his writing.  He seems quite approachable and certainly knowledgeable about finances.  Having been in debt and worked hard to pay it off, shows you his authenticity about his financial perspective.  Bob says that he will offer his advice and honest opinion as if we were his friend or little sister, this provides me a sense of Bob’s genuineness that he is truly writing to help others.  Since I am a Christian, I find his perspective all the more enlightening and continue to follow his blog and twitter feed to this day.  Lastly, his post on How to make money blogging is one of the most informative, inspirational and comprehensive guides for anyone interested in starting a blog.  This post answers every question a new blogger could possibly have.  It also encourages people like me to continue my quest to build an audience slowly and provide a historical perspective to how financial decisions made long ago can affect life today.  Please check out Bob’s site ! 

-Strong Support Cast-

David Weliver

David has assembled an exceptionally strong supporting cast;  Sarah (licensed realtor) Amber (CPA)  Lou (A finance editor for Reuters Money)  Maria (who serves as Northwestern University’s school newspaper Editor-in-Chief) and last, but certainly not least, Lisen an accomplished writer who has won the gold medal of excellence from Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism.  These knowledgeable cast members provide great on-going insight from their financial trade and unique perspective.  With youth and experience, I believe David and his staff, appeal to the Generation Y’ers.  This generation could truly benefit from their advice, since many Generation Y’ers are finishing college with a heap of student loan debt.  David and his staff have some great posts regarding help with your debt, please check them out here.

-Self-less-ness and Self-made-

Jeremy Biberdorf

From modest beginnings in a divorced home to being his own boss while running his personal blog.  Jeremy has had to deal with some adversity in his early years, which seemed to shape his philosophy toward success.  Seeing his mother become business person of the year in his town is much to be proud of, I am sure this has had a lasting impact on Jeremy’s business goals.  He knew what he didn’t want out of life, and he continually works hard to attain the fruits of his labor.  I read his blog on a regular basis, and have found inspiration from it.  One of his posts regarding starting an emergency fund actually inspired me to start one and continue to contribute to it.

 -Self Accountability and Financial Prudence-

Greg and Holly

With Posts such as ‘what I want my kids to know about money‘ and ‘6 reasons why being frugal is awesome’ illustrates the financial where-with-all that Greg and Holly  possess.  I find it admirable that Greg and Holly  consciously work to raise their children’s financial IQ, before it ever matters.  I find it enlightening that Holly is living the frugal life she writes about.  For a young women, couponing is typically not the most en-vogue of fashion statements, but somehow Holly makes it cool, and for that I admire her.  I found her post about ‘what would you do for money…If you had to to be a recognition of her humbleness, that she is grateful for the life and career she has been dealt, and for this I admire her.

These are just 7 of the many financial bloggers that I find interesting, read on a regular basis, and admire.  There are many more of you out there, many of which I have yet to discover, so for now, enjoy their sites and let me know what you think!