I’m going to be honest with you – lots of writers are putting out great finance content with FAR more experience in the industry than me. We try to stick to general money topics here at LoanGifting. Mostly because simple solutions are always better, but partly because in-depth financial discussions get a little dry if you don’t work in the field. But a few industry-savvy writers out there know how to keep it interesting. Today, I’d like to share some of the finance blogs that I like to read on a daily basis (or however often they update).

Each of these blogs provide plenty of actionable advice. But I wanted to use these four specifically because of the variety of writing and information you’ll come across. There’s commentary, cold-hard facts, and step-by-step guides for dumping debt and fixing your finances. Each writer has their own unique voice and style, but the goals are always the same – help people out of debt by making better financial decisions.

Honorable Mentions: Squawkfox, Oblivious Investor, Budgets Are Sexy, Pragmatic Capitalism

Yes, finance writers like to have fun with blog titles. Now, here’s the four blogs I think all college graduates should read.

A Wealth Of Common Sense

Ben Carlson works for Ritholtz Wealth Management and co-hosts of one of the podcasts we discussed in a previous post. He’s written two books about his former life as a manager for a charitable endowment fund. But his blog focuses on simplifying complex topics that frequently pop up in the world of finance.

“Less is more is one of my guiding principles” says Carlson in his bio and plenty of his articles highlight this principle. Whether it’s busting myths in retirement planning or giving simple, no-nonsense advice about saving, you’ll find plenty of reasonable solutions and thought-provoking ideas littered throughout the 144-page (!) archive. He even wrote one about Cardi B.

Money Under 30

Money Under 30 wants to answer all your financial questions, including ones about student loans. Most of the site’s content comes from David Weliever, who was buried in debt himself before clawing out from a $80,000 hole in three short years. Weliever now wants to help other young people make smart money decisions. You’ll find plenty of articles on his site about getting out of debt too.

The main page is broken into headers by topic – credit cards, credit scores, debt, investing, and real estate purchasing. You won’t get just get tips either, but actionable guides on asking for a raise or higher limit on a credit card. The Rent vs Buy calculator is extremely helpful if you’re debating the age old question about living arrangements. Want to give yourself a financial makeover? Money Under 30 is a great place to start.

20 Something Finance

Let me start by saying this – repeating G.E. Miller’s success with a 85% personal savings rate is impossible for pretty much everyone. But his blog is still loaded with fantastic insights about cutting costs by living simpler and smarter. You’ll also find finance topics ranging from insurance and taxes to investing and retirement planning.

One of the most unique things about the blog is how Miller seamlessly blends financial advice into his lifestyle posts about food, health, transportation (biking is his favorite), and gift giving. Yes, sometimes even gift giving can be a beneficial personal finance move. But the most useful post might be Money Saving Products I Use. Here can find a bevy of deals on things like tax software, wireless phone service, and insurance products.

The Collaborative Fund Blog

The Collaborative Fund is a private equity firm focused on big picture ideas with investments in companies like Lyft, Upstart, TaskRabbit, and Kickstarter. Most private equity firms don’t do much to help recent college graduates. But the Collaborative Fund does thanks to their blog, which is wonderfully written by Morgan Housel.

Housel has a tremendous ability to explain those big picture ideas in succinct articles. Contentious topics like health care, financial dependence, and how to talk to people about money are tackled earnestly. I’d recommend checking out How All This Happened, a detailed history of the U.S. economy following World War II and Investing Ideas That Changed My Life, which gives an honest look at some of the qualities human beings exhibit when it comes to investing.

Have any favorites you’d like to add? Leave a comment with a link below. I’m always open to new sources of great writing!

Dan Schmidt

Dan graduated from college with a degree in journalism and about $25,000 in student debt. He luckily landed in a career that allowed him to pay his loans off at a reasonable rate, but not without making some sacrifices (sorry grandmom). Dan buried himself in personal finance books to better manage his debt and start saving for retirement. He thinks $25,000 is more than enough to pay for a good education and is stunned by some of the near six-figure balances he sees student borrowers carrying around.

Born 45 minutes north of Philadelphia, Dan went to Penn State in 2004 to pursue a journalism degree with a minor in political science. He graduated into the worst recession in 80 years and got his first post-college job serving hamburgers and Miller Lite. Dan eventually settled in as a purchasing agent at a printer manufacturing company, which isn’t a profession you’d think would be #2 on a journalist’s list.

Dan now lives in Elkins Park, PA with his girlfriend, who graduated with over $80,000 in student debt herself after getting an education degree from Arcadia University. Seeing a new teacher forced to pay nearly $1000 a month in loans drove him to action and LoanGifting gave him a platform to not only help his significant other, but all kinds of borrowers struggling with student debt. Dan’s hobbies include poker, weightlifting, and watching the Eagles beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl twice a week on BluRay. His writing has been published on Benzinga, Fora Financial, and Credit Donkey.