Having a preoccupation toward personal finance, I am constantly looking for new material to write about. Because the world of personal finance is so vast, and things can change at the drop of a hat, this task is not usually difficult. I can browse TIP’D, read newspapers/magazines, or follow any number of websites for reading and research material.
For my own reading and learning experience, there are only a few magazines that I can make it through and feel like I learned something afterward.
Kiplinger
In my opinion, Kiplinger’s personal finance is the best resource there is to learn about personal finance. Unlike many others, Kiplinger’s focuses mostly on personal finance, and prints articles that are relevant to nearly everyone. Whether you make $15,000/yr or $500,000/yr. A wide array of subjects make it simple to find articles that matter to you, and organize it so you can easily benefit from and implement their methods. Kiplinger’s website compliments the magazine perfectly, and also contains a wealth of articles and advice to help improve your personal finance situation. In my opinion, both the website and magazine are the premier tools to advance your knowledge of personal finance.
*Also check out the “tools and calculators” section of the website for visual tracking or research on a number of different matters.
Fortune
Although the main focus of Fortune magazine is specific to companies and stocks, it can also be a great way to learn about personal finance in a slightly different way. If you have good personal finance practices in place, and are ready to learn more about specific businesses and investments, Fortune may be the way to go. As you probably know, Fortune updates the best companies to work for, and the most profitable, among many others. This can be a good gauge to measure your investments against, or find investments that you may not have thought of on your own. Fortune is technically owned by Time, inc. but has a large presence on CNN and their website.
Even though it is more specialized, Fortune may present opportunities to advance your personal finances through investments and general market and business knowledge. Just because it is not a “must read”, does not mean it is worthless.
Money
Money magazine is the most broadly focused of these magazines. With content that will not satisfy all readers in every issue, Money does “mix it up”. You may find company-specific articles ala Fortune, you may also find articles focused on personal finance ala Kiplinger’s. Since the downturn, I find myself reading Money much more frequently, as they have tweaked their articles. The format has not changed, but it seems that many articles have a more personal touch. There is a much higher accent on retirement accounts and “repairing” your portfolio, which appeals to a much broader base than investment or company specific articles.
Kiplinger, Fortune, and Money are what I consider the “big three” money magazines. They are what you will most likely find sitting around my house or in my car. They are definitely not exclusive reads. There are many others that I consider when looking for material. (See below). I realize that even though this is a personal finance blog, that you may have no interest in reading any money magazines. That is fine. There was a time when I never would have considered picking up any of these magazines. Furthermore, there are thousands of online resources that make these publications nearly obsolete. Blogs, newspapers, and major news reporting agencies (Reuters and A.P.) all constantly flow new content that rivals anything in a magazine.
Whether you prefer to view a screen, or hold something tangible to read articles, both have advantages. It really comes down to where your comfort zone is. Regardless of which, here is a list of blogs, major news outlets and other magazines that may peak your interest.
Blogs:
Get Rich Slowly
The Simple Dollar
Yielding Wealth
Wise Bread
I Will Teach You to be Rich
Magazines:
Barrons
Forbes
Smart Money
News outlets:
A.P
Reuters
New York Times
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