Whether you’re a recent high school, college, or trade school grad; a young adult buying a first home; a couple expecting children; a stay-at-home parent; a single parent; a dual income couple without kids; a new Canadian; or a baby boomer ready to retire, understanding how to navigate the financial landscape is crucial to gaining control and/or improving your financial situation. As with all things, arming yourself with knowledge is the only way to become financially literate and, today, you don’t need to consult a financial planner to do that. In fact, here are eight great Canadian financial blogs to help you understand, organize, and plan. We’ve summarized each one for you, but check each one out to find the one that best suits your lifestyle, your learning style, and your goals.
If you were born in the 1980s or 1990s, you belong to Generation Y (aka you’re a Xennial or a Millennial) and this financial blog is designed for you. From investing and mortgages to banking and credit cards, Young and Thrifty offers readers guides on online brokers, online banks, robo advisors, and investing as well as reviews and comparisons of financial products, banks, and credit cards, in addition to a wealth of easy to understand articles explaining financial concepts, all intended to help you “earn more, save better, and live free.”
2. Retire Happy
Since 1999, Jim Yih’s been writing about financial planning with the goal of sharing “practical, timeless information that can make a lifetime difference.” Uniting experts with everyday people who are trying to make the best decisions to get ahead (and yes, retire happy), Yih’s blog covers retirement planning, investing, estate planning, group benefits, and personal finance. Whether you prefer videos or articles, Retire Happy offers an abundance of both formats to suit your learning style.
3. Half Banked
Another personal finance blog tailored to millennials, Half Banked helps you become “a home owner, a confident investor, a savvy spender, [and] an emergency-fund-haver” without giving up your Starbucks or Tim’s (and without getting overwhelmed and melting down). Desirae Odjick’s approach focuses on four key concepts: spending well, saving money, budgeting, and investing.
A different approach than the other three we’ve touched on so far, Common Cents Mom is an award-winning blog that’s part mom blog and part finance blog. From parenting tips to reducing food waste, from meal planning on a budget, to DIY home décor, Common Cents Mom teaches you how to be a smart consumer and how to tackle parenting struggles.
Stephen Weyman is a self-proclaimed money nerd and family man who started How to Save Money to offer tips, tools, and techniques to maximize your money — to get you a fair deal, to get you your money’s worth. By educating consumers on how to protect your finances and save for retirement, Weyman gives you everything you need to make good, educated, financial decisions on everything from home to credit, travel to shopping, and fun to food.
Personal finance blogger Enoch Omolulu started Savvy New Canadians to help new Canadians become financially literate. As a new Canadian himself, Omolulu shares his own journey, guides, articles, and free resources to help others navigate DIY investing, freedom from debt, frugal living, entrepreneurship, productivity, income streams, and retirement.
With the tagline “Live your life. Don’t buy your lifestyle,” My Alternate Life shares a debt story many millennials are familiar with: feeling stuck, living frugally, but being overwhelmed by student loans. By sharing her own struggles and path to debt freedom, Jordann Brown’s blog teaches you how to save for more than one goal and how to get out of debt.
Another millennial money expert, Jessica Moorhouse’s approach blends personal finance and living a balanced lifestyle. Starting out as a personal blog tracking her own financial journey, Moorhouse quickly became a go-to expert for her generation, offering support, guidance, and a path toward the lifestyle millennials dream of. A site comprised of articles, videos, courses, and a podcast, she also offers financial counselling to help you get on track.