Lessons Learned From Reading Personal Finance Blogs

As I have mentioned in my origin story, by the time I started reading personal finance blogs, I was already a millionaire. Already financially independent. comfortably so. For the most part, I had accomplished many of the steps prescribed in the “how to” posts I so often enjoy reading. I had a high income producing business, a bevy of side hustles, and a stable investment portfolio. So it may surprise you that there are still several lessons I learned from reading personal finance blogs.

These lessons may not have jet rocketed me to financial independence, but in many ways saved me time, money, and hustle. Financially independent or not, there is a range of knowledge to be had on all sorts of subjects. Here are a few things that I found incredibly valuable.

No One Will Manage Your Money As Well As You

Back in 2014, when I first discovered The White Coat Investor, I had millions of dollars in the stock market. I owned stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and etfs. I met with my financial advisor quarterly and watched as my net worth grew.

And I had no idea what any of it meant. Sure, I knew the names and the stock symbols. But I had invested almost no time in understanding asset classes, diversification, expense ratios, etc. I was so ignorant, that I would probably have done just about anything my advisor suggested. I was very lucky, in fact, that I had chosen someone who was truly watching out for my best interests. Although I now know that the mix of stocks was somewhat suboptimal, and the expense ratios were too high, I generally was treated very well. My returns were below the market, but not too far.

A quick read of several blogs including Jim Collins’ stock series, showed me that when it came to investing, I could keep it simple. I left my advisor and moved everything to Vanguard. Investing in a Lazy Portfolio takes minimal time and thought to maintain.

I now match market returns without that pesky assets under management fee.

Are You Overinsured?

Like most professionals with a family to support and an eye on the future, I spent some time and money insuring appropriately. There are several areas of our life that require a little extra protection in case things go wrong. Before reading PF blogs, I had already made most of the right decisions. I purchased several policies:

Term Life Insurance
Group Disability Insurance
Individual Disability Insurance
An Umbrella Policy
Long Term Care Insurance

One of the major lessons learned from reading personal finance blogs was that I was overinsured. Although obvious to me now, there was no reason whatsoever to have life, disability, or even long-term care insurance after becoming financially independent.

Why pay for it when you can self insure?

When Enough Is Enough

I had asked several people in my life about when I could retire. The accountant said 10 Million. My financial advisor wouldn’t give a number but said that I wasn’t there yet. My mother said a few million more. The truth is, although I had perused several retirement calculators, none of them explained the reasoning or clarified the assumptions that fit my current lifestyle.

Like many of you, reading Mr. Money Mustache”s article The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement, changed my life. Using the 4% rule and 25X gave me the most clear and understandable thumbnail of what I needed to save based on my spending. Certainly, I have added my own particular permutations to the calculations, but the basic principle remains.

In Conclusion

There are many lessons learned from reading personal finance blogs even long after I have achieved financial independence. The great thing about this community is it encompasses writers and readers at all levels on the financial ladder.

Before 2014 I thought I had it figured out. I am so glad that I was wrong. My eyes have been opened to a whole new world of optimization, frugality, life hacks, and investing.

And it all started with the click of a mouse.

*What have you learned from the personal finance blogosphere? Did it accelerate your path to FI? Have there been any negative consequences? *