What I Read (And Why)

Paul Volcker once joked that the ATM is the only useful financial invention of the last 50 years. Wrong. The blog is. Twitter isn’t far behind.

Financial information used to be expensive and privileged. Today it’s free and ubiquitous. It’s hard to overstate how important this is. There are two things every self-respecting adult has to have a basic grasp on, whether they’re interested in them or not: Health and finance. Doesn’t matter what you do for a living, both of those will bite you if you don’t pay attention to them. For most of history, crossing off the finance box required seeing someone who charged a big fee, and the fee was earned by giving you information that may or may not help you, but there was no way you could know because you couldn’t get information anywhere else.

That started to change in the last 15 years, when a few respectable blogs popped up. It’s exploded in the last five years, as thousands of financial professionals share their thoughts, stories, advice, and information – for free. Generational knowledge takes time to measure. But I have no doubt that the upcoming generation has a better shot at managing their money than all previous generations, as countless wise financial teachers open up their minds to anyone willing to read their thoughts on blogs and Twitter.

In no order of importance, here are a few I read. (And sorry for the dozens I forgot – I’ll add you as they come to me).

The Ritholtz Wealth crewBarry, Josh, Ben, and Michael – basically set the bar for everyone else. If you just read them you’ll be ahead of 90% of other investors.

James Osborne is one of the sharpest financial planners I know, and he thinks about the financial planning business in a refreshing way. I wish he wrote more but I’ll take what I can get.

Nick Maggiulli is best new investing blogger in a long time. He’s been at a for less than a year and is already blowing people away.

Corey Hoffstein is one of the smartest quantitative financial minds you’ll ever meet.

Patrick O’Shaughnessy’s investing podcast is so good, both because he’s an incredible interviewer and because most of his guests don’t work in investing.

Bryce Roberts doesn’t write enough, but when he does his insights on business and VC sparkle.

Mike Dariano is the most under-the-radar blogger out there. He should be 10x bigger than he is and it makes me mad that he’s not.

Russ Roberts’ podcast is consistently good, which is amazing given how long he’s been doing it.

Erik Rydholm doesn’t blog but you have to follow him on Twitter because he’s one of the wisest minds I’ve ever met.

Jonathan Clements writes about personal finance that is clear, smart, free of BS, and he shares his personal story which helps you make sense of your own.

Phil Huber’s blog is witty and smart, and his GIF game is unmatched.

Jeff Ptak knows more about mutual funds and ETFs than anyone I know and writes about them in a clearer way than anyone else.

Paul Graham is one of the best essayists of our time, which is saying something because he’s not an essayist.

Howard Lindzon can say more in 300 words than most people can in 3,000.

Jake EconomicPic is anonymous but has still made a name for himself, which is hard. Shows how good his stuff his.

Dan Egan writes about behavioral finance in a way quants and Excel nerds can’t argue with.

Mr. Money Mustache started a financial revolution years ago that has changed thousands of lives. It’s damn good writing, too.

**Wes Gray **mixes quant with common sense better than anyone I’ve met.

Jesse Livermore is one of maybe three writers who can publish something that’s 10,000 words and I’ll say “Alright, let’s settle in for 45 minutes and read every word.”

Sara Kliff understands healthcare policy better than most healthcare policymakers.

Bob Seawright writes long posts that make you think and are worth every word.

Tren Griffin could learn a dozen things from anyone or anything, and he’s a master at distilling them.

My partners Lauren, Sophie, and Craig keep me sprinting by writing awesome stuff for our blog.

Nick Timiraos is one of the only traditional journalists I seek out to read, because his stuff is head and shoulders above the rest.

Shane Parrish might be the blogger I’d read if I could only read one for the rest of my life, if only because it’s so diverse and touches so many topics.

Carl Richards always amazes me with his ability to simplify finance.

Todd Wenning writes about businesses and investing in a way that is so clear and logical.

Tadas Viskanta is an amazing writer himself but devotes his blog to uncovering other writers. And, every day, he finds them.

Bill McBride is 100% data, and he does it better than anyone else.

Derek Thompson is a sensationally good writer. It’s not investing, it’s not business, but read him enough and you’ll understand both better.

Jason Zweig is the best financial columnist of our time. And one of the finest guys you’ll ever meet.

Eddy Elfenbein is the stock picker everyone respects in a world where stock pickers don’t get much respect.

Annie Lowrey is an amazingly good economic writer.