Hey Everyone, I hope you had a great Labor Day weekend. We stayed in town and didn’t do too much this year. So we’ll continue with our Labor Day tradition. I’ll update you on my various side hustles and update my list of Early Retirement blogs. The plan is to have an evergreen post for every holiday. Then, I’ll just need to make some minor updates and don’t have to worry about posting on these long weekends. 🙂
*I wrote a new Labor Day post this year – Beyond Labor Day. We need to become investors so we don’t have to depend on our labor too much.
Side Hustles
Last year, I had an epiphany about side hustles. The gig economy is great for retirees. We can make a little extra cash and get out of the house. However, I don’t think it’s good for young people. It seems like young people can invest their time better elsewhere. Most of these gigs don’t pay much anyway. Young people should focus on their career or a side business that can grow into the main gig.
Blogging
My main side hustle is blogging. 2020 is a terrible year for us. We started off really well, but blogging income cratered due to the pandemic. Nobody wants to read about early retirement when the economy is struggling. I think it finally bottomed out, though. Next month should be better. Here is the chart. It’s pretty depressing.
I’m not too worried, though. The blog income is nice, but we don’t need it to maintain our lifestyle. Our passive income is enough to cover the cost of living now. Anyway, blogging is still my number 1 source of side hustle income.
Focus Group
My next favorite side hustle is participating in a market research group. The pay rate is great. Unfortunately, I got rejected from every research I applied for. Oh well, these surveys are hard to do with my son being at home. Maybe I’ll try again next year. It’s a good side gig if you can get in.
Charge Scooters
Last year, RB40Jr and I started charging scooters for beer money. He gets 50% of the income. Well, college money for him. He’s way too young for beer. We live in a walkable neighborhood and it’s easy to grab scooters and charge them overnight. This is a fun side gig in the summer. The weather is great and it doesn’t get dark until late. I also get some exercise so that’s two birds with one stone.
This year, the scooter companies got started late. They shut down due to the pandemic. However, it turns out people like scootering better than riding public transportation. They’re back in business now. Unfortunately, they reduced the pay rate significantly. Last year, we charged scooters for around $5 each. This year, they reduced to around $4. Now, they’re pushing the pay down further. At $3.25, I don’t really want to do it anymore. I guess we’ll see what happens next. If juicers don’t work, then they’ll have to push the price back up.
Anyway, this is a good gig if you live in the right neighborhood. Some people make quite a bit more, but they also spend a lot more time collecting scooters and dropping them off. We spend about 30 to 60 minutes per day on this side hustle. We made $517 in August. That’s not bad.
Pet Sitting
I want to start a cat sitting business. That’s on hold due to the pandemic. I’ll try again next year.
That’s it for my side hustles in 2020. If you know a fun side hustle, share it with us. Now, on to the early retirement blogs.
Early Retirement Blogs for Everyone
If you’re anything like me, you can’t get enough of early retirement blogs. I used to be addicted to personal finance blogs when I was working full time because I was stuck in front of the computer all day. It was easy to take short breaks here and there to catch up on the blogs.
Now that I’m a stay at home dad/blogger, I can’t keep up with all the blogs anymore. I still spend a few hours a day on the computer, but I’m working on Retire by 40 and don’t have a chance to browse around that much. Anyway, I thought I’d compile a list of early retirement blogs so you can read your fill while you’re stuck in a cubicle. There are a lot more early retirement blogs than when I started in 2010 so I’m sure you will find a few that speak to you. Enjoy!
*My guide on How to Start a Blog and Why You Should. Everyone should have a blog. It’s a great way to build your brand and improve your writing. You can even make some extra income if you’re lucky. You won’t know unless you try it.
2020 highlights
- Lazy Man and Money – Brian is my East Coast doppelganger. He has several side hustles, 2 rentals, 2 kids, a working wife, and is a SAHD.
- A Purple Life – Purple is set to retire in a month! She’s only 30. Wow, that is impressive.
- Nomad Numbers – Traveling the world full time. They’re enjoying life in Taiwan this year. That’s the perfect choice for 2020.
- Tawcan – Bob lives in Vancouver, BC with his wife and 2 kids. He’s building his dividend portfolio and it can cover more than 50% of our expenses already. Nice job!
- Trip of A Lifestyle – Steven and Lauren share their quirky take on money and travel to help others get more out of life.
- TicTocLife – During the COVID-19 outbreak of 2020, Jenni and Chris executed their retire early plan after reaching FI at 33. TicTocLife is their fire movement story in real-time.
Still going strong
- Retire by 40! – It’s taken a while for me to learn the art of shameless self-promotion, but I can do it with a straight face now. Joe retired from his engineering career at 38 to become a stay at home dad/blogger. See why and how he did it at the About page. I’ve been blogging since 2010.
- Educator FI – This site focuses on teachers and staff in the education field. Teachers can retire early too.
- The Fioneers – They are focusing on Coast FI. Financial independence can take a long time so you need to enjoy the journey.
- Financial Mechanic – Graduated in 2015. Now a software engineer and trying to retire before 32. Good luck!
- Financial Freedom Countdown – Immigrant; achieved Financial Freedom in 12 years; living in the expensive SF Bay Area.
- The Unconventional Route – A couple of curious Canadians who’re having a blast pursuing the status whoa instead of the status quo.
- Financial Samurai – One of the best personal finance blogs out there. I learn something new from Sam every week.
- Route to Retire – Jim retired and moved to Panama!
- Tawcan – Tawcan is on a quest for joyful life & financial independence. He is also in the high-tech field. He’s taking his time with his early retirement journey.
- The Retirement Manifesto – Fitz retired in 2018 and he’s having a great time. He’s a bit older and had a successful career so his advice is very valuable. I’m a big fan.
- Mr. Tako Escapes – Mr. Tako and his wife saved over 50% of their salary for years and reached financial independence at 38. He left the rat race in 2015 and he is enjoying more time with his sons.
- Accidental FIRE – Dave is just a guy in his mid 40’s who woke up one day and realized he’s financially independent. See how he got there.
- Millennial Revolution – FIRECracker & Wanderer retired at 31 to travel the world! Now I feel old…
- Abandoned Cubicle – Cubert has less than a year to go before he can leave the cubicle life behind. It’s getting close!
- Early Retirement Now – You can’t afford not to retire early! Big Ern retired in 2018! He has a great series on Safe Withdrawal Rates. Check it out if you haven’t seen it.
- Young FIRE Knight – A regular guy in his 20s who is sharing his journey to FIRE.
- DiverseFI – Doc G discovered the FI community, but still struggle with RE. Can he ever retire?
- I Retired Young – David and Sally recently retired early. They are traveling the world this year and will settle down in France next year.
- Tread Lightly Retire Early – A Pacific Northwest native who blends sustainability with financial independence.
- 1500 Days to Freedom – Carl’s goal is to build a portfolio of $1.2 million by February 2017. That’s 1500 days from when he started blogging. He left work last year and he is enjoying his early retirement immensely.
- Go Curry Cracker – Jeremy and Winnie left their high tech jobs to travel the world in their early 30’s. The GCC blog is a great resource for minimizing taxes and traveling.
- Root of Good – Justin retired at 33 from his civil engineering career. His wife followed a few years later and they are living the good life at a very low cost in North Carolina.
- Physician on FIRE – A great FIRE blog for physicians and non-physicians alike.
- ESI Money – ESI is a 50-something retiree. Earning, Saving, and Investing are the three steps to financial independence.
- JLCollinsnh – Jim Collin’s financial independence blog.
- Done by Forty – Mr. Done By Forty is working to achieve financial independence by 2020. Time flies and 2020 is coming up very soon. Can they do it?
- Frugal Woods – Who doesn’t dream of calling it quits and heading off to homestead in the woods? See how the Frugal Woods family is doing in the wilderness of Vermont.
- Mad FIentist – Brandon left his hi-tech job to live in Scotland with his wife. They are traveling the world and living it up. Check out their great podcast interviews with many FIRE personalities.
- Early Retirement Extreme – ERE was one of the first early retirement blogs around and it was the blog that made me seriously consider early retirement. I’m not sure, but I think the articles are mostly reposts now.
- The Military Guide – Doug Nordman retired from the Navy and he has been providing great resources for military personals for many years.
- Mr Money Mustache – MMM is probably the most popular early retirement blog on the internet. They have a very active forum, too.
- Can I Retire Yet? – Darrow Kirkpatrick is a little older than other bloggers. He saved, invested, retired at 50.
- The Escape Artist – The Escape Artist left his corporate job in 2014 when he was 43. See how he can help you escape from the corporate prison camp.
- Financially Alert – Michael sold his business and “retired early” in 2012 when he was 36. His larger FI goal is to reach $10 million in net worth.
- FIRE Station – They reached FI a few years ago, but just retired in 2016. Congratulations!
- Retirement In Progress – Mr. RIP is an Italian software engineer living in Switzerland since 2012. He writes about his journey to FIRE.
- Get Rich Slowly – JD Roth’s blog is focused on financial independence rather than early retirement. But I’ll sneak it in the list. JD is the grandfather of PF blogs and GRS is still one of my favorite blogs of all time.
Not quite a blog, but great early retirement resources.
- Ernie J. Zelinski is an international best-selling author, innovator, professional speaker, and prosperity life coach who inspires adventurous souls to live prosperous and free. I love Ernie’s books.
- Camp FIRE finance – The most recent personal finance FIRE articles, blog posts, podcasts, and other content available on the web.
Enjoy your journey!
Image by Aaron Arogones
Passive income is the key to early retirement. This year, Joe is investing in commercial real estate with CrowdStreet. They have many projects across the USA so check them out!
Joe also highly recommends Personal Capital for DIY investors. They have many useful tools that will help you reach financial independence.
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Wow, the impact of the pandemic on your blogging income is significant. I am sure it will bounce back.
I have to say it is funny you commented about focus groups because I am signed up but every time it seems I am eligible the dates don’t work but maybe one day.
Thanks for the list of PF sites some I have heard of before and enjoy but some are new it is always great to find great sites in the community.
Great Early Retirement Blog list and thank you for being honest with the side hustle income! I started a blog in 2019 when we retired and I just starting to finally have time on it. We have a 3 year old and a 6 month old and the 6 month old is starting to have some nap pattern. I would actually want to see more content of people that retired and added kids after retirement. And when I mean retire, really retire with no additional income from side hustle. I’ve gotten a lot of questions when announced that we were expecting and we don’t have a job. What an irresponsible couple we must be! That’s why I started a blog, but I wish there are more bloggers like us that has a young child. I call myself full time parent instead of retired because young kids are HARD! Once or twice a week I think about going to work and send them to day care (kidding / not kidding). If you find any other retired couple with young kids, send them my way. We need more friends here even if it is virtual!
“The gig economy is great for retirees. We can make a little extra cash and get out of the house. However, I don’t think it’s good for young people. It seems like young people can invest their time better elsewhere.”
Yes, exactly. I love all these side hustles, but I can definitely earn substantially more picking up a few extra hours at work – not that that’s especially desirable, but it’s far more lucrative and gets me to retirement sooner.
I understand the loss of interest in charging bikes since they’re paying less, but what if you look at it another way? Since your son is working for college money instead of beer money, why not allow him to put all the earnings towards his college? That way you can still have your quality time together, help the community, fund his education, and teach him the value of working. That’s not bad pay for a kid his age. If invested, it’ll grow substantially over time, making his time now more valuable. It’ll also decrease what he has to earn later in life to pay for his education. That’s a great lesson for him to learn at such a young age!
That’s the mindset I used when I picked up hostessing shifts during college. I normally waited tables, but they occasionally needed a hostess. I always invested my measly waitressing paychecks in my Roth IRA, so earning $5/hour as a hostess drastically increased my paycheck. Since I knew that money would grow exponentially over the years, I didn’t worry about the low hourly wage. I brought along homework and studied between table seatings. That money is still growing, growing, growing!
That’s a good idea, but he doesn’t work enough to even earn 50%. He’s earning 20% of this at the most.
I have to cajole and get him to help me work. I give him 50% now so I have room to raise it later. 🙂
Hopefully, he’ll be more motivated to work when he’s a bit older.
Yes; I agree! Joe is refreshingly honest, interesting, as well as most inspiring, considering what he and his wife have achieved – and are still achieving!
And, I might add, refreshingly humble!
Thank you for the encouragement! We really appreciate it.
I really should monetise my blog.
I’m retiring early(ish) in December at 57, (YAY!) so I’ll have the time to learn how to do it next year.
$500 bucks isn’t bad money for what is essentially quality time spent talking with your son, so I wouldn’t throw it away just yet. Trust me, after bringing up 4 sons, keeping the opportunities for conversation alive with kids is so important. It’s so great when they’re adults to have a good, deep friendship with your kids, not merely a “see you on Mothers Day and Christmas” relationship. That scooter thing could end up being a cherished memory for you both one day.
You’re right. Money isn’t the main motivation for charging the scooters.
We get to spend time together, exercise, check on the neighborhood, see neighbors and pets, and it’s a good lesson on work/income. We’ll keep doing it while the weather is nice. Thanks!
Great list and nice to see a 2020 update, Joe!
Tawcan has been doing really well lately and Purple’s crescendo to her story has been fun to live vicariously through. I wasn’t aware of Lazy Man and Money and have added it to the list!
Hopefully, we’ll see some of the newer 2020 blogs, especially those kicking things off with the pandemic (like us!) survive for a long while and we’ll have some more great stories to share on the web for those interested in FIRE from a new perspective!
Wow Joe. Your blog income went from $7k in Feb to $1,5k in August. Ouch! That is quite a drop. You are scaring me brother. I just launched my blog website in July 2020 after getting inspired by our buddy Sam at Financial Samurai and now by you. But these numbers scare me. However, like you and Sam, I don’t write for the money. I get a kick out of it and enjoy sharing my experience and my journey to financial freedom. I hope to some day get on your list (smile).
Thanks for sharing this great list of excellent financial bloggers. I don’t know if I can read them all. It is time consuming for sure. Like you, I want to focus on my blog too. But Financial Samurai and Retireby40 will be the first two blog websites I will read every day. Great info and good ideas too.
Economy Chief
Joe I appreciate your humour and honestly. That is why I keep on coming back.
Big fan of many of the blogs you have listed. Financial Samurai is one of my favorites as well. Learn a ton each time from him.
Of course being a physician I gravitate towards other doc bloggers and Physician on FIRE is a great resource and well written.
Hey Joe! Great list. Lauren and I would love for Trip Of A Lifestyle to be added to the 2020 additions when you get around to it. Appreciate you!
Great list Joe! I would love to be added to the 2020 additions…
Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for this Samurai, this is great advice.
I’m currently thinking of the best advice someone like you and me from Wall Street background can give to the average saver during COVID-19 so that she/he can deploy savings for long term returns while significantly reducing risk.
After having spent over 10 years working for the most prestigious names in the financial industry and having witnessed first hand two large financial stress periods (the Global Financial Crisis and the European Debt Crisis) I see that the most important are probably:
1. Buying gradually on the way down
2. Do not chase an upward trend in a bear market
3. Do not try to time the market
4. Invest, do not speculate
5. Avoid binary outcomes
6. Look for financially resilient firms
7. Cash is King
8. Diversify in other assets including currencies, commodities and high quality debt products
9. Stay informed but remain cautious
10. Duration of the coronavirus pandemic is key
I’ve explained more in detail how to deploy savings in my new blog (link in my name to go to the website)
Stay safe & healthy,
BoW
Hey Joe – late to the party but would love to get added to this list whenever you’re due for an update 🙂 We started blogging over at http://www.modernfimily.com in July of 2019 after reaching FI for our family of 3 in 2018. Like many FIRE bloggers, we’ve finally felt comfortable to come out of the FIRE closet and share our story with the world. We post weekly and have an instagram account too @modernfimily. Cheers and thank you for putting together such a great list!
Looking forward to making this list in 2020. Fingers crossed
Awesome summary of a ton of kick-butt FIRE blogs! Tons of new ones on there that I need to go start checking out more as I build up my own! Thanks for the content.
Joe, would you mind adding my blog to the 2019 list. I blog from the perspective of an immigrant from a 3rd world country who came to the US by myself; with only $1K and a job offer. Achieved Financial Freedom in 12 years in spite of living in expensive San Francisco Bay Area.
Sure! I’ll add your blog. Keep it up, though. I vet the list every few months or so. 😉
Thanks for this.
Hey Joe!
We’re a married couple in IT and project management and corporate training.
Like you (and everyone in the FI/RE community) we’re taking a different approach in life. However, what’s really unique about our path is that instead of traveling after we FI/RE we decided we’d instead do it concurrently. Yes it will slow us down a bit, but after careful consideration we decided the adventure and journey are more important than the destination and a specific dollar figure.
So, we set off and have been traveling long-term for nearly three years (out of one 36L backpack each). In that time we’ve been fortunate to visit 4 continents, 26 countries, and ~80 cities, all while have the pleasure of doing 46 house sits.
It may be an unconventional approach, but isn’t that what FI/RE is about? 🙂
We have a blog where we document our journey of continual long-term travel, house sitting, becoming digital nomads, travel hacking, and pursuing financially independent, retired early (FI/RE).
If you could add us (https://ScrewTheAverage.com) to your list, we’d really appreciate it!
Thank you!
Shannon and Sergio
PS All the best in hitting your 2019 goals, especially the one titled ‘Joe’s Happiness Level’. 😉
Great list! Yeah, the extra time that retirees have make side hustles more enjoyable and doable.
$500+ for scooters, that’s amazing!! RBJr must have been so proud. I don’t even think I made that much working part time at the mall in high school.
He is super happy. I split the money and put it in the Fidelity Zero total market fund in his account. He’s one lucky kid.
Thanks for the list.
I recently started a blog, inspired by yours and many others from this list.
Keep up the great work!
-Gabriel
This is all so inspiring. I am hoping to leave the rat race for good within the next 3 years. Wish me luck!!
I love market research gigs. Perhaps I’ve done too much of that lately I slacked on my blog. There’s only so much I can do with a full-time job. When people do side hustles outside of a full-time job, they should only focus on one that pays well and provides enough satisfaction.
Food taster?! That sounds like my kind of side gig! How did you discover that? Are you tasting food prepared by culinary students?
Mrs. RB40 read about it. I have no idea who will cook these meals. Food scientists? I’m pretty sure it’s not culinary students. They have their own restaurants.
Great list, Joe! Lots of new blogs that I’ll have to check out. Your blog (amongst a few others) were the reason why I started a simple living lifestyle blog about a year ago. Thank you!
That’s great to hear. Good luck with blogging. Try to do it for at least a year.
I’m glad I found your site. Retiring early, I hope, will start to become more popular. But that can only happen if people prepare for it. I like your blog, and the others you’ve highlighted here I’m going to check out. 🙂
Joe,
I am up to 12 clean pull ups…I am 40 and a father of two young boys….thanks for the inspiration….I hope to get to your level soon….
Great job! 12 clean pull ups is very good.
Thank you Joe, I’ve been reading many of these blogs on my FIRE journey and it’s great to be able to share our story.
You mentioned affiliate income dropping. I think overall that’s been the trend with things. Many markets are now becoming saturated and can cause a lot of problems for the more established individuals in the market. However, I do think it’s good in the sense that it can eventually help the individuals grow.
Great retirement blog list. I’m familiar with a few and have to explore the others. Thanks!
Hey RB40. You’re not american-born like me I think. If you don’t mind sharing in your list a non-american FIRE blog, the biggest in Brazil, we’d greatly appreciate that.
it’s: http://www.aposenteaos40.org !
Hi Joe, Inspired by you and other FIRE bloggers, I also started my FIRE plans and working/saving/investing towards achieving it. I also started blog to share my journey and also some information for India specific aspirants.
Thanks for this list and your detailed schedule.
Interesting to see your early retirement schedule. Do you stick onto this everyday. I dont see mention of video games here. Do you play that? The list of blogs mentioned here each has different story
Thanks for this exhaustive list of sweet blogs 🙂 I only regularly read a handful but need to branch out more. I love Financial Samurai and Budgets are Sexy too. This is going on my Twitter 🙂
Thanks for including my blog, Joe. Awesome! I think we’re of like-minds on many aspects of the journey. Now if I could just get to 20 pull-ups….
I feel privileged, thanks so much for including me in the list, and for giving some more blogs to check out.
Wow, more blogs to read! Will I have the time? But seriously, thanks for the list. I enjoy reading your blog. Keep up the good work!
Sleep is greatly disrupted by using our devices too close to bed time. Lots of information about the disruptions caused by light emitted by phones and all styles of computers out there for you to read. Try stopping all devices one hour before bed and reading a book or watching an actual tv instead of something on your tablet.
As always a good list of resources. I also like that you have a good structured day, very important with kids.
Great list! I hope you get some more time to yourself next week Joe!
This is a great list. There’s some here who I haven’t read too much of.
I hope you get caught up. I’ve had the same problem this week.
Hi Joe, thanks a lot for the mention. You got a busy schedule every day. A good sleep is as important as a healthy diet. Take care.
-Helen
Joe,
Honored to be on the list, man. Thanks so much!!
I already offered to take you out for some Khao Soi when you make it around to Chiang Mai. That was before this. I’ve definitely gotta throw in a plate of some Pad Kra Pao at my favorite joint now! 🙂
Thanks again. Hope all is well for you and the family!
Best regards.
I’ll take you up on that! Thanks!
I need to add the skill of shameless plugs to my repertoire. You are such a leader! Thank you for including me. I love reading the great posts out there and appreciate your list. Thanks!
Thanks for adding me in. great list!
Thanks for including me!
There are so many I don’t read, should start…
Like you I can’t seem to get enough blogs on early retirement. Nice list. Some I had already followed and agree with you are outstanding. Have to check out the ones I am not familiar with.
There are more and more physician blogs popping up about FI (and some FIRE like mine) because of burnout that has started to rear its ugly head in the practice of medicine. I unfortunately only see that trend of burnout driving docs to FIRE continuing.
Hey Joe, Thanks for including us on this list. Although we’re one of the few writing about FI in Latin America (and writing in Spanish) We’re honored to be there.
http://www.hippiesdelandrover.com/
Keep up the good work!
Cheers!
Great list Joe!
Glad to see Helen’s blog made it:)
Hope your week slows down a bit. Cheers
Hey! This is a great list, thanks for sharing. Found a few new blogs here I haven’t seen before and will definitely start following. Your blog has been a great inspiration to my boyfriend and I who are just starting our FIRE journey (from Sweden, yessss so much taxes ftw) and it is very cool to have blogs like yours to browse through to see that the goal is actually achievable
Keep it up!!
Freddie, http://www.thefireviking.com
Good luck with your blog!
Awesome list, there’s 5 blogs that I knew nothing about. Not a bad score x) Sam is one of my favorite bloggers too. I always learn something new when I read his posts. Hoping someday I’ll be 1/4 as successful as he is 🙂
Thanks for the comprehensive list Joe. Many good resources and sites here. Happy Thanksgiving! Tom
Happy Thanksgiving, Joe! I was busy prepping for our Thanksgiving hotpot and trying to cook turkey for the 1st time today. When I checked your blog, I was already commenter #90. Whoa!
Congrats on a successful year of blogging traffic and income! You’re always an inspiration. Go Joe! ^.^
Great list of blogs … I have been reading many of them … as for books in the FIRE global expat area …. I found the best selling author ..Andrew Hallam’s books … like Millionaire Teacher and The Global Expatriate’s Guide to Investing …. great for international expats living overseas …. I wrote about some of this in my blog …. see link … “Life with No Safety Net …” Michael CPO … above
First off, those ribs look absolutely amazing!
Every memorial day, the community I live in posts banners along the street light poles with our “hometown heroes.” Each banner has a military photo, name, rank and date when each person served. All of them are from our community so it really hits home to me and gives me a sense of pride and gratitude.
Wow, thanks a lot for all these links. Now I have to check all of ’em. Always interested to read other people’s stories.
I have a list of 25+ FIRE bloggers going in this post where the prerequisite to being added is that you can’t be an engineer teehee. http://millennialboss.com/2016/11/secret-cult-early-retirement-fire/
Thanks for the awesome list!
Early Retirement Extreme (ERE) and Mr. Money Mustache were the two blogs that convinced me to retire early in 2012.
I think you are correct about Jacob at ERE – it’s just re-posts now. But his book is really a great read and is one of the few books I’ve read twice. It discusses not just the how, but the philosophy and mindset necessary for achieving early retirement. Highly recommended!
Hey Joe, I really appreciate the shout out. You’re too kind. FYI, Mrs. Groovy and I both retired on October 14th.
Thanks for honoring our service men and women!
I thought it was something like that. I’ll update the main post.
Hey rb40, would you have a space for a non-English FIRE blog? – believe me non-English speakers do exist. Check it out:
http://www.aposenteaos40.org
Thank you for listing all the FIRE sites! Very helpful!
Great list and thanks for pointing it out. I will check out some of the ones I have not read yet. Your food looks awesome. I did a BBQ last week that turned out great, but didn’t bother cleaning my grill all the way until this weekend. The aftermath lol.
Great article. Ive been doing some research about retiring and ive read a few blogs and listened to a few podcasts. Have you listened to “themiddletonmethods” podcast about retirement. I have been following there ideas. if you guys could listen to it and give me an opinion that would be awesome.
Sounds like you had a pretty fun spring break! Thanks for sharing your extensive list of early retirement blogs, I will definitely try to take a look at as many as I can. 🙂
Wow what a pool of resources! It will take me a while to read through all of these blogs. Thanks for sharing!
Middleton Methods has a great podcast on retirement. and you can listen to it when youre driving 😉
Thanks for the list, Joe! A few are new to me so I’ve got some catch-up reading to do.
Thanks so much for the mention, Joe! That’s really cool of you, and I’m in some crazy good company up there.
Now that you mentioned banh mi, I’m craving one!
Thanks for the mention! Looks like I’m in good company 🙂
Awesome list of blogs, I follow a lot of them, but definitely more to check out. It looks like you had a fantastic spring break, amazing how fast time flies by.
Thanks for the mention…again Joe! I truly appreciate it!
We mostly spend our Spring Break around home too. It is exhausting and being that I still work for now, I can’t help my wife out like I want to during the day.
We decided not to go on a trip during Spring Break, so we can celebrate my wife’s birthday, in May, in Puerto Rico instead. As for the blogs, I love Millenial Revolution. I have a dark sense of humor, so I love to laugh when I read a blog, especially about finances. Swearing is a big plus in my book, although I generally don’t do it on my own blog.
Sounds like a great spring break. Thanks for sharing all of the blog links. Always looking to follow more. There is a lot to learn when it comes to ER.
I spot a few that I’m already following, but definitely a lot more to add to my to-read list. Thanks for sharing!
Not there yet Joe but working on it like a few others….by age 50 = $1 M investment portfolio + paid off home 🙂
Hopefully 7 years and counting!
Feel free to add me to any future lists!
Cheers,
Mark
Hi,
Thank you for the the overview! Some familiar names for me, but also some new ones to follow!
Started my own blog a couple of weeks ago and getting inspiration and responses from other bloggers is definitely the fun part.
Cheers,
Tall Investing
Thanks again for the listing Joe – Its very helpful for beginners such as myself. I read some of these blogs including yours and Mr MM and you guys are great role models.
Keep going.
Thanks so much for including me on your list, Joe. It means a lot coming from you! Happy new year!
Thanks for the mention, Joe – very much appreciated! Found a couple new ones on your list I’m going to check out as well.
Have a great Christmas!!
— Jim
Happy Holidays! Cool you brought this list back to the forefront. I’m looking forward to reading your year in review and everybody else’s!
I love the blog list. More importantly, the presents. We went to see Rogue One because we are huge Star Wars nerds, but I might have to splurge and pick up the lightsaber for myself. That is why we want kids to make excuses to buy toys for us. Happy Holidays…love the presents.
Awesome list! I’m honored to be mentioned.
Happy holidays to you and the family, and enjoy your light sabers 🙂
Thanks so much for the mention! I’m glad you like it. It’s so fun to connect with like minded folks. Our life is a bit unconventional. 😉 So imagine how odd it seems out in the “real world.” At least online we get to be “just another couple in their 30’s who don’t have to work for money.”
Thanks for including me in your list. It’s a great honor to get a shout-out from one of my favorite PF/FIRE blogs!
Have a very Merry Christmas and Holiday season everybody!
Uff uff my blog didn’t make it into this (amazing) list 🙁
Anyway, thanks for sharing RB40, I already binge read most of them but there are few I wasn’t aware of!
I added your blog. 🙂 Happy holidays!
Hi Joe, I have been a silent reader of your blog for years. You have been an inspiration for me to start my own website to chronicle my journey towards retirement (though technically, I am FI). Hope you find my blog interesting. Would love to your views on my articles.
Your blog is good. Nice thought provoking articles. Great job so far. Keep it up and good luck! 🙂
Hi Joe,
I just started in May and have a few posts so far, but my early retirement blog is:
http://www.turtlestippingpoint.com
I always enjoy your content and please keep it up!
Thanks for sharing the list Mr RB40!
I hope one day my newborn Blog will be in one of such lists 🙂
Great list! This is really inspiring article. some of the points are worth reading. It really turns me on to be motivated. Thank you for sharing.
P.S. Another good one is Canadian Dream-Free at 45. Tim’s was the first retirement blog I ever found. Especially relevant to your Canadian readers (and now maybe folks that want to retire to Canada if Trump wins the presidency!) http://blog.canadian-dream-free-at-45.com
Thanks for the link. I will check them out. I love your blog. 🙂
Thanks so much for including me Joe!
Happy 4th All!
My old standbys are:
BBQ Hot dog
Roasted Corn on the Cobb
Cool Ranch Doritos (my bane because they are so good).
Thanks for the list of blogs, some I haven’t added to my reading list yet. I’ve just started my 13 year goal to FIRE myself and been working hard on cutting out costs. Luckily not buying the Doritos listed above does save me some money (along with me recently cutting my cable bill) so hopefully I’m a fraction of a step closer to my goal.
Thank you for compiling this list. I follow a majority of these blogs and know that they teach me something new every time I read. I also especially like financial samurai!
Great list! There are some I didn’t know about! I’m off to check them out ?.
Thanks
Hey man, first time on your blog here. Our first of July here consist of beach and boardwalk here in Jersey 🙂 Those are some great blogs you mention, I’ll check them out! I need some networking hehe
Hey Joe,
Thanks a lot for mentioning our blog! We’re already seeing increased traffic 🙂
One more for the list. Financial independence is a topic I cover from time to time as well 🙂
RB40,
Thanks for sharing this! Love 4th of July as well and am even more excited to think of new ways on the side hustles, to save money and looking forward to the last day the stock market is open before it takes a break next Monday on the 4th. Love MMM, Samurai and the MadFientist and looking forward to reading more that you posted. Appreciate it and Happy 4th!
-Lanny
Hey RB40,
I myself write a financial independence / early retirement blog based around dividend growth investing. I’d be super grateful if you included it in your list here.
Regards,
DB
Great list! I would second that living afi is an excellent blog even though his doesn’t update frequently. There are some real gems in there!
Thanks for including us on this list. We’re honored! Joining this community has been one of our best decisions ever. 🙂
It’s great that this is such a beefy list of bloggers who have reached early retirement! As part of the financial blogging community it is very inspirational to read about people who have “made it” whilst also reading about those who are still on their journey.
I am a fan of a few of the bloggers you’ve mentioned here, but I admit I haven’t heard of quite a few and now have many hours of reading ahead of me with this huge list, thanks for sharing RB40.
Jasmin
Thanks so much for the shout out, Joe! And thanks for the great recommendations too! Personal finance blogs are like pokemons to me now, I have to read them all 🙂
this a really helpful list, thanks! Quite a few that are new to me.
This list was perfect! I’ve loved reading RB40 and have been inspired by your journey Joe. The links you posted are very helpful (and appreciated). The Frugal Woods couple is adorable and I look forward to checking out more of the links. Thanks for sharing!
Joe,
Thanks for sharing this list. I’ve been following your blog for about a couple of years now and have also read Mr. Money Mustache. I’m 38.5, and have always planned to retire early, but your blog gave me a specific target age! Happily, I’m pretty much to the point now of building up extra safety net funds, but could walk away any time. After a career of being a hard worker, I’m not just doing the minimum and getting by. I can’t understand why they haven’t fired me yet!
Anyhow, thanks for sharing these other blogs. I’ve focused so hard on reaching financial independence, but not on what to do to feel fulfilled in my life. Work takes up so many hours that you don’t have to think about such things. But now that I’m getting closer to being the rare brown-haired guy in a world of gray haired, I need to make it a priority.
Yours and these other blogs are very helpful. Thanks again.
Thanks for the compliment. Enjoy your last few years at work. I’m sure you will find something fulfilling to do once you have more time. Good luck!
Thanks for the shout out! And very nice list of some truly awesome financial resources. Found a couple that I hadn’t seen yet. 🙂
Great list Joe, can’t think of too many that you missed. One I really like which is not really about early retirement, but more about financial freedom is JD Roth’s blog:
http://moneyboss.com/
My blog is not focused on early retirement, but I am heavily influenced by the FI/early retirement blogosphere, so a little trickles through in my writing. I try to be as subversive as possible.
🙂
I like JD’s blog too. I probably should put a list of FI focused blog together. I have a feeling that it will be much bigger than this list.
Hi Joe,
I have been reading your blog since 2013 and your blog inspired me to start my own.
I noticed all the blogs you listed are all male/couple bloggers. Where are the female bloggers on early retirement?
Cindy
Thank for reminding me. I added Sydney Lagier’s blog to the list. She has a great blog from the woman’s point of view. I don’t know other female ER blogger. Let me know if you find some. Frugal Woods is mostly from the female point of view.
Well Rounded Investor and Afford Anything. Neither is exactly early retirement, but they are both about financial independence, and, in the case of Paula at Afford Anything, a good resource on investment properties.
Alas, Retired Syd, aka Sydney Legier, has gone dark. Her last post was in August, 2017. I miss her, even if her updates were increasingly sporadic.
There are lots of women over on the MMM Forum. I suspect a number of them have blogs, but I spend so much time on the forum, I don’t have time for other blog reading. Like Joe, I am dealing with a live-in MIL. Mine brought her pal, Al Z. Heimer, along with her almost six years ago.
I think she just added a new post recently. It’s tough to get back when you stop writing. Hopefully, she’ll start up again.
http://www.fierymillennials.com, wwww.millennialboss.com, http://www.ournextlife.com, http://www.fireisthenewblack.com are all awesome female bloggers 🙂
Thanks, Angela, for the mention! Here is a list of female financial bloggers with a subcategory for FIRE bloggers. @ Retire by 40 if you want to add some of the ladies in your post above or link to this post, I think that would really help people stumbling across this post. Unfortunately so many bloggers say “there are no female FIRE bloggers I can think of” yet we are all interacting on Twitter, so it’s confusing why they don’t come to mind. No malice intended just helping to make sure that women’s voices are represented too. https://treadlightlyretireearly.com/2018/01/18/meet-the-women-of-the-financial-independence-movement/
Thanks for the mention Joe! Really appreciate it.
Always good to read new blogs as well. Very entertaining!
Sam
I would be very interested to read how people are paying for-maintaining health care insurance with early retirement. Of course I realize I could pay this out of pocket but it would rapidly deplete my funds… so what is the best approach to the biggest obstacle I can see to early retirement: health care insurance???
Obamacare helps a lot. You have to budget for health insurance. If you can’t pay for insurance, then you probably won’t be able to retire early. Here is a good article on this.
http://rootofgood.com/affordable-care-act-coverage-subsidies-pitfalls/
Thanks for the list, I was literally just putting one together I could send to people I think might be interested, now I can just send them here. I have read through many of those. I need to check out the others. Also worth reading through the archives of dividendmantra and getrichslowly. Until they cashed in those were two great financial independence blogs. I wonder if the buyers are making enough off those quality archives to make up for the evident drop in participation/readership. Personal stories woven into the financial information are most of what makes any of these blogs worth reading.
What an awesome list! I don’t talk about early retirement a ton on my blog, but it’s something that we will be able to reach in the next year or two. So amazing!
Newbies! The TerHorsts were the first ERs I became aware of from a Money magazine article back in the late 1980s I think it was.
https://sites.google.com/site/paulvicgroup/
IIRC they got out aged 30 with about a half million USD saved to travel the world. Looks like they’re still going strong 30+ years into it. I think it’d be interesting to sit in on a conversation between ERs from different generations for wider perspectives and such.
Yes, they have a great story. I was thinking about them, but couldn’t find their site on short notice. I added their site.
Awesome list Joe. Thanks for including me in such excellent company!!
My 4-year old daughter almost ate as much corned beef as I did the other day. Even better was that she decided to try a couple new things (i.e. cabbage and mustard) and loved them both. I think she’s going to be Daddy’s foodie buddy too. 🙂
Thanks for sharing Joe! Your blog has always been a big inspiration, and funny enough when I first learned that you were an engineer trying to quit your job, I had my lightbulb moment which got the whole blogging thing all started for me 🙂
Cheers!
Great list of inspirational blogs. I follow most but not all, there are about 4 I’ve never heard of. Thanks for sharing these.
Thanks for the inclusion on your list, Joe! I’m familiar with most of this motley crew but I see a couple of less familiar names to check out. It’s great to be a part of such an awesome online FIRE community!
Take care,
Justin
Thanks for putting this list together, Joe. I’m exactly like you mentioned – I love getting my hands on all the info I can to digest.
There are a number of these I haven’t seen before so it looks like I’ll be giving Feedly some new RSS feeds here shortly!! 🙂
— Jim
Wow! That’s a long list to read)) I wish I could have enough time to read all that)
Thanks for the mention Joe. Hopefully we’ll get to the “retired” only blogging once a week or so list soon. 😀
It’s interesting that quite a number of these bloggers come from engineering background.
Perhaps it’s engineers that feel the most comfortable creating a blog? Most non-engineers I know would never attempt such a thing.
Maybe because engineers tend to burnout fast due to very fast paced work environment and stress. I can say this is especially true for high-tech engineering jobs.
As for reading, check out James Altucher’s books such as Choose Yourself and Reinvent Yourself. He writes with utmost honesty, sharing his failures, and how he reinvented himself to be where he is now. I find his writing style to be quite inspirational and authentic while at the same time easy to grasp and entertaining.
Thanks for the list. There are a few here that I haven’t visited. Heading to do that now…
Thank you for the mention and kind words, Joe!
One more for the list: http://mrfirestation.com/
Thanks for compiling the blog roster. There are a few here that I’m not yet familiar with, but will be shortly.
Cheers!
-PoF
Thanks for the callout, both of you! I agree that the more time I spend on blogging, the more great sites that I find!
Sorry I missed your blog the first time. 🙂 Thank you both for help maintaining this list.
I keep a pretty extensive blogroll on my site, and I can see and think of a couple more to add. http://www.physicianonfire.com/blogroll/
Thanks again for the inclusion and the May update!
Thanks for the list, looks like i have some reading to do. One of my personal favorites is livingafi.com
Thanks for featuring us Joe! Looks like we’re among good company!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Funny, the first blog you mention is:
FI Fighter: Another engineer just retired early. Yes! I hear a bell ring.
I wasn’t aware about this blog until the last week. I have a basic subscription to Mention.com which sends me an email every time they find someone mentioning my name on a blog or news story. I got an email a few days ago (on March 14) about my name being mentioned by a guy who wrote a whole blog post about “The Joy of Not Working”:
http://www.fifighter.com/book-reviews/2016/03/book-review-the-joy-of-not-working-ernie-j-zelinski/
It turned out to be FI Fighter, another engineer . . .
Of course, I am still another engineer who wanted to get out of engineering — and managed to get fired at the age of 30. Even though I was broke within two years of getting fired, and had a negative net worth for the next 12 years or so, it was the best thing that ever happened to me.
I am reading and enjoying “The Joy of Not Working” right now! I hope to fully embrace it someday…
– Jeff V