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Top 10 Personal Finance Articles of the Month — August 2023

Welcome to Fioney’s look at the top 10 personal finance articles of the month. On the first Friday of each new month, we look back at some of our favorite posts published in the weeks prior and highlight them right here. This includes a mix of sites that have become staples of our lists as well as many first-timers.

To start things off this month, we’ll look at a couple of articles related to housing. Then, we’ll talk about employment and side hustles. After that, we’ll discuss retirement and financial independence. Finally, we’ll cover the value of making coffee at home, money mistakes, investment time capsules, and more.

Here are our picks for the top 10 personal finance articles for August 2023:

Housing

Did We Wait Too Long to Buy a House? — Kyle Burbank, Money@30

With mortgage rates on the rise following years of historic lows, those looking to buy a home may be in for a rude surprise. So where does this leave those who may have waited to buy? That’s exactly the position Kyle finds himself in, which is why he chose to share his recent experience looking at homes.

You Need to Buy a Home, Renting is Expensive — Lawrence Gonzalez, The Neighborhood Finance Guy

In the personal finance community, one major divide involves renting. While some call it a waste of money, others argue that renters can invest money they’d otherwise spend on a mortgage in order to see a greater return. In this piece, Lawrence takes issues with the latter position and explains why buying is better.

Employment and Side Hustles

If Your Employer Refuses To Negotiate Salary, Try These 11 Creative Counteroffers — Lauren Torres, Bitches Get Riches

Negotiating salary with a new or existing employer can be an intimidating task. Even worse, when they shut down your requests, you may need to find other ways to sway things in your favor. With that in mind, Lauren offers some creative counteroffers to consider.

12 Terrible Ways To Make Money That the Internet Needs To Stop Pushing — John Schmoll, Frugal Rules

For years, the term “side hustle” has been just about everywhere you look. In turn, several money-making “opportunities” have popped up on list after list of such hustles. However, as John notes, it may be time to retire some of these ideas as the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.

Retirement and FI

You Probably Need Less Money Than You Think For Retirement —Ben Carlson, A Wealth of Common Sense

When it comes to retirement, the fear of running out of money often haunts former workers. Because of this, the estimates of how much people will need often soar into the multi-millions. Despite those perceptions, Ben suggests you may not really need as much cash in retirement as you might assume.

How to Work Out Your Own Financial Independence Plan — Monevator

Whether you’re planning on a traditional retirement or an early one, having a financial independence plan is key. So where do you start? This article from Monevator can help walk you through the process.

Personal Finance Tips

Why “Make Your Coffee at Home” is About More Than Just Saving a Few Dollars — Joshua Becker, Becoming Minimalist

The Latte Factor may be one of the most controversial and dare I say mocked concepts in personal finance. So, when Joshua recently included “make coffee at home” on a list of money-saving habits, he saw some pushback. Yet, as he explains, there’s more to this idea than just saving a couple of dollars a day.

How to Avoid Type 2 Money Mistakes — Jim Wang, Wallet Hacks

In our daily lives, there are a plethora of money mistakes that we can make. Luckily, for the most part, these errors are small and won’t cause much of an impact. However, in other cases, they may cause more damage — with said damage even taking some time to present itself. Those missteps are what Jim calls “Type 2” money mistakes, which he details in his post.

What Would You Put in an Investment Time Capsule? — Joe Wiggins, Behavioural Investment

There’s no question that the approaches consumers take toward short-term investments versus long-term are very different. So what would happen if, instead of having access to your investment, you locked them in a time capsule for a decade? That’s the idea Joe explores as he shares how he’d approach such a portfolio.

Amazon Lockers and Hub Locker+ Review: A Helpful Nomad Delivery Option? — A Purple Life

At this point, everyone knows the convenience of shopping online and having a package arrive at your home within a couple of days. But what if you’re a digital nomad who’s rarely in the same place for long? In those cases, could Amazon Lockers and Hub Locker+ come in handy? Purple shares her review.

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Thanks for checking out our top 10 personal finance articles published last month and congratulations to all of the bloggers who made the list. To find more of these great articles on a daily basis, be sure to follow us on Twitter @fioneymoney and of course visit Fioney.com.