Best of the Web

Top 10 Personal Finance Articles of the Month — October 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.

This month, we’ll start with three posts pondering money. Then, we’ll talk housing followed by a look at both retirement and your current life. Finally, we’ll wrap up discussing personal finance points of failure, FOBO, and investing.

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

On Money

Do You Think About Money All the Time? It Could Be Corrupting You — Miranda Marquit, MoneyNing

There’s no doubt that being more conscious of your finances and money decisions is overall a good thing. However, there may come a point when thinking about money too much could be a negative. In fact, as Miranda explains, having money on your mind could even be corrupting.

A Visual Way to Understand Your Finances: Money Mapping — Katie Gatti Tassin, Money with Katie

These days, there are many tools that consumers can use to get a better overview of their money. In particular, aggregators and budgeting apps make it easy for users to see all of their balances and spending in one place. But, as great as these digital tools can be, Katie suggests a more analog option: creating a Money Map, may be a better choice.

Money Presents Opportunities You Aren’t Expecting — Jewels, One Frugal Girl

It’s often said that money is simply a tool. Similarly, money can be used to fuel opportunity. On that note, Jewels points out that, sometimes, these opportunities can even be ones you may not have been expecting.

Housing

How to Start House Hacking — Britney DiTocco, How to Money

Over the past few years, the markets for both renters and homeowners have been tumultuous. For renters, prices have exploded in some areas. Meanwhile, the housing market has gone from having historically low interest rates to having the highest rates in over two decades. All of these factors make the idea of “house hacking” even more attractive. Luckily, this explainer from Britney can bring you up to speed on the concept.

So, We Bought a House: What Changed My Mind About Owning — Kyle Burbank, Money@30

After years of renting, what leads a person to decide that it’s time to buy a home instead? Furthermore, given the aforementioned challenges facing homebuyers in the current economy, what are new homebuyers to do? Well, as it turns out, Kyle has some insight into both of those questions as a recent first-time homebuyer. In his article, he explains why he and his wife decided to buy (and why now).

Retirement and Today

3 Years Of Early Retirement: Finances, What’s Changed And What’s Next? — A Purple Life

For many of us, the idea of early retirement sounds like a dream. Thus, hearing directly from people who have been able to achieve it is always fascinating and insightful. On that note, as Purple hits three years of early retirement, she looks back on another year — both financially and personally.

Are You Living Your Ideal Life? — Retire By 40

When you think about the ideal life you want to live, chances are you picturing it in the future. While having goals is great, finding happiness in your current life is also important. Plus, as this Retire By 40 post points out, your idea of “ideal” may shift over time.

Personal Finance Tips

5 Common Failures in Personal Finance — Jesse Cramer, The Best Interest

Succeeding at finance is rarely as easy as some might assume it to be. That’s because there are many errors (both large and small) to be made that can lead us astray. In particular, Jesse highlights five common areas of failure that can impact your personal finances.

Understanding and Overcoming FOBO (Fear of Better Options) — Darius Foroux

You’ve probably heard the term “FOMO” — but have you heard of FOBO? Like the fear of missing out, the fear of better options can also impact your life and finances. In this post, Darius not only takes a closer look at FOBO but also shares how to overcome it.

Why I Don’t Talk About Investing Much — Accidentally Retired

In the world of personal finance blogging, investing is among the most popular topics (as evidenced by the categories inclusion on many of these rounds up). Yet, this core money concept isn’t one often explored by some writers. For example, in this newly-updated article Accidentally Retired shares why investing isn’t something they often talk about.

---

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.