The Best of the Bloggers

As someone who has been writing about personal finance for the past 12 years, I continue to be amazed at the evolution of how information on investing, retirement and personal finance travels. I remember 20 years ago, information was special. As someone in the financial industry, I had access to information and reports that were not easily accessible by the public. Today, information is abundant. In fact it is easy to be overloaded with information. The challenge today is not access to information but being able to filter information.

I've been spending a lot of time on different personal finance blog sites with a bias and focus on Canadian content. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised at the information on many of these sites. Although there are thousands of personal finance blogs out there, I thought I would share with you some that really caught my attention.

• Canadian Capitalist (www.canadiancapitalist.com) - Ram is an engineer from Ottawa and has one of the most successful blog sites in Canada. Most recently, he has entered into a partnership with MoneySense Magazine. It's easy to see why this site is so popular and so successful.
• Million Dollar Journey (www.milliondollarjourney.com) - MDJ is run by Frugal Trader from the Maritimes and continues to be one of the best personal finance blogs around. I particularly like the content from Kathryn, one of the 4 regular writers.
• Canadian Finance Blog (www.CanadianFinanceBlog.com) - It's hard to believe but this site has only been around for a year. Tom is smart and down to earth and one of the few bloggers in Alberta from my hometown in Edmonton. CFB has done very well and the content shows why. A must read for personal finance enthusiasts.
• Financial Highway (www.FinancialHighway.com) This site out of the Toronto area was also started a year ago and has had a lot of success.
• Before You Invest (www.BeforeYouInvest.ca) - This blog is offered but the Nova Scotia Securities Commission. It's tag line is A Guide to Safe Investing and Fraud Prevention. The information is not only specialized but offers excellent information to make you more aware of fraud and scams.
• Canadian Tax Resource Blog (www.taxresource.ca) – Again, I like the specialized information on this site. Tax is so important to financial success so I plan to come back to this site regularly for tax information.
• Balance Junkie (www.BalanceJunkie.com) - A relative newcomer to blogging, I predict 2 cents will become very successful. She has a great writing style and so far has terrific content. We need more successful female bloggers.
• Nancy Zimmerman (www.nancyzimmerman.com) - Originally from Vancouver and now living in NWT, Nancy is a money coach. I think I like her blog because we have so many similar values on money. Great stuff here!
• Riscario Insider (blog.riscario.com) – Promod Sharma is an actuary. As a result the content on this site provides some really intelligent and interesting insights on financial risks.
• Canadian Personal Finance Blog (www.canajunfinances.com) - Big Cajun Man as he calls himself has been blogging for a long time so the site had a lot of content.
• Four Pillars (www.Four-pillars.ca) - Four pillars has multiple bloggers and has been around for quite some time now. There is some US content but the majority is Canadian. There is some great content on Four Pillars
  
• The Financial Blogger (www.thefinancialblogger.com) - To round out my top 12, another great site with a good mix of information but some really good stuff on investing.
• Ending the Rat Race (www.endingtheratrace.com) - I must admit I added this blog after the original post because I have been receiving the rat's updates and appreciate his content more and more. I especially have enjoyed some of his comments on investing.
  

Media Blogs

In addition to my top picks for Canadian Financial Blog sites, it is important to recognize some of the Canadian media blogs.

• Larry MacDonald – Larry writes for Canadian Business and has excellent content. I look forward to reading his insights.
• Jonathan Chevreau – Jonathan Chevreau has been writing on personal finance for the National Post for well over a decade and was one of the first to start blogging on the topic.
• Ellen Roseman – Another veteran in the area of personal finance , Ellen has been writing for the Toronto Star for over 10 years. She had been blogging for over three years with 250 posts.
• Gail Vaz-Oxlade – How can you not like Gail's stuff? I think she captures it best when she says "I'm loud, large and laugh a lot. I'm passionate about learning, committed to sharing and hell-bent on getting people to take control of their money and their lives.

So there you have my list of great blogs. Obviously it is very difficult and near impossible to review all possible blogs even if I focus on just Canadian content. Although I have been writing on personal finance for over 10 years (www.WealthWebGurus.com), I am relatively new to blogging. That being said, I have a passion for personal finance and will continue to learn even about alternative ways to reach others.