25+ Best Retirement Blogs
If you’re thinking about your career exit strategy, these are the blogs you want to be reading.
Whether you’re focused on planning and preparing for retirement, or if you’ve already reached the milestone of retirement (congrats!), you’ll appreciate the information that’s freely available and written specifically for people in your situation.
When it comes to learning about finance and money, context is everything. We’re all at different stages of life and your financial situation and your goals may be drastically different than some else’s. It’s important that you have access to information and resources that will be helpful to YOU and relevant to your own situation.
While there are many amazing personal finance blogs out there, some blogs specialize in certain aspects of personal finance. There are probably some really great blogs that won’t resonate with you because the topics either aren’t of interest to you or the content simply isn’t relevant to you at your current stage of life.
With that in mind, we decided to compile a list of the best retirement blogs. These blogs publish articles that can help you if you’re working on building up your savings or planning for retirement. They also publish content intended for readers who have already retired. Basically, if you’re thinking about your career exit strategy, these are the blogs you want to be reading.
It’s never too early to start saving money and growing wealth with the goal of achieving a comfortable retirement. Even if you’re young, these retirement blogs can be extremely valuable resources that help to get you on the right path (and in a much better spot than most people in your age group). Some of these blogs are focused specifically on early retirement, so these would be great blogs to follow if you’re younger.
The Best Retirement Blogs
For anyone who is already retired or saving and planning for retirement (which should be everyone), these blogs are worth following.
0. Think Save Retire
You won't have to go very far to find the BEST retirement blog in our very-almost-illegally-biased opinion… It's clearly Think Save Retire. Seriously, check out our years of tips, tricks, and hacks for early retirement here.
1. Moneyzine
The article "Saving for Retirement: 19 Facts for Retirement Planning" on Moneyzine.com provides a comprehensive guide to help individuals plan for retirement. It covers key aspects such as setting realistic retirement goals, the importance of starting savings early, understanding the impact of cost of living increases on savings, and strategies for building a sufficient retirement fund.
The guide emphasizes the significance of diversifying investments, regularly adjusting retirement plans to meet changing needs, and the benefits of compound interest. It also addresses common challenges and statistics related to retirement savings in the U.S., offering actionable advice to enhance financial security in retirement.
Retirement Researcher publishes articles written by:
- Wade Pfau, PhD, CFA
- Alex Murguia, PhD
- Bob French, CFA
As you can see, this is a highly-qualified team that can provide excellent insight and advice. They are focused on helping readers find answers and solutions that are ideally suited for their own specific situation. Topics include investing, planning, retirement income, and more. Some of the articles cover more technical topics than what you might find on some other blogs, but they’re well-written and explained clearly. This is a blog that should definitely become a part of your regular reading.
Mr. Money Mustache is extremely popular with people who are pursuing early retirement or financial independence. With a tagline like “financial freedom through badassity” and a call to action on the homepage that says “join the cult”, it won’t take long to realize that Mr. Money Mustache is not a boring and bland financial website.
Pete Adeney, the blogger behind Mr. Money Mustache, retired in his 30’s thanks to a frugal lifestyle and disciplined investing. While there are many financial independence, retire early (FIRE) blogs today, Mr. Money Mustache was one of the pioneers. His posts generate a huge number of comments and the site also includes forums, so the community around the blog has become just as impressive as the blog itself.
4. ESI Money
ESI Money is focused on the three simple steps to wealth: earn, save, and invest. The founder of the site, who goes by “ESI” on the blog, retired in his 50’s in 2016. As the perfect example of someone who achieved early retirement through career growth and disciplined saving and investing, he has plenty to share with readers.
At ESI Money, you’ll find a lot of great retirement-focused content, including a very popular millionaire interview series (more than 200 millionaires have been interviewed), as well as an equally-interesting retirement interview series. Both of these interview series are great for seeing behind-the-scenes details from the lives of successful people.
If you spend very much time reading personal finance blogs, I’m sure you’ve come across Personal Capital at some point. While Personal Capital provides wealth management services, they’re best-known for their free software that serves as your own personal financial dashboard. With the help of Personal Capital, you can automatically calculate and track your net worth, get access to reports on your investments, keep track of your expenses, and more.
The Personal Capital blog publishes articles on topics like retirement planning, investing, and family life. Articles like this one on the average 401k balance by age can help you to see if you’re on track and how you compare to others.
Real Deal Retirement is run by Walter Updegrave, who spent nearly three decades at MONEY Magazine. Walter has an impressive background, including appearances on many TV shows and a regular “ask the expert” column at CNNMoney.com.
At Real Deal Retirement, you’ll find articles that are conveniently categorized as saving for retirement, investing for retirement, retirement income, and lifestyle planning. Readers can also send Walter a question that may be answered in the “Ask Real Deal” series of posts. This site is 100% focused on retirement and provides some of the best content that you’ll find on the subject anywhere.
The Retirement Manifesto was started by Fritz Gilbert, who retired at the age of 55 in 2018. This blog is targeted towards readers who are within ten years of retirement, although articles like The Ultimate Retirement Planning Guide can be helpful to readers in all different stages of the journey.
Fritz is also the author of a book called Keys to a Successful Retirement: Staying Happy, Active, and Productive in Your Retired Years.
Financial Samurai is the blog of Sam Dogen, who used passive income streams to reach financial independence in his 30’s. While this blog is not exclusively focused on retirement, those who are pursuing financial independence will appreciate the articles published at Financial Samurai.
There are a lot of articles at Financial Samurai that cover real estate investing, including crowdfunding and rental properties. Net worth and investing are also common topics that are sure to be of interest.
Like Mr. Money Mustache, Financial Samurai has also been around for several years and developed a large and loyal following. The comments section on articles is very active, so it’s a great blog if you enjoy interacting with the author and other readers. Sam also isn’t afraid to voice his own opinion or take a stand that may be seen as controversial.
Early Retirement Extreme is the blog of Jacob Lund Fisker, and it's often considered to be one of the best FIRE blogs. Jacob’s goal with the blog is to give readers the tools and information to become financially independent in five years (an aggressive goal for sure, but that’s why it’s called Early Retirement Extreme).
The blog was started in 2007, and Jacob also published a book (Early Retirement Extreme: A Philosophical and Practical Guide to Financial Independence) in 2010.
As one of the leading FIRE blogs, Early Retirement Extreme has a very active following and most of the posts generate a lot of discussion in the comments section. If early retirement is your goal, this is a blog you should definitely check out.
Can I Retire Yet? is run by two people who have actually achieved their own goals of early retirement. Darrow Kirkpatrick, the founder of the site, retired at 50 years old after starting to take his finances seriously in his mid 30’s. Chris Mamula retired at the age of 41 and became a partner of Can I Retire Yet? Both Darrow and Chris have written books related to financial independence and retirement (Retiring Sooner, Can I Retire Yet?, and ChooseFI).
There are only a few articles published per month now, but the archives have plenty of great content that is still completely relevant.
11. Retirement - Only the Beginning
Dave Bernard has written more than 300 articles at US News on the topic of retirement and his own blog, Retirement - Only the Beginning, is an excellent resource. While there is some financial content published here, you’ll also find other topics related to quality of life for retirees. Dave has also written a book, I Want to Retire! Essential Considerations for the Retiree to Be.
Retire Before Dad is written by a blogger who goes by RBD. After his father retired at 56 years old, he set his own goal to retire at 55, before his dad. Currently in his 40’s, he’s working towards that goal through saving, investing, and growing streams of passive income.
You’ll find a lot of content here related to investing, including alternative investments. Other content can help you to gain control of your finances, save more, and even increase your income through a side hustle.
13. Growing Bolder
Growing Bolder is written for readers who are over 50 years old. You’ll find plenty of inspirational stories of people who are doing extraordinary things. This is not a finance blog, but with content that covers a wide variety of topics relevant to an audience over 50, this is a blog that you may want to add to your regular reading.
You’ll find articles on travel, careers, finance, health, arts & entertainment, and more. In addition to written content, they also produce video content.
Squared Away Blog is part of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. It isn’t a personal finance blog, but it covers topics of importance for current and future retirees, including money culture. Some of the articles in the Research category are especially interesting.
The blog posts at Squared Away Blog are written by verteran financial and economics reporter Kim Blanton.
Financial Ducks in a Row is written by financial advisor Jim Blankenship, CFA, EA. While the blog covers a variety of financial topics, there is a heavy focus on topics of importance for retirement like 401k’s, IRA’s, social security, income tax, and financial planning. Jim has also written two books: A Social Security Owner’s Manual and An IRA Owner’s Manual.
Aging With Freedom “advocates for Baby Boomers to age well and live a purposeful, passionate retirement.” If you’re already retired or nearing retirement, this is a great blog that will be very relevant to you.
This site features reviews of many senior living communities around the U.S., a book club, inspirational stories, and other articles.
17. How Much Can I Afford to Spend in Retirement?
With a name like How Much Can I Afford to Spend in Retirement?, it’s pretty clear what this blog is all about. One of the ways that this blog is unique is that the writers, Ken Steiner and Bobbie Kalben, both have actuarial expertise and they approach the topic from that unique perspective.
In addition to hundreds of articles, the blog also offers free spreadsheets like actuarial budget calculators that are worth downloading.
Retirement Revised is run by Mark Miller, who has an impressive resume that includes writing on retirement for Reuters, The New York Times, and many others. The site features written content as well as a podcast. While money and finance is a major focus of the site, you’ll also find some content on health and life for seniors.
Retirement Wisdom offers coaching for retirees who want to get the most out of their retirement. In addition to those services, they also publish blog posts written for retirees and those who are approaching retirement. If you prefer audio content, they also have a podcast that’s worth checking out.
20. Retirement Savvy
Retirement Savvy’s purpose is to help you prepare so your retirement years can be the best of your life. You’ll find articles that will help you to live frugally and save money and live a life of abundance beyond material wealth.
One of the writers of the blog, James C. Molet, is also the author of a book titled Rendezvous With Retirement: A Guide to Getting Fiscally Fit.
The Retirement Solution is a retirement planning firm that also publishes a very informative blog on their website. Topics include retirement planning (naturally), Medicare, social security, and things to do in retirement.
Oblivious Investor isn’t exactly a retirement blog, but since investing is such an important aspect of retirement planning, this blog deserves to be mentioned here. The site is run by Mike Piper, a CPA and author of several personal finance books.
Mike’s approach involves following a few basic principles like diversifying your portfolio, minimizing costs and fees, and ignoring the noise around day-to-day changes in the market. The idea is that you can be “oblivious” to the financial media if your portfolio is set up correctly.
With archives packed with helpful investing content, this blog is a must-read for anyone planning for retirement, regardless of how old you are.
23. AARP
Although it’s not a traditional blog, the AARP publishes a lot of articles and videos on topics related to retirement. Most of the content will be most relevant to retirees and those who are approaching traditional retirement age.
24. Alliance for Retired Americans
This grass roots organization advocates on a variety of issues with the goal of strengthening families. On their site they publish news and articles on topics like Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, social security, pensions, and more.
Sightings Over Sixty is a blog that will appeal to Baby Boomers and retirees. It’s run by a blogger named Tom and covers topics related to finance and life in retirement.
This is another blog that many retirees will appreciate. Written by a blogger named Deborah, Baby Boomer Retirement publishes articles on money, Social Security, Medicare, travel, retiring overseas, and retiring in the U.S.
If you’re looking for a place to live in retirement, be sure to visit TopRetirements.com. This blog has information on locations that are ideal for retirees as well as reviews of retirement communities.
28. Retirement Security SmartBrief
While it’s not a typical blog, Retirement Security SmartBrief earns a spot on this list because it’s an excellent resource for content related to retirement. The site curates content from around the web on topics like saving, planning, and life in retirement. When you click on a headline, you’ll be led to the article on some other site or blog. If you want to find relevant content from around the web without visiting lots of different sites, this could be a great option.
With the amazing collection of blogs featured in this list, I’m sure you’ve found at least a few that are relevant to your own situation. Regardless of whether you’re in the early stages of planning for retirement, quickly approaching retirement, or already retired, there is plenty of helpful content that will enable you to reach your goals and make the most of your retirement.
Financial independence and early retirement is a hot topic in the world of personal finance blogs, and if that’s something you’re pursuing, several of the blogs on this list would be ideal for you.
If you’re looking for more blogs that can help you to gain control over your finances, be sure to also see our list of the best personal finance blogs.
What are some of your favorite retirement blogs? Share them in the comments below!
