The impact of the Internet on personal finance is beyond what one can imagine. This is because the Internet makes information so handy that you can choose what to read.
But that’s not without some drawbacks. The free access to the Internet makes it easier for anyone to become a publisher even without the required skills.
As such, taking any information you see on the Internet can’t only hurt your finances, but can ruin your entire life.
Fortunately, you appear to be on the right track by taking your time to look for the best personal finance blogs in Canada.
The number of personal finance blogs in Canada is on the increase as many people access the Internet.
But I found that not all of these blogs are reliable. One way I try to address the problem is by creating this blog — Financial OX — in 2021.
To further help Canadians access legit personal finance blogs, I decided to compose this article.
This article presents the best personal finance blogs in Canada for 2023 based on my personal experience.
Table of Contents
Rating Methodology
My selection was based on an RRIA rating methodology. This methodology stands for:
- Reliability
- Readability
- Impulse-free (information without sales or affiliate impulse)
- Accuracy
With the above methodology, my compilation may appear a little different from those of other reviewers. The goal is to recommend my favorite blogs, not the popular blogs.
Chances are that other blogs meet the above criteria but are not included here. If you know any, you should please recommend them in the comment section. But I will try to keep this article updated to cover more blogs that meet the above criteria.
That being said, join me as I review the best Canadian personal finance blogs according to different categories.
Best For Banking, Savings, Spending & Budgeting
1. Savvy New Canadians
Savvy New Canadians is an all-in-one personal finance blog that was founded in 2016 to provide free resources and distinctive insights into Canadian personal finance.
I describe the blog as all-in-one because it covers the key areas of personal finance ranging from:
- Investing
- Retirement
- Credit cards
- Banking
- Save money
- Side hustles
- Reviews
The founder, Dr. Enoch Omololu, is a veterinarian and personal finance expert with a master’s in Finance and Investment Management.
With 400 monthly visitors, Savvy New Canadians is one of the most visited personal finance blogs in Canada.
2. Hardbacon
Hardbacon is another top Canadian personal finance blog that’s on a mission to democratize the financial system so as to help everyone achieve their dreams.
Through their blog, you will get access to the financial resources and tools you need to achieve your financial dreams. This includes:
- An all-in-one Mobile App
- Budgeting App
- Planning App
Hardbacon also provides access to a wide range of calculators, such as:
- Financial Planning Calculators
- Mortgage calculators
- Investing calculators
- Loan calculators
- Canadian Sales Tax Calculator (GST/PST)
- Vacation Savings Calculator
- Currency Exchange Rate Calculator
3. Young & Thrifty
Young & Thrifty was created way back in 2009 by the guy at Gen Y Money to serve as a leading personal finance website for Canadian millennials.
However, the blog was sold to Kyle Prevost and Justin Bouchard in 2012 and has since expanded to cover more personal finance experts.
The Young & Thrifty blog covers the key areas of personal finance ranging from investing, banking, credit cards, and mortgages.
4. Wallet Bliss
Wallet Bliss is your go-to for easy-to-digest personal finance information. The blog seeks to provide the resources Canadians need to take control of their finances.
With a series of guides, reviews, and comparisons, Wallet Bliss helps you achieve your financial dream through the following areas:
- Banking
- Investing
- Taxes
- Insurance
The blog founder, Simon Ikuseru is a CPA and personal finance expert with a decade of experience in financial services.
Best For Investment
5. Wealth Awesome
Wealth Awesome is another top personal finance blog whose mission is to help Canadians overcome the complications of personal finance.
While the blog covers different personal finance subjects, it specializes in everything investing. Their investing archive comprises virtually everything you need to heed the ball rolling as a beginner investor.
From ETFs, mutual funds, and robo-advisors to self-directed brokerages — Wealth Awesome has it all.
The blog founder, Christopher Liew is a CFA, a former financial advisor, investment wholesaler, and energy trader.
6. Boomer & Echo
The award-winning Boomer & Echo also deserves a mention in this compilation. The reliability of the information on this blog is rooted in the credentials of the founder — Robb Engen QAFP™.
Robb started investing in mutual funds at the early age of 19. He showed expert-level knowledge of investing through the information he shared on the Boomer & Echo blog
Robb created Boomer & Echo way back in 2010 to share the lessons he learned from his financial journey. Over 250,000 readers visit this blog monthly to learn from Robb’s experience.
7. Cut the Crap Investing
If you’re a fee-averse investor, Cut the Crap Investing could be a great ally.
This blog was launched in 2018 to help Canadians invest at a low cost knowing that we pay some of the highest fees in the world.
The blog’s founder, Dale Robert, is a former Tangerine employee and an award-winning writer. He preaches the gospel of low-cost investing through the MoneySense Ultimate Canadian Couch Potato series and the Tangerine forward-thinking blog.
Through Cut the Crap Investing, Dale suggests the following when looking to invest at low cost:
- Build your own ETF Portfolio
- Invest in an asset allocation ETF
- Invest through a robo-advisor
8. Canadian Couch Potato
The Canadian Couch Potato blog shares much in common with Cut the Crap Investing because it also recommends low-cost investing through index mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.
Preaching the gospel of couch potato strategy, this blog believes that you can reduce investment costs and outperform mutual funds and professionally managed funds by investing in index or passive funds.
The blog’s founder, Dan Bortolotti is a CFP, CIM, associate portfolio manager, financial planner, veteran journalist, and author.
One thing that boosts the reliability of the Canadian Couch Potato blog is that it’s a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF) and it’s regulated by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC).
Best For Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE)
9. Mr. Money Mustache (MMM)
The Mr. Money Mustache blog presents the story of Peter Jonathan Adeney, a Canadian-American that retired at the age of 30.
Adeney uses a mathematical formula to express his views about financial freedom. He believes that FIRE is beyond sacrifice. Through this blog, he explains how you can achieve financial independence by understanding:
- Investment fundamentals
- Lifestyle changes
- Entrepreneurial ideas
- Philosophical application
According to Adeney:
If you are spending 100% (or more) of your income, you will never be prepared to retire, unless someone else is doing the saving for you (wealthy parents, social security, pension fund, etc.). So your work career will be Infinite.
However,
If you save a reasonable percentage of your take-home pay, like 50%, and live on the remaining 50%, you’ll be Ready to Rock (aka “financially independent”).
10. Tawcan
Tawcan was established in 2014 to document the journey of Bob Lai toward “financial independence and joyful life.”
Through Tawcan, Bob reports his financial independence journey with his wife that started way back in 2011. Their goal is to be financially independent and live off dividends by 2025. Currently, their portfolio yields $4,000 in monthly dividends.
The Canadian personal finance and dividend investing blog explain how financial independence, ETFs, and dividends contribute to your financial freedom.
More interestingly, Tawcan has also conducted several FIRE interviews that exposed the experience of those that are financially independent and retired early.
11. Millennial Revolution
Millennial Revolution is a popular FIRE blog that was founded by Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung who retired at the age of 31.
Kristy and Bryce drive pleasure in traveling. Based on their traveling experience, they have realized how one can become financially Independent by traveling.
The authors explain their FIRE strategy clearly in the article: How I Built a Seven-Figure Portfolio and Retired at 31
One factor that Kristy and Bryce found as key to achieving FIRE is investing. They believe that one needs to invest to avoid the negative impact of inflation on the FIRE journey.
12. Eat Sleep Breathe FI
Eat Sleep Breathe FI is a self-proclaimed FIRE blog that was founded by Chrissy — a Canadian-Asian — that retired in high-cost Vancouver at the age of 42.
As expected, the mission of Eat Sleep Breathe FI blog is to help you achieve financial independence based on the experience of Chrissy.
The author has designed a comprehensive FIRE course that guides you on this important journey.
Best For Reviews & Rates
13. Reviewlution
Reviewlution is a popular personal finance blog in Canada that helps Canadians find the best services, products, and software offers in the country.
This blog specialized in providing detailed reviews of financial solutions in Canada, making it easier for you to compare and choose the best deals.
At Reviewlution, you’ll find reviews of the best financial products and services across different sectors.
Unlike other review platforms, the team at Reviewlution first tests a product or service to get firsthand experience before reviewing the product or service.
14. My Wealth Experience
My Wealth Experience is a new Canadian personal finance blog (having been launched in 2022).
Despite its recency, this blog has already captured the minds of many Canadians through its unbiased and honest reviews.
Although the blog claims to be:
an all-round personal finance blog that helps savvy Canadians get on top of their finances based on practical experiences.
But I found the blog to be more specialized in reviewing personal finance products and services. All their reviews that I read have a rating methodology that demonstrates how a particular product or service was rated.
The blog is managed by Hope M. Gabriel who holds an MBA degree with a major in financial leadership.
15. SnappyRates
If you’re looking for the best rates in Canada, SnappyRates could help you find them with ease — be it on:
- Mortgage
- Personal loans
- Credit cards
- Bank accounts
- Life insurance
- Investment platforms
The blog claims to be on a mission to provide Canadians with the “most accurate, objective reviews and comparisons” of personal finance products and services.
The SnappyRates team is made up of personal finance writers with over a decade of combined experience in testing and reviewing hundreds of Canadian financial products and services.
16. Lowest Rates
Like SnappyRates, Lowest Rates also specializes in compiling the best rates in Canada.
Lowest Rates was founded in 2012 and has since then helped over 14 million Canadians annually with over $1 billion saved in interest and fees.
Through this website, you can compare and choose from the best rates in Canada — be it on credit cards, mortgages, or insurance.
The website partners with over 50+ Canadian financial institutions, so you can be assured of comparing different options.
Honorable Mention: Financial OX
My compilation of the best personal finance blogs in Canada can’t be completed without a mention of our fast-growing blog, Financial OX — your hub for smart money moves.
Financial OX was established to fill the gap in personal finance information online. As such, we strive to distinguish ourselves as we offer you free high-quality, and reliable personal finance information.
Behind this blog is a team of well-educated individuals with professional memberships in Business, Finance, and Accounting across North America, Europe, and Africa.
Through our blog section, you will learn how to achieve your financial dream by taking a holistic approach.
This approach requires you to take care of your income, budget, debt, banking, investing, credit card, and everything that concerns your finances.
Verdict
This is by no means an exhaustive list of the best personal finance blogs in Canada for 2023. The Internet is so wide that I can’t claim to know all the blogs out there.
What I tried to do is to review my favorite personal finance blogs and describe how they can also help you achieve your financial goals.
If you think I omit other blogs that meet the RRIA rating methodology, please let me know in the comment below. I made it a duty to update this post as I come across other blogs that meet the criteria.
In conclusion, I urge you to apply your judgment when reading information online.
Don’t just read it and apply!
For a fact, no blog takes liability for the outcome of information they share with their audience. As such, it’s your responsibility to always verify, fact-check, and confirm the information before applying.
Sometimes you may need to confirm with your financial advisor before taking action from the information you get from these blogs.
Happy reading!
