Financial Panther

Financial Independence, Side Hustling, and Ebikes

personal finance blogs

Introducing PersonalFinanceBlogs.com – A New Content Curation Site

Last Updated on 10 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links.Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

Sometime not too long ago, Rockstar Finance, one of my favorite personal finance websites, went dormant. This was a pretty big bummer because of how important the site was not only to myself but to the entire personal finance community as well.

The premise behind Rockstar Finance was pretty simple. Each day, they featured three new blog posts written by different personal finance bloggers. For a long time, Rockstar Finance served as a really good content curation source, providing a single spot where you could find interesting new articles from a variety of different people. For years, I would start out each morning by logging into Rockstar Finance and checking out the articles that were featured for the day. 

What made Rockstar Finance work so well was its simplicity. It didn’t have a lot of pictures or text – mainly just a plain white page with links to featured posts. This made it so that you could easily go to the website, see what was featured for the day, and get to the different posts without having to click through a lot of pages. There wasn’t any self-promotion. There was no original content for a long time. And there were very few ads – if I recall, it was just a banner ad and maybe a few other ads scattered throughout. 

This simplicity belied Rockstar Finance’s true purpose. It wasn’t made to promote itself. Rather, it was created to promote everyone else in the personal finance community. And indeed, this is probably what made the blogging community love Rockstar Finance so much – it had a real emphasis on helping others get seen, with no strings attached. Even better, Rockstar Finance seemed to do a good job of helping newer bloggers get found, as it didn’t always feature the same big bloggers.

I remember the first time I got featured on Rockstar Finance. My blog was just a few months old, and at the time, I was only getting a few visitors per day. When you’re a new blogger, it can often feel like you’re writing into the ether. But if you got featured on Rockstar Finance, you’d get thousands of visitors to your site over the course of a few days. When I got featured on Rockstar Finance, for the first time, it felt like people were actually reading what I was writing.

Unfortunately, Rockstar Finance went through a few ownership changes that ultimately led to a decline in quality and to its now-dormant state. The site got to be a little bit too cluttered, with too much stuff going on. Eventually, I stopped checking it simply because it felt like the site had strayed too far from its origins.

It’s really a shame to see Rockstar Finance fall like this. And at this point, I don’t think it’s possible for it to come back. 

But what if we could recreate what Rockstar Finance was all about? That’s what I wanted to try to do. 

Creating A New Rockstar Finance

Sometime last year, my friend Erik from The Mastermind Within started up his own content curation site that he called Daily Finance Blogs. It was basically an aggregator site that allowed visitors to see all of the latest posts written by people in the personal finance community. His goal was to create a central place where people could find the latest blog posts from a lot of different bloggers.  

Several months ago, the two of us got to talking about the steady decline we’d seen in Rockstar Finance. It occurred to us that maybe we could create a new version of Rockstar Finance, one that would try to go back to the roots of what made Rockstar Finance work so well – a simple website featuring interesting posts from different people in the personal finance community. 

And so, we got to work. Initially, the plan was to try to expand on what Erik had created with Daily Finance Blogs. However, an opportunity came up to buy a new domain name that we thought was simple and made it clear what the website was about.

After many weeks of work throughout the summer, we finally got it set up. We set up our site at www.PersonalFinanceBlogs.com. We called it PFB for short. 

personal finance blogs
A screenshot of the top page of the homepage.

Room For Plenty Of Curation Sites 

Our site wasn’t the first content curation site to pop up after Rockstar Finance’s downfall. In fact, as we got the ball rolling on our project, a couple of new sites popped up that were doing what we had hoped to do.

First, we found out that our friend Zach over at Four Pillar Freedom had converted his site, Collecting Wisdom, into a site similar to what we wanted to do – a simple website featuring three daily posts from the personal finance community.

Then we found out that JD Roth and Jim Wang had started up their own site, Apex Money, which also provided daily curated content from around the web. 

I think both sites are amazing and after discovering them, we worried about what this would mean for our project that we’d been working so hard on. Were we just too slow to the party? 

But as we thought about it more, we remembered what made the personal finance community so great. One of the great things about the personal finance community is that even with so many bloggers and content creators out there, we’ve never viewed each other as competitors. They say a rising tide lifts all boats and I think that’s how a lot of us in the personal finance community think. If we all do well, we all rise. Indeed, I think Rockstar Finance was built on that very principle of working together. 

And with literally hundreds, if not thousands, of blogs out there, there’s room for multiple curation websites to help people get discovered and find new content to read. We all have different points of view, so with multiple sites looking for new posts to feature, hopefully even more people will find their content reaching more and more people!

What To Expect From PersonalFinanceBlogs.com 

So, here’s what you can expect from Personal Finance Blogs (or PFB, for short). There will be two main features:

  1. Daily Features. Monday through Friday, we’ll feature three articles at the top of the front page. These articles are ones that we find ourselves from scouring the web or that are submitted to us and that we think are worth sharing. We’re going to aim for more recent content. And any featured posts will remain on the site so that people can find them in the future.
  2. Personal Finance Blog Feed. Erik made a really good feed that aggregates all of the daily posts from hundreds of different personal finance blogs. He spent a lot of time trying to make this feed as visually appealing and simple as possible. I think this is a great place for readers to find the latest content out there. You can check out the feeds here. And if we missed your blog and you want it featured in the feed, just hit us up. 

Our goal is to keep the site as simple and visually appealing as possible. You won’t have to click through a lot of pages to find good content. Ideally, if we feature a blogger, we’ll do our best not to feature that blogger again for at least a little bit. This is a bit of a fluid concept, but the general idea is to get as many different blog posts from as many different bloggers and points of view as we can.

I don’t expect to replace what Rockstar Finance did for this community – they started something that can never be fully replicated. But I think a combination of curation from sites like ours, Collecting Wisdom, and Apex Money is a good start. Our friend Michelle over at Frugality and Freedom also put together a great post: Get Your Regular Dose of Finance Posts: A Curated List of Curated Lists. Her post lists all of the bloggers and websites out there curating lists of interesting personal finance posts. It’s definitely worth checking out.

If you’re looking for content to read, we’d definitely appreciate if you’d check out Personal Finance Blogs. From there, you can submit any posts you think are worth sharing. Be sure to also check out the Personal Finance Blogs Feed, where you can see all of the latest posts from the personal finance community. Please also follow us on Twitter. 

This is a big project and we really hope that it benefits the community. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please feel free to reach out to me or drop a comment down below. We’re really excited to share Personal Finance Blogs with the world and really hope it benefits people.

More Recommended Ebike/Scooters

Check out these other ebikes/scooters I've had the chance to do a review for:

  • GEN3 Outcross Bike – The GEN3 Outcross is a solid, affordable fat tire ebike that does a good job of doing what I need it to do. It works great for city riding, giving me a smooth ride in all conditions. It’s works really well as a winter ebike since the fat tires give it good traction over snow and ice. Check out my GEN3 Outcross Review.
  • Himiway Escape Bike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
  • Espin Sport Bike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
  • Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
  • Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.

More Recommended Investing App Bonuses

For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:

  • M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
  • SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
  • Moomoo (15 free stocks, $100 cash reward, 1 stock of Tesla or Google) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 3 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
  • Webull (24 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 24 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
  • Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
  • Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.

Recommended Bank Account Bonuses

If you’re looking for easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.

  • GO2Bank ($100) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $100 referral bonus.
  • Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
  • US Bank Business ($750) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
  • SoFi Money ($275) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $250 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
  • Fifth Third Bank ($225) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina. If you don’t live in one of those states, you won’t be able to open an account online but you can still open an account in-branch if you happen to be visiting a city that has a branch. This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, especially since there are plenty of data points showing what will trigger the direct deposit requirement. In addition, you can open the Fifth Third Momentum Checking bank account, which comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. Read my guide on this bonus here.
  • Fairwinds Credit Union ($100) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
  • Netspend ($40 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $40 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $40 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.
  • Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link.Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
  • Digital Federal Credit Union ($20) – Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a saving account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000. Check out my in-depth post on how to set this account up.
  • Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
  • Varo ($35) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $35 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
financial panther

Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.

Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.

Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:

  • SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $250 if you complete a direct deposit.
  • US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $750 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
  • M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
  • DCU. Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a savings account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000.
  • Personal Capital. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.

Feel free to send Kevin a message here.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Chrissy @ Eat Sleep Breathe FI says

    Hooray! I’m excited to check out Personal Finance Blogs. Nice work Kevin and Erik.

    I also just have to say this: WTF happened to Rockstar?!! Why did the new owner buy it only to ditch it? I’m sure it wasn’t cheap to buy. So perplexing.

    Reply

  2. Michelle @ Frugality and Freedom says

    Thanks for the mention! I love your point that, “Even with so many bloggers and content creators out there, we’ve never viewed each other as competitors. They say a rising tide lifts all boats and I think that’s how a lot of us in the personal finance community think.”

    Well put! Not competitors, but complementary. I have felt like this community is very welcoming and supportive, especially amongst the financial independence / retire early content creators. Perhaps the abundance mindset associated with their money is what is flowing through?

    Anyway, congratulations on the launch of this new project and I look forward to the daily emails!

    Reply

  3. Christine says

    I am thrilled and can’t wait to see your new site, Kevin! Love the idea of aggregated articles and thank you for sharing other similar sites.

    Reply

  4. Laura says

    Congratulations on this new venture! I look forward to checking out this new site and learning from the great content you will be curating.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Financial Panther © 2023 All rights reserved.