In today's day and age, learning about money is more important than ever. Life isn't as simple as it once was. Getting on in our society is exceedingly complex, and topics like debt, credit, investing, and saving can confound many people.
Despite the salience of money, personal finance doesn't get nearly enough attention it deserves. Many “personal finance gurus” will say they can help you make money but are just trying to sell you a course. On the other hand, many of your peers probably know just as much about personal finance as you do.
How can you get a decent financial education, then? One place to turn to is Reddit personal finance threads and subreddits. Reddit is among the best community-based platforms and the most extensive online learning places. You can go on for anything ranging from reviews of an app to new game releases or even start your niche community.
This means that Reddit is also a treasure trove for personal finance knowledge. Not sure which personal finance subreddit is best? Don't worry! Today's post will list 8 Reddit personal finance threads that embody actual personal finance topics. Spend time on these threads to grow your money knowledge!
Before diving in, please note that you don't need to have Reddit downloaded on your phone to access these threads. You can visit them via Reddit's website! If you want to access any of the threads below, hop onto Reddit, look them up, and join (or request to join) the thread.
1. Personal Finance (r/personalfinance)
As one of the largest personal finance communities on Reddit, r/personalfinance is a goldmine of personal finance resources and the golden template by which almost every other personal finance community aspires to.
r/personalfinance is exactly what it sounds like: a mega-thread full of personal finance-related info! In r/personalfinance, you'll find stories of people who are asking for personal finance help.
People often have some money struggle they're going through, and they go to r/personalfinance to ask for advice. Others often answer helpfully and provide useful personal finance information. This is great whether you're in a similar situation, as there's always something to learn.
Quick Stats:
- Founded in 2009
- 15 million members
- Significantly well-regulated (generally no spammers)
2. Financial Planning (r/financialplanning)
As the famous quote goes: people don't plan to fail; they fail to plan. This sentiment sure applies to finances.
As the younger sibling of r/personalfinance, r/financialplanning is one of the best Reddit personal finance locations to help you plan your financial future.
You'll find tons of valuable threads related to budgeting, income, retirement planning, the internal revenue service, and more.
Quick Stats:
- Founded in 2009
- 280k members
- Lots of engagement across various financial topics
3. Financial Independence / Retire Early (r/financialindependence)
Becoming financially independent is the crux of most people's personal finance goals. This is a subreddit that can help you achieve it!
If you've ever thought about escaping the 9-5 or retiring early, this is the thread for you. In Reddit financial independence, you'll mostly find:
- People sharing their milestones toward financial independence
- People asking for advice relating to how to achieve financial independence
- Life after people become financially free, as told by those who have already achieved it
r/financialindependence is super inspiring and motivating. This is the place to go if you're looking to get a kick in the butt in the right financial direction.
Quick Stats:
- Founded in 2011
- 862k members
- It seems like lots of wealthy people are on the thread
4. Personal Finance Tools (r/PFtools)
Many people make financial decisions based on their gut, but you can use personal finance tools. Usually created by a financial technology company, these tools can assist you in your decision-making process regarding money matters. It's always a good idea to get a second opinion when dealing with something as important as your money.
In Reddit's Personal Finance Tools, you will find many intelligent people who have built fancy trackers, budgeters, and spreadsheets to help you with your finances. This thread aims to make tracking money much more accessible through automation and pre-made tools.
Mostly you'll find this type of content on PFtools:
- Tools already created that people want to share
- People requesting for a specific tool to be made
- Questions about whether any tool exists for a specific function
You'll love this thread if you're into tracking your progress or automating your finances!
Quick Stats:
- Founded in 2015
- 7.6k members
- A lot of tools (sometimes too many to navigate)
5. Frugal (r/Frugal)
If you make millions a year, you probably don't need frugality to achieve financial freedom. But for the rest of us, this thread is a proper time and money saver. In r/Frugal, you'll find everything from tips on how to save on food to clever ways that people are repurposing their home appliances.
Mostly you'll encounter the following:
- Questions about how to cut down on costs
- Comparisons of the cost of different companies/services
- People showing off their creative frugality
While r/financialindependence gives you the motivation to achieve freedom, r/Frugal gives you practical money-saving tips that you can put into action.
Quick Stats:
- Founded in 2008
- 1.7 million members
- Tons of creative findings you never knew existed
6. Investing (r/Investing)
Spending, earning, saving, and budgeting are all important aspects of personal finance, but true wealth is built through investing.
This thread is for people interested in the stock market, Bitcoin, or anything investing-related. Honestly, this one might be my favorite out of all the threads because of its gentle mix of actual content and fun memes.
You'll find some people talking about market analysis and others talking about Dogecoin. It's an excellent place for investors of all calibers to go, have fun, and learn.
Quick Stats:
- Founded in 2008
- 1.7 million members
- Lots of fun
7. Student Loans (r/StudentLoans)
Attending post-secondary can be expensive. Especially if you have to take out a student loan to do so. r/StudentLoans is dedicated to helping you figure out how much student loan debt you have and provides tips to pay off your loan.
In this thread, you'll find the following:
- People asking for student loan advice
- Milestones of people who are trying to pay off their loans
- General student personal finance stories
Quick Stats:
- Founded in 2010
- 100k members
- It goes beyond just student loans to cover a lot of other student finance questions
8. Credit Cards (r/CreditCards)
Last but not least, we have r/CreditCards. Despite seeming like a simple topic, credit cards are one of the biggest destroyers of wealth. Credit card debt has some of the highest interest rates out of all debt types, and if you don't know how to use a credit card responsibly, it will be tough to build your financial future.
This thread will cover everything from credit card comparisons to credit score checking to general credit card tips. It is highly recommended for people new to the world of credit cards or just fearful of using theirs to make purchases.
Quick Stats:
- Founded in 2008
- 299k members
- A lot of comparisons between various credit cards
9. Passive income (r/Passive_Income)
Generally speaking, there are two main types of income: active and passive. The money you receive from a 9-5 job is active income and is what most people are familiar with. However, it's hard for you to gain financial freedom just on active income alone because as soon as you stop working, the money stops coming in.
Passive income, on the other hand, supposedly keeps generating even if you aren't working (yes, even “while you sleep.”) While no income is ever truly passive (landlords, for instance, must still manage and maintain their properties), some income streams require less effort than others.
r/Passive_Income is a passive income Reddit space dedicated to providing you with passive income ideas and sharing stories of people who made real-life financial changes by building passive income streams. From commercial real estate investing to blogging, you'll find some of the best ways to build passive income on this subreddit.
Quick Stats:
- Founded in 2012
- 215k members
- Mostly passive income ideas and ways to acquire passive income in today's society.
Recap: Reddit Personal Finance
Nowadays, getting good personal finance advice is more important than ever. Budgeting, saving, getting out of debt, and achieving financial freedom are all essential aspects of life that aren't mentioned nearly enough in formal education.
Believe it or not, one great place to get some personal finance tips is Reddit! This post has covered some of the best personal finance subreddits to help inform your real-life financial decisions.
As a quick recap, they are:
- Personal Finance (r/personalfinance)
- Financial Independence/Retire Early (r/financialindependence)
- Personal Finance Tools (r/PFtools)
- Frugal (r/Frugal)
- Investing (r/Investing)
- Student Loans (r/StudentLoans)
- Credit Cards (r/CreditCards)
- Passive income (r/Passive_Income)
So there you have it. Nine subreddits that are sure to skyrocket your money knowledge and help you become financially independent. Whether you're trying to learn financial basics or get rid of your student loans, you're sure to find a thread on this list that can help. And if you can't find a thread to fulfill your needs, you can always start a new thread and build your community on Reddit!
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
Jeff is a current Harvard student and author of the blog Financial Pupil who is passionate about learning, living, and sharing all things personal finance-related. He has experience working in the financial industry and enjoys the pursuit of financial freedom. Outside of blogging, he loves to cook, read, and golf in his spare time.