The Best Financial Resources I Recommend as a Financial Planner
One of the most common questions I’m asked by clients, prospects, and friends isn’t about hot stock tips or tax avoidance strategies.
It’s this:
“Where should I go to learn more about money or personal finance?”
With endless books, podcasts, blogs, and videos available, the challenge isn’t finding financial information; it’s knowing which sources are worth your time and which apply to the stage of life you’re in.
The difficulty is that much of what you find out in the world is either too simplistic, too sales-driven, completely disconnected from the stage of life you’re in, or just categorically false.
Financial education works best when it’s from a reputable source and aligns with your season of life.
What’s helpful early in your career often isn’t what you need later on, and what works in mid-career can fall flat as you approach retirement.
With all that said, I decided to compile a list of the financial resources I most often recommend, organized by phase of life. This list of resources provides credible and evergreen financial education.
Early Career: Building the Right Habits
Early on in your career, the focus is fairly straightforward.
Build the right habits, get the basics right, and don’t overcomplicate things.
You need to build discipline! You must learn that money is simply a tool.
Deploy it correctly, and it can propel you forward like a rocket.
Use it improperly, and it can weigh you down like an anchor.
Here are the resources I recommend if you’re in your 20s and 30s:
1) Book / Podcast / Radio: Dave Ramsey
Yeah, yeah, I know, I went there. Yes, Dave Ramsey has his critics.
But what’s important is that he’s effective at helping communicate the basics.
Specifically, living on less than you make and being very wary of taking on debt.
He helps to drive home the right behavior and places a strong emphasis on budgeting, having an emergency fund, debt reduction, and behavioral discipline. While his investing guidance can be overly rigid later in life, his core principles are effective early on.
Ramsey Solutions - Site
The Ramsey Show - YouTube Channel
Dave Ramsey: The Total Money Makeover - Book
2) YouTube / Podcast: The Money Guy Show
Another excellent resource at this stage is “The Money Guy Show”.
The Money Guy hosts (Brian and Bo) are independent financial advisors based out of Tennessee who do a wonderful job with their free education offering on YouTube.
They blend behavioral finance with math-based decision-making and introduce concepts like compounding growth using the phrase “Wealth Multiplier” and “FOO” (Financial Order of Operations), which is a sequential decision-making framework for where you should put your next dollar.
All-in-all, they do a fantastic job of mass educating America to make smarter money decisions, especially for those in the early and mid stages of their career.
The Money Guy Show - YouTube Channel
The Money Guy Show - Site
Mid-Career and Late Career: Taking Things a Step Further
As income grows and life becomes more complex, financial questions evolve.
This phase is less about “what should I do first?” and more about “what should I do next?”
Career growth, family responsibilities, real estate decisions, equity compensation, tax planning, and competing priorities all begin to intersect.
1) YouTube / Podcast: The Money Guy Show
The Money Guy Show remains a valuable resource in this phase, particularly for its discussions around tax-efficient investing, balancing pre-tax versus Roth savings, and making intentional tradeoffs between lifestyle and long-term goals.
See above for resource links!
2) Blog: Kitces.com
For those who want to go deeper, the Kitces blog is one of the best long-form financial planning resources available. This works in both the mid-late career section as well as the retirement section.
For what it’s worth, the site is primarily used by financial advisors, including myself, who find the material incredibly thorough and engaging.
So you can be sure that it’s a fantastic place to learn!
The Kitces team covers topics like tax strategy, investment decision-making, portfolio construction, retirement income planning, tax planning strategies, cash-flow planning, and common financial planning mistakes, often backed by research and real-world application.
This is especially helpful for people who are starting to realize that financial decisions don’t live in silos and that timing and coordination matter.
Kitces Nerd’s Eye View - Blog
3) Book: The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
This is often regarded as one of the best money books written this century.. and it doesn’t have much to do with the money itself! Its focus is much more on the intangibles (as the name implies). How we feel about money, what our money experiences have been, and how that shapes the decisions we make with it.
Really a must-read for all ages, but especially at this stage in one’s financial journey.
Morgan Housel’s “The Psychology of Money” - Book
Retirement: No More Messing Around!
In my very humble opinion, retirement is where financial education needs to change the most, and where much of the available content falls short.
Much of the financial content aimed at retirees is either overly simplistic or quietly sales-driven, pushing products instead of clarity.
Also, at this stage of life, the questions are no longer about how much and where to save; they’re about how to turn what you’ve already built into a life you actually want to live, while navigating income timing, taxes, and uncertainty.
1) Blog: Charles Petitjean, CFP® - Retirement Planner
Are you really THAT surprised to find me here?
“But, Charles, you put yourself at #1, how egotistical!”
Ok, maybe… but I’m actually very confident in the retirement planning education that I provide throughout my blog and greater content. I think it’s really good and I think you will too!
Whether it’s retirement income planning, tax-efficient withdrawal strategies, retirement tax planning, spending confidence, or the emotional side of transitioning from saving to spending, I cover a lot!
You’re already here! Please look at my blog for helpful retirement education.
Also, you may sign up for my informative newsletter here.
2) Blog/ YouTube: Retirement Planning Education by Andy Panko, CFP®, RICP®, TPCP®, EA
Andy is a fellow CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional who focuses heavily on the education side of retirement planning.
His content is practical, thoughtful, and grounded in real-world planning scenarios, covering topics like retirement income decisions, tax considerations, and how different choices interact over time. It’s a strong resource for retirees who want to better understand the “why” behind planning decisions without being sold a product.
Retirement Planning Education - Blog
Retirement Planning Education - YouTube
3) Podcast / Book: Retirement Starts Today Radio by Benjamin Brandt, CFP®
Benjamin (also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional) has a great podcast and companion book that do an excellent job breaking down how retirement income actually works and how different decisions interact over time. It’s practical, accessible, and grounded in real-world planning.
Retirement Starts Today Radio - Podcast
Retirement Starts Today - Book
4) Community / Search for Purpose: Modern Elder Academy
Last but certainly not least, I wanted to include a resource on the non-financial side of retirement.
And in this category, Modern Elder Academy stands out.
Retirement is as much an identity shift as a financial one, and this platform explores purpose, reinvention, and meaning in the second half of life in a thoughtful and grounded way.
They offer workshops virtually and in-person to help you find your next calling in life so that you can feel energized about the next chapter of life!
Modern Elder Academy - Site
A Final Thought on Financial Education
The fact of the matter is that there isn’t a true replacement for sitting down with a credentialed financial planner and talking through your specific situation when questions or complexity arise.
Personalized advice matters, especially as life, income, and priorities change.
That said, there are a lot of excellent, free resources available today that can meaningfully enhance your financial knowledge and help you become a more informed, confident decision-maker. When used the right way, education and professional guidance aren’t substitutes for one another; they work best together.
Happy reading, watching, and/or listening!
Have any questions about what you’ve read? Let’s talk about them!
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