The readers and followers of this website know that I am a passionate reader and unless I work, cook, clean the house, spend time with my kids or my husband – I read.
Yes, I confess voluntarily that I have my nose stuck in the books more than I probably should.
Last year, I even wrote an article about it on my web to give you some rest from IFRS and to share my favorite books with you.
Many of my readers and subscribers were so nice and they shared their own favorite books with us in the comments below the article – I read some of them, too!
You can read the article here: CPDbox recommends: Why and what to read
Another year passed and I’ve read another 100 books.
However, this time, I’m not going to recommend any books to you.
Instead, I’d like to share my favourite online sources of a great read.
There are many bloggers freely sharing their views, knowledge and ideas out there.
These blogs deeply influenced the way I look at the world, do my business, grow up my kids, eat and many different things.
Let me share just a few with you today.
Note: I have NO financial gain from recommending these blogs. Nil. I do it because I genuinely think they are great and can help you somehow. If you want to pay it back, please add a comment below this article and recommend your own favourite blog. Thanks!
#1 My favorite IFRS resources
If you expect that I reveal some secret super-powerful IFRS website here, I think I’m going to disappoint you.
I regularly follow the official website of the IFRS Foundation to stay updated in new IFRS developments. I read their press releases and also, they have a good section where you can download the official texts of all standards.
Apart from this website, I occasionally read IFRS sites published by Big 4. Sometimes, they issue good industry guides, IFRS insights and their views related to new standards.
However, when it comes to IFRS, surprisingly I prefer books over Internet.
The reason is that books are very deep and analytic and they cover all areas in a great detail, whereas Internet websites provide short “managerial” overviews in most cases (except for CPDbox, of course!!!)
In my article “Why and what to read”, you’ll find my absolutely favorite IFRS books, too. It hasn’t changed during the past year!
#2 Mr. Money Mustache – Early Retirement Through Badassity
We need money for life.
Unless you live as a self-sufficient caveman, you need money to eat, live, dress up, entertain yourself, etc.
If money is so important for our lives, why no one teaches our kids at school HOW to deal with it?
Why are so many people broke, indebted, financially completely uneducated and have troubles to make and stick with their own budgets?
Mr. Money Mustache shows you all of it.
It is a 40+ old Canadian guy living in the U.S., who stopped working in a full-time job and retired in his 30ties thanks to his financial wisdom.
His blog is full of amazing information on how to invest to secure yourself, how to live on low budget and even what to teach your kids about money.
It is NOT telling you to put all your pennies to some stocking or underneath your pillow and save every penny that you can + not enjoy anything.
It just teaches you to be financially wise and independent.
I took his advice about teaching my kids about money, too. Currently, my son is 10 years old and he has already had a “fake bank account” (I am the banker).
All his pocket money is deposited on this account. If he wants something to buy, he can withdraw the money, but then he does not earn any interest. It is gone forever if spent.
Thus my son, at the age of 10, starts to understand that everything has its value, you need to work for it and you always have the choice to spend vs. invest.
Later, the lessons about investing and debt will follow.
So if you have your own kids or you want to learn about money yourself, I strongly recommend Mr. Money Mustache.
And, I am sure that despite he currently lives in the USA and you probably don’t, many of his teachings are applicable in any country.
Check his blog here: Mr. Money Mustache
#3 zen habits: breathe
It is a blog founded by Mr. Leo Babauta, the father of 6 (six) kids living in California.
Leo’s articles are full of mindfulness, slowing down, enjoying a moment and accepting the things that you cannot change.
It is about clearing the clutter and removing it from your life so that you can be happy, focused on the important things and to create something amazing.
Leo will show you the way to cope with any difficult situation, how to develop discipline and strong will, how to stay focused on the important things and leave out the rest.
But, don’t just expect some philosophical theories.
Leo will show you how he actually applies his new zen habits in his daily life.
He often writes about his wife, his kids, his friends, work and travels.
He explains how to live frugally, happy, without any debt, how to eat healthy and stay healthy and how to be a good parent to your kids.
Check it out here: zen habits: breathe
#4 Marie Forleo – “The world needs that special gift that only YOU have”
I know, I know. There are hundreds of blogs teaching you the same.
I even read that people teaching others to make money online are the ones earning the biggest money online.
Nevertheless, Marie’s blog was one of these things that gave me motivation and inspiration to develop my website and help people.
She inspired me with her weekly videos published on YouTube where she interviews some interesting people, advises how to deal with difficulties (especially difficult people) and guides you in today’s business.
What’s more important – she is a woman and I’m a woman, too (in case you didn’t notice).
I could totally relate to her and therefore, I trusted her.
I learned from her that if you would do the right things and you put helping others among your top priorities, you could be successful.
Therefore, the success itself is NOT the main goal – instead, it is to HELP YOU and to make the world better.
Check it out here: Marie Forleo
Other blogs that I read
Here’s the short list of other interesting people and topics to read:
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Steve Pavlina
But, he changed his thinking and over time, he became one of the most successful personal development bloggers in the world.
His experiments are very famous, just to name a few (note – some of them are VERY old – from 2005):
- 40 days of water fasting (Steve experiments with skipping the food for 40 days, only drinking water – what health benefits does that have?)
- 30 days on polyphasic sleep (how to sleep 2 hours per day – that’s insanely breathtaking to read!)
- 30 days on raw food (Have you ever tried eating just fresh fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds? Steve explains how he felt and what impact it had on his body)
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Quora
It is a “question-and-answer” site where users ask questions and other users respond.
You can ask any question that you want and indeed, reading some answers enhanced my knowledge a lot.
Example of questions:- Why is belly fat so hard to lose in adults?
- What are 5 lessons people most often learn too late in their lives?
- How should I talk to people when I have nothing to say?
- What are the best tips and tricks for changing baby’s diaper?
- Which chocolate brand is considered the most premium in the world?
- What is a fun psychological trick to try on someone?
- What is the best French fries recipe?
- What are your top 5 travel hacks?
- What is the healthiest and cheapest food to eat daily?
- Do rude people succeed in life?
Didn’t you find your question? Hop on Quora and ask!
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One Green Planet
We should behave ecologically and make wise choices related to our food, the transportation, animal treatment, waste disposal and other related matters.
As I consider myself “conscious eater”, I love One Green Planet exactly for tons of great vegan recipes and inspirations.
No, don’t get me wrong – currently I am not vegan, but I make wise choices of what I eat and feed my family.
Also, as a mum of 3 kids, I really love making crazy toys out of waste, like cardboard robots, decorations from old CDs or drums from my old IFRS books (ehm, yes, I buy new updated books each year and this is a fun way to get rid of old editions).
There’s a lot of inspiration there!
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Pinterest
I felt I needed to take some rest from my work and reading, so I wanted to come back to my old hobby – embroidery.
Pinterest was a great source of ideas and patterns for my cross-stitching. Wow!
Also, our family found a lot of useful ideas for our DYI (do-it-yourself) projects. We simply love to “upcycle”, or recycle used things and materials and create something new.
Believe me, it’s a lot of FUN with kids, plus you can save some money for one-purpose toys that dominate today’s stores.
Besides embroidery patterns and DYI ideas, I found a lot of great inspiration related to gardening, clothing, make-up, recipes – just name it!
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Other local websites
Of course, I do read the websites in my native language (Slovak) and they mostly relate to:
- Travelling tips in my region
- Parenting discussions and tips
- Second-hand and bargain buys and sells
- Gardening forums
What about you?
Please, if you do have some favourite blog that you read, just share it with us in the comments below this article.
I would really love to know more and it can be about any topic.
Thanks a ton in advance!
(I promise that the next article will be IFRS related)