Following blogs is one of the most inspiring things that I’ve ever gotten obsessed with (the list is long, trust me). Not only do you get a glimpse into someone else’s style, opinions, and preferences – you get a direct peek into someone else’s stream of consciousness! You get to look into someone else’s life and imagine what the world is like as someone else.

These days, keeping up with blogs is getting more and more overwhelming – why? Maybe because there are three million new blogs every month, as of this month, and are more than 181 million online already.

Lady Fashion Blogger

( source )

Well, the I am a blog hoarder. I read so many blogs, you guys – it’s a bit insane. I first started keeping track of blogs in 2006 with Google Reader. Bless you, Google Reader! You housed my hundreds of blog feeds for so long, and despite the fact that I refused to get rid of them, it always encouraged me to find more. I love you, Google Reader.

Which is why I’m so sad to say goodbye, Google Reader. Yes, as of July 15th, Google Reader will be no more. Tragedy! 

Fortunately, there are not only alternative services available right now, but there are even a couple that will salvage your Google Reader feeds and import them – that’s a whole lot of not re-adding them all individually.

Switch over to one of these great feed readers before Google Reader disappears!

(Free!) Google Reader Alternatives

Feedly: This was my choice for The Big Switch! I got on board because it automatically imported all of my feeds from my Google Reader account (even the categories!) and placed them into the most beautiful, minimalist, and easy-to-navigate web app – and phone app! Love it all. You can also pin any image right from your feed reader!

Bloglovin’: Many of you probably already use this – it’s a fabulous web-based application that lets you scan through your favorite blogs, and when you want to read one in full, click through and there’s a handy Bloglovin’ toolbar that allows you to simply click “next” to see the next item in your reader – even if it’s on another blog! It’s also much easier to make comments using Bloglovin’ because it takes you to each blog’s original website instead of displaying the post in a reader app like Google Reader.

The Old Reader: This service has been around for a while and is a pretty top dog when it comes to feed readers. Bloglines will also let you import your blog feeds from Google Reader, and displays them in a very simple layout via their web app. This is great for people who really liked the layout of Google Reader!

How to subscribe to Broke & Beautiful!

Broke & Beautiful business card

Maybe you’re an old friend, a longtime reader (or both – as is quite often the case!), or maybe you just found me today and I maybe haven’t offended your sensibilities – welcome! It’s a pleasure to meet you.

If you’d like to follow along, I can promise you unbeatable deals, unsolicited opinions on pop culture, and the occasional giveaway! It’ll be worth your while, and if that means I need to pop out of your birthday cake at some point in the next ten years – I’m ready, and I have a playlist for that.

Follow along on Facebook for the maximum B&B experience. All of the posts and many of my favorite web-found images show up on our Facebook feed, as well as the 5,000 questions I have for the world on a daily basis. (Like “Do you moisturize your legs?” because I seriously don’t know how to do things sometimes, not gonna lie.)

Following Broke & Beautiful on Twitter means you get an unfiltered account of fashion musings, new favorite songs, more unsolicited opinions, and Instagram spam! (Beware the occasional ethics-focused rant…)

Follow us on Bloglovin’! If you need reasons, scroll up! Bloglovin’ is a super cool way to keep up on your favorite blargs.

A regular RSS feed will go into any feed reader – no matter which site!

Tumblr is one of my main sources of inspiration. A never-ending supply of awesome!

As a resident of The Internet, you can also find me and B&B in several other places, including Pinterest, Instagram, and blah blah other stuff. It’s the internet, people are everywhere whether they like it or not. FUN TIMES!

So there you have it – now go read blogs! Support your local blogger. (Or not local because that it’s kinda the point and all.)

Probably watching Netflix.