My Favorite Financial Apps, Services, Books & More
What’s up, money nerds! I figured it was about time I created a page with all the products & services I love and use on a daily basis in hopes that it helps y’all out. I always get asked what kind of books I recommend, or services I use for banking or investing, or even blogging, so now all your burning questions shall be answered in one awesomely updated spot :) Hope it’s useful!
My Favorite Financial Stuff:
We’ll start out with my favorite bank and apps, then work our way down to some budgeting and blogging services, and of course my favorite financial books too. And as you’ll notice – a lot of these services implement *automation* which is the key to banking that $$$!
Here we go!
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USAA Bank — My favorite financial institution ever. I love their products, I love their customer service (always highly rated), and I love how they provide anything financial I need. With over 10 accounts signed up to them myself, it’s a safe bet I’m never leaving :) |
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Mint.com (FREE) — If you’re new to tracking your money, Mint is a great place to start. They automate all your accounts so you can see where your money is at all times, and they help you to budget and track your net worth as well. |
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Personal Capital (FREE) — If you’re looking for a more robust financial tracker, Personal Capital is the way to go. They’re like Mint but on steroids, and have much better tools for investment and net worth tracking. Most personal finance bloggers love and use them since they automatically give you a snapshot of where all your money is along with super helpful graphs. Check out our review here. |
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Digit (FREE) — This service has exploded on the scene and automatically helps you save money without lifting a finger. I was hooked from the second I tried them and have since saved over $4,000 so far, averaging about $200/mo. Highly recommend if you suck at saving! My full review on Digit here. |
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Acorns — Having trouble finding money to invest? Check out Acorns – they round up all your transactions to the nearest $1.00 and drops the difference into an investment portfolio for you. You sign up and connect your accounts once and it’ll do the rest! They’ve invested over $400 for me so far, and my full review of them can be found here. |
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Honey (FREE) — This is by far my favorite coupon service. Any time I’m about to check out and buy something online, I click the Honey button and it scours the ‘net for all coupons and applies the *best* one to save me the most money. It literally takes seconds and I never have to Google search anymore :) You can see my write up of them here. |
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Paribus (FREE) — You know how sometimes you buy stuff, and then 3 seconds later you find it cheaper elsewhere? Or you forgot a coupon or companies play the “price drop” game on you since they know your profile? Well Paribus fixes that :) You sign up to them once, and they’ll go out and get your money back for you. See our full review here. |
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Credit Karma (FREE) — The best place to check and monitor both your credit score AND credit report. Super easy to stay on top of it all, and plenty of calculators and simulators to help you get your score higher over time. You can see my full review here. |
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I Will Teach You To Be Rich — Hands down the BEST book out there for the younger generation. It’s funny, educational, and just downright FUN to read. And a super easy one at that – which anyone with A.D.D. like me can appreciate ;) If I were to write a book, I’d imagine it would look a lot like this. (Ramit’s also a PF blogger) |
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The Millionaire Next Door — One of my all-time favorite books. A bit dry & statistical at times, but the first book that really opened my eyes and got the “lifestyle” part to sink in. The average millionaire isn’t what you typically expect (in fact, they’re quite the opposite), so if you like that kinda stuff, I def. recommend paging through it. Ya gotta have the mindset if you want millions! |
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The Automatic Millionaire — This is my 3rd favorite financial book, and one I refused to read for quite some time. Just seemed too fluffy and so “look how easy it is to do!” kinda thing. But after being bored one day and sucking it up, I was VERY glad I did :) It’s kinda basic and on the lighter side, but if you’re one who needs someone to tell you in detail what to do – and you listen! – you’d be on the fast track to wealth in no time. Great book for any beginner. |
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The Richest Man in Babylon — Oh baby, a classic! This thing was written in like the 1920’s or so, and have sold in the MILLIONS so far – pretty crazy. Well, not crazy cuz it’s a GREAT book, but you know what I’m saying… This is another quick read and really differentiates itself by teaching financial principals through story telling (like fable stuff). Takes place thousands of years ago way before the World Wide Web and/or Mr. Dave Ramsey ;)
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Kiplinger and Money — My two favorite financial magazines! If you’re one to learn a lot better in shorter spurts of information like I am, any of these guys will do the trick. I’m honestly subscribed to both of them PLUS 8 others (I’m a magazine addict) and they’re great reminders to stay on track and get motivated! |
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Outright ($9.99/mo)– This is the service I use to track all my *business* money. Similar to Mint and Personal Capital, they make accounting for income and expenses super easy and simple. I really can’t tell you how much time (and stress) they’ve saved me over the years – I’m even on their testimonial page! :) |
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eHealth Insurance — Many of you probably get health insurance through your employer, but if you’re ridin’ solo like yours truly, I’d recommend giving eHealth a shot first when looking to pick some up on your own. When I blogged about needing to get some (and not knowing *where* the heck to start), a handful of people raved about them and said it’s where they got their insurance too. So I gave them a try and 30 mins later I was all set! They’re like an insurance aggregator, and I ended up choosing BCBS through them – cool stuff. |
Blogging Products I Swear By:
I use all of these guys for BudgetsAreSexy, as well as other online projects I work on. Big fan of them and have never had a problem yet…
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WordPress — The ultimate (and free!) blogging platform. It’s the best in usability, the best for tweaking and updating designs and templates, and the best in SEO and other related back-end stuff that you’ll come to learn and like as your blog gets bigger :) I left Blogger.com for WordPress and have never looked back! (PS: There’s also a WordPress.com, instead of .org, which is perfect for beginners too) |
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Thesis Theme — This is the template I use for the look and feel of BudgetsAreSexy. It’s a bit more costlier ($200ish?) than other templates out there – esp the free ones WordPress offers! Haha… – but it’s CRAZY tweakable and you’d be amazed at the sites you visit that also use Thesis in the back end :) Another thing I love about it is how well it’s set up for SEO – very important when your blog becomes your business. |
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Go Daddy — I’ve been using these guys for over 15 years now and have yet to experience a problem with them. I know some people hate their CEO, but it’s hard to deny how reliable and awesome their services are – esp. when it comes to domain names (I have all 20+ of my urls with them). I’ve also used their hosting for most of my sites too – a super easy company to get your blog or site up and running. |
The 2nd Best Money Blog Out There ;)
Being in the blogging game for over 7 years, I come across a LOT of articles about money. Most of them are alright, but “alright” isn’t that exciting or motivational at the end of the day. So the goal of this site is simple: I only feature the AWESOME articles on it :) Every day I scan 100-200 articles and feature the best ones I find in hopes they motivate and inspire you. The “rockstar” content, if you will. It’s also a great place to find other kick-ass blogs to read after you’re done with mine ;)
You can check out the site here: RockstarFinance.com.
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*Some of the products above I get paid for if you sign up, and others I don’t. But know I only promote those I truly believe in, so I have no problem pimping ’em out!
{ 44 comments… read them below or add one }
Excellent Directory.
I will dare to add a securities broker, I guess you use USAA for that?
I’m also a fan of Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover and YNAB budget software.
@Irving – Ooooh, good call! Yes, I do use USAA cuz I love having everything in one spot like that, BUT if I weren’t with them then I’d totally be with E*Trade. I have a soft spot for them having worked there many many years ago, and even then their stuff was top of the line. I can’t even imagine how awesome it is now! So thanks for the tip – I’ll go and add them up now :)
@Christina Owen – Yes, both very awesome products too! I’ve never peaked into either of them, but I know they both have some pretty hardcore fans :) Maybe I’ll add a “Products other people recommend” section at the end? Thanks for the tips.
Awesome set of resources here, J$. I recently found Outright and I agree, it’s excellent software for business accounting.
I love Mint, my only vice is that I can’t integrate my Ontario student loan with it–the work around is super lame!
Since conquering my student debt is like the magnum opus of my financial life, this is a deal breaker!
I’ll second YNAB. We’ve only been using it a month, but it’s totally changed the way we budget.
@Carrie – Careful Cents – Glad you like it too! It’s my new best friend right now, I can’t even say how much happiness it’s brought in my life so far, haha…
@Frugal Fries – Ahhh, good to know! I wonder if it’s just a matter of time until that one’s approved like the rest too? Or if it’s a lost cause? Either way sorry to hear :(
@Ryan – Yeah? I think they have some hardcore fans… maybe I’ll poke around it more and consider adding it up if I fall for them. Thx for the info :)
Surprised you didn’t add Rich Dad/Poor Dad — that and the Millionaire Next Door seem to be the only two poles that all personal finance orbit around (the world boils down to either “save a lot and amass decent wealth by the time you die” or “develop other income streams that don’t require your time and effort”).
More practically, I just did a 401k rollover through a site I read about on another blog — FiPath.com. I thought that their comparison tool was awesome, and I ended up moving my 401k to Zecco and saving a ton–a firm I didn’t even know about until using the FiPath tool. Worth taking a look at if you haven’t done so already.
I think YNAB has a 30 or more day free trial if you want to check it out.
@J – Yeah, indeed! Before, we didn’t have a budget (fo’ shame), unless you consider flying by the seat of your pants and hopefully the timing of paychecks works out well “a budget”.
So after researching, (I actually found the YNAB link here on B.A.$.) the one month buffer idea is what really sold me. How cool is it to have all the money you need to pay your bills the month before they are due?
You truly don’t need the software to do this method (it does make it much easier to track), but the YNAB folks have a free pdf book on their site that explains how the process works. So if you’re good at excel you could probably whip out your own template.
@Rick – HAH! Rich Dad Poor Dad was actually the very first book I read on business/money yearrrrrrs ago before I even knew what blogging was :) I actually did enjoy it, but I remember not knowing exactly what to do next? And then of course it was all on real estate and we know what happened there, so it would be interesting to go back and read it again with a fresh perspective… but prob. still won’t add it up here ;)
RE: FiPath — Yeah! Great team over there too – I actually talked w/ one of their biz guys a couple of weeks ago, very friendly and seem to really have a good product there. They’re pretty unique in what they’re doing, and they’ve spent a TON of time researching and making sure they have a quality product. I bet they’re very successful and help a lot of people – glad you got something out of it!
@Christina Owen – For sure, I’ll have to do that :) Probably got a lot better since I first heard of them 3+ years ago too.
@Ryan – Hah! Isn’t that funny – I do remember linking to them a while back (maybe in my budget spreadsheets page?) so that’s awesome you found them and even better you like ’em! Glad you’re up and rollin’ now bro!
Great list…thanks! I agree with the list completely but with extra emphasis on how amazing USAA is. The customer service is stupid awesome and I try to find excuses to call them to talk about my finances. Its like a financial therapy session and its hard not to feel great afterward. The only thing they don’t absolutely kick butt at is there stock trading setup. It’s gotten better over the last couple years but I bet they could really rock like etrade if they wanted to.
Thanks again for the list and keep the great posts comin’!
These are great recommendations and a great idea to show us a glimpse behind the BudgetsAreSexy curtain how you make the empire run. Thanks to you….I tried out Outright. Awesome service! I’m definitely digging it! Thanks!
@Captain Mike – Glad you enjoy them! Loving your use of adjectives too, haha… USAA *is* pretty stupid awesome ;) Damn glad they’re around for us.
@Hank – AWESOME!! I’m so glad, bro! I check Outright like twice a week now and it’s soooo easy to stay on top of and just SEE where all your money is coming and going. Which is great when you have all kinds of expenses and revenues streaming in from online projects – it was getting hard as hell for me to track, haha… let me know what you think about their weekly reports they email too – I love ’em. They’ll tell tell you how much you’ve earned (or gone down!) on a weekly basis – pretty motivating either way ;)
Hmmm I’ve been thinking about some kind of PF book to get started with.. I Will Teach You to Be Rich #1 eh? Might have to get it a shot.
hey quick question on wordpress, what offline software do you use that’s compatible with wordpress, if any? You know, if the internet is down for 2 seconds, I melt if I can’t work on my blog.
Thx JM
@Tyler S. – Go for it! It’s pretty entertaining too :)
@Kathryn C – Haha… I actually don’t use any offline software w/ Wordpress that I know of anyways. If my internet is down, I just write everything up in Word or do my 1001 emails/etc until it’s back up again. Or I hit up my iPhone ;) If you wanna shoot over specific stuff you think would be helpful, I can ask around and see if I can find and answer for you? And you hitting up FINCON 2 in Denver by chance? Hope so! :)
50+ URLs!? What do you use all of those for?
Some of them are other sites I own and manage, others are 50% completed and waiting for me to do something on, and then the rest are ideas I have brewing 24/7 ;) It’s an expensive hobby to stay on top of, but ya never know which will take off an more than make up for it all, eh?
I read the millionaire next door and I will teach you to be rich. Thank you for the recommendations!
I loved the millionaire next door it is truly an eye opener. I loved that it was a 20 year study.
I was not greatly impressed with I will teach you to be rich. The author does not practice what he preaches (he is an entrepreneur but he recommends others having salary jobs).
Thanks again! Another great one is The Truth About Money 4th Edition by Ric Edelman.
Glad you liked (most) of them! :) Not gonna put words in Ramit’s mouth, but I’d imagine it’s because most people can’t succeed being entrepreneurs nor do they want to be which is why he’s talking to the general masses in my opinion… I could be wrong though. Either way the book really stood out to me. I’ll have to check out The Truth About Money – haven’t heard of it yet, so thanks!
He who has the highest credit bureau score does not win. 788 in your case may be awesome look at the FICO chart on how a score is tabulated. It is kinda NOT something to be proud of. I am in foreclosure area of banking and I can tell you that the score differnce between someone who is fine on their mortgage and another who is about to loose their home can be less than 20 points, like in the 700s and still loosing their home. Also consider that once you are debt free, pay cash for everything and have $1 million in the bank in liquidity….who cares what your credit bureau score is?
True indeed, my friend. It’s only important when you want to borrow a crap ton of money ;) You should check out this post we recently did if you like the whole credit score debate – I bet you’ll fit right in there: Does Your Credit Score Matter If You Don’t Do Debt?
Thanks for feeding this year’s reading list with some good picks. Read ’em. Loved ’em.
Thanks for the kind words – glad you’re enjoying them!
I like the Outright (now GoDaddy) interface, but without the ability to reconcile, I can’t rely on it for my bookkeeping. Unfortunately, I’ll have to continue using Quickbooks. Any thoughts?
Sorry, I just use outright mainly :(
A comment on Outright.. I don’t know how you get it for free but the site states that it costs $9.99 per month. I’ve had it in the past and Yes, that is what they charged me. I feel their service went down hill since they sold out to Go Daddy. that’s been a couple of years ago and that’s when they started charging for the service.
Good catch! I hadn’t updated this page in a while so I made the adjustment… I still love and use them personally, but I agree I haven’t seen any new improvements or anything these past cple of years… Though I just use the bare bones of what they offer anyways – my business stuff is pretty clear cut :)
USAA is for veterans and eligible family members. Anyone else you’d recommend for checking/savings, etc.?
I’ve heard great things about Simple.com and also Ally.com – check them out :)
My husband and I have been on a personal venture to find creative ways, sometimes uncomfortable ways to pay off debt. We have a lot of student loans but recently paid off every credit card, started an emergency fund, 3-6 month fund, and then crap, January 1 he lost his job. So thankful for that emergency fund but truly want to get on with things to begin massively paying on that student loan debt. Ugh. Faithful we’ll be able to take off once a job offer has occurred as previous to applying it we would have received an F for effort and knowledge. We too love Dave Ramsey (though many of his following have proven to be crazy nuts, he no as I’ve met him and agree with his values) and your blog. We love your honest transparency and on fire approach. I’m certain many have been blessed by this venture you’ve created.
Awww, well thanks for stopping by and letting me know – it helps me keep going with it :) And sorry to hear about your husband, but what a great out look! And bad ass you paid off all those debts and have a solid foundation now! Hard to argue that Dave is helping a lot more people in this world than most. Would be cool to meet him in person one day :)
I sent the following to my children and then thought – I should send it to you also! Right up your alley!
Another goody by a favorite author! Why didn’t I know this stuff 20 or 30 years ago??? But you have a chance to learn it while you’re still young enough to benefit so take some time to read and digest. The reading isn’t hard; the learning to do it maybe something else.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/3543826-dividend-growth-investors-stick-to-your-process?isDirectRoadblock=true&uprof=46
BTW, David Van Knapp has laid out some free lessons also.
Your oldest fan,
Still pedaling
Hey friend! Will check it out – thanks :) I’m more of an index fan than a dividend one, but something tells me the lessons apply no matter your strategy. Thx for thinking of me!
What do you think about Sharebuilder (now called Capital One Investing, but, you know, it will always be Sharebuilder to me)? Everyone always mentions E*Trade or Scott Trade or something like that but never Sharebuilder. I seem to be the only person using it. What do you guys know that I don’t?
Hah! I don’t know much about them to be honest with you, but a ton of new places are coming onto the scene that are super cheap, or even free: robinhood.com and loyal3.com come to mind first. I’ve long stopped buying up individual stocks myself now that I’m an index guy… Shout out to Vanguard! ;)
What is the best checking account site that you recommend that does not require you to be a member of the military like USAA?
I like what Simple is doing a lot – that’s where I’d be if i weren’t with USAA.
Here’s our review of them: http://www.budgetsaresexy.com/2015/11/simple-bank-review/
People also say great things about Ally bank too (https://www.ally.com/) as well as Capital One 360 because of their “sub accounts” you can open up to help save/organize better: https://home.capitalone360.com/
Really depends on how comfortable you are going the online route vs traditional banking :)
I’m a bit of an alternative money maker myself. I left school at the age of 14 but have traveled in over 20 countries and lived in about 5. I used to get paid to help guys overcome their fear of approaching and meeting women. The most I was paid per hour was 150 pounds or about about $218 an hour. The average I earned for one to one coaching was about 70 pounds an hour or $100 an hour. There are many good guys out there who have made great fortunes who lack the knowledge/experience to be able to approach and build attraction with attractive strangers. I’m so glad I found this blog. It is the best and most genuine and informative one about making money. As a natural charismatic, enthusiastic people liking person I’ve realized that sales is my best bet. Have you any info on selling financial services as that is what I would really like to get into. Thanks for any pointers. R
Hah – nice! It’s true that us men need some help in that department, haha…
As for selling financial services, I mean, if you’re super passionate and genuinely *care* about helping people with it, sure – that’s a great avenue to go down and you can make some BANK at it! Unfortunately many people just follow the $$ though and then start doing sketchy stuff because it usually pays the most :( Particularly in the insurance/investment side of things.. I don’t have any articles that go into it all if that’s what you’re looking for, but you can def. find stuff online. Plenty of ways to make decent money in the financial world.
Robinhood is a great new investment app that it’s completely free to trade. No transaction fees = more money to invest!
Yup! Def. a good one…
And you can’t go wrong when Snoop Dogg is a backer of it either ;)
http://money.cnn.com/2014/09/23/investing/jared-leto-snoop-dogg-nas-robinhood-trading-app/
Great recommendations, I have used mint.com and personal capital for a while, but some other great resources here. A few good book recommendations as well. Thanks for all the advice. WF