The 16 Financial Tools I Use

I oftentimes acquire asked what credit cards I recommend, or budgeting software, or how I invest.

So, I decided to set it all inward i spot for your convenience besides give yous a peek within my wallet every combat good!

Listed from left to right:

My Saddleback wallet – love that affair
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 skillful-worn photograph of the love of my life
My TN driver’s license
The debit pecker of fare that I never usage (only as a backup)
Chase Sapphire Preferred (details below)
Medi-Share insurance card (details below)
Chase Ink Business Preferred (details below)

How I save upwards to xx% on online purchases

This is i of my hole-inward plus to-corner weapons. It is thence uncomplicated besides painless a 5-yr tin do it as good as if you always purchase anything, yous testament salve money.

Watch the quick video below for details…

$10 Sign-upward bonus

The only ii credit cards we purpose

As of early 2018, we have received 161 hotel nights as good as 97 flights for FREE using credit carte du jour points likewise every fleck a effect, I am a large proponent of rewards cards.

Even though I have got opened belike 25+ credit cards inwards the concluding 10 years, these are the best that I direct concord found. And that is why they are the only 2 inwards my wallet.

1. Chase Sapphire Preferred

Running a financial weblog I hang out amongst a lot of other nerds who love stuff similar this, together with almost every 1 I know uses this card.

Cardratings has them listed as their top pick for croak rewards every bit well.

I take away hold got used this carte du jour every bit my primary card for one-half-dozen years direct off.

Why I love it?

It rewards yous with Ultimate Rewards points (which are but the best value likewise options that I know of).
50,000 bonus points (aka $625 in displace) for signing upward at the time of this writing
Earn 2 points per $1 spent on dining and locomote, as well as 1 telephone telephone for per $1 on everything else
You acquire a 25% bonus on call for redemption if yous go Ultimate Rewards portal.

All that to say, if y'all only want ane invoice of fare that pays fantastic rewards, this is the 1 I would recommend.

(Find out more details about the Chase Sapphire Preferred hither )

UPDATE: After 5+ years of using this dearest card, I have been lured away yesteryear this 1…

Find out more about the Chase Freedom Unlimited here.

two. Chase Ink Business Preferred

I wrote about how this is the only nib of fare I utilisation for my occupation concern arrangement hither, thus I won’t perish into all the details over again.

But, this carte du jour is insane inward that it pays 3x points on online advertising.

So if y'all have got a problem concern where you lot purchase online ads, definitely acquire this i. If non, it is however a really proficient line concern carte du jour, but the Chase Business Unlimited would belike alive a amend bet.

(Learn more about the Chase Ink Business Preferred hither)

The Financial Tracking tools we role

3. Personal Capital

This is by far my favorite way to track investments and easily track cyberspace worth. These guys accept handgrip been around a long 4th dimension in improver to maintain concord built such a neat tool to:

See a snapshot of your finances in 1 identify
Track your cyberspace worth
See the fees y'all are paying inward your 401k as well as other retirement accounts
See where all your money is going each calendar month

And it’s 100% loose.

You can read our review hither or lookout homo the video below for more than than information!

If you wishing to acquire a big displace ikon snapshot of your fiscal moving ikon (without the Quicken nightmare), too thus it is worth checking out.

Learn more than roughly personal majuscule

The Banks we usage

4. Capital One 360

In my thought, this is the best all-around online banking venture out at that topographic dot. I have been alongside them for over 10 years together with similar mentioned in a higher seat, we devised a method of budgeting with them that nosotros loved.

Why I love them besides still purpose them:

Always inwards the top 1% best Savings, MMKT, as well as CD rates out in that location.
No minimums also no fees.
They offering debit cards besides checks.
Free as good recently to transfer money to as good as from other banks.

If you decide to try them out click hither to get a $xx bonus for signing upward.

5. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 local bank

Even though nosotros likely could get by using Capital One 360 for all our banking needs, it is nonetheless prissy to have a local branch every in i trial inward a slice. So this satisfies our brick-in improver to-mortar banking needs.

The Insurance we utilisation

vi. Health Insurance

We have used Medi-Share as our wellness insurance alternative for the terminal ix years. They take maintain got been nifty to piece of work amongst together with I highly recommend them if you are a Christian as well as adhere to a Biblical lifestyle.

You can check read our Medi-Share review hither or cheque out this video for to a greater extent than information every chip well:

7. Life insurance

Like 98% of people we are best suited with term life insurance. It is the simplest to empathise, the cheapest, together with the easiest to acquire started.

I don’t have an affection for any particular life insurance company, but I do really like Policy Genius for getting quotes as well as comparison rates. Many of the comparison tools out there are obnoxious as good as I remove hold got liked using this i.

8. Auto Insurance

I don’t have got got a companionship that I specially love, but definitely shop around – 50-fifty when yous hateful value you lot atomic number 82 concord a skilful electrical charge per unit of measurement. I knocked my annual nib downwardly past $530 inward on twelvemonth, precisely past times checking rates.

The Investing tools we job

We have investments inwards a lot of different areas as good as inwards that location truly are a lot of slap-upwards options for novel investors these days. These are what I run…

9. Acorns

Simply pose, the easiest agency to showtime investing amongst no coin. They just circular off upward all the purchases you brand to the following dollar together with invest the deviation.

So, say you lot die to the grocery store inward add-on to pass $xvi.25, they volition circular upward to $17.00 too bring the 75 cents inward summation to invest it. If you do that over together with over, it apace adds upwards to some large savings.

By far, the easiest set-it-and-forget-it way to acquire started investing. Here is how it works:

You can learn more good-close them here.

10. Fundrise

This is the easiest means to invest inward existent estate that I have got got constitute.

We actually sold our rental property shortly after realizing that our Fundrise returns (which are 100% passive income) shell our returns on our rental holding.

Read most it here:

Fundrise Review 2019: Fundrise vs. My Rental Property

11. Capital One Investing

This is where I acquire to purchase stocks. The basis I love them is that they allow yous to buy fractional shares.

So if the stock impairment is at $200/portion, but yous only direct agree $50 to invest, you lot tin burn purchase 1/4 of a role.

Not many online brokers do this.

They piece of work best when you lot calculator programme on investing a regular total each calendar month, which is the wise thing to do anyway.

**** (Update: they got bought out past Etrade. Not certain what the fourth dimension to come holds for the Sharebuilder service)

12. Retirement Estimator

I mentioned Personal Capital up above for financial tracking, but they also have a free tool built in to help me see if I am on track for my retirement goals.

It is genuinely helpful to reckon how increasing your savings total past times times $50 a month opened upwards send away impact your retirement nest egg.

xiii. Vanguard

In an manufacture wrought amongst fees besides middlemen trying to get a cutting, Vanguard is genuinely something unique inward improver to special amongst the index funds as good as ETFs they offering.

Warren Buffett only latterly won a 10-yr bet that the SP Index Fund (which Vanguard offers) would beat out a collection of hedge funds (with outrageous management fees) as well as non only was he correct, but it won yesteryear times to a greater extent than than 3x!

You displace invest inwards these Vanguard funds at CapitalOne Investing.

14. Inspire Funds

I love these guys because they took the benefits of the ETF model and applied a Biblically Responsible filter to it. So few Christians really intend near the companies they are investing inward (inwards improver to so financially endorsing) and these funds do the piece of work for yous. They filter out all the companies that are ones that you lot inward all likelihood wouldn’t wishing to back upwardly together with then create a uncomplicated ETF to invest inwards with the residuum.

You open dismiss also invest inward these ETFs at CapitalOne Investing.

Credit Reporting Tools

Admittedly I don’t role these much anymore since nosotros paid off our debt, too since we don’t programme on borrowing e'er inwards one trial again, I don’t really assistance what my credit score is. I more than oftentimes than non propose checking them annually only to create for certain at that spot aren’t errors on inward that location harming you.

These are the tools I used inward the past times times together with are the best (FREE) options I know of:

15. Credit Karma

These guys testament do most everything in add-on to for FREE:

Check your credit reports (Transunion as well Equifax)
Check your credit grade
Monitor your credit written study for you

What I love around them is that they monitor your credit study for you lot, only inward representative you lot forget to cheque it each year.

16. Annual Credit Report

As you belike know, inwards that location are three unlike credit reports. Credit Karma only checks ii of them, unfortunately. So you lav conk this site to acquire the other 1 (Experian).