The 4 Financial Tools That Don't Stress Me Out
These are the tools I use to help me make financial decisions. Make life easier on yourself by making choosing tools that automate your financial life.
Everyone will have their own system and I want to share with you mine.
- You Need A Budget - This is a budgeting app if it wasn't obvious enough, and I use this every day. The big sell on this is their methodology. It helped me make the first step to having a one month emergency fund and now I've built it up to 8 months! It's hands down THE THING that helped me take ownership over my finances. The big things about YNAB is that it teaches you to make priorities, not budgets. There is a bit of a learning curve but it's well worth it.
- Simple - Free online checking bank with no fees. The name explains why I like them so much. Their user interface of their app and their website is super clean and easy to use. Every interaction with their customer service is very humanized and it can all be text based if you don't feel like having a phone call. Thoughtful experience design overall. I use this as my every day card along with my credit card. Use my link to get a free leather or felt wallet with your card!
- Aspiration - Another free online bank. They let you choose how much you want to pay them, so feel free to make it $0. What's special about this savings account is that it earns 1% interest which is a lot compared to other banks which are close to 0.05% interest. I use Aspiration to hold my emergency fund. I figured it should earn a bit more money as it just sits there. They have a charitable twist too: If you use my link, we both get $25 to donate to a cause of our choice.
- Betterment - This one takes care of my retirement accounts like my Roth IRA. I'm more of a set-it-and-forget it type of retirement investor so I use this to deposit money monthly and try to max out the allowed yearly contribution. My favorite thing is their forecaster. It'll show you how you money will grow over time based on your monthly contributions. If you're just starting out on your money journey and don't have a lot of capital, choose Roth IRA because you can double it as an emergency fund. If you use my link, you get 6 months free!
What does your financial set up look like?
Find Your True North:
- Take inventory of the financial tools you use. What are the reasons you're using these particular tools? Do they make life easier or harder for you?
- Do any of the tools you use cost money? Is there a good reason for it to cost you money? Are there better alternatives?
Some of these are referral links, but that doesn't affect wether or not I recommend a product. I use these products every day and I would never refer you to something I don't believe in.