I try to optimize value in my life– that means spending as little as possible on junk and services that are not useful to me. However, there are a ton of resources that do provide a lot of value to me, from products to books and podcasts.

I hope that you will find value out of them too!

Some of the links are affiliate links, which means I receive a commission if you click through to these sites and sign up for their products and services.

Products and Services

Personal Capital

Personal Capital is a money tracking tool that I have been using since 2017. It keeps track of your income, expenses, investments, and has some neat tools to let you dig deeper into your finances. You will see many graphs from this tool all over my blog. It is free and easy to use.

SiteGround

If you want to start your own blog or website– I use SiteGround. I did a bunch of research for things like site reliability, customer service, security, and of course: cost. I have had a great experience so far!

Mint Mobile

I used Mint Mobile briefly before work started covering my cellphone bill. I have referred a few friends who have found the service to be superior, and if/when I go back to paying my own phone bill I am definitely going to use Mint Mobile. They paired with T-Mobile to get nationwide coverage and they have an intro plan of $15/month for unlimited talk & text and 2GB of data (it’s currently $20 for 5GB and $25 for 10GB). I highly recommend giving them a try, you can also order a $5 trail kit just to see if it will work for you.

Books

Personal Finance

Your Money or Your Life – Vicki Robin
The Year of Less – Cait Flanders
Work Optional – Tanja Hester
Meet The Frugalwoods – Elizabeth Thames
The Millionaire Next Door – Thomas Stanley
The Simple Path to Wealth – JL Collins

Personal Development

Better – Atul Gawande, a surgeon’s notes on performance
Drive – Daniel Pink, the surprising truth about what motivates us
7 Habits of Highly Effective People Stephen R. Covey, powerful lessons in personal change
The First 90 Days – Michael D. Watkins, critical success strategies for new leaders at all levels
Radical Candor – Kim Scott, how to be a kickass boss without losing your humanity
How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie
On Writing: a memoir of the craft – Steven King

 

Podcasts

The Fairer Cents – Feminism, Personal Finance, Money Stories
The Mad Fientist – Financial Independence, Personal Finance, Early Retirement
Afford Anything – Investing, Real Estate, Personal Finance
How I Built This – Entrepreneurship, Business, Strategy