Resources

*Please note there are affiliate links on this page*

I am a strong believer in sharing resources that could help people save money, time, and help them reach their goals.

There are so many cool products and services out there that a lot of people don’t know about. I’m thankful for all the people who were kind enough to share resources and provide recommendations for me when I needed something, so I can’t pass up the opportunity to share the knowledge.

All the products, services and tools below are things that I personally use and strongly recommend. Some of the services below are affiliates of mine meaning I may receive compensation if you click on a link and sign up for something (see my disclaimer policy here). But please know I would never recommend anything that was illegitimate or that I haven’t tried and love using myself. That’s would not be cool.

I’ve used everything mentioned below and love it. Plus, there are a few freebies available for you , so have a look around. I appreciate your support of my blog!

 

Money-Saving Tools and Services

Acorns

What are you doing with all your spare change? Do you even notice it? Acorns is a cool (and free) app/site that helps you invest your spare change by rounding up your purchases. Acorns invests based on your goals and preferences but you can withdraw the money at any time.

I also love how they keep track of all your purchases and let you choose which ones you want to round up to the nearest dollar. It may seem like a small amount at first but it adds up over time. Get $5 added to your account when you sign up.

Airbnb

If you’re traveling and looking to save money on lodging, Airbnb is a great option. Instead of paying for a pricey hotel, you can reserve your stay at house, apartment, or loft in the area often for a cheaper rate. Hosts who have extra rooms or a rental home list their properties on Airbnb for travelers to utilize. It’s completely legit and convenient.

Plus, you can experience living in the city you’re traveling in since most rentals have features like a kitchen, washer and dryer, living room etc. If you’re going to be doing any traveling or vacationing soon and want to check out your options on Airbnb, you can use my link to receive an automatic $40 credit toward your first trip. You can also earn money by becoming a host and renting your spare space out. Safe travels!

Betterment

Betterment is my favorite investing tool because they do all the heavy lifting for you which is so helpful especially if you’re completely new to investing and have no idea what you’re doing. When you sign up for an account, you’ll fill out a brief survey about your investing goals and set up recurring deposits from a checking or savings account of at least $100 per month. Betterment then distributes your funds into ETFs based on your portfolio allocation whether it’s stocks, bonds, or both.

If you choose to sign up for Betterment and start investing, be sure to use my referral link which will give you 6 months free. Normally, Betterment takes a 0.25% fee annually which is small, but with my link, you’ll be able to allow your investments to grow more with half of your first year fee free.

CapitalOne 360

I never loved saving that much until I signed up for an account with CapitalOne 360. This online bank offers up to 25 free high-interest savings accounts per customer. Why so many? It’s best to separate your savings based on your goals. Plus you can create cool nicknames for your account like ‘Holiday Fund’ or ‘Sick Days’.

Your account will hook up to your checking account for added convenience. Signing up for an account with CapitalOne 360 is easy and they offer a high-interest rate of 1.00% that accrues daily which is much higher than the average bank.

Cerity 

Whether you’re a small business owner or running a multi-million dollar company, making sure your business and employees are covered is of utmost importance; this is where Cerity comes in. From accountants and consultants to stay-at-home moms

with a DIY platform, Cerity Insurance can help protect your business and will set you up for success.

CreditSesame

This is the site I used to get my credit score back on track so I could buy my first house. CreditSesame is free and provides you with a credit score and report, a total debt amount tracker, a debt to income ratio estimate, and a credit analysis along with tools like identity theft protection.

 

$5 Meal Plan

If meal planning and prep isn’t your forte, I’d highly recommend simplifying this aspect of your life by signing up for the $5 Meal Plan. For just $5/month you’ll get healthy and affordable recipes and shopping lists delivered to your inbox weekly. The $5 Meal Plan also has gluten-free and picky-eater-friendly recipes, plus you can try it out for free for 2 weeks. You’ll love it!

Love Your Budget

Been struggling with budgeting lately? Or have you psyched yourself out so much that you’ve avoided even getting started? Regardless of where you’re at, I created the Love Your Budget course to help you change your relationship with budgeting and finally create a spending plan for your life that sticks. In this course, I’m literally giving you everything I’ve learned about budgeting and taught my coaching clients. The material is filled with proven methods and strategies that you can adjust to fit your lifestyle. The main course includes 4 main educational course modules plus tons of bonuses including strategies to help you budget for debt payoff, break the paycheck to paycheck cycle and more! Learn more here.

 

Personal Capital

Even though I’m no longer sharing monthly budget reviews I’m still budgeting and enjoying the benefits of managing my spending and income. Personal Capital is a free and trusted app that lets you keep all your accounts in one place and track your net worth. Take your budget with you everywhere and manage your assets by downloading the free app.

 

 

Mint.com

When I started getting serious about tracking my expenses and lowering them, I downloaded the free Mint app. Mint connects all your accounts in one place and tracks your spending while providing you with helpful updates and reminders for when bills are due.

 

Policy Genius

Life insurance is very important to have especially if you have kids. If the whole process of obtaining an affordable and quality life insurance policy confuses the heck out of you (like me), you may need some help from Policy Genius. It’s a free resource that helps connect you with the best insurance policy to meet your needs.

The tools, resources, advice and application are all free when you use Policy Genius so you have nothing to lose. You can check out my full review here.

Digit 

If you need help with creating a savings habit and/or making additional debt payments then this app is perfect for you. Digit is a robo-financial assistant that can help you save, grow your money and reach for your lifestyle goals. As the first of its kind, Digit provides a truly personalized and automated savings plan that is designed around your specific spending habits, which it uncovers through its sophisticated algorithm. Check it out for yourself here.

 

Investing for Beginners Masterclass

If you’re ready to start your trade investing journey then this course is designed for you. Noted as “the course about finance and investing that should’ve been taught in school”, The Investing for Beginners Masterclass does a great job of starting out with basic, foundational financial information to help raise your financial confidence.

With straight forward and well explained concepts and practices you’ll be off to a great start on your trade investing journey. Learn more here.

 

Cashback and Rewards Programs

Ibotta

Ibotta is an app that pays you through cash back rebates you can earn before you start shopping. You can look for deals on the app, then go to the store and pick up the item you need. After your shopping trip, you can upload a photo of your receipt and you’ll be rewarded with cash back in less than 24 hours. You can earn a $10 welcome bonus when you first start using Ibotta within the first 7 days.

 

Swagbucks

Use the website, the app, or both. You can earn Swagbucks by shopping online, watching videos, playing games, taking surveys, searching online, and trying out certain offers. Cash in your Swagbucks for gift cards to restaurants, retailers and more. I use Swagbucks to earn extra money for dining out and leisure activities. You can find out more about the best ways to use this loyalty rewards website here.

Rakuten (Formerly Ebates)

Rakuten is similar to Swagbucks, only it rewards you for shopping online by providing cash back for certain purchases. If you are shopping online regularly, you might as well earn cashback on all your purchases. Join for free today and you can get a $10 cashback bonus as soon as you make a qualifying purchase in 90 days.

 

Side Hustle and Blog Help

Bluehost

If you want to start a blog or professional website that you can monetize some day to make some money, you’ll need to choose a hosting company for your site. I use Bluehost and recommend them with confidence to anyone because monthly hosting is affordable, their service is secure and they back up your entire site, it’s easy to set up your website and install WordPress with from their dashboard, and they provide a free domain name along with excellent customer support. You can read more about why I like Bluehost and how you can set up a professional blog in minutes that has the potential to bring in income.

 

Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing

How does it sound to earn money from your blog or website while you’re sleeping? What about when you’re relaxing and having a movie night with your family? If you’re interested in earning passive income from your blog, Michelle’s affiliate marketing course is a must. Michelle earn an average of $50,000 per month from affiliate marketing and no, that’s NOT a typo. In her course she shares all her best tips and strategies so you can boost your affiliate income too. I learned so much from her course and since students have a lifetime subscription, I can go back and revisit lessons to implement new things. Whether you’re a newer blogger or a veteran, this course is a must since all hardworking bloggers should be earning affiliate income.

Making Sense of Affiliar Marketing Ebook 

Michelle also created an amazing free ebook that shares very valuable tips you can use right away to get your affiliate marketing for your blog off and running. In Affiliate Marketing Tips For Bloggers, Michelle reveals how she got started with affiliate marketing on her blog and went from $0 in affiliate marketing to over $50,000 a month. Also she answers common questions bloggers have about affiliate marketing, shares insights from other successful bloggers who now earn money from affiliate marketing and provides tips on how to set yourself up for success. Grab your free ebook copy here!

 

ConvertKit

I’ve finally made the switch from MailChimp to ConvertKit and I’m never going back. I’ve been hearing great things about ConvertKit for a while and I’m happy to say that all the fuss is for a good reason. ConvertKit is the best email marketing provider I’ve ever had. It’s super user-friendly, has a ton of features, and analyzes everything so you really get more bang for your buck.

 

Earn More Writing

If you are interested in earning more as a freelance writer, I’d highly recommend you consider investing in your skills and taking the Earn More Writing Course from award-winning freelance writer Holly Johnson. Holly is an amazing writer and knows the industry well. In this course, she shares the strategies and resources she used to go from $0 to $225,000/year as a freelance writer. That’s no chump change and she’s been doing it for years.

Freshbooks

Freshbooks is what I use to invoice clients and they offer professional invoicing and accounting tools for freelancers and bloggers. Initially, I used PayPal but their fees become kind of ridiculous if you bill for higher amounts. I don’t think it’s fair to pay so much in fees and have to pay taxes on your income as well. If you want to stop letting PayPal eat up your earnings with fees I’d highly recommend checking out Freshbooks. Try it for free!

Tailwind

Tailwind allows you to schedule your pins ahead of time and avoid pinning things manually to promote yourself which can be very time-consuming. With Tailwind you can look at your site’s traffic and analytics from Pinterest, participate in group boards, and more. It’s a huge time saver and it’s been a crucial part of my site’s growth in terms of traffic. In other words, I’ll probably never get rid of Tailwind and I’d recommend giving it a try if you want to automate Pinterest and boost your site’s traffic.

 

Become a Pinterest VA Today!

So the secret is out, you can make good money by searching and pinning on Pinterest feeds for other people. In fact, there’s an entire digital course dedicated to helping you learn how to do this. Become a Pinterest VA Today was created by Kristin Larsen and Gina Horkey who are two of the most successful virtual assistants I’ve ever come across. This course teaches you how to build your own successful Pinterest VA business and earn a part or full-time income with it.

Ivory Mix 

Stock photos can be hit or miss and a pain to find ones that really highlight your creative blog. Ivory Mix creates stunning stock photography for multiple blogging niches that really level up brand imaging. They offer amazing packages, guides and fantastic time-saving resources and strategies.  Ivory Mix also offers 300+ free stock photos so you can see what they are all about. Get your free images here!

 

Favorite Books

Hustle Away Debt

If you’re late on side hustling or just want to figure out how to find the best side hustle for you so you can earn an extra income to meet your financial goals, I’d highly recommend my friend David’s book. This book is an easy read and it’s packed with tons of helpful info, true stories, and realistic advice to help get you well on your way to diversifying your income and earning extra money.

You Only Live Once

Jason is the founder of the personal finance website, Phroogal, and he’s traveled across the country twice to promote a nationwide event called the Road to Financial Wellness. Jason’s books takes an unusual spin on the popular saying YOLO and uses it to explain that we should all do what it takes to improve your finances and use money as a tool to live the most fulfilling life possible since we only live once. The book is broken down into three main categories: awareness, creating a plan, and taking control. Jason shares details about his old financial habits vs now and how he got to where he is now.

Mindset Over Money

Check out more great books here.

If you have any questions about my recommendations or would like to learn more about my experience feel free to reach out to me!