My Favorite Things

This page provides a constantly updated list of products and services I have used that helped me save, earn and better understand money.

Please note that some of these links are affiliate links, which means I might receive a small commission if you click through at no additional cost to you.

Let’s get into it!

Investment Company

Vanguard

Vanguard has been my go-to investment company since I started intentionally saving and investing almost a decade ago. I love their co-op business model: the owners of their funds are the actual owners of the company so there is no conflict of interest there like at other investment firms. As a result of that model, Vanguard is able to pass all subsequent savings onto us, the owners of the company, which results in low expense ratios, and are key when you want to keep your money working for you.

Budget App

YNAB

I’ve used YNAB since 2014 to keep my money in order. Their principles helped me understand that budgeting is not about deprivation, but about choices. I can have anything, but not everything. For example, if I’m out of my eating out budget for the month, but I still want to go out that night with friends I will need to take $20 out of my clothing budget to compensate – and that’s ok and expected. It’s not a budget failure as it’s sometimes painted. They have a free 34 day trial if you want to try out these principles for yourself and if you decide to continue with them after that, the above link will give you a month of your subscription free after the trial.

Net Worth Aggregator

Personal Capital/Empower

I’ve used Personal Capital (now called Empower) for almost a decade to keep track of my full money story. It’s completely free and unique in that it aggregates all your accounts – including investments – in one place so I know where I stand on a day to day basis.

I check my Personal Capital account daily for exposure therapy purposes and also find their investment fee analyzer to be one of the best out there. HOWEVER, there is one reason I haven’t promoted them on my blog until now: They call me monthly and I find it annoying. If you sign up for Personal Capital and have more than $100,000 in your account they will call you to try and have you use their investing services.

Since I am a DIY investor, I am not interested in this service and have told them so, but still the calls persist. Everyone else that uses Personal Capital has told me that they have asked them to stop calling and that their request has been granted, but I guess they just like me too much 😉 . So just be warned that you might get a monthly voicemail from them, which to me is a small price to pay for an awesome service that I use daily for free, but that’s your call to make.

Heads up: If you use the above link to sign up and connect an investment account (401k, IRA or brokerage) with at least $1,000 in it within 30 days we both get a $20 Amazon Gift Card. Sweeeet!

Phone Company

Google Fi

I started using Google FI in 2021 in preparation for my global, nomadic lifestyle. I’m happy with the service – it was easy to set up and I haven’t had any issues having cell or data service. Heads up: If you use the above link to sign up for their service you get $20 off your bill. Nice!

Free Credit Score Website

Credit Karma

I started using Credit Karma to check my credit 8 years ago and they have been an awesome resource for me to monitor the affect my travel hacking has had on my credit score (Hint: It’s had no negative effect, but I’m nosey and love data).

Credit Card

Chase Sapphire Preferred

This is my everyday credit card and the only credit card I’ve ever paid an annual fee for. I’ve had this card for 5 years and found that it has monetarily and emotionally made up for the $95 annual fee every year I’ve had it. This card has no foreign transaction fees and includes amazing travel insurance that allows claims up to $500 per ticket for flight cancellations and delays that require an overnight stay (which mine always seem to do…).

The claims process is also very easy and straightforward. At least once a year I am in a situation where a flight is changed, cancelled or delayed and I need to decide if I want to sleep on the floor of the airport (no thank you) or pay out the ass for a last minute hotel room and late night taxi. Instead, I just go with the flow and know Chase will pay me back for all of that AND room service. I feel very taken care of.

HSA Provider

Lively

If you have an HSA I cannot recommend Lively enough. I kept my HSA with my old provider for years because every time I looked into it moving it seemed like too much of a hassle. Enter Lively. This company was highly recommended to me by several of my finance friends. I switched over to Lively at the beginning of 2020 and it was a seamless process with outstanding customer service. I’m loving working with them. I wrote a full review of Lively here if you’re interested

Home Rental Company

Airbnb

So far I have enjoyed and booked Airbnbs in 5 countries and counting. I absolutely love feeling like I live in a new area instead of that I am a visitor or tourist that’s coming and going from a sterile hotel. Airbnb allows me to live like a local and is one of the reasons full time nomadic travel is now financially possible for so many people.

Expat Mail Service

Traveling Mailbox

This is the service I use to get my mail while traveling the globe. For $15/month they will scan every piece of mail you receive and if you direct them to, send it to you anywhere in the world (for a small additional fee). This is how I’m still able to do things like receive credit cards while galavanting around the world.

Travel & Health Insurance

World Nomads

This is the service I’m currently using to cover my health insurance needs when I’m more than 100 miles from my residential address (which I chose with Traveling Mailbox above). They mostly cover emergency situations and keep me feeling secure that if the worst happens I don’t have to pay out of pocket for health coverage on top of everything else. Their plans also include travel insurance and can be used all around the globe depending on what countries you list on your coverage.

Eyeglasses

Zenni Optical

I’ve been using Zenni Optical since 2018 and I’ve been raving about them so much that my Mom and all of my partner’s family now use them. They are an online glasses store that has prescription glasses for as little as $20 and I wrote a full review of my experiences with them here.

You simply enter the prescription information your optometrist hands you at your eye exam into Zenni’s website, and they ship you the glasses wherever you are. After paying hundreds of dollars for the exact same glasses Zenni provides, I was blown away by this company and am so happy to see them continuing to thrive. One heads up though: make sure when you see your optometrist that they measure your pupillary distance because you need that for your glasses.

However, if you forget (like I did the first time) Zenni has easy to use instructions on how to measure it yourself at home. They also let you upload a photo so you can virtually try on any glasses you’re interested in before buying them. I love it.