This is a list of services I personally recommend to build wealth, save money, and increase your performance and efficiency.
I hate clutter, and don’t like using a lot of apps or having a lot of memberships or accounts. So, I only focus on what I consider the best and highest-impact products and services that are simple but powerful.
Personal Capital
Personal Capital is by far the best tool I’ve found for managing your money and pushing your net worth higher.
And it’s completely free.
The tool provides a complete picture of your financial situation:
Most of us have multiple accounts, like one or more bank accounts, a 401(k) or TSP, a Roth IRA, a taxable brokerage account, etc.
And it’s a hassle to keep track of our overall positions across multiple portfolios. Your 401(k) might have domestic stocks, foreign stocks, bonds, emerging markets, etc. And then your IRA has a different set of investments with a lot of overlap. Are you sure you know how much percentage of your wealth you have in each?
This tool shows you your overall portfolio weighting across all accounts, like how much money you have in each type of investment you own.
It also includes:
- A graph of your net worth over time, to see where you stand.
- A detailed breakdown of where all your expenses go each month.
- A fee-scanner, to find hidden fees you might not be aware you’re paying.
- A retirement planner, that helps you figure out if you’re on track.
And it uses bank-level encryption for maximum safety. I use it myself.
You can access the free tool here.
Simple Investing
Vanguard: One of the simplest and lease expensive ways to invest is through Vanguard. My favorite product from them is their LifeStrategy funds, because they automatically re-balance themselves and you don’t have to do anything to maintain a great portfolio.
Betterment: If you have a taxable investment account, Betterment is a great idea. The expense ratios are slightly higher than Vanguard (by 0.25% per year), but in exchange you get a great user interface and, most importantly, optimized tax-loss harvesting, which can slightly increase your rate of return.
Complete Brokerages
Fidelity Investments: An excellent one-stop-shop for index funds, as well as individual stocks and options. My Roth IRA is at Fidelity.
Charles Schwab: Another great brokerage, especially for individual stocks and options. I particularly love the free research you get, including Morningstar analysis. My taxable investment account is with Schwab.
Credit Services
Credit Sesame: You can sign up for a free account at Credit Sesame, and see your credit score (VantageScore), and get various tips on how to optimize your score. I’ve had an account there for many years.
Discover: Discover is a great company, with the best customer service in the industry. With that link, you can check your FICO score for free.
Banks
If you have a good local credit union that you qualify for, then check them out.
Because they are not-for-profit organizations that exist to serve their members (rather than shareholders), they usually have better customer service, lower fees, and better rates than most for-profit banks that send the profits to shareholders.
That being said, there are exceptions.
Discover: An excellent online bank, and a great credit card issuer. Because they have no physical presence, they operate very lean and save you money, but still offer top-tier customer service.
Financing
Sofi: If you want to refinance your student loans to lower rates, or pay off high-interest credit card debt with a lower-rate personal loan, then Sofi is one of the best sources to do that.
Their proprietary risk model gives well-qualified borrowers some of the best rates in the business, and they give you a break if you happen to lose your job during the loan term. Find your rate here.
Health and Wellness
The most-shared article ever on this website was this one.
If you read it, you’ll see why.
Full Transparency
I don’t run ads on this site. You can check out all my affiliate disclosures here.