My Favorite Personal Finance Tools

Thanks for stopping by. This is the list of things I use to manage my money. Books about money that I love. And much more. Have a question about something? Drop me a note and I will get back to you!

** Some of these links are affiliate links. This means I may get a bit of money if you buy from them. This does not cost you extra money. I also do not recommend something that I have not already tried or done extensive research on. All Amazon Links are affiliate links. Please let me know if you ever have any questions.***

Table of Contents
Money Management Tools
Quicken
Excel
Money Books I Love
Investing Tools & Resources

Money Management Tools

Quicken

I have been using Quicken since 1997. I have tried others along the way, but never find anything as good. It can take you from just starting out to doing advanced investing techniques. I use this not only to manage account reconciliation but also for budgeting and some tax planning. I currently use the Premier version.

Visit Quicken

Excel

Why am I listing this? Because I use it. A Lot! Over the years I have created tracking and calculation spreadsheets for various purposes. I have three that I use regularly.  A broad overview one where I track things like goals, yearly reviews and more. An investing specific one where I have formulas, rules and performance metrics. Finally a retirement savings one to track withdraws, conversions and contributions. This helps keep me clear on what I can use on my FIRE journey and when. (I have a video on what you need to be aware of with FIRE and your retirement accounts.)

Money Books I Love

I love to read, it is one of my favorite ways to learn. Here are some of my favorites.

But first my book! This is a quick read on how to teach your young kids about money. Little Kids Big Money

Beginners Books for Money Management

  • The Richest Man in Babylon - I believe this book should be required reading in school. It is an easy read with many great lessons in it. Read it yourself if you haven't and if you have kids, have them read it.
  • Your Money Your Life by Vicki Robin - I just found this book a couple years ago and it perfectly summed up what my money beliefs have been for a long time. It was very motivating and has fantastic tips. This might be the number one book I recommend after The Richest Man in Babylon. And this is also the book that is the reason I won't write a broad personal finance book. My text would say - "What she said!" 😁
  • The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley - while this is an older book and the data might not be exact anymore. I do think this is highly motivating. And teaches you what the mindset needs to be. One of the biggest parts of money management is your own emotions and behaviors. This book can help you learn successful tools for this.

Investing Books

  • The Most Important Thing- I love this book. It is another one that made me go "yes, yes, yes". The second version that has the Illuminated in the title has additional side comments from others. While this is nice, it does also make the book harder to read. So I would say you could go with either version and be good.
  • Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb - this is an advance book but if you are up to tackle it, it is good for learning how to understand why the markets can catch you off guard.
  • Every Woman Should Know Her Options by Laurie Itkin - I have taken undergraduate and graduate courses in options.  It wasn't until I read this  book, and worked one on one with Laurie that it all made sense! If you are interested in learning about options start with her. And guys - you can read this book too!

Investing Tools & Resources

This is what I am currently using for investing research and management.

  • Fidelity - I have been with Fidelity for a few decades. I have tried others (while still with Fidelity) and none had the services and resources that I wanted. I use them not only to hold my accounts, but I do a lot of my starting point research with them. I like companies that you can grow with. So if you don't want to use Fidelity, I recommend another full service company like Fidelity.
  • Yahoo Finance - I really like the layout and the amount of data you can get for free from them. I use their phone app to stay up to date during the day when I am not logged into my investing account. It allows you to create watch lists and set up alerts for free. 
  • Guru Focus - I head here when I can't find the data I want from the first two. This site is great because it has many ratios and formulas that other sites don't carry. I have tried their screener, and while it had many options, it wasn't as intuitive as other screeners.
  • Morningstar - I used to use this site as my primary research site. But as Fidelity added more and more, I move that direction and stopped paying for the premium of this. However, it is a good site with lots of information. If your brokerage house does not have a lot of resources, I would recommend looking at the premium here.
  • HP 17B II - this is my financial calculator. Old but still works great. I got this while working on my undergraduate in Finance at the University of Iowa. I use it almost every day of the week! I know there are newer and fancier ones, but I like this one! 🙂

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