With Betterment, you still end up holding mostly Vanguard index funds, but they handle automatic rebalancing and minimizing your tax costs. I'm very happy with the service.
The standing “MMM Recommends” page, where he lists the stores and services he says he actually uses. The page carries an Affiliate Note: where a listed company offers commissions he uses a referral link, so entries from it are labelled affiliate. Dated from the page's own article:modified_time (2025-02-12); it was first published 2012-02-27 and is updated in place.
I switched to Google Fi in 2015 for worldwide, $20-per-month phone service that just works.
The standing “MMM Recommends” page, where he lists the stores and services he says he actually uses. The page carries an Affiliate Note: where a listed company offers commissions he uses a referral link, so entries from it are labelled affiliate. Dated from the page's own article:modified_time (2025-02-12); it was first published 2012-02-27 and is updated in place.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is another great card in this top-tier category: I have gone through three of them in the last few years, collecting the bonus on each.
The standing “MMM Recommends” page, where he lists the stores and services he says he actually uses. The page carries an Affiliate Note: where a listed company offers commissions he uses a referral link, so entries from it are labelled affiliate. Dated from the page's own article:modified_time (2025-02-12); it was first published 2012-02-27 and is updated in place.
For most of my investing life, Vanguard was THE one-stop shop for index funds of all types. They have the lowest expense ratio and the utmost respect for their customers.
The standing “MMM Recommends” page, where he lists the stores and services he says he actually uses. The page carries an Affiliate Note: where a listed company offers commissions he uses a referral link, so entries from it are labelled affiliate. Dated from the page's own article:modified_time (2025-02-12); it was first published 2012-02-27 and is updated in place.
You Need a Budget (YNAB) is a simple to use (but sophisticated under the hood) bit of budgeting software that uses the principles of human habits and behavioral finance to make you more conscious and efficient in your spending.
The standing “MMM Recommends” page, where he lists the stores and services he says he actually uses. The page carries an Affiliate Note: where a listed company offers commissions he uses a referral link, so entries from it are labelled affiliate. Dated from the page's own article:modified_time (2025-02-12); it was first published 2012-02-27 and is updated in place.
Insurance: Geico is usually among the best for most cars, although for Teslas you should check out Tesla Insurance and Costco's "Connect" insurance, which is what I am using as of 2024.
The standing “MMM Recommends” page, where he lists the stores and services he says he actually uses. The page carries an Affiliate Note: where a listed company offers commissions he uses a referral link, so entries from it are labelled affiliate. Dated from the page's own article:modified_time (2025-02-12); it was first published 2012-02-27 and is updated in place.
And if you're getting a NEW car, the electric Chevrolet Bolt is the best all-around car for the money
The standing “MMM Recommends” page, where he lists the stores and services he says he actually uses. The page carries an Affiliate Note: where a listed company offers commissions he uses a referral link, so entries from it are labelled affiliate. Dated from the page's own article:modified_time (2025-02-12); it was first published 2012-02-27 and is updated in place.
I recently used Peddle with great results, and have been recommending them to anyone who has a low-value, possibly even non-driveable car they just want GONE in exchange for $500-1000 of cash.
The standing “MMM Recommends” page, where he lists the stores and services he says he actually uses. The page carries an Affiliate Note: where a listed company offers commissions he uses a referral link, so entries from it are labelled affiliate. Dated from the page's own article:modified_time (2025-02-12); it was first published 2012-02-27 and is updated in place.
But until you reach that first million, Bluehost is a great choice.
The standing “MMM Recommends” page, where he lists the stores and services he says he actually uses. The page carries an Affiliate Note: where a listed company offers commissions he uses a referral link, so entries from it are labelled affiliate. Dated from the page's own article:modified_time (2025-02-12); it was first published 2012-02-27 and is updated in place.
Coursera: actual courses from various universities, made available mostly free
The standing “MMM Recommends” page, where he lists the stores and services he says he actually uses. The page carries an Affiliate Note: where a listed company offers commissions he uses a referral link, so entries from it are labelled affiliate. Dated from the page's own article:modified_time (2025-02-12); it was first published 2012-02-27 and is updated in place.
mainly because of Interactive Broker's amazing "margin account" feature. This, when used very carefully makes it seamless to borrow cash against your own shares at some of the lowest rates on Earth
The standing “MMM Recommends” page, where he lists the stores and services he says he actually uses. The page carries an Affiliate Note: where a listed company offers commissions he uses a referral link, so entries from it are labelled affiliate. Dated from the page's own article:modified_time (2025-02-12); it was first published 2012-02-27 and is updated in place.
Personal Capital is a financial tracking tool that I started using in mid-2013, and I still use it almost daily to get a snapshot of my "net worth", just as a fun way to remind myself to relax about money and make the most of life.
The standing “MMM Recommends” page, where he lists the stores and services he says he actually uses. The page carries an Affiliate Note: where a listed company offers commissions he uses a referral link, so entries from it are labelled affiliate. Dated from the page's own article:modified_time (2025-02-12); it was first published 2012-02-27 and is updated in place.
So I switched to Safeco, and so far rates have been stable. I am paying about $500 per year for a $275,000 rebuild coverage with $5k deductible.
The standing “MMM Recommends” page, where he lists the stores and services he says he actually uses. The page carries an Affiliate Note: where a listed company offers commissions he uses a referral link, so entries from it are labelled affiliate. Dated from the page's own article:modified_time (2025-02-12); it was first published 2012-02-27 and is updated in place.
Nowadays with over 6 million pageviews per month, we have moved up to the Uber-powerful development/hosting combo platform called Pantheon.
The standing “MMM Recommends” page, where he lists the stores and services he says he actually uses. The page carries an Affiliate Note: where a listed company offers commissions he uses a referral link, so entries from it are labelled affiliate. Dated from the page's own article:modified_time (2025-02-12); it was first published 2012-02-27 and is updated in place.
Every entry is a verbatim quote and a link to the public post it came from. Nothing is paraphrased. If it is not on record somewhere public, it is not here.
The verdict is what they actually said: loved and liked are explicit; recommended means they told others to get it; uses means they only say they use it; read is a book on their public shelf with no verdict; mixed and disliked are kept too.
A dashed affiliate link, sponsored or their own label means the post disclosed a relationship. It is shown, never hidden.
The shading behind a date shows how dated a recommendation is for its kind of thing.
The shading behind a date shows how dated a recommendation is, for its kind of thing. Fully green is recent. It drains a quarter at a time as the post gets older, and is empty once it reads as dated.
What counts as old depends on the thing. A laptop praised four years ago has been replaced twice; a book loved twenty years ago is probably still loved. The shading is gone after about:
Hardware, services4 years
Software5 years
Podcasts, courses, other8 years
Books25 years
Stripes mean the post carries no date and the date shown is an estimate. No date at all, no shading.