I put together this list of financial tools I use daily, semi-regularly, or as needed because when you find a resource worth using, that does what it’s supposed to do and does it well, it’s nice to spread the word. The list is a work in progress which I’ll update as I run across great tools and resources worth sharing.
Below are the financial tools and resources I use most to help me save, invest, learn, and just make better financial decisions overall. Maybe you’ll find something worth using too.
Learning
The best way to learn is through knowledge passed down from others. These are the resources on the site:
- Novel Investor Library – A collection of timeless wisdom – interviews, speeches, research, case studies, and more – for anyone who wants to follow along and learn more. Check it out!
- Book Notes – notes from the books I’ve read over the years broken down by topic (work in progress).
- Quotes – a collection of quotes, to think about and share, from smart people who came before us.
You can’t go wrong reading these other resources either:
- Berkshire Hathaway Letters – The archive of Warren Buffett’s letters to Berkshire shareholders straight from the source.
- Wesco Financial Letters – The archive of Charlie Munger’s letters to Wesco shareholders.
- Howard Marks Memos – The archive of Howard Marks’ memos to Oaktree investors.
- Audible – An easy way to listen to your next book. Audible has the largest selection of audiobooks around and it comes with a free trial to read two books free.
Retirement
- Retirement Planning Guide – Everything you need to know to start planning for retirement from how much to save, to which retirement accounts to use, and how to invest the money.
Taxes
- Tax Guide – Everything you need to know about taxes because understanding the tax code is the first step in building a healthy financial plan that keeps more of your money working for you while lowering your taxes throughout your life.
- Tax Checklist – This is a checklist I put together every year to make it easier for you to round up all the tax records, receipts, and forms you need to do your taxes ahead of time.
- Cost Basis Guide – One of the most overlooked areas of tax savings is understanding how realized gains and losses impact your taxes. This guide helps you navigate any potential tax savings before you sell an investment.
- Free Tax Filing Options – The IRS list of free online tax filing options. If you qualify and your taxes are fairly simple, then why pay, when you can file your taxes for free?
Productivity
- BitWarden – The password manager I use. It’s open source. It’s easy to generate new passwords, save all your account info, and log in to sites. And it’s low cost.
Financial Advice
Because sometimes you need comprehensive personal financial advice. See also: How to Find a Financial Planner.
- NAPFA – The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors has a location tool to help you find a qualified fee-only advisor in your area.
- Garrett Planning Network – A network of hourly-based, fee-only advisors that also has a search tool to find advisors in your area.
Investment Research
Investment, market, and economic resources for DIY investors.
- Portfolio123 – A unique stock screener that combines a ranking system with a screener. The ranking system ranks a universe of stocks based on one or more metrics, then the screener eliminates stocks from that universe. It also includes a backtesting tool to test how a strategy performed. Get an extended 35-day trial if you sign up through the link.
- FINVIZ – A comprehensive free stock screener with a premium version that gives you real-time quotes, backtesting, and more.
- Portfolio Visualizer – Free tool to backtest your portfolio and different asset allocations, and analyze the results.
- Dividend Aristocrats – A list of companies with a proven track record of consistently increasing their dividends for 25 consecutive years or more.
- DataRoma – Tracks the investment activity of big-name value investors through financial filings.
- WhaleWisdom – Track big investors by comparing changes in 13F filings across quarters.
- FRED – All the federal reserve economic data, research, and tools any armchair economists need to second-guess the Fed.
- TradingEconomics – Gaint database of economic indicators for most countries in the world.
- Multipl – Historical stats for S&P 500, interest rates, and U.S./World economies.
- Our World in Data – An open-source resource with data across a huge number of topics.
- Historical CAPE Ratios – CAPE ratios for over 20 countries that look to be updated monthly.
- Asset Class Returns – A snapshot of asset class returns ranked best to worst over the past 15 years.
- S&P Sector Returns – A snapshot of U.S. stock sector returns ranked best to worst over the past 15 years.
- International Market Returns – A snapshot of developed international stock market returns ranked best to worst over the past 15 years.
- Emerging Market Returns – A snapshot of emerging stock market returns ranked best to worst over the past 15 years.
- Historical Returns – Long-term annual returns data for different stock, bond, and international and emerging markets country indexes.