This page will periodically be updated, when we find a new product that we use, and that saves us money. Please feel free to contact us and let us know of any money-saving products you like. Please note that some of these links help support the blog.
Do you want to blog?
Are you ready for fame and fortune? Do you enjoy writing? Are you clever and witty? Do you know the difference between your and you’re? If you answered Yes to all of the above questions, you may just want to start your own blog. Get started with Bluehost!
When I need technical help, my go-to is Grayson Bell. Grayson is easy to work with, prompt and a WordPress wizard.
Money, Investment and Mortgages!
How to Invest
The Simple Path to Wealth is all you need.
Personal Capital
Personal Capital is an excellent tool that gives you a clear picture of your entire financial status. We have numerous accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs in addition to several checking accounts in different banks, investment accounts, etc. Personal Capital allows you to link them all on one site, which helps you keep track of all your money more easily than logging into and out of numerous sites. They provide all kinds of nifty charts like this one:
As cool as all of that is. Personal Capital has a fee analyzer that will tell if your investments are bending you over with fees. I don’t exaggerate when I say that Personal Capital saved me more than $100,000 by warning me of nasty, high fee mutual funds that I mindlessly invested in.
Wait, it gets even better. Did I mention that Personal Capital is completely free? They make money by offering their own mutual funds. However, you’re free to just say “No” to those if you find them unworthy.
Airbnb
Do you have an extra room in your home? Are you going away for a long trip? Why not turn your unused space into money with Airbnb?
Real Estate!
I’m a big fan of real estate, but don’t currently hold any physical properties. No problem, I invest in REITs through Fundrise and individual deals through PeerStreet.
Self-Directed Solo 401(k)
I love my Self-Directed (SD) Solo 401(k). It’s like a normal 401(k), but on steroids. I use mine to invest in real estate via private lending.
- Trust setup: I used Sense Financial to setup my SD 401(k). Sense was fantastic, helping me through every step of the way. At one point in the process, I was having difficulty rolling over funds from Vanguard. A representative from Sense set up a 3-way call to get it sorted out,
- Bank account: A Self Directed solo 401k has a lot of moving parts and it’s important to have a bank that’s familiar with them. After visiting a couple local chain banks, I decided to go with Solera National Bank. I couldn’t be happier with their service. They’re easy to work with, even though they’re remote. We’ve now done four deals which involved wire transfers and Solera executed perfectly. Contact Kreighton Reed to get started: 720.666.8153 or kreed@solerabank.com.
Mortgages
OK, so no one really likes mortgages, but with rates so low, it really doesn’t make any sense to pay cash for a house, when you can borrow at less than 4% but still make more than 10% with your portfolio. We have used the same mortgage guy for more than 6 years. Mr. 1500 likes to refinance whenever rates make it worthwhile, which for a very long time was just about every year. We found our current guy, Todd Bukaty of The National Bank of Kansas City through LendingTree, and have shopped around every single time, only to come back to Todd because his overall costs are less than anyone else’s. We have used him 7 times so far. He responds quickly to inquiries, and doesn’t pull any punches. If you need a mortgage, call Todd.
Phone Service and Gadgets
Ting.com (cell service)
If you like the iPhone, Ting is for you. Ting works over the Sprint nationwide network, but does the billing themselves. Amazing monthly prices – $9 for 500 talk minutes, $5 for 1000 text messages, $3 for 100MB of data and $6 per device per month. Best of all, the prices above are for services that are shared among all the devices on your bill. Way cheaper than those “unlimited” plans. Click here to start saving money on your phone bill.
Wahl Shaver
OK, this one is applicable to men only, unless you wish to look like Sinead O’Connor. I always hated going to get my hair cut: drive to the Cheap Cuts, sit there for up to an hour reading crappy sports magazine and then pay $12 just to trim the follicles on top of my head. What a waste of time. Getting married resolved this issue. I bought a shaver and Mrs. 1500 started cutting my hair (no prior experience on her part). The only issue was that my shavers would last only about a year before crapping out. I’d try a different one every time. Finally I settled on this wonderful, Made in U. S. of A., Wahl shaver. Its going strong after 5 years.