Resources
Here at Smart Living Scientist, I only recommend products, services, tools and companies that I have either done extensive research on and know are valuable, created, or personally use myself. Here is all the best resources that I’ve found to be essential to improving finances, develop smart habits and mindset, and living that life you’ve dreamed of living. I update this page regularly with new resources I discover, research and use. Be sure to check this page regularly!
Please note: This page contains affiliate links. I may receive commission (at no extra cost to you) for purchases made through these links. Thank you for your support!
Books
Starter Book For Personal Finance Rich Dad Poor Dad
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki is one of the most recommended personal finance books for those starting to learn the basics of how money works and understand how to manage and improve your finances. This is the first book I read when I started my financial education journey and I used what I learned to build a good financial foundation. It is still one of my go-to books and I often review the book to reinforce my understanding. I refer to Robert’s material quite a bit and you will see me use his concepts in many of my blog posts.
Although the book has been around for over 20 years and the content material is still relevant today – I believe it will always remain relevant. Robert talks about how to lower your taxes, how you do not have to trade time to earn more money, and much more. This is one of two books that I believe are essential for understanding and improving your personal finances. You can check it out on Amazon by clicking the link below.
Modern Personal Finance Book With A Unique & Different Take I Will Teach You To Be Rich
I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi is a book that I picked up from Barnes & Noble at the beginning of 2020. My boss gave everyone a $25 gift card at our holiday party. Normally he would give us books but figured this year he would let us purchase the books that we wanted. After reading Rich Dad Poor Dad, I was already dedicated to improving my finances. I found this book on the personal finance display near the front of the store. There were many options to choose from but the way Ramit described his book on the front page stood out to me. It was just different than anyone else’s message. So I decided to buy the book and it turned out to be one of the best decisions and investments I’ve ever made.
Ramit has a very unique take on personal finances that is very different than most financial experts and advice out there. He has a unique style and the language he uses is very engaging and captivating, particularly towards the younger generation. His advice really resonated with me. He offers a 6-week program that just works. Through this program, he helps you build/create and automate your personal finance system and get you started on your way to your rich life. You can check it out on Amazon by clicking the link below.
A Must-Have Book For Personal Development Start With Why
Start With Why by Simon Sinek is by far one of the most useful and powerful books I’ve read and the best books for personal development. It is a must-have for business, leadership, personal growth and inspiration.
I first learned of Simon Sinek on YouTube when he was first interviewed on Impact Theory, a channel that interviews amazing influencers and other powerful figures who have had a profound impact on the world or story to share. Simon Sinek and his book Start With Why is what inspired me to start Smart Living Scientist and the reason I start with why here on my blog.
By starting with a clear Why here, I hope to inspire you to take action, to lower your activation energy, to improve your finances, and to live your dream life. If you would like to learn how to inspire others to take action, this is the book to read. You can check it out on Amazon by clicking the link below.
Let Money Work For You
Best Online Shopping Portal for Cash Back or Amex Membership Points Rakuten - Online Shopping Portal
Rakuten (formerly known as Ebates) is an online shopping portal where you can earn FREE CASH BACK or AMERICAN EXPRESS (AMEX) MEMBERSHIP REWARD (MR) POINTS for purchases you normally make at online retailers. Instead of visiting the retailer’s site directly, you start at the portal and then click through to the retailer’s site. You are still purchasing the exact same items directly from the merchant at the exact same price, but you will earn free cash back or valuable Amex Membership Reward Points (if you have a MR credit card from them). It is completely free for you. Rakuten makes a commission for referring you to the retailer, and they give you some of that money back as a thank you. This is the very first online shopping portal I signed up for.
It is still one of my favorites and one I frequently use today. It is an easy way to boost and double-dip (you still earn the points from your credit card) on my MR points and redeem them for travel. You can get anywhere from 1% to 20% or higher, or a fixed amount back on your purchases, though this generally applies to the subtotal of your purchase (excluding taxes and shipping).
If you sign up through my link and spend $20 on something you were already going to buy, you’ll receive $20!
A Must-Have Tool For Online Shopping Portals Cashback Monitor - Shopping Portal Aggregator
CashbackMonitor.com is a website that tracks the cash back or bonus points for all retailers participating in online shopping portals such as Rakuten. It includes a number of online shopping portals, including your favorite airline, credit card and other shopping portals. This is a great way to boost and double-dip on your cash back or favorite airline and credit card award points program.
A Must-Have Tool For Getting The Best Prices and Coupons For Online Shopping Capital One Shopping - Online Shopping Portal & Price Comparison
Capital One Shopping (formerly Wikibuy) is an online shopping portal and price comparison tool from Capital One that is completely FREE to use. It is a browser extension that you install and it automatically compares the price of an item you are looking at to the same item from other online merchants so that you can purchase it at the best price. Capital One Shopping also automatically applies various coupon codes, including ones that merchants do not explicitly offer, and applies the best one. The best part of all of this? It does this all automatically and instantaneously, saving users more than $70 million last year. If you’re like me and like to research a few different sources before purchasing, Capital One Shopping will save you a lot of time.
My Preferred Banking Solution For All Savings Accounts Capital One - Personal Banking for Savings
Capital One bank is my preferred bank for having a savings account. I opened a 360 Performance Savings account with them at the beginning of this year. This is a high-yield savings account where your money can grow just by keeping your money in the account. Capital One offers a competitive interest rate, often among one of the top interest rates for high-yield savings accounts. While the money you gained from the interest is taxed, it is a great account for emergency savings as your money can grow over time – the money you do not touch unless for emergencies.
My Preferred Investing For Retirement Platform Fidelity - Investing
My tax advantage retirement account platform of choice. I started my Roth IRA with them at the beginning of this year when I first learned the benefits of the Roth IRA. My account contains only index funds as those are my investment of choice for retirement. Although I could use any other platform or brokerage, I chose Fidelity because they have one of the lowest expense ratio index funds. They also have zero expense ratio index funds! Their platform, including their mobile app, is also very simple to use, making trading and investing super simple.
My Other Money Tools
Free Personal Wealth Mangement Tool Personal Capital - Personal Wealth Tracking
Personal Capital is a FREE web application tool you can use to monitor and track all your accounts and investments in one place! They also offer free tools great for retirement planning. It can help you develop a plan to reach your retirement goal, as well as budgeting. I check my Personal Capital account at the end of each week to see the balance of all of my accounts.
My Preferred Bank and Issuer For Credit Cards Chase - Credit Cards and Banking
Back in 2018 my colleague introduced me to Chase lineup of Ultimate Rewards credit cards and the rest is history. This line up of cards are great for track hacking and can save you thousands of dollars each time you redeem the points. I opened six cards with them in the past three years alone with plans for a couple more in the future. Chase has an inexplicit 5/24 rule for their cards. This means you will not be approved for their credit cards if you have opened more than 5 credit cards within 2 years. Certain cards are excluded from this rule, which you can read more here. It also helps to bank with them to increase your chances of getting approved. They also recently started to open branches in MA, which is great now that they are local and more convenient to access their ATMs.
My Preferred Bank for Personal Checking Account Schwab - Personal Banking for Checking
I normally do not carry cash but a couple of years ago on my vacation to Florence, Italy I had to withdraw some cash upon landing in Florence. I had to pay fees, which were quite high. From that moment on, I decided to not pay a single cent more towards fees for ATM withdrawals in situations where it is needed. Earlier this year I learned of the High Yield Investor checking account from Schwab from Ramit Sethi’s book, I Will Teach You To Be Rich, a book I highly recommend. I have opened the account and banked from Schwab since. Although it is labeled as a “high-yield” account, the interest is nothing like the top high-yield savings accounts out there. You can check out their interest rate and other information about the account by clicking below.
My Go-To Program For Saving Money On Gas Fuel Rewards - Savings on Gas
Fuel Rewards is a rewards program for Shell. This is in my opinion one of the best rewards program for fuel out there, particularly if you like to fill up at Shell gas stations. Even if you do not normally fill up at Shell, you may find that it may be cheaper than where you go to now with the savings. You can earn even more savings if you shop at Stop & Shop, have T-Mobile as your carrier, and/or a Dunkin loyalist.
If you have Gold Status, you automatically get 5¢ off per gallon. I shop at Stop & Shop and have T-Mobile as my carrier so I on average get 25¢ off per gallon. If you drive and have to fill up a lot, these savings can add up quickly over the course of a year. You typically have to fill up 6 times at Shell before earning Gold Status, but you can automatically get Gold Status by signing up through my referral link below and filling up once.
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