Tools I Recommend
Hand-picked list of the financial tools I actually use — budgeting apps, investing platforms, savings accounts, and more. Updated for 2026.
This page contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, ZarWealth may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products we genuinely believe in. See our full disclosure for details.
This is the page I send my friends to when they ask "what should I read or use to get my money together?" Every item here I either use myself or have thoroughly evaluated. This list grows over time as I review more tools and partner with companies whose products I actually believe in — so check back periodically.
📚 Books I Recommend
These are the books I've actually read multiple times. If you only read three personal finance books in your life, make it the first three on this list.
The Psychology of Money — Morgan Housel
The one book I'd give my younger self. Not about formulas — about behavior. Why smart people make dumb money decisions and how to avoid the traps. Quick read (~250 pages of short essays).
The Simple Path to Wealth — JL Collins
The case for low-cost index funds, made simply enough that anyone gets it. Originally written as letters to his daughter. If FIRE feels overwhelming, this book makes it feel inevitable.
I Will Teach You to Be Rich — Ramit Sethi
The modern bible for millennials. Six-week program covering credit cards, banking, investing, and conscious spending. Practical, opinionated, no fluff.
Your Money or Your Life — Vicki Robin
The original FIRE book. The "life energy" framing — calculating the real cost of purchases in hours of your life — has stayed with me for years.
Die With Zero — Bill Perkins
The counterargument to over-saving. Bill makes the case that money should be optimized for life experiences, not maximized at death. Made me rethink the FI endgame.
🎧 Prefer audiobooks? (free trial)
All five books above are available on Audible. Get any one free with a 30-day Audible trial — no obligation, cancel anytime, keep the audiobook even if you cancel.
This is the option I personally use — I listen during workouts, commutes, and chores. Same content, different format, free first month.
👉 Start your free 30-day Audible trial
Audible is owned by Amazon, so this works through the same affiliate program — you don't pay extra and ZarWealth gets a small commission if you sign up via this link.
📊 Free Resources from ZarWealth
Net Worth Tracker Spreadsheet (Free)
The exact spreadsheet template I use monthly to track every account, asset, and liability. No email required, no upsell.
10-Step Financial Independence Checklist (Free)
The action plan I wish someone had given me at 22 — every concrete step to build wealth, in order. PDF download in exchange for your email.
🎓 Free Education (no affiliate, just genuinely good)
Coursera — University of Michigan "Finance for Everyone"
One of the best free finance courses online. Audit the entire specialization for free; only pay if you want the certificate. Real university content, no influencer fluff.
👉 Audit the course free on Coursera
YouTube channels worth following
No affiliate links, no commission — just channels I learn from regularly:
- The Plain Bagel — investing fundamentals explained without hype
- Two Cents (PBS) — short, well-produced behavioral finance
- Graham Stephan — real estate and personal finance, opinionated but solid
- The Money Guy Show — financial advisors with a clear framework, weekly podcast
🛠️ Spreadsheet vs. App?
If you've tried Mint, YNAB, or other budgeting apps and found yourself fighting the tool more than using it — try a spreadsheet-first approach instead. The friction of manually entering transactions creates awareness apps can't. My free Net Worth Tracker (above) is a starting point.
⚠️ What I DON'T Recommend (and why)
I've tried these and recommend you skip them or proceed with caution:
- Whole life insurance as an "investment" — it's almost never the right call vs. term + invest the difference. The illustrations agents show you assume best-case scenarios and ignore opportunity cost.
- Day trading apps marketed at beginners — the data is unambiguous: ~95% of retail day traders lose money over time. Index funds in a Roth IRA beat day trading for almost everyone.
- Crypto as your "diversification" — if you want exposure, fine, but cap it at 1-5% of net worth. Anyone telling you crypto is a hedge against inflation in 2026 hasn't looked at the data.
- Multi-level marketing "side hustles" — they aren't side hustles, they're pyramid schemes wearing different clothes.
- Robo-advisors with high AUM fees — the algorithm can be replicated yourself with one or two ETFs. Why pay 0.25%/year for something you can do in 15 minutes?
🔄 Coming soon
I'm in the process of evaluating partnerships with several specific tools — budgeting apps, investing platforms, high-yield savings accounts — that I personally use or have used. Rather than dump a long list of every fintech with an affiliate program, I want each addition to this page to be something I can vouch for from real experience.
If you have a specific tool you're considering and want my honest take, email me. I read everything.
How this page makes money (transparency)
The book links above are Amazon affiliate links. If you buy through them, ZarWealth earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. I would recommend these books regardless of commission — most predate the existence of affiliate marketing.
If you want to support ZarWealth without spending anything extra, the easiest ways are: (1) buy a book through one of my links if you were going to buy it anyway, (2) share an article you found useful, (3) subscribe to my newsletter.
— Zar