As a blogger, I get approached by companies all the time asking me to review their products

and tools. I love finding new online resources to make my life easier and better manage my

finances, but most of the tools I come across are a big miss.

I found myself with over $90,000 in debt and on the edge of bankruptcy in 2008. I had started

selling my rental properties before the housing

bubble burst but couldn’t get out fast enough. I

started missing payments and my credit score

fell nearly 200 points to below 600 on the FICO

scale.

It was only through some of the financial

resources I share in this report that I was able to

claw myself out of financial ruin and outright

despair. I still have some debt but I’ve also

managed to grow my assets to a net worth of

$375,400 after taking off the money I owe.

You can understand why I get excited when I

find a financial tool that really works.

Some of these resources are completely new while others are new twists on old ideas for

managing your money.

Each section in the report is a review of a group of financial tools and my experience using

them. I’ve used each of these tools for more than a year and stand by the resources. I’ve linked other reviews and articles within each section to give you more information.

Some of the links are affiliate links, where I earn a referral fee if you sign up. It in no way affects

the price you pay (in fact, I’ve negotiated special offers for readers in some cases) and the

referral doesn’t sway my opinion of the tools.

In fact, as a charterholder of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, the gold-

standard for professionalism and ethical behavior in the investment industry, I am bound by a

strict code of ethics to my clients. I never review a resource or investment on the blog without

trying it first myself.

I’m always looking for new financial tools and resources. If you find something that looks

interesting or can help others, reach out through email or on the blog.

To your financial health,

Joseph Hogue, CFA

My 9 Favorite Personal Finance Resources

TransUnion is one of the three companies that collects information on your debts to create a

credit report. It’s also one of the best deals in credit monitoring and repair.

I was one of the 143 million people that got their personal information stolen by hackers of

Equifax, one of the other credit reporting bureaus. I’m not worried that they’ll be able to use

my personal data to open new accounts though because TransUnion sends me instant alerts

whenever there is a change in my credit report.

I’ve used TransUnion for years before the Equifax hack. First for advice on how to repair my

credit after the 2008 meltdown and since to keep an eye on my score.

Let’s face it. Identity theft is just a fact of life now. Credit monitoring services aren’t just a good

idea anymore, it’s another type of insurance everyone needs to protect from what will

eventually happen to you.

TransUnion offers a 7-day trial of its credit protection service plus your credit report and score

for $1 – Click to try TransUnion risk-free for seven days

LifeLock offers a lot of the services you get with TransUnion but goes a step farther. Instead of

just monitoring your credit report, LifeLock constantly scans the internet for use of your

personal information.

While TransUnion and other credit monitoring services will only alert you when someone is

already trying to use your personal information, LifeLock can find scammers before they’ve

stolen your identity.

Tools for Managing Your Credit

LifeLock also takes care of all the work to recover your credit if it is stolen. Their recovery

specialists will mediate credit disputes and file insurance claims. They’ll even represent you in

court and pay costs if needed.

One of the biggest bonuses to the LifeLock service is its sex offender alerts. The service will alert

you immediately if a registered sex offender moves into your zip code. It happens more often

than you might think. We got three alerts in the year we used the service.

LifeLock offers a 30-day risk-free trial on its premium credit monitoring protection and a 10%

discount off the monthly price. Try LifeLock identity protection FREE for 30-days.

These next two tools are controversial. Some people think of personal loans as financial weapons of

mass destruction. They can definitely get you in trouble but like any tool, they can build you up if you

use them correctly.

When I destroyed my credit in 2008, I swear I couldn’t get a loan to buy a pack of gum. The rates on all

my credit cards automatically jumped and I didn’t think there was any way I was going to get myself out

of the mess.

My first step out of financial ruin was consolidating my debt with a personal loan. The interest rate

wasn’t pretty but it was lower than my credit cards and some other bills that were already past due and

accruing late fees.

That first personal loan helped me organize my debt, lower my monthly payment and just lowered

the overall stress level.

I’ve since used personal loans for a home improvement project and to pay off a car loan. Now I even

invest in personal loans but more about that in the investing section.

There are two personal loan sites I recommend first to readers, PersonalLoans.com and SoFi.

If your credit score is below 650, your best bet is probably going to be PersonalLoans. The

company offers loans up to $35,000 and on monthly payment terms up to six years. It offers

three types of loans including peer-to-peer lending, personal loans and traditional bank loans.

The online lender will generally accept borrowers with credit scores as low as 580 FICO but you

might be able to qualify with a lower score if you don’t have anything really bad on your credit

report. I’ve used the site twice for personal loans. The online application took less than 10

minutes and I had the money in my account within two days.

Check your rate instantly for a personal loan up to $35,000

For borrowers with higher credit scores, you might qualify for a loan from SoFi (formerly Social

Finance Inc). The site offers one of the broadest lines of loans including student loan

refinancing, mortgages and personal loans.

SoFi is a little pickier about its applications though. It doesn’t release the minimum credit score

you need but I’m guessing it’s above a 680 FICO. If you do qualify, you’ll get some of the lowest

rates available with an online lender.

It doesn’t affect your credit score to fill out an application so I always recommend shopping

around for your personal loan. The sites will do a ‘soft pull’ of your credit which won’t hurt your

score. Try at least two or three different sites to see which one offers the lowest rate. A

difference of just 1% interest can mean saving thousands over the life of your loan.

Check your rate on a personal loan from SoFi

Tools for Managing Debt

If you can wait a couple of months before applying for your personal loan, you can boost your credit

score a little and get better rates. It doesn’t take much to qualify for a better deal and you’ll save a lot of

money in the long-run.

• Pay down high-interest credit card debt. It’s the debt that looks the worst on your credit report

and hurts your score.

• Ask creditors to increase your borrowing limit. This doesn’t mean go out and spend more, it’s

just a financial trick to make it look like you are a better manager of credit.

• Don’t apply for any new loans at least three- to six-months before filling out a personal loan

application.

I know it’s easier said than done but always use credit responsibly. Don’t take out a personal loan until

you’ve budgeted and cut your expenses. A loan can help get you back on your feet but it won’t fix

anything if you spend more than you make.

There are a lot of tools for saving money. Unfortunately, saving on many of them means you

have to change your lifestyle completely and be chained to the app for hours a week just to

save a few bucks.

I’m not going to waste your time with resources that can’t save you a big chunk of money or

that require more effort than they’re worth.

I use TurboTax to file my taxes every year. The price for the software is higher than some of the

other online tax prep sites but has always saved me way more than I paid to file.

TurboTax uses a simple interview style for filling out your tax forms, kind of like sitting in front

of a tax professional, to do your taxes. It makes it easy to catch all your deductions and the

program will walk you through even complicated forms.

The service even has tax professionals online to help you using the software or if you have any

questions about your taxes. TurboTax is free if you’re filing a 1040EZ or 1040A, which will cover

a lot of people with basic filing.

Click to start your taxes free with TurboTax

I’m writing out this report the very day that Apple has just released its new $999 smartphone.

Facebook is blowing up with a surprising number of people saying it’s a reasonable price to pay

for a phone…

Maybe I’m just a cheapskate but I just can’t see paying almost a thousand dollars for a phone

plus a monthly plan that costs hundreds more…not when I pay less than $35 a month for

unlimited talk, text and all the data I need.

I’ve loved Republic Wireless ever since hearing about it at a bloggers conference in 2014. The

company combines two of the largest 4G LTE cellular networks for nationwide coverage and

offers monthly plans that large carriers just can’t touch.

There’s no contract or additional fees so you can change your plan anytime you want. Check

out Republic Wireless and start saving money today.

Tools for Saving Money

I spent more than a decade as an investment analyst for large institutional firms and wealthy

clients. Over that time and through the time working with individual clients since, I’ve learned that investing isn’t as much about picking individual investments but about how you invest.

Investing in different types of investments is just as important as picking that one hot stock that

is going to rocket your portfolio.

The reason investing is about putting your money to work in different types of investments is

called diversification. I’ve talked about this a lot on the blog so I won’t bore you with the

textbook definition but remember that all investments within an asset class (i.e. stocks and

bonds) tend to move up and down together.

When the internet bubble popped in 2000, it wasn’t just tech stocks that plunged. When the housing bubble burst in 2008, it wasn’t just banks and housing stocks that lost half their value. Likewise, when the bond market fell apart in 1994, all bond investments crumbled.

By putting your money in different types of investments and different ways to invest in each

type, you won’t have to worry about those market crashes that destroy stocks or bonds or real estate.

Diversification into other types of investment is like valium for investors, it keeps you from

freaking out when the stress of the stock market gets to be too much.

Of all the investing tools and resources, peer-to-peer (p2p) is easily my favorite. I’ve used p2p not only as an investment but to get personal loans to consolidate my debt and for a house

remodeling project.

Investors can invest as little as $25 in the loans that meet their criteria on sites like Lending

Club. Monthly payments including principal and interest are deducted from the borrower’s bank account and passed through to investors.

There’s actually nothing new about investing in personal loans. Traditional banks have always

sold their loans to brokers and investment firms which then sell pieces of the loans to pensions,

insurance companies and any investors that need safe, reliable cash flow investments.

The only difference is that peer-to-peer lending platforms like Lending Club cut out the

middleman, connecting borrowers and investors directly. That means lower rates for borrowers

and higher returns for investors.

The p2p sites separate loans by risk category and you can filter loans further by different

criteria including borrowers that own their home, monthly income and credit history. That

means you can fine-tune your investments for exactly the amount of risk and return you want.

Tools for Investing

I have invested on the Lending Club platform for several years and recently interviewed a P2P

investor that has been investing since 2009. He’s consistently earned 12% on his money, even through the financial crisis.

I’ve booked returns just under 10% on my p2p investments. I plan on adding to my account every year and using the monthly cash flow to pay for living expenses in retirement. Even if I

reduce risk an invest in higher-quality loans, a return of 7% annually would still be an extra $600

a month on a $100,000 portfolio. Check out my Lending Club investing strategy and criteria I

use to pick loans.

Click to get started earning monthly cash flow and returns on Lending Club

Real Estate Crowdfunding

I started my professional career as a commercial real estate analyst before investing in my own

residential rentals so real estate investing has always had a special place in my portfolio. No

other investment has created as much family wealth as property.

The problem is, direct investing in property is a lot of work.

I could barely keep up with managing my six rental properties and a full-time job. Besides the

work, there was no way I was able to buy a diversified portfolio of different property types or in

different regions.

That’s where real estate crowdfunding comes in.

Developers offer debt or equity investments in their properties through crowdfunding sites.

The crowdfunding sites have a staff of analysts that verify the property information and the

developer’s background and less than 5% of proposed deals ever make it through to be available to investors. The platforms are regulated by the Securities & Exchange Commission

and FINRA.

You can invest as little as $1,000 per property on most platforms with terms usually ranging

from three to five years. The deals each include projected returns so you have an idea of how

much you stand to make.

The developer or project sponsor manages the property and submits cash flows and final

payouts to the platform. The platforms charge around 1% as an annual fee and pass the rest of

the money through to investors.

Advantages of Real Estate Crowdfunding over Traditional Investing:

• No tenant headaches. Your properties are managed by professional developers with

decades of experience. You invest your money and collect the returns.

• Diversification across property type and region. For the cost of buying one property, you

can invest in dozens of crowdfunded properties. That means you get exposure to

different property types across the country.

• Reduces risk in your wealth. Real estate is a physical asset. It produces constant cash

flow and offers great protection against inflation. You’ll reduce the risk in your wealth away from stocks and bonds for a more consistent return.

I interviewed one real estate crowdfunding investor recently that shared his experience and

how he sees returns of 9% and higher. I’ve invested in seven properties so far and am expecting returns of between 11% and 15% on the portfolio.

The Real Estate Crowdfunding Sites I Use

I invest on several crowdfunding sites. It’s free to open an account and you pay the same management fees on money invested so there’s nothing to lose by investing across more than one site. I get access to more deals and can be picky about in which I want to invest.

RealtyShares usually has the most deals available, both in equity and debt investments. More

than 57,000 investors have funded 750 real estate deals and collected over $83 million in

distributions. Click to browse investments for free on RealtyShares.

PeerStreet only offers debt backed by the properties but is a great way to balance the risks in

equity investments on other properties. Historical returns have been between 7% and 12% on

terms between six months to two years.

Personal Capital

It would be impossible to keep all these financial accounts straight without Personal Capital.

I have two bank accounts (each with checking and savings), accounts at five different investing

platforms (with regular accounts and retirement IRAs at each) as well as mortgages, student

loans, car loans and several other financial accounts.

Personal Capital is a free financial aggregator tool. That means it allows you to connect all those

accounts and see them all in one place.

Not only does it make keeping everything straight so much easier but the website includes a

bunch of other tools to help you budget your money, pay your bills and meet your financial

goals.

I used to spend hours every month checking in on different accounts, checking to see how

much money I had available in one bank account or when a certain bill was due. Now I just log

in to my Personal Capital account. I can check credit card spending and bills, arrange payments,

check my investments and tweak my budget.

Personal Capital also has advisors that can help you invest your money. That’s where it makes its money, on those financial advisor fees. The fees are reasonable at 0.89% annually for help

that includes a financial advisory team that will monitor and manage your investments but I’ve never used the service.

That’s the best part about Personal Capital, you can use their free tools forever…Absolutely

Free!

Get Your Finances Organized – Click to Try Personal Capital Free

These are just a few of the resources I use to manage my own investments and finances. Not

every tool is going to work for you, but don’t be afraid to try something.

Technology is there to make your life easier, to save you time and money. I try new tools and

resources all the time but don’t stick with half of them.

If you have any questions about these resources or anything about investing, feel free to

contact me by email or through the blog. I’m always here to help!