Toolkit - Kids Ain't Cheap

Empowered people control their money. To help you empower yourself financially, here is the best stuff we’ve been able to find.

Investment and Budgeting Tools

Top notch tools & financial services available online.

USAA Bank. We reccomend them for your insurance needs.
Net worth and budget spreadsheets from Thousandaire
Mint.com
Investment tools by Personal Capital

Downloadable Software

Less known but still legit software. These are free.

Personal Finance Forums

Supportive online communities that are among the best around the web.

Free Credit Score Checking Services

You used to have to pay to get your credit score. Not anymore.

Web Based Calculators

Free savings and retirement calculators.

Our Selections From The Personal Finance Canon

The Automatic Millionaire – Author, David Bach is famous for introducing “the latte factor”. This book is an “everything you need to know” for you to start building your wealth from the comfort of your home. The core of the book is to automate your finances by buying stocks and balance transfers to savings. You will also gain access to necessary phone numbers and websites. Do it only once and the rest is automatic! Click here to learn more.

The 4-hour Work Week – A blueprint to earning a five-figure monthly income with zero management or just live more and work less. Author, Tim Ferriss, introduces the pareto principle where 80% of the desired results come from only 20% of the causes. This is his basis in cutting down 40 work hours to just 4 without sacrificing effectiveness. Click here to learn more.

Rich Habits – The author interviewed more than 300 millionaires and gathered daily habits that makes them productive. Among his findings are: they network for at least 5 hours per month, they accomplish some single goal, and they rarely watch reality tv. This is worth the read if you’re aiming for success in your own life. Get on the road to rich habits today by clicking here.

Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill spent 20 years gathering information about the self-made wealthy which resulted in a groundbreaking book on the psychology of money making. Included in this book are 16 major lessons. The idea is that desire, faith, and perseverance along with eliminating negative thinking results in success. This personal finance favorite sold more than 100 million copies worldwide. Get a copy here.

The Richest Man in Babylon — Set in ancient Babylon, this book teaches simple financial principles. These principles advocate saving a tenth of your income, investing, reducing your expenses, and buying insurance. Millions of copies were sold since it’s initial release in 1926. Get more insights here.

The Millionaire next door – Accumulating wealth is next to impossible when one spends more than what he or she earns. This book describes how “real” millionaires behave and what they do on a daily basis. You will be surprised with what you will find out. Click here to learn more.

The Total Money Makeover – A personal finance book that gives a simple and straightforward blueprint for financial success. It introduces the debt snowball method where you pay off your lowest balances first and gradually move upwards. This book is also one of the best resources for paying off debt available anywhere. Get a copy from Amazon.

The Intelligent Investor – Benjamin Graham is one of the greatest investment advisors of the 20th century who introduced the concept of “value investment”. This book has been continually updated since it was first printed and is considered to be the value investor’s stock market bible. Get a copy online.

Rich Dad Poor Dad – A best-selling book from a hugely controversial author. The core concept of this book is that the rich gain wealth by investing in revenue producing assets using tax shalters and not by hard work and investing in mutual funds. Get it on Amazon.

Freakonomics – While not strictly a personal finance book, the concepts found in this work are very helpful to investors and anyone who wants to develop the understanding of behavioral economics. Grab a copy here to learn more.