The Keep:Financial Discipline Guild

The Keep: Index > The Armory > Financial Discipline Guild

Guild description

In a world culture where we are constantly bombarded with advertisements to strip us of our hard earned money, this group seeks to turn the tide of consumerism and develop financial discipline: The Foundation of Financial Freedom. If you are concerned with your spending habits, then this group is for you. Join us here.

Common recurring challenges include the following: 

• Monthly Discussion Challenge - participate in the guild chat on this month's topic
• The Stalwart Savers' Trilogy
• 30 Day Money Cleanse

Leadership: Guild leader: stephonee

Resources

Recommended resources from our guild members.

Please add any resources you find helpful in your journey to find financial discipline! However, please do not post any affiliate or referral links here. If a referral link makes sense, you may post it in guild chat with an explanation and a disclosure that it is a referral link.

Bank Accounts

• (USA) Best High Yield/Interest Savings Accounts
• Related: How I’m Getting 5% Interest on FDIC-Insured Savings Accounts
• Great Article on best online checking accounts like USAA, Ally, BVNB: Best Online Checking Accounts

Blogs

• Crown Financial Ministries  
• Extreme Early Retirement - Blog by the person who wrote the book below
• Frugalwoods - originators of the Uber Frugal Month challenge
• Get Rich Slowly
• Military Bloggers (USA)  - a list of 14 current or former military members and spouses talking about everything from basic pay to real estate to retirement
• Money Saving Expert - Advice on budget management, savings, pensions, debt management, etc. UK based.
• Mr. Money Mustache
• Poorer Than You - millennial-focused personal finance blog. Owned and written by guild member/leader stephonee.
• Mad Fientist - Great overall FIRE blog. Specifically known for optimizing tax strategies.
• Travel Miles 101 - blog & free email course on "travel hacking" / "credit card hacking" (using credit card sign-up bonuses and rewards to save big on travel expenses)
• JL Collins NH - Blog by the author of The Simple Path to Wealth (below)
• Wallet Hacks
• Your Money Geek - Uses pop culture to teach personal finance, and profiles inspiring success stories and celebrity interviews.

Podcasts

• Millennial Money Minutes - tough personal finance questions in 5 minutes or less!
• Stacking Benjamins - the lighter side of personal finance
• Paychecks & Balances
• Afford Anything
• Choose FI
• The Dave Ramsey Show
• Mad Fientist
• Bigger Pockets Money

Books (Amazon links, but smart guildies always check their local library first!)

• The Richest Man in Babylon
• The Millionaire Next Door
• The Millionaire Mind
• I Will Teach You To Be Rich
• The Total Money Makeover
• Early Retirement Extreme: A Philosophical and Practical Guide to Financial Independence
• Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
• Your Money Or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Acheiving Financial Independence
• The Simple Path to Wealth: Your Road Map to Financial Independence and a Rich, Free Life
• The Money Class: Learn to Create Your New American Dream
• Debt Free Forever by Gail Vaz-Oxlade (Canadian Focus)
• All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan
• The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Parents Are (Still) Going Broke
• You Need a Budget: The Proven System for Breaking the Paycheck-to-Paycheck Cycle, Getting Out of Debt, and Living the Life You Want

• Kakeibo: The Japanese Art of Saving Money - an old Japanese budgeting technique that incorporates goal-setting.

Spreadsheets and Calculators

• RaeniaSaiery's Budget Template - Google Sheets, copy to your own Google account
• Retirement Freedom spreadsheet calculator
• Ultimate Refinancing spreadsheet calculator
• CIBC Mortgage Payment Calculator

Apps

• EveryDollar.com - Free app for mobile/PC users that can have users creating a budget in 10 minutes and track spending by category (digital envelopes). Plus version that links with bank downloads is available, but free version is fully functional.
• You Need A Budget - Budgeting software for mobile/web that uses a digital 'envelope' system geared toward training you to avoid carrying credit card debt + save up for future expenses.  (34 day free trial, then cost per month/year.  Students can use it for free). Don't skip the live webinars that teach you the system, they're really useful.
• Tiller - Yes, it's a subscription service, but if you budget using spreadsheets and would like to auto-import transactions and some ideas for powerful reports, Tiller is worth the $5/mo. Requires google sheets.

• Mint - Free, all-in-one app that can be used online or a mobile device. Set your budgets, track your bills, and get alerts when you are close to reaching your limits. You can choose to link your bank and credit accounts for automatic updates. You can track your investments as well.
• Personal Capital - Free net worth tracker. Get a complete view of your money including credit cards, bank accounts, retirement accounts, brokerage accounts, and any other assets or liabilities you have. Great high level view of finances to see if you're heading in the right direction.
• (German) Web-Budgetplaner - This is a free online 'household' book service provided by Sparkasse (a German bank ergo the website is entirely in German). It allows you to group expenses, analyse your spendings and export your budget overview into excel if neccessary. This service is available for computer and smart phone.
• https://www.tipyourself.com/ Tip Yourself is an app where you reward yourself through saving. In other words, it’s a win-win. You can cultivate positive habits while saving money.  After signing up for a Tip Jar account, you’ll link it to your checking account, which will be used to transfer your “tips” to your Tip Jar. There is also a social feed that creates a community. Its free, but the money in your Tip Jar doesn’t earn any interest.

Games

• $tock Exchange Game - Fun, educational game. Learn about stocks and financial planning. Fun for kids and adults.
• Investopedia Stock Simulator - Set up a portfolio that follows the actual stock market and get a feel for how trading works before using real money.

Other Resources

• Credit Karma - Check your Vantage credit scores for free (check your credit cards first - some of them offer free credit scores). *** These are Vantage Scores*** 
• Discover Scorecard - Check your FICO credit scores. These are more commonly used. 
• The Motley Fool- Lots of good information on investing, retirement, and more.
• Nerd Wallet -good for comparing credit cards, accounts and more. 
• Seven Baby Steps - Your roadmap to financial peace, by Dave Ramsey. 
• Path to Grow - Path to Grow is one of the best finance related blogging websites, which provides you with the latest blogs and updates related to Finance and wealth.

• Does money make us happy? https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_spending_influences_happiness
• Investopedia - Good source of knowledge on stock and forex trading.
• Daytrading.com - Website that offers a lot of guides and other information about day trading, forex trading, cfd trading and other types of trading.
• Practical Money Skills - This page offers lots of helpful information on practical, real-life money skills. It includes helpful tips, resources, tutorials and education, and games. (Operated and compiled by Visa.)