Wise Owl Wednesday #29 - Tools of the Trade
Aug 12, 2020 6:46 pm
Happy Wednesday, Wise Owl Nation.
While giving tips on how to level up your wisdom, health, and wealth scores is important, it's also important to share powerful tools that can help you get there faster.
I like to think that, on the spectrum of lazy, I land somewhere on the lazier end.
These days many of my friends and family would say I am the opposite of lazy, but here's the secret - it's because of the tools I use to create "smart cuts" in life.
Every once in a while I will do a tools-of-the-trade issue of this newsletter to share with all of you all the various tools I am using to supplement my journey to becoming wise, healthy, and wealthy.
If you know any amazing tools for any of these categories, please, please, please let me know! I might just feature that tool in the next Tools of the Trade issue.
Let's get into it.
You can find all past issues (including this one) here.
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My Current Wisdom Tools of the Trade:
Regarding "wisdom" tools. I've included in this section tools I use for organization, productivity, efficiency, and learning. While this might not seem obviously about being wise, it still felt like the right section for me.
YouTube - This is obvious, but YouTube has some of the best training courses on every kind of skill or problem. I've used YouTube to build computers, fix garbage disposals, and solve all my Windows 10 issues :P.
Audible - Anytime I clean the house, go for a walk, or drive anywhere, I listen to an audiobook or podcast.
Audible is the best audiobook platform in existence.
Overcast/Spotify for podcasts - I use these two apps to listen to all of my favorite podcasts.
Masterclass - At $99/year this tool is well worth it in my opinion. I've used Masterclass to learn how to cook better food, play better poker, and write better. It has courses on all sorts of topics, and has exclusive courses from some of the worlds most talented people.
Medium - This is my favorite writing/blogging platform. It has a baked in audience, great SEO, and you can get paid to write great content. I consistently make over $50 a month from previously written articles.
Notion - My fiancé and I organize our lives in this tool. It's like a combination of Asana, Microsoft Word, Excel, and Evernote. It's freaking amazing.
Google Calendar - As my good friend Kendra always says "If it's not in the calendar it doesn't get done." You need to use some kind of calendar to track all the crazy shit going on in your life. I prefer google calendar.
Brave Browser - I will be honest, I don't like using Safari or Chrome at all. Brave is the most secure browser I've found. It looks and feels like Google Chrome, but it automatically blocks ads, kills trackers, and improves all website security. You can use the internet much, MUCH safer with this browser.
My Current Health Tools of the Trade:
Oura Ring - This is the best fitness tracker I have ever used. It's a ring! The battery lasts for at least a week, it tracks my sleep, activity, resting heart rate, heart rate variability, and in the future might even be able to tell you if you have COVID-19! It's a one time purchase of at least $299.
Another awesome alternative that is a subscription model is the Whoop Strap. It functions as a wrist band and gives a lot of the same info. The wrist strap is free, but you pay monthly for you data.
Low Carb/No Sugar foods - I don't do the Keto diet, but I do take advantage of all the Keto foods out there now to reduce the amount of sugar in my diet. Too much sugar kills. There are a TON of really awesome foods out there now designed with the least amount of processed sugar as possible. I use these foods as often as I can.
Stevia - This is my favorite sugar substitute. I put it in my coffee, in my cooking, and I've even put it on my low carb cereal before! It sweetens everything just as well as sugar, but doesn't impact your body like too much sugar can.
Kettle Bells - My favorite tool for getting stronger. You can have a completely busted up body and still use kettle bells safely to get stronger. Even if you're out of shape, have a bad back, have a bum knee, or have arthritis. You can still find a way to use a kettle bell to make your body stronger.
Five Tibetan Rites - I touched on this last week, but this is AMAZING. It's five small and easy movement exercises that make your body happy. The more you do them, the looser and better your body feels. It's the easiest way to start improving your flexibility and strength.
My Current Wealth Tools of the Trade:
Learning:
Ramit Sethi - I've covered his book "I Will Teach You To Be Rich." He might have created more millionaires through his content than anyone else I can think of. His Instagram alone is an amazing resource for free learning. 98% of his content is free.
The Bankless Podcast - The best place to start learning about Crypto. While I can teach you how to do everything, these guys already have dozens of hours of content on why crypto is the future of money, transactions, and all things digital.
Doing:
Clarity Money - track all of your non-crypto finances in one place
Cointracker - track all of your crypto finances in one place
Betterment - Invest in index funds easily. (My favorite investing tool if you do not want to mess with crypto)
Cash App - Like Venmo, but better. Buy fractions of stocks. Buy Bitcoin. Send/receive money.
Coinbase - This is the safest and easiest way to buy crypto right now. While I don't keep my Crypto on Coinbase, I still use the app to buy crypto with US Dollars.
Argent - This is the best Ethereum wallet on the planet right now.
BlockFi - Crypto lending. I use this tool to earn interest on Bitcoin and Ethereum. It is currently the safest way to earn the most interest on Bitcoin and Ethereum. In the future I will likely move my Ethereum out of BlockFi, so I can earn Ether via staking, but for now it is amazing.
Crypto.com - I use this tool to easily use my crypto to buy things, as well as earn 8-12% on stable coins. This is more of an advanced tool, but it is awesome. I use this card for most purchases and earn 3% cash back on all purchases in Crypto.
Quote of the week:
Resources
I will be adding to this section over time as we find resources that will help you all.
- Check out the Wise Owl Store
- All Wise Healthy Wealthy Articles on Medium
- Start your own Sendfox Newsletter
- Free products to help you level up