Tools We Actually Use

The best free financial dashboard available. Connect all your accounts — brokerage, TSP, 401k, bank, T-Bill ladder — and see your complete net worth in one place. Includes a retirement planner that models Social Security, pension income, and investment growth.

The official U.S. government platform for purchasing Treasury Bills, Notes, and Bonds. Zero fees, zero spread — you get the full auction rate. The only place to buy T-Bills with auto-reinvestment that runs completely on autopilot.

Our own free tool. Enter your capital, choose your maturities, and see your exact annual income, blended yield, and payment calendar — with rates pulled live from the Federal Reserve. T-Bill ladder and Treasury barbell modes included.

A brokerage built specifically for long-term investors who want to automate their portfolio. Create a "pie" of dividend ETFs — SCHD, VYM, JEPI, JEPQ — set your target allocations, and M1 automatically rebalances every deposit. Zero commissions.

Commission-free trading with extended hours and access to Treasury securities. Good alternative brokerage for investors who want T-Bill access alongside their equity holdings in one modern mobile-first platform.

Rounds up every purchase to the nearest dollar and invests the difference automatically. Good entry point for investors just starting to build the DCA habit. Not suited for a full dividend engine but excellent for getting started.

The only mainstream tax software that handles Form 8606 (backdoor Roth reporting), TSP distributions, qualified vs ordinary dividend separation, and Treasury interest state exemption correctly. Worth every dollar for dividend investors with complex returns.

Strong alternative to TurboTax for investors with dividend income, Roth conversions, and Treasury interest. The Deluxe+ tier handles investment income well and the interface is slightly easier to navigate for first-time filers with complex situations.

Dedicated dividend tracking app that shows upcoming payments, annual income by holding, yield on cost, and portfolio income growth over time. Helps visualize how your dividend engine is growing month by month.

The best source for deep dividend stock analysis. Coverage of SCHD, VYM, JEPI, JEPQ, and Realty Income is extensive. The dividend safety grades and yield history charts are particularly useful for income investors making allocation decisions.

The Federal Reserve's free economic database. Every Treasury yield, every CPI reading, every Fed funds rate — all available for free. Our Ladder Builder pulls rates directly from FRED. Bookmark the Treasury yield pages for quick reference.

Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. Die With Zero by Bill Perkins. The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins. Three books that cover the mindset, the philosophy, and the mechanics of building long-term wealth through passive income.