Budget-Friendly Finds: Our Favorite Tools and Hacks Under $50 (Part 1)

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

What is the most impactful thing under $50 you've purchased or received as a gift in recent years? Let us know in the comments below!

[@wanderingdoc5075]

$0. apply and get accepted for any number of credit cards that earn flexible currencies, which can be leveraged to book award travel on business and first class flights normally costing over $10,000, for you it costs some miles and $50. So the gift is education not a specific item.

[@anythingfunn]

Air Fryer with 2 independent baskets for $129 CAD. Got it 60% off too. I love cooking, eating healthy and saving money by not buying take out food. My air fryer slashed my cooking time by at least 50%. I have more time to do my side hustles and play my sport, Pickleball. 😃

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

@@anythingfunn Nice! Sounds like quite a bargain. I love cooking and eating well, too -Jason

[@cameronproctor]

A French Press! Gotta have that coffee!

[@davidfolts5893]

Many years ago, I paid $50 to enroll in a lending library that covered topics such as motivation, creativity, and negotiation. These were cassette tapes, so we are talking way, way back. I listened to those for hours as I drove to and from work. By far, the best return on capital I have ever made.

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

That's a great one! Thanks, David

[@rachellawyer3421]

Going into this episode, I wasn’t sure if I would find value in this, but I can say that this was extremely helpful and a great way to get to know both of you better :)

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

Thanks, Rachel!

[@Lmessimer1567]

A wallet size pocket tripod for my iPhone. $40 via Amazon. Fits in my wallet, and is a game changer at family gatherings.

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

Nice! I like the sound of that. Can you share the product name? I bet others would like that one.

[@johnwestfall5644]

Hey Eric - for an adult that would like to get back into drawing (haven't really since high school), do you have any recommended KZbin or other videos?

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

Hey John- It really depends on what you're hoping to learn. I've had good success with Skillshare classes in the past for studying portrait, life + nature sketching techniques. Of late, I'll admit to being pretty heads-down given I draw all day long for work I don't have much bandwidth for drawing for pleasure! Wishing you all the best, Eric

[@rx911S]

Great video guys. When you turn 62, the national life time pass is $80, just got mine. Jason, i am planning a trip to SLO county and want to visit the PR wineries. Can you recommend a few. Thanks

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

Thanks! Glad you liked it. Oof there are >300 to choose from. What do you like? -Jason

[@rx911S]

Pinot is my favorite. Living in the Bay Area for over 30 years and I have stopped going to Napa/ Sonoma valley. We really enjoy the more laid back wine regions, Anderson valley, Carmel valley. So looking forward to PR and the surrounding regions. Keep up the great work.

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

@@rx911S One of my favorite recent Pinots was from Claiborne and Churchill, which is near San Luis Obispo. They do a great job with the Alsatian white wines as well so I'd def recommend. Paso itself isn't great for Pinot given our climate. That said, some good ones are available, mostly with fruit from out of the area. RN Estates is solid overall, and they have a few Pinots. I hear positive things about Windward and Jack Creek but haven't been to either yet. Detente in downtown PR has a nice one presently as well. My favorites are probably from the Willamette Valley though. Enjoy! -Jason

[@rx911S]

Thanks for the breakdown, yes the Oregon Pinot’s are terrific. I find that Costco locations in wine growing areas always has a nice selection of local wines. I know you guys have some individual Holdings in stocks. Might be good topic for discussion.. looking forward to the next video.

[@nairina]

A high quality, nice to the touch phone case - totally worth it. Saved my phone from shattering a few times and I enjoy the feeling when handling my phone (which is all the time). Btw, I suggest to the fellow architect to check out the islands of Teshima and Naoshima in Japan.

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

cheers...thanks for the suggestion! and, agree on the phone case (leather for me) -eric

[@KayFabe87]

Good call on the phone case. I have purchased a case for every phone that I have ever owned. I can't understand how people can willingly part with so much money for a phone, but won't spend an extra $40 to insure it against damage by purchasing a protective case, ideally with a screen protector.

[@zitoz2829]

Thank you for the tip on travel guides! I’m also planning a trip to Japan this spring and have never travelled outside the US before. Would you recommend that specific Japan travel guide book?

[@zitoz2829]

Side note, I think videos on travel would be a great topic to discuss on this channel. I’d definitely enjoy listening to both your guy’s experiences with travel.

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

Cheers, @Zito Z...that's a bold undertaking for your first ex-US trip, congrats! The book in the video ( amzn.to/3Vc11Vs ) is a very deep resource and written by a local. If anything it offers TOO much information at times. But I like how it's broken down into regions and then destinations. The end chapters summarize the culture and all the basic navigation information. It has everything you'd expect out of a good travel guide. Enjoy the planning!

[@zitoz2829]

Likewise! Thanks for the link!

[@gerryfitzsimmons6316]

Please provide more detail on both wine book and wine tasting course

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

Hi Gerry, a link to the book is in the show notes: twosidesoffi.com/under50/ The course I took was the WSET Level 2 in Wine. There are many in-person and online options to take the class. www.wsetglobal.com/qualifications/wset-level-2-award-in-wines/

[@JustFrozen77]

Sad coming to this and the very first suggestion is Apollo which Reddit is in the process of killing off

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

Indeed I’m pretty worried about this. -Jason

[@JustFrozen77]

@@TwoSidesOfFI Well it's official as of today so..... =(

[@Bleys0072]

2834. LOL!

[@NaeOnYT]

That gave me a chuckle.

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

Good eye... ;)

[@KG-oe8oo]

I'm wondering if either of you credit card/bank account/travel hack. I know that some people are hard core and are able to take expensive trips for practically free (if you don't count the thousands they are spending on credit cards LOL) but it can take a lot of time. What say you?

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

Hi K G, Jason here - not as much these days. When I used to travel for business a lot and was able to expense things on a personal card (for later reimbursement of course!) my main card was an airline rewards card. I got a -ton- of mileage out of that. These days I just use a standard cashback rewards are as the value is greater for me at present.

[@architecday]

Thanks to both of you for the useful video! 🙏🏻🙏🏻 I am also an architect and a super fan of Eric (obviously): I wanted to thank him for his ‘free’ gift which, with his words, have clarified my ideas about the management of the day a lot! 🙌🏻💪🏻

[@beelee1394]

Apollo is iPhone only 🙁

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

Thanks. Sadly, yes. I don't think I said this on the episode but I did mention it in the show notes. twosidesoffi.com/under50

[@vanguardvaluist2614]

JL Collins “Simple Path to Wealth”. It has helped me to clearly identify values, change my behaviors and chart a path to cease exchanging my time for money.

[@davidfolts5893]

That is a great read.

[@TwoSidesOfFI]

Great choice! I suspect many of our viewers will agree