smashing the 🐽 bank #2020 part1

I figured I would like to create a series on best buys or products I’ve enjoyed the most of each year. I’m not sure whether I will be sticking to the “Smashing the Piggy Bank” name but I like it now. Speaking for myself, I’m pretty intentional about my purchases and don’t have any unjustifiable yearnings —okay, maybe Teslas are hot. Just saying, my friends. *blink* *blink*`

In Part 1, I’m mostly covering the digital tools and some physical products I enjoyed last year where the majority is for free.

Digital Tools#

  • LastPass (Free/Premium) - password manager, all platforms

For a long time, I’ve been trying to avoid these since it didn’t make sense to me. “You keep all your passwords in an online treasure vault and protects it with one master password? How is this safe?” To me, it was like gathering all your precious stuff into a plastic box and then just wrapping it with a duck tape saying “Impeachable” in the front with “Take whatever you want” on the back. I used to use the default feature of Chrome, but tracking the internet history of me watching turtle racing isn’t as harmful as being tracked for confidential data. A password manager is just convenient to use (the experience is even better if you have it on all of your devices) and LastPass just gives you all the nitty-gritty in a free tier.

Memorizing a decent master password is hell—e.g. Lm9o3PaT4aU!afda&. But I found my own way of double-authorizing the master password. When setting up your account, feel free to create a complex master password you won’t remember. However, at the end of it add a word, phrase, quote, or whatever of your own liking to generate the randomness. Meaning, now you can publically have the complex password in a visible sharing system for daily copy and paste but if someone invades it, they just get half of the cake. The second part is untraceable because you’re the only one who knows it. Pretty smart, huh?

  • f.lux (Free) - blue light intensity controller, computer

I’m so late to the party on this one, since it’s been around it since 2009. Basically, f.lux blocks out the blue light from the color picture of your computer in regard to the sun’s position at your location, making it easier to transition into sleep after a long day of computer use. Take it as an advanced Night Screen feature. In combination with blue light glasses, it was a game-changer in my lifestyle.

  • Things3 (One-time payment) - task manager, iOS only

I used Todoist in the past but I didn’t find it as neat as Things3, partly for the subscription system. The UI is clean probably intentionally alluring you to add more tasks—I suppose? A great option to consider for your personal task management.

  • Dozer (Free) - menu bar icons organizer, macOS only

In a way, I think I’m a perfectionist and this is a minor Macbook utility I use. Simply, it stacks and hides your unwanted menu icons, making the menu bar less cluttered. This is the free open-source version of the popular Bartender.

I’m an avid book reader and it had been always a struggle to keep track of my highlights and notes, but the combination of these two apps makes it less tiring and more organized. Instapaper is a source aggregator to which you can save websites, links, blogs etcetera for later reading. Once you have a collection, you open the Instapaper and do your reading with helpful tools to stylize your sources. Readwise is a service that helps you to allocate all the notes from various sources as Instapaper, Kindle, AppleBook etcetera, and based on your preference it generates an e-mail newsletter for you so you can habitually review your highlights. I find the e-mails a bit annoying and their interface is better, but essentially Readwise mitigates the forgetting curve by reminding you of your notes and highlights.

Thorough uninstalling of apps can be a hassle, but App Cleaner gets rid of all the “leftovers” for you. Very easy to use, drag, and drop an app, and voilà—PUFF!🎩

  • Airr (Free) - podcast app, all platforms

I used to listen to a lot of podcasts in Q1 and Q2 of 2020 and this was a huge deal breaker. What makes Airr different is the ability to store “air quotes” which you can later refer back to. Not only they provide transcripts of podcasts, but you can also skip to a specific minute of the talk using it. Airr is especially helpful for keeping track of the golden nuggets that make your mind go wild all while listening. With Airr, the days of disparate notes from podcasts are gone. Shout out to Ali Abdaal for recommending these, including the Instapaper and Readwise combo!

Not gonna lie, I’ve fallen for the hype of watching “The Social Dilemma” but even before that, I didn’t use the home page very often. It made me think how less we’re in control of what we experience online. On most occasions I have the recommended videos turned off but when it comes to exploring the Youtube rabbit hole, it works like a blaze too. I’ve discovered Jimmy O’Yang for instance thanks to it:

Own liking#

This section might be irrelevant to you, but we as individuals like to be inspired and hearing about other’s lives. Though, I don’t expect the armies of people wearing vests anytime soon because of my post.

Funnily when I transitioned to study in the States, I ended up working at a farm. At first, I bought it out of the need for a work job but later it has become my most worn item out of my closet. It’s comfortable, looks good, has style and most importantly I can take it anywhere with me

I like sneakers but I’m not into the overpriced culture. A perfect balance of price, style, and comfiness is my cup of tea. And once again these Nikes have convinced me that you can get a lot of music even on a low budget, I got a pair for around 50 bucks.

Never in my life, I would have thought how amazing a toaster can be. This one has six interchangeable plates for crepes, tortillas, waffles, and more. “Essen ist leckeres (Food is delicious),” is one of the only sentences I can produce with my rusty German.

If you liked the content and recommendations, keep an eye on Part 2! And as always, thank you for your time!🙌