When it comes to my day-to-day life, both personally and professionally, there are a few key products, services and gadgets that I rely on heavily. These are the things that keep me productive, organized, entertained (and sometimes, sane). So I’ve shared a breakdown of what I use and why I can’t imagine going without them across these categories:
🧑💻Tech Essentials
💻 Computer & Mobile Apps
💸 Money & Subscriptions
🏋🏽 Health, Fitness & Clothing
🧳 Travel Tools & Apps
🏠 Home, Kitchen & Auto
👶 Kids & Dog
💼 Business & Podcasting
Just to clarify, none of the brands I’m mentioning below have paid to be included—they’re all genuinely my favorites. If some happen to be sponsors, it’s because I only work with advertisers whose products I already love. Wherever possible, I’ve added affiliate links and discount codes and I’d really appreciate if you use them, but ONLY if it’s the best deal you can find!
🧑💻Tech Essentials
Personal Devices
- iPhone 15 Pro: This is my core device. I tried Android a couple of times but the iMessage integration makes it indispensable.
- MacBook Air with M2 Chip: I do a lot of my work on this machine and I’ve almost never had any issues on it.
- Mac mini: My primary computer.
- Magic Keyboard + Magic Trackpad: I love this combo but I’ve been eyeing the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID!
- Apple AirPods: I lost my 3rd Generation AirPods so I went back to the 2nd Generation - they’re reliable and the sound quality is great. I tried the AirPods Pro andAirPods Max and I must say, I’m not a fan.
- MOFT iPhone Wallet: This was a gift, and I love it. It’s a MagSafe charger and a phone stand all in one. Super handy!
Power Banks
- Anker Prime Power Bank: Anker makes the best charging products, hands down.
- Anker PowerWave Charging Stand: I use this magnetic charger on my desk to keep my devices charged throughout the day.
Desk Setup
- Bose Companion 2 Speakers: I like having high-quality sound and these are perfect for it.
- UPLIFT **Standing Desk:** A really solid desk that lets me switch between sitting and standing effortlessly.
- Steelcase Gesture Office Chair: If you’re going to spend hours at a desk, you need a good chair. This one is incredibly comfortable and supports good posture.
- Elgato Stream Deck MK.2: Originally designed for gamers, I use this to control everything from my records to switching cameras to muting myself on video meetings to pausing my Spotify and the list goes on. It’s a game-changer.
Storage
- For cloud, I used to use Dropbox but we ran out of space after recording videos for the pod, but now I’ve switched to Google Drive for the extra space. iCloud handles all my personal backups, including photos and messages.
- Synology DiskStation DS923+: This little device is my local storage solution. It’s like a personal cloud that syncs with my network and the actual cloud. It’s perfect for backing up large files and keeping everything in sync.
💻 Computer & Mobile Apps
Productivity Apps
- Alfred: A replacement for Spotlight Search with way more functionality.
- Superhuman (←Free month with code ALLTHEHACKS): The fastest email I’ve ever used. With AI features that save me hours every week, it’s easily one of the tools I’d be lost without.
- Loom: I use this to record quick videos for work. It’s cross platform, making it a great way to communicate asynchronously and avoid unnecessary meetings.
- Rectangle: A free app that lets you move and manipulate windows on my screen with ease.
- Arc: I’ve fully switched to Arc as my browser on all my devices. The layout is unique, and it’s incredibly intuitive once you get used to it. I absolutely cannot imagine living without it.
Privacy and Security
- Code Piper: This app lets you autofill two-factor authentication codes on the computer, making it easier to stay secure without the hassle.
- 1Password (← Free 2-week trial): I’ve been using this password manager for so many years and I’ve made everyone in my family switch over. It’s super reliable and keeps all my passwords, two-factor codes, and passkeys in one secure place.
- NordVPN (← Discount + 4 months free): You can use NordVPN to connect to almost any country quickly. It’s a great hack for accessing different versions of the Olympics i.e. head over to the UK to use BBC. It’s also useful for taking advantage of referral programs with multiple email addresses.
Chrome Extensions
- Library Extension: When browsing books on Amazon, this extension shows me if my local library has it available for checkout or as an eBook. Super handy!
- Points Path: This one’s great for travelers. It shows the points cost for flights directly in Google Flights.
- Rakuten (← Free $30): Earn cash back on almost every online purchase, and if you link your American Express card to your account, you can earn Membership Rewards® Points instead of dollars.
- Keepa: An Amazon price tracker that provides historical price graphs to help monitor price changes and make informed purchasing decisions.
- Don't F*** With Paste: This extension allows you to paste text on websites that try to block it. A small but mighty tool.
- Eno from Capital One: Lets you create virtual cards for online shopping, adding an extra layer of security to my purchases.
Mobile Apps
- BestParking: If you’re ever in a city and need to find parking, this app is a lifesaver. It’s basically a map of the prices of nearby parking garages and lots.
- TV Time App: It tracks your favorite shows, shares recommendations, and keeps up with upcoming schedules, but the app isn’t the most reliable because it crashes often (but it’s still the best I’ve found).
- ChatGPT: I use this for app for everything its actually my shortcut button.
- Morty: Amy and I love escape rooms, and this app is our go-to directory to find the best-rated escape rooms escape rooms around the world.
- Infatuation: When it comes to food reviews, I love the editorial content on this app. It’s like having a trusted friend recommend the best spots in town.
- Podcasts: I used to use Spotify, but it didn't support my private RSS feeds from Patreon. I tried Apple Podcasts but it caps playback at 2x speed, and I prefer 2.1x. Lately, I've been using Overcast— it's not perfect, but I really like it.
💸 Money
Bank Accounts
If you haven’t already, make sure to listen to episode #177 on the best accounts to replace your checking account and maximize interest earning but here are my top 3:
- Wealthfront: I used to work at Wealthfront. Get $5k managed free and/or a 0.5% APY boost.
- Mercury
- Fidelity
Personal Finance Tools
- Kubera (← 1st year free for ATH members): This is one of the best ways to track and monitor your net worth.
- ProjectionLab (← 10% off with code ATH-10): When it comes to more detailed financial modeling, I really like ProjectionLab. It allows you to build and simulate your own financial plan.
- Copilot (← 2 months free with code HACKS2): One of the simplest ways to categorize your spending and create a budget retrospectively.
- Daffy (← Free $25 for charity): Our go-to platform for charitable giving. We use it to donate to a donor-advised fund, making the process efficient and tax-friendly.
- Carry: Since we run our own company, we've consolidated all our old 401(k)s into a solo 401(k) with Carry. It’s the most effective way we've found to manage both our 401(k)s and self-directed IRAs.
- Gelt (← Skip the waitlist): The best CPAs. This is how we handle everything from personal taxes to business finances.
- Trustworthy: A digital vault that securely stores your tax returns, IDs, and other critical information. If anything were to happen to you, it ensures that someone can easily access your estate details, account information, and essential documents like passports and insurance cards.
I also did a deep dive on tracking your spending on episode #133 covering why you should do it, as well as top apps/services, setting up budgets, managing recurring expenses, picking categories and more.
Subscriptions
- MasterClass (← 15% off): I’ve learned so much from the experts on this platform. Whether it’s cooking tips from Gordon Ramsay or leadership advice from business leaders, MasterClass is a go-to resource for expanding my knowledge.
- Stable (← 50% off): I use this virtual mailbox service to handle all my business mail. They receive your mail, scan it, or ship it to you, making it easy to manage plus, keeps my home address private.
- DeleteMe (← 20% off): Your personal information often gets sold to data brokers and ends up online. I use DeleteMe to remove this data, and they regularly review and remove listings, keeping my info private. It’s been so effective that I’ve signed up my entire family.
- Paramount Plus (Free with Walmart+): I’m not even sure I watch it, but since The Platinum Card® by American Express gives me free Walmart+, I get Paramount Plus at no extra cost.
- ChatGPT Plus: The new 4.0 version is great and while there are other faster, free models out there, once you start using ChatGPT, it’s hard to switch. I do wish they had an easier way to search.
🏋🏽 Health, Fitness & Clothing
Health & Fitness
- Peloton Bike: I’ve had it for years and still love it, though I admit that I’ve been eyeing a Tonal for strength training (but I’m not sure we have the space for it).
- Bowflex SelectTech 552 Adjustable Dumbbells: Space-saving and versatile for at-home workouts.
- Oura Ring: My go-to sleep tracker. It helps me monitor and improve my sleep quality.
- SHOKZ OpenRun Pro Headphones: These open-ear headphones are perfect for runs. I can stay aware of my surroundings while still enjoying my music or podcasts or even talk to Amy.
- Nike Vaporfly 3: If you’re serious about running, these shoes are game-changers. They’re a bit pricey, but the performance boost is undeniable. They almost got banned from the Olympics because they're just THAT amazing.
- Cold Plunge (← $150 off): I love their Plunge products!
- Haven Sauna: They haven’t officially launched yet, but you can sign up for their waitlist here.
- One Medical: We use it for the whole family. It’s pretty convenient for scheduling last-minute doctors appointments and virtual calls.
- Peter Attia Membership: I’ve subscribed to his membership which gives me access to premium podcast content and premium show notes. I highly recommend it if you want to dial into your health (and you can also check out his recent book Outlive).
Clothing
- Vuori Activewear (← 20% off): These are my all-time favorite clothing items, even beyond active wear. I wear them at least once or twice a week—they’re just that comfortable and versatile. If I HAD to pick my favorites, it’d be the Sunday Performance Jogger, the Strato Tech Tee and the Kore Short.
- Bonobos (← 25% off): The Riviera Short Sleeve Shirt has become my go-to shirt. I probably have 6-7 of them because they’re incredible!
- Indochino (← 10% off with code ALLTHEHACKS): I got a couple of suits from them for our wedding which was 12 years ago, and they’re still wear them! The custom tailoring has held up well, and they still look fantastic.
- goodr sunglasses (← $10 off): I probably own five or six pairs of goodr sunglasses. They’re affordable, stylish, and great for working out or just everyday use.
- Mack Weldon Underwear (← $20 off): I use The Platinum Card® by American Express’s Saks credit every six months to stock up on Mack Weldon underwear. I think they’re a bit pricey, but they’re worth every penny for the comfort and quality.
🧳 Travel Tools and Apps
- Flighty: This app keeps me updated on all my flights with real-time alerts.
- Portable Mini Travel Router: I love this product because it solves the common issue of hotel Wi-Fi requiring room number authentication, which many devices can’t handle. This affordable, compact travel router creates its own Wi-Fi network, allowing all your devices to connect seamlessly while you authenticate through your phone or laptop.
Suitcases and Bags
- Away (← $40 off): I love their The Weekender bag.
- Monos: Also love their Weekender bag.
- Tortuga Backpacks: My favorite travel backpack.
Points and Miles
I’ve covered a lot of content around this topic which you can check out on episode #155 to find out which credit cards are in my wallet for 2024, and #166 to learn about the best tools to book flights and #167 for hotels.
- CardPointers Pro (← 30% off): Automatically loads card-linked offers into your Amex or Chase account and suggests the best card to use while shopping.
- Award Wallet: Tracking points and miles can be tricky since many airlines block access to balance information, but Award Wallet is the best solution available.
- My Credit Card Optimization Tool: I spent dozens of hours building out a robust credit card optimizer tool, so you could maximize your earnings from credit cards. If you're an ATH member, (or want to be), you’ll get free access to the tool and so much more!
🏠 Home, Kitchen & Auto
Smart Home Tech
- Ubiquiti Wifi + Cameras: Ubiquiti is my favorite brand for Wi-Fi and security cameras. Professional-grade gear that just works and no rebooting needed but it is a bit technical to use.
- Ring: For all our home security alarms.
- August: Smart home locks to keep the house secure.
- Samsung Frame TV: Absolutely love this TV, it has enough services hooked up to don't even need an Apple TV.
- Sonos: Love the sound quality, though I’m not a fan of their new app.
- Tesla Powerwall + Solar Roof: There were there when we got the house.
- Sense: Monitors electricity usage, identifies devices, and helps me optimize energy consumption.
- SPAN Smart Panel: I don’t have this yet but it’s a smart home energy panel that replaces circuit breakers and lets you to monitor and control your home’s energy usage directly from your phone.
- Eight Sleep (← $150 off): Amy loves the bed warm but I love it cool so their products have been a game changer for our sleep.
If you want to learn how to save money and time with a smarter and more energy efficient home, tech enthusiast Matt Ferrell and I dive deep into this topic on episode #135.
Food & Kitchen
- Green Chef (← 50% off with code ALLTHEHACKS50): We’ve probably had 100+from Green Chef and love them. The meals are healthier, tastier, and offer more variety than other meal kits we’ve tried.
- DRAM (← 20% off): This sparkling beverage with natural flavors and ingredients has completely replaced all the soda and soft drinks in our house.
- June Oven: We use this almost every day but unfortunately they’re all currently sold out.
- Ninja CREAMi: Shout out to Sahil for recommending this amazing kitchen gadget. It’s perfect for making my favorite protein ice cream (recipe) in just a fews mins but you can make so many different things.
- Breville: This tea maker and immersion blender has been going strong for 14 years, delivering perfect tea every time.
- Waring Double Belgian Waffle Maker: It cooks two waffles at once, making breakfast quick and easy, especially on busy mornings (was only $75 when I bought it)
- DASH Rapid Egg Cooker: This tiny machine cooks the perfect hard-boiled eggs with just one button. A must-have for egg lovers.
- Hydro Flask: If Amy could be sponsored by any company, it would be Hydro Flask. She loves them.
- Coravin Wine Preserver: Lets you pour a glass without ruining the bottle, using a needle that goes through the cork, so you don’t have to commit to the whole bottle.
- Paprika Recipe Manager: Our go-to app for recipe storage, meal planning, and grocery tracking. Amy and I both use it to save and rate recipes, create grocery lists, and plan meals for the week, all synced across our phones.
Games
- Monopoly Deal: It's one of the games we love to play at home.
- Coup: A quick game that involves a bit of deception, similar to Mafia or Werewolves.
- Games Magazine: I subscribed to Games Magazine after someone recommended it, and it’s been great. It’s packed with puzzles, perfect for trips, and I love diving into them during downtime.
Auto
- TeslaFi (← 2 Weeks Free): If you have a Tesla, this is a fantastic tool for logging drives, tracking business vs. personal miles, and accessing detailed stats about your vehicle.
If you want to dive deep into insurance, listen to episode #104 where I break down how to optimize your insurance policies.
👶 Kids & Dog
Kids Stuff
- Hatch Rest+: It’s a light and sound machine that helps keep us regulate the kids’ bedtime. Ex: Red light means stay in bed, green light means it’s okay to get up, and white light is for those mornings when they just won’t budge.
- nanit (← 15% off with CHRISH15): These cameras are awesome for keeping an eye on them, even when we’re traveling with the portable stands.
- Lovevery (← $20 off): They have subscription boxes filled with well-crafted, Montessori-inspired toys for kids. They arrive every few months with a little guide on how to use them, and they’ve been a hit from the baby to toddler stage!
- Clek Fllo + Foonf: Huge shoutout to our neighbors, Shannon and Joe, for these car seats. They’re safe, sturdy, and have been perfect for our kids.
- RideSafer Travel Vest: A game-changer for keeping the kids safe without having to haul around a bulky car seat everywhere we go.
- tonies Toniebox: A favorite in our house. It’s a little box where you place different character figures on it using RFID, and it plays various stories related to those characters. We’ve managed to create personalized stories for our kids that uses our voices to narrate.
- Cultural Care (← $175 off): We’ve had a great experience with Cultural Care for finding au pairs. They make it easy to filter, interview, and handle all the logistics, so we’ve been really happy with the process.
For the Dog
- Sundays (← 50% off): The dog food that solved all of our pup’s stomach problems. We’ve never considered switching.
- RadDog All-In-One Collar + Leash: Perfect for off-leash dog parks; it’s a collar with a leash attached.
💼 Business & Podcasting
Business Services
- Brex + Mercury: For all things banking related.
- Oceans (← $1000 off for mentioning ATH): They offer the most incredible virtual assistants. You can also refer to my delegation guide if you want to explore delegation and hiring an assistant.
- Kick: Our awesome new bookkeeping software.
- Stripe: We do a lot of our payment processing and invoicing on Stripe.
- ConverKit: How we send out our newsletter and emails to members.
- Notion (Try Notion AI free here): I run most of my life on Notion, that includes most of the business as well.
- Calendly: For automated scheduling.
- Zapier: I absolutely love Zapier—it's a dream for anyone who loves optimizing workflows. With Zapier, you can connect just about anything and create rules to automate tasks. The possibilities are endless, and I could easily get lost building automations all day.
Podcasting Services & Equipment
- Riverside: I use this for recording high-quality remote interview recordings.
- Descript: I do most of the video and audio editing from my end on this fantastic tool.
- Upfire Digital: An amazing podcast production company. Shoot me an email at podcast@allthehacks.com if you want an intro.
- Shure SM7B: My main microphone but I use the Shure MV7 when I’m traveling. The ATR2100X is my old microphone that was used to record the first 50 episodes.
- Sony Alpha 7C: My main camera which is connected to the computer through a Elgato Cam Link 4K.
- Sony a6400 4K + Sony ZV-1: My back up cameras that I bought off Facebook marketplace.
- Audio-Technica ATH-M50X: Fantastic over the ear headphones.
- Elgato Ring Light + Godox VL150: For lighting.
- Rodecaster Pro 2: This audio interface makes recording and mixing audio super easy.
- ATEM Mini Pro ISO: I use this multitrack video recording for extra redundancy. It records all camera feeds separately onto a solid-state drive, ensuring I don't lose an episode recording if an SD card fails.
- Megaphone: Hosting platform I’ve been using (though I’ve been considering Transistor lately).
- Chartable: For tracking podcast performance and gaining insights.
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Chris Hutchins is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
