Resources for Your Free Pursuits

In the course of radically changing my life over the past few years (starting a blog, traveling for months each year, becoming an entrepreneur), I’ve come across lots of great resources that have helped me along the way.

Some of those resources are special enough to deserve a mention here. Each of the items listed below has had an extraordinary impact on me and I highly recommend every one. Some of the resources are free, and some cost a little money but are well worth it. If you look, there are some special discounts for you below. If you happen to purchase one of the items using a link here, there’s a chance I might earn a small commission. Thank you in advance if that’s the case.

If you have any questions about anything listed here, I’m happy to share more of my experiences with you directly. Write me anytime at editor@freepursuits.com

Lifestyle Design and Travel

Unconventional Guides by Chris Guillebeau

Chris Guillebeau from The Art of Nonconformity is a great guy with a fabulous blog. In addition to the blog, Chris has written two free manifestos (one about “world domination,” the other about blogging), and he’s also written a killer series of paid guides on everything from becoming a travel ninja to starting a small business. They’re all highly recommended. Find out more about Chris and his Unconventional Guides >>

Blogging and Online Business

Gatejumper

Gatejumper is a Q&A community all about building online businesses. I created it to extend some of the more business-y and technical conversations that started here on certain posts. I hope you’ll join the conversation over there. Gatejumper is completely free to join and use. Check out Gatejumper now >>

WordPress

If you’re thinking about starting a blog, you should seriously consider using self-hosted WordPress. It’s free and open source, and you run it on your own server (your web host should have an easy install option, check out Dreamhost below). I love WordPress so much that I use it not only for blogging, but also as a content management system for other types of websites. Find out more about WordPress >>

Thesis

Part of what makes WordPress so great is the ability to use themes to extend its design and functionality. I use the Thesis Theme for WordPress with all my sites because Thesis provides all the options I want combined with great built-in search engine optimization (for getting more traffic from Google, etc.). Thesis also has a robust user community who can answer any support needs you might have when using it. Find out how to run a killer website with Thesis >>

Dreamhost

Dreamhost is a web host, which is a place where you can set up your own website or blog. Dreamhost has kept me happy for over a decade now, and I host over 10 sites there. They always provide excellent support when I have any questions, and their control panel is top notch. Signup with the promo code “CORBETT50″ and get $50 off your new account >>

WooThemes

When you want a great website design, but don’t want to pay to hire a designer, WooThemes is the place to go. For a very reasonable price, you can get a top-notch customizable design to run right on top of WordPress. I have been really knocked out by the quality of designs at WooThemes. Browse some of the great designs at WooThemes >>

MailChimp

I use MailChimp to manage email lists for several different projects (including email subscribers to this blog). I love how easy to use the MailChimp interface is, and their delivery rates are top for the industry. MailChimp’s reporting helps me figure out how my messages are getting across. I tried AWeber and some other email marketing tools, and am really glad I found MailChimp. Click on this link and get a $30 credit in your new MailChimp account >>

Personal Finance

Lending Club

Lending Club is a peer-to-peer lending platform. They essentially cut out the banks and connect lenders with borrowers directly. This means better returns for investors (individual borrowers), and lower rates for borrowers. I’ve been earning over 13% on cash I loaned out through the platform, which absolutely crushes the paltry <1% that banks are paying on savings lately. Find out more about Lending Club and get a $25 bonus as a new investor >>

Mint

Mint quickly became one of my all-time favorite online applications right after I started using it back in 2007. Mint is a dead-simple to use money management program that saves me a ton of time. If you’re not paying close attention to your finances already, you should be, and Mint will make it fun and easy. Read the detailed review of Mint I wrote at Free Pursuits >>

photo by Stuck in Customs