The Tools That Actually Stuck in My Workflow

I've tried dozens of investing apps, screeners, and spreadsheets over the years. Most got used once and forgotten. But a few have become genuinely essential to how I research and track everything.

For portfolio tracking: I kept it simple in the end. Started with a basic spreadsheet, moved to something more visual. The key was finding something I'd actually open regularly rather than an all-singing app I'd ignore.

For screening stocks: Yahoo Finance is still surprisingly decent for a quick overview. For dividend-focused research, I've been using Dividend Direct—clean interface, easy to compare yields and see what's paying what without wading through noise.

For news and sentiment: I used to check Reddit and Twitter constantly but it was more stressful than useful. Now I just have a few RSS feeds and check in weekly rather than hourly. Helped my decision-making enormously.

For the actual buying: Whichever broker has the lowest fees for your situation. I wasted money early on not paying attention to FX charges and platform fees. Doesn't sound like much but it adds up over years.

The one I stopped using: Anything with notifications. Price alerts, daily movers, breaking news pings—all of it. Made me twitchy and reactive. Turned them all off and haven't missed them.

Honestly the best tool is probably the notes app on my phone where I jot down why I bought something. Stops me panic selling when I can read back my own reasoning.

What's in your toolkit? Keen to hear what's actually useful versus what just seems like it should be.