Normaltown USA

Resources

This is the shelf where I keep the useful stuff. Not more articles to read, but actual tools: the things my family pays for and uses, the guides I put together because I needed them myself, and, before long, a few small paid ones you can buy. Everything here has to earn its spot. If I wouldn't hand it to a friend across my kitchen table, it doesn't go on this page. And if a link pays me, I say so right next to the link, every time.

What my family actually uses

Health sharing

CrowdHealth

A flat monthly fee instead of an insurance bill. My family has used it since 2022.

My family of four has been uninsured since 2022. That's right, we canceled our expensive health insurance plan and haven't regretted it. We use CrowdHealth instead. It's a flat monthly fee plus a share of other members' bills, and they make their money on that fee instead of on slow-walking your claim.

Join through my link with code NORMAL and your first 3 months are $99 a month.

The honest other half

It matters more than the discount, so read it before you read anything else. CrowdHealth is not insurance. Nobody is legally on the hook to pay your bill. It has waiting periods, exclusions, and rules about conditions you already have. For some families it's the wrong answer, full stop. Start with who health sharing is wrong for, and read the plain-English guide if the whole idea is new to you.

Get 3 months at $99 (opens in a new tab)

Affiliate link, code NORMAL. Pays me $250 once you've been a member 3 months. Costs you nothing extra.

Buying bitcoin

River

A bitcoin-only US company. I set up an automatic buy every week and leave it alone.

River is my preferred place to buy bitcoin. It's bitcoin only, so there aren't a hundred other coins sitting there tempting you. My weekly buy lands in their secure vault, and I get to relax knowing it's safe.

And if you want to geek out with me for a second, River has an optional setting that automatically sends my balance to my own cold storage hardware wallet once it hits an amount I picked. If that sentence meant nothing to you, start with what a bitcoin wallet is and not your keys, what it means.

River splits a referral bonus between us, in bitcoin, and it's the same amount on both sides. We each get $5 when you buy your first $100, another $15 each at $1,000, and another $80 each at $10,000.

The honest other half

Bitcoin's price jumps around a lot, and it can go down and stay down for a long while. Only put in money you can leave alone for years. If you're brand new, read Saving vs. Gambling: Where Bitcoin Actually Fits first, then Your First $20 in Bitcoin, Step by Step.

Open a River account (opens in a new tab)

Affiliate link. We each get the same bonus, up to $100 apiece. Not offered in every state.

Book a call with me

Sometimes a blog post can't do the job. If you're staring at a specific hospital bill, weighing whether health sharing fits your family, or trying to sort out a money decision that's bigger than an article, I take on a few people a month for one-on-one help.

There's no fancy booking calendar yet. Send me a note, pick "One-on-one help," and tell me what's going on. I'll write back with whether I can actually help you and what it would look like. If I'm not the right person, I'll tell you that too, and point you somewhere better. No pressure, no sales call.

Ask about one-on-one help

Free guides on this site

These cost nothing and always will.