Recommendations
Software & Tools
Visual Studio Code: The best code editor hands down. I use Visual Studio Code for all my coding work. It is easy to use, fast and memory-efficient and has a wide variety of community-supported extensions.
Ferdium: I actually used Singlebox for a long time, but then they decided to drop Linux support, so I switched over to Ferdium for that reason. I am very happy with it because it does exactly what it is supposed to: having multiple services like Google Calendar, Telegram, Discord, and more within a single application window. It is easy to switch between applications and acting on notifications, so you never miss any messages. I am also actively contributing to the project as developer.
Brave Browser: I found out about Brave Browser in 2019 when I was looking for a privacy-focused browser alternative to Google Chrome. Brave is built on top of a tracking-stripped version of Chromium and I really love the ad and tracker blocker, which is part of Brave and promises to load sites up to six times faster than other browsers. With BAT (Basic Attention Token) as a built-in cryptocurrency token for rewarding and supporting content creators, automatic HTTPS Everywhere, blocking autoplay, and many other features, I was hooked. When I find the time, I plan on supporting Brave by contributing to its projects on GitHub.
Qwant: If you disagree with the data collection practices by Google, there is a good search engine alternative called Qwant that doesn't track you across the web and neither sells your search data. I prefer Qwant over the most popular privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo, because Qwant is based in France and therefore has to conform to European GDPR data regulations. Another great up-and-coming alternative is Brave Search.
Gravit Designer: Free and cross-OS graphics tool with an intuitive interface. Gravit Designer is my #1 tool for visual tasks like logo design or image correction.
NordVPN: Increase your privacy and protect your data while surfing the web with NordVPN. You can choose to tunnel your online traffic through any of 5000+ servers in ~60 countries and hide your IP address from others. A single account supports up to 6 connected devices and in case you ever need help, there is 24/7 support available for you.
Frase: I recently purchased this content optimization tool to help me write better blog posts. Frase.io can pull in the top Google search results and compare your content writing to it. You will be able to improve your SEO relevance by adding more keywords, knowing the average word count of competitors and being able to answer the specific questions that users ask through different platforms.
Linguix: When you write blog posts, it happens quickly to produce typos or other unwanted grammatical mistakes while typing. Linguix is an intelligent AI-based grammar checking tool, which detects spelling issues, provides synonyms and gives you advanced document statistics about the readability of your content. Apart from grammar corrections, you can also insert snippets to automate everyday typing tasks and phrases or use premade templates for e.g. emails or essays.
AppSumo: I found out about this website not long ago but I love it! AppSumo provides you with big discounts on software & tools that are available on the market. So far, I bought Crello, Frase, and Linguix through the website, and I am happy with the value that all three tools provide me. In case you are tight on cash, they also have a generous collection of Freebies for you to enjoy.
Wix: I wrote about Wix in my blog post about Wix, WordPress, JAMStack - Oh My! and compared it to websites built with a CMS and JAMstack sites. The big upsides of building websites with Wix is that you can drag and drop content to your liking which results in a fast workflow and there are no coding skills required.
Domain & Hosting
World4You: I first got into contact with World4You around 10 years ago because it was the selected domain & hosting provider for a website of a client that I was working on. Since I was happy with the service and also liked the UI and user experience, I also bought this domain (markushatvan.com) and another one for a side-project of mine called DAW Comparison through World4You.
Bluehost: This domain & hosting provider powers over 2 million websites worldwide and is the perfect choice for bloggers. Officially recommended by WordPress, Bluehost comes with a handy 1-click WordPress install, a free domain for the first year, a free SSL certificate and 24/7 customer support.
Workout
The Movement Athlete: While I was searching for a good app to do body weight training, I found the app of The Movement Athlete. The initial onboarding assessment is great and it tells you exactly how fit you are with e.g. pull-ups in a percentage. No matter your fitness level, the personalized training program will motivate you to get in great shape and reach the next level.
Household
Zooplus: My girlfriend and I are customers at Zooplus since 2017, and we find everything we need for our cat King Noodlez. We always bulk buy pet supplies here and don't ever have to go to the store and carry home 10 kg bags of food anymore.
Himalayan salt lamp: This was one of the best buys for our flat. Initially, we decided for a Himalayan salt lamp to see if it can help to combat migraine, sleep problems, and other health issues and it worked! With its air-purifying qualities and cool look, I can highly recommend getting one. It is also a great gift for friends and family.