Let’s start off with everyone’s least favorite kind of data. Without checking, do you know how much you have in debt? And how much of that total is interest?
Are you cringing? I certainly am whenever I think about how much debt I owe.
Turns out, we’re not just worried about debt, we’re planning our lives around it. CBS News reports that 74% of student loan borrowers in Gen Z and 68% of Millennials are putting off critical financial decisions — like saving for emergencies and building a retirement fund — because of student debt.
This crisis means there’s a huge market for Changed, a microsaving app that funnels your spare change directly toward debt payments.
What is Changed?
Changed uses the “round up” model popularized by other spare change apps like Acorns. The Changed app rounds your purchases to the nearest dollar and transfers the rounded-up amount to a bank account, which then sends the money to your loan issuers.
Changed was founded by Dan Stelmach, who figured spare change installments could help his debt load go from ridiculous to manageable. And an automated savings app could do the work for him.
In 2018, Stelmach and his brother Nick Sky pitched Changed on the reality show Shark Tank, walking away with an investment to kickstart the company. At the time of this writing, they’ve helped borrowers pay down over $25 million in total loan costs.
Read more: Student Loan Debt: Understanding the Growing National Crisis
How Does the Changed App Work?
Download Changed on the Apple App store (for iOS) or Google Play store (for Android). There are links to download on the Changed website.
First, you enter your basic sign-up information (address, birthdate, phone number). This is only used to set up your account.
Next, Changed opens an FDIC-insured savings account for you through the financial software company SynapseFI. Banking info is encrypted and secure, as with any savings account. The account is for storing your funds until they’re transferred to the student loan provider.
Then, you’ll enter your student loan information by linking to your loan servicer. Changed links up to almost all federal and private loan servicers — if your lender isn’t listed, let Changed know and they’ll help you add the info manually.
Changed walks you through where to find all your student loan stats, like your account number and the date your loans were issued. You can round up from multiple accounts, and from more than one servicer. You can also pick which account you want to fund first.
Read more: How Student Loans Work
Finally, you’ll link your Changed account to your checking or primary spending account(s). Changed doesn’t store your checking account info, it just has you log in through the app.
From there, the app looks at your spending patterns and starts setting aside your spare change. If you’ve used other microsaving apps, this pattern will be familiar.
Each time you make a purchase, Changed rounds the purchase amount up to the nearest dollar and saves the difference. If you buy a cup of coffee for $3.45, Changed would round up to $4 and save the extra 55 cents.
Once your total round-ups reach $5, the app transfers the money to your Changed savings account. Round-up transfers are limited to $10 a day so you don’t overdraw your checking account by accident.
Once the round-up amount in your savings account reaches $50 or $100, the app transfers the money from savings to your debt balances. Until then, the money’s still available to you. Loan payments take about five to 10 days to process, and Changed limits them to $500 per week.
It’s worth noting here that Changed payments do not replace your regular payment plan. (That would be nice, right?) Instead, they help you reach your payoff goal a little faster — or a lot faster — without much effort on your part.
Read more: The Pros and Cons of “Spare Change” Investment Apps
How Much Does Changed Cost?
Changed charges users $3 a month. The app is free to download; charges kick in once you start using it.
The monthly fee covers the cost of maintaining your savings account and moving money to your loan servicer. There’s no free trial period — once you start, you’re committed. Changed auto-renews your subscription each month. But the $3 fee covers all the site’s features, so you won’t be hit with extra charges.
Changed Features
Progress Screens
Changed lets you see your repayment progress in real time, which can be super motivating.
You can toggle between a few different screens on the app. The home screen has a nifty visual to show how the money you’ve “squirreled” away is adding up.
Other screens show you:
Round-up amounts from each purchase
Extra payments applied to your loans each month
How much each payment saves you in student loan interest
How much you could save over time
How early you could pay off your loans
Pick Your Savings Speed
Changed has a few different savings speeds — Budget, Standard, and All mode — which you can select or change. This is a good feature for people whose income or expenses fluctuate.
You can also pause transfers for 15, 30, or 60 days if you need to budget money toward other goals for a while.
Extra Payments
On the other hand, if you want to accelerate your savings speed, Changed is all for it. The “BOOST” rocket on your home screen lets you make an additional single or repeated transfer of $1-20 toward your loan principal, on top of the money you’re already saving.
Read more: Principal Only Vs. Principal and Interest. Which is Better?
Link a Credit Card
If you can link your checking account to a credit card account, Changed will round up your credit card purchases. Round-ups go through the checking account so the charges don’t raise your credit card interest.
Have Another Payer Help Out
If a family member or loved one is chipping in to help you with loan costs, Changed lets them sign up for their own account. They’ll link their own checking accounts, but they’ll need your info to link their loans. You can also use this feature if you’re giving a helping hand to someone else.
Other Features
For those who want or need to refinance, Changed has a ton of bank offers on the site so you can compare interest rates.
If you have time and want to be really extra — by referring a friend, buying from a Changed sponsor, or taking their “Know Your Loan” course — Changed gives you “perk points” which enter your name in a weekly drawing to win free payments.
Read more: Student Loan Refinance Options
Stash My Cash
Changed can also help you build your savings accounts. You can choose to split your round ups and put some in savings and some to debt.
For example, you can choose to put 75% of your change towards debt but move 25% of the money into your savings account.
This will help you meet other goals while you still make progress towards your debt.
My Experience Researching Changed
I found Changed to be refreshingly forthcoming about the limits of their automated savings app. They follow federal guidelines about which loan costs to pay first — fees, interest, and principal, in that order — and they don’t promise that payments will go directly to the principal.
Their main communication method is email; I couldn’t even find a phone number on the site. I prefer email contact, so that’s fine with me.
But down to brass tacks: How much money would I save with this app? Changed, like most micro-saving apps, can’t give you an estimate before they look at your spending patterns — round-up amounts can be all over the place depending on your spending habits.
I figured many of us could spend enough to make $50 in round-ups in the average month. Then I crunched some of the latest available averages on student loans from Education Data:
The average federal student loan debt per borrower is about $37,693.
The average monthly student loan payment is around $460.
The average interest rate is a rounded 6%.
So, let’s say a borrower pays off a $37,693 loan at a 6% interest rate for 10 years.
Without any microsavings from Changed, they’d make an average monthly payment of $418.47. Their total interest would add up to $12,523.35.
With $50 a month in Changed microsavings, their average monthly payment would go up to $468.47. Their total interest would be lower, since they’re paying down the loan more quickly — just $10,648.63.
Changed would save this borrower $1,874.72 in total interest payments over the loan’s life. Even subtracting the $360 you’d pay in 10 years of Changed fees, that’s still $1,514.72 saved in interest.
These savings may be even higher if you have a larger loan principal or save more through round-ups.
It’s hard to argue with these numbers, so I may have to give Changed a try.
Who Should Use Changed?
People Who Struggle to Prioritize Extra Loan Payments
Part of the magic of spare change apps is that they take away the cognitive work of saving money, or the part where you have to remember to transfer a little extra into savings (on top of all the other things you have to remember).
If you’d like to make extra loan payments but you doubt you’ll actually make it happen, Changed may be for you.
People with Competing Financial Priorities
Micro-saving apps are designed so you don’t miss the extra round-up cash, because the transfers are so small. Maybe you want to apply heftier payments to other debts with higher interest rates, like credit cards. Changed makes sure you’re not neglecting your loans in the process.
Borrowers with Single or Multiple Loans
If you have more than one loan and you want to direct payments to a specific loan first, Changed can arrange this for you.
Borrowers in Deferments or Grace Periods with their Student Loans
Changed lets you get an early start on loan payments if you can, without affecting your repayment status.
Frequent Debit or Credit Card Spenders
The more you spend, the more round-ups you’ll have (within the $10 daily limit). If you already spend a lot on your debit or credit card each month, you’re likely to build savings quickly.
Who Shouldn’t Use Changed?
People Who Want Full-Service Repayment Assistance
While Changed has some borrower education, it doesn’t offer specific guidance — like comparing different repayment plans or exploring your options for loan forgiveness. It can work in tandem with other debt management resources, but not as your only resource.
People Who Use Other Round-Up Apps
More specifically, if you already use a no-fee spare change app or you’re already budgeting to make extra payments to your loan servicer, you probably don’t need Changed. The fee covers the work of Changed taking these steps for you.
People Who Want to Pay off Their Debt ASAP
Changed doesn’t pay your loan providers until you’ve gotten to $50 or $100 in your round-up savings, which could take some time. Setting aside extra money for student loan payments on your own may get the job done faster, if you have the funds to do so.
One of the keys when it comes to investing for the long term is to make sure you’re minimizing the fees you’re paying to invest your money.
Whether it’s plan administration fees for the company you’re investing with, mutual fund expense ratios and fees, or fees for added account functionality, the more you can minimize how much you’re paying, the better.
Morningstar reports that the average expense ratio for actively-managed equity mutual funds is 1.2% and investment-grade bond funds have an expense ratio of 0.9%. For me, I prefer to invest in mainly low-cost index funds with expense ratios that are much lower.
Beyond saving money on the expense ratios, I also would love to save money on the administration fees I pay in order to invest. My company 401(k) has fees just under 1%, which is way too much for my tastes. I’ve stopped investing there first since there is no company match.
This past week I was doing some research on the new slate of robo advisors that have popped up. One of them jumped out at me because the company is extremely affordable, but it also has shown some of the best results in the past couple of years. Not only do they invest your money for you in a slate of well-diversified ETF index funds, and rebalance your holdings on a regular basis, but they charge you a pretty minimal fee to do it.
This all sounded too good to be true, so I decided to do a full review of this new automated investing service called Axos Invest Managed Portfolios, to see what they are all about.
Axos Invest History
Axos Invest launched several years ago under the name WiseBanyan. They had the goal of being the world’s first completely free financial advisor.
Here’s their reasoning behind why they launched their site.
Herbert Moore and Vicki Zhou founded WiseBanyan after seeing that the incentives between financial advisors and clients were often misaligned. They saw this firsthand while working in asset management and investment banking respectively, and later as colleagues at a quantitative asset management firm. They realized that the main cause of misalignment was a conflict of financial interests, which often resulted in high fees, unnecessary tax consequences, and unreasonable account minimums for the clients. As a result, they set out to build a company that was not incentivized to earn money at its clients’ expense.
WiseBanyan began with the idea that investing is a right – not a privilege. Our mission is to ensure everyone can achieve their financial goals, which starts with investing as early as possible. This is why there is no minimum to start and we do not charge high fees. We hope you are as excited about WiseBanyan as we are, especially what it means for you, your friends, and society as a whole.
Axos Invest was launched with the hope of making investing easy, accessible, and cheap – even for beginning investors who could only invest a small amount every month.
While the service is no longer free (They started charging a 0.24% annual assets under management fee in 2020), they still practice the values of making investing more accessible and affordable for everyone.
WiseBanyan Holdings was acquired by Axos Financial, and as of October 2019 and moving forward the company formerly known as WiseBanyan is now known as Axos Invest.
Axos Invest has become a part of the Axos Financial online banking platform. Check out our full review of Axos Bank.
Axos Invest Account Types – Managed Portfolios Vs. Self-Directed Trading
After reading up a bit about Axos Invest I was intrigued enough to sign up for one of their accounts. I went to their site to find that there are a couple of different account types you can sign up for.
I was mainly interested in signing up for Managed Portfolios since I intended to use this as a robo-advisor to automatically invest, rebalance and reinvest my dividends for me. I wanted it to be hands-off.
If you prefer to research and invest in your own choices of individual stocks, the commission-free Self Directed Trading account may be a better choice for you.
If you’re an advanced trader the Self Directed Trading account has the “Axos Elite” subscription which gives you real-time market data, TipRanks market research, extended trading hours, margin trading, stock lending, and more for a monthly fee.
Head on over to the Axos site via my exclusive invite link below to get started on your Axos Invest account now:
Open Your FREE Axos Invest Account Now
Open an Axos Self Directed Trading account and deposit at least $2000, and you’ll get a $250 bonus for a limited time!. Open Axos Self Directed Trading
Opening An Account With Axos Invest
After going to the Axos Invest site to open my Managed Portfolios account, it dropped me right into a brief questionnaire to assess my risk tolerance, investment time horizon, and more.
While you’re answering the questions you’ll see a progress bar and a “current risk score” listed to the right, telling you just how conservative or aggressive Axos Invest believes you are.
My risk score went up and down throughout the survey based on my answers, and when I finally completed it gave me a risk score of 7.2. That would give me an estimated asset allocation of 65% stocks to 35% bonds – which seems about what most would suggest as I’m relatively conservative in my investments, and the bond allocation roughly matches my age (put your age in bonds!)
I decided that I wanted to change my risk score and asset allocation to be a bit more aggressive, however, and you can do that simply by moving the slider to the right (or left if you’re more conservative). I ended up with closer to 75/25 stocks to bond allocation.
After completing the survey you click on the “Open My Account” button, which takes you into the account opening process. It will ask for all of your personal information including an email, password, employment information, and Social Security number (like you would have to at any brokerage).
Once you’re done entering your personal information you’ll be asked to choose an account type. Currently, you can choose:
Taxable Investment Account
Roth IRA
SEP IRA
Traditional IRA
After you choose an account type you’ll be asked to link a bank to fund your account. You can then choose to fund the account with as little as $500. If you want, you can also set it up to automatically invest for you every month. I have it set to automatically invest $300 for me on the 15th and 30th of the month.
Once you’re done your account will be sent to Axos Financial for approval. Their site says it takes about 5 business days for an account to be approved.
Axos Invest Investment Philosophy
Axos Invest will invest your funds based on Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT).
We use the tools of Modern Portfolio Theory to design the optimal portfolio for a given level of risk. In addition, we further optimize our investment process to minimize tax consequences and streamline the reinvestment of dividends and contributions.
Their investment philosophy is built upon four main pillars:
The value of diversification
Keeping fees as low as possible
The value of passive investing
Starting sooner rather than later
Axos Invest will attempt to give you a portfolio that is well-diversified, low-cost, and at low minimums so just about anybody can get started now. They’ll use the ideas behind MPT to give you the optimal portfolio for your given risk score.
The Actual Investments
So what are you getting when you invest with Axos Invest? You’re getting a well-diversified portfolio that contains passively managed exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”).
The funds held with Axos Invest have an average fund fee of 0.12% – the only fees you’ll pay to invest. Here is the breakout for the individual funds they use (the funds used by Axos is subject to change, and probably will) and their expense ratios:
Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI): 0.03%
Schwab U.S. Broad Market (SCHB): 0.03%
Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA): 0.05%
Schwab International Equity (SCHF): 0.06%
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO): 0.15%
iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets (IEMG): 0.14%
Vanguard REIT Index Fund (VNQ): 0.12%
iShares U.S. Real Estate (IYR): 0.42%
iShares Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD): 0.15%
Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond Index (VCIT): 0.05%
Vanguard Intmdte Tm Govt Bd ETF (VGIT): 0.05%
iShares Barclays TIPS Bond Fund (ETF) (TIP): 0.19%
State Street Global Advisors Barclays Short Term High Yield Bond Index ETF (SJNK): 0.40%
PIMCO 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond Index (HYS): 0.56%
Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond (VCSH): 0.05%
As you can see they have a broad diversification that also includes real estate via the Vanguard REIT Index fund, which isn’t something that Betterment gives you.
The performance of Axos Invest has been pretty good. As you can see from the screenshot from Barron’s “Ranking the Robos” article below, WiseBanyan/Axos Invest had the second-best two-year annualized return, through 6/30/19. Not too bad!
Axos Invest Mobile App
When the service first came out one of the complaints some users had was that there was no mobile app for the service. A mobile-optimized app for iOS was released shortly thereafter, as well as an app for Android users.
From the app, you can now do things on the go like check your balances, view your allocations, make a quick deposit, and more. The apps really are very pretty to look at and are a pleasure to use.
Axos Invest Fees & Account Charges
One of the biggest draws for Axos Invest when they started was the fact that they were essentially a fee-free service. While that is no longer the case, they are still very low-cost, one of the lowest-cost robo-advisors on the market.
Here are a few of the fees (or lack thereof) that you’ll see with the service:
Managed Portfolios
Management fee: 0.24% of assets under management. Accounts less than $500 pay $1/month.
Trading fees: FREE
Rebalancing fees: FREE
Dividend reinvestment fee: FREE
Self-Directed Trading
Stock Trading fees: FREE
ETF Trading Fees: FREE
Options trading: $1 per contract
Self-Directed Trading – Axos Elite
Axos Elite is the premium self-directed investing service that offers more powerful investment tools, real-time market data, extended trading hours, lower fees, stock lending, and margin trading.
Monthly fee: $10/month
Stock Trading fees: FREE
ETF Trading Fees: FREE
Margin Trading: 5.5%
Options trading: $0.80 per contract with Axos Elite
So essentially the Axos Invest service is very low cost with only the 0.24% AUM fee for Managed Portfolios. There are no trading fees, and no fees to rebalance your account or reinvest dividends. Competing services often charge much higher annual management fees, so with Axos being one of the very lowest when it comes to fees, you’re saving on those fees right off the bat.
There are some fees related to transferring funds via wire transfer, or do a full account transfer out, although regular electronic funds transfers (EFT) are free.
Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) fee: FREE for deposits or withdrawals.
Wire transfers in: FREE (although your bank may charge).
Wire transfers out: $30 per domestic wire transfer.
Account closing fee: FREE.
Full account transfer out fee: $75 per account.
Partial account transfer out fee: $5 per security ($25 minimum/$75 max).
Disbursement of funds by check by mail: $10 per check.
Returned check fee: $40 per occurrence.
As mentioned above, Axos Invest’s product and service is very low cost and there are only a few small fees for certain types of transfers or check disbursements.
Premium Add-On Products & Services
There are several premium packages in your Axos Invest account that have a fee associated with them. You can turn them off and on whenever you want.
Currently, the premium packages include:
Portfolio Plus: The ability to create your own custom portfolio from an expanded list of investments. You can choose from lists of different investment classes and types and add up to 20 investments to each portfolio you create. It costs $3/month to use this add-on package.
Quick Cash: When activated this gives you quick same-day deposits, auto-deposit scheduler, and overdraft protection. It costs $2/month to use this add-on package.
Tax Protection: This package will give you tax loss harvesting, selective trading (to remove ETFs you hold elsewhere to avoid the potential for wash sales) and IRAutomation, which helps you to maximize the use of your retirement account deposits, setup auto deposit plans and more. Each month the cost will be the lesser of 0.02% of your average Axos Invest account value (0.24% annually) or $20. So if you have $5,000 in your account, the monthly cost would be $1.
Using these add-on packages is purely optional, but even if you were to turn them all on it likely isn’t going to cost you more than a few bucks per month.
Axos Invest: Great For Cost-Conscious Investors
When I first read about Axos Invest I dismissed it out of hand because I thought that there had to be a catch somewhere, there’s no way they were offering this service for such a low cost when others are charging anywhere from .35%-1.0% annual management fees for similar services.
After looking into it further, however, it does truly seem like Axos Invest is committed to offering a low-cost investing service for both self-directed investors and those who want their portfolios managed for them.
Axos Invest does seem like a good option for newer investors. Not only can you start investing with no account minimums, and low management fees – but you can buy fractional shares with as little as $10 and get a highly diversified portfolio that should match the market in the long term.
The account has SIPC protection that covers up to $500,000 per client as well, so if Axos Invest were to go under you’d be covered.
I’ve signed up for my own Axos Invest account and have been with them now for years. They are my go-to recommendations for new (and even experienced) investors.
Webull is an online brokerage that offers commission-free trading on stocks, options, and ETFs. Key features of the platform include real-time market data, advanced charting tools, and a customizable newsfeed.
With most investing apps now offering commission-free trading, online brokers must find more creative ways to stand out. Robinhood, for example, is now offering a 1% match on IRA contributions. Webull, on the other hand, tries to place the focus on the customer by offering free stocks, fractional share investing, a user-friendly trading platform, extended hours trading, and 24/7 support.
But is Webull a suitable platform for beginner investors? In this Webull Review, I cover Webull’s trading platform, key features, pros and cons, and more.
About Webull
Launched in 2017, New York City-based Webull is a self-directed investment platform that offers commission-free trading. You can buy and sell stocks, options, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and even cryptocurrencies. And unlike many newer online brokers, you can trade over-the-counter (OTC) stocks with Webull.
Webull describes itself as “a financial company with the customer at heart, the Internet as our foundation, and technology as our lifeblood.” The company delivers on this description by providing a user-friendly investment platform, free real-time quotes, multiplatform accessibility, full extended hours trading, and 27/7 online support.
Key Features
Zero Commissions
No deposit minimums
Hold crypto alongside stocks, ETFs, etc.
Taxable or IRA accounts available
Supports margin trading
Paper trading option
Access to initial public offerings (IPOs).
Webull Community allows you to share investment strategies with other investors on the platform.
24/7 online customer support
Free stock bonus, as well as a referral bonus program
Is Webull Legit?
Yes, Webull is 100% legitimate. They are a US-based broker-dealer, and a FINRA, SIPC, NYSE, and NASDAQ member. It’s estimated that Webull has more than 12 million users and over $40 billion in Assets Under Management (AUM).
At the time of this writing, the company has a rating of 4.4 out of five stars from more than 174,000 Android user reviews on Google Play and 4.7 out of five stars among more than 275,000 iOS user reviews on The App Store.
Unfortunately, they rate poorly with other major rating agencies.
Webull has a Better Business Bureau “F,” the lowest rating on a scale of A+ to F. It scores 1.07 out of five stars, though that rating is based on just 54 reviews.
The company doesn’t do much better with Trustpilot, where it rates 1.3 out of five stars, or “Bad”. However, it’s worth noting the Trustpilot rating is based on just 137 reviews.
Webull Account Types
Webull offers two taxable account types: cash and margin. With the cash account, your buying power is limited to the funds you have on deposit. The margin account allows you to use leverage for the purchase of securities in excess of the cash value of your account.
The margin account requires a minimum of $2,000 to be maintained in the account at all times. Since a margin account will involve leverage, you must maintain a minimum account balance of $25,000 for unlimited day trades (see below).
You can also open a Traditional, Rollover, or Roth IRA with Webull. Each user can have one IRA account, but you must have an individual account before you can open an IRA.
Day Trading Rules
According to FINRA rules, you can make no more than 4 day trades in a margin account within five business days; otherwise, you will be flagged as a pattern day trader (PDT). That will trigger the requirement of the $25,000 minimum balance.
Margin accounts are also available for LLCs, C-Corps, and S-Corps with 2X overnight leverage and 4X day trading leverage.
Webull Trading Platform
The platform offers intuitive tools and support for traders and supports extended hours of trading, both before and after the market closes.
You can do the following on the Webull trading platform:
Real-time quotes
Customizable screens
Stock market trading ideas from top traders
Sort stocks between top gainers, top losers, and most active and best-performing industries.
More than 50 technical indicators and 12 charting tools.
Quant Ratings to provide an overall rating for each stock based on objective data.
The ability to analyze your past trading performance to look for areas of improvement.
Real-time stock alerts to notify you of price action and technical conditions.
In addition, you can execute the following orders:
Limit order
Market order
Stop order
Stop-Limit order
Trailing Stop order.
Stop-Loss/Take-Profit orders (Bracket orders)
One-Triggers-the-Other order (OTO)
One-Cancels-the-Other order (OCO)
One-Triggers-a-One-Cancels-the-Other order (OTOCO).
Margin Trading
Webull offers margin trading for both long- and short positions. You must maintain a minimum account balance of $2,000 in your margin account to qualify for margin trading. The account will provide up to 4X buying power per day trades and 2X for overnight trades.
Webull Paper Trading
Webull offers their Paper Trading feature to help you learn how to trade or to become a better trader without risking real money. And unlike some paper trading accounts offered by other brokers, Webull Paper Trading comes with unlimited virtual cash.
You can take advantage of real-time quotes, explore integrated charts with indicators, and set up price alerts, the same as you would with live trading. The feature offers more than 50 technical indicators and 12 charting tools. Paper trading can be used for options trading practice.
Initial Public Offerings (IPOs)
IPOs are when a private corporation offers stock to the public for the first time. The stocks are in registration and awaiting listing on the secondary market. The registration phase allows the issuing company to raise capital from public investors, who will be the first to receive the stock as of the listing date. In theory, it’s an opportunity for investors to get in on a newly listed company as it is going public.
Webull makes IPOs available to investors. You can locate IPOs by going to the Market page, then to the IPO Center for a list of available offerings. You can even subscribe to notifications of upcoming IPOs as they become available.
Cryptocurrency
You can trade cryptocurrency on Webull commission-free. As is the case with most cryptocurrency exchanges, Webull charges a spread of 100 basis points on both the purchase and sale of crypto. You will need a minimum of $1 to begin trading crypto.
Crypto trading requires either a cash or margin account for crypto trading (no IRAs). You can trade 44 cryptos, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Stella Lumens, Ethereum Classic, Cardano, Tazos, USD Coin, and many more.
Crypto trading hours are from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 PM, Eastern time, seven days per week (23 hours per day).
Crypto Wallet. Webull offers a crypto wallet so you can buy, sell, store, and transfer crypto to and from the wallet.
Stock Lending Income Program
This program allows you to earn extra income on fully paid stocks in your account. If you allow Webull to borrow certain stocks, you’ll be paid interest while those stocks are loaned out.
Apex Clearing, Webull’s clearing agency, will identify fully paid stock in your account, which is considered “in demand” based on the market. You will be paid 15% of the interest earned by Apex Clearing on the loaned stock.
For example, if Apex earns 10% per year, you’ll earn 1.5%. Interest earned through the program is credited daily and paid monthly.
Webull Community
Webull adds a social component to its investment platform. You can participate with millions of other Webull investors to discuss market and exchange strategies, and swap ideas with other investors.
How Does Webull Make Money if they Don’t Charge Fees?
Webull charges very few fees, but they do charge some. After all, they can’t stay in business without any revenue. Here is a list of Webull revenue sources:
Payment for Order Flow (PFOF). This is a common practice among commission-free retail brokers. When Webull sends trades to market makers, they receive rebates for the practice. This income flow is part of the reason why brokers can allow commission-free trading.
Securities lending. This is another common practice in the brokerage industry. Webull uses the services of Apex Clearing as their clearing agent. Through the Stock Lending Income Program, Apex can loan out investors’ shares to other investors and institutions, usually for short sales. Those borrowers will pay interest to Apex, a portion of which is rebated to Webull.
Interest on cash balances. Since Webull doesn’t pay interest on uninvested cash held by investors, the company retains any interest earned on those funds from outside sources.
Interest on margin trades. When you use margin to purchase securities, Webull charges interest which represents income to the company.
Deposit and withdrawal fees. Webull charges fees of between $8 and $45 per transfer for both deposits and withdrawals made by wire.
The basis point spread on crypto trades. Webull earns a 100-basis point spread on the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies.
Other Features
Income Tax Reporting
Webull provides a consolidated Form 1099, which includes reporting information from 1099-B (transactions), 1099-DIV (dividend income), 1099-INT (interest), and 1099-MISC (other income and information). The form can be downloaded from the Webull app.
Account Protection
Webull is a fully regulated broker-dealer, and your account is protected by SIPC insurance for up to $500,000 in cash and securities, including $250,000 in cash. For additional protection, Webull offers two-factor authentication for an added step on accessing your account and to prevent unintended parties from entering your account.
Free Stock Bonus and Referral Bonus
Webull is currently offering a free stock bonus to include free fractional shares in two stocks. The stock will be worth between $3 and $3,000, which could make the bonus as high as $6,000 in total. You must be new to Webull and meet other eligibility requirements.
You can also receive fractional shares in four, eight, or 10 free stocks by depositing any amount into your new account within ten days. Each fractional share will be valued between $3 and $300. That means you can earn up to 12 fractional shares with a total value of as much as $9,000. Stock rewards must be claimed within 30 days, or the offer will expire.
Under the Webull Referral Bonus, refer family and friends to Webull, and you’ll receive three free shares of stock. Refer three friends, and you’ll receive nine shares. Once you’ve received nine shares, each successful referral will provide you with two free stocks. Each share of stock will be worth between $12 and $1,400.
Your referral must use your unique referral link, and the free stock will be issued when the new user opens a brokerage account with an initial deposit of at least $100.
How to Sign Up for a Webull Account
You can sign up for Webull from either the website or the mobile app by clicking “SIGN UP” at the top of the page. You’ll need to enter your phone number and a referral code if you have one.
Webull will require you to supply your name, US residential address, date of birth, taxpayer identification (Social Security number or individual taxpayer ID number), telephone number, and citizenship.
To verify your identity, Webull may ask for copies of your driver’s license, passport, or other information as necessary.
Due to Webull’s review process, it will take a minimum of 24 hours to open your account. More time may be needed if manual verification of information is required. Webull will perform a soft credit check, which will not negatively impact your credit score.
Funding Your Account
You’ll need to connect a bank account to fund your Webull account. Webull will make two micro-deposits to your account to confirm a valid account connection. Once verified, you’ll be able to begin transferring funds to and from Webull.
The easiest way to fund your account is through ACH transfers, which are free to complete. (Note that Webull charges domestic and international wire transfer fees.)
ACH deposits initiated before 4:00 PM Eastern time will give you instant buying power, enabling you to begin trading immediately. However, the instant buying power feature is a provisional credit representing a portion of the deposit. Full ACH deposits are generally available on the fourth or fifth business day after the ACH is initiated.
Alternatively, you can transfer securities from another broker into your Webull account. The transfer securities must match those available through Webull.
Webull Pros and Cons
There’s plenty to like about Webull, but the platform also has limitations. Here’s my list of Webull pros and cons.
Webull Pros:
No minimum initial investment
Commission-free trading
Get free stock when you open an account and make a deposit
Available crypto wallet where you can manage your cryptocurrency holdings
Connect with millions of investors in the Webull Community
24/7 online support
Webull Cons:
No joint taxable accounts, custodial or trust accounts
You can’t invest in mutual funds, penny stocks, or bonds
Must have a taxable account to open an IRA
No dividend reinvesting option
No interest on uninvested cash
Fees for domestic and international wire deposits and withdrawals.
Webull Alternatives
Before signing up with Webull, I recommend checking out these alternatives, which offer many of the same features as Webull.
Robinhood
Robinhood is a popular online brokerage that offers zero-commission trades of stocks, options, ETFs, and cryptocurrency. No minimum deposit requirement exists, but like Webull, Robinhood doesn’t allow bond or mutual fund trades. One very interesting feature: Effective December 2022, Robinhood now offers IRA accounts with a 1% match, the first online brokerage to do so.
According to Robinhood, “the IRA Match is an extra 1% that Robinhood adds to eligible contributions to your IRA. It’s not counted toward your annual contribution limits and is typically available to invest immediately.” For more information, check out our full Robinhood Review.
Public
Public is an easy-to-use trading app that is geared toward new investors. Like Webull and Robinhood, Public doesn’t charge any trading fees. You can also buy fractional shares and connect with other users in the Public social community. That said, intermediate traders will want to steer clear of Public due to their lack of advanced trading options – they don’t offer IRA accounts and have little in the way of market research tools.
Learn more in our Public Review.
Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is a truly global trading platform offering investors access to 150 markets in 33 countries. You can also trade in more than 24 currencies. Like Webull, there are no commission fees on stock and ETF trades. Interactive Brokers is hands down the more powerful platform for sophisticated traders looking for access to global markets, but it may be overwhelming for new and intermediate investors.
Webull FAQs
Is Webull good for beginners?
Webull is a safe trading platform for new investors. Accounts are protected by SIPC insurance for up to $500,000, and the platform uses numerous security features, including two-factor authentication.
We also like that Webull has no minimum initial investment requirement, though you will need to deposit funds to begin trading. And as a beginning investor, you can certainly benefit from the paper trading account with unlimited virtual cash.
However, other investment brokers may be a better choice for new investors. Webull is designed primarily for active traders and those with at least an intermediate level of experience. Larger brokerage firms will be able to provide higher levels of customer service and a greater variety of account tools and educational services.
What is the minimum deposit for Webull?
There is no minimum deposit requirement for a Webull account, but a $2000 minimum balance is required for all margin accounts.
What is the downside to Webull?
The main drawbacks to Webull include the lack of a dividend reinvestment program and the inability to buy fixed-income and mutual fund investments.
Does Webull work in Canada?
Webull is a US-based online broker. Because it’s not registered in Canada, it’s not available to Canadian citizens.
Final Thoughts on Webull
Webull is an intuitive trading app where you can trade more than 40 cryptocurrencies on the same platform where you hold more traditional investments. They offer plenty of investment tools, including margin trading, day trading, and short sales.
And if you’re new to Webull or have friends to refer, you can take advantage of free stock bonuses.
While Webull is geared more toward intermediate and advanced traders, its intuitive trading platform shouldn’t overwhelm new traders. That said, beginner investors may want to give Robinhood and Public a long look before signing up with Webull.
If you’re seeking to earn extra income during the colder months, consider shoveling snow.
Many folks are unable to or just don’t want to shovel snow off their driveways and walkways.
Being in the 21st century, you don’t need to worry about going door to door and soliciting your services. Thanks to the smartphone app Shovler, you can see those in your immediate area looking to hire someone just like you.
The 2023 winter season has already seen a few powerful storms, especially in the South. Now’s the time to sign up for a service such as Shovler and be prepared to rake in the dough during the next blizzard.
What Is Shovler?
The Shovler app uses GPS to connect people in need of snow removal with nearby users willing to do the shoveling.
Registered snow shovelers can use the app to quickly view and accept jobs within 20 miles of their current location — no haggling or in-person contact required.
There are about 150,000 snow shovelers available for hire on the Shovler app, according to the company’s founder, Daniel Miller.
Miller, who lives in New York City, created Shovler in 2016 after a winter storm buried his car in snow — and he didn’t own a shovel.
He spoke to others in the same situation and came up with the idea for the snow shoveling app.
“I used to shovel snow as a kid in the ’90s,” Miller said. “I always had a great sense of satisfaction after completing a large driveway for a neighbor.”
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How Do You Get Started On Shovler?
Before you can put your snow shoveling skills to the test, you’ll need about 10-15 minutes to sign up (including connecting the required payment platform).
Download the Shovler app, select “Become a Shoveler” and fill out your information to get started. You will also need to connect a Stripe payment system account to get paid.
After creating your account, the app makes it super easy to find snow shoveling jobs in your area.
You can search for nearby jobs within the Shovler app or select “go on duty” to be notified when new snow shoveling jobs are added.
There are different types of snow removal jobs to choose from. You can make money shoveling driveways and walkways, or digging out cars parked on a city street.
Business owners can also hire shovelers to clear the snow in front of their businesses or small parking lots.
What You Can Expect as a Snow Shoveler
Nathan Simondet, a Shovler user in Minneapolis, joined the app in 2019 to make some extra cash.
“The main problem is there is only work when it snows, and there is competition with other shovelers to accept jobs before they do,” Simondet said. “But the work is usually pretty easy.”
According to Simondet, a typical snow removal job takes 20 to 30 minutes, more if there’s a lot of snow.
“My last job only took five minutes,” Simondet said. “There was only an inch of snow, and all I had to do was the front sidewalks.” And since you get paid by the job, not the time it takes, a quicker job is really worth more money.
Snow shovelers bring their own equipment, including a shovel, brush, salt and any other tools they might need to remove snow.
Investing in the right snow removal gear and equipment can also help boost profits.
“Last year I did 70 jobs and made about $3,000,” Simondet said. “I already had a snow shovel and a snowblower, but I ended up investing in a bigger shovel to do jobs faster.”
You should arrive at a job within 45 minutes of accepting it. Once you’re done, you’ll upload a picture of your work to the Shovler app for evaluation.
How Much Money Can You Make as a Shoveler?
A Shovler shoveler can expect to make between $35 and $75 for small jobs, while bigger gigs like clearing small business parking lots bring in more cash.
The Shovler app factors in the size of the job, the type of area to be shoveled and current weather conditions to determine the price.
For example, you’ll make more money during a snowstorm than after a light snowfall. If demand is surging, the price increases.
The person creating the job also has the option to increase the price.
Shovler Pay Rate
Situation
Amount
Details
Parked car
$30 to $40
On a city street
Driveway
$35 to $75
Two-car driveway
Sidewalk in front of house
$35 to $75
Average length
Parking lot
50c to $2 per sq foot
For businesses
Sidewalk
50c to $2 per sq foot
Public or private
Like many side gig apps, Shovler takes a cut from each completed job, and in this case, it’s 20%. However, that won’t impact your expected earnings. The fee is taken out before the job is listed as available.
You’ll need to bring your A game too. If a job is rated lower than four stars, the Shovler app reduces your pay. You’ll get docked 5% for each missing star, so a two-star rating equals a 10% reduction in your pay.
A Holiday Side Gig
Jayson Abro, a Northeast shoveler, said the app makes it easy to earn extra money around the holidays.
“I made more on Shovler in two days than I did trying to do Uber for a month,” Abro told The Penny Hoarder.
Abro said he can quickly find jobs by simply opening the app after a big snowfall.
“We get a few big snowstorms a year so I just log on during those days and see hundreds of jobs and work through the ones that are close,” he said.
Like Simondet, Abro said he made about $3,000 during winter 2020-21 using Shovler.
Another cool perk: Snow shovelers get to keep all the tips they receive. Shovler noted that “over 75% of users tipped their shoveler and the tip amount to shoveler’s pay was an average over 30%!” — that’s quite a hefty bit of extra change coming from tips.
During a 2020 winter snowstorm, Shovler reported that users tipped their shovelers an average of 44%.
All Shovler transactions are completed through the app using credit card information. Shovelers receive payment once the job is reviewed by the customer or 13 hours later, whichever is sooner.
Stripe will transfer money into your account every two to three business days.
How Busy Will You Be Shoveling Snow?
If you’re looking to make Shovler a lucrative job, it’s wise to keep an eye on the local weather forecast.
The app is available everywhere in the United States and parts of Canada, but snowier parts of the country draw more business.
In 2020, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Michigan were the busiest states on Shovler, due to record snowfall in the Northeast. During a typical year, Minnesota, Colorado, Wisconsin and Illinois take the top spots, according to Miller.
“In order to fill every job on the platform we need shovelers everywhere in North America — at least the places that get snow,” Miller said.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How Does the Shovler App Work?
The Shovler app connects independent snow shovelers with those looking to purchase their services. The entire process works within the company’s Android and iOS smartphone apps. Rates (and shoveler payments) are set based on the specifics of the job requested.
How Much Do You Make on the Shovler App?
An independent contractor can expect to make between $35 and $75 for small jobs. Larger jobs, such as clearing small business parking lots, bring in more cash.
How Do You Start a Snow Shoveling Side Hustle?
Signing up for an app like Shovler is a great way to connect yourself with locals who need snow shoveling services. You’ll also need to be equipped with the proper warm attire, snow shovels and additional supplies, such as ice salt and car-cleaning tools.
Contributor Jenna Limbach writes on financial literacy and lifestyle topics for The Penny Hoarder. Michael Archambault is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
Information from former Penny Hoarder writer Carson Kohler is included in this report.
*This article may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
One of the topics I keep coming back to on Bible Money Matters is the idea of finding ways to cut your regular recurring expenses. One of the big ways that we’ve saved was by cutting our mobile phone costs and home phone costs.
We cut our mobile phone bills substantially by moving to a no-contract cell phone provider several years ago. My wife and I both switched to Virgin Mobile pre-paid cell service. We’ve saved hundreds over the years by making the switch from our old traditional contract provider.
My wife has recently been complaining about how her old smartphone just isn’t working very well anymore. The GPS never seems to work despite being on, it’s always running out of storage and it’s just too slow and old to run some of the newest apps.
Since she isn’t on a contract I decided to see if we could find a better deal on a phone and plan than the one we’re on with Virgin Mobile – a $35/month plan that gets her basically all she needs. One provider that keeps coming up when I research low cost no contract cell providers is Republic Wireless. They have plans as low as $15/month! Today I thought I’d do a quick post talking about Republic Wireless, who they are, what they have to offer and how you can use them to save.
Save With Republic Wireless
Republic Wireless History
Republic Wireless is a wireless communications service provider and subsidiary of Bandwidth. Bandwidth is an internet and telephone service provider co-founded in 1999 by CEO David Morken in his spare bedroom. Morken is an avowed capitalist, but also is outspoken about his Christian faith, and he talks about how his Christian values help to inform the company’s focus on integrity and service:
It’s amazing when you can have an economic alignment with a service orientation and a service heart. You don’t just tell the truth because it’s going to have an economic benefit, you have to tell the truth when it’s going to cause economic harm as well.
Bandwidth’s expertise is in telephony and VOIP services, so a consumer focused VOIP cell service like Republic Wireless was a natural outgrowth of the company.
Republic Wireless was created in January of 2010 and first launched as a private beta service in November of 2011 with 2 available smartphones. A year later in 2012 they launched an open public beta. Finally in November of 2013 they came out of their beta testing period and began offering several calling plans ranging anywhere from $5/month to $40/month depending on the level of service you buy. As of September of 2017 they will have 8 smartphone options available to purchase on their store. They range from the high end Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge ($599) to the mid level Moto G4 ($179) all the way to the entry-level Moto E ($99).
Republic Wireless is an MVNO for the Sprint and T-Mobile networks depending on which plan you’re on, so they’ll have the same coverage as Sprint or T-Mobile. What sets them apart, however, is their new “Hybrid Calling” techonology that allows you to make phone calls over WiFi, or if WiFi isn’t available, via the cell networks as normal phones do. You’re even able to do mid-call handoff from calls started in WiFi, and pass it over to the cell networks with no call interruption.
Republic’s idea is to use WiFi data whenever possible to make cell service more affordable, since cellular data costs so much more to use. Here’s how they describe their service.
Our mission at Republic Wireless is simple: to make enjoying the features of a smartphone more affordable and accessible for everyone. Through Hybrid Calling technology (that’s WiFi + cellular), we’re able to offer our customers remarkable mobile service plans at unheard of rates. You see, WiFi is cheap and plentiful while cellular (especially data) is more scarce and much more expensive. By relying on our members to use the cheap and plentiful WiFi wherever it’s available, we’re making great progress on our mission—delivering a mind blowing total cost of ownership that’s leaving a lot of folks scratching their heads (happily!).
When the service first started I heard a lot of complaints about call quality, and problems handing off calls from WiFi to cell networks. Most of the more recent reviews I’ve read, however, have been much more positive about the quality of service.
Republic Wireless – How It Works
Making calls over WiFi is much more affordable for the wireless communications provider, so what Republic Wireless has created is a more affordable way to have cell service.
Their Hybrid Calling technology allows them to offer more affordable plans than many other providers just by giving WiFi calling priority over the cell calling. So if WiFi is available where you are, your call will be routed over the WiFi networks, and if it’s not, then calls will go over the Sprint or T-Mobile cell network (or Verizon’s network if Sprint is not available).
The more prevalent WiFi is where you typically go, the more likely you will be to choose one of their WiFi only plans, and save a ton of money!
What Phones Can I Get?
Currently there are 8 phones available for Republic Wireless, The Moto E4, Moto E4 Plus, Moto G5 plus, Huawei AScend 5W, Moto G4, Moto Z Play, Moto Z and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. Available phones are always subject to change, and often do. Go to the Republic Wireless site via the link below to see current options.
View Current Phones @ Republic Wireless
So what do you get with each of the phones?
Motorola Moto E4 – $99: This phone sports a 5″ HD display, with 16 GB of internal memory, 2 GB of RAM, 2800 mAh removable battery and a MicroSD slot.
Motorola Moto E4 Plus – $199: This phone has a 5.5″ HD display, with 32 GB of internal memory, 2 GB of RAM, 5000 mAh rapid charging battery and a MicroSD slot.
Motorola Moto G5 plus – $299: This phone has a 5.2″ HD display, with 32/64 GB of internal memory, 2/4 GB of RAM, 3000 mAh rapid charging battery and a MicroSD slot.
Huawei AScend 5W – $149: This phone has a 5.5″ HD display, with 16 GB of internal memory, 2 GB of RAM, 3000 mAh battery and a MicroSD slot.
Motorola Moto G4 – $179: This phone has a 5.5″ HD display, with 16/32 GB of internal memory, 2 GB of RAM, 3000 mAh Turbo Charge battery and a MicroSD slot.
Motorola Moto Z Play – $349: This phone has a 5.5″ AMOLED HD display, with 32 GB of internal memory, 3 GB of RAM, 3510 mAh 50 hr battery and a MicroSD slot expandable up to 200GB.
Motorola Moto Z – $499: This phone has a 5.5″ HD display, with 64 GB of internal memory, 4 GB of RAM, 2600 mAh battery and a MicroSD slot expandable up to 200GB.
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge – $599: This phone has a 5.5″ Quad HD display, with 32 GB of internal memory, 4 GB of RAM, 3600 mAh 33 hr battery with wireless charging and a MicroSD slot expandable up to 200GB.
Here is an unboxing video of our older Moto X that we received a while back (which is no longer sold, but you can still find used).
[embedded content]
View this video on YouTube
When it comes down to it, all of their phones are going to be good phones, it just comes down to how much speed, memory and other bells and whistles that you want. The faster the processor, the more memory and better display, the more the phone will cost.
Available Monthly Plans
So what are the plans that are currently available on the Republic Wireless network?
Here are the new calling plans on the new Republic Wireless 3.0 plans:
The plan that most people use is the unlimited talk & text + 1GB of LTE data for just $20.
It is an amazing deal, and $5 cheaper than their old Republic Wireless 2.0 1GB data plan!
They do have a bunch of other calling plans, however. The plans start at a $15/month for a plan with no data, all the way up to a $90/month 10GB plan:
$15 Unlimited Talk, Text, and WiFi Data
$20 Unlimited Talk, Text, and WiFi Data + 1GB of Cell Data
$30 Unlimited Talk, Text, and WiFi Data + 2GB of Cell Data
$45 Unlimited Talk, Text, and WiFi Data + 4GB of Cell Data
$60 Unlimited Talk, Text, and WiFi Data + 6GB of Cell Data
$90 Unlimited Talk, Text, and WiFi Data + 10GB of Cell Data
Depending on how much data you use in a typical month, or if you use data at all, the service can be extremely affordable. I know some people that don’t really use data that go with the $15/month plan, while others like me who use a small amount of data can go with the $20/month plan.
Switch Your Plan Up To 2X Per Month At No Extra Charge
One nice feature that Republic Wireless offers is the ability to switch your monthly plan up to twice per month. This will come in handy, for example, if you’re traveling one month and want to have more 4G LTE data access available on your phone.
So let’s say you’re on the $15/month plan with no cell data, and you want to switch your plan (right from your phone if you want!) to the $30/month 2GB data plan while you travel. You can switch it while you’re traveling, and then when you come back switch it back to the more affordable plan again.
How is it charged? You’ll pay the daily rate for each plan, for the days that you use it. So for the $15 plan you’d pay about $.50 a day, while the $30/month plan would be about $1 a day. Just figure out how many days of the month on each plan you used and you’ll figure out what your charges for that month will be. Piece of cake, and a great way to save!
Check Out Plans @ Republic Wireless
Pros & Cons
What are the pros and cons of cell service with Republic Wireless? Here are a few:
Pros
Low cost – affordable: Depending on your needs your service will be anywhere from $15-$45/month. Much cheaper than the average $96/month phone bill (according to J.D. Power).
Ability to switch plans up to 2x per month: If you want to switch your plan with Republic, for example, if you’re traveling and want to have 4G data access, you can do that up to 2x per month. So you can be on the $5 plan, and switch to the $40/month plan for the month – and then switch back.
Good phones available: The Samsung Galaxy S7 has received rave reviews and by all accounts it’s a great phone. The other phones that are available are good mid and entry level smartphones as well.
Roaming on other networks available: If you don’t have a T-Mobile tower in your area, the service will roam on another network for voice calls at no added cost.
Make calls on WiFi – even in your basement!: If you typically can’t make cell phone calls in your basement, or at your job – as long as you’ve got a WiFi signal you can now make calls!
Unlimited talk, text, data: All of the plans will give you unlimited talk, text and data if you’re on WiFi. You can also get unlimited talk and text via cell networks on the $15-45/month plans. No worries about going over your minutes or text limit!
Make international calls, as long as you have good WiFi: I remember paying through the nose for calling cards when my family took a cruise a few years back. Now, as long as you have WiFi you can make calls to the U.S., even if you’re overseas.
Port your existing number: You can port your existing phone number to the service as long as it’s compatible. Be sure to check beforehand, I did and my number is available to port.
30 day trial: You can try the phone for a no risk 30 day trial. Just be sure to read the caveats (like not opening accessories if you’re not sure you want to keep the phone, and that you’ll have to pay a $10 shipping charge).
Cons
Limited phone choices: There are currently only a limited number of phones you can buy on the Republic Wireless site. They are all great phones, but if you want something different like an iPhone for an example, you’re out of luck. Thankfully they do have some “bring your own phone” options as well.
Occasional phone service hiccups in WiFi/cell handoffs: Some people have noticed hiccups when moving from a WiFi connection to cell connection. This seems to have improved, however, and most people don’t have issues with this.
No short code support: As of this writing there is no support for short code messaging – in other words sending messages to 4-6 digit numbers services. (Example: text 32456 for a listing of movies) This is being changed however, and they anticipate support for short codes to be added soon. UPDATE: Republic Wireless announced on October 10th, 2014 that there is now support for short codes. One more thing to scratch off the cons list!
Overall Republic Wireless is a great non contract cell service option. It ends up being cheaper than most of the other services that I’ve looked into, and if you have good WiFi coverage like I do, it can be considerably cheaper. I’d definitely recommend checking it out if you’re looking to cut an out of control cell phone bill.
Are you using Republic Wireless? How has the service worked for you? How much are you saving?
Find out more about the service and sign up via the link below.
More Details About Republic Wireless
Moble Virtual Network Operator (MVNO)
Mobile Network
Minimum Plan Price
Free Tethering
Review
Gen Mobile
Sprint
$5 (Unlimited Text – No Talk, No Data) $10 (300 Min Talk & Unlimited Text – 1GB Data) Discounts if prepaid for 3 months.
Yes
Review
Tello
Sprint
$5 (100 Min Talk & Unlimited Text – No Data)
Yes
Review
Twigby
Sprint, Verizon Wireless
$9 (300 Min Talk & Unlimited Text – No Data)
Yes
Review
Ting
Sprint, T-Mobile
$9 (100 Min Talk & No Text – No Data)
Yes
Review
Red Pocket Mobile
Verizon Wireless, AT&T, T-Mobile US, Sprint
$10 (500 Min Talk & 500 Text – 500 MB Data)
Yes
Republic Wireless
Sprint, T-Mobile
$15 (Unlimited Talk & Text – No Data)
Yes
Review
Mint Mobile
T-Mobile
$15 (Unlimited Talk & Text – 3GB Data) If prepaid for 1 year. Prepay in 3,6, 12 month increments. Buy 3 Months, Get 3 Free)
Yes
Review
Unreal Mobile
AT&T
$15 (Unlimited Talk & Text – 3GB Data). Prepay in 3,6, 12 month increments.
Yes
Review
TracFone
Verizon Wireless, AT&T, T-Mobile US, Sprint, U.S. Cellular
$15 (200 Min Talk & 500 Text – 500 MB Data) If put on auto-renew save 5%.
No
Google FI
T-Mobile, Sprint, U.S. Cellular
$20 (Unlimited Talk & Text – No Data)
Yes
Total Wireless
Verizon Wireless
$23.70 (Unlimited Talk & Text – No Data) $25 without auto-pay.
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Empower Personal Wealth, LLC (“EPW”) compensates Money Bliss for new leads. Money Bliss is not an investment client of Personal Capital Advisors Corporation or Empower Advisory Group, LLC.
You are looking for the best investment app to help you save money, but all of them seem too complicated. You want something that is simple, easy to use, helpful, and even better if the app is free.
Empower is an online service for tracking your finances. Before a merger, the company began in 2009, and to this day it has been growing exponentially with a user base of over two million people.
Personal Capital is now Empower.
The app works on desktop as well as mobile devices, giving users the ability to track their spending easily wherever they go.
Empower also offers a suite of tools that help you get out more information about how you are using your money so that you can make better financial decisions.
On this Empower review, we will focus on what they do well, how it works for those who use it, and where Empower could improve.
Don’t forget… here is a list of all of the budgeting apps on the market.
If you are looking for an easier way to monitor your financials and see how healthy your finances really are, then you may want to check out what Empower has to offer.
What is Empower?
Empower is an online tool for tracking your finances.
It has been called the best financial app out there, and I agree with that statement. But, I personally use it as one of the money management tools to help guide our financial decisions.
I have used Empower to track my investments for over six years now, which probably makes me a bit of an expert on this topic because I use it on a regular basis.
Overall, Empower is a financial planning and wealth management tool that users can use to manage their net worth. The product offers tools for managing investments, retirement, debt payoff, and other personal finance goals.
How does it work?
First of all, Empower is a FREE app that helps you keep track of all your accounts. It can help you to invest better and did we mention… it is free to use!
To get the most out of this app, you’ll have to link each of your financial accounts one by one so that Empower can learn how you spend money.
It takes a couple of minutes to create an account and verify your identity.
The longest step is linking accounts to the Empower app. Just make sure you do this step within 7 days to get the most out of the app.
Features of Empower
The features of Empower include the ability to visualize your overall financial picture, keep track of your investments in a dashboard, and see which companies you are invested in.
Most people associate Empower as one of the best tools to help with investing, like a stock screener and an investment calculator.
But, there are many great features available for free including:
Net Worth Planner
Retirement Planner
Fee Analyzer
Cash Flow Management
Savings Planner
Budgeting
College Savings Planner
Investment Checkup
Pros and Cons of Empower
First of all, Empower is free to use. So, you might as well test drive the system and check out if the Empower app fits what you are looking for.
Just like any of the Empower reviews will tell you, there are positives and negatives with every type of money management app available.
You just have to decide the most important features for you. As well as what you are willing to pay.
Pros of Empower:
Free portfolio management tool.
Good for new investors who want a free-to-use tool with minimal features.
Easy to use and can be accessed on multiple platforms.
Can track investments across multiple accounts.
Tracks over 23,000 securities and over 1,000 mutual funds. – check
Offers a free app for on-the-go access.
Offers in-depth analysis and investment research on stocks, bonds, and ETFs.
Cloud-based platform
Free to use!
Cons of Empower:
Sales call from staff
Wealth management service is more expensive than a traditional advisor or simply investing in index funds.
High wealth management fee
Unable to reconcile your bank statements with Empower, but since they are coming from your bank directly, they should already be in sync.
No credit health information
Budgeting Tool needs improvement
Limited transaction management and budgeting
No import option for transactions from any platform including YNAB, Quicken or Mint
Cloud-based platform
Many people report that the Empower app requires $100,000 in investment assets to be eligible. That is untrue. In fact, it works best for those who have at least $100k in some form of investments – 401k, IRA, brokerage accounts, or even cash!
Empoweris incredibly easy to use and has helpful financial planning tools.
Overall, it is one of the many great tools to help further push you to financial freedom.
Empower Pricing
While Empower is free to access personal finance tools, it does come at a small price of annoyance.
Empower is free
Empower is a free online portfolio platform that helps people save and invest their money. It offers tools to track net worth, create investment plans, compare retirement accounts, view savings goals and cash flow, and more.
This is the great part of using this app!
The downside is to make these dashboards free is they are trying to entice you to move to their wealth management services.
You do not need to invest your money with Empower to use this platform.
It is best to keep everything invested where it currently is and use their free tools to analyze and make the necessary changes.
As such, once you sign up, you will receive calls on a reoccurring basis offering you a free analysis. There is no pressure to do this. Once you have said no enough times, they will stop calling you.
For those under $1 million in investable assets, their fee is 0.89%.
As you can read in this book, there are many ways to invest yourself without paying that fee.
In fact, this is my favorite book explaining how much harder and longer you have to work by paying someone a 1% wealth management fee.
However, for a small percentage of people, this may be a more cost-effective way of receiving professional advice, as it eliminates hidden costs from this type of service.
Empower Tools
Empower is a financial management platform that provides tools to help individuals manage their personal finances. The platform offers tools for portfolio tracking, performance analysis, and retirement planning. The company also provides its users with educational resources on financial topics.
Under their free dashboard, these are the tools you can use for free.
Net Worth Calculator
This simple tool will keep track of your net worth. Very simple and always available.
Know where you stand, by downloading the free app to see your true net worth in real-time.
Understanding your personal financial statement is important.
Savings Planner
One of the most asked questions is how much I need to save for:
Retirement
Emergency Fund
To Pay Down Debt
Calculate how much to save each year with a 70% chance of reaching your retirement goals. Learn how much you are currently savings and how much you need to start saving.
Cash Flow
Cash flow is the amount of cash available for expenses at a certain time. This term used in personal finance describes the rate at which one’s income and expenses change over time.
The Cash Flow tool is easy to use because Empower automatically tracks deposits and spending. The time saver feature allows users to see their cash flow, balance sheet, net worth, asset allocation over a period of time.
Cash flow is a budgeting tool that offers limited information on spending. It provides a second check when using another program that gives you more details like Quicken or Simplfi.
Retirement Planner
This is the #1 reason I recommend Empower especially if you are looking to stay away from a financial planner.
Trying to figure out how much you need for retirement by yourself seems like picking a random number from the sky.
The retirement planner is used by millions of people to figure out how on track they are for retirement. Plus get tips on what they can do to improve their chances of success.
Budgeting
Budgeting is a method of allocating financial resources by identifying and evaluating needs, prioritizing them in order to meet goals, and monitoring the achievement of those goals.
Empower includes a budgeting section to help you set monthly spending targets and track your spending. They automatically import the information from linked accounts such as checking, savings, and credit card statements.
Using their free online financial dashboard, allows you to track your spending and investments. There are interactive charts, graphs, pie-charts, and even widgets. All to make sure your budgeting is on track.
Investment Checkup
This portfolio analysis is the process of measuring performance and risk in order to develop a strategy for capital allocation. The goal of portfolio analysis is to improve return on investment, which can be achieved by increasing return on assets, decreasing the risk of losses, or reducing the variance.
The Empower app lets you explore your entire portfolio visually. It also provides asset allocation tools and tax optimization tools to help manage a person’s financial life.
Fee Analyzer
A fee analyzer helps people to determine the annual fees they are paying in their retirement plan.
401K Analyzer also calculates how much your retirement is costing you and provides a breakdown of any hidden fees that may be present within mutual funds with which it has been linked. This Retirement Planner tool uses assumptions about account holdings and investment behavior for calculating expenses against an estimated portfolio value.
Consequently, these fees add up over time and will drastically put a drag on your portfolio and reduce your retirement savings.
Empower Dashboard is Free
Just remember, you do not need to hire an advisor to use the platform.
Empower is a free tool for individual investors.
Empower provides users with access to all of the above-mentioned advanced tools for free. In addition, they offer free financial advice through their blog and social media pages.
It allows users to track their investments and get a personalized financial plan. The service also offers apps for iOS and Android devices, which makes it easy to manage finances on the go.
Empower Wealth Management Review of Services
In addition to offering free financial tools, Empower provides wealth management services.
You get to work one-on-one with an advisor who will give you personalized advice based on your situation.
They help you to invest, save money and track your financial goals.
Their advisors start by determining your risk tolerance and goals in order to construct the best personal financial plan for you.
If you are interested in getting a better understanding of your financial situation, Empower is an excellent option. It gives users the tools to understand their investments, budgets, and cash flow all with one app.
All it requires is that you sign up for free without any obligations or commitments from them whatsoever. You do not have to agree to use their wealth management program.
Personally, I cannot comment on an Empower advisor review as I have not used this service personally.
Empower Investment Strategy
The Empower investment strategy is a simple way to invest your money for the long-term.
This means that you will be able to retire and live a comfortable life without any concern about how you will be able to live.
They employ the tactic called Smart Weighting because they invest equally across all sectors and industries, which can provide diverse returns with minimal risk. The best part of this strategy is it’s easy to use as Empower has created an interface that makes portfolio management simple for users on any device or platform.
Empower’s software is able to identify tax-loss harvesting opportunities (opportunities where the investor sells an investment after it has fallen in value and pays fewer taxes than if the sale had occurred earlier) than investing on their own.
In addition, Empower invests passively for cost efficiency which means that they don’t take any active management into account.
The best part about Empower and one of the key areas I prefer, is they include socially responsible investments as well as an investment strategy to fit any budget.
They identify which companies are doing good work for society and invest in them accordingly. This feature makes personal finance much more interesting and easier than ever before!
Wealth Management Tiers
Many people invest in various financial services and products, such as mutual funds or stocks. They are promised that these investments will generate a good return, but they do not always make the best choice. Wealth management services are a way to help people manage their personal investments. They may charge fees for their service, but that is not always the case.
Depending on your level of assets, will determine the amount of services you will receive.
Investment Services:
This is the most basic level to receive financial and retirement planning guidance from their team of experts.
$100K in investment assets
Unlimited advice from any of the available financial advisors
Managed ETF portfolio
Wealth Management:
This is where you can receive more personalized services and dedicated support to manage your money as you move through new financial challenges.
$200K minimum in investment assets
Two dedicated financial advisors
Access to specialists in real estate, stock options, and more
Regular reviews on your customized portfolio
Tax optimization
Private Client :
This is the most exclusive level at Empower to help you receive comprehensive financial planning. They will help build a customized investment plan to reach your lifestyle goals.
over $1 million in investment assets
Two dedicated financial advisors
Priority access to specialists
In-depth retirement and wealth planning
Wealth Management Fee Structure
Empower charges only an all-inclusive annual management fee at a fraction of the cost of traditional financial institutions. In addition, they do not charge hidden fees, trailing fees, or trade commissions.
First $1 million = .89%
First $3 million = .79%
Next $2 million = .69%
Next $5 million = .59%
Over $10 million = .49%
Overall, if you want a financial advisor or a second opinion, using Empower wealth management services may be for you.
Even if you don’t join, you can still use the tools for free, no questions asked.
My Empower Review from Experience
I have had a lot of experience using Empower in the past. They provide snapshot financial pictures of your personal situation that are very informative.
Plus it is a free tool to use, which is always a bonus.
Empower is one of my favorite online tools to see all your finances in one place.
It is eye-opening to see the overall picture. Also, tracking investments across multiple accounts can be overwhelming, but they make the process seamless and help you stay on top of things.
Personally, my favorite tools are the net worth, fee analyzer, and retirement planner.
I use Empower in conjunction with Quicken. Read my Quicken review.
My Empower dashboard is my overall financial picture whereas Quicken tracks all of my day-to-day spending and helps me remember when we purchased something for a return.
The app has a convenient interface that makes managing your personal financial situation easy, even if you’re not familiar with finance jargon or investing terminology. With this tool at hand, keeping track of where everything stands financially becomes easier than ever before!
Just to note… to get the best financial picture, you must include all of your accounts. The more time you spend in the Empower dashboard, the more helpful analysis you will get from the tool.
Empower Alternatives
In addition to Empower, there are other financial apps that can help you allocate your portfolio.
These include Betterment with Wealthfront also being a viable option for those who want the best of both worlds by tracking their investments in stocks and bonds. However, these alternatives have much higher fees than what is charged by Empower which makes it an appealing alternative if the fee does not bother you.
Also, if you are looking for budgeting capabilities you may want to look at Quicken, Mint, YNAB, or Simplifi.
At the end of the day, you have to decide what your goals are and what you are looking for.
From all of the free and paid budgeting apps, here are our top budgeting apps to check out!
This section may contain affiliate links, which helps us to continue providing relevant content and we receive a small commission at no cost to you. Please read the full disclosure below.
Personal Capital Advisors Corporation (“PCAC”) compensates Money Bliss (“Company”) for new leads. (“Company”) is not an investment client of PCAC.
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Is Empower right for you?
Empower is a company that offers tools for personal finance management. This app has more than one hundred different tools to help you with your finances, including monthly budgeting and investing tracking.
Empower also helps people manage their credit card debt, establish emergency funds, track retirement savings progressions, calculate their net worth, and much more!
The smartphone app integrates locations, bank accounts, and credit scores which allows users to access current information on their financial situation.
The online portal allows for comparing available investment options.
This tool allows people to plan out the future of their money as well as provides them with valuable financial information in an easy-to-read format so they can make informed decisions.
As stated before, Empower is a financial app that can help you manage your investment assets. It has many features and it’s not perfect, but it’s the best out there in terms of value for money.
You can always test drive it and see what you learn about your personal finance situation.
Now you can try it free (no credit card required!)
Know someone else that needs this, too? Then, please share!!
A cash management account (CMA) combines many of the best aspects of checking and savings accounts. It lets you earn strong interest rates while keeping it easy to access and spend your cash. While CMAs can’t do everything a dedicated checking or savings account can do, many people find CMAs sufficient for their financial needs.
Financial companies target CMAs at consumers who have large cash balances they need to insure. People who want the easy access a checking account provides – without sacrificing the interest rate savings accounts offer – also use them.
But so many companies offer CMAs it can be hard to choose the best one. Which one is right for you depends on how much money you plan to deposit and whether your primary goal is earning interest or easy access to your money.
Best Cash Management Accounts
There are plenty of top options for CMAs to choose from, no matter your financial goals. Many are associated with investment brokerages or robo-advisor platforms, which automatically allocate and manage your funds based on your personal risk tolerance and objectives.
Betterment
Our Rating
Earn up to 4.35% APY and pay no monthly fees on your cash. Plus, get access to Betterment’s low-cost robo-advisor platform with instant transfers between accounts.
Monthly Fee
$0, but Betterment may charge investing fees
Deposit Insurance
Up to $4 million
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Betterment is an automated investing platform with a built-in cash management account (Cash Reserve) that has one of the best yields and highest deposit insurance limits in the space.
Betterment’s yield is comparable to the top high-yield savings accounts, and its FDIC insurance limit is at least eight times the industry standard. Open a joint account with your spouse or domestic partner to double your FDIC insurance coverage.
And if you’re looking for a day-to-day spending account, open a Betterment Checking account. It has a debit card, no monthly maintenance fees or minimum balance requirements, and a direct link to your other Betterment accounts.
Annual percentage yield (variable) is as of 05/08/2023. Cash Reserve is only available to clients of Betterment LLC, which is not a bank, and cash transfers to program banks are conducted through the clients’ brokerage accounts at Betterment Securities.
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Wealthfront
Our Rating
Earn 4.55% APY on all balances with no minimums or fees. Plus, enjoy category-leading FDIC deposit insurance coverage up to $5 million.
Monthly Fee
$0, but Wealthfront may charge investment fees
Deposit Insurance
Up to $5 million
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Wealthfront is an automated investing platform that charges a low asset-based fee on all balances (0.25% AUM). Its cash management account, the aptly named Wealthfront Cash Account, charges no fees at all.
The Wealthfront Cash Account has more in common with a checking account than a savings account. Notable features include unlimited withdrawals, a debit card that works at nearly 20,000 ATMs, direct deposit, and integrations with popular peer-to-peer transfer apps like Venmo and PayPal.
The Wealthfront Cash Account’s Self-Driving Money™, feature is even more useful than a standard checking account. It’s a money management automation tool that automatically allocates incoming deposits to cover near-term bills and expenses, add to your emergency savings, fund other savings goals as per your personalized savings plan, and divide the remainder between your investment accounts — all with minimal input from you.
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Empower
Our Rating
Earn 4.25% Interest; No Minimum Balance; No Monthly Fees; Up to $1.5 Million in FDIC Insurance
Monthly Fee
Deposit Insurance
Up to $2 million
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Formerly known as Personal Capital, Empower is a digital financial advisor and wealth manager geared toward affluent younger folks. You don’t need a ton of money to use its Empower Cash cash management solution though — it’s totally free and doesn’t require a separate minimum balance.
Empower Cash stands out for the same reasons many other great cash management accounts do: a high yield, generous FDIC coverage, and no minimums. It adds some more unique benefits too, including direct access to human wealth managers and a sophisticated budgeting tool that securely syncs with your external financial accounts and provides a comprehensive all-in-one view of your finances.
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Aspiration
Our Rating
Earn up to 3.00% APY on the first $10,000 in your Save account. Plus, your deposits never fund fossil fuels.
Up to 3.00% APY
Monthly Fee
$0 to $7.99
Deposit Insurance
Up to $2.25 million
Our Rating
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Aspiration is a socially conscious financial firm that offers retirement, investing, and charitable giving services. Aspiration doesn’t invest customer funds in businesses that pollute the environment. It has a growing lineup of Conscience Coalition partners where purchases earn up to 10% cash back. And it helps you gauge your own social responsibility, giving you a spending-habits report card showing how much you’ve supported green companies.
Aspiration’s cash management solution isn’t as generous as some others, with a lower yield that applies only to the first $10,000 in the account and requires a monthly fee to attain. But if you’re drawn to Aspiration’s mission, you can probably live with the financial drawbacks.
Fidelity
Our Rating
Earn 2.47% APY on all balances with no minimums, no fees, and variable deposit insurance up to multiples of the statutory limit.
Monthly Fee
Deposit Insurance
Variable, but at least $250,000
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Fidelity is a full-service financial firm that offers banking, financial advising, and investment services. It’s fully capable of being your only financial institution, and the Fidelity Cash Management Account is a big reason why.
The Fidelity Cash Management Account is a checking-like platform (complete with a debit card and unlimited ATM fee reimbursements) that offers savings-like yields. It offers a nice blend of old and new too, with free paper checks alongside mobile check deposit and fast person-to-person transfers. And if you’re not ready to branch out into stocks and bonds and all the rest, you don’t have to use Fidelity’s investing platform just because you have a Fidelity Cash Management Account.
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Methodology: How We Select the Best Cash Management Accounts
Our most important considerations when evaluating cash management accounts are:
How much they earn (interest rate)
How much they protect (deposit insurance coverage)
How easy they make it to access your money (linked accounts, debit cards, and so on)
How much they cost (fees and expenses)
How they fit into a larger financial ecosystem (connection to other accounts offered by the same company)
Interest on Balances
“What’s the interest rate?” is the first question most people ask when shopping for cash management accounts. The best accounts pay interest on par with the top high-yield savings accounts, which as of mid-2023 typically yield between 4% and 5% APY.
Deposit Insurance Coverage & Limits
Generous deposit insurance coverage is a defining feature of cash management accounts. The best accounts protect multiples of the standard FDIC deposit insurance limit of $250,000, which is what you get with most ordinary checking, savings, and money market accounts.
Some go up to $5 million or even higher. The higher, the better.
Access to Balances
Cash management accounts are sort of like checking-savings hybrids, but in terms of access to your cash, many are more like savings accounts. They don’t have debit cards, peer-to-peer transfer capabilities, or instant transfers to external accounts.
Good cash management accounts tend to be more liberal on this front. Some even have debit cards that you can use at any merchants that accept Visa or Mastercard.
Fees
The best cash management accounts have no monthly maintenance fees and low (or no) fees otherwise. However, most are associated with investment accounts that do charge management or trading fees. We look for accounts with reasonable fee schedules in any case.
Connection to Investment & Other Account Types
Cash management accounts usually don’t exist by themselves. They’re often associated with investment or wealth management accounts that offer a much broader range of services than standard deposit accounts can. We prefer these types of accounts because they’re more suitable as one-stop shops for banking and investments.
Cash Management Account FAQs
If you understand how checking and savings accounts work, you have a basic understanding of cash management accounts too. But they have a few differences and oddities worth drilling down into.
What Is a Cash Management Account?
A cash management account is a deposit account that blends features of checking and savings accounts.
Like a checking account, a cash management account usually has no limit on withdrawals. Some come with debit cards and other checking-like features, such as instant person-to-person transfers.
Like a savings account, a cash management account typically has a high interest rate on balances. It often has a higher deposit insurance limit as well, a feature it shares with some certificates of deposit.
Is a Cash Management Account a Brokerage Account?
A cash management account is not a brokerage account, but many cash management accounts are associated with brokerage accounts. Either the account is housed within the brokerage account itself and receives proceeds from securities sales through a process known as cash sweeping, or it’s a separate account linked to the brokerage account for speedy transfers.
Are Cash Management Accounts Better Than Savings Accounts?
It depends on your financial situation and what you hope to get out of the account.
If your personal cash reserve is well under the standard FDIC deposit insurance limit, your best bet is to look for the highest possible yield, which you may or may not find in a cash management account. If you have more cash, it might be worth it to use a cash management account with a higher deposit insurance limit, even if its yield isn’t quite on par with the top savings accounts.
If you plan to use your cash (or some of it) to buy stocks or other securities, keeping it in a cash management account is more convenient than a standard savings account not associated with a brokerage account.
What’s the Difference Between a Cash Management Account and a Money Market Account?
Cash management accounts have a lot in common with money market accounts, which are also often described as checking-savings hybrids.
The biggest differences: a money market account is more likely to come with core checking features like a debit card and paper checks, and less likely to be directly associated with a brokerage account. Also, money market accounts often (but not always) have lower yields than savings accounts and cash management accounts.
Do You Have to Buy Stocks If You Have a Cash Management Account?
No, you can keep all your money as cash in a cash management account even if the cash management account is directly associated with a brokerage account. If you worry you’ll be tempted to purchase risky securities out of a brokerage-linked cash management account, consider holding your funds in a separate external bank account.
Final Word
Cash management accounts provide a useful mix of savings and checking accounts with the extra perk of huge FDIC insurance limits. If you’re in the market for a CMA, look for the account that offers the level of accessibility you need and the best interest rate possible.
If you don’t need debit card access to your money, you can choose an account with other features that benefit you, like high interest rates or additional FDIC insurance.
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TJ is a Boston-based writer who focuses on credit cards, credit, and bank accounts. When he’s not writing about all things personal finance, he enjoys cooking, esports, soccer, hockey, and games of the video and board varieties.
One day you’ll likely want to close the book on your career and start a new chapter of your life, but do you know how to plan for retirement?
The majority of working Americans say they are behind on their retirement savings goals, according to a Bankrate survey. If you don’t know how to plan for retirement, you could find yourself in the same position.
A financially secure retirement might feel like a lofty goal, but it’s totally within reach if you educate yourself on a few fundamental retirement savings concepts.
It’s time to take the first step toward confident retirement planning. Ryan Inman, a financial planner for physicians at Financial Residency, and Andy Wang, managing partner at Runnymede Capital Management, are here to help. Below, they share the concepts that you need to master if you’re wondering how to learn about retirement planning.
But first: Test your knowledge with our retirement quiz. When you’re done, the experts’ guidance on how to plan for retirement can help you fill in any gaps to ace the quiz—and your retirement.
Retirement quiz: What do you know about retirement?
Harnessing the power of compound interest
Compound interest has been called the eighth wonder of the world. Its surprising ability to grow wealth can feel like a miracle, but it’s actually just good old-fashioned math.
“Compounding is the key to most great investors’ success,” Wang says. That’s because as you earn interest on your money, your money grows. He points out that over time, you earn interest not just on your initial deposit but also on the interest that accumulates.
This same principle applies to stock investing where constant reinvestment of capital gains produces a compounding effect so you earn gains on your gains, he adds.
Because the interest you earn is based on an ever-growing amount of money, your rate of wealth accumulation accelerates as the years go by.
How compound interest works: An example
An example can help when you’re learning about retirement planning, especially when math is involved.
Let’s say you put $10,000 into a diversified 60/40 mix of equities and fixed income that has an average annual return of 6% within your IRA. This is how compound interest would fuel your money’s growth over the years:
Year 1: You would make 6% on the $10,000, which is $600.
Year 2: You would make 6% on your money again, but this time it would be on a balance of $10,600. As a result, you’d add $636 to your account.
Year 3: You would make 6% on $11,236, or $674.16.
Year 10: You would have $17,908.48 in your account thanks to the power of compounding.
You can play with the numbers in a compound interest calculator to see the phenomenon yourself.
Compound interest is fundamental to how you plan for retirement because it yields bigger results over longer periods of time—and saving for retirement is all about the long term.
“The longer your money is invested, the more compound interest grows,” Inman says.
As a result, he says one of the biggest retirement savings mistakes you can make is to put off saving for retirement—because it prevents you from harnessing the impressive power of compound interest.
Understanding your tax-advantaged retirement options
When saving for retirement, Inman and Wang recommend that you make use of any available tax-advantaged accounts (in other words, accounts that save you money on taxes).
Some savers have access to a 401(k) or other employer-sponsored retirement accounts through their jobs. Every American who earns income can contribute to an individual retirement account, or IRA.
Let’s take a closer look at each of these tax-advantaged retirement options to help you understand how to plan for retirement.
The 401(k) retirement plan
The most common employer-sponsored plan is the 401(k), which allows employees to put a certain amount of each paycheck toward retirement. “The 401(k) is one of the best options you have to save for retirement,” Wang says.
One of the reasons it’s such a great option, he says, is that contributing to a 401(k) can ease your tax bill each year.
“The money you contribute doesn’t count toward your gross income for the year, and that lowers your taxable income as a result,” he explains. “For example, let’s say you make $25,000 per year and you contribute $2,000 into your 401(k). As far as the IRS is concerned, you made $23,000 and you’ll be taxed on the $23,000.”
In addition to lowering your tax bill, your 401(k) is growing your retirement savings thanks to the power of compound interest.
401(k) match
Sometimes, employers will also offer what’s known as a 401(k) match, which means they’ll match whatever you contribute to your retirement savings up to a certain amount.
For example, Inman says that if your employer offers a 3% match and you’re contributing at least 3% of your salary to your 401(k), then your employer will contribute an additional amount equal to 3% of your salary.
If your employer offers a 401(k) match and you’re not enrolled, “You’re not only missing out on the tax benefits of a 401(k), but you’re leaving free money on the table,” Inman says.
Vesting periods
How to learn about retirement planning means understanding your vesting period. Inman notes that some companies have vesting periods, which means you won’t receive the full 401(k) match until you satisfy a particular length of employment.
Maximum contributions
The maximum contribution is the total amount you’re allowed to contribute to your 401(k) each year. This limit can change year to year according to the latest tax laws. In the 2023 tax year, for example, you can contribute a maximum of $22,500 to your 401(k) account, the IRS says. If you’re over 50, you can take advantage of catch-up contributions—up to an additional $7,500 per year.
The individual retirement account (IRA)
Another popular retirement account is the IRA. According to Inman, there are two main types of IRAs, each with a different tax advantage.
Traditional IRA
Generally speaking, Inman says, a Traditional IRA allows you to deduct your contributions from your taxes now, but you’ll need to pay taxes on the money you withdraw in retirement. You can withdraw your contributions and earnings without IRS penalty at age 59½.
Roth IRA
The other type of IRA is the Roth IRA. Inman notes that contributions to a Roth IRA can’t be deducted from your taxes now, but when you withdraw your earnings in retirement (at age 59½ or later, to avoid a penalty), you do so tax-free. Because you pay taxes on your contributions, you can withdraw those from your Roth IRA anytime.
“Some earners’ income is too high to qualify for a Roth IRA,” Inman says. (In 2023, the income limit is $153,000 for individuals and $228,000 for married couples filing jointly, according to the IRS.)
Unsure of which type of IRA to choose? Dive into all the differences between a Roth IRA and a Traditional IRA. Check the latest IRS guidance on income and contribution limits before selecting the best option for you.
Automating your retirement savings
If you find yourself thinking about how to plan for retirement but not actually doing the regular saving that you need to, then automating your retirement savings might be for you.
Inman and Wang note that most 401(k) plans have automation features: Once you opt in and configure your preferences, your plan will deduct a certain dollar amount or percentage out of every paycheck and invest it in the funds you pre-selected.
There are even mobile apps that have emerged to make it easier for people to automate their retirement savings than ever before. They allow savers to set up automatic deposits from their checking or savings accounts into a retirement savings fund according to their risk tolerance and goals.
“Technology’s come a long way in helping us automate our retirement savings,” Inman says.
When considering how to plan for retirement, automating your retirement savings has two key benefits:
1. Automation removes emotion from investing
The fact is, it’s not always a pleasant experience to move money from your checking account into your retirement savings. Wang notes that when you’re automating your savings, “you won’t even miss that money, but it can grow to a significant amount over time.”
Because of this out-of-sight-out-of-mind phenomenon, Inman suggests increasing your 401(k) contribution amounts whenever you get a raise at work.
2. Automation helps you take advantage of dollar-cost averaging
You might have noticed that the stock market can be up one day and down the next. These unpredictable swings pose the risk that you could “buy high” right before the prices swing lower.
Inman points out that when you’re automating your savings, you’re investing the same amount of money at regular intervals. So if the market is up, your retirement savings go up, but you’re buying at higher prices. If the market goes down, your savings go down, but you’re also buying at lower prices.
Over time, your costs average out, and this is what is known as dollar-cost averaging. “Automation is allowing us to dollar-cost average without us even knowing that we’re doing it,” Inman says.
Estimating how much money you’ll need in retirement
You could use every savvy retirement strategy in the book, but how do you know how much you should save before you can retire?
“Conventional wisdom says that you should expect to need 70% to 90% of your annual pre-retirement income in retirement,” Wang says. For example, he says that a person who earns an average of $100,000 per year before retirement should expect to need $70,000 to $90,000 per year in retirement.
The 4% rule
Another frequently used rule of thumb when learning about retirement planning is known as the 4% rule, Wang says. The idea is that if you can withdraw no more than 4% each year from your savings in retirement (adjusting for inflation and taxes along the way), then “you should have a very high probability of not outliving your money during a 30-year retirement,” he says.
If our eventual retiree will need to withdraw $80,000 a year, that annual pre-tax income needs to represent no more than 4% of their retirement savings. Because 4% is the same as 1/25, they would need to multiply $80,000 by 25 to arrive at a target retirement savings goal of $2,000,000.
Put your knowledge to work toward your retirement
By taking this retirement quiz and studying new retirement concepts, you’ve taken the first steps toward how to learn about retirement planning.
Now, it’s time to make the moves that your future self will thank you for. See how Discover can empower you to confidently follow your retirement plan.
Articles may contain information from third-parties. The inclusion of such information does not imply an affiliation with the bank or bank sponsorship, endorsement, or verification regarding the third-party or information.
*The article and information provided herein are for informational purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice. Please consult your tax advisor with respect to information contained in this article and how it relates to you.
If you want more financial discipline you are probably looking to curb impulsive spending, save money, or maybe just achieve financial stability.
Building self discipline your financial decisions is an important part of building wealth over the long run.
What’s Ahead:
Why is self discipline the key to becoming a good saver
Being a good saver requires self discipline since there is so much fun stuff to do and buy. You are exposed to more advertising than anyone in the history of the world, and the marketing companies know a lot about psychology and exactly how to get you to part with your money.
So it takes a lot of self discipline in order to fight those tactics and stay on course to meet your goals. You have to have a clear goal and know that meeting that goal is more important than anything you can buy.
It requires a lot of self discipline to overcome the temptation to delay gratification of spending money and to save it instead.
Steps to develop self discipline
Step 1: Set a goal – then break it down into regularly recurring actions
What exactly do you want to achieve? It could be to build a fully funded emergency fund, start investing, pay off your debt, or even achieve financial independence – or anything in between.
Write down exactly what your goal is and the date by which you want to achieve it. For example, you may want to pay off your credit card debt within one year.
Then break down exactly what actions you need to take on a regular basis. Make these actions as small and as regular as possible. A small daily action is better than a larger monthly action.
For example, if you owe $10,000 on your credit card you’ll need to pay $833.33 off each month. Is that doable? If your budget allows for that, great. If not, you’ll need to figure out what exactly you need to do make up the difference.
If your regular payment is $150 and you can pull an extra $200 per month from your monthly budget that means you’ll need to come up with an additional $484 per month. If you have time to walk dogs after work you may decide to pick up a dog walking client for a few walks per week. At $25 per walk you’d have to walk the dog 20 times per month to make up the $484 you need. If you picked up a client that needed the dog walked everyday after work, you’d have the full amount.
You now have a goal and an action plan to make that goal happen.
Here are a few examples of short, mid, and long-term goals, but feel free to fill in the blanks with your own personal financial goals.
Short-term goals
Saving money each month towards your emergency fund
Going out to dinner with friends twice a month
Small household projects (planting a small indoor garden, painting a room, etc.)
Mid-term goals
Saving for a weekend getaway
Paying cash for your next car
Paying off your credit card debt
Long-term goals
Down payment on a house
Paying off your student loans
Putting money away for retirement
Read more: How to prioritize and save for multiple goals at once
Step 2: Track your progress
You’ll want some way to visualize and track your progress. A lot of people find this extremely motivating.
Using the example of paying off your car above, you could make a thermostat and color in a section each time you make a payment, representing the amount of money you’ve paid off (or is left on the loan). Or cover a piece of paper with stars (or anything else) and color in a star every time you send in your payment, each star representing one payment or a set amount of money.
Hang your tracker on the fridge so you can see it every day to remind you of what you are working towards. Make it a little celebration each time you get to fill in more of your tracker.
You can also go digital with your goal tracking. Apps like Empower offer a few different services for investing and checking up on your financial health. But, in this instance, I’m referring to the free tools they offer to keep track of your net worth.
You can create an account with them without opening an investment account. The wealth management and planning tools are the ones that you will probably be most interested in to help determine where you are at currently.
You can connect all of your financial accounts within the tool. These will be things, such as:
Checking account
Savings account(s)
Investment account(s)
Student loan account(s)
Auto loan account
Mortgage account
Credit card(s)
Medical debt account(s)
Sometimes, it can be pretty scary to see what your actual net worth is vs. where you want to be.
But, I use this as a driving force to work harder every month to increase my overall net worth. Because the faster I can get my net worth up, the faster I can get to my long-term goals.
Step 3: Find your tribe
Find people in your life who are working towards similar goals. This will help build self discipline because you’ll have a community that is embodying the new behaviors you want to build.
If you meet regularly with others who are paying off debt, you’ll have more discipline to follow that same path. You’ll have someone to share your successes with and a friend who can help when you are struggling.
Contrast that to when your friends regularly encourage overspending. Just going out to have a meal or a drink with friends can end up costing $100 or more in some instances. Something that sounded so innocuous, has now completely derailed your goal.
This isn’t to say you need to replace your entire friend group – not at all. But it will be up to you set a budget for having fun and then stick to it.
For example, instead of having two-three drinks, only have one. Go out for lunch instead of dinner, or a matinee instead of a night movie.
All of these options still give you the freedom to hang out with your friends and enjoy your life, but it won’t cost you nearly as much. And when you stick to your budget, your future self will thank you for your discipline.
Read More: The Cost Of Friendship – How Your Friends Affect The Way
Tips to meet your financial goals
Determine your needs vs. your wants
Setting up your financial goals and a way to track them are the first steps. But staying on track can get tricky when life happens. This is where needs vs. wants come into play. There are things that all of us want to have. But these are the things that can throw us off track so fast it will make your head spin.
So keeping in mind if the item/service is a need or a want can help you have more financial disciplined. Just remember to think long and hard about any purchases before you pull the trigger. If it is a need, then go ahead and do it. But if the item is actually something you want instead, it’s usually best to hold off even for a bit to make sure you still really want it as much as you think you do.
Reduce, reuse, recycle
When it comes to purchasing wants, you have a few other options that can save you a ton of money. If there is an item that you are wanting to purchase, but it simply isn’t in the budget, what might be some other ways to achieve the same goal?
Reduce, reuse or recycle may just be the best option here. If you have things in your house that you can get rid of (and maybe even make some money off of their sale), then that is one way to get the potential want. Sell your old stuff and then use the proceeds to purchase the new want item.
Or, if you can reuse an item you have in your house already, paired with something else, in order to create a similar item, then why not do that? Sometimes, all a table or chair needs is a fresh coat of paint in order to feel like a completely new item. So get creative and think outside the box about things you already have at your disposal.
And if all else fails, recycle your old items. You may not make any money off of them, but you could potentially get a tax write-off. Plus, it declutters your space, which can make it feel like a completely new room. Sometimes, that is really all you need.
Make it automatic
No matter what you goal is you can probably automate at least some of it.
If you want to save more, schedule automatic transfers from your checking to your savings. If you want to pay off a certain amount of debt each month, set automatic payments to your accounts.
Having these transactions happen automatically will remove the friction that can be caused when you have to manually make that extra payment, or save that extra money. You can always go in and stop or change the automatic payment if you can’t swing it one month, but making it the default will cause it to happen more often than not.
Of course, don’t set yourself up for failure. Setting an automatic payment without a plan to make sure the money is available will cause more harm than good. Create a feasible plan and realistic goal, then set it up to run without any extra effort from you.
Read more: Put your money on autopilot
Put your emergency fund in a high yield savings account
If you are working on building your emergency fund – or already have a solid savings account – you’ll want to make sure you are getting the most interest possible. This will help grow your savings rate since you’ll be earning a little extra interest each month.
Interest rates on high-yield savings accounts are higher than they’ve been in years, and the difference between online accounts and those at your local bank are huge. So, while these high yield savings account rates may not be anywhere close to the average return you will get on investing your money, it’s still nice to make some interest on your savings.
The best high yield savings account, in my opinion, is the CIT Savings Builder.
Read more: How Much Should You Save Every Month?
CIT Bank Savings Builder
CIT Bank Savings Builder has a very competitive APY – compared to the pennies you get from a credit union account.
You only need $100 to open an account and they charge no maintenance fees. To earn the highest APY, you need to get your account up to $25,000, or you need to deposit at least $100 monthly. See details here.
The CIT Savings Builder has a completely online platform, so everything can be done directly from your smartphone, just to make life simpler. They are also FDIC insured up to $250,000 per account type.
CIT Bank. Member FDIC.
Summary
Overall, it is extremely easy for our money to flow through our fingers like water. This is why you have to be cognizant of what you have and where you want to be with your finances.
If you want to avoid debt, save more money, or invest for your future then it’s important to develop self discipline in your finances.
Save more, spend smarter, and make your money go further
The temptation to overspend is seemingly everywhere you go. Whether you’re at the grocery store, checking your email, or scrolling on Instagram, ads are everywhere you look. These days, targeted ads are getting better at stealing your attention and your budget. While shopping never goes out of style, you may be wondering how to stop spending money on unnecessary items. Luckily, we have a few tricks up our sleeve.
From becoming your own chef to creating and sticking to a budget, there are a few ways to avoid temptations to overspend. Not only does overspending impact your finances, it could hinder your chances of meeting your financial goals. Curb your temptation to spend money with our 13 budget savers below.
1. Know Your Weaknesses
While you’re gearing up to end overspending, first find out where you spend the most money. Look through your recent statements and highlight any unnecessary expenses. Where are you spending the most on items or services that benefit your finances, or steal from them? Once you’ve recognized your unnecessary expenses, limit your spending.
Bonus step: Create your ideal budget and set specific financial goals using the Mint app. Enable alerts to notify you anytime you’re nearing your budget’s limit.
2. Create a Budget and Stick to It
Now that you’ve identified where you overspend, it’s time to create a budget to keep your temptations at bay. As a general rule of thumb, you should follow the 50/30/20 rule — 50 percent of your income going to necessities, 30 percent towards extras, and 20 percent towards your savings.
After figuring out how much money comes in versus out, set your monthly budget goals. As each month may have different expenses, plan for the adjustments. Sit down at the end of each month to readjust your budget for the next month ahead.
Bonus step: Schedule budget check-ins once a month to hold yourself accountable.
3. Give Every Dollar a Purpose
When creating your budget, try budgeting to zero. When you have extra money laying around in your account, you may feel tempted to spend it on things you don’t need. Once you’ve accounted for your necessary expenses like rent, electricity, and WiFi, divide up your leftovers to put towards your savings, extra debt payments, and investments until you reach zero.
Bonus step: Set up automatic savings contributions to make sure your income is directly deposited where you want it to go.
4. Only Shop With a List
Write out a shopping list before you enter the store to ensure you get everything you need without any extras. While you’re shopping, only stick to what’s on your list. If it’s not on the list and you haven’t budgeted for it, put it down and just keep walking.
Bonus step: To avoid impulse purchases, unsubscribe from all your email newsletters and delete shopping apps from your phone.
5. Check Your Budget Before You Spend
If you do find yourself eyeing an item that you haven’t budgeted for (it happens!), check in on your bank account before making the purchase. If it fits your budget, ask yourself the hard questions. Do you really need this item? If so, how would it benefit you and your lifestyle? Could it save you time or money? If yes, follow through with the purchase while respecting your budget.
Bonus step: Wait three days before purchasing an unneeded item. After 72 hours, if you’re still interested and it fits your budget, go back and get it.
6. Invest In Multi-Use Products
While your monthly goal may be to save as much as you can, be open to higher-priced items that could help you reach that goal. For example, buying reusable paper towels means you’ll spend less on disposable ones over time. Another way to save on small expenses is to become your own barista, which can save you between $1,934 to $2,327 a year.
Bonus step: Consider adopting some minimalist lifestyle ideas to help spend less and declutter.
7. Ditch Food Delivery and Cook at Home
The average American spends $3,459 on eating out every year. Instead of ordering food for lunch every day, meal prep at home. You can work this into your weekly routine by designating a day for meal planning and a day for grocery shopping and cooking. Planning your meals saves you from overspending while still making your favorite gourmet meals. You can save eating out for special occasions.
Bonus step: Delete all your food delivery apps from your phone to avoid the urge to order a speedy, but expensive, meal.
8. Pack Leftovers the Night Before
When your calendar’s booked, you’re most likely looking for the easiest way to get food for lunch. Nix your takeout food budget and pack your leftovers from the night before. While some nights you may be booked with events or virtual get-togethers, meal prep once or twice a week to ensure you have food for lunch every day. Simple dishes like chicken and veggies are easy meals to make on a budget.
Bonus step: Organize a “lunch swap” with your coworker so you don’t get bored of eating the same meal.
9. Squash Sale Shopping
If items on your shopping list aren’t on sale, don’t go looking for unnecessary items on the sale racks. You may walk out of the store buying something you don’t need because “it was only five bucks!” Kick discount shopping to the curb unless the items you need are part of the sale.
Bonus step: Save time and money by avoiding discount catalogs and sale sections.
10. Opt For Generic Over Name Brand
While checking off your shopping list, see if there are any generic alternatives to big-name brands. Most big box stores make the same products at a discounted price in exchange for the branded packaging. Compare the ingredients of a generic item against name brand products to see if you can spot a difference. Purchasing generic food products alone could save you 30 to 60 percent.
Bonus step: Google online coupons at checkout to see if you can get an added discount.
11. Cancel Unnecessary Subscriptions
While your gym membership and TV streaming system may have served you a few years ago, it may not now. Audit your expenses each month to see what you’re able to cut out. Instead of paying for a gym membership that costs on average $696 each year, purchase weights and a yoga mat for your own home gym. Not only could it save you money year after year, it could save you the commute to the gym and back.
Bonus step: As 65% of people don’t keep track of their monthly spending, schedule budget audits on your calendar every three months.
12. Challenge Yourself to a No-Spend Challenge
Participate in daily, weekly, or monthly savings challenges to make penny-pinching more fun. Ask your friends and family to join in on a no-spend challenge to up the stakes. Spark some friendly competition while giving back to your bank account. Once the month has come to a wrap, treat yourself to your favorite snack in celebration of your achievements.
Bonus step: Set an alert on your phone for a no-spend day each week. One New Yorker saved $18,432 in six months from having one no-spend day a week.
13. Set New Budget Goals and Repeat
Challenges help keep your eyes on the prize. Set differentgoals as you audit your budget each month. One month you may want to focus on contributing to your emergency fund, while the other you may want to increase your student loan payments. Get creative with your goals and set up budget alerts to ensure you’re meeting them.
Bonus step: Tell your friends and family about your goals each month to increase your odds of meeting them.
Invest Your Time and Money On Things That Help You Save
What else could you do with your money to earn more? Simply investing a hundred dollars in home gym equipment could pay for itself (and more) instead of purchasing an annual gym membership. Below are a few more options that could save you time and money year after year.
Make your coffee at home: Buy yourself a coffee maker and cup that you love. Use your machine and reusable cup every day to save hundreds of dollars on takeout coffee.
Become a beautician: Order hair shears, at-home dye supplies, and nail kits to save on the tremendous beauty industry markup prices. Ask your friend to do your hair or take it upon yourself to learn.
Use reusable products: Reduce your waste and purchase reusable products. Swap your paper towels for reusable towels to save the earth and budget.
Shop quality over quantity: For instance, invest in staple clothing pieces over fast fashion. You could save money and time on constantly shopping for new clothes.
Create an at-home gym: Purchase a few weights, a yoga mat, and a water bottle and get a sweaty workout done at home. You may even feel less stressed about beating traffic to make it to your fitness class on time.
Track your spending on the fly: Download our free app to track your spending habits, even when you’re out and about. Set up alerts to ensure you’re always on track with your budget.
Divvy up time for your passion projects: Say no to events that don’t benefit you and use that time to create passive income projects that last a lifetime.
Even though you may be looking to save more and spend less, you don’t have to cut all your favorite things out of your budget. Instead, practice spending with a purpose. Your weekly dinners out on the town may not as mean as much as they do when you treat yourself to a nice steak made at home. If you’re frequently tempted to spend your money instead of saving, create a budget to ensure you’re always keeping up with and sticking to your savings goals.
Save more, spend smarter, and make your money go further
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