If you’re in the market for purchasing a new home or taking on a business loan or personal loan, you’re likely finding it difficult to score the almost-2% APR we saw in 2020. That’s becausethe Federal Reserve has been hiking interest rates since March 2022 in an effort to cool inflation.
“The Fed has two objectives: To keep inflation low, their current obsession, and to keep unemployment low, which is of current lesser concern,” says Amy Hubble, a certified financial planner who has a Ph.D. in consumer economics. “In practice, this means they lower rates to incentivize growth and hiring, and raise rates to combat inflation when the economy gets overextended. This leads to a policy teeter-totter meant to balance out economic activity in the US.”
So the question remains: When will we finally see interest rates start to come down? CNBC Select asked three experts to give their take on what lies ahead for interest rates. Here’s what they had to say.
What we’ll cover
When will interest rates come back down?
Nobody outside of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the 12 men and women tasked with setting target interest rates, can predict with any certainty what will happen with rates and when. But that hasn’t stoppedeconomists like Preston Caldwell, a senior U.S. economist for Morningstar Research Services LLC, from making their own educated guesses.
“I think rates will start cutting in early 2024,” Caldwell says. “I think inflation will be nearing the Federal Reserve’s 2% target at that phase and the economy will show signs of slowing, but it’s hard to predict.”
Other professionals in the space echo a similar vision. Hubble points to a recent FOMC report that includes committee members’ projections on gross domestic product (GDP) growth, inflation and the unemployment rate — all factors the Fed will weigh when deciding how aggressively to cut rates.
“All FOMC members believe that rates will be stable or higher through 2023 before slowly coming down in 2024–2025 to settle at a comfortable 2.5% for the longer-term,” she says.
Elliot Eisenberg, the Chief Economist at Graphs and Laughs agrees. “There was a belief that once the second half of 2023 came around, rates would’ve been lower than they were at the end of 2022,” he says. “But it hasn’t come down. These things take a long time to work their way through the economy, so sometime in 2024 sounds about right.”
However, he also warns that it’s hard to believe that we’ll see any interest rate cooling in 2023.
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What should you do when interest rates go down?
Lower interest rates make borrowing money cheaper. That means all other factors (like your credit score) being equal, you’ll generally pay less in interest on anynewstudent loans, personal loans, business loans and mortgages than you would during today’s high-rate environment. Existing loans with a variable rate may also start charging less interest as the Fed lowers interest rates.
That’s why waiting until interest rates come down beforeborrowing money for alarge purchase — like a home — can be easier on your bank account. The current average mortgage interest rate on a 30-year loan is 7.98% even for borrowers witha credit score between 700 and 719. That’s a tough pill for a first-time homebuyer to swallow month after month as they pay their mortgage.
However, if holding off on getting a mortgage isn’t doable for you, make sure you improve your credit score before applying so you can qualify for an interest rate that’s as low as possible. Also consider choosing a mortgage lender that helps you save money throughout the process. Ally Bank, for instance, doesn’t charge any lender fees. And if you qualify for a Navy Federal Credit Union mortgage, you can get a home loan with no private mortgage insurance (PMI) requirements even if you make a down payment of less than 20%.
Ally Home
Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
Apply online for personalized rates; fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages included
Types of loans
Conventional loans, HomeReady loan and Jumbo loans
Terms
15 – 30 years
Credit needed
Minimum down payment
3% if moving forward with a HomeReady loan
Terms apply.
Navy Federal Credit Union
Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
Apply online for personalized rates
Types of loans
Conventional loans, VA loans, Military Choice loans, Homebuyers Choice loans, adjustable-rate mortgage
Terms
10 – 30 years
Credit needed
Not disclosed but lender is flexible
Minimum down payment
0%; 5% for conventional loan option
You can also refinance your mortgage down the line during a lower interest rate environment so you can score a better rate on your loan. PNC Bank is one of the most accessible lenders because it has locations in all 50 states and customers can apply both online and in-person.
PNC Bank Mortgage Refinance
Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
Apply online for personalized rates; fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages included
Types of loans
Fixed-rate, adjustable-rate, FHA loans, VA loans and jumbo loans
Fixed-rate Terms
10 – 30 years
Adjustable-rate Terms
Available in periods of 7 and 10 years for a fixed rate, followed by an adjustment period when the interest rate may increase or decrease on an annual or semi-annual basis
Credit needed
Not disclosed
Pros
Refinance available for primary and secondary homes, and investment properties
Offers a wide variety of loans to suit an array of customer needs
Offers refinancing for VA and FHA loans
Available in all 50 states
Online and in-person service available
Cons
Doesn’t offer home renovation loans
Lower interest rates can also have an impact on the APY you earn on your high-yield savings account. While buying a house or taking out a personal loan becomes more affordable during lower interest rate environments, you typically can’t earn as high an interest rate from the money in your deposit accounts.
That’s becausebanks use the Fed rate as a benchmark for yields on savings accounts. So when the Fed rate falls, the interest rate on your high-yield savings account will likely also decrease. Right now, some high-yield savings accounts, like the UFB High Yield Savings Account, are offering more than 5% APY on account balances.
UFB High Yield Savings
UFB High Yield Savings is offered by Axos Bank, a Member FDIC.
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
Earn up to 5.25% APY
Minimum balance
Monthly fee
Maximum transactions
No max number of transactions; max transfer amounts may apply
Excessive transactions fee
Overdraft fee
Overdraft fees may be charged, according to the terms, but a specific amount is not specified; overdraft protection service available
Offer checking account?
Offer ATM card?
Terms apply.
Even though we’re unlikely to see sky-high APYs stick around after the Fed lowers interest rates, it’s still worth keeping your money in a high-yield savings account even in a lower-rate environment. You’ll still grow your money faster in a high-yield account than with most traditional savings accounts, and it provides a safe, FDIC-insured place to keep your emergency fund.
Bottom line
According to experts, we aren’t likely to see significantly lower interest rates this year, but 2024–2025 is likely to see more progress on that front. Lower rates can make life easier for individuals who have been waiting to buy a house or take on other types of loans, even if savers won’t enjoy the high APYs that thrive in a world of high rates.
Meet our experts
At CNBC Select, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. For this story, we interviewed:
Preston Caldwell, a senior U.S. economist for Morningstar Research Services LLC.
Elliot Eisenberg, a chief economist and Graphs and Laughs.
Amy Hubble, a CFP with a Ph.D. in consumer economics.
Why trust CNBC Select?
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of personal finance. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best mortgage lenders and high-yield savings accounts.
Catch up on CNBC Select’s in-depth coverage of credit cards, banking and money, and follow us on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date.
Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
Learning how to build credit can help if you have a bad credit score or want to improve your current score. You can start by getting a secured credit card, becoming an authorized user, or getting a cosigner on a loan.
If you have bad credit due to derogatory marks, those marks can stay on your credit report for up to seven to ten years, depending on the type of mark. A low credit score leads to higher interest rates, larger deposits, and a low approval rate for loans and lines of credit. Those just beginning to build their credit will have similar challenges, but there are ways to build or work to repair your credit score.
By learning ways to build credit, you will not only improve your financial health, but it can reduce your stress around finances as well. In this article, we go over 12 tips that can help regardless of your specific credit situation.
Table of contents:
Get Added as an Authorized User
Try a Secured Credit Card
Find a Cosigner
Report Utilities and Bills
Get a Credit-Builder Loan
Pay Your Bills on Time
Regularly Check Your Credit Scores and Reports
Dispute Errors on Your Credit Report
Pay Off Collections
Open New Lines of Credit
Request a Credit Limit Increase
Have a Good Credit Mix
1. Get Added as an Authorized User
Becoming an authorized user is one of the most popular ways to build your credit score because you benefit from someone else’s good, established credit history. Also known as “piggybacking,” becoming an authorized user is when someone adds you to their credit card account.
The odds of approval on a credit application are lower if you have a low or bad credit score, so this is a way to start building credit and improve your ability to get your own card later. When you’re an authorized user, the card company will also report the payment history for your credit report when the primary account holder uses and makes payments on their credit card.
You can have a friend or family member add you as an authorized user. While this can be a great way to build credit, it’s useful to know that this can also negatively affect your or the other person’s credit should either of you miss payments or over utilize the credit line.
2. Try a Secured Credit Card
A secured credit card is a type of credit card that most people can acquire through their bank regardless of their credit score. The primary challenge of getting a credit card with a low credit score is that your credit score is one of the wayslenders evaluate risk. If you don’t have a credit history to show that you know how to manage credit or have derogatory marks on your report, credit card companies may be reluctant to loan you money via a credit card.
Secured credit cards are different because rather than borrowing from a financial institution, you borrow from yourself. You do this by depositing money into the credit card account, which becomes your credit limit. For example, if you opened a secured credit card with a $500 deposit, you will have a $500 credit limit. As you use the card and make regular payments, these will be reported to the credit bureaus to help build your credit history and potentially help improve your score.
3. Find a Cosigner
Similar to becoming an authorized user, you can benefit from a cosigner with a good credit score. On your own, you may not receive approval on a personal loan or car loan. When you have a cosigner with a good credit score, the lender sees loaning to you as less of a risk because the cosigner is also attached to the loan.
Although a cosigner can help with the loan approval process, like becoming an authorized user, your credit can also affect that of your cosigner, so it’s important to make full and on-time payments.
4. Report Utilities and Bills
When learning how to build credit, many people don’t realize that most utilities and bills are not reported to the three major credit bureaus. Fortunately, you can purchase services that will report your utilities and bills. Services like Credit.com’s ExtraCredit® subscription help build credit history for people with no credit history or low credit scores.
5. Get a Credit-Builder Loan
Credit-builder loans do just what you think they do—they are loans that help you build credit. Unlike typical loans, where you fill out an application and receive the funds, credit-builder loans are a sort of savings program. When a bank or financial institution provides you with a credit-builder loan, the funds go into an account, and you make payments on the amount. As you make your payments, the lender reports them to the credit bureaus to help build credit history and potentially improve your score with your on-time payments.
Many credit-building programs have higher interest rates than traditional loans due to the higher risk, but they can help your score in the long term. Once you pay the credit-builder loan off with interest, you receive the full loan amount.
6. Pay Your Bills on Time
If you already have lines of credit or loans, paying your bills on time is one of the best ways to continue building your credit score. Your payment history is 35% of your FICO® credit score, which is why paying your bills on time is helpful.
One of the best ways to ensure you never miss a payment is to set up automatic payments for the minimum amount on your credit cards and bills. You can always make additional payments, but when the money comes out of your bank account automatically, you no longer have to worry about forgetting a payment.
7. Regularly Check Your Credit Scores and Reports
A great habit for building credit or trying to maintain a good credit score is to check your credit score and report regularly. Unlike a car experiencing mechanical issues, there are no warning lights or alarms that go off when your credit score drops or a negative mark appears on your report.
Checking your scores and reports lets you know if there are any issues sooner rather than later. It can also help you stay motivated as you work to build your score as you see the number start to rise.
Although your credit report doesn’t notify you about changes automatically, Credit.com’s ExtraCredit® offers credit monitoring as part of the subscription service. Credit.com also offers a free service whereyou also get your free credit report card to analyze your current score for issues that need your attention.
8. Dispute Errors on Your Credit Report
If you regularly check your credit score and credit report, you may find errors. Sometimes, bill and credit card companies don’t properly report your payments, which can hurt your credit. Credit card fraud and identity theft are also more common than you may think, and this can also cause your credit score to drop. Should you find errors on your credit report, it’s your right to challenge them. To file a formal dispute, you need to write a dispute letter showing documentation of payments and other information to the creditor reporting the error. If you have other potential errors, you can request a verification of the reporting from the credit bureaus. They will investigate then respond with the results, typically within 30 to 45 days.
9. Pay Off Collections
As you now know, derogatory marks on your credit report can have a negative impact on your credit score. When someone doesn’t pay their bills, the account becomes delinquent and a collection agency could buy it. You can find the information about the collection agency on your credit report and then contact them to pay off the debt.
In some cases, a collection agency will let you settle the debt for a fraction of what you owe. When you agree to pay off or settle the debt, you can ask for a pay-for-delete letter. After you pay off a collection agency, the derogatory mark can stay on your credit report for years. A pay-for-delete letter is an agreement that the collection agency will have the collection item removed from your report once you pay it. Get this agreement in writing!
Before negotiating with a collection agency, it’s helpful to also know your debt collection rights.
10. Open New Lines of Credit
For those with an established credit score, a good way to continue improving your credit score is to open new lines of credit. In addition to your payment history, credit utilization is the second-most important factor for your credit score. Your credit utilization is worth 30% of your FICO credit score, and new lines of credit can help keep your utilization low as long as you don’t use them.
Credit utilization is the amount you owe compared to your overall credit limit, and ideally, your utilization should be under 30%. For example, if you have five credit cards with a combined $5,000 credit limit and owe $2,500, your utilization is at 50%. If you open up a new line of credit for an additional $5,000, raising your total limit to $10,000, your utilization is now only 25% if you owe $2,500.
11. Request a Credit Limit Increase
If you don’t want to open new lines of credit but still want to build your credit, you can request a credit increase from your credit card company. This accomplishes the same thing with regard to credit utilization as opening new lines of credit. If you have a good payment history with your credit card company, they are more likely to increase your credit limit, lowering your utilization rate.
12. Have a Good Credit Mix
Your credit mix shows that you can handle multiple types of credit. The two primary credit types are installment and revolving credit. Revolving credit is a line of credit that allows you to spend up to the credit limit, make payments, and then use the credit again. Some common forms of revolving credit include:
Credit cards
Personal lines of credit
Home equity lines of credit (HELOC)
Installment loans are lines of credit that give you an amount you pay down to $0 over time, and then the account closes. Examples of installment loans include:
Auto loans
Home loans
Student loans
Personal loans
Check Your Credit and Start Building It Today
Checking and monitoring your credit scores and credit reports is the key to building your credit and maintaining a positive score. As you continue to build your credit, you may begin to save money on interest rates and have additional financial freedom as you can access more opportunities.
If you want to begin your credit-building journey, Credit.com’s ExtraCredit subscription offers credit monitoring, bill reporting, personalized credit and loan recommendations, and more. You can also access your free credit score and free credit report card through Credit.com today.
Looking for an app that does it all – automate savings, track spending, investing, and get a free $250 cash advance?
Welcome to my Albert App Review.
Looking for an all-in-one personal finance app that will help you manage your money, save for your future, or even get a free cash advance when you need it?
In that case, you’ve come to the right spot!
In this Albert App Review, I’ll go over everything you need to know about the popular Albert app, and I will discuss its features, benefits, how the app can help you, and more.
You can sign up for the Albert app here.
The Albert app is becoming more and more popular as a money tool that can simplify your life. Instead of needing a bunch of different financial apps, Albert can help you consolidate your phone and need less. The app is a one-stop shop for your monthly financial needs – it automates savings, helps you manage your budget, and has spending, borrowing, and investing tools. With this easy app and the wide range of tools that you can use, Albert has many benefits.
This app reduces the need for multiple apps since it offers a wide range of tools and features.
If you’re looking for a money saving app, Albert can be a great option to start with. There’s a reason why it’s one of the top money apps in the App Store!
9
Albert is one of the most popular personal finance apps, and it is designed to make it easier to save and invest all in one place. This app has features for saving, investing, and budgeting.
Quick Summary – Albert App Review
Albert app is a financial management tool that helps you to save, spend, and invest right in the app
The Genius feature allows you to ask any money question and get a real response from a real person
Albert app’s cash advance feature can get you up to $250
The app is free, but some features do require a monthly subscription
Albert App Review
What Is The Albert App?
The Albert app is a personal finance app that will help you manage your money better by making it easier to save and invest all in one place. This app has features for saving, investing, budgeting, and more.
It has many different features, such as budgeting tools, real-time alerts, and a helpful service where you can ask an expert money questions and get real answers catered to your situation. The app strives to make financial management easier and more organized for everyone.
Albert makes it easy to manage your finances, eliminating the need for visits to physical bank branches or formal phone calls with a financial expert. With the ease of using an app, you can easily track your financial well-being, helping you stay organized, reach goals, and find smart ways to save, spend, and invest. Albert stands out by simplifying your personal finances, all while keeping things very easy to use.
Albert also has a feature where you can get a small cash advance of up to $250 with no late fees, interest, or credit check. This advance is repaid from your next paycheck, giving you the option to avoid high-interest personal loan lenders for those in need of quick cash.
There are no hidden fees, and it is free to sign up. They do have a paid subscription plan that you can sign up for which will give you access to different features such as financial advice from experts. I talk about the paid part further below.
Does The Albert App Give You Money?
Albert provides instant cash advances to users who need small amounts of money before their payday. They do not charge late fees, interest, or run a credit check for this feature.
This can be a great way to not pay high rates on payday loans for when you just need a little bit of cash.
How it works is that the Albert app will send you up to $250 from your next paycheck straight to your bank account. Then, you simply repay them when you get paid. You can pay a small fee to get your money instantly, or you can wait 2-3 days and get the cash advance for free.
Albert Instant is available to all members of the Albert app who qualify, whether they are a paid subscriber or not. Now, not everyone will qualify. To determine your eligibility for a cash advance, they look at things such as if your income is direct deposited into your connected bank account, if your bank account has been open for at least 2 months and has a balance greater than $0, and if you’ve received consistent income in the past 2 months from the same employer.
Albert App Features
The Albert App has many other features, such as:
Banking with Albert
Albert has a user-friendly banking service through its partnership with FDIC-insured Sutton Bank. This includes features like no minimum balance requirement and access to your paycheck up to two days early.
With an Albert account, you can also earn cash back rewards, such as getting a cash back bonus on gas, groceries, and more when you purchase items with your Albert debit card. You can earn an average of $2.00 per gas tank fill-up. You do need to be a Genius subscriber to take advantage of this benefit.
The app also has fee-free ATMs for their paid subscribers at over 55,000 ATMs (when using the Albert Mastercard debit card).
Albert Savings
Albert Savings is the app’s automatic savings tool that is available to Genius subscribers. It saves money from your linked bank account to your Albert Savings account.
This automated savings tool helps you build up your funds without the stress of manual transfers. It analyzes your income and expenses to calculate the amount you can save comfortably. Or, you can manually set your own savings schedule.
The Albert saving feature can help you to save more money and reach your goals.
The money in your Albert Savings account is yours, and you can withdraw it at any time.
Albert Budgeting
The Albert Budgeting feature is super handy and packed with a bunch of useful tools to help you manage your money with ease.
The Albert app has budgeting tools to help you track your income and expenses, find fees that you shouldn’t be paying, and watch your financial progress. The app will send real-time alerts and notifications to help you stay on track with your budget. But, that’s not all.
Other features of Albert Budgeting include:
The Albert app can negotiate your bills so that you can save money. The app will help you lower your bills such as for cable TV, internet, cell phone, and more.
The Albert app also makes it easy to see all of your budgeting info in one quick place, such as tracking your recent bills, seeing how much you’re spending in different categories, and more.
The app will categorize your spending so that you can see where your money is going (this can help you to realize where you may need to cut back)
Also, the app will help you find hidden charges and subscriptions that you may not be using.
These are all very helpful features that can help you save a lot of money in the long run.
Albert Investing
If you’re new to investing or you’re looking for an easier way to invest, the Albert Investing side of the app can make getting started much, much easier.
With Albert Investing, you can start an investment portfolio that matches the amount of investment risk you want to take on and your financial goals. The app even provides investment guidance and lets you start investing without any minimum investment amount needed.
So, that means that you can start investing with Albert Investing with just $1.
You can get started investing in the app by answering some questions (the app wants to learn more about you so that it can make selections based on your personal situation). The app will then choose individual stocks or funds for you to invest in (or, you can choose these yourself if you know what you want to invest in). You can even ask the app to only invest in themes as well, such as companies that are interested in sustainability and the environment. You can then continue to invest automatically or on a recurring schedule. The auto-investing feature can be a great tool if you are looking to save time and invest regularly without really thinking about it.
Albert Genius
This is one of my favorite parts in the app.
The Albert Genius service gives you financial advice from a team of expert financial advisors (this is a team of real human experts that you are able to talk to – not a robot), available through a paid monthly subscription in the app.
You can ask their experts any money question that you have, whether it’s a big or small question, a general question, or something more specific to your personal situation. Your questions can be about anything from credit cards, budgeting, student loans, investing, credit card rewards, life insurance, your personal financial life, and more. These experts will help you answer your questions 7 days a week too. And, there’s no limit to the amount of questions you can ask.
This is a very nice feature to have access to.
Some of the questions you can ask include:
How do I start a budget?
How do I lower my car insurance? Am I paying too much?
How much can I personally afford to spend on a house?
How can I improve my credit score?
How much money should I have in my emergency fund?
Should I use extra cash to pay off debt or invest?
Can you help me to better under travel miles and credit cards?
There are so many different questions that you can ask the team at Albert!
Albert Protect
Albert Protect is a feature for paid subscribers on the app.
The Albert Protect feature monitors your money around the clock. The app will alert you if something suspicious comes up for any of your connected financial accounts or your identity. The app continuously watches for suspicious activity on your credit report, the dark web, data breaches, and unusual charges.
How Does The Albert App Work?
Signing up for Albert is easy!
Simply click here to get started.
Or, you can head to the Google Play or App Store, depending on your device (Android or iOS), and download the app. Once installed, the app will walk you through the setup process. There’s no need to worry about a credit check as Albert doesn’t require one for signing up.
Next, you’ll be asked some questions about yourself such as your name and age. The app is trying to learn more about you. Here’s what Albert says specifically about the questions that they ask: “We do this in order to best serve your needs: a 19-year-old single student has different financial objectives and priorities than a 37-year-old professional with two kids who will be starting college soon.”
Then, you’ll be asked to connect your financial accounts to the app. So, you may connect your bank account that your bills come out of, your credit card accounts, student loans, mortgage, investments accounts, and more. You can connect as many or as little as you want. This information helps the app better serve you so that it can give you recommendations, track your spending, give you alerts, and more.
After you sign up, you’ll have access to the many features mentioned above to help you manage your finances. As you learned above, there are a lot of tools in this app, so I recommend just playing around in the app at first to better familiarize yourself with it and see how it can help you. Maybe sit down for a few minutes at a time until you understand how to use the app in the best way for your financial situation. That’s exactly what I did when I first downloaded the app because it was a little intimidating at first trying to see all of the different things that the app can do. But, it’s so nice that everything can be done right from one app!
To sign up for the app, they do require that you be a U.S. citizen or resident, be at least 18 years old, and have a bank account with a U.S. financial institution. Unfortunately, at this time, the app is not available to those outside the U.S.
How Much Does Albert App Cost?
The Albert app has a lot of different features, so you may be wondering what the cost is or if there are any monthly fees.
The great thing is that many of the tools and features on the Albert app are free.
For example, the Albert App has a fee-free cash advance feature to help you cover unexpected expenses. If you need some extra cash until your next paycheck, you can get up to $250 as a cash advance, with no cost. There are no late fees, overdraft fees, or maintenance fees associated with this service.
You can also start investing with as little as $1 and use the free cash advances feature (as long as you meet eligibility requirements) without the need for a subscription.
Now, the Genius subscription does have a cost.
If you’re looking to unlock all of Albert’s helpful budgeting, saving, and investing tools, you might want to consider their Genius subscription. This subscription starts at just $14.99 per month and gives you access to some helpful benefits like cash bonuses and personalized financial advice. Keep in mind that the true value of the Genius subscription depends on how often you use the app and all its features. So, if you’re a frequent user of the app, it could be a great investment in your financial well-being.
Is Albert App Safe to Use?
Yes, Albert is safe to use.
Let’s start with the basics – the Albert app isn’t a bank, but it teams up with FDIC-insured Sutton Bank to offer you banking services. That means that the money in your Albert Cash account is safe because it’s protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (also known as FDIC). That’s a fancy way of saying your funds are insured for up to $250,000.
Your Albert Savings accounts are held at FDIC-insured banks, including Coastal Community Bank, Axos Bank, and Wells Fargo.
When it comes to data security and privacy, Albert takes that seriously too. The app has security measures to protect your sensitive personal and financial information.
As for customer service, if you ever face any issues with the Albert app, you can easily reach out to their support team for assistance. Many Albert app reviews have mentioned their responsive customer service.
Pros and Cons of Albert
Like with any personal finance app, there are pros and cons. I can’t write an Albert app Review and not talk about the pros and cons, so that you can make the best decision for yourself.
Some of the benefits of using Albert include:
The app aggregates all of your accounts – Albert gives you an overview of your financial life by combining all your accounts in one place.
Savings and investments – The app offers customizable savings goals and can create a custom portfolio for your investment needs. It will also keep track of your transactions and help you identify potential savings opportunities as well as avoid late fees.
The Albert app is safe – Your information is kept safe with the same level of security used by major banks, as well as FDIC insurance.
Albert Genius – This feature provides personalized money advice from financial experts (real people, not a robot!) to help you make smarter financial decisions. You can ask any money question and will get personalized advice.
Free cash advance – Get a cash advance on your next paycheck without any late fees using Albert Instant, or access your paycheck up to two days early with direct deposit.
Free ATM withdrawals – This is a feature paid monthly members get to have.
While Albert has many helpful tools and features, there are some potential downsides to using the app such as:
App-only functionality – All features of Albert are limited to the app, which may be inconvenient for some people who prefer to be on their computer instead of their cell phone.
Fees – While many features in Albert are free to use, some, such as the Albert Genius service, require a subscription fee. The fee is quite affordable for the services you receive, though.
No phone calls – If you need to talk to customer support, there is no phone number to call. Instead, it’s all done through the app, text message, or email.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to commonly asked questions about the Albert app.
Is Albert a trustworthy app?
Yes, Albert is a trustworthy app. Your banking money is FDIC-insured, with coverage up to $250,000, and your investments are SIPC-insured. The app has many financial tools and you can even get personalized advice from experts.
How much can you borrow with Albert?
The maximum for a cash advance is $250.
How do you get $250 from Albert app?
Albert offers a cash advance feature called Albert Instant. After you enable this feature and meet the requirements, you can access funds quickly, sometimes up to $250.
Does Albert give you money right away?
In some cases, Albert can provide instant cash advances or help you get your paycheck up to two days early via direct deposit, depending on your employer and banking situation.
How long does it take to get money from Albert?
Getting your hands on the cash you need from Albert is all about the service you’re using. If you’re in a hurry, instant cash advances could have those funds in your pocket right away. But for paycheck advances and other features, it might take a couple of days before you see the money.
What are the requirements to get a cash advance on Albert?
Requirements for a cash advance with Albert include a history of consistent income, using the Albert app for a certain period, and having a bank account linked.
Does Albert hurt your credit?
Albert does not directly impact your credit score as it is not a lender. However, using the app’s guidance to improve financial management can help you work towards building or maintaining a higher credit score.
Does Albert need your social security number?
Yes, when signing up for the Albert app, it will ask you for your SSN. This is because it is an investment app and they need to verify that it is actually you signing up.
Is Albert or Chime better?
Albert and Chime are different financial apps with different features. Albert focuses on money management, investing, and advice, while Chime is a mobile banking app offering checking and savings account services. Your choice should depend on your financial goals and preferences.
Why is Albert taking money from my account?
If you’re already an Albert user, this may be a troubleshooting question that you have (and perhaps you searched Google and found this blog post). Albert takes money from your account (such as your bank checking account) to fund the services you’ve opted into, such as investments or automatic savings. You can check the app’s settings or contact Albert to learn more,
Is Albert app affiliated with a specific local bank?
Albert is backed by Sutton Bank.
Is the Albert app reliable and secure for banking?
Yes, Albert is a reliable and secure app for managing your finances. It is FDIC and SIPC-insured and has a variety of financial tools and resources to help you improve your financial situation.
How is Albert app customer service?
I did some research and I found great Albert app reviews on their customer service. The Albert app has customer service options within the app and online. They do not have an option to call their customer service and speak on the phone. But, if you’re like me, you probably prefer to get your questions answered via text message or email anyways.
Is Albert app legit?
Yes, the Albert app is a legitimate personal finance app that can help you manage and improve your finances. Millions of people (last I checked, over 10,000,000 people use this app) use the app’s many helpful tools. The app is available for people on Apple or Android devices and it has great reviews.
Who is Albert app best for? Who should not use it?
The Albert app is a helpful all-around financial app that can help many different people. If you’re looking for an all-in-one app to help you save, spend, borrow, and invest, Albert might be a good fit for you. The app is helpful for people who:
Want fee-free cash advances up to $250 (this is a feature that many people like because they don’t have to sign up for high-interest rate loans when they just need something for a short amount of time)
Need an app that gives you an overview of all your accounts in one place
Are interested in automatic savings and easy investing tools
Albert takes the work out of managing your finances and may be helpful for people who are trying to stay on top of their personal budget without having to juggle multiple apps.
However, Albert may not be the best fit for everyone and not everyone needs to have it. So, if you fall into any of the below, then this may not be the app for you
If you’re an experienced investor looking for more advanced trading tools, then this may not be the best investing app for you (the Albert app is basic in this area because I think it caters more to those who are new investors or are looking for something easier to manage)
If you’re someone who doesn’t feel comfortable linking their bank accounts to a third-party app (you will need to link accounts in order to get full use of the app – I understand that some people may not want to do this)
Albert App Review – Summary
I hope you enjoyed my Albert App Review.
I think this is a very helpful app, and I can see why it’s one of the most popular money apps today.
Albert is an app designed to help manage your saving, budgeting, investing, and more, all in one easy app. The app has all of the different money tools that you would want, plus some extras that you may have not realized you needed yet.
Albert is an app that helps you to manage many different parts of your financial life right from your cell phone (it’s not available on computers).
They even have the Genius feature (one of my favorite parts of the app), which is an in-app chat where you can ask one of their experts anything related to money, from credit cards, buying a car, student loans, and more. This is very helpful if you ever have questions about money.
And, if you need cash now, Albert may be able to give you a small advance of up to $250. There are no late fees, interest, or a credit check. If you want to avoid personal loan lenders who have high-interest rates, and only need a small cash advance, then Albert may be a place to start with. How this works is that they send you $250 from your next paycheck. You simply repay them when you receive your next paycheck.
You should keep in mind that investment options don’t include retirement plans and customer service can only be reached via email and text. Though the app’s budgeting tools are more basic compared to budgeting-focused apps, the Albert app still has many, many benefits to help you manage your finances effectively and it’s all from one easy-to-use app.
You can learn more about Albert here.
What’s your favorite personal finance app? Do you use the Albert app?
Was offered a personal loan through a company named loan rate pal. The operator said I didn’t qualify for a loan, but could help me with my debt. It’s been one year with no resolution and no one will return my calls or emails, they also changed all emails to me debts so I haven’t been notified that I’m now being sued. Through some research, I found out they are operating in Costa Rica as vidasoftmedia.com Please Help.
Consumer Action Taken:
Emails and calls with no response.https://www.facebook.com/alex.cambronero.7 Here is video I found with loanratepal.com soliciting employees in a office owned by vidasoftmedia.com in Costa Rica.
Date This Problem Happened: May 11, 2022
State You Live in: CA
Race/Ethnicity: Other
Age Range: 36-50
Total Amount of Fee Paid: $399
Do You Have a Question You’d Like Steve to Answer? Click Here.
Company Name: Loan Rate Pal
Company Address:
Irvine, CA
Company Telephone Number:
Website of Company: loanratepal.com
If you feel you’ve been financially hurt by a debt relief company and deserve a refund, read these step-by-step instructions on how to proceed to attempt to get your money back.
If you do get your money back, come back and leave a comment about it. I’d love to praise companies that step-up and do the right thing for people.
Scam reports are submitted by consumers like you. If you would like to file a scam report, please click here.
If you are the company named in this report and you want to respond, please read How to Handle a Consumer Complaint Like a Pro And Come Out Smelling Like a Rose
This is information that was submitted by a third party and not generated by GetOutOfDebt.org or Steve Rhode.
July saw inflation rise once again, and interest rates are still rising. In fact, the average rate on credit cards is now nearly 21%, up from just 15% a little over a year ago. With these economic headwinds, you might find yourself in need of extra funds — to repair your home, to cover unexpected costs, or maybe just as a financial safety net.
Either way, if you’re a homeowner, you may think about tapping your home equity. Home equity loans and HELOCs both allow you to turn your equity into cash, which you can then use however you wish.
Is now a good time to do that, though? And what should you consider before tapping your home equity in today’s market? We asked experts for their opinion to help you decide.
Start by exploring your home equity loan options here to learn more.
Is home equity worth using now? Here’s what experts think
Thinking of using your home equity today? Here’s how the experts we spoke to recommend homeowners proceed.
Know what you’ll use it for
Tapping your home equity means putting your home at risk, so having a clear idea of what you need the money for is key before making a decision.
“Why do you need the money? Is it really necessary? Are you investing in your future or in something that strays away from your financial goals?” asks Jim Black, executive director of lender strategy at mortgage lender Calque. “Some things, like vacations, might not be the best reason.”
In short: Make sure the risk is worth it. Fixing the roof on your house or putting money into your business likely fall within that category. But pulling out equity to pay for new clothes or buy a new couch may not.
Using your home equity might also be smart if you’re eyeing a new home but currently have an ultra-low mortgage rate. In this scenario, selling your house and buying a new one would mean trading up for today’s 7%-plus rates. You might consider leveraging your equity and improving your existing house instead.
“Homeowners have the unique opportunity right now to tap into an incredible amount of home equity that’s built up over the past few years,” says Bill Banfield, executive vice president of capital markets at Rocket Mortgage. “They can use this cash to do home renovations and make their space better fit their life — without having to pick up and move to a new house.”
Get started with a home equity loan here now.
Weigh it against other options
You’ll also want to weigh all your options before turning to home equity. Depending on what you’re looking to pay for, you may be able to use a credit card, personal loan, student loan or one of many other financial products.
Typically, home equity loans and HELOCs are going to have lower rates than credit cards and personal loans, but they’re higher than rates you’d see on first mortgages and refinances. Because of this, it’s important to get quotes for several different products (and from different lenders) to ensure a home equity product is the most affordable path forward.
“Do you have other options?” Black asks. “Look at different ways to get the financing you want and compare them.”
If you do opt to tap your home equity, you should also compare your options within that realm. Home equity loans and HELOCs are the most commonly used products, but depending on your age, you may also consider a reverse mortgage (these are only for seniors). Home equity investments — which give you an upfront payment in exchange for part of your home’s future value — are an option, too.
“These provide funds upfront with no monthly payments or debt accrual, but in exchange for the some future value of your home — or its appreciation over time — or both,” says Sarah Dekin, president of Hometap, a home equity investment platform. “The potential disadvantage here, of course, is that you may miss out on some part of the future value of your home down the line when you settle.”
Think long term
Finally, think about your long-term financial picture before you tap your equity. Calculate the total cost of tapping your equity — the interest, closing costs, or lost appreciation you could see — and make sure those costs are worth it.
As Black puts it, “Banks are in the business of making interest, and this means you need to see the worst-case amount of equity you will be losing by borrowing. You also need to evaluate the cost of attaining the additional debt.”
Consider your employment and income prospects, too. Is your job stable? Do you expect your income to be the same or higher 10 years down the road? You want to be sure you can afford your payments not just now, but throughout your entire loan term (and some home equity loans are as long as 30 years).
Keep in mind that if you use a HELOC or another product with a variable rate, your payments could rise over time, too, so make sure you’ll have the capability to make those higher payments should they come about. If not, you could lose your home to foreclosure.
“The most important consideration is affordability,” says Adam Boyd, executive vice president of home equity, credit cards, and unsecured lending at Citizens Bank. “Since the borrower is using the home as collateral, it is critical they ensure they can afford the loan. If there’s any concern that rising rates will impact your ability to afford the loan in the future, it may not be the best option.”
Learn more about your home equity options here now.
Other home equity benefits to know
Home equity products can be smart tools when used in the right scenarios. They may be able to save you on interest compared to other loans and financing options, and they allow you to spread your costs out over many years. You may even get a tax deduction, depending on how you use the funds.
Just remember: Using your equity means putting your home on the line as collateral. If you’re not sure this is the right move for your finances — or you want help evaluating your full range of options — consider talking to a financial professional first. They can point you in the right direction.
Following the merger with Housing Development Finance Corp., HDFC Bank is gearing up for the festival season, eyeing a 20% plus year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in home loan disbursals in the three months through September.
The bank is in the process of opening savings accounts for all erstwhile home loan customers of HDFC Ltd. By getting equated monthly instalments (EMIs) to flow from these savings accounts, the bank will then be able to offer other liability and loan products to these customers.
“We want to ensure we have savings accounts of all newly acquired month on month home loan customers. Every two months from now we want to build the customer relationship to a full banking relationship offering all banking conveniences. We have already within the first two months of the merger enhanced the product basket,” said Arvind Kapil, head of retail assets, HDFC Bank.
Kapil said 70% of HDFC customers did not have savings accounts with HDFC Bank.
“Most builders are echoing a positive sentiment at the ground level. The festive demand should be at an all time high for both housing and auto loans. Auto dealers are talking of a couple of new launches during the festive time,” said Kapil. The business this festive season will be certainly a notch higher than last year, he added.
As a second step, HDFC Bank is in the process of substantially reducing the turnaround time for home loan customers.
The bank is re-engineering its processes and will look at testing the stability of this turnaround time over the next three months.
Kapil added that the bank has strengthened its home loan disbursals to self-employed customers and has expanded its banking surrogate product, in which a loan is given based on the credit profile of the customer based on the statement for the last 18 months from any bank. The bank is also looking to launch an overdraft product soon.
For the festival season this year, he explained, the bank is bullish on both home loans and auto loans.
“We are not expecting an untoward spike in personal loans. Industry is cautious on unsecured lending. We will also be a lot more cautious,” Kapil said.
However, the bank is planning to be cautious on the personal loan segment, which constitutes nearly 27% of the HDFC Bank’s total loan portfolio worth ₹16.3 trillion.
“We are expecting a 20% growth in personal loans. We are not expecting an untoward spike in personal loans. The industry is cautious on unsecured lending. We will also be a lot more cautious,” he said.
In July, largest home loan financier HDFC merged with HDFC Bank, with the boards of both clearing the plan first presented in April last year.
The total business of the merged entity stood at ₹41 trillion at the end of March. The combined loan book is estimated to be around ₹22.45 trillion, with home loans constituting 35% of the total loan portfolio.
You have probably heard (multiple times) that saving money for your future is important, but do you know how much you are actually socking away? There’s a formula to calculate your own specific personal savings rate (aka the percentage of your after-tax dollars that you’re putting away).
It’s not too complex and can be a helpful tool to see how your money management is tracking. Find out how to calculate your savings rate here.
What Information is Included in the Savings Rate Formula?
The basic formula to calculate savings rate is:
Your savings / your after-tax income = your savings rate
Once you’ve calculated your savings rate, you can use it to:
• Review how you’re doing from month to month or year to year.
• See how your current spending habits are affecting your future goals and financial independence.
• Motivate yourself to do better with your savings.
• Compare your efforts to others.
You can gather up the numbers you need to determine your savings rate (which is sometimes referred to as a savings ratio) in just a few steps:
Step 1: Add Up Your Income for the Month
Your income streams might include, after taxes: your monthly salary, the money you earned from any side gigs or from selling homemade items online, or rental income if you’re renting out a room of your home to get extra funds. Don’t forget to include money you earned that’s automatically deducted from your pay and added to a retirement account, such as a 401(k) or a traditional or Roth IRA. And add in your employer’s matching retirement plan contributions, as well.
Recommended: 39 Ways to Earn Passive Income Streams
Step 2: Add Up the Money You Put into Savings Each Month
This is about what you’re saving for the long-term, not next week. So it would include the money that’s automatically coming out of your check for retirement savings, plus your employer’s matching contributions, along with any funds you’re putting into separate savings or brokerage accounts.
💡 Quick Tip: Want to save more, spend smarter? Let your bank manage the basics. It’s surprisingly easy, and secure, when you open an online bank account.
Step 3: Do the Math
Divide the total amount of your long-term savings (Step 2) by the total amount of your after-tax income (Step 1). Turn the number you get into a percentage (.10 is 10%, for example), and that’s your savings rate.
You may hear or see a few variations on what’s included in the calculation. Some people don’t include their employer’s 401(k) contributions in their calculations, for instance, and some might add in extra payments they’re putting toward the principal on a student loan or other debt. The point is to be consistent with what you do or don’t include from month to month.
Ready for a Better Banking Experience?
Open a SoFi Checking and Savings Account and start earning up to 4.50% APY on your cash!
How About an Example?
Let’s use Jane, whose hypothetical after-tax Income every month is $4,500. She brings in another $500, after taxes, by renting the extra bedroom in her apartment to her cousin, for a total of $5,000 a month.
Jane’s employer doesn’t offer a 401(k) plan, but on her own, Jane puts $500 a month into a Roth IRA. And she always puts another $100 a month in an online savings account she has earmarked for long-term goals. Jane’s savings amount totals $600 a month.
Using the savings rate formula, that’s $600 / $5,000 = .12, which makes Jane’s personal monthly savings rate 12%.
Of course, everyone’s numbers may not be quite so straightforward. Couples, for instance, may have to consider two or more paychecks and, possibly, two or more retirement accounts. Some individuals work more than one job or earn income from multiple sources. Some might count their emergency fund as savings, and others don’t. But the idea is the same: An individual’s or a household’s savings rate measures how much disposable income (defined by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) as after-tax income) is being set aside for long-term savings and retirement.
Why Is Knowing Your Personal Savings Rate Important?
The BEA tracks the nation’s personal savings rate from month to month to monitor Americans’ financial health and better predict consumer behavior. And you can do much the same thing with your own savings rate.
By tracking your rate on a regular basis, you can assess how you’re doing in real-time. If you’re consistently falling short of the savings goals you’ve set for yourself, you can look at what behaviors might need changing or if you need to rework your budget. You also can use the information as an incentive to do better. And you might even find it’s a fun way to compete with others close to you, with the nation’s average personal savings rate, or just against yourself.
If you saved 8% in 2023, for example, could you bump that amount to 9% or 10% in 2024? What if you got an unexpected raise or bonus: Would you have the discipline to put that amount into your savings to keep your rate the same or improve it?
Knowing your savings rate can help you make those kinds of financial decisions.
💡 Quick Tip: Most savings accounts only earn a fraction of a percentage in interest. Not at SoFi. Our high-yield savings account can help you make meaningful progress towards your financial goals.
What’s a Good Savings Rate?
The average personal savings rate in the U.S. was about 4.03% in mid 2023, according to the Fed. But financial experts generally advise savers to stash away at least 10% of their income every month ($500 of a $5,000 monthly salary, for example). The popular 50/30/20 budget rule created by Sen. Elizabeth Warren suggests saving 20% of after-tax income.
If that seems extreme, it’s probably more useful to simply target a number you’re sure you can stick to monthly or annually. Just having a positive savings rate — anything above zero — can be a good starting point for building good fiscal habits and a nest egg. You can always make adjustments as you accomplish other financial goals, such as paying off student loans or credit card debt.
Isn’t Having a Good Budget Enough?
A personal budget can be a useful guide when it comes to reaching financial goals. And tracking your spending with a spreadsheet or an app can help you see where your dollars (and dimes) are actually going, as opposed to where you think they’re going—those two places might be very different.
Many people who make a budget include the amount they plan to put toward savings in their budget as a monthly expense. But that’s different from knowing your savings rate.
A savings rate provides a separate, wide-angle view of how much of what you make is going into savings. And that can help you further evaluate how you’re doing.
How Can Someone Improve Their Savings Rate?
The answer is simple: Spend less and save more.
Here are some steps that could help improve an individual’s or household’s savings rate.
Opening or Contributing More to a Retirement Account
One of the easiest ways to save more money can be to open a 401(k) or IRA, or to boost the amount that’s automatically deposited to an account you already have. After all, if you never see the money, you likely won’t be as tempted to spend it. And if you’re a long way from retirement, the money you invest should have lots of time to grow with compound interest. If your employer offers a 401(k) with a matching contribution, a goal might be to save as much as possible to maximize those funds.
Recommended: How an Employer 401(k) Match Works
Opening an Online Savings Account
If you’ve been saving s-l-o-w-l-y with a traditional type of savings account, it might be time to consider other options. Many online financial institutions, for example, offer higher interest rates for deposit accounts because they have lower overhead costs than brick-and-mortar banks, and they pass those savings on to their customers. Online accounts also may offer lower fees than traditional banks—or, in some cases, no fees.
Cut Back on Discretionary Spending
The thought of squeezing out additional dollars for savings each month might be daunting if you’re already on a tight budget. But even a little spending cut can go a long way toward nudging up your savings rate.
Let’s go back to our hypothetical saver, Jane, for an example. If Jane could manage to save just $50 more every month (or about $12 a week), she could increase her savings rate by a full percentage point — from 12% to 13%. That might mean getting takeout one less time every week. Or one less night out with the girls every month. Or maybe cutting back on streaming services she seldom uses.
Lowering Fixed Expenses
Lowering the bills that have to be paid every month can increase the amount of money that’s available for savings. That could include:
• Shopping for cheaper car insurance or a less expensive cell phone carrier
• Keeping your paid-off car for an extra year or two instead of jumping right back into another auto loan
• Refinancing to a lower interest rate on a mortgage or student loans
• Cutting the cord on cable
• Doing your own landscaping.
Ditching the Credit Card Debt
Yes, credit cards are convenient, and using your cards wisely can have a positive effect on your credit score. But the interest on credit cards is typically higher than for other types of borrowing, and it compounds, which means you could be paying interest on the interest charged on previous purchases.
If you’re carrying a balance from month to month and paying interest, you’re giving money to the credit card company that could be going into your savings account. Using a debt payoff strategy or consolidating your credit card debt with a personal loan could help you dump those credit card bills and get your savings back on track.
Putting Pay Raises Toward Savings, Not Spending
No one is suggesting that you should live ultra frugally like when you were scraping by in college or starting your career, but it might not hurt to hold on to some of those money-saving habits you had then. Otherwise, if your pay goes up and your savings stay static, your savings ratio is doomed to drop.
One last example using our hypothetical friend, Jane: If Jane got a $100-a-month raise (after taxes), but she continued putting $600 a month into savings, her savings rate would fall from 12% to just below 10%.
The Takeaway
Saving money might not be considered exciting by everyone, but the thought of being financially secure is pretty appealing. Think of your savings rate as a mirror you can hold up every month to see how you’re doing.
Interested in opening an online bank account? When you sign up for a SoFi Checking and Savings account with direct deposit, you’ll get a competitive annual percentage yield (APY), pay zero account fees, and enjoy an array of rewards, such as access to the Allpoint Network of 55,000+ fee-free ATMs globally. Qualifying accounts can even access their paycheck up to two days early.
Better banking is here with up to 4.50% APY on SoFi Checking and Savings.
The SoFi Bank Debit Mastercard® is issued by SoFi Bank, N.A., pursuant to license by Mastercard International Incorporated and can be used everywhere Mastercard is accepted. Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.
SoFi members with direct deposit activity can earn 4.50% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Direct Deposit means a deposit to an account holder’s SoFi Checking or Savings account, including payroll, pension, or government payments (e.g., Social Security), made by the account holder’s employer, payroll or benefits provider or government agency (“Direct Deposit”) via the Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) Network during a 30-day Evaluation Period (as defined below). Deposits that are not from an employer or government agency, including but not limited to check deposits, peer-to-peer transfers (e.g., transfers from PayPal, Venmo, etc.), merchant transactions (e.g., transactions from PayPal, Stripe, Square, etc.), and bank ACH funds transfers and wire transfers from external accounts, do not constitute Direct Deposit activity. There is no minimum Direct Deposit amount required to qualify for the stated interest rate.
SoFi members with Qualifying Deposits can earn 4.50% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Qualifying Deposits means one or more deposits that, in the aggregate, are equal to or greater than $5,000 to an account holder’s SoFi Checking and Savings account (“Qualifying Deposits”) during a 30-day Evaluation Period (as defined below). Qualifying Deposits only include those deposits from the following eligible sources: (i) ACH transfers, (ii) inbound wire transfers, (iii) peer-to-peer transfers (i.e., external transfers from PayPal, Venmo, etc. and internal peer-to-peer transfers from a SoFi account belonging to another account holder), (iv) check deposits, (v) instant funding to your SoFi Bank Debit Card, (vi) push payments to your SoFi Bank Debit Card, and (vii) cash deposits. Qualifying Deposits do not include: (i) transfers between an account holder’s Checking account, Savings account, and/or Vaults; (ii) interest payments; (iii) bonuses issued by SoFi Bank or its affiliates; or (iv) credits, reversals, and refunds from SoFi Bank, N.A. (“SoFi Bank”) or from a merchant.
SoFi Bank shall, in its sole discretion, assess each account holder’s Direct Deposit activity and Qualifying Deposits throughout each 30-Day Evaluation Period to determine the applicability of rates and may request additional documentation for verification of eligibility. The 30-Day Evaluation Period refers to the “Start Date” and “End Date” set forth on the APY Details page of your account, which comprises a period of 30 calendar days (the “30-Day Evaluation Period”). You can access the APY Details page at any time by logging into your SoFi account on the SoFi mobile app or SoFi website and selecting either (i) Banking > Savings > Current APY or (ii) Banking > Checking > Current APY. Upon receiving a Direct Deposit or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits to your account, you will begin earning 4.50% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% on checking balances on or before the following calendar day. You will continue to earn these APYs for (i) the remainder of the current 30-Day Evaluation Period and through the end of the subsequent 30-Day Evaluation Period and (ii) any following 30-day Evaluation Periods during which SoFi Bank determines you to have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits without interruption.
SoFi Bank reserves the right to grant a grace period to account holders following a change in Direct Deposit activity or Qualifying Deposits activity before adjusting rates. If SoFi Bank grants you a grace period, the dates for such grace period will be reflected on the APY Details page of your account. If SoFi Bank determines that you did not have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits during the current 30-day Evaluation Period and, if applicable, the grace period, then you will begin earning the rates earned by account holders without either Direct Deposit or Qualifying Deposits until you have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits in a subsequent 30-Day Evaluation Period. For the avoidance of doubt, an account holder with both Direct Deposit activity and Qualifying Deposits will earn the rates earned by account holders with Direct Deposit.
Members without either Direct Deposit activity or Qualifying Deposits, as determined by SoFi Bank, during a 30-Day Evaluation Period and, if applicable, the grace period, will earn 1.20% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances.
Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. These rates are current as of 8/9/2023. There is no minimum balance requirement. Additional information can be found at http://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet..
Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.
You have probably heard (multiple times) that saving money for your future is important, but do you know how much you are actually socking away? There’s a formula to calculate your own specific personal savings rate (aka the percentage of your after-tax dollars that you’re putting away).
It’s not too complex and can be a helpful tool to see how your money management is tracking. Find out how to calculate your savings rate here.
What Information is Included in the Savings Rate Formula?
The basic formula to calculate savings rate is:
Your savings / your after-tax income = your savings rate
Once you’ve calculated your savings rate, you can use it to:
• Review how you’re doing from month to month or year to year.
• See how your current spending habits are affecting your future goals and financial independence.
• Motivate yourself to do better with your savings.
• Compare your efforts to others.
You can gather up the numbers you need to determine your savings rate (which is sometimes referred to as a savings ratio) in just a few steps:
Step 1: Add Up Your Income for the Month
Your income streams might include, after taxes: your monthly salary, the money you earned from any side gigs or from selling homemade items online, or rental income if you’re renting out a room of your home to get extra funds. Don’t forget to include money you earned that’s automatically deducted from your pay and added to a retirement account, such as a 401(k) or a traditional or Roth IRA. And add in your employer’s matching retirement plan contributions, as well.
Recommended: 39 Ways to Earn Passive Income Streams
Step 2: Add Up the Money You Put into Savings Each Month
This is about what you’re saving for the long-term, not next week. So it would include the money that’s automatically coming out of your check for retirement savings, plus your employer’s matching contributions, along with any funds you’re putting into separate savings or brokerage accounts.
💡 Quick Tip: Want to save more, spend smarter? Let your bank manage the basics. It’s surprisingly easy, and secure, when you open an online bank account.
Step 3: Do the Math
Divide the total amount of your long-term savings (Step 2) by the total amount of your after-tax income (Step 1). Turn the number you get into a percentage (.10 is 10%, for example), and that’s your savings rate.
You may hear or see a few variations on what’s included in the calculation. Some people don’t include their employer’s 401(k) contributions in their calculations, for instance, and some might add in extra payments they’re putting toward the principal on a student loan or other debt. The point is to be consistent with what you do or don’t include from month to month.
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How About an Example?
Let’s use Jane, whose hypothetical after-tax Income every month is $4,500. She brings in another $500, after taxes, by renting the extra bedroom in her apartment to her cousin, for a total of $5,000 a month.
Jane’s employer doesn’t offer a 401(k) plan, but on her own, Jane puts $500 a month into a Roth IRA. And she always puts another $100 a month in an online savings account she has earmarked for long-term goals. Jane’s savings amount totals $600 a month.
Using the savings rate formula, that’s $600 / $5,000 = .12, which makes Jane’s personal monthly savings rate 12%.
Of course, everyone’s numbers may not be quite so straightforward. Couples, for instance, may have to consider two or more paychecks and, possibly, two or more retirement accounts. Some individuals work more than one job or earn income from multiple sources. Some might count their emergency fund as savings, and others don’t. But the idea is the same: An individual’s or a household’s savings rate measures how much disposable income (defined by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) as after-tax income) is being set aside for long-term savings and retirement.
Why Is Knowing Your Personal Savings Rate Important?
The BEA tracks the nation’s personal savings rate from month to month to monitor Americans’ financial health and better predict consumer behavior. And you can do much the same thing with your own savings rate.
By tracking your rate on a regular basis, you can assess how you’re doing in real-time. If you’re consistently falling short of the savings goals you’ve set for yourself, you can look at what behaviors might need changing or if you need to rework your budget. You also can use the information as an incentive to do better. And you might even find it’s a fun way to compete with others close to you, with the nation’s average personal savings rate, or just against yourself.
If you saved 8% in 2023, for example, could you bump that amount to 9% or 10% in 2024? What if you got an unexpected raise or bonus: Would you have the discipline to put that amount into your savings to keep your rate the same or improve it?
Knowing your savings rate can help you make those kinds of financial decisions.
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What’s a Good Savings Rate?
The average personal savings rate in the U.S. was about 4.03% in mid 2023, according to the Fed. But financial experts generally advise savers to stash away at least 10% of their income every month ($500 of a $5,000 monthly salary, for example). The popular 50/30/20 budget rule created by Sen. Elizabeth Warren suggests saving 20% of after-tax income.
If that seems extreme, it’s probably more useful to simply target a number you’re sure you can stick to monthly or annually. Just having a positive savings rate — anything above zero — can be a good starting point for building good fiscal habits and a nest egg. You can always make adjustments as you accomplish other financial goals, such as paying off student loans or credit card debt.
Isn’t Having a Good Budget Enough?
A personal budget can be a useful guide when it comes to reaching financial goals. And tracking your spending with a spreadsheet or an app can help you see where your dollars (and dimes) are actually going, as opposed to where you think they’re going—those two places might be very different.
Many people who make a budget include the amount they plan to put toward savings in their budget as a monthly expense. But that’s different from knowing your savings rate.
A savings rate provides a separate, wide-angle view of how much of what you make is going into savings. And that can help you further evaluate how you’re doing.
How Can Someone Improve Their Savings Rate?
The answer is simple: Spend less and save more.
Here are some steps that could help improve an individual’s or household’s savings rate.
Opening or Contributing More to a Retirement Account
One of the easiest ways to save more money can be to open a 401(k) or IRA, or to boost the amount that’s automatically deposited to an account you already have. After all, if you never see the money, you likely won’t be as tempted to spend it. And if you’re a long way from retirement, the money you invest should have lots of time to grow with compound interest. If your employer offers a 401(k) with a matching contribution, a goal might be to save as much as possible to maximize those funds.
Recommended: How an Employer 401(k) Match Works
Opening an Online Savings Account
If you’ve been saving s-l-o-w-l-y with a traditional type of savings account, it might be time to consider other options. Many online financial institutions, for example, offer higher interest rates for deposit accounts because they have lower overhead costs than brick-and-mortar banks, and they pass those savings on to their customers. Online accounts also may offer lower fees than traditional banks—or, in some cases, no fees.
Cut Back on Discretionary Spending
The thought of squeezing out additional dollars for savings each month might be daunting if you’re already on a tight budget. But even a little spending cut can go a long way toward nudging up your savings rate.
Let’s go back to our hypothetical saver, Jane, for an example. If Jane could manage to save just $50 more every month (or about $12 a week), she could increase her savings rate by a full percentage point — from 12% to 13%. That might mean getting takeout one less time every week. Or one less night out with the girls every month. Or maybe cutting back on streaming services she seldom uses.
Lowering Fixed Expenses
Lowering the bills that have to be paid every month can increase the amount of money that’s available for savings. That could include:
• Shopping for cheaper car insurance or a less expensive cell phone carrier
• Keeping your paid-off car for an extra year or two instead of jumping right back into another auto loan
• Refinancing to a lower interest rate on a mortgage or student loans
• Cutting the cord on cable
• Doing your own landscaping.
Ditching the Credit Card Debt
Yes, credit cards are convenient, and using your cards wisely can have a positive effect on your credit score. But the interest on credit cards is typically higher than for other types of borrowing, and it compounds, which means you could be paying interest on the interest charged on previous purchases.
If you’re carrying a balance from month to month and paying interest, you’re giving money to the credit card company that could be going into your savings account. Using a debt payoff strategy or consolidating your credit card debt with a personal loan could help you dump those credit card bills and get your savings back on track.
Putting Pay Raises Toward Savings, Not Spending
No one is suggesting that you should live ultra frugally like when you were scraping by in college or starting your career, but it might not hurt to hold on to some of those money-saving habits you had then. Otherwise, if your pay goes up and your savings stay static, your savings ratio is doomed to drop.
One last example using our hypothetical friend, Jane: If Jane got a $100-a-month raise (after taxes), but she continued putting $600 a month into savings, her savings rate would fall from 12% to just below 10%.
The Takeaway
Saving money might not be considered exciting by everyone, but the thought of being financially secure is pretty appealing. Think of your savings rate as a mirror you can hold up every month to see how you’re doing.
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SoFi members with direct deposit activity can earn 4.50% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Direct Deposit means a deposit to an account holder’s SoFi Checking or Savings account, including payroll, pension, or government payments (e.g., Social Security), made by the account holder’s employer, payroll or benefits provider or government agency (“Direct Deposit”) via the Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) Network during a 30-day Evaluation Period (as defined below). Deposits that are not from an employer or government agency, including but not limited to check deposits, peer-to-peer transfers (e.g., transfers from PayPal, Venmo, etc.), merchant transactions (e.g., transactions from PayPal, Stripe, Square, etc.), and bank ACH funds transfers and wire transfers from external accounts, do not constitute Direct Deposit activity. There is no minimum Direct Deposit amount required to qualify for the stated interest rate.
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While mortgage delinquencies inevitably continue to rise, foreclosure starts in relation to those figures have fallen, according to the FHFA September Foreclosure Prevention Report released today.
The report, which covers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s 30.7 million residential mortgages, revealed that loans 60+ days delinquent (including those in BK and foreclosure) increased to 2.21 percent of the total portfolio as of the end of the third quarter.
That figure is up from 1.46 percent as of the end of the first quarter and 1.73 percent as of June 30.
Despite the rise in borrowers falling behind on their mortgage payments, foreclosure starts as a percent of loans 60+ days delinquent fell from 8.29 percent in the first quarter to 7.12 percent in the third quarter.
And loans for which foreclosure was completed stabilized at 2.55 percent between the second and third quarter after rising from 2.41 percent in the first quarter.
Fannie Mae’s Homesaver Advance Making Numbers Look Pretty?
However, loan modifications completed fell from 15,372 in the second quarter to just 13,450 in the third quarter, though loans reinstated via Fannie’s Homesaver Advance program skyrocketed, and accounted for 45 percent of all loss mitigation activity.
But it’s unclear whether an unsecured personal loan extended to an ailing borrower to temporarily cure a first lien loan will be enough to head off foreclosures over the long haul.
The number of more favorable (grain of salt) loan modifications completed in the third quarter have actually fallen from both the first and second quarter, and averaged just over 4,000 a month in the latest quarter.
Meanwhile, completed foreclosure sales averaged more than 15,500 a month in the third quarter, up about 5,000 per month from earlier this year.
So unless Homesaver Advance sees some serious long-term success, these seemingly optimistic numbers are nothing more than a false calm before a very real storm.
And the numbers look to get even more muddled thanks to the foreclosure moratorium imposed by the pair over the holidays.
When it comes to buying a home, most individuals choose to purchase something already on the market. However, in some situations, it can sometimes be advantageous to buy raw land and have a home built for you from the ground up.
For instance, in a seller’s market when there aren’t too many homes on the market but a huge demand for home purchases, you can bypass the costly process of haggling with sellers and paying way above the asking price for a home. And, of course, you’ll get to design a home that’s exactly the way you want it.
CNBC Select rounded up four of the best construction loan lenders to consider if you’re thinking of building a brand-new home or doing a major renovation of your existing home. We evaluated lenders based on a number of factors including the types of loans offered, customer support and others (see our methodology below).
Best construction loan lenders
Best for in-person service
TD Bank Mortgage
Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
Apply online for personalized rates; fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages included
Types of loans
Fixed-rate, adjustable-rate mortgage, jumbo loans, construction-to-permanent loan, VA loan, FHA loan, medical professional mortgage
Terms
Up to 30 years
Credit needed
Not disclosed
Minimum down payment
Options as low as 3%
Pros
Carries loan option that allows for a slightly smaller downpayment at 3%
Has both online and in-person service
Online support available
Mobile app available
Refinance options available
Cons
Doesn’t offer USDA loans
Who’s this for? TD Bank is a household name in the banking industry, even calling itself “America’s Most Convenient Bank.” In addition to offering service online and through a mobile app, TD Bank has over 1,100 physical branches throughout the U.S., making it an ideal lender for those who prefer an in-person process.
This lender offers what’s known as a construction-to-permanent loan option. This means that your construction loan converts into a regular mortgage upon completion of the build. This loan option is typically advantageous for many aspiring homeowners since you only have to submit one application and pay one set of closing costs.
TD Bank’s construction loan has fixed-rate and adjustable-rate options and can be used for primary residences of 1 to 4 units and for second or vacation homes.
Best for loan variety
Flagstar® Bank
Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
Apply online for personalized rates; fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages included
Types of loans
Conventional loans, FHA loans, VA loans, USDA loans, jumbo loans, adjustable-rate mortgages, construction loans, professional loans and Community Loans
Terms
8 – 30 years
Credit needed
Minimum down payment
0% if moving forward with a USDA loan
Pros
Offers a wide variety of loans to suit an array of customer needs
Fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages available
Borrowers who qualify for a jumbo loan can apply for up to $3 million
Has an online process but also in-person branches
Cons
Home equity loans are only available in limited geographic areas
Who’s this for? Flagstar Bank offers a couple of different construction loan options: It offers a renovation loan, a construction draw and a one-close construction loan. The renovation loan is meant for those who are purchasing a property that needs significant repairs; instead of applying for two loans (a mortgage and a separate renovation loan) this option lets you roll both expenses into one loan. This way, you’ll pay just one set of closing costs and have just one monthly payment.
The construction draw option lets you pay only interest during the phase where your home is being built (the build must be completed within 12 months, though). Once your build is complete, you’ll need to apply for a mortgage to cover the principal payments plus the monthly interest. This is called an end loan. With this option, you’ll have to submit more than one application and pay more than one set of closing costs.
With the one-close construction loan, you’ll pay interest during the home’s building phase (similar to the construction draw option) except your construction loan will convert to a traditional mortgage upon completion of the build. This means you only have to submit one application and pay one set of closing costs.
Best for a longer construction period
Citizens Bank Mortgage
Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
Apply online for personalized rates; fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages included
Types of loans
Fixed-rate mortgage, construction loans
Terms
15 – 30 years
Credit needed
Not disclosed
Minimum down payment
Not disclosed
Pros
0.125% mortgage rate discount available to existing customers in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan
Has both online and in-person service
Online support available
Cons
Mortgage rate discount isn’t available in all states
Who’s this for? Citizens Bank offers a construction-to-permanent loan option, which means borrowers will only submit one application and pay for one set of closing costs. But the most appealing feature of this loan is that borrowers can take up to 18 months to complete construction on their homes. Typically, construction loan lenders only allow borrowers 12 months to finish construction, so the extra time allows your project to recover from any snags in the plan or delays.
For your permanent financing, you can choose from fixed or adjustable-rate options.
Best for lower credit scores
Cardinal Financial Mortgage
Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
Apply online for personalized rates; fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages included
Types of loans
Conventional loan, FHA loan, VA loan, USDA loan, jumbo loans and construction loans
Terms
Not disclosed
Credit needed
Minimum of 550 for some loan types
Minimum down payment
Not disclosed
Pros
Wide variety of home loan options
More accessible loan options for borrowers with low credit scores
Online support available
Down payment assistance available in all 50 states
Cons
Doesn’t offer HELOC’s
Who’s this for? Cardinal Financial is an online lender that boasts low credit requirements for its various home loan options. According to one blog post on the company’s website, it accepts credit scores as low as 550 for VA and FHA loans. FHA loans typically require a credit score of at least 580. Jumbo loans typically have a credit score requirement of 700 but Cardinal Financial considers jumbo loan applicants with a minimum credit score of 660.
This lender offers construction loans for both home renovations and brand-new home construction.
FAQs
What is a construction loan?
A construction loan is a short-term loan that can be used to cover the cost of building a brand-new home. Typically, the funds get disbursed in increments as the home-building project progresses, and the construction must be completed within 12 months.
This option can be ideal for individuals who want a home that’s extremely customized to their liking, but the process can often be very costly since you’ll need to purchase land to build on.
How do construction loans work?
Once you’re approved for a construction loan, the funds get disbursed to your checking account incrementally as your construction progresses. An appraiser will usually check in during different stages of the build to approve more fund disbursements for you.
During the building stage, you’ll typically only pay interest on the loan. Once the build is complete, the loan converts to a traditional mortgage (if you choose a construction-to-permanent loan) and you make payments toward both principal and interest. If you chose a construction-only loan, you’ll need to apply for a separate mortgage (called an end loan) to pay off the principal on the construction loan, or you can pay the principal off out of pocket in one lump sum.
What is the best credit score for a construction loan?
Most lenders consider a credit score of at least 680 for a construction loan. Some may actually require a minimum of 720. As with any other form of credit, though, a higher credit score means you’re more likely to get approved for your desired funding amount. Plus, you’ll be able to qualify for some of the lowest interest rates offered by the lender.
If your credit score isn’t yet considered to be in a healthy range, it’s recommended that you take steps to improve your score before submitting loan applications.
What is the difference between a construction loan and a regular loan?
A construction loan is used to finance the cost of a property that hasn’t been built yet. A regular or traditional mortgage is used to purchase an existing property. Construction loans are also meant to be short-term loans, lasting only up to 12 months before you’ll have to conclude your build and convert the loan into a traditional mortgage. Regular mortgages, though, are long-term loans, which are typically meant to be paid off in as little as 10 years and as long as 30 years.
Will I pay a fixed rate on my loan?
Various lenders offer both fixed-rate and adjustable-rate loans for new builds. Once you lock in a rate for the construction phase of the project, that same rate typically carries over into the traditional mortgage payment phase as long as you choose a fixed-rate loan.
Can you act as your own general contractor/builder?
Construction loans require a licensed contractor or builder to carry out the construction phase (plans for the home and for the contractor must be confirmed and submitted before you can be approved for a loan). If you are not a licensed contractor, you cannot act as your own general contractor for the construction of your home.
Bottom line
Building a home can be a very exciting but taxing process, especially since construction loans can sometimes be tougher to come by. Still, borrowers should do their homework to make sure they agree with all the terms set forth by a lender and that the loan they ultimately go with is best for their needs.
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Our methodology
To determine which construction loan lenders are the best, CNBC Select analyzed dozens of U.S. mortgages offered by both online and brick-and-mortar banks, including large credit unions, that come with fixed-rate APRs and flexible loan amounts and terms to suit an array of financing needs.
When narrowing down and ranking the best construction loans, we focused on the following features:
Fixed-rate APR: Variable rates can go up and down over the lifetime of your loan. With a fixed rate APR, you’ll lock in an interest rate for the duration of the loan’s term, which means your monthly payment won’t vary, making your budget easier to plan.
Types of loans offered: The most common kinds of construction loans include construction-to-permanent loans, construction-only loans and renovation loans. Having more options available means the lender can cater to a wider range of applicants.
Fees: Common fees associated with mortgage applications include origination fees, application fees, underwriting fees, processing fees and administrative fees. We evaluate these fees in addition to other features when determining the overall offer from each lender. Though some lenders on this list do not charge these fees, we have noted any instances where a lender does.
Flexible minimum and maximum loan amounts/terms: Each mortgage lender provides a variety of financing options that you can customize based on your monthly budget and how long you need to pay back your loan.
No early payoff penalties: The mortgage lenders on our list do not charge borrowers for paying off the loan early.
Streamlined application process: We considered whether lenders offered a convenient, fast online application process and/or an in-person procedure at local branches.
Customer support: Every mortgage lender on our list provides customer service via telephone, email or secure online messaging. We also opted for lenders with an online resource hub or advice center to help you educate yourself about the personal loan process and your finances.
Minimum down payment: Although minimum down payment amounts depend on the type of loan a borrower applies for, we noted lenders that offer additional specialty loans that come with a lower minimum down payment amount.
After reviewing the above features, we sorted our recommendations by best for in-person service, loan variety, a longer construction period and lower credit scores.
Note that the rates and fee structures advertised for mortgages are subject to fluctuate in accordance with the Fed rate. However, once you accept your mortgage agreement, a fixed-rate APR will guarantee your interest rate and monthly payment remain consistent throughout the entire term of the loan, unless you choose to refinance your mortgage at a later date for a potentially lower APR. Your APR, monthly payment and loan amount depend on your credit history, creditworthiness, debt-to-income ratio and the desired loan term. To take out a mortgage, lenders will conduct a hard credit inquiry and request a full application, which could require proof of income, identity verification, proof of address and more.
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Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.