That’s how New York University professor Sewin Chan described the traditional retirement path at a symposium several years ago. However, that path may be changing. Her research indicates that approximately one-third of retirees from 1992 to 2004 reversed their retirement. Today, the path might look more like this (as Chan illustrated in her PowerPoint presentation): “Work, work, work. Retire (for a bit). Work. Retire?”
I re-discovered these little quotes by reading through past issues of my newsletter, which is about planning for — and living in — retirement. However, as I’ve written before, I’m a retirement expert who doesn’t plan on retiring. I’m not sure it’s best for most people’s health or wealth. And it might be just too dang risky. Plus, I like what I do, where I do it, and the people I do it with. Of course, I still save for retirement because who knows if I’ll feel the same way 30 years from now.
On the other hand, “work, work, work, work, work, work” doesn’t sound like much fun, either. But as Chan’s presentation suggested, the traditional work/retire chronology may not be the best model. Rather than saving all the retirement for the end of your life, perhaps it’s possible to rearrange the order by taking a break mid-career, gradually ratcheting down the work week, or working fewer weeks out of the year.
With this in mind, I flipped through the pages of my newsletter (eight years’ worth), looking for examples of people who have taken the retirement road less travelled. Here are a few tales I uncovered.
That “Work Just 48 Minutes Each Weekday” Guy The first example came from an article I wrote in 2008, about a book you’ve likely heard of: The Four-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss. How was then-30-year-old Ferriss able to support himself on less than a day’s worth of work per week? He created his own business and then outsourced everything else. Ferriss checks email just once a week. Another option he suggested: Become a key employee, and convince your boss to let you work from home. But instead of being at home, you’re in Berlin, Beijing, or Buenos Aires. Again, outsource as much as you can by engaging the services of companies such as Your Man in India, and email your work to the office.
While not a realistic plan for most people, Ferriss makes some worthwhile points for those looking for an alternative to “9-to-5 till you’re barely alive.” He distinguishes people who are “deferrers” — those who lead hard-charging careers in pursuit of the Holy Grail of retirement that is decades away — from the “New Rich,” who have loads of time and flexibility, and “distribute recovery periods and adventures (mini-retirements) throughout life on a regular basis and recognize that inactivity is not the goal. Doing that which excites is.”
“Personally,” he writes, “I now aim for one month of overseas relocation or high-intensity learning (tango, fighting, whatever) for every two months of work.”
My first reaction to reading his book was: Clearly, this person doesn’t have children. (I have four — that I know of.) But beyond that, Ferriss makes some provocative arguments with some catchy phrases. There’s much more to his philosophy, tips, and tricks. You can read more of what Ferriss thinks of retirement from this this interview J.D. did with him in 2008.
Supersave Your Way to Early Retirement I’ve spilt a good deal of cyber-ink writing about safe withdrawal rates in retirement — the amount retirees can spend each year and be reasonably sure their portfolios will last as long as they do. For many years, I cited the work (and the actual words) of John Greaney, who retired from his engineering career in 1994 at age 38 and founded RetireEarlyHomePage.com. How did he do it? Once his school loans were paid off by age 25, he began saving 25% of his salary. As his income increased over the years, his savings rate reached 40% to 50%.
Reduce Living Expenses, Retire Sooner Fred Brock, author of Retire On Less Than You Think, moved to Kansas after retiring from The New York Times. He sold his house in New Jersey and bought a newer house in Kansas with cash. “The absence of a mortgage payment was effectively an increase in salary,” he wrote. “In addition, our property taxes dropped from $9,000 a year to about $2,700.”
Live All Around the World Keeping housing costs down is also how Ferriss is able to work so little, but he does it on a global scale. He calls it geoarbitrage — “to exploit global pricing and currency differences for profit or lifestyle purposes.” This strategy is also used by Motley Fool contributors Akaisha and Billy Kaderli, who retired at age 38 and live on less than $30,000 a year by staying in low-cost but exotic countries, such as Thailand, China, and Ecuador. You can read more about how they do it in this GRS interview from last summer.
Reduce Living Expenses by Living on Wheels You know the cliché about people retiring to an RV? People really do it — and it’s inexpensive. Ron and Barb Hofmeister did it for 14 years after retiring in their 50s. They explain in their book, Movin’ On: Living and Traveling Full-Time in a Recreational Vehicle, that their living expenses ranged from $1,500 to $3,000 a month, but it can be done for much less. “The lifestyle can be adjusted to almost any income,” Barb told me in 2005. Those numbers have likely risen bit over the past seven years, but not drastically. One strategy they used: When gas prices were high, they stayed in one place longer.
Change Careers Instead of Retiring A few years ago, Sheryl Garrett, founder of the fee-only Garrett Planning Network, told me the story of a 52-year-old woman who made just $13,000 a year. She had saved $55,000, and asked Sheryl what to do with it. Sheryl asked her, “What would you really like to do in life?” She responded, “I have always wanted to be a nurse.” After running the numbers, they decided that spending that money on a nursing degree was the best investment. Now the woman has a higher income and a new career, one she says she could enjoy well into traditional retirement age. As even Ferriss conceded in The Four-Hour Workweek, “Full-time work isn’t bad if it’s what you’d rather be doing. This is where we distinguish ‘work’ from a ‘vocation.’”
Turn Your Hobby Into Your Income Back in the early days of my newsletter, a subscriber named Doug Short became very active on our discussion boards, providing excellent answers to a whole range of financial questions posted by other subscribers. Doug started out as an English professor, and then became a consultant for IBM, mixed in some work at GlaxoSmithKline, and eventually retired. Along the way, he built up his website construction skills and financial know-how, eventually combining the two to create a little site that conveyed economic data and history visually. It eventually showed up in places like CNN and Barron’s, and the site was bought by Advisor Perspectives (which now pays Doug to actively maintain the site in his “retirement”).
Closer to home, the founder of the very site your eyes now gaze upon might have a thing to say about turning a sideshow into the main event.
It may take years, and may never completely replace a full-time salary, but having a source of income from doing something you enjoy can add a very interesting variable to your retirement calculus.
The Retirees, They Are A’Changin’ We will see a continued variance in what “retirement” looks like over the next couple of decades. Some of that, frankly, will be due to millions of people not having enough to retire, and fewer traditional defined-benefit pensions to save them. But it will also be due to people re-thinking the whole idea of retirement. According to the Kaufmann Institute, the 55-64 age group accounted for 20.9% of new entrepreneurs in 2011, compared to 14.3% in 1996. Starting businesses isn’t just for young folks.
And you? What kind of retirement do you have planned? Know of any other examples of folks who worked a different path? Perhaps we’ll start a retirement revolution!
For new college graduates, receiving that first post-degree paycheck can be almost as exciting as getting the diploma itself. But it also presents a challenge: Given the many demands on a young person’s budget, how should those funds be managed?
We asked five money experts to share their best personal finance strategies to help this year’s college grads successfully launch their financial lives. Here’s what they said.
Find your budgeting style
To figure out how to allocate your money toward needs, wants and everything else, Erin Lowry, author of the “Broke Millennial Workbook,” says that instead of following the latest budgeting trend on TikTok, it’s helpful to just sit down with a pen and paper. “Write down what your big expenses are,” she says.
After accounting for large items like rent, car payments and food, you can then see what nonessentials also fit. “You might want to go out to dinner with friends, build up new work attire or adopt a dog,” Lowry says. Writing out the budget helps you figure out what you can afford and when, she adds.
“We conceive of budgets as restrictive things that keep us from having fun, but you should be thinking of it as a way of controlling how your money is spent. If you don’t know, you’ve sacrificed all control,” Lowry says.
Factor in taxes
Melissa Jean-Baptiste, a financial educator and the author of the book “So… This Is Why I’m Broke,” says it’s easy to forget to account for taxes, so you might have less take-home pay than you anticipated. Retirement contributions and other deductions can further lower that amount.
Jean-Baptiste suggests setting aside some time to really understand your first paycheck and all those deductions. “Take yourself on a money date so you understand how much you’re bringing home and how much you have left to save and invest,” she says.
Save smartly
Even if they’re paying off debt, Alex Rezzo, a certified financial planner and the founder of Andante Financial in the Los Angeles area, urges new grads to start saving for retirement right away. “There will always be a more immediate excuse to delay saving for retirement,” he says, but he urges people to find a way to save at least 1% of each paycheck and to increase that amount over time.
He also suggests parking your direct-deposited paycheck funds in an online bank that offers a competitive high-yield account and is backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. That way, the money likely will earn more than it would sitting in a traditional bank’s checking or savings account.
Protect your credit
As you build your independent financial life, making at least the minimum payments on your student loan and credit card accounts can help protect your credit. Missing a payment, Lowry says, could damage your credit score. She suggests focusing on paying down any high-interest debt first to reduce the total amount going to interest.
Lowry also suggests freezing or locking your credit, which makes it much harder for identity thieves to apply for new credit in your name. Just remember that if you freeze your credit, you’ll also have to thaw it if you want to apply for credit yourself, she says, adding, “you might want to wait until you’re through a period of time when you’re applying for new accounts.”
Make mistakes and learn from them
Kennedy Reynolds, chief education officer at Acorns, a financial services company, says mistakes are part of the learning process, whether it’s overspending or accruing credit card debt, but the key is to learn from the experience. “If you have debt to pay down, take that paycheck and split it up” toward those bills until they are paid off, she says.
“Try to picture yourself later and know that the choices you’re making now will have a long-term impact,” she adds.
Look beyond your paycheck
Linda Whiteman, a personal finance teacher at Outschool, an online learning platform for kids, teaches her students to think entrepreneurially. After all, she tells them, most millionaires are business owners.
“You don’t have to work for someone,” she says. She asks her students to consider what they can teach others, whether offering piano lessons online or creating digital art. Pursuing additional income streams outside of a paycheck can help grow wealth, she adds.
Jean-Baptiste found success doing exactly that: She used her experience as a teacher to create and sell lesson plans online. “I was bringing in $10,000 a year that I could put toward debt,” she says. Her lesson plans eventually turned into the financial literacy business that she operates today.
Earning additional income outside of a paycheck, she says, “can be a game-changer” — financial wisdom that applies at any age.
This article was written by NerdWallet and was originally published by The Associated Press.
Last year, I wrote a breakup letter to Chase Bank. It was pretty ugly. I’ll save you the heartbreaking details, but trust me, they had it coming.
Closing the account was another nightmare. They wouldn’t let me break up with them! They told me I couldn’t close the account because my signature on the request form did not match the signature they had on file. An understandable concern, but I’d been signing my name as either a squiggly line or “The Hawk,” for the past few years, so I don’t really understand why my signature had suddenly become so important.
It took months. But my account was finally closed, and I’ve been recovering nicely since the breakup. I’m in a new relationship with a financial institution that I can trust, depend on and, most importantly, I rarely have to call for anything.
Before and since then, I’ve had plenty of other issues with banks, organizations and institutions. There was the $2.00 fee some ATM company charged me even though their machine was broken. There was the totally disputable $100 traffic ticket. And the list goes on, as I’m sure it does for you, too.
These issues cost us more than the charge itself. They cost us time, sanity and, oftentimes, grace (Chase’s customer service really brought out the worst in me).
The other day, I was on the phone, on hold, about that aforementioned $2.00 ATM fee. While listening to ABBA’s “Dancing Queen,” I took the phone away from my ear to see how long I’d been waiting. Twenty minutes.
I hung up. I felt myself getting frustrated, and I let it go. Maybe this wasn’t the most frugal thing to do, but then again, maybe it was — after all, your time is valuable, too. And in that moment, I decided that my time was worth more than $2.00.
My point is this — and it’s not exactly a point, really, but a question: Where do you draw the line? How much of a fight do you put up before you decide that the customer service battle is just not worth it?
Financial justice vs. letting it go
Regarding those two dollars, my mom would have probably told me to stay on the phone. “It’s the principle,” she would likely say. But I wonder if that principle has any place in getting rich slowly. The mind-set of working to get what is owed to you certainly has its roots in frugality, but if your time and sanity are valuable, then isn’t wasting it on two dollars sort of defeating the purpose of frugality?
Here’s my measuring stick. While the principle is important (who wants any amount of money unjustly taken from them?), for me, it can’t just be about the principle. If I’m going to spend my time calling customer service, I have to be getting something out of it other than the satisfaction that I’ve put the company in its place. With the ATM fee, the problem was a broken machine. I’d inserted my card, stared at a blank screen, and then removed the card without conducting a transaction. But their system charged me anyway. This probably didn’t usually happen, and I don’t think the company was trying to pull one over on me. Personally, it wasn’t worth my time to spend upwards of 20 minutes on the phone; I would just avoid using ATMs in the future, being especially aware of the “glitches” of this particular company.
Chase, on the other hand, was a different story. I genuinely believe they needed to be put in their place, and while I broke up with them for my own sanity, I did relish the fact that I was justly serving “the principle.” I could have left the account open and just never used it, but it was worth my time to never worry about any issues with them again and let them know why they had driven me to that point. After spending months arguing with them over some fraud charges, I figured I was already invested in this argument, so I was past the point of no return. It was worth it to go a bit further and end things altogether.
Putting up a fight…or not
It’s bad enough when dealing with customer service problems that you have to spend your free (or sometimes work) time correcting someone else’s error. But, man, these institutions can really drain the life out of you. It’s easy to get mad when some company is charging you an unfounded $100 “processing fee” (sadly, a true story), but the last thing you want to get is emotional. As the saying goes, you attract more flies with honey, and you want to spend as little time arguing your point with customer service as possible. If you find yourself getting heated, annoyed, or you begin to raise your voice, I’ve found that the best thing to do is to hang up and deal with it later. Being relentless is one thing, and it’s sometimes necessary when you need to talk to a supervisor, but you’ve already lost your money and time — don’t lose your cool while you’re at it.
Avoid it in the first place
Going back to the Chase example, I could have avoided that headache altogether. I joined Chase because a friend of mine used them and told me she had racked up enough points to earn a free flight. “Wowee! A free flight,” I thought. I was young, OK? I didn’t know better. And a lot of my friends had Chase, so I figured, Chase must be great. I didn’t read any reviews, didn’t consider my longstanding relationship with my current bank — I switched banks that week, dreaming about my flight to, oh, I don’t know, the Bahamas or something.
You know how the story ends, and no, there was no free flight. The point is, I could have avoided that entire headache by doing some research and not being impulsive.
Some fee issues we can’t help; others we have control over, if only negative qualities like procrastination and impulse wouldn’t rear their ugly heads.
Dealing with customer service issues is probably a constant in most of our lives. It’s simply something we have to live with. But how we deal with it is a matter of contention. So now, I ask: Where do you draw the line in dealing with customer service? How much time do you spend righting financial wrongs, and how does your frugal mindset affect your behavior in those situations?
Opening a bank account for your teen is a great way to begin teaching financial responsibility and money management. If your teen’s account is linked to yours, it’s also a convenient way to pay them an allowance, reward them for good grades, or even transfer money for pizza when your teen is out with friends.
It’s no wonder a recent Fidelity study reported that 49% of teens in the U.S. have opened bank accounts. But which checking account is best? And what should you look for in checking accounts for teens?
10 Best Teen Checking Accounts
While there are many options available for teen checking accounts, parents frequently choose to establish accounts for their teens at their own primary banking institutions. This list includes many top national banks.
Their inclusion isn’t necessarily due to their teen checking accounts offering the highest interest rates or the most features. Instead, their comprehensive services for adults and strong reputations make them a viable consideration.
1. Copper Card
Copper Bank, Member FDIC, is a federally insured online bank dedicated to helping kids and teens learn how to manage money. Copper Bank has invested more than $1 million in high school financial literacy and the app helps teach kids the basics of investing.
Copper accounts are available to kids ages 6 and up, as long as they have their own mobile phone number separate from the adult account holder. Children and teens receive a Copper Spending Account debit card that is compatible with Google Pay and Apple Pay. Users can also use the debit card for fee-free transactions at 55,000+ ATMs nationwide.
Copper offers a ton of enticing features parents and teens will love. First, there are no overdraft fees, no minimum balance, or maintenance fees. Parents will pay a small fee of 2.5% + 30 cents of the total transaction for an “instant transfer” from a linked debit card. Otherwise, it can take 3 to 5 business days for funds to arrive in the Copper account.
Copper makes banking convenient for parents and rewarding for kids. Parents can set up automatic transfers for allowance, or can even transfer money automatically when the Copper account drops below a specific number.
Copper lets kids round-up their debit card transactions to be automatically transferred into their linked savings account. Users can set specific savings goals and earn interest with up to 5% annual percentage yield. This can motivate kids to save as they watch their money grow.
Copper also allows kids and teens to invest, starting with as little as $1. Investing is automated based on your child’s risk profile, and Copper even reinvests dividends and uses dollar-cost averaging to set your child up for investment success and good habits for life.
2. USAA Youth Spending Account
USAA offers a joint account that a parent or legal guardian can open with a child of any age. The USAA Youth Spending Account includes a debit card that allows the adult account holder to increase or decrease daily spending limits. Children can use their card at point-of-sale transactions and without fees at any of 100,000 preferred ATMs in the USAA network.
Once the child turns 13, you can use the mobile app to give them the ability to transfer money, make remote deposits, and more.
When your child turns 18, the USAA Youth Spending Account will be converted automatically to a USAA Classic Checking account. You can choose to stay on as a joint account holder to help your teen manage their money while they are away at college or in the military.
The USAA Classic Checking account has no monthly fee for college students or members of the military.
There are a few things to be aware of before you open the banking account:
USAA is available only to veterans, active duty military, national guard, reservists, military spouses and others who meet a few criteria related to the U.S. Armed Forces
The USAA Youth Spending Account requires a $25 minimum opening deposit
Your child will earn .01% annual percentage yield if they maintain a daily balance of $1,000 or more
3. PNC Bank Student Banking
PNC Bank offers a VirtualWallet student account for teens and young adults ages 16 and up. Teens under 18 will need to open a joint account with a parent or legal guardian. College students may have to show proof of enrollment. After six years, the student account becomes a regular PNC Bank Virtual Wallet account, with all the same features and benefits.
The Virtual Wallet account includes a “Spend” primary checking account, a “Reserve” savings for short-term savings and a “Growth” account for long-term savings for big ticket items or to build up emergency cash reserves.
The Virtual Wallet has no monthly service fees for students and includes fee-free ATM withdrawals at PNC Bank ATMs. Teens and adults, alike, receive ATM rebates for the first two non-PNC bank ATM withdrawals and up to $5 in ATM fee reimbursements per statement period for ATM surcharges collected by other financial institutions.
Unlike some student bank accounts, which decline transactions that would put your account in the negative, the PNC Bank Virtual Wallet offers one automatic courtesy refund of Overdraft item fees per month. However, the Virtual Wallet’s Low Cash Mode makes it easy to avoid overdrafts with alerts that tell you when your spending balance drops below a certain point.
You can also use Payment Control to choose to pay or return certain ACH transactions if your account balance is negative.
4. Wells Fargo Clear Access
Wells Fargo Clear Access is designed for teens ages 13 and up, as well as previously underbanked or unbanked customers. It’s considered a “second chance” bank account, but the lack of overdraft charges and no monthly fees also makes it great for teens just learning financial responsibility.
Be aware that children under 18 cannot open an account online. They must open the bank account at one of the 4,800 Wells Fargo branch locations nationwide.
Clear Access has no monthly fee for account holders ages 13 to 24. Teens 16 and under will need a joint account holder who is over the age of 18.
Wells Fargo Clear Access was certified by the Bank on National Account Standards as meeting the requirements for safe and affordable bank accounts with no overdraft fees. A straightforward account with few bells and whistles, the account includes access to the user-friendly Wells Fargo mobile banking app and mobile check deposits. You also get Zelle person-to-person payments and a debit card compatible with digital wallets like Google Pay.
There are no overdraft fees with Clear Access, but transactions that would bring your account into the negative are likely to be declined. There is no minimum balance requirement, but you’ll need a $25 minimum opening deposit.
5. Chase First Banking Account
The Chase First Checking Account is available to kids ages 6 to 17 and has no monthly fees. To open an account for your teen or tween, you must have a qualifying Chase checking account, such as Chase Total Checking.
It’s easy to open an account online and make transfers from your account to the Chase First Banking account in the mobile app. You can set up automatic recurring transfers for allowance or approve requests from your child for money.
Set a spending limit for general spending or for specific purposes. You can even create a list of approved stores where your child can shop with their debit card. For existing Chase customers, Chase First is one of the smartest choices for a teen checking account due to the convenience and easy parental controls.
6. Capital One MONEY Teen Checking Account
The Capital One MONEY Teen checking account is one of the most popular checking accounts for kids. You don’t need a Capital One account to open a MONEY account with your kids, as the account can accept external transfers.
The account is available for kids ages 8 and up. Once the teen turns 18, they can convert it to a Capital One 360 Checking Account of their own with no monthly fee.
Unlike Chase, Capital One MONEY Teen pays interest on checking account balances. It’s only 0.10% annual percentage yield, but it is enough to begin teaching kids the value of compounding interest. Capital One’s teen product has no monthly service fee, no minimum balance requirement, and no minimum opening deposit.
Through the mobile app, kids and teens can set savings goals, designate funds in “savings buckets” or for spending with their Capital One Mastercard debit card, and make withdrawals at any Capital One or AllPoint ATMs with no fees.
Parents can make automatic transfers for allowance, set up one-time transfers, and even pay kids rewards if they meet specific savings goals. You can track spending and view transactions in the mobile app or set up text alerts.
7. Bank of America Advantage SafeBalance
Unlike the other three largest national banks in the U.S., Bank of America does not have a dedicated teen checking account. However, Bank of America customers can open a joint account with their child who is age 13 or older and give them access to their own debit card.
Bank of America recommends the Advantage SafeBalance bank account for teens and college students under 25. There is no monthly fee on the account if one of the account holders is under 18, or under the age of 25 and a student, or if any of the account holders are members of Bank of America Preferred Rewards.
A straightforward, checkless account, BofA calls SafeBalance “a smart start for students.” Kids ages 16 and up can be sole owners of the account, but you might choose to be a joint account holder for convenience.
The SafeBalance account doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles, but it is a great way to get your child set for the future with an account at a nationwide, reputable bank with 4,000 branch locations nationwide.
8. Axos Bank First Checking
Axos Bank First Checking offers a checking account where you can earn interest. It pays a 0.10% annual percentage yield on all balances. It is available for teens ages 13 to 17, with an adult account holder.
Axos First Checking boasts no monthly maintenance fee, no overdraft fee, and reimburses up to $12 per month in out-of-network ATM surcharges.
Be aware that your child can only make $500 in debit card purchases per day and can only withdraw up to $100 per day at ATMs.
Axos Bank is consistently rated one of the best for online banking by top personal finance websites. The First Checking account is a straightforward way to teach teens financial independence and the ease of online banking.
9. Connexus Credit Union Teen Checking Account
Connexus is a top-rated credit union that’s easy to join with a one-time donation to become a member of the Connexus Association. The Connexus Credit Union Teen Checking account offers up to 2.0% annual percentage yield with zero monthly service fees, free ATM transactions within the Co-Op or MoneyPass networks, and overdraft protection with linked accounts.
Kids ages 10 to 17 can open a teen checking account to earn a high APY. When they turn 18, the credit union will transition their teen account into a Connexus Innovative Checking account with no monthly fees.
Young adults can choose to convert the account into an Xtraordinary checking account through the credit union to earn interest. The Xtraordinary account offers up to 1.75% APY when you make 15 debit card purchases or spend $400 with your debit card.
10. Alliant Credit Union Teen Checking
Alliant Credit Union has won awards from top personal finance sites as one of the best credit unions in the country. With no monthly service fees and no overdraft fee, it’s a straightforward account that will introduce teens to the personalized service of credit unions.
Teens can earn interest with a rate of 0.25% APY on their checking account balance. Keep in mind, to earn that high yield, they will need to opt in to receive eStatements and make at least one electronic deposit per month.
As with a regular Alliant credit union account, your teen will receive up to $20 in ATM fee reimbursements per month, and pay no fees at 80,000+ ATMs nationwide.
Alliant Credit Union Teen Checking is one of the few teen checking accounts that provides overdraft protection. If you sign up with a linked savings account, Alliant Credit Union Teen checking will automatically transfer funds from savings to cover debit card purchases.
You will need a $25 minimum deposit to open an account with your teen, ages 13 to 17.
Prepaid Debit Cards for Kids
If you feel your child or teen isn’t ready for a checking account, you might consider a prepaid debit card for kids, instead. Products like Greenlight, Cash App, Revolut<18 are not your typical banking account, but are prepaid debit cards that provide kids with easy access to money.
1. Greenlight
Greenlight is one of the original names in pre-paid debit cards for kids and teens. Greenlight offers three different plans with the following monthly service fees.
Greenlight Core: $4.99/month
Greenlight Max: $9.98/month
Greenlight Infinity/$14.98/month
Each plan includes debit cards for up to five children or teens, access to the app, and parental controls. After that, these plans vary somewhat in their offerings.
The Core plan pays 1% interest. Greenlight Max pays 1% cash back on your child’s debit card purchases, deposited automatically into their savings account to earn 2% interest.
Greenlight Infinity also pays 1% cash back on purchases. It pays 5% APY on savings. But Greenlight Infinity is much more than just a debit card or money account. It’s also a family safety and protection app that provides the ability to send and receive SOS alerts, crash detection that automatically alerts 911 in the event of a car crash, and family location sharing.
Greenlight has vast capabilities for money management, including the ability to set limits on spending, reward kids with deposits for chores or accomplishments such as high grades, and pay a monthly allowance.
Kids can create a customized card, as well, which often appeals to teens.
2. Cash Card
Cash App is the popular person to person payment app that comes with a debit card you can use for online or in-store purchases. Now, everyone age 13 and up can gain access to a customized Cash Card of their own.
Cash Card is an easy-to-use card that allows you to send and receive money from external accounts or from friends and family who also use Cash App. You can use Boosts in Cash app to find savings on everyday items from popular stores. Boosts are a great way to teach kids how to save money while shopping.
There is no minimum deposit to open a Cash App account.
3. Revolut
Revolut has no monthly service fee and links to an external account or your Revolut online bank account. You can set spending limits and receive alerts when your child uses their debit card.
You can also assign “tasks” to your kids and set up instant transfers from your account when the task is complete. You can also set up automatically allowance payments, or create a list of chores and put money directly on your teen’s debit card when that chore is done.
Features to Consider for Opening a Teen Checking Account
The features you’ll find in the best free checking accounts for adults should also apply to teen checking accounts. Most of the best teen checking accounts on our list meet the following requirements.
No Monthly Maintenance Fees
You don’t want to pay money so your teen can learn about managing money. Teach your teen early on that some of the best things in life – including their checking account – can be free.
Low Minimum Balance Requirements
Look for an account with no minimum opening deposit and no minimum balance requirements. Fortunately, even banks that have minimum balance requirements to waive fees for other checking accounts typically have no requirements for free checking for teens.
Low or No Fees
Make sure there are no ATM fees, no overdraft fees, and no hidden fees for any reason. Most teen checking accounts will decline a purchase rather than put the account into overdraft, which can help teens build financial responsibility and learn money management.
Linked Savings Accounts
When you’re evaluating a teen checking account, you may also want to look for a linked savings account with savings buckets, so your teen can set goals and plan for future purchases. Compare interest rates on teen accounts, discuss the other features and benefits, and enroll your teen in making the choice with you.
Parental Controls
You should be able to lock and unlock your teen’s checking account within the mobile app, set spending limits, and even designate certain funds to be used only for specific purposes.
Online Banking Through a Desktop Portal or Mobile App
Teens today are tech savvy. Fortunately, most teen bank accounts – even those from brick and mortar banks and credit unions – include an easy to use mobile app with separate logins for teens and their parents.
Direct Deposit
Features like direct deposit may not be as important, unless your teen is working and wants their paychecks deposited into their account. Most of the bank accounts on this list, however, do offer the service. Some even deposit funds up to two days earlier than usual.
It’s a nice bonus when teen checking accounts can be converted into a regular checking account once your child reaches adulthood.
Pros and Cons of Bank Accounts for Teens
As you evaluate the features of these teen checking accounts, you might wonder if it’s even worthwhile to open a checking account for your teen. Opening a bank account for your teen can help them develop good personal finance habits early on.
Let’s consider other benefits and drawbacks of checking accounts for teens.
Pros
Conveniently transfer money from your linked account, wherever you are
Teach children and teens about saving and investing
Teach the basics of using a mobile banking app
Build financial responsibility
Money is protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation up to $500,000 for joint accounts
Cons
Teens unfamiliar with budgeting may spend more with a debit card handy
Some financial institutions charge fees
Your teen may lose their debit card, creating a security risk
You may need to make a minimum deposit to open the account
When all is said and done, the benefits of teen checking accounts far outweigh any inconveniences. Just make sure to choose a banking account with no minimum deposit requirements or monthly service fee at a bank or credit union that offers responsive customer service.
Also, make sure you can keep tabs on your teen’s spending through alerts or a mobile app.
How to Choose a Teen Checking Account
Now that we’ve explored some of the best checking accounts for teens, you may have already made your choice. If not, here are some aspects to think about when choosing the best checking account or prepaid spending account for your tween, teen, or college student.
Choose the Type of Teen Account You Want (Checking Account vs. Savings Account)
First, think about whether you want a prepaid debit card, a checking account, a savings account, or both. Do you want to choose a money account from a bank or credit union? Would you prefer to open the account at a brick and mortar bank or are you and your teens comfortable banking online only?
The answers to these questions should give you a good place to start.
Consider the fee menu (monthly service fees, recurring transactions, ATM withdrawals, card reload, etc.)
It shouldn’t cost money to teach your teen money management. Consider any fees related to the account. Similarly, you might prefer a bank or credit union with no minimum deposit to open an account.
Some of the best teen checking accounts pay interest, which is a great incentive to help your teen start saving money and to put a little extra money in their pocket.
Consider the Age and Responsibility Level of your Teen
Most of the best teen checking accounts feature alerts for parents through text or an app, capabilities to freeze spending or set limits, and turn off the debit card in the app in case it’s lost or stolen. These are good capabilities as your teen learns how to manage money.
Because you can’t spend every minute tracking your teen’s finance, however, you also want an account that will either decline transactions that would put the account into the negative, offer overdraft protection, or waive overdraft fee.
How to Open a Teen Checking Account
When you’re ready to open a checking account for your teen, you’ll want to make sure you have their date-of-birth and Social Security number handy, as well as your own. Make note of any minimum deposit requirements, as well, and have a plan in place to fund the account.
Fund the Teen Checking Account and Activate the Debit Card
Most teen checking accounts will allow you to make a deposit from an external account or make a mobile check deposit in the app. If your teen works, you can have them request a form to have their paycheck deposited automatically via ACH transfer.
If you open a teen account with Chase, Bank of America, or other big banks, you can easily transfer funds from your linked internal account in minutes.
Once your teen receives their debit card, you will want to show them how to activate it by calling the number on the card or setting up their PIN at an ATM within the network. Let them know that their PIN should be easy for them to remember, but hard for anyone else to guess. They shouldn’t use their birthday or the last four digits of their phone number, for instance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do teen checking accounts have monthly fees?
Most of the best checking accounts on our list do not have maintenance fees, service fees, or ATM fees.
Can a minor have a checking account?
Yes, a minor can open a checking account jointly with a parent or guardian.
What happens to a teen checking account when I turn 18?
Some of the best teen checking accounts automatically convert to regular checking accounts when the child turns 18.
Can I open a teenage bank account online?
You can open many of the checking accounts on this list online. However, to open a Wells Fargo Clear Access account for a person under the age of 18, you’ll need to visit a brick and mortar branch.
What is the minimum age to open a teen checking account?
Some teen checking accounts are available to children as young as six years or eight years old, as long as they are opened jointly with a parent or guardian. Teens 18 and older can open an account on their own. Many student checking accounts designed for young adults ages 18 to 25 have no fees for college students.
How much money should you keep in your teenager’s checking account?
How much money you keep in your teen’s checking account will depend on a variety of factors. How much can you afford to pay in allowance or fees for chores per month? Is your child earning any money of their own they can deposit? Do they typically receive cash gifts for birthdays or holidays?
Keep in mind, funds in teen checking accounts are FDIC insured up to the federal limit of $250,000 per account holder, per account type. In the case of jointly held accounts with a parent and a minor account holder, these accounts are insured for $500,000 in total, or up to $1 million if you have linked checking and savings.
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People are constantly looking for ways to save money, but it can be difficult. If you’re like me, that uncertainty keeps you from taking action.
If this sounds familiar to you and your friends or family members who want the best way possible in saving some cash, then I have good news: there is a secret formula!
Money Saving Charts! A simple way to save more money. For many Money Bliss readers, it has changed their lives completely.
We have the most popular money saving challenges around!
If you are looking for a chart on how to save money, then you are in the right place.
Money saving charts are one of the ways that individuals can save money. There’s a wide variety of different types and each type has its own purpose, depending on what you want to achieve with your savings.
By using a money saving chart, you can easily track your progress, stay motivated overtime, and save more money overall.
What are Money Savings Charts?
Money savings charts are a great way to keep track of your money.
We have a slew of saving money charts to choose from here at Money Bliss! Use fun gel pens or highlighters for a colorful way to stay motivated.
They allow you to visually see how much money you are saving and help you stay on track with your goals.
Living below your means is a difficult task, especially if you are a one-income family. However, with careful planning and execution, it is possible to save money and increase your liquid net worth.
One way to do this is by using money saving charts. These charts allow you to track your progress and make adjustments as needed.
Why Use a Saving Money Chart?
One of the best ways to save money is by tracking your spending and savings. One way to do this is through a monthly budget, which can help you stay on track with your goals and avoid unnecessary spending.
A money saving chart will help you see where your money goes and how to spend it wisely.
This is a great way to visualize the data and make sure you aren’t wasting any money.
By seeing how much money you save each month, you can better understand where you can cut back, make informed financial decisions, and save more money.
What Can You Track With Money Savings Charts?
Money savings charts are used for tracking the progress of a specific goal or project.
They can be created in Excel, Google Sheets, or a simple printable to hang around the house.
A money saving chart is a great way to keep track of your progress.
It helps you stay motivated and inspired as you watch your net worth grow. Additionally, it’s easy to see yourself making progress when using a money saving chart – which can encourage you to save even more money!
#1 – Debt Payoff
Debt payoff is the process of paying off debt. The goal is to pay off your debt faster than the payoff date.
When you’re trying to pay off your debt, it’s important to track your progress. This will help you stay motivated and see success.
You can use a free debt payoff tracker or printables to help you out. With these tools, paying off your car loans, student loans, and more will be a breeze!
#2 – Emergency Fund
An emergency fund is an account where money can be stored for short-term financial emergencies. You should save $1,000 as a starter emergency fund. Figure out how much emergency fund you need.
A well-funded emergency fund is one of the smartest things you can do for yourself both financially and emotionally.
This money should be set aside in case of an unexpected expense, such as a car repair or medical bill if you don’t have sinking funds.
Use these charts to help you save for your emergency fund more quickly.
$3 – Car Fund
A car fund is money set aside to purchase a car. The goal is to pay for the car in full and not take out a car loan.
Just remember… a car is a depreciating asset, so you only should buy what you are willing to lose, but still have the safety features you want.
You can use this car fund tracker to save for anything related to a car, such as the cost of a new or used car, down payment, or ongoing maintenance. This tracker is simple and easy to use, and it’s also very cute!
#4 – Vacation Fund
It can be tough to save up for a vacation while you’re trying to live your everyday life, but it’s definitely not impossible.
One way to do it is by setting up a “vacation fund” and depositing a certain amount of money into it every month. That way, when the time comes to take that much-needed break, you’ll have the cash to cover it without breaking the bank.
The amount of money that can be deposited into the account can vary. Personally, we set aside a set amount each month to fund our love to travel!
#5 – House Down Payment or Home Improvement
This printable helps you save for anything on your house- including a down payment.
It is a pivotal moment in someone’s life and it is important to be financially ready for buying a house. Having this saving goal will help make the process easier.
If you are looking at remodeling or just wanting to set money aside for a furnace, this is a great way to keep you motivated (even if you are excited about the project or not).
#6 – Wedding Savings
Saving for a wedding can be a daunting task, but it’s important to remember that it will help avoid debt in the long run.
Creating and following a money saving chart can help you save for your dream wedding or any honeymoon you want to take. You will be able to see your progress and adjust your spending habits along the way.
There are many ways to save money for a wedding, and one easy way is to use a printable wedding savings chart.
#7 – Investments (401k, Roth IRA, etc.)
Saving for your future is one of the most important things you can do and the sooner you start, the better.
The money savings chart will help guide your investment goals so that you can save for a comfortable retirement.
You want to make sure to use a saving money chart each year for retirement. Then, it will help you save year after year and reach your goal faster.
#8 – Rainy Day Fund
A rainy day fund is a large sum of money saved specifically to cover unexpected expenses beyond just emergencies. This could be anything from job loss to a medical emergency.
Having a rainy day fund gives you peace of mind in knowing that you have the resources to take care of yourself and your loved ones in times of crisis.
The money in your rainy day fund should cover 3-6 months of expenses. At the bare minimum, you would need a $10,000 savings goal for your rainy day fund.
#9 – To Stop Working Early
This one can be a hotly debated topic, but if you don’t want to wait until retirement age to retire than you need to start setting money aside today in a joint brokerage account.
You need to start going your money through investments to pay for your future expenses.
This is part of the popular FIRE movement or I just want to don’t want to work anymore.
This is a longer term goal that will take you 3-10 years to complete depending on your hustle, but it is a great financial vision to strive towards.
#10 – Just Because
This one is my favorite! Because each of us is on our own journey and financial path.
Your saving goals are going to be different than mine. And that is okay!
The end goal is to be saving more than you were previously. So, comment below and let us know what you are saving for.
How to Use A Money Saving Chart
This money saving chart is a great tool for understanding where you are towards your goal.
More than likely, you want to place your chart in a very prominent place. Somewhere you need constant reminders to stay on track.
This chart is designed to help you save money.
Once you complete a square, line, or box, color in that section to show you finished it.
That way, you will steadily increase your savings over time!
Supplies Needed:
I truly believe tracking your savings goals come alive once you add some color. So, here are the supplies you need to get started.
Below are links to my favorite products 🙂
5 Tips to Help You Save More Money
There are a number of things you can do to help you save more money. Here are five tips to get you started:
1. Know Why You Are Saving
Remember, the best way to save money is when you have a purpose.
Make a list of your long-term financial goals and focus on achieving them first. This will give you something to work towards and stay motivated throughout the process!
2. Pay Yourself First
An easy way to start saving money is to pay yourself first.
Every time you get paid, put a small amount of your paycheck into savings before you spend it. By automatically transferring a fixed amount of money into savings or investments each month, you are guaranteeing you will hit your goals.
Then, you will always have money saved for emergencies and other important things.
It is not good to be tempted to spend the money sitting in your account. Move it to a savings or investment account and pay yourself first.
3. Set a Spending Limit:
It is important to set a spending limit for yourself and stick to it, even if you don’t want to.
If you are struggling financially, set a budget and make a plan to stick to it.
If you don’t, then you start a ridiculous cycle where you keep getting sucked back into spend-spend-spend, which leads to stressed-out, which leads to more spending.
The solution is to set a spending limit and stick with it.
4. Make Your Savings Automatic:
If you’re serious about saving money, you need to make it automatic.
That means that you have money automatically taken out of your paycheck and put into a savings account before you even see the cash. You can’t spend it if you never see it.
If a certain amount is taken out of your check each week, then you won’t even miss the money.
You can also set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to a savings account.
This is the best way to force yourself to save money and keep it out of sight, so you won’t miss it or spend it.
5. Make Saving Money Fun:
Saving money can be fun and it should be fun if you want to do it for the rest of your life!
One way to make saving money fun is to set up a savings challenge with friends.
Everyone puts in some money and at the end of the month, whoever has saved the most wins! You can also try to save money by playing games. For example, you can try to see how little money you can spend on a date or at the movies.
Top Fun Ways to Save Money:
6. Make Saving Money A Priority:
You can’t save money if you don’t make it a priority.
If saving money is important to you, then make time in your schedule for it.
Schedule savings just like you schedule meetings and other things. This is a planned date to move money and actually save!
If you want to save money, then make it a priority!
7. Increase Your Income
Increasing your income can be challenging.
However, it is more beneficial to increase the amount of money coming in rather than cutting more expenses.
You can also look into ways to make more money through side hustles or investments. Whatever route you choose, increasing your income can help improve your financial situation.
8. Track Spending:
There are a number of ways that you can increase your income without getting a second job. And many people enjoy this route, so your saving money tip.
You can start by evaluating your spending habits and looking for ways to cut back, like canceling unnecessary subscriptions or downgrading your cable plan.
It is important to track your spending in order to see where the money is going. You’ll be able to see what you’re spending on and then set a budget that includes only the essential expenses.
Avoid unnecessary expenses by being mindful of what you’re buying and where you’re spending your money.
9. Start Saving Early:
If you start saving early, it will be easier for you to save more money because you are in the habit of savings.
While we all cannot save at a young age, we can start now. That way you will have more saved up by the time you are older and ready to retire.
Saving money is very important in building up net worth.
With the help of compounding interest, you will reap the benefits of saving early.
10. Stay Positive
Last but not least, staying positive and motivated is key to saving money.
When you have a clear goal in mind and are determined to achieve it, it will be much easier to stick to your budget and save more money.
You have to stay motivated throughout your journey and staying positive will help your mindset and believe you can achieve anything!
Money Saving Chart Printable
There are many different ways to save money, and one great way to start is by using a printable money saving chart.
In our free resource library, you can find many free money saving charts printable to help get you started on your savings journey.
Above is an example of a chart that can be printed for saving money. Download your PDF copy.
Which Save Money Chart will You Use?
A savings chart plots out how much has been saved, thus allowing you to visualize how far you have come and have far you have left to reach your goal.
The whole concept of saving money is not a new idea, but you may want to break down your savings goals into smaller steps like cash goals, financial goals, and net worth goals.
More importantly, filling out this chart is a helpful way for personal finance to save money and gain more net worth.
The secret to saving money is in this easy step-by-step guide. What is the best way for you to save hundreds of dollars or even thousands? It’s all about planning and thinking ahead.
With this small guide in your hand, you’ll be able to save more than $100 a month and take the mystery out of saving money! Many of our readers save $10K in a year.
Start today and enjoy the benefits of living a richer life!
Know someone else that needs this, too? Then, please share!!
It looks like Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Billy Joel isn’t in such a New York state of mind these days.
The New York native recently listed his trophy property on the very posh Oyster Bay Harbor for a hefty $49 million.
The 26-acre estate, known as Middlesea, comprises the original 14-acre property the musician bought for $22.5 million in 2002 and the adjoining parcels he’s picked up over the years, according to the Wall Street Journal. It comes with more than 2,000 feet of frontage on Centre Island.
The highlight of the estate is an elegant, 20,000-square-foot main house with spectacular water views.
There are five bedrooms, six full baths, two half-baths, a playroom, a spa and hair salon, a bowling alley, and a wine cellar. There’s also an indoor pool, which Joel has covered up so he could use the space as a music room, because of its excellent acoustics, according to listing agent Bonnie Williamson, of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty.
Parts of the main house are being renovated and are expected to be completed within the next several months.
The estate also features a three-bedroom beach house, a three-bedroom guest apartment, and a four-bedroom gatehouse.
Other luxe amenities include a floating dock and boat ramp, two outdoor pools, and a helicopter pad.
You might be wondering why, after spending more than 20 years developing this trophy property so close to his hometown of Hicksville, also on Oyster Bay, the musician would let it go. The Journal reports that Joel, wife Alexis Roderick, and their two young children are spending more time in Florida.
Joel purchased a $22 million Florida estate in 2015 and reportedly owns a Sag Harbor, NY, property. So it appears the music titan will not be moving out of New York completely.
Joel, 74, is a multiple-Grammy winner and one of the world’s bestselling artists of all time.
A historic Manhattan townhouse that was among the very first to showcase the works of some of the most notable artists of the 20th century (including Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Cy Twombly) is now up for grabs in New York City.
Recently listed for $25 million, the massive property at 4 East 77th Street — whose first two floors currently host the Michael Werner gallery — was also home to prolific inventor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Maurice Kanbar, who famously invented Skyy Vodka while living here.
Now, the century-old residence is ready to add a new chapter to its storied history.
Compass agents Stacey Kanbar, Julie Kopel, and Leonard Steinberg have been enlisted to find the right buyer for this unique property, which is currently configured for mixed use (with commercial zoning on the first two floors) and has the potential to become one of the most significant single-family residences in all of New York City.
With a highly desirable address (it’s the first house off of Fifth Avenue), plenty of space (11,695 square feet, including the full-height cellar), and countless architectural details, the historic townhouse offers endless possibilities for reconfiguration.
The first two floors, currently housing the Michael Werner gallery, feature exquisite bowed windows that capture light from both the east and west sides, while the upper levels host four vacant residential units on floors 3 through 5.
The third floor hosts a luxurious full-floor apartment with north-facing Juliette balconies and a charming terrace on the east side. Two one-bedroom apartments adorn the fourth floor, while the fifth floor boasts a single floor-through apartment with a stunning 15′ x 19′ south-facing setback terrace, offering magnificent downtown views.
Future owners can choose to either keep the lower-level tenants and earn passive income, or turn the entire townhome into a massive single-family home again, as it was when originally built over a century ago. Renderings that accompany the listing show the many possibilities to transform this grand residence.
The storied history of 4 East 77th Street
4 East 77th Street was built near the end of America’s “Gilded Age,” an era of explosive economic growth and migration. It started at the end of Southern Reconstruction (1877) and lasted two decades. New York experienced an almost exponential population boom during this time, with numerous construction projects popping up all over the city.
SEE ALSO: Here’s the Estate that Served as Inspiration for “The Great Gatsby’s” Opulent House
In 1895, acclaimed developers Robert McCafferty and Richard W. Buckley added another project to the boom with this magnificent, five-story residence.
The 11,695-square-foot property still boasts its original marble façade and includes a full-height cellar.
Just west of the building, where East 77th opens onto Fifth Avenue, lies Manhattan’s Gold Coast district. This seven-block stretch of Fifth Avenue lies between 14th Street and Washington Square Park and is made up of several opulent historical buildings, including many hotels and mansions once belonging to some of New York’s wealthiest, most influential residents.
The buildings here have been impeccably maintained, and the owner of 4 East 77th will be just a walk or bike ride away from this elegantly preserved piece of New York history.
4 East 77th Street’s first owner, Benjamin J. Knower, bought it in 1897. Knower and his wife Mary Constance Allen were active members of New York’s “high society” and had close ties to Caroline Astor, the foremost New York socialite of the era.
It later housed the Leo Castelli gallery
By 1942, 4 East 77th Street had been converted into a multi-family townhouse.
This is when Leo Castelli, a prominent art dealer and a refugee from Nazi-occupied France, bought an apartment on the fourth floor.
You might not know Castelli’s name, but you’ve likely heard of the major 20th-century artists whose careers he helped launch or develop.
Those names include Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella, Claes Oldenberg, Cy Twombly, Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, Robert Morris, James Rosenquist, Bruce Nauman, Richard Serra, Joseph Kosuth, Lawrence Weiner, Salvatore Scarpitta, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns and Andy Warhol.
In 1957, in the living room of his fourth-floor apartment at 4 East 77th Street, Castelli opened the Leo Castelli Gallery. Castelli paid his artists using a stipend system that was groundbreaking for its time. It guaranteed the artists an income whether he used their work or not. This system allowed him to attract, discover and retain a vast stable of young, visionary talents.
Many of the gallery’s artists would get their first one-person shows right there on the fourth-floor living room at 4 East 77th Street.
SEE ALSO: Neil Patrick Harris’ impeccably restored house in Harlem sells for $6.99M, sets new record for the neighborhood
Castelli’s gallery helped shape America’s 20th-century tastes in art. Pop art, minimalism, and conceptual art largely owe their success to his gallery. Castelli also used his success at 4 East 77th Street to help initiate the contemporary art gallery system as it exists today.
The townhouse was also home to Skyy Vodka inventor Maurice Kanbar
Maurice Kanbar, a prolific inventor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, has owned the property since 1964.
During his residency at 77th Street, Kanbar invented Skyy Vodka, revolutionizing the spirits industry. But the popular drink is by no means his only creation; Kanbar’s numerous inventions also include a safety sheath for hypodermic needles and a cryogenic cataract remover.
Additionally, Kanbar (who passed away in 2022 at age 93) opened the Quad Cinema in Greenwich Village, the first multiplex cinema on the East Coast and the second in the United States. He furthered his impact on the arts by endowing the Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film and Television at NYU.
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Longtime readers may remember a few things about me:
At various times, I’ve studied to be a priest, a doctor, a teacher, and a financial advisor (though I was only two of those).
My posts can get so technical (okay, boring) that J.D. has to enliven them with cat pictures.
I’ve tried to lose weight over the past couple of years, and have concluded that reducing heft is very similar to building wealth.
Regarding the latter, I reported in January that I was down about 25 pounds in 18 months. Not bad — at least good enough to get me on public radio’s Marketplace (in case you’re dying to hear my nasally voice). Managing your cash and managing your flesh both start with giving up short-term pleasure for long-term gain.
This occurred to me again as I met earlier this summer with Ben Sterling, my office’s resident Wellness Fool. His scale told us that I had gained back almost seven of the pounds I had lost. I had still been exercising, but not as much and not as intensely, and I didn’t pay any attention to what I ate. Ben, in his wisdom, knew he had to give me more motivation — and given my financial background, he knew that motivator was money (though for me it’s the preservation of it, not the making gobs of it). So we made a bet: I would lose six percentage points of body fat by mid-September or I’d pay him $200 (which would go toward buying exercise equipment for the Fool office).
It got me motivated, but not quite enough — especially when it came to food. After all, it’s summer, a time of cookouts, gatherings, and vacations (and hot dogs, chips, ice cream, and fast food during road trips). Plus, I had three months; why rush things?
But then we did a check-in at the one-month mark, and my body fat percentage had actually gone up! So now I am trying to play catch-up. I exercise once or twice a day, attending cross-fit classes, watching P90X videos, riding my bike to work, dousing the gym rowing machine with sweat, and attending a weekly Kazaxe hour (sorta like Zumba) with these folks<. I also have cut out just about any food that isn’t P&P: produce and protein.
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As I flagellated myself for slacking that first month, I thought about how having three months for the goal didn’t create enough urgency. And then I thought: This is why people don’t save for retirement: There’s not enough urgency. But it’s even worse for retirement, because once people feel that urgency, it’s often too late.
This past weekend, the New York Times published an article by economist Theresa Gharducci, which claimed that “Seventy-five percent of Americans nearing retirement age in 2010 had less than $30,000 in their retirement accounts.” In esoteric financial terms, most of these people are screwed. Yes, some have sizeable, secure pensions, but not most of them. And yes, some will just have to work well into their 70s, which isn’t the worse thing in the world. However, that only works if you’re physically able to work, and many senior citizens aren’t. (I am compelled to point out that many of these health problems are due to poor health decisions compounded over decades, which is yet another way weight and wealth are related.)
If I had trouble with a goal that was a whopping three months away, is it any surprise that people lollygag about something that is three decades away?
Fear and Greed, Bit by Bit Despite my midsection deflation procrastination, I have been saving for retirement since age 25, and that’s when I was a teacher, so I wasn’t exactly rolling in the boodle. What got me to save back then for a goal four decades hence? A fear of financial privation and loss of control. You don’t want to hear my family history — and my family doesn’t want me to tell you — but suffice it to say that I had a front-row seat to visits from sheriffs, property repossessions, and debt collectors when I was a young-ish fellow.
Fear might not be the kick in the rear you need; perhaps salivating over future wealth inspires you to forgo some current spending. Whatever it is, finding what motivates you is the first step.
Then, as much as possible, break a long-term goal into short-term chunks. The sooner the goal, the easier this will be. If you want to pay off a credit card or buy a car in five years, it’s relatively easy — perhaps using an online savings calculator — to figure out an annual or semiannual goal. For retirement, it’s more complicated. I’ve written before about how to use a calculator to estimate whether you’re saving enough for retirement. While I think such a process is useful for everyone — and crucial for anyone at least in their early 50s — the truth is that the ability of a calculator to estimate your retirement needs declines the farther you are from retirement.
I have a colleague here at The Motley Fool who is in his early 40s and who has taken a different approach. He has three primary goals:
Remain debt-free, except for a mortgage
Pay off that mortgage in 15 years or sooner
Invest a specific amount each month
He has a spreadsheet that tracks his goals. What’s most interesting to me is #3. Retirement calculators assume you need a specific amount by a certain age to cover a certain retirement income. But the truth is, if you’re a couple of decades from retirement, you don’t really know what your investments will be worth, what your income needs will be, and how much money you’ll need to cover that income (especially given that no one really knows what Social Security and Medicare will look like in the 2030s or beyond).
As he told me:
It would be silly for me to guess what my $5,000 Roth contribution will be worth in 20 years. I can’t control what it will be worth, but I can make sure I have no debt, a paid-for condo, and consistent monthly paid-in capital [i.e., money that has been socked away, which in his case will be at least a few hundred thousand dollars absent any growth whatsoever].
No Potential Pain, No Aspirational Gain The final component is accountability, which for my health goal is that $200 bet with someone who will hold me to it. After this challenge is over, I plan to keep making bets with Ben — such as I can’t permit my body fat percentage to increase more than two percentage points or I owe him $200, with monthly check-ins. Otherwise, I fear it will be too easy to slide back. If you don’t have a fitness expert to make you put money on the waistline, make bets with your friends or use a site like Fatbet.net.
I suppose the same type of bet could be made about a financial goal, but for some reason, it seems counterproductive to make someone pay money if they’re already having trouble accumulating it. One option is determining an annual savings goal, which likely also entails an annual spending limit, so you could target either one — and make bets with friends that would involve you doing something embarrassing or repulsive to you (e.g., if you’re a Democrat, you put a Romney bumper sticker on your car; the Republicans get an Obama sticker; independents like me get both). Or use a site like TweetWhatYouSpend.com.
Or perhaps every six months, you sit down in a quiet space, and spend 10 minutes imagining — in explicit detail — what it must be like to be in your 60s with less than $30,000. That is motivation enough for me.
Plenty of real estate agents struggle to find clients their first year in the business. Still, there are some agents who manage to put up big numbers right from the start. Jacob Valdellon is one of them. In his first 13 months, Jacob closed 31 deals. On today’s podcast, Jacob shares exactly how he did it. Listen and learn how to capture and convert leads via social media, what script to use when seeking referrals, and where to find motivation when times are tough.
Listen to today’s show and learn:
Life in Rancho Cucamonga [1:45]
Jacob’s start in real estate in 2020 [1:59]
How Jacob chose his first brokerage [3:15]
What makes real estate special [5:07]
Jacob’s first listing [6:10]
Jacob’s sales stats [7:02]
What to expect on profit-share deals [8:58]
What turned Jacob’s life around [12:27]
How Jacob overcame ego and embraced being present [17:11]
SOS – A warning for agents who find fast success [22:13]
Life-changing events and books [26:32]
Where Jacob gets his deals now [28:34]
A simple script for getting referrals [30:23]
How to engage potential clients via social media [33:03]
A trick for creating high-quality real estate videos with ease [37:30]
Real estate topics to cover on social media [38:00]
Rapid-fire advice for new real estate agents [40:49]
Other sayings that helped guide Jacob’s success [43:29]
Jacob’s final thoughts for listeners [47:15]
Jacob Valdellon
Jacob Valdellon is a 24 year old Filipino American young entrepreneur, he grew up playing baseball since T-Ball and all the way until high school. His junior year of high school he was cut and decided to turn his passion from sports to business. He began his entrepreneur career at 19 years old and joined a Financial Marketing Company and was working as an inside sales agent for Keller Williams and Century 21. He went to his first Driven Event in 2018 and is now apart of our Ambiance Team. He’s here to give you Service for Lifetime. His passion for helping people, his meticulous attention to detail, and his willingness to go above and beyond to fight for his clients is what separates him as an AMAZING REAL ESTATE AGENT. His faith has continued to allow him to work from inspiration (in spirit) and will work tirelessly to get you into your dream home. His customer service and business candor is exceptional and will make you feel special when working with him. He has his friends at The Mortgage Guys to assist him to hold your hand through the entire sales transaction.
On his free time he enjoys working out, spending time with his family, he is the second eldest sibling of 5 brothers and sisters, and really loves to serve his community. He has coached the local little league teams for his little brother and continues to give back to his community through church. His mission in life is to empower others to empower others to live a happy, healthy, and wealthy life. His favorite quote, “Everything you want in this life already exists, all you have to do is go after it everyday relentlessly. There is a clear path to what you want so dream big and go after it!”
Related Links and Resources:
Thank You Rockstars! It might go without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway: We really value listeners like you. We’re constantly working to improve the show, so why not leave us a review? If you love the content and can’t stand the thought of missing the nuggets our Rockstar guests share every week, please subscribe; it’ll get you instant access to our latest episodes and is the best way to support your favorite real estate podcast. Have questions? Suggestions? Want to say hi? Shoot me a message via Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or Email. -Aaron Amuchastegui
One of the newest mortgage lenders out there goes by the name “Wesley Mortgage,” an ode to the founder of the Methodist Church, John Wesley.
Despite being basically brand new, they are already the “Official Mortgage Provider of the Tennessee Titans” football team.
They also claim to be one of America’s top 500 fastest growing companies, which aligns with their mission to speed up the home loan process using the latest technology.
The company also happens to be located across town from Churchill Mortgage, which is Dave Ramsey’s preferred mortgage lender.
Let’s discover more about this newcomer to see if they can shake things up in the mortgage industry.
Wesley Mortgage Fast Facts
A direct-to-consumer mortgage lender
Offers home purchase loans and mortgage refinances
Founded in 2021, headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee
Currently licensed in four states: AL, KY, SC, and TN
Official mortgage provider of the Tennessee Titans
Wesley Mortgage is a new direct-to-consumer mortgage lender based out of Franklin, Tennessee that will operate under the “Wesley” umbrella.
Nashville-based entrepreneur Chuck McDowell also runs several other businesses under the name, including Wesley Financial Group and Wesley Insurance, LLC.
Interestingly, his main business is timeshare exits, and they’ve apparently eliminated more than $250 million in so-called timeshare mortgage debt.
If they can do that, there’s a good chance they can get you a mortgage too, as I’d say the former is probably one of the trickier things to wrangle out of.
Anyway, despite launching back in September, they’re already growing fast and headed by mortgage veteran Ed Wallace.
They’re currently licensed in four states, including Alabama, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
However, they have plans to be in all 50 states within 18 to 24 months, with licenses already submitted in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.
How to Apply with Wesley Mortgage
To get started, you can either call them up or visit their website. If you go online, there’s what amounts to a lead form that you can fill out.
Once submitted, a loan officer will contact you to discuss your goals, eligibility, and loan pricing.
If you like what you hear, you can apply for a mortgage online using some of the newest technology available.
Their digital mortgage application is powered by Wipro Gallagher. It allows borrowers to complete the form with minimal data entry and auto-populate things like credit, asset, and income information.
You can upload documents, e-Sign disclosures, compare products and rates, and monitor the progress of your loan as it makes its way through underwriting.
Additionally, Wesley Mortgage customers get a single point-of-contact to walk them through every step of the loan process.
This differs from other lenders that hand off the borrower to a processor, an underwriter, a closer, and so on.
In a recent press release, Wallace referred to this as “white glove” treatment. Aside from allowing for better communication, it could simplify things for the borrower and speed up the process.
Along with that, Wesley Mortgage has pushed underwriting to the front of the process to generate approvals quicker and hit turn times faster than traditional lenders.
All of this should make the home loan process a little less painful, and perhaps cheaper as well if they can leverage the latest tech.
Loan Programs Offered by Wesley Mortgage
Home purchase loans
Mortgage refinances: rate and term and cash out
Conforming loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Jumbo loans
Non-QM loans
Wesley Mortgage offers both home purchase loans and refinance loans, including cash out refinances if you wish to tap your home equity.
They say you can get up to $1 million in home equity, which certainly puts them in the jumbo loan realm.
Borrowers with cheaper properties and/or smaller loan amounts can also take out a conforming mortgage backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
The company also expects to gain FHA and VA approval soon (if it hasn’t already), meaning you’ll be able to obtain an FHA loan or VA loan.
And those who have situations outside the norm might be able to take advantage of a non-QM loan, which are typically reserved for those with unique loan scenarios.
The only major loan type they appear to be missing at the moment is the USDA loan, geared toward those in rural areas of the country.
My assumption is both fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages are available in a variety of different loan terms.
Wesley Mortgage Rates
At the moment, Wesley Mortgage does not openly publicize its mortgage rates online. In order to get today’s pricing, you’ll need to get in contact with a licensed loan officer.
The same goes for lender fees – they don’t mention them on their website, so be sure to ask about any application fee, loan origination fee, and so on.
While convenience and technology are great, so is a low-priced mortgage that you can keep for the next 30 years.
Hopefully they’ll provide more pricing information online in the near future as they continue to expand nationally.
Wesley Mortgage Reviews
Because they’re basically a few months old, their customer reviews are few and far between.
However, they’ve got a 4.94/5-star rating on Zillow from about 20 reviews, many of which say the interest rate obtained was lower than expected.
It’s obviously not a lot to go on, but at least it’s a good start. I will update this page when more reviews come in.
While they aren’t yet on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website, their sister company Wesley Financial has a solid 4.85/5 customer rating from about 800 reviews.
And the company has an ‘A+’ rating based on complaint history. So hopefully the mortgage venture follows suit.
To sum things up, Wesley Mortgage appears to be an ambitious young mortgage lender with its sights set on becoming a household name, especially in Tennessee.
Their focus on customer service coupled with the latest technology could make them a good choice, whether you’re buying your first home or refinancing an existing mortgage.
The only question mark is their pricing, and it will take time to see how they deliver on their promise to fix the complex mortgage process.
See other top Tennessee mortgage lenders to consider in your home loan search.
Wesley Mortgage Pros and Cons
The Pros
Offer a digital mortgage application that is mostly paperless
Can apply for a home loan online using the latest technology
Home buyers can get pre-qualified in just 15 minutes
Customers get one point of contact for the entire loan process
Offer a good variety of loan programs including jumbos and non-QM options
Parent company is well-liked and has lots of excellent reviews