Make Investing Simple Whether you’re putting away your first $1,000 or have been saving for the future for years, you’re going to want to consider investing your funds at some point. Doing so will allow you to maximize returns and exponentially grow your savings. Unfortunately, the investment process can be pretty intimidating, especially if you are starting out on your own. It’s hard to know how to begin, where to invest, how to balance your portfolio and even what sort of fees you should expect to pay along the way. That’s where the convenience and ease of today’s best investment apps can come into play. [youmaylike] What are Investment Apps? Once upon a time, your only choice for investing was to pick up the phone and call your stock broker to initiate a trade. You were charged for the service, either based on commission or as a flat fee per transaction. While stock brokers are still an option, you can take investing into your own hands these days, without ever needing to talk to another human. And it’s all thanks to investment apps and platforms. Today’s apps offer a range of services and features. With them, users can: Research funds and individual stocks. View fees and expenses related to investment choices. Invest funds on the go, and even automate regular contributions. Automatically reinvest earnings on current investments. Adjust portfolio for personal risk tolerance. View performance projections. Choose funds or individual stocks that align with personal beliefs, through portfolios based on socially-responsible missions. The best part? Investing through trusted apps is usually cheaper and faster and you’ll have instant access to your portfolio/reports at any time of day. Not only that, but you’ll also be able to set your investment risk tolerance, rebalance your portfolio and even reinvest earnings automatically. Who are Investment Apps Designed For? Whether you’ve been playing the market for ages or are ready to invest your first $100, the right investment app is worth considering. For those new to the stock market, apps will simplify the process and put the power of investing at your fingertips… literally. From your phone or computer, you can easily see portfolio recommendations based on your own goals, savings plans and even risk tolerances. The right app will tell you upfront how much you can expect to spend in fees throughout the year, and can even allow you to automate many of the more confusing aspects, such as picking well-performing stocks or even rebalancing. While investment apps are ideal for beginners, newbies aren’t the only ones who will see the benefits. Even seasoned investors will find the process easy to use, and may even learn that these platforms can maximize returns (and save them money in fees) along the way. Not to mention, many investment apps offer additional insight into specific funds, so you can choose to invest in companies that align with your own passions and beliefs. Now that you know why you should consider using an investment app for your own savings, let’s take a look at some of the best ones available today. Best Investment Apps Great for Beginners: Acorns Fees and expenses: For investors with less than $1 million invested, fees are between $1-3 per month depending on the account option you choose. Acorns is also free for college students. Beginning investment requirement: At least $5 to start Types of investments available: ETFs (exchange-traded funds) Portfolio options: Conservative, Moderately Conservative, Moderate, Moderately Aggressive, Aggressive Automatic investing?: Yes Automatic reinvesting?: Yes Automatic rebalancing?: Yes If you want an easy, hands-off approach to investing that won’t leave your head spinning, Acorns is a great first choice. This app not only simplifies investing for beginners but allows investors to completely automate the process from start to finish. After connecting the app to your debit card, the app will “round up” each of your daily purchases, putting the savings into an investment holding account. Once you reach the minimum required, Acorns will invest this money on your behalf, based on your account preferences. The app will also reinvest your earnings, as well as rebalance your portfolio when necessary. Great for Truly Free Investing: Robinhood Fees and expenses: Robinhood is a free investment platform in every sense of the word, pledging to never charge company fees or commissions to customers. Beginning investment requirement: You’ll need $2,000 to get started. Types of investments available: ETFs, stocks, cryptocurrency and options. Portfolio options: Interest-based options such as Fashion ETF, Tech ETF and Energy ETF, as well as a standard S&P 500 ETF, all with personal risk tolerance settings. You’ll also find “collections,” which are individual stocks grouped according to specific interests — such as companies with female CEOs or that are in the social media sector. Automatic investing: No. Automatic reinvesting: No. Automatic rebalancing: Yes. A great option for beginners and experienced investors alike, Robinhood makes the process both easy and affordable. How affordable? Well, it’s entirely free. By offering a truly free experience, Robinhood saves investors some serious cash over time. Additionally, the platform makes it easy to choose individual stocks or ETFs based on personal interests. If you want to invest in cryptocurrency or options, you can also do so through Robinhood. One of the biggest limitations of the platform, though, is its automation. While you can set up automatic deposits into your account, you will need to manually invest those funds and then reinvest (or withdraw) your dividends. Stash Fees and expenses: $1 per month fee for those with less than $5,000 invested, or $2 per month for retirement accounts with less than $5,000. For users under 25, fees on retirement accounts are waived. If you have more than $5,000 invested, your fee will be 0.25% annually. Beginning investment requirement: You’ll need at least $5 to begin investing (fractional shares are available) Types of investments available: ETFs (exchange-traded funds) and fractional stock shares Portfolio options: Too many to name, ranging from things you Want (portfolios that are conservative to aggressive mixes), things you Believe (such as groups of companies that believe in clean energy, LGBT rights, etc.), and things you Like (tech, retail and social media companies). Automatic investing: Yes. Automatic reinvesting: No. Automatic rebalancing: No. The closest competitor to Acorns, Stash seeks to make investing easy for everyone, regardless of your goals and passions. They have three account options to choose from, allowing you to manage your investment and retirement accounts, or even a child’s education savings through custodial accounts. With Auto-Stash, you can set any number of automatic investment options and transfers. However, Stash will not rebalance your portfolio for you, nor will they reinvest dividends on your behalf. Wealthfront Fees and expenses: 0.25% annually. Beginning investment requirement: $500 minimum initial investment. Types of investments available: ETFs (exchange-traded funds), individual stocks, retirement accounts (401k, IRA), 529 savings plans and trusts. Portfolio options: 11 asset classes to choose from, including natural resources and real estate. Automatic investing: Yes. Automatic reinvesting: Yes. Automatic rebalancing: Yes. Wealthfront’s investment platform is designed to be friendly for users of all experience levels. If you’re a seasoned investor, you’ll enjoy all of the options available to you, including the ability to manage your retirement accounts, education savings and even non-profits or trusts. If you’re a newbie, their free financial expertise center is the perfect place to learn all about investing and your future. TD Ameritrade Fees and expenses: The managed, automatic portfolio investment option (called Essential Portfolios) is available with a 0.30% advisory fee. Beginning investment requirement: $5,000 minimum for managed portfolios (no minimum requirement for traditional trading). Types of investments available: Stocks, ETFs, options, mutual funds, futures, bonds/CDs, Forex and cryptocurrency. Portfolio options: Essential Portfolios (EP) offer investors a range of options from Conservative to Aggressive, based on your passions, preferences and tolerances. Automatic investing: Yes, with EP. Automatic reinvesting: Yes. Automatic rebalancing: Yes. A more traditional brokerage app, TD Ameritrade is one of the most recognizable names in the industry. You can easily educate yourself on all things financial, thanks to their free videos and posts. If you want a traditional experience, you can choose your trades and pay per transaction. Prefer a more streamlined, automated approach? Opt for their Essential Portfolios, a hands-off investment option (robo-advisor) that charges a flat monthly fee and requires little-to-no oversight from you. Plus, their app makes the investing process easier than ever with a user-friendly interface, price alerts and no minimum to get started. If you prefer a desktop experience, this is also available to you through TD Ameritrade. Bottom Line Getting started with investing can be intimidating. With all of the terminology and account options out there, it’s easy to want to run and hide. Thanks to some of today’s best investment apps, though, you can not only get started with your first portfolio but also watch your money quickly grow… no matter how much of a beginner you may be! It’s important to choose an app that offers you the portfolio options and features you want most, with fees and deposit minimums that match your financial needs. The five apps above are our favorites for beginners, making that first foray into investing easier than ever before. The hardest part will be choosing the one you love most!
How to Save Money Each Month
With COVID-19 ravaging the economy and millions of Americans out of work, it’s little wonder why so many of us are worried about our finances. Sure, government stimulus checks and unemployment insurance help, but they often don’t do enough to replace our whole salary.
Even folks with secure jobs are starting to tighten their belts. After all, the future looks anything but secure. It’s best to act now and top up your savings rather than waiting until it’s too late.
Another reason why it’s the perfect time to take a closer look at your personal finances and learn how to save money each month is because many people now have a little extra time on their hands. Rather than firing up Netflix for the 40th time, take this opportunity to save a little cash.
Let’s take a closer look at a few different ways you can easily save a few bucks. Implement all these tips and you might end up saving a thousand dollars – or more – each month going forward!
Groceries
Most of us should focus on their big three expenses, which are food, transportation and housing. That’s where most savings will come from.
Let’s start with food. Many people are already off to a good start in this department by making more meals at home. This tip alone can easily save a family a few hundred dollars each month, depending on how often they end up picking up takeout.
But it isn’t just enough to go to the grocery store. I know I’ve often walked out of my local supermarket with ingredients that cost about as much as a restaurant meal.
The secret to saving big money grocery shopping is to stick to your local grocer’s loss leaders. These are items the company prices at less than their cost to get people in the door. The hope is customers buy enough to make up for the loss on a few cheap items.
Your goal should be ensuring the grocery store only makes a minimum profit off you. Ideally, you’ll want the store to lose money every time you walk in. Repeat this process at every grocery store within a reasonable drive.
To really save money on groceries will take a whole new mindset. Many people plan their meals for the week and then start making a grocery list. You’ll want to turn this process around, and meal plan based on what the store has on sale.
Say the big deal this week is on chicken breasts. You can make several different meals using this protein. Switching it up is important, or else you’ll get bored and end up with pizza delivery.
Finally, talk to the staff while you’re shopping. Ask if they have any interesting deals this week. Sometimes a store will be clearing out an item for pennies on the dollar.
Transportation
Many people aren’t going to feel comfortable using public transit for a very long time, which means you’ll need to find ways to save money on your car.
An easy tip today is to simply call your insurance company and request a new quote based on the smaller number of miles driven. Savings of $50 or $100 per month using this strategy aren’t uncommon.
I’d recommend taking this a step further and shopping your car insurance to multiple different companies each year. The last time I did this I saved close to $250 on both mine and my wife’s car.
Fuel is relatively cheap right now, so that’s a plus. Good driving habits can also help keep your fuel costs down. Make sure your tires are at the right pressure and don’t speed. You’ll gain a little fuel economy that way, which can really add up if you put on a lot of miles.
Housing Costs
Whether you rent or have a mortgage, there are steps you can take to reduce the cost of housing.
If you don’t own, it’s time to ask your landlord for a reduction in rent. It never hurts to ask, right? If the answer is no, keep an eye on local vacancies that might be offered for less.
It’ll take more work to save on your monthly housing costs if you own a house, but it’ll likely be worth it. Mortgage rates are dirt cheap right now, thanks to low interest rates in place to help boost the economy. Refinancing can easily cut thousands of dollars in interest costs off a 15 or 30-year loan. Crunch the numbers; you might be pleasantly surprised.
There are also some interesting ways to save inside your home as well. The easiest utility to save money on is your internet package. Call up your provider and threaten to leave unless you get a better rate. Depending on how expensive your internet is today, a savings of $50 or even $100 per month is possible.
Next, if applicable, do the same thing for your cable TV package and home phone. Perhaps take a closer look at bundling those services if possible.
Don’t just stop there. The next step is to research lower cost cell phone plans. This avenue is especially promising if your phone is more than a couple years old. Resist the temptation to upgrade, especially if your phone still works fine.
Like with car insurance, today is a great time to look at switching home insurance providers. Again, look at bundling options. Many insurers give a deal if you have multiple policies with the same company.
Pay Off Debt
For many people, consumer debt takes a big bite of their disposable income. An uncertain economy can provide great motivation to get your personal balance sheet under control.
Getting rid of debt isn’t just about the interest saved each month. It also frees up precious cash flow that can be reallocated to other uses.
Say you owe $10,000 on a credit card and you’re paying $500 per month towards it. The interest rate is 1.5% each month, or $150. You’re only saving $150 per month by paying this debt off completely, yet you’ll free up $500. That cash can be used in any number of different ways.
How to Save Money Each Month: The Bottom Line
Jobs are uncertain, especially right now. But you can control your spending.
Today is the perfect time to take a serious look at your finances and make a few cuts. It doesn’t even have to include much sacrifice, either. Many of these savings are completely painless, and most aren’t really big changes. Chances are, the steps for how to save money each month will be easier to implement than you think.
Any sacrifice will be worth it, especially if you’re in a tight spot. It’s empowering to take control of your financial future, even if you can’t control your own career destiny.