Useful tools I discovered that helped me save money, earn interest and invest without effort
Some of us have trouble saving enough money to reach our goals. After working hard for several months, I realized I didn't have any savings and all my money was going towards my personal needs and those of my babies. It was very disappointing not having a nest egg for a rainy day, to reach goals, or just to know I had some money saved up earning interest or invested. If you want to learn how to Save and Invest Money Easily, keep reading!
Tool #1 - Acorns for Effortless Investing
Acorns is a financial app that allows you to save money and invest. Designed for individuals who want to start investing but may have limited knowledge or resources, Acorns simplifies the process by automating savings and investing. It is ideal for beginners, which means you don't have to be an investment expert at all! And you can control the settings, so you can decide how much you want to invest, the risk level and even the amount and time periods in which you wish to invest.
It operates on the principle of "Micro-investing". It rounds up your everyday purchases to the nearest dollar to invest the spare change. For example, if you buy a coffee for $2.50, Acorns will automatically invest the remaining $0.50. This approach allows you to gradually build up savings and investments without even thinking about it.
Why I love Acorns:
Acorns makes investing effortless. You install the app, sign up, link your account, select your investment preferences, and that's it! The app takes care of the rest. This automated approach eliminates the need for active investment decisions and makes it easy to start investing, even with small amounts. Acorns allows you to set recurring contributions to your investment account. You can choose daily, weekly, or monthly deposits, which can be as low as $5. This "set-it-and-forget-it" approach helps you develop a consistent savings habit and steadily grow your investment portfolio over time.
You can monitor the status and progress anytime, and withdraw your funds too. However, I personally made it a goal to never touch my invested money, and let it compound (which means the interest earned gets reinvested, producing a snowball effect). In my personal case, I was very surprised when only one year later, I had saved up THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS without any effort at all, and without even thinking about it. You just set it up, and forget about it, just let it run. The tool even makes a projection of how many dollars you will have saved and invested across the years. It's impressive!
Other cool benefits:
Found Money Program: Acorns has a Found Money program that offers cash-back rewards for purchases made with partner brands. When you shop with these brands, they contribute a percentage of your purchase directly into your Acorns investment account.
Education and Guidance: Acorns provides educational resources and articles to help you enhance your financial knowledge.
Acorns Later and Acorns Spend: Acorns Later is a retirement account option that allows you to invest for the long term. Acorns Spend is a checking account that integrates with your investment account, providing a seamless experience.
The company also assures it is safe. Acorns Invest, Later & Early accounts are SIPC-protected up to $500,000. For details, please visit www.sipc.org. Acorns checking accounts are FDIC-insured up to $250,000, plus fraud protection, 256-bit data encryption, and all-digital card lock. Learn more about how FDIC protection works at www.fdic.gov.
Tool #2 - Worthy Investments
This is also one of my favorite tools! I have been able to save money without effort and see it grow using Worthy. It is money I do not touch, and which is returned to your account once those bonds mature.
Worthy Investments is an investment platform that allows you to earn interest on your money by investing in small business bonds, starting with as little as $10. By investing in these bonds, individuals can earn a fixed interest rate (currently 5%) on their investment over a specific term. This interest rate is set and remains constant throughout the term of the bond, providing stability and predictability. The interest is compounded too, which is wonderful, because you earn interest on your earned interest.
Also, by investing in Worthy bonds, you are making an impact. Worthy Investments focuses on providing funding to small businesses in need of capital. By investing in their bonds, you can contribute to the growth and success of these businesses, playing a role in supporting entrepreneurship and local economies.
Investing in Worthy Investments allows you to diversify your investment portfolio. By including small business bonds alongside other investment assets, such as stocks or bonds, you can spread your risk and potentially enhance your overall returns.
Easy and Transparent: Worthy Investments simplifies the investment process. Their platform is user-friendly, making it easy to open an account, invest, and track your earnings. They also provide transparent information about the businesses you're supporting, giving you a clear understanding of where your money is being invested.
Its accessible and easy investment options, fixed interest rates, diversification potential, and user-friendly platform make it an attractive choice for those looking to grow their wealth while making a positive impact.
Tool #3 - Varo Bank - High Yield Savings & No Fees
I love Varo Bank. Interestingly enough, I was attracted to it because "Varo" in Mexico means "Money". I thought that was pretty funny, and I was looking for a no-fee bank, because I was tired of getting charged bank fees all the time with my old bank. And I liked the purple card.
I soon discovered that Varo Bank is awesome. It is a modern, online-only bank that offers a range of financial services and benefits. It provides a convenient and user-friendly banking experience, accessible through its mobile app and website. Varo Bank's mobile app allows you to manage your accounts, make transfers, deposit checks, and perform other banking activities on the go. The app provides a seamless and intuitive interface, giving you full control of your finances from the palm of your hand. Other benefits of varo are:
No Hidden Fees, no monthly maintenance fees, no minimum balance requirements, and no foreign transaction fees, allowing you to save more of your hard-earned money.
Super high APY High-Yield Savings Account: By keeping your savings with Varo Bank, you can earn more on your money and watch your savings grow faster. In my personal experience, it is currently one of the highest yield savings account, and unlike other banks, doesn't require you to have tons of money or crazy requirements to start earning up to 5% APY! With this, you just keep your savings here and make money in your sleep, and watch your money grow!
Early Direct Deposit: Varo Bank provides early access to your paycheck with its Early Direct Deposit feature. You can receive your pay up to two days in advance.
Save your Pay: Every time you receive a payment, you can decide to save a percentage of it. Varo will transfer that percentage to your savings account to start earning interest.
Varo Visa® Debit Card: This card can be used for purchases worldwide and offers features like zero liability for unauthorized transactions and the ability to lock or unlock your card instantly through the app.
Fee-Free ATMs: Varo Bank provides fee-free access to over 55,000 Allpoint® ATMs across the United States.
Credit Building through the Varo Believe Card.
Financial Insights: Varo Bank's app provides personalized financial insights and tips to help you better manage your money. You can track your spending, set savings goals, and receive helpful recommendations to make informed financial decisions.
Zelle® is integrated in the app.
By choosing Varo Bank, you can enjoy a modern banking experience that empowers you to take control of your finances, save money, and achieve your financial goals.
Tool #3 - Chime Debit & Savings
Chime, a digital banking platform, offers similar benefits as Varo, but is a bit more popular. With Chime, you can enjoy the convenience of mobile banking and access a variety of features that make your financial life easier. Chime provides a user-friendly mobile app and website that allow you to manage your finances from anywhere, anytime.
Honestly, Chime is a wonderful option, but I prefer Varo. However, I use both to move my money around, because I love the convenience of Chime being more popular and therefore more easy to use with other banks, although Varo's popularity is increasing rapidly.
Here are some key benefits of using Chime:
Like Varo, Chime offers fee-free Banking: you can say goodbye to monthly maintenance fees, minimum balance requirements, overdraft fees, and foreign transaction fees. This fee-free approach helps you save money and keep more of your hard-earned cash.
Early Direct Deposit: Chime enables you to receive your paycheck up to two days earlier than traditional banks. With Early Direct Deposit, you can access your funds sooner, which can be particularly beneficial when you need to cover immediate expenses or bills.
Chime Visa® Debit Card: This card can be used for purchases online and in-store, and it also provides fee-free access to a vast network of ATMs. Chime's debit card is equipped with security features like transaction alerts and the ability to instantly block your card if needed.
Automatic Savings through Round-ups: Chime also offers an Automatic Savings feature that helps you build savings effortlessly.
High-Yield Savings Account: The account offers a competitive interest rate, helping your money grow faster compared to traditional savings accounts with lower rates. It currently is 2% APY.
Mobile Banking Features: You can easily check your account balance, track spending, set up alerts, transfer funds, pay bills, and send money to friends and family with just a few taps on your smartphone.
Overdraft Protection: Chime's SpotMe feature offers overdraft protection for eligible customers.
Chime Credit Builder: Chime offers a program designed to help you establish or improve your credit score.
Tool #5 - Fetch Rewards
A fun and great way to actually MAKE money out of thin air, is Fetch Rewards. It lets users earn points by scanning their receipts from grocery stores, restaurants, and other retailers. These points can then be redeemed for a variety of rewards, such as gift cards to popular retailers. I have personally made between $30 to $100 in a year, just for scanning receipts. I know, it sounds like very little, but who gives you money for free? For something as easy as taking a picture of a receipt with your phone?
In my case, I like to get gift cards for Amazon and Marshalls, two of my favorite places to shop!
Getting rewards is very easy, and for some brands you get extra points. For every 10,000 points you get about $10, depending on where you choose to use your points. Fetch Rewards accepts receipts from almost anywhere too. You will receive a minimum of 25 points for each receipt. And those points build up fast, especially when you scan your grocery receipts!
The interface is very user-friendly and intuitive, easy to navigate, and quick to use. At first, I must admit I was a bit lazy to take a pic of my receipts or would forget. But after I got my first $10 gift card, I was pumped! and I started scanning all my receipts with my phone. The best tip I can give you is: Do it right away, the moment you get a receipt.
Final Disclaimer - I'm not a financial Guru, but it works!
I only knew the basics, and this is not financial advice... but I have always been interested in passive income and earning interest, as well as investing. After watching the movie Limitless in 2011, it became a bit of an obsession to learn more about this. I am still learning today, but I know by personal experience the effect that these tools have had on my finances and savings.