EAST STROUDSBURG — Gigabit-speed cable internet has gone live for parts of Monroe County, the AcceleratePA coalition announced during a Friday meeting at Dansbury Depot. Blue Ridge Communications has debuted a broadband service that boasts download speeds of one billion bits per second.“This is probably one of the biggest rural broadband projects in the country,” said Kelly Lewis, a former State Rep. and current president of technology procurement firm Lewis [...]
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السبت، 18 نوفمبر 2017
Law protects Mount Airy from more competition
Mount Airy finally caught a break.After being treated as a stepchild in the Pennsylvania gaming mix, a new law allowing satellite casinos will insulate the Paradise Township casino resort from nearby competition.As if it doesn’t already have it.The state assembly passed a bill two weeks ago that allows, among other things, the licensure of 10 additional casinos. Smaller in size, these satellite casinos cannot be located within 25 linear miles from another [...]
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Behind on Your Retirement Savings? These Experts Explain How to Catch Up
Life comes at you fast.
One day, you’re 20 years old with a bright future ahead of you.
Next thing you know, you’re 50 and realize you’re not saving enough for retirement.
Hey, don’t be embarrassed — tt happens to a lot of us. Only about 60% of Americans are confident they’re saving enough to retire comfortably, according to a recent Capital One survey. And that figure has gone down 10% in just two years.
It’s never too late to boost your retirement savings. But you shouldn’t put it off any longer.
“Fifty is a pivotal age,” says Ryan McPherson, founder of Intelligent Worth, a financial planning firm in Atlanta. “You’re 10 to 15 years away from retirement and still have enough time to make major changes if needed.”
So what should you do if you’re in your 50s and your 401(k) account isn’t up to par? We asked a bunch of professional financial planners.
Here’s what they told us:
1. Sock Away More, Get Free Money
For starters, you absolutely, definitely need to take full advantage of your employer’s matching contribution to your 401(k) plan.
“Take advantage of your full company match,” says Jeff Dixson, a financial adviser in Vancouver, Washington, who hosts a radio show called the Retirement Coach. “If they match 3%, contribute 3%. If they match 6%, try to get to 6%. That’s free money. There’s nowhere else you’re going to get free money.”
2. Catch Up After 50
“Individuals who are age 50 or over at the end of the calendar year can make annual catch-up contributions,” says David McCormick-Goodhart, a financial adviser with Savant Capital Management in McLean, Virginia.
In 2018, the federal government will raise the personal 401(k) contribution max from $18,000 to $18,500 annually. People in their 50s and 60s can contribute an extra $6,000 per year — if they’re able to.
3. Make a Plan, Man
Sit down with someone who specializes in retirement income planning, suggests Dixson, the financial adviser in Vancouver, Washington.
“The whole point of saving for retirement in the first place is to build a nest egg that you can eventually turn into consistent monthly income,” he says. “Wouldn’t it make sense to figure out how much you actually need to save rather than winging it?”
4. Reevaluate Your Spending
Write down everything you spend money on — and how much you spend.
“Circle the discretionary items that bring you the most joy,” says McPherson, the Atlanta financial planner. “Next, circle the ones you could do without. Holding your income constant, something must be cut for you to save more.”
5. Don’t Be Too Conservative
People tend to get more conservative with their 401(k) as they age, putting more of their savings in bonds instead of stocks. And that makes sense. Stocks will generally give you a higher return than bonds, but they’re also more volatile and can suddenly drop in value.
Don’t get too conservative, though.
Robert Johnson, president of the American College of Financial Services in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, recommends embracing the risk of the stock market well into your 50s.
Since 1926, the average annual return is 10% for stocks, 6% for bonds and 3% for cash, he says.
“Investors in their 50s may not feel that their time horizon is long enough to invest in stocks, and that is a mistake,” Johnson says. “Having a significant allocation to stocks is advisable for most individuals in their 50s.”
6. Don’t Get Too Risky, Either
Don’t go crazy, though. Don’t get overly aggressive with stocks.
“One of the biggest mistakes I see people in their 50s who are behind on their retirement savings making is trying to play catch-up by taking on additional risk to make up for lost time,” says Desmond Henry, founder of Afflora Financial Life Planning in Topeka, Kansas. “Sure, the potential for higher returns is there, but so is the potential for loss.”
7. Get a Side Gig
“You’ll want to consider developing a second stream of income,” says Nathan Garcia, a financial planner with Strategic Wealth Partners in Fulton, Maryland.
“This income could be as little as $1,000 per month. However, that surplus could be beneficial for replacing income that is now being diverted into your 401(k). There are also significant tax advantages available to business owners, allowing them to write off ordinary expenses such as a cell phone, internet, transportation, etc.”
Need some ideas? Here are Penny Hoarder articles on “14 Leisurely Ways for Retirees to Make Extra Money in Their Spare Time” and “Awesome Ways Retirees Can Work From Home and Make Extra Cash.”
8. Watch Out For Hidden 401(k) Fees
Sadly, very few investors ever understand how much hidden fees are eroding their retirement nest egg,” says Chris Costello, CEO and Co-Founder of Blooom. The app will sniff out your hidden fees for you.
“An easy way to combat this is to use as many of the index fund offerings that might be available within your 401(k) plan,” Costello says. “These tend to have hidden fees that are a fraction of what actively managed funds are charging.”
Blooom will optimize and monitor your 401(k) for you. It’s a great way to find out if you’re overpaying on fees and have the appropriate amount invested in stocks versus bonds.
9. Be Prepared for Hard Choices
“Most people don’t start seriously saving until their kids are out college. Until then, retirement doesn’t seem real,” says Garcia, the Maryland financial planner.
“If your kids are still in college, consider allowing them to pay for their education with student loans so you can divert savings to your retirement. There are loans for college. There are none for retirement.”
Frightened yet?
It’s OK. It’ll be OK.
You still have time to turn things around if you set your mind to it.
Remember the bottom line:
“If you’re not willing to save more or decrease your desired standard of living in retirement,” says Dixson, “you’ll be forced to work longer.”
Mike Brassfield (mike@thepennyhoarder.com) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. He does not have enough saved for retirement.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
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Developing a Real Plan for a Better Life
For the last few years, I’ve done something of an “end of the year” review of my life. I take some time to sit down, take authentic stock of my life, look at what the last year has changed about me and my life, and figure out where I want to go from here.
I do this in the form of a written “life plan.” I invest the time to actually write out my thoughts of where I am in each important part of my life and where I want to go in the future (with “the future” being a bit vague but somewhere in the five to ten year range).
The first time I did this, I followed a scripted recipe based on what I picked up from a few personal development books and I didn’t really feel it. In fact, I more or less dropped the idea after I did it – it didn’t really have any impact on me and I just filed it away and went on with my life.
It wasn’t until I tried it again the next year in my own way, and then revised it again in my third attempt the following year, that I really hit upon something meaningful. That third attempt was at the end of last year and I felt that it led me into a deeply meaningful year.
Over the past year, I feel like I’ve really moved forward in positive ways in almost every area of my life, and I attribute that to having made a really great life plan at the end of last year. It’s something that I’m really relishing this year, so I thought now would be a great time to discuss what I did last year, what impact it had, and what I intend to do this year.
My “Life Plan”
In roughly November of last year, I took two half days and set them aside to write a draft of a life plan. The purpose of this plan was to simply outline what I wanted out of life in several major areas.
The actual process was simple. I simply made a list of the major areas of my life and then wrote out where I thought I was in each area – what was good, what was bad, what made me happy, what made me sad.
Then, for each area, I wrote out a description of what my life would look like in five or ten years or so if I saw some significant success in that area – nothing world-breaking, but something I’d be very happy with. I tried to focus on changes that would be largely under my own control.
After that, I tried to make a list of five to ten specific things I need to do to move my life from where it is right now to that vision of a good future. What action steps and projects would I need to take on?
I wrote out this plan entirely in longhand in a notebook, and I did it in mid-November of last year. I then put that first draft of a plan away in a desk drawer and pulled it out a month later, close to the holidays, and I revised it. What I found was that during the month, I actually thought a lot about what I had written and I revised the plan significantly, eliminating some unrealistic bits, adding some details, modifying the action steps, and so on.
I then simply embarked on several of those actions and projects, intentionally choosing ones I was excited about and that hit upon multiple areas at once. I made a big list of about ten of them and decided that this year would be the year of those things.
Each and every day, I took a look at that list of things I wanted to get out of this year. I thought about what I could do today to move each of those things forward. It became something of a morning routine for me.
So, what did I achieve this year? A few tidbits:
We had the best family vacation we’ve ever had, thanks to a lot of detailed planning and extra effort from me.
I lost about 25 pounds and got myself into much better physical shape thanks to starting taekwondo.
I read more books in a year than I ever have before since I started counting them, and many of the books were deep and meaningful.
I built up and reinforced a bunch of relationships and reconnected with several old friends.
I completely revised my professional routines in a way that feels much more fulfilling.
Our family’s net worth hit an all time high.
I attribute almost all of those things to my life plan for the year that I started last November, and now I’m about to start the process all over again.
So, how can you do this? Let’s take a look!
The Areas of Life
The first part of all of this is to commit some devoted time to doing this. While it’s great to give this process some off-the-cuff thoughts, the whole plan turns out far better and far more realistic and meaningful if you actually wall off some time to make a good plan. This year, I’m devoting a full “workday” to writing a first draft and a half day to revising it.
One thing you can do to get ready for your session is to think about the key areas of your life. There are lots of lists of such areas and I think different lists work well for different people. For me, there are ten areas I really care about.
Physical refers to the state of my body. Do I feel good when I wake up? Do I have plenty of energy? Am I happy with how I look?
Mental refers to the state of my mind. Am I content with my life or envious of what others have? Do I have control over my thoughts and emotions? Am I able to focus when I need to?
Spiritual refers to my sense of connectedness to the world and things bigger than myself. Do I understand of my place in the world? Do I operate with a clear sense of values and morals? Do I feel a sense of inner peace?
Social refers to my relationships with others. Are the relationships that matter most to me strong ones? Do I have a lot of solid relationships with a lot of people? Do I have a place in my community that I’m happy with?
Marital refers specifically to my relationship with my wife. Do we have a good marriage? Am I a good husband? Do I take the time to care for my wife in an appropriate way?
Parental refers to my relationship with my children. Am I a good parent? Do I have a strong relationship with each of my children? Am I using that relationship to build a backbone of strong values in my children?
Financial refers to the state of our money. Do we have clear long term financial goals? Are we making long term moves to approach those goals? Are we acting in the short term in a way that moves us closer to those goals?
Vocational refers to my professional career. Am I happy with my work? Is it fulfilling? Am I meeting the needs of the people I work for and work with?
Intellectual refers to the acquisition and integration of new knowledge and ideas. Am I constantly learning new things? Am I integrating those ideas into what I already know? Am I really challenging myself to expand what I know and understand and what I believe?
Avocational refers to my hobbies and interests and leisure time. Do I devote adequate time to my hobbies and personal interests? Am I getting personal value from the things that I do?
Over the next week or two, give some spare thoughts to each of those areas – at least, the ones relevant to your life. What would your life look like in several years if you took charge in that area and really put in the work to achieve some things that you wanted? Let those thoughts rumble around in your brain. (This happens to be exactly where I’m at right now with my latest plan revision.)
Writing a Plan
As I mentioned earlier, it’s a really good idea to set aside some significant blocks of time for actually writing your plan. I’m setting aside a full workday to do this, which may or may not be possible for you.
Take your list of areas of focus and, for each one, write a paragraph or two (or more, if you wish) outlining where you’re at with that area. Think about these questions as you do it.
Are you, on the whole, happy with this area of your life? Do you feel generally good about it, or not so good about it? Why?
What parts of this area are going well right now? What’s good about this area? Try to come up with a thing or two at least.
What parts of this area aren’t going so well right now? You may be able to list a lot of things, which is fine, but make sure you’re not just rewording the same difficulties again and again.
I often adopt three paragraphs for this part in each section, but I’m a writer who likes to go on at length about things. I devote a full page to each one and write double-lined so I can add in notes and changes later on.
I usually go through all of the areas first, writing a “state of this area” section for each one.
At this point, go back to the start and for each area, write a few paragraphs describing what your life would be like in a few years should you find reasonable success from your own efforts in that area. Don’t write about things that would result from events largely or completely outside of your control. Focus on a good life that you could actually build without your fairy godmother visiting you.
Here are some things to think about.
If I put in a few hours a week into this area of my life for the next few years, what might I achieve? For example, if you were to exercise for three hours a week for the next five years, what would that look like in terms of your physical body?
If I put in that effort and had reasonably good (but not incredibly good) outcomes from the things outside of my control, what would things look like? Don’t imagine a series of unfortunate events, but don’t imagine a charmed life, either. Just imagine reasonable but generally positive outcomes from the things outside of your control. For example, if your goal is about dating, imagine that you’re building a meaningful relationship with someone you’d enjoy, but not the most perfect person in the world. If you’re writing about your marriage, don’t envision a perfect Instagram marriage, but a healthy and realistic one with some give and take to it.
You’ll find that, as you’re doing this, some of the sections have some significant overlap. You might be writing about one area but recognize that some aspect is almost as much a part of another area as it is a part of this one. That’s okay. Don’t sweat it. You can include the same part in both sections if you want. For example, if I write about hiking, it can pop up in multiple sections at once – physical, avocational, mental, spiritual, and even social.
Once you’ve written a couple of paragraphs about your view of the future of each area, go back to the beginning and do a read-through and revision. Edit the areas by eliminating stuff that doesn’t make sense and adding things that you thought of later on while writing about other areas.
Once you’ve done that, go back through each area and make a list of ten to fifteen actions or projects that would help you move from where you are now to where you want to be in that area. What can you do over the next few years that will help move you from point A to point B? Focus on your actions; don’t think about things outside of your control.
You’ll notice that some of those things you come up with touch nicely on multiple areas of your life. That’s great, but it’s not strictly required.
What will happen as you move through this process is that you come up with a lot of things you could do to build a better life – an overwhelming number, in fact. Don’t worry about it yet – you’re not done.
Let It Rest
The best thing to do at this point is to simply let the whole thing rest for a while. A month is a good period of time.
Why do this? Why not take action now when all of this is fresh? The reason is that while this plan might be exciting, it’s also still fairly rough. It’s full of great ideas in the moment, but you shouldn’t commit your future to something you considered deeply only that day. Your plans will fall flat if you do that.
Instead, let it rest. Give some of the sections a thought in your head, but don’t brood over it. A lot of the work here will be done subconsciously.
You might have a big revelation or two during that month, and that’s great. Just pull out your draft and jot down that idea, then put the whole thing away again. Wait. Give it time.
Revise the Plan
After a month or so has passed, it’s time to revise the plan a little and then tie it all together. Give yourself an afternoon to do this.
First, simply sit down with your plan with a pen in hand and read through it. Whenever you see something that strikes you as not quite right, edit it. Strike out sentences. Replace words. Add new sentences.
What you’ll find again and again is that your first draft was good, but not great. It took you to a point that was in the ballpark, but it wasn’t quite there.
That feeling comes from the thinking you’ve done over the last month, where you internally refined your thinking. That refinement is invaluable. It takes something that’s merely interesting and solid into something that really strikes a deep chord with you.
You might even find that a couple of passes through the whole document is the right thing to do here.
At the end, it’s time to come up with a conclusion. Go through all of those action steps and choose ten or so big things you can work on in the next year or so to move you forward in the various areas of your life.
Look for ones that really ring out to you as exciting and meaningful. What ones really seem as though they’d produce great results? What ones seem like they’d be incredibly powerful to actually execute?
Action steps that line up with multiple areas are good, of course, but, again, they’re not necessary. However, you’ll likely find that most of the ones that really ring your bell are ones that have a lot of overlap across spheres of your life. If you nail that action, you’ll move forward in several areas at once.
When you’ve chosen ten or so, make a nice, clear list of those actions. Consider these your goals for the coming year. It’s a good idea to make sure these subscribe to the “SMART goal” rubric: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. Is it very clear what you want to do? Can you easily measure your progress (an easy way to do this is to have the goal involve a number)? Is it something you can actually pull off in a year?
Implement and Review
Take those concluding ten or so big actions or projects and print off a few copies of them. Put them in several places around your home.
Each and every day, at the start of your day, look at those ten big things. Ask yourself what you can do today to move forward on each of them today.
For example, one of my big initiatives for the last year was to meditate for ten minutes each day for spiritual and mental benefits. Whenever I looked at my big list, I simply added “meditate” to my to-do list for the day. I thought about how it was really important to me and I blocked off time for it.
Make these a big priority in your life. Spend less time on “time wasting” things and make sure that you’re doing something each day to move forward on these things. Remember, of course, that at least one or two of these things should be heavily avocational, which means that you should be filling at least some of your time with things you purely enjoy, and other things should be deeply fulfilling. This should not feel burdensome, but exciting (at least, that’s how it’s been for me). I usually enjoy doing those things and I feel like I’m really making my life better on the whole when I move forward on each thing.
Once a week or so, review the full plan. Read through it and give it some thought as you go about your day. This only takes ten or fifteen minutes or so – I often do it on Sunday morning.
What I’ve found is that after several months, the plan does fade a little bit. I’ve changed a little. The circumstances of my life have changed a little. I might have completed some of the actions, and some may now be completely normal parts of my routine. Most of the actions are still relevant, of course, but it’s clear that they’re starting to get stale.
That means it’s time to revise the whole thing. In the past, I’ve just tossed out the whole plan and started from scratch, as I’m doing now.
Final Thoughts
This process has been one of the most meaningful things I’ve done for myself over the last several years. It’s helped me fill each day with meaningful things I’m excited about doing. It’s helped me feel as though I’m really moving forward with my life in directions that I want to be going in.
Most importantly, I feel like I am in a better place right now than I’ve been at any point in my adult life when considering all of the areas of my life as a whole. Things are good, and I attribute a big part of the growth over the last few years to this type of planning.
Give this a try. This is the perfect time of year to do it, as it sets you up for a new year of new things, but you really can do this any time.
Good luck!
The post Developing a Real Plan for a Better Life appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
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Credit Card Tips to Help Shoppers Celebrate the Holidays Frugally
Learn the strategies to maximize the money you spend on gifts.
With the right strategy, a credit card can help you maximize every dollar you spend on holiday purchases — and even earn some of them back. But what type of card should you choose?
A store credit card and balance transfer card combo is usually the scenario that offers shoppers the most benefit. The process looks like this: Shoppers sign up for store credit cards, like the Amazon Prime Store Card or Target REDcard, to capitalize on high-rate rewards; usually 5%. Then, they sign up for a balance transfer card to avoid paying interest. (Many store cards don’t offer introductory 0% APR periods. And if they do, it often comes with a minimum spending requirement.)
That’s not a steadfast rule, though. Depending on how much you plan to spend, regular rewards cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card might deserve a second look.
Here are the most popular holiday retailers and their cards:
| Store Card | In-Store Rewards Rate | Special Financing* |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Prime Store Card | 5% | 6-, 12-, and 24-month |
| My Best Buy Credit Card | 5% | 6- and 18-month |
| Lowe’s Advantage Card | 5% | 6-month |
| Target REDcard | 5% | None (23.90% APR for purchases) |
| TJX Rewards Credit Card | 10% off your first in-store purchase, then 5% | None (27.99% APR for purchases) |
| Walmart Credit Card | 3% | None (23.90% APR for purchases) |
* Special financing refers to zero-interest promotions or offers that are available to cardholders.
Crunching the numbers
The National Retail Federation surveyed 7,349 shoppers and found that on average, each one planned to spend $967.13 on gifts this year. Let’s take a look at a hypothetical scenario based on that average and compare the value of our two holiday shopping strategies at Target.
Target REDcard vs. Chase Freedom®
The REDcard earns 5% back on most Target purchases, so you’ll earn around $48 in store credit. If you don’t plan to pay your balance in full by the end of the month, you’ll need to conduct a balance transfer to avoid paying interest. (We passionately recommend only spending what you have the ability to pay off immediately.)
The earns only 5% on rotating categories, so unless Target is one of them, you’ll only earn 1% on your purchase. But here’s where it gets interesting: If you spend $500 in purchases within the first three months, you’ll earn the $150 signup bonus. Note: You can redeem rewards for cash back and travel, not just store credit.
Summary: You’ll earn $102 more with the thanks to its signup bonus, and you’ll have more flexible redemption options too.
A note about rotating categories
Many cash back cards have schedules that outline which purchase categories earn a certain rewards rate. (It’s usually around 5%.) The categories rotate every three months and often require manual activation — you have to log into your card’s portal and activate the rewards category.
Here’s a breakdown of a few top cash back credit cards that earn 5% this quarter:
- – 5% cash back at Walmart and select department stores (not including supercenters, discount stores, or specialty stores) on up to $1,000 in combined purchases through December.
- – 5% at Amazon.com and Target on up to $1,500 in purchases through December.
- Citi® Dividend – Earn 5% cash back at Best Buy through December up to $300 in total cash back per calendar year.
Choosing the right strategy for you
A rewards card like the isn’t always the most beneficial strategy. Here are the two most important things you should consider as you determine the right credit card strategy for your holiday shopping:
How much will I spend?
This is ultimately the most important question of all. Rewards cards generally won’t match a store card’s high-rate rewards. (Unless the store happens to fall into your card’s rotating category, of course.) So if you’re considering a rewards card, make sure that you will be able to spend enough to earn the signup bonus.
How do I want to spend my rewards?
Most store cards have high-rate rewards, but it’s important to remember that those rewards exist as a store credit. With a rewards card, you will have far more flexible redemption options, like vacation packages, airfare, cash back, and statement credits.
It’s also important to recognize the implications for people who plan to shop at multiple merchants. You might have thought, “Why can’t I open up store cards everywhere I go and consolidate my debt with a balance transfer?” You could, but by spreading out your spend, you also spread out your earnings. Having $10 of store credit at five different locations might not be as useful to you as having $50 in one location.
Paying off a big holiday spend
Here are two of the best balance transfer cards for holiday shopping:
The Discover it® 18 Month Balance Transfer Offer card has a generous 18-month intro 0% APR period for balance transfers and no annual fee. You’ll have to pay a 3% balance transfer fee, but its zero-interest period is one of the best out there. On top of that, you can earn 5% cash back at Amazon.com and Target through December, on up to $1,500 in purchases after you activate.
The BankAmericard® Credit Card offers a 15-month introductory 0% APR on balance transfers. It’s one of the most inexpensive options because there’s no fee for balance transfers made in the first 60 days — and there’s no annual fee either. (After the first 60 days, balance transfers incur a 3% fee.)
The post Credit Card Tips to Help Shoppers Celebrate the Holidays Frugally appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
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These Super Helpful Money Tools Will Never Judge You By Your Finances
No one likes being judged. Especially when it comes to personal finance.
I’m keenly aware of my budgetary state, so having someone totally judge me for it — and not offer constructive advice — is the worst.
Yes, I understand I need to stash more into my emergency savings. And I know I shouldn’t have spent $5 on that latte. And investing… that makes me nervous.
But just help me; don’t chastise me.
That’s why I’ve rounded up some personal finance advisers — and some money management apps — that’ll help you get your money in order.
And they’ll do it without a single shred of judgement.
And, perhaps even better, without an ounce of conversation.
1. Take a Deep Breath, and Check Your Credit Score
One of the judgiest parts of personal finance comes with that three-digit numeral.
It’s called a credit score, and the mere mention of it might send you spiraling back to high school when your worth was measured on a 4.0 scale. But with a credit score, it’s different. You can actually make large strides to improve it — without having to become the teacher’s pet.
Credit Sesame can help you get there. It will provide you a free credit report card — including your credit score. It breaks your score down and grades different aspects of your credit profile.
But don’t worry. If you see a big fat “D” or “F,” Credit Sesame gives you personalized reasoning and recommendations on how to improve your grade.
The whole platform is intuitive (and easier to read than your teacher’s handwritten comments). Kenneth Bain followed Credit Sesame’s recommendations and increased his score by more than 200 points.
No extra credit required.
2. Start Investing While This App Holds Your Hand
Sometimes, when something is really intimidating, you just need someone — or something? — to hold your hand.
Then, once you get started, you’re fine, you’re great, you’re confident. It’s just like homework in grade school.
This is where Stash comes into the picture. The micro-investing app will help you start investing with as little as $5.
All you’ll have to do is fill out some basic information, then choose your investing style: conservative, moderate or aggressive.
Don’t worry: The Stash app explains what these mean, but as a rule of thumb, the younger you are, the more aggressive you should be.
You’ll go on to answer questions about your employment status and citizenship. Heads up: It’s also going to ask for your Social Security number. It won’t check your credit; it just needs to know you’re a real person. Any other SEC-registered investment advisor will ask for it, too.
In “Auto-Stash” mode, the app automatically withdraws a certain amount of cash from your bank account as often as you’d like — from once a week to once a month. Pick whatever you feel like you can handle — even just $5.
Your first month of Stash is free, and you’ll bank a $5 bonus when you sign up here.
Each month after, your fee is $1 until your account hits $5,000. After that, Stash charges 0.25% of your account balance per year.
3. Balance Your 401(k) Without Sass
If you have a 401(k), you’re already on the right financial track — so go, you! If you haven’t looked at it — or even know what to do with it — that’s OK, too.
The world of 401(k)s is a tricky one, but there are robo-advisors out there that’ll help you and prevent you from having to read a textbook-worth of investing definitions.
Try Blooom. I use it to make sure my money is working hard for me. Blooom gives you a free 401(k) health report.
Warning: This part might make you feel a little judged. Blooom uses a flower to represent your 401(k).
For example, it told me I had the wrong mix of stocks and bonds, and that I could have better diversification. So my account flower was wilted.
But the best part about flowers is they, well, “Blooom.” I opted in for the $10-per-month service, and now Blooom lets me know when it’s optimized my retirement savings.
I feel good about my future — and not so judged.
4. Get a Little Personal… Loan
If you have debt, you definitely aren’t in the mood for criticism.
But you’ll need to open up, just a little bit, if you want to consider some options — like refinancing or consolidating — to help you pay that sum down faster.
Don’t worry. You can hit up Even Financial, a consumer financial technology platform. It’ll help match you with the right personal loan to meet your needs.
Complete three simple steps, then Even searches the top online lenders to match you with a personalized loan offer. Even’s platform can help you borrow up to $100,000 (no collateral needed) with fixed rates starting at 4.99% and terms from 24 to 84 months.
5. Set (Gentle) Spending Notifications
Not being judged is great and all, but sometimes when spending gets out of hand, you need a little slap of the wrist. A gentle one. A tap, really.
That’s where my buddy Trim can help you. Trim is a personal-finance bot that automates a number of tasks for you — including personalized account alerts.
Set Trim to notify you when you’re charged an overdraft or late fee. You can also set it up to let you know when you’ve just completed a large transaction or when it’s payday! Yay!
Set other reminders about upcoming bills including, rent, cable or water.
Then, Trim sends you a text or Facebook Message with reminders.
Bonus: It scavenges your subscriptions for you, so that gym membership you haven’t used in years? Trim’s not judging you. In fact, it’ll just cancel it for you.
Carson Kohler (@CarsonKohler) is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s a big fan of gentle reminders.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
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