These Savings Apps Can Help Make Sure You Put More Money Aside Next Year

What is your biggest financial regret of the year?

Did you take a vacation you couldn’t afford, ignore your student loans a few months too long or just not pay enough attention to your savings goals?

You’re probably not alone, according to an annual study from GoBankingRates.

The companies surveyed 5,307 U.S. adults to find out, among other things, which money missteps they most regretted in 2017.

Given a list and asked their biggest regrets about money of 2017 were, 36% of respondents said “not saving enough money.”

Second on the list? “Spending too much money on non-essentials” came in at 23%Think: Eating out, concert tickets and a blue pair of sneakers that’s exactly like the green pair you bought two months ago.

Unsurprisingly, the survey showed older generations are more concerned about spending on non-essentials than millennials. Maybe because, as millennials, we consider concert tickets quite essential to our well-being, thank you very much.

To help you start 2018 on the right foot, here are some tips to help you avoid these major “regerts”:

1. Keep Your Credit-Card Debt Under Control

Whether you’ve got existing debt to tackle or you want to watch your spending so you don’t get that far, keeping an eye on your credit report can help.

Credit Sesame’s “credit report card” acts like your favorite teacher from high school to keep you on track.

It gives you a free credit score, plus it lays out your credit history, so you can see exactly how much money you owe and to whom. It even tells you your monthly payments and interest rate, as well as which debts are in collections.

The app lets you keep track of your credit score, so you can see how your activity effects it.

Small business owner Kenneth Bain raised his credit score 234 points using Credit Sesame. He said it became like a game, and he wanted to achieve the high score.

“I literally checked my credit every day, two to three times a day [even though it doesn’t update that often],” he told us. “I remember the day I logged on and saw 721… and [I thought], ‘Yes, finally! My hard work paid off.’”

You can sign up for Credit Sesame and get your free credit report card here.

2. Earn Cash Back for Buying “Non-Essentials”

Who says that morning latte and new pair of shoes aren’t essential? Yeah, you want to be frugal, but you don’t want to give up every joy in life.

Try earning money when you shop.

Dosh is a new cash-back app that pays you for making purchases at more than 100,000 hotels, online stores and restaurants, including Marriott, Sam’s Club, Nike, Target, Forever 21 and many more — even local stores and restaurants.

 

Plus, it’s totally passive. Here’s how it works:

1. Download the app and sign up.
2. Securely connect a debit or credit card.
3. Live your life and watch the cash back roll in.

In addition to cash-back, you can also collect a $25 bonus for booking your first hotel through the app, plus $5 when you connect your first card.

Stack those rewards by making all your purchases with a rewards credit card!

With the Barclaycard CashForward™ World Mastercard®, for example, you’ll earn 1.5% cash back for every dollar you spend. Plus get a $200 bonus for signing up if you spend $1,000 in the first 90 days of having the card.

3. Start Saving Automatically

A lot of us probably neglect spending because it’s, simply put, hard.

It’s hard to have money in your hand and decide to set it aside for a rainy day instead of splurging on that Summer Rainstorm noise machine you’ve had your eye on.

So keep the money out of your sight. You won’t miss what you don’t see.

Chime, an online-only, fee-free bank account has automatic savings built in for you.

Here’s how it works: Open a Chime account, and set up automatic savings. Each time you swipe your Chime Visa debit card, the transaction is rounded up to the nearest dollar, and the digital change goes into your Chime Saving account.

It’s like your own automated piggy bank (without the germy coins and annoying drugstore change machines).

Another plus: If you sign up for direct deposit, you can easily split your paycheck so 10% automatically goes into your Saving account.

We talked to Samuel Demeny, a Chime user who saved $800 in nine months this way — without feeling the pinch!

4. Become an Investor — Without All the Complicated Stuff

Have you heard of micro-investing? It sounds cute — and it kind of is.

This method of investing in the stock market lets you buy small portions of shares, instead of full (read: expensive) shares. Do it through an app, and you can set up your portfolio and invest in the types of companies you care about — without spending your nights and weekends researching the stock market.

An app called Stash makes it easy.

To start, you’ll fill out some basic information and answer a few questions. Then you’ll get assigned your investing style: conservative, moderate or aggressive.

Stash also 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 set 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.

Or you can use Smart Save mode, which studies your spending and earning patterns to figure out how much cash you can spare. Little by little, the app automatically saves into your Stash account.

Your first month of Stash is fee-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.

5. Fix Your Regrettable 401(k)

Saving for retirement is a daunting chore — probably why we tend to neglect it and rack up regret instead of savings.

If you’ve ever typed your information into one of those retirement calculators, you’ve probably thrown your laptop across the room and declared, “I give up.” (We’ve seen it…)

But a 401(k) will help you out, and if you already have one open, know you’re on the right track.

Now, you just need to make sure it’s working hard for you. That’s where Blooom can help. This company is an SEC-registered investment-advisory firm that optimizes and monitors your 401(k).

Enter your information into its system: your name, age and when you hope to retire. Connect your 401(k) account, and you’ll get a free 401(k) “health report.”

This report tells you what’s going well and what needs some improvement. Are you paying too many fees? Is your mix of stocks and bonds not properly allocated for your age?

If you want Blooom to take over, you can opt in for a $10-per-month service.

Within a few hours, Blooom will reconfigure your 401(k) for you. And it’ll keep an eye on it from then on, so you’ll know your money is in the best place possible.

6. Clear Your Closets of Purchases You Regret

Have a bunch of movies or CDs collecting dust on a shelf? Decluttr will pay you for them.

Decluttr buys your old CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays and video games, plus hardware like cell phones, tablets, game consoles and iPods.

It’s a great way to get some peace of mind, start anew… and earn some cash back from your “non-essential” purchases. One user, Gil Flores, sold about 100 DVDs and 75 CDs and made $275 — an average of $1.57 each.

Just download the app, and start scanning the barcodes on your media to get immediate quotes. It’s completely free to use: You won’t pay any listing or seller fees. Payment comes within a day or two after Decluttr gets your order, and shipping is free.

Plus, enter FREE5 at checkout to get an extra $5 for your trade-ins!

Dana Sitar (dana@thepennyhoarder.com) is a senior writer/newsletter editor at The Penny Hoarder. Say hi and tell her a good joke on Twitter @danasitar.

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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Year-End Money Moves: Dos and Don’ts

The end of the year is a time when many of us reflect on our annual goals. If you decided 2017 was the year you’d build rock-hard abs, for example, you might be glancing down to see if you achieved the washboard belly you were going for. If you wanted to lose 20 pounds, on the other hand, it’s not too hard to hop on the scale to see how that went.

Of course, the same can be said for your financial goals. If you wanted to pay down debt, build up your emergency fund, or reach a financial milestone this year, you’re approaching the moment of truth: Did you save up the emergency cash you wanted? Did you pay off that credit card balance? Did you boost your retirement savings, or grow your net worth?

Making an honest assessment of your financial progress is a smart move any time, but especially as a new year approaches. These measures and others can tell you pretty objectively whether you made progress or not — and whether you have room to improve next year.

Still, financial advisors warn that there are certain end-of-year money moves you could absolutely regret making – or not making. Because, once the end of the year has come and gone, it’s often too late for a do-over.

As the new year approaches, consider these dos and don’ts of year-end financial moves:

DO: Sign Up for Your Company’s 401(k) Plan

If you didn’t bother signing up for your company’s 401(k) plan, there’s always next year. But if you wait and keep putting it off, you’re leaving real money on the table.

“Your contributions are tax-deductible, and if your employer is giving you a match, it’s free money,” says financial advisor Mitchell Bloom, author of The 8 Biggest 401(k) Rollover Mistakes and How to Avoid Them. “Your account will grow tax-deferred and, if you feel like you can’t afford the contributions, think again because you can’t afford not to contribute.”

If you can squeak out part of this year’s employer match, you might as well sign up now to get a tax-advantaged raise, says Indiana Financial Advisor Tom Diem.

“The percentage of companies that match what you contribute to your 401(k) is on the rebound,” says Diem. “If your plan is a dollar-for-dollar match, this could mean an additional pay increase and with no current federal income tax on the employer’s matching contribution to your 401(k) account.”

Further, the end of the year is often a good time to sign up for your 401(k) anyway. If you’re getting a raise at the beginning of the new year, you may be able to start contributing to your 401(k) account now without noticing any difference in your take-home pay.

• Related: How to Maximize Your 401(k) Employer Match

DON’T: Making Hasty Changes to Your Investments

The Bitcoin craze and the ongoing surge of the stock market may be forcing you to rethink your asset allocation and overall investment strategy. However, you shouldn’t change course based solely on what other people are doing, says San Diego-based financial advisor Taylor Schulte, host of the podcast Stay Wealthy San Diego.

If your financial goals or financial plan haven’t changed, your portfolio shouldn’t change, either, says Schulte.

“Just because it’s the end of the year, or because the market feels overvalued, or because someone on television said 2018 is going to be a bad year in the stock market, does not mean you should make a change to your investments,” he says. “Reacting to short-term noise and things outside of your control could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars in the long run.”

Schulte says that, instead of reacting to outside forces, you should review your portfolio, confirm that it still matches up with your financial plan and risk profile, and rebalance if it hasn’t been done in the last 12 months. Then, block out all the noise and spend the holidays enjoying time with your family.

• Related: Rebalancing: The Simple Way to Keep Your Investment Plan on Track

DO: Plan for Year-End Spending

Most people have likely done the bulk of their holiday shopping already, but there’s still time to rein things in. “Don’t let the holidays deliver a huge credit card bill as your present,” says Joseph Carbone, Jr., a financial advisor from Long Island.

The holidays are the most wonderful time of year, and they’re also the most dangerous financially, notes Carbone. Between going out to eat and drinking for holiday parties and the urge to buy life-changing presents for your loved ones or kids, temptation to overspend is everywhere.

Even if you’ve done plenty of holiday damage already, it’s not too late to set a budget that you’re comfortable with and stick to it. At the very least, see how much you’ve spent already and create a plan to spend less going forward.

• Related: Went Overboard on Black Friday? Four Ways to Fix Things

DON’T: Forget to Contribute to an HSA

While it’s true you can contribute to your Health Savings Account for the 2017 tax year through April 15th, it’s still smart to prioritize your contributions ASAP.

We’ve written about HSA accounts before: These accounts are advantageous for almost anyone who qualifies for one. With an HSA account, you get tax savings when you contribute, your money grows tax-free, and then you can use it for qualified healthcare expenses later on in life. When it comes to smart saving and tax planning, it doesn’t get any better than a triple tax break.

Minneapolis financial planner Morgan Ranstrom even suggests cutting back on holiday gifts to free up cash for your HSA.

“This year, instead of putting your holiday bonus into toys and treats, use the opportunity to invest in year-round peace of mind by building up your rainy-day fund or making a bulk contribution to your HSA,” he says.

You can save quite a bit this year and every year, saving money on taxes all along. For 2017, individuals can stash away up to $3,400 in a Health Savings Account, while families can contribute up to $6,750. To qualify, however, you need to have a high-deductible health plan, with a deductible of at least $1,300 for individuals and $2,600 for families.

• Related: The Best Retirement Account You’ve Never Heard Of

DON’T: Forget About Your FSA Account

Financial advisor Tony Liddle of Prosper Wealth Management says he learned about FSA rules the hard way. After contributing to the Flexible Spending Account (FSA) offered through his first job for an entire year, he forgot all about it. By December, his account had over $1,000 in it, but it was only then that he realized he had to spend this money or lose it forever.

That’s the opposite of how an HSA account works, he says, since Health Savings Accounts belong to the owner and roll over year after year.

While some employers offer an extension to let you use your FSA funds or let you roll over the balance, Liddle’s employer offered neither of those options. So, in a matter of two weeks, Liddle tracked down all his co-pay receipts from the doctor for reimbursement. He also spent hundreds of dollars buying approved medical supplies at Walgreens.

If you have an FSA account, Liddle suggests making sure to spend it down, gathering this year’s receipts to get reimbursed, or figuring out what you can and can’t roll over. If you fail to do so, your money can disappear in an instant.

• Related: Health Savings Accounts vs. Flexible Savings Accounts

DO: Maximize Charitable Giving

The end of the year is an ideal time to be thankful for what you have – and to share your bounty with others. Fortunately, there are tax benefits that come with charitable giving provided you itemize your taxes and meet other requirements.

To make the most of your charitable donations, it’s crucial to get everything on the table now – before it’s too late, says Texas financial advisor Matt Adams of MoneyMethods.com.

“Before the end of the year, make sure you take time to assess where you’re at with your charitable giving of cash and non-cash items,” says Adams. “If you fail to get it done in time, you’ll have to wait another year to get the tax deduction.”

• Related: How the GOP Tax Plan Could Save You Money… or Not

DO: Create Goals for the New Year

If you’re frustrated you didn’t reach your goals this year, it’s important to remember that life happens. It’s never too late to create a new list of goals for the new year, along with a plan to reach them.

• If you’ve been struggling with debt, perhaps now’s the time to create a plan to dig your way out over the next 12 months.
• If you’re still spending more than you ought to be, make 2018 the year you finally start using a budget – and actually sticking with it.
• If you’re not saving for retirement, make this the year when you finally open an account and start contributing – even if your initial contributions are small.
• If you’re tired of living paycheck-to-paycheck without any sort of buffer, make this year the year when you finally build up an emergency fund big enough to cover whatever surprise expenses come your way.

We’ve all heard the saying, “When you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” By creating a plan for next year, you can give yourself a real shot at working toward goals that will improve your finances.

Will 2018 be your year to get ahead? You’ll never know unless you try.

Holly Johnson is an award-winning personal finance writer and the author of Zero Down Your Debt. Johnson shares her obsession with frugality, budgeting, and travel at ClubThrifty.com.

Related Articles:

• 14 New Year’s Money Resolutions
• A 12-Month Plan to Raise Your Credit Score in the New Year
• Setting Attainable and Exciting Financial Goals

What end of year money moves do you still plan to make this year? What else would you add to this list?

The post Year-End Money Moves: Dos and Don’ts appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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