By making certain you have your money invested in various asset classes, you lower your overall risk while increasing your return over the long term.

The problem is that most investors stop short of a truly diversified portfolio.

Sure you invest in large cap, small cap and international stocks. And you have some investment money in bonds too.

• Read now: Click here to learn the importance of asset allocation

But you lack the investment in alternative investments.

This isn’t entirely your fault.

In many cases, the barrier to entry in many alternative investments is closed to most investors.

Masterworks.io is looking to change that.

They are opening the door to the investment art world to investors.

In this post, I will tell you who Masterworks is and how they work.

By the end, you will be able to decide if a small portion of your investment dollars belongs in this alternative investment.

Masterworks.io Review | The Ultimate Guide To This Alternative Investment

Who Is Masterworks.io?

Masterworks is based in New York City and was founded in 2017.

They are art connoisseurs with over 75 year’s experience in the art world and want to open the doors of top-tier, blue chip art investments to all investors.

They open the doors by purchasing artwork and then selling fractional ownership shares to investors.

The end result is people without millions to invest in artwork having the ability to own great pieces of art.

How Does Masterworks Work?

The process of allowing investors to fractionally invest in artwork is simple.

To begin, the people behind Masterworks reviews and analyzes data to determine the appreciation rate of different pieces of artwork.

They then go about purchasing a piece of artwork that they believe will continue to appreciate in value at a rate that makes sense for investors.

Once the piece of artwork is acquired, Masterworks registers it with the Securities And Exchange Commission so they can then offer fractional ownership shares to investors.

Once approved, investors can then purchase shares in the artwork. Each share is worth $20, meaning you can own very small amounts of various pieces of artwork.

Note however to get started with Masterworks, an investor needs to initially deposit $1,000.

After a number of years and the price of a piece of art has appreciated, investors can vote based on the number of shares they own to sell the artwork or continue to own it.

If sold, the proceeds of the sale are distributed among the investors, again based on their percentage owned.

Masterworks Fee Structure

The fees Masterworks charges is similar to hedge funds.

For starters, there is an annual 1.50% fee that is used to cover the safety of the artwork including insurance.

Additionally, there is a 20% fee on profits when artwork is sold.

For example, let’s say you invest $5,000 into a piece of artwork and it grows 20% annually for 5 years.

Your investment grew to $11,832 and you paid a total of $436 in annual fees.

At this point, the artwork is sold, and Masterworks takes its 20% fee on profits.

Your ending result is you turning your $5,000 investment into $9,465.

Advantages And Drawbacks

What are the things that make Masterworks something to consider investing in and what are some things to make you take a harder look at this service?

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the common questions I receive when it comes to Masterworks and investing in artwork.

Is Masterworks.io legit?

Yes.

While the company was founded in 2017, the founders have started a number companies over the years that are valued at over $1 billion.

How much money should I allocate to alternative investments?

The majority of your investment dollars should be allocated to traditional investment categories, like large and small cap stocks, international stocks, as well as bonds.

The alternative investment portion of your portfolio should be made up of 5-10% of your money.

Is art a liquid investment?

No.

Art is not a liquid investment.

Whereas you can buy and sell a share of stock in the same day, you will be holding onto art for many years.

The ideal investment horizon for this asset class is 7-10 years.

• Read now: Click here to see the best types of long term investments

In other words, investing in art is not suitable for someone interested in day trading. It is a long term investment.

• Read now: Learn the best types of short term investments with high returns

How risky is it to invest in art?

Art is risky to invest in based on the fact there is no underlying benchmark.

Art sells for whatever price the buyer is willing to pay for it.

In other words, you could be selling a piece of artwork that one investor deems is worth $2 million whereas another investor might value it at $4 million.

While you do have price discrepancies with stocks, the range is not as large as it potentially can be with art.

With that said, over time some art does appreciate nicely.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, diversifying your portfolio is a smart thing to do as an investor.

• Read now: Click here to learn how important diversification is

The one area that most investors lack investing in is alternative investments due to the difficulty in entering the market.

But Masterworks is changing this and is allowing investors to gain entry for a reasonable amount of money.

If you want to diversify your portfolio with art, then Masterworks is a company you should look into.

Click here to learn more about Masterworks!

The post Masterworks.io Review | Alternative Investment For Investors appeared first on MoneySmartGuides.com.

Understanding your finances is hard.

You don’t know who to trust.

You’ll get to it tomorrow.

I could write over 100 excuses in a few minutes.

And they are all excuses, plain and simple.

The truth is, financial planning isn’t hard. It does take some work on your part, but you can easily do it.

And this post is here to help.

I am going to list out the 10 most critical financial tips to help you be better financially.

Think of it as a step by step financial planning guide.

By the time you are done, your finances will be on solid ground.

No more making excuses. No more worrying if you can retire.

You will have done the most important things to improve your finances over the long term.

Let’s get started with the 10 financial planning tips you need to tackle right now.

10 Financial Planning Tips To Make Your Money Last

#1. Life Insurance

Surprised this is #1?

If I didn’t know better, I would too.

But here is the thing.

I worked at a financial planning firm that only dealt with wealthy clients. And the #1 mistake they were making is the same mistake you are making.

Not having life insurance.

Our clients overlooked insurance because it is boring. They focused more on the sexy parts of their finances, like their investments.

But trust me when I tell you that not having proper insurance coverage can crush you.

And it can do so in an instant.

In one case, we had a client who passed away suddenly without life insurance. His wife hadn’t worked for years, raising their children.

Suddenly, she was without a partner and without an income.

Not only did she have to deal with the grief of his passing and plan the funeral, but she also had to find a job.

This meant creating a resume, looking for open positions, interviewing, etc.

Her entire life was through upside down.

Had her husband had life insurance, some of this could have been avoided.

She still would grieve and plan the funeral, but she wouldn’t need to find a job right away.

The life insurance proceeds would have helped out tremendously.

Your Action Step

While the stats say we are going to live into our 70s, the truth is we all don’t.

And if someone relies on your income, you need to have life insurance.

Now I know life insurance can be tricky.

But here is the basics you need to know.

• Stick to term insurance. I find it is more affordable and doesn’t have hidden fees.
• Look at getting coverage for up to 10 times your annual salary. For example, if you make $50,000 look at a policy valued between $500,000 and $750,000.
• If someone relies on you or income, you need coverage. Don’t make the mistake of thinking a stay-at-home spouse doesn’t need coverage. If they pass, you need to find someone to care for the kids.

If you simply follow these guidelines, you will protect your loved ones in the event of your passing.

Where do you look for life insurance?

You could call up a bunch of providers, or you could use Bestow.

They make it easy by showing your quotes in one place.

Just enter in some basic information, and in seconds you can have a quote. If approved, you can have a policy under 10 minutes.

It’s so easy, there is no reason why you can’t do this right now and check this one off your list.

In fact, do it right now. Then come back and finish up this post.

Click here to get your quote

#2. Disability Insurance

I know what you are thinking, another point on insurance?

Disability insurance is critical and yet even fewer people have this coverage than life insurance.

• Read now: Click here for a complete overview of insurance

The scary part is you are more likely to get disabled than you are of dying prematurely.

In fact, 25% of today’s 20 year olds will become disabled before they retire.

To help you understand why disability insurance is important, I have another client story for you.

We had a client whose daughter slipped on a patch of ice in her driveway one morning. She was 29 years old.

She hurt her back and was out of work for 6 months.

While she has returned from work, she is only working part time because of the frequent doctor visits and therapy sessions she attends.

She went from making $70,000 a year to making $20,000.

Talk about a life changing event.

While disability insurance won’t make up the entire difference of lost wages, it will soften the blow.

Your Action Step

Price out disability coverage.

It is something no one ever talks about but is more likely to happen to you.

You can get a free quote from Breeze in seconds and tailor your policy to your exact needs.

Click here to get your quote

 
Even I was guilty of this skipping this one.

Then my manager at the planning firm convinced me otherwise.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking it can’t or won’t happen to you.

Click on the link to Breeze above and get yourself covered.

#3. Create A Plan

OK, enough talk about insurance!

The next step to financial success is to have a plan.

But not just any plan.

 You need a detailed plan for your life.

Take the time to figure out what you want out of life.

• What are your goals?
• Do you want to travel?
• What is your ideal job?
• What does retirement look like?

Think about these and other questions to get a complete understanding so you can create a plan to achieve everything.

For example, maybe your ideal job is working at a non-profit helping abused pets.

And maybe you only want to work 20-25 hours a week because you also want to foster animals, so you want to be able to spend time at home with them.

By having a plan, you can save and budget so this dream becomes a reality.

• Read now: Click here for the ultimate plan for retiring early

Your Action Step

Take some time to think about your dreams and write down your goals.

In the beginning, just take notes about whatever you are thinking. Don’t judge at this point, just write down everything that comes to mind.

Do this for a couple days and then forget about it.

Come back a few days later and reread through your notes.

Which ones resonate with you? Circle these as they are your true goals.

Cross off the ones that don’t resonate.

Then start building on the goals you set.

This mean write specific details about the goal. The more specific you are, the more likely you will take action on them.

You won’t be able to complete your plan at this point, but as you keep reading the following tips, you will have the information you need to complete it.

#4. Know Your Spending Rate

How much money do you spend a year?

Most people, and by most I mean 99%, have no idea.

They could take a guess, but the majority of people underestimate.

For example, when I was coaching people to improve their finances, I would start out by having them take a guess.

Then we would figure it out. And every one that guessed, spent more than they thought.

When they saw the actual number, they couldn’t believe it.

In fact, many tried to argue that it wasn’t possible. But when I asked them to show me where the money is, like in a savings account, they couldn’t.

They admitted they spent this amount.

By knowing how much you spend, it can have a drastic impact on your finances.

Many people will instantly start saving more and cutting expenses.

Your Action Plan

Take some time, like right now, to figure out how much you spend.

There are a few ways you can do this.

Credit Card Statements

First, if you mainly shop using credit cards, just log onto your credit card website and get your annual spending summary.

Most offer this, but if yours doesn’t, just download each monthly statement and total up the spending.

While this method isn’t 100% accurate, it does give you a ball park number.

Ballpark It

This way isn’t the best, but it is quick and gets you a rough idea.

Write down all of your major monthly expenses and total them up.

Then write down all of the smaller monthly expenses you have to get a complete picture.

Next, multiply this number by 12 to get an annual number.

Most people will forget about non-monthly expenses, so be sure to include expenses that aren’t monthly charges, but still add up.

This includes:

• Insurance premiums
• Seasonal expenses like landscaping or maintaining a swimming pool
• Gifts

Add the total of these to your annual spend number.

Finally, add 10% to this number because there are expenses you are forgetting about.

Tax Return

This one is my favorite, but it takes more work and some math.

I like it because it is the most accurate estimate out there.

To use this method, you need last year’s tax return, a sheet of paper, and a calculator.

Having the tax tables from last year is needed as well.

I am not detailing the process here, as I have a complete walk through of this process in the post below.

• Read now: Click here to see how to calculate your annual spending number

By using this method, you will get the most accurate estimate of how much money you spend.

Then with this information, you can start to make adjustments to spend less and save more.

Even by decreasing your monthly spending by 5%, it will have a dramatic impact on your finances.

#5. Pay Off Debt

This one is a no-brainer, but needs to be listed.

In order to reach your financial goals, paying off your debt is important.

Here is a quick example of why.

Let’s say you need $50,000 a year to live.

Of this amount, $750 a month is used to pay various loans.

When you look at this number on an annual basis, you need $9,000 of income just to pay this debt!

The bottom line is debt handcuffs you when it comes to not only achieving your goals, but even in taking advantage of opportunities that come your way.

For example, let’s say you are offered a job caring for animals. The catch is it pays $40,000 a year.

Because of your debt, you can’t take this awesome job.

But if you didn’t have debt, you could take the job.

Your Action Plan

You need to make it a priority to pay off your debt.

You can read through the debt articles on my site for help with paying off debt, including motivational tricks and plans.

You should also check out the building wealth articles as well.

There you can find ideas to make money on the side to help you pay off your debt faster.

• Read now: Click here to get help paying off your debt
• Read now: Click here to learn the best tips and tricks to build wealth

By making it a priority to pay off debt, you can take advantage of opportunities that come your way.

#6. Enjoy Today

While getting out of debt is a priority, it shouldn’t be so important that you miss out on today.

I’ve made this mistake and it wasn’t fun.

Back when I was in debt, I wanted to pay it off super fast.

So I took every extra penny I had and used it to pay down my balances.

The problem was I didn’t have any fun money. No going out with friends. No seeing movies or concerts.

Nothing.

It wasn’t a problem at first because I wanted to get out of debt.

But I didn’t want to get out of debt so fast that I couldn’t spend time with my friends.

I adjusted my plans and set some money aside to enjoy life while still paying off my debt.

In all, it took me a little over a year to get out of debt.

Looking back, I can’t say I would have paid off my debt any faster if I put every penny towards my debt.

This is because at some point I think I would have broken down completely and focused all my attention on spending time with my friends and ignored my debt.

Your Action Plan

Find a healthy balance when it comes to saving for tomorrow and living life today.

It is not an all or nothing decision.

You can easily do both.

You just have to find the balance that works for you.

When you find what you think is your balance, try it out for a few months and see how you feel.

If you are happy, keep going.

If you find you are not happy, then figure out a new balance and try it out.

Eventually you will find the balance that works for you.

#7. Focus On Savings Not Return

One of the easiest ways to be better financially is to save money.

Unfortunately, most people don’t save anything.

Of the ones that do save, they focus on their return and not their savings rate.

The truth is, your savings rate is much more important than your return.

• Read now: Click here to find out how much money you really need for retirement

For example, let’s say your friend makes $50,000 a year and saves 15%, which is $7,500. They earn 2% interest in their savings.

You save $2,500 a year but you make earning as much money on your savings a priority. You earn 8% on your money.

If you both keep saving the same amount and earning the same returns, who has more money in 20 years?

Your friend ends up with close to $185,000. You have nearly $124,000.

That is a difference of $60,000!

The point is, you need to save as much money as you can.

Stop worrying about your return and start focusing on ways to save as much as possible each month.

Your Action Step

The easiest way to start saving is to automate your savings. By making it automatic, you don’t have to remember to save.

It just happens every single month.

Another smart thing to do is to save first.

Too many people try to save what is left at the end of the month.

Start saving when you get paid, then spend the rest.

I use CIT Bank to save money. They make it simple to automate my savings and I don’t to worry about a thing.

Click here to open your CIT Bank account today

#8. Invest

I know I just told you that you need to focus more on your savings rate than your rate of return.

But you cannot completely ignore your rate of return.

If you just put money into a low interest savings account, your odds of reaching your financial goals are much harder than if you invest.

Let’s take the above example again, but this time extend the time period to 40 years.

In this case, your friend ends up with close to $460,000. You end up with roughly $700,000.

That is $240,000 more!

The point here is that you need to invest your money.

By earning a higher rate of return over longer periods of time, you make the odds more likely that you will reach your goals.

• Read now: Click here to learn how to invest your way to financial independence

Your Action Plan

I know investing can be scary for some of you.

But I have a solution.

It is called Betterment.

They are a robo-advisor that automates investing for you.

All you do is answer a few questions about your goals and investment timeline and Betterment will create a portfolio for you.

All that is left for you to do is to set up a monthly investment.

Just sit back and let your money start working for you.

Click here to get started with Betterment

#9. Get Your Documents In Order

The next area to work on when it comes to getting in shape financially is to make sure you have all of your documents.

There are a handful of important papers you need should something happen to you.

• Will
• Living Will
• Health Care Directive
• Medical Power of Attorney

In addition to these, you want to make sure you have beneficiaries listed on your investment accounts.

This will make the process of transferring the accounts to your heirs that much easier.

Your Action Step

Take the time to get these documents prepared.

While they will take a little time when you meet with an attorney, the time spent is more than worth it.

And the price you pay depends on many factors, including where you live and how complicated your life situation is.

When I created my first will, I was in my early 30’s and single. Because my life situation was simple, it only cost me a couple hundred dollars.

When I created a new will after getting married and having kids, the price increased a little, but not too much.

You might wonder why I created a will when I was single.

I did it so my loved ones didn’t have to worry about what to do with my belongings.

Everything was outlined for them. They could focus their energy on other things.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you are single or not. These documents are critical to have.

#10. Accept Life Happens

The final financial planning tip is to be open and accept that life happens.

Your goal of working with animals might change once you have kids.

Or your goal of golfing in retirement might change to travel.

The point is, life happens.

We can plan based on what we know today, but we have to be open and flexible in knowing that tomorrow things can change.

This isn’t to say because life happens you shouldn’t bother with improving your finances or creating a retirement plan.

While life does happen, having a plan will make navigating the changes much easier.

For example, even if you don’t want to golf in retirement but travel instead, having paid off your debt and saved as much as you can will only make this new goal that much more attainable.

I remember back when I started working after college and I wanted to earn extra money on the side.

The goal of this money was to help me retire as soon as possible.

But one day I lost my job.

The money I saved helped me to pad my budget in the short term.

During this time I took one of my hobbies and turned it into my main income.

Fast forward to today and this has allowed me to work from home and watch our daughters a couple times a week.

Life happened. My plans changed.

But by having a plan in the first place, it made the new goals a possibility and not a dream.

Your Action Plan

You need to be flexible with life and learn to roll with it.

Not everything you plan for will happen. And many things you never planned for will.

This is what life is all about.

The better you are at accepting this and reassessing your plans and goals as time goes by, the happier you will be.

I encourage you to review your goals and plans every few years.

Some times you will find nothing has changed.

Other times you will find that a goal you had is no longer a priority.

Whatever comes up, make adjustments and go from there.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, if you want to be better financially, you need to do follow these financial planning tips.

While you could hire a professional, you can do these things yourself.

It just takes time.

I encourage you to start the process by taking the first step.

Work your way through this list and be sure to review things every few years.

By doing so, you will put your finances on a firm foundation and will set yourself up for living a life of wealth.

Disclaimer: This post was made in paid partnership with Bestow. The opinions and ideas expressed in the article are those of the author(s) and are not promoted or endorsed by Bestow or North American.

The post 10 Critical Financial Planning Tips To Grow Your Wealth appeared first on MoneySmartGuides.com.

I knew that by having a large pile of savings, I would cover myself if emergencies happened.

And having this savings would also allow me to focus on investing my money and growing it faster.

Thanks to my finance background, I understood the power of compound interest and wanted to find a savings account that offered me a high yield.

This is because the higher the interest rate, the more interest I would earn.

Today, many online banks try to be the one stop shop for all your banking needs.

As a result, they don’t offer competitive interest rates, thus taking longer to grow your savings.

Luckily, CIT Bank is here.

They offer one of the highest yields in the country so your savings will grow as fast as possible.

In this post, I am going to show you why I keep my savings with CIT Bank and why you should too.

CIT Bank Review | The Best Place To Grow Your Savings

Who Is CIT Bank?

Founded more than 100 years ago, CIT Bank began as a brick and mortar bank specializing in helping businesses and individuals with their money.

Today, CIT Bank is primarily an internet bank, but it does have a few physical branches in California under the OneWest Bank division.

As a banking institution in the US, it is regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

As of June 30, 2019, the company had roughly $50 billion in assets.

CIT Bank Products

CIT Bank offers a variety of products and services that helps you in meeting your financial goals and improving your finances.

These products include:

• Online banking
• Money markets
• Savings builder
• Jumbo CD
• Term CD
• No-penalty CD

Here is a detailed look at each one.

Online Banking

Online banking enables CIT Bank to offer higher interest rates because they lack the substantial overhead of a brick-and-mortar institution.

It also means that they don’t need to charge fees and penalties to remain operational, so they can transfer these savings to you in the form of higher interest rates.

Money Market Accounts

CIT Bank’s money market accounts are the most beneficial when you maintain a minimum of $25,000 in your account.

When you do, you’ll receive a 2.10% APY, which is one of the highest available.

Savings Builder

A savings builder account enables you to earn the high rate of the money market account but without the $25,000 minimum deposit requirement.

Here is a short video introducing the Savings Builder account.

Simply open a savings builder account with a $100 deposit and continue to deposit $100 every month thereafter, and you’ll receive their 2.20% APY rate.

If you fail to make a $100 deposit in any month, your rate will drop to 1.3% for that month, but will revert to the 2.10% rate in the next month that you deposit $100.

Jumbo CD

CIT Bank has some of the best CD options available.

The jumbo CD will maximize your return on investment without any stress on your part.

Terms range from 2 to 5 years and rates range from 1.45% to 1.75% APY.

There are no account opening fees, interest is compounded daily, and your CD is FDIC insured.

Term CD

With an opening deposit of $1,000 you can open a high-yield CD for terms ranging from 6 months to 5 years, and rates that range from 0.72% to 2.40% APY.

There is no fee to open an account, your interest compounds daily, and your CD is FDIC insured.

No-penalty CD

Open a no-penalty, 11-month CD with only $1,000 and have access to your funds without fear of penalties if you need to make an early withdrawal.

Interest is compounded daily and funds are insured by the FDIC.

Opening An Account With CIT Bank

Opening an account with CIT Bank is simple and can be done in less than 10 minutes.

In fact, there are just 3 simple steps to opening an account, regardless of the bank product you want.

That is all there is to it.

Of course, if you are opening a Savings Builder account, I recommend you set up a monthly transfer of $100 so you guarantee yourself the highest yield possible.

CIT Bank Fees

This is another area where CIT Bank shines.

They don’t charge any of the typical fees most banks charge.

For instance, you won’t see any of these fees:

• No account opening fees
• No monthly maintenance fees
• No inactivity fees
• No account closure fees

And with a minimum deposit of $25,000, there no wire transfer fees either.

But if your balance drops below this, there may be a fee for outgoing wire transfers.

Note the fee is only on outgoing wire transfers. There are no fees for incoming wire transfers.

For Savings Builder accounts, instead of charging a fee, you earn a lower interest rate if your balance falls below the minimum amount or you don’t make the required monthly deposit.

• Read now: Click here to learn the simplest way to grow your wealth

However, once your balance is higher than the minimum or you complete the required monthly deposit, you earn the highest interest rate again.

Advantages And Drawbacks

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the most common questions I get asked about CIT Bank.

This is a great place to focus on if you are short on time.

Is CIT Bank a legitimate bank?

Yes.

CIT Bank has been in business for over 100 years and is regulated by the United States Treasury.

In addition to offering online banking to customers, they have roughly 60 physical branches in California under the name OneWest Bank.

Finally, FinTech Breakthrough rated CIT Bank the best personal financial company for 2019.

Is CIT Bank secure?

CIT Bank does everything it can to keep itself and customers data secure.

For starters, they use state of the art 188-bit SSL encryption to have a secure browser.

In addition, they automatically sign you out of your account after a period of inactivity as well as layered security so only you can access your account information.

For a complete run down of the security measures CIT Bank takes to keep secure, see below.

Who is CIT Bank owned by?

CIT Bank is owned by CIT Group.

CIT Group offers banking services through CIT Bank and also offers financing, leasing, and other services to small business in the United States.

Is CIT Bank and Citibank the same?

No.

They are two completely different companies.

Many people falsely believe they are the same since the parent companies sound the same.

CIT Bank is owned by CIT Group and Citibank is owned by Citigroup.

Does CIT Bank offer a high interest rate?

CIT Bank consistently offers some of the highest interest rates on all of the products they offer.

And they don’t make you jump through hoops to earn this premier interest rate.

Just deposit a certain amount or set up a monthly deposit of $100 and you are set.

How long does it take to transfer money to CIT Bank?

Transfers to and from CIT Bank take on average 3-5 business days to complete.

This is typical for the banking industry, though some now offer faster transfer times.

What products does CIT Bank offer?

CIT Bank offers a handful of high interest bank products for consumers.

These include:

• Savings Builder
• Money Market Accounts
• Certificates of Deposit
• Premier High Yield Savings

The interest rates on these products varies. To get the most current rates, click here.

Is my money with CIT Bank safe?

The money you deposit with CIT Bank is covered by FDIC Insurance.

This insurance protects up to $250,000 worth of deposits.

This means that if CIT Bank goes bankrupt or out of business, you will get your money back.

What fees does CIT Bank charge?

CIT Bank charges very little fees.

In fact, the fees are only related to certain activities and not on the accounts themselves.

With CIT Bank, you are not charged any account opening fees or monthly service fees.

The few fees they do charge are on outgoing wire fees and overdraft fees on their money market account.

• Read now: Click here to learn more about overdraft protection

Why does a high interest rate matter?

The higher the interest rate on your savings, the faster your money compounds and grows.

• Read now: Click here to learn the power of compound interest

Here is a simple example for you.

Let’s say you have $5,000 and can put it into a savings account that earns 0.50% interest or one that earns 2.25% interest.

Here is how much interest you earn in 5 years in each account.

As you can see, the higher interest paying account grows your money faster.

This is why you want to make sure when you open your savings account with CIT Bank, you set up a monthly transfer of $100 so you earn the highest interest rate they offer.

CIT Bank Alternatives

There are a lot of online banks out there, but not all are created equal.

Here are two alternates to CIT Bank that compete well.

CIT Bank vs. Ally

What makes Ally stand out vs. CIT Bank is they offer checking accounts. Because of this, they could be you only bank you use.

In addition to this, they pay competitive interest rates on their savings products. However, their rate is not as high as CIT Bank.

You can click here to learn more about Ally Bank.

CIT Bank vs. Capital One 360

Capital One 360 also offers a complete banking experience like Ally Bank does.

The difference with Capital One 360 is the interest they pay on their savings accounts is considerably lower than CIT Bank and Ally Bank.

• Read now: Click here to learn why so many people love Capital One 360

Still, they are easy to use and many customers are happy with them.

As of this writing, Capital One 360 is offering a bonus on their savings accounts. If you click this link and open your account with $250, they will give you $25!

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, CIT Bank offers savings products to help you save money. And it does an amazing job at this.

It doesn’t have any frills or bells and whistles, which allows them to offer one of the highest interest rates in the country.

While some people might see the lack of extras as a drawback, I see it as a strength.

Your savings is there to grow and to be used for specific goals. By not having the extras, your money grows faster and stays in your account to grow.

And when I was first starting to work on improving my finances, this is what I wanted.

• Read now: Click here to learn the 10 steps to build wealth

So I opened up an online bank account and I shredded the ATM card. I didn’t want easy access to the money.

I wanted it to grow and compound.

And that is what it did.

If you want to start improving your finances you need to build a savings cushion and CIT Bank helps you do this efficiently and effectively.

The post CIT Bank Review | Make Money On Your Savings appeared first on MoneySmartGuides.com.

Every few months I would take my change to the bank and deposit into my savings account.

It always blew my mind how much money my spare change added up to.

Thanks to technology, there is a novel new way to benefit from your spare change.

You can use it to help pay off debt.

It’s called Qoins.

With the Qoins app, your purchases are rounded up and the money is then transferred to help you pay off your debt faster.

It really is this simple.

In this post, I am going to walk you through the Qoins app so you can see just how powerful it is.

My Qoins Review | The Best Spare Change App To Pay Off Debt

What Is Qoins?

Qoins is a clever app that lets anyone use their spare change to pay down their debt faster.

It’s actually a smaller version of the debt snowball plan many use to get out of debt.

• Read now: Click here to see the debt snowball in action

The app was created by Christian Zimmerman to help people get out of debt so they can start building wealth.

He saw the power behind other micro saving apps to help people save money, but didn’t see anything to help people pay off debt.

So he created Qoins.

Here is a short video overview of how the Qoins app works.

By allowing you to pay extra on any debt you have, you can get out of debt faster and save money on interest.

And with the levels of debt Americans have, this is a good thing.

• Read now: Click here to read the shocking debt statistics of the average American

To date, Qoins users have paid off over $4.5 million worth of debt.

This alone confirms the app does what it is intended to do.

How To Get Started With Qoins

There are four simple steps to get started with the Qoins app, each one taking about 2 minutes to complete.

#1. Download the app by clicking here. Then enter your personal information to create your account.

#2. Connect your bank account to the app. This is where round ups or Smart Savings will be transferred from and over to Qoins.

#3. Add your round up accounts. These are the accounts Qoins will look for round up opportunities.

#4. Add your debt accounts. These are the accounts you want your round ups or Smart Savings to be applied to.

After set up is complete, you let Qoins work its magic and round up your purchases or save smartly.

In fact, many users say they forget about Qoins rounding up their purchases because the amounts are so small.

But they do notice their debt balances dropping faster.

How Qoins Works

Depending on the saving option you choose, Qoins will work on saving your money and applying the savings to your debt.

Smart Savings

With the Smart Savings option, you let Qoins save a random, small amount from your bank account every few days.

You choose the level of savings you want Qoins to take, from aggressive to conservative and you can change this level as often as you want.

The benefit of using Smart Savings is users tend to save more money using this feature versus the round up feature.

Round Ups

With rounds ups turned on, Qoins will look for round up opportunities every time you spend using a linked card.

For example, you pay for groceries using your credit card and the total comes to $66.18.

Since you set up your credit card as a round up account in the Qoins app, Qoins sees this transaction and rounds up the purchase to $67.00.

Qoins then transfers the $0.82 into your Qoins savings account.

Once your Qoins balance reaches the amount limit you set, a payment is made to the debt of your choice.

Note that Qoins will not make a transfer every time you make a purchase.

Once your round ups total $5, only then will Qoins transfer money from your bank funding account to your Qoins savings account.

Withdrawal And Payment Rules

The app has two basic methods for you to choose from in terms of rules for sending out payments to your creditors.

Threshold Rule

The threshold rule has the app send a check to a selected creditor every time you reach a money-level threshold in your Qoins account.

If the threshold is $15, then Qoins will send out a payment every time you accumulate $15 in your Qoins savings account.

Lump Sum Rule

The lump sum rule has Qoins send a payment every month, no matter how much your accumulated savings from rounded up transactions are.

You simply pick a day of the month, and when that day rolls around, Qoins sends your creditor a check for whatever amount you’ve saved up to that point.

Note that the lump sum rule is the default rule used by Qoins.

It is also important to note that there are fees when you pay a creditor, so you need to take that into account when determine which payment rule to use.

Qoins Fees

Qoins does charge a fee for using their service.

However, the fee is only charged when a payment is made to one of your debts.

The cost to send a payment is $1.99.

For example, if you saved $50 through round ups, then Qoins will deduct $1.99 and send $48.01.

The fee always comes from your rounded up savings, not your checking account.

And when you try out Qoins, your very first payment is free. Therefore there is zero risk for you to try it out.

Advantages And Drawbacks

There are both great advantages to using Qoins and some drawbacks.

Here are the biggest of each.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are the common questions I get asked about the Qoins app.

If you are short on time, this is a good place to get answers to most questions about the app.

Is Qoins app safe?

The app uses 256-bit encryption and meets all industry standards with regard to security tech.

In addition, the accounts in which Qoins stores your accumulated funds is FDIC insured.

Finally, if any of your Qoins payments are not processed correctly, Qoins will refund the payment amount back to your Qoins account at no charge to you.

What is required to start using Qoins?

In order to open a Qoins account, you need to be at least 18 years old and have a US based checking account to link to the app.

How much does Qoins cost?

Fees, which are directly deducted from your funding account you set up on day one, vary by usage.

The fee charged for a transfer of your savings to one of your debts is $1.99. This fee is charged for each monthly transfer you make.

So if you choose the lump sum payment rule, Qoins will make one payment a month, totaling $1.99.

Over the course of a year, using Qoins will cost you $23.88.

If you choose the threshold payment rule, you can potentially make more than one payment a month. Each of these payments will cost you $1.99.

So if Qoins makes 2 payments to your creditors a month, it will cost you $3.98. Over the course of a year, using Qoins will cost you $47.76.

What kind of debt can I pay down?

You can pay down any kind of debt you choose.

Select from credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, auto loans, student loans and any of hundreds of other kinds of debts.

• Read now: Click here to see the many joys of living a debt free life

All the app needs is the correct account number and address so it can send the payments to the right place and the correct account.

Can I pause activity with Qoins?

Yes.

When you pause a payment in the app, you also pause the roundups as well. This pause feature lasts for 30 days and then resumes.

Can I track my payment history?

The app is very user-friendly when it comes to tracking your data.

You can see every rounding transaction and date, the amount in your account, how much has been paid out, who the payments went to, when the checks were deposited and more.

In essence, whatever monetary parameter you want is included on your data page within the app.

There’s no guessing because you know exactly how much was rounded, saved and eventually sent to creditors.

You’ll also see all the fees, down to the penny, that Qoins has charged you for their services.

How do I delete my Qoins account?

Deleting your Qoins account is easy.

First, you need to cancel any upcoming payments. After this any money in your Qoins account will be refunded to your linked checking account.

Finally, contact customer service and let them know you want to deactivate your account.

The closing process can take up to 2 weeks depending on any transfers that need to be canceled.

Who is Qoins a perfect fit for?

If you are the kind of person who likes to pay your debt down painlessly, the Qoins app is for you.

There is no technical expertise required for setup.

All you do is decide what accounts to link to Qoins and your payment method and let Qoins get to work.

Below is a short success video of one Qoins user.

By simply taking advantage of her spare change, Janice paid off an extra $1,500 on her debt!

How much money can Qoins save me?

The amount of money Qoins saves you depends a lot on your debt and interest rates.

But I will give you an example so you can get an idea of how much money using this app can save you.

Let’s say you have a credit card with a balance of $10,000 and 17% interest.

If you pay $200 a month on this debt, it will take you over 7 years to pay off this debt and you will pay over $7,500 in interest.

This means you will have paid over $17,500 in total!

But let’s say you use Qoins.

Your monthly Qoins payment is $50 and after they take their fee, your actual payment is $48.01.

With a $247.01 monthly payment, it will take you roughly 5 years to pay off this debt and you will pay less than $5,000 worth of interest.

By using Qoins, you are out of debt over 2 years faster and you saved more than $2,500 in interest!

This is why Qoins works.

Getting out of debt is a long, and at times difficult process.

• Read now: Click here to learn how to stay motivated when paying off debt

With the help of Qoins, you stay motivated throughout the process, increasing your chances of being debt free.

Alternatives To Qoins

There are some alternatives to Qoins.

However most micro savings apps are designed to save you money, not help you pay down your debt.

Because of this, there is only one true competitor to Qoins.

Qoins vs. ChangeED

ChangeED works very similar to Qoins.

The main differences are ChangeED only works on paying down student loan debt.

Also, ChangeED makes payments when your round ups total $100 and the fee for the payment is $1.00.

Final Thoughts

Qoins is a great option for those looking to pay off their debt faster.

On the surface, it doesn’t sound like rounding up your spare change will make a difference, but it does.

The average Qoins user pays off an extra $600 annually on their debt.

This means getting out of debt faster and saving money by paying less interest.

And most Qoins users don’t even realize the app is working for them.

This is because of the small withdraws it takes from your checking account.

If you are serious about debt and finally breaking free, Qoins is a smart option to try.

The post Qoins Review | The Best Spare Change App To Pay Off Debt appeared first on MoneySmartGuides.com.

For many people wondering if hybrid cars are worth it, the answer is probably not.

The reality is that in most cases, hybrid cars end up costing you more money than buying a gas powered car.

So then why do so many people buy a hybrid thinking it will save them money?

It is because most people only focus on the cost of gas as a reason for buying a hybrid car.

And this makes sense.

Each week you head over to the gas station to fill up your tank.

Depending on the price of gas, you are looking at a cost of around $40 or more to fill up every week.

To relieve this pain at the pump, we focus on solutions to avoid the gas station.

The solution that pops into your mind is to buy a more fuel efficient car, namely a hybrid car.

Better fuel efficiency means fewer trips to the gas station, which means you save money.

It’s a win-win-win.

If only it were that simple.

The truth is, gas is only one part of the picture when it comes to saving money on your car.

Do Hybrid Cars Save You Money? The Complete Picture

To see whether hybrid cars save you money, you have to look at the complete picture.

This means you need to look at the following:

• Purchase price
• Reliability/On going costs
• Gas savings
• Ownership savings
• Purchase incentives

Once you look at each of these, you will get a much clearer picture of whether you should buy a hybrid car.

Let’s go through these topics in detail.

Hybrid Purchase Price

The first thing you need to look at when determining if a hybrid will save you money is the cost of buying the car.

Often hybrid cars are more expensive than other cars.

According to the most recent numbers, the average price of a hybrid is $4,650 more than a gas powered car.

This is because they cost more to build. The manufacturer then passes that added cost on to the buyer.

For example, look at the cost of a 2019 Hyundai Sonata. The base price for the Limited model is $24,700.

The same car as a hybrid costs $29,800.

So right off the bat, a hybrid isn’t saving you any money. It is costing you more money.

In this example, it is costing you $5,100 more to buy. Note that I will talk about tax credits shortly.

While the general rule is that a hybrid car is more expensive, the price difference will vary depending on the cars you are comparing.

But this is only part of the picture of whether hybrids are worth it, so let’s move on to reliability.

Hybrid Car Reliability

Since I am comparing the same make and model vehicle, the reliability for both should be similar.

Therefore, there isn’t any major savings by choosing one over the other.

Overall, hybrid cars are just as reliable as gas powered cars.

You shouldn’t expect it to cost you a lot more in terms of routine maintenance.

But there are some differences.

For starters, a hybrid uses the brakes to regenerate the battery.

This means brake pads on hybrids tend to last longer compared to gas only cars.

Again, this isn’t a huge savings, but is worth noting.

Another difference is the cost of insurance. There are some insurance companies that offer discounted rates to owners of hybrid vehicles.

This is because the typical hybrid owner isn’t known to be an aggressive driver and speed.

By being seen as a safe driver, you can get discounts on insurance.

With that being said, some insurance companies charge more to hybrid owners.

This is because they see a costlier car in terms of repair.

Not only do they have to cover the traditional internal combustion engine, but also the hybrid system too.

Your best bet here is to ask your insurance carrier what the annual premium would be and then compare that to another insurance company.

Liberty Mutual is a good choice for comparing.

The other major concern with hybrid car reliability is the hybrid battery.

Many people think replacing a hybrid battery will cost tens of thousands of dollars.

They also believe the battery will only last a certain length of time or number of miles.

The truth is car manufactures build hybrid car batteries to last the life of the vehicle.

And many car manufactures offer standard warranties on hybrid batteries that last up to 10 years and cover 100,000 miles.

This is much longer than a traditional warranty on a gas powered car.

There are even stories of hybrid taxi cars whose batteries last more than 300,000 miles!

The truth is, replacing a hybrid battery is rare. And when it does happen, the cost to replace one is typically $5,000 or less.

Therefore, you shouldn’t worry about needing to replace the hybrid battery as more often than not, you will never have an issue.

When comparing the same make and model, the reliability issue is not a major factor in terms of price.

Now if you were comparing a gas powered Audi and a hybrid Ford, then you would dig into how long the car typically lasts as well as the price for repairs to see which one is a better deal.

This is because cars from different manufacturers will have different maintenance costs and reliability estimates.

Gas Savings

Now we get back to the cost of gas.

To determine if there are any savings here, you need to look at the cost of gas and the number of miles you drive your car.

We will assume that the price of a gallon of gas is $2.50 for regular and that you drive 15,000 miles per year.

The gas powered Sonata averages 28 miles per gallon combined. The hybrid version averages 41 miles per gallon combined.

The formula to figure out your annual cost of gas is to take annual miles driven multiplied by the cost of a gallon of gas. You then divide this by the average miles per gallon.

For the gas powered Sonata, the formula is this: 15,000 (miles driven) x $2.50 (price of gas). This gets us 37,500. We divide this by 28 (average mpg) and the answer is $1,340.

We will spend $1,340 per year in gas with this car.

With the hybrid, the annual gas cost is $915.

Over the course of a year, the hybrid will save you $425 in gas.

Sadly, while this gives us a rough idea of the cost of filling up our gas tank, it is not 100% accurate.

This is for two reasons.

The first reason is that the price of gas fluctuates.

If the price of gas rises, the savings for the hybrid car will be greater. If gas prices fall, the savings go away.

For example, let’s use the same example as above but assume gas costs $3.50 a gallon.

The gas powered Sonata will cost $1,875 in annual fill ups.

The hybrid will cost $1,280.

The hybrid saves you $595.

As gas prices increase, hybrids will save you more money on gas.

For example, when gas is $5.00 a gallon, the hybrid Sonata will save you close to $850 a year in gas.

But at $2.50 a gallon, the savings drop to roughly $400.

The second reason is your commute.

I took the average combined miles per gallon in my example. If you live in the city, you will want to focus more on the city mileage rating.

If you drive mostly on highways, then focus more on the highway mileage rating.

Also, the number of miles you drive each year has a major impact on your comparison.

The more you drive, the sooner you will see savings by going with a hybrid.

The less you drive, the longer it will take to see any meaningful savings.

Again, let’s assume gas is $3.50 a gallon and you drive 20,000 miles a year.

The gas version costs you $2,500 a year in gas.

The hybrid will cost you $1,707 a year in gas.

Your savings from buying a hybrid is $793 a year.

Finally, there is one more thing that it critical to know about hybrids and gas savings.

This is something I rarely hear anyone talk about.

When the temperature drops below 35 degrees, hybrids see a reduction in miles per gallon.

It is not uncommon to notice a 35% reduction in fuel efficiency in cold weather.

This means if you routinely get 41 miles per gallon, when cold weather hits, you will experience roughly 27 miles per gallon.

The gas powered version will see a 20% decrease in fuel efficiency in cold weather.

This means a drop from 28 miles per gallon down to 22 miles per gallon.

Therefore, if you live in cold climates, buying a hybrid may not make sense for this reason alone.

Just know as a general rule, hybrids save you money when it comes to paying for gas.

But just like the difference in purchase price, spending money on gas is only part of the picture.

Purchase Incentives

The next thing to consider when determining if a hybrid car is worth it is if there are any incentives.

There are a few levels of incentives to look at.

The first is with the dealer. Many times dealers will offer cash back or rebates on various models.

As of this writing, there are no purchase incentives on the Sonata.

In the past, the offer was $2,000 cash back on the gas powered Sonata. On the hybrid, the cash back was $2,500.

Since there are no cash back incentives, the price of the gas powered Sonata would be $24,700 while the hybrid Sonata would be $29,800.

This means the hybrid version costs an additional $5,100.

The next area to look at is government tax credits.

In years past, the government offered any type of hybrid car a tax credit.

But this is no longer the case.

The current tax law for hybrid cars allows for a credit when you buy an electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle.

This credit is anywhere from $2,500 up to $7,500.

Since the Sonata hybrid in this scenario isn’t a plug-in, there is no government tax credit.

Some states also offer a tax credit, as do some utility companies.

Again, most offer these credits are on plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles only, but make sure you check to see if you qualify.

Ownership Savings

The last area to look at is ownership savings.

This area has little to do with money and more to do with other types of savings.

For example:

• With a hybrid car, you will save time by not having to run to the gas station as frequently.
• With a hybrid car, you could drive in the HOV lane, escaping traffic, saving time, and avoiding stress.
• You help save the environment as you have a smaller carbon footprint with a hybrid vehicle.
• Some companies allow hybrid owners special parking spots and other company perks.

You will have to determine what, if any, of these factors play a role in owning a hybrid car.

While you can’t put a monetary value on them, you will have to decide if not running to the gas station as frequently will improve your life and if that happiness is worth it.

For example, if saving the 15 minutes by not going to the gas station as often is a major win for you, is it worth paying an extra $4,000 for a car?

The Complete Hybrid Picture

Now that we know what to take into account, is buying a hybrid worth it?

Let’s look at the Hyundai in detail over a 10 year period.

We know that the Sonata hybrid initially costs more and there are no current incentives from the manufacturer.

There are no extra savings in the form of government hybrid car tax credits either.

So out the door, buying a hybrid puts us in the hole by $5,100.

When looking at the cost of gas, we see that the hybrid will save us money.

But it is only saving us $424 each year.

When we take into account the higher purchase price, we find that we have to drive the car over 10 years to have the gas savings get us back to net zero!

In other words, after 10 years of owning the hybrid, we will have spent more money buying the hybrid than if we just bought the gas powered version instead.

It won’t be until year 11 that we start saving money with the hybrid car!

Here is an annual break down of the cost to own over 10 years.

If you tend to only keep your car for 6 years, which is the average length of time consumers keep their cars, you are going to spend over $2,000 more buying a hybrid than you would buying the gas powered version.

But there is one caveat here.

And it is all the other savings you get from owning a hybrid car.

You have to determine how much better your life will be not visiting the gas station each week.

You have to determine how much you care about the environment.

If these monetary and non-monetary savings are worth it for you, then owning a hybrid car can make sense.

But if you are only trying to save the most money possible, you are better off buying a gas powered car instead that has good gas consumption.

This is because of how long it will take you to actually begin saving money with a hybrid.

And as car manufacturers meet new fuel efficiency guidelines, gas powered cars are going to increase their miles per gallon.

This will only continue to erode the potential savings from fewer fill ups you get from a hybrid.

Finally, while I am looking at the cost of new cars, know that used hybrids command a higher resale price as well.

This means you might not come out ahead with a hybrid buying used either.

So this leaves us with two unanswered questions.

• If you think a hybrid is worth it, which ones are the best value?
• If your ultimate goal is to save money, especially on gas, but you don’t think a hybrid is worth it, what do you do?

Below are the answers to both of these questions.

Which Hybrids Are The Best Value?

If you run through this guide and feel that based on your numbers and other factors that a hybrid makes sense for you, what are the best hybrid vehicles to buy?

In no particular order, here are the best hybrids that get you the most for your money.

• Toyota Corolla LE
• Kia Optima EX
• Honda Accord LX
• Nissan Rogue
• Toyota RAV 4
• Toyota Camry LE

Below are charts breaking out years of ownership.

First, you can see how much more expensive buying a hybrid is compared to the gas powered version of the same car.

In most cases, you are looking at between $2,000 and $3,000 premium.

The exception to this is the Nissan Rogue, which has the hybrid version at a lower purchase price than the gas powered model.

Next, you will see how much money you will save in annual fuel costs by owning the hybrid version.

These numbers assume you drive 15,000 miles a year and pay $3.00 for a gallon of gas.

Based on these numbers, you can expect to save anywhere from $200 up to $550 a year in gas.

Now that we have this information, we need to look at owning the hybrid over the long term.

Below is a chart doing this.

The green numbers show you how much money you are saving by purchasing a hybrid car and red numbers show you how much you are losing by opting for a hybrid.

For example, let’s look at the Kia Optima.

Taking into account the purchase premium of the hybrid and the annual gas savings, after 5 years of ownership, you end up paying $650 more for the hybrid.

After 6 years, you are paying $296 more for the hybrid.

Finally in year 7 of owning the car, you are truly saving money by opting for the hybrid version.

In other words, if you only keep your car 5 or 6 years, buying the hybrid Optima is not a smart financial decision.

On the other hand, let’s look at the Honda Accord.

After 5 years of owning the hybrid, you are already saving $971! If you own the car for 10 years, you saved yourself $3,541.

This is a smart financial decision if you keep your cars this long.

And seeing how this analysis is factoring in 15,000 annual miles, you should be able to keep driving the Accord for much longer than 10 years.

These vehicles in the chart are the best hybrid values because the purchase premium of the hybrid is low enough that you will save money much sooner than with most other hybrids.

But again, I encourage you to run your own numbers so that you can make the best decision for your wallet and your tastes.

To determine these numbers, I used purchase price and fuel economy to take into account versus gas powered alternatives.

I did not take into account incentives since these change all of the time and would skew the results.

For example, I could have taken into account the current incentive on the Toyota Highlander.

This incentive would make the hybrid version a decent option. But if that incentive goes away, the Highlander Hybrid is not a good value.

I also assumed that the maintenance costs are the same between the gas powered version and the hybrid version.

Of course, not on this list are hybrids that don’t have a gas powered alternative like the Prius.

Also not on this list are plug in hybrids/electric vehicles.

This is because almost always, they are good values.

But the best values here are the following vehicles:

• Toyota Prius
• Kia Niro Plug-in
• Subaru Crosstrek Plug-in
• Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid

Since the purchase price of a hybrid is what makes or breaks any savings, it is critical to get this number as low as you can.

I wrote an article on how to save the most money buying a car that will help you with this critical step.

In the event you don’t want to read the entire post, make sure you use Edmunds.com to research car prices so you ensure you don’t over pay.

I love using Edmunds because this site lets you get personalized price alerts and specialized car buying experts.

You can learn more here.

At the end of the day, it is critical you look at the different models yourself and not rely on the chart above.

The reason for this is because incentives change regularly, which has an impact on the overall numbers.

Also, this list was put together using an average gas price of $3 per gallon.

As I mentioned earlier, the higher the cost of gas, the more savings you will experience with the hybrid.

How To Save The Most Money On Gas

If after reading through this guide you realize that a hybrid car is not worth it to you but you really want to save money on gas, I have some simple solutions for you.

#1. Learn The Ideal Way To Drive

Speeding up quickly after a red light or applying the brakes hard destroys your gas mileage and costs you with added wear and tear on your car.

Learn to anticipate red lights by allowing your car to coast to a stop.

When stepping on the gas after the light turns green, apply light pressure to the pedal and slowly increase your speed.

Driving fast also has an impact on your gas mileage.

For every 5 mph over 60 mph that you drive, you are paying an additional 27 cents per gallon on gas.

Using an example, let’s say you drive at 75 mph. That is 15 mph over 60 meaning you are paying an additional 81 cents per gallon. That is huge!

When you get on the highway, just set your cruise control for 65 mph, save money on gas and forget about everyone else.

#2. Reduce Weight As Much As Possible

There is a law of physics that says force equals mass times acceleration. Your car consumes more gas when it needs more force.

And it needs more force when there is added weight.

So take an hour this weekend and clean out your trunk and back seat of everything you don’t need.

Doing so will instantly improve your gas mileage.

#3. Pay With Cash

More and more gas stations offer a discount on gas when you pay with cash.

This discount can amount to $0.05 or more per gallon.

Before you fill up, be sure to ask if they offer a cash discount.

#4. Use A Cash Back Credit Card

If paying in cash is too much trouble for you, there is another option.

You can use a cash back credit card.

The one I use gets me a 3% reward. So for every dollar I spend on gas, I save $0.03.

You can check out this card in my resources section.

#5. Be Smart And Pay Attention

When you are running errands, be on the lookout for gas stations to see who has the best prices.

You can also use free apps on your phone to help with this.

Then make it a point to fill up when you are near these stations.

Also, when traveling, know that gas stations near the highway exits tend to charge more for gas.

Take an extra 10 minutes and drive into town for a lower price on gas.

Plug In Electric Vehicles

This post about hybrid cars would not be complete without talking about plug in hybrids.

While most of the data I shared above is true with a plug in hybrid as well, you have to take into account electricity and how that factors into your savings.

In most cases, buying a plug in hybrid is a smart financial choice.

This is for two reasons.

• First, there is the federal tax credit of up to $7,500. In many instances, this credit can make the purchase price between a plug in hybrid and a gas powered car identical.

For example, Hyundai Sonata Limited has a price of $24,700. The Sonata Plug In Hybrid has a price of $31,900.

This is a difference of $7,200.

In addition to this tax credit, many state and local governments and your utility company may off credits or rebates as well.

• Second is the cost of electricity. You may have to add an outlet in your garage or onto the side of your house to charge the car. You can use a standard 120 volt outlet or a 220 volt outlet. The cost to install an outlet is a one time charge of up to $500.

But we have to talk electric cost. For example, assume electric costs $0.11 per KW hour.

If you have a standard 120 volt outlet, it will take 9 hours to fully charge the battery in a Sonata. This means it will cost you $0.99.

If you have a 220 volt outlet, it will take you 3 hours to charge the battery. This means it will cost you $0.33.

A fully charged battery will allow you to drive up to 27 miles on electric alone.

Therefore, if you drive 25 miles every day and charge the car every night for 9 hours, it is costing you $1.00 a day or $365 a year to operate.

Of course this doesn’t take into account days when you travel longer distances and need to fill up with gas.

But the idea is by choosing a plug in hybrid, you will save money compared to a gas powered car.

Frequently Asked Questions

This post takes a deep look at answering the question of is a hybrid worth it.

Because you might be limited on time, I created this section for you to quickly skim through to get the answers to your biggest questions when it comes to hybrid cars.

Are hybrids expensive to repair?

It all depends on what needs to be repaired. In most cases, hybrids are not more expensive to repair compared to gas powered cars.

However, if there is a major issue with the hybrid system, then you will be looking at a costly repair bill.

At the end of the day, you have 2 major components powering a hybrid car. The internal combustion engine and the hybrid battery system.

On traditional cars, you only have one major component, the internal combustion engine.

Therefore, the odds of something major going wrong with a hybrid are greater, simply because there are two systems that power the car.

With that said, if you buy from a reliable manufacturer, you shouldn’t expect to have higher repair bills.

Are hybrids expensive to maintain?

Hybrids are not more expensive to maintain.

They get their oil changed just like traditional cars do at the same set intervals and you have the same intervals for routine maintenance.

In fact, in some cases a hybrid is less costly to maintain. For example, hybrids use the brakes to regenerate the battery.

As a result, brakes tend to last longer in hybrids than in traditional cars.

Are hybrids reliable?

Yes hybrid cars are reliable. In fact, hybrids are just as reliable as gas powered cars.

While there is a myth that the hybrid battery will eventually die and leave you stranded, the truth is this is very rare.

Most car manufacturers offer a warranty on the battery that is longer than the warranty on the gas engine and related powertrain.

Some car manufacturers even warranty the hybrid battery for life.

Are there any problems with hybrid cars?

There is only one problem with hybrid cars. I consider it a problem because no one talks about it.

The problem is that you will not get the advertised miles per gallon when the temperature drops below 35 degrees.

When the outside temperature is below 35 degrees, you can expect a drop of 35%.

This means if you are getting 49 miles per gallon in warmer weather, in very cold weather you can expect 32 miles per gallon.

This is still decent fuel consumption, but nowhere near what many hybrid buyers expect.

What are the pros and cons of hybrid cars?

Below is a chart going over the pros and cons of hybrid cars.

They are in no order, so you have to determine which ones matter the most to you.

For example, for some reading this, being eco-friendly might be the biggest advantage of owning a hybrid.

For someone else, the potential for lower ownership costs might be the biggest advantage.

Just be sure that you don’t make the mistake of over-hyping the pros of owning a hybrid and dismissing the cons.

What is the resale value of hybrid cars?

Since hybrids are in demand, they tend to have a higher resale value than traditional gas powered cars.

Of course as with any car you are selling, you will get the most money for your car when you sell it privately versus trading it in.

Are hybrids more expensive to insure?

This varies by insurer.

On the one hand, some insurers will give lower premiums to hybrid car owners since the typical driver does not speed and is a safe driver.

On the other hand, some insurers charge higher premiums on hybrid cars because there is more things that can potentially break.

Not only do you have a gas powered engine, but you also have an entire hybrid system that runs off of a battery.

Your best option is to get an insurance quote form your current insurer before you buy a hybrid.

Then get a second quote from Liberty mutual just to ensure you aren’t being overcharged by your current insurer.

Does it make sense to buy a used hybrid?

It can make sense to buy a used hybrid.

When you buy used, you save money as the car has already taken the initial depreciation hit.

However, you do want to understand the warranty the car has. Is there a warranty on the hybrid system? If so, is it transferrable to a new owner?

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, if you want to save money on gas, buying a hybrid car is not worth it.

You will not see a meaningful savings because of the other factors associated with buying and maintaining the car.

The biggest one being that most consumers get rid of a car after just 6 years.

While you may intend to keep your car longer, know that it isn’t always in your control.

You might get into an accident and total your car. Or you might have a major mechanical failure after the warranty expires making it not worth repairing.

But if you have other reasons for wanting a hybrid, like wanting to save the environment, then you can justify the higher initial purchase price and potential of not saving much money by owning a hybrid vehicle.

The goal of this post isn’t to be anti-hybrid.

The goal is to make you think about money over the long term.

As I noted, there are some great hybrids out there that do save you money much sooner than the example I provided.

But there are also many others that will not save you money if that is your ultimate goal.

Too many times we make money decisions based on the short term and they end up costing us more in the long run.

Learn to look long term with your money and you will make smarter financial decisions that will have a positive impact on your well-being.

The post Are Hybrid Cars Worth It? The Answer Will Surprise You appeared first on MoneySmartGuides.com.

Do you try to save money but never seem able to get ahead?

Chances are you save money like most people.

You make it a point to save whatever you have left at the end of the month.

But this is backwards thinking.

If you really want to change your finances for the better, you need to flip your plan around.

You need to save first and spend what is left over.

You are probably thinking how tight money is and how there is no way you can save first and still pay your bills.

But you can save money.

And Qapital is here to help you.

By setting up an automated savings plan where you save your spare change and other micro amounts of money, you pay your bills and save money.

And don’t think for a minute saving your spare change won’t add up to anything.

The average Qapital user saves $1,500 a year!

In this Qapital review, I walk you through this powerful app and why you need to start using it so you can change your finances for the better.

Your Complete Qapital Review | Automated Saving Plans To Reach Your Goals

What Is Qapital?

Qapital started out as an automated savings app and has grown into a full financial suite of products for people looking to take control of their finances.

Not only can you automate your savings, but you can also automate investing through micro investing and have a checking and savings account with Qapital as well.

In addition to these features, Qapital offers some great tools to give you insight into how you are spending your money and this in turn will help you become a better consumer.

But first, a little background.

Qapital was founded by George Friedman and Katherine Salisbury, who were consistently failing at saving money.

They grew frustrated that there wasn’t a product customized to the person trying to save and what their goals and motivations were.

So they decided to create it and Qapital was born.

Here is a brief overview of Qapital if you are short on time.

The app is available on both Apple and Android devices.

How Does Qapital Work?

When Qapital first started, it was simply an automatic savings app.

But as its user base grew and the founders wanted to offer better financial solutions to its users, it has evolved into something bigger.

Much bigger.

Qapital still offers automated savings, but it also offers investing accounts and spending accounts.

Let’s look at each of these in greater details.

Qapital Automated Savings

This is the reason why I first started using Qapital.

To be honest, I first started using Digit.

They were the first on the scene to offer an automatic way to save money and I loved everything about it.

• Read now: Click here to learn more about the simplest way to become rich

Then one day out of blue, Digit announced it was going to start charging users a monthly fee.

I have nothing wrong with charging a fee, but the way Digit went about it left a lot of its users upset.

And many fled looking for something else.

I was one of these users and this is how I stumbled upon Qapital.

From the start, the savings feature blew all competitors out of the water, and still does.

Here is how savings works with Qapital.

First, you link your checking account to Qapital. This is known as your funding account and is where money will be taken from to save.

You also link your credit cards and debit cards so Qapital can see all of your spending and make the appropriate transfers.

These are your spending accounts.

When you make a purchase from one of your spending accounts, Qapital rounds up the purchase and withdraws the amount from your funding account once the balance reaches $5.

The money is transferred over to Qapital and is put in an FDIC insured account for you.

Next, you set up the rule or rules you want Qapital to follow.

Here are the handful of rules you can choose from.

The Round Up Rule

Setting this rule has your purchases round up to the next dollar and then transfer over to Qapital when they total a minimum of $5.

For example, if you spend $8.45 on fast food, the purchase gets rounded up to $9 and Qapital will transfer $0.55.

Again, this transfer doesn’t happen until you reach a total of $5 in round ups.

You can customize this rule to round up to the nearest $2 or $3 as well to save more money.

Using our example above with the $2 round up rule, $2.55 would be transferred.

Sticking with the basic round up rule, Qapital users save on average $44 a month, or over $500 a year!

The Spend Less Rule

This rule is one of my favorites. If you typically spend a certain amount of money when grocery shopping, you can set up this rule to help you spend less and the difference is transferred.

For example, if your grocery trip usually costs $80, you set the rule for that amount. Then when you go shopping and spend $65, the $15 you saved is transferred to your Qapital account.

Set And Forget Rule

Using this rule allows you to set a specific savings amount to save every week.

So if you want to save $5 a week, set this rule and Qapital will automatically transfer $5 every week.

Guilty Pleasure Rule

When you activate this rule, you set a place as your guilty pleasure. When you spend money there, Qapital will make a transfer to your account based on the amount you set.

For example, if your guilty pleasure is Dairy Queen, you can set this rule to transfer $5 to Qapital every time you spend money at Dairy Queen.

Freelancer Rule

This one is perfect for people who work for themselves and are required to withhold taxes from their income.

When you make a deposit of $100 or more in your linked checking account, Qapital transfers a percentage to your Qapital account.

Now when your taxes are due, you have the money to pay them!

52 Week Rule

Another one of my favorites. This rule increases the amount of money transferred each week by $1.

So on week 1, you transfer $1 and on week 2, $2 is transferred. By the end of the year, you saved $1,378!

If This Than That (IFTTT)

If none of these rules interest you, you can create your own savings rule with the If This Than That protocol.

For example, if you spend way too much time on Twitter, you can link that app up using this rule and save money whenever you tweet.

Here are a few other novel ways to use this rule to save money:

Basically if you can think of an interesting rule, you can most likely create it using IFTTT.

The great thing about these rules is you can use one or multiple ones at the same time.

At one point I was using the round up rule and the 52 week rule.

In addition to this, you can set up different rules for each of your savings goals.

For example, I was using Qapital to save for a vacation as well as to beef up my long term savings.

I had both accounts set up with the round up rule, but I also had the set and forget rule set up for my vacation savings too.

I even had different credit cards funding each savings goal.

The bottom line is the automated savings feature Qapital offers is very powerful.

There is no reason why you can’t grow your savings using this app.

Qapital Invest

Qapital Invest takes the same idea they use for saving money and applies it to investing.

As a result, the investing feature is perfect for new investors just starting out and learning how investing works.

But it also is great for experienced investors too.

I have most of my money with other brokers, but I use Qapital Invest to invest smaller amounts on a regular basis.

To get started with Qapital Invest, you start out with the goal or goals you have for you money and your time horizon.

From there, you answer some questions so Qapital can assess your risk tolerance and put you in the right portfolio for you.

As with the savings feature, you can have multiple goals.

So you can invest for retirement and for a house down payment separately and be in different portfolios because of the varying time horizon of when you will need the money.

And you can set up many of the same rules with Qapital Invest as you can with Qapital Automated Savings.

Qapital Spend

Qapital Spend is a new feature now being offered. It is simply a checking and savings account with Qapital along with a Visa debit card.

By offering these services, you can make transferring money between accounts and your savings and investing more easily.

It also allows Qapital to better track your money and offer better insights for you as well.

These accounts feature the following benefits:

• No minimum opening deposit
• FDIC insured
• No minimum deposit fees
• No overdraft fees
• No negative balance fees
• Free direct deposit
• Fraud monitoring
• Interest earning

As with the investing feature, you can use the same savings rules with the Qapital checking and savings accounts.

Additional Tools And Features

There are 3 additional tools and features that Qapital offers to users.

Spending Sweet Spot

Most people have a tough time creating and sticking to a monthly budget.

Qapital understands this and uses their Spending Sweet Spot instead.

This is a weekly budget to help you get a better understanding of how you spend your money and how you can limit overspending.

By breaking down a monthly budget into a weekly budget, you are more likely to succeed because it is much easier to stay on track for a week at a time versus an entire month.

Added to this, many times we have a tough time forecasting for an entire month.

For example, we see we have $500 in our checking account and think everything is fine.

But we are forgetting about a couple one-time bills that are due later in the month, so the reality is we don’t have as large of a cushion as we think.

Budgeting weekly with the Spending Sweet Spot feature solves this problem.

Payday Divvy

This feature allows you to split your paycheck when it hits your account.

You can choose to assign your income in any way you want.

For example, you can divide your paycheck so a percent goes into your emergency fund, a percent goes towards your investing account, and a percent goes towards your vacation savings.

Then the rest will go into your checking account to pay bills and cover everyday living expenses.

With Payday Divvy, it is easy to divvy up your paycheck so you reach your long term goals and build your wealth.

Money Missions

These are fun challenges created by behavioral economists designed to help you better understand yourself and what you value.

By accepting these missions, you learn why you spend money the way you do and get actionable tips and tricks to be smarter with your money.

The end result is a happier you because you are spending money on things that truly matter to you.

Qapital Fees

When Qapital first started out, it was free to automate your savings.

But the current version of Qapital is no longer free.

New users do get to try our Qapital for free for 30 days. After that, you have to select one of three monthly plans:

• Basic: This costs $3 a month and offers users the automated savings features and all of the rules listed above.
• Complete: This plan costs $6 a month and includes everything in the Basic plan as well as investing accounts, Qapital checking and savings accounts, Payday Divvy and Spending Sweet Spot.
• Master: This plan costs $12 and unlocks all of Qapital. It includes everything in the Basic and Complete plans as well as Money Missions, exclusive webinars, and first access to new features.

According to Qapital, here is how much the average user saves annually on each plan:

As you can see, regardless of the plan, users save a lot of money annually.

Advantages And Drawbacks

If you are short on time, here is a brief rundown of the areas where Qapital shines and a few wish list items.

Frequently Asked Questions

Many people have questions about Qapital. This section is a summary of the most common questions.

Is Qapital legit?

Qapital was born in the US in 2015 and has since become one of the most downloaded apps. In fact, within 5 months of launching, they had users from all 50 states.

According to the Better Business Bureau, Qapital gets a rating of A-.

Is my personal information safe?

Qapital uses the latest SSL and TSL encryption standards and your account numbers are never stored on Qapital servers.

There are also added features like Remote Lock, Fingerprint ID, Passcode Access and Passcode Lock to further ensure you and your information is safe.

When it comes to your money, all accounts are FDIC insured up to $250,000.

In addition to the above protections, understand that Qapital does not sell any of your information to third parties.

This is how those companies make money. They sell your information or share it with advertisers.

Since Qapital makes money on a subscription model, there is no need to sell your information to third parties.

What do I need to open a Qapital account?

In order to open an account with Qapital, you need to be 18 years of age or older and have a US based checking account.

There is no minimum deposit required to open an account.

Also, you will need to have a smartphone as Qapital only works through an app and not on your computer.

How does the overdraft protection work?

Overdraft protection works by pausing all round ups and rules if your funding account is at $100 or less.

• Read now: Click here to learn how overdraft protection works

No round ups or rules will complete until the balance in your funding account rises above $100.

Is Qapital FDIC insured?

Yes.

The money in your Qapital accounts are held at Wells Fargo and are covered by standard FDIC Insurance.

Does Qapital pay interest?

Yes.

If you have a checking account, you will earn interest on your money.

The interest is compounded monthly and the rate is currently 0.01%.

If you don’t have a checking account with Qapital, you don’t earn any interest.

Here is how I overcome this.

I set up my savings goal with Qapital and once I hit my goal, I transfer the money back and then deposit it into my savings account at CIT Bank.

For longer term goals where I am saving a lot of money, I will make the transfer at set intervals, like every $500 so that I can take advantage of interest.

It isn’t ideal, but over time, the interest I earn adds up and makes a difference.

Does Qapital charge a fee?

Qapital does charge a monthly fee. The fee varies based on the level of features you want access to.

• Basic: $3 monthly fee
• Complete: $6 monthly fee
• Master: $12 monthly fee

You can get more information on what you get for each fee level in the Fees section of this review.

Which Qapital monthly plan is best?

Since no one’s financial situation is identical, this isn’t a question that is easy to answer.

With that said, most users start out with the Basic plan so they can take advantage of automated savings.

This will help you to build your savings and make saving money a habit.

If you are interested in investing your money, the Complete plan is a viable option as well.

There are other micro investing apps out there, like Acorns, that charges $1 a month for its investing service.

With Qapital you are paying $3 a month. But some people prefer to have their accounts streamlined in one place to make things less complicated.

As for the Master plan, it is good for people who are serious about taking complete control of their money and need assistance in doing so.

For example, I encourage you to understand your values when it comes to money so you can stop wasting money on things that don’t matter.

• Read now: Click here to learn the 10 simple steps to building wealth

This is what the Master plan helps with as well. But it turns it into a game-like interaction which might be a benefit to some.

How do I get my money back from Qapital?

When your money is your savings account, you simply go into the app and set up a transfer back to your bank for the amount you specify.

Once you enter the transfer in the app, Qapital will process it and transfer the money.

How long does it take Qapital to transfer money?

If you are transferring money between your checking account and your Qapital savings account, transfers typically take 2-3 business days.

If you are transferring money from your Qapital Invest account, the transfer takes up to 5 business days because the assets need to be sold in your account first.

How does Qapital make money?

Qapital makes money a couple ways.

First is from the monthly fees it charges users.

The second way they make money is when you swipe your debit or credit card. The card brand, like Visa pays Qapital a small fee.

Alternatives To Qapital

There are a few competitors to Qapital.

The two biggest are Digit and Tip Yourself.

Below is a head-to-head comparison of each.

Qapital vs. Digit

Digit was the first automated saving plan app on the scene. They work much the same as Qapital does, but there are some important differences.

Mainly, Digit, analyzes your spending and makes small transfers to a savings account throughout the month based on this analysis.

Another difference is there is no app for Digit. You interact with the service mainly through text messaging on your phone.

Finally, Digit charges $5 a month for their service.

As of this writing, they offer no other features other than automating your savings.

This is why I prefer Qapital. You have more options for how you save your money and at a lower monthly cost.

Qapital vs. TipYourself

TipYourself works by tipping yourself or rewarding yourself when you do something good or avoid something bad.

The biggest issue with this app is it is entirely manual. There is no automated savings feature.

In other words, you physically have to go into the app and tip yourself every time you want to reward yourself.

The benefit here is it is completely free.

But in my opinion, I would rather pay a small monthly fee and have my savings automated.

Wrapping Up

At the end of the day, Qapital does exactly what it says and does it great.

Automating your savings has never been easier.

Within minutes you have your goals and rules set up and will start saving money on a regular basis, helping you to get ahead.

As with anything, there are some things I would love to see added, like interest paying accounts, but given the goal here is to simply get you to save money, I can’t knock Qapital.

If you want to start saving money effortlessly, I encourage you to look into Qapital.

You won’t be disappointed.

The post Qapital Review | Automated Savings At Its Best appeared first on MoneySmartGuides.com.

Budgeting mistakes can make it much more difficult to reach your financial goals, so it’s important to identify any issues that could be holding you back.

Everyone’s budgeting experience is different, but there are a number of typical errors that you may not be aware of.

This article will cover a few of the most commonly overlooked budgeting mistakes and how you can adjust your approach to fix them.

5 Way To Fix A Budget That Doesn’t Work

#1. You’re Being Too Strict

It’s good to take budgeting seriously, but being overly tight with spending can actually have a negative effect.

Trying to cut out things like entertainment and hobbies will only make you resent your budget, and you’ll be more likely to ignore your financial goals by making an impulse purchase.

How to fix it: Include leisure costs in your budget.

While there’s nothing wrong with trying to reduce how much you spend on things you don’t need, that doesn’t mean you should go too far in the opposite direction.

Be realistic about how much you want to spend on fun, and try not to let yourself feel bad about having a good time.

Begin by looking through previous bank statements to track how much you usually spend on these costs.

From there, you can determine whether you’re content with your existing habits or need to make an adjustment.

If you do decide to start spending less, aim for small, gradual changes rather than changing your lifestyle immediately.

#2. You’re Only Budgeting For Minimum Payments

Nearly 40% of American households carry a credit card balance from one month to the next, and they might not consider this debt an important financial concern. 

“I’ve made the minimum payment, so I’m good, right?” is the general thought process.

The truth is that credit cards usually come with extremely high interest rates compared to other forms of credit, and over time, the interest accrual will kill your budget.

Paying off debt isn’t an exciting way to use the extra money in your paycheck, but the balance will only continue to grow if you don’t start making payments.

The average credit card interest rate is over 14% for existing accounts and more than 19 percent for new accounts.

How to fix it: Increase the amount you budget for credit card payments.

You might feel overwhelmed by your credit card balance and other debts, but you can start moving toward becoming debt-free by putting as much as you can toward them.

Since debts grow the longer the balance remains unpaid, they should always be one of your top financial priorities.

If you’re currently managing multiple debts, start by paying down the balance with the highest interest rate before moving to the lowest.

This is the most efficient way to get out of debt while avoiding as much interest as possible.

#3. You’re Using Somebody Else’s Budget

If you can’t connect your budgeting habits to real-life goals, it will be tough to stick to your budget when you have no motivation.

When you’re simply choosing between an arbitrary budget (perhaps one you found online) and something you really want, there’s a good chance you’ll give yourself the immediate satisfaction.

• Read now: Click here to find the best free budget template for you and your goals

You need to connect your budget to real, actual goals. 

Why are you going through this monthly exercise of budgeting and sticking to it?  You need to write down exactly why you’re doing this.

And of course, vague or generic goals probably won’t help you stay motivated.

Some people try to “save money” without committing to anything specific, but this isn’t usually an effective long-term approach.

How to fix it: Define your short and long term goals.

Budgeting is almost always beneficial, but it’s easier to stay committed if you’re targeting both short and long term financial goals.

Rather than spending less just to be more frugal, you’ll be moving toward a tangible goal like starting to invest, saving for retirement, or building a college fund for a loved one.

• Read now: Click here to learn how to build wealth in 10 simple steps

For the same reasons, it’s best to come up with a concrete, measurable goal each month.

Start with something small, even just $25 or $50 per month will go a long way.

When you’re tempted by something you don’t need, keep both your immediate and long term needs in mind.

It’s easier to hold off when you believe the money you save is going to something more important.

#4. You Don’t Include Unexpected Costs In Your Budget

It’s easy to budget for recurring and regular expenses like groceries, subscriptions, and gas, but things get more complicated for new or one-time costs.

If you need to go to the dentist and take your cat to the vet in the same month, you’ll find yourself going over budget quickly.

When unavoidable expenses completely change your budgeting plans, it can be tough to get back on track.

In order to budget effectively, you’ll need to maintain a long term outlook that takes costs into account before they come up.

This will help you avoid financial surprises and stick to your budget without breaking the bank for major expenses.

How to fix it: Build an emergency fund and budget for surprises.

With an emergency fund, you’ll be able to cover unexpected costs that would otherwise derail your budget.

Once you’ve saved enough money, your emergency fund will also be your first fallback if you lose your primary source of income.

• Read now: Learn how to build your emergency fund fast

Many experts therefore recommend building a fund equal to at least three months of expenses.

It will take time to reach that goal, but just a few hundred dollars will help you get through a range of difficult financial situations.

• Read now: Click here to learn about the simplest ways to save money

Even if you’re currently in debt, it’s still a good idea to put at least some of your paycheck toward an emergency fund if you don’t already have one.

Just as an emergency fund gives you some insurance for surprise expenses, you can budget for the costs you are expecting by starting to think about them a few months in advance.

If your ten year anniversary is coming up, for example, don’t wait until that month to budget for the cost of a gift.

Instead, identify it as a future expense around six months in advance, then divide the cost and save a fraction of the total each month.

Rather than budgeting for $300 all at once, for example, you can start taking $50 out of your paycheck six months beforehand and distribute the savings more evenly.

If the seller offers financing with little or no interest, take advantage of this option to give yourself even more time to pay off the debt.

If you know you’ll have six months to make payments, for example, you could divide that initial $300 into twelve payments of just $25.

The more you can spread out these costs, the easier it becomes to account for them in your monthly budget.

#5. You Ignore The Small Stuff

When you first started budgeting, you probably focused on the largest and most obvious expenses.

It’s satisfying to save a lot of money with a single change, and this is undoubtedly the simplest way to budget.

On the other hand, when you prioritize your most expensive purchases each month, it’s easy to forget how quickly the smaller things add up.

You could be spending a lot less (and taking some pressure off of other changes) by regularly reviewing the less conspicuous areas of your budget.

How to fix it: Review your statements every month.

Most of us lose track of how much we spend on things like subscriptions, coffee, and nights out, but these are often the expenses that put us in financial trouble.

Rather than being satisfied with a few changes, make sure to thoroughly examine your bank statements at the end of each month to see exactly where your money is going.

If you’re having trouble staying on top of your budget, consider downloading one of the many free and low-cost mobile apps designed for users new to budgeting.

• Read now: Click here to see why Tiller is the best budget choice

They’ll help you categorize your expenses, set up automatic payments, and make the best adjustments to start moving in the right direction.

Once you develop the habit of looking over your statements, you’ll start to get an idea of your most problematic spending habits.

From there, you can begin to develop realistic financial goals that match your current budget and long-term needs.

By evaluating your budget every month, you can adjust your goals based on lifestyle changes or results from the previous month.

• Read now: Learn how to keep up with your budget in 5 minutes a month

Your budget shouldn’t be static. It’s important to consistently adapt your approach to your current financial circumstances.

Bonus: The Importance Of Accountability

Another option for you if you have trouble sticking to your budget is to ask someone close to you to check in on your progress and hold you accountable for your decisions.

Make sure this is someone you trust completely.

It’s important that they’ll tell you the truth if things aren’t going well.

With an accountability partner, you won’t be able to shrug things off if you miss your targets.

In the same way that an exercise partner can help you keep making progress even when you aren’t motivated, accountability partners give you another reason to stick to your budget.

Final Thoughts

Budgeting is the best way to build better spending habits, but many people give up on their budgets in the first few months.

These tips will help you develop realistic expectations and create the budget that’s right for your income, expenses, and financial goals.

Remember to check your statements every month to look for even more ways to save money.

Author Bio: Logan is a CPA, personal finance expert, and founder of the finance blog Money Done Right, which he launched in July 2017. After spending nearly a decade in the corporate world helping big businesses save money, he launched his blog with the goal of helping everyday Americans earn, save, and invest more money.

The post 5 Reasons Your Budget Doesn’t Work (And How To Fix It) appeared first on MoneySmartGuides.com.

And when you take into account the prices charged for getting access to these tools and trading stocks, the field narrows even more.

Sadly there are only a couple of brokers that offer many of the things you need to be a successful investor and trade at no cost.

Even worse, these options leave a lot to be desired.

Fortunately, there is a new broker on the scene and they fit the needs of investors perfectly and do so without charging you commissions to trade.

Who is this broker?

It is Webull.

The first and only broker for active investors looking for state of the art tools and zero trade commissions.

In this post, I am going to walk through who Webull is, how to get started investing with them, and how you can earn free stock!

My Webull Review: The Best Free Stock Trading Platform

Who Is Webull?

The official company name is Webull Financial LLC., which was founded in 2018.

The company was started because the founders believed that everyone should have the same opportunity to control their own financial future.

What makes them different than most other brokers is their free stock trading platform and have access to real time market data, news and analysis.

How To Invest With Webull

Investing with Webull is the easiest I’ve found with any broker.

You can open an account and start investing in less than 15 minutes.

Here is the 3-step process.

#1. Use this referral link to sign up for your account. By using this link, US based investors get the opportunity for free stock!

When signing up, you can either use your mobile number or email address.

#2. Download the app. You can download it for either iOS or Android devices.

#3. Provide additional information to complete your account sign up.

This includes your name, address, social security number, and current employer.

To verify your identity, you will have to take a photo of your driver’s license or passport as well.

Finally, you have to answer a couple questions about your investing experience.

Here is a screen shot from the app with what you can expect when opening your account.

Within a few minutes, your account will be confirmed and you can start investing!

How To Get Free Stock With Webull

Once you have your account set up, it is time to get your free stock.

To get yours, you simply open your account and deposit at least $100 in your account.

You have 30 days from opening your account to make your deposit to get your free stock.

The free stock you earn will be valued at anywhere from $4 to $1,000 and will be credited to your account within 5 business days.

You can choose to keep the stock or sell it.

Click here to open your account!

Advantages And Drawbacks

If you are looking for a quick rundown of all the features Webull offers, here I highlight the advantages they have over their competitors and a few drawbacks as well.

Advantages

Free Trading

This one is a no-brainer. When you can trade stocks and not pay a commission, it is an advantage over other brokers.

Real Time Quotes And Extended Hours Trading

You get real times quotes on equities and ETFs.

You also are able to trade during extended hours too.

The trading window begins at 4am and lasts until 8pm EST on business days.

Research Tools

The research tools Webull offers are the best in the industry and include the following.

• Advanced Charts 
• Technic Indicators (Bollinger Bands, MACD, RSI oscillators, exponential moving averages etc.)
• Earnings Analysis
• Stock Screener 
• Quotes Playback 
• Security Comparison 
• IPO Data
• GTC/ Stop Loss and Take Profit /OCO Orders

With most other brokers, you are looking at paying a monthly fee or need to trade a certain number of times per month to get access to these trading tools.

Not with Webull.

They are yours regardless of how often you trade and at no additional fee.

In addition to the above, you also get access to the following:

• News
• Press releases
• Analyst recommendations
• Historical EPS
• Revenue data
• Insider holdings and transactions
• Financial calendars
• Watchlist and alerts
• Margin trading
• Extended-hours trading
• Short selling

Here is an example of a watchlist on the Webull app.

By having access to all of these tools and research, it allows you to be a successful investor over the long term.

Smart Alerts

You can get text messages or email alerts when a stock you are following hits a price target or indicator you have configured.

Doing this ensures you never miss a trading opportunity you identify.

Beginner Education

This is a big advantage for Webull. They offer free training for beginners.

Here is a sample of what you can expect in your Webull account.

This training consists of lessons covering the stock market in general, the Webull platform and how to get the most out of it, and trading strategies to help you be a better investor.

Paper Trading Account

Webull offers a paper trading account for investors too.

With this type of account, you trade in real time, but it is a pretend account with pretend money.

This is great for beginners nervous about trading. You can practice in real time without risking your money.

Drawbacks

Limited Investment Vehicles

The biggest drawback to Webull is the limited number of investment vehicles you can trade.

You are able to trade equities, ETFs on their platform.

Missing are mutual funds, options, bonds, and pink sheet stocks.

In my opinion, this isn’t a deal breaker for most traders.

Overwhelming At First Glance

When you first log into your account, it can be a little overwhelming with all of the options you have for trading, research, education, etc.

So at first glance, it is a lot to take in.

The good news is this feeling quickly passes and you see just how powerful the app is.

Webull understands this, and this is why part of their investor education includes a section on the Webull platform.

Frequently Asked Questions

I get many readers asking questions about Webull, so I created this FAQ section to answer many of the ones I get.

I will update this section as more questions come in.

What does Webull cost?

To trade with Webull, it costs nothing. There are no commissions that Webull charges.

However, the SEC and FINRA do impose small fees on sells only. Unless you are making large trades, most likely you will be charged $0.02 for every sell you make.

How does Webull make money?

Since you can trade for free, many users want to know how Webull makes money.

There are a handful of ways they earn income. They include the following.

• Margin loans
• Interest on cash accounts

While you might not think that they can earn a lot money with these options, this is not the case.

Take Charles Schwab for example. They have been slashing trading commissions for years. As it turns out, they only make a small percentage of their income from trading fees.

The majority of their income comes from the interest they earn on customer’s cash and margin accounts.

This is a similar model to what Webull is using.

Do I really get free stock from Webull?

Yes!

As long as you use this referral link, you will have the ability to get a free share of stock.

Simply deposit $100 or more within 30 days of account approval and you will get a free share of stock.

Understand that you do not choose the stock you want. It is randomly given to you by Webull and there are various odds as to the value of the stock.

For example, here are the odds of the value of free stock:

• Free stock between $4 – $8 per share: 1 in 1.02
• Free stock between $8 – $100 per share: 1 in 74
• Free stock between $100 – $200 per share: 1 in 166.7
• Free stock between $200 – $1,000 per share: 1 in 2,000

As you can see, most likely you are going to get a stock valued between $4 and $8 per share. Most people report the free stock as Ambev (NYSE: ABEV), which is the parent company of Anheuser-Busch.

However, there are people who have earned a free share of Apple stock too.

At the end of the day, it is free money regardless of the stock you earn.

And in addition to the free stock, Webull runs promotions all of the time. A popular one is their paper trading competition.

You can see all current promotions in your account under the Promotion Center.

Is Webull safe?

Yes.

Webull is regulated by FINRA and all accounts offer SIPC protection.

As of this writing, there are zero complaints about Webull. You can see the current BrokerCheck data here.

Additionally, they aim to keep your private information safe and protected.

They use state of the art encryption technology to keep hackers out.

When logging into your account, you can choose to set up 2-factor identification or pattern lock on Android devices to further secure your account.

Alternatives To Webull

With a crowded online broker landscape, you might think there are many alternatives to Webull.

The truth is there are only a couple of brokers that can compete with Webull.

M1 Finance

M1 is another broker that offers commission free trades on stocks.

• Read now: Click here to see what sets M1 Finance apart

The major difference is M1 is designed more for long term investors that are not active trading.

For example, trades with M1 are placed once a day, whereas with Webull, you can place trades throughout the day.

You also won’t find the charting tools with M1 like you will with Webull.

But you will get investor education and you can completely customize a portfolio with stocks or ETFs and pay zero commissions.

Ally Invest

Ally Invest is designed for active traders. They have a wealth of tools for traders to stay up to date on what is happening on Wall Street.

• Read now: Click here to learn more about Ally Invest

In fact, they offer just about everything Webull does.

The main difference is you cannot trade for free.

Ally Invest charges $4.95 per trade. However if you trade frequently enough, you can get this down to $3.95 per trade.

Even so, the no commission trades Webull offers is a better deal.

Robinhood

Robinhood is in the same field as Webull and M1 Finance as they offer zero commission trades.

They also offer options trading, which is something Webull does not.

However the charting tools with Robinhood are lacking when compared to Webull.

Overall, Webull feels like a premium service whereas Robinhood feels more like a novelty service. It is fun at first, but once you get past the initial hype, you are left wanting more.

Final Thoughts

Overall, Webull is an excellent choice for active investors. The fact that you get such powerful tool, investor education and free trades is something not to be taken lightly.

Add in the current promotion of free stock and Webull is quickly making a name for itself in the crowded online broker field.

If you are an active trader or even an investor looking for a great place to trade stocks for free, Webull needs to be on your short list of brokers to consider.

Click here to get started and to get your free stock!

The post Webull Review | The Best Free Stock Trading Platform appeared first on MoneySmartGuides.com.

Do you have nothing at the end of the month and wonder where all your money went?

Has the thought of cutting monthly expenses ever crossed your mind?

Cutting monthly household expenses is one part of the wealth building equation and this is what we are going to focus on in this post.

By reducing or even eliminating some of your monthly bills, you will free up money to pay off debt or save.

And by the end of this post, you will have an action plan that will allow you to cut your monthly bills by thousands and start saving money today.

There are a lot of ways to reduce your monthly expenses. Some people just dive in and cut everyday expenses while others cut household expenses.

Most people try to tackle small expenses first. I like to attack the big expenses first.

The reason I do it is this way is because with large expenses, you tend to get a better return for the time you spend.

For example, if you choose to cut coffee from your budget, you are saving $3 the day you don’t buy coffee. In order to save more money, you need to choose to skip coffee again and again.

While you might be strong and skip coffee a handful of times during the month, eventually your motivation will fade and you will start buying coffee again.

The end result is you saved $30, assuming you skipped buying coffee Monday through Friday for two weeks.

That’s a lot of work and willpower to save $30!

On the other hand, say you call to compare insurance quotes. This call lasts 30 minutes and you end up saving $150 for the year, which is highly possible.

You spent 30 minutes, one time, and saved $150 for an entire year.

That is 50 days without coffee or 10 workweeks of no coffee.

Which option sounds better to you?

This is why I like to focus on the large expenses in your life first. By tackling these first, you will drastically cut expenses easily.

This doesn’t mean we won’t tackle the small expenses. We will look to cut everyday expenses too.

By the end of the post, you will have an outline of things to do in order to start cutting monthly expenses from your budget, freeing up more money than you thought possible.

In fact, many of you should be able to save over $1,000 just by following the tips I outline in this post.

Your Complete Guide To Cutting Monthly Expenses To The Bone

The Big Expenses

Most of us have just a few large expenses in our monthly budget. These are the expenses to cut from your budget first.

They include the following:

• Mortgage/rent
• Insurance
• Cable
• Debt
• Taxes

We want to spend our time working to reduce these monthly expenses first since we will achieve a higher level of savings with very little work.

Let’s get started.

Mortgage

Cutting monthly household expenses when it comes to your mortgage isn’t too difficult of a task. One common option is to refinance for a lower interest rate than you are currently paying.

But, there are traps with refinancing. You could pay an absurd amount in fees, negating the savings.

Or you could even get tricked into extending the length of the loan, causing you to spend more money in the long run.

Make certain you understand your goal when it comes to refinancing before talking with anyone.

Do you want to save money on interest over the course of the loan or are you more interested in cutting the monthly payment so you can free up some cash?

Once you answer this question, then you will be able to sit down with someone and figure out the best route for your situation.

With interest rates still relatively low, you could save a few hundred dollars per month by refinancing.

For example, if you have a mortgage of $200,000 at 4.75%, refinancing to a loan with a 4.00% interest rate will reduce your monthly payment by close to $100.

You just saved yourself $1,200 a year and nearly $32,000 interest!

You just have to be smart about the refinance process and take your time to make sure you understand everything.

If you are in the market for a refinance, here is an interactive calculator to help you get an idea of how much money you can save.

What if it turns out that refinancing isn’t an option for you? Are you stuck with your current payment? Yes and no.

While you won’t be able to easily reduce your currently monthly payment, you can take steps to greatly reduce your mortgage balance.

By lowering your overall balance, you could then refinance and save a boatload of money.

For example, let’s again say you have a loan of $200,000 at 4.75%.

You opt to pay extra on this loan and quickly drop it to $125,000.

You then refinance at 4.00%. Because you are financing a much lower amount, you end up lowering your monthly expense by close to $500!

Rent

When it comes to rent, there isn’t much you can do today to cut your monthly expenses associated with the cost and see a difference.

The one thing you can do today is bring in a roommate.

By having a roommate you will instantly slash all of your monthly bills in half.

Before you shut the door on this idea because you enjoy living alone, I encourage you to at least consider it.

You don’t have to do this, but at least give it some thought. Run the numbers to see how much money you can potentially save.

If you decide to not have a roommate, there are some things you can do that will save you money in the coming months.

First, you can start the process of looking for another place to live that is cheaper. This might mean moving to another area of the city.

Next, you can try to negotiate with your current landlord.

While there is no guarantee they will agree to negotiating, you never know unless you ask.

To improve your chances of a yes, be sure to highlight all of the great things you bring to the table.

• You pay on time
• You don’t complain/are a great tenant
• You keep the unit well maintained
• You plan to continue renting for a few more years

These are just a couple of examples you could argue as to why you deserve a lower rent payment.

The reason this works is because at the end of the day some landlords would rather have a great tenant that is paying a little less than market rate instead of having a horrible tenant that doesn’t pay at all.

You’ll never know which landlord you have unless you ask.

For me, I didn’t raise the rent on my tenant because she was so amazing. I never had any issues from her and the rent was always on time.

I would rather forego an extra $50 a month, or $600 a year, and have zero stress than have an extra $600 and have some level of stress.

In addition to this, if she leaves, then I have zero rental income while I am looking for new tenants.

And I have to spend my time and money trying to find new tenants. Finally, there is the risk that the new tenants trash the place, don’t pay on time, or don’t pay at all.

It wasn’t worth it to me. I’ll take $600 less and have zero worries.

When going this route, just be open and honest with your landlord and see what happens.

Insurance

Insurance is another area where cutting your monthly household expenses will let you realize a nice amount of savings.

In fact, I would argue that saving money on insurance is 100 times easier than with your mortgage.

Most companies offer free quotes on insurance. Just spend 10 minutes filling out the information and you’ll have a free, no obligation quote.

 
You should be shopping around and getting car and homeowners insurance quotes every other year at a minimum.

Just because you are a great customer doesn’t mean you are getting a great rate.

It all has to do with how the company is doing overall.

Also, new studies have found that people who stay with the same insurance company actually pay more over time than they should.

These people basically pay for the others who shop around and get offered lower rates.

I used an insurance company that I thought was offering me the best price. Then one year, my premiums jumped 10% without warning.

I did nothing to cause this spike.

It turned out that the insurance company suffered huge losses after a major hurricane and needed to replenish its balance sheet.

This meant rate increases for everyone, regardless if they were affected by the storm or not.

I refused to pay more, so I shopped around and found a great insurance company that ended up charging me $250 less per year.

I stayed with them for 2 years and then shopped around and found another company that charged me $150 less than what I was paying at the time.

The bottom line is that you need to shop around for insurance coverage. It takes 10 minutes and is completely free.

By not doing anything, you could potentially be paying hundreds more each year than you should be.

So take 20 minutes and compare your current premiums to those at Liberty Mutual to see if you can save money. My guess is that you will.

And it doesn’t end with car insurance either.

If your employer doesn’t offer you health insurance and you are buying your own coverage, you need to shop around for a fair price.

You can easily get a free health insurance quote. Again, it takes 10 minutes and there is no obligation to buy.

In either case, just knowing that you aren’t being overcharged for coverage should be reason enough to get a free quote.

Taxes

Most of us don’t think about taxes when it comes to trying to cut monthly expenses. But taxes are a big deal. When you add them up, more of your money than you think is going towards taxes.

For example, you pay federal income tax. Chances are you are paying a state income tax.

You are also paying a property tax if you own a house. You pay sales tax.

You pay a gas tax when you fill up your car.

And don’t get me started with the taxes on cell phone services.

When you add these all up, chances are you are paying close to 50% of your income in taxes!

While you cannot legally avoid all taxes, there are a handful of simple ways you can reduce your taxes and save money in the process.

• Contribute To Your 401k: The money you contribute to your 401k comes out of your paycheck pre-tax. This means that you are paying less money in taxes on the amount you actually have deposited into your checking account.

In other words, if you get paid $1,000 and don’t make any 401k contributions, you will pay $150 in taxes, assuming you are in the 15% tax bracket and other factors aren’t taken into account.

But if you contribute $100 to your 401k, you will only be taxed on the remaining $900, which is $135 (15% x $900). You just saved yourself $15 in taxes.

Over the course of a year, this turns into potentially thousands of dollars you will save on taxes.

• Appeal Your Property Taxes. If your property taxes have gone up every year, maybe it is time to appeal them. In many cases, a real estate attorney will do all of the work for a small fee.

When we did this, we knocked $1,100 off our annual property tax bill. We plan on living here for a while so over the next 20 years, we will save over $20,000!

The attorney got $500 for doing all of the work. This was the most we would have had to pay, as his fee was capped. If he didn’t get us a reduction, there was no fee.

Of course there is the chance that your taxes will go up. But a good attorney will look at things and give you an idea of what to expect before you agree to challenge the amount you pay.

• Put Money Into An HSA or FSA: These are accounts you put money into to help pay for medical expenses. The main difference between the two is that with an FSA, you have to use the money you save in the account during the calendar year.

With an HSA, you don’t have to do this. You can save and invest your contributions and pay for medical expenses years later, tax free. Below is a 60 second video that explains the differences really well.

The advantage of saving money in either account is the same as the 401k option above. Your savings are pre-tax, helping you to pay less in taxes.

• Change Your Withholding: If you get a large tax refund each year, look into changing your withholdings.

Most people don’t do this because they are scared that they will not get a refund at tax time and have to pay in.

The reality is that if you are getting a large refund (over $3,000) you can easily change your withholdings and get a fatter paycheck and still get a small refund each year. You can use this free tool from the IRS to help you do the math.

• Invest Wisely: Make sure you have a tax efficient strategy when it comes to investing your money. By simply placing certain assets in your retirement accounts and others in your taxable account, you will save yourself thousands in taxes every year.

By simply following a few of these tips, you will reduce the amount of money you pay in taxes and save a lot of money.

Debt

Chances are you have some debt.

Regardless if it is credit card debt, student loan debt, a car loan or a personal loan, these monthly payments add up.

By taking action to reduce these monthly bills, you will free up a lot of money. And the good news is it isn’t hard at all.

Here are some cost cutting actions to help you save money by eliminating your monthly debt bills.

Have A Plan

When it comes to your credit cards, set up a payoff plan. When you have a plan in place, you will get excited and motivated to pay off the debt.

By following a detailed plan, you will see faster progress in getting out of debt than you would if you just randomly pay your bills.

But simply having a plan isn’t your only option to cutting these expenses. There is still more you can do.

Transfer Balances

Another option for credit cards is to transfer your balances to another card. Many times you can find a credit card with a 0% balance transfer offer.

If you move your balance over to this new card, you can avoid paying any interest for a set amount of time.

There are two catches here.

The first is that there is a fee you will be charged. Try to keep it to 3% or less of the amount you transfer.

Second, you have to make sure you don’t start spending on your first card again.

Just be sure you are disciplined with your spending before you choose this option. If you are not, you can get yourself into a lot more debt.

Consolidate or Refinance

Another option, and a better one than balance transfers is to consolidate or refinance your debt.

There are two great ways this works in your favor.

For credit card debt, you can consolidate all of your monthly bills from credit cards into one personal loan.

By doing this, you only have to worry about one bill a month and you will have a lower interest rate.

For student loans, you can refinance your debt into one loan. Again, you make life easier by only have one student loan payment to make every month.

And you save money by having a lower interest rate.

In both cases, Credible will help you accomplish this goal.

 
The free quote has no requirements that you move forward.

For example, let’s say you have $50,000 in student loan debt at 6.8% interest.

Over 20 years you are going to pay $380 a month and a total of $41,600 in interest.

But if you refinance to a loan with 4% interest, your monthly payment drops to $302 and you save close to $20,000 interest.

All it talks it 10 minutes to save $80 every month. There is no reason not to.

When I refinanced my student loans to a lower interest rate, I went from paying $400 a month to $200. It was amazing to have that extra $200 a month.

Click here to see how much lower your monthly payment will be and how much money you will save with Credible.

At the end of the day, getting out of debt will free up a significant amount of money for most people.

If you are struggling with debt, I encourage you to check out the debt posts I’ve written.

• Read now: Click here for help with conquering your debt

I have plenty of resources to help you on your journey to becoming debt free.

Cable TV

Cable TV is a huge monthly bill and the price only goes up every year.

I used to call up Comcast every few months to get a new promotion, but as an existing customer, they have changed the game.

• Read now: Learn the best tricks to get promotion for existing Xfinity Comcast customers

But this doesn’t mean you are stuck paying an outrageously high cable bill.

There are many things you can still do.

But first, I have to warn you of a trick you will run into. It’s the more channels, same price trick.

This seems to be cable companies go-to option. Here is how it works.

You call asking for a lower monthly bill. The representative puts you on hold and comes back with an offer.

They offer you a handful of new channels that you don’t get and will keep your monthly price the same as what you are paying now.

To many, this sounds like a great deal. You are getting upgraded at no additional cost to you.

The problem is you aren’t accomplishing your goal of cutting monthly household expenses because you are paying the same price for more channels.

You are just getting more channels.

And when the deal expires, you will pass out when you get an updated bill now charging you for all of those “free” channels that got added.

This what happened to my Mom. Over the course of a year, she kept calling for a lower rate and every time she fell for the more channels, same price deal.

The result was she had every single channel the cable company offered. Had I known this, I would have moved back home!

But when the deal finally ended, her monthly bill skyrocketed to $425 a month!

Remember when you call your goal is a lower price than what it is now, not to increase services.

Now that the warning is out of the way, let’s look at a handful of options for you to lower your monthly bill.

A final option is to create your own bundle.

For example, you could sign up for Netflix and HBO and have 99% of the shows you typically watch for less than $50 a month.

All you have to do is a little work to see which bundling of services works best for you.

Groceries

Groceries are one of the monthly household expenses that can quickly get out of control.

For example, the average family of four spends close to $900 per month on groceries, which is more than some people spend on their mortgage or rent!

If you find your grocery bill to be too high, what can you do to save some money?

The first thing you should do is shop smarter.

If you have multiple grocery stores in your area, find the one that offers the best prices.

This will take a little work, but you can make it easy on yourself.

Next, stick with the basics.

What do you buy every week? Make note of these and then price compare.

As time goes by, price check other items as well.

In some cases, you might find that you have to shop at two different stores. This is what happened to me.

Our family does most of our shopping at one store and then we go to another grocery store to buy our produce since it is cheaper there.

Once you know where to shop, learn to buy things that are on sale.

Be sure to read all of the circulars you get in the mail as you never know when they might have a great deal.

For example, one store I don’t shop at had a sale of frozen vegetables for $0.75 a bag. I stocked up since our daughter is now transitioning to solid foods.

To curb last minute eating out habits, cook ahead of time.

For my wife and me, we would get tired or lazy by the end of the week and not feel like cooking.

This led us to eat out a lot on Thursdays and Fridays. Now we take some time on Sunday and cook meals for the week.

All we have to do is just reheat them and we have dinner ready in 5 minutes.

In addition to this, learn to make some simple meals that only take 20 minutes to make.

There are thousands out there, just take a few minutes to search around.

For example, learn how to meal plan around what is on sale.

If you take the time to do these three things you could easily end up saving a few hundred or even thousand dollars a year or more.

The reason I like tackling these first is because it is one and done. I refinance, I never have to do anything else to save money.

The savings happens automatically every year or month.

By just tackling these large expenses, you will easily save $1,000 a month or more.

But you will save even more money by looking at your small expenses too.

The Small Expenses

Now that we have covered your big monthly household expenses, it’s time to start focusing our time to lower monthly bills that are small in size.

There are thousands of small expenses that everyone has.

Because of this, I am not going to cover all of the various ways you can reduce your household bills on small things.

I am going to highlight a few of the more common monthly bills. Hopefully this will spark a curiosity in you to tackle other small expenses as well.

Electric

Utility bills can easily get out of hand. And for some of you, this monthly bill is one of your biggest.

But even though it is large in size, I am putting it this section because lowering it can take more time than the other ideas listed above.

With that said, here are some ways to lower your utility bills.

I am lucky that I live in a state that offers electricity deregulation. This means that I can choose my electric distributor and potentially save money.

This should be your first option.

For me, the cost of electric from my utility is $0.08 per Kw. But I use a third party company and pay $0.05 per Kw.

The catch is I have to research and switch companies every 6 months to 1 year. Luckily it doesn’t take me long to do the research as there are websites comparing my options.

To switch, all I have to do is fill out a short online form.

If you don’t live in a state that offers this, there are still many options for lowering your utility bill.

All you have to do is pay attention more.

As crazy as it seems, turning off the lights when you aren’t in the room works. Here are a few more electricity saving tips:

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to lowering your utility bills. But you don’t have to go crazy.

By using the tips I outlined above, we slashed our electric bill by close to $100 a month on average.

Gas

There are some simple things you can do to increase your fuel mileage and as a result, cut your budget when it comes to fueling up your car.

First, learn to drive slower.

This isn’t to say drive like you are out for a Sunday drive. Just slow down a little bit. The faster you go, the more fuel you use.

Don’t believe me?

Let’s say you drive 50 miles to commute to and from work every day. Your car averages 30 mpg and gas costs $3.50 a gallon.

If you reduce your speed from 80mph to 70mph, you save $400 a year on gas and only add 5 minutes to your commute.

During this extra 5 minutes you can listen to your favorite song or talk show on the radio!

Additionally, learn how to accelerate and stop.

When you punch the gas at a green light or slam on the brakes at a red light, you are wasting fuel. Accelerate slowly and anticipate red lights and stop signs by coasting to them.

From there, keep your tires properly inflated and keep your trunk empty. Underinflated tires and added weight in your trunk will kill your gas mileage.

Next, pay attention to gas prices.

Find the station around you that has the lowest prices.

There are apps you can use to accomplish this, or just pay attention when you drive around town.

Just make sure you are comparing prices on the same day. Prices fluctuate by day, so pay attention!

Finally, don’t think the solution to saving money is to buy a hybrid car.

• Read now: Click here to see why a hybrid car costs you a lot more money

In many cases, hybrids aren’t worth the price. You are better off learning how to drive smarter in order to cut your monthly fuel bill.

By simply using these simple tips, you will cut your budget on gas and save money.

Gym

Most people don’t get their money’s worth out of a gym. You don’t need to join a gym to be healthy and get in shape.

You can do something as simple as buy an activity monitor. I have been wearing a Garmin VivoSmart activity tracker and love it.

I sit at my desk all day and have read the horror stories about how bad sitting all day is for you.

It helps me be motivated to get up and move so I reach my daily step goal.

I also like how it vibrates after sitting for a while.

This gentle nudge is what I need to get me to stand up and move around for a couple minutes.

You can get your Garmin Vivosmart here.

If you are interested more vigorous exercise routines, you can still skip the gym. Body weight exercises all you need.

Just doing a 30 minute routine will change your life. Here is the best one I’ve found.

The bottom line is you can cut your budget by canceling your gym membership and save the money instead.

Cell Phone

How much are you paying for your cell phone service?

My guess is $100 a month or more.

Do you want to know how to slash this monthly bill by 75%?

Thanks to resellers, you can get the same great service for much less.

For example, I use Cricket Wireless.

For $35 a month, I get unlimited calls and texts and have 5 GB of data.

My coverage is the same as if I were with AT&T since Cricket uses AT&T towers, plus they are owned by AT&T.

This same plan with AT&T would run me $90 a month.

I’ve been using Cricket for 2 years now and have saved over $1,500!

I’ve had zero issues and switching is a breeze.

Simple Tricks You Need To Try To Cut Expenses

There are a few other ways I want to highlight that will help you cut your monthly expenses.

Shop Online

When you shop online, you can typically use a coupon code to save money.

But you can also use a shopping portal like Rakuten. When you shop online through Rakuten, you get cash back.

• Read now: Click here to learn how I easily save money shopping online

Most times it is between 1% and 25% but sometimes they offer double cash back.

Over the course of the past few months, my wife has earned over $100 cash back from Rakuten on purchases she was going to make anyway.

It was free money that we ended up putting into our savings account.

And here is a bonus trick.

Sign up for a free Swagbucks account too.

With Swagbucks you will do the same thing as with Rakuten by saving money on your online purchases.

Before I buy anything online, I compare the two sites to see which one offers more cash back and shop through that site.

Swagbucks is free to join and they will give you $5 for signing up!

Cancel Subscriptions

How many subscriptions or memberships are you paying for but never use?

You can use Trim to help cut these expenses out.

They will look over your checking account, identify recurring charges that you may be able to cancel, and help you with canceling them.

And it doesn’t end there.

They will negotiate other bills for you too. For example, they are successful 70% of the time at reducing users cable bills!

Delay Purchases

This is another spending trick that will help you save a lot of money.

Before you buy something, wait a couple of days to see if you really need it.

Many times when we want to buy something, it is purely emotional. Later, when we see the item, we have regret for having bought it.

This is when the thinking side of our brain catches up to the emotional side. If you can learn to hold off on buying things, you will save yourself a ton of money.

More Expenses To Cut From Your Budget

As I mentioned before, everyone’s situation is different, so you will have many other expenses than what I list here.

Because of this, it is critical that you run through all of your expenses so you will save the most money.

To do this, you need to track where your money goes.

You can do this manually by writing down every time you spend money.

• Read now: Click here to see the best free budget templates to use

The post referenced above will show you the best ones to start with.

Another option is to use Tiller. This is a budgeting app that will automatically pull all your transactions into one place.

• Read now: Click here to see how Tiller will change your finances for the better

All you have to do is edit the category and you are set.

In less than 5 minutes you will see where all of your money is going and start taking action to save money.

Finally, here is a chart of 67 things you can do to save money.

Some have been mentioned in this post already, but the goal is to get you thinking about how you spend your money and where you can easily cut back.

And if you want even more ideas when it comes to saving money, I have you covered.

• Read now: Click here to see over 100 ideas to save money today

At the end of the day, you will have a solid list of ways to cut expenses and free up money.

Recapping Best Ways To Cut Monthly Bills

This was a lot of information and you might be feeling a little overwhelmed right now.

To help you start taking action right now, I’ve summarized everything here for you.

#1. Start using Trim.

This will help you lower or eliminate subscriptions and memberships you are paying for but never use.

Plus it will help you to slash your cable bill. All this while you relax.

Click here to get started.

#2. Refinance or consolidate credit card and student loan debt.

If you have credit card debt or student loan debt, see how much money you will save by refinancing with Credible.

Not only will you save money each month, but you will save money on interest charges over the life of the loan too, thanks to a lower interest rate.

Click here to see how much you will save.

#3. Take 15 minutes and get free auto insurance quotes.

Again, another simple tip that will easily save you $100 or more for 15 minutes of work.

My favorite is Liberty Mutual because of the benefits they offer including accident forgiveness and new vehicle replacement. Plus they partner with many organizations to offer greater discounts.

I get discounts from them because of the college I attended and a friend gets a discount because of his employer.

Click here to get your free quote.

#4. Review your property taxes and appeal if you are overpaying.

This one will take a little more work, but you can easily outsource it to a local real estate attorney. They will figure out if you are overpaying, how much you will save, and will represent you in court.

As I mentioned earlier, we did this and saved over $1,000.

#5. Start contributing or increase your contributions to your 401k plan.

When you do this, you lower the amount of income taxes you pay since your 401k contribution is taken out pre-tax.

If you aren’t contributing anything, start saving 5%. If you are contributing, increase the amount you are saving by 2%.

By just doing these 5 things, you will potentially save $500 a month or $6,000 a year.

And these are just 5 things that will take you a total of 3o minutes to complete.

Add in some of these other tips and you will save even more.

All you have to do is get started and you will drastically cut expenses and save money each month.

What To Do With Your Savings?

Now that you’ve taken action and reduced your monthly expenses, you are going to have to figure out what to do with the money you’ve saved.

Here is a clue: spending it should not be an option!

Below I list 4 ways for you to use your new found savings from cutting expenses to the bone.

#1. Pay Off Debt

If you have credit card, student loan, auto loan, or other types of personal debt, you should use the money you save by cutting monthly expenses to rid yourself of these debts.

Doing so will free up more money for you to save every month.

Look at it this way.

Let’s say you have a car loan that is costing you $400 a month. You cut your budget using some of the tips in this post and free up an additional $300 a month.

By taking this extra $300 and putting towards your car loan, you will pay this loan off faster.

Now instead of having $300 extra every month, you have $700 extra.

Another debt repayment option is your mortgage. Maybe you weren’t able to refinance because it didn’t make sense.

But if you reduced your balance, then it would make sense. You could take your $300 and put it towards your mortgage so you can refinance.

Doing so could allow you to save an additional $650 every month. Now you have an extra $950 a month.

If you do this and pay off your car loan early and you suddenly have an extra $1,350 every month.

The bottom line is paying off your debt is one of the smartest things you can do.

Not only will it free up more money in your budget, but you won’t have the added weight debt adds to your life.

#2. Build An Emergency Fund

The next option for your saved money is to make sure you have a cash pile for emergencies and other expenses you will encounter in life.

I like to have around 9 months of expenses in my emergency fund.

• Read now: Learn the simple tricks to building an emergency fund fast

This gives me the peace of mind knowing I have more than enough money should the water heater break or someone loses their job.

The best place to park your cash is with CIT Bank.

They offer a free savings account that doesn’t charge any fees and pays a higher interest rate than most brick and mortar banks.

• Read now: Click here to learn why I love CIT Bank

Here is how important this is.

If you take your $300 savings each month and put it into your local bank instead of CIT Bank, in 10 years you will have close to $5,000 less!

You work hard for your money, so take the 5 minutes to make sure your money is working for you.

#3. Invest

The key to building long term wealth is through the stock market.

Sadly many people avoid the stock market because of a bad experience in the past or they think the market is rigged for them to fail.

The truth is you can make money in the stock market over the long term. You just need a plan.

By having a plan, you have a foundation for long term success in the stock market.

And don’t think for a minute you can’t do this.

Investing is easier than you realize.

Just learn the basics and you are set. You can run through all of the basics by reading through the many investing posts I’ve written.

• Read now: Click here to learn the basics of investing and grow your wealth
  

And if at the end of the day you still feel overwhelmed, use a robo-advisor.

They will do all the work for you, which will help you earn a nice return over the long term.

I cannot stress how important it is to invest in the stock market.

You can’t grow your wealth anywhere else like you can in the stock market.

And by having a plan, learning the basics, and having goals, you can grow your wealth by investing.

#4. Savings Goals

Once you have reduced household bills by using the tips throughout this post and paid off your debt, it is time to start thinking about long term savings goals.

What you do you want out of life?

Do you want to take amazing vacations every year? Do you want to be able to retire early? Buy a house one day?

Whatever your savings goals are, now you can start to take action to achieving them.

Your first step is to figure out how much money you will need and then decide when you need it.

Once you know this, you can begin to save every month to reach your goal.

Again, I like to use CIT Bank for this.

They allow me to have separate savings accounts for each of my goals, making it simple to keep track of everything.

Final Thoughts

Feeling like you are short on money each month is a lot of stress. I can remember when I was struggling to get by when I bought my first house.

It was hard and scary.

I took a lot of the steps I’ve outlined here and slowly over time, money was less stressful as I had a cushion between my income and my expenses.

This was due primarily to me cutting monthly expenses.

I negotiated my cable bill. I switched out lights for LEDs. I turned off power strips when I wasn’t home. I used a programmable thermostat.

I refinanced my student loans and was smarter when I shopped for groceries.

I started slow and kept at it. In time, my monthly bills got smaller and I had extra money left over at the end of the month.

You can too. You just have to take the first step.

Start by cutting monthly expenses that are big and work your way down to the smaller ones.

I am certain that if you take a few hours over the course of the month to save a little bit of money, that money will add up and you’ll be surprised at how much you will save.

Remember, don’t look at cutting monthly expenses as going without or in a negative light, see this as a step towards allowing you the freedom to live a better life.

The post The Best Tricks To Slash Your Monthly Expenses And Save Thousands Fast appeared first on MoneySmartGuides.com.

One of the biggest areas where this holds true is investing.

The wealthy are able to invest in hedge funds, allowing them to achieve higher returns on their money and at the same time limit risk by using advanced tools.

This has been a growing complaint of many investors for years as they too want access to better investment vehicles.

Unfortunately, no one had been listening.

Until now.

Titan Invest is a mobile investing app built like a hedge fund for the masses. You don’t need to be a multi-millionaire to invest with Titan.

You can get started with as little as $500 and have access to a similar investing strategy/experience as the wealthy, while potentially protecting yourself against downside risk.

In this post, I am going to show you what Titan Invest does.

My Titan Invest Review

Who Is Titan Invest?

Titan was founded in 2017 by former hedge fund investors.

As they were investing the money for ultra high net worth investors, they realized that these investors had access to advanced tools and investment vehicles that the average investor did not.

Seeing a need for change, they set out and created Titan Invest.

Now average investors have the opportunity to invest their money similarly to the ultra wealthy.

By investing with Titan, the company has two goals for you.

First, to grow your invested capital at a high rate of return for the long term. And second, to make you a better investor through education.

How Titan Invests Your Money

Titan uses proprietary software to analyze the holdings of the top ~5% of hedge funds.

Through this analysis, they look for investments with the following characteristics:

• Strong cash flows
• Strong management team
• High return of capital
• Industry leaders
• Long term growth

Based on these criteria, your money will be invested equally across 20 stocks.

For example, below is a breakdown of their portfolio holdings as of the first quarter in 2019.

Then depending on your risk tolerance, anywhere from 0% to 20% of your money will be invested in a “hedge” security which aims to mitigate losses by effectively betting against the market in a downturn.

I go into detail on how the hedge product works in the next section.

Your Titan portfolio is reviewed quarterly and some investments may change.

However, there will not be a complete turnover of your portfolio as Titan believes in long-term investing.

To open your account with Titan, click here.

How The Hedge Feature Works

It is important that you understand how the hedge feature Titan offers works.

Not fully understanding when it is activated and when it is not can make the difference in your level of satisfaction with your experience on Titan.

The most important thing to understand is that the hedge feature is not applied equally to all clients all of the time. It is applied dynamically based on your personal risk tolerance.

Titan makes it clear that neither they, nor anyone, can successfully time the market.

As a result, it makes no sense for the hedge feature to be fully sized all of the time for all clients, independent of their personal financial situation.

The hedge feature works like this.

First, it is an inverse S&P 500 ETF (ticker: SH) which is designed to move opposite the S&P 500 each day.

During account signup, Titan asks you a handful of questions to gauge your risk tolerance.

The level of hedge that is eventually applied to your Titan portfolio depends on:

1. your personal risk tolerance and

2. whether or not your Titan portfolio is in a “portfolio downturn” as Titan defines it.

Titan defines a “portfolio downturn” as a period in which the trailing 12-month return of the Titan composite falls below the S&P 500’s average cumulative return over the trailing 12-month period.

This downturn measure is evaluated on the final calendar day of each month.

Clients with an Aggressive risk profile will be hedged 0% when their portfolios are not in a downturn.

When their portfolios do enter a downturn, 5% of their stock holdings are sold (in equal weights) and reallocated to the hedge.

In other words, the hedge dynamically shifts from 0% to 5% of the clients’ capital.

When the downturn ends, the hedging level shifts back to its original 0% level and the funds are reallocated back to the Titan composite stocks in equal weights.

Clients with a Moderate or Conservative risk profile are hedged 5% and 10%, respectively, when their portfolios are not in a downturn.

When their portfolios do enter a downturn, the hedge automatically becomes 10% and 20% of their investments, respectively.

When the downturn ends, the hedging levels shift back to their original 5% and 10% levels, respectively.

If the Titan composite and overall market are performing normally – say, they both rise for a few days and then decline for a day or two – the Titan composite will likely not enter a “downturn” in that time frame.

Hence the hedge will likely not become fully active for all clients.

Instead, the hedge would be applied 0%/5%/10% for Aggressive/Moderate/Conservative clients.

You could experience potential losses in your portfolio in this scenario, just as you could when the hedge is fully sized in a Titan downturn.

On the other hand, if we are seeing market conditions like the Great Recession or something similar, then a downturn is much more likely and hence the hedge is more likely to be fully sized for all Titan clients (5%/10%/20% for Aggressive/Moderate/Conservative clients).

The goal is for the higher hedging levels to better protect your capital from losses in this situation, though again you could still experience losses.

As I mentioned at the start, it is critical that you understand this.

The last thing you want is to start investing thinking that you are protected from losses all of the time.

Differentiators And Drawbacks

From my point of view, here is a quick rundown of Titan’s capabilities and the drawbacks it has.

Here is a breakdown of each.

Differentiators

Ability To Hedge

Titan believes that having the ability to hedge can protect investors during a bear market.

The hedge is designed to limit losses, decrease volatility of an investor’s portfolio, and help him or her to stay invested for the long term.

Access To How The Ultra Wealthy Invest

In order to invest in a hedge fund, you have to meet various criteria that average investors usually do not meet.

As a result, many ultra wealthy individuals are able to invest in a way that allows for exceptional long term growth and limits downside risk.

By investing with Titan, average investors now have access to a similar investing strategy/experience as the wealthy.

No Performance Fee

Many hedge funds charge a performance fee to investors that can be as high as 20%. Titan does not take any performance fee from its investors.

This means your money stays invested for the long term, and is able to compound upon itself –  potentially growing into larger sums of money over time.

Low Cost To Start Investing

Most hedge funds require you invest $500,000 or more just to start investing.

Titan makes it easy to start and you can do so with as little as $500.

Zero Work For You

By investing with Titan, they do all the work.

Titan’s portfolio is created by analyzing the top hedge fund holdings.

Your investment holdings will be the Titan composite stocks with a hedge applied based on your risk tolerance.

Investor Education

To be a successful long-term investor, you need to understand how the stock market works.

• Read now: Click here to learn how to become a stock market millionaire

This doesn’t mean you need to have a degree in finance or understand credit default swaps.

But by understanding the basics, you are more likely to stay invested over the long term, which is one of the keys to growing your wealth.

Titan helps you with this by offering videos that teach you the things you need to know about investing.

They also offer useful research articles on their website as well.

To get started investing with Titan, click here.

Drawbacks

As with anything in life, there are some drawbacks to Titan.

Account Types

As of this writing, you can only open a taxable account with Titan.

However, they are working on allowing you to invest using retirement accounts (e.g., IRAs) in the near future.

1% Advisory Fee

Titan charges investors an annual 1% advisory fee. When compared to investing with a hedge fund, this is a positive, as most charge 2%.

But other investment advisers allow you to invest for less than this.

With that said, the fee pays for Titan’s research of other hedge funds, actively investing your money, monitoring the market, and explaining everything to you along the way.

As a result, you are charged more for the added features they offer.

No Non-US investors

In order to invest with Titan, you have to be a United States resident.

They plan on expanding to international investors soon.

Potential For Short Term Capital Gains

The goal of Titan is to compound your capital for the long term.

However, depending on the holdings of the hedge funds Titan follows that creates the Titan composite and how your portfolio is adjusted due to your hedge, you could face short-term capital gains if a security in your portfolio was sold in less than one year.

This would mean a higher tax bill versus a long-term capital gain.

Frequently Asked Questions

As detailed as I try to make my reviews, there are always additional questions readers send in.

Because others have the same questions, I created a frequently asked questions section to save time.

Here you will find some common questions others are asking about Titan.

I also make it a point to update this section as new questions come in.

Is Titan a hedge fund?

No, but your portfolio is set up to mimic a hedge fund.

You will own 20 stocks that top hedge funds have identified as the best of the best and you will also have a hedge position.

Understand however that the hedge is sized at different levels based on your risk tolerance and whether the Titan composite is in a downturn or not.

For more information on the hedge position in your portfolio, I encourage you to read the details in the section earlier in this post.

Is Titan safe?

Yes.

Titan takes your personal security seriously by using the latest 256-bit encryption to keep your private information private.

Additionally, Titan is an SEC registered investment adviser.

Note that if you do perform a search on Titan, you may find results from independent advisors who have an investment firm named Titan.

These have no relation to Titan Invest.

Here is a link to the firm’s current ADV.

To ensure trades settle correctly, they use Apex Clearing as their clearing agent.

Finally, all accounts are insured by SIPC up to the standard $500,000.

How much does it cost to start investing?

To get started investing with Titan, all you need is $500.

This is significantly less than traditional hedge funds require and is in line with other online investment advisers out there.

What is the process to start investing with Titan?

You can click here to create your account.

From there, you transfer money to begin investing.

Titan will invest your money in a basket of 20 stocks and depending on your risk tolerance, will allocate anywhere from 0% up to 20% of your money into a hedge security (an inverse S&P 500 ETF).

From there, Titan will review your portfolio quarterly and make any changes.

What does the performance of Titan look like?

The performance of the Titan portfolio will change over time as the market fluctuates.

As of April 30, 2019, here is a chart comparing Titan to the S&P 500 over various time periods.

See full performance disclosures at the bottom of this review and on Titan’s website.

How liquid is my money?

Your money is as liquid as it would be with many other investments. You can get access to your money in a few business days, assuming it was invested.

Once you click “Transfer to Bank” inside the Titan app, you would typically receive your funds back at your bank in  about 2-4 business days.

This is because it takes roughly 2 trading days for investment sales to settle and clear, plus another 1-2 business days for the settled funds to complete an ACH transfer.

What will my portfolio look like?

Your portfolio will hold a basket of 20 stocks, equally weighted.

Each quarter (roughly midway through the quarter when hedge funds’ quarterly holdings are published via 13F filings), Titan analyzes the holdings of top hedge funds.

Based on its analysis, some of Titan’s stocks may be sold and replaced by other stocks.

Additionally, depending on your risk tolerance, a portion of your portfolio, up to 20%, will be invested in a hedge security which aims to reduce losses during extreme downturns in your portfolio.

(Note that Conservative and Moderate clients are invested in the hedge security at all times. It is not guaranteed to avoid losses.

The level of hedge is what varies for clients based on whether the Titan composite is in a downturn or not. Aggressive clients have 0% hedge unless Titan is in a downturn.}

Can non-US investors invest with Titan?

At this time, only US-based investors can invest with Titan.

How long until I get my money back after I sell?

The typical turn-around time to get the proceeds from a sale is 2-4 business days depending on the settlement structure of the investment in question.

At this time, Titan does not offer instant settlement, however it is something they are working on and hope to offer soon.

What type of investor is the best fit for Titan?

The best type of investor for Titan is a person who wants access to a different type of investment strategy than what is currently available.

The investor is also the type that while OK with taking on risk, wants to protect his/her money at the same time.

Finally, Titan investors want an actively-managed portfolio that rebalances holdings and aims for long-term compounding.

Alternatives To Titan Invest

There are a lot of other online investment advisers and brokers out there.

• Read now: Click here to the best online brokers to invest in

Most offer you a customized portfolio of exchange traded funds based on your risk tolerance.

From there, you invest additional money and the advisor invests the money, rebalances your account and reinvests dividends.

Titan differentiates itself from the others by building a portfolio by following the top hedge funds to see where they are putting their clients’ money.

With that said, there is another investment option you could consider as an alternative to Titan. This is M1 Finance.

M1 offers a portfolio based on the filings of certain hedge funds.

However, M1 simply mimics hedge funds’ reported holdings without screening for fundamental criteria like Titan does.

Hedge funds could have offsetting short positions or derivatives which M1’s portfolios don’t seem to account for.

Titan aims to only follow funds for which it thinks the 13F-tracking model makes sense: long-term, quality-focused funds with low turnover.

M1 also doesn’t offer the strategy that Titan does in terms of offering a hedge that aims to protect your money when the market drops.

Another difference is that M1 does not explain why funds are investing in their holdings, what their investment theses are, etc.

You’re left to figure all of that out on your own.

On the plus side, M1 does not charge any fees to investors, saving you money in that regard.

For the extra fee, Titan provides a more refined investment strategy of following hedge funds, along with deep investor education and engagement.

• Read now: Click here to learn more about M1 Finance

The bottom line is that it comes down to the different investment strategy, the hedge protection, and the investor education/engagement.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, you have many choices when it comes to where to invest your money.

Unfortunately, most offer the same thing, just packaged a little differently.

But I think Titan Invest offers something different as I have described above.

To get started with Titan, click here.

This article is a paid partnership with Titan Invest (“Titan”). All opinions are our own. This is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a comprehensive description of Titan’s investment advisory services. Titan uses a proprietary algorithmic strategy in selecting recommendations to advisory clients. Please see Titan’s website (https://www.titanvest.com/) and the Program Brochure (available on the website) for more information. Certain investments are not suitable for all investors. Before investing, consider your investment objectives and Titan’s fees. The rate of return on investments can vary widely over time, especially for long term investments. Investment losses are possible, including the potential loss of all amounts invested. Titan’s registration as an SEC registered investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training and no inference to the contrary should be made. Nothing here should be considered as an offer, solicitation of an offer, or advice to buy or sell securities. The above content is for illustrative purposes only to demonstrate products, services and information available from Titan. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Any historical returns, expected returns, or probability projections, are hypothetical in nature and may not reflect actual future performance. All Titan performance results include the use of a personalized hedge for a hypothetical client with an “Aggressive” risk profile; clients with “Moderate” or “Conservative” risk profiles would have experienced lower returns.

Please visit https://support.titanvest.com/investment-process/hedging for full disclosures on our hedging process. 2019 YTD results are from 1/1/19 through 4/30/19. 2018 results are from Titan’s launch date of 2/20/18 through 12/31/18. Performance results are net of fees and include dividends and other adjustments. All-Time figures represent performance of a hypothetical account created on 2/20/18 using Titan’s investment process for an aggressive portfolio, not an actual account. See Titan’s website for full performance disclosures.

The post Titan Invest | Built Like A Hedge Fund For The Masses appeared first on MoneySmartGuides.com.