Five Easy Apps To Help You Start Investing In 2020
/Investing as a freelancer may feel daunting. How on earth are you supposed to create an investing plan if you are not sure how much money you will be making month to month?
I totally get it. I’ve been there. While it is essential to building wealth, investing does not have to happen today. Of course the sooner you begin the faster you can capitalize on the magic of compound interest, but in my experience gaining some level of solid footing as a freelancer first was incredibly important for my sanity and bank account.
Mainly because cash and cash flow is imperative when you are calling all of the money shots. There are so many folks who have tens of thousands of dollars locked away in a retirement plan, CD or other investment vehicle but are living paycheck to paycheck. You’ve got bills to pay, unexpected expenses and opportunities that may arise that will require you to dig into your pockets.
Last year when I filmed Going From Broke, a TV show produced by Ashton Kutcher which has now garnered over 11 million views, I had to cover my travel for the audition process. It ended up being three roundtrips from San Francisco to Los Angeles including hotel and food. This was a lovely opportunity that turned out well, however it was still a financial surprise. Therefore always having some cash on hand is a power move.
Keep in mind as well that your business is also an investment. As Warren Buffet says, the best investment you can make is in yourself. While your freelancing career may not pop up on the New York Stock Exchange, it is still creating a nice life for your future self.
Once you feel that you have your freelancer feet underneath you, seeking out investment vehicles is your next power move. While there are many ways to approach investing, apps have become the popular go-to in the last few years. The verdict is still out on their performance, so be a conscious consumer when you peruse the options. Below are five simple investing apps to help you get started.
Five Easy Apps To Help You Start Investing
Robinhood- this app offers free stock trades. And it’s actually free, because they do not pay commissions on trades unlike traditional stock brokerages. All you have to do is download the app, connect to your bank, fund your account, and you can start trading fee-free. If you choose to upgrade to Robinhood Gold for a fee, you are granted extended trading hours and margin accounts.
Acorns- if you want investing to be more of a set it and forget it type of situation, Acorns could work for you. Once you link a debit or credit card to the app, Acorns will “round up” your transactions to the next dollar and invest the “spare change” you would have received had you paid in cash. Your spare change is invested automatically in one of five professionally managed exchange-traded fund (ETF) portfolios.
Accounts with a balance up to $5,000 pay only $1 per month and accounts with a balance over $5,000 pay a very reasonable 0.25% fee. For college students with a .edu email, you can use Acorns for free for up to four years from the date of registration.
Stash- Similar to Acorns, Stash offers a low-cost method to build a diverse portfolio. However where Acorns invests for you automatically, Stash will help you learn how to make the best investment decisions yourself.
The Stash app provides educational content customized to your investment preferences. You can choose between values-driven portfolios focused on different investing themes, or you can build a custom portfolio. Funding your account can be done manually whenever you want, or you can set up an “Auto-Stash” plan for recurring investments.
Stash accounts start at $1, though you may be subject to fees from the individual investments you choose.
Ally Invest- Ally Invest has $0 trading costs and a $0 account minimum. It has advanced features like forex trading, an automated portfolio management option and a suite of free tools for technical investors. It’s great for active traders. options traders, forex traders, commission-free trades.
Wealthfront- this app customizes an investment strategy based on your financial behaviors. One you connect your accounts, it analyzes your transactions to learn about your finances. Combining this information with your stated goals, the app then invests your money into up to 11 ETFs. It also rebalances your portfolio periodically based on deposits and market fluctuations. Additional features include tax loss harvesting, direct and advanced indexing, and the option to start a 529 College Savings Plan.
The Wealthfront app is free for the first $10,000 you invest. After that, it’s 0.25% per year. There’s a $500 minimum balance requirement.
About Money & Mimosas: Money & Mimosas was started as a passion project by Danetha. A former NFL cheerleader turned entrepreneur, she started blogging as a way to combine all of her passions into a career. Money & Mimosas is now enjoyed by tens of thousands of readers in over forty countries with the same dream of achieving financial freedom without living frugally.
