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Best Apps that Make Money Work for You
Fundrise
Invest in real estate properties with a $10 minimum initial investment
Historical annual return varies from 8.8% to 12.4% (2019 – 9.47%)
Low annual fees: advisory – 0.15%; management fee – 0.85%
Public App
Manage your portfolio of stocks, ETFs, and crypto investments – all in one place
Over 5000 stocks and ETFs to choose from (dividend stocks available)
Follow other investors, see their portfolios, and exchange ideas
Acorns
Invest your spare change in a diversified portfolio built by experts
Expect up to 7.5% annually returns with plans starting from $3 a month
Earn bonus investments from 350+ Acorns Earn partners
How to Make Your Money Work for You?
Invest in Real Estate with Fundrise
Fundrise Summary
Low minimum starting investment of $10High historical returns up to 12.4%Low invesment fees of 1%Diverse investment portfolios
Real estate has always been one of the most lucrative assets of all. However, it’s usually quite expensive to acquire a new real estate.
Fundraise is a crowdfunded real estate investment platform that enables you to invest in real estate with as little as $10.
Here’s how investing in crowdfunded real estate works:
Let’s say you’re interested in a real estate property worth $100,000
Obviously, you don’t want to buy it at a full price
With Fundrise, you invest only $1,000 and become one of 100 investors who have invested $1,000 like you
The property gets renovated and resold for profit
As a partial owner of this property, you’ll get dividend income – you can expect an annual return of 8.8% – 12.4% on your investment
Invest in the Stock Market with Public App
Public App Summary
Invest in stocks, ETFs, and crypto$0 commission fees for any stock tradesOver 100 articles to learn about investingLow 1-2% commission for crypto trades
The next best option to make your money work for you is to invest in the stock market. Public App is one of the best platforms to start investing in stocks.
With Public App, you’re basically buying small slices of stocks, ETFs, and crypto—all in one place.
Note that investing in stocks is risky as the stocks you’ve invested in may decrease in value.
Invest in a 401k or IRA with Acorns
Acorns Summary
Low account fees from just $3 per monthGet $5 in your account for referralsLow minimum starting investment amountHigh average return on investments of 7.5%
Investing for your retirement can help you reach your retirement goals. Acorns is one of the best investment apps that is suited for investing money for your retirement.
What’s best about Acorns is that it enables you to start investing as low as $1 and expect an average of 7.5% return on your investment.
Acorns offers three different membership plans with the lowest pricing on the market, ranging from $1 to $5 per month.
Use Rewards Apps Like Dosh to Your Advantage
Dosh Summary
Data is secured with 256-bit encryption$10 sign up bonus for new membersGet $10 for each friend you referOver 100,000 places to get cashback
Rewards apps like Dosh transfer a certain percentage of cash back to your account when you purchase eligible products with your Dosh-linked card.
For example, you could get $2.64 back to your account on your $26.44 Sephora purchase.
What’s good, Dosh partners with a wide range of popular brands like:
Walmart
Asos
Sephora
Etc.
Apart from these brands, Dosh also partners with hotels opening an opportunity to earn up to 40% cashback when you travel.
As soon as your earnings reach a minimum withdrawal threshold of $25, you can transfer your funds to:
Open a High-Yield Savings Account with Ally Bank
Ally Bank Summary
$0 adivsory fees on investment portfolios0.5% annual percentage yield for savingsNo withdrawal fees at over 55,000 ATMs24/7 customer support also available
In case you’re not ready to invest yet, you can still make your money work for you. All you need to do to collect interest on your money is to open a high-yield savings account.
Ally Bank is one of the best online banks offering a high-yield savings account. This digital banking solution offers competitive services on the market.
Let’s quickly review some of Ally Bank benefits:
High annual percentage yield of 0.5% on all your savings
$0 advisory fees on investments
No withdrawal fees at any of 43,000 Allpoint ATMs across the US
Excellent customer support available 24/7
Develop a Budget
Personal Capital Summary
Get a 360 degree financial overview4 different tools to help you save betterLow fee for wealth management from 0.89%30-day cash flow transaction tracker
Developing a budget is a crucial step you need to take to make your money work for you. Budgeting can help you assign your money to categories you really need on a monthly basis.
Sticking to a set budget will help you save money by making only necessary purchases and avoid overspending.
You could develop a budget old-school way using a pen and paper or an excel sheet, or use a robust budgeting app like Personal Capital.
Personal Capital is a financial advisory and wealth management app helping you manage your funds in one space. The app simply gives you a 360 degree financial view.
Personal Capital offers a 30-day cash flow tracker that shows your cash flow – how much money has entered and exited your account. This tracker helps you clearly see your cash flow and stick to your savings goal.
Build an Emergency Fund
Unexpected things happen every now and then. Unfortunately, life might throw a large surprise expense your way when you least expect it.
Having a solid emergency fund in place can help you meet an emergency situation prepared, not worry about financials, and avoid getting into debt.
Generally speaking, there are a few things you should consider when building an emergency fund:
Set up a separate savings account that you won’t touch unless it’s an emergency situation
Make it a priority to allocate money into your emergency fund each month
Most financial advisors recommend to have three to six months of expenses in your emergency fund
Start an Online Business
Online business is a type of business that operates online, meaning, sells products or services through online channels.
Compared to a traditional brick-and-mortar business model, setting up an online business is relatively easy and manage. It’s mainly because you can perform all (or most of) business operations online.
Some of the best online business ideas include:
YouTube channel
Blog
Affiliate marketing
Selling online courses
Selling in-demand services (social media management, graphic design, copywriting, web development, etc.)
Online store
Selling on Amazon FBA
Selling an eBook
Dropshipping
Selling photos
Selling crafts